Paddington Bear causes deaths

The stuffed bear has been accused of causing 2,500 fatalities. Click here to read the full article.


Look at that cute face! "RELEASE OF ANY TEDDY BEARS into the fish hatchery water IS NOT PERMITTED," said officials. LOL!

Night scenes

"Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning."

Ever hear this old saying? I remember Grandma saying it all the time. In fact, whenever I hear these old sayings, I always think of Grandma. Well, that and french toast. Grandma makes the BEST FRENCH TOAST EVER! And I'm willing to bet money on that one (I only offer to bet money when I know I will win). But I digress...

Two other variations on the above adage:

Jesus, Matthew 16:2-3 He replied, "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' ...

Shakespeare in Venus and Adonis, "Like a red morn that ever yet betokened, Wreck to the seaman, tempest to the field, Sorrow to the shepherds, woe unto the birds, Gusts and foul flaws to herdmen and to herds.”

Sounds like tomorrow is going to be a good day. I'll let you know if this proves to be true.


I love sunsets. Apollo took this for me while I drove towards the Embarcadero. We had hoped to get a better shot but the sun was impatient and all red hues were gone by the time we parked.

This isn't the best crop job but I was mesmerized by the sails on the ship, not the ship itself, so it doesn't bother me that much. I love the way the sails glowed and gently reflected the light. The contrast of geometric shapes against the fluid colors in the sky is cool too.

I haven't walked around down near the Embarcadero area in quite a while, so I was taken aback to see several sculptures loitering along thesidewalkk. Since it was dark, this is the only one I could capture on film (not really a fan of flash photography, I prefer natural lighting). At a distance, I thought it was some sort of homage to the Christmas tree. Closer inspection reveals it's cactus with several different colored lights. Eye catching too. A lot of people stopped to take a look at it. Check out that night time shadow. Neat, huh. (Why do I keep saying neat? That and "dude." I just don't get it...)

Comparing the detail in my photos to Faythe's, I've finally decided that yes, maybe it's time to retire this poor little camera. I mean, she has served me well. But the detail is just not there. That makes me sad too, it is one of the last gifts Mom and Larry gave me before Larry's passing.

Issues!

See, I knit them both!


Other than the color and some flaws, the only difference is the E. It's wider in the heathered green.

Faythe's new pattern site

Did you guys see Faythe's Burberry Baby Blanket? It's beautiful! She posted the pattern on Die Granny Square Die.

Though it kills her, Faythe has finally given in and has started to post her patterns. She crochet's most of her items from scratch.

On a side note, I think my bra is trying to kill me. Damn underwires! Oooh, a new blog perhaps? "Die Bra Underwires Die!" hehehehe

Here it is so far

So before I gave ya'll a chance to vote, I started knitting. I couldn't stop. I'm like a crack addict when I see a pattern and have balls of yarn at my disposal.

Because I'm neurotic and a great fan of frogging, I just may do this over in the gray green. But this looks good..I mean, it looks better in person, I promise. :)

The leg of the stocking is knit with straight or circular needles. Once you get to the heel, you seam it together and use double pointed to finish it.

Staring at the name, I keep wanting to make changes (if I use all caps, the lettering won't look so jagged). And if I make changes, I'll switch over to the gray green. See, I'm torn between what is festive and what will really look good with the sparkly white yarn.

Help me, I have issues!

Knit or crochet a hat for Melanie

I was surfing along through some San Diego knit blogs when I came upon the story of Melanie that touched my heart. Presumably around six years old, she was attacked by a dog and injured very badly. You have to read the full story here.

Now that you've read the story (please, click the link above) and if you're interested, here's the pattern:

Fat Hat*

Bulky yarn. (or double up)

Cast on 42 stitches

Join, and knit in the round until about 6 in. from the roll of the brim (or until it LOOKS right)

Next round: K5, K2 tog.
Next round: K4, K2 tog.
Next round: K3, K2 tog.
Next round: K2, K2 tog.
Next round: K1, K2 tog.
Next round: K2 tog.

Around the top: Pull tail through remaining 6 stitches. Run in the ends.

Sorry, I don't have a crochet pattern. But you guys are smart. :) Get your own. heh! Oh yeah, there's also other knit hats out there, you don't have to use this one. Contact Mary-Kay for mailing info. Or me.


*The hat must be super soft!!

Vote

I'm starting my first Christmas stocking for a female. Either the gray green or the dark pink. It'll have white accents. What do you think?

Not a craftster but...

