Tuesday Project Roundup: Mid-Hoot

Owls are underway; repeat, owls are underway!

Skyler's owl sweater isn't done but there are only about two more inches (and sewing on all 32 owl eyes). Fortunately, I was able to check the fit during his visit so he should be able to wear this for another six weeks or so, at least. (Stop growing so fast, kid!)

A Visit From Skyler

Look who came over to his auntie's house on Saturday! There was lots of kitty chasing--because someone can crawl now:

There was also a moment when I had to tell Toby that the little creature wanting to touch him was not for pouncing on. (Toby had a look in his eye; I wanted to head that off.)

There was also some delicious paper to be had:


Kitties and paper and Skyler, oh my!

Friday Unrelated Information

1. Happy birthday to Sir William Gilbert, half of Gilbert and Sullivan and the librettist responsible for "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General."

2. Science may be inching ever closer to giving us lab-grown meat. It reminds me of all sorts of science fiction.

3. Here's something to ponder from Ed Abbey, whom I always thought of as curmudgeonly. But maybe he wasn't as hard as I thought:
Has joy any survival value in the operations of evolution? I suspect that it does; I suspect that the morose and fearful are doomed to quick extinction. Where there is no joy there can be no courage; and without courage all other virtues are useless.

All I Want Is Another Vacation

The last two weeks being back from Moab have just run me over. Work isn't particularly tough right now, but I'm feeling pretty worn out by it.

Let's think back to a happier time a couple weekends ago, when my inner hippie was set free in the morning in Arches:

Doesn't she look happy?

3+1 Things Project: The Last Poem

I'm a little late posting the November/December poem in my 3+1 Things project, probably because memorizing anything for September/October didn't happen. (The Neruda didn't fit, I couldn't get behind the Frost, and there were just too many other things to think about.)

But this poem--I will memorize this poem because it's fantastic. Mary Oliver does it again. (Watch something like this video before you read it and you'll really be able to see it in your head.)


Starlings in Winter

Chunky and noisy,
but with stars in their black feathers,
they spring from the telephone wire
and instantly

they are acrobats
in the freezing wind.
And now, in the theater of air,
they swing over buildings,

dipping and rising;
they float like one stippled star
that opens,
becomes for a moment fragmented,

then closes again;
and you watch
and you try
but you simply can't imagine

how they do it
with no articulated instruction, no pause,
only the silent confirmation
that they are this notable thing,

this wheel of many parts, that can rise and spin
over and over again,
full of gorgeous life.
Ah, world, what lessons you prepare for us,

even in the leafless winter,
even in the ashy city.
I am thinking now
of grief, and of getting past it;

I feel my boots
trying to leave the ground,
I feel my heart
pumping hard, I want

to think again of dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Knit Faster

I'm working on an owl sweater for Skyler, but I think I'd better really commit to finishing it in the next week. He's growing so fast (and just started crawling!). This will definitely not fit him for very long.
Almost to the owls!

Still Celebrating Carl Sagan Day

Apparently, I am not the only person with a little crush on him:




More "Sexy Sagan" right here.

Friday Unrelated Information

1. The Armistice ending WWI was signed 93 years ago today; today we tell veterans "thank you" and then go shop pre-holiday sales. I liked this poem from W.S. Merwin, which I assume is satirical:

When the War is Over

When the war is over
We will be proud of course the air will be
Good for breathing at last
The water will have been improved the salmon
And the silence of heaven will migrate more perfectly
The dead will think the living are worth it we will know
Who we are
And we will all enlist again

2. And one more Carl Sagan-inspired post to finish the week: I found this clip looking for the one I posted on Wednesday, and it's a pretty great 29 seconds.

Well Done, Science Writers

Last night I was able to catch the second episode of the latest NOVA series, The Fabric of the Cosmos. (Have you figured out by now that if you put "cosmos" in the title of something, there's a 99.9% chance I will like it?)

