subliminalrabbit

and now for something completely different

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:26:00 +0000

ta-da! we have prizes for the bella's mittens contest!

in no particular order...
-2 skeins of misti alpaca lace weight (enough for a good-sized shawl each)
-3 skeins rowan summer tweed
-2 skeins lana grossa point
-2 skeins artful yarns candy
-1 skein suss yarn twisted
-10 (!) skeins noro big bebe
-twilight movie guide (big book - lots of pretty pictures!)
-new moon soundtrack

i haven't decided how i'll split up the bounty between the two winners, but there you go. lots of good stuff, so submit your photos!.

on another fibery note, (look at all this actual knitting content!) on sunday i decided to skip town and head on down to this:

lots of yummy fiber...

and i even found michelle amongst all the yarn, spinning away!

i was a good girl; i didn't buy anything, but it was nice to pet everything (you know you do it too) and catch up with fellow knitters!

finally - thanks, everyone, for the kind words earlier in the week. we're headed back to the vet tomorrow because cole's not really getting any better. send us those good vibes, please!

didn't quite get there

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:04:00 +0000

oh man, what a week. what a week and what a weekend. a not-over weekend.

i didn't finish my costume. we didn't make it out to the halloween party. cole-bunny got sick again - scary sick. we ended up at the vet's just before they closed and again at the emergency hospital late last night. he is feeling a bit better now but we're very concerned that he's been so ill three times in the past two weeks, so he's having some tests done and we should get the results later today. think good thoughts for us, okay?

but i did manage to get both ears knit and stuffed, and one ear on. i guess i could have been a sheep after all:

but that's not quite the look i was going for...

ah, that's more like it! maybe i'll get the other one on today. no promises though!

i was so behind on the knitting when cole got sick because i got some horrible news earlier in the week that sort of stopped me in my tracks for a few days: i lost a childhood friend to cancer. jess and i were best friends in middle school, at a difficult point in both our lives. we were very, very different - i was shy, studious, a bit of an introvert; jess was spunky and crazy and fun. she basically lived at my house for those few years - and then i moved and we lost touch for a decade, finally connecting again a couple of years ago. she was happy, with two beautiful children and a loving husband, and lucky to call portugal home for a time. her high spirits and optimism through everything was inspiring. when i heard the news from her mom i was, frankly, surprised at how thoroughly upset i felt - we hadn't been close for a long, long time. but that's just a testament to how special this girl was. jess, we'll never forget you.

b and i have lost too many people to cancer this year and i know this is not happening to just us; it seems like everyone we know has lost someone recently. so if you can spare it, would you consider donating to the american cancer society?

dirty work

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:46:00 +0000

look! knitting!

knitting i can show you! lindsey is right - i'm making the hood from max's wolf costume in where the wild things are. since i snapped that swatch photo this morning, i've designed and knit up most of the hood - just a few more rows to go. the ears still elude me a bit but i've an arsenal of wire and felt at the ready...

and i probably would be done by now but for our dear kitty, who 1) learned how to climb the ladder to the loft,

and 2) decided she'd crawl into some oft-overlooked nook up there that's never been cleaned. let's just say that when she came down, she was no longer black and white - she was black and grey. dark grey. we were in panic mode keeping her off the furniture, so no photos of that. but i did manage to capture this, much to maeve's embarrassment:

when's the last time YOU gave your cat a bath?

happy week, all!

a twilight contest!

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:04:00 +0000

announcement! we (the proverbial) are holding a contest! with twilight-happy and fiber-licious prizes to be announced!

so here's what you do:

1. knit up a pair of bella's mittens. (if you've already knit 'em, that's fine - what's important is that you have a pair.)

2. take a photo (or two, or three) of your mittens.

3. upload your photo(s) to the bella's mittens flickr pool by november 20, 2009. (yes, you must first join flickr if you haven't already - it's free. and then join the group. and then upload your photos.) add a description, caption - whatever you want. please, no more than five photos per person.

