What I did over Memorial Day Weekend, Part II

The Friday before Memorial Day was for the fair! Here are the boys helping plant the half wine barrel for the fund raising auction on Saturday (caution: bad cell phone photo!).

And here is Boy with Rabbit: #1 Son in his 4H garb (minus tie) with Dart, getting ready to go to the fair for the Primary judging.

At 7, he is too young to compete in the Juniors or Seniors divisions, but this year, they had a new practice division for kids to start becoming accustomed to competition. The judges were wonderfully helpful and honest in their assessments. It was a great experience. Here he is during judging:

He did amazingly well, considering he has not been doing this for very long at all. By the time he's old enough to show, he'll be awesome! We were all totally thrilled. I think I should mention here that Dart is a show rabbit and not a market rabbit. Both are raised by 4H-ers. And can I also mention that I will never eat rabbit again? In fact, I'm thinking I will just become a vegetarian. Yep, that's the ticket. Soybeans aren't at all cute. ;)

Of course, I had to stop by and check out the sheep. Here's one that was checking me out a little too close!

And the award for the most stylin' sheep goes to...

She wouldn't tell me her name, but I'm sure it was a good one. :)

Tomorrow: the auction! A little hint about that cake I mentioned yesterday...it went for 4 figures!

What I did over Memorial Day Weekend, Part I

Every year, the little town 6 miles to the south (Healdsburg, which I suppose is not so little any longer) welcomes summer with the Future Farmers Country Fair. It all starts with a parade on Thursday evening. The first year that we were here, the mayor told us that "half the town is in the parade and half the town watches." And even though the town has become more a tourist destination than a place for regular folks to live, the parade and the fair remain, so far, pretty much unchanged.

This year, the boys rode on the 4H float, and there was much excitement! Here they are, wearing their Veterans Day poppies, waiting to go:

#1 Son borrowed a fairly calm rabbit to ride with him on the float. In the next picture, you can barely see the chickens in their cage:

And #1 Son sitting on the vintage tractor:

Dad rode on the float with the little kids and I walked along handing out candy. There were fire engines, kids on numerous floats, old cars and trucks...what more could you ask? Too much fun. :)

Tune in for more fun at the fair and find out how much someone paid for one cake at the auction!

Oh!...and costumechick tagged me, but I've already done the 7 things here and here, so I plead immunity. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

All is Revealed

As most of you guessed, the cosmo of Friday Eye Candy fame was not actually frozen. We did have the real machine there, mixing frozen cosmos up (they were yummy!), but they melted much much too fast to shoot under the hot lights. Thankfully, I had already been at work mixing up my own recipe! The secret ingredient I had in mind was shaving cream, so Caroline is the first winner! Other ingredients were: cosmopolitan mix (no other coloring was used) and fake ice whirled in a blender after being hydrated. I also used glycerin on the outside of the glass to simulate a little condensation (the client didn't want much) and on the lime garnish. There was no vodka in the drink - it was a virgin cosmo (let's see what weird Google hits I get out of this entry!). :) The lime was real. It was cut that morning in the studio (by me) using a very very sharp knife. I shaved the pith off the back so that it would curl better and then sprayed it with an acrylic coating to keep it looking fresh.

But I digress! If you said fake ice, shaving cream, glycerin, or polymers (like in diapers, fake snow or those little crystals to keep flowers fresh), I entered you in the second random drawing. The random number from random.org was 6. The sixth correct commenter (leaving out Caroline) was...LisaK!

So Caroline and LisaK, please send me your addresses! :)

I loved seeing all of your responses! Thank you everyone for entering! This contest was even more fun than the original photo shoot, and being a photo stylist was a complete blast! :)

Memorial Day

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

-by John McCrae

Remember those who have given their lives, in wars past and present. They have all made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may live better lives, whether or not we agreed with the politics of the war.

May we soon have peace.

Friday Eye Candy

This is a frozen cosmopolitan my husband shot (and I styled) for a client awhile back.

I had a blast with the "ice" and a secret ingredient in the cosmo! Can you guess what I added to the drink for the photo shoot?

The first person to guess will be sent one of these:

Get your answers in by midnight (PST) Sunday May 27. If no one guesses correctly, I'll have a contest to give it away next week!

edited to add: I'm going to amend the contest a little: the first correct person will receive a pin (shown above) and then I will take the rest of the correct answers and draw one at random. That person will also get a pin (shown above). I love all the guesses! Keep 'em coming! The more the merrier! :)

Happy Friday! :)

Bunny Love

#1 Son has not been sleeping for the last two nights at least. And that is because he knew that today, this very day and none other, we would be picking up a rabbit for his 4H project. We have been talking to The Rabbit Lady and her daughter for some time now. They raise Rhinelanders, which are apparently somewhat rare in the US. And when #1 Son saw them, he knew he had to have one. I tried my very very best to convince him to go with an Angora. Truly I did! I even lined up a place for him to sell the angora fluff! Alas. Maybe next time. :)

#1 Son named his rabbit Dart, which I thought was pretty clever! Here is #1 Son with The Rabbit Lady's Daughter and Dart:

Here is #1 Son with a profound look of satisfaction on his face, holding Dart:

It's Bunny Love!

