such a beautiful moment

Tonight's sunset

 Mount Tamalpias as seen from Mare Island

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Judy commented on yesterday's post: 

What is the brand/model for this "Carson"? I am looking for one and this looks excellent 

Judy, I did do some research and shopping around.  I was originally bent on getting one (of the many options) from Zojirushi.  It's a brand I know I can trust (I have the best rice cooker ever, and it's a Zojirushi), but after much research, I decided to go another route with the instant hot water heater.

My "Carson" is a "Secura 4-Quart Electric Water Boiler and Warmer AirPot, 18/10 Stainless Steel Interior SWB-43".    This model was at least 1/2 the price of the comparable Zojirushi, but more importantly, it has a stainless steel interior. There is something that just rubs me the wrong way about sipping on water that has been steaming in plastic all day.  It sorta gives me that "itchy BPA feeling" if ya' know what I mean ;-)  There is also a similar model, the Secura SWB-42, but I liked that the -43 had a third setting for water temperature.

Carson has been serving me since Friday, and I am in heaven.  I am drinking quite a bit of herbal tea right now, and it's just been the best thing ever.  MyFavoriteKid is pretty enamored with Carson, too.  MyFK is bananas about the instant ramen concept (as if ramen could get any more instant than it was in the first place!).

Happy brewing!

knittin' pimpin' shoppin'

Knittin'...
A good day in the knitting department! I ripped and re-knit the off track shawl that was missing some increases. Here it is after Clue #2, sitting and waiting for the release of Clue #3:


That one above right there is v.1, the smaller version.
I also caught up on v.2, the larger version.

Sorry for the craptastic photo that doesn't even show the true colors.
Chalk it up to my feeling like I must photograph my knitting and show it to you, even if it is in the dark. Silly.

Edited to add better/in-the-light-of-day photo:



I'm really liking how this is turning out so far, although I'm a bit concerned about how the rest of the variegated yarn is going to play out in the next clue. So far we only have a wee little patch of it. I hope it doesn't disappear entirely. I probably should have chosen something with a bit more contrast.

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Pimpin'............

Do you guys know about the Fiber Beat Podcast??
I'm a huge fan.

Of course I must be honest and admit that the only reason I am finally announcing my fan-ness on the blog today is because WonderMike (the host extraordinaire) has a contest going....but seriously....I've been listening to this podcast since it's inception. Many an interesting interview has already taken place (I mean, how often do you get to hear from Kaffe Fasset??!), but if you are Ravelry fan, do take note that a new episode was released today featuring Jess & Casey....it's so new, I haven't even listened to it yet. But I did listen to the last episode, which was all about the Bohus knitting tradition....and I loved it. I'm a big fan of learning about historical knitting and cultural knitting traditions.

If you want to check out Fiber Beat, you can click on the link above, or here's an iTunes link, oh and hey...there's also a Ravelry Group.

Pimp complete ;-)

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Shoppin'...........

I was finally able to get to IKEA today and pick up two of the several bookcases that will go into the craftroom at the new house. Woot! It's been a long wait.

Here's how things were supposed to go. Floors were refinished and painting was complete at the end of June. TheMostImportantGuy moved out of his loft and into the house by July 1st, but he (very graciously) stayed at my place for a few days, and waited to spend the first night there until we could stay there together. The 4th of July weekend was our first weekend there, and that following week I had a date with the handyman to meet me at IKEA with his big Sprinter van to pick up the furniture for my office/craftroom.

Well, the 4th of July was when the dog was attacked, and.....well, I have nothing more to say on that if you are behind on the dog situation. Just scroll back. It's all I've written about for a month LOL.

Point is, I never got furniture, and that room is empty. And really, I haven't been at the new house for more than an hour or two the entire month. TheMIG however, has moved in. And the few times that I've gone into the new house, it has felt like.....well....it's felt like I am intruding. There is so much of him there, and none of me there, and it's no fault of his, it's just that I haven't had any time there....but it's been really hard on me to feel like I'm sneaking around his house or something.

So going to IKEA today to pick up a couple of bookcases? Yay!

Of course now I have to assemble them.
But still.
It's a start.

ten on tuesday w/a side of shameless self promotion & a contest!

~~Ten On Tuesday~~
10 Songs You’re Embarrassed to Like

I started thinking about this topic when it was announced last week, and I decided that my plan would be to make mental note of every really ridiculous song that I heard on the radio that I caught myself singing along to. You know, the songs that not only are you embarrassed to like, but oddly you also know every single word. Unfortunately, my strategy for making the list didn't work out so well. All week I listened to audio books and lectures, or my own music cd's (none of which I am embarrassed to like).

So. I can't name 10 Songs. What I probably can name though are 10 BANDS that I am embarrassed to like. And they probably all have guys with really big hair in spandex pants.
Like this:


Don't worry.
I won't bother with 9 other pictures LOL ;-)
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In other news.....

I was going to keep my mouth shut about this, but what the heck. If you are a "Raveler", you might want to go check out the voting page for this year's Bobby Awards. There are many fun categories, actually...but DO specifically check out the ballot for "Funniest Ravatar". It turns out that yours truly has been nominated!