4. two winners will be declared premiere weekend on this blog in the categories "the lion fell in love with the lamb"/authentic, and "you don't belong in my world, bella"/original. interpret those as you wish. get creative. but since everyone has made beautiful mittens with gorgeous yarn substitutions, judging will be based more on photo composition than the knitwear itself. (every photo is considered for both categories - you needn't declare for one or the other.)

thirty day countdown to new moon... thirty days to submit your photos! okay - one. two. three. go!

on and on and on

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:09:00 +0000

so on friday i learned how to use this:

that is a proper drip IV. oh yes.

on thursday night we noticed that cole bunny wasn't feeling so well; by friday morning i was quite nervous and took him to the vet first thing (luckily the head of hospital was in early and willing to see him before his first scheduled appointment). i came home with instructions to stick around all day and watch him - and early in the afternoon we went back for x-rays and full diagnosis: full-blown ileus. having cared for rabbits for a good almost-decade, i've witnessed my fair share of this horrible illness, and it never gets easier or less scary.

lucky for me, with lots of meds, sub-cutaneous fluids, and force-feeding, cole started to turn around about 24 hours later. less lucky - he decided he was pissed at the world for making him do things he didn't want to do, and started to fight with little bunny. a proper, no-holds-barred, i'm-gonna-bite-you-and-tear-out-your-fur fight. and not one fight. many fights. we had to separate them for the night.

first thing in the morning, into the car they went. we drove around the neighborhood for about half an hour until they were snuggling out of terror (yeah, i know) and then into the hallway - neutral territory - they went. they're finally back in home base - their crate - and staying in there, doors closed, until at least tomorrow morning. i figure, they know they have to share the small space and are less likely to get territorial over it than, say, the far corner under our dining table with lots of room to lunge.

so yeah, not much sleep this weekend. but this afternoon b and i finally felt comfortable enough with the bunny situation to go see where the wild things are. please, go see it. don't go expecting a traditional kids' movie. go with your mind open to whatever might show up before you, and i promise you won't be sorry.

so. knitting. this is going to be the better part of my halloween costume:

any guesses?

p.s. - for the gal who wrote that the laura sweater link doesn't work - it seems to work on the sidebar? not sure what's up? try this.

nothing to see here, folks

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:10:00 +0000

ha! okay, no, seriously. we made a HUGE mistake.

we bought one of these for the loft:

have you ever nestled into one of these things? oh man. comfy, defined. i am certain that this is our best. purchase. ever. and over the course of two weeks, b bought me both that gorgeous edition of dave egger's the wild things (yes we are going to the movie next weekend yay!) and nick hornby's* latest, juliet, naked. so i've pretty much spent my office-free time like this:

knitting blog? what knitting blog?

... (secret project... still secret.)

*b also got us tickets to see nick hornby at the skirball center last week. boy am i a lucky girl!

the long arm

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:22:00 +0000

okay, how embarrassing. i've been super-crazy MIA. we've been fixing up the house - scouring the town for new furniture and practically living at home depot - and civic duty seems to follow me wherever i go. yes, i spent a week at the santa monica airport courthouse taking notes and deliberating on a really lame case. *sigh* i guess they all can't be like the last one.

in the bit of spare time i'm able to muscle aside for myself, i've been knitting - but still on the super-secret project - and gardening.

the garden box needed a little fixing up, and yesterday i finally had the chance to get my hands in the dirt! i'm starting with a bunch of herbs - a nice big rosemary bush, a couple of lavender varieties, basil, italian parsley, cilantro, oregeno - some lettuces, a tomato plant and a pepper plant. since we're so late in the season (can you believe it's october? OCTOBER, people!), i got a bunch of starts from the marina del ray garden center. next step: plant a few winter-happy seedlings in the house.

i'm hoping to keep the garden live and kicking with this - our brand-new compost bin! the city of los angeles has this amazing program that gives massive discounts on compost bins and tools - just drive out to the griffith park composting facility and pick one up cheap! schedule here for locals!

maybe some day, my produce will look as beautiful as the stuff i picked up at the farmer's market this morning -

anyway. i do have some exciting plans in the works, so stay tuned...

sneak peek

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:11:00 +0000

i promise knitting content sometime in the near future. but not now. why?

because we just moved.

please ignore the boxes, etc., and focus on that ladder. one of the coolest things about the new house?

it has a loft, from which one can take great photos!

also wall-to-wall carpeting, which the bunnies love!

and a headless buddha on the back patio!

we're still working on it - lots of pictures to hang, bunny-proofing to do, and a dining table & chairs to buy. as much as i hate moving - and we do it too often - this place is amazing. i'm loving it already!

wool & bears, everywhere!

