23 October 2006

check out ben folds!

here he is singing one of everyone's favorite songs! neat.

19 October 2006

four things


Four jobs I’ve had:

*Lotion sales-person a la the mall
*House Chair
*stage manager for the worst person ever
*costume coordinator for two Oren Shai films

Four movies I can watch over and over:

* Dirty Dancing
* The Royal Tenenbaums
* The Thin Man
* even though it's not all that great, Almost Famous

Four places I have lived:

* Portland, ME
* Pacifica, CA
* Bennington, VT
* Brooklyn, NY

Four television shows I love to watch:

* CSI (only las vegas. the rest suck.)
* Veronica Mars
* Weeds
* Jakers! the adventures of piggly winks

Four places I have been on vacation:

* Route 66
* Glasgow, Scotland
* Montreal, Canada
* San Francisco, CA

Four of my favorite dishes:

*Macncheese. real, no boxes here.
* winter squash.
* the big gq's mom's crab dip. holy crap.
* ooo. chowder! and cupcakes! ach! i can't choose!

Four websites I visit daily:

* knit and tonic
* google
* nytimesr> * um. let's say, fig and plum?

Four places I would rather be right now:

* home in bed with some tea and my book.
* magnolia bakery getting a cupcake and a capp. or, balthazar getting a croissant.
*making crafts (utilizing my vast rubber stamp collection.)
* morrocco or spain or nicaragua. (places i'd like to visit next, now that i have a passport.)

(at this point, i'm supposed to tag some people. but, i don't know about that. it makes me feel like those chain emails where you have to pass it on to get the joke or jesus' blessing, or that guilt you get from not passing it on, where they might do something terrible to you (they know who i am.). i don't know, i clearly have some sort of pass-it-on-or-else fear here. so, if you want to participate, please do. no guilt from me, friends. none.)

17 October 2006

the life ferry

so, last night when i went to get on the ferry, (after much insanity with the big gq and miss L to get groceries. this business about buying and transporting your food via ferry boat turns out to be a bit, well, complicated.) the little man who is a deck hand came over to our car and asked if we knew about the boat switch. and we're all, wait, what? and he's all, yeah, they're switching your boat out with vinalhaven's stinky old boat because the lobstermen over there are mad that they can't get two tractor trailers of lobbies off at a time. so, they made such a stink that we have this crappy ferry because our boat (the governor burgess) can carry multiple tractor trailers. this boat we have now is slower and ugly on the inside. plus, the women's bathroom is covered in less-than-nice comments about some lady name "loopy linda." sucks to be her, friends. so, i am now destined to a month of alternative ferry riding. oh well. it could be worse. (of course, all the north haven people are starting to make a big stink of their own to the ferry people, and the crew is, too. the design of this boat doesn't work as well with our dock. anyhoo, tempers are flaring.)
oh, yeah. SO, we get to the boat all sweaty and hyped up and the guy says, oh yeah, it's not leaving for another hour. for real. so, of course, we went to get cocktails and pub-fare to remove some of the shock. fantastic.
oh, congratulate me. i sent my first package off for SP9. ole!

16 October 2006

secret pal-secret pal!


hee hee! secret pal is underway. i have both MADE and RECEIVED contact with the spoilee and spoiler. ha. this is fantastic. i have to send my package internationally, so i'm going to drop something in the mail today. gotta make sure my spoilee gets some presents asap.
my spoiler, is that right?, asked me a few maine-type questions. today is the coldest its been so far, but it is so nice and fally. the big gq and i went collecting apples from all sorts of trees this weekend. it was great, he'd shake the branch and it would rain apples. i made delicious apple sauce and froze 5 pints. (get this, i also gave away 4 pints, and we delivered a serving bowl for dinner with the big gq's folks last night. tons o' sauce, my friends, tons.) once i get the pictures off the camera, then i'll put them up here!
i do like halloween, of course, but i more like the making of things happening than the participating. i'm kind of a facilitator-type. i am hoping to help make a really scary house this year and carve some pumpkins. near halloween this year, miss L, who's wedding pictures are below, is hosting a murder-mystery dinner. it is going to be hysterical. the big gq is stressed out because he has to dress as a mummy. for reals.
oh, and guess what? my spoiler is from texas, which i love. just so she knows, i've even been to the big texan and watched someone win that free meat. and swum in a swimming pool shaped like texas. and, you know what else?, they really do have tumbleweed there. fantastic.