Apollo, of all people, has already been warning me that Christmas is only a few months away and that I need to get started on my Christmas projects! Can you believe it? This is coming from a man who, unless I step in, will wait until December 23rd to buy Christmas presents!

So now I'm nervous. I'm hunting around online for a pattern for a Christmas stocking and trying to figure out how to make another pattern knit-friendly. I had a long list of items I was going to knit but I think for once, I am going to make a very short list and be realistic about it. What a refreshing change reality is!


**update: One part insanity, two parts obession, I gave up on the internet and located my favorite snowflake pattern amongst some paperwork in my desk. GAH!!

Pink Bear aka Lotus now a nanny

Lotus, formerly known as Pink Bear, is now living as a nanny with Peanut and her family in anticipation of an upcoming movie role.

For further updates on Lotus, please visit Peanut's Mommy's blog.


On a side note, I recently visited a yarn shop where I saw they are teaching classes on making a Baby Bobbi Bear at $75 a pop! Eek!


If you're knitting this bear and have questions, you're welcome to contact me. I'm by far not a master knitter but am willing to help. You'll need the pattern (it's copyrighted, I can't give it to you but it's only $4)...just drop a comment with your email address if you have any questions.

KnitPicks needles

Interesting weigh in on the KnitPicks Options needles.

Pink Bear denies plastic surgery

Pink Baby Bobbi Bear was released from Knit and Purl hospital today.

Doctors would only say her recent arm surgery was successful, which she demonstrated by raising her arms in apparent alarm at all the photographers.





In a press release, Pink Bear categorically denied any plastic surgery.

Earlier reports stated she would have ear, eye and nose surgery performed by Knit and Purl plastic surgeons.






Pink Bear insists her ears, eyes and nose are completely natural and untouched by any plastic surgery. The large Hollywood glasses hid any surgical wounds as Bear rushed past the press towards a waiting limo.







Bear is seen here flipping off the press.

Rumor has it Pink Bear will be moving to a new blog soon.

Apollo bastardizes pasta e fagoli

Apollo kept buying this soup as takeout from a local restaurant. Finally, I asked Shawn if he knew the recipe (I don't know why I assumed he'd know, maybe it's cause he's a food snob) and sure enough, he did. Here's the recipe, written out "man style."

The following food items purchased in the quantity of your choice:

chicken broth
kidney beans - Shawn prefers cannelloni (sp)...white beans
stewed, diced tomatoes
chopped up carrots
chopped up onions
small noodles
italian herbs such as basil, etc.*

Apollo is a meat man, so he added meat. I could tell Shawn was miffed at the idea of adding meat, but he picked out some Italian sausage for me. Apollo later bought some hamburger because, "that's not enough meat."

Brown the burger, sausage. Cook up onions and carrots. Add them to the drained meat, throw in the tomatoes, chicken broth, herbs and beans. If you want your soup a little thicker, mash some of the beans.


Let that all simmer for about a half hour. Apollo let his simmer for almost an hour because he got distracted by some people outside and was talking. *sigh* He's always talking to people!!

When you're done, throw in the noodles. You now have bastardized pasta e fagoli e meat. If you're lucky, your soup will look like Apollo's. If you are a traditionalist, it will have more liquid and will be sans meat. I'm not a soup person and I abhor stews...but this was pretty good. I'm sure the image of all that meat is making Shawn squirm. But, it was delicious!



*Shawn, please let me know if I've forgotten something! Also, how do you think it looks?

AVAST!

FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST!

At least two years ago, maybe longer, I broke a glass in the sink. Glass was, of course, everywhere. For some reason, I didn't notice the piece of glass that had stuck itself way down into my thumb. All these years, I've had to be careful with how I use my thumb. This includes how I drive, type, pick things up, etc. If I wasn't careful and used the ball of my thumb, this stabbing pain would sear through my nerves. I know it doesn't sound like it shouldn't really hurt that much and that I may be exaggerating, but really, it hurt. A lot.

Well, a couple days ago it started to get in the way of knitting. KNITTING! I had HAD IT and decided if I couldn't get it out, I was actually going to see a doctor. But first, MY way. I took a pair of sewing scissors to my thumb and started cutting away. I could just barely see a funny colored spot way down in there, so at least I had something to aim at. I got down to the muscle, and though I thought I felt something scraping down there, it hurt too much so I gave up.

