Maybe you can tell that I’m attempting to distract you from the whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on ’round here? My Crazy Boo Monkey Socks have been about five rounds away from being done since Saturday. I’ve worked on my cardi a bit, but back and forth stockinette is not my favorite thing in the world.

Instead of knitting and reading, I’ve been goofing around on my laptop a lot, working on some mixes and chattin’ with the Fraro (did you see her gorgeous yarn over at the Loopy Ewe?!). And I’ve been cleaning a bit for a special houseguest who will be here Thursday and Friday night.

Oh, and I actually watched a movie the other night – Matrix Reloaded. I was thinking “mmm, good sex scene!” and “butt kicking bestest car chase ever!” and forgot all the flying. Way too much flying. On the plus side, not as bad as Matrix Revolutions *runs brainbleach cycle*.

Talk about discouraging – from the June 2007 issue of Minnesota Monthly (I tried to wade through some stacks of magazines over the weekend):

Minnesota Dating Is Not-So-Nice – Still don’t have a date for that dinner party? You’re not alone (well, only literally): In 2004, the Twin Cities made the list of 10 worst cities to hook up in, as determined by Sperling’s BestPlaces. Recently, the online dating service OkCupid.com determined that Minnesota has the nation’s loneliest women and shyest men. The knock has always been low turnover: Fewer people (in search of companionship) move into and out of here than such larger cities as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.

Well. See, Van, my plot to knock hot bicycling boys off their bikes isn’t unreasonable – takes care of that shyness thing straight off.

Here’s another shot of Mayhem in midair capturing that mouse. I’m not sure if leaving the picture uncropped helps with the perspective or not… That black smudge at the top is my ghostly thumb after the mouse has been snatched from my hand.

“I triumph!” -Mayhem

Something I actually saw in a store yesterday: an anatomically correct gummi heart. Ewwwww!

Does this lolcats picture look like anyone you know?!

Guess how many emails Heather will have in her work inbox when she returns to work after more than a month of vacation and you could win one year subscriptions to One Story Magazine and Kaleidotrope. Leave your guesses by the morning of November 6 to participate.

Chappysmom is having her second annual “Show me your November calendar pages” contest! Leave a comment on the contest post by November 15 and include a link to your calendar post to possibly win a Chappysmom Knitting/Fiber calendar. Here’s the calendar that’s hanging in my kitchen:

And the calendar that’s on my desk:

And while we’re talking about calendars – why the heck don’t we just stay in Daylight Savings Time all year?! The kitties love springing ahead (“Woo-hoo! Mom fed us early!”), but they sure hate falling back (“Boo! Hisssss! Mom is starving us!”).

Reading Update
A Cat in the Manger: An Alice Nestleton Mystery by Lydia Adamson. I read this short mystery about an NYC actress and catsitter and liked it ok, but I only got partway through another Alice Nestleton mystery (A Cat on a Beach Blanket) before deciding I didn’t want to bother finishing it.
Nerds Like It Hot by Vicki Lewis Thompson. Another trashy nerds mystery – this one was better than the last one I read, but the library copy was saturated in men’s cologne (that seemed a bit odd to me, personally), so this wasn’t a pleasant read.
Duplicity Dogged the Dachsund by Blaize Clement. This is the second mystery featuring Sarasoata pet sitter Dixie Hemingway. These are very well-written and I’ll definitely continue reading this series. My one complaint about this book was heavy-handed foreshadowing – so much so that I became vaguely obsessed (thus distracted from the rest of the story) waiting for the followup.
Serenity: Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, and Will Conrad. This short graphic novel is set between the tv series Firefly and the movie Serenity and although it’s only so-so, it does answer a question I had during the movie.
Devil May Cry by Sherrilyn Kenyon. This is the most recent Dark-Hunter novel. Mmmm…. Dark Hunters….
Divine Evil by Nora Roberts. This was the first non-J.D. Robb Nora Roberts’ book I’ve read. She can definitely write, but I do like the the J.D. Robb books a lot better (mmmm…. Roarke….). I’ll probably try reading some of her other stuff, however, since the extreme evilness portrayed in the book predisposed me to not like it.

Viewing Update
Once you get over the shock of me turning on the tv to watch anything…
Firefly – I can’t believe I hadn’t seen this before! What an amazing show – really sad that there were only 14 episodes.
Serenity – But I’m definitely glad they resolved a number of open questions from Firefly in this film… even though I spent the last 10 or 15 minutes of the film crying. “I am a leaf on the wind…“*sniff*
Sweetland – Jeanne brought this over Wednesday night for our “Hiding from Trick-or-Treaters” gathering. The movie was based on Will Weaver’s short story “A Gravestone Made of Wheat,” which I read about 15 years ago and don’t remember at all. Anyway, the movie was set primarily in rural Minnesota in the 1920s, when Olaf, a Norwegian bachelor farmer, receives a German mail-order bride at a time when anti-German sentiment is high.

