Monthly Archives: March 2006

Festing, Knitting, Those Cats

In which I verify the physical existence of three knitbloggers

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Yesterday, Jeanne and I journeyed west from Minneapolis to the 318 Cafe in Excelsior, Minnesota. There we met up with knitbloggers Amy, Deb, and Lisa D for coffee, lunch, knitting, and lots of laughter. Deb’s putting together a local knitblogger networking event in April – stay tuned for more details.

If Excelsior sounds somehow familiar to you, it might be from the Betsy Devonshire mysteries by Monica Ferris. While Betsy’s store Crewel World is entirely fictional, Excelsior does have a really cool yarn store – Coldwater Collaborative. (I posted some pictures from Coldwater Collaborative about two months ago.) The cozy 318 Cafe is handily located across the street from Coldwater Collaborative. And Deb works at Coldwater, so Jeanne and I got to see the mystical and fabulous storage area “next door.” Let’s just say if you stop by the store and don’t see a color you want, you should definitely ask about it.

From left to right: Jeanne, me, Amy, Deb, and LisaD

And LisaD brought me these super cute little stitchmarkers. Thanks, LisaD – that was so sweet!

“You’re not getting off that easy – I know you had tuna for lunch while you were out. And did you think to bring home a kitty bag?! Hmph.”
Randonymity, Those Cats

Coffeehouse “tapestry”

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A few weeks ago, I tried out a small knitting group that met at Caffetto Cafe and Gallery in my neighborhood. They were nice enough, but, as Bookish Wendy noted so eloquently, the group was “not one I clicked with on a deeper level.”

However, I did snap some Project Spectrumesque photos of this very cool crocheted tapestry hanging on the wall of the coffeehouse:

“How come you never take me to see cool things like that? I’m going to sulk now.”
Alongs, Those Cats

F is for…

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Furry Friend who loves to play Fetch.

“I’m a bad-ass house panther, carrying my prey. You’d do well not to mess with me.”

F is also for Feeding station, which is a Favorite location for house panthers to hang.

“I must say, that’s a bit disappointing. I thought you came over to Feed me.”

And F is for Fur, so soft and so dark…

…which becomes Fluff drifting by on the Floor.

Randonymity, Those Cats

In which I join along in Random Wednesday

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Random Wednesday is the brainchild of mamacate and has propagated far and wide. A simple yet brilliant idea for the oh-so-rough middle of the week when I, at least, am beginning to feel more than slightly scattered… “She jumped onto her horse and rode madly off in all directions.”

Plus, I’m simply quite fond of randomness. A long time ago, I had a Siamese kitten I named Random (after Random of Amber – when I was little, I so wanted to be a Prince of Amber… the Princesses were a sorry lot overall, but the Princes had it made. I suppose that’s true of a lot of stories, now that I think of it.). Anyway. He was sweet, but not very bright, so he became Ran-Dumb-Dumb.

Do you have any weird abilities? I do – I’m a Finder. Wondering where you left something? If I’ve been in your house longer than 15 minutes, I probably know. I used to live with a guy who really came to rely on this Finding ability (and in fact gave me the nickname). He said it took him many months after I had moved out to get over the urge to call me when he couldn’t find it. Tragically, this gift is only useful for other people. I can’t find my own stuff or SRM for Chaos… yes, he’s lost again… Hmph.

Maeve alerted me to this nifty pattern for black cat socks. Thanks, Maeve! Cricket, Chaos says “Mraow, baby.”

Speaking of socks, check out these biking sheep socks – ok, ok, they’re already knitted, but they are cool.

Sounds like another snowstorm is heading toward the Twin Cities – perhaps another 4 to 7 inches of snow on top of the 8+ inches we got Monday. Well, the upside is I’ve been mightily inspired to go get new tires after work. I’ve been meaning to do that for months… All this snow could be completely melted by the middle of next week as we return to our unseasonably mild winter. (Heh, we Minnesotans can and do talk about the weather at the slightest provocation.)

Yay! I’ve had fun reading other bloggers’ lists of 100 things about themselves. I’m way behind in bloglines today (darn work, being busy and all that), but so far I’ve really enjoyed lists from the Knit Wit, Peeve, and Jennifer. Looking forward to reading more!

“I’m too busy being cute and thinking of the winsome Cricket to come up with a pithy comment today.”
Knitting

Secrets of the universe revealed!

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Well, ok, not so much secrets of the universe (because everyone knows that answer is 42) as my secret project. Marina was correct – I was making socks. More specifically, birthday socks for my SIL, who was gifted with them Saturday night. She loves her some handknit socks, so she will have an eternal supply. So sayeth I and it will be good.

*blink blink*

Ok, moving right along… These were, roughly, the Thuja socks from knitty, except I did them toe-up and switched to 3×1 rib at the top to maintain the pattern throughout the sock. The yarn was Opal Handpaint and I definitely have enough left for another pair (for someone with much smaller feet than myself). This was stash yarn, purchased a year or so ago.