This morning, I noticed the small wound looked weird, so I squeezed it and some infection came out. Yeah, nasty. It started healing but then tonight, I noticed it was a funky color so I squeezed again and more infection came out. (Notice how I'm being nice and using the word infection. Oh, and the above photo is after the fact, it looks so much better without a foriegn object in it. It doesn't have that funny glowing purple look.)

Anyway, while squeezing it I saw something that wasn't red starting to poke out. I made haste, grabbing some tweezers and scissors and got to work. I couldn't believe my eyes, it was glass! Glass was scraping against the tweezers! About 15 minutes later and with some tugging, I pulled out the glass. I PULLED OUT THE GLASS!

It may not look like much to you (I used some Blue Sky Cotton worsted for scale) but that bad boy was stuck in the muscle of my thumb for YEARS! YEARS I SAY! Man, my thumb feels better already. I still feel a ball in there but hopefully that's only swelling.

I never thought I'd be so happy to get a stupid piece of glass out of me. I will forever look back at September 18th as The Day I Got That Damn Glass Out of My Thumb. OH YEAH BABY!

Wife Swap - pirates involved!

Don't forget to catch Wife Swap tonight, especially if you're a pirate lover (you know who you are).


Tomorrow is Talk Like a Pirate Day. I'm looking forward to Aimee's post about it.

Pink Bear in hospital

The Associated Press

Pink Baby Bobbi Bear entered surgery today to create both her arms.

As she was carried to the surgical couch, she comforted friends and family by saying, "I'm going to be OK."

Pink Bear reportedly checked into Knit and Purl Hospital this evening and is expected to be out of surgery later tonight.

Head surgeon Dr. Ray Leen refused to comment on the procedure. One hospital cat, on condition of anonymity, did say the first portion of the surgery has lasted longer than expected and has been punctuated by frequent breaks with the surgeon storming off and muttering under her breath.

Pink Bear is up for some big challenges in the days ahead. She will also be receiving ear surgery, an eye lift and nose job. Stay tuned for details.

Disgusting!

This morning I heard that all too familiar "glug glug" sound coming from the bathroom. Usually this means there's some sort of plumbing problem. So I looked in the bathtub and sure enough, it had happened again. The sewer had backed up into the tub. Isn't this nasty! If you look close enough, you can see the flecks of color.

I pulled that switch in the tub that closes the drain. It's working somewhat though the tub is still filling slowly. The bad part is it's now spilling out of the side of the building. I guess it would be better if we let it fill the tub but ew, what if it over flows!

My Mom is weird.

The day started out innocently enough.

Me: Mom, do you have any strawberries? I'd like to make some strawberry shortcake.

Mom: Sure, they're in the freezer under some other packages. I'll help.

You see, living out in the boonies, my family lives a kind of pioneer lifestyle. We freeze or can everything. If it can be frozen, canned or made into jam or jelly, my Mom will do it. Even if she shouldn't. So, we marched down to the basement, opened the deep freeze and started looking. Mom pushed the end of a large package wrapped in black plastic towards me.

Mom: Here, hold this up.

If the past 30 odd years have taught me one thing, it's not to question my Mom. You just do whatever she says and you don't ask questions. Another thing I've learned, Mom likes to freeze things. And not just things you can eat. One time she found a funny looking dead blue lizard, so she froze it. She later took it the Forest Service to get investigated. Once, she kept a huge buck salmon head so we could show company its teeth jutting out of its jaw. It was nothing to find a weasel or owl in the freezer either. We just learned to accept these things. So when Mom pushed the black package towards me, I didn't want to know. Really. It wasn't until I saw some fur sticking out of a hole in the packaging that my curiosity got the best of me.

Me: Um, Mom, what's this?

Mom: A cougar.

Me: What?

Mom: That's the damn cougar that was eating my birds! (rummaging through packages)

Me: But, it's in a plastic bag. In the freezer. Wait, what's that, whiskers??

Mom: I don't have the time, so I put it here in the freezer.

Mom didn't skip a beat. She found several packages of strawberries and then forced the cougar bag back into its original position and we left.

I then tried to get Mom to play a practical joke on Grandpa. I told her she should let the tail stick out of the door and then ask Grandpa to get some strawberries for us. hehehehehe! I could imagine how bugged out his eyes would get, it would be great!! Ah, the stories he would tell about how a live gigantic cougar tried to attack him in the basement and how he survived with only a pocket knife and the skills he learned from the Korean War! I rubbed my hands together with glee, but Mom was a no go.

