deceptively packaged

Getting there...

See that? That's the beginning of a neckline!

Tell me your favorite vegan hand creme

I'm supposed to be using a really heavy duty absorbent/penetrating hand creme (not lotion). The doctor gave me samples of Cetaphil but I'm hoping to find something with ingredients that are a little easier to pronounce. I grabbed some Burt's Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Creme because it was the most natural, thickest looking, and not tested on animals item they had at the pharmacy (and because I was pretty sure I remembered the salve smelled nasty), but I'd love vegan suggestions if you've got 'em.

ETA - Bringing up the "party line" vs. "personal morals/fuzzy grey areas" debate - have any vegans read a lot about Burt's Bees? One of those products page had info on how they collect the beeswax after the bees have capped their hives up and moved on to a new hive, and check out their values page.  They seem like a company worth getting behind. Your thoughts?

I obviously need this:

via

My poor baby!!!

Little Mashti has a very deep and serious puncture wound in her left eye. (Most likely from tussling with the cat, but possibly from shoving her face into everything she can find.) She's a feisty little trooper and doesn't even seem to realize she has a big plastic cone on her head. I'm glad it looks so silly so at least I can smile a little while I'm busy worrying about her. She has some meds and an appointment with the optometrist on Friday. Wish her luck!

ETA - Shawn just told me the vet said not to worry too much, losing an eye isn't as big a deal to a dog as it is to a human. How's that for the exact opposite of reassuring?

Also, probably not the cat - not the right size or shape. No idea what it's from though, we didn't see her get hurt, just noticed some squinting that got worse the next day.

This week in history...

Was a pretty awesome one!

We remember the births of:

Enrico Fermi (born 29 September 1901), awarded the 1938 Nobel prize for physics for “for his demonstrations of the existence of new radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation, and for his related discovery of nuclear reactions brought about by slow neutrons”. Fermi also was part of the team that developed the atomic pile and the first controlled nuclear chain reaction,

and

Hans Geiger (born 30 September 1882), who together with Walther Muller invented the Geiger-Muller counter for detecting radiation.

I love being a librarian and the fact that this reminder was read perfectly legitimately at work in my librarian section of my RSS feeds as part of my normal day. I have a special love for Fermi because of Fermilab, which is frequently shown in very awesome documentaries.

Which reminds me - Wired Science on PBS - can't wait! I've watched half the pilot so far and love it. I hope it's enormously successful. Also, I need TiVo. and G4. Shawn, let's get on that. ;)

Fabulous weekend!

First off, I came home to this fabulous package from Germany!

Getting international mail is always exciting and this package was extra special because all I was expecting was the beautiful handmade sachet and the lip balm (which is amazing!), but I also got some of the cutest magnets, a sweet card and some fabulous beads! I'm so excited to make something with them since I haven't done anything with beads in a while. Thank you thank you thank you Süßstoff.

This weekend Shawn's dad was in town and they laid some hardwood floors out in his studio and ripped up the moldy ones in our guest bedroom, bleached and relaid new floors. While Shawn probably would have preferred that I helped out, my sanity instructed me to hide in my craft room. Stress levels on big projects like that run too high for me and I didn't think they needed any extra cooks in the kitchen.

So instead I finished book one of the Dark Tower, re-made my favorite shirt (my last one got a hole in it, but when it's an iron on transfer, you just make another!), and started the quilt.

Frenchy.

This photo doesn't do it justice, but this is my new Frenchy bag (I did the smaller bag with the longer handle). I love it. I took a class at CraftORama and I can't recommend them highly enough, super awesome shop and people. I didn't necessarily need the instruction, but it's a great way to make myself actually sit down and do things. Also, while I was there I saw that they had more of that cowgirl fabric I loved (and the brown polka dots and the green polka dots - to keep it from being tooooo girly for our bedroom). So now I just need to decide on a layout for my quilt and figure out how much fabric I need. And then make myself not actually work on it until I finish Drunken Argyle....

Nice relaxing night...

Got some knitting done:

Made some food. Super simple soup. Veggie chicken broth, braggs, brocoli, and mochi:

An apple sliced super thin and spread out real pretty and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar:

We have a winner!

Steven from Knitting Sweaters & Sitting Still caught us in our soft spot with

Pup or cup, Mashti is deliciousness!

So he's walking away with the yarn. It was a close call though, with Desiree's

Yes, I'm single... the funeral's Saturday.

also being a favorite. Though we are obviously more cynical/evil than Desiree. She said it was melancholy, but we both agreed that the speaker obviously killed their spouse and this story deserves a maniacal laugh rather than a tear. So Desiree, as runner up - select an item from my etsy shop.

And thank you all for making it a super fun blogiversary!

Simple Shrug

Yarn: Reynolds Garden Tweed. 40% Cotton, 35% Linen, 20% Viscose, 5% Nylon. 50g/72yds per skein. 9 skeins

Needles: Size 8s from my Denise kit

Pattern: Simple Shrug from Caron

Finished: September 2007

Notes: I absolutely love this yarn and kind of wish I had found a better pattern to show it off. It's not the most lovely next to the skin, or to knit with, but it sure makes a beautiful skein. It's also a smidge bit narrow. I have to hold both my arms up over my head to get it on, but then it doesn't feel too tight when I'm wearing it. I'm going to try to wear it to work a few times and see how I feel about it before gifting it or frogging it though.