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Make: Paisley Skirt There is nothing more satisfying than finding an amazing patterned skirt or dress at the thrift store. On the other hand, there is no bigger bummer than discovering that your find is a bit awkward, too big or too small. Recently, I found a great (but terribly matronly and awkward) paisley skirt at the thrift store. It was way too long, and the waist was about an inch too small...
Peanut & Purls: Kitty Valentines! Don't forget your feline friends this Valentine's Day. Peanut and Genevieve (and the rest of the cousins) will be getting their valentines, and you can make some too! Follow my lead from Thanksgiving (and check out the Thanksgiving-themed cat toys I made). Using the same simple steps, the sisters and I quickly whipped out three different sweet Valentine's. As per the usual, Peanut assisted...
Peanut & Purls: Dovetail Cowl I'm guest posting for Catherine this week. I have a couple knitting projects that need a little blog time and Catherine is currently between projects (except for my scarf, which is still in progress). Hmm, maybe I should make her write my book report posts. Let's abandon that thought for the moment. Before Second Christmas, Mom started dropping hints about how she really loves the knitted cowls from Catherine and Monika, but would like a brown one to...I don't know, go with her brown clothes?
Wood Burned Spoons After seeing Alisa Burke's wood burned spoons, I decided to break out my wood burning tool and fancify a couple wooden spoons for Second Christmas. Now we all know how I struggle with straight lines, so my arrows are, admittedly, a bit on the wobbly side. However, the wood-burned stops and starts and wobbly lines only reminds me of the arrows Robin Hood uses in the animated Disney movie. I like everything about that, and I'm betting the sisters feel the same...
Peanut & Purls: Bo Peep Scarf I'm still trying to catch up on all the fancy projects that I knit (or might still be knitting, hey Christine!). This week I wanted to show you Monika's little Bo Peep scarf from Tiny Owl Knits. Monika is a bit picky when it comes to what she likes and what she'll actually wear. She pretends to be easy going, but she's not. It's fine, she knows what she likes and there's nothing wrong with that. Anyway, I can find something to make sister Christine, and I generally know that she'll wear it/use it. Monika on the other hand, well, it's just best to ask when it comes to clothes/accessories.
Home & Away: Recipes Into Tea Towels
When I have some free time, there's really nothing I love more than working on a project at home. Get ready, you get to see more of my cat and my house. Win! I found the idea to turn old recipes into tea towels on Pinterest. The mastermind behind this is the Emma Jeffery (she has her own blog Hello Beautiful) but she posted this idea through a guest post on Spoonflower's blog. I've ordered fabric through Spoonflower before, and while it's a little pricey, the quality is top-notch.
Make: Kittens! Last year for Valentines Day I made little kittens for my Mom and the sisters, to stay consistent, I didn't actually deliver them until March when I went home for my birthday last year. The way I look at it, who doesn't want to get a little something for themselves on someone else's birthday? If you follow the blog you may recognize the cats as Peanut, Matilda and Beatrix (aka little baby black bear)...
Peanut & Purls: Socks Completed! So you know those socks that I've been talking a lot about for the last, oh I don't know, six weeks? Well, I'm going to finally share some pictures with you! How fun for you! I promise that next week I'll have more of my finished knits to display. Second Christmas is this Saturday. For those of you who don't know, we delayed Christmas until January 19th so we could celebrate it as a family. Monika will be flying up from Burbank, and Christine will be driving through the mountains from Spokane.
Peanut & Purls: Hearts On Hearts On Peanut Love is in the air. Well, not always with Peanut. Sometimes Peanut isn't all about love, but when she's cold or tired and wants cuds, she loves you (read: your heat) to death! I decided to show some love back by knitting her a little heart cat toy that she can rub on, get a little loopy, and then go to sleep (probably on me...but who doesn't love a cat on their lap?!?).
Peanut & Purls: Coffee Cozies I wanted to knit up a quick gift to include in a gift exchange at work. I turned to Ravelry and found the perfect thing--coffee cozies! I only needed one, but why stop with one cozy when you can make a several variations? Using three separate (all free) patterns I found on Ravelry, I quickly knit up three very different versions of coffee cozies. I am giving away the gray cable cozy because it seemed the most Christmasy to me. Check out all the versions and afterwards, maybe you'll be inspired enough to knit yourself (or someone you love) a cozy.
Make A Merry Holiday Display So when Catherine came a callin' earlier this month I wanted her to be greeted by some sort of holiday decor. Since I had very little time and resources I had to get super crafty on this b****, and you can too with just a few items. Here are my impromptu decorations: bottle brush trees (yes these were actually just hanging around the house), red votives (the only time of year I'm okay with them being red), glass jars (to my boyfriend's dismay I have a large collection), and doilies.
Make: Eco-friendly Wrapping Paper This was originally a birthday present wrapping idea, but can easily be converted to a more Merry Christmas vibe, but all in all it's pretty clear, eco-friendly wrapping makes you an earthly hero to the grateful recipient. This particular present was for Ben's mom, a lovely lady who also is greatly appreciative of anyone saving our planet, one step at a time. Lucky for me, I just got some fun letter stamps that I was super excited to put to use, so we ventured to get our DIY on.
Make: Cotton Necklaces For a long time my favorite yarn has been Sugar n' Cream, I just love the bright fun color combinations of the 100% cotton yarn... that's under $2. So it should be no surprise that I used it for my cotton necklaces. One day I looked at my size 1 double pointed needles and some pretty color variations and lo and behold, the cotton necklace. I picked out some nice complimentary colors, because I wanted to make a few necklaces that could be worn together.
Peanut & Purls: Secret Knits Revealed! You might remember a little secret knitting project I was working on for the last month or so. Well, it's finally finished! This project was knit for a very smart and crafty friend (and coworker) who was very generous and gifted me her old sewing machine when she upgraded. I absolutely adore my new sewing machine (I'm calling it Ester), and it's come in handy a few times already. My coworker, Kathy has her own blog called LittleBook Notes where she showcases her amazing quilt sewing skills, cat army drills, and hiking adventures!
Make: $5 Dress Typical little weekend for me in Burbank. I went for a walk up to Portos to procure some delicious breakfast foods, and ended up sifting through thrift store garments. Lucky for me, (and not so lucky) I found some things. To be honest I have, in the past, been notorious for buying garments that I have every intention of altering to my specifications, (to take something from being a little off putting, to a fit to delight over) and sat on them for years, and years, and years, to present day.
Make: A Merry Garland So it's mid November now and if you are like us sisters, and love to put those handmade majesties under the Christmas tree, then the clock is starting to tick. Lucky for me I can pull out last years decorations and not spend all that precious time selfishly making adornments. I will, however, encourage you to take the time to make a handy construction paper Christmas garland to bring some holiday cheer into your home. I'd advise you get your garland ready now, because you'll need all of December to make your lists of projects that you have every intention of completing.
Peanut & Purls: Koolhaas Hat This week I finished knitting up a winter hat that I've been working on for a while now... The Koolhaas hat pattern was created by Jared Flood (a Tacoma native that I've blogged about before, and I've knit some of his other projects before, like Dryad, Grove, and Bridgewater). He's amazing and all that jazz. I loved his pattern. I love the hat. I love him. I picked up this yarn on clearance in Idaho. Nicholas and I were starting on our Glacier National Park road trip.
Peanut & Purl: Completed Baby Sophisticate Sweaters I finished both of the baby sophisticate sweaters. Just in time too...I gave you a preview of these precious little-man sweaters last week. I finished the second sweater and added some finishing touches on both of them. Cue the elbow patches! I originally wanted to use leather for the elbow patches, but it didn't seem like a good idea to make dry clean only clothes for babies. I decided to use Dritz's Twill iron-on patches from JoAnn's that were the perfect size to use as baby elbow patches.
Make: Fantastic MRS. Fox So this Halloween I finally got Ben to do a couples costume, how exciting (for me). I am certain he agreed based on two things; first he could just wear his own clothes, and second he saw how much time I had already put in to the fox masks. Now that I know the recipe, I will take laziness and guilt, throw it into a bucket of festivities and bake a cake of awesome couples Halloween costumes every year! Allow me to introduce to you our Fantastic Mr. (and Mrs.) Fox, costumes...
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Malibu Merit Badge Sometimes you need to give something special to someone special. For Catherine's (very late) birthday present I made her a Malibu, CA merit badge; because when she visits, she's so good at Malibu-ing. Since moving to California, Malibu has delivered some great memories and wonderful treasures. This is the first beach where I've actually seen sea urchins, epic battles have been fought and won (Juno, Gold, Omaha, Utah, Sword), and we've seen dolphins (seriously close to the shore), very aggressive seagulls and lovers in love making the beach awkward for everyone around them.
Malibu Merit Badge Sometimes you need to give something special to someone special. For Catherine's (very late) birthday present I made her a Malibu, CA merit badge; because when she visits, she's so good at Malibu-ing. Since moving to California, Malibu has delivered some great memories and wonderful treasures. This is the first beach where I've actually seen sea urchins, epic battles have been fought and won (Juno, Gold, Omaha, Utah, Sword), and we've seen dolphins (seriously close to the shore), very aggressive seagulls and lovers in love making the beach awkward for everyone around them.
Autumn Bookshelf The leaves have started turning fiery shades and falling to the ground. I thought it appropriate to mimic the changing seasons in my living room. Specifically on my bookcase. I didn't use any template for these little leaves. They're pretty easy to make. All you have to do is grab some autumn leaf-colored card stock and a pair of scissors, and start cutting out all the little leaf-shapes you can think of. It doesn't have to be perfect because there are all different kinds of leaves...
Succulents And Cacti, Never Too Many So, I recently acquired some more little succulents and cacti, and I was so displeased to be forced to find yet another home for them...and even more upset to have to throw up some curtains and hang some pictures to dress their new home. (Obviously I am being completely facetious, decorating for succulents is a heavenly treat...) I made these geometric clay beads a while ago, and I was going to use them for a necklace, but alas, the holes closed up when the clay dried (clay isn't a strong medium for me... yet).
Blue As Blue Can Be I finally finished the other set of curtains I forced Mom to sew for me. And by finished I mean that I dip-dyed them withDylon Ocean Blue fabric dye. Remember that other set? The one Mom made while I was napping? Well, she made this one, too. I basically just shoved fabric at her and went to sleep for a couple hours. When I finally awoke, it was because she was standing over me saying my name. Apparently, she wasn't aware how terrified I'd be to awake with someone looming over me. I yelped and about fell out of bed. Man, afternoon naps are so disorienting.
Mt. Pillow Take a look at those pillows! Now, all the pillows are fantastic in their own way, but the point of this post is to showcase the monumental mountain pillow. I handcrafted that puppy from scratch, and I'm tickled pink as to how it turned out. I wanted to make something else for Christine's birthday but I wasn't sure what. I had been thinking about a knit mountain pillow, but I didn't have a pattern, so I made one... I became inspired after my recent trip to Mt. Rainier. The front of the pillow is a dark and light gray worsted weight yarn.
New Old Curtains I found this vintage fabric at an estate sale for 25 cents. I was attracted by the pattern and the bold primary colors, all in spite of the icky polyester-ness. Unlike my grandmothers, who (Mom has informed me) were pretty excited by the introduction of the first polyester fabrics--What do you mean, it doesn't wrinkle?--I had no plans to put this near my skin. But curtains, well that's a different story. Unfortunately, my lack of sewing skills stood in the way of new curtains. Stood in the way of them big time. But lucky for me, Mom had stopped by for a visit and seemed game to break out her mother's vintage sewing machine, which I own and can sort of use...
Juno. Gold. Omaha. Utah. Sword. When Dawn was visiting, we discovered that we had oh-so-many things in common. One unexpected delight was that we both have an extreme love of miniatures. So, when Dawn suggested we buy a large bag of toy soldiers I was not only supportive, I was giddy. Just so happens we decided to head to the beach to play war. Thus leading to a post which bears the code names of the beaches of Normandy as a title. Also, it reminds me of We Have Always Lived in the Castle: Melody. Gloucester. Pegasus. If you haven't read that book yet, you should.
Cat Cottage!!!! Peanut has been extra bad lately. She's been going crazy like whoa all the time, so I thought I would give her yet another interactive piece of furniture to play with. This was a really easy project to do because the basic cat house is super simple. You can decorate it as much or as little as you want (but you should go all out...duh). I got my initial inspiration from Chez Larsson which if you don't read, you should because everything is oh-so-crisp and glorious in her home.
Amanita Kaleidoscope I found these bizarrely yellow and green mushroom kaleidoscopes at Target last Christmas. I do believe they were a dollar. Monika was there, so she can vouch. Not too shabby, except the color is, like I said, bizarre. I acknowledge that mushrooms come in all sorts of colors, but these just looked like barf to me. No, thank you. So, I decided to get out my paints and make these mushrooms look a bit more appealing.
Recipe for Success I've been on the lookout for vintage wooden recipe boxes as part of a gift for the sisters for a while. I found this one in time for Catherine's birthday (31 May...OK, this post is coming a bit late), so I decided it was do or die time and created this. It's really quite easy. I just came up with a little phrase (It was a battle between recipe for disaster and recipe for success. Obviously, recipe for success won.
Under The Sea. Up In The Air. Okay, so Christine is a Master Felter, and being a sister, I get to benefit from her skills on birthdays and Christmas. She has made me a manta ray, colossal squid, and sperm whale; I decided to combine these marine-themed felted wonders and create a maritime mobile to brighten up my mornings. I used an old embroidery hoop and wrapped fabric to create the mobile and made a couple additional sea accoutrements to round it out.
Baby Sweater! You've heard about Maya (one of Christine's BFFs) before and how wonderful she is. Maya doesn't just teach, write poetry, win poetry contests, get books published etc, she also is going to have a baby boy any day now. To celebrate this exciting new addition in her life, I decided to go ahead and knit a little baby sweater with a hood. The pattern is called Jasper Diamond Hoodie and it's published in Vintage Baby Knits. I will say the pattern was a wee bit frustrating because the hood portion was fairly unclear. In the end, the sweater turned out well.
Storage Confession: I don't have a system in place to keep track of a good many of my craft supplies. A large chunk of this seemingly unorganizable stockpile is yarn and wool roving. I don't know if it's just that these items are the bulkiest and therefore take up the most space, or that I refuse to shove them into a cupboard or drawer because I don't want them to end up smelling like pressboard or something. Anyway, a decent portion of my fiber supply has found a fairly permanent home in this bag from the now defunct Pacific Fabrics.
It Just Felt So Right. So for a while now I have had a pretty little bowl filled with knitted wool balls sitting on my coffee table. I always mean well and yearn to finish the project for which they were intended, but that day never seems to come, and it never will. As time went by the project was upgraded to full-on felted wool balls, and boy are my fingertips sore. Both frames have a little touch of color--it's not as aggressive as color blocking, but since I plan on hanging them in the bedroom I figured I'd go neutral to sing me to sleep.
Presenting Another Knit Lace Thing. You may remember (let's be honest, I'm sure you don't) that I have been working away at a lace scarf pattern from Vogue knits. This project took a long time and made me very bored. I really like lace, but I think I'm over the whole leaf-lace pattern. I find myself keeping really annoyed with it. Mom was pleased though, so that's good. It's a nice enough drop-stitch scarf. I think it would look pretty in white.
Wolf On The Wall. First and foremost, let me apologize for the blue tint to these first couple pictures. I didn't realize Ben had changed the settings on the camera. Whoops. This is my 'Wolf on the Wall' project. The name came about when Ben and I walked up the street to where all the food trucks hang out in Burbank. As we waited in line, we peered into the antique shop behind us and saw a picture of a wolf on the wall. For some reason that turned in to the thing to say, and this project was born.
Dollar-Dollar Skills, Ya'll. I had a last minute house/cat-sitting gig this weekend, which means I ended up with a bunch of idle time. I spent that time re-watching a few episodes of The Walking Dead--I'm trying to decide if I hate it...I still don't have a clue--readingCatching Fire (which, of course, I love), and thinking someone was going to murder me. Pretty standard fare for all my house-sitting adventures. Now, as you crafters know, watching tv (or imaging your death at the hands of a serial killer) without a project in your lap is just an awful feeling.
Mushaboom Yep, the mushroom rattle project has finally come to an end. All that's left is to pack them up and ship them off to Gretchen in Arkansas. I hope she enjoys her little bouquet of mushroom rattles--I certainly enjoyed making them. If you're interested in learning a bit more about each type of mushroom (or my feelings on spores), just click the captions below the mushroom pictures.
Amanita pantherina Well, I've reached the end of the custom mushroom rattle project for Gretchen. It's been fun, and I like to think I've learned a little something about various forest floor dwellers. According to my trusty Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest, early spring is the perfect time of year to find the Amanita pantherina.
Agaricus augustus Meet Agaricus augustus, aka The Prince. Mine is a juvenile, so the cap is rather small compared to that of the adultAgaricus, which has a nice wide umbrella shape. But this is only a baby, so it has a squat baby cap, as it should. According to my Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest guide, Agaricus augustus can be found all along the Pacific Coast and it smells like almonds. Almonds, people, almonds. And guess what? This is yet another edible mushroom!
Coprinellus micaceus This is the second in my series of four rattles for Gretchen. I'm steering away from poisonous this time around. Yes, this is actually an edible mushroom: Coprinellus micaceus. According to Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest, the Coprinellus "grows in large groups and clusters on hardwood stumps, buried roots, and other organic debris." Hmm, sounds pretty findable, right?
Amanita muscaria I'm working on another felted mushroom rattle project for my friend Gretchen. She's commissioned four rattles and given me free rein on mushroom decisions. That means whatever mushrooms intrigue me, be they edible or be they highly poisonous, are up for grabs. Oh, please let them be highly poisonous!
I Like You Chairy Much! So this is a true story about a traveling chair. Well it's not super amazing, but kind of fun. About fourteen (?) years ago my boyfriend, Ben, lived in Burbank, CA. He was a young man living on a dime with his best buddy, and since their pocketbooks were slim they jumped at the opportunity to gain a chair off the side of the road. (Said chair is featured above.)
Dino Might Monika gave me some dollar store dinos for Christmas (Brachiosaurus, Stegosaurus, Iguanodon). They were a barfy plastic bone color. Naturally, before I could add them to any succulent landscape, I had to do something about that. I perused my nail polish choices (which Catherine has informed me are "for peasants"), and came up with this.
Saturday Succulent Success! On Saturday, my mother came down and we ran a bunch of errands. One of those errands was to go by the bark and garden store across town. Wouldn't you know it, I came back with two new succulents! Adding two more succulents meant it was time to shuffle things up a bit. I also purchased a couple of new pots since I had big plans to combine lots of little pots. Without further adieu, Peanut proudly presents...the succulents!
Urchin Necklace I made Monika and Catherine necklaces from some of the sea urchin spines I collected in Malibu. This is Catherine's necklace. Yes, I did have to twist the spines from the urchin's shell and scrape a little tissue from the ends, but it's not like I didn't clean them. The last time I was home, I plucked another bagful of spines from my urchins because I'm formulating some plans for earrings and more necklaces.
MONSTRO! Youngest sister Catherine does quite the oil paintings, as you probably already know if you follow the blog. Note the recent post Amateur oils. Luckily, I am her sister and get to benefit from these lovely oily gems. This most recent Christmas she painted me a picture of one of my favorite scenes from Disneyland. Monstro, the monstrous sperm whale from Pinocchio!
Turkey & Peanut My cat Penelope (Peanut) doesn't really know how to sit like a cat. Instead, she resembles a butchered turkey. Her little legs don't quite get tucked under so they look like turkey wings sticking out from her body. She sort of did this as a kitten, but as she grew older, her "wings" definitely became more pronounced.
My Grandma Never Knit I have two knitted blankets in my house. Both of them remind me of my grandma. Her name was Helen, and she was never a knitter. In her younger days she would add a crocheted lace border to pillowcases that she might have embroidered, but she never knit. My grandma grew up on a farm in Minnesota, and later raised her own family on one.
Zut Alors! I felted this narwhal as part of Catherine's Christmas present. I also felted a colossal squid for Monika. Of course, I took pictures of neither squid nor narwhal, so I'm forced to rely upon the proactive photography of my sisters in order to document the little beasties. Hmm. Still waiting for some squid shots. Oddly enough. Monika. Monika.
So Many Cables I finished my cable scarf that I had been working on. You can find all the details about the pattern, the yarn, and the inspiration right here. Now is the part where I will show off the finished product and you can all "oohh" and "aaahhh" over my cable talents. Genevieve will help me showcase the scarf by standing on it.
