This is awesome! Mama turtle, plus eggs, plus babies. The babies will fold up and fit back in the eggs and the eggs all fit inside mama. What a great fun toy!
The photography is great too.
6.23.2009
6.22.2009
Unkind Nicknames for Oreo
Part of how I interact with many friends and loved-ones involves large amounts of talking smack. While there are some exceptions, if I make fun of you outrageously and to your face it usually means I like you. This is how the things I usually say to Tom and that he says in return are not, in fact, spousal abuse, but are "flirting."
This, of course, extends to Oreo as well. Here's the list of things we call him on a regular basis:
- Punky Chewster
- Stinkerbell
- Monster
- Dumb-butt
- Doofus
- Goofus
- Punk Ass
- Stinky
- All Things Dumb and Ugly (yes, inspired by the Monty Python song, which was in turn inspired by the hymn)
- Fru-fru bear
- Fuzz Bucket
- Freak
- Freakazoid
Tom also regularly threatens to do one or all of the following:
- Take him to the sausage factory
- Leave him in the alley
- Trade him in at the pound
- Make him in to stew
- Duct tape his limbs
- Dangle him from the ceiling by his toes
- Hold him out the window and squeeze instead of walking him
Yeah, we really don't need to have kids. Can you imagine how much therapy they'll need?
6.21.2009
Busy Day
I was amazingly productive today, despite only getting 4 hours of sleep (which I will be paying for tomorrow I can already tell). Hubby took me out supply shopping. I picked up some Speedball Speedy Carve blocks (the pink eraser-looking kind) to try out. I think/hope that they're a little firmer than the sort of golden colored Soft Cut stuff from Speedball and will therefore take finer detail a little better. I also picked up another Exciter pack from Jacquard (I don't make the names people). This time I went with the Halo and Jewel Colors. I already have the Traditionals pack and loved it - a little went a very long way, it had a good consistency for printing/stamping and painting, it has a lovely watercolor effect when diluted a bit with water and, most importantly, it leaves the fabric with a really nice hand - no nobbly bits, no shiny/sticky-ness like you sometimes get with screen prints. Very nice. See close-up examples here.
I also picked up a few other little things I've been needing/wanting - more bobbins, some safety pins, ball ended straight-pins (I have a terrible time seeing and handling the plain-topped ones), and some more sponge-brushes.
I called my Dad to wish him happy Father's Day. I had to track him down actually - Mom and my half-brother and his wife had managed to pry him out of the house for a barbeque. Yay!
I had a nice long chat with some friends I haven't talked to in far too long. Talking smack counts as chatting, right?
I took Oreo out for a short walk. He's such a little gentleman for me when he knows I'm having a rough day physically, and I was today. Lots of near falls shopping (I'm very good at catching myself, even if I do wind up looking like a total dork in the process) and the lack of sleep is catching up with me in the form of aches and pains.
Then I chopped up an old long-sleeved t-shirt sleeve (well, Tom did), wrote identifying info on the pieces with a laundry marker, and used the new safety pins to attach the tags to each of my remnants I picked up last week. (Thanks again, G!) Otherwise I would never have been able to keep straight which was which and what cost how much, etc., etc.
Tom has kindly taken the lot down to the laundry room to wash it for me. I'm hoping I'll be up for getting photos of it tomorrow.
I'm planning on spending the better part of the coming week working on some more print-block designs and hopefully doing a bit of sewing. I'm probably going to start out with a crochet hook case I've been meaning to make for myself as a way to get warmed up before I start in on the "special" stuff I'm planning.
Minimix Blaster
How freakin' cool is this? I've always loved the shapes and colors of vintage kitchen equipment, but never thought to recombine it with other bits and pieces to make a wicked cool space-age blaster.
This would make my occasional tendency to smoosh up against walls, peer around the corner and yell "pew pew" at people way more fun. And possibly more comprehensible. Possibly.
This would make my occasional tendency to smoosh up against walls, peer around the corner and yell "pew pew" at people way more fun. And possibly more comprehensible. Possibly.
6.20.2009
Shout out!
