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Archives: March 2006

Wed Mar 15, 2006

celestial visions

i like rainbows. i’m not sure exactly why i like them, but i periodically take pictures of rainbows that intrigue me. i’ve seen double rainbows, triple rainbows, rainbow clouds, halos, and sun dogs, and though i’ve not been able to take pictures of all of these phenomena i plan on doing so when the next opportunity presents itself.

all this being said, i was driving in town yesterday and saw a rainbow the likes of which i’d never seen before. there was nowhere i could stop and still see it to take the picture. i made sure there was enough distance between my truck and the car in front of me, grabbed my camera, stabilized it on my steering wheel, and took a picture. the arc of this rainbow was very shallow—i’ve never seen a rainbow with such a low arc, and it stretched across the entire visible horizon. it was in the mid-afternoon, and i didn’t think that the sun was low enough at my back to cause this rainbow, but obviously it was. my experience with the rainbows in this region is with very steep arcs so this one was quite unique to me.

on the way home, i had to drive over the mountain where there is still snow on the ground. it was about 21.30 when i came over the pass, and the full moon lit up the landscape from high in the clear sky. normally there’s nothing to see on the forest floor no matter how much light the moon emits, but with the white snow.... well, there’s nothing quite so striking as seeing snow on the forest floor illuminated by the light of a full worm moon. i wish that i had my tripod with me because i would have attempted a photo of it, but you’ll just have to take my word for it.

knitting: thanks a million to michele from fiber nooks and crannys for helping me finally figure out the provisional crochet cast on! (she’s the owner of the store, by the way, and she’s always happy to help figure something out.) i have the toes done for my sis’s new orange cotton blend socks. now i just need to decide what pattern i want to use on the body of the socks. i’m considering a modified basket weave pattern or something lacy, but i’ve not decided yet. i’ll have to look at a few more stitch patterns before i finally decide.

in other news, mum loves playing with her sewing machine. i just wish i could afford to buy her a high-end new machine, but in the meantime, she’s making cool quilts, hanging fabric pouches, and various pillow cases. she bought me this fabric when she was visiting my sis in volcano, hawai’i last year, and she just brought this great pillow case over. i’m almost afraid to use it lest it get dirty. can a turtle have a more perfect pillow case?

Posted by: mock turtle on 15 Mar, 06 | 10:31

Sun Mar 12, 2006

our crazy dog

my mum and i tend to go shopping together when we get the chance, and by shopping i mean grocery shopping or shopping for kitchen gadgets and books rather than something mundane like clothes shopping. last week we went to town with plans to give dog a bath at one of those self service dog wash places. we had several other errands to run, so we left dog’s bath for the end of the day.

first, i had to swap out some knitting needles at my local yarn shop so i can work on the socks i hope to make for my sister. of course i haven’t yet started the socks, but they’re high on my list of projects. there’s a knit night on tuesday at the yarn shop (anyone in the immediate area is welcome to come along).

later, i had to get some groceries. while at the grocery store, mum took dog for a walk to the pet store near the grocery store. my shopping trip was very quick—i was in and out of the store within about ten minutes. mum had my keys, so i put my groceries in the canopy of my truck and waited for a while. it was windy and freezing, so i walked to the pet store to find them… to no avail. i went back to the truck and waited for a bit, but it was prohibitively cold. i went back to the pet store, and there was mum with dog coming out of the store. when dog saw me, he dropped a ball he’d picked up in the store. he hadn’t paid for the ball—we have a shoplifting dog!

we put the ball back and laughed at him for picking out the ball he wanted. we usually let him pick out a squeaky ball, but this time there were none in the store. he wasn’t too disappointed, and i’m sure he wasn’t looking forward to getting a bath. as it turned out, he didn’t have to worry because, apparently, both the self service dog wash places in the local towns are closed on mondays. so we came back home with our stinky, ball-less, suitably relieved and suitably chastised dog. as you can tell by his picture in this entry, he’s feeling pretty good about things now. you can’t smell him, but he still stinks.

Posted by: mock turtle on 12 Mar, 06 | 13:02

Thu Mar 09, 2006

winter's last stab

winter’s not quite over yet. in one last attempt at a true winter, the snow started falling last night, so now we have about an inch of snow on everything. even though you can't see it in this photo, the snow was falling in huge flakes over the creek. i love the sound of heavy snowfall, but i'm grateful that we don’t generally get much snow around here. pretty much any amount we get always seems like a big deal; however, it’s a little isolating because now i’m stuck in our little valley because our only 4-wheel drive is broken down. i’ve consistently neglected to buy chains the last few years, and i can’t afford studded tires. it’s so pretty with the snow blanketing everything. at least it’s not raining any more! the creek came back up a few inches yesterday after a torrential downpour. thankfully it’s not even close to how high it was in december, but it’s possible that we’ll have more flooding this spring.

in the meantime, i’ve been working on some knitting projects. i’ve got enough sock yarn to last me for a good long time, and i’ve currently got two pairs of socks in the works. i’ve also been working on using up some of my old wool making little hand-warmer creatures. i found the pattern for this one on the web at knitty.com, and i really like it! i plan on making a couple more of these little creatures to use up some more of my old wool. i also have plans to buy some non-wool bulky yarn to make myself a sweater. i’m leaning toward lion brand yarn because it’s affordable and only part wool. i really love the burley spun yarn from brown sheep, but alas i’m so terribly allergic to wool i can’t wear it at all.

right, i really don’t have much else to say. i may be getting a job soon, but it’s still up in the air. i’ve got my fingers crossed because if it works out it’ll be the best paying job i’ve ever had. it’s about time i get a decent opportunity after over twelve years out of graduate school. if you’re out there and you happen to care, wish me luck!