ellenmelon

Spokane

2007-06-29T11:23:00.000-04:00

On our trip to Montana, we flew in and out of Spokane, Washington. My dad grew up there, but this was my first visit. My Uncle Owen is a great tour guide.

Before meeting up with Owen, D and I wandered around downtown Spokane. We walked through Riverfront Park, where we encountered some mysterious rodents, which turned out to be marmots.

I also restricted myself to buying 3 skeins of yarn at Holy Threads, which, despite the sketchiness implied by its name and cross-like "T" on its logo, was one of the coolest yarn stores I've ever been in, unlike the one in Bigfork, Montana, where Bill O'Reilly was playing on the radio. More on knitting in a future post...

Summertime!

2007-05-17T09:31:00.000-04:00

I just finished this book. At first, I didn't know if I was going to be able to handle it, because it is really sad. But about 100 pages in, I was hooked.

D & I are trying to turn over our Netflix movies more quickly these days, but it still took us awhile to get to this. Perhaps it was because we subconciously knew this DVD signalled the launch of our movie careers. I am relegated to the extras, and look extremely attentive. D, looking much more relaxed, appears in the first 60 seconds of the movie itself.
If that's not enough of a reason to rent this, you can see the beginnings of Sufjan. Early on, he seems to appear in their lives like an angel. You can really see how his music and performances were rooted in Danielson.

And, finally, I bought this for myself as a late birthday present. I've only made it through the first 2 discs so far, but this summer, I'm totally going to watch all the episodes. My favorite so far: "The Summer of '82", in which Alex meets an older woman while delivering groceries. I'm really looking forward to Tom Hanks' appearance as Uncle Ned in "The Fugitive", Parts 1 and 2, in which I believe the Keatons will convince Tom to turn himself in to the FBI. I'm not really sure, since I don't actually think I saw any of this season when it originally aired. Stephen doesn't have a beard yet, and Skippy has only appeared once so far.

Big Sur

2007-01-22T17:07:00.000-05:00

We stayed in Big Sur last week and had a great time. Highlights included massages at Esalen and dinner at the super-fancy restaurant at the Post Ranch Inn.
We could see spouting whales every afternoon from our yurt at Treebones. We could also hear mysterious noises from the completely inaccessible beach below. It turned out this was what was going on...

David took this video with my new Christmas camera at this beach near San Simeon where thousands of these elephant seals show up every winter to give birth, nurse, and mate, and hundreds of tourists and schoolkids watch.

Tahoe

2007-01-14T14:42:00.000-05:00

This was at the top of the mountain, before I tentatively made my way down. It was pretty cold up there, but I was glad I went up to the top to see the view!

Lawrence vs. Chapel Hill

2006-11-30T13:32:00.000-05:00

I miss Lawrence, and I do like a little snow, but still...

Today in Lawrence, KS:

Snow Shower and Windy

18°F
Feels Like
1°F

Today in Chapel Hill, NC:

Cloudy

73°F
Feels Like
73°F

We're alive

2006-10-03T17:52:00.000-04:00

Since David hasn't been blogging either, it must be pretty obvious we're crazy busy. But we have managed to squeeze in a little fun. Including...

Sufjan! We saw him at Memorial Hall at UNC almost two weeks ago. He was a magical bird and his band were bugs. His wings kept bumping into other people on stage. He clapped politely for himself. He played some holiday songs and some songs about birds, along with the Sufjan standards.

Other excitement has included buying a new bed (It's gigantic- I'll let David report), and a visit from my parents on the first leg of their road trip to Arkansas.

Frig find

2006-09-15T22:19:00.000-04:00

Don't worry- I did put this in the trash.

Weekend Update

2006-09-03T22:04:00.000-04:00

We got back from our Labor Day Weekend trip to Baltimore today, because, um, I don't actually have off on Labor Day. I think it's some kind of southern thing.
While someone was travelling in style, Miles and I took an epic 8-hour storm-chasing journey to Baltimore on Friday. Highlights included my torturing Miles by insisting that he get out of the car in gale force winds in Fredericksburg, VA (which, by the way, is a place we could have ended up living in an alternate reality), and a visit to the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge during a traffic trifecta of pouring rain, Labor Day weekenders, and DC rush hour. At this point, Miles was already telling me it was his best vacation ever, so he couldn't believe his luck when he discovered that he was actually on his way to visit Bert.

Despite all that, we arrived in two pieces, and David and I got to go to a really great wedding. As usual, Stef and Brad were excellent hosts. And now, thanks to me, if you go visit them, and you need pantyhose, they'll know exactly which 7 clothing stores in Baltimore don't sell them, and exactly which grocery store does!

