Skip to main content

I Can't Believe It

I have already been in Minneapolis over two months and have about a month left.   (I am travelling out of the U.S. for a couple of weeks in August, so that's how it seems my math might be off.  Thanks for asking, though.). How can that be?  When I first got here it seemed as though I had lots and lots of time, now it seems a bit cramped.

There has been a fair amount of furniture buying online meaning a fair amount of (@$!?&) assembling being done.  I do love the satisfaction of looking at a piece and thinking, hey, I put that together, but during the process relying on those not so helpful pictographs, leads to dissatisfaction as I put together, take apart and reconstruct a piece.  Here's photos of the desk, buffet, bookcase and stools I managed to put together and have used without any collapses.
My glass desk where the writing takes place


The buffet which holds my glasses as well as wine and liquour under those orchid paintings

The bookcase with some family photos and a colour wheel; oh, and the needle basket my Dad gave me.

There are two of these so I can put my shoes on safely

As for knitting, I am knitting pinwheels to add to the wall hanging.  They are mindless and travel easily.  There is also a second Dummy Clap which is about three-quarters complete, it will be showcased later when it is done and showing off in all its beautiful.

Finally, as I mentioned on FB, I spent the 4th of July on the grass lawn of a local private college (Macalester College) watching Garrison Keillor do his program, A Prairie Home Companion and also starting his 41st year of doing said program.  He is such a quintessential Minnesotan, self-deprecating and so careful not to offend.  The program consists of folksy songs and storytelling with his style garnering him followers across the U.S.   The program is broadcast on the Public Broadcasting System twice on the weekends, live on Saturdays and repeated again on Sundays so I experienced it twice, just for good measure.  Keillor is 72 and rumour has it he is looking for a host to take his spot so he can retire.  I am so happy my daughter-in-law made all the arrangements and worked with my son to both pick me up and return me home after the event.  Perhaps July 4th is the last time I will get to see him perform live.

A small part of the crowd; it filled the main quad area of the campus

Keillor greeting folks before the performance in his red tennis shoes (runners)
With the Macalester Pipe Band for my SFU friends

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Anatomy of a Sock

I've been knitting socks for a relatively short time.  One of the disconcerting things for me as I started following patterns for socks is the pattern designer assumes the knitter (in this case that would be me) knows all the parts of a sock.  So I thought I'd devote a post to improve my own knowledge about the anatomy of a sock and maybe some of you will learn something about the humble yet necessary sock as well. Here's the names of the parts of the foot as I know them. #49 ankle, #50 heel, #51, instep, #52 ball, #53 big toe, #54 toe, #55 little toe, #56 toenail. There are some parts more important for this discussion; first the heel of a foot is generally used to refer to the entire C-shape from the ankle to the instep.  Speaking of the instep, it refers to that curve near the bottom of the foot.  And what seems to be missing in the design above is the sole which generally refers to the bottom of the foot in total or plantar aspect in more technical terms.  (BTW
2 comments
Read more

Ode to the Cat

It has been six months since Mike, the cat's, passing.  I think of him every day and miss him especially when Paul is away.  Mike was a being in the house with me and we were close.  Grieving his death has been muddled with my Dad's passing and sometimes I feel guilty about that happening.  As time passes the ache becomes less hurtful for both and I am starting to get mostly good memories in its place. Recently I helped celebrate Pablo Neruda's birthday with Jami, my poet and overall very creative friend.  Guests were asked to select one poem written by Neruda to read to the small group who gathered for the celebration.  I picked this one: Ode To The Cat -- Pablo Neruda There was something wrong with the animals: their tails were too long, and they had unfortunate heads. Then they started coming together, little by little fitting together to make a landscape, developing birthmarks, grace, flight. But the cat, only the cat turned out finished, and
1 comment
Read more

Knitting-Related Guinness World Records

I had to share some of the Guinness World Records connected with knitting.  It is amazing to me the type of skill, stamina and unique characteristics these record holders have in common. How about trying to knit with these SPNs?? Ingrid Wagner and her large needles and knitted swatch The largest knitting needles measured 3.5 m (11 ft 5.8 in) long and had a diameter of 8 cm (3.15 in). Ingrid Wagner, a rug and art creation artist, from the UK used the needles to knit a tension square of ten stitches by ten rows at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, on March, 10 2008.  (And I complained about getting certain SPNs stuck in my clothes.)  See how this swatch was done with merely 5 people managing the needles.  And what about the yarn?  It is truly ex-bulky.  It looks like they're knitting in a warehouse, but with a wingspan of almost 24 feet or 7 m, you'd need all that space.  Or how about the longest piece of finger knitting that measured 4,321.4 m
Post a Comment
Read more