Category Archives: See the Sights

Alongs, Contests, Randonymity, Reading, See the Sights

In which there are no “happi colord blankits” at all

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Congrats to lucky numbers 15, 19, and 33 (aka Kathy, K, and Cheryl)! Many thanks to everyone who participated in Chaos’ birthday contest. 🙂

Jen’s giving away a skein of Yarn Pirate sock yarn – simply leave her a comment by 11:59 pm on October 13 for your chance to win.

Knit Witch is having a ghost story contest. Send her your ghost story by October 31for your chance to win some Knit Witch yarn.

That Yarn Harlot, she definitely knows how to come up with a very challenging contest…

Does this cartoon resonate with anyone?! *a-hem* The extremely technogeeky and knitterly (*a-hem*trek*a-hem*) might enjoy this cartoon…

Hmm, do you think I should get a “happi colord blankit”?

How true is this spoof cover of The Economist?! (May not be suitable for work if someone’s lurking behind you.)

For fans of Lilith Saintcrow, she has a free Saint City novel up on her website. Please note that this novel (Selene) takes place immediately after Saintcrow’s short story in the collection Hotter than Hell (and was one of the few stories I actually liked in that collection).

If you’re a fan of paranormal romance/fantasy, you might enjoy Blitzen Trapper’s new song “Furr” (link near bottom of blurb), described as an “alt-country werewolf ballad.”

*snicker* True, true, the Lord of the Rings is definitely an exception to this one… except for all the songs in the books.

Reading Update
Nip, Tuck, Dead‘ and Dead on Arrival (Pauline Sokol Mysteries, Book 5-6), “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” from Sugarplums and Scandal, plus another short story called “Dr. Robin Hood” by Lori Avocato. Still very, very evocative of Evanovich, although the “Joe” character seems to be a moving target with each book. The end of Dead on Arrival was really weird – the book ended, and then a nonsensical epilogue was tacked on to it. Did some more research and discovered that this series is between publishers right now.
Bad Blood (Crimson Moon, Book 1) by L.A. Banks. If 24 mated with the X-Files and had a werewolf episode…
Time and Again: Time Was & Time Changes by Nora Roberts. Ok, ok, I didn’t return all of those Nora Roberts books… How could I resist these two related novels about time travel?
A Taste of Darkness (MacKenzie Vampire, Book 3); Wicked Nights, Wicked Pleasure, and Wicked Fantasy(Castle of Dreams Trilogy) by Nina Bangs. Light’n’fluffy’n’racy paranormal romance, complete with decent writing and an ongoing storyline – start with Wicked Nights (before any of the MacKenzie Vampire books even).
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. Very well-written teen urban fantasy – if the passivity of Bella and creepy stalker nature of Edward (Twilight) don’t seem like good teen reading for you, check out this novel. No vampires in this one.
A Date with the Other Side by Erin McCarthy. A bit reminiscent of Jennifer Crusie, with some ghosts tossed in.
The Becoming (The Anna Strong Chronicles, Book 1) by Jeanne C. Stein. Meet Anna Strong, a bounty hunter recently turned into a vampire. Looking forward to the rest of the series after this strong start! Highly recommended.

“Since I don’t have a ‘happi colord blankit,‘ I’m hard at work on my next evil plan.” -Chaos

See the Sights

Back to work again, hi ho, hi ho

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Today I go back to work after my staycation. *sigh*

Northern Minnesota was very lovely over the weekend. Cool nights, sunny days, and no bugs – ahhhhh… On Saturday, we wandered in to Grand Rapids to the Goods from the Woods craft fair. We took a rambling route back to the cabin, which included driving through such metropolises as Effie and Togo. We stopped at this river to stretch our legs and skip a few stones.

On the drive home Sunday, I tried to get a few shots of the fall colors.

I couldn’t bring myself to stop and take better pictures – after slowly working my way up through assorted campers and trucks and the like on the two-lane highway, I didn’t want to have to pass all of those pokey vehicles again!