Vivian tagged me again for the 7 things, so I will answer another 7 and then I won't be passing it on. Feel free to grab it if you like! :) First, in answer to some questions.

1. I used to play French horn and have a Bachelor of Music in Performance from Eastman School of Music.

2. Sydney was great! On my Australia trip (yes - to the east coast) I also visited Melbourne (most of the time was spent there), Canberra, Wangaretta and Mittagong. I think those are spelled correctly! It was a wonderful trip and I loved Australia.

Other random facts:

3. I am an ENTP on the Myers-Briggs personality test.

4. I have a Masters degree in Radio and Television (broadcast journalism).

5. My first real job in high school was at a fabric store.

6. I am an only child.

7. My favorite foods are sushi, Thai food and Vietnamese food. Oh...and chocolate. :)

So that's that!

Not much knitting, stealth or otherwise, has happened in the past few days since The Husband broke several toes. *sigh* Poor guy!

Hope y'all are having a great week! :)

Saturday Smorgasbord

In the hopes that I can quell the thirst for actual knitting content while I am knitting away on my stealth projects, I bring you Other People's Knitting. We got together at A Good Yarn in Windsor and knitted away this morning (yes, I knitted too!). Here's Therese, who is working on Sarcelle by the talented Ms. Cookie A (thank you for the correction, Mim!) Kristi:

Susan is knitting away on her Noro sweater. It's her first one! Isn't that great?!

And here's Dana who is modelling pieces of her Mari sweater knit from Eco Wool.

We were discussing today what a great all-around wool Eco Wool is. It comes in beautiful natural colors (plus some dyed ones now) and is a great value. I've knit a hoodie for my husband out of it (which he loves) and am in the middle of sweaters for #1 Son and Dr. Destructo. And I still love the stuff! I'm thinking I need a Rogue out of it next. Dana and Therese were agreeing that the more you knit with it, the more you love it. I have even knit a sweater of it held together with a strand of kidsilk haze. Can you say "fiber therapy?"

And here are Carol and Kathleen, who was new today. Welcome Kathleen!

Carol is working on a sleeve of her tie-dyed boxes sweater from Knitter's. Here are the back and front:

And Kathleen was working on a Calorimetry with this amazingly gorgeous wool/soy yarn (name escapes my tiny brain at the moment!).

She also brought a pattern for a mini sock that she's asking people to knit for her new non-profit.

Now I'm off to do a little stealth knitting while I watch Pride and Prejudice. What could be better?! :)

Friday Eye Candy

One of the things that is a ton of fun is making special order shawl pins! Here are two completed last week: a dolphin

and a leaf.

Not much happening around here except stealth knitting (I love that phrase - I stole it from Melanie) so I have nothing to show you! Yet. :)

#1 son is feeling fine now and thanks you for all your concern!

Have a wonderful Friday and a great weekend!

MeMe

Tagged by LesleyD! The rules:

Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and need to read your blog. The facts:

1) The first time I was ever on a plane was a trip to Australia.

2) I love 80s music.

3) When I was pregnant with my first son, the smell of coffee nauseated me and I have never regained my love for it. I drink tea now.

4) I'm a California native, born in San Francisco, but I've never been to Alcatraz or Disneyland.

5) As part of the Eastman Wind Ensemble, I went on tour with Wynton Marsalis when I was an undergrad in college.

6) I love Star Trek.

7) I learned to drive stick shift in San Francisco.

I tag Steph, Joanne, Vanessa, Jean, Nathania, Lorraine & Marina.

A Good Day

What a lovely Mother's Day it was! A whirlwind recap:

1. Wake up to hand made cards and a breakfast of French Toast (made only with egg yolks and no whites for Dr. Destructo - allergies).

Here's a flamingo from #1 Son's card:

And a space-going Zebra from Dr. Destructo's card:

2. Go to Windsor Farmer's Market and see cooking demonstration by dear friend Susan and her husband Jeff. Yummy!

3. Knit and be lazy.

4. Make cake.

5. Hang out and knit some more while husband makes the absolute best seafood paella in the world. Really. I know he is the Paella Master, but this one was transcendent!


