Birdy musings

Can you believe these two are only about a month old? And that's an estimation on my part. My first photos of them were on April 9th, and I don't really think they were more than a week old then. It's amazing to me how quickly they've grown. I showed them to my friend, Len, yesterday, and he was really taken with them. "Look how they aren't afraid of us!", he exclaimed. He used Marion's favorite word, "Awesome!", and in this case, I find it wholly appropriate. Here they are, growing and prospering in the parking lot of an ophthalmology office. Wow. We should all take a lesson from these two. And their fabulous mama. I think they'll probably be gone in about a week or so. Looking at the development of their feathers, I can't imagine I'll get to see them much longer. I'll miss them, but it sure has been wonderful to get to watch them.

This was NOT a wine worth recommending, but for the lovely chicken on the label. I have lots of poultry in my kitchen. My mom bought into the whole poultry thing so thoroughly that I had to actually issue a "chicken-moratorium" for her, because she was going a little bird-cuckoo. I have the rubber chicken she gave me artfully draped across the faucets for my washer, and it really does make me snicker every time I do a load of laundry. Heck, anything that makes me happy when laundry is involved is welcome!

This is the start of a sweater. I know, it's pretty amazing, innit? I got my hands on a copy of The Yarn Girls' Guide to Kid Knits" when I finally figgered out that the Dulaan project will like my hats and scarves, but would probably really like something a bit more substantial. Thanks to Pam's PEI yarn, I'm working up the "Master of His/Her Own Domain" sweater in the 1-year-old size. It's entirely garter stitch! God Bless You, Yarn Girls!

I really am enjoying the memes that Woof Nanny is posting, (not to mention that she has a great blog anyhow) and I have an idea for one........ Please return here in the next 48 hours and play along!

Sit...Stay...HEEL!

Well, I think I really did it this time! The wrapped stitches were a little confusing, and I did do some tinking, but there's a heel on that thar sock! I think it's a bit loose in some places, but I'm thinking that when I weave in the ends that'll help a bit. And it isn't perfect, but so what??? I'm very happy with it. I'm strongly motivated to go ahead and weave in the ends now so that I can put it on--the British measures don't quite go up enough for my big Irish feet, but I figger I can just keep stockinetting on until it's toe time. Yay!

I've been cogitating a bit about the jewelry kit that Seth gave me a while back...I have made a few things from it, and I really like noodling with wire, and the little voice in my head wouldn't go away, so here it is......



That's two (count 'em, TWO) rows of garter stitch! I was giggling maniacally the entire time I was doing it, and Marion called out to me, "What are you doing?" I replied that I was knitting with toothpicks and wire, and she called back, incredulously, "TOOTHPASTE?", which of course, made me laugh until I snorted. She said she thought it would be pretty cool if I could do THAT. It really was an interesting experiment, as once the loop was formed, I could wave the toothpick in the air or use it for it's intended purpose if I felt like it--that loop was LOOPED and would not undo. I could practically push it through without the needle, and it was interesting to see everything stay so formed. There may be variations on this coming in the future, we'll see. Of course, the one difficulty was..



breakage. Fortunately, these babies ain't Addis and 7-11 is open all night iffen I run through a whole box!

Please surf over to the coolest Brit I know who has an impending Natal Day this week--I won't tell you how many, but I will say she's a wonderful friend who deserves all your well-wishes. Feliz cumpleanos, mi amiga!

Easter peeps

Check these babies out!
They've grown a TON in a week! See the beaks?

I'm knitting away with Pam's wondrous wool from The Great White North.... two hats and have been completed and are awaiting a wash, and a scarf is well underway. When I have a bit more finished, watch this space for a fashion show starring my favorite non-stick-figurelike model!

A big shout-out to KT! She was SOOO generous and willing to behave like a modified-stalker to get the MD babes to sign their book for me! Wheee! I can't tell you how wonderful the photos are on KT's blog which showcase all three ladies in their stunning eyewear. So just go on over and look at 'em. It makes my little ophthalmic tech's heart glad to see such bespectacled loveliness.

I am going to stop typing now and go work on my sock. That or sketch out some other crazy knitting ideas I have been rolling around in that gooshy grey matter I carry around under my grey hair.

Snoozing Springer Spaniel. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

It's the little things...

The first photo is a bit confusing, but it's a good look at the nest.
If you click on the second, it's a much better view. Look at the
yellow beak! I promise, we are not tormenting or touching these
babies, and I will not have daily updates, but I wanted to show
what a good job their Mom has done.



Now for a bit of knitting content...











