It snowed last weekend!

I finished my alligator last night! I had to run out to buy googly eyes for him.



( More photos. )

Made from leftover Lily Sugar and Cream (the greens I bought to make travellight a turtle a couple of years ago, and the yellow was from a Woodstock bird I made last summer). No pattern, just winged it as usual. If you remember the dragon I made? This is pretty much the same shape. The snout was the biggest challenge and I still didn't get it exactly the way I wanted it.

This is actually my best made animal so far. I usually make them over a period of weeks and I lose track of which row I am on and end up with legs and arms in different lengths, etc. I started this little guy last weekend and stitched all week (I am slow at crochet) and finished him up yesterday. It's a lot easier to keep track of rows when you don't put a project down :)

I caved and bought the googly eyes because I am so, so terrible at embroidering on anything. Meh.

Woo! What should I make next?

More playing with textures:



Photoshop is a little less intimidating when I break it down into little, bite-sized learning sessions.

Love the cosmos. I've got a couple of patches of them blooming right now. Just pretty.

I've been playing with Photoshop more lately. I like working with textures right now.

On Friday night my camera started itself over in its numbering scheme again, for the third time since I bought it. This means that I've taken 30,000 photos since 12/05.

I hit 10,000 photos in 7/07.
I hit 20,000 photos in 5/08.

In the last 14 months, I've taken an average of:
- 714 pictures per month
- 178 pictures per week
- 23 pictures per day

( Some highlights... )

I've been working on my pregnant coworkers to let me take pictures of their babies when they arrive. A couple of weekends ago I went out to take pictures of Sierra. I work with Sierra's mommy.



( More here. )

You can view more here.

I'm posting this because it reminds me of something that niyabinghi might post:

These I took specifically for travellight. On Friday I sat out on the deck with my camera and waited for some cheeky little bird to happen by.







I am taking pictures again almost every day, after not touching my camera much over the winter. It feels so good - soooo good.

An email went out in November regarding the need for additional foster families to work with the Minnesota chapter of Midwest Pug Rescue, an organization which takes in pugs from shelters, humane societies and surrenders. With the economy the way it is, and with the mortgage crisis, there are more and more animals being surrendered because families either cannot afford their pets any longer or they have to move out of their homes and into apartments which do not accept dogs. Also, the group keeps a close eye on regional puppy mills and animal hoarders so that if there is a big surrender they can place as many animals as possible, and work with other pug rescue groups to make arrangements for the rest.

I filled out an application to become a foster mom and in the early part of December a lady from the rescue group came to my house to verify that I could provide an acceptable environment for an animal.

After that I was put on an email distribution list. Every time a pug is brought into the organization an email is sent out to all fosters to find a temporary home for him or her. I have thrown my hat in the ring for many homeless pugs over these last few months.

About two weeks ago I got the email about two pugs, a breeding pair, that were being surrendered by a family who lived near me. I picked them up after work on a Thursday night and they've been living with me since.

Let me introduce you to Bubs:



and Tater:



They're both affectionate and mellow. They love walks and being brushed and snuggling with me.

I encourage all of you animal lovers to find a way to help out a rescue group in your area. You don't have to be a foster like me - you can also donate your time or money to helping out these groups, who are mostly strapped for resources lately due to a spike in animal surrenders. It's rewarding to feel like you're making a difference in the lives of two little animals who only ever wanted a safe place to lay their noses and a couple of bowl of kibble every day.

Brr. No, really.

New lens, whee!



:)

From last weekend:



Let me know if you want any seeds from these. They're bushy, don't need much water, and they flower all season.

I don't have words to express how happy I've been lately.



What's the best thing that's happened to you this week?

( Meet Shelly. )

I'm getting better at people pictures! I still need more practice but I'm getting better! :)

Some shots that made me think of my favorite west-coast munchkin:



Same shot:


( Click for more. )

I went on a "Schmooze Cruise" last night, hosted by a vendor of the company I work for. There was an open bar. Me and my camera are going to teach my coworkers why restraint is a good idea during professional outings.

Here is a neat one that I forgot to post earlier:

The bad news is, my strawberries didn't come up this year.

The good news is, these did:



Recognize them, bramey??? :)

My camera started over in the auto-numbering scheme this Sunday past. This means I've taken 20,000 photos with it since 12/05, when I bought it.

In the last thirty months, I've taken an average of:
667 pictures per month
153 pictures per week
22 pictures per day

I hit 10,000 pictures in 7/2007 (see the celebratory entry here) so I've taken 10,000 pictures since then. In the last ten months I've taken an average of:
1000 pictures per month
133 pictures per week
33 pictures per day

Is my math right, determinant?

( Here's a look at the last 10,000 pictures. )

Whee! :)

This little flower was about the size of a watch battery:



( Click here to see it bigger, it's worth it. )

A sales rep that I work with bought me flowers this week, to show his appreciation for the work I did in April on a couple of his accounts. How sweet is that?

My big weekend shopping plans have been postponed, and now I'll probably spend tomorrow cleaning bathrooms. Bummer.

I'm ready to entertain again! You're all invited over for steaks and beers tomorrow. No, really. Dinner's at seven.

I'm planning on replacing my broken lens with my economic stimulus money, and also buying some swishy summer dresses and some cheap jewelry on Sunday when my sister and I go shopping. What are you going to spend the money on?

It's snowing again today. It's not sticking so far, but I'm still unhappy about it. April snowstorms won't do my May flowers any good. Hrmph.

I don't usually do images like this, but the MIT campus really lends itself to this sort of edit:



More pictures from MIT tomorrow-ish :)

Yesterday he demolished an chimney and came home looking like he'd rolled in soot.



Heh :)

I was thinking of travellight yesterday. There are an astonishing number of robins in my yard this weekend - not just four or five but forty or fifty, all hopping from tree to ground to rock to fence to ground and back again. I think they're eating berries off my neighbor's ornamental tree, because the blizzard that rolled through at the end of the week has the grass sitting under a couple of inches of very wet snow. Of course, I took advantage of their cheery bustle and took some pictures :)



( More here. )

Today is cureanything's third birthday. Thank you to everyone who's had the time to spend with me over these last three years - isn't it grand to live in a world where distance no longer terminally separates anyone? Let's share some more stories and fall in love all over again with the idea that people are more alike than different.

Much love, friends...

More to come, maybe tonight? I'm busy :)

SPRING SPRING SPRING SPRING
SPRING SPRING SPRING SPRING
SPRING SPRING SPRING SPRING
SPRING SPRING SPRING SPRING



Tomorrow I'm leaving on a jet plane. Back next week :)

Some pictures of the house we bought:





You would not believe how many different wallpaper patterns we've found. The house was built in the 1890s. In one room, they even wallpapered the ceiling. Who wallpapers a ceiling?

I didn't want to spam your friends page with pictures, so click the images if you'd like to see them bigger.

( Peektures. )

Cheesecake, anyone?



Yum.