Izzy being a piggy

Christmas cards

The first one arrived today. It was from my vet thanking me for all my business this year. It included a $10 off coupon on the next visit one of the furry monsters has to make to him.

The cards I'm sending out this year are bought, but I haven't even begun getting them signed, sealed, and delivered. I plan on starting that this weekend since some of them have to travel to other lands across vast oceans.

I've also got to start packing up the things I've made people for Christmas so I can get them sent off as well. Fortunately, most of those don't have to leave the state of Texas so I should have a couple of weekends to get that done.

More socks

I finished another pair of socks for the Prodigal Son. This set is in blue with a chevron pattern which doesn't really show up in the photos.

I've really turned into a knitting demon. I wonder how long that will last. I've got three skeins of sock yarn in my stash just crying to be knit up. I think I may try my hand at a plain cap with one of the skeins. I just need to find a nice simple pattern.

Kids!

The Best Friend leading me to the goat pen.


Goats and kids, oh my!


The Best Friend bottle feeding one little fellow.


Kids will be kids.

I took the pictures on Saturday, November 26. It was feeding time when I arrived. It was also play time for all the kids who got into everything.

I'm back

The visit with my folks was nice. Mother, as always, overfed me. I managed to knit one sock and start another while I was there. I also went to see the new Harry Potter again with the Best Friend and the Other Friend. And then we had dinner at Outback and I had two glasses of Riesling with my chicken. Lovely time!


This is what the morning looked like as I left town on the 24th.


The view out of the car window on the highway between Edinburg and Falfurrias on the way home today.


Another view out the car window of the same stretch of road.


A view of the stretch of road between Falfurrias and Riviera.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm off to spend the holiday with the folks and I will probably be 'net-less while I'm gone, so I hope all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving have a good one.

What is my stupid score?

All my prezzies arrived at once!

Go look what I got for myself. All of them arrived today. It was Christmas in November.

Merry Christmas Target

Follow the link below to add your name to this important issue.
Go to http://www.afa.net/petitions/signpetition.asp?id=1470 to sign.

Target Stores have decided to ban the words "Merry Christmas" in their stores starting this holiday season. Please sign this petition, which is about this important issue. The American Family Association is calling for a national boycott of Target Stores on the day after Thanksgiving (the busiest shopping day of the year), please join in...do not shop at Target! Let's get the message across that you cannot take Christ out of Christmas, even if you are trying to hide the very words Merry Christmas!

Do I really need to express an opinion about how utterly stupid, narrow-minded, and exclude-ist this is? If Christmas were the only holiday celebrated in December, I might even be tempted to be outraged by the generic "Happy Holidays". But it is not. At least two others, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, also occupy the same time slot as Christmas. I, for one, would rather have "Happy Holidays" than nothing at all.

I do wonder how many of these people who get offended by including other celebrations under the "Holiday" banner actually know when the 12 days of Christmas are.

Just saw the new Harry Potter

Wow!

I have a personality - when did that happen?

Your Personality Profile

You are elegant, withdrawn, and brilliant. Your mind is a weapon, able to solve any puzzle. You are also great at poking holes in arguments and common beliefs. For you, comfort and calm are very important. You tend to thrive on your own and shrug off most affection. You prefer to protect your emotions and stay strong.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Betty Grable, eat your heart out!

(Yes, I'm poking fun, but you'll get it when you click the link and take a gander.)

The socks are done!

I pull off "weird" well?

Your Hair Should Be Orange

Expressive, deep, and one of a kind. You pull off "weird" well - hardly anyone notices.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

How do you turn Frappr! into a verb?

There really needs to be one 'cause I just spent the morning - yes, the entire morning - reading blogs and . . . well, Frappr!-ing. In the course of my adventures, I've added a dozen blogs to my Bloglines and I Frappr!-ed "Howdy!" to at least three times that many people. My bum is numb from sitting at the computer! ;D

I'm off to finish my first pair of socks. I only have the toe of the second sock left to do and then they will be wearable by the Prodigal. And then I will work on the second slipper so the Prodigal can wear them as well.

