Swap teasers are awesomesauce!

Look what I received in the mail from my villainous awesome swap angel for the Dr. Horrible swap (for those of you who don't know, an angel swoops in and selflessly puts together a package for you when your original partner is a no show). I got the coolest finger puppets in the world!



Pretty bitchin', no? I especially love Dr. Horrible's goggles and the hammer on Captain Hammer's shirt. Also that he has his arm flexed and ready to give Dr. H. a knuckle sandwich.

2010 is more than 1/2 over...and none too soon. It has been a god awful year for me (does that expression apply to apathetic agnostics?)...I have lost 2 very important family members and a much loved pet. I will be glad to see 2010 far gone and a distant memory. & we all know how I feel about summer...I loathe it. I have a long standing dispute with the summer months...I hate summer and summer hates me right back.

I don't want to discount the good times...I've had some great times over the past several months...but I would trade all my tomorrows for one single yesterday (to borrow from our gal Janis Joplin). Since that isn't possible, I guess I have no choice but to carry on, trudge on, and all that jazz. That doesn't mean I like it. Life is hard, we all know it, and losing the people and little silly creatures we love makes it that much harder. I guess there is nothing else to do but just be. So, keep calm and carry on (I tell myself)...there will be better days ahead. Or so I hope.

toooo hot to do anything

It has been too damn hot to do much of anything....much less knit. But I did manage to finish these Madrid Mitts for my Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog swap partner:






I totally dig them, and am gonna have to make some for myself. After a few false starts, I finally got into a nice comfortable groove knitting the lace. I was going to go with a more kitschy Dr. H type pattern, but these just seemed like something my swap buddy would like. I hope I'm right. And there were tons of other goodies I sent her, including a horribly crafted mixed cd that I love to death. I love Dr. Horrible! And I love knitting swaps! And I lovex13 Dr. Horrible knitting swaps!

next swaps for me....Zombie Apocalypse and Pirates. Totally up my alley, yo.

I do not mean to write poetry, but it is my only therapy

I do not like spring. Except when it acts like fall. It is better than summer, but everything is, really.



My dog Pixie died 2 days ago. I used to say she was a mostly good girl, just because she was incredibly stubborn, but the truth is, she was a very, very good dog. I have never known anyone sweeter. I will miss her snorty, snuggley, ever hungry and constantly paw pawing self. She was only a bit more than 5 1/2, so she will never be an old gray dog with arthritis or creaky knees. She was very silly and always optimistic, but no one could look more pitiful than her if she did not get her way. She hardly ever barked, she loved short walks, and bananas.

I wrote this yesterday, it doesn't really speak much about her darling personality, but I guess it is what I needed to write at the time. I'm sure there will be other dog poems to torture everyone with to come, maybe I will be able to resist the urge to post them all.


Spring was when my dog died

Spring was when my dog died,
But I didn’t care for spring much before then, anyways,
With its showy blossoms and encroaching heat.
One day I was walking around in my sweater,
The air crisp against my face,
And then the sun felt too close all of a sudden.
The birds all started eyeing me like I was after something that was theirs.

Spring was when my dog died,
But before she did
She got to see a few days of it.
She loved to sit outside
On her velveteen pillow,
Sunbathing like I never would.
She was much more a fan of spring than I am,
Even though she would sometimes sneeze as the pollen grew thick,
I don’t think she minded, though.
She didn’t like the snow
Or the cold wind in her ears.

Spring was when my dog died,
She got to see one last rabbit,
Had a good long walk,
And then took her exit
While the pear trees were in full bloom.

Summer hibernation

ahhh, I cannot be trusted to blog with any sort of consistency. How could I call myself a proper n'er do well if I was the reliable sort? Whims of fancy and gigantic chunks of lost time are my specialty. But now I ramble.

Sooooo....August is half-way through. And not soon enough for me. If I could hunt down summer and slit it's hot, humid, sun-shiney throat, I most certainly would. Fall, now that's my kind of season. Give me fall, give me winter, keep your sandy beached summer to yourself, thank you very much.

I think I will become like the bear that hibernates in reverse, locking myself in an air-conditioned lair until all this 90+ degree weather passes.

& yet, I am still knitting with wool. Only while in the air-conditioned lair, of course, and not with any real consistency, much like this blog; but I've got a Noro-striped scarf on the needles (after wanting to make one for the last year or so), and I did manager to finish Renee's super special fingerless mitts for a handmade/crafty exchange we did.

While I knit the stripey scarf in 90 degree weather, I watch The Mighty Boosh. I love it like I love my mamma's tater tot casserole, and I have a lot of love for that casserole. It's silly and ridiculous and I can't get enough of it. Oh, BBC, how I love you and your crazy shows.

Okay, I've been a slacker when it comes to blogging lately. I've been busy playing Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines, what can I say? Between playing video games, knitting, and a few hours of work thrown in here and there, time has flown by.

Here are some wonderful things I have done lately:

-Seen Coraline with Allison and Melissa. Neil Gaiman has pretty much owned a huge hunk of my heart since I was 17 and hanging out in comic book stores reading The Sandman when it was shiny and new, so I've loved the guy for over half of my life. Coraline is a great book, and I'm happy to say I enjoyed the movie immensely, I will forgive the addition of a boy that helps save the day, only because the movie is visually such an amazing work of art. The story was in Henry Selick's very capable hands, and he did not disappoint As a bonus, if you are a knitter or into fiber arts of any kind, the tremendously talented Althea Crome of Bugknits designed and hand knit Coraline's sweaters and gloves. Incredible stuff, indeed. There are other little knitty goodies in the film, and Allison said that Melissa and I both had audible reactions (ohhhh....ahhhhhh!) during a certain candy dish incident. The movie is perfectly creepy and visually over stimulating, it makes me want to go sew buttons onto everything! I love that the other father wears Monkeybone slippers! It's those kind of details that drive me wild. Anyways, it was super duper fun to watch and I'll probably go see it in 3D while it's still in theaters.

--Knit a thing or two. Most notably my Darkside cowl (in Cherry Tree Hill silk/merino, yum!) and the Armando Hat (Malabrigo worsted, one of my faves). Both were a little challenging at first, but ended up easy peasy once I got my groove. The cowl is for me, the hat is for a worthy co-worker.

--Watched Religulous. I got a kick out of it. I like that Bill Maher, and I love anyone who can make the religious right look as silly as they are. I'm not sure that he interviewed the cream of the theological crop, with a few seemingly sound and competent exceptions. I surprisingly found myself really liking the Catholic priests he interviewed, especially the Vatican's scientist and the priest in front of the Vatican. And the monk, I can't forget him. He was a charmer. Otherwise it was the usual assortment of wacky faith-before-sanity types, but that's okay, it was quite entertaining.

--Went to Asheville. What a great place, I'm already looking forward to my next trip there, whenever that may be. Had some great food and some exceptional porter. Now I'm hungry and want a beer, go figure.

--Finished all the Sookie Stackhouse novels. Now I'm in Sookie withdrawal. I need to know what happens next, and if Eric will be involved.

So there ya go. Some knitting, some movies, some reading, some hanging out with friends (usually involving B&N, though there was some silly game night fun thrown in), a little travel, and a lot of video game playing.