“Hmph. You were gone, Mom. You sure didn’t have my permission to be gone.” -Mayhem

Reading, See the Sights

In which Jeanne and I meet a famous author

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On Saturday, Jeanne and I went down to Common Good Books in St. Paul for a book signing. (Yes, the proprietor is who you think it is!)

Common Good Books is located underground in the historic Blair Arcade.

Its skylight provides an intriguing view, doesn’t it?

So just who were we there to meet? Why, our own Knit Thinker, Amy Rea, who has written a wonderful guide to Minnesota: Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes: An Explorer’s Guide.

Amy was as gracious in person now that she’s a published author as she was before – whew! 😉 After chatting with Amy and getting her to personalize the copies of her book that we purchased, Jeanne and I wandered off to a yarn store. Neither of us bought any yarn, but during the drive, we did take two mental snapshots worth sharing:

A bumper sticker: Midwives DO know squat.
Painted on the side of a trailer: Twin Cities Pigeon Racing Club (really, we had no idea!)

Hee hee.

After I dropped Jeanne off, I stopped at Uncle Hugo’s & Uncle Edgar’s and picked up a few more books… just in case the Great Book Drought hits, of course.

“Am I in this Minnesota book?” -Chaos

From the left, Amy’s book, Into Thick Air: Biking to the Bellybutton of Six Continents (I’m a sucker for an intriguing bike touring book), Hands of Flame (Book 3 in the Negotiator Trilogy), and Hunter’s Prayer (Jill Kismet, Book 2). (I think the cover model on Hunter’s Prayer looks like Tink! What do you think?)

“I wonder which of these books will taste best?” -Mayhem

See the Sights

Roadside “sculpture”

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Did you know I have a weakness for roadside “sculpture”? It isn’t a new thing, either – the picture of me below is from 1999.

And this is from 1998:

I think spotting these myself is the most fun, but if you like to be less serendipitous, Roadside America (“Your Online Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions”) is a great place to start.

“You are all under my kitty stare power, so I send you forth to find a giant black kitty roadside attraction!” -Mayhem

Contests, See the Sights

Back from the north country

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Post about the Red Scarf Project, in which knitters knit red scarves for orphans, and you could win a special skein of Scout’s sock yarn, plus a $25 gift certificate to her shop. Post fast, because this contest closes at August 18 (aka today), 6 pm, MDT.

Nicole’s giving away a copy of Lynn Viehl’s paranormal romance Evermore: A Novel of the Darkyn. Leave Nicole a comment by August 22 for your chance to win.

Guess how many pictures Eva’s going to take during her trip to Amsterdam and you could win some of Meilenweit’s new merino sock yarn. Contest closes August 22, midnight PDT.

This sheep chair boggles the mind, doesn’t it?

Hmm… Chaos or Mayhem?

Pao thought of me when he saw this picture… aw, thanks?! 😉

The two full days I had at the cabin were wonderful. I didn’t knit a stitch, but I did pick wild blueberries (yum!), help build a deck (mostly by holding things so my brother could attach them), lounge about talking, drink a few beers, and read a little. Ahhhhh…

“It’s nice that you’re back, Mom, but the big kitty said I have to be mad at you and pretend to ignore you.” -Mayhem

See the Sights, Two Wheels Good

Triumph of the Wheel

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If you pay attention to the very fine print in my header, you’ll notice it says “Knitting, reading, bicycling, and cat parenting.” “Hmm,” you’re all thinking. “What’s this about bicycling?!”

‘Tis true. Once upon a time, I was a cycling fiend. I wasn’t ever into having the latest gear or the latest bike – my beat up old Specialized crossbike was always good enough for me. I would get on that bike and go go go, because cycling was the activity that totally worked for my body. Running – hatey hate hate. Walking – good, but my #@$*(!&* bunion starts to rebel after enough days of walking. Biking? I feel strong and fast and sleek.

In fact, one of my favorite vacations ever was in September 2004, when I rented a cabin in the Black Hills for a week and biked over 100 miles on the gorgeous George S. Mickelson Trail across three different days.

Until this past Saturday, I hadn’t been on my bike in over two years.

