Alongs, Contests, Reading

My KSKS kit arrived!

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Lisa is having a contest about the number of active projects you have going right now. Cut off is Tuesday, August 15th.

Chris is asking us to guess how much she spent at Stitches and what time she got home.

SRP update: Whew! I read up a storm this weekend. 🙂
The Math Instinct: Why You’re a Mathematical Genius (Along with Lobsters, Birds, Cats, and Dogs) by Keith Devlin (NPR’s “Math Guy”), 267 pages. Woo-hoo! I finished my second non-fiction book. This was a great book – it covered both the natural mathematics that our brains have evolved to do unconsciously (such as those involved in vision and perception) and the formal (“school math”) that humans have developed, along with the natural mathematics performed by cats, dogs, bats, owls, and more. If Trek’s Number Guy hasn’t read this book yet, he definitely should.
Murder Most Frothy: A Coffeehouse Mystery by Cleo Coyle, 257 pages. Featuring NYC coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi, this is the fourth book in the series and it takes Clare to the Hamptons for the summer.
Love Her to Death by Linda Palmer, 326 pages. Um, yeah, I only picked this up because it had a black cat on the cover… and then was surprised at how much I enjoyed it – enough to put the other books in the series on reserve at the library.
Spurred Ambition: A Pinnacle Peak Mystery by Twist Phelan, 265 pages. Featuring Arizona lawyer and former roadie turned rock climber Hannah Dain, I’m enjoying this series and look forward to tracking down the first book at Uncle Edgar’s sometime.
Fit to Die by Karen Hanson Stuyck, 292 pages. So far this is a standalone mystery (although obviously designed to be part of a series). It was perfectly adequate – I kept reading to the end, which I don’t always, should a mystery be particularly bad.

Last week, I received my KSKS kit from Elspeth. Mmmmm… purpley goodness!

Elspeth made a very cool felted bag that will be perfect for my grab and go projects. Plus she dyed this gorgeous purple yarn and made some purple stitchmarkers (they’re on the ribbon on the yarn). She included the pattern for Elfine’s socks – definitely on my list to knit!!

But that’s not all – Elspeth also included some lavendar lotion and bath stuff, purpley teas, yummy chocolate, a very cute sheep tape measure, and some of the new KnitPicks circulars in size 0 (which I was curious about and already trying out on a new pair of socks!). Thank you so much, Elspeth!!

Chaos contemplated the new things now available for him to try to destroy…

“Hmm, what should I try to get first? So many choices!”
Randonymity, See the Sights

TGIF

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Whew! It sure seems like this has been a busy week and I am definitely looking forward to a relaxing weekend of knitting (I’ll finally finish my purple Trekking socks!), reading (hopefully I’ll finish my second non-fiction book), cleaning, biking or walking, playing with the cat, catching up on blogs… Hmm, that sounds pretty busy, too, doesn’t it?!

Anyway. Crampy crabbiness is curbing my creativity this morning, so here are a few random bits. First, a cereal box that sends me into fits of giggles everytime I see it (click on the picture to see a larger version). Check out the list of allergens not contained in this cereal. I do recognize that they’ve simply reproduced the list of the eight most common allergens covered by new labelling laws – but, really, how many times have fish or shellfish in cereal been a concern for you?! Ewwwwww…

Curious what the Chaos Kitty is up to in the background? (Ignore the jungle pouch action there – he’s trim and muscley, but that darn jungle pouch has been there since he was born.)

“Clean toes are very important. I’m glad you recognize that, Mom, but if you try to paint my claws to match your toenails…….”

Last night I went to a St Paul Saints baseball game – I’m not a baseball fan, but it was one of those work “team building” events… I knit about 1/4″ of a new sock (more on that when there’s something to actually look at) and got a few cool sky pictures. Can anyone figure out what that unidentified flying object is in the first picture?? At first I thought it might be a helicopter or a bird, but now I’m wondering if it was a mosquito flying past my camera!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Contests, Randonymity, Reading, See the Sights

Pretend it’s a Random Wednesday…

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TB is having a contest in which you send her a picture of the weirdest thing on display in your house. Photos must be received by midnight, August 13. I don’t think she says what the prize is – hopefully not the weirdest thing on display from her house! 😉

SRP update:
The Apostrophe Thief by Barbara Paul, 247 pages. I’m reading the Marian Larch (NYPD) mysteries totally out of order – it’s an older series and the library doesn’t have all of the books.
A Deadly Yarn by Maggie Sefton, 259 pages. The third mystery about Fort “Connor” (Colorado) CPA and new knitter Kelly Flynn and her friends is another light and speedy read.