I am as average a layperson as it gets when it comes to science, so I had to admire how the show's team explained concepts such as the past, present, and future all existing at once, or why time appears to only flow in one direction, in the simplest way possible.

Check it out--the last two epsiodes are on the next two Wednesdays, and you can get caught up on the first two online. (And I dare you not to think of Dr. Who while the show talks about the nature of time. Sorry, physicists.)

I Declare It Carl Sagan Day

Happy birthday to Carl Sagan today! To celebrate Carl Sagan Day, you could watch the introduction to the Cosmos series, which is still the most popular science program ever produced for television*:



Or you could read this from Ann Druyan, which is simultaneously heartbreaking and joyful:

Carl faced his death with unflagging courage and never sought refuge in illusions. The tragedy was that we knew we would never see each other again...But the great thing is that when we were together, for nearly twenty years, we lived with a vivid appreciation of how brief and precious life is...We knew we were beneficiaries of chance. That pure chance could be so generous and so kind; that we could find each other, as Carl wrote so beautifully in Cosmos, you know, "in the vastness of space and the immensity of time"; that we could be together for twenty years; that is something which sustains me...That is so much more important than the idea I will see him someday. I don’t think I’ll ever see Carl again. But I saw him. We saw each other. We found each other in the cosmos, and that was wonderful.

Happy birthday, Carl. I like to picture you somewhere in that "ship of the imagination" from Cosmos.

*You've all heard that a sequel to Cosmos is in the works for 2013, right? Ann Druyan is helping to write/produce and Neil DeGrasse Tyson will host. I can't wait.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Another Active Copy

I am on a roll with my knit dress knockoffs. First there was the "mustard active dress," and now I give you the "turquoise fleece active dress":

This one is a loose interpretation of this dress (in boring gray, for $90):
As you can see, the pockets and front seams are similar, but instead of figuring out how to draft a hood I just added a cowl neck like before. My starting pattern was the same one I used for the "orange sack dress" in September, and I used an organic sweatshirt fleece that is warm and soft and pretty much feels like pajamas.

The active dress: For when you can't wear yoga pants.

"It Is Clean"

That's why T.E. Lawrence reportedly liked the desert; I could add, "It is indifferent." And this weekend, it was also cold:
Fortunately, Mom and I were prepared with winter gear.

Also fortunately, we escaped the enormous mesa-top lizards this sign showed us:
Lizards not to scale? Or do they come as big as bighorn sheep now?

Friday Unrelated Information

1. I don't know why someone didn't think of this earlier, but it is brilliant: Anthroparodie, photos from the Anthropologie catalog with new (awesome) captions.

2. And another parody: If you've read any Cormac McCarthy, you'll get a kick out of Yelping with Cormac, reviews of local places as if they were written by him. From the "review" of Taco Bell:

The man asked could God make a taco so terrible even He could not eat it. The priest considered this and said no this was not possible and to think so was a sin. The man was silent for some time. Then he said that he had eaten such a taco and that it tasted of bootblack and horsefeed. That if this taco was under God’s dominion then surely all other great evils must be as well. And then the man took the halfeaten and greaseblackened taco from his coatpocket and thrust it at the priest like a broken sword. Eat it, he said. Eat it or be damned.

To The Desert

I'm headed to the desert by Moab soon to make my inner hippie happy and get some perspective. Here's Paul Bowles' feelings about it (even though his desert was the Sahara):

Here, in this wholly mineral landscape lighted by stars like flares, even memory disappears; nothing is left but your own breathing and the sound of your heart beating...Once [someone] has been under the spell of the vast, luminous, silent country, no other place is quite strong enough for him, no other surroundings can provide the supremely satisfying sensation of existing in the midst of something that is absolute. He will go back, whatever the cost in comfort or money, for the absolute has no price.

"Science: What's It Up To?"

