I bought this at the Nicollet Mall farmer’s market on the way home from work Tuesday. I think she likes it. If we’re lucky, I won’t fry it to death in the heat we’ve had lately.

In other news, I am a sheep. I joined Mystery Stole 3 Friday afternoon. after a bit of a stash dive, I chose some pink 2-ply wool laceweight that I got in the box of coned yarn at the thrift shop last year.

I ended the swatch early after missing a YO and not being in the mood to fix it. (which was probably not the best of ideas in retrospect - would have been good practice for the actual stole).

I then set out on a bead-hunt. I had to pick up some library books, so Maple Grove was the destination. I stopped at the The Bead Bag in Elk River, since it was on my way, and I ended up choosing some beads there. I have no idea what color to call them, they’re iridescent, kind of a blue with a pink reflection. Funny story - when I asked where I’d find the size 8 beads, after being pointed to that section, I was asked what I was planning to make. When I said a knit stole, she found that interesting because another person had been in earlier looking for the same size beads to knit a stole. Makes me wonder if I have a knitting neighbor working on MS3 as well, or if she’s working on something else. (If that might be you, please say Hi)

so then it was on to Maple Grove (after a stop at the Rogers Library). I stopped in JoAnns to grab the needed uber-tiny crochet hook (a size 12/1mm. egads, is that tiny!) and was then going to pop into The Amber Bead to check out their selection. Turns out they are no longer at that location. Rather annoying, since I was on their website before I left to check their hours and it didn’t mention that the Maple Grove location was closed. No notices on the building either, which makes me think it’s been closed for a while.

in other news, some yarn arrived today. I saw a pic of a FO on someone’s blog once upon a time (clapotis, maybe) and they had knit it up in Lorna’s Laces color Aslan. I liked the way the colors knit up, and being unable to resist most lion-themed things, decided I had to have it. and now I have some - in the Shepherd Sport weight.

in other knitting news, I’ve started another K-chan bag and a third one is in the queue. this time I’m using Bernat Felting Wool (think it’s new - it’s not on their website yet) and size 11 dpns. It’s bugging my wrists though - I think it’s from using 5 dpns and so I’m holding things awkwardly. or something. so it won’t be a marathon like the first one. but I’m about halfway done (not counting the i-cord straps)

there is a mouse in my room. I saw it run into the corner. on the ‘plus’ side, I’m already sitting in the computer chair. on the downside, the corner the little mousie ran into is right next to the basket of wool (oh please oh please oh please don’t let him be IN the wool). downside #2 - Kashka is ingoring me and not coming to my rescue. downside #3 - I have no idea where the traps are (I just knew they were back). downside #4 - I don’t do well removing the mouse once it’s been trapped. ew ew ew ew. and dh is not home.

the crazy thing about this is that I worked at camp for a good 5 or 6 summers. and since we were just ‘visiting’ the tents for the summer, there were plenty of mice in residence in the tents. mice running across the bunk above mine, the roof, whatever. not a problem. mice in the rubbermaids we stored the pots and dishes in - no problem (aside from the ew factor of mice in/on our dishes). overall, my general thinking is: mice outdoors (and yes, the camp dining hall would count as outdoors) - not a problem. mice indoors (particularly in my house. more specifically, in my room full of yarn) - a problem. (I had a standoff with one that was hiding under the dresser when I still lived at my parents. thankfully, I was on the bed and the bed was closer to the door.)

I wonder if work will understand if I call in - sorry, I’m trapped on my chair in my office. there’s a mouse holding me hostage. hmm. probably not.

where is that cat? and where’s the best place to put the traps. (in my room? ew ew ew ew ew. I wonder if they’re still hanging out in the kitchen. ew ew ew ew ew) alright, time to get off the chair and hope to find a solution… and add traps to my list of things to get on the way home tomorrow

Monday I lost my car key. since it’s one of those bizarre keys that flips out of the remote and can’t be easily copied at a local store, I only have the one key. (I really should get a copy made, shouldn’t I?) where was it? in my purse. boy, did I feel stupid when I found it. (in my defense, the purse interior is black and the key is black. but still) so I stayed home (by the time I found the key, it really wasn’t worth it to drive and park or drive and park and bus since I work part time).

I spent much of the morning feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed (and downloading podcasts). at some point, I felt compelled to knit, so I worked on the strap of the Tasha bag a bit. (boy is that braided cable fiddly - I did get it memorized by the bus ride home last night, though.) I contemplated resuming work on the Sockamania River socks, but just couldn’t get the required mojo for that. meanwhile, the armless & faceless Mother Bear lay there staring at me (which I imagine must have been difficult for her, considering the lack of a face).

as an aside so that you may fully understand the way my knits can stare at me, my desk is angled to fit in a corner, with the computer in the center and space on either side. currently, on the left are about 4 WIPs and on the right side just out of the way (but barely) of the mousing zone are another 5 WIPs (which included the bear up until Monday). let it also be noted that there are more WIPs floating around the room in various places.

so yeah, the bear is now finished:

Started: Summer 2005
Finished: 2 July 2007
Pattern: Mother Bear Project - can be ordered from their site or found in Knitting for Peace
Mods: I knit it in the round. worked ok, though I think I’d prefer knitting it flat next time. also added the skirt.
Needles: Size 7
Yarn: Various worsted weight acrylics from the stash

I also finished sewing up the dh’s stripey pajama pants of blindness:

just in time for his trip to Ohio for Origins. he left yesterday, so I am home alone for a week.

in other news, nothing says summer like fresh berries. one only needs to walk about 3 steps from the front door to get them:

yes, they’ve taken over the front deck. we also have some along the edge near the neighbors horse fence and in the back woods somewhere.

the nice thing is, they don’t all go ripe at the same time - I think I’d go nuts if they did. (it’s bad enough trying to harvest and eat them daily)

we also have a little friend in the pond bucket. anyone know what he is?

I’m working on changing the design. I’m not done yet, but I need to get to bed.

I feel like something is missing from the sidebar, but can’t quite figure out what.