As part of my ongoing series of unusually colored Minneapolis architecture, here’s a purple house/business that I missed in July…

…and a house of a different color – you definitely want to click on this picture to get a better look!

The Crafty Modster held her final Project Spectrum mix giveaway and I won; actually, everyone who entered won something! Look at all those PS neutrals:

I’m all set, aren’t I? Thread, embroidery floss, tasty chocolate, a very cool flower pin (with the button in the middle) that now graces my cube…

…the mix, of course…

…and a card for Chaos! (Interestingly, that’s similar to a favorite Chaos pose that I haven’t managed to get a picture of.) Thank you so much, Anjo!

Speaking of Chaos…

“Good grief, there are other vegetables besides the Evil Zucchini Monster?! That’s just not right.”

Those Cats

Zucchini 1, Chaos 0

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Over the weekend, my SIL sent me home with some veggies from the garden. I set the zucchini on top of the fridge so I would remember to use it and wandered off. When I wandered back into the kitchen later, I discovered a standoff…

“What is that terrifying thing on my fridge?!”

“See, Chaos? It’s just a harmless vegetable.”
“Hmph. You are trying to trick me.”

“Because, obviously, it’s a monster that eats cats.”

“And I think it’s sneaking up on me…”

“So I will just sit here quietly on the cupboard until it gets bored and goes away.”
Randonymity, Reading, See the Sights

At the Fringe of the Wacky Chicken Show

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Don’t forget, today is the last day of my Official Blog Opening Contest! Leave a haiku comment before 6 pm CDT (um, that’s six hours behind GMT/UTC) to participate. Thanks for everyone who’s already left a haiku – they are witty and funny and wise and I love them all!

Knittymama’s greyhound happily models a bib…

I finished my first non-fiction book for SRP!
Downhill: The Life Story of a Gravity Goddess by Marla Streb, 326 pages. I really like to read about cyclists’ lives and inspirations. Altough I have absolutely no interest in mountain biking (I have a hybrid and prefer paved trails), I found Marla’s tale of leaving the safe life to follow her dream really resonated.

And two more fiction…
Murder by the Glass: A Wine Lover’s Mystery by Michele Scott, 246 pages. Isn’t it a little amazing how many targeted mystery series exist? This series features vineyard manager and oenophile (i.e., wine lover) Nikki Sands, who does a bit of amateur sleuthing in the Napa and Sonoma Vallies. As per usual, our intrepid sleuth is torn between two handsome men…
Children of the Storm by Elizabeth Peters, 416 pages. I was actually looking to reread the first Amelia Peabody mystery, but it wasn’t on the shelf at the library.

Monday evening, my friend Lisa and her two kids took me to dinner at True Thai (yummy tofu pad thai!) and then to see The Wacky Chicken Show: Modern Vaudeville, which was part of the Minnesota Fringe Festival.

I finished turning the heel of my second Trekking sock while we waited for the show to begin. The Wacky Chicken Show was a mixture of slapstick silliness, magic, and poignant interludes about lost eggs. By skillfully not making eye contact, I managed to avoid going having to lay an egg onstage… You can see a video clip here, if you’re curious.

I loved the words on the fence at the the Playwright’s Center – here are a few more:

And I threw together a little collage of some of the postcards I picked up for other Fringe Festival productions:

Once again, Chaos held down the home front:

“A cat’s work is never done! Wait a minute – what do you mean, what work??!”
Alongs, See the Sights

P is for…

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Powderhorn Art Fair. (Let’s just move right along and ignore the fact that I’ve skipped “O,” shall we?)

I posted Saturday about the crowds of the Uptown Art Fair. If crowds aren’t your thing, you have two additional art fair options on the same weekend. The first is the Loring Park Art Festival, which is located around the shores of the lake in Loring Park. I haven’t been to that festival for a few years, mostly because I can only handle one art fair in a weekend.The second alternative is the Powderhorn Art Fair, which is located around the shores of a lake in Powderhorn Park. I love this art fair! I think it’s much more pleasant wandering around a lake looking at art than it is shoving your way along a crowded street looking at art. Your mileage may vary (YMMV).

So on Saturday, Jeanne and I headed over to Powderhorn Park. (Look! More Saturday skies!) This picture was taken facing away from downtown (click on any picture to see a larger version):

And this picture was taken from the other side of the lake, facing downtown with the Midtown Market (a renovated old Sears building) looming between downtown and the park:

A band played jazzy oompa music, which provided the perfect soundtrack for art shopping.