Garth would snort over this

(But only if he were given to snorting. Sorry, inside joke having to do with D&D.)

But not as much as he'd snort over this

I'm a Synthetic Electronic Individual

What advanced degree should I get?

You Should Get a MFA (Masters of Fine Arts)

You're a blooming artistic talent, even if you aren't quite convinced. You'd make an incredible artist, photographer, or film maker.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

Rocks

A snap of the rocks beside the jetty behind the Pier 99 restaurant.

It's here!

Approximately 440 yards of 100% Merino wool sock yarn hand dyed in shades of pink and purple. This is the yarn I'm going to use to make my first pair of socks.


The Prodigal Son thinks he might want the first pair in this colorway.

But before I can begin knitting the socks, I have to hunt down a set of five size 3 double pointed needles. Since I'm already in my jammies, this won't happen until tomorrow on my way home from work.

I thought we'd lost another one

Saturday night Rainbow got out of the house through the front door which had been left open by either the Prodigal Son or his girlfriend. By the time I realized the door was open and the cat was gone, it was already fairly late at night. The Prodigal and I did a quick search of the house and yard, but Rainbow wasn't anywhere to be found. I even took the cat food bag outside and shook it, hoping she would hear and come home to eat.

I did a search Sunday, but there was no trace of her. There was still no sign of her when I left for work this morning, nor this evening when I got home.

However, the Prodigal just stuck his head in my room and asked me to guess who'd come home for supper. Yep, Rainbow. He was in the process of feeding the other cats when Mouse stopped on her way into the mud room and looked at the back window. She had her head cocked as if she were listening to something so the Prodigal looked out the back door and called for Rainbow and a tiny little meow answered him. He finally saw her in the shrubs and went out and got her. As far as we can see, she's perfectly all right. She doesn't appear to be the least bit traumatized.

It really is a small world

More pictures of the red deer in Germany courtesy of wildlife.tv:

If Dr. Seuss wrote for Star Trek: The Next Generation...

"Worf: The saboteur is in the brig.
He's very strong and very big.
I had my phaser set on stun --
A zzzip! A zzzap! Another one!
He would not budge, he would not fall,
He would not stun, no, not at all!
He changed into a stranger form
All soft and purple, round and warm."

I found a new toy

Making up for lost time

That's what today's postings look like, don't they? I certainly didn't intend for that when my annoying cell phone woke me up at four this morning with that incessant "I need to be recharged, you moron" beeping it does. I woke up, plugged the phone in, feed the cats, and, well, you know the rest.

I have actually taken a break away from the computer today. I had breakfast with a friend this morning. At IHOP, of course. I don't know how long we were there eating and talking, but it was fun and I really enjoyed the visit.

I also stopped by the post office to pick up my mail. Mostly just junk and one bill. I'm expecting some Merino sock yarn so I can knit my first official pair of socks, but it still hasn't arrived yet.

And then it was off to Jiffy Lube for an oil change, a fuel system cleaning, and a tire rotation. While the car was there being worked on, I walked over to the mall and picked out this year's Christmas cards at the Hallmark shop and I popped over to the calendar kiosk WaldenBooks sets up every year about this time and picked up two desk calendars - one with knitting patterns and the other with crochet patterns.

And lastly, on my way home, I popped into the grocery store to pick up a couple of necessaries.

And now I'm home on the computer again. But that is going to change because I'm going to take myself into the living room to watch TV and read. I feel very much like curling up on the sofa with a good book and a cool drink.

There's a hole!

In my ear, that is, right where it's supposed to be. I actually managed to get a stud into the ear that Heru mauled the other day. Had no problem doing it, in fact. I am happy to report that although the ear is still painful, it is healing nicely.

