So, I fired off two more emails…  One to Subway, and one to my new friend Mr. Jones at Quiznos.  No response from Mr. Jones yet, but we do have one from Subway.  I’ll share it all below!

OK, so email one, to Subway:

From: ERiC AiXeLsyD world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com
To: “Bridenbaker, Mack” m.bridenbaker@sfaft.org
Cc: Paula Gomez gomez_p@subway.com; Kevin Kane kane_k@subway.com; Anna Marie Seeley seeley_a@subway.com
Sent: Mon, November 23, 2009 10:24:20 AM
Subject: Re: Subway [Customer ID: 1918316]

Hello Mr. Bridenbaker,

It’s been over a week since your email to me saying that Ms. Gomez would address my concerns and I’ve yet to see any sort of response.  I still haven’t had a reply to my initial message to Ms. Seely, or  from anyone on your team.  I’m disappointed in the lack of comment overall, my first message which was sent on Oct. 28th has still gone unanswered.

I now understand why the employees in your stores have an “I don’t care” attitude.  It trickles down from the top, and certainly must be passed on in franchise owners, hiring, & training.

I’m amazed at your total lack of concern for the decline of your once championing establishment.  I should perhaps pass on my shellfish allergen and cross-contamination concerns to some allergy awareness groups.  Perhaps allergy awareness lobbyists will warrant some attention.  Everyone I know already hates Jared and the $5 footlong commercials, so I don’t need to push the issue on that one.  The concept of cheese tessellation will obviously elude the average sandwich artist from now until the end of time, so we have no hope there.

Perhaps in copying Quiznos’ idea of toasting subs, you should also adopt their business model in using better quality ingredients and customer service policies.  I have had a continued dialog with them regarding your lack of customer service and their seemingly misleading Toasty Torpedo ads with the very tiny hands.  They proudly stand behind their ads (however creepy), their innovation, and their customer service.

Not signed.  On purpose.  Notice all the Cc’s, everyone hates that… I don’t care who you are.   I tried to poke at every issue and make empty useless claims about allergy awareness groups, and I brought up that Quiznos is the trend-setter while noting that they’re also not perfect.

And, on a friendlier note to Quiznos, I decided to reveal my intentions to an amicable Mr. Jones:

From: ERiC AiXeLsyD world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com
Date: Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 9:22 AM
Subject: Re: The Quiznos Toasty TorpedoT ads?
To: “Jones, Tony” TJones2@quiznos.com

Thanks Tony,

I must confess, I do have a blog and I have been chronicling my email escapades there.  I like to play them as part consumer advocacy, part humor and all goofy.  I used to write snail mail letters, but email has made it so much easier & faster.  Some friends have encouraged me to keep writing, so I have.  I really enjoy the open & honest dialogue that we have going on, and appreciate that you stand behind the product & integrity of your company… and take the time to respond to emails such as mine.  Also, you obviously have a sense of humor, which has to be a “must” for any kind of customer interaction.  I’m sure you get goofier emails and phone calls from actual crazy people.

I’m intrigued at your suggestion that I get into consulting or franchise journalism.  Do you know how I would even go about this?  Would I need to obtain a degree in something?  I hope to grab followers to my blog just for amusement, but am unaware as to how to make it a profitable venture, ha ha ha.

Thank you once again for your time, I’m actually waiting to hear from some of your Quiznos colleagues, and Subway has still not given me a response beyond “someone will respond”… not that I’m at all surprised by that at this point.

Rock on!
-Eric

Hopefully he writes back in a positive light, and still finds all of this amusing.  Still waiting for further comment from his other colleagues, none of which have really delivered so far.

And, now, the fun part… Subway’s response (or lack thereof):

From: asksubway@subway.com
Date: Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 3:03 PM
Subject: Subway
To: world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com

Monday, November 23, 2009

Dear Mr Aixelsyd:

First, allow me to apologize. Secondly, I would like to thank you for taking the time to contact us and share your comments.

At each SUBWAY® restaurant, it is the goal of every owner; manager and employee to produce each sandwich and salad properly made to order.