Have you been trying to ignore the gearing up of the presidential race, too? From what I've been unable to ignore, it seems every potential candidate so far is trying to win by being anti-science--anti-vaccine, anti-evolution, anti-global warming, etc. Thank god for satire:

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

"Luxurious palace of science"--I love it. Found via one of my favorite science blogs.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Warm, Yet Dull

I have three knitting projects in different stages of completion, so because I don't have any sewing finished this week, let's talk about the most complete one:

I started this last winter to use up leftover yarn. (God only knows how I ended up with so many earth tones.) It's coming along slowly; I'm sure I'd like working on it more if it were made of, say, leftover orange yarn. But it will be warm. I'm planning on using it as a layer for winter hiking--hopefully this winter, but if not, the next one.

And The Grinch's Heart Grew Three Sizes That Day

...oh wait, I'm confusing my holidays. But this is a similar transformation:

I have a long list of reasons why I hate Halloween as an adult, but do you know what melted my shriveled little heart this year?

1. Charles Schultz and Vince Guaraldi:



2. Having an actual kid around. Is this baby jaded or disappointed? No--he is delighted by that pumpkin! He is going to be a cow tonight. I can't wait.

Friday Unrelated Information

1. Have you seen Animals Talking in All Caps yet? ALL CAPS MAKES THINGS FUNNY! (OK, no always, but this one makes me laugh so much. It's how I feel about IKEA, too.)

2. Recently, I noticed that Jack Daniels had changed its bottle shape and label a little. (Hey, I buy whiskey pretty frequently.) Here's a case study of the brand refresh by the agency that did it. Nice work--I especially love the new copy bits on the side panel (under "A Refined Identity).

3. And speaking of advertising, how about some Don Draper nihilism to kick off the weekend? You'll have to click through and wait through an ad (how meta!) but it's worth it to hear him say, "What you call love was invented by guys like me to sell nylons."

Convincing Myself

As I've let my inner hippie free, I've caught myself, say, doing yoga and nodding when the teacher says this will help the solar plexus chakra--which is then followed by the thought, "Carl Sagan would not approve of this."

However, this is Carl Sagan we're talking about. This is the man who contributed an essay to Marihuana Reconsidered, who approved that theme music* to the Cosmos series, and who famously said:
Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return. And we can. Because the cosmos is also within us. We're made of star-stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.

That last line is what makes me think Carl would be all for letting the inner hippie out.


*Sometimes I just leave that site open and let the music loop. It's great for irritating days at work.

Happy Birthday, Beryl

It's the birthday of Beryl Markham today. She was a horse trainer, pilot, and author (probably) of the memoir West With the Night, which I should read again and you should read too, if you haven't. (It impressed the hell out of Hemingway.)

She was friends with Karen Blixen, lovers with Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and was the first woman to fly solo from east to west across the Atlantic. Beryl was fierce! Let's all be more like her.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Active Active Active

In my new incarnation as Active Girl, I've discovered that active wear companies sell more than the actual active wear--they also sell comfy knit dresses that you picture someone even more active than you pulling on after yoga, or wearing walking around a ski town and drinking beer after an active day. (I am a sucker for marketing, no matter what lifestyle it's promoting.)

The issue? The dresses are all at least $80, and they are all in earth tones. So I decided to try copying this one:


I used the basic t-shirt pattern in my trusty Built By Wendy knits book, then added length and width by tracing a Lands End polo dress I wore all summer. Add a length of fabric to make a cowl and blammo: a pretty good copy of the dress, not in boring gray.

I may go back and add a kangaroo pocket to the front, since pockets are always useful and that would make it look more (wait for it)....active.

Look, A Poem

Happy birthday to English poet Denise Levertov. I don't know a lot of her work but what I do know, I like. Like this one:

O Taste and See

The world is
not with us enough
O taste and see

the subway Bible poster said,
meaning The Lord, meaning
if anything all that lives
to the imagination’s tongue,

grief, mercy, language,
tangerine, weather, to
breathe them, bite,
savor, chew, swallow, transform

into our flesh our
deaths, crossing the street, plum, quince,
living in the orchard and being

hungry, and plucking
the fruit.