Initially I thought Heru caught the ear right at the hole and torn down with his claw, but he actually caught the ear right beside the hole and clawed around it before his titanium nail nearly sliced my lobe in half. It turns out my one little piercing was never in danger of closing over.

I guess this means I get to keep shopping for earrings.

;D

Seitherin, Warrior Princess, at your service

The Warrior Princess

You are strong, courageous, and dynamic, a woman of action. You have an iron will and a sharp tongue. Indecisive, weak, or wishy-washy people test your patience. You tend to grow bored quickly and yearn for excitement.

Role Models: Brunhilde/The Valkyries, Xena

You are most likely to: Lead your people to victory against an army of orcs.

What Kind of Princess are You? - Beautiful Artwork (Original Music is BACK!!!) brought to you by Quizilla

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Water builds the heat in Europe

Red deer in Germany

I've just spent the last little while watching red deer in Germany ruminate. It was so fascinating, I took a couple of snaps to share courtesy of wildlife.tv.

Jan Patrik Krasny Gallery: Dragon - Epilogue.net

Jan Patrik Krasny Gallery: Shipwreck - Epilogue.net

I was just bemoaning the lack of a baby

I subscribe to several email newsletters from various yarn and/or knitting related sites, and every once in a while a freebie pattern comes along that is just so sickeningly cute you bemoan not having someone to knit it up for. That happened to me early, early Friday morning. I got the Lion Brand Yarn newsletter and they had six - yes, six - sickeningly cute hats for small children and babies. So naturally I thought to myself it was too bad I didn't know anyone with a baby.

Well, ask and you shall receive.

The Lady at Work who came on staff the same day I did popped into my office first thing Friday morning to tell me she was pregnant. Aside from being thrilled for her, you can just imagine the glee I felt at having a reason to knit a froggy cap or a panda hat or a Chicken Little cap or even the apple, the bear, or the tiger.

I warned poor Lady at Work she would come to hate me.

;D

Grand Canyon West Skywalk

Um, no.

I've pretty much gotten over most of my fear of heights - which is really a fear of being pushed because I have no problem with heights when I'm by myself - but I think standing 4,000 feet above a river on a man-made ledge protected only by a layer of glass would probably send me over the deep end. I don't care if the ledge can withstand the weight of 71 fully loaded Boeing 747 airplanes, 100 mile an hour winds coming from eight directions, and an 8.0 magnitude earthquake from within 50 miles. It's still a man-made ledge covered in glass 4,000 feet up in the air. With lots of people gawping at the view.

I could probably manage it if there were no one else on the platform with me. But what's the likelihood of that happening, eh?

Take the Blame, Mr. President - McCain's excellent advice for Bush. By John Dickerson

"The public is smart enough to distrust the nightly news producers. They're also smart enough to know when they're not getting straight talk."

No, they're not. If they were smart enough to know when they're not getting straight talk, Bush wouldn't be president.

Hogwarts Dancers - Google Video

Sometimes it good to be left speechless.

;D

MotoArt First Class Chairs

And sometimes you just have to ask "Why would anyone buy that?" followed closely by "Where would you put it?"

MotoArt Small Bomb Table

And sometimes you just shake your head and walk away . . .

;D

Birdie!

I was trying to get a snap of the bird, but he kept moving and it was almost impossible to see anything in the viewer on the camera because of the brilliant sunshine. I'm surprised I managed to actually get him in the frame - not that you can see him all that well.

Again, this is on the jetty behind the Pier 99 restaurant.


There was also a turtle swimming around who kept surfacing that I was trying to catch a snap of but never managed. The first time I spotted him, I was too surprised at seeing him to even think of putting the camera up to take a picture. The next couple of times I spotted him, I'd turned the camera off - to conserve battery since I was snapping pictures like crazy - and he was gone under again by the time I got it powered on and ready to snap.

Jaime Jones Gallery: Peacekeepers - Epilogue.net

At last, a warrior woman who isn't naked. And drawn by a person of the male persuation no less.

