Category Archives: Randonymity

Contests, Knitting, Randonymity

Dear City of Minneapolis: I would be much happier if my tap water didn’t smell like dead fish. Thank you.

52 Comments

Congrats to Janna, who won the copy of Julia Barrett’s newly released steamy romance, Beauty and the Feast!

Oh! You only have until 8 pm today (March 17) to enter your picks for DA BWAHA! The grand prize is an iPad…

  • I wish I was kidding in the title about my tap water.
  • Ewww!
  • Minneapolis gets its water out of the Mississippi River.
  • All hail the Brita pitcher!
  • On Sunday, we hit a record-breaking high temperature of 64F.
  • Very, very unusual for March in Minnesota.
  • All the snow is gone, except for the biggest piles.
  • The rivers are flooding, since the snow melted before the ground thawed.
  • Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
  • Is it weirder that my cats have their own email addresses and respond to comments directed at them, or that some of you carry on conversation with my cats in email? 😉
  • I wonder how long I’ll have this post-it reminding me to throw out the scary old eggs in the fridge before I remember to throw out the scary old eggs in the fridge?
  • I continue to slog away on the leg of the first sock.
  • Would you like to see the sock?
  • Tough. You’re going to see it anyway:

“Oh, what have we here?” -Mayhem

“Needles or yarn, needles or yarn – which to bite through first?” -Mayhem

  • Eeep! *rescues sock and needles*
  • Maybe next time I’ll get a cat-free photo.
  • Well, I can always dream, right?! 🙂
Knitting, Randonymity, Those Cats

Random Post of Randomness and Poop

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  • I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that our two weeks of glorious sunshine have given way to a week (so far) of clouds and rain.
  • I miss the sun.
  • The snow is mostly gone, since it’s also been unseasonably warm.
  • I think I’m preparing for the start of Daylight Savings Time this weekend by already feeling tired.
  • Ok, I’m back. The previous reminded me that some of contests from yesterday’s linkity post actually end in EDT/CDT instead of EST/CST. All fixed now.
  • I have started a new pair of socks.
  • I’m already past the heel and into the leg on the first sock!
  • Too bad my sister-in-law’s birthday is tomorrow and I’m sure she really wants two completed socks instead of one sock, 2/3 done.
  • Earlier this week, I was sitting innocently on my couch, type typing away on my laptop when a yowling black blur of stench hurtled past me and shit-o-caust arrived in my living room.
  • *blink blink*
  • What caused this most horrible and inauspicious event?
  • Chaos exiting the litterbox at high speed with poop attached to his butt by one of my hairs that he’d consumed.
  • He was, apparently, fleeing in terror from the poop chasing him.
  • I must have missed the chapter in the cat owner’s manual where it prepared you to have to chase down your pet as he fled from his own poop, hold him down, and clean his butt with toilet paper.
  • Because? I’m pretty sure I’d have remembered that chapter.

“Have no doubt that I will get you for sharing that, Mom. And also? It never happened.” -Chaos

Randonymity

For want of content, a meme was done

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Usually I don’t do memes or awards. I’ll thank you politely in your comments for thinking of me, and then occasionally will toss the award into my sidebar for a while. But every once in a while, an award hits when I’m not coming up with blog content for the next day… Such was the case with the Over the Top blog award presented to me by Tam of Tam’s Reads. Gee, thanks, Tam! 😉

Shall we see if I can, as directed, answer the following questions using a single word? (Additional questions and editorializing added for fun.)

Your cell phone? Dumb
Your hair? Out-of-control
Your mother? Estranged
Your father? Enthusiastic
Your favorite food? Peanut butter (hmph – I’m not going to pick a food that isn’t my favorite simply to comply with an arbitrary rule!)
Your dream last night? None
Your favorite drink? Water
Your music? Eclectic
Your dream/goal? Happiness
What room are you in? Living room (see previous aside)
Your hobby? Reading
Your fear? Spinning blades (anyone else see a pattern developing here?)
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Canada
You? Non-conformist
Where were you last night? Home
Something that you aren’t? Patient
Muffins? Cherry-Almond
Wish list item? Ebooks
Where did you grow up? Minnesota
Last thing you did? Ate dark chocolate (gold star if you can say that using a single word)
What are you wearing? Clothes
Your TV? Unplugged
Your pets? Bossy
Friends? Virtual
Your life? Comfortable
Your mood? Level
Missing someone? No
Vehicle? Beemer
Something you’re not wearing? Shoes
You? Whimsical
Your favorite store? Varies
Your favorite color? Black (it is so a color)
When was the last time you laughed? Today (I laugh a lot – I’m easily amused)
Last time you cried? Unsure (but there was an angsty book involved)
Your best friend? Mysterious
One place that you go to over and over? Google Reader
Facebook? Abstaining
Favorite place to eat? PizzaPizza (frightfully inconvenient that it’s in Toronto)

