these days of leiderhosen

I watched it without the sound as the squirrels kept their commentary to themselves.

Someone designed a swift for $1.50 out of stuff they had around the house. Awesome! Michael? You said you had a dismal experience knitting from the skein? ("Therein lies madness" is the stock phrase for whenever this situation might come up.) This is the solution, if you can't get someone to hold the skein for you mid-wind. Actually, hand over your adorable puppy and I'll wind anything you damn well like. Yesterday evening was spent with the best East Bay knitters ever. I made them pose for iPhone contacts and each one was perfectly glam right off the bat. Alisha made malted marshmallow which requires the second "Awesome!" of the post. Alisha has officially given endentured servitude the bird and has started her own patisserie: Reverie .

To the pattern designers and paper manufacturers: Would you please get together and make some articulate (yet polite) paper so when I read some stocking pattern translated from the original Swedish, math-fiddly, filled with new techniques and end up screaming "Exactly how many times must I rip this whole fucking sock out?!" and the paper would cough quietly and clearly say: "eight".

Hot Damn! Prince is interviewed on Tavis Smiley on PBS. Prince is calmer these days which is nice, but there is no way he is giving up satin clothes. Strangely no purple was in evidence although he was wearing kitten heel pumps. Can he really be fifty?

The funniest thing I've read today: the Slanket/Snuggie/Blanket with Sleeves comparison on Gizmod o. Okay, exactly I haven't been online much today being forced into garden labor by the Parentals. Honestly, there is such thing as "too much fucking garden". (mutter, mutter...Flippin' suburbia.) A plus, the orange trees are in bloom in Prententiousville. It's absolutely an absolutely heady experiance until one realizes that I could not afford the cosmetic surgery or the haircare products to live there. (My family? Rather like the Joads or original homesteaders. Pops left a crumpled Honda CRX in from of the house for eight years , using it as a conversation piece to get to know the lay of the land with new neighbors. If they would so much as glance at it is with the slightest bit of distain, he'd pop out his hearing aids and stare at the newcomers until they'd leave.) Mom brought back a huge suitcase of gifts from Equador, including some very modern loo...

Dozens of Freds at the feeder today and they seem to be mostly female, which makes me wonder if the daddies have to sit home on the eggs. Seeing as the little buggers are so territorial, I can't see how they'd actual get past that impulse to actually hook up.

As a present The Steven has bought me an iphone and just setting up the damn thing is proving to be quite the Time Suck. Gaahhhh. Outside, it's more than lovely.It's officially Big Fuckoff Hat season. I found two so enormus that they make me look like a toadstool. Thankfully I am beyond caring. Also a requirement: SPF 70 and parasols. (This season I have 2 left; One was offered to Jules' father's girlfriend who had just move to Las Vegas. Parasols are absolutely necessary if one is anywhere near Las Vegas providing shade and personal space.) This evening I get to pick Mom up at SFO and drive her back to Pretentiousville after ten days of Catholic Charity Vacation in South America. As far as I can recall this is her first independant vacation so it will be interesting to hear how her visit to the leper colony was. (She was very excited about this.)