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:19:00 +0000

although we were only there for one and a half days, b and i managed to see quite a few of my favorite things with the family while we were in the NEK.

farmers' markets there know what's really important - cinnamon rolls and warm mittens!

the awesomeness of "downtown saint johnsbury" - handknit socks and bears in hats!

b and i rode the horse at polly's pancake parlor -

and climbed around the basin and lost river -

all in all, a quick but wonderful trip. i can't wait to go back in the winter!

long ago in a land far far away

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:28:00 +0000

okay, maybe not so long ago (although it already feels like it). but certainly far away. on friday, b and i saw most of the day from an airplane - from los angeles to boston - and as night fell, hopped in a car to drive the three hours north to the northeast kingdom. the reason?

mike and beige finally got married!

i've known these kids for a long, long time and can't believe they've finally done it! beige and i met through a local children's theater group when we were 11, and mike joined the gang in high school. i was so lucky that the two of them decided to live in los angeles for a few years; beige was my main crafting companion and she went all-out for this wedding. i kept catching glimpses of beautiful handmade details - from her necklace to the wall hangings to the garlands on the tables. and mike, ever the artist, even designed the glass etchings!

beige and mike are also rabbit companions, so mike's dad made a surprise wedding ornament:

but b and i snuck into the house to visit the real thing!

it was a great time -

we met up with old friends -

and new(er) -

and it was totally worth the trip!

LAMB

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:01:00 +0000

i have some incredibly talented friends, and when they're recognized for their general or specific amazingness, it just makes me feel good about the world - which, in this day and age, happens less and less frequently.

one of these friends was recently interviewed on krcc, the national public radio station in southern colorado where she lives. if you've been here with me for a while, you've met bonnie nadzam before. bonnie is an amazing writer and recently finished her first novel, LAMB. you can hear the first chapter at krcc's website and i promise, you will not be disappointed. it's truly a work of art and this gal - she's got it. she's going to be a thing. a big thing.

it's not easy for a young author to get a break these days, with so many publishers shutting their doors. if you listen and like (and i promise, you will!), would you consider supporting an artist and leave a comment on krcc's site?

bonus knitting content: she's wearing an EZ hat i knit in her author photo!

all creatures great and small

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:33:00 +0000

i read a lot of james herriot this summer. he seemed to nestle easily into my themes of the past few months - our trip to the UK; so much time spent at the vet with little b; injections and medications and force-feeding. so when bryan asked if i'd be interested in attending the santa monica cat show - well. the week had been so hellish what with little's surgery and an upcoming move (more on that later), i needed to see some friends and cats.

the first thing you should know about the santa monica cat show? it was tiki themed:

also? peeps are REALLY into their cats.

as the five of us stood there among the throng of cat-lovers, we asked ourselves - how do you judge a cat?

-by its length?

-by its reflexes and agility?

-by the smooshiness of its face?

no. in casa subliminalrabbit, we select for that special something - that elusive "cuteness factor" - that makes you want to snorgle your nose into a furry tummy. because as pretty as this my-little-pony-of-a-cat might be -

he ain't got nothin' on this -

p.s. - little b is recuperating. her surgery was long and tough and we don't know yet if it was successful. in the meantime, keep sending us those good thoughts our way and maybe her fur needn't be shaved yet again.

seriously, people.

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:40:00 +0000

so i still can't show you the knitting, but i can show you something very special.

a grown woman in a peter pan costume at the jonas brothers concert. no idea. okay, if you have 8-16 year old girls in your family go get them now please:

that's enough of that. although - wait. okay. this show had the most awesome visual effect i've ever ever seen - a cylindrical wall of water drops that, as they fell, formed really detailed shapes. like hearts. and jonas brothers logos. anyway.

i've been pretty MIA this week because little bunny is sick - really sick this time, and most of the good bunny vets are all at an exotics conference. she has surgery scheduled (again) for monday. the long wait means she can't eat much on her own (except after her daily dose of metacam - pain meds, i love you!), has pulled most of the fur out of her dewlap trying to get it clean, and i've had to chase her about to force feed her. so mainly i've been looking at this:

also this week?

maeve ate my earphones and a tube of my antibiotic burn cream. out of my purse. on separate occasions. *sigh*

more & other various things

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 00:26:00 +0000

let's take a look at what i've not been knitting, shall we?

why, it's a featherweight cardi designed by hannah fettig. i'm using two skeins of ella rae lace merino that i picked up during unwind's anniversary/ravelry party - and it feels so good to be using stash. but alas, she's been put aside for various reasons:

1.

work. i have been going to work really really early. this is the sunrise - almost pretty enough to take the edge off a laptop-won't-boot-for-two-hours-and-i-have-to-present-to-the-president-at-9am kind of morning. almost.

