Category Archives: Randonymity

Contests, Personal history, Randonymity

Update on the bruise, the apologetic pole, and more

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Just a warning, to see if we can cut down on the shock casualties, tomorrow I will be posting pictures of a finished knitting project that probably only Marina remembers I was working on.

Fyrefly’s giving away five copies of Emma Darwin’s historical novel A Secret Alchemy, which is about the War of the Roses. Comment before July 15 for your chance to win.

Lots of book contests listed over at Book Junkie.

It’s time for Box Topalooza again! Trek’s collecting Box Tops for Education and if you send her box tops, you’ll be entered in a prize drawing (last time it was a $25 Amazon gift certificate). (Oh, and I still can’t believe I guessed the correct dollar value of the quarters in Trek’s tea tin. Correct as in exactly. *blink blink*)

One of the reasons I announce contests here is because I win an awful lot of contests. That translates to me feeling the need to spread the chance for others to win. (Additionally, it’s a great way to introduce you to blogs you might not read yet and help those bloggers increase their readership.)

Some things that I’ve won recently: Once Bitten (from Midnight Moon Cafe), Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (from Historic Fibers), My Forbidden Desire (from Kelly Moran’s blog), Blood Ties dvd and book (from LoveVampires), and The Outlaw Groom (from Alexis Morgan, and hey, that’s an NK cover, but why is he wearing so much clothing?!).

Remember the apologetic pole? It looks exactly the same.

My leg is definitely looking better than it did in the pictures from last week. Here’s a picture from July 1 (last Wednesday), which doesn’t actually capture the bruise’s lurid shade of chartreuse. (Please ignore Chaos’s butt.)

Here’s a cat butt free picture from yesterday – I think the spots that are still bruised are where I initially hit the sprocket, before getting cut on it.

Oh, remember back in early April, when my Vitamin D level was 9.8? (Normal starts at 32.) I was rechecked last week and I’m up to 23.5. I’m still taking prescription Vitamin D, but now only once a week instead of twice.

I was out on my bike yesterday and what did I see out in Lake Harriet? A lake creature! Too bad I didn’t have my camera, but there are some great pictures at the link.

“I have admit, I’m a little concerned about your obsession with us lying on that towel instead of on the FURniture, Mom.” -Mayhem

Randonymity

Smells like…

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Not a lot to see here today – I pulled or strained something in my foot over the weekend and I’m too crabby and uncomfortable to be good company today. Be glad you aren’t my coworkers. 😀

*sniff sniff sniff* “Smells like… abs.” -Mayhem

“Tastes like… green paper.” -Mayhem

Ahem. Should you win the contest, be warned that some books may have sustained surface or puncture wounds. This should in no way impede their usefulness as books.

“I bet that book would be tastier if there was a big fluffy bird on the cover. Why don’t you read more books with birds on the cover, Mom?” -Mayhem

Knitting, Randonymity

In which I reveal one of the scarier knitting pattern pictures I’ve seen in a long time

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Jeanne recently went to Stitches and brought back goodies for Deb and I – check out the gorgeous Miss Babs sock yarn on the left in the picture below! It came in that adorable takeout container. Thank you so much, Jeanne!

The STR is a skein of Grawk that I won by donating to Teyani’s Carnegie Hall trip fund. Thank you, Teyani!

“I’m pretty sure I don’t like being used as a prop.” -Mayhem

Recently, Tink mentioned she’d come across something perfect for me at a flea market. I was a bit afeared, I must admit… until I almost hurt myself laughing when I received the package! That kitty card in the lower right corner with all the kitty’s salacious bits blacked out?! Hee hee.

The Crafts-Man-Ship pattern booklet is… really special. Really special. Want proof?

Sorry about the nightmares you’ll have now. Um, thanks, Tink! 😉

“Hmm, maybe there are benefits to being a prop.” *nom nom nom* -Mayhem

“In fact, I’m sure Mom won’t even notice me nomming on this yarn, since I’m a prop and all.” -Mayhem

Mayhem was so, so wrong about that… No yarn was harmed! But, as always, it was a close call.

Randonymity

Back! Buried!

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It was a great weekend up north at the cabin! Sunny skies, low humidity, comfortable temps in the low 70s, and the bugs (tiny black flies at this time of year) weren’t too bad (I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my brother for being such a tasty flavor for bugs, making things much more pleasant for the rest of us). A great weekend, even though I didn’t knit at all and only read two books. The only pictures I took were pictures of family, who have requested that I maintain their anonymity. (But you can go look at lovely cabin pictures from the archives, should you desire.) (Oh, and I owe many thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law, who always comes up with the tastiest gluten-free creations – her gf Mexican pasta salad was delicious!)

I came back to over 500 entries in Google Reader, so I’m going to try to get that under control right now and get back to more normal blogging tomorrow.

