in which wildlife comes over for a visit

racoon in the bird feeder


racoon on the porch

last evening at twilight, the hippie was sitting on the front porch playing with the newly installed wireless network, working on the adventure for his upcoming game weekend, drinking wine, and smoking a cigar. down the tree comes an adolescent raccoon, who checks the hippie out, decides he's alright, and then helps himself to the birdseed in the bird feeder. this little guy literally took the top off the feeder and was scooping birdseed into his mouth with his paw. the hippie called me to come out, and as directed, i took the camera with me. it didn't take the raccoon long to eat the birdseed down to where he couldn't reach it anymore, but then he discovered the critter food i keep in a terra cotta dish on the porch. (as you see, the squirrels have no respect at ALL for the boundaries of that dish, and just throw the food ALL OVER THE PLACE! they also frequently bury it in my plants, the little bastards! but i digress...) the raccoon was maybe 4 feet from me when i took these pictures. not very interested in us at all. believe me though--i was ready to run if he came at me. i do not trust the wild beasts of the forest, even when they are small and extremely cute. for all i knew, he could have been the Rabid Raccoon of Death. and let me tell you--rabies shots are no picnic. there was definitely no touching/petting/taunting of the raccoon! the hippie circled around and called him from the front stoop of the house to see what he would do, and the little bugger took off to see what was up. i still sort of can't believe that--clearly this little guy had eaten stuff from humans before. anyway--he ate his fill and scuttled away into the night. i am SURE he will be back now that he's discovered the critter food, so i guess we will just have to be on the lookout for more close encounters.

things i learned in dance class this week

dance class #2 was this wednesday night. we're learning to fox trot and we just started on the rhumba as well. it's great fun, although i don't get to dance with the hippie enough. also, the instructor doesn't play enough music to suit me. i do like most of the other people in the class, although there are a few pills in the bunch. however, all of that has little to do with what i actually learned in class this week:

• some people's hands are really sweaty. i mean REALLY sweaty. ew.
• gin-soaked man is apparently going to be gin-soaked every week. he's good at dancing, but...the fumes--oh my god the fumes!!!
• indian guy #1 can't stop laughing when he messes up. last week it was kind of cute. this week--not all that cute.
• indian guy #2 has the rhythm of an--um--well damn, i can't think of anything with worse rhythm than him. anyway--it's really bad.
• that one guy--let's call him the handy man--is going to be a dick. no one who has known me for less than two weeks is allowed to call me baby. also he should learn the location of a shoulder blade--it's a bit higher than he thinks it is.
• i am still sad about the sweet guy who used to dance with his wife until she died last year and is just now getting back into dancing--he hasn't danced with anyone but her in 43 years. he's a great dancer.
• people with noodly arms should not try to lead by saying, "ok, i am going to do a turn now"--they should in fact learn NOT to have noodly arms so that they can lead, period.
• the hippie, he's going to be good at this. his lead is a tiny bit late, but then, i have more trouble following him, too--i am such an anticipator! i am sure that's some psychological thing, but i can't be bothered to ananlyze it right now. the point is that he's gonna be good once we really get going.
• i am getting to know all the men in dance class and none of the women, whereas it is the opposite for the hippie. i suppose this is inevitable, but i still feel like i am missing out on half the class.
• that instructor really needs to play more music. other than that, i really like her.

did I mention, by the way, that my african violet is blooming? it has 3 flowers now! whoo hoo!

bloom

i have been trying to find time to post this for three days! my african violet is BLOOMING!!! YAY!!! i know this is a small thing for many of you out there with thumbs greener than mine, but for me--this is a triumph. it is all thanks to the recommendation of my friend alyce's hubby, rick, who told me what i needed was an african violet pot. of course, i was all--wtf is THAT dude? but i went to my local nursery, logan's, and i asked about it. low and behold--they knew exactly what i needed. i transferred the poor spindly little plant into the new pot about 6 months ago with very little hope. however--it WORKED! my violet is huge and healthy and BLOOMING!!! perhaps i am more excited about this than is warranted. but man--it's awesome.