Some time in the past few days I hit over 1000 visits to this dinky little blog! Not bad for being live for just a few months. Yay! It seems a fair number are return visitors too. Double yay!
So, here's a shout-out to all my readers. I hope you find my ramblings and links fun and I appreciate your taking time to have a peek at my silliness and hope you return.
Some of you are lurkers, I know, and that's fine. Hi!
I know a few of you are grad school buddies! Hi, grad school buddies! Wave!!!!
Some are Ravelry friends - Hi, bitches (you know who you are)! I hoist my cane in your honor!
Some are college friends - 'Sup! Thanks for not linking to photos of me with orange or blue hair!
Some are fellow bloggers - Welcome! I salute you with my keyboard.
Some are peeps from Flickr whose work I featured - Welcome! Your creations have made me gasp, smile, laugh out loud, given me shivers, or all of the above. Keep it up!
I think that covers most the categories, right? Hi to everyone else anyway!
And tail-wags from Oreo - he knows you're really here to see him.
Edit: Judy from Virtual Quilter reminded me that I forgot the people who have me in their Google Reader feed (and other RSS feed readers too). Sorry! Hi to all of you too!!!! That was extra silly of me seeing as how I do most of my blog following via Reader. I blame the little holes in my brains. :P
6.19.2009
Mummy Facial Reconstruction
Here is a wonderful video of digital facial reconstruction of Meresamun, a temple singer during the Third Intermediate Period in ancient Egypt. Based on the style of coffin and other information, Meresamun's lifetime has been pegged to around 800 BC.
The facial reconstruction itself is based on the high quality CT scans done at the University of Chicago Hospitals in preparation for the special exhibit The Life of Meresamun at the Oriental Institute.
Anyone in the Chicago area should really try to pay a visit. Those outside the Chicago area, please take a look at the links, the OI website is a wonderful resource.
El Ranchogurumi
I love this little guy. Especially the hat - that hat is awesome! And he looks so cheerful with his little poncho.
Be afraid, be very afraid
I found a set of interchangeable needles on eBay. $18 after shipping. Gently used. Happy dance! Now I can poke people or garrote them, however the mood strikes me!
Sing it with me now:
Stabby, stabby, poke, poke, stabby, stabby, poke - yay!
6.18.2009
Mini-Vacation
Six years ago today we stood before our families on an overlook at Lake Tahoe and were married by a guy who looked and sounded like a used car salesman and talked about apocryphal Indian stories that said the waves sound like lovers or something. (I was busy trying not to crack up by that point.) A few days later we got a rental car stuck in the sand on the shores of Pyramid Lake while trying to see the Great Stone Mother, were rescued by hippies (I think Oreo may have gotten a contact high - at least I hope that's why he was eating cowpies later that day) and a Paiute guy named Dwayne, and missed our flight. Thankfully, my Nana had no problem putting us up for the night.
Anyway, it's been quite an adventure so far. I imagine it will continue to be so.
Here's some mushy pictures:
6.17.2009
Oreo Spa Night
Oreo has been in desperate need of a haircut for a few weeks now and I kept forgetting to schedule an appointment for him to be groomed. We finally decided to just give it a try ourselves. We've done this a few times before in desperation and the results were...interesting.
Hey, Oreo! What did you think of the last haircut we gave you ourselves?
This time it turned out much better. We sat him up on my shower chair in the tub, which made it much, much easier to reach all his parts. I talked to him and cuddled him while Tom did most of the clipping and cutting. We used ordinary hair clippers with a #4 guard for his body and a #2 for his legs. Then we went over some spots, especially his belly, with a beard trimmer. He absolutely hated having the clippers near his ears and jaw no matter how gentle I was, so we did most of the trimming around his face as well as his paws and toes with scissors. After shaving we vacuumed up all the hair in the tub with the ShopVac and then gave him a bath. Oreo wasn't exactly thrilled with us, but he does look very handsome now. Of course, if he had his way, he'd be one giant, smelly, itchy dreadlock.
I think we'll keep on trying this in the future and maybe invest in a better set of pet clippers. It's certainly better than the $50-70 every few months we pay for his grooming.