Warm and Fuzzy My latest jewelry endeavors. Felted heart rings and necklaces. Sisters, won't you be my Valentines?
Nook, Neatened IT'S A SNOW DAY!!!!! Let me tell you, the excitement does not go away once you reach adulthood. Snow days will always be the magical bonuses of winter. Love. Them. Even though there are various cleaning tasks awaiting my attention, I decided I'd take advantage of this freebie day to organize a tiny area of my apartment.
Mr. Tumnus' Wardrobe--Revamped I wish this was Mr. Tumnus' wardrobe. He was one of my favorite things about The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This fall I purchased a wardrobe at an estate sale. This wardrobe came from a crazy person's house on South Tacoma Way. It ended up being bolted to the wall and caused quite a few problems for the estate team to get it unhooked.
Lodi Dodi I found this pattern on Ravelry, if you don't know about Ravelry.com and are a knitter or crocheter then you should go check it out, right after you look at the blog. It's free (there are some patterns you have to pay for) and a great forum to search, get help or tips, and showcase all of your hard work. I downloaded this pattern for free from
Frankie's Knitted Stuff, on Ravelry--they are called Dotty Pots.
How to Horcrux Remember the horcrux necklace I made? Well, I think you should make one too. Everyone should, really.I started with this ho-hum necklace that I found on clearance at J.C. Penney's. I was thinking the glass "stones" might be cool if there were just one per chain, but I abandoned that for the moment, after finding my horcrux stone.
Scents to Succulents I am always on the lookout for a way to reuse old containers. I have multiple stashes of old candle holders that are waiting for new candles or a new purpose. Without further ado, I give you the ultimate transformation from scented candles to succulents!
Bows that Sparkle Somebody stop me. Seriously. Someone please pry these sparkle pipe cleaners from my hands, before it's too late. Well, it might already be too late because I made a sparkle bow barrette from a pipe cleaner and a bobby pin. Can I just say that it is incredibly difficult to take pictures of the side of your head?
Glitterati Recently, I happened upon some gold and silver pipe cleaners at the craft store and snatched, snatched, snatched them up! My immediate plan was for initial package toppers. After I made that dream a reality, I wondered what the future might hold for these little gems.
Amateur Oils What's this...? Good question. Definitely an eye. A possible signature. Obvious sea creature. Cuttlefish. Christine loves cuttlefish, so I painted her one for Christmas. I didn't name it, but she probably should.
Top it Off Monika was big into tiny this year. She found a pack of these teensy trees and mini bows at Michael's for a dollar. And she combined them for an infinitely sweet package topper.Or knitted urchin topper. Whatevs.
Tiny Winter Scene One of the gifts Monika gave us contained the supplies to create a mini winter scene. A couple tiny trees, several handmade mini packages (loaded with pennies for weight, of course!), crinkled paper for snow, and a little plastic deer. I put mine in one of my domed displays. Super sweet, right?
Yarn Bombs I am sick again. Again! But being sick did allow for a couple days of lying in bed (and on the couch), situations which, for me, often lead to crafting. So on the plus side, I got a little glass ornamenting accomplished. And really, what could be simpler? Vibrant-hued yarn (a little too scratchy for a scarf), shoved right inside an empty glass ball. Fun and festive. A little yarn explosion of your very own.
You Should Probably Paint Your Pets A couple of weeks ago, I decided to paint both of my tuxedo kitties together in a portrait. It's probably one of the best ideas I've ever had. I painted Nicholas' corgi for last year's St. Valentine's Day, and it seemed to be a hit, so I felt like the cats needed to be commemorated in an oil painting of their own.
Fruit and Veg, of the Knitted Variety Every once in a while, Monika will knit us some amazing fruit and veggies. And surprise: they're actually cat toys! Just imagine several happy kitties bunny-kicking the heck out of what you see below. I love the sweet rosy colors--they make me think of spring. I would like to put in a request for a parsnip, two blood oranges, and a pomegranate. Stat!
Bloated Dead Finger Cookies. Nothing says Halloween treats quite like these delicious (yet disgusting) shortbread finger cookies. I made some to take to our fundraiser at work. You might think that dead-finger cookies wouldn't go over well at the Washington State Senate, but let you tell you what...these cookies sold out pretty fast. I like them because they aren't too sweet, and they are just gross enough to be great.
BFF Sometimes you need to send a little love to one of your best girls. In this case, Abbie! A care package requires a bit of thought, but as I wondering what might make Abbie smile, I just couldn't get 6th grade off my mind. Of course, a bff package inspired by middle school nostalgia! So, I dug out my embroidery floss and Sharpies and got down to business.
Eat Me. Tonight is bad movie night at Aaron & Megan's. Season of the Witch is on the agenda, and dessert is my department, so I decided to attempt a sweet creep-out chocolate cake. For inspiration, I turned to British baker and cake designer,Lily Vanilli. I've seen a couple of her cakes floating around the internet and like everyone else in the universe, I'm pretty dang impressed.
Burgers, Burgers, Burgers. I'm going to start this post off by letting everyone know that I am a vegetarian. I don't enjoy burgers or beef or bacon. Nicholas loves burgers and anything burger related. He may or may not sometimes refer to himself as the Burger Baron. There might even be a "my life in burgers: the first quarter" post on his blog.
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Knitted Succulents II Monika came through with some knitted succulents for my birthday. They've found a home with my real succulents. I think the succulent community in my apartment is pretty satisfied for the moment. Did I mention that Monika knitted these? She did. She's a little wonder.
Fortunes, Forecasts, Lucky Charms! Yup, that's a line from Disney's animated Robin Hood. I do believe it's spoken by Baloo as Little John. Here's a question for you: when you were little did you ever think you might marry a cartoon character when you grew up? For instance, the fox in Robin Hood, Justin (the leader of the rats, from The Secret of NIMH), oh and Peter Rabbit, who was actually not a cartoon character when I was a child. This was all before I completely understood the difference between cartoons and real life, mind you. But by the number of romantically inclined fan videos on youtube, I'm guessing I'm not the only one who harbored pre-adolescent crushes on animated animals. Go figure.
Acorn Love Yup, I returned to the acorn necklace project for a friend's birthday (Maya, to be exact). Making felted acorns is super easy, and I suppose I should provide a tutorial one of these days...but honestly, it's soooo easy that you probably don't need a tutorial. Just work your felt into a sort of acorny shape (like an eroded pyramid, yeah?) and glue it into a spare acorn cap.
On My Honor, It's a Birthday! Yup, today our little blog turned one. Zucchini spice cake all around!
Sunday Succulents Months in the making, very sore fingers have produced my knitted succulent prototypes. These were first attempts, some hits, some misses and some strains that I just plain made up. I decided to incorporate them with a small terrarium I made in a glass candy dish that sits on a pretty pedestal.
A Whale of a Tale I present you with a knitted humpback whale. (One of my prouder moments in knitting life.) Christine took these pictures after the whale traveled (dry land!!!) back to Spokane. It's obvious that humpback whales are rather large mammals, and this knit-creation is no different. Maybe Christine could give me some stats on the measurements. I almost didn't finish this in time for her birthday--true story.
Peaches Come From a Jar. This last issue of Martha Stewart Living has inspired me to complete two, count 'em two, projects from one magazine. I don't know if that's ever happened before, and I've completed these projects in record time. The first obviously being the rope towel holders. This second project is a bit more delicious...it contains bourbon.
Baby Cardy My friend, Rose, is going to have her first baby (a boy!) at the end of August. I wanted to make a little knitted gift, but didn't have a ton of time. Luckily, I found a project that was super-sweet and knitted up really fast. Dream come true, right?
The Back of the Wet Dolphin Project is Finished! As you may remember, I have been working on my little sweater endeavor from the latest Vogue Knitting Magazine (holla). I mentioned in this post (which I appropriated titled wet dolphins) that the color of the yarn reminds me of...yup, wet dolphins. I've been trying to give a little update each week on the progress I've been making.
I Can Tell That We Are Gonna be Friends Catherine and I did a little friendship braceleting in Manito Park during her visit. The last time I made friendship bracelets was on the bus ride to Ford Middle School in Tacoma. Ahhh, memories. Those friendship bracelets were made using the slipknot method, while these bracelets are more traditional and a bit...let's call it technically demanding.
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Wet Dolphins! Another UPDATE 7-13-2011 can be found here! Does anyone else think of Unsolved Mysteries when they read, "UPDATE"? I do. An UPDATE on my sweater progress can be found here: Vogue Sweater Endeavor. I assure you I've been knitting, but I've been neglecting properly documenting my knitting.
Bloodsucker Here's one from the vault. Long hair? Archaic, medallion-festooned clothing? Sinister headpiece? Villainous eyebrows? Dastardly moustache? Must be Vlad Tepes, aka Vlad Dracul. You know, the Impaler. Original Dracula (son of the dragon).
Gastropod Mollusk. A Knitting Project. For some reason when I think about slugs I think about what their texture would be in my mouth. Why? I don't know. Horrifying? Yes! I can't be completely certain of how I got to this idea. It could have been that I was slowly crawling along in traffic, it could have been that my mind was wandering and happened upon a Halloween costume idea (nurse log), or most likely...
Bleeding Heart I'm feeling nostalgic this morning. Believe me, it doesn't take much. Maybe it's just that our little family (sisters and Mom) were apart for Catherine's birthday; or that there was a thunderstorm two days ago, and I opened all the windows in the apartment to let the rain smell in; or that I listened to some Disney movie songs and thought about riding in the car with the sisters, but I spent the morning looking around the apartment in a restless state...
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Double Yum My dear friend, Maya, gave me a jar of scrumptious strawberry-rhubarb jam this week. I went straight to the store and bought a loaf of bread because it was toast and jam time. Straight up. Tea with jam, jam and bread. Tea with jam, jam and bread. With jam and bread, with jam and bread, with jam and bread! That, of course, is from The Sound of Music. My, what a lovely interlude.
Jenny, Mickey Mouse & Staunch Copyright Infringement. Jenny, about to model her new Mickey head band. I made it with love for her birthday.
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Boots and Boys...and Hats and Socks I finished up two separate knitting projects over the weekend. This past weekend also marked the end of my spring break. First up, I used the eco alpaca (half of it) I purchased in Tucson earlier this year to make a hat. It's a very comfortable, slouchy hat. I do not hate it. Next on the list was finishing up Nicholas' socks. I went ahead and did just that.
Felted Fungus I felted a little toadstool rattle for a friend's daughter, but I'm not quite sure (and Catherine agrees) if the rattle will stand up to baby fingers and baby strength. I mean, I've shaken the hell out of it, but I haven't tried to rip it to pieces or put it in my mouth (both big time baby activities). Should I try to reinforce it? Make it thicker? Or should I send it off to the middle of corn country (Iowa) and let nature take its course?
Sometimes You Just Have to Make Pretty I knit a little sonnet for my neck. I used my favorite yarn. I believe it's a wool blend. I can't quite remember now. I purchased it several years ago at Canvas Works in Olympia when I was visiting Catherine. I love it because it felts.
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Monika's Birthday and Some Stitches. It's about time I blogged about the craft I made for Monika's birthday. As I blog this I'm listening to Monika's beau's beats. It's the best to blog to. The next tiiiiiimmmmmmme, I promise the next tiiiiiiimmmmmeeeee...anyway. I now present you with Olive's personalized pillow!
Birthday Presents: Felted Friend Monika needed a felted critter for her birthday, and since we certainly adore our weird and wonderful brethren of the sea, it had to be something from the underwater class. Thus...Manta Ray! The manta ray took a couple of hours to felt. Lucky for me, I had one of my trusty A History of Britain dvds playing in the background--the perfect accompaniment to any craft session.
Sweet Tooth Why yes, I do still have molasses cookies in the freezer, but I was craving something a little different on Sunday afternoon. Different like this: Sugar and Spice Pecans. Admiring my teacup and saucer? I found them at a Tacoma estate sale for 50 cents. They're from Germany. Bonn, to be exact. And I certainly don't use them for tea.
A Banner Day for Ben I made a banner for Ben's birthday (which was on Wednesday). He's 32 now. Should I have said that? I think it's OK. It's not a secret, yeah? I'm sure it's fine. He lives in California and went to Disneyland on his birthday. Thirty-two is going to be an awesome year! And yes, I know this all sounds insincere, but I assure you: I am being sincere.
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C is for Cookie I needed cookies this weekend. Big time. So, I called Mom and forced her to read me Grandma Schaffer's recipe for molasses cookies over the phone. Good idea or great idea? Either way, what bliss. (You're right. That is a quote from The Addams Family.)
Cats and Corgis! Time to display the latest crafty things I've done recently (that seems to be the point of this blog anyway). For Valentine's Day, I painted Nick a picture of his dog ( Boris lives in Tucson). We need to find the perfect place to display Boris. Don't worry. I made sure that Nick received candy too. It's his favorite!
You've Got Red on You. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but sometimes I feel like I'm living half lives in two different places: Spokane and Tacoma. So, as often as I'm able I like to drop in on my other half life in Tacoma just to make sure everything is in good order. Hopefully, when I return to Spokane I'll have some T-town adventures to share. But for now, I'd like to leave you with some St. Valentine's Day good wishes!
Let Us Strike a Match! I gave myself a papercut under my fingernail today. How does something like that even happen? I don't know because it happened so quickly! Everything was fine = no blood. And then everything was no longer fine = blood. Ugh. Onto other things that draw the life-force from your body...St. Valentine's Day. You may know that I've been messing around with making some Valentine's Day cards for about two weeks.
I'm So Tomorrow Yup, this is it for my project retrospective. I mean, there are more projects--there are always more--but I'm at the point where obtaining pictures and remembering the where, when, and who of each item becomes a bit sketch. Thus, I'm considering this to be the close-up-shop post for the retrospective. After this, it will be Welcome to the Future! Hey, that's how Jay-Z's "Off That" starts! Just saying.
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Mur Sometimes cats say mur instead of meow. Matilda likes a good mur. Did you ever think you'd be reading a blog post about what cats say? Duh. You wouldn't have ended up here in the first place if you didn't sincerely believe that was a possibility. So, today it's a cat project! We all know that I'm an abysmal seamstress. I can't sew a straight line, etc., etc. All very amusing, I assure you.
All for Knot Knots. Something for sailors, Boy Scouts, and kidnappers, right? Not true. You--yes, you!--can tie knots with a little practice. All right, you got me. I'm not talking cleat hitches and bowlines here--I don't even know what those are--I'm talking about decorative knots. Even though they probably won't get you out of a jam or save your life, they're still kind of nice. And who wouldn't like to add the ability to tie a variation on a carrick bend (which is a knot with a practical use: tying two ropes together) into their skill repertoire?
All Buttoned Up Yeah, I have a practically limitless supply of nerd titles for my posts. You're welcome! Hey, do you have a bunch of old buttons sitting around? Boy, do I ever. Why not make a button ring? What an excellent suggestion!
A Gift for Mellen Okay so like Christine, I have decided to share some of my past projects. Now keep in mind my projects were nowhere near as detailed or numerous. However, now that I am as isolated as she is, more so in fact, I anticipate some great things. But how fun for us all to watch my crafting dedication, skill and production grow. How fun.
Under the Sea* Today we're taking a journey into the world of Sharpie! I love my ultra fine points--I have a pencil cup dedicated to them alone--and they're a major player in this project. Instead of embroidery floss and needles, try using the Sharpies on your fabric. Iron on your pattern and grab some permanent markers. Ultra fine points are good for work that requires details, but have a couple other sizes handy in case you need to fill in some larger spaces.
A Stitch in Time While I love vintage embroidery patterns, like Aunt Martha's kittens, puppies, and Dutch girls, I also love embroidering unexpected things. Weird sea creatures, forest animals, and quotes from my favorite books. The best resource for patterns (if you don't want to draw everything by hand): coloring books. And the best of the coloring books? Dover, by far.
Knit-Wit This evening I got into a fight with a telemarketer. The call ended when he hung up on me. It's not like it was all my fault--I thought he was a jerk and I'm sure he left the conversation thinking the same about me. I hope his night gets better...mine did. I ate an enchilada! Today is the knitting edition of my project retrospective.
Flotsam and Jetsam* Today, in addition to using my daydream time at work to think about Batman (I have no idea why. Oh, wait. Yes, I do: Batman is awesome and should definitely be thought about at work.), I also thought about what kind of valentines I might like to send out this year. Last year I sent some reproduction vintage valentines by Laughing Elephant--they can do no wrong in my eyes--but this year I think I'd like to try my hand at making cards.
Saltines and 7-Up are Played Out Remember when I said I thought I was done being sick? Well, I ended up getting re-sick...or maybe it's not re-sick when you contract a different illness while recovering from the original illness. I'm not sure how that all works, but let me tell you, it's no fun having two unrelated viruses in your body, each intent on doing its own virus thing. At least, I hope they're unrelated. I suppose I could be Patient Zero for some new and terrible super-virus, but I certainly hope not.
Calendars This post is coming to you from the entrance to sickland. Yuck. But in the midst of the sinus headache, I remembered that I forgot to post one of the Second Christmas projects. Where is my mind? Probably way out in the water... I created these calendars in Microsoft Word, which, believe me, was the biggest pain in the ass ever. If you can avoid using Word (in favor of Publisher or InDesign), do so. I cannot stress that enough.
106 Knitted Balls on the Wall, 106 Knitted Balls... So here is a project that I finished a couple months ago. I am calling it a 'head board' but you can just call it sweet. Okay so here it is, it took me about three months and it is made up of one hundred and six knitted balls.I used Lily Sugar'n Cream yarn in this off white color, and when I ran out of that I had to switch to a crisper white shade of the same yarn, as I couldn't locate any here. So the color ended up a little calico.
Look at Banner, Michael! Remember that ribbon I sewed on Grandma's sewing machine? The one that I had to re-sew a couple of times because I can't sew in a straight line? When the machine made this noise: "Kkrrchhxt!"? You remember. Well, all that mess was leading up to some name banners for the sisters. This project involved quite a lot of pinning and measuring and patience. I'm not actually that great at any of those things, which is why I don't block my knitting projects.
Keeping it Warm I knitted a pair of handwarmers for Mom. The yarn came from some very generous baby alpacas. Thank you, baby alpacas!
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Badges of (On My) Honor After making the badge for Mom's birthday, I decided Monika and Catherine also needed badges. Thus, a Second Christmas present project was born. I've already posted a couple shots of the embroidery portion of the process. You may remember Matilda's annoyance. And here are the finished products!
Badges of (On My) Honor After making the badge for Mom's birthday, I decided Monika and Catherine also needed badges. Thus, a Second Christmas present project was born. I've already posted a couple shots of the embroidery portion of the process. You may remember Matilda's annoyance. And here are the finished products!
Felted Foxy I felted a fox for my friend, Maya. Felted fox butt.
Crafting Critters I needed something to occupy my hands Sunday night while watching Willow, and since I'm currently finished with Second Christmas projects, I decided to have a go at creating a little felted critter. (Why Willow? Wait. Do you mean: Why Willow when we both know it's not that good? Well, Sunday afternoon I discovered an outbreak of mildew living on a sheet of ice on the wall against which my bed sits.
Tagged and Bagged This year's Christmas package tags come from an old calendar with shell and coral illustrations. There was a bit of cutting involved, but since I was just hanging out with bedtime Matilda, watching some West Wing, it was totally fun. I mean, you know how much I like scissors. Here's a sampling of the evening and its results.
And Now for the Seemingly Impossible Task of Sewing a Straight Line I seem to recall mentioning that I would learn how to sew this winter. And when I made that statement I'm sure I felt the full force of craft determination backing it up, but when I sit down at the sewing machine, I practically enter panic mode.
Party Prep II Just finished Mom's birthday badge. It still needs backing and a pin, but the front is finito! Countdown to the 60th birthday party begins...
Whiskers on Kittens! The kitten, "kitts," has been extra cuddly lately. I think she's just cold most of the time, but she needs to realize that heating money doesn't just grow on trees. We cranked the thermostat to 60 last night. I had just finished crafting a present for a friend when kitts decided to settle in.
Party Prep Mom's 60th birthday party is a go!
I spent this evening writing invitations and yesterday evening creating a little birthday banner. Now it's on to the next project: A badge for the birthday girl...and maybe the birthday girl's daughters (smaller badges though {and very tasteful}).
I spent this evening writing invitations and yesterday evening creating a little birthday banner. Now it's on to the next project: A badge for the birthday girl...and maybe the birthday girl's daughters (smaller badges though {and very tasteful}).
Deep in the Projects Yeah, I've got several going right now and some ideas on the old back burner, simmering away. But Nic is the one who's really been impressing me lately. She's a knitting maniac and has skills like I don't know what. She's the party responsible for the piece of work to the right. Actually, both the sisters dear have some crazy knitting skills. Monika has been making little pieces of fruit: pears, oranges, apples, blood oranges?