2.

uhhh... yeah. i finally gave in and picked up an iphone this week. i held out until apple released a model that had comparable storage to my ipod - now i only have to carry one device around with me! it also takes decent photos and videos, whee!

3.

itunes. i am addicted to making my own ringtones via itunes. itunes is brilliant!

4.

buddhism. kicked off sunday by the hare krishna "festival of chariots" on the boardwalk. free yummy vegetarian indian food - i'm there! later in the week b and i went to our friend's jukai, a kind of ordination into zen buddhism. the ceremony was small and beautiful and i'm so glad i had the opportunity to witness it.

5.
super secret knitting project taking up any other spare time.

some folk request my latke recipe and i'll try and post that tomorrow - because now i have to get ready to see the jonas brothers. live! in concert! (ah, what a life i lead.)

peace out!

late to the party

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:28:00 +0000

i know - it's been a while! but i have a really, really good excuse. if you're squeamish or easily grossed-out, click away NOW.

NOW.

i'm warning you...

okay, here it is:

right, maybe that was a little melodramatic.

i've been cooking and baking a lot lately - at least, during these long summer weekends when i can really take stock of whatever produce's sitting around the house slowly going soft. (we are normally a "oh it's 8 o'clock so just throw something quick in the oven" kind of couple.)

forget sugary jam; fresh, hot fruit compote is so much better. here with digestive biscuits and vanilla bean quark, which got all melty and gooey with the warm fruit on top. yumm!

mixed veggie latkes (potato, zucchini, and carrots) and pistachio-basil cornbread (i dunno, it worked!). the cornbread is what got me... it was safe and unassuming until i stuck a couple of slices in the oven with spiced black beans, heirloom tomatoes, and cheese on top... when it turned into the dish of doom! attempting to be a good recycling citizen, i stuck the bean can under the tap and whoops! sliced up my thumb. i went to the bathroom to bandage it up, came back to check on the dish, and then kind of fell onto the side of the open oven. man! but i'm a slave to supper and after applying antibiotic ointment and a bandage, i plated it, sliced up an avocado, and tucked in!

you might wonder where the knitting went. am i avoiding it on purpose? well, for about a week my arm was pretty stingy and i basically avoided unnecessary arm flexing activity. and now i can't tell you what i'm knitting because it is a surprise! shhh if you know - no spoilers in the comments. my other projects have been put aside as i speed-knit my way through this one (addi turbos purchased for the purpose). one clue and no guessing:

p.s. - cascade 109 is on sale at webs. they're out of the original pewter colorway but still have a lot of lovely colors at a great price, if you're looking to knit up a pair of bella's mittens!

the kindness of others

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:01:00 +0000

i feel like i'm finally almost catching back up to regular life. almost. we're participating in "summer hours" at work which means i (mostly) have fridays off, extending the general summery feeling i've had since our trip. i don't mind.

while we were away, i received a very special package.

abby had a give-away contest on her blog and i won! if you don't know abby's work, well. do yourself a favor and take a look!

i discovered abby and infusion fibers during the last holidays. i think one of the bigger design blogs featured her bags and i fell in love - all the gals in b's family got one version or another as a gift that season. abby works with sustainable, natural, and organic fibers and her craftsmanship is just beautiful. (anyone else have a crush on that organic essentials satchel in golden yellow?) i feel so lucky to have found her and her work - and what's strange is that she found me, too, separately and at the same time - as she was just starting to become interested in knitting!

i've already found an excellent use for my hemp pouch -

one more stop

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 22:27:00 +0000

i was telling a colleague the other day - i've been procrastinating. i don't want to type up this last post because then i'll be completely done. the trip will be behind me and there's only looking forward. well, i've procrastinated long enough and here it is, my favorite part of our trip: wales.

