Having never knitted anything for myself (except yon granny-costume shawl), and being so warm-blooded that I don’t own a coat, I’m a little hesitant to start on a sweater project for myself. Nevertheless, I’m going to do it—with the Sandy pattern (the cardigan on the right, with the inverted V of bands of color) from […]
Here we have the results of digging out the big bed and putting in stablizing cables. It looks pretty weird (if I were into bad typos, I’d say “wired”), but should at least keep the walls from sagging any farther toward Skagit County than they already have. I’ll let it set for a week or […]
Holy strangulation, Batperson! I flopped onto the porch swing this a.m. after shoveling half a yard of dirt out (yes, out) of the big raised bed, and barely escaped with my life.
The kudzu vines of the North—wild blackberries—have started to take over the deck and are seeking a way in the back door. Most […]
Y’all in the Midwest and South/Southwestish will howl and roll around at this. We had a heat ripple—can’t call it anything near a wave—that lasted about four or five days, building up to a couple of consecutive days with temps over 100 (and humidity at 95% or higher, so it really was awful). Yes, it […]
I went to Vancouver with a friend yesterday for Bard on the Beach, selecting “A Winter’s Tale” as this year’s pleasure. (Here’s a synopsis.)
It was a miserably hot day, with temps in the high 80s/low 90s (around 30 C, if you use that), and humidity well over 90%. Ghastly. For me, heat-stroky if I’m […]
For several years now, Grandma’s been aggravated at her increasing hearing loss. She really has gotten pretty deaf, such that I automatically TALK TO HER LOUDLY AND CLEARLY SO SHE CAN HEAR. Of course, this means everyone within two blocks is involved in the conversation.
Tonight, I was telling her about Snaotheus’s Adventure at Six Flags, […]
This is turning into The Eternal Project. Last week, I was running out of yarn so did a guesstimate as to how much more I’d need. One ball seemed to be ample, so I ordered one ball.
Got down to the last two and a half pointy bits, up there on the far right side… and […]
Take a look at this puppy. This is one measly (hah!) plant. Just one. One. Now, why doesn’t anything else grow like this out there?!?
And while we’re at it, what would cause this? They go down the road for two or three miles before going out of sight.
While sitting at my buddy Mogo’s this afternoon, looking at pictures of his recent shipwreck (which was pretty astonishing and A True Adventure), I noticed my faithful dog Blue smelled. . . like a, well, dog. I figured if she smells that bad in public, she probably really stinks majorly bad. It’s just that there’s […]
So here’s the deal. I’m required to go in to the office yesterday for a “training session,” to update me on all the vitally important changes that I have to know about. (Hah.)
I sit down at the table. Someone passes out the “training packet,” which contains about a quarter-inch worth of papers stapled together. I […]
I hope this doesn’t presage a trend, but three years ago—even two years ago—Grandma never did this. She’s done it two or three times already this year, so I fear it may be a function of advancing brain/memory dysfunction.
Anyway, she was worried about something to do with some of her pills, an issue that came […]
My knitting list is going away. The owner, who’s run it since 1997, is tired and overwhelmed (it’s gotten huge—nearly 3,000 members!). I can certainly understand that, having also run a list since 1998. Come end of July, no more knitting list. Boy, will I miss that list. Lots of advice, good ideas, instruction, and […]
Squeaked in to see the 12:30 showing of "Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man’s Chest" today—thank goodness, because the line for the 3 p.m. showing wrapped around two sides of the building. I half expected to see people breaking out picnic baskets.
This whole phenomenon leaves me kind of nonplussed. On the one hand, it’s comical […]
WARNING! NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART OR STOMACH!
You should know better by now than to tell me, a former EMT, that you want to see blood. (This chart, while dangerous to the delicate, is mild compared to the photos I sent Ricky years back of the blood spatter on my wall when I drilled […]
My KnitPicks Options interchangeable needle set arrived a couple of days ago—whee! New toys to play with! They got so many things right, too.
Last year (maybe before?) I got my Denise interchangeable set and I really, really liked it. It eliminated the need for large numbers of bulky straight needles (though I still have too […]