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More developments in the horrific case of James Craig Anderson, the Black Mississippi man killed in an alleged racially motivated hit-and-run murder.
Anderson's family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit on Tuesday against the group of white teenagers that police say is responsible. Anderson had a long-term male partner of almost two decades and they were raising a daughter. Anderson's long-term partner cannot join the legal action, reports the New York Times.
The lawsuit, filed in Hinds County Circuit Court in Jackson, depicts the death of James C. Anderson as a racially motivated attack and outlines an evening of drinking that culminated with a caravan of teenagers from a largely white suburban county driving 16 miles to Jackson intent on harassing African-Americans.
"We want to send a message to people who want to use race as a reason to target someone," said Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who joined Winston Thompson III, the family's lawyer, in filing the suit. "It appears this group went out to target a black person."
The suit did not specify an amount for damages, but it included accusations of negligence as a way to tap into the homeowner's insurance policies of some of the families of the young people involved, Mr. Dees said.
The lawsuit makes public for the first time the names of all seven people who had piled into the two vehicles that night, charging that while some were directly responsible for assaulting and killing Mr. Anderson, others were negligent because they acted as lookouts and did not try to help Mr. Anderson.
James Bradfield, Mr. Anderson's partner of 17 years, is not a plaintiff. Under Mississippi law, same-sex partners have no claim in civil actions like this, Mr. Dees said. There was no indication that Mr. Anderson's sexual orientation was a factor in the crime.
The 48-year-old auto plant worker died on the morning of June 26 in a motel parking lot. Surveillance video shows two carloads of teenagers driving into the parking lot. Several approached Anderson, who was beaten and robbed. The video shows Anderson being struck by a truck. Witnesses report one teenager yelled "white power" and the driver of the pickup shouted the n-word.
Two of the seven defendants in the suit have been charged. Nineteen-year-old Daryl Dedmon, who was driving the pickup, faces capital murder charges and is being held without bond. The driver of the second car was charged with assault and has been released on bond. Prosecutors say they will try to charge the other teens before a grand jury later this month. The FBI is also involved in the case.
The slain man's partner of almost two decades is forced to sit on the sidelines—courtesy of the Defense of Marriage Act and the lack of statewide protections for LGBTs and same-sex couples in Mississippi. Yet another example of Mississippi justice.
You May Have Missed:
New Developments in Killing of Black Miss. Man

