Psychobunny

I now own the cutest shoes on the planet.

I'm never. taking. them. off. EVAH!

(nyah nyah Amy, they fit perfect!)

Today was an orgy of sensory stimulation and shopping. My friend Amy is a kindred spirit so she knows when I would like something and took me to a great shopping area on Hawthorne. I pretty much handed my card to every shop keeper along the street. But my rationalization is that many were Christmas presents. Well, a few were. OK, maybe only a couple but how could I live without these shoes? And if you saw what I left behind.... I didn't take home any of this (and that wasn't easy!) and I didn't take home any of these (and it durn near killed me) and I...OK, I need to simmer down. This is worse than a sugar high.

But there is a good chance I'm wearing my new shoes to bed. Just so you know.

Posted by TheBunny at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm just SOOO close to getting MovableType up and running on this site so if anyone is actually reading this and you see funky stuff over the next couple of days, please be patient, I am working my tushy off to figure this all out and get it up and running and looking like I want it to look.

First, if anyone is actually paying attention, I have removed the Hazy Cable sweater from the "On the needle" section on the left. Yes, I'll call it a UFO until I pick it back up. I had wanted to knit it in the round and I found a great book that I think will help me out with this. In the meantime I had a couple projects I had to finish so I've set it aside...for now.

I cast on Grandma's socks she has been wanting. She has worn the first pair I made for her for her birthday non-stop and they are kind of wild for her so I'm doing another pair for her that are more her style. She picked out the first yarn but I think the soft neutral colors of the Lorna's Laces aslan yarn will please her. I'm doing some cabling just for interest.

I also am casting on some socks that will be a gift. Since the yarn is pretty much solid, I'm going to try out the Blueberry Waffle pattern for interest. They look adorable.

I finished the Winter Eclipse socks finally! I don't go as fast on the socks when I'm not watching movies.

So that is the too many socks part of my title. Now the second part isn't me advocating poor treatment of oranges. It is about the Mock Orange trees growing around here. This beautiful tree is right off the back porch.

And across the river we are getting quite a show from either a huge tree or multiple trees. The CDC does not do it justice of course but any dear readers that would be reading this crazy blog of mine has a wonderful imagination and will be able to picture the lovely white blossom show.

And finally...my Grandpa. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I have a weird Grandpa. No matter what logic is placed to him, he still does some of his weird little things. One of the things he loves to do is take food out of the refrigerator and put it in a cooler on the deck. He is a little clueless when it comes to food spoilage but this doesn't stop him. He just LOVES to do this. I was out on the porch taking picture of the knitting and when I turned around I saw this:

There we go again. Everything was fine in the fridge but I left him alone for awhile and he started taking food out and putting it in the cooler (or in this case next to the cooler). It is about 54 degrees today so I don't know what it will do to the milk. I think he worries that I overload the fridge and that is why things freeze in the back but things freeze in the back because the refrigerator is over 40 years old. Ah well, the good side is he forgets what he puts out there and I can move it back or throw it away as I see fit.

Posted by TheBunny at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I almost finished one clog and I am starting the toe decreases on my Winter Eclipse socks so I don't have anything interesting to show or talk about.

But I went past one of my favorite restaurants in Seaside, OR this morning and it reminded me of the assassin bees so I thought I would share.

I was standing outside Corepeny's one afternoon talking to my Mom and this bee would not leave my foot alone. My right big toe to be exact. He kept flying around it trying to land on it. I moved my foot, waggled the toe, waved him away, shooed him off, and on and on. He just kept going for the same big toe. Finally, when I looked away for a second to respond to something Mom said, he managed to land on the big toe and stung me!

I don't know what was so enticing about my big toe. Was it so sweet smelling and looking that he was mistaking it for a lovely flower? Did I unknowingly step on his buddy and he was out for revenge? Was he just ticked that I took his place in line to go into the restaurant? I'll never know. I think he was hired by some vengeful, bully bug family that I ticked off and I was being made an example of. Anyone else on the sting list?

Posted by TheBunny at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm a hedonist. A full-blown, card-carrying hedonist. Of course, my idea of hedonistic activities include ignoring the tax worksheet I have to finish before Monday's appointment with the accountant, turning a blind eye to the dirty dishes in the sink and the filthy floor, and sitting down with my knitting to watch four successive episodes of Upstairs Downstairs. Sex, drugs and rock and roll are too much work for a true hedonist.