aside: rick assures me that my blog is very boring and that no one will read it until i start writing more about my misspent youth and telling stories about my family. which, hello? i don't want to do. the blog is about NOW and about ME. so--sorry if i am boring, people. this is just the way it's gotta be.

ah, charleston...

in the hotel garden...

charleston is one of my and the hippie's favorite places to go for a long weekend. in fact, it's the first place we ever went away together, come to think of it. it's just a peaceful and relaxed place filled with beautiful homes and gardens and glorious food!!! last weekend, we dragged the pseudo-in-laws down there so they could experience it, too. a week ago today, we were poking through the shops on king street, taking a little wine break in the garden owned by our hotel, and getting ready to go to a wonderful dinner at magnolia's, one of our favorite restaurants of all time. after dinner, we went on one of charleston's famous ghostwalks, a walking tour where they take you to a few haunted places and regale you with ghost stories local to the area. totally fun, even though there is definitely a cheese factor to it. we finally ended up out at a local cigar bar where the boys lit up and sipped whiskey while denise and i indulged in a spot of champagne. definitely a good evening.

deep sea tank


sailboat on the cooper river

sunday as GORGEOUS!!! we went to brunch at the hominy grill, my absolute favorite restaurant in charleston. we got lost of course, as we always do since i always forget the name of the cross street it's on--my bad! after a FABULOUS meal, we went to the south carolina aquarium, the best small aquarium i have ever seen--it's just the right size for an afternoon and really well-done. of course, i took most of my weekend pictures there, as i always do. denise was in love with the sea turtles--she's so cute--she gets as excited as a kid over things. then the hippie was just as excited over the sailboats out on the cooper river. we sat and watched this one boat for the longest time as it was practicing for a race, running through a series of exercises over and over, both with and without it's spinnaker. just a beautiful day to linger ourside. dinner was a boatload of memphis style ribs at sticky fingers, followed by a long walk on the waterfront to work them off. we finally ended up at tommy condon's, this irish pub where we generally have at least one beer at some point every time we go to charleston. there was even some live "irish" music, played by a couple of down-home boys, one from charleston and one from new jersey. i'm not sure that really counts as "irish", but it was fun none the less.

monday, we grabbed some starbucks and walked the battery again in daylight so dan and denise could experience it both ways. then after a quick drink, we hit the market for the touristy stuff, went into one of a kind art & fine craft gallery (which still has a couple of my wire things for sale in it), and walked over to hyman's for a big fried-seafood lunch. that place is such a charleston institution--you almost HAVE to go there. late lunch over, we grabbed some more coffee and headed out. we set the "kids" up in the back seat with the hipie's laptop and a dvd of the incredibles, so they were happy. all in all--a really good trip. i think the pseudo-in-laws had a good time--i know we sure did. :)

check out the rest of the pictures if you like.

note: you can also check out my pseudo-m-i-l's post about this weekend--she's bloggin' these days.

i wanna be a cowboy, baby

the best boots EVER

well--not really. i don't want to be any kind of boy actually. but DAMN i love my cowboy boots!!! i got up this morning, threw on some jeans and a t-shirt--it's friday after all--and i was like, hmmmm--what shoes will i wear? my eyes fell on my boots, and i was like--why have i not worn these fabulous things in so long??? so i picked them up, dusted off all the cobwebs, and slid them onto my feet. and man, NOTHING sounds like good-fitting boots--that swooshing thunk that sends me reeling back to new york and my youth when i lived in these things. i forgot how freakin' awesome they are. gorgeous butter soft distressed brown leather with row after row of stitching on the shaft--the most comfortable footwear i have ever had on my feet. if i had to walk the breadth of this country, i would choose these boots to do it in. my day might be crappy, but my boots? they're rockin', man.