Our customers provide us with valuable input, which we use to improve our operations. Your comments were shared with the regional office in your area as well as the owner of the SUBWAY® restaurant that you have visited.  Since all restaurants are individually owned and operated it is the owner who would be the person to contact you in response to your concern.

I have gone ahead and copied our Training Department so that further lessons can be addressed with owners and their employees on proper handling.

Again, I appreciate you taking the time to contact us. SUBWAY® looks forward to your continued visits.

Sincerely,

Paula Gomez

Heh.  “First, allow me to apologize” not followed by an apology is extremely profound, and hopefully intentional.  Then, she thanks me for writing, probably through gritted teeth.

This line reeks of copy & paste:  “At each SUBWAY® restaurant, it is the goal of every owner; manager and employee to produce each sandwich and salad properly made to order.”

And, I love the long winded “it wasn’t me”/”it’s not my fault”/”it’s not my problem”:  “Your comments were shared with the regional office in your area as well as the owner of the SUBWAY® restaurant that you have visited.  Since all restaurants are individually owned and operated it is the owner who would be the person to contact you in response to your concern.”  Basically, she’s telling me that I’m being ignored by a lower level.

“I have gone ahead and copied our Training Department so that further lessons can be addressed with owners and their employees on proper handling.”  With what?  Cross-contamination?  Cleanliness?  Cheese tessellation? How to reply to customer emails?

“SUBWAY® looks forward to your continued visits” …so we can spit in your food?  Did she read my emails?  Perhaps this whole thing is just a reading comprehension issue.  I find it amusing that the e Subway spokesperson declined to comment.  Perhaps now is the time to move into old-school W(aL)D mode, and reply that Subway will not be allowed on the moon when I’m emperor.

Are there any psychologists or psychiatrists out there reading this?  I’d love to get your take (…if you can tell me without telling me what my own problems are, ha ha ha).

If you haven’t been following,you may want to check out the back-story rundown here:  If we’re keeping score, that’s Subway 1 and Quiznos 3½. That should explain the last email, and at the bottom there’s a rundown of all the ones that came before it (with links) if you’re interested.

Also… lots of people have been telling me they’re following… by word of mouth, or Facebook, or Twitter, and even via text message… but I beg you, if you’re reading… post a comment here, and others may have a comment about your comment.  I see by the stats that people are reading.  Don’t be shy.  We’re all friends here.  Except for you, people at Subway… Except for you.

Yes, I actually do own a Snuggie, in fact I own 2 of them.  I bought a blue one first, at the local Walgreen’s, and then recently found them in pink for breast cancer awareness and I purchased one of those as well.

I am one of those people that is generally cold all of the time.  My normal body temperature tends to be around 97.6, sometimes 98 but never normal.  But then there is little about me you’d classify as normal so why not be odd in this area too?  I am usually in a sweat shirt or hoodie on days others would go with a t-shirt in the early spring and earlier part of autumn.

I will be the first to admit that the commercial was just plain cheesy for this product.  I’ve not seen it updated they just use the same commercial year after year.  At first I laughed at it like everyone else and said I’d never be caught dead in a Snuggie.  But then due to winning a contest at my former place of employment I was given a gift certificate to chose items from the company logo gift shop.  One of the items was a nice fleece blanket.  I went with that and a few other inexpensive items.  That fleece blanket, while very thin and light weight, is so warm! But it isn’t very big, enough to cover my legs at work when it was chilly in the office, or snuggle curled up on couch. When I would be crocheting and the project was too small to cover more than my lap I would use the blanket but that left my upper body chilly.  I began to secretly wonder about the benefits of a Snuggie.

Many people will say “it’s nothing more than a bathrobe just put your bathrobe on backwards and ta-da you have the same thing and saved money”.  NOT the case.  My bathrobe only goes to my ankles so it didn’t cover as much as a small blanket would.  And it is bulky, and not made to fit wearing backwards at all.  Oh I gave it a try, but my feet suck out and were cold and it was hard to really do anything this way.  I broke down and bought a Snuggie.