Remember that pesky surgery I had last fall? For nearly two years before my surgery, riding my bike would trigger a nasty period. Can you think of a better disincentive?! Obviously, I couldn’t bike for a while after my surgery. And then it was winter. And then it was spring, but I was feeling pretty blue and just couldn’t seem to bring myself to pull out the bike and get it operational.

However, several weeks of regular walking have upped my energy level and mood, so on Saturday, I dragged out my bike, cleaned and oiled the chain, pumped up the tires, and hit the Greenway to reacquaint my tush with the feel of a bicycle seat. It was a short ride (only 3.75 miles), during which I added air to the rear tire four times. Hmm…

Yesterday, armed with a good reference manual and a set of tire levers, I replaced the rear tube – the first time I’ve ever done any significant bike maintenance on my own! 🙂 (You would not believe how unhandy I am – and how uninterested I am in becoming handy.) No reinflation was required during the subsequent 6.1 mile ride, and I feel ready to add cycling back to my exercise routine.

“What’s going on here, Mom?!” *sniff sniff sniff* -Chaos

“Big kitty, where are the stripey socks? I’m scared.” -Mayhem

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, See the Sights

Cat box turtle

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Thanks for your kind thoughts, everyone – yesterday was another somewhat crazy day at work, enhanced by a migraine. Bless my migraine shots! Today – hey, at least I’m working from home, right?! 🙂

Holly’s having a “What dreams have you deferred?” contest. Leave her a comment about your deferred dream and you could win a very cute handsewn tissue cover (it has a face!).

Over the weekend, the weather was nice enough to go out walking. It’s finally starting to look like spring around here!

The grass and dandelions are thriving, but many of the trees have taken a more cautious approach – can you see how bare some of them are back there?

Hmm… I wonder if the owner of this car is into the fiber arts?

No time for a leisurely stroll, apparently…

Even the turtles were out sunning at Lake of the Isles.

Speaking of turtles…

“100% hybrid cat box turtle? Why is that funny, Mom? You aren’t making sense again…” -Chaos

See the Sights

Where are you, spring?!

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I’m back, and only 140 bloglines entries behind… *whimper*

A picture from the cabin window at about 8 pm, Saturday, May 10:

From my condo upon returning home yesterday, around 5:30 pm:

Spring isn’t exactly speeding in to Minnesota this year, is it?

“The big kitty and I were talking while you were so cruelly gone, Mom, and we’ve determined that it’s all your fault that there aren’t more leaves and birds. Please resolve this situation to our satisfaction immediately.” -Mayhem

See the Sights, Tunes

Report from a busy weekend

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The play Stitch, Bitch n’ Die was great fun Friday night! Apparently the playwrite’s spouse is actually a knitter, so there were many knitting “in jokes.” Although Saturday night was the last show of this run, rumor has it there might be another run in the future. I didn’t take a single photo Friday night – understandable at the play, true, but not even after the show as Jeanne and I were walking around Uptown in search of food that didn’t require an hour’s wait. (Good ol’ Chipotle…)

I took many more pictures Saturday night when Jess and I went to First Avenue to see Cloud Cult.

I’ve been to a lot of shows at First Ave over the past 20 years, but these are the first pictures I’ve ever taken there. (Thank you, blogging, for giving me the excuse.) First Avenue from the front…

and the side – each star contains the name of someone who’s performed there (and there are more stars on the Seventh Street side of the building).

I’ve always wanted to take a picture of the stall with a view! 🙂

I took some pictures of Cloud Cult while they were onstage and, considering the shooting conditions, was actually pleased with a few of the shots. (Yes, two of the band members were painting pictures to be sold after the show.)

Alas, I didn’t take any pictures of the extremely drunk couple who leaned against Jess so they wouldn’t fall over while groping each other… I doubt it would have fazed them!

As we were leaving, I noticed this star and remembered what a great show Pere Ubu put on when I saw them 15 years ago.

Here are a few more stars – out of these, I’ve only seen Son Volt.

And, finally, First Avenue from the back as we were heading into the parking garage.

Poor sleepy kitties – they’re as unused to this nightlife as am I!

“Glad you made it home safe, Mom. I was really wor…. zzzzzzz…” -Chaos