leftovers

The old e.m. blog used to be all about the breakfast. As an homage, I'll show you my breakfast for today. Well, brunch I guess since I didn't eat it till 11. It's an omelette of sorts, really just some eggs and leftover pasta sauce I made the other night.

In knitting news, I made a little coaster from the leftover papasan throw yarn.
But Lee Chat drank my water.
Yesterday I started the cast-on for this. First I had to wind the yarn which took a LONG time because it is tiny. Too lazy for photos of that today but there's still two more balls to wind so maybe another day. It's beauty-ful outside so I should be outdoors. Later.

I was going to write this on Saturday and call it Saturday Evening Post

Because it was like this on Saturday evening:But now, it's Monday afternoon, and that's not so clever. Anyway, my main goal on Saturday was to show you my new hanging plant.
Isn't it cute? Hopefully it will make it through the summer. My friend the weather expert predicts a cooler but more humid summer than last year. Good for plants? I guess.

It's probably better that I waited until today to write because now I can tell you about this week's hike at Enchanted Rock. Y'all know I LOVE rocks. Really. I took a few too many pictures of them that you can see here. It was a super fun trip even though I got attacked by a cactus:
(Note to self: MORE PILATES! LOTION! SUNSHINE!) I took this cool rock home-I know you're not supposed to, but I love rocks.
On the way home I finally finished a knitted thing: the throw for the papasan chair. It's technically a baby blanket so it doesn't cover it completely. Close enough.
Lee likes it.

Back on track

Hey y'all! Looks like I've let a lot of time pass between posts again. Oops. Hope you've found some other things to do.

Let's see, what have you missed? Weekend before last, we did one of my new favorite things-going to the races! I LOVE this. Mostly because I win. It is so fun. And there's hotdogs! We also went to the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. Also fun, and I got to crouch through barbed wire fence for the first time. (We had to do a little bit of trail blazing) Pics of these activities are on the flickr.

Last week was spring break, which in Austin means SXSW. It also means I "work" way longer hours, but thanks to good ol' JS I was able to get out with the kids for some daytime rock shows. Our friend Jack Daniel Stanley had a few entries in the film fest. His new short Depth of Phil was really great. After the screening we had a few drinks at the Highball, and met Gary who plays Phil in the movie. Turns out he was the casting director on The Last Picture Show. Very cool. Oh yeah, we went to a free Cheap Trick show at Auditorium Shores. I love living here.

In other entertainment news, yes I did go out and buy the fox movie yesterday. This movie makes me very happy. See it this minute if you haven't, or go watch it again.

I also bought (gulp) a pilates video. Yes you read that right. I've been trying this month to put a bit of a smackdown on myself as my love of beer and fest-type foods has really been catching up with me. It kicked my ass but I think I may love it. It involves a lot of rocking on the floor which is something I already do.

I got another parcel in my locker!! Yarn of course. Spectacular Malabrigo Lace to make this. Yes, I have another cupcake mitten to finish. And the foxes. And the throw for the papasan chair, and lots of other stuff. Pay attention to your own knitting projects.

My computer's been acting wacky, so I should post this before I lose it. Hope y'all are well.

The Happy Locker

Hi y'all, I'm blogging to you from my Texas flag chair (outdoors!). It seems like winter may really be over this time. Maybe. Some of you may remember that I declared winter over way back here, so I understand if you don't trust me this time. A lot of fun stuff happened in the last eight days, but the highlight was this:
The parcel locker! I don't know if you have this where you live, but it is the greatest. (Remember that this is only the second apartment complex I've lived in as an adult, so sometimes I'm impressed by things other people might find mundane.) At the other apt. when you got a package in the mail, you had to ask the bitchy lady in the office to go get it for you. Here at the magical Grove where it is always summer, you get a mysterious key in your mailbox. This key opens one of four parcel lockers and your package is inside!!! That's it! From now on I'm having all my supplies shipped in so I can get a parcel locker key every day. Ok, well at least it will encourage me to buy even more yarn online. Oh yeah, what was my parcel? The supplies to make these! (Clapping)

We also had my dear friend Adriane's annual birthday wingfest. She and my sweet love share a passion for the hot wings, but I just don't get it. Food is a pleasure. It shouldn't hurt. Whatever, I got to make cupcakes. I ate some "one x" wings. I played along. She is a great friend. I put the few pics I took on the flickr.