mad hot ballroom

after much talking and talking and talking about it, the hippie and i are finally taking a ballroom dance class, introduction to social dancing I. last night was our first class, and it was SO MUCH FUN!!! i am amazed at how big the class is, and also that it is almost 50-50 men and women. there is only one extra woman in the mix, which is much better than expected. this was the first in a 12-week series. i danced with many people, as did the hippie, and then i even got to dance with him for at least a few minutes, too--he was my favorite of course. i just can't wait till we learn a little more and get a little better. and people keep asking me how i got the hippie to do it--and all i keep saying is--it was HIS idea! i am a lucky girl--what can i say?

spamalicious countermeasures

the spam comments, they have gotten out of hand. it's gotten so that i get 5-6 spam comments while the new post i have written is still posting!!! i delete them IMMEDIATELY, but it's a huge pain in the ass. and now the spam-bots have started posting on my older posts as well--fuckers. so thank god blogger has added an anti-spam thingy, which i have turned on. now you guys will have to type in a verification word to publish comments--sorry for any inconvenience, but i got no choice.

china doll

willow

faces like this one make me miss painting. is she not a doll?? this is willow, the daughter of our friends chris and mari. i was just looking through some of my pictures, came across this one, and was arrested by what a beautiful child this is all over again. when she was a baby, i saw here almost every day, and now that she's all big, i only see here a few times a year. that ain't right. i need to get over there to the other end of our neighborhood and see her and her big sister lucy.

the porch

dig in, © jennifer johnson^*

when my friend kimmie got married, i got the chance to reconnect with two of her very cool and amazing friends from college, jenn and kristin. we have more or less kept in touch over the last year, and now, things have taken a turn for the fabulous! jenn is getting ready to jump with both feet into a new venture, and lucky me--i get to tag along! jenn and kristin live in cape hatteras on north carolina's outer banks, one of the most beautiful and peaceful places on earth. she has been taking photographs for years, but has recently come into her own, recognizing and nurturing her own talent. she also knows many other artists in the area, plus she knows ME! anyway--the point of all this is that she is getting ready to launch her own gallery, featuring her own work and that of the artists she knows, including me. she just closed on the property that will house the shop, which will be called "the porch"--terribly cool name. and for now, she has put up a beautiful website, Photos from the Porch, featuring her work as well as her background and inspiration.

one of my wire things

for me, this is exciting because it has inspired me to make wire things again! (lord, i need to update that web site!!!) jenn has ordered a boatload of them from me, and i will be working on them over the next month or so. the plan is to deliver about 60 of them to her the weekend of november 5th, when she will open the gallery with a wine and cheese reception for the artists. i am so excited for both of us i can barely stand it!

yay for jenn! think good thoughts for her as she follows the dream we both share. and hey--if you are out cape hatteras way--look her up!

* picture used with permission of jennifer. no copying, please.

reading: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling
ok, so i actually read this a while back. and it was great, if more than a tiny bit shocking. i am still not quite over it to tell you the truth. but in reading book 6, i found that there was a lot i had forgotten from the last few books, so i went back and re-read those, too. and then i read this one again. time well spent, my friends. time well spent. i continue to, like so may others, enjoy the hell out of these books. i am waiting and waiting for the hippie's baby brother to get old enough to enjoy them as well--he's almost there. and i would like to take some tiny amount of credit for pushing my friend emily over the edge into finally taking them on. i can't believe she resisted the hype so long, and then read all 6 in less than two weeks--she's a real trooper. go em! but i digress...

i am not going to say a word here about plot, since you never know who has and hasn't read them. but ooo, do i have me some theories! i WILL say this--ms. rowling has my number and still impresses me just as much now as she did when i picked up the first book. props to anyone who can get so many children psyched up about reading! how will i survive the wait for the last book??? at least i have the movie for the goblet of fire to look forward to--that one's my fave anyway.

colorado weekend, a week later...

aspen

balance

last weekend, i went to see meredith out in colorado, where she has been going to school for the past few years. this trip, man--i tried to go two years ago, but got laid off. then i tried to go last year, but had just started working again. third time's the charm i guess. we had a beautiful, laid-back girl weekend. we talked, ate out, knitted, shopped, and drank tea. and while everything we did was fun, the best part was just getting to sit still and talk to my friend for so long.

