Randonymity

The end of the stripey socks tail?

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It was a very long night, working the switch upgrade. Of course, things fell apart right at the last minute, too. I slept for about six hours, but still woke up feeling hungover. Then it turned out I couldn’t get into the laundry room to do laundry because some git had tried to drill out the lock (apparently hoping to score a few quarters). Off to the laundromat for the first time in, um, eight years? Or more? All in all, a very exhausting day. But today is another day, right?!

The latest edition of Yarnival is up at January One!

I’m told that poor Neatnik has been upset at the lack of Chaos pictures. Sorry, Neatnik!

Thanks to Janna for pointing out that May’s obsession reminded her of Mooch’s obsession with the Little Pink Sock.

“Hmph. I can’t believe you thought I would steal those stripey socks, Mayhem. Have you noticed that kitties don’t wear socks?!” -Chaos

“I know, big kitty, I know. I can’t understand what came over me! It seems absolutely crazy now.” -Mayhem

“Besides, it looks like Mom tossed the socks into the laundry bag, so they’re out of your reach for now.” -Chaos

*sniff* -Mayhem

“There, there, May-May – it’s ok. You’re just young and excitable.” -Chaos

Contests, Randonymity, Reading

Stripey redux

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This post is coming to you via the miracle of pre-publishing. As you read this, I hope to be snugly asleep in my bed, after having worked on a switch upgrade from midnight until 4 or 5 am. Do I have a wild life or what?! 😉

Have you seen the IKEA cat beds on Cute Overload?! They would so match my slippers, wouldn’t they?

Cara’s holding Spin Out 2007! By donating to Heifer International, you can be eligible for some absolutely amazing prizes – besides helping reduce hunger worldwide.

Julie’s participating in the Light the Night Walk to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphona Society in honor of her friend Betty. If you donate to support Julie’s effort, you will be entered in a prize drawing.

Reading Update
Dark Thirst by Sara Reinke. A little trashy, but a nice distracting read. Probably the only book (obviously intended to be a series, since it stopped in the middle of the action) about a deaf-mute vampire…
White Night: A Novel of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Mmmm… Harry Dresden. Latest book. Tall, smart alecky, sexy wizard in Chicago. What else do you need to know?
Dead Sexy by Tate Hallaway. Witches and vampires and zombies in Madison, Wisconsin, oh my! This second Garnet Lacey book is an engaging read, too.
Death by Chick Lit by Lynn Harris. If this was supposed to be a spoof of chick lit, I’m not sure it succeeded very well. I found it to be a boring read…

Stripey Update

“You don’t think that big kitty’s going to try to steal my stripey socks, do you?!” -Mayhem

“He better not! These are my stripey socks! Mine!! All mine!” -Mayhem

“Now I’m really worried.” -Mayhem

“Really, really worried! I better hold on tight to my stripey socks so the big kitty can’t sneak up and take them.” -Mayhem

Alongs, Knitting

Did someone mention stripey socks?

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Wanda’s having a birthday card exchange – check out the details if you like to get cards on your birthday but don’t seem to do so in our electronic age.

Back in June, when I was in Denver at Michaele’s place, I started a pair of stripey socks, from Meilenweit Colortweed. I’m kind of glad I’ve been distracted by Sockamania socks since then so that I didn’t finish these socks until this past weekend because this is a perfect Project Spectrum colorway (orange-purple-brown)!

“These are, of course, for me.” -Mayhem

“Don’t you be telling me they aren’t for me!” -Mayhem

“Because I really, really like these socks. I will love them and hug them and call them stripey socks!” -Mayhem

“See? I hug them! And hug them again!” -Mayhem

Knitting, Reading

Back to reality

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Many, many thanks to the Procrastinatrix, who turns out to live three blocks from me and to have had the audiobook of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows just lying around!! I spent the weekend enthralled, listening to 21 hours of Harry Potter and knitting. No spoilers in the comments, please! I really appreciate that I was able to listen to the book without having encountered a single spoiler, and I hope that others are able to do so as well.

But now I must blearily return to reality… I’m further behind in bloglines than ever, so please let me know if you have a contest you’d like me to mention!

I finished the Sockamania Spiralling Socks, which took me exactly one week to complete.