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ENFIELD, N.H. – The New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association has selected its all-league teams for 2011, and five Crimson sailors were among the honorees.
Senior Alan Palmer was honored as a member of the All-NEISA skipper first team, while classmates Tedd Himler and John Stokes were given the nod to the skipper second team. Quincy Bock and Meghan Wareham, also seniors, earned selection to the crew first team.
In addition to her selection to the crew first team, Bock was one of three finalists for the Babineau Trophy, given to the top crew in the NEISA.
Each sailor has been integral to the success this spring of the Crimson, having competed in five of Harvard's top-three finishes, including victories at the Sharpe Trophy; Owen, Mosbacher & Knapp Trophies and the Southern New England Team Race Intersectional.
The squad wrapped up its East Coast sailing with a fourth-place showing at the NEISA Team Race Championship over the weekend and will now prep for the ICSA/Gill National Dinghy Championship to be held in Cascade Locks, Ore. May 30-June 1.


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Ziegler Mahal Carpet
Reference Number: 17358
Size: 12 ft 5 in x 11 ft 7 in
Origin: Central Persia
Woven: Last Qtr 19th Century
The Arak region in central Persia is generally accepted to have produced more large carpets than any other province in that country. During the second half of the nineteenth century, new carpet production commenced expressly for export to both Europe and the West. The most visible entity to set up looms in this area was Ziegler and Company of Manchester, England, in 1883. This company had previously been exporting printed cottons into this region as well as Turkey, and wanted to take part in this emerging market opportunity. Their base of operation was the town of Sultanabad. Ziegler produced carpets with both European and American tastes in mind by employing designers from retailers such as B. Altman and Liberty of London to create their patterns. These designs were intended to promote a balance and symmetry in scale with both the architectural proportion of a room as well as its furnishings. They were able to maintain a high level of quality by operating their own dyeing facility and providing their weavers with top grade materials. Having large scale allover patterns executed in softer pallets than their counterparts from other weaving centers, these carpets are considered to be amongst the most decorative to have been produced. In 1900 Ziegler had roughly 2500 looms set up in Sultanabad as well as its surrounding villages, one of which was Mahal. Rug production by this firm ended in 1934; however, the aesthetic introduced by them left a lasting impact on most of the carpets woven in this region.
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Big Meadows Fire helicopter helps rescue injured climber
GRAND LAKE — In addition to support of the fire on June 14, air operations from the Big Meadows Fire provided a helicopter to assist a search and rescue operation to transport an injured climber in Rocky Mountain National Park.
A 36-year-old climber from Golden fell about 40 feet on Sundance Buttress, a popular climbing feature in the Lumpy Ridge area on the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park. At the time of the fall he was approximately 350 feet up the route. He suffered numerous injuries.
Park rangers were assisted in this rescue by an individual working as a guide for the Colorado Mountain School. The guide, who was with a separate party at the time, witnessed the fall. He came to the man's aid and was able to lower him to the base of the route. Park rangers utilized the Grand Canyon Helitak Crew, from the Big Meadows Fire, to conduct a short-haul rescue of the man. A short-haul rescue is a specialized rescue technique in which a 150 foot rope is attached to the bottom of a helicopter. The end of the rope is attached to a rescuer. It allows the rescuers to be inserted in to difficult terrain quickly.
The patient was placed in a "Bauman Bag" with an attendant on the end of the rope. They were both flown to a nearby meadow. The man was then taken by ambulance to Estes Park Medical Center.
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The International Sculpture Center awarded its 20th annual Lifetime Achievement in Sculpture award to Frank Stella on April 26, 2011. Almost 200 artists, patrons, friends and colleagues of Stella joined the ISCs Board of Trustees to honor the prolific artist at the Tribeca Rooftop in NYC.
Speakers Adam Weinberg, Alice Pratt Brown Director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, and Ken Tyler, master printer and long-time friend of Stella, provided guests with both an art historical and personal perspective on the guest of honor. Although each speaker was given only a short time for remarks, it was evident that there was much to be said of Stellas substantial achievements and influence on contemporary art. Weinberg remarked, Its not merely the length of his career, it is the density and intensity of his work and his ability to reinvent himself as an artist that makes it impossible to take the measure of his contribution in ten minutes.
Stella may be best known as a painter, but when describing the evolution of his work, Stella remarks,
I am quite happy and not a little bit proud to say that at the end of the twentieth century after more than a hundred years of modernism I am able to paint in space with steel. It is precisely because of this artistic evolution and achievement in three-dimensional design that Stella was chosen as the recipient of the 2011 Lifetime Achievement in Sculpture award. Many past Lifetime Achievement Award recipients sent their congratulations to Stella and past recipient Phillip King, presented the award to a grateful and humble Frank Stella.
The evening closed with smiles and congratulations accompanied by the presentation of a birthday cake, fashioned in the style of one of Stellas concentric square paintings. Known for an unwavering dedication to his own personal vision, Stella was given a very appropriate toast by Ann Freedman of Freedman Art. As Gala guests raised their glasses to Stella for the last time that evening, Freedman wished him a Happy Birthday and said,
this is a time when you can have your concentric square cake and eat it too.
Click here to visit the web pages for the Lifetime Acheivement Award Gala
Honoring Frank Stella
Website Design & Development by Cybermill Interactive


