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Srsly.
If you have problems, email me -- click on the About Me link at the top of the sidebar.
DIY shibori dyeing.
A sheep in different clothing.
Sorry, gotta go.
Mathematical scarves.
Who doesn't love Peter Pan?
Wouldn't this be fun to knit in different shades/tints of red and give to your sweetie on Valentines Day?
Knitted... jellyfish?
Anybody recognize this yarn?
Every cat deserves matching socks.
photo credit: 037/365 - A link to dusk via photopin (license)
Wait for it...
We need to know about the mac and cheese.
Solution for the heat.
Graveyard of discontinued flavors.
How to repeat a song on YouTube.
The kitchen gadget from hell.
Discover the favorite TV series about your state.
On children cleaning their room: "Of course, you will likely still need to vacuum (and release a family of squirrels into their natural habitat)..."
Seven alternative ways to organize your bookshelf(s).
Somewhat related: twelve books [that this guy thinks] every intelligent person should read.
Also vaguely related: 10 Reasons We Love Bookish David Bowie.
Success in the world of the freelance writer.
Query: what's wrong with this kitten?
How to restore mealtime like it was in the 1980s.
Sticky bookmarks! Hidey-holes!
Which book protagonist are you?
Imagine if the journey to Mt. Doom took nine years instead of just one.
Even though I have a BA in art history, I am not terribly familiar with American artists. European art from medieval through 19th century, Japanese art of the 16th through 19th century, and early Chinese art -- those I can handle. So my list may be pretty short. And consist of American artist that I know.
Ten Favorite American Artists.
Backgammon afghan. (Pattern available here.)
Winter is coming: knit yourself a sun.
This would be fun in double-knitting.
This would be fun to knit.
I have 3,000+ yards of fingering weight Polwarth almost exactly like this (mine is a little brighter).
Proposed knitting emojis.
Damn, I wish people would figure out the difference between knitted and crocheted garments. (Caution: there is audio in this video.)
Just when you thought it was safe to put your socks on...
Oh, sure, I would wear that.
These would be way warm.
This is just wrong.
.
photo credit: Rusty chain via photopin (license)
Extinct tree grows anew from ancient jar of seeds unearthed by archaeologists.
Just another Tuesday in Canada, etc...
Self-destructing... mosquitoes?
Meditation (audio NSFW).
Cool stairs. via TheBloggess.com
"The odds of the very big one are roughly one in ten."
Let's give the guns to women.
Recipe for the day: Schadenfreude pie.
"...also, sometimes a dragon will melt somebody’s car and it’s a whole problem.”
I wish a clerk would say this to me.
Canadians: nicest people on earth.
Depression described.
Carpet surfing.
Learning to ride a bike as an adult: it's a thing.
What color is this song.
Chris has links for you.
You know it's bad...
Never-aired scenes from Downton Abbey.
Attention: birdwatchers.
When cucumbers attack.
photo credit: Home Made Ice Cream via photopin (license)
My Ten Favorite Flavors Of Ice Cream.
That's it. Don't bother me with your strawberry or your rocky road or your sherbet or your sorbet/gelato/ices. If it doesn't have my preferred intense chocolate or a liqueur, I'm not interested.
If anyone is keen to knit a vintage pattern, let me know.
photo credit: Fence via photopin (license)
Grilling tips: hot dogs, burgers.
New movie plot.
A reader's manifesto.
Also: 53 books you won't be able to put down.
Amazing realism.
Oops (but sooo cute).
This is scary.
"Once you hit 40, you spend every waking day resisting the urge to burn up the rest of your life yelling at anyone who comes within 40 feet of your porch."
The running of the interns. via blackbirdseventeen.com
Winter is not yet over in Boston.
Guess what. Free condoms work better than abstinence pledges.
How Cuba did it.
The bears around here are really resourceful.
Why, yes, I have wondered about this, too.
This was fabulous. Sadly, it was not true.
Young entrepeneurship. (Caution: music starts automatically when you click over, so mute your machine if you are at work.)
No more popping the bubble wrap.
100 ways to say I love you...
Go read Chris's links!
Can this be true? Hard to say, really.
photo credit: DSC00807 via photopin (license)
Dear People Who Set Off Lots Of Really, Really Loud Fireworks Last Saturday Night,
I am so pleased that you had a good time on the Fourth and hope that you all survived with fingers, toes, and eyes intact.
Let's do this again, shall we? But not until next year, please.
Your friend,
The Kat™
* * * * *
Dear South Carolina,
It's about damned time.
k
* * * * *
Dear Mother Nature,
You do a great job with the clouds and the trees and the flora and fauna, and I am very appreciative of it all. However, your timing appears to have gotten slightly... off. Seems to me it has rained every weekend this summer (with the exception of July 4 -- thanks for that!). Although it really makes no-never-mind to me which day you decide to water my garden, I am hearing grumbles from those poor wage slaves who have only 2 day/week to play.