You're probably thinking, forget the cougar prank, why's the cougar even in the freezer? See, a couple years ago, my Mom started having problems with a predator eating her turkeys, peacocks, ducks, geese, chickens, etc. So she set out a trap for it. The next morning, she found a cougar in the trap! With the intention of taking it to a taxidermist, she put it in the freezer for a later trip to town.

Well, as it turns out, you're supposed to let the authorities know when you've killed a cougar within a specific period of time. Yada yada yada. You guessed it, Mom missed that narrow window of time. The taxidermist refused to touch the cougar, the police became involved and Mom had to go to court and pay a big fine. It was a huge ordeal. There was much complaining, bitching and hand flailing involved. So of course, Mom decided she had to do something with this cougar. Her sweet revenge? She just recently got it tanned and sent me this picture of the small cat stretched out on the piano.

Oh, what's that behind it? Funny you should ask. One is a very old bobcat that is looking more and more like a kitty cat each day. Yes, it's that old. The other? I don't remember the exact story, but somehow a fox ended up in Mom's freezer. She decided to get it "stuffed." She sent me a photo of it along with the cougar photo.


OK, is it just me or does there seem to be something wrong with this picture? Take a closer look. No, I'm right...IT'S MISSING A LEG! A LEG!! OK, pray tell, why did the taxidermist preserve it like this?? With a stub hanging down!! Why not laying down with its stub hidden? I'm sure a professional taxidermist could have thought of some other position than standing with a stub sticking out like that! OH MY GOD!

Stub! Mom!! Hello!

Bra's - or the lack thereof

During a recent phone conversation while I was running around looking for a bra that matched my shirt, a friend suggested I go without. Obviously, this person is a male. He didn't mean anything bad by it...after all, he's gay and has no idea how ridiculous such a suggestion is and definitely doesn't have any negative or positive feedback about it (as far as I know - Faythe and I are working on turning him into a Boob Man). I explained to him that nobody needs to see the girls flopping around pointing into different directions ("He went thataway" comes into mind) or want to see the effects of gravity.

Then I realized, a lot of girls go without bras. Of course, I decided to bring it here. Why? Why not? Please chime in so this male person can learn from the sisterhood.

Two very important lessons learned today

1) Never say, "I have to poop" loudly...in public.

2) Never lean over and fart forcefully causing vibration on wooden bench; such action could create "rat atat tat" sound to echo against near by wall.

You never know who may be lurking just around the corner a mere two feet away. With a walkie talkie.

Fetching orange

I was recently inspired by someone I'm close to who commented the color orange has always represented good things for her. So I decided to try knitting up something that would possibly bring her a little luck. Tuesday I picked some yarn and proceeded to make this fingerless glove, "Fetching."

I'm not so sure about this particular yarn, Red Hearts Soft Yarn. I like the general pattern, but I think the worsted weight is too thick. I'm going to try something that isn't quite as heavy, like Shine worsted. Yes, I know they're both worsted but they're not the same. Believe me.

I guess I can try using the yarn called for in the pattern, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think that the cashmerino blend yarn would be faaabulous (I'm watching Project Runway). I was a bit disappointed with Red Heart Soft Yarn. I had hoped it'd be softer. Of course, I think using a size 6 needle which created a tighter knit made it feel...well, hard. Too bad, I really like the colors they introduced with this yarn.

Oh and yes, as the pattern says, I think it's very possible to knit this up on a weekend. And when you're trying to knit something up quick as a gift, that's always a good thing.

Calling all crocheters!

If you had to choose one book, and one book only, for a beginning crocheter, which would you choose?

OK, now, if you had to choose one book for someone who already knows the basics, which book would that be?

27 - 0, Chargers baby!

If you're reading my blog, you're probably not much of a sports fan. BUT, you've got to read about how the Chargers kicked the Raiders ass and then punted it through the goal posts to score yet again. An excerpt from The Oakland Tribune:

"Having expected at least a competitive contest, a discernible pall fell over the soldout McAfee Coliseum throng of 62,578 Monday night when it became clear this wouldn't ever turn into a contest. "

Why is this so amazing? Come on people, we're talking about the Chargers and the Raiders here! Not to mention the fierce rivalry between the two teams or all the fights, stabbings, etc that occur when the Raiders come to town.

This is a promising start for the Chargers. Knowing that psyche has a lot to do with whether you win or lose, hopefully this will give the team the extra oomph they need.

On a sidebar, have you ever noticed how teams in San Diego only do really well when they want something from the city? The Chargers wants a new stadium or they're looking for a new home. They've already been communicating with National City and Chula Vista (just south of San Diego). Who wants to bet this years performance will be on par with a miracle?