Tongue

2006-08-10T10:43:00.000-04:00

Tres Chicas

2006-08-04T18:54:00.000-04:00

Tonight I went to see Tres Chicas at the American Tobacco Historic District in Durham with Anne, Sergio, Renee, and Scott. You can't see it in the picture, but there was a sort of moat between them and the audience. At some point, a guy poured dry ice out of a Harris Teeter bag into the moat to the mist-ification of many little children.

Frontline blues

2006-08-01T17:17:00.000-04:00

This pretty much sums up the day for Miles. He had to put up with the dual tortures of Frontline and a forced march in Orange Alert weather designed to distract him from the Frontline. But he did get to play with his special squeaky toy, which is still intact a week after he got it at dog school! And, later, we go to dog school graduation.

Miles also spent some time bunny hunting in the garden:

Speaking of the garden, look at the pretty orange pepper!

Ribby tank

2006-07-17T19:34:00.000-04:00

Knuck in progress

2006-07-17T19:28:00.000-04:00

Family dog

2006-07-15T18:51:00.000-04:00

Miles doing his teacher's pet impersonation at dog school last week

The OC

2006-07-15T16:53:00.000-04:00

After a weekend in Long Beach, I'm spending the rest of the week in Orange County. They're going through their idea of a heat wave here, but I really cannot figure out what these southern Californians are talking about.

What I'm...

2006-07-05T11:41:00.000-04:00

Reading: I recently finished Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. It's a really good slow bittersweet sort of book. Her last novel, Housekeeping, was on NYT's list of top 25 books of the last 25 years. Then I read The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Now I'm onto Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by one of Margot's favorite writers. Also, I am working my way through Ivor Horton's Beginning Java. So far, I have made an applet and added apples and oranges, but I'm sure that in 1000 pages, I'll be able to do all sorts of fancy things.

Watching: Some evil person keeps not returning the 2nd disc of Season 1 of Arrested Development to VisArt. In the meantime, we have been entertaining ourselves with Sarah Silverman's Jesus is Magic and World Cup and Tour and even a little Wimbledon. (If there's one phrase that people always use to describe me, it's "sports fan".) And we went to see Prairie Home Companion.

Knitting: I'm nearly done (for the last week) with my ribbed tank top. I'll post pictures soon.

Locopup

2006-07-01T13:01:00.000-04:00

We took Miles to Locopops and he had his first pupsicle- frozen beef broth on a rawhide stick! He liked it best when we held onto the stick for him. A lady in the parking lot told us that she wants to be reincarnated as our dog.

Meanwhile, David, Melissa, and I sampled some more standard fare, including Mojito, Pomegranite, and Pistachio.

The Saga of the Socks

2006-05-25T14:34:00.000-04:00

Nearly 3 years ago, I went on a long walk to a yarn store in Boulder. My companion was really enthusiastic about this sock yarn that magically looked like Fair Isle. She insisted that socks were not very hard.

For the next year or so, I periodically worked on the first sock. (I probably wouldn't have made them quite so long, but I was nervous...) I finally got up the nerve to turn my first heel and it worked! I think I finished the first sock sometime last year. I then promptly started the second sock. But things kept getting in the way. When I picked up that sock again last week, I'm pretty sure it had been at least 9 months since I had last touched it.

Lest you think, "Well, maybe socks just take a long time", you should know that, in the time since I first brought my first sock-in-progress to knitting, Val and Rebecca have produced many many socks, 2 pairs of which are living in my very own home. I'm just slow.

scarf

2006-05-25T14:31:00.000-04:00

This one wasn't going on for quite so long- just since January. I bought some Nuro Kureyon last summer in Vermont, and this pattern called for it. It also came with the endorsement of Ms. Cupcakes.

Cables

2006-05-25T14:27:00.000-04:00

I decided that I needed to finish some on(and on)going knitting projects before I was allowed to set foot in another yarn store. I started this scarf last summer. I used the "Cabled Cashmere Scarf" pattern from the Vogue Scarves book I borrowed from Susie Cupcakes. It's made with Rowan Cashsoft, which is really nice and soft.

Fish fry

2006-05-21T19:16:00.000-04:00

Brad, David, and I ate some barbecued salmon, mashed sweet potatoes, and broccoli. We ate outside while some sad-looking dogs watched.