b's conference was located in bangor, a small, hilly city on the sea. it was ideally located for a day of driving through snowdonia, the most beautiful countryside i've ever seen.

yes, it was overcast, and that's normal for this part of the country. the near-constant drizzle creates a landscape so green and lush, it's just astounding. and perfect for grazing sheep!

sheep were grazing the countryside everywhere - in the fields, up the mountain slopes - everywhere. bliss!

sheep = woolly fiber goodness, of course. i wound my way through the mountains via back country lanes and found myself at the trefriw woolen mills.

unfortunately, the working mills and museum were closed but i did pick up some lovely grey-green aran tweed - enough for a sweater. then it was off to ar-y-gweill in llanrwst (don't you just love these names? don't ask me to pronounce them.)

have you ever seen a 400g ball of wool before?! me neither. apparently they're quite common in this neck of the woods but wow - HUGE! my purchases here include a sweater's worth of dk weight wool/alpaca/silk (deep brown) from sirdar, which i rarely see in the states. i wanted to only buy yarn i can't easily find at home and the lovely shop owner was gracious enough to 1) help me, and 2) allow me to photograph her store. (thank you to the menai knitting group on ravelry for the recommendations!)

besides sheep, the other wonder wales has to offer is a proliferation of ancient, mossy castles. of course i couldn't turn down the opportunity to run around castles so i set off to explore a couple nearby. first up was beaumaris, and you're going to have to excuse me here because i just couldn't possibly choose between my favorite photos. beaumaris, on the isle of anglesey, was built by edward i - as many of the welsh castles were, in order to "stamp his authority on the welsh". this one was was never actually finished but boy is she gorgeous:

*sigh* too beautiful. i was in heaven.

i found myself with a little more time on my hands so i decided to go and explore caernarfon - headquarters of the prince of wales! this castle was definitely a little less rustic - and a little more touristy - but was very cool nonetheless. they let you climb all of the turrets!

and then my camera battery started dying, and we drove back to london and came home. good-bye, europe! i'll see you next year!

back to our regularly scheduled BATH

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:25:00 +0000

so, back to it? we flew from santorini to london without any hitches, and spent the night near the stansted airport, where we'd pick up a car the next day. there was lots of drama about the car, but whatever. i'm not going to relive it but i am going to remember to reengage alamo's customer service. anyway. the nice thing about stansted was...

bunnies! there were bunnies hopping around outside EVERYWHERE!

after the car-drama, we set off across the country. please now picture me driving on an unfamiliar side of the road for about 250 miles (day 1). (i only had one big almost-wrong right turn, yay me!) we decided to drive for a couple of reasons. the first?

ever since eighth grade, i've dreamt of visiting stonehenge. for one of my math projects in middle school, i built a to-scale model of the ruin out of clay and foam board and through my research fell in love with this crazy druidic mystery. and it did not disappoint!

also? there were bunnies hopping amongst the rocks!

from stonehenge we drove on to bath, where back in the day b spent a summer at the local university. this time, instead of staying in a dorm, he found an amazing deal at an equally amazing b&b called aspley house, which apparently used to be a mansion some wealthy brit built for his mistress.

that is the most comfortable bed i have ever slept in - EVER. seriously, if you go to bath, you need to stay here. the complimentary breakfast is absolutely brilliant and the rooms are phenomenal!

okay, anyway. the next day b showed me around his old haunts.

the jane austen center made me sad. do not go to the jane austen center. trust me.

but the playground made me happy!

random statuary?

the herman miller factory!

more swans!
we also decided to tour the roman baths, after which - of course - the city is named. i'm not sure what i expected, but this place was really cool.

and then we were off - driving again! - to magical, castle-rific wales!

lil b thanks you!

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:03:00 +0000

just a tooth trim this time - no extractions or abscesses, yay! she is home, being way too sweet for her own good and generally recuperating. thank you all for the well-wishes!

we interrupt...