Fortunately, they’re more evenly matched than they appear in this picture!
“Don’t you rush me. These socks won’t get the Chaotic Seal of Approvaltm if you rush me!”
Personal history, Randonymity

100 Things About Me

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Yowza, it’s a crazy near-blizzard here! Pictures this evening or tomorrow… The Minnesota Department of Transportation is advising people not to go into work. Hmph – I’m already here.

A few weeks ago, Mama Tulip posted her list of 100 things about herself and inspired me to do so myself. Cute cat picture at the end if you make it through this list!

  1. I’m sort of afraid (ok, phobic) about the spinning blades of lawnmowers and garbage disposals.
  2. I’m also afraid of heights.
  3. In Basic Training, they had to push me over the edge when we did rappelling because I wouldn’t go on my own.
  4. Because I wasn’t ready and my spotter wasn’t ready, I dropped about 20 feet down the wall before my spotter recovered and stopped my descent.
  5. Strangely, this did nothing to reduce my fear of heights.
  6. Oh? You’re wondering “Basic Training”???! I joined the Army Reserve in 1987. (It was much safer then.)
  7. I went to Basic Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
  8. Because I was unable to do any pushups when I got there, I spent an entire month in “Fitness Committee,” doing pushups and situps all day long.
  9. I hated Basic Training with a passion. Strangely, it was not a good environment for an introverted, individualistic nonconformist.
  10. I did my Advanced Army Training at Fort Sam Houston, which is almost in downtown San Antonio, Texas.
  11. I trained to be a “91A” (91 Alpha in Army speak) – basically an EMT/litterbearer.
  12. I picked 91A because it had a good signup bonus.
  13. When I was 16 (beginning of 11th grade), I ran away from home in October, about a month before my 17th birthday.
  14. Why, yes, there was a boy involved.
  15. We went to Orlando, Florida (his idea).
  16. He couldn’t/wouldn’t get a job and after I supported him for two months, he bought a crap car on credit, stole the battery from my car, and drove back to Minnesota.
  17. At that time, I worked at a Burger King. I took home $90/week. Rent was $65/week+$5/week electric. It was a relief to have that guy gone – hard enough to have one person living on $20/week, let alone two.
  18. I am not a patient person.
  19. I used to drive a purple 1997 Escort Station wagon.
  20. I loved that car. My knitting friends loved it, too, because if we were meeting somewhere, they could just drive around until they found my car.
  21. My beloved Escort wagon repaid my love by blowing a rod at 141,000 miles.
  22. Now I drive a silver 1997 BMW 318ti, which has 38,000 54,000 miles on it.
  23. I am usually early or right on time.
  24. I would rather wait for the next show than go into a movie 5 minutes late.
  25. I am slightly dyslexic. If we go to a movie together and I tell you the time it starts, you would be well advised to independently verify that time.
  26. I also have trouble keeping clubs and spades straight.
  27. I have mnemonic for that: “Clubs is clovers. Spades is shovels.”
  28. I can’t remember the rules for card games.
  29. I read very fast.
  30. I learned to read early and had library privileges in kindergarten.
  31. I don’t watch TV. I have in the past, for brief periods, but I would rather read.
  32. I have the kanji character for happiness tattooed on my left shoulder.
  33. It used to be the character for good luck, but I got it changed in November 2005.
  34. It’s hiding a weird scar from a mole biopsy.
  35. The tattoo artist who did “good luck” said I should get lots more tattoos because I have a high pain tolerance and my skin takes ink well.
  36. I don’t think that’s sufficient reason.
  37. I live in the Uptown area of Minneapolis, which has its own entry in Wikipedia!
  38. I love to ride my crappy old bicycle (a 12-year old Specialized crossbike).
  39. I am phobic about my upper arms looking squishy in a tank top.
  40. I love to wear tank tops in the summer.
  41. I do a lot of pushups to keep my phobia at bay.
  42. Chaos, Mayhem, and I live in a 637-square foot condo, top/3rd floor, NE corner.
  43. I am allergic to cats, mold, tree pollen, apple and pear skins, perfumes and most strongly scented items, most skin care products for the face, and probably a crapload of other things that I don’t know about.
  44. I learned to knit in the fall of 2000.
  45. It was the first hobby I ever tried that “grabbed” my attention so completely.
  46. I think it’s because there aren’t many concrete outputs of my job, so knitting fulfills my need to have visible proof of effort. (Because, really, how satisfying is it to produce an Excel spreadsheet or a really sweet SQL query?!)
  47. People guess my weight 20-35 pounds less than it is.
  48. I am extremely nearsighted (20/800 and 20/1000).
  49. I am not a candidate for contacts or laser surgery.
  50. I have peanut butter toast and orange juice every morning for breakfast.
  51. I have at least one (preferably two) straight up soy mochas every day.
  52. I don’t like coffee unless it’s mixed with chocolate.
  53. I am lactose and gluten intolerant.
  54. I was diagnosed with celiac disease (gluten intolerance) in 1997.
