such an infamous freedom, such a militant peace...

i just can't get enough of this (not at all recent) beautiful song lately. two gallants, "waves of grain."


and for more beauty, take a virtual trip to wyoming. i don't think my own eyes could see it this amazingly. eric hines, "wild wyoming, a summer of sunsets and dark skies."

Wild Wyoming, A Summer of Sunsets & Dark Skies from Eric Hines on Vimeo.

i also really freaking love green tomato hot dog relish, which i have canned a metric f*ckton of this summer.


and our new perennial garden is pretty rad, too. my drawing, of which i was very proud:


and the initial planting! we've put in a couple of bushes on the corners, and it'll look better as the plants grow.


i also recently made some new friends at the indiana state fair:








and chris ate a doughnut burger (the bun is two krispy kremes):


oh, and i made a friend at the zoo, too. oh, buddy!

things i like, house edition...

first, though, i want to BE this guy - the KO Hip-Hop Cello-Beatbox Experience: Julie-O.


and who doesn't need a beatboxing chipmunk in their lives? this has not failed to make me laugh yet.


also? our new house!!!


i brought a frozen pizza, prosecco, and strawberries for our first dinner at the house on friday.


i love the idea of handing cocktails and what-not through this little window. that's what i'm channeling here, at least.


chris putting together our lawn mower - a FANTASTIC push mower which i already love and adore!


pretending to examine our first giant lowe's receipt.


baby robin in the backyard:


my big sunday project: tearing up the turf (in the rain) to plant our ingenious (if i do say so myself) squash trellis area. we planted sunflowers in between, too.


my hair gets curly when doing hard labor in the rain.


and, for good measure, i finished a new mini-sweater.


knitting is fun.

"i get kinda sweet when it comes to bedtime..."

referencing the ever-brilliant "fishing with john" and the magic that is willem defoe.


other things i love: i witnessed this driving home in the hot, hot heat from a shopping trip i took pretty much just to avoid my non-air-conditioned house in heat index temps of 110 degrees.


good friends coupled with half-priced champagne cocktails. you, too, can feel fancy for under $10!


boombox becoming completely one with the new chair. i mean, really. this is a happy cat.


lcd soundsystem, "i can change."

floating, floating, floating and technicolor boys...

things i like this weekend: 4th of july parades in the shade and cooler weather.


time in the lake.


and this amazing video.

things i like today...

listening to this song: e.p. hall, "emperor's note." and watching this video. the paper trees!


finding some awesome pictures of me from 5+ years ago and thinking i looked so incredibly different back then.


thinking it's thundering out - when really they're just tearing down the old school across from my house.


receiving this guy for ben! (purchased from the brilliant daniellorama).

shameless self-promotion: famous the cat designs LIVES!

this is my totally self-serving way of saying i finally got off my butt and listed some items for sale on my brand new etsy site! so far, i've got four fabulous neck warmers and a bag that i am kind of in love with. take a look if you'd like: famousthecat.etsy.com. i will be adding more soon, i'm sure - i realized just how much extra yarn i actually have right now lying around, and i figure i might as well make a little cash off my knitting addiction. for instance, we have the "living in a coniferous world" neck warmer:


in other news, i went to a sock puppet party on friday night (at which the birthday girl was not at all surprised after her husband gave it away earlier that day), which also involved the making of sock puppets. hey, we have to make our own fun here. this is my dino tube sock, which i adore.


my green tights are already pilling because i love them so much.


i also have gotten a LOT closer to finishing my sister-in-law's christmas sweater (needs to be done by thanksgiving, dammit). i've been fully enjoying fall, mostly because i can't stand the thought of gray... everything for the next 5 months. this was the crazy sky from my office on friday.


walking through the leaves.


i love this one - it looks like some weird, smeary oil painting.


sunshine in leaf form.

best thing i've seen today...

this! i know it's likely you've already seen it (what do the kids call it now? "viral?"), but if you haven't, please watch the whole thing. maybe i'm just pre-menstrual, but it almost made me cry with how dang sweet it is. my personal fave would be the slow-motion part.



i just got back from dinner and a drink after a ceremony for a memorial statue for a friend who died almost two years ago. he wasn't a close friend - but he was one of those people who, when you were with him, made you feel like a close friend, like you had known him forever.

i suppose, since this is my knitting/crafting/making things with my hands blog, that i should report in on some of the stuff i've been working on? i've been addicted to a black, crazy, bobbly wool cardigan a la forecast - i'm on sleeve number one, FINALLY. i have finally met my match - bobbles become no longer fun to knit after about, oh, the first round of them. maybe when i'm done i'll count the bobbles. alos? black knitting is difficult to take photos of.

there are a few other things in the works. maybe i'll try some photos later. pics or it didn't happen, right? isn't that what the kids are saying?

and just so this isn't all boring old lady text, i give you: what my bathroom window looks like every day in the summer when i return home from work. serene, right?

movers and shakers...

i am all moved out of my old place, which was right up the stairs from my new, far more awesome, far more cool (both coolness-related and temperature-related) place a story down. yes, that was a little redundant.

so i've been busy. but i've also been decompressing at night by knitting (because, hey, that's what i do). in short, i decided i should share.

first, craftiness of a different variety. bedroom color before, an ugly, sterile mint green:


bedroom color after, a warm, buttery yellow that will make me feel better about life even in the dead of winter:


and now on to the knitting! i decided i had to make the blush deep scoopneck tank/vest. and, yup, i pretty much love it.


this was also my first try at intarsia. go, me! it worked out really well, and i am no longer afraid. huzzah. look at how pretty!


and look - i've even managed to get some stuff on the walls!