Category Archives: Contests

Contests, Randonymity, Reading

Lost in the linkiness again

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Kat is going to bike 192 miles over two days in support of a good cause. (You know how I feel about biking!) She’s giving away some relatively amazing prizes (such as a 4 gb Zune), plus everyone who donates $50 or more will get enough yarn to make a pair of socks or other small project. So if you or anyone you know has been impacted by cancer or a cancer scare, head on over to Kat’s and donate by September 15 to be included in the prize drawings.

The kitties do love their fancy pants chaise lounge scratcher – they spend a lot of time lounging on or near it and sometimes even scratching it. Now I’m wondering how this scratcher would go over…

Interested in toning up those arms and getting more fit in six weeks? Willing to post before and after pictures? Then click over to Carrie’s website and let her know – you could win “a prize of woolly goodness” in six weeks! (No, I’m not going to join – no better way for me to stop exercising than to join an along for exercise! Besides, I already do crunches and push-ups five days a week – and believe me, push-ups can do as much for your arms as a fancy gym. Really. Even knee push-ups, my favorite.)

Haven’t discovered Cake Wrecks yet? You are in for a treat! Here’s one of my (somewhat twisted) favorites… I think I even have one to submit – just have to dig it out and scan it.

Thanks to Jeanne for pointing me to Consumerist, which has been an intriguing and informative blog for empowered and empowering consumers. In fact, here’s something from Consumerist: a nice list of seven ways your library can help you during a bad economy. Really, if it wasn’t for the library, I’d be destitute and building myself shelter in a bookstore parking lot from all the books I’d purchased. Speaking of which…

Reading Update
The McKade Brothers: Rafe and Jared; Entranced (The Donovan Legacy); Montana Sky; Angels Fall; Tribute (I really, really liked this one); and Sea Swept (Chesapeake Bay Saga, Book 1) by Nora Roberts. A-hem.
Men in Kilts by Katie MacAlister. I have no idea why I read the entire book. I have to admit that, based on MacAlister’s paranormal romances (Sex, Lies and Single Vampires, etc), I was expecting something in the time-traveling Highlander genre. This wasn’t… in fact, it had me wondering if it was vaguely autobiographical.
Breath of Magic by Teresa Medeiros. Extremely fluffy paranormal romance. Apparently I have no shame. Hopefully y’all like that about me! 😉

“I can’t believe you guys think that I’m dorky. You wound me.” -Chaos

Contests, See the Sights

Time travel: 1999

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But first, Wendy’s having another contest – suggest some classic rock that she could download from the itunes store and you will be entered in a drawing for a WendyKnits sock kit. Leave your comments by midnight EDT, July 23. (Those of you familiar with my musical taste will be shocked to know that I actually made some suggestions.)

I recently scanned in a few pictures from the wayback before I had a digital camera and thought I’d slowly share some of them with you. Looks like 1999 was a year of travel… although some of these pictures could certainly be from 1998, since they don’t have dates!

From the Art Institute of Chicago – hmm, looks like my guardian fascination isn’t new, eh?

For further evidence, a Chinese dragon/Fu dog from the Peabody-Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts:

Also from Salem – I can’t remember who this is a statue of, other than that it isn’t a witch. Help me out here, Massachusetts peeps! Update: Thanks to the Massachusetts (and Utah) folks, I now know that this is Roger Conant, founder of Salem.

Moving right along to the other coast, a ginormous tree in Olympic National Park:

The Cherry Bank Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia, where we stayed simply because it had a rotating mermaid statue on top. Who could resist?! (Sadly, it appears to have been torn down and “boutique residences” are being built there instead.)

Also in British Columbia – the lovely treehouse we stayed in on Salt Spring Island. Again, who could resist? (And dang, looks like this place is closed now, too.)

“The big kitty and I had a meeting and we decided that none of these things actually happened, since we didn’t exist yet. Good thing, too, because we would’ve had to be mad that you left us for so long.” -Mayhem

Contests, Reading, Tales of the Neighborhood

Books and ivy and another sad kitty, oh my!

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Kelle, her daughter, and the Cure Rageous Knitters will be participating in the Relay for Life later today. For every dollar that you donate before noon CDT today (July 18), you will be entered in a raffle to win a gorgeous handknit lap blanket!

Nicole’s at Disneyland this week – guess what sort of antenna ball she’ll buy there, and you could win something from Disneyland yourself! Leave your guesses by midnight PDT, July 21.

Caption a cute baby picture over at Noolie’s and you could win a mysterious prize.

