Today I came across a very clever knitting, food, fun blog called Pretending Sanity. What’s cool about the internet is that I didn’t find this site by doing some mass search on Google or consult some list. I found it because it’s owner, Allison, gave Heather of dooce a knitted scarf, Heather wore it for Halloween and posted about it. I don’t know if Allison and Heather know each other, but a guess would be probably not. Is it no wonder that this blog thing has taken the world by storm?
You can gather a lot of very useful information by surfing the blogs. For instance, this is what I’ve collected this morning:
- a non-pork and easy green chile recipe - one of the few things I miss from my youth in Texas. Other less fond memories include learning the Davy Crockett song instead of the national anthem and knowing at the age of 7 what to do if you’re stung by a scorpion.
- a very very tiny and readable freeware font called silkscreen - made by Jason Kottke. He’s included a brief description of the process of making this font, interesting to me because the last time I designed a font it was with ink on paper using one of those curvy rulers (what did we call those?). Anyhow, as I can always use another project, yeah right, I’m going to look into Macromedia’s Fontographer… time lapse as I actually do this … wow, it’s pricey at $349.
- a good tip on breadcrumbing from Marmalade - because I know that I’ll be upgrading to MovableType 3.1 sometime soon, I’ve been bookmarking any technical advice I come across in the mean time.
- a funny banner to share in honor of election day. Have you voted yet? Bob and I voted three weeks ago because that’s how they do it in Oregon - all ballots are mailed in. I’m amazed at how split the country is in this election - all the way down to me and my mother. Come tomorrow, one of us is going to be very upset. In fact, tomorrow 49% of the entire country is going to be horrified. And it could be either half. Scary.
- finally, as a big Harry Potter fan, I was very interested to see this alternative path for the story line created by the “jenny turpish slapped me” guy (I don’t know his real name), called Harry Potter and the Silver Sword. It’s incomplete, but a nice diversion.
Bob, Eva and I are traveling this week to attend the opening of my friend, and Eva’s boyfriend, Jason’s first show in New York City. His web site is very out of date and slow to load (that’s my fault for coding his design in such a heavy way - way back in 2000), but worth checking out.
Jason and I got our undergraduate degrees together at Colorado State - that seems like such a long time ago. It’s interesting the paths that our classmates have taken since then. I’m a web developer, still a creative position, but far from the fine artist I was trying to become then. The professor we had throughout our 4 years of study told us that, out of the 30 people in our program, only 1 or 2 of us would continue to photograph after graduation. Jason is one of them. Another is Scott, a photographer for the Associated Press, I think. Others have gone on to teach at universities across the country. I’ve not kept in touch with anyone really except for Jason. He’s never lost his drive and I’m very proud of him.
I’ve never been to New York. I want to see the Statue of Liberty from afar. I’ve heard she’s actually quite small. I’d like to stroll through Central Park and visit Times Square. If there’s time and we’re close by, I’d like to see ground zero.
I’m a little nervous traveling over the 9-11 weekend. Not because I really think there’s going to be another attack, but because of the unknown of what it will be like there; the sadness, the activity. My heart went out to the Russian students and families this week and you wonder how there can be so little concern for life out of people.
About the Knitting that I’ve been so lax in posting. I have a sweater I’m working on for a deadline that is consuming all my knitting thoughts. I’m really having trouble pulling it together. It’s not fun anymore. I’m longing for a pattern to follow that isn’t my own. Something where I can just be told what to do and follow instructions, blindly and blissfully.
I do have another story to tell about my ridiculous 6.5 lb. Chihuahua that, wearing a little red sweater I crocheted for him that morning, ran head long into traffic last Saturday, giving everyone in sight a heart attack. I’ve never seen such a close call. He was being “chased” by the blue plastic handle of a retractable leash, and didn’t stop running until he had crossed 4 lanes of traffic twice, gone down, across and up 3 blocks to finally get the leash caught under the tire of a truck. It was horrible. I figure he must be part cat, and has a few lives left.
Anyhow, if anyone has some great tips for New York, send them my way. Any “must see” yarn shops or galleries? See you in a few days!
Cool New York related links
Photo New York
New York City Transportation Guide
Official Tourism Guide
Calendar of Events
Sightseeing, shopping, food, etc.
filed under
Kenny August 31st, 2004
First of all, if you’re not a little dog lover, you may want to move on down your blog list because this is going to get very mushy and cutesy. You’ve been warned.
I hate to admit this, but as I’m pretty sure many of you will understand, I will go ahead and say it. When I dreamt of getting my new little pup Kenny, a lot of my excitement surrounded the prospects of dressing him in elaborate costumes, making him the best dressed doggie in the city. And yet, he’s been with us now for over 4 weeks and is still running around the house completely NAKED! Oh, the horror. But it’s been summer, so we’re not too concerned. However, with fall just around the corner (yippee!) I’m starting to gather ideas to fill out my baby’s wardrobe.
There’s a lot of fluffy pink sparkle that is catching my eye, and I’ve tried to justify it in that he is a dog and doesn’t really know that a fur boa is a little girl thing. However, Kenny is quite intelligent and, in reality, I’m pretty sure that he would be embarrassed with that and hide under the sofa. His personality would be better described by a T-shirt with “Stud” or “Killer” written across the back. So we will compromise. And he will be a sweater dog anyhow.
I came across a wonderful site today called Glamour Dog. They have some very innovative designs for the up and coming pup. The cabled number to the left being one of my favorites. As a knitter I will more likely make something like this myself, and a little more boyish for Kenneth, but there are also great toys and carriers and a darling Rock Star tee that my fashionable little dog NEEDS but that I would not make him.
I know, I’m getting completely swept up in the whole Chihuahua lifestyle thing, but when I come home from work and this little ball of energy bounds across the house to great me and lick my face and then SIT ON MY SHOULDER, how can I help it? I want him to have everything I never had as a child. I want him to have the little yellow raincoat.
I’ll be putting in my order later today.
A couple nights ago, just before I was going to switch off the news (as who really can watch that crap anymore?) one of the reporters says “And coming up! A Washington woman’s knitting needle explodes! Heh heh.” - I’m paraphrasing, except for the laugh at the end. So I kept watching. I almost posted about it right after the segment - what a timely post! But didn’t - it seemed too hokey.
Today, however, I ran across the discussion that had already been circulating across the internet about the incident, and thought I’d post about it, just in case you hadn’t already heard.
Video from a Washington TV station.
The article from a local paper
and the thread from Knitter’s Review
All riveting - the best theory is that there were gases or particles left inside from the casting process that oxidized and were just too much for the old, worn-away metal of the needle’s tip - more information coming as soon as the bomb expert(!) finishes his analysis.
I actually just like seeing anything knitting-related in the news. Personally I knit exclusively with bamboo or wooden needles. I like the organic feel of them. But they can give splitters, so really, no one is ever completely safe.