I was almost embarrassed to be seen purchasing this cheesy item, I even blushed at the cash register.  I hurried home with my purchase praying I would not get in an accident and have others find the Snuggie in my car. Once there, I tried it out.

The Snuggie is very large, when I stretched out in the recliner or on the couch or even my bed, it covered my entire body with some blanket to spare. In fact I have to gather it up to walk to the kitchen and get more coffee.  It is very light weight, like my fleece blanket, but wow is it warm! The true test of its worth was reading a book or working on a crochet project, and it passed with flying colors!  This had to be the best $15 I had ever spent.  Even the dog likes it and will curl up in the excess Snuggie when I use it.

Oh my friends and a few neighbors have laughed and teased me about this purchase.  Funny thing is it is always those that have never tried a Snuggie that make fun of mine.  That or they are embarrassed, closet Snuggie users.  I really do believe anyone that tries one for a day or two will become a member of the Snuggie cult.  I envy the person that one day decided to cut holes in a blanket and add sleeves and call it a Snuggie.  No doubt they are sitting on a pile of profits getting the last laugh over the cheesy commercial and ‘goofy’ product.

This October, while grocery shopping, our local Bigg’s had an area of breast cancer items.  All kinds of pink and pink ribbon products that contributed a portion of their sales to the fight against breast cancer and research.  Among the socks, glasses, coffee cups and hoodies were pink Snuggies.  I have no clue if any of the proceeds of the pink Snuggie went toward the cause, I just knew I had to have it in pink.  So with the multiple pairs of pink ribbon socks (hey, I needed new socks and the price at $1 per pair couldn’t be beat) I tossed a pink Snuggie into my cart.  My 19 year old looked at me with a raised eye brow and said “seriously mom???”. I could tell she was somewhat embarrassed to be seen with me pushing a cart full of food with the Snuggie perched on top of the produce.

People can say what they want, I love my Snuggie and everytime I am chilly rather than turning on the heat I put on my Snuggie and get warm and toasty.  I am a very thankful, proud owner and not afraid to come out of the closet and announce to everyone that I OWN 2 SNUGGIES!!! Don’t knock until you’ve tried it!

So, I recently wrote back to Quiznos at the suggestion of Jon on Twitter, and with the editing help of Dave once again. Jon has apparently been following the Subway saga along with a handful of other people… and thought that it may be an appropriate next step. I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I’ve had this thought myself, and if I remember correctly Jon had posted about it previously on Facebook or MySpace or Twitter or some social media site. Memory and my Googling skills fail me in finding that now, though.

I have high hopes on getting a well thought out response or two. I sent the message below to Mr. Jones, the same message to Mr. Bordeaux, and a slightly modified one to a few other email addresses that I managed to dig up. I enjoyed the candid reply from Mr. Jones before, although I was unable to get any further comment from Mr. Bordeaux or his team with whom he was going to share my email.

From: ERiC AiXeLsyD <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 10:07 AM
Subject: The Quiznos Toasty Torpedo™ ads?
To: “Jones, Tony” <TJones2@quiznos.com>

Hello Mr. Jones,

I would like to thank you again for the response to my email last week regarding Subway’s lack of allergy awareness, cheese tessellation, appropriate responses to customer feedback, and poor decisions in general. I understand and have learned first hand that good communication is a key component to the Quiznos way of doing business. I also appreciate your expedited replies, and hope that you can gain something knowing how cavalier your competitor’s attitude is toward genuine customer concerns. I am glad to be a gauge of what you do at Quiznos, and I would like to hope that my feedback is valuable.

In sharing my recent adventures in email with some friends, I have noticed a theme that has come up in suggested queries for your fine establishment… and I must say that I have indeed wondered the same thing myself.

Are you using “little people” models for the toasty torpedoes ads, perhaps children or pygmies? I did get a turkey torpedo a while ago, and I did make a mental note that it seemed to be nothing more than a bread stick made into a sandwich. I thought that the toasty torpedo looked bigger in the ads… but I didn’t quite connect why until recently.