“I’m still mad at you, Mom. Meanie.” -Mayhem

Randonymity

Bleeding Hearts Club Band

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Another picture from my rambles on Sunday:

I love bleeding hearts. I can remember being fascinated by them when I was three or four years old.

Any big weekend plans? It’s a long weekend here in the US. I’m heading up north to the cabin the tomorrow morning (returning sometime Monday), so I’ll be packing tonight when I’d usually be writing a blog post. SoC will resume publication on Tuesday.

“I’m hot.” -Chaos

No surprise, Chaos, as it was in the 90s again yesterday. Since the humidity was only about 16% (i.e., about 70% lower than it usually is at those temperatures here), I just couldn’t bear to close the windows and switch on the air. The kitties didn’t seem to find the fans as refreshing as did I.

Contests, Randonymity

Abysmally behind in thank yous

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Picture me wringing my hands in the finest White Rabbit fashion! But before I start the thank yous, here are a few contests and a giveaway of interest:

For your chance to win a skein of Lucky Lucy sock yarn, leave a comment at Wendy Knits by 4 pm EDT, April 30.

If you’re a Bob Dylan fan, head on over to Largehearted Boy for your chance to win a pretty amazing Bob Dylan prize pack. Make sure you leave your comment before midnight CDT, May 1.

Win the first six audiobooks of James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club series from Hatchette Books at J. Kaye’s Book Blog. (Please note that winners will not be notified by email – you will need to check back at the blog on May 30 to see if you’ve won.)

Barnes & Noble is giving away The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in mp3, plus eight mp3 short stories from authors such as Alice Munro, Elizabeth Berg, and Kurt Vonnegut. You do have to install their download software. This giveaway ends 2:59 am EDT, May 16.

Working back from the present… I won a contest over at the Knitting Doctor for leaving a comment that made the Knitting Doctor laugh out loud. My prize was a gorgeous skein of STR Raven in the Lenore colorway. Thank you!

“It doesn’t smell like a bird. I think you got ripped off, Mom.” -Mayhem

Ahem. Brigitte sent me some lovely goodies, including a gorgeous skein of sock yarn, some of her precious three-ply Hebridean yarn (it’s purple, Marina, so back off! 😉 ), skin care goodies (Brigitte and I both have very sensitive skin), kitty toys, a Toronto t-shirt, breath spray that claims I’ll instantly feel Canadian when I use it, and a very handy book…

“My goodness, what are these? They are much, much larger than my furry mice toys. Maybe they are elephants.” -Mayhem

“Mmmm… olive oil stuff.” -Chaos

…The Action Heroine’s Handbook! Click to embiggen and discover some of the useful skills this book teaches. Thanks, Brigitte!

I sent Maeve some bibs and baby music and she sent me a lovely card and book as a thank you. Hmm. I wonder why she thought I might like this book? 😉 Thank you, Maeve!

MamaTulip and MrsPao sent packages that arrived on the same day! From MamaT (on the left), a book that came highly recommended, a funny card, and book and coffee journals. From MrsPao (on the right), and assortment of tasty treats, a funny postcard, a lovely journal, a mystery, and kitty toys. Thanks to both of you!

*sniff sniff sniff* -Mayhem

Can’t really see the kitty toys?

“Sheepy mouse?!” -Mayhem

That colorful ping pong ball has become a particular favorite of Chaos’. MrsPao also sent another box (we’ve been sending each other treats that can’t be found in our home countries) with more tasty treats, a book, and a lovely card. Thanks again!

“Is this entire stack the same thing? Sheesh, Mom, you must really like these weird flat crunchy things. Are they made from nip or something?” -Mayhem

“Don’t mind me – I’m just here to obstruct the picture.” -Chaos

Knitting, Linkity linkity link, Randonymity

Well, crap

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It isn’t a WordPress thing – it’s a Firefox thing (perhaps coinciding with a new version of Firefox taking effect) that is apparently mucking about with the WYSIWYG post editor. Of course, it’d be more helpful if I knew what exactly said thing was, wouldn’t it?

Remember that I took last Friday off to enjoy the weather? It was gloriously sunny and 74F and I wandered around Lake of the Isles in a tank top and shorts! Saturday wasn’t quite as lovely (upper 60s), but still quite pleasant for a tank top and shorts. Over the next few days, it cooled down (32F when I went to work Tuesday morning) and we got a bit of rain. It’s still really, really dry – dry enough that yesterday’s 85F didn’t cause quite the green explosion one would hope. Today: 75F, becoming rainy for the next several days, with highs of 45F or 50F over the weekend! Crazy, crazy weather.