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Jackson Browne
The quintessential Seventies singer-songwriter.
Jackson Browne is reflective, socially aware and intelligent - all qualities that enabled him to write songs that struck a chord with a generation in the throes of change.
Jackson Browne has been both an introspective, cerebral songwriter and a politically attuned voice of conscience.
He emerged in the early Seventies as a soul-baring young folksinger whose songs dealt with riddles of romance and existence. In his middle period, he became a more extroverted rock and roller. Later work grew more topical in nature as Browne sang of political and social realities within and beyond our borders. "In a way, I don't choose what I write about—my subjects kind of choose me," this vanguard singer/songwriter explained in 1993. "It's a healing thing, a way of confronting what's important in my life at the time."
Though he was born on a German army base, Browne has lived in Southern California virtually all his life. He was only 23 when he released the auspicious debut album, Jackson Browne (later Saturate Before Using). Yet he had been making waves as a songwriter for seven years. As an Orange County high-schooler, he fell in with a folk singing clique that included Tim Buckley, Steve Noonan and Greg Copeland. In 1967 he ventured to New York, brushing against Andy Warhol's scene and befriending Leonard Cohen and Lou Reed. A publishing deal with Elektra Records led to demo recordings of thirty original songs. During this period, other performers discovered his material. Browne seemed far wiser than his years on such early gems as "These Days" and "Shadow Dream Song," which were recorded by Tom Rush, Nico, Gregg Allman and others.
Browne signed with David Geffen's Asylum label in 1971. In fact, Geffen's desire to show Browne's talent to the world is a major reason he launched Asylum, which would become home to the Eagles, Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits and others. Browne's first three albums—Saturate Before Using (1972), For Everyman (1973) and Late for the Sky (1974)—are confessional singer-songwriter classics. From the outset he paid careful attention to the melding of words and music. Browne wasn't a folk purist, and songs like "Doctor My Eyes"—his first single and a Top Ten hit—rocked out in a rolling, Southern California way. Yet his early lyrics took a more genteel, eloquent and even courtly approach than the pop norm. "It was my literary period," Browne told Rolling Stone. "Long-form rambling songs in iambic pentameter with the run-on philosophical attitude. I was searching bleary-eyed for God in the crowds."
Saturate Before Using was rife with thoughtful, lilting classics, including "Rock Me on the Water" and "Jamaica Say You Will." In a 1974 Rolling Stone profile, Cameron Crowe noted Browne's penchant for writing "song[s] of retrospection, of the man looking back at the child." For Everyman refined his burnished folk-rock approach and added two classics—"I Thought I Was a Child" and the optimistic "For Everyman"—to his growing canon. It also included his own versions of "These Days" and "Take It Easy," the Eagles hit he wrote with Glenn Frey.
Browne's third album, Late for the Sky, was his most ambitious and densely allegorical album. Its ambitious, big-themed songs included "Late for the Sky," "Fountain of Sorrow," "For a Dancer," "The Late Show" and the anti-nuclear finale, "Before the Deluge." It remains many hardcore fans' favorite Jackson Browne album. Two years passed before the release of The Pretender (1976), a cathartic album that had "the right blend of pessimism and endurance," according to Browne. His first wife, Phyllis, took her life early in its making, and Browne, after a period of mourning, responded with songs of painful, unflinching autobiography, including "Your Bright Baby Blues," "Here Come Those Tears Again" and "Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate." The popular title track made a compelling statement about the collision between soul and commerce that left many "caught between the longing for love and the struggle for the legal tender."
Browne followed it with the brilliantly conceived Running On Empty (1977), an audio-verite tour documentary drawn from concert performances and various settings on the road. His fine-tuned band included guitarist David Lindley—Browne's chief accompanist since For Everyman—whose parts perfectly suited Browne's songs. Their high-spirited performances of "Running on Empty" (Number Eleven) and the soulful oldie "Stay" (Number Twenty) made a multiplatinum phenomenon of Running On Empty. It reached Number Three, stayed on the charts for over a year, and sold more than 7 million copies. Moreover, the album further moved Browne from a folkish orientation to harder-rocking fare.
Browne's activist streak emerged in the late Seventies. In October 1979, he and Bonnie Raitt organized a series of star-studded benefit concerts for MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy). A triple live album from those shows, No Nukes/The MUSE Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future, included Browne's performance of "Before the Deluge." His next album, Hold Out (1980), was Browne's first to reach Number One, and it gave him two hit singles: "Boulevard" (Number Nineteen) and "That Girl Could Sing" (Number Twenty-Two). The biggest hit of Browne's career came in 1982 when "Somebody's Baby," from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, reached Number Seven.
On his subsequent Eighties albums—Lawyers in Love (1983), Lives in the Balance (1986) and World in Motion (1989)—an increasingly politicized Browne paid increasing attention to real-world matters and expressed criticism of U.S. foreign policy during the Reagan years. While some wondered about his shift from the personal to the political, Browne argued that "nothing is more personal than your political beliefs." He made good on his convictions by performing at numerous benefit concerts. Browne came full circle with a highly personal late-career masterwork, I'm Alive (1993), whose artfully introspective tone harked back to his beginnings. Looking East (1996) took a more varied approach, mingling leftist politics, world music, love songs and paeans to Los Angeles.
The twenty-fifth anniversary of Browne's debut album, Saturate Before Using, was marked by his first compilation, The Next Voice You Hear: The Best of Jackson Browne (1997). Browne undertook a series of solo acoustic tours in the new millennium. On The Naked Ride Home (2002), he tied the various strands of his songwriting—from the mystical language of the heart to matters of social and political concern—into a coherent whole.
Inductee: Jackson Browne (vocals, guitar, keyboards; born October 9, 1948)