I had about 4 inches of the Suki bag done when I realized in my sleep (swear to God) that I had forgotten to finish the increases in round two. I did one, put the knitting down to walk the dogs and never did another increase. So now I have to rip everything out (might as well start over). That bums me out a little so hence the movie-fest.

I also want to tackle my Hazy Cable sweater again but in looking at the back I can't help thinking it is going to be a little snug. Bummer. That has kept me from picking it back up. I will probably order more yarn so I can make the next size up so this project gets put on the back burner.

So I'm breaking out a kit I ordered on impulse and is filling up one of those Space Saver bags that horrified my Mom. It is a Herrschners kit I bought on impulse. It was the right price to rationalize a large yarn purchase and I really want a knock-around, washable, long cardigan like this. Especially at the beach where even in the summer you need something in the evenings and early morning. I also like the color of this and thought (big surprise) that it would be cute with jeans.

The kit was on close-out I think because I can't find a picture of it online anymore. The yarn is Bernat Soft Boucle in a navy with hints of a dark colonial blue. Here is my usual pixilated picture.

I'm not going to declare it officially On The Needles until I've tried it out a little.

Posted by TheBunny at 11:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm a hedonist. A full-blown, card-carrying hedonist. Of course, my idea of hedonistic activities include ignoring the tax worksheet I have to finish before Monday's appointment with the accountant, turning a blind eye to the dirty dishes in the sink and the filthy floor, and sitting down with my knitting to watch four successive episodes of Upstairs Downstairs. Sex, drugs and rock and roll are too much work for a true hedonist.

I had about 4 inches of the Suki bag done when I realized in my sleep (swear to God) that I had forgotten to finish the increases in round two. I did one, put the knitting down to walk the dogs and never did another increase. So now I have to rip everything out (might as well start over). That bums me out a little so hence the movie-fest.

I also want to tackle my Hazy Cable sweater again but in looking at the back I can't help thinking it is going to be a little snug. Bummer. That has kept me from picking it back up. I will probably order more yarn so I can make the next size up so this project gets put on the back burner.

So I'm breaking out a kit I ordered on impulse and is filling up one of those Space Saver bags that horrified my Mom. It is a Herrschners kit I bought on impulse. It was the right price to rationalize a large yarn purchase and I really want a knock-around, washable, long cardigan like this. Especially at the beach where even in the summer you need something in the evenings and early morning. I also like the color of this and thought (big surprise) that it would be cute with jeans.

The kit was on close-out I think because I can't find a picture of it online anymore. The yarn is Bernat Soft Boucle in a navy with hints of a dark colonial blue. Here is my usual pixilated picture.

I'm not going to declare it officially On The Needles until I've tried it out a little.

Posted by TheBunny at 11:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was a bit of a hellish weekend as I had to put everything else aside and finished a paper for a graduate class I was taking. But yea yea yea, I'm done and initial reaction from the instructor is that it looks good.

Now I have more freedom to work on the knitting! I'm a good doobie because instead of casting on a new project I pulled this out of the bag where it was in danger of becoming a UFO.

This is a Berroco Optika yarn that is heavenly and I'm finishing up The Shaply Scarf out of The Knit Stitch. This pattern seemed better with this yarn because it just looks a little dressier. It is a scarf as an accessory to an outfit rather than to keep me warm. It is stratight garter stitch but the yarn is a twist of sparkly cord, shiny boucle, and a soft homespun. This slows me down a bit because I can easily split the twist.

And I got yarn for another project today, I'll post pictures tomorrow. It feels so much better to have more than a few things going. I don't know how other people do it when they are disciplined enough to work on one project at a time! Crazy people!

I have to include a quick little bit about the horses. These horses belong to my neighbor but the field is right out front from my house. And the horses visit me a lot as I'm an excellent source of carrots and apples. Here is the view from my front door. You can't see it in the picture but there is a fence there.

That is Telina on the left and Marika on the right. And this is Marika shaking me down for treats.

Posted by TheBunny at 03:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I swallowed a bug yesterday. I opened my mouth, inhaled, and saw the little sucker go in. I tried to be cool and not gag and hurl in an over reaction. Best I managed was some coughing that covered some of the gagging.

I like living out in the country for the most part. Especially now with spring making little leaves and buds appear everywhere.

We have moles too. I can't help but think of Moley in Wind in the Willows but I don't think my neighbors would agree. Ever seen what a mole does to your yard?

They aren't so much holes as a running mound with little spurts of dirt mounds. They make the ground very soft and squishy. I'm afraid to step on these mounds because I'm afraid the mole is in the dirt underneath and I'll squish him in a horrible death!