A quick Google image search led me to this photo, perfect for a reference for our purposes…

I’m sure you can also see it now that I’ve pointed it out. I, my friend, cannot un-see it. There is no way that the hand in the above graphic is correctly proportioned to the Toasty TORPEDO™. I’m actually tempted to go get another one in an attempt to re-create this photo to see how accurate it may be. I can guarantee though, that if I did in fact hold a toasty torpedo like that, that it would most certainly fall apart. Mine lasted for about a bite and a half before it fell apart.

In Googling, I found multiple odd references to this ad campaign. Does Quiznos make any official statements to counter these goofy bloggers? I found one guy that thinks it looks like a cigarette ad. One guy seems to have a Freudian problem and these people seem to think that one commercial purposely compares your torpedos to a cup of human excrement. Okay, I have to give them that one. I mean… you did hear of 2 Girls, 1 Cup right? I’d find it and link to it, but some may find that offensive/distasteful and I’m sure you know how to use search engines. These people even seem to come to the same conclusion as I have toward the end of their blog… as well as a commenter on this blog.

I understand that all advertising is not one hundred percent factual, and that things tend to be exaggerated, but I really find this image rather misleading. While I understand that I’m not going to walk into a Quiznos any time soon and find a HAL 9000’s creepy sexually suggestive oven cousin, two gorgeous scantily clad women eating a sub rather suggestively, two naked rednecks in a tub of water over a campfire, a baby with the voice of a grown man, anyone suckling on any wolf teats, or even genetic mutations with Latino accents and tiny guitars floating in the air singing praise of your sandwiches… I feel that you owe some level of honesty to the customer.

While the other ads are easily discernible as attention grabbing goofiness, this one seems rather straight forward at first — yet dishonest upon further inspection.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter as well as the thoughts of any other marketing people or regional managers in the Quiznos family.

If I didn’t feel that I was already taking up too much of your time, I wouldn’t mind getting into a discussion on the violent phallic imagery that the shape and name of these subs not-so-subliminally suggest. I mean, really? Torpedo? Bullet? How many feminists have already written to discuss this? I feel that this topic is a less pressing issue though, to be saved for another day.

Torpedoes away!
-Eric

If you feel the need for a background to any of this, this is where it all started, and how it played out:

• Five. Five dollar. Five dollar… foot up your ass.
• Subway Customer ID: 1918316
• Quiznos writes back before Subway!
• So, we have a response from Subway!

That’s my initial message, Subway’s official non-response response, me sending it to Quiznos for comment and getting one, and finally a response from Subway telling me that someone else will respond… which as of yet, has not happened.

…All of which leads us to this posting.

These warm, autumnal drinks will warm the tummies of little monsters and adults alike! They’re toasty and tasty as well as easy to make – which makes them perfect for entertaining or for making together with the family.

Below are recipes for Mint Hallo-Cream and Orange Hallo-Cream. Note: you can leave the mint and/or orange extract out for a simply delicious vanilla cream drink.

Mint Hallo-Cream

Ingredients:

• 1/2 gallon milk or soy milk
• 1 pound vanilla flavored CandiQuik
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• Green food coloring
• Whipped cream
• Sprinkles or nonpareils

Instructions:

1. Heat milk on the stovetop on medium heat for five minutes.
2. Chop the CandiQuik into small pieces and place into a heat resistant bowl.
3. Pour the heated milk over the CandiQuik chunks and stir until candy is melted.
4. Stir in vanilla and peppermint extract.
5. Add eight drops of green food coloring to make green.
6. Pour drink mixture into glasses, top with whipped cream and nonpareils or sprinkles and serve!

Orange Hallo-Cream

Ingredients:

• 1/2 gallon milk or soy milk
• 1 pound vanilla flavored CandiQuik
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon orange extract
• Red and yellow food coloring
• Whipped cream
• Sprinkles or nonpareils

Instructions:

1. Heat milk on the stovetop on medium heat for five minutes.
2. Chop the CandiQuik into small pieces and place into a heat resistant bowl.
3. Pour the heated milk over the CandiQuik chunks and stir until candy is melted.
4. Stir in vanilla and orange extract.
5. Add three drops of red food coloring and 12 drops of yellow food coloring to make orange.
6. Pour drink mixture into glasses, top with whipped cream and nonpareils or sprinkles and serve!