Dinner

2006-05-18T21:42:00.000-04:00

This is the Thai Broccoli Tofu Stir Fry from the Chicago Diner cookbook. The ingredient list is a little too long to include here, but basically you marinate tofu, bake it, mix that in with a broccoli stirfry, and top it with a really yummy peanut sauce.

We usually eat it with rice, but this time we used some Thai rice noodles.

Snoot loop

2006-05-16T10:31:00.000-04:00

After hiding under the dining room table, Miles usually agrees to pulling me around the woods by his nose.

Pining Miles

2006-04-10T21:52:00.000-04:00

David left today and poor Miles has been looking this pitiful and climbing into my lap all night. That's one of his non-injured webbed paws in the front.

13 Excuses

2006-04-04T20:38:00.000-04:00

In pondering what exactly has kept me from being a dutiful blogger, I have been trying to account for my time in the last 3 months, in which I have managed to eke out exactly one pitiful post.

I thought of three things I have been doing more of since the new year than I was in the last 3 months of 2005, which I will mention here in hopes of being forgiven...

1. Math
2. Yoga
3. Reading-- I am on my 11th book of 2006!
(a)The Clumsiest People in Europe
(b)Truth and Beauty
(c)Death Comes for the Archbishop
(d)44 Scotland Street
(The last 3 were read while lying on assorted Mexican hammocks.)
(e)A book by Ruth Reichl, borrowed from Sarah, read while lying on assorted Mexican poolside chairs and on the plane home
(f)Take the Cannoli
(g)Good in Bed (probably meant to be read on a hammock, not in one's own home, but I was on a book-reading rool, and needed something, anything--PS. Stef, you included this in a pile of books you returned to us, but it wasn't mine.)
(h)Autobiography of a Face
(i)The Effect of Living Backwards (I liked this, but I was also ready for it to end a lot earlier.)
(j)On Beauty (mostly read on the plane to and from Colorado)
(k)Assassination Vacation (in progress, mostly read on my trip to Auburn over the weekend)

Spring flower

2006-03-02T18:28:00.000-05:00

Last Supper

2006-01-02T20:22:00.000-05:00

Alex, Val, and Rebecca sat on one side of the table while Angela, Stef, Brad, and I attempted to bribe them not to leave with Brixx pizza.

Bmore art star

2006-01-01T01:13:00.000-05:00

In the family tradition of taking photos in bathrooms... this was in a stall at Local 506.

Traci and Rob

2006-01-01T01:08:00.000-05:00

Oona loves Minnow

2005-12-22T21:50:00.000-05:00

Oona loves Miles

2005-12-22T21:46:00.000-05:00

Pirate Isaac

2005-12-22T21:43:00.000-05:00

Ghost Pirate

2005-12-22T21:33:00.000-05:00

Minnow can fit 3 of these in his mouth!

2005-12-22T11:10:00.000-05:00

But unfortunately, I'm pretty sure at least one of those squeaky yellow balls succumbed to Miles's special love for stuffed toys.

Jonah and Isaac

2005-12-22T11:06:00.000-05:00

Ready for Christmas

2005-12-22T11:00:00.000-05:00

Walk

2005-12-20T11:14:00.000-05:00

Jonah and Oona helped us take Miles for a walk in Cambridge. In addition to keeping Miles relatively warm, that stylish coat serves to calm Miles down, as Oona kept reminding us for the rest of the trip!

Pet bunny

2005-12-19T09:06:00.000-05:00

This was Mana's present to Miles. He loves it.

Needlepoint

2005-11-24T17:52:00.000-05:00

Bmore

2005-11-23T17:08:00.000-05:00

Noodly appendage?

2005-10-18T12:21:00.000-04:00

Riverfront view

2005-10-18T10:08:00.000-04:00

This is one of the views out of my hotel room in Lawrence. Okay, so the Kaw isn't exactly the Mississippi, but there is a Stan Herd "earthwork" floral arrangement directly across the river from the hotel.

Dinner

2005-10-17T20:40:00.000-04:00

I went to dinner with Nate, Anna, Canda, and Jamie at Zen Zero. We ate lots of yummy appetizers, and I had Green Thai Curry for dinner. It was really spicy but I couldn't stop eating it. The Boulevard Wheat helped wash it down.