Wool from Pam! Made on PEI
(Anne of Green Gables PEI, mind you!)
and shipped from Nova Scotia, this
wooley goodness will be Dulaan-bound
as quickly as I can transform it. Thanks to Ryan for
posting about Pam so that I can
joyfully open my home as a way station for good, Canadian yarn with a hankering to travel.
(The color at night in my kitchen is a bit deceiving; the end skeins are quite chocolatey. Mmm.)

Have a good week, everyone.

Spring things

Isn't she lovely? There are two (count 'em--TWO) eensy-weensy hummingbirdlets contained in this oh-so-perfect wee nestie. We carefully peeked at them (using a mirror) when Mom was zipping around slurping sage nectar.



Beautiful daffs.

Apiary interests and a hat, to boot.

Yesterday was a gardening day. The monstrous, decrepit yucca was threatening people at the front door, and the vine with lovely pink flowers that won't actually climb by itself was becoming a woody firetrap. I spent a good 90 minutes hacking and chopping and stuffing the recycle bin full. As I walked around to see where more surgery would be required, a steady droning crept into my ears. The creosote bush in the front yard, the one that we brought home in a 3-gallon container in the trunk of the car 6 years ago which is now the size of a classic Volkswagen beetle, was buzzing insistently.

The bush is covered with tiny yellow flowers and tiny fuzzy catkins and lots of different bees! Generic, busy worker bees, nearly microscopic bee-like critters with slender bodies wrapped in tidy black and white stripes, and my favorite, a fuzzy-wuzzy with almost no-visible hind-end and a proboscis that strongly resembles a butterfly's tongue. This last bobs about as though it's a marionette, but you can't quite see the fishing line that must be jerking it around like a yo-yo. I absolutely could not get a shot of that one. Very shy, she is.

These ladies were completely absorbed in the task at hand. I dearly wished to get a shot of their bright orange pantalettes, but they foiled me. "No, thank you", they seemed to be saying, "we are not hoity-toity fashion models here to display the hottest modes de Paris. We have a queen to feed and chambers to build and larvae to cool. Don't get in the way." I tried not to, but I did capture a couple of candid shots.











Here are some of the backyard girls, hard at work on the neighbor's orange tree:




And here is another Soulemama/Lemonylemonade chapeau made with Lion Brand. It's a bit larger than I'd intended, so it'll go off to Dulaan with the previously-made clouds. (Dog mask courtesy of my husband, the former Cleveland Browns fan. Thanks sweetie.)

This and that

Marion spent a good 10 minutes creating this on the back patio on Sunday. It's to do with basketball. I like the word "Gravity" in the lower left corner. I'm nosy enough to wish I'd been allowed inside her head while she was creating this.

Here are my nature shots for today.

Wacky Springer Spaniel

Leaf-nosed Spot.









Before home haircut and wash.









After home haircut and wash.

Mid-March Tuesday

Last week, Marion came home from Spring Break camp at the Desert Botanical Garden and informed me that she needed a hummingbird by Friday. Not a real one, but a finger puppet. Her group at camp would be running the "Hummingbird Information" cart at the Friday presentation. Other kids would be making the red, tubular flower and the nest, but she wanted to bring the hummer. Hmmmmm, I said, I bet I could make one.... and so, voila!

I really like the feet. Copper wire worked beautifully. This little prototype gave me some ideas about making more hummers...smaller ones in more greenish hues, with better-defined heads and made as little stuffed critters instead of puppets.

Had a sweet St. Pat's/10th anniversary on the 17th. Nice cards from my folks, and we did our usual gift for each other--we bought plants for the yard! This year we got some great stuff from the Desert Botanical Garden's annual plant sale--lots of cool stuff from Australia, a white penstemon (more hummer food, yay!) and a yellow sage. Most have been planted, and the others will be potted tomorrow.

Thoughts of Tim, as well, since it's now been a year that he's been gone. I think of him every day, and even though he's not here physically, I feel like he's still around. Still glad I got to share some of his life. Cheers, mon!

Wedding chapeaux

These are for Andrea & Brian, to be wed on April Fool's Day.

Andrea's hat

This pattern was gleefully grafted from Ms. LemonyLemonade's blog.
I really, really LOVE her interpretation of Soulemama's pattern, and fully intend to make one for me in brighter colors.

Two hats from above

Two hats from above
Originally uploaded by kamsarmer.

Brian's hat

No real pattern here, just tried to give it some texture and make it NOT a duplicate of Andrea's.

Birdies

These dudes like to dirt-bathe under Marion's swing-set.

rainy day redeux

wet firefly

rainy day

It took over 140 days to get here, but now it's been raining since 1:00 AM. Yay! It's cold, too, which means some snow up north. We may head up next weekend if it sticks. Perfect staying in and knitting weather, so I'll go get to it.

My Girlie

I love this picture so much I can hardly stand it.

She hits!

And left-handed, too!

She fields!