we spent about 3 hours in an ENORMOUS yarn store called showers of flowers. dude! if you are a knitter and are ever in the denver area, you HAVE to check out this store! it was about the size of 8 of my LYSs, plus another 4 in sale yarn, PLUS a whole warehouse. rows and rows of yarn and needles and needle cases... holy mother of god, it was awesome! i showed more restraint in there than i have in YEARS, although i DID buy my body weight in new knitting needles. and we went into downtown boulder where i bought nearly everything they had to offer--some venitian vodka glasses for the hippie, some cool handmade soap, spices, chocolate, and various other small, expensive, easily packable items. my favorite.

i went to meredith's class, which was so funny--she has students of all flavors in there. the asshole who doesn't take notes, talks shit the whole time, and tries to trip her up. (he did not succeed.) the note-passing people who are surprisingly like meredith and i were when we were in school together. a professor emeritus sitting in the back taking it all in. weird to be back on a campus like that--makes me feel a little bittersweet (again) about that whole PhD thing. i guess i will always have mixed feelings about that.

we also managed to sqeeze in about 3 hours up in rocky mountain national park, which is where i took the bulk of the pictures i have from this trip. it was BEAUTIFUL. one of those warm windy sunny fall days where the sky is so blue you could just drown in it. stands of yellow aspens in the middle of those green green pines all up the sides of the mountains--it looks like rivers of gold running down the hillsides. check out the pictures if you want.

on the way home, i got on the plane and leaned down to pull out my knitting just as the woman sitting beside me did the same. we chatted the whole way home, just sitting and knitting--it sure made the flight go faster! and as always--i was so glad to be home...

beautiful day with the animals

flamingo slumber

underside

ibis

i have been trying to find time all week to get some pictures posted from the trip to the zoo we took last weekend with this hippie's friend, eric. heh, i guess eric counts as my friend, too at this point--funny how i still lable him as "the hippie's friend." but i digress... so we went last saturday--it was GORGEOUS outside and a perfect zoo day. windy and sunny, not too hot or humid or crowded... plus this particular trip to the zoo was kind of cool because i was not as focussed on getting so many pictures--i just took a few of some of the details i liked about the foliage and some of the birds, things i generally neglect at the zoo. the result is that i dig almost every picture i took. check them out here on flickr.

zamboni

zambonis

yay for the return of hockey! after last year's idiocy and lack of a season, it's great to have the canes back! tonight we went to the first pre-season carolina hurricanes game. as we were walking in, i said to the hippie--what i want to see for this return game is for the canes to beat the capitals seven to nothing. and well--i ALMOST got my wish. it was a six to nothing shut-out! go canes! it's kind of weird watching this team, with so many unfamiliar faces, but they certainly look promising--the new goalie in particular (#30 cam ward) seems just awesome. should make for an interesting season--i am sure we will go to many more games. meanwhile--what's my favorite thing about hockey? why, the zambonis of course! so--i took an illegal pic of them with my phone. :)

playing with pliers

ankle bracelet for tina

last night i went to meet emily and ann to knit, but instead i ended up whipping out this little ankle bracelet as a birthday gift for tina, my coworker. tina has long envied the ankle bracelet my friend rita (who designs GORGEOUS jewelry) made for me, so i decided that i would see if i could kind of knock off rita's design. granted, i would have just bought one from rita, but she had to go and take a day job and stop supplying me with a constant stream of fabulous jewelry. anyway--i was pleased to discover i could still make something cute. this is sterling silver and little teardrop shaped glass miyuki beads in irridescent black. it's always fun making something simple and tiny--i haven't had the pliers out since i made the earrings for kimmie's wedding last spring. maybe i should make some more of this stuff...