Our family makes these as a tradition to celebrate the beginning of autumn, and we hope you enjoy making these delicious Halloween beverages as much as we do!

Find pictures for these recipes at HalloweenHamlet.com and TastyTulsa.com.

Jennifer Hall enjoys holidays, good food, and coming up with fun recipes for the family. She writes for Halloween Hamlet and Tasty Tulsa – where you’ll find more fun, recipes, and great food!

Related : Fun Drink Recipes Sugar Cookie Recipes Sugar Cookie

Yesterday eclipsed my largest daily amount of progress on knitted projects. I don’t count my stitches or rows or number of do-overs / tinking. But, after seeing a Facebook status from a knitting/dying friend asking what everyone’s average stitch count per day is, I sat back and thought, “Hey! Yesterday I did more than ever before !” Timely.

Infinity Peacocks Moebius Wrap

On my own pattern in the Large size that I’ve planned to finish by Turkey day, I completed the 2nd of three sections. I’m on the home stretch. It’s over 500 stitches per row in a moebius loop (never ending!!). Per my previous post, you’ll note that the other yarn I’d been knitting was not magic, and was not inspiring, and was just NOT. I’m flying through and you can see my progress on my ravelry.com project page. I’m 34me there, and here’s the link: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/34Me/infinity-peacocks-moebius-wrap-2

Recently too, within the past two weeks, I helped another knitter friend destash (yes, I was enabled) so she could pay a kitteh vet bill. We’ve become very close online – some may feel that’s weird, but we chat quite a bit and yes, we’ve become good friends. One day, we WILL meet IRL (in real life).

colorway: flan

I ‘rescued’ 1500 yards of Texas Toasty in Flan from her. Luscious and so soft. She even sent me cardigan patterns! I had searched too while waiting for USPS to deliver the goods and found a great Drops pattern that I’d decided I liked best, even after review of the freebies sent. I’ll reserve one of those – or two – for later.

When the yarny goodness arrived, I’d set it aside thinking it would one day be a great cardigan; much like many other stash items in my SABLE. That’s on the verge of three lifetimes at present.

I’d also wound two of the three skeins. Still swiftless, I just sit cross legged and hand wind. I love the feel and having the drape of the skein on my knees is just like a warm hug. The entire process is very cathartic.

Last night, while watching Sci-Fi channel (I’m a maven but cannot let my hands be idle), I knit away on my IPMW. Dinner break and kiddo pick-ups were minor but necessary interruptions but I got a rhythm. And it was good.

I got guage!

The Flan balls were in my line of sight, and I began to wonder if I should. . . . . I found the circular needles in the correct size, and knitted a guage swatch. I made guage the first try! I’m saving it for perpetuity . . . or at least until I need that bit for seaming. . . It may be close!  Not deterred by the 12 or so projects still on needles (yes, really), I pulled a new ball and started casting on the 264 stitches to start the ribbing. One d0-over later and the correct amount of yarn tail, I had success and began the K2P2 ribs.

Future Cardigan in Flan

I probably knit 5000 stitches in all yesterday, and not one was wasted or rushed or disliked. It was all about the great balancing act of remaining active and interested! I love this craft. ♥

Today however is a new day and many other things on my plate. Here’s hoping you get as  much or more done on your list so your knitting time gets into your schedule too!

~antsinthepantsAnne™

…we are all very pleased

*Presto Compact Heater.  Bought at CostCo for about $60.  Seems pretty awesome– no noise, feels like sitting in front of a mini-sun, makes working at my drafty desk (between two windows) possible, and is just generally toasty-cozy.  Side benefit:  kitty sauna.  Not sure what it’ll do to my electric bill yet, but it’s certainly cheaper than jacking up the heat.  No problems with the buzzing some of the reviewers mentioned yet, but I’ll get back to you in a week.