“Hold that thought, Mom. I’ll be back!” -Mayhem

While we wait… The Trekking Pro Natura (wool/bamboo) was ok to knit, but I’m really curious about how these socks feel after they’re washed. Will the bamboo get softer?

“Ok, I’m back! Did you miss me?” -Mayhem

But of course…

“I think these are ok, but I still like those stripey socks more because they’re stripey! When are you going to show them the stripey socks, Mom?” -Mayhem

Shhhhhhhh, Mayhem…..

Contests, Reading

*sniff*

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Susan’s having a humorous caption contest – best caption wins Koigu! Leave your caption comment by midnight EDT, August 14.

Wendy’s giving away a copy of The Yarn Girls’ Guide to Knits for All Seasons – to enter, send an email to her contest line before noon EDT, August 12.

Cute Overload is having a meerkat caption contest (your odds are going to be a lot better in Susan’s contest!) Winners will be announced Monday and will win a packet of goodies from Animal Planet.

A Message from Chaos and Mayhem
Mom doesn’t seem able to blog today. She finished listening to something called Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince late last night and even though we know it wasn’t the first time she’s listened to it, her face got all wet and it took a lot of purring and bringing her fetch toys before she seemed all better. She did seem cheered about being all ready for when book 7 comes in for her at the library, and she sure got a lot of her second Spiralling Sock knitted while she listened!

Maybe you could toss a fetch toy or two while you wait for her to be all blog ready again on Monday? We’re waiting.

Tales of the Neighborhood

The Knitty Professor was here! The Knitty Professor was here!

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Congratulations to Sydney, Ann-Marie, and Tanya, who all won copies of the Project Spectrum OrangeBrownPurple mix cd! And thanks to everyone who entered.

I am very, very behind in bloglines – if you’re having a contest you’d like me to mention, please send me an email!

Visiting Professor
The Knitty Professor arrived late Tuesday afternoon.

“Luggage is bad, right? It means she’s staying??!” -Chaos

Really, Chaos seemed unable to decide whether he was ok with Michaele or not, whimsically alternating hissing with allowing her to pet him.

*sniff sniff sniff* -Chaos

“Hurry up, big kitty. I want her to wave the goldfish wand toy around for me again.” -Mayhem

Michaele gifted me with some absolutely stunning Manos – thanks, Michaele!!

*sniff sniff sniff* -Chaos

Tuesday we made it to Depth of Field Yarn and Needlework Unlimited before we were tuckered out. (No yarn pictures from me because I didn’t buy anything! Yes, I’ll wait while you recover.) We had some tasty food at Tum Rup Thai, then came back to my place to chat and knit. Wednesday morning, we chatted and knitted some more, then wandered over to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Here’s the Walker Art Center and the Lowry Tunnel (I-94):

A shot from the Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge with the Basilica in the background…

Michaele walking on the bridge:

I thought this bench from Jenny Holzer’s The Living Series really spoke to me as a knitter. Sound like something you’ve ever done while knitting?! 🙂

Knitting, Reading

Spiralling Mayhem

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Don’t forget about the Project Spectrum mix cd contest! Submit your email entry by 6 pm CDT, Wednesday, August 8.

And don’t worry when there’s no post from me tomorrow – the Knitty Professor will be staying at Casa de Chaos y Mayhem tonight and I’m taking tomorrow off to play.

Reading Update
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (audiobook). Making good progress on listening to books 1-6 before I get the book 7 audiobook from the library.
Candy Apple Red by Nancy Bush. No, no, not that Nancy Bush! 🙂 This is the first Jane Kelly mystery – it was an entertaining read, and I’ll definitely read more in this series. It’s kind of fun that protagonist Jane Kelly is lactose intolerant. Hmm, maybe there’s an open niche for a mystery series featuring a gluten intolerant sleuth…
Water Like a Stone by Deborah Crombie. The most recent Kincaid and James mystery is as engaging and well-written as all the previous books in the series.

Knitting Update
Can you believe it?! Two posts in a row about knitting?? I’ll wait while you all recover…

After taking a month to knit the Serpentines, I’ve already made great progress on this month’s Sockamania Spiralling Socks, which I am knitting from Trekking Pro Natura (75% wool, 25% bamboo, color #1607).