(The opening lines play on Wordsworth's poem, "The World is Too Much with Us.")

Friday Unrelated Information

1. Happy birthday to Ursula LeGuin. She lives in Portland and writes for herself all day. That sounds fun, doesn't it?

2. While I love Bob Dylan's "singing," lately I can't get enough of people covering his songs. I'm listening to this and this, and of course my inner hippy is all over this.

3. Ah, this is true of so many things:


(Check out the other stuff from this artist--be sure to read the painting titles, too.)

They've Probably Already Had "Argus" Suggested A Lot

Did you hear that the Very Large Array of radio telescopes in New Mexico is taking public suggestions for a new name? They're upgrading the technology and expanding the center for 2012 and (thankfully) realized "EVLA" (Expanded Very Large Array) was no better than "VLA". (Although it is charmingly literal.)

Submit your name suggestion here.

(The VLA is the facility on which Carl Sagan based the setting for Project Argus in Contact. How many times do you think people have submitted that one?)

Proof

I went hiking with another person over the weekend (hi, Mom!) and got photographic evidence that I may actually be The Outdoor Type. At least a little.
Do I look like I've started using things like Dr. Bronner's and bar shampoo? Actually, that's just bed head.

I think the color in Millcreek peaked this last week, but it's supposed to be nice again this weekend. Be sure to get out and get your hippie on.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Last Week's Projects

Here are pictures of the pants and the hat from last week. Both projects turned out a little big, but look--projects! And PANTS. That I can WEAR!
For the pants, I used a Lisette for Simplicity pattern and some cheap "bottomweight" from JoAnn. These could have been fitted better (I'll probably cut a size smaller next time and maybe do some pattern adjustments to boot) but I wore them last week and didn't hate them too much. Considering my pants record, that's a success.

As for the hat, a cousin had a baby last week and what do October babies need most? Pumpkin hats.

More Sunday Night Conversations

Last night's catch-up with my best friend ranged from ADT to the human condition to Occupy Wall Street. During the human condition part, this exchange happened:

Me: "I don't know, I just don't think I'm ready to try dating on the Internet."

Him: "Oh my god. No."

And that sums up that human condition perfectly.

Friday Unrelated Information

1. It's the birthday of e.e. cummings today. Everyone write your emails in lower case and leave out punctuation to celebrate. We'll call them e.e.mails.

2. Check out this video of time lapse desert landscapes and nightscapes. Space and deserts: Everything my inner hippy wants.

Landscapes: Volume Two from Dustin Farrell on Vimeo.

Found here.

So Close To A Dinner Party

What's better than an IKEA dining table that gives you the impression of a Saarinen tulip table? Finding that same table on ksl.com for $20, of course!

It needed some Magic Eraser-ing and I still may need to touch up the top, but I am so pleased with this score. Suddenly I understand why people shop at thrift stores.

Now to score some chairs...

The Internet Is Made Of Cats

I'm pretty sure the Internet was invented to give us all easier access to funny cat pictures (this song backs me up). How else would someone have been able to share paintings of the Old Masters with the subjects replaced by cats?






In the words of Napoleon Dynamite, "There's more where that came from."

Tuesday Project Roundup: Take My Word For It

I made a baby hat AND tackled the colored pants this week. I think I'm out of my rut! But you're going to have to take my word for it, since I still need to update the photo library on my new machine and that will take more time than I have this morning.

But I made stuff this week. Really.

The English Song

How about some Sifl & Olly on a Monday morning? After all, I'm going to be using English all week.


I love all of it, but you know that my absolute favorite part comes at :49. I'll be walking around work today humming "Now that I know your English ways I'll translate all that Satan says!"

Friday Unrelated Information

1. I have the day off! I originally planned it as just a break from a really rocky September, but now I can hopefully get a new computer and have my friends help me with data recovery on Old Paint. Yay, shopping!

