A time suck; Make that a Major Time Suck

DTE went north to visit some friends this past weekend. She came back with a "new to us" web application. StumbleUpon has been added to my FireFox browser (though it does work in IE, for anyone still using that). This is just an innocent little button, sitting there, minding its own business (kind of like a cardboard box). You click on that button and it gives you random web sites from information you have entered (when you load it) based on your interests. There is also a button to give any site a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" as well as several other options.

Interested in Anthropology? You might get Stonehenge Rebuilt. Well, I suppose it could have been a checked interest in Archeology; or maybe something else. (Warning, it is a sub-page to a home page all about aliens.)

Here are some really cool bookshelves. I have some new ideas for our house.

knitPro is a web application that translates digital images into knit, crochet, needlepoint and cross-stitch patterns.

TasteSpotting, a site that shows great food and then when you click on a picture, it links you to where it was spotted.

This one is a "map" of a cat brain, with a link to "other cat stuff."

Here is a way to how to make roses out of maple leaves, but if you take off the sub-heading and go to the main page, there are some other cool things to see. (Or take of the sub heading down to /creative/ first and then take /creative/ off. When I did that I got some slightly different stuff.)
I will end with a video for a photography lighting setup. (Seriously, I could give you several more, but won't.)


I have stumbled upon several other cool sites since DTE injected this into my computer. I may be am falling down a deep rabbit hole. If you decide to fall down with me, we can all blame it on her. You can rest easy though, she is in the deep, dark hole with me.

There is a cardboard box

that lives in our kitchen. Most of the time it just sits there, near the pantry, minding its own business, staying out of the way; but sometimes it does something different. I heard a story about it after I came home from my travels this spring out west. Apparently one night Hubband was in the kitchen, getting ready to fix himself some dinner, when the box decided it needed to relocate. Apparently it motored about the kitchen and over to the stove.
It took up a new residency there, and then it seemed that it was a bit on the empty side. It grew an orange arm at that point, which reached out and up to grab the apron off the oven. The apron then disappeared into the opening of the box, which then motored off to a different spot in the kitchen. I asked if he was able to get any pictures of this event, but apparently he was laughing to hard to be able to get any.
This box winds up being used for all sorts of things that none of us can even begin to understand. We have tried getting rid of it, but it just isn't possible, any time we pick it up Someone comes dashing over to make sure it is going to be right back. The other day I had put some empty paper bags on top of it and it turns out that isn't appropriate either. I am not sure she ever figured out that you can't push/kick sacks off of something when you are standing on top of them.



(Oh, by the way, this is the previously promised WoW post.)

Still no WoW, just sweater pictures!

So here is the progress on Mr. A's sweater (please ignore all the yarn hanging down.) I am going to work on the neck and start the hood later today. I may actually be able to sew the hood together tomorrow. (I suppose I should be a bit careful about how cocky/confident I get about this progress.)

 

The frogs had to get a good look at the progress as well.

 

The little frog seems a bit concerned about the hole in the sleeve join. I told it not to worry too much as it will all be sewn together soon enough.

 

On Sunday I made another Wee Tiny Sock for a Ravelry swap. This was made out of some yarn I dyed last summer with cherry Kool-Aid. (Biggest Brother, I'm sorry it isn't an egg for St. MM, but it was the closest crimson I could give you today.)

It's Wednesday, but so far not Whiskers on

Nope, not yet. I had had big plans yesterday to come home from my class at the gym and take pictures of sweater progress (which is going very well), make fresh pesto for dinner, and write up my WoW post. Well, none of that happened. Instead I came home and spent hours on the couch. Why? Well, I got very, very dizzy during class and everything went down hill from there. Fortunately DTY is in the class too and she drove home. The general idea that we were able to come up with was that I was dehydrated and hadn't eaten anything all day except for a few blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Yeah, some days I forget to eat. It usually doesn't matter, except for the nights I go to the gym at six. (Somehow it never seems to be an issue in the morning. Go figure.) Anyway, my evening plans were rather shot down in flames. I have my weekly Wednesday morning stuff to do, but plan on getting you all a WoW post later this afternoon (and sweater pictures, if not for anyone else, for a certain young man in California). Of course, my plans have been known to be derailed more than once.

See! There is a pocket!

After some difficulties with starting the pocket (the words "crochet hook" were in the instruction, so that was not a good start and at least some of us know I can't count), it all worked out and the pocket grew up and became one with the sweater.

 

For some reason the little frog decided to make sure that it wasn't completely "One with the Sweater."

I have to admit I am still a bit nervous about the fit between child and sweater, but if it is too small, I do know how to make another one. I found a tip for the pocket that doesn't involve crochet hooks!

The daughters and I just got home

from the midnight movie premier. Very, very, good movie.

