spaazlicious

We've also taught her to get up on the couch. She's not ready to go to a new home 'til we've taught her to tip over the garbage bin and greet us unabashedly at the door, so we still have work to do.



My lazy kate only has three spikes, so the fourth bobbin is on the regular flyer and propped up while I ply on the jumbo flyer. I'm using one of those crappy club cards hole-punched at home as a jury-rigged ply-guide--it definitely makes it even and easy.

that we do not feed our foster dogs.



Seriously, isn't even her vein-y belly beautiful?

She's still supershy. She still blossoms on leash. She has good days and bad days. Her housetraining is beautiful and solid when the door to the outside world is open. This is a rare and wonderful thing.

In the meantime, I'm on the fourth bobbin of a four ply worsted weight. Fingers crossed, it'll be the majority of the Rogue. Wheeeeee!

Last weekend Hilari, Heidi, Nancy, Cristina and I went to the San Diego RenFaire.

It was my first one, so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect and didn't dress up, but totally worth the price of admission and worth checking out was the the Gypsy Trading Post with Heather Seevers (under a Ren alias of Helena) and the awesome jewelry that makes me wish I was getting married all over again and Julia (aka Natasha) and her handpainted fibers and handspun.

I bought one of Heather's low whirl drop spindles and 2.6 oz. "silky merino" (I gather it is merino that has been stretched like Optim. I have felt Optim and was unimpressed, but it was in yarn form. This "silky merino" is awesome. It does look like a silk blend. When you "break" the roving for spinning, it does that crazy static poof that silk does, and it is soft and fine and slippery) cochineal dyed dark pinky purple, and the exhaust bath pink. Very reasonably priced, my total was something like $15.50 for both spindle and roving. Steal.



They both need etsy sites.

There were lots of examples of sunscreen application vs. a combo of jiggly wiggly mobile flesh & bright San Diego sun:



but I only saw one of these:



on this:



There are a lot more pictures on flickr, but unfortunately, quite a few are duplicates as I uploaded everything, then went back and cleaned some up and cropping them, but when I uploaded the new & improved ones they just added them in, not replaced them and to delete the first ones seems kind of "meh, pita." I had a lot of fun, although the Faire distinctly lacked gigantic turkey legs or homebrewed mead.

There was a preponderance of pickles in prows (one is too many). I didn't take that linked piccie, it's from here and the first poster has some good pics. Turned out (according to the schedule they gave us but I didn't bother to look at) we left right before the greyhound coursing. D'oh!

Another vendor was The Village Blocksmith, so I totally know what I'm getting the Button Jr. for his or her third birthday. Rockin' blocks, man.

My favorite amidst the performers was the Rat Races, very cool interaction with the kids, and although their booth got a little smelly as the day wore on, it was quite a fun show as the rats jammed through the obstacle course:



I think this is my favorite pic of the day:



as it felt straight from Hell's Grannies.


Boring Foster Dog Update

Pomona the new foster dog is slowly coming out of her shell and being less boring.



We move her onto the bed or sofa to pet her and just hang out while close, otherwise she will just stay in a corner.



She is probably the most internalised shy dog we've ever met, not interested in the whippets, not really interested in us.

We will make her love us.



Ve haff vays.

Mary-Kay is destashing for a move to CO and is selling her stuff at screaming cheap prices, there's some great roving and yarn here.
Like a virtual garage sale! With better stuff.
And you don't have to paw through a big grubby box hoping to find that cool rare book...and run into somebody's old raggedy panties...

Do not click this if you are:
A) at work
B) have children or fundies hanging over your shoulders watching you surf "teh internets"

Hit pause until the status bar has loaded it completely.
Cut and paste into your browser.

http://www.dailymotion.com/blog/video/431648?key=fzkyzjudxyf9c7z3jdbtk60mql3vksr89adc00na&play=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tastelikepizza.com%2Findex.php%3Fitemid%3D651

I just love the self confidence. And yeah, how does she do it?!?

