dirty work

look! knitting!


knitting i can show you! lindsey is right - i'm making the hood from max's wolf costume in where the wild things are. since i snapped that swatch photo this morning, i've designed and knit up most of the hood - just a few more rows to go. the ears still elude me a bit but i've an arsenal of wire and felt at the ready...

and i probably would be done by now but for our dear kitty, who 1) learned how to climb the ladder to the loft,


and 2) decided she'd crawl into some oft-overlooked nook up there that's never been cleaned. let's just say that when she came down, she was no longer black and white - she was black and grey. dark grey. we were in panic mode keeping her off the furniture, so no photos of that. but i did manage to capture this, much to maeve's embarrassment:


when's the last time YOU gave your cat a bath?

happy week, all!

a twilight contest!

announcement! we (the proverbial) are holding a contest! with twilight-happy and fiber-licious prizes to be announced!

so here's what you do:

1. knit up a pair of bella's mittens. (if you've already knit 'em, that's fine - what's important is that you have a pair.)

2. take a photo (or two, or three) of your mittens.

3. upload your photo(s) to the bella's mittens flickr pool by november 20, 2009. (yes, you must first join flickr if you haven't already - it's free. and then join the group. and then upload your photos.) add a description, caption - whatever you want. please, no more than five photos per person.

4. two winners will be declared premiere weekend on this blog in the categories "the lion fell in love with the lamb"/authentic, and "you don't belong in my world, bella"/original. interpret those as you wish. get creative. but since everyone has made beautiful mittens with gorgeous yarn substitutions, judging will be based more on photo composition than the knitwear itself. (every photo is considered for both categories - you needn't declare for one or the other.)

thirty day countdown to new moon... thirty days to submit your photos! okay - one. two. three. go!

on and on and on

so on friday i learned how to use this:


that is a proper drip IV. oh yes.

on thursday night we noticed that cole bunny wasn't feeling so well; by friday morning i was quite nervous and took him to the vet first thing (luckily the head of hospital was in early and willing to see him before his first scheduled appointment). i came home with instructions to stick around all day and watch him - and early in the afternoon we went back for x-rays and full diagnosis: full-blown ileus. having cared for rabbits for a good almost-decade, i've witnessed my fair share of this horrible illness, and it never gets easier or less scary.

lucky for me, with lots of meds, sub-cutaneous fluids, and force-feeding, cole started to turn around about 24 hours later. less lucky - he decided he was pissed at the world for making him do things he didn't want to do, and started to fight with little bunny. a proper, no-holds-barred, i'm-gonna-bite-you-and-tear-out-your-fur fight. and not one fight. many fights. we had to separate them for the night.

first thing in the morning, into the car they went. we drove around the neighborhood for about half an hour until they were snuggling out of terror (yeah, i know) and then into the hallway - neutral territory - they went. they're finally back in home base - their crate - and staying in there, doors closed, until at least tomorrow morning. i figure, they know they have to share the small space and are less likely to get territorial over it than, say, the far corner under our dining table with lots of room to lunge.

so yeah, not much sleep this weekend. but this afternoon b and i finally felt comfortable enough with the bunny situation to go see where the wild things are. please, go see it. don't go expecting a traditional kids' movie. go with your mind open to whatever might show up before you, and i promise you won't be sorry.

so. knitting. this is going to be the better part of my halloween costume:


any guesses?

p.s. - for the gal who wrote that the laura sweater link doesn't work - it seems to work on the sidebar? not sure what's up? try this.

nothing to see here, folks

ha! okay, no, seriously. we made a HUGE mistake.

we bought one of these for the loft:


have you ever nestled into one of these things? oh man. comfy, defined. i am certain that this is our best. purchase. ever. and over the course of two weeks, b bought me both that gorgeous edition of dave egger's the wild things (yes we are going to the movie next weekend yay!) and nick hornby's* latest, juliet, naked. so i've pretty much spent my office-free time like this:


knitting blog? what knitting blog?

... (secret project... still secret.)



