Oh hey! Hi!

It feels like it's been ages since I've posted anything here. I just haven't had it in me. Maybe this is normal for NaBloPoMo participants.

So I've made 3 trips to San Francisco within the last 5 weeks. One was sudden because one of my best friends died. She was a superhero named Lynette. Her death was untimely and accidental. It fucking sucks. I had the privilege of being by her side until she was cremated, thanks to my dear friend the mortician. I could go on about this, but I prefer not to.

I did manage to get my ass to a rock show on each trip:
- Old Grandad at the Cafe Du Nord on the night before Thanksgiving. Old friends. Super heavy. Great night. Excellent show. Exactly what I needed. Especially after I shoved the dumbass out of the way (nicely, of course) who was blocking my view and text messaging someone the entire time. These damn kids and their technology... grumble grumble...
- Hot Lunch at the Knockout. This is the new band of Aaron Nudelman, one of my old favorite neighborhood rockstars, formerly of Wig Torture, the Beach Girls, Mensclub, Sunless Day, and countless other projects. I only caught about 4 songs but it was great. I don't know where he found his bandmates, but they're well matched and he sounded just like I remember.
- Queens of the Stone Age at the Warfield. Love QOTSA. Hate the Warfield. It was the last night of about an eight month tour for them and I could tell they were a little tired, but it didn't affect their performance. Much. I'd love to see them every night because they have such a huge repertoire and I think they pull random surprises out of it on impulse, maybe even by request. I don't think they're one of these huge acts that does the same set all the time. I really just can't get enough of this band.

One of my new dog friends is Jake A.K.A. Jakie Pants, the geriatric chihuahua.

This sweet lil' dude keeps me company on the couch where I sleep at my friend's house in SF. I did my best to get a shot with no view of his huge balls and "button butt" (read slightly prolapsed rectum) because he really is super cute.

And I am still knitting.

This is a toe up sock using new techiques that I've been teaching myself. It Started as a 2-at-a-time magic loop thing, which I'd never done. Then I decided I didn't like that. I think I also prefer to use double point needles instead of circulars for most of the body. I had also never done the short row heel, and I think it's coming along nicely. I just hope I don't get so sick of this teal-brown ("Teal Party" from Claudia) colorway that I only finish one sock.

Also made these booties for Sacha, whom I still haven't met, and a bunch of hats.

I was flipping through the American Heritage dictionary yesterday (one of my absolute favorite books) and the "Ben Davis" entry caught my eye. " ?! ", I thought. Turns out it's an apple. Hmmm. Did my favorite designer of men's workwear know this? In case you're wondering, I was looking up Erasmus (1466-1536 Dutch theologian, scholar, humanist, and traveler). I was curious after seeing a movie in which some guy kept having hallucinations of him. I was also looking up the word dowdy (lacking in stylishness or neatness; shabby). And yes, if you must know, I'd been sucked into a "Project Runway" marathon. Thanks Abie!

WTF?: I decided to kill some time one evening in the shoe department of a Nordtron Rack store in SF and came across this ludicrous item:

I like Arizona green tea sometimes (especially the plum) but not in the form of some fugly high heel sneaker boot!

I almost forgot - here's a picture of one of my favorite things in Kelseyville.

It's the bubble machine from our Christmas parade of lights that we have every December. Sorry, the picture's kind of a joke. As you can see, I have not mastered the art of night time photography. I am getting a little better at photographing food. The light in our house is just so yellow. But look at that rigatoni!

Happy birthday Paige Cole!