Southern Card® in tact for now

a few months ago, my friend sam threatened to revoke my Southern Card^® because i had never made a cobbler of any kind. well--now i have! whoo hoo!

peach cobbler in the making

this past saturday, the hippie and i went out for the big breakfast at big ed's, and discovered a tiny farmer's market in the middle of downtown raleigh. there were these big beautiful peaches outside the door just calling to us. we investigated, and i walked away with peaches, baby lima beans, corn, a big fat gorgeous tomato, and plans to cook all weekend long! if i cooked this way every weekend, i would be as big as a house! but the late summer fruits and vegetables were just too much to resist. i made shrimp and grits and biscuits, a big breakfast with lots of bacon (food of the gods) and cheese grits and more biscuits, my own version of fried chicken, lima beans with onions and thyme, boiled corn, and i just sliced that tomato up and ate it plain--delicious. last night we ate leftovers, and i wasn't even sorry about it.

the weather this weekend was also just perfect--warm windy sunny days and cool nights, lower humidity than we have seen in months. nothing makes me want to nest more. the house is clean, the laundry is almost caught up, and i am ahead on christmas present making. got in some good quality porch time, too. i need about 8 more of these weekends, and i will be set.

oh, and let me say one note about bill neal's southern cooking, one of the greatest cookbooks of all time. he had a little write-up about making cobbler, and how his children grew up calling it "pig pie" because he always used pig-shaped cookie cutters to cut the biscuit dough to put on top of the fruit. i used a star--we can't ALL be bill neal.

the price of relief

hey. in spite of a fantastic weekend, i remain pensive. some is PMS i am sure, but mostly it's becasue i keep getting distracted by thoughts of new orleans. what a totally shitty situation. i feel like the government response time was slow, but i am sure glad they are in there now, restoring some form of order. general honore should run for president. i feel terrible for the people whole lives are pretty well destroyed and who will have to rebuild everything, both physically and emotionally. i worry constantly about the streams of children who are separated from their parents, whose parents may well be dead. i am proud to know and hear stories of people who have already done so much to help, and equally horrified by those who have done all they can to impede the efforts of others. snipers especially. and i keep thinking--how would i feel if that were me... yuck.

i gave some money to the red cross, but it felt so abstract that i still wanted to do more. there is a local business here sending specifically requested supplies to the woman coodrinating the sheltering of about 15k people at LSU, so i decided to help out with that, too. i made up some easily distributable packets of toiletries so that people taking shelter at LSU can at least wash the grime away. i went to target and i bought all the small sized bottles of shampoo and conditioner and all that kind of stuff that i could afford, went home, made up some packets for men and some for women. over a hundred dollars and two hours later, it is still only enough for 10 people, and it will only last those people a few days. few things have brought home for me the cost of the relief effort like doing that one small thing. this is just going to be, as my mother would say, along row to hoe. i can't even imagine how much it's going to cost before it's all said and done!

the good news is that since friday, this one local business has already sent 104 boxes of supplies and $9000 to LSU's relief fund. things like this really do bring out the best and worst in people--thank god the best usually wins out.

at last, the long awaited knitting update

a.l. de sauveterre's beautiful cashmere

NEW YARN!!! YAY!!! i absolutely adore the cashmere i got from axelle at two pointy sticks. she gave a heads up that cashmere prices were about to increase, so i went ahead and ordered the yarn i want to make a clapotis out of. it's going to be a little while before i get to actually use this yarn--i have promised myself that i am going to finish crumpets and get at least half my christmas knitting done before i cast on anything that is just for me. this is my version of self-dicipline. but isn't it GORGEOUS?? don't you love the color??? i think axelle's colors are so beautiful, pretty much across the board. never mind my coworker who had obviously been smoking the crack pipe when she said to me, "i don't know--i don't really like this color. why not just get black if you are going to make something out of cashmere? and really--this just feels like yarn to me--i guess i don't get it." i love her, but she doesn't get it.