~AmpuTeeHee~

I had no idea I had been nominated (in fact, I didn't even know what a Bobby Award was) until someone pointed it out to me a couple of weeks ago. I decided I wasn't going to toot my own horn here on the blog about it because it sorta feels like stuffing a ballot box or something, but what the heck. Sheesh, I didn't even vote for myself! I voted for the one that says:


I've seen it 27 times now and still makes me chuckle. Every. Single. Time.

I also really like the men of Star Trek doctored up to be wearing handknit rainbow colored ski hats with ear flaps. Awesome.


So do vote for who you want, of course..but if I win I can then come back and tell y'all what a Bobbie Award IS exactly, because I don't actually know (do I get a trophy and do I get to make an acceptance speech? hahaha)



Oooooo! Now, here's a trivia question for you! Oooo! And let's make it a contest!!

In her senior year at high school, Ms.AmpuTeeHee was nominated for which category in the year book?
(hint: it was not most likely to succeed...heehee)

Whoever is first to get it right? I'll send you a handknit reuseable coffee cup cozy to replace those cardboard sleeves, and I'll buy you a coffee (or two or three) in the form of a giftcard to go with it.

You game?

I'll announce the winner here on the blog the same day The Bobby Awards are announced, k? (I'm not sure exactly when that is actually. If someone can figure that out, please let me know. I think it might run til the end of January.)

Have fun! :-)

snaps on saturday

Today was the annual pilgrimage to Wendy Addison's Theatre of Dreams in Port Costa. I have some loooovely photos of the interior that I took last year, and if I can dig them out, I will post them. I totally forgot to pull out my camera this year, but here are a few of things I purchased.

Wendy is one very creative lady that works with vintage materials and makes some of the most marlevous and magical things. Port Costa is this wee little town nestled next to the Sacramento River, and I swear to you, it has not changed in decades. Wendy has a workshop there, plus her store front, which she only opens a couple of times a year. People come from all over to shop there. My mom first found out about here because she appeared on Martha Stewart.

ETA: She has no website, but she has A BLOG!!
Do click and see some amazing photos of her goods, her workshop, plus the hours she will be open for this holiday season.

what's in my cd player

I don't often talk about the music I listen to around these parts because it's almost freakishly diverse. I mean, if you look at the stack of cd's nearest at hand (and most recently played) and you'll find Nine Inch Nails next to James Taylor next to Public Enemy next KD Lang next to some classical music, some heavy metal, some pop, some Beatles, some Middle Eastern music, and some ambient stuff for chill-axing.

I have me some mooooods, ya' know??

Anyhow, the last few weeks I've been playing this one particular CD to death. I picked it up a few weeks ago on a whim. It was for sale on a display rack in a coffee shop. I absolutely adore the whole album, which doesn't happen that often for me. I'm not even sure how I'd describe this stuff. It kinda feels like skipping through an old english country side holding hands with a pop band. Or something. I dunno. Give yourself a listen if it pleases you.

The first two clips below are a couple of the tracks that have been getting stuck in my head for the last couple of days. For those who can't tolerate watching a video that has no video, skip them. But the 3rd link there is a cute little ditty that has lots of tiny handknit sweaters for you knitters out there, and that last one has some damn cute barn animals ;-)

These are the Fleet Foxes.

now i just need to knit me some lace

I've been quite the stitch marker ho lately. I have bought many (all on etsy, at least--yay)....but these are my newest acquisition, and I thought you knitterly folk would get a kick out of them:


They make me giggle.

I think I might need to convert a few of them to row markers (by adding a lobster clasp). That way I can clip them onto those runaway dropped stitches I find from time to time, and then pick them up again on the next pass.

The markers came from Paper And Yarn, who also tossed in a little carrying case and a few freebies:



How. Cool. Is that!
:-)

are we there yet??

Actually, I've been wondering if "we there yet" every single day since NaBloPoMo began.
Two.
More.
Posts.
Gah!
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Today my BloMoAss has been saved by the assistance of the mailman and another NaBloBlogger, OutOfCharacter. I strongly encourage you to give this chick a read. I can't eat or drink when I read her posts because if I do, I either choke or blow food out of my nose because I am laughing so hard. Go over there and read her entire month of November. You won't be bored. I promise you. You will love me for it.

Well, the ErinTheBlogMistress is also a little crafty. She has a etsy shop full of sock zombies.

The first one I ordered I THINK was this guy/girl/thing??):



The reason I'm not sure if this is the actual zombie I ordered, is because "It" was with me for only about 22 seconds. See, I had ordered "It" for myself. "It" arrived by post the same day as Hamish, who was called forth from the internets to go cheer up J, who has been in the hospital for a very loooong time.

While I was packing Hamish and the other assorted goodies into the gift bag for J, "It" jumped in. And when "It" got to the hospital, "It" jumped onto her lap, and she laughed and rubbed "It's" tummy.
Love, it was.
They were meant for each other, I tell ya'.

So I ordered another zombie for myself.

