A Picture a Day - Jan 17, 2012
The oddest looking baby carrot I’ve ever seen, found in the bag this morning.
A Picture a Day - Jan 16, 2012
Today’s picture was taken on Christmas Day, 2011, in Marion, Iowa.
It’s some sort of art/sculpture thing in the center of a roundabout. It’s pretty goddamned scary to drive upon, if you ask me.
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January Bound Off is here and available for your listening pleasure!
Bound Off Short Story Podcast: Issue 72
Released January 15, 2012
(19.5 minutes. File size: 18MB. 128kb-encoded MP3.)
- “Carlton on the Verge” written and read by Robert Sachs (5.75 minutes long, starts at 00:45). Robert Sachs received his MFA in writing from Spalding University and has had stories published in such magazines as Mobius, The Front Porch Review, The Writing Disorder and Red Fez.
- “Such Simple Words” written and read by Len Kruger (11.5 minutes long, starts at 6:55). Len Kruger’s short stories have appeared in a number of publications, including Zoetrope All-Story, The Barcelona Review, and forthcoming in Gargoyle. He lives in Washington, DC.
A Picture a Day - Jan 15, 2012
Today we ambled down to the Seamans Center for Engineering Arts and Sciences on the University of Iowa’s campus for the Candace Carmichael Elementary Art Exhibit. In particular, we went to see this:
Zoe’s painting!
She’s not particularly interested in art, but for some reason, her work has often been singled out for city-wide elementary school exhibits. It’s pretty cool, but she seemed more excited about the free popcorn.
A Picture a Day - Jan 14, 2012
Today’s picture comes to you from the Iowa River in Coralville.
On my way home from work I stopped by the Iowa River to see if I could spot an eagle or two. This part of the river is a known nesting area, with tall long-limbed trees that line the banks. But, not an eagle in sight. I guess it’s a little early for eagle nesting, so I had to be content with the hundreds of ducks floating around. They’re always good for a show.
Confession: I am a terrible photographer. My eyesight is too poor to be able to take a good picture. Something about the way my vision works messes my perception, even with glasses—I have horrible vision in my left eye and middling to fine in my right. But, I suppose this project is more about recording your life and less about taking a good photograph.
A Picture a Day - Jan 13, 2012
Jumping on the picture a day bandwagon. Somedays they will have text, somedays not. Somedays they will be from Instagram. Others not. Etc.
Finished this book the other day. Compelling arguments abound. I’m more apt to agree with his arguments than not, due to my ever-increasing disbelief in a deity/afterlife. I’d say read the book rather than have a discussion with me on the issues.
Is it too late to do a picture a day thing?
Because yesterday it was 52 degrees and I ran three glorious miles. Today, it’s hovering around 12 degrees and the snow won’t stop. I wish I would have taken a picture of what it was like yesterday.
Oh well, hindsight.
Today I feel like cuddling under my electric blanket with hot coffee by my side and The Sopranos on my HBOGO. But, as always, I feel the need to earn it. I submitted some stories, queried another agent and worked on this:
A blanket repair.
My sister is a massage therapist and does lovely work, and we decided to do a little exchanging. In this case, I received a free massage, and all I had to do was repair a blanket I gave to her over fifteen years ago.
There were little rips and tears here and there, but nothing overwhelming. I threw some Francis Albert on the Pandora and went to town.
And then, I saw this:
One of the squares was made of yarn from my first ever knitted sweater.
If you know anything about me, you know I learned to crochet from my late, lamented Grandma Lollie, probably around the age of five or six. And I crocheted for many, many years. I didn’t learn to knit until I was in my twenties, and the first project I made was a sweater, knitted during a several week class at The Yarn Barn in Lawrence, KS. (That name…I know, right?)
This got the memory machine going. I love to crochet blankets out of leftover yarn from various projects. We have several around the house, and I’ve made blankets for my parents and siblings and various friends.
The top blanket is my first ever crocheted blanket.
Our bed.
More semi-successful blankets.
The best part is grabbing one, settling in, and upon glancing down, remembering where I originally used the yarn. Especially on days like today, where all I want to do is follow the cat’s lead and crawl onto one and take a nap.
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PS On my blog yesterday I misspelled a word and it’s still haunting me. The worst part is, when others make the same mistake, I laugh and cajole and otherwise hold it against them, all the while questioning their basic intelligence.
For shame.
Second finished object of 2012
Pattern: Summer Garden Granny Square
Yarn: Various Encore DK and others from the stash
Hook: F
For: House
I found this blog and became totally obsessed with the idea of filling my house with colorful crochet items. Who can blame me? Who doesn’t want bright and cheerful items hanging around their couches? Screw you if you think they’re kitschy.
If you must know, I’m cheap. I’m using these to cover some old throw pillows that someone gave us when we got married. I need some pillows to brighten up the living room and these pillows, to be frank, have a color palate that screams early-to-mid 90s. Also, they’ve been well-used by my children and their hoodlum friends, and have stains of questionable origins that no number of washings can remove. The grannies cover all offenses and satisfies my ultimate and thrifty obsession with not spending any more money on my house than I have to.