My latest dream

Usually, I have dreams that are pretty terrible. I'm usually running and hiding from something that's trying to kill me or do me some sort of wrong.

Well, this morning, thanks to Faythe, I had a different sort of dream. I dreamt she, Jen and I went to a little shop and bought crepes loaded with clotted cream and huckleberries! The crepes were tiny but delicious. So, now I'm craving crepes. ARGH!

Zoe's jealous

Zoe has been very needy lately. She's been in my face demanding attention all day long. She's even been fighting for attention from Apollo! Today when he stopped petting her and started to walk out the door, she reached through the doorway and slapped his hand while he was gripping the doorknob. Talk about attitude!

While preparing to take a photo of the pink bear's progress, she kept getting in my way. The flash went off right in her eyes, hence the squint. I know I keep saying this, but really, Zoe is a cute kitty. She is just not very photogenic. *sigh*


Anyone can knit this bear. All you really need to know is how to knit with double pointed needles. They're not hard, don't let them intimidate you!

Meanwhile, I know Zoe would appreciate it if I stopped knitting and started up with some 24 hour kitty massages.

Baby (Bobbi Bear) got back...

..legs, belly, and armpits too!

Done!

I have finally had it! I cannot take any more attitudes or jokes while I'm trying to be serious and answer incessant questions all day long! I am NOT a lead, I do not get paid to do this. The worse part is, I can't even focus on my own work...I am DONE DONE DONE!

I have directed them to review their emails or the FAQ's where they can find all the answers to their questions.

ARRRGHGHGH!

Next on the sticks

When I grow up, I want to be a bear!

Baby Bobbi Bear finished!

Considering I took several days break, this was a quick knit. Don't you think he looks like a *koala bear?

It wasn't hard to make but there were a few tedious spots. The first was picking up stitches for the arms. Some of the stitches stretched and made big holes. I spent quite a bit of time trying to fix that problem. The next challenge was trying to figure out how to attach the ears. The instructions don't give much help other than to say "attach ear." Last, I had to figure out how to hide the knots I created when making the nose and eyes. I successfully hid them within the head. So here he is in all his splendor! I'm proud. :)

I'm going to start on Peanut's bear ASAP.

* OK, so the more I look at his ears, the bigger they get. I guess I"ll have to work on that.

Beanies

As Jen crochet's along on her beanie, we wondered, exactly why does Faythe have that irrational hatred of beanies? Yes, we know she hates them, but why?

The Toads hats are glorified beanies...

How sad...

Steve Irwin, known as the Crocodile Hunter, died today (September 4th in Australia). News reports only say that he was struck by a sting ray barb in his chest while filming off the cost of Australia.

As of the latest reports, his wife is off on a trip and has not yet been informed.

AH HA!

So it's not all in my head!

Ghetto fabulous

Me: Do you think I'm lazy?

Apollo: No!! And if somebody told me you were lazy, I'd kick their ass. And then I'd turn around and kick their momma's ass for raising a little bastard like that.


hehe!!

Birch Aquarium

On my last day off...um, when was it? Since they're intermittenly scattered throughout the weeks, I can't remember when they are. Anyway, Apollo and I went to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps.

This two man submarine is permanently displayed in the parking lot. It was used to explore the oceans way back when. There was a sign. I read it and forgot it.

One of the whale fountains out front. You can use the people in the background just to the right to help provide scale as to the size of the sculptures.

I like the way the water falls off the second whale fountain. The seagulls like it too. I caught this guy as he was flying away.

This spikey thing is a crab! I've never seen such unusual crabs before, I'm impressed with their crustacean collection even if it is small. They have some gigantic lobers too. I didn't realize how close I was to one of them (he was pressed up against the glass) and all his anntenae flailing around. He was a bit spider-esque and spooked me.

These are Upside Down Jellyfish! Their tentacles and mouths face upwards allowing algae to grow in their tissues. Exposed to sunlight, they photosynthesis and produce food, some of which is eaten by the jellyfish. I was excited to see that little tiny jellyfish which I've pointed out with the arrow. It looks like a mere spot on the glass but it's so cute! I'd guess it's about the size of a pea.

I've picked up a lot of Sand Dollars on the beaches in Oregon but have never seen them alive! They look pretty much the same alive as dead. But check this out, when they're feeding, they tilt up on their edges and poke out of the sand. It looks like they hang out in groups too. If you have a moment, check out this site. Well, I thought it was interesting. :)

Next, we visited this huge aquarium. Check out that huge fish!! I mean, Apollo is a big guy but I think that fish could kick his ass!