This new zombie arrived today, and the moment "ItSquared" popped out of the package, MyFavoriteKid yelled, "Ian!!!"


me: "Ian???!?!?"
MyFK: "Yeah! Ian!!!!! Ian loves me!!"
me: "Nuh uhhhhhh. Ian is MINE. Mine MINE MINE!" (this girl does not share toys well)
MyFK: "NO! He is mine!!! He matches my room!!! He wants to be with ME!!"


Well, ya' got me there. I knew I shoulda ordered the orange one. DANG IT.
Zombie-less again.




As I sit here typing this, MyFK is doing homework at the diningroom table (in otherwords, we are both doing homework), but MyFK just popped up for the third time now to go into his bedroom to check on "It".
Excuse me.
I mean, IAN.

He says Ian is sleeps with his eyes open.

sunday brunch with strangers

I have this buddy that I've known for cruising up on 5 years now. His name is Philip Gelb. He is a very talented musician, and also an excellent vegan personal chef and caterer. We chat online regularly about all sorts of silly crap (for example, just this very minute...as I am sitting here typing this post...he just IM'd me: "am listening to an interview with a guy who was abducted by aliens").

Anyhow. Being that we are both foodies (we both are, or have been professional chefs) when we chat, our conversations almost always come back to food: what we're making, what we're eating, what fancy kitchen equipment we just scored, etc. Or we talk about beagles.

ANYHOW. Phil has been teaching vegan cooking classes out of his Oakland, CA loft for awhile now. For some reason or another, I have never made it to one of his classes until today. But there was nothing that was going to keep me from going to today's class. Nope. No clock changes, no post-performance exhaustion. For none of that would I miss this. Why??

Bagels.

We made BAGELS. (no no, not beagles...that is something entirely different..but I bet if Phil ever googles himself and finds this post, he will IM me to chat about making Beagle Flavored Bagels).

ANYHOW. Phil and I both come from east coast Jewish stock, so we both know a real bagel when we see one, and I have never made them. Very rarely do I bake, and when I do, it isn't bread. It's dessert.

The class itself was fun. It was a complete brunch menu. There were 7 of us cooking. People were of varying skill levels, interests, and backgrounds. The class was hands-on, and when we were done working together, we got to eat everything. The discussions during the feast were also good (neat how good food makes good food for thought).

I am sorry to say, of all the photos I took today, I didn't take one single shot of a BAGEL!! Once that dough got put together, I went into some sort of yeast inspired stupor, I apparently I stayed in that state through the forming of the bagels, their subsequent boiling, then baking, their being served up with herbed vegan cream cheese, and then being promptly devoured. Well, okay. It wasn't a stupor. The truth is, that I was paying really close attention to the making of the bagels, because I damn well want to be able to make these on my own!

So no bagel photos. And I didn't take shots of the buckwheat pancakes with pear compote, the tempeh hash, or the vegan quiche, either.

But here's some token artsy fartsy garlic for you.



(bet you've never seen that before)

Oooooo, and here's some spinach.



And some other stuff.




Aren't you excited??!?!?!?!
Oy. Sorry. I know. A photographer I will never be, and so don't quite that day job and all that (nevermind that I don't even have one).


ANYHOWWWWW
Guess I'll have to make some more bagels on my own so I can see if I was a good student and so that I can do another photo shoot ;-)

And although he'll want the real cream cheese and some lox and red onion on top, I'll bet you ten bucks that my dad is reading this and trying to figure out the least obvious way to hint at my making him some ;-)

once

It is a rare moment to see me pimping, promoting, or reviewing any sort of product, book, or movie on this blog. I choose to leave that to folks have that talent.

So hear me loud and clear: If I am telling you about something I have used, read, or seen, it's because it has had a deep impact on me and I don't want you to miss out on a great thing.



You need to go see this movie.
I mean, you really need to go see this movie.
It's called "Once".
I went just because it was billed as a "modern musical", and because it got a 97% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes (TheMostImportantGuy's favorite site for deciding whether or not a movie is worth his $10 and his time).


In my 'hood, it's finishing a run at a small local "art" theater, so it may be hard to find where you live. But if you can find it playing, GO. And if you can't find it playing anywhere, keep an eye out for it on video.


I'm not going to tell you much about the content of the movie. You can get a good taste by visiting the Official Website of the movie, or something.


But I will tell you is this much:

Usually if a movie is going to make me cry, it's because the character development has been super solid and rich. Then when something happens to the character, I am connected and touched and I somehow relate, so I get all choked up.

But with this movie, it was the actual character development ITSELF that had my eyes watering, and I don't think I have ever had that happen (it was a happy cry, actually---ever have those?).

For me, this movie spoke about that precious moment in life when you meet someone who actually "gets you", and it captured that elusive thing both magically and powerfully, primarily through music.

Since the movie has sort of been swirling around me me for days (I saw it Sunday)....and since I loved the music so much....I bought the soundtrack. I popped it in the cd player while driving home from the music store....I got a few tracks in, and all of the sudden started bawling my eyes out so badly that I had to pull over and stop the car LOLOL. Now, I didn't have that sort of sob session in the theater, so who the hell knows where that came from. But it was a good feeling cry. Maybe I should have a therapist analyze that.

Okay.
Now go.