2. I can't say enough how nice it is to have friends so generous in sharing their skills.

3. Steve Jobs' 2005 commencement address has been making the rounds this week, and I highly recommend reading the whole thing. He was a wise man.

You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

[...] Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

And Now Goodbye, Steve Jobs

(Via xkcd. Check out the hovertext on the original.)

Goodbye, Old Paint

So last night my trusty little iBook (circa 2006) bit the dust. I left it open to make dinner and when I came back not only did it not spring back from sleep, it wouldn't turn on.

I knew this day was coming, but it's still going to be a headache to decide on a new one (and see if I can retrieve music and photos from Old Paint. They can do that, right?).

I have a plan for a machine until I decide on a new one, but just in case I don't post here until Monday or so, don't be alarmed.

Tuesday Project Roundup: The Definition Of Insanity?

My old roommate used to say, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again, but always expecting different results." By his definition I must be crazy, because I'm going to try to make pants again.

I've tried to make them a handful of times and they've never turned out how I want (when they turned out at all). But this fall, colored pants are everywhere; I'm a sucker for color; and it's almost as difficult to find pants that fit/are affordable as it is to make them. So I'm going to try again. It will be different this time, right?

I'll make a test pair as a muslin so I still have time to decide what color. Pink? Blue? Mustard? These pants are going to be so successful. I can just feel it.

(Images via my Pinterest; click through for credits.)

Something To Keep In Mind For The Week

In the words of Lady Brett Ashley, "It does feel good deciding not to be a bitch."

(Via)

Friday Unrelated Information

1. It. Is. Friday. At last.

2. Have you seen the overdubbed video of Rick Perry, as translated by a bad lip reader? It's fantastic:

3. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Commas matter, people!

Trivia

The Writer's Almanac posted all sorts of trivia about Michaelmas today (and got a little far out at the end of their sentence here):

In the Christian world, today is Michaelmas, feast day of the archangel Michael, which was a very important day in times past, falling near the equinox and so marking the fast darkening of the days in the northern world, the boundary of what was and what is to be.

Other activities for the day that don't sound like Led Zeppelin lyrics included settling of accounts, giving geese to the poor, and eating blackberries, because "it is said that when Michael cast the Devil from Heaven, the fallen angel landed on a patch of blackberry brambles."

And there's your trivia for the day.

I Want To Write For The Ball Cookbook Company

Thanks to generous family and friends with fruit trees, I have both peaches and pears to can this week, which means I had to break out the canning cookbooks. Before this, I've skipped the chapter introductions in The Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving, but now I know what I've been missing. From the chapter introduction to "High-Acid Foods":

As you gaze with pride on the colorful jars in your pantry packed with nature's best, the sense of accomplishment you feel is rivaled only by the sumptuous goodness you'll enjoy when you unseal them--for one delicious meal after another.

Or consider the lead to the "Soft Spreads" chapter:
Preserving is about more than food. When your home is filled with the fragrant aroma of sweet spreads simmering on the stove, you are preserving memories that last a lifetime.

Questionable use of "sumptuous" notwithstanding, well done, Ball Cookbook Writer. You are selling the hell out of the concept of home canning. Maybe I need to join your team, because I haven't been able to muster that sort of enthusiasm for technology, hotels, or insurance benefits in a long time.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Hear Me Roar, Etc.

Look! I finally finished the leopard pencil skirt!

This is a direct copy of a now-sold out version I admired at J. Crew. J. Crew's was unlined stretch cotton. J. Crew's was $118. Mine is lined, with a kick pleat (versus a vent), and put me out about $18. J. Crew, who needs you?

Now that this is done, I'm thinking about a jacket of some sort in this black and white leopard. Because cat ladies love dressing like cats.

Better Living Through Profanity

It's Monday and it looks to be another Not So Fun week so I am coping with cat videos set to catchy songs that involve swearing.*



I love the faux excitement throughout and especially, especially the opening line. I'm going to go around humming "Holy [redacted], it's another [redacted] day, it's the best day ever AGAIN" today. And of course I'll be humming it ironically.