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:21:00 +0000

... the narrative of our journey for an important announcement. lil b has surgery scheduled tomorrow (monday). please, if you have a few moments to spare, send along some healing vibes?

i'm more nervous than usual - but she's had jaw/abscess surgery twice before and i have to believe that this time will go just as well.

greece: part 2 (still santorini)

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:47:00 +0000

so i realized that i forgot to tell you about our trip to athens - you know, where we boarded the boat that took us to santorini? we were supposed to spend a day traipsing around the capital, checking out the parthenon and all those other places we read about in our elementary school text books about the rise of civilization. well, civilization in the country has risen to such a height that it decided i was an undesirable and didn't want to let me enter the country. at the gate at the airport. with our luggage already on the plane.

okay, here's the real deal: in order to travel to certain countries in europe, you need a three-month clearance on your passport, before it expires (turkey requires six months, just in case you're thinking about going!). i had three months and two days before mine expired. we were due to be in greece for just over four days. this, it seems, was a problem. not for the person checking us in at easyjet - just for the gal at the gate. we begged and pleaded but to no avail. they summarily ignored us until everyone else had boarded and then we begged and pleaded that they get our suitcases off the plane before it took flight. that much we got.

luckily, the guy at the easyjet info desk was much nicer than the ladies at the gate and even luckier, our flight was at 6am, so we had plenty of time to get back into london city center and find the american embassy. i am going to tell you now that the american embassy in london is amazing and if you ever end up there, do not worry. you are in excellent hands. i didn't have an appointment, but since i was there when it opened i had an emergency six-month passport in my hands within an hour. and the people were so nice and understanding. i assumed i had a huge hassle on my hands, but no. london american embassy, you rock!

so, to make a long story short, nine hours later we were on a flight to athens and arrived late at night. early the next morning we got on the boat to santorini, and so. just santorini.

which was fine because it is so beautiful. it's not really a crazy beach island; there are a few black pebble and red sand beaches but they're so low-key and not at all party central. which was perfect for us.

we spent one afternoon swimming and sunning at kamari beach. then we decided to walk north towards fira and see if we could discover a few local wineries along the way. santorini is known for its sunsets and its white wines; the varietals are completely different from what you'd find stateside or in the rest of europe, and they are wonderfully crisp and light and in general not super-sweet, except for this special dessert wine called vinsanto which looks like a red but is actually made from white grapes, just aged in barrels for a very long time. yum!

for the most part vines are wound on volcanic soil into circles with the grapes growing in the middle, to help shade the fruit from the unrelenting sun. we learned this at the wine museum which was... well, take a look!

the whole "museum" was comprised of super old-school animatronic scenes which cracked us up to no end. if you go to santorini, you must check it out!

lucky for us we also found a couple of real wineries as well as the wonderful art space, an art gallery in an old winery. with grapes growing on arbors.

the next day we took a bus to perissa, the other main beach on the island, and hiked up to the ruins of ancient thera. the wind beat down on us as we wound our way up the mountain, but it was so worth the trip!

all in all, we adored santorini and felt that the four days we spent there was really the perfect amount of time to thoroughly explore this small island!

happy independence day to all you americans and i'll be back to post about bath and wales soon!

greece: part 1

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:50:00 +0000

[warning: crazy photo-heavy post]

i really intended to write about greece much earlier in the week, but alas! work got in the way. happily the office is closed today, so i have time to tell you about one of the most beautiful places in the world: santorini, greece.

santorini is a small island about an eight-hour ferry journey from athens (we know first-hand; we took the boat on the way out). over 3,600 years ago, during the height of minoan civilization, a volcano erupted and changed the island forever. it's now a long crescent dotted with a couple of smaller islands on the outskirts. if atlantis ever truly existed, it's thought to have been on santorini. and it's easy to believe; we spent much of the time like this:

the water is an amazing blue; the island is dry and scraggily and mountainous and flat all at the same time. there's lots of exploring and hiking to be done. and we pretty much did it all.

home base was fira, the main town on the west coast center. fira's a bit touristy but has lots of wonderful restaurants and if you poke around a bit, you can find things other than jewelry and souvenir shops:

greece is also, apparently, known for its profusion of cats. there are cats EVERYWHERE.

while fewer, there are also dogs hanging out all over the place!

friendly animals poking their noses at you every few minutes? you know that's bliss for me!

one of our big adventures was a 2.5 hour hike from fira to oia, a small town on the very tip of the island's crescent. there's a path that winds up the edge of the coast and oh man was it beautiful.

that last photo that looks like a model town? oh no. that's real.