Hmm. Not much else going on. My sweater is about 6″ long now and I’ve gotten really, really good at correcting cable mishaps. Usually. Other than that one time. And really, it would only have added an inch or two to the sweater…

Maybe a few links to help liven up a dull post… Did you know Sunday is Pet Parents Day? Totally a made-up holiday, but you can send ecards…

Check out the free WordPress Black Cat Theme that Limedragon found! I’m pretty fond of my theme, but I know there are other black cat lovers out there. Speaking of which, did you happen to see the lovely black cat quilt that KitKatKnit found? And from yet another enterprising reader – check out the cute retro modern kitty beds that Shannah found over at etsy. (She also found a cool and completely non-cat-related link to making cupcakes decorated with marzipan “knitting.”)

Hmm. What do you think crime scene investigators would say about this shower curtain and bath mat?!

 

*snort snuffle drool* -Mayhem

My favorite part of that picture? Not the soft and tempting bikini-marked tummy. Not the adorable paws-up pose. Nope. My favorite part is that her mouth is hanging slightly open so you can see some tiny kitty teeth (click the picture to embiggen). Class act all the way, MayMay.

May your weekends all be as relaxing as Mayhem’s will be!

Randonymity

Tentatively excited about spring

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It’s been sunny since Tuesday. The highs have been slowly creeping up – it hit 71F yesterday! Even the lows have crept up from 32F Tuesday when I drove to work to upper 40s this morning. A few blades of grass have turned green. We actually do need some rain to really get things growing (and reduce the fire danger); sounds like we might see some rain and (sadly) cooler temps over the weekend. (Um, yes, Minnesotans are unnaturally interested in the weather – why do you ask?)

Plus I saw the first two egrets of the season on Monday!

I haven’t noticed any particular effects from the prescription Vitamin D yet, but I hope that starts to change soon. Getting in some walks now that the weather’s nicer should help that. To facilitate that, I’m taking today off from work to walk and bask in the sun. I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

…zzzzzzz… -Mayhem

*sun bliss* -Chaos

Please ignore the envelope in the lower right corner of the picture above. It’s actually a cat toy of sorts – Chaos has been happily dragging it around by the strip I used to rip the envelope open.

Linkity linkity link, Randonymity, Reading, Reviewettes, Tales of the Neighborhood

And then there was thundersnow…

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Let’s just admire this traditional postcard shot (from last July) of downtown Minneapolis (taken from the Sculpture Garden with Spoonbridge and Cherry in the forefront) until spring arrives, shall we?

It’s very snowy here at the moment. *sigh* (And the Cherry’s been removed from the Spoonbridge in order to be repainted. Probably the Dish will run away with the Spoonbridge before all is said and done.)

I have to admit that I felt a little silly yesterday at 11:30 when I left the office to do a few errands on my way to work from home for the rest of the day. Sure, the sky was a bit ominous, but it wasn’t precipitating. I stopped at the library. When I came out 10 minutes later, a few scattered snowflakes were falling. Next I stopped at the Wedge Co-op. When I came out 20 minutes later, I had to brush about 0.25″ of snow from my car windows. By the time I got home at 12:30, conditions were near whiteout! In fact, around 4″ of snow fell in the next hour or two. I felt a lot less silly at that point. 🙂

This looks like a lot more fun than badminton.

Poor baby!! Eeep!!

SciFiGuy.ca has posted a list of the urban fantasy, paranormal, fantasy, and science fiction releases for March. And the new Uncle Hugo’s (scifi/fantasy/paranormal) and Uncle Edgar’s (mystery) newsletter is out – I really look forward to receiving this each quarter.

Reading Update
Hot Mail by Janice Maynard. Extremely steamy non-paranormal romance. I got annoyed at one of the female characters, but maybe it’s because I could see too much of myself in her. 🙂
The Cat’s Meow by Emily Carmichael. I confess I picked up this romance/mystery solely because it had a black cat on the cover. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this well-written story of a high-powered attorney who develops amnesia and starts to hear her black cat Nefriti talking to her and giving her advice. I’ll be reading the other interconnected books.
Smart and Sexy (Sky High Air, Book 1) by Jill Shalvis. A nice solid non-paranormal romance. The male characters featured in these books own an air-charter business in California.
Caressed by Ice (Psy-Changelings, Book 3) by Nalini Singh. This is a very, very good paranormal romance series. Definitely recommended. The next book is already waiting on my book stand!
Angel’s Pawn: A Companion Novella to “Angel’s Blood” by Nalini Singh. Ebook. A decent read, but without the punch of Angel’s Blood. I’d recommend reading Angel’s Blood first to get familiar with the world. But then again – maybe it was just the ebook format, giving the reading experience a very different feel. Guess which reading experience I prefer? 🙂

“You put your left paw in, you put your left paw out, you put your left paw in and…. zzzzzzzzz….” -Chaos