If a dog has a choice between linoleum and carpet to have an "accident" upon, they will choose carpet.

If one of the reasons you fell in love with your husband was his keen sense of observation and quick thinking, he will blearily step in the poo on the carpet and leave Family Circus style tracks EVERYWHERE before he leaves for work in the morning. And when you call him to rip him a new one, the first thing out of his mouth will be, "I think I stepped in poop in the yard last night--there's poop in my car!" Like, eeeeeeew! The smelly tragedy of poop in the car! Honey, hold me!

If you call a foster dog "boring" they will poop in your house.
(accidents happen--I should have got up and taken her down to the yard [we had taken everyone down at midnight as well] and to be honest, the poop would have been really easily picked up if it hadn't been for Mr. Oblivious Handsome Pantz grinding it into the carpet, it was one of those lovely poos that give you confidence in your dog's diet and health otherwise)

If you get all outraged about knitwear, life will give you something to bitch about. (still, relatively minor, compared to real troubles in the world but I'm hoping this is my ration for the day).

(all right, all right, the original phrase is "Beat you like a redheaded stepchild," but let's face it, it's utterly charming either way--who doesn't enjoy spite directed at the melanin-impaired/pigmentally-challenged?)

I've received my copy of the latest Interweave Knits. And I think IK has declared all out war on the redhead:

(please forgive the crappy scans)




If their thirst to make her look like an utter jackass wasn't slaked by the goofy skirt (sorry Anne, loved the cardi! not diggin' the skirt!) it must be quenched by those hideous scrunchy flashback suedey boots.

But no.
The blight of silly accessories continues, with the shame of a Silly Hat and the dreaded underclothing peekaboo effect (think Louet and the Nude Bra Famine of 2005).



IK: Oh sweetie, we're sorry, we're sorry, look, here's something pretty for you--the perfect color for your skintone, so lovely, so delicate, a sweet lace top...



IK:Oh, didn't we mention that the hem length of body and sleeves would totally accentuate your short torso and make you look like Biliousness Personified?

Bwahahahahahahaha!

And like so many domestic violence scenarios, the giving with one hand, pinching/burning/whipping with an electric cord with the other hand continues...



Again with the not-flattering, making her look like Starsky's love-child with a SHAWL COLLAR cardigan with KNITTED BELT and some random wooden toggle and widening horizontal rib and hippiness at the hem... Two inches longer and it's straight from the seventies (okay, with the collar kind of flipped up and not completely shawled out, we're bordering on early eighties, and I did hear they're back.) Honestly, it looks comfy, and it is a cute pattern, but it's pretty half-assed for an apology.

And, as previously observed by Jessica, this.

(aside from the demonic embroidery I actually think it's pretty cool. also, how many references to Jessica can I get away with before this post seems like a total rip-off? Oh, too late? Really? Oops. Anyway, I rest my case. Everything IK puts The Redhead in is Fug™.)

And since I still have some Bitch left in my account, I'll spend it on this:



Let's just say I'm glad my head was shaved before I saw this, otherwise I'd be having nightmares of my hair trying to eat my head too.

(The pattern's really cute though. And, honestly, I think I recognise the signs of Someone Trying To Grow Out Their Hair and in the grips of one of the many and perpetual accompanying "awkward phases." My hair makes an utterly uncharming mullet at six months growth. I fit right in at Parkway Plaza.)


On a final note:

You #$*¥%ers! Stop adopting our #^@$%ing foster dogs so fast! We only got to have Teak for maybe a week and then we were making serious progress with Hoth, but NOOOoooooooOOOOOooo, now he's gone to a great home in Murrieta.

And now we have Pomona, who's seriously cute but seriously boring, as dogs go.

And I can't find the #$(*#@ USB cord for the camera to show her sweet Orange Blossom Honey colored face to the world, so maybe that's why I'm Waxin' a Lil Wroth.

Stupid efficient adoptions matching. Stupid me for losing the USB cord. Grumble. Grumble. Grumble...