Feel free to tag yourself if desired. 🙂

“Mom, make the big kitty stop snoring! He woke me up again! We panther princesses need our beauty sleep!” -Mayhem

“Hey! I don’t snore!!” -Chaos, offsides

Randonymity

Revealing the Portable Ubiquitous Resource Storage Environment

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Today I have a very special treat for all of you. Based on a discussion Bron and I had, I have decided to show you all my Portable Ubiquitous Resource Storage Environment… aka my purse. 🙂

“Surely this is a new low, even for you, Mom?!” -Mayhem

Not so, May! Back in August of 2007, we toured my then-purse, which was actually a small piece of carry-on luggage. This time, backpack straps notwithstanding, it’s actually a shoulder bag – the Eagle Creek Hitch. (Oh, Eagle Creek, how I do love thee and thy clever bags with so many pockets and features…)

*sniff sniff sniff* -Chaos

Chaos included for scale. Also because I couldn’t keep him out of the picture.

Let’s start with the electronics, shall we? I notice that this category is significantly larger than it was in 2007.

*sniff sniff sniff* -Chaos

Clockwise from the left, we have my ebook reader, Kuroi Neko (my netbook), my camera case (since obviously the camera was in use), my un-smart cell phone in its case, my Palm Tungsten E2, my access badge for work, a mini surge protector, and a case containing two USB drives (8 and 16 gb, respectively).

Next is everything else.

*gnaw gnaw gnaw* -Mayhem

Not sure I’ll get everything, but I’ll give it a try. Clockwise from the bottom left corner, UnPetroleum lip balm* attached to a carabiner for easy access, glasses cleaning cloth in a case, gloves and ear covering, a glasses strap, Motrin, my blog card case, earplugs, hand lotion, a notebook (with pens and a permanent marker), two Chico shopping bags, a book stand/holder, Mayhem gnawing on said book stand/holder, a GorillaPod tripod, several coffee clutches, migraine shots, decongestant (the kind you have to show ID for!), a purple hairbrush, clip-on sunglasses in vintage case, hair clip, USB to mini-USB cord (whoops, wrong photo, but very handy for charging my ebook reader and mp3 player), Swiss Army knife, hemp wallet, checkbook, crazy black kitty pocket mirror, inhaler still in box, travel lint brush, toothpaste and travel toothbrush, and sunblock. (And hey, MamaTulip, I did throw away that powder from 1997! Although… I just noticed that I have the same sunblock now as in 2007… suppose I should throw it out and start fresh, huh?)

*gnaw gnaw gnaw* “Hey, Mom, this gorilla thingy is pretty tasty!” -Mayhem

Really, May. I notice that you were chewing on it the last time I did this feature, too.

*Please note that all my backup lip balm was excluded from these photos because having eight backup lip balms just seemed sort of crazy. So why am I telling you about it?! Hmm. Also excluded were hair ties (Chaos kept stealing them), my purple hankies (just because), and my mp3 player (it was in my jacket pocket and completely unaware of this photo shoot).

Randonymity, Tunes

In which I give you all an assignment

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Congrats to Jody, who won the copy of FU! And congrats to Sayuri, who lucked out when Mia decided to donate a second copy! (Thank you, Mia!)

  • I have a very important assignment for all of you.
  • They need your help coming up with questions for Frankie, Soba, and Bob.
  • Brigitte’s kitties have already contributed some excellent questions. (Thank you, Malcolm, Gandalf, Atticus, and Mae!)
  • Please leave your question ideas in the comments and one of the kitties is sure to get back to you to express their appreciation. 🙂
  • Last week both Lily and Eyre had posts about some of their favorite songs.
  • I love music, so I always love posts like that.
  • My favorite songs definitely change over time, but here are a few that have staying power:

“This Year” – The Mountain Goats (Kris! They’re going to be in Perth!!)