  55. I still crave chocolate and almond croissants.
  56. I have never intentionally cheated on my gluten-free (GF) diet.
  57. I make great GF pizza (I eat cheese when I make it).
  58. I love unsalted roasted cashews and almonds.
  59. I think dark chocolate is the only chocolate worth eating.
  60. I don’t snack.
  61. I love red wine, but all of it gives me migraines – except pinot noir (which was cheaper before Sideways came out). No wine – it all gives me migraines now. Bless gluten-free New Grist beer.
  62. I also love margaritas on the rocks.
  63. I grew up on a farm near the Rochester, Minnesota, International Airport, which has two runways.
  64. I am so not a farm girl – give me the city any day.
  65. My memory is simultaneously very good and very bad. Because it’s so good on some details, when I say I can’t remember something, some people (usually at work) think I am “dissing” them.
  66. My memory is very good for many (but not all) aspects of telephone switch call detail record processing and billing (work), Star Trek TNG trivia, X-Files trivia, and knitting.
  67. My memory is very bad regarding parts my own past and the plots of books and movies.
  68. I consider not remembering the plots of books a benefit of sorts – if I really love a book, I buy it and can happily reread it every other year as if I was reading it for the first time.
  69. I tend to avoid reading books that generate a lot of hype because I develop unrealistic expectations of them, which they can rarely meet.
  70. The song “Pop! Goes the World” by Men Without Hats always makes me want to dance crazily.
  71. I played piano for 12 years.
  72. I quit when my teacher wanted me to start competing – mostly because I might have to practice.
  73. I wasn’t a very good piano player – but I was a very good sight reader.
  74. I played alto saxophone from 5th through 10th grade.
  75. That was by parental choice – I wanted to be a percussionist.
  76. I also took guitar for a few years in junior high.
  77. Eventually I gave my guitar to a friend in community college.
  78. I didn’t go back to high school after I returned to Minnesota from Florida.
  79. Instead, I went to community college, which was paid for by a local high school through Minnesota’s PSEO program.
  80. I got my Associate of Arts (Liberal Arts) in May 1987.
  81. I got my high school diploma from a high school I’d never attended in June 1987.
  82. I worked as a physical therapy orderly at St. Mary’s Hospital (part of the Mayo Clinic) for several years.
  83. I waited tables throughout my teens and into my early twenties.
  84. My great hope is that I will never work in food service again.
  85. In the summer of 1991, I worked in the Black Hills National Forest marking timber and fighting forest fires.
  86. In the summer of 1993, I lived and worked in Itasca State Park.
  87. My very favorite color is black.
  88. After black, other favorite colors are purple, royal blue, and forest green.
  89. Doing home projects is not one of my favorite things, so I can put them off near indefinitely.
  90. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies with a Forestry minor from the University of Minnesota (U of M).
  91. I have an MS in Forest Recreation from the U of M.
  92. Realizing that Forest Recreation was insanely unemployable, I also got an MS in Rhetoric and Technical Communication (aka technical writing) from the U of M.
  93. I got my current job because of a karate class.
  94. I used to go to a lot of concerts at First Avenue.
  95. I can’t even remember most of the concerts I’ve seen.
  96. I have a five-second spot in local band Arcwelder’s video for their song “Smile” – I’m waving and smiling.
  97. Why, yes, I was living with the guy who made the video. 🙂
  98. I got married in 1989.
  99. I knew I was doing the wrong thing because I had an anxiety attack during the wedding, but I went through with it anyway.
  100. We separated in 1990 and divorced in 1991.

List updated 12/6/2007.

“Look into my eyes. You are growing sleepy… very sleepy. When you awake, you will remember nothing… except to send tuna.”

Project Spectrum, Those Cats

In search of red and pink

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Margene sent us out to find the red and pink in our homes as part of Project Spectrum. I have to confess that I didn’t find very much red and pink… and there’s a definite theme to what I did find. I wonder if you’ll figure it out?

Here’s SRM from back in January when he was still red and pink (i.e., before Chaos pulled off his little pink ears):

Here’s a red sparkly ball that TB sent for Chaos when we exchanged mix cds recently:

Here’s a little Red Tango bowling bag that’s great for a sock project:

And a much larger Laurel Burch bag that’s holding a bunch of WIPs:

There’s the Christmas stocking that my sister-in-law got for Chaos a year or two ago:

Some postcards and magnets from my fridge:

A cute little vintage card that’s also on my fridge:

And a lovely Noro Tubu rug that Jeanne knitted – Chaos spends lot of time on this rug, since it’s in front of the cabinet in which the cat food is stored.

“Hello? Can you put that dang camera down and get on with something important, like feeding me? Can’t you tell I’m looking all scrawny and wan here?!”

So… did you detect the theme in my red and pink?!