6. Knit and be lazy.

7. Watch Survivor finale. (Was anyone else upset to see Yau-Man get voted off? Oy! I am soooo bummed.)

8. Blog.

The highlight of the day? Getting to see Dr. Destructo eating and absolutely loving his first ever chocolate cake. The amazing recipe that Amy posted has no eggs and no milk! Dr. Destructo is allergic to both. We make other special desserts, but no good chocolate cake. He was so happy. I was so happy. We were all totally thrilled! And the cake was so freakin' good! Thank you Amy for posting it, and thank you Barbara for giving Amy the recipe!

Hope you all had a wonderful day, too!

"Love many. Trust few. Do wrong to none." - Yau-Man Chan

edit at 1:15 am: Elizabeth had something to say about kids, puking and the timing thereof. So far the theory is holding true at our house! *sigh* Poor #1 son.

Friday Eye Candy +

The Eye Candy:

Look at this great Sweet Nothing from Amy!


Isn't it gorgeous? I love the colors she used!

+ answers to some of your questions!

Charm asked of the Copper colored Baby Georgia yarn: "Is it just the photo or does it have gentle color gradation, sort of a hand dyed look?"

It is just the photo! The color is actually dyed quite evenly, but the sunlight was falling across it and the yarn has a slight sheen that makes it look a little hand dyed when the light reflects just so.

krissuthe asked (also about the coppery yarn): "Wonderful yarn color - would you mind sharing the colorway name / number?"

It is Crystal Palace Baby Georgia in color number 9016 "Sahara" - it is a coppery terra cotta in real life. It is mercerized, but it has a much more matte look to it than other mercerized cottons I've come across. I love it! I wish they hadn't discontinued it. :(

Re the sock, Marina asked: "Love the short bursts of colours. Cute! Does he have clothes to match?!"

Yes! He has some pretty wild cycling jerseys. :)

I'm thinking the second sock, plus another full length pair, will be good projects for the slog-along.

Happy Friday!!!

Sock Sighting

That's right. Right on this here blog. A sock.

Finished but missing its mate, poor lonely thing. But never fear, I have all sorts of ideas from Sheri on how to use it should it go mateless for life. This is a real consideration, since it is for my husband, who wears size 13 and likes his socks knit on US 0s. At least it's a cycling sock, which means it's nice and short!

That was close

First, thank you all for the incredibly kind comments on my painting! You all made me feel great. :)

On to my Close Call.

You may recall that I decided on the copper yarn for my Campanula and swatched it. You know what's coming, right? It was discontinued! Not just the color, mind you, but the yarn, too: Baby Georgia from Crystal Palace. But as Marina said, it's good to like colors in the orange range because, not only do they end up in the sale bin, but when yarn is discontinued and everyone else buys the purple, lilac, cream and pink, you can grab...


...the last 8 hanks of the copper! Woooooo! Hooooooooo!

And now I just need to find time to make it. Heh. This weekend would have been a good time (I actually got to relax and play!) except that I spent a lot of my knitting time doing geeky charty things with lace. I had a blast. I found this font from XRX (thank you David Xenakis, for including Macs!) and played with it. Knitting. Charts. Lace. Fonts. Spreadsheets. What could be better?!

And an update to the Situation: all is well. Really. Dr. Destructo wants you all to know that he still lives here and we still love him. But, as Alison and I discussed, we have this little saying in common: "It's a good thing you're so cute!" The cut yarn was removed from the cone, the ends put back together fairly well (if I do say so myself!) and the sample in question was completed and sent off. One of these days, you will even see it! Whew.

Friday Eye Candy

I don't have any lovely tulips growing in my yard like these at Yarnstorm, but in appreciation of those gorgeous photos, here is a painting of mine. It was originally done for a calendar: the month of April.



Can you tell I love orange? ;)

Happy Friday!

Is it Wednesday already?!

Have I mentioned how much I love my GoKnit pouch from Scout? It is so awesome! Here it is in a semi-action shot:

Beside it is my Peacock Feathers shawl which I have worked mindlessly on over the past day or so (and had the tinking and correcting associated with mindlessness, thankyewverymuch).

It looks like it did the last time I showed it: a limp pile of yarn. But some day it will make the amazing transformation of blocked lace! Susan has gotten word that her Peacock Feathers yarn is coming (woohooooooo) so I'm crossing appendages for her. :) Then she will proceed to knit the whole shawl in a few seconds flat. I'd better get going on it, eh?!

Here's the copper swatch for Campanula. I'm loving it!

Here's the green for Sitcom Chic.

I love the yarn, but I think it needs to be knit a little looser. It is still curling after blocking. (Yes, I am very anal about washing and blocking my swatches - it comes from many poorly fitting garments!)

I don't have enough copper colored yarn, so I will have to pick some up on Saturday. Meanwhile, I may just knit mindlessly away on Peacock Feathers.

Has anyone seen a brain running down the street? It may be mine. If you can catch it, please let me know.