We saw some wildlife…

Although we couldn’t figure out what that turtle (on the far left) and the ducks were sitting on – a submarine seemed unlikely!

This puzzled me no end – if you can’t read the lettering, it says “ICE WATER DEVICE.” Huh.

Sorry – no pictures of my purchases, since most of them were birthday and Christmas presents for my family!

Chaos kept busy while I was gone:

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…”
Alongs, Tales of the Neighborhood

Saturday sky: Uptown Art Fair

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Here’s the thing – if you live in Uptown Minneapolis, you dread the annual Uptown Art Fair because streets are blocked off, traffic crazy, parking nonexistent, and crowds formidable. Today was no exception as I ventured two blocks into the madness to return some library books at Walker Library (exciting library moment – I actually had a brief conversation with Cute Library Guy!).

Anyway, I present to you – Saturday skies of the Uptown Art Fair. First – the warning sign:

Next, the Uptown icons – the Uptown Theater and Calhoun Square (middle back), with bonus airplane! (Remember, you can click on any picture to make it bigger.)

Want to get a better idea of the crowds?

The sky over the Uptown Transit Station as I headed home again.

And an amusing billboard (plus sky, of course) at the corner of Hennepin and 28th:

Knitting, Project Spectrum, Randonymity

Ready for Roswell

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I am really enjoying the haiku you’ve been writing – they definitely brightened a mundane Thursday! Still plenty of time to submit a haiku for the contest if you haven’t already.

Scout challenged us all to show off our UFOs (unfinished objects). Yikes. As I mentioned a few days ago, I posted about my WIPs last winter and all of those WIPs are still UFOs. Really, doesn’t work-in-progress sound much better than UFO?! Anyway, I shall review them here for your amusement. Please note that the older pictures were taken with my former camera, which I do not miss at all… You will perhaps be amazed at how Project Spectrum most of my projects are!

The tank that will be ripped out as soon as I find it again, as it is chunky and unflattering and it’s all too clear where I switched to new balls of yarn… Note the phantom paw!

A petal washcloth, intended as only one of many for Xmas presents year before last. There’s a peach one that only has one or two petals somewhere (oh, and a missing needle is there, too, I bet!). This exceeded my Allowable Knitting Fiddliness Level (AKFL) at the time, with all the cotton chenilley ends.

Next is Door County Cable in black Cotton Fleece. The body was knit in the round up to the armpits. When I started to go back and forth, I got really confused and put the project away in a snit. Two years later, I might not find the directions as confusing… or I might still. I did find some errata that could help the situation.

One lone sock of a pair that I promised my dad several years ago… He has challenging feet, darn it.

A fingering weight tank top out of black Fortissima Cotton (75 cotton/25 nylon), knitting on Addis 0s. Started last summer and abandoned when I realized that, in picking up stitches for the first armhole, I had made a tourniquet. (Hmm, more missing needles there…)

A mobius cat bed for Chaos. Since it still has a hole in the bottom (and is definitely not felted yet), he found the row counter much more interesting. I put this project aside one hot and humid day last summer – it filled my entire lap with its way too warm self and then lured Chaos in for a nap. Since Chaos has most of a down comforter as a cat bed – do you think he’d enjoy this at all??

Out with the old and in with the new… Clockwise from upper right: a hat from some handspun that someone gave me. Started in, um, March? April? Eventually it will be donated to a local project for the homeless. Next are my 1.3 Trekking socks. Then a sock yarn baby sweater from KnitPicks something or other, abandoned in December for unremembered reasons – perhaps because I was winging it on the sleeves (more needles!). Then the first sock of a pair (bulky – yay!) promised to a co-worker a year or so ago as barter for bike repairs. Finally, underneath it all, my moderne log cabin baby blanket – still chugging away on that one.

Where was Chaos in that final, current WIP/UFO picture?

Hmm, you don’t think that all those bibs scared him off knitting, do you?! Oh dear. For the curious, you can see my dining room in the background, upper left. It’s not waiting for a coat of plaster – that’s how the walls are finished. That empty wine box middle left is a cat hidey hole, not evidence of debauchery! 🙂 And the massive living room mirror can be seen upper right.

Did I distract you from the massive number (11? 12??) of UFOs you just saw? No? Darn it… Have a good weekend anyway!

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