Fine, and Finer

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/nyregion/18semicolon.html?ex=1204261200&en=5416dc2fa9938301&ei=5070

That's wonderful news, but I would TOTALLY have used a colon.

Parlement of Foules

I have no recent bird photos for St. Valentine's Day, when the birds are said to choose their mates, only those of a recent sky on a very windy day, and the emerging daffodils in the yard. But the birds I saw this week included --

five turkeys eating carrion on Christ School Rd.

thirteen wild geese flying overhead towards Kenilworth Lake at sunset

a solitary crow ("One crow sorrow") over the tall pines by the driveway, fussing at someone

a towhee scratching in the leaves

goldfinches on the feeders

and a pair of shy cardinals on the ground.

Does your cat read the paper?

I missed the best picture, Tater looking up with bits of newspaper hanging from his mouth. My cat loves to read the paper. His method is to scratch it up with his claws and chew bits off.

Delectable, beyond words...

One of the scrumptious holiday goodies from beth and Cary ane family. The grandchildren helped make short work of them. There were also crystallized ginger slices dipped in dark chocolate, and more.... yummmm....

Sometimes I jot down notes from things I hear on the radio. here's a tidbit, but the context is lost:

"How dare you? What the hell do you mean?"

"You handed her that halibut and expected her to--"

"To what? To cook it? That's all."

Today the wind is so strong I'm scared to go out under the ancient oaks and flimsy pines. The shelves on the proch blew over, and the porch is now covered with gardening gradu and shards of pottery. But Dougie MacLean's singing at 7 downtown: maybe the wind will have let up by then. Guess I'll learn the words to "Flower of Scotland' now.

Colorful, if not shiny

Actually, Lambs' Pride wool IS a bit shiny, compared to most worsteds. That's probably because it's 15% mohair. This is a hat and scarf I made for Lute Lute. I learned to knit many decades ago but have never gotten very proficient at it. I attribute that lack to my preference for reading over TV. And to speed. I knit the continental way, which is quick and efficient, and I can't see why anybody would choose the more laborious yarn-in-the-right-hand-wrap-around-the-needle way. But most people are a lot more error-free than me. i just do it for fun and because I love the feel of wool yarn, and the colors. My mother-in-law was a wonderful and perfectionist knitter who once made an Aran Isles pullover for Ben and also a Kaffe Fassett sweater. I stick to scarves and hats. I once took a class to learn to make socks, made a lovely wool pair, then wore out the heels within weeks by walking barefoot around the hosue in them. That was a lot of work for holey socks. Hats are much more durable, although most of them seems to drift to other parts of the family. That's okay -- i enjoy seeing them on my relatives. I'm experimenting with felting, but in a guesswork way. Sometimes it's successful, sometimes not. If you'd like a hat, let me know, and tell me your colors.

I just joined the huge knitting site Ravelry but won't submit pictures to it because my creations are not perfect. But knitting's fun and satisfying.