I do have progress on the "blob of black knitting," though it is no longer just black. When I did the measuring needed, it came out the way I was hoping for. I have no real idea if it will fit the intended recipient, as I was told a couple of weeks ago, "Auntie Barbara, Dad doesn't know how to measure me correctly. When he does it, it tickles." (I told him I wasn't sure that was all his dad's fault.) Well, we will find out in a couple of weeks if it fits as the sweater will be done, and the nephew will be here for his annual visit!!!!! We have big plans for all the things we will do and places we will go! I'll give you some sweater picture updates after I get some sleep.

A cat with no dignity

would be a really good way to describe Oribel. She really, really doesn't care what she looks like, or if her plan of getting somewhere has proper follow through. Jumping up onto something and she misses the mark? Most cats would try to pull off the "Oh, I really did mean to slip off the edge. Really, that was on purpose." But Oribel is all about the "So what if everyone saw me miss and fall on my butt. I will just do it again and I don't care if I miss the second time either. Who cares if someone sees me look lie a silly dope? I sure as heck don't give a flip."
We keep store put her toys into a basket, which she digs through to find whatever she is in the mood to play with. I have been known to gather up all her coasters into her basket, just to find them all scattered about the house again within just a few hours. (Hmmmm, kind of reminds me of my kids' toy basket from years ago...)

Sometimes her "digging through" involves "climbing into" the toy basket to find what she wants. Somehow, fitting into the basket worked a lot better six months ago than it does currently.

 

Now there seems to be a lot of "Giving the basket what for and showing it who is the Boss" involved with the procuring of the proper toy. The basket handle was a bit wet from the biting and a bit more misshapen from the kicking by the time she was done this time around.

A little of this and a little of that

Yesterday afternoon the bird bath was all nice and level, when these creatures came along and unrevealed it. (That seems to happen on a fairly regular basis.) I took this picture from inside the kitchen as they tend to get a bit excited and run off when we open the door. "Off" being to the edge of the yard and into the forest.

 

It turns out that Anita had forgotten to put some things in my KCSD swap box, so she sent me a second one. She sent some of my favorite things in it! Raspberry preserves, Earl Grey tea, a pottery mug, a North Carolina cookbook ('cause that is where she lives), Gingerbread men, and flowers from her garden for mine! She has white iris that she was so kind to share with me, so I planted them this evening near my purple ones. It will be fun to see them bloom in the spring and know that she is seeing them as well. I forgot to mention the other day that she has an Etsy shop and makes very cool clay items. You really should go look.

 

This is the latest picture of the TdF sweater progress. It is ready to have the pocket started, but I decided to wait until tomorrow to do that sine the light will be much better then. Well, and my eyes won't be quite as tired as they were at eight tonight. Black yarn and old eyes, you know.

 

Just for the heck of it I thought I'd give you a Sadie picture. This is what she is leaving behind without too much work these days. Only a few minutes of brushing and only one side produced that pile.

 

 

I will leave you with a picture of that which was making strange noises in our neighborhood tonight. This was taken right over the trees in our yard, so you can tell it was pretty close. It came from somewhere across our street, across our yard and over the forest/field right behind us and then we think it ma have put down on the hill just past that. (Which would make a lot more sense to you if you have been to our house, or know how to look us up on Google maps I am sure.) Trust me on the "It was really close and low."

TdF Sweater progress

is moving along. I am to the point of adding the pocket, but decided I should put the whole thing on some waste yarn and measure to make sure it it the right size. I did make gauge earlier, but just want to check before proceeding any further. Call me nervous, I don't care. For the record, I have a sweater in pieces hiding in my basement that had a "on gauge" swatch but the sweater came out too small.... I'll get a progress picture for you all then.

Swap box in the my mail today!

I got my Keepin' Cool in Summer Dishcloth Swap box today. Anita sent some wonderful things; some for me and some for me to share. She did a great job of keeping herself secret, even when posting as her real self for Whiskers on Wednesday. She has Jasmine, who for all the world looks like she could be Oribel's sister or something! Of course they both think they are Queen of the World, so I am not sure they would want to share space in the same house!

 

She sent treats for the dogs and toys for Oribel. (Who has carried one of them off and hidden it away already.)

She also sent some hand wash, "I'd rather be knitting" pencils, and a notepad. It seems like we can never have too many of those!

 

She also sent some awesome knitting treats! KnitPicks CotLin (two balls each of two beautiful colors),stitch markers, a cute sheep tape measure, and some Harmony needles with appropriate cables! Very cool! The beginnings of circulars to match my favorite sock needles!

 

Last, but not least, there were two beautiful dishcloths! I love them both and am thinking I could work on lace this way. Miss Oribel is still running away with my yarn too much for me to trust her with lace-weight yarn just yet!