13 October 2006

three things



1. i still haven't received my secret pal assignment, and i have pretty much expired from holding my breath. what i mean is, i'm so excited, so why can't the 15th come any sooner?
and, 2. check out this thing from rock-paper-scissors. it is great.
oh, and 3. um, yeah.

12 October 2006

ok, back to politics

(you know you're in maine when...)



i just found this interesting AP article. maine has now changed its rules so that for each referendum, there are going to be three voices for and three voices against. they are not going to edit or change the comments in any way and it's a first come, first serve basis. the comments will be printed in our voter guide. kind of interesting, no? oh, i forgot, it costs $500.00.
so, i decided that i'd try to look at the voter guide. when i googled maine voter guide 2006, i got this. as we can tell, this is not an un-prejudiced source, now is it? interesting, though.
the only voter guide available on the maine state website is how to register, which doesn't really count.
anyhoo, that's all for now. i am still trying to find some good information on referendum question 2, which is lost in the shadow of TABOR. i saw an article in one of the smaller newspapers, but am still tracking down an electronic copy.

11 October 2006

and there were more



the happy couple



and all four of us at J.O. Brown's boatyard.

10 October 2006



first photo from the wedding. by misses d, of course.

03 October 2006

to die for

my goodness do i want this! (think: sea grass.) imagine the mittens!
also, i forgot to announce that i now have insurance! yahoo!

02 October 2006

Secret-Pal-Survey-Anwers

Here are my answers, posted in record time. I'm so excited!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I love anything natural, no acrylics here. I like fuzzy and soft things, but not so much with the variegations. I have used self-striping yarn once and thought it was divine. Generally, I knit pretty chunky, with size 6 needles and above, but recently I have made both my first sock and a set of booties, both on #1s, so I’m open to anything at this point.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? A plastic cowboy boot that I got a beverage in at the Big Texan in Amarillo. It’s not ideal as the beasts tend to knock it down and gnaw on the needles for some extra fiber. 3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I’ve been knitting since the winter of, let’s see, 2000. I am very much a beginner, I think, but I’m also adventurous. I learned to knit from someone who had taught herself and was a leftie, so, I knit kind of funny. I need to relearn, methinks. I do know all sorts of things, like, increasing and decreasing, knitting in the round, how to follow a pattern… but I usually just kind of jump in and sort it out as it goes. 4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

No. 5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.) I’m pretty sensitive about fragrance. I usually have things like lavender and naturally fragranced soaps and things.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Of course! I love baked goods. I love chocolate. Oddly enough, I also really like gum.


7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I love arty quilts and making them, and I use rubber-stamping as much as possible. I have a new-ish addiction to them, about a year, and I have an extensive collection already. I am also hosting a Stampin’ Up party on 28 October. It’s going to be fantastic.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

Oh, I like most music. I like Belle and Sebastian, The Decemberists, The Postal Service, but have recently been into things like Al Green and James Brown. I also really like bluegrassy folk and adore the new Bruce Springsteen album. Oh, and that new Dylan album is pretty killer. I have a computer and an iPod, so I can listen to digital music or CD-style.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I don’t much like purple. Besides that, I like ‘em all. 10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I have two cats: Piggy and Bingo Little. They are fantastic, but they’re a handful. 11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Ix-nay on the onchos-pay. I cannot handle the poncho. They are just so wrong, I can’t even pontificate about them. All other knit goods are right up my alley, though. 12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Hats, scarves. Mittens. 13. What are you knitting right now? I just finished up two projects, so, I’m on the quest for a new project. I just made myself a fall-hat, which didn’t come out exactly right, and some booties for a friend’s baby on-the-way.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Um, hell yeah!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Either straight or circular, bamboo or aluminum. 16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? No. 17. How old is your oldest UFO? At least 4 years. 18. What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving. I love pie. 19. Is there anything that you collect? oooooo. Fiesta ware. Rubber stamps. Mess. 20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I am painfully out of touch with publications right now; this move to the island has done me in. I would love a copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting, or anything else that is inspirational. I don’t even own any E. Zimmerman books! And I call myself a knitter! 21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Knitting “properly” (although, I’ll probably just ignore that), cables and bobbles. Writing really clear and concise directions. 22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Well, I have technically knit a sock. But, just one up to now. So, no, not really. I’d like to be, and am working on it! I wear a size 6.5 shoe, I don’t have the measurements with me.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

17 November! Yahoo! The big 2-6, baby.