The mole isn't in our yard too much anymore. Maybe because dogs and I are there a lot. But he sure had fun in our next door neighbor's yard!

We saw the mole once. The dogs and I were outside for a walk and he popped out of one of his mounds right in front of us! He seemed to know he was in trouble right away. Smelled the dogs or something I am sure. But instead of making a great escape, he ran right towards the dogs! So they weren't exaggerating when we were told moles are blind! My dogs were too surprised to do anything and I started whooping and hollering and pulling the dogs away. I didn't want the mole to get hurt and I didn't want the dogs to muck with anything.

So I guess I'm actually responsible for the mole work in my neighbor's yard?

Posted by TheBunny at 05:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm so depressed. My entry for March 10 somehow got completely erased. It had absolutely nothing interesting in it but I'm bummed it vanished anyway.

On one hand the vastness of the digital world is kind of cool because you can burn monstrous amounts of stuff onto magic CDs. Then you are reminded that the digital world is nothing when in a poof something is gone.

OK, so what did it say? That I had been staying at the beach with Mom and got offered a job at the local LYS (local yarn store) by the beach for the summer. It was probably karma that it got erased because I made a derogatory crack about hourly jobs.

Posted by TheBunny at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jesus votes Republican

I never knew...and here, I would have bet he voted all humanitarian causes. Do we even have a political party like that?

Posted by TheBunny at 05:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Whether you like it or not! The evidence is everywhere.

Have you seen the Quiznos commercials with the creepy little 2D singing things? The first time I saw that I thought I must have stumbled upon a Saturday Night Live skit. But then I kept seeing them. I checked the Quiznos website and they think their new commercials are fabulous!

They also think those things are monkeys. Have they ever seen a monkey? Those things are rodents. Hamsters, gerbils, I can't quite tell because of the creepy eyes and hats. And they don't move so they look like they took pictures of dead rodents and tried to animate them. One of them even has its little feet curled up next to its body like a little dead rodent.

Why would a restaurant want a dead rodent hawking their food?

Posted by TheBunny at 02:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Multnomah County in Oregon has begun issuing marriage licenses for same-sex marriages. I'd put a link to the news story here but it would break in a few weeks so you can just to to OregonLive.com and do a search for the story.

I don't know the mechanics of how it was done. There is some debate on the city council making decisions in secret. Whatever. I'm so proud of Oregon government for doing this! YEAH! It is about time!! I just don't understand the ferocity behind opposing this. People seem to honestly believe that this will destroy the sanctity of marriage. If they want to ban same-sex marriages on that basis, then they had better ban adultery. And they won't do that because we know how "busy" those politicians are! Yeah, power is an aphrodisiac, yeah, yeah, yeah. Bollocks!

And wouldn't prenuptial agreements also fall under this umbrella? Did anyone picket Donald Trump when he did his shitty little move with Marla (not that what he did to Ivana was any less shitty) divorcing her just before a deadline that would mean she got big bucks from him? What about Mick Jagger? His "ah ha! I didn't file the paperwork you aren't really my wife!" trick was quite a testament to marriage! Yeah, a gay couple is going to bring down the institution.

I know people believe it is a mortal sin. And I totally accept their belief (I don't agree with it, but that is beside the point). But then why picket and scream horrible things at another human being. If it is a mortal sin, then the person committing the sin will be the one to pay. It is The Higher Being's job to judge, not ours.

*sigh* I'm just so happy for these folks who have been in loving, committed relationships, raising children, and contributing to our community. They deserve the same legal protections in our society. Actually, they deserve more. They deserve to have their unions celebrated also.

It was so sweet to see all those couples lined up outside the courthouse waiting for it to open so they can get their licenses (over 400 couples showed up). All they want is to get married. That just shouldn't be denied.

Posted by TheBunny at 11:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I hate it when a company I have done business with takes the opportunity to pester me. That is apparently how they thank their customers, they come back at them for more. I bought something from a large, well-known company who sells steaks. They have a wonderful product, I have always been happy with the results and I consider it a special gift for special occasions when I go to them. This company has started calling me to sell me more.

I'm astounded that that is the way they thank me for my business. Now I have to have the awkward conversation of "I'm not interested in really good priced steaks right now, please take me off your call list." In actuality, I probably would be interested in well-priced steaks but I will never buy anything from a telemarketing call and I will never buy when I'm directly marketed to. The presumption offends me. It is not an opportunity for me. It is an opportunity for them.