Would you consider confining the rain to the hours between Sunday night and Friday morning?
Thanks,
Your appreciative friend
The Kat™
The Friends of my local library had our annual book sale a couple weekends ago. It is amazing how many books get weeded from the library or from other people's bookshelves.
Kay and Diane squeezing as many books onto the table as possible.
The library is popular with teens. They were happy to help --
and they got early admittance to the sale.
Last day of the sale -- fill a bag! The books were flying out of the library.
Sadly, we didn't make as much money as in prior years, but we did get books into people's hands. Large print and romance novels, which sold well last year, were not as popular this year; the remains were divvied up and distributed to the five nursing homes in the county. Unwanted paperbacks had their covers torn off and were recycled.
It was fun... and we'll do it again next year!
Haunted faces in the LYS? This is how religions get started...
Ten Things To Do On A Summer Staycation.*
* As a retiree, I find that pretty much every day/week/month is a staycation. So these are my regular fun activities.
Remember: good posture is important.
DIY sock needle holder.
If only...
This goes beyond silly.
The previous knit makes this one look almost conservative.
.
Window display at Darn Knit Anyway, a yarn store in Stillwater MN.
Reading -- Early Warning by Jane Smiley. She is the one author whose every book I buy; I enjoy her writing and want to support her. I was about halfway through Some Luck, the first book in this trilogy, when I paged through Early Warning at a bookstore simply because it looked so much like the one I was reading. Imagine my delight to discover they are part of a trilogy!
Listening to - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. I started reading the book a year or two ago but couldn't get into it. But I am enjoying the audiobook immensely.
Celebrating - Molly, our new teenage slave helper. I met her last week at our library book sale, where she and several other middle-schoolers were volunteering to help set up. When I asked the librarian if she would recommend any of them as a potential hire to help us with the myriad of tasks that have become a little too strenuous for us, she immediately pointed to Molly. The girl is conscientious, hard-working, cheerful, prompt, strong, and a sweetie. We are enjoying her. Best of all, she won't graduate and leave us for five years.
Waiting for - the impulse to renew my back exercises. I know that is the first step in improving my life, but somehow I lack motivation. In an unrelated note, also waiting for my heirloom sweet peas to bloom.
Dreading - nothing, really.
Wishing & hoping - that Elder Son, who came home for this long weekend, has a safe drive back to Sioux Falls.
Knitting - a sooper seekrit project for Christmas. It is too large to be portable, so my pick-up knitting right now is a the set of three washcloths of Cascade pima cotton mentioned in the caption above. Nice stuff; I will package them with some handmade soap made by a local lady and send it all off as a thank-you gift to the woman who shared her house with my when I attended the League of Women Voters state conference. When those are done my pick-up knitting will be finishing the five (5!) pairs of socks in various stages of doneness.
Eating - a two-pack of Nature Valley granola bars for breakfast every day. Such an easy meal, and it keeps me going until late afternoon. (Of course it helps that I don't start the day until late morning.)
Drinking - Three-Buck Chuck sauvignon blanc. Icy-cold, delicious.
Watching - The entire run of Criminal Minds. We are now on the last season on Netflix; after that we will watch the entire run of The X Files. Now that Smokey is retired I don't have the opportunity to watch Netflix by myself, so I'm not sure when I will get to watch the series he doesn't like as much as I do -- OITNB or Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries or Grace and Frankie.
photo credit: DC Fireworks via photopin (license)
Paint color names to rival yarn color names. via martinimade.com
Parenting tweets. ditto
Links from Chris. More links from Chris.
Graffiti *battle* ends with a chuckle.
Before hockey goalies wore face masks.
Photo Video bomb.
This looks remarkably like the bed I was strapped to for my second C-section.
"A girl showing her mom her new laptop with two usb ports."
Putting this here because it sounds delicious.
Tips for getting the baby to sleep.
10 careers with the most psychopaths per capita.
For those who say the Civil War was not about slavery.
Female scientist agrees that women do not belong in the lab.
Meanwhile, in other woman-oriented news, Mother catches foul ball one-handed.
And this is why this blog is not all knit, all the time.
What if...
And this is why I enjoy John Scalzi's writing.
A bit more from Scalzi.
Another one that generates a palette based on a photo.
"Orange shrub cat requires many pets to grow big and strong."
This is how tampons should be advertised.
Wisconsin just keeps getting suckier.
He was handy with the ladies.
Hoarding can be a problem for anyone.