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Here is another example of how/why social media is so cool. This morning someone on twitter, "re-tweeted" my link about today being American Heart Month (btw, thanks to everyone who retweets my stuff. i really appreciate it). When I clicked on his blog, I found out that Bryan Mccolgan is a third year medical student at Columbia and has been video blogging (vlogging) his entire third year of medical school. In the video below, he talks about the very first time he was in the OR. Ah, yes, I remember my first day going into the OR.
Anyway, there are more videos on his blog called Becoming A Doctor. I encourage you to check it out (don't forget to tell him Dr. A sent ya - HA!) - also follow him on twitter. I've only been able to check out a few videos this afternoon, but what I've seen is good stuff. I've also put out an invite for him to be on The Doctor Anonymous Show. Hopefully, he'll be interested and will find the time (in a busy third year med school schedule) to be on the show. Enjoy this innovative blog!


text: With directing and acting credits, Samantha Ryan is taking steps to ensure a lengthy career within the porn industry. Born in Kansas in 1978, Samantha didn't jump into the porn game until 2004. But when she did, she took on the industry with determination. Her work has not gone without notice either; she has collected a handful of AVN Award nominations over the years. Either blonde or brunette, she is unfailingly smoking hot in every scene. With over 140 titles to her name and eight award nominations to date, Sam is only destined for continued success. Check her out here on Brazzers and also on Babes.com.


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* We have limited quantity of 2293117-901E in stock. Our inventory changes constantly and quantities listed are based on available stock. This item comes with our 100% Money-Back Guarantee.
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bronze & marble
H 34.5 x W 26 x D 30 cm;
Plinth: H 9.5 x W 15 x D 14 cm
Accession number
Acquisition method
gift from Sir Frank Brangwyn, 1940
Work type
Signature/marks description
lower right neck: Dalou / CIRE PERDUE A. A. HEBRARD