Despues de un pequeño break para despejar la mente de tanta “shit” de la escuela, aquí estoy para postear de nuevo…

Decidí anexar el video que da origen al titulo de la nota… cuantos de nosotros no crecimos con Mortal Kombat?

Cuando salió la pelicula, vino con un tema que me pareció algo épico (ya saben, MK representado en una canción: los nombres de los peleadores, un grito al fondo q decía “MORTAL KOMBAT” y el clásico “Fight!” del anunciador), pero ahora encontré un video que (aparte de gracioso, jeje) me pareció digno de estar en NARF!

Espero que no lo hayan visto! en caso contrario, rian de nuevo con estos tipos que tienen demasiado tiempo libre…. XD

comenta por favor!!!

It’s quickly approaching the time of year when our thoughts turn inward. It’s time to cozy up our homes with a warm blanket or a new set of flannel sheets.  Freshly baked pumpkin muffins and a hot cup of tea  comes to mind as the perfect afternoon snack. I am not a fan of winter but I do enjoy cozy thoughts, like a big bowl of homemade soup, (wide egg noodles, chicken stock, roaster chicken, chanterelle mushrooms, fresh herbs and lots of garlic) a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream, or a pair of fuzzy slippers and a thick fury blanket.

I’ve begun the process of cozying up my home with a few softly scented candles and a new fofur sofa throw. I’m currently on the hunt for the perfect pair of cozy slippers and a new pair of woolen mittens. The long dark winter of cold and incarceration makes me feel as though I’m being punished, which initiates the sense of entitlement that forces me to treat myself to a few comforts along the way. I have yet to make it through a holiday shopping season without buying myself a new pair of warm pj’s and a fresh set of flannel sheets.  The notion that finding the perfect pair of boots and a few other toasty accessories will somehow make the winter a little more tolerable has been debunked but that doesn’t stop me from trying it again and again. So I’m gearing up for the up-coming months of hibernation but I’m trying to enter this season with fresh eyes and an upbeat attitude. A few months of cozy incarceration never killed anybody, right? If you said right, then I have to ask- how well do you know Junie? Cabin fever here I come!!!

xo-jj

Still can’t find the felt bowl I like… see it everywhere in magazines but never out and about. So, in a compromise, one must go to Paboom. A wee store in downtown Victoria, Paboom has cool knick-knacks and other items that you don’t normally think you need for your home, but you do. Got this hand-made wood bowl for less than $20 and it looks swanky with all my knitting apparel inside. In terms of my knitting skills… so far I have framed my holey projects in the dining room. Textural and rectangular, they look distinctive and start conversations… mostly about why my work is displayed on my wall and not on my person. When I’m good enough, a scarf will be born. I’m sure of it.

In a previous post I noted my intention to check out the Chestnut Spice collection at Williams-Sonoma during an upcoming trip to Vancouver. Well… we went and it was wonderful. But I missed the pumpkin spice scent too much to compromise. I knew I’d be spending more time than necessary in the new Sephora store in Pacific Centre anyhow, so I decided to seek out pumpkin spice in body wash form. I have long had a ‘thing’ for Philosophy. Ever since I started buying Martha Stewart Living magazine when I was 16, I’d see Philosophy ads. I loved the simplicity and playfulness of the brand – the yummy scents and graphic packaging. So, either online or in person, Sephora + Philosophy products + fragrances that smell like baked goods = one happy camper!

Everyone who knows me knows that a day does not go by that I am not cold. I have found a solution. A solution of my own invention. Everyone knows about the Snuggie and its stylish merits, but I have a better idea: a “Blonesie.”  It’s a onesie and a blanket! It’s a form-fitting warming device. Who doesn’t want to be sexy and warm? Now, you can wear this unitard under your clothes and be extra toasty!

Only $19.95 + S&H! Operators are standing by.

By Annie

For the next couple months, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite scarves with you.  I’ve made so many over the years that