“I don’t see any sock in here! Oh, but that ball of yarn sure looks tasty… Does bamboo taste like kitty grass?” -Mayhem

“Oh! Here’s the sock! Maybe I can quietly gnaw a little hole in it while Mom’s distracted with the camera…” -Mayhem

“Hmph. I don’t see why you’re so unreasonable about me tasting your knitting. It was only going to be a wee little hole. Hmph.” -Mayhem

Contests, Knitting

Serpentines finished!

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Jenn’s having a contest – guess what material the pictured countertop is made from and you could win some dishcloth cotton. Contest ends at midnight CDT today (August 6).

Bethe’s having a contest – guess what color she picked for the zipper, lining, and thread of her bag and you could win a fibery prize. Leave your guesses by 3 pm EDT, August 7.

Rosemary’s having a contest – guess what processing the featured picture went through and you could win one of her gorgeous shawl pins. Leave your comment by midnight PDT, August 8.

MezzoDiva is participating in the Toronto 2007 Weekend to End Breast Cancer (September 8-9). If you donate money in support, you will receive a copy of her lovely Campanula sock pattern.

Knitting Update
I finally finished my Sockamania July Serpentine Socks on Saturday! (Why, yes, that’s after the July 31 “deadline” and well after the end of the Tour de France…)

I knitted the socks from Sundara sock yarn (Lenten Rose colorway). I used 80 stitches instead of 68, adding my extra stitches in the stockinette columns between the paired cables. The stockinette columns looked too wide and plain after I added the extra stitches, so I added left and right twists down the middle of each stockinette column to increase the visual interest.

“Oh, big kitty, I see what Mom’s talking about. It really does help.” -Mayhem

“Whatever, Mayhem! Like you have any clue what she’s talking about.” -Chaos

“Hmph. The big kitty didn’t have to be so mean! I’ll show him!” -Mayhem

“MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! The big kitty was mean to me!!!!!!!!!!” -Mayhem

Contests, Those Cats, Tunes

Furry distractions and Project Spectrum mix cd contest

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Thanks so much to everyone for your words of comfort and support in the wake of the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge collapse. I, like many other Minnesotans, am still in shock over the whole thing. And as additional information comes out suggesting that this was preventable, I suspect our shock is going to turn to anger and outrage…

But I need to think about other things for a while, you know? To that end, I continue to listen to Harry Potter Book 5 (I’m moving up the library list for Book 7 at a shocking pace!) and frantically knitting my Serpentine socks, trying to finish both. I think I’m about to start the final ribbing on both cuffs of the Serpentines.

And guess what? It’s time to give away some Project Spectrum mix cds for August – September. The colors are orange-brown-purple, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the mix is weighted toward purples. Some artists on the mix include Neko Case, the Moutain Goats, Greg Brown, Los Lobos, the Okra All-Stars, and the Vitamin String Quartet. I will give away copies of the mix to three randomly selected people who send email to my contest line by 6 pm CDT, Wednesday, August 8.

Chaos hops into his my chair each time I set down ipod and knitting to get up and use the facilities or get a drink of water.

“Maybe if I look cute and asleep, she won’t roust me out of my chair.” -Chaos

You can always hope, Chaos!

“Try the extremely cute upside-down-kitty pose, big kitty. It works for me.” -Mayhem

I hope you all have a good, safe weekend.

Randonymity

Take a moment and hug the people you love…

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…because life is unpredictable. Many heartfelt thanks to all of you who have checked in on us here in the Twin Cities in the aftermath of the I-35W Mississippi bridge collapse. There are still people missing and we’re all kind of shellshocked. That bridge is just a few miles from where I live and I’ve been over it hundreds, if not thousands of times (although it isn’t part of my regular route). We aren’t famous for bridges in the Twin Cities, but since both the Mississippi and the Minnesota rivers cut through the metro area, we have a lot of bridges. I’ll be thinking about them a bit differently for a while.

“I’m glad I’ve never been over a bridge. How scary! I’m sending out nips and licks to those poor people.” -Mayhem

Art journaling, reading, knitting, and cat parenting. It's a wild life.