Reading Update
Jewels of the Sun, Tears of the Moon, Heart of the Sea (The Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy, aka the Irish Trilogy); Heaven and Earth and Face the Fire (Books 2 & 3 of the Three Sisters Island Trilogy); Captivated (The Donovan Legacy); The MacKade Brothers: Devin and Shane; and Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts. A-hem. Moving right along!
Carrot Cake Murder (A Hannah Swensen Mystery) by Joanne Fluke. This sugary sweet cozy series set in a fictitious Minnesota town features cookie baker Hannah Swensen and the two guys she dates, dentist Norman and deputy Mike. She’s definitely no Stephanie Plum…
Curse the Dark (Retrievers, Book 2) by Laura Anne Gilman. This continues to be a solid paranormal romance/urban fantasy series – if you get tired of all the graphic groping so common in the paranormal romance genre, you should give this series a try.

Isn’t it amazing that ivy can make even an alley look cool?

Although it does sometimes get a bit out of control – can you see the balconies?!

A nifty roofline…

And the “mini apple” (from the sculpture Spoonbridge and Cherry):

“I want the windows open, too! Even though it was cooler, Mom was whining about the humidity last night… but she said maybe when she gets home from work tonight, she’ll open the windows. I wish she’d hurry.” -Mayhem

Contests, Tales of the Neighborhood

“I’m taking a walk…”

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…I’m going outside
I’m taking a walk
I’m just getting by.
– John Prine, “Taking a Walk”

Valerie’s looking for “brand name” ideas for herself. If you can come up with a crafty brand name with the word “mushroom” (or “champignon,” the French for mushroom) by July 20, you could win a box bag made just for you!

Oh dear – I’m thinking #7 could be a real problem…

I didn’t mean to worry anyone Friday with the last line of my post. When I wrote that, I had just finished reading Tink’s post about her fiance’s brother being killed in a car crash the night before and was feeling very sad…

So, back to the title of this post, from the song “Taking a Walk” by John Prine – I’m continuing to walk regularly and am definitely feeling lots better because of it. Taking pictures to share with y’all is helpful, too!

Speaking of which… 😉

Remember the mural on the side of Caffetto Cafe? This is the new mural – an apparent homage to Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer:

The fine print under “GEEK” says “Local Certified Geek.” Huh. What do you think geek certification covers?

Here’s a picture of the “Mary Tyler Moore” house, just for Lorraine:

Who knew map kiosks had their own addresses? Do you think there’s regular mail delivery?

The name of this apartment building amused me no end!

Some purple flowers that struck my fancy – Jeanne told me what kind they were, but I’ve already forgotten. D’oh.

I wonder if my fascination with shrubbery is because of Monty Python or Edward Scissorhands?

“Do you think I’d like going out for walks? I could get closer to the birds!” -Mayhem

Contests, Those Cats

Whew!

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For anyone who missed the late afternoon update yesterday, all is well – just lots and lots of tiny cysts leading to something that felt very, very wrong (and very unlike the cysts I’m more used to). Thank you all so much for the well wishes and healthy thoughts! You guys are the best. 🙂

Jane’s having a contest – tell her how many pairs of socks you could knit from the sock yarn in  your stash and guess how many pairs she could knit from her stash. Leave her a comment with your guesses by July 11 at midnight, EDT, and you could win!

Eklectika is having a contest to celebrate her birthday – leave her a comment by 7/16, 3:22 am, and you could win a handmade spindle or lucet.

XRX, Inc., (which has a lot to answer for regarding the last several years of Knitters magazine) is having a sock design contest that runs until January 1, 2009. Grand prize is $6000.

“Hmm… smells suspicious…” -Chaos

“Nuh-uh. I’m not moving off this bib because I’m sure you have ulterior motives, Mom. I saw what you did to Mayhem.” -Chaos

Contests, Tales of the Neighborhood

Walking on a summer evening

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Margene’s having a contest – guess how many yards are in her skein of handspun and the person who’s closest without going over will win a prize. Leave your guess by July 6.

My goodness – remember the Yarnapalooza contest at Romancing the Yarn that I mentioned yesterday? The one with daily prizes in July?! I won the first prize! *bounce bounce bounce*

Have a great name idea for the fifteenth Stephanie Plum book? Submit it by August 31 and if your name is picked, you’ll receive a mention in book 15 plus an autographed copy!

Yesterday after work, I met some coworkers for drinks and dinner at Chiang Mai Thai. As I was walking home afterwards, I took a few pictures… I’m sure that was completely independent of my thinking, “Oh, crap, I have nothing to blog about on Wednesday!” 😉

Looks pretty festive up on top of Stella’s Fish Cafe, doesn’t it?