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SCCF teaches human uses of native plants
Tue, November 26, 2019 @ 10:00AM
Did you know that Henry Ford stuffed the seats of his cars with the air plant, Spanish moss, or that Thomas Edison used the giant native Seaside Goldenrod for electrical conductivity experiments? Calusa fishermen of the past used the poisonous saponins in certain native plants to harvest their fish. Stories like these are now being told at the ethno botany garden at the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF). Observe palm frond baskets and Spanish moss rope being made every Tuesday at 10 a.m. and learn more about the human uses of Florida's native plants. Cost is $3 per adult with SCCF members and children free. SCCF is located at 3333 San-Cap Rd.
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That's man strength
ST. PETERSBURG — I don't know how many of you guys caught it last night, but Jays shortstop John McDonald showed off his man strength in the fifth inning on Wednesday night. With one out, McDonald walked to the plate and lightly tapped his bat on home plate.
Then, Johnny Mac tapped the bat on the plate again — this time a tad harder — and the bat shattered. McDonald just stared down and the broken lumber and shook his head, an embarrassed grin forming on his face.
"Tell them what you told the catcher," Aaron Hill said to McDonald on Thursday.
"I told the catcher, 'I worked out today,'" McDonald said. "The catcher laughed and I said, 'No, seriously, I worked out today.'"
Guess what type of bat it was: "Maple," McDonald said. "It was defective. I got that bat yesterday. It was brand new."
When asked if he'd ever had that happen to him, Lyle Overbay laughed.
"I don't have that kind of pop."
LINEUP ISSUE: The Blue Jays lineup card that hangs in the clubhouse on a daily basis always includes the pitchers in the bullpen on the list. Today, there was a blob of white out over someone's name and "Camp" scribbled over it in pen. Upon seeing the lineup, which is always prepared by bench coach Brian Butterfield, Shawn Camp poked some fun at the coach.
"Hey, Butter," said Camp, pointing to the card. "That's real comforting."
UPDATES: Shaun Marcum made his first start with Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday — seven innings, three runs, five hits, nine strikeouts, two walks, 104 pitches, 71 strikes and a loss. Marcum will likely make one more start for the Chiefs on Monday before being promoted back to Toronto and inserted into the rotation again. … On Wednesday, manager Cito Gaston said it was "more than likely" that Scott Rolen would start in the finale against the Rays today. Well, Rolen isn't in the lineup. Gaston decided to give the third baseman one more day of batting practice and he'll likely start on Friday in New York. … It's being reported that the Angels — in need of a shortstop — have talked to the Jays about infielders David Eckstein, John McDonald and Marco Scutaro. The waiver trade deadline is by the end of the day on Sunday.
Today's lineups:
TORONTO (68-64) at TAMPA BAY (80-51)
at 7:10 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field
Joe Inglett, LF
Marco Scutaro, 2B
Alex Rios, RF
Vernon Wells, CF
Adam Lind, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Rod Barajas, C
Jose Bautista, 3B
John McDonald, SS
PITCHING: RHP Jesse Litsch (9-7, 4.01)
Akinori Iwamura, 2B
B.J. Upton, CF
Carlos Pena, 1B
Cliff Floyd, DH
Willy Aybar, 3B
Eric Hinske, LF
Gabe Gross, RF
Shawn Riggans, C
Jason Bartlett, SS
PITCHING: RHP Edwin Jackson (10-8, 3.93)
28 Comments
Let's go Jays!!!
What Mcdonald did yesterday was pretty funny. I was actually wondering what the catcher or Mcdonald had said so thank you for clearing that up Jordan.
Anyone know what Vernon Wells' walk up music is at the Rogers Centre ?
What a great play by McDonald.
Eckstein would be a good move by the Angels. He played there before so it is a logical fit. There is no future in Toronto for Eckstein. Jays should get what they can for him. As of right now Eckstein is watching the games like us the fans.
Another late arriving crowd in St. Pete. Meant to write, a non arriving crowd. LOL!! Pretty sad too see and if I was the owner I would want out of the T.B. area. I think eventually the Rays will end up in either Orlando, San Antontio, Charlotte, Portland, Or. or Vegas baby!!! Just a hunch on my part. Perhaps within 5 years or so.
I thought TB was building a new 600 million dollar stadium. I can't imagine them moving as a result
Trading Eckstein to LA is a good move for us, for LA and for Eckstein. I hope it happens, although I expect all we'll get is a prospect.
Gsumner, Garry, Indigo,
Where are you?
No stadium happening here. It was taken off of the Nov. ballot. In 2 or 3 years they'll try again. Personally I don't see it happening. I think the only way it could happen is the Rays win the World Series between now and then. Even then I am not too sure. Right now fans around here care about the Tampa Bay Bucs, Florida Gators. You don't see many people in Rays gear. Yankees and Red Sox come into town, mostly there fans in the dome. Pretty sad I think but it is what it is. If I was the ownership I would want out of here!!! Go somewhere where fans will show up and support you.
i didnt know that. Then the team should probably move they get no support at all
A marginal prospect for Eckstein and that would be it. You never know how that prospect could turn out. If J.P. doesn't trade Eckstein, he is as dumb as I think he is. I am sure you agree.
He might be worse than that. lol I agree, we'll be lucky to get anything for him.
What are your thoughts on the Rays attendance? They're in 1st place and nobody is showing up.
At least you get something in return. I have never understood when teams hold onto players like him. Deal him away and get something. What good is Eckstein sitting in the dugout. McDonald is the s.s. right now and should be next year as well. McDonald might hit only .250 but how many runs does he save a season if he played in 145 games? Look no further than Bartlett with T.B. He makes so many dazzling plays out there at s.s. I really like watching guys like McDonald and Bartlett. Alex Gonzalez back in 2006 with the Red Sox was another s.s. I loved watching play. Gonzalez made plays Lugo could never ever make. Pitchers love guys like McDonald and Bartlett.
"If J.P. doesn't trade Eckstein, he is as dumb as I think he is."
Umm, he gets a draft pick when he doesn't re-sign him at the end of the year.
Bosox I'M right here had to go out for supper,I't looks like the Jays lost their bats the last 2 games, Two well pitched games and no support,How can anyone think we can contend next year with these guys,They go on a small run then fall flat on ther faces for the next 5 or 6 games.
Plus what the h-ell is the matter with you it dosn't matter what anyone says about JP you have to shoot your mouth off,You must be in love with this guy,Why didn't you tell us.
Eckstein if he is traded to the Angels will bring more to the Jays now because the Angels may be getting desparate and may give up something good for him but like bosox and gsumner plus263's pal JP the DUH will just sit on him.
This board needed to be dumbed down a little, so good to have you back Gar.
Yes, me stating facts means I have a man crush on JP. Say all you want, but not trading Eckstein doesn't mean they end up with nothing. Its called free agent compensation.
"The Angels may be getting desperate."
Yes, Scioscia and the boys are losing sleep at night because they only have a 15.5 game lead in the West. Acquiring Eckstein would be the final piece to the puzzle that will propel them to that 20 game lead they so desire. They could use a guy for the postseason, but they aren't giving up anything of value. Trading Eckstein will give the Jays a C prospect. Although, they could probably get Teixeira for him. If you think a good prospect could be had for Eckstein, don't you think he would have been moved at the non-waiver deadline? Actually, do you even think at all?
Wow, all plus did was state a fact and you call that shooting his mouth ? I hope you don't stop posting because of things like this plus.
I'll stop posting when logic and reason start emanating from Garry's posts.
Thanks enigma all plus has done is insult people since he started posting if he dosn't like what we post tough luck,Every time someone says something about JP he defends him nobody asked him to,
There are not to many people I don't like but I don't think I like him,In my opinion I think he is a show of and a know nothing who thinks he knows everything also he is alone in this world because who in the hell would want to be his friend.
I think plus is actulay rshobie what do you think gsumner.
Also I think JP sucks as a GM.LOL.
I don't think Tampa will get past the Angels in the post season but on the other hand they have proven everyone wrong so far this year and if they make it to the world series good on them.One of the things I like about them is when the manager goes out to the mound the entire infeild goes to the mound with him that can do the pitcher no harm,it may be a small thing but i think it is great.
You clearly have no idea what you are talking about. You have a tremendous hate-on for JP, and that clouds what miniscule amount of knowledge you may have when discussing whatever it is you discuss. As I have said before, JP has obviously made mistakes, but can't I point out the positives? Perhaps when you pass 4th grade spelling and punctuation, you can come up with an argument that makes sense.
And I actually love what you post, because since I am so alone in this world, taking the time to read your drivel is a great time filler.
Plus I am happy that i can fill out some of your day and i was born on a farm 63 years ago and had to quit school at grade 6 but it's better than 4 don't you think so,Also I don't hate JP and yes he has made some good moves but I don't think he is the GM that will lead this team to the playoffs,It could be no GM can as long as we are in the same divison as Boston and the Yankees I guess only time will tell,
Yo Garry Chill dude. If you are the GM and you can either deal a guy for a player the other team has already drafted (and apparently is expendable) or you can your player walk at years end and get a draft pick when he signs elsewhere. I would rather pick a player I want then get a player another team doesn't. Wouldn't you?
rmatty I agree with you but I belive the Angels will need a shortstop and they only have 2 days to make a deal otherwise any player they pick up after the deadline they can't use in the postseason so they may give up something nice to get Eckstein who has postseason experience an has won a world series and was also the MVP I would think he is worth more than a draft pick who may or may not make it,I may be wrong or I may be right.
I have only one question for you. Why is it any time anyone posts something here that's negative on JP-you attack the poster in JP's defense? Is there something you want to tell us?
my mistake-it should read two questions.
Oh I agree Garry, if JP can steal someone of more value then what he thinks he could draft and be more helpful and make a quicker impact then I say go for it. Hopefully the Angels are really desperate, but I can't see it. We shall see
I think the problem Plus has, and so do I, sometimes, is that some people on this blog, and other blogs, will bash the JP at every possible opportunity. And they act as though they know more than JP. Guess what, I'm pretty sure JP, along with every other GM in MLB knows more about managing a baseball team than any of us do. That's why they're there, and we watch the game from stands or on the couch.
I think it's great to question or even debate a decision the GM. That's part of the fun of being a fan. But I wouldn't say he is dumb, incompetent, or even a bad GM. Remember that a lot of times, we don't know the real story. For example, if Eckstein doesn't get traded to LA, maybe LA wasn't willing to part with anything that would reasonably be expected to be better than a draft pick. It's JP's job to evaluate that, with advice from the staff he's put together.