I love how their silhouettes look in front of the aquarium.

It seems the Birch Aquariums specialty is lagoons. Isn't this beautiful? They also have a lot of coral reefs. Did you know coral releases sperm and eggs? I thought it was a plant but no, it's an animal!

The second largest clam, Tridacna Derasa, can reach up to 20 inches. These suckers are huge. Think of all the clam chowder you could make! :)


OK, I have never seen a Cuttlefish before. I didn't even know they existed. They're so odd looking, we spent a lot of time gazing into their tank.

I mean, look at them - if you couldn't tell, there's one with his back to us near the sand. Freaky little creatures. Their internal shell is the cuttlebone..yes that's right, that thing people buy for their caged birds.

What, no more photos? Well...let's just say that the aquarium wasn't as exciting as I had hoped it would be. Their lagoon section was pretty cool but when it came to fish or sharks, there wasn't much to see. The aquarium in San Francisco has a huge aquarium that you can walk through, and I mean, you're totally surrounded by fish. It starts out with smaller fish and progresses to huge fish and sharks. The Birch Aquarium has a small tank of sharks and two tidepools outside. It also houses one of those scientific learning museums for kids. I wasn't that impressed. But, I did learn a lot from the aquariums so it definitely wasn't time wasted.

My disease

Yesterday I programmed two local yarn shops into my cell phone. As I filed them under VIP it hit me; I just may need to join some sort of twelve step program. In related news, I recently took a vacation and a coworker asked me, "So, you're going to knit?" It wasn't the question that got under my skin, it was the way he asked it.

Clearly I have a disease, as evidenced by my recent yarn purchased at Holy Threads in Spokane while visiting Faythe. No, I didn't really have a specific pattern or baby in mind, but I sure did buy like I was clothing a nursery full of babes.

Since I've been back in SD I've been on a quest to find a shop that sells Blue Sky Alpaca yarn. In particular, I've been looking for more of the organic cotton. It's the stuff I'm making my Baby Bobbi Bear out of and I've fallen in love. Common Threads in Encinitas had a few hanks but sadly not much to get excited about. I rarely visit the shop as the way they organize their yarn really makes me angry. See, I don't visit a yarn shop thinking, "I want blue yarn." No, I go in with a specific brand in mind. Unfortunately, their yarn is organized by color. True, the acrylic yarns are in one section, some of the cottons (with cotton blends) in another, etc. But mostly, it's all just a big freakin yarn hell for a busy person who just wants to get their Bly Sky Alpaca yarn and get out. I stood there in front of the pink section for about ten mintues before I realized, no, there is no Blue Sky here. Then I had to stare at every other color section until...well, you get the idea. Nice ladies but for someone like me who's just plain neurotic, it's a scarey site.

Fortunately, today I called The Grove and found out that yes, they have what I've been looking for! I drove in to South Park and was practically clapping my hands and jumping up and down like a little kid at a candy store when I saw they had almost the entire collection of dyed cotton yarn. I bought this "Lotus" yarn for Peanut's Bobbi Bear. I'm betting it's going to be really cute.

If I remember correctly, this is the color Faythe bought to make her winter hat out of since it's so bright. When we first saw it, we felt it was going to make our eyes bleed. For some crazy reason, Faythe thought this was a good thing so she bought a hank right away and giggled wickedly in the store while waving it in front of me.

And because I can't let well enough alone, I picked up some dye free yarn in "Bone" as well. I think it'll make a cute bear too. I'm all about the bears right now!

Anyway, I think I've decided to give up fighting this disease. Instead, I'm going to fine hone my snobbery and go through my collection, see if there's anything I should get rid of and then maybe buy something official to store the yarn in rather than using plastic bags and a Rubbermaid container whose lid won't stay on.

Oh, I almost forgot to add The Grove to my cell VIP list...gotta get on that.

Snakes on a reality show

Have you heard the latest in dumb reality show ideas? Apparently Fox and CBS are currently negotiating for the rights to a new reality show inspired by the movie, Snakes On a Plane. I'm not kidding.

Premise? The short version: twenty people stuck on a plane try to defy snakes and such without getting bit. They fly from city to city and whomever makes it to the end without getting bit (antivenom available) wins. Something like that. *sigh* Read for yourself.

Want to join the fun? Check out the casting call on Craigslist posted August 25th.