Ah Lawrence

2005-10-17T13:07:00.000-04:00

I drove to Lawrence this morning. First I went by all our old addresses, and then I parked downtown and roamed the streets. I bought a cool shirt at The Casbah. I went to the Yarn Barn. The woman that helped me recognized me from the knitting class we took together there 3 years ago. (She said things like, "You know how to do that- you made that sweater.") I checked out Hobbs which had a lot more clothes than it used to, and also had some sign hanging from the ceiling that I kept crashing into. I went to the Raven and bought the new Kate Atkinson book, since I finished my other book on the plane. This brought me up to 12:30 when I met Canda and Jack and Marian for lunch at Free State. (David, you'll be happy to know that the menu has finally changed.) Then, we went over to check out Marian and Jack's loft which they will be moving into on Friday.
After that, I walked around with Canda and Jamie, and made some purchases in the corporate ghetto.
Then, Canda and I went to see Jila, who conveniently had her baby Saturday, so that she would be able to receive visitors today.
Then, we came back downtown and met up with Nate and Anna- see next post.

Susie & Chuck

2005-10-15T14:52:00.000-04:00

At Wheatfields in Lawrence. I had some good smoked salmon on toast with artichoke hearts. And also a ginger cookie.

Jenn & Dave

2005-10-15T08:54:00.000-04:00

Friday night, I was hosted by the lovely Jennifer and David in Kansas City. They took me to Matsu, a Japanese place in Westport, where they have the legendary "sake bomb" room. After that, we hung out in their beautiful house in Brookside. No marching band videos, but several good card tricks.

Sandwhich

2005-10-15T08:51:00.000-04:00

David and I ate this for lunch. I think it's a Gruyere sandwich and a tuna sandwich (no bacon) and a really yummy soup.

David come home

2005-10-06T19:29:00.000-04:00

Miles is happy to report that David did indeed come home and has now been here for a whole 20 hours!

Demon Dog

2005-09-30T20:11:00.000-04:00

Actually, this is Miles being a very good dog after I tortured him with a shower. I really do have to get me one of those new-fangled hi-quality picture phones, because this is what it looks like when I choose the "high" resolution option. You mean, you can't tell from the picture how clean and shiny he is?

Orange Food

2005-09-30T19:51:00.000-04:00

Don't be alarmed, but this was my dinner. It was only when I was at the checkout at Whole Foods that I realized that the three food items (citrus glazed salmon, sweet potatoes, and cantaloupe) in my hands were all orange! And, to rub it all in, there was even an orange slice that came with the salmon.
As I walked out of the store, I was tempted by the giant pile of pumpkins. But, alas, I had filled my orange product quota for the month of September.

Real World Austin

2005-09-25T14:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, until I acquire some basic skills (like how to rotate pictures), the following applies:
This is what the Real World Austin house would look like if you succumbed to the heat on the sidewalk across the street.

Hotties at ACL

2005-09-24T17:36:00.000-04:00

Serious Miles

2005-09-23T10:28:00.000-04:00

Gavin

2005-09-04T11:46:00.000-04:00

Stef says she wants me to blog more

2005-09-03T22:21:00.000-04:00

2005-08-26T14:33:00.000-04:00

2005-08-26T14:30:00.000-04:00

2005-08-20T20:46:00.000-04:00

2005-08-20T20:09:00.000-04:00

2005-08-20T20:03:00.000-04:00

2005-08-19T19:13:00.000-04:00

Oona at farmers market

2005-08-16T14:27:00.000-04:00

Airport food

2005-08-16T14:20:00.000-04:00

Frog

2005-08-10T14:58:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, when it was really really hot out, I came out of Whole Foods to find this frog on Henny Honda. I was still in the process of capturing it on film when a man came up to me and asked me what I was doing leaving my food on the top of my car in the heat. So I had to explain that there was a frog on my car. He proceeded to pick the frog up and put it in the ground. While this prevented me from getting a better picture, I guess it was a good thing, since I hadn't given any thought to what I was going to do with the frog.

Meanwhile, Miles has developed an obsession with the frogs in our neighborhood, including the one who sits right outside our back door at night, and even managed to come inside once.

Sleeping dog

2005-08-10T14:52:00.000-04:00

Felted bag

2005-08-04T14:04:00.000-04:00

I made this in March when the weather made a thick wool bag more appealing. I used Brown Sheep Worsted yarn in Blue Blood Red and Trendsetters Charm. The bag ended up bigger than I expected, probably because I am an impatient felter.

Miles is illin'

2005-08-04T11:40:00.000-04:00

Miles and I went for a walk in Duke Forest this morning. We checked out Hard Climb Road and saw some cool birds and weird bugs. We didn't see any other humans, dogs, or squirrels, but we did come across this sign by the cement bridge.

2005-08-04T11:37:00.000-04:00

I keep taking pictures on my phone and not showing them to anyone, so I decided it was time to create a blog.