hand eye crafts

Hannah was put off that the following were unincluded in the Good Things post:

The bottom of my Grover mug features his signature and birthday (October 14. Make a note.)

One day this week when we were out shopping, these stopped us in our tracks:

Pig for her (Hi, Marin!), lion for me. Cute, or what?

A quiet Fourth around here. Briton pulled the lunch and dinner shifts, but can make it because on tonight’s “A Capitol Fourth,”, he gets to see the girl he’s going to marry.

Hannah and I will continue to craft. She is doing brilliantly (brilliantly) with her sewing. The child, I say again, is fearless. She believes she can do it, and, by heavens, she does. She is putting together something like 90 diamond shapes to overlay on a vest for a quilted effect. And it’s gorgeous!

On my needles presently: ribbed gauntlets, a scarf/shawl (which depends on how quickly I tire of working on it) and a newly-cast-on Berroco sweater .

Happy Fourth!!!!

Listening to Stephen Fry’s podcast on your Walkman as you trudge through the grocery store.

Drawing with 3D chalk with your daughter,

then having your son put on the glasses and check out your work:

Finding friends sharing naptime:

And three days in a row where no one had to go anywhere or do anything.  PJs all day!!!

(I already see trouble coming: “Dr. Pepper” isn’t one word. . .) But, here goes:

Rules: You must answer the questions using only one word. Then tag four others.

1. Where is your cell phone? Bedroom.

2. Your significant other? Missed.

3. Your hair? Damp.

4. Your mother? Tough.

5. Your father? Cherished.

6. Your favorite thing? Peace.

7. Your dream last night? Bus.

8 Your favorite drink? Can’t.

9. Your dream/goal? Essayist.

10. The room you’re in? Den.

11. Your hobby? Knitting.

12. Your fear? Trapped.

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Beach.

14. What you’re not? Impartial.

15. Muffins? Sometimes.

16. One of your wish list items? stumped.

17. Where you grew up? Nashville.

18. The last thing you did? Shower.

19. What are you wearing? Casual.

20. Favorite gadget? Walkman.

21. Your pets? Five.

22. Your computer? Aging.

23. Your mood? OK.

24. Missing someone? Perpetually.

25. Your car? Black.

26. Something you’re not wearing? Cologne.

27. Favorite store? Book.

28. Like someone? Always.

29. Your favorite color? Purple.

30. When is the last time you laughed? Today.

31. Last time you cried? Yesterday.

Alright — hit it up, Roxanne, Shan Diddy, Marin and, though I won’t see it, My Secret Pal for this round!!

Look at these patterns. I am such a Berroco junkie. Always wanting more and more.

Have you seen this? If not, why are you still sitting there? GO!

Proof that all the Deans are rather crafty:

Latch-hook by Briton;

Hannah making her costume for an upcoming anime convention, while Lily plays in the leftover pattern pieces;

my latest FrankenSocks, inspected by Gable. (Who, by the way, is enraptured by the fabric Hannah is using.)

Hannah and I took a trip to an old, old cemetery in town the other day. We’ve been before, and taken some tremendous photos. This time, though, we were asked to leave. (?) Some of these graves are pre-Civil War — who is going to object? At any rate, we got some pictures before the big black truck followed us to the entrance. I’ll share a few along the way:

This inscription got to me.

Oh, and one more Muppet-related nugget. Look what I got at the Center’s tiny little store:

a SOOP-er Grover mug! I love Grover. Another Frank Oz character. . . Can’t go wrong with Frank Oz.

Tomorrow (or maybe later tonight), a tag from the lovely Bridget .

My Thursday post in no way captured the awe and emotion of the three of us standing in the presence of Muppets. And, by extension, the brilliance of Jim Henson. There are some people who might say, “Come on, they’re just puppets.” Those people would be escorted from our presence in less time than it took me to type their imbecilic remark.

This photo is outside the exhibition hall. Check out Briton’s expression. He loves/reveres Henson as much as, maybe more than, me. (Note the shirt. Rox — a kindred spirit.) This is now Briton’s Facebook profile picture.

Kermit waits just outside the door to the exhibit. You stand within arm’s reach of Kermit the Frog!!!!

Once inside, the emphasis is on Henson characters: Rowlf, The Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth:

The Chef is so much bigger than I had expected. I know he’s a 2-person character, but he was still larger than I thought. Dr. Teeth has remarkable purple and red fringe all down his back. If you look, you can see Hannah through their case. Hers is the biggest story of the day.

When she was little, her favorite was “Uh-nee.” She loved Ernie — to the point of always wanting me to carry the Ernie bag I used for her travel necessities. Well, Ernie is on display. When Hannah saw him:

She dissolved into tears. I don’t think she ever moved from in front of him until it was time to go. It was so sweet.

She was so moved. Still so even when we left. Big brother skills called for:

Now, that got me all choked up.

First, another Secret Pal assignment:

What would you consider the perfect amount of stash?

As much as you can buy without putting your other financial obligations in jeopardy, and as much as you can store nicely and unwieldy-ly out of sight.

Second, is there a better way to spend a day than driving to Atlanta to see Muppets in person?

More another time.  For now, thank God for Jim Henson, and thank the Center for Puppetry Arts for displaying some of his work.

Still very sad over George Carlin’s death. Won’t be so trite as to say I grew up with him, but I don’t remember I time I didn’t know him and didn’t think he was funny. His dexterity with language was unsurpassed. (Stephen Fry may be an equal, but his knack is of a different feather.) Carlin was one of my two favorite sociologists — the other one being a degreed fellow, Erving Goffman.  I will, you can be assured, continue to quote liberally from both of them.

Nice outing today, as Briton drove us to Hobby Lobby, Panera and Barnes & Noble.  He has his own car now (I know — but he thinks getting loud and crazy about it is demeaning), and it is so wonderful to be driven instead of to drive.

I’ve finished two scarves of late.  I cast on for another pair of FrankenSocks a couple of hours ago, and plan on starting a wrap before too long.  Sometimes, it feels rude for us to go on with our lives, but what else can we do?

Thank you, George.

(Well, first, your mom has to post a picture of you and your brother from your birthday, ’cause she really likes it a lot. Whatever.)

SO. . . First, you pick your best friend up at Mall of Georgia, and pick up smoothies at Orange Julious. And you look all cute and happy:

Your mom and brother try to keep up. It’s pretty pathetic, really.

You take Best Friend to your doctor’s appointment, and you show her his fish. Be sure to name as many as you can, and give them each a unique personality.

Then you take her to the coolest store in town, where you can both look at and sit on funky shoes:

Your mom can finish her scarf, made with that yarn she keeps yakking about. OK, Mom, we get it — the yarn is soft, OK?!?!?!

And everyone can take turns on the swing your mom built:

Have you seen this?

My Dolce & Gabbana guy suddenly seems old lower abs Speedo hat. I mean “hat.”