B.C.

So, so true . . .

B.C.

Hey, Best Friend! This one reminded me of your spouse.

;D

Moss, the briny kind

This is a picture of the algae covered rocks beside the jetty behind the Pier 99 restaurant in Corpus Christi. The rocks really do look like they are moss covered.

To punctuate or not to punctuate, that is the question

Semicolon You scored 23% Sociability and 76% Sophistication!

Congratulations! You are the semicolon! You are the highest expression of punctuation; no one has more of a right to be proud. In the hands of a master, you will purr, sneering at commas, dismissing periods as beneath your contempt. You separate and connect at the same time, and no one does it better. The novice will find you difficult to come to terms with, but you need no one. You are secure in your elegance, knowing that you, and only you, have the power to mark the skill or incompetence of the craftsman. You have no natural enemies; all fear you. And never, NEVER let anyone tell you that you cannot appear in dialogue!

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 0% on Sociability You scored higher than 86% on Sophistication

Link: The Which Punctuation Mark Are You Test written by Gazda on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

And on a more cheerful note

This is a picture of the artificial jetty behind the Pier 99 restaurant in Corpus Christi with a view of the Lexington and a bit of the Gulf of Mexico.

I won't have to buy earrings ever again

Why, you ask.

Because Heru almost sliced my left earlobe in half right below the hole for my earring. He also put a small gouge in my right arm and left a scratch between my breasts.

I'll bet you're wondering why Heru would do that, aren't you?

Because the Prodigal Son scared the bejeebers out of him while I was trying to pick Heru up. It was all an accident, but it certainly was painful.

My guess is the hole that used to be in my ear won't be there when the tear heals. But I'll probably have this interesting crease in my lobe instead.

I've put antibiotic cream on the tear and a band-aide over the wound. I'm not sure if I'm going to the doctor to have it looked at. I will probably decide in the morning after I see what the night brings.

When it rains . . .

. . . the windshield wiper blade falls off the wiper arm and lands in the driveway.

I turned the wipers on this morning to clear the dew off and the driver's side wiper blade simply came off the arm. I suspect the blade wasn't put on properly back in September when the wiper arm was replaced. That explains why the wiper was doing such a poor job of wiping. I couldn't get the silly blade to pop back in so I took the car to Firestone to have them do it. I managed to only be 20 minutes late to work unlike yesterday when I was two hours late. Yesterday I spent about an hour at Firestone having the headlights replaced and adjusted.

You can see the ocean

I took this photo from the hotel room balcony a little later in the morning, about 1/2 an hour or so, than the foggy one I put up yesterday for your viewing pleasure. You can see the ocean and the battleship - I did a slight zoom so the ship would show up nicely - but you can't really see the bridge behind the battleship. There was still a touch of fog in the air.



And this is what the ocean, the battleship, and the bridge look like when there isn't any fog and I don't zoom in on any of the features. I took this picture on Saturday just after I checked in.

Took a mini-vacation

I took a mini-vacation to Corpus Christi this weekend to buddy around with the Best Friend. I've just finished uploading all the pictures but I've got stuff I need to do so I won't share any of them, except one, just yet. I'll share more later when I've got some time.

This was the view from the balcony of our hotel room this morning.



Would you believe there's a battleship and an ocean out there?

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Male mouse sings a song of love

"When the males encountered cotton swabs dunked in female mouse urine, they broke into song.

Dr Holy and his team processed the sound recordings to make them audible to humans, lowering the pitch without interfering with the tempo.

Instead of making the ultrasonic chirps randomly, the mice used several different types of syllables arranged in regular, repeated time signatures resembling birdsong."

I got a prezzie

Would you believe my boss of just a month and a half bought me a birthday present? He did. It was from him and his wife and their daughters. Can you guess what it is?



It's a kit for knitting pink fuzzy bedroom slippers. The kit comes complete with needles, yarn, and soles. I think it's just way too cute for words.