Can’t get much more honest than the name of this bar (lower right).

A row of colorful shops along Hennepin Avenue:

I love the whimsical bike racks in Uptown.

Guess who I was thinking of when I took this picture, Lorraine?!

“You have to come out sometime, Mayhem! I’ll be waiting…” -Chaos

Contests, Tales of the Neighborhood

And the winner of the most colorful Adirondack chair is…

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Create an lolcats caption for a picture of Lucy with a foot model by 3:00 pm EDT, July 1 (aka today), and you could win “something good.” I noes u guyz haz seryus capshuning skillz, so go 2 it. 🙂

Romancing the Yarn will be giving away “something fibery” every day during July – send an email to the contest address to play.

Chappy’s having a virtual birthday party – if you leave a story about a dog or cat of your acquaintance by July 7th (Chappy’s birthday), you could win a party favor.

Back to the Adirondack chair pictured above. It’s hard to get an idea of scale, but I think the chair is sized about right for a person eight to ten feet tall… The chair is located in the J. D. Rivers’ Children’s Garden in Theodore Wirth Park, and I drive by it every day on my way home from work.

For shame if you steal veggies from kids!

I was going to show you the bites or scratches that May left on Chaos’ face, but they don’t show up very well in any of the pictures I’ve taken.

“It’s ok, Mom. I won’t take any revenge on her… while you’re home, at least.” -Chaos

Contests, Tales of the Neighborhood

Geographimetrical

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If you can guess how many ounces of caffeine were consumed by KitKatKnit and friends on their roadtrip last weekend, you could win a goodie bag! Leave your guesses by midnight PDT, June 26.

I’m sure we all have little oddities that amuse us, right? One of mine is the congruence of geometry and geography. Sometimes they’re obvious…

And other times, maybe not so much.

“Oh, Mom – Euclidean geometry is so yesterday.” -Mayhem

Contests, Reading

“Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening”

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Ali is having another Summer Knitting Goals Contest this year! Post your goals and leave Ali a comment with the link to your goals by midnight CDT, June 20, if you’d like to be entered in a drawing to win enough Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Dyed Cotton to make a cute short-sleeved sweater. You know I’m not doing this one, right, Marina? Because the minute I make a list of goals, I’m destined to not accomplish any of them.

If you’re interested in winning a Stuff on My Cat prize package, follow the contest rules and enter by June 15.

Reading Update
Industrial Magic, Haunted, Broken, and No Humans Involved (Women of the Otherworld, Books 4-7) by Kelley Armstrong. This is a really, really good paranormal series. Highly recommended.
On the Prowl. Last time I simply read the short story by Patricia Briggs (highly recommended for fans of her Mercy Thompson series, since it sounds like the short story in this book is a prequel to Briggs’ next novel). This time, I also read and enjoyed the stories by Eileen Wilks and Karen Chance. Couldn’t get into the story by “Sunny.”
Dark Need and Night Lost (The Darkyn, Books 3-4) by Lynn Viehl. Still not completely sure about this series. I keep reading ’em, but I’m not totally into them.
Blood Brothers (Sign of the Seven Trilogy, Book 1) by Nora Roberts. Each of Roberts’ trilogies, including this one, is somewhat formulaic – but she’s a good writer, so I keep reading.
The Scot, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Accidental Witch Trilogy, Book 3) by Annette Blair. While the two previous books in this trilogy were cute and fluffy, this one was was so clichéd that it was painful to read. This and the next book (Sex and the Psychic Witch (Triplet Witch Trilogy, Book 1) read as if they were written by a completely different author than the first books.

“Sheesh, enough with the thunder and lightning and wind and hail and rain! My nerves are shot.” -Mayhem

Here’s hoping for a fun and storm free weekend for everyone!

Contests, Tales of the Neighborhood

Time of the signs

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Wendy’s giving away a copy of The Tenth Gift. Contest closes 4 pm EDT, June 5.

I love to see things that give you glimpses into Minneapolis past.

A look at Minneapolis present – embiggen for maximum amusement…

With their “come one, come all excepted” policy, is it any wonder they went out of business?! (If you click, you’ll also see their very interesting walk in policy – “welcome by appointment.”)

“Hmph. Mom took my toy away, so I’m sulking. She should’ve listened to all of you! Oh well, at least the big kitty has mostly stopped biting off my whiskers. Don’t they look great?” -Mayhem

“Mmmm… whiskers… Hee hee, I’ll sneak up on her when she’s not on the blog.” -Chaos