I'm not very good at this "consistency" thing

At least not on multiple tasks at once. bah.

Last Friday morning on my way to work I saw that the big civic square was full of people and... big piles of sand. I stopped by after work and found that there'd been a big sand sculpture contest that day. It was pretty neat walking around all the sculptures.

The sponsoring org was a kids charity so everything generally had a kid theme.
One of my favorites, a food pyramid. Hehehehe.


And this is the monster under the bed


A space exploration scene with an unfortunately shaped rocket ship.


Space alien!


OK, time to go figure out dinner. sigh.

Screw this "real" thing

I am the tiniest bit tipsy so I thought I'd preface this rant (sigh. And it is a rant. K the love monkey feels I need to be more even-tempered. He does not say so but I know he thinks it. I know by the look on his face when I get going) (also this means I am easily distracted, if it's not readily apparent by now) with that information for your entertainment.

So tired of this "real" thing. You're not a "real" X if you don't do Y. Who suddenly stood up and designated you the Arbiter of All That is Perfection in Craftiness? I encountered this years ago at a quilting show, when someone I don't care to associate with anymore declared anyone who didn't handstitch their appliqué was not a "real" quilter. Screw that. It's all about mastering the methods that you choose to employ. It doesn't matter how you do so -- many techniques aren't even comparable. Making some kind of value judgment of people's worth based on their technique is ridiculous. I think that the care and craftsmanship that went into an object is to be honored.

Dammit. I'm out of adjectives. I'm tired and I still don't have a lot of free time. I'm whiny and jealous of my own husband who got to bike to work today and I haven't been able to be on a bike for weeks. I wish I were a better person. I'm supposed to have come up with something for dinner (any ideas?). This weekend I was so obsessed, with just resting and not going anywhere or doing anything I knit almost an entire sock. On 2 mm needles (too small for me, it's for my SIL. 64 st ain't big enough for my clodstompers at that size. I'm getting a jump on Christmas). I have barely read blogs for weeks. I feel awful about not keeping up. Also, I cannot seem to stop wanting to buy yarn online, and I seem to have some kind of orange fascination that will. not. stop.

Bah. At least it is SUMMER. I don't care if it's 95, I'll enjoy it anyway.

Look, beer & a wedding (not mine, a friends') on a very warm summer night. Hoorah!

Rhythm

Short 'n' sweet:
* The weekend was nice, but too short
* Physical Therapist on Monday did something good and I feel a bunch better today than I have for a while. Thank you all.
* work continues. I yearn to be useful but I'm still trying to figure out how to use everything.
* There's more to life than socks, I keep repeating to myself

Darth Socks

*Note: not "the" darth socks, just Darth Socks. Dum-dum-dum-duhduhDUM, duhduhDUM (that's supposed to be the Imperial March) They are BLACK. This is part of the Love Monkey Sock Project: 4 skeins of black uni-color Opal to be turned into socks. Every time I thought of them I was reminded of the old Brunching Shuttlecocks cartoon, More Darths. My favorite is Darth Billy. Or maybe Darth Elbow. Now you know just how weird I am.

Here's the Death Star flyby view:

It's just a boring old cuff-down sock pattern with a knit-purl stitch pattern.

Also, black yarn: not that bad. I had heard the horror stories, but even though I knit most of these last February it really wasn't hard to see. Then again, they are only a knit-purl pattern: no cables, no decreases or increases except as the sock pattern specifies.

I was just going to post some random pictures from the trip in June to Japanese garden trip because they're pretty and I got nothing interesting, but I see I snuck in some socks. Sorry about that.
Shadow of the bamboo. Sounds like a kung-fu movie, doesn't it?
Interference patterns in a fountain
Moon and Sun

That mama mallard had something like 10 ducklings following her around. I think she must've been designated babysitter for the day.

J is for Justifications

Lame ones, that is.

I've been eaten up by my first week of work. I go in early and come home at night exhausted. I'd forgotten what this kind of dedicated brain-stuffing does to me. Also this week is the week my back decided to turn traitor again, and while it's not so bad that I can't hobble to work, it slows me down, and I'm even more loopy when I give up and take the meds. I haven't read blogs in a week, let alone answer email, so I apologize for the lack of responses. Hopefully I'll be less braindead after the 3-day weekend.

Yes yes, I've got an appointment with yet another physical therapist on monday. I should go back to sports med doc from last time and ask him WTF. But he's just a 40-minute drive away and I haven't felt up to explaining everything again, let alone trying to unfold myself out of the car after 40 minutes in 1 position.

Aren't I a whiner. It's a talent, I tell you. I definitely seem to practice frequently. Bah.

Here's a real J:
mmm, jam

The berries have started in earnest (strawberries are the harbinger, but we've made it into rasp/blue season. A few more weeks for blackberries) and I'm unabashedly stuffing my face with berries. Every summer at some point I get overambitious and buy a half flat to make jam. Making your own canned jam is easy-peasy: you can add whatever you like and you don't have to pressure cook it, just boil it awhile. There's no danger of botulism, because fruit is too acid for that particular bacteria to survive. I learned from my Mom but any of those little packets of pectin have a insert that explains how to do it.

Making jam makes me feel like a domestic goddess -- look at me, I PRODUCE MY OWN FOOD! (well, sorta. Don't destroy my dream). Also, it's like self-patterning sock yarn, people are usually impressed: "you make jam! Wow, you must be Mr/Ms Perfect Home." Ha. I wish.

Anyway, happy 4th everyone! It's raining here (per tradition. It's a pacific NW thing), but that's OK because I've gotten a couple weeks of warmth and sunshine and this summer rain just means I don't have to water all the damn plants. I wish you all a happy day full of tasty food, pretty yarn, good company (or blessed solitude should you so desire), and pain-free movement, wherever you are.

P.S. Heidi, you are officially TAGGED for that meme from the last post.