The cable company is a good one for this! Buy one of their services and they will keep calling you to upgrade you. Even right after you get your new service installed. My mortgage company hammered me with junk mail about insurance. And who is it that sells the information that you are a new homeowner? Don't I get any say in living someplace for a little while before the calls and junk mail start up again right away? I get to give you my life savings, AND part of my paycheck for the next 30 years and you STILL are going to sell my information?

And how about when you do business with one company (lets say buy bulbs from a catalog) and now you are getting junk mail from many many gardening companies. Gee, I wonder who pimped my information around? It isn't enough that I gave them money they want to make more off of me. "Thanks for your business, we'll be abusing that privilege now." And the joke is, the latest junk mail I got was for environmentally-friendly equipment.

It has the distinct feeling of being screwed and not getting dinner.

I'm sorry David darling, you shouldn't be right under this rant.

Posted by TheBunny at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I hate it when a company I have done business with takes the opportunity to pester me. That is apparently how they thank their customers, they come back at them for more. I bought something from a large, well-known company who sells steaks. They have a wonderful product, I have always been happy with the results and I consider it a special gift for special occasions when I go to them. This company has started calling me to sell me more.

I'm astounded that that is the way they thank me for my business. Now I have to have the awkward conversation of "I'm not interested in really good priced steaks right now, please take me off your call list." In actuality, I probably would be interested in well-priced steaks but I will never buy anything from a telemarketing call and I will never buy when I'm directly marketed to. The presumption offends me. It is not an opportunity for me. It is an opportunity for them.

The cable company is a good one for this! Buy one of their services and they will keep calling you to upgrade you. Even right after you get your new service installed. My mortgage company hammered me with junk mail about insurance. And who is it that sells the information that you are a new homeowner? Don't I get any say in living someplace for a little while before the calls and junk mail start up again right away? I get to give you my life savings, AND part of my paycheck for the next 30 years and you STILL are going to sell my information?

And how about when you do business with one company (lets say buy bulbs from a catalog) and now you are getting junk mail from many many gardening companies. Gee, I wonder who pimped my information around? It isn't enough that I gave them money they want to make more off of me. "Thanks for your business, we'll be abusing that privilege now." And the joke is, the latest junk mail I got was for environmentally-friendly equipment.

It has the distinct feeling of being screwed and not getting dinner.

I'm sorry David darling, you shouldn't be right under this rant.

Posted by TheBunny at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now this is a hottie. He has the nose and the great chin. Yes, David Wenham deserves a growl...

I'm on the hunt for the perfect eggplant colored cotton yarn. I saw this darling pattern and now I want a whole sweater in that ribbing, those colors and that random striping.

Posted by TheBunny at 09:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I decided I keep track of what I'm doing enough around here I don't need to do it in the blog also. So that little feature is GONE! Just move the eyeballs to the left to see what are on the needles.

I couldn't resist the pansies and primrose today at our local BiMart. 88 cents! I am proud I managed to not fill the cart. I just filled the seat part. So I enjoyed the rare, beautiful NW sunshine and did a bit o' gardening. Got the nails dirty, prettified the front step, managed to get out of my "I'm-not-working-I'm-a-loser" funk for a little while.

I was having a little bit of a Viggo craving yesterday. Viggo is an interesting character. He isn't actually my type usually. He is too good looking and I like a bigger nose on a man's face. Anchors it, gives it character, yadda yadda. But any man who is so open to artistic endeavors without the pretension and says his teenage son is his best friend has peaked my interest.

Now if he just did something in drag I would put him on my "future husband" list. There is something so sexy about a man confident enough in his masculinity to dress in drag...

Anyway, so I was craving a little Viggo and I rented some movies he did a while back. Daylight and Prophecy. Let me save you the time. Not good. Not good at all. I almost feel like Viggo owes me one for watching them. He was good in them. He really was. But the writers for those films need to do some hard time.

Today, we are saluting great cameo appearances. Especially the ones where the actors play themselves. I saw the Will & Grace that Kevin Bacon was on the other day. He was SO funny! He did the Footloose dance. One of the better episodes in my opinion! And how about the Seinfeld that Raquel Welch did? Where she beat up Kramer and Elaine in separate fights? Another beauty. And Ron Howard's in the Simpsons. Heck, any star appearance in the Simpsons is good stuff. They are satirized really well.

Hats off you guys! I respect you a heck of a lot more when you roast yourself so well. You have more credibility in my opinion.

Posted by TheBunny at 01:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)