The Geekend That Was, 6/24

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Whoah.

What happened to the weekend??

Friday night we saw Brave (the new Pixar film), and it was fabulous. I managed to avoid too many spoilers, so I really enjoyed it. Honestly, when a new Pixar film comes out, I don't even really need a trailer...just tell me when to show up. So, I generally will watch the "teaser" trailer (the first one that comes out, that only tells you the concept..."Hey, this film's set in ancient Scotland!") Then I try to avoid any others, because they contain spoilers, no matter how subtle. I loved the short before the movie, too.

The rest of the weekend was a whirlwind of never-ending excitement encompassing laundry, errands, and general exhaustion. Also, I may have a slight "Scramble with Friends" addiction and need an intervention (I'm "lottloft" if you want to start a game with me =). I did manage to get some stitching in, including a start (finally!) on the "Waiting for Christmas" stitch-along designed by Manuela in Italy.

Now, my Italian is not very good (i.e., "nonexistent"), but I'm pretty sure that even if you miss the deadline for this first part (June 30th), you can still sign up for the remaining two parts. By the way, I don't think Google translate is really great at Italian, either....

I must say that this week is not off to a stellar start...I was an hour late for work (well, later would be more accurate) because the paramedics had to remove a woman from the MARTA tracks a station away from where I get off. I hope she's OK! I couldn't find any news articles about her condition!

Edited to add: I pushed the "publish" button too soon...I meant to link to Chiara's blog! She has helpfully commented below, and her blog is where I found out about the "Waiting for Christmas" SAL. You should check out her blog, anyway, because it's great. =)

JiffNotes
Let's hope the commute is better tomorrow.

TUSAL Tuesday

(What's a TUSAL?)

The tiny ort ball found a surprise!

 

The plumeria my parents brought me from Hawaii two years ago (three years ago??) is finally blooming! Let's all look at the pretty flower and ignore the small size of the ort ball, shall we? Excellent.

The Geekend That Was, 6/17

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Camnesia*: I've got it.

So, I will make this pictureless recap quick. Or as quick as I am genetically capable of making it.

Friday night we went to see Xanadu at Actor's Express with the Dunlaps. It. Was. AWESOME!! It's a loving "send up" of the 80s movie. It is absolutely cheesy, and knows it, and the cast flung themselves into the whirlpool of parody with complete abandon. This is the kind of show where the director says, "You can't go too far," and the cast takes that as a personal challenge. Fabulous!

Saturday after lunch at świt bakery and café ("Shveet"), we ran lots of errands, and spent hours going through pictures. We weeded things down from 1850 to about 500. After two presentations to the families on Sunday, I have concluded that THERE ARE STILL TOO MANY. I need to do further weeding before I start blogging.

Also, we must not try to squeeze both sets of parents in on the same day again!

JiffNotes
Camnesia: Amnesia of the camera...i.e., forgetting to take your camera with you, even though you know there will be plenty of opportunity to use it.

Theme-a-licious Jumanji June Check-In

Well, I can't say that I have very much to show for this month, since I was gone for the first ten days of it! I did manage to get some time with my Lapland Santa, though:

That's starting to look like a deer!

I did take some animal-related knitting with me! Remember when I crafted my own sock club? Well, I picked the robot bag, and I was kind of hoping for one particular pair of socks to come out of the bag, and they did! So animal-related! See, I got some limited edition yarn at some point that is made from...possum (and wool)!

See, it's not like "normal" yarn, which is just made from wool! You know, 'cause that just comes from...uh...um...sheep.

Uh....

So I used this yarn which is made from TWO ANIMALS!!

I cast on these socks during our long layover in Washington, D.C., in the comfort of the Air France lounge. But I'm really not sure I like this yarn with this pattern (Rhodie Gus). I LOVE the colors of the yarn, I just don't like the way they're playing with this pattern. I think this pattern would be better off with a yarn with longer color runs, like a Noro sock yarn. I feel like the color changes are obscuring the pattern, which I also love.
The back side of yarn.

I think this yarn may actually want to become these socks instead. So much for my "careful" sock club "planning".

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So how your is Jumanji June going? Are you taming some beasts or do they have you on the run? Please add your link below (to your check-in post), and visit some other Themers if you can (everyone loves comments and encouragement!) Our next post will be on the 30th, when we'll wrap up Jumanji June and talk about Jolly July! And don't worry if you haven't posted before...just jump in whenever.

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1. Therapy-by-Thread	2. Relections in the Pond	3. Serendipitous Stitching June	4. Sherrie	5. Craft The Final Frontier
6. Bugs and Rabbits!	7. thread garden	8. Karoline	9. animals, not flowers. . I know : D	10. Yanahanims Furry Friends

Rooftop Garden

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Excuse the drive-by post...vacation photos are coming, but we still haven't gone through them! We'll have to do it this weekend since we'll see both families for Father's Day and they will demand photos. This post is actually more for my memory than anything else. =)

Here's what we planted on the deck this year...

In our two EarthBoxes:
(on the right, by my attractive hubby)
Juliet Tomato
Random Bell Pepper

(on the left)
Tuscan Blue Rosemary
Purple Sage
Italian Oregano
Curly Mint
Sweet Basil
Leeks

 

This picture was taken in mid-May. By the time I'm writing this, the "Random Bell Pepper" died off (I planted it while it was too small), and the tomato has grown to a gargantuan size. Last year's Juliet grew like crazy but the stems remained thin. This year's has really thick stems! A fat caterpillar attacked one tomato, but I flung him onto a nearby tree and there have been no more pest problems.

The basil, which last year grew like a weed, died out fairly quickly, and I have no idea why. =( I would like to plant some more. The sage, which last year died out, is growing like crazy! Such capricious herbs. I don't like the Curly Mint as well as the "regular" mint, but the "regular" is hard to find at garden stores...probably because "everyone" has it growing wild in their yards.

I have no idea when to harvest the leeks! Google tells me 1-2" in diameter...some may be ready by now...I need to check!

Flowers in pots...
Angelonia (my continual favorite!)
Pink Glow Purslane (peeking out to the right)

 

The Purslane is growing like crazy! I need to do some updated photos.

Sulphur Queen Hymenocallis (Peruvian Daffodil)

 

These guys were so cool!!! But they seem to be done now and not growing any more blooms. =( I've never seen a flower where the stamens grow directly from the petals like this!

"Tropical Vacation" Canna

 

There he is in back of the Spurge from last year (which is doing GREAT!! I love this guy!) No blooms...yet...we have several of these scattered around.

JiffNotes
Yeah, I really need to get updated deck pictures!!