Chaotic Update
Lindy wanted to see more pictures of Chaos, since apparently last week was somewhat Mayhemish. Sorry, Lindy! Here Chaos enjoys a lovely felted catnip mouse from Paper Tiger, who also sent a mouse for May, tasty dark chocolate for me, and even gooey gluten-free brownies! Thanks, PT!

*bite bite bite bite bite* -Chaos

“I’d really rather be sleeping, but Mom was watching Firefly instead of blogging, so here I am. Mom said it’s all Auntie Jeanne’s fault, but I don’t believe that because Auntie Jeanne is so nice! I like her very much because she always gets out the MGWT to play with me when she comes over.” -Mayhem

Mrs Pao and Pao are back in the UK, if you’re curious to see and read more of their adventures in the US. Can you believe they lost weight on vacation?!

Becky’s looking for ideas on how to use some Rowan 4-ply yarn. Leave a comment with your suggestion by September 16 and you could be randomly selected to win a prize.

Reading Update
Aunt Dimity: Detective, Aunt Dimity Takes a Holiday, Aunt Dimity: Snowbound, Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin, Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea, and Aunt Dimity Goes West by Nancy Atherton. Have I mentioned how much I like this cozy series? The only thing that could make it better was adding a black cat – oh, wait, that happened. And the most recent book takes place in Colorado, Kristi!
Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde. It always takes me a few chapters to get back into Fforde’s rollicking Thursday Next novels, but it is definitely worth it.

Viewing Update
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Colin Firth in a fountain instead of a pond – I know that must whip you ardent fans into an utter froth!
Flatliners. I haven’t seen this movie for many years (probably since it came out in 1990), but it was still enjoyable – the hairstyles were only slightly distracting. And maybe it’s just me, but some of the scenes out in the city reminded me of The Lost Boys and of another film I can’t quite nail down… Maybe Blade Runner?! Something darkly atmospheric and rainy like that.

“Oh, how you will pay for this, Mom. This is much worse than that guy sitting on my cat tree.” -Chaos

I took a bit of a computer break over the holiday weekend and am frightfully behind in bloglines. Please let me know if you’re having a contest you’d like me to mention, as I’ll probably read about it on your blog long after the deadline has passed… Thanks!

Check out Frarochvia’s new etsy shop!

Reading Update
The Harlequin: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel by Laurell K. Hamilton. Wow, there was actually a wee bit of a plot mixed in with all of the sex. I was pleasantly surprised by that, but disappointed that the entire book only covered maybe 24 hours – it could take years to get to next week at this rate! At least Edward was in the book – he’s one of my favorite characters.
Aunt Dimity’s Death, Aunt Dimity and the Duke, Aunt Dimity’s Good Deed, and Aunt Dimity Digs In by Nancy Atherton. Apologies to whoever recommended these to me – I am obviously much enjoying these lovely British mysteries about the amazing Aunt Dimity, ghost.
Tilt-A-Whirl by Chris Grabenstein. This mystery is set in a seaside New Jersey town, told from the perspective of a part-time summer cop. This was a well-written and engrossing read and I’ll be interested in seeing where this series goes next (the next books are already in my library list).
Damsels in Distress by Joan Hess. I’ve never really gotten into Hess’ Maggody mystery series, but I do enjoy the Claire Malloy mysteries. The latest features shenanigans amongst the members of ARSE (Association for Renaissance Scholarship and Enlightenment) at a RenFest.
Knit Two Together by Connie Lane. When Libby inherits a rundown yarn shop from her estranged mother, it changes her life. Definitely formulaic, but since it’s a Harlequin, I was fully prepared for that.
Love, Lies and a Double Shot of Deception by Lois Winston. Another formulaic romance, but I enjoyed it anyway. Come on, it has a picture of coffee on the cover (and it was $0.70 at the thrift shop).

Viewing Update
Bridget Jones’s Diary. Of course I had to watch this after watching Pride and Prejudice recently! My favorite P&P allusion was when Bridget was listing Mark Darcy’s faults and one of them was the length of his sideburns. Hee hee.
Love Actually. A very sweet film and another chance to see Colin Firth sans crazy P&P sideburns.

Knitting Update
I actually am working on a non-sock project, which I’ll talk about it a few days. First, I need to get some input on this sock I’ve started. I can’t decide whether using the 9 to 5 pattern on this yarn is a good thing, or whether I should rip back and just knit the sock in stockinette. What do you think?

“I just can’t decide, Mom – I like them both! Maybe if I ate one of those Addis while I was thinking…” -Mayhem