*b also got us tickets to see nick hornby at the skirball center last week. boy am i a lucky girl!

the long arm

okay, how embarrassing. i've been super-crazy MIA. we've been fixing up the house - scouring the town for new furniture and practically living at home depot - and civic duty seems to follow me wherever i go. yes, i spent a week at the santa monica airport courthouse taking notes and deliberating on a really lame case. *sigh* i guess they all can't be like the last one.

in the bit of spare time i'm able to muscle aside for myself, i've been knitting - but still on the super-secret project - and gardening.


the garden box needed a little fixing up, and yesterday i finally had the chance to get my hands in the dirt! i'm starting with a bunch of herbs - a nice big rosemary bush, a couple of lavender varieties, basil, italian parsley, cilantro, oregeno - some lettuces, a tomato plant and a pepper plant. since we're so late in the season (can you believe it's october? OCTOBER, people!), i got a bunch of starts from the marina del ray garden center. next step: plant a few winter-happy seedlings in the house.


i'm hoping to keep the garden live and kicking with this - our brand-new compost bin! the city of los angeles has this amazing program that gives massive discounts on compost bins and tools - just drive out to the griffith park composting facility and pick one up cheap! schedule here for locals!

maybe some day, my produce will look as beautiful as the stuff i picked up at the farmer's market this morning -


anyway. i do have some exciting plans in the works, so stay tuned...

sneak peek

i promise knitting content sometime in the near future. but not now. why?

because we just moved.






please ignore the boxes, etc., and focus on that ladder. one of the coolest things about the new house?


it has a loft, from which one can take great photos!


also wall-to-wall carpeting, which the bunnies love!


and a headless buddha on the back patio!

we're still working on it - lots of pictures to hang, bunny-proofing to do, and a dining table & chairs to buy. as much as i hate moving - and we do it too often - this place is amazing. i'm loving it already!

wool & bears, everywhere!

although we were only there for one and a half days, b and i managed to see quite a few of my favorite things with the family while we were in the NEK.

farmers' markets there know what's really important - cinnamon rolls and warm mittens!




the awesomeness of "downtown saint johnsbury" - handknit socks and bears in hats!




b and i rode the horse at polly's pancake parlor -


and climbed around the basin and lost river -







all in all, a quick but wonderful trip. i can't wait to go back in the winter!

long ago in a land far far away

okay, maybe not so long ago (although it already feels like it). but certainly far away. on friday, b and i saw most of the day from an airplane - from los angeles to boston - and as night fell, hopped in a car to drive the three hours north to the northeast kingdom. the reason?


mike and beige finally got married!

i've known these kids for a long, long time and can't believe they've finally done it! beige and i met through a local children's theater group when we were 11, and mike joined the gang in high school. i was so lucky that the two of them decided to live in los angeles for a few years; beige was my main crafting companion and she went all-out for this wedding. i kept catching glimpses of beautiful handmade details - from her necklace to the wall hangings to the garlands on the tables. and mike, ever the artist, even designed the glass etchings!

beige and mike are also rabbit companions, so mike's dad made a surprise wedding ornament:


but b and i snuck into the house to visit the real thing!


it was a great time -


we met up with old friends -


and new(er) -

and it was totally worth the trip!

LAMB

i have some incredibly talented friends, and when they're recognized for their general or specific amazingness, it just makes me feel good about the world - which, in this day and age, happens less and less frequently.

one of these friends was recently interviewed on krcc, the national public radio station in southern colorado where she lives. if you've been here with me for a while, you've met bonnie nadzam before. bonnie is an amazing writer and recently finished her first novel, LAMB. you can hear the first chapter at krcc's website and i promise, you will not be disappointed. it's truly a work of art and this gal - she's got it. she's going to be a thing. a big thing.

it's not easy for a young author to get a break these days, with so many publishers shutting their doors. if you listen and like (and i promise, you will!), would you consider supporting an artist and leave a comment on krcc's site?


bonus knitting content: she's wearing an EZ hat i knit in her author photo!

all creatures great and small

i read a lot of james herriot this summer. he seemed to nestle easily into my themes of the past few months - our trip to the UK; so much time spent at the vet with little b; injections and medications and force-feeding. so when bryan asked if i'd be interested in attending the santa monica cat show - well. the week had been so hellish what with little's surgery and an upcoming move (more on that later), i needed to see some friends and cats.

the first thing you should know about the santa monica cat show? it was tiki themed:



also? peeps are REALLY into their cats.









as the five of us stood there among the throng of cat-lovers, we asked ourselves - how do you judge a cat?

-by its length?


-by its reflexes and agility?


-by the smooshiness of its face?

no. in casa subliminalrabbit, we select for that special something - that elusive "cuteness factor" - that makes you want to snorgle your nose into a furry tummy. because as pretty as this my-little-pony-of-a-cat might be -


he ain't got nothin' on this -



p.s. - little b is recuperating. her surgery was long and tough and we don't know yet if it was successful. in the meantime, keep sending us those good thoughts our way and maybe her fur needn't be shaved yet again.