“Lovecraft in Brooklyn” – The Mountain Goats (alas, I couldn’t find a decent version for linking)

“Coffee” – Aesop Rock ft. John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats (the video’s a little mini zombie movie…)

“Transistor Radio” – Cloud Cult (or most of Feel Good Ghosts: Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes)

“For What It’s Worth” – Placebo

“Kingdom of Rust” – Doves

“I’m serious about the no more photos, Mo…. zzzzzzzzzz….” -Chaos

Gluten Free, Knitting, Randonymity, Recipes, Tales of the Neighborhood

It came from the phone…

35 Comments

Congrats to Dana, who won the copy of My Everything by Julia Rachel Barrett… and congrats to Julia on the release of My Everything today!

Today’s little series of photos has no theme other than that all the pictures were taken with my phone. You’d never guess that I actually have a real camera that has a bunch more megapixels, based on how many pictures I take with my phone and its crappy 2.0 megapixel camera. 🙂

We have indeed gone to Winter Parking Restrictions. See the ticket shoved into the snow on the windshield of the car below? Always a lot of ticketing and towing during Snow Emergencies and Winter Parking Restrictions. (If you’ve recently found yourself shoveling a lot of snow, you might want to check to make sure you’re doing it properly.)

Pizza is one of my favorite foods and I make it nearly every week. I start with Rustic Crust Gluten Free Pizza Crust and top it with pizza or spaghetti sauce, Hormel Turkey Pepperoni (which says gluten free right on the label), sliced mushrooms, and low fat mozzarella. Yum! (No, you’re right, I’m not going to quit my day job to become a food photographer any time soon.)

My beloved mp3 player, looking stealthy and mysterious in its black silicone skin.

And for the knitters, especially poor Nicole, who reads “Misadventures in Stock Photography” as “Sock Photography” every time, the Eternal Socks of Eternity!

“Hey, Mayhem, you missed the socks and needles on the floor.” -Chaos

“Big kitty! I think I saw a bird fly by the window. Bird! Bird! Bird!” -Mayhem

“That girl is bird crazy. Let’s see if I can irrevocably tangle this ball of yarn before Mom can rescue it…” -Chaos

*Neither yarn nor birds were harmed during the production of this post.

Knitting, Randonymity, Tales of the Neighborhood

Potholes, potholes, everywhere potholes. Potholes, potholes, fill them up, please!

38 Comments
  • We had about eight inches of snow from Sunday night through Tuesday morning.
  • Nothing compared to the East Coast, true (hope you’re all battened down for Round Two out there!).
  • But still… Enough for a Snow Emergency and maybe a switch to Winter Parking Restrictions until April 1.
  • When Winter Parking Restrictions go into effect, you can only park on the odd side of the street because the streets have gotten too narrow for vehicles to pass each other or for emergency vehicles to make it through.
  • The title of this post would be my plea to the City of Minneapolis. O_o
  • I don’t know what happened over the last week (well, beyond the snowfall), but southbound Lyndale Avenue by the Walker Art Center is barely passable now.
  • Five miles per hour is a reasonable speed there, unless you’re trying to break an axle.
  • No clue what’s up with spam blog comments this week. (You never see them because Akismet holds them, then I run Worst Offenders to delete the high volume stuff. I have Worst Offenders set to delete three or more comments from the same IP address, which is why I recommend only leaving one comment at a time until after your first comment has been approved!)
  • Anyway, I’ll have ten or 15 spam comments for hours and hours… and then I’ll have 500. 😮
  • Um, I might’ve won a couple more contests this week. Many thanks to LB and to Smart Bitches!
  • There’s a reason I’m limiting myself to the number of contests I enter these days! 🙂
  • If you get an error message when you try to comment, will you please send me an email about it? I’ve been trying a couple different things to help things run more smoothly around here, but it’s hard to tell if they work without feedback. Thanks!

“You can only dream of being this beautiful. It’s the burden of a Panther Princess.” -Mayhem