we also decided to take a "sunset cruise" on an extremely windy evening. which meant no one could sit on the lower deck of the boat without getting drenched by gallons of water! but neither bryan nor i easily become seasick, so the ride was fun. first stop was a volcanic island hike.

followed by a swim from the boat to a "hot spring" (lukewarm, brrrr!), and then a glide over to the prime location to watch the famous santorini sunset.

i have never seen a more amazing sunset; my photos can't come close to capturing the colors. here's a peek from a rooftop restaurant another night to give you a better idea:

i know that's a lot of photos so i'll let you digest it all for now, plan your own trip to santorini, and i'll be back to post "greece: part 2" over the weekend!

london bridge is falling down

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:36:00 +0000

well, not really but i couldn't think up a cute name for this post so that's what you get. we're home. we've been home for almost a week but things have been so crazy at work and i've had so many photos to upload, i'm just getting to the posting part now. so, here we go!

we arrived in london 7 june (oooh! european date formatting!), took the heathrow express into paddington, and walked two blocks to one of the coolest hotels i've ever stayed at. the rooms were definitely new york city hotel room size, but so beautiful designed -

but enough about the hotel because as nice as it was, that's not the fun part. paddington was perfectly situated to explore the rest of the city. and so we did. and with no further adieu,

the prince albert memorial

buckingham palace fountain

the london eye

westminster abbey

camden town canals

kensington gardens

lovey swans

victoria & albert museum

liberty house

fun at the tower of london
for the most part, the weather was wonderful - just a bit of rain here and there. which was lucky, because we were in london during the subway strike. great timing, eh? we did a lot of walking!

i adored the parks, westminster abbey, and the victoria & albert museum, which houses an amazing mechanical tiger, a lovely tea room, and one of the coolest gift shops i've ever seen. the tower of london was less exciting - so much reconstruction! luckily i got my real old castle fill in wales, but more about that later.

oh, right! we went to liberty! we basically walked the floors and pet beautiful things - clothes, fabric, yarn... and all i bought was a pair of travel scissors. because really, do i need more rowan yarn at the same price i can get here? don't worry, there was stash enhancement on this trip - also in wales, a most magical place.

but that's not next. next is greece. next is... tomorrow.

no time like the present

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:04:00 +0000

well, i didn't get out and about too much in vegas what with all the meetings and presentations and prep work. i swear i've never loved los angeles as much as when i caught a glimpse of the bright lights out my bumpy bumpy plane window upon arrival home. vegas is... so smokey. and dirty. and hot. and just not for me.

but these guys are.

check out those lamps in the background!

i didn't walk the strip much - my poor colleagues had to basically carry me back from ceasar's palace to our hotel i was so ready to collapse from lack of sleep. but i did manage to snap a couple of photos:

i just love the exterior of the flamingo. it's so kitschy!

so. the tank. while i was gone, i realized that i have to do this right or i won't wear it. it needs to be just the way i want it to be. so it's coming with me to europe in its almost-finished state, and we'll see...

50 hour count-down!

it has its benefits

noreply@blogger.com (subliminalrabbit) — Sun, 31 May 2009 21:52:00 +0000

well, i don't know if i'm going to make it. the complete redesign of that tank into, well, an entirely different tank with kind of the same neckline is behind. i was pulling all sorts of crazy hours at work during the week - leaving at seven, getting home at nine - which just didn't leave time - much less energy - for knitting. or math. because, you know: complete redesign.

and it doesn't help that tomorrow morning i'm headed to vegas for work for three days. time for knitting will be minimal at best.

so, dears, i just don't know. you tell me:

the front is done, but i want to make up the back completely from scratch and my head is reeling a bit when i think about exactly what i want to do. then i need to knit the collar. and block, because this yarn really should see some blocking (it lays so much prettier blocked!). i suppose i can always take 'er on the plane and block in london, praying for dry days so she's not damp when we get on the boat for greece. thoughts?

also! i did attempt to shrink my viennese shrug. and... it did shrink a bit! i'm letting it fully dry before i try it on. i think it will still be a bit big but may be okay. or may be a present. here are some photos pre-shrinking for posterity (just in case the dryer ate it, you know?):

that's a lot of cream-colored knitting! summer's here and the bunnies are sleepy!