On Sunday we went on a hike. There's a ton of beautiful wilderness in my homeland but you have to drive a ways to get there. Here in Austin this is 15 minutes from downtown:
So no, I didn't watch the Oscars but I was glad to see The Hurt Locker and my girl Mo'Nique win. If you haven't seen The Hurt Locker you should, it's better than you think it's going to be. While I was a bit let down by Precious, Mo'Nique's performance was one of the most brilliant pieces of acting I've ever seen. She was insane.

In knitting news, I'm working on the foxes and a throw to cover the papasan chair. Yes, it is already covered in cat hair, but I have this yarn that matches the revamped futon sheet and I'm trying to make my tiny apt. all normal home looking. Wish me luck. I did get sheets and stuff for the bed and was reminded that making a bed is a pain in the ass. If I ever get that room uncluttered I'll show you a picture. Until then, enjoy whatever y'all are doing this week!

Yippee!!!

Hi y'all! Something really exciting happened this morning! I got a new mattress! The first new mattress of my "adult" life, and the first real bed I've had since 2005. I for one am very pleased but the cats, not so much:I expected Lee to freak out, as he freaks out if someone sneezes, but even the self-proclaimed badass H. Cumberdale was petrified. They hid together behind the washer and dryer.

Check it out! I know, it's silly to be so thrilled at things like apartments and mattresses that most people acquire in their early 20's. Let's just pretend I'm in my early 20's then, ok? I've been doing it for years. It's easy.
Let's also ignore the piles of crap stacked there at the end. To the untrained eye I imagine this looks like an ordinary pile of crap but actually it is a carefully sorted stack of belongings. Here's the best part!! If I sit on the edge, my feet don't touch!!! This is something I've wanted all my life-no joke-a bed where my feet don't touch. But yikes, I need some sunshine and a pedi stat!!
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell y'all that I finally did get my hair cut. Bangs. They're too short, and the rest of it is choppy and yucky and I hate it. I may be off haircuts forever. They only disappoint.
Guess I should go buy some sheets!! Later!

Ferreted out

I've done a lot of embarrassing things in my day, but the most recent was losing this movie from netflix. I guess it's remarkable that this is the first netflick I've lost, but the most embarrassing part is I didn't even watch it! Even though I'm usually anti-rodentlike animals, I have to admit this guy is pretty cute:On the plus side, if this disc ever appears, I can watch it as many times as I want. Forever.

So, the first few weeks of February were crazy busy. For real! Moving, Super Bowl, a Valentine's Day trip to San Antonio, the tiny apartment warming party, a blizzard! Sadly, my camera was in someone else's apartment for some of these events, but I put what I have on the flickr. (fyi-I upgraded to a pro flickr, so the lost easter party pics are back up in case you missed them)

This is a pretty leecentric blog, so I thought I'd give H.C. a turn. Here he is hanging out on the revamped garbage futon. By "revamped" I mean it has a new cover (sheet) and throw pillows. Fancy! Lee is my extra special cat love, but good old Hube is awfully cute too.
I'm an auntie! Here is my sister Amy's new baby, Ricochet. He looks like the kind of dog who would enjoy a knitted sweater, doesn't he? Especially since we're in a torturous never ending winter here in central TX. It's March y'all! Where's my blistering heat?
I've decided to fulfill my dream of being a yarncraft badass (mastering knitting AND crocheting). I've always had disdain for crochet, but at the same time love for amigurumi, the Japanese art of crocheting little animals and stuff. So here goes, crochet away!
Everyone says crochet is easier than knitting, but I disagree. Knitting is balanced with two needles and crochet is awkward with the hook thingy and the holding the project in your hand. But my love of cute Japanese stuff has overcome my hate of crochet. I made this little guy:
He's kind of hole-y because the yarn I used was too thin for the hook, but it helped me see what I was doing better. He's supposed to look more like this, which is how I hope the blue one I'm working on will turn out. Oh yeah, did you see my Valentine's Day present in the crochet picture? Here's the inside. It's says JS YJS Super Bowl XLIII. It is the cutest sweetest thing ever.

In entertainment news (using the term "new" loosely), I bought a record! I like it, although it definitely does not rock. And the cover reminds me a lot of this. And then I heard one of the songs from it on Grey's. Hmmm. We saw Shutter Island. It was ok, but I found the ending to be a touch exasperating. Worth a matinee though. If you've got some free time.

Speaking of free time, mine is quickly running out so I'd better motor. Later y'all (probably much later)!