FOs from july and august


pink ribbon scarf detail

this stuff is all pretty fresh off my needles. a new blue felted bag--i am planning to make quite a few of these; a ribbed alpaca scarf in a lucious charcoal color--so soft and warm it makes me want snow; a frilly ribony hot pink scarf with drop stitches i actually figured out how to do all my byself; a purple baby hat for an un-named baby, and a crazy pink and yellow and orange baby hat for ella, who has outgrown the pink one i made for her earier this summer (before the Evil Lead Incident). i really really love both of these scarves. i have a ton of scarves i will be whipping out for christmas, but these two are for me.

the grey scarf is made from two skeins of this bulky alpaca yarn called jay, from goddess yarns. out of all the yarns i have knitted up so far, this one is probably my favorite. it feels fabulous and it is a joy to knit with. depressingly enough, this company is going away. you can still get the yarn online, but once it's gone, it's gone. figures. the ribbing pattern is something i stole from my friend jennifer who is making a ribbed poncho out of this yarn. can't wait to see that when she's done!

the pink scarf is made from one skein of a yarn called cinema--it was an orphan in a sale bin, and i loved the color so much i just bought it with no plan. then when the hippie gave be some size 15 ebony needles from lantern moon for my birthday, i couldn't wait to use them, so i cast that pink yarn onto them. the drop stitch thing seemed like it would show off the yarn well, so i just decided to see if it was done the way i thought i might be. and apparently it was! i absolutely love how this came out, and now i have similar plans for another ribbon-y yarn i have from prism, only i want to do longer drops with that one and maybe pair it with a fine cored fuzzy mohair... we'll see. (note--that cinema yarn is now discontinued, which just figures--i think my love for a yarn is may well be its kiss of death. the same can be said of perfumes and bath products.)

crumpets approaching the goal line

and last, but SO not least, i finally got crumpets off the needles last night. as you see, i still need to weave in the ends, add the croched trimon the bottome, and add the ribbons for the straps and the tie at the waist. this thing has taught me a TON, but it has certainly been a trial by fire. i will never use this yarn again, even though i think it's beautiful. it splits if you look at it hard, snags on ANYTHING, and the knots in it will NOT stay tied. i am going to have to put some glue or something on those if a kid is going to be able to wear this. that said, however, i am really proud of this little top. it is by far the most complicated thing i have tired, and i think it has come out really beautifully so far. i have learned to add beads to my work, to make a cable, to increase stitches, and why it is important to knit with two strands of variegated yarn at one if you are doing straight stockinette. just look at all the unintended patterning in that skirt--you can tell every time i changed yarns. i will know better how to deal with that in the future. i will post another picture when it is done done, but i was so excited to get it bound off--i could not wait to share!

now, i have one more scarf to finish up for me, and then it's christmas and baby gift central for me until further notice. the bad thing about that is that i won't be able to put up a lot of knitting pics until all these gifts are given. oh well--you guys can wait.

speak/blog of the devil...

just got an email from axelle telling me my yarn is on the way!!! YAY!!! she even gave me some tips on working with cashmere yarn on on how to get the most out of it, which, as a newbie, i definitely appreciate. what more could you ask for? i am still just DYING to see it in person!

hanker for a hunk of yarn

yarn: estelle, color: orion

i ordered 3 skeins of this wondersful sport weight cashmere from axelle over at two pointy sticks at the end of last week, and i am DYING for it to get here!!! and it's not like i don't have other things going on. it's not like i don't have 10,000 things on my needles and in the queue. but still. this is new. this is my first cashmere. i want THIS! i can't wait can't wait can't wait till it gets here! i am going to make myself a clapotis out of it, like about a million other people on the internet have already done. (just do a little google on it--you will see what i mean...) but it really does look like just the best of the scarf and wrap and shawl worlds all rolled into one. very excited.

in other knitting news, the hippie is knitting. he's really good at it, too! he's getting set to whip up a cashmere scarf of his own (the men's cashmere scarf from last minute knitted gifts, which looks like this). he's already stolen my rosewood knitting needles for it. he's an even worse snob than I am about his supplies! perhaps i have created a monster...

crumpets moving into final stages

i posted a crumpets update over on the knit-along site if you are interested. that thing has taken me an eon! i am still working on a more substantial knitting update. it's coming--i swear!