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COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Ohio Valley Conference volleyball action gets underway as Tech continues its 14-match road streak. The Golden Eagles open conference play at Murray State on Friday before traveling to Austin Peay to take on the Lady Govs Satuday. It's the first time this season that the Golden Eagles won't be playing three matches in two days. The battle tested volleyball team is looking to improve upon last weekends 1-2 record, using the momentum from their second win against Alcorn State this season to lift them to another victory.
Friday, Sept. 21
7:00 p.m. CT - Tech at Murray State
Online Coverage: Live Stats, Live Video
Saturday, Sept. 22
2:00 p.m. CT - Tech at Austin Peay
Online Coverage: Live Video
Tech's defense has battled some of the best offenses in the country, and it shows. Last weekend, the Golden Eagle block was almost inpenetrable. With their defense at a premium, the Golden Eagles are looking to settle into an offensive grove that will help them move to the top of the conference. Tech is coming off a win, and are looking to spark a streak.
Kelsey Gray received her second All-Tournament selection this season at the Samford Bulldog Invitational. Gray had two double-digit performances in kills, 11 against Gardner-Webb and 14 against Alcorn State. She hit a whopping .462 attack percentage against Alcorn State.
Gray put up a wall at the net, blocking just about every ball that went toward her. Gray had seven solo blocks and 10 block assists over the weekend. Against Gardner-Webb, Gray had five solo blocks and four assists forcing GW's top player to have three straight errors, and to be pulled from the match. Gray's blocking effort held opponents to a .161 attack percentage, the lowest of any tournament this season.
Natalie Penrod leads the Golden Eagles with 2.54 kills per set and will be returning to the court this weekend after sitting out last weekend due to injury. Tech's other outside hitter Ellen Conti has tallied 67 kills so far this season. Conti has added 60 digs this season, averaging 1.76 digs perset.
Libero Courtney Smith continues to control the backcourt, averaging 4.73 digs per set, while sitting at sixth in the OVC.
Quarterbacking the net is Ashleigh Hancock, dishing out 4.70 assists per set and Madi Comperry with a 3.11 assists per set average of her own. The Golden Eagle offense is currently averaging a .117 attack percentage. Comperry currently leads Tech with 10 service aces, Conti has collected eight aces of ther own with Gray and Hancock each chipping in seven a piece so far this season.
As a team, Tech is averaging 9.27 kills, 13.16 digs, 2.11 blocks and 1.24 service aces per set.
TECH (2-10) vs. Murray State (2-7)
Murray State edges out Tech leading the series 28-26. In the past two seasons Tech has gone 1-1 losing on the road but beating Murray State at home.
In the 2011 season, Tech lost on the road 3-0, but defeated the Racers 3-1 at home.
Scouting the Racers
The Racers are looking to end a three-match losing streak, coming off two loses at the WVU Gold and Blue Classic.
As a team, Murray State averages 10.53 kills, 14.19 digs, 1.91 blocks and .94 aces per set.
The Racers are lead by Emily Schmahl with 81 kills, averaging 2.61 kills per set. Taylor Olden adds 2.31 k/s, averaging a .186 attack percentage. Setter Heather Feildman leads a Murray offense that hits .147, averaging 8.37 assists in the 2012 season.
Last weekend Murray State went 0-2 losing to Cleveland State 0-3 (18-25, 18-25, 14-25) and WVU 2-3 (28-26, 23-25, 22-25, 28-26, 8-15).
TECH vs. Austin Peay (6-9)
The Golden Eagles lead the series 48-26.
In 2011, Tech faced the Lady Govs two different times, and lost both matches. At Austin Peay, the Golden Eagles lost 3-0, but snatched a match when the Lady Govs visited Tech, losing 3-1.
Scouting the Lady Govs
The Austin Peay Lady Govs are currently on a three match win streak, and have won four of their past five matches. They took last weekend off to prepare for conference action. AP defeated Middle Tennessee 3-0 Tuesday Sept. 11, and defeated East Tennessee, Lamar and Alabama State at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash, but fell to host Alabama in their last tournament Sept. 8 and 9.
As a team, Samford averages 12.35 kills, 13.62 digs, 1.62 blocks and 1.17 aces per set.
Sophomore outside hitter Jada Stotts leads the team with 195 kills to average 3.82 kills per set. Stotts is currently thrid in the OVC in kills per set. Senior hitter Elizabeth Neisler adds 2.9 kills per frame and senior middle Lauren Hutchinson pitches in with 2.6 kills per set with a .333 hitting percentage. Sophomore setter Cami Fields has 551 of the teams 590 assists this season, averaging 9.83 assists per set. From the back court, four different Lady Govs have over 100 digs so far this season, and all four average over 2 digs per set. Stotts leads the team with 2.76 digs per set and libero April Adams adds 2.20 digs per set.
In last weeks match against Middle Tennessee the Lady Govs swept Middle 3-0, (25-22, 25-23, 25-20).
LOOKING AHEAD: Tech finally returns to Cookeville after five weeks of traveling. The Golden Eagles will host Jacksonville State Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. Later in the week, UT Martin makes the trip to the Hooper-Eblen Center Saturday, Sept. 29 for a 2 p.m. start.
CATCH THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Fans can catch Live stats for all matches via Murray State and Austin Peay. For conference play, games will be braodcasted on the Ohio Valley Conference Digital Network here.
OVC Digital Network: The Ohio Valley Conference has launched the OVC Digital Network the new and improved home for live streaming of athletic contests involving OVC member institutions, including Tennessee Tech.
The Conference is entering its seventh year of web streaming athletic contests, and this investment in improved quality, rebranding and launch of the Digital Network coincides with the OVC's partnership with SIDEARM Sports (SAS), which debuted the new OVCSports.com in July and is the host of the OVC Digital Network.
CONFERENCE ACTION: This season, with the addition of Belmont University to the conference, the OVC will break down into two regions, expanding tournament play to the top eight teams (from six in previous years). The winners of each division get automatic berths into the conference championship, while the seeding will be determined by winning percentage.
Tech will play in the East Division along with Belmont, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Morehead State and Tennessee State. The West Division includes Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Murray State, Southeast Missouri, SIUE and UT Martin.
SOCIAL NETWORK: Like TTU Sports on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to get updates on the Golden Eagle volleyball team this season. Both sites will be updated live during matches this year.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Kelsey Gray received her second All-Tournament selection this season at the Samford Bulldog Invitational. Gray had two double-digit performances in kills, 11 against Gardner-Webb and 14 against Alcorn State. She hit a whopping .462 attack percentage against Alcorn State. Gray put up a wall at the net, blocking just about every ball that went toward her. Gray had seven solo blocks and 10 block assists over the weekend. Against Gardner-Webb, Gray had five solo blocks and four assists forcing GW's top player to have three straight errors, and to be pulled from the match. Gray's blocking effort held opponents to a .161 attack percentage, the lowest of any tournament this season.
Natalie Penrod was selected to the Western Kentucky all-tounament team, marking her second all-tournament honor this season. Returning to her home state of Kentucky, Penrod earned all-tournament honors in a five-team tournament with opponents like #10 Dayton and Ohio State. Penrod led Tech with 22 kills despite facing a triple block most of the weekend. Penrod was responsible for 25 of Tech's 99 points, and a third of Tech's total offense.
Gray earned a spot on her first all-tournament team at the Xavier Invitational. Gray hit an outstanding .667 against Xavier. She recorded nine kills, leading the team. Against the second best team in the Big East, Marquette, Gray had eight terminations, again leading the team and hit .500. As a middle, Gray hit above and beyond against three top-tier teams.
Penrod netted all-tournament honors at the Country Inns & Suites Invitational hosted by UT Chattanooga. Penrod recorded 35 kills (3.89 k/s), hitting at a .260 clip.
Prior to the 2012 season, 56 Golden Eagles have earned all-tournament honors, dating back to 1994.
RECORD BREAKING SEASON: Tech opened the 2012 season at the Country Inns & Suites Invitational and set the first record of the season. The Golden Eagles didn't allow a single block against Alcorn State, tying the Golden Eagle team record for fewest total blocks allowed.
SENIORS: There are three seniors leading the 2012 squad. Madi Comperry, Katrina Dvorken and Kelsey Gray lead the Golden Eagles and are looking to get back to the OVC tournament. The trio has a career record 26-63. They have accumulated four tournament wins and appeared in two OVC tournaments.
HEAD COACH: John Blair continues his reign as head coach by reaching the decade mark, becoming only the second coach in Tech history to do so.
During the 2011 season, Blair reached another milestone, earning his 100th victory at UT Chattanooga in a five-set thriller. Blair has had continued success since he lead the Golden Eagles to a conference championship in 2008, making it to the OVC tournament four out of the past five seasons.
Blair earned his 69th OVC victory last season when the Golden Eagles defeated Eastern Kentucky on November 11. Blair now has 373 wins after 27 years as a head coach, including 104 career wins at Tennessee Tech, making him the third winningest coach in program history.


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Split Fountain Summer Invites
These invites, designed by Douglas Behl for his upcoming nuptials, ooze summer. We can't decide what we like more, the blazing split fountain color palette or the melty popsicle motif. Split fountain printing is when we put two colors on the same roller, one on each end, allowing them to blend naturally in the middle, creating a gradient across the press sheet. This is a good way to get an extra color into your design without adding an extra plate. When planning a project that uses a split fountain across several pieces, keep in mind that the cards on either end of the press sheet end up being fairly one color. You can see in this instance the RSVP and Thank You cards were at opposite ends of the sheet, whereas the Invite and Details cards were placed in the middle where the color transition happened.
You can see split fountain printing in action in this video we took a few years back.


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Before I started my internship at SAS, I had never heard of the term "big data." By definition it means data of such volume, variety or velocity that an organization must move beyond its comfort zone technologically to derive intelligence for effective decisions. To put this in a college example: you have so much music, movies, pictures, documents, etc. on your computer that you are going to need to buy a new computer or hard drive. Businesses are now holding so much data that it is impossible to make sense out of it without analytical software.
Now I am not going to be "that guy" who just writes a marketing pitch about how great SAS software is (which it is). However, I do want to stress how important analytics are in today's business world. Marketers use analytics every day to evaluate consumer behavior patterns, determine target markets and much more. This week I am starting a project to work on a taxonomy that can help SAS's Social Media Analytics software find relevant information on its major competitors from, you guessed it, social media. I'll let you know how it goes next week!


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Meet The Expert
Tri-Cities Battery Inc., is a proud, family-owned business started by Dale W Johnson in 1971. The business at that time was one location in Pasco Washington concentrating on the sale and installation of batteries – both retail and wholesale.
Today, Gerald and Pat Johnson (second generation) and their sons Brandon, Derek and Adam (third generation) continue to operate Tri-Cities Battery with grandfather Dale's ethics, customer service and pride.
As with anything change is needed and as the area evolved and grew, so did the business to keep up with the times. Today Tri-Cities Battery has three locations and has changed the scope of business from just battery sales & installations to complete automotive repair, alignments tires & wheels.
To identify that Tri-Cities Battery was now more than just batteries a name change was needed; "Tri-Cities Battery Inc., Auto Repair & Tire Center" was chosen to reflect the new products & services offered.


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A free presentation, "Coping with Stress — Finding Happiness," will be held at 10 a.m. and noon Oct. 3 at the Bay Path University-Concord campus, which is located in the Middlesex Green Office Park, Building No. 1, 521 Virginia Road, Concord.
The presenter will be Kristina Hallett, associate professor of psychology and author of "Own Best Friend: Eight Steps to a Life of Purpose, Passion and Ease." The event, which launches a book series featuring university faculty, will focus on how to better respond to stress and live a happier life. Attendees will receive a free electronic copy of Hallett's book.
To register, visit baypath.edu/copingwithstress.


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Street Address:
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The price of oil rose nearly 1 percent Tuesday on hopes that demand for U.S. crude would remain on track even as some emerging-market economies falter.
Benchmark U.S. crude for March delivery was up 76 cents to close at $97.19 a barrel in New York, reversing much of oil's loss Monday. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oil used by many U.S. refineries, was down 26 cents to close at $105.78 in London.
The U.S. oil price rose along with the stock market, which regained some ground Tuesday after a drop of 2.3 percent Monday.
Stock markets around the world have been slammed by currency problems in several emerging-market countries, the Federal Reserve's decision to shrink its stimulus program, and a slowdown in the Chinese economy.
Tuesday's modest recovery in the U.S. stock market and a report by real estate data firm CoreLogic that showed a strong rise in home prices in December eased some fears that U.S. demand for fuel would fall.
So far this year, economic concerns have weighed less on oil prices than on stock prices, analysts say. That's partly because a bitterly cold winter in the U.S. has increased demand for heating oil, which is keeping demand for crude — and global prices — strong compared with stock prices.
Forecasts for further cold across much of the U.S. sent natural gas for March delivery soaring 47 cents, or 9.6 percent, to close at $5.375 per 1,000 cubic feet. That's the highest price for natural gas since February 2010 other than a short price spike last week in a thinly-traded expiring futures contract.
The average U.S. retail price for gasoline, which has remained very stable this year, fell less than a penny to $3.27 per gallon. That's a penny cheaper than last week and four cents cheaper than a month ago.
In other energy futures trading in New York:
— Wholesale gasoline was down 0.4 cents to close at $2.603 a gallon.
— Heating oil was down 2.5 cents to close at $2.983 a gallon.
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text: Popular sculptor Bob Maurus created this exceptional design. The shot glasses are functional as well as decorative. It appears to be a figurine, but when turned upside down, it takes a generous 2 oz. serving of your favorite liquor. The wings of the dragon create very comfortable finger holds. Decorative when empty and practical when used


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Cyber Monday Sales Expected to Hit Record High of $1.5 Billion
Not to be outdone by last week's chart-topping Black Friday online sales—which came to $1.04 billion—sales from this year's Cyber Monday are expected to break records! Internet watchdog ComScore predicts that online sales racked up on November 26th will total $1.5 billion, up from last year's $1.25 billion. Data from IBM Corp released Tuesday solidifies that prediction, showing that online sales actually rose 30.3% compared last year. The new numbers are interesting, considering that in our InStyle.com poll from Monday, 45% of readers told us they prefer to shop at brick-and-mortar stores. So tell us: did you shop online Monday?
Plus, get some great gift ideas!
MORE:• Tory Burch's Black Friday Tips• Calvin Klein's Francisco Costa Loves Black Friday