A little cush for your tush

This summer let your patio proclaim, "A knitter lives here."

Click to enter The Knitted Chairs project.

Free things

Happy Shop Hop weekend! The weather here in the Twin Cities has been perfect for a good meander, drive, picnic - pretty much whatever your heart has desired.

Paperless patterns
Head over to Knitting Daily's website for downloadable bundles of five sock patterns and seven lace patterns. A quick registration (if you haven't already), and you're set. Offer ends soon, I'm assuming, so get 'em while the gettin's good.

Aquatic adoption
Auntie Audi has a friend who is relocating and couldn't take the livestock with her. Audi made a mercy call, and two hours later she and two coolers arrived at my apartment where Kidlet and I opened our door to a school of mollies: two ginormous adults, and about 50 fry of varying ages. All to prevent the untimely flushing of innocent fishies. I. am. such. a. sucker.

Anyone want a fish or five?

The magnificent seven

OK, so in my humble and "unbiased" opinion, it's more like the magnificent bride and six bridesmaids...

The Twin Cities' annual Yarn Shop Hop starts tomorrow! For three days, seven metro yarn shops will be giving out free patterns and enabling your yarny addiction, while helping local food shelves at the same time:

The Yarnery, St. Paul
3 Kittens Needle Arts, Mendota
A Sheepy Yarn Shoppe, White Bear Lake
Amazing Threads, Maple Grove
Coldwater Collaborative, Excelsior
Needlework Unlimited, Minneapolis
Zandy's Yarn, Etc., Burnsville

For all the details, check this post on The Yarnery Blog.

I'll be working at El Y on Sunday - hope to see you there!!

Country roads

I am one tired Meema.

Mom and Dad moved to New Richland this weekend. It's only five intersections and 90 miles away.This is the middle of God's country, if said country is not near anything else. It was a long, rather straight drive; the trip was made seasonally charming by the 5 o' clock shadow of tiny plants covering the fields. That, and passing a farm with a Santa and eight tiny reindeer still suspended across the driveway.

Anyhoo, they have been doing much work on (and cleaning out of) my maternal grandparents' old home. It's a cute house with a huge yard right next to the high school. And yes, my grandfather put faces on several of his trees, much to the delight of Kidlet. Two blocks further south is - and I mean this in every literal sense - the End of Town. The road comes to an abrupt finality of pavement, a couple of trees, and corn fields. Or maybe soybeans. I'll keep you updated.

Being Memorial Day, Old Glory was hoisted in the front yard before we returned the moving truck.

Nana and Papa, I hope you're turning in early tonight.

Going40 in iRecital

Tonight was the final event of Scott's undergraduate degree pursuit: his senior recital. An enthusiastic and sizable audience gathered at Sundin Recital Hall for an evening of piano music. Half of the audience was utilizing their iPhones before the recital started. I had to laugh, thinking back to how un-tech my recital experience at Luther compared, lo se-e-everal years ago. Bloggers to my left, bloggers in front of me, bloggers to my right - a person couldn't spit without hitting one (classy, I know). Here you see Sous-Blogger Deb working hard to keep her title. A more devoted friend would be hard for Scooter to find. Truly. (BTW, I enjoy taking random aerial photos even more than one-arm self portraiture - I was sitting next to Deb.)Scott played a wonderful program of Bach, Mendelssohn, Chopin and Ravel, featuring a world premiere by David Evan Thomas. Even though I am in NO WAY pianistically inclined, it was clear this was an exceptional performance. I marvelled at the voicing and power in the Mendelssohn. (Kidlet, I promise to make you take piano lessons. Early and often.)

Below, a herd of Scott's fans from St. Paul's; proud partner Eric, right, covered the receiving line.

We are all crazy proud of you, Scott - CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Knitterly update

It's true - I've actually been knitting lately, just not documenting it very well. Fellow Ravelers can check my Projects page over yonder - I tend to update there first. Does anyone else find it hard to serve the multiple masters of blogging/FB/Ravelry? Good grief.

This is one of two baby sweaters for an anticipated July delivery. Boy Sweater needs only to be seamed; Girl Sweater has yet to be cast on, preempted by...

Jorid Linvik's beautiful Wedding Mittens, of which the cuffs are shown here. I'm doing the lefts of each pair on Magic Loop, then the rights; hopefully this will save a bit of time that would have been spent flipping from chart to chart, let alone Second (and Third, and Fourth) Mitten Syndrome.

Ooh, and I found a yummy new yarn online last week. I'll type slowly so you may savor the thought:

m i n k
a n d
c a s h m e r e

It's as soft as you might think, and not nearly as expensive as it should be (70% mink, 30% cashmere). I purchased two 100-yard skeins of the DK weight yarn, one Jet Black and one natural, for the ridiculous price of US $9.95 each (they also sell 200-yard skeins for US $19.50). And now until Memorial Day/May 25, they are selling all yarn at 25% OFF LISTED PRICE! Check it out - and when you check out, use promotional code 525 for the discount.

Sumer Is Icumen In

OK, people - it is 10:02pm in the Twin Cities on May 19, and it's 89 freakin' degrees.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE???

On being Norwegian

Yesterday was Syttende Mai (Norwegian Constitution Day), and the Paulson clan gathered in Hugo to celebrate with a feast of Norsk cuisine. Lefse, meatballs, herring, gjetost - the works. As an added bonus, it was a beautiful spring day.

I rushed home from church to make my contribution, fløtegrøt. If you're not familiar, close your eyes and envision a) white; b) bland; and c) crazily dairy-fat based. That about covers it. The recipe called for heavy cream, whole milk, and flour; from this over a cup of clarified butter lets from the custardy goo. "Seasoning" consists of said butter, sugar and (uff da!) cinnamon.

My moment of koldtbord bravery? Two words - head cheese.
Two more words - never again.

Texture 101

Terracotta pots have never been so cozy.

Check out this article for instructions on how to make these felted flower pot covers, plus other ways to creatively contain green things.

Thanks, Barb, for the heads up on this!

Bright eyed and bushy... tailed

And in church choir news, eWAC brought his blankie to rehearsal for show-and-tell last week. It is fan-freakin'-tastic. (Regrettably, I didn't photograph the reverse, which is dancing hibiscus ladies.)

And it was only a little distracting to the altos and sopranos in the front row - well, some of them, anyway.

She made Jesus cry

Apparently owning a European luxury car exempts you from accountability for things mundane like... oh, I don't know... making sure your gas pump shuts off.

Seriously, dear, stay in your car on your cell phone. The newly born baby woodland creatures don't need unpolluted ground water.

G.I. No

I don't think I want the picture on my blog. Go see it for yourself.

Lolly lolly lolly

So we were erranding at Walgreen's this afternoon, and the nice pharmacy tech offered Kidlet a lollipop. The promise of a little sugar sends Kidlet into giddy convulsions every time without fail (picture Wallace waving his hands alongside his face when he says "Cheeeese!"). She selected her lolly, said thank you, and we sat in the little waiting area so she could eat her treat.

Kidlet sat on the demo strap-a-back-rub-to-your-office-chair thing; a touch of the power button, and the entertainment began. She was enthralled with the massaging action, especially because it went up to her head - would've been shoulder blade height on a grownup.

The sucker was disappearing quickly, and J asked her what flavor it was.

"Sweet."

Mommy and Meema lost it.

FYI, it was Pink Lemonade.