6.16.2009
RoseTrellisComplete
This is absolutely stunningly beautiful. And the effort and love that has to have gone into making this only adds to its beauty.
Last time I visited my parents, my dad shared a bedspread in a roughly similar style to this that my grandmother had worked on for years on and off.
I don't know if I'll ever get around to working with thread rather than yarn, but I can certainly stand in awe of the people who do.
Last time I visited my parents, my dad shared a bedspread in a roughly similar style to this that my grandmother had worked on for years on and off.
I don't know if I'll ever get around to working with thread rather than yarn, but I can certainly stand in awe of the people who do.
Seal ready for rescue
Now this is the sort of cute lifeguard I would really like to see. I would totally let him save my day! Click on the link to BocoZoo's Flickr stream to the right for more of her fun creations.
Pteranodon
I don't know how anyone could ever look at this amigurumi and be sad. It's purple. It has wings. A beak. And claws. Plus, it appears to be blushing. I lurves it!
Chihuahua
Doggie!!!! Super-cute and very nicely executed amigurumi of a chihuahua.
This little guy reminds me of one of my favorite aspects of dog ownership in the city. Our neighborhood is fairly multicultural, so there are families who speak all sorts of languages around. I love walking with Oreo and seeing a family with little kids up ahead, chattering happily in their native language, only to see the kid break off, stare at Oreo, and announce loudly and happily: DOGGIE!!!!
Yes, "doggie" is apparently an international word because it doesn't matter what language the kid was speaking 30 seconds ago - it could be Spanish, Mandarin, German, Japanese, Russian, you name it. And Oreo gets extra wiggly cute when he hears it. And is always a very nice gentleman with the little ones, especially the shy ones.
This little guy reminds me of one of my favorite aspects of dog ownership in the city. Our neighborhood is fairly multicultural, so there are families who speak all sorts of languages around. I love walking with Oreo and seeing a family with little kids up ahead, chattering happily in their native language, only to see the kid break off, stare at Oreo, and announce loudly and happily: DOGGIE!!!!
Yes, "doggie" is apparently an international word because it doesn't matter what language the kid was speaking 30 seconds ago - it could be Spanish, Mandarin, German, Japanese, Russian, you name it. And Oreo gets extra wiggly cute when he hears it. And is always a very nice gentleman with the little ones, especially the shy ones.
:: Ça fait cot cot ici, ça fait cot cot là ::
The photography here is nearly as exquisite as the doll. I love the slightly ethereal look of this girl, too.
In English, the name of this photo would translate roughly as: "A cluck cluck here, a cluck cluck there."
As in, the sounds chickens make. I was going to say "bock bock" but I think that's German beer. :P
In English, the name of this photo would translate roughly as: "A cluck cluck here, a cluck cluck there."
As in, the sounds chickens make. I was going to say "bock bock" but I think that's German beer. :P
sukigirl: How to crochet Eve from Wall-e
Follow the link below for a wonderful crochet pattern for Eve from Wall-e. Yay and thanks to sukigirl designing and sharing such fun for free!
6.15.2009
Tiring but good day
I didn't sleep very well last night and had to be up this morning for an appointment, but today still managed to be a good day. My dear friend took me out to do a bit of shopping, including a visit to Vogue Fabrics. Drool!!!!! We spent a generous amount of time rummaging through the remnants and I got a great haul of stuff.
Going through some of their other lovely stuff has also reinforced my need to get sewing again and build up some skills so that I can go back and buy some of their lovely silks, for example, to make clothes.
As it is, I have some wonderful cottons to work with for bags and for table linens. Enough, in fact, that I'm looking around as we speak for some basic accounting tools in order to take the next step toward starting a little product line for sale on Etsy.
I know myself well enough to know that I need to start keeping books from the get-go, even if the whole thing fizzles. Otherwise, I may wind up in a mess of receipts and papers and no clue what is going on.
I also need to figure out a few other "business-y" things - like tax stuff. Groan. Anyone with any resources to share, I will be immensely grateful.
I am now exhausted, though, and probably need to stop with the thinky stuff for now before I get thoroughly confused and frustrated.
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