Holiday Celebration

We couldn't make it down to Texas this year for our family gathering, so we skyped instead. I usually take photos of the holiday, so this year all I could do is screen shots, but here are a few very blurry images of our time together.

Here we are (from the tiny little corner shot!)
I just love this shot of of spousal unit D. It was tiny and pixilated, but it also is totally cool. Doesn't he look like something out of Deadwood or the Wild wild west!?


Here are some of the family members.

As you can see there are way too many gifts to be opened!


Here's the sweater I knitted for my Mom (hope my sister lets go of it!)


And I can't quite figure out what this was, but it got careful scrutiny!


After an hour still no dent in the number of packages!



More family shots!


Here are my two beloved sisters.


It was as good a time as could be had given we were more than 1300 miles apart!

My Beautiful New Acquisition

Goodbye, Art!

Sigh! They took Phantasmagorey to the crusher today.


Maybe not to the Crusher, but probably - It will be auctioned off and the proceeds will go to a local animal shelter.


My idealist self keeps hoping that some Classic Honda lover will buy it and refurbish it and I'll see it sail by on the highway some day.

A Better Shot of the Snowflakes

Not much time for creativity, but...

So before I go to sleep I pick up the crochet hook and do half a round. Not too exciting, but at least something is happening! The big one is about 4" in diameter. It seems to be the only snow we'll be getting before the new year!

Nap time!

Red, Red red is the color of my ...

I'm full of remorse. I got my hair cut and had some (okay a lot of ) color added and I love it - botht he color and the cut and then I found out my spousal unit hates it.




Sigh!

Putting Things together

I don't know what it is going to be, but here are my medallions crocheted together. I'd like them better if they were more delicate, but this is the size yarn I bought and I'malready using a hook too small for the yarn!

Crochet Medallions

A while back I took a class on free form crochet with Myra Wood and one of the things she recommended was using pattern books and doing a bunch of different kinds of pieces to then free form crochet together - so I've been teaching myself how to crochet medallions from a book by Edie Eckman. Here are a few of the medallions I have done in the last week or so.



I think I'll have to buy yet another color with which to combine them together, but for the time being it is interesting to see what can be done with the hook as opposed to needles!

Kitties at Rest

Well, Not exactly in the Straw!

My puppy caused a bit of commotion this morning and allowed me to get an interesting (albeit blurry) shot:


He (or she)'s about 30 feet up there!

What's Past and What's to Come

I'm at my annual writer's retreat and am getting a lot done, so I don't have much in the way of photos this year. I want to dedicate this blog to one of my teachers, Kenneth O. Hanson, whom I learned last night had died in 2003. When I was a young and evidently very impressionable first year student, I saw him out walking on our wooded campus. He looked preoccupied and so I didn't rush over to greet him in characteristic style. I was however perplexed by his activities so the next time I saw him in class, I asked what he had been doing walking out in the campus wilds. His reply was simple and perhaps even obvious enough and yet it was one of those things that overpowered me with its implications. Like Bernstein's story in Citizen Kane about the woman with the white parasol*, I have thought about this moment from my college years frequently and as a reminder of what it means to be a poet, a scholar and a mindful human being. I was saddened to learn that you had died, Professor Hanson and appreciate what you have taught me about what is valuable in life. Here are two images from my walk. I have only two, because I spent the rest of the time in thought and the thoughts were the more valuable of the experience.




* The comment in Citizen Kane is as follows:

"A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't think he'd remember. You take me. One day, back in 1896, I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since that I haven't thought of that girl." Cited from Wikipedia I bet a month hasn't gone by since that I haven't thought about this comment!

Stupid Pet Tricks

No, not that kind! The kind our pets make us do for them! Yeah, so I knitted this sweater for the little dog. The sleeves are too big and poofy (and I ran out of yarn at certain points and had to use some black I dug up from elsewhere. This is the back.


I seamed it in the front with more black. I wonder if it is now too big.


So I got my boy to model it for us. Here is the side view.


He was like a living doll and whatever position I put him in he stayed in. Here you can see the back.

Somehow I'm not too sure he likes it.

New Clothes

So here is the new dress I bought for Renaissance Festival next year. I have to figure out what kind of sheath to wear under it. I really like the dress! Here are a few self-taken photos (sorry about the camera in the picture (and no make-up at all!) Two are with a yellow shirt and one with black. Unfortunately I don't really have a light yellow skirt, so I may have to see if I can find some light yellow fabric at a fabric store.




So here is the new dress I bought for Renaissance Festival next year. I have to figure out what kind of sheath to wear under it. I really like the dress! Here are a few self-taken photos (sorry about the camera in the picture (and no make-up at all!) Two are with a yellow shirt and one with black. Unfortunately I don't really have a light yellow skirt, so I may have to see if I can find some light yellow fabric at a fabric store.

So, we did manage to go to the 2011 Minnesota Renaissance Festival one last time before it closed. It was cooler this time and we noticed an abundance of warm clothing and hats.

I love the shot of this gentleman reading in the sun. The vendors dressed warmly because their booths (especially those in the shade were very chilly, especially when a breeze ran through their booths.
look at those leggings with the hat and the adorable boots!

The performers too dressed warmly (and their family members). I believe in this case it may be the wife of Zilch the Tory Steller.


As we entered we were fortunate to see Twig the Fairy as she entertained the children. She is such a graceful and bliss-creating creature. Her smile just makes you feel warm inside.


As usual there were interesting costumes, including this steam punk inspired one. (I noted several this time around.)


This bat's wings moved dramatically.


As always I gawked at the gorgeous and varied costumes. It is marvelous how people find things to wear that represent their inner selves.


I just love the way the shadows played across the lunching in this table area.


We had to visit our friend and brilliant designer Marla Ferrara. She was dressed in an adorable cossack inspired look. Look at that brilliant smile!


Check her out at the Texas Renaissance Festival - Lost Art Leather. (If you see her, I doubt she'll be this warmly dressed!)


Of course we went to see some of the performances. St the moment we are somewhat obsessed with Danger Committee. We went to two of their performances this time and had already seen three other different shows. Reynaldo, Bald Guy and Other Guy do some blatantly dangerous things including juggling live stun guns. (Which I have to admit I don't enjoy very much.) I do love the knife throwing and the juggling of fire"cluby thingies". More than that I just love to hear Reynaldo's phoney accent and sarcastic jibes at the audience and his group members. I've noticed a certain lightening in accent of late and someone needs to tell him to cut that out, - he's got some 'splainin' to do!


Of course we had to check out the damage from the fire that occurred last week. The area was fenced off, so at first we could only see the tops of the building remnants.

We were toldthat the fire was put out quickly, even though it did cause an hour delay in opening.


Eventually I found a crack in the fense, so here is what it looks like without the privacy fence.


We really got decadent this year and purchased real Renaissance costumes, but we didn't put them on - we are saving them for next year. You'll hardly recognize us then, but in the mean time here is what we looked like this time around. Don wore one of Marla's stunning dyed tops (she doesn't just do leather - her textiles are to die for!)


I wore my bodice and as usual some remnants of belly dance costumes along with a scarf that I inherited from my dear friend Dana Atkinson who died last Christmas.


Don likes to take pictures at angles so here is another unique shot that actually shows the bodice.