*Disclaimer: There's swearing throughout this, so d0n't watch it if such things are offensive to you. And of course I don't think cats are stupid as a rule, but you have to admit that there are some animals you meet that are happy for exactly the reasons the song states.

Friday Unrelated Information

1. It's the autumnal equinox today, which I would like a lot more if it didn't signal the beginning of the long descent into darkness. At least it's only three months to the solstice, right?

2. Blue Moon Ranch is having its seventh annual Open Barn Days this weekend. They've expanded to have the event on both Saturday and Sunday, so if you're attending a yoga retreat one day, you can still see alpacas and crias like Jethro here on the next:

The Outdoor Type

Not to give you another emo post today (sorry about that), but I'm going to share another coping strategy I've discovered this summer: Exercise. (I know--who am I?)

I've always been pretty sedentary, beyond an occasional hike or an easy bike ride, but as I said Monday I've been exploring Millcreek nearly every weekend--and that's in addition to going to yoga once a week. I've bought actual active wear. I'm attending a "yoga retreat" at the Cliff Lodge this weekend. I replaced my old hiking boots. Last Sunday I even woke up and did an hour of yoga with an online video. (Needless to say, my inner hippy has never been happier.)

But as active and outdoorsy as all this hiking and yoga is for me, I still am nowhere near the trail runners I see, or even the backpackers, which is why this song made me smile.



(And yes, I heard it on KRCL while driving home from yoga this week.)

You Know What This Means

Have you been reading long enough to realize that I post space pictures when things are tough? (If not, I guess I just gave myself away there.) Anyway, here is the Milky Way seen from the Himalayas (via).


Take a deep breath, get some hippy vibes from that if you can, and realize that bad days don't really matter on a galactic (or even Himalayan) scale.

Happy Birthday To My Brother

Happy birthday to my big brother today! He taught me how to drive a stick, makes me take care of my car, and yells at me when he thinks my blog is getting "too depressing." In other words, an ideal older brother--and now an awesome stay-at-home daddy, too.

Bob Frost

I don't read a lot of Robert Frost but The Writer's Almanac featured this poem over the weekend and I thought it was just right. I've been hiking in Millcreek Canyon pretty regularly since June and, climbing "the hills of view" on Saturday, I looked around and it was fall. Sigh.


Reluctance
by Robert Frost

Out through the fields and the woods
And over the walls I have wended;
I have climbed the hills of view
And looked at the world and descended;
I have come by the highway home,
And lo, it is ended.

The leaves are all dead on the ground,
Save those that the oak is keeping
To ravel them one by one
And let them go scraping and creeping
Out over the crusted snow,
When others are sleeping.

And the dead leaves lie huddled and still,
No longer blown hither and thither;
The last lone aster is gone;
The flowers of the witch-hazel wither;
The heart is still aching to seek,
But the feet question 'Whither?'

Ah, when to the heart of man
Was it ever less than a treason
To go with the drift of things,
To yield with a grace to reason,

And bow and accept the end
Of a love or a season?

I may end up memorizing this one instead of the Neruda for September/October--I think the rhythm would be nice to work on while hiking and I'm still not feeling my first choice. Also, I don't have any rhyming poems in my list, let alone any that allow me to say "and lo."

Friday Unrelated Information

1. Happy birthday to H.A. Rey, creator of Curious George. The Writer's Almanac tells me that
"he as also an astronomy enthusiast, and in addition to the beloved Curious George books, he wrote The Stars: A New Way to See Them in 1952. The book includes constellation diagrams with cartoon outlines to make them easier to remember and recognize. His new diagrams were widely adopted by other astronomical texts, and the book is regularly reissued as we learn more accurate information about our galaxy."
I had no idea! I know what I'm doing with the last few days of a trial Amazon Prime membership.

2. I've been wanting biscuits and (vegetarian) gravy for about two weeks now. I think I may end up with the counter-sitters at Blue Plate Diner this weekend.

3. And finally, who doesn't love a sci-fi pun on Ceylon tea? So say we all! (via)

Something Else To Ponder

Switch your thoughts from cows and jazz to Michael Cunningham and impermanence with this passage from The Hours. I don't even think it's as sad as I did when I first read it--now I think it offers some good perspective:

It had seemed like the beginning of happiness, and Clarissa is still sometimes shocked, more than 30 years later, to realize it was happiness; that the entire experience lay in a kiss and a walk, the anticipation of dinner and a book [...]

What lives undimmed in Clarissa's mind more than three decades later is a kiss at dusk on a patch of dead grass, and a walk around a pond while the mosquitoes droned in the darkening air. There is still that singular perfection, and it's perfect in part because it seemed, at the time, so clearly to promise more. Now she knows: That was the moment, right then. There has been no other.

Exactly What It Says

A video titled "Jazz for Cows" does, indeed, show people playing jazz for cows. Dixieland jazz. From a Utah band. For cows. In France.


Ponder that for your Wednesday.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Progress Report

I think I've gotten over my rut--over the weekend I started a pencil skirt:

And last night I finished the second sleeve of the sweater:

Also, the Hamburglar coat took first in the state fair, as reported by my brother.The collar baffled the fair ladies in charge of display, as I thought it might--but a ribbon's a ribbon, right?

MYFO Monday

Are you ready to Melt Your Face Off with cuteness? Look who came to visit my house Friday night:
He really liked the texture of the couch.


He also liked Toby, when he noticed him. (Toby didn't really know what to think.)

We even went out onto the new playground in the common area:

Nothing like a visit from Skyler to get the weekend off to a good start!

Friday Unrelated Information

1. Happy anniversary to my parents, married 39 years ago today. Next year I'll have to have a party for them for the big 4-0!

2. Happy birthday to Leo Tolstoy, born in 1828.

3. What happens when you put quotes about Steve Jobs to images from 2001: A Space Odyssey? You get Steve Kubrick, and you get something like this:
"But where to place the logo? It was keeping him awake at night."

He Looks Like I Feel

Toby is not convinced. About anything.
That is a face you don't mess with.

3+1 Things: On To Poem #5

It's time to move on to the penultimate poem in my 3+1 Things memorization project. The Mark Strand for July and August was just right for the end of summer and feeling a little sad, but the September/October poem I picked doesn't feel as appropriate.

Should I change poems to the Galway Kinnel I posted in June? To this? (That might be too sad, actually.) Or should I stick with the plan so I have at least one happier poem under my belt?

Here it is, if you want to help me decide:

Sonnet C, from 100 Love Sonnets, Pablo Neruda

In the center of the earth I will push aside
the emeralds so that I can see you--
you like an amanuensis, with a pen
of water, copying the green sprigs of plants.

What a world! What deep parsley!
What a ship sailing through the sweetness!
And you, maybe--and me, maybe--a topaz.
There'll be no more dissensions in the bells.

There won't be anything but all the fresh air,
apples carried on the wind,
the succulent book in the woods:

and there where the carnations breathe, we will begin
to make ourselves a clothing, something to last
through the eternity of a victorious kiss.

Tuesday Project Roundup: No Boots Before Labor Day

Boots after Labor Day are just fine, though--because now it's fall, right? I didn't do much with the long weekend but I did finally finish that orange dress:
For something that's pretty much a sack, it seemed to take a long time. On the other hand, there are a lot of nice details (topstitching, pockets) that made the sack a little fancier, albeit time-consuming. But overall, I'm happy with it.

Friday Unrelated Information

1. I know I can't do anything about it, but the more children there are in those family stick figure cartoons on cars, the more they irritate me. That's why I loved today's xkcd comic (click to enlarge):

2. It's Labor Day on Monday and you know that means I'll be watching Picnic. I won't post anything on the holiday, but be sure to celebrate the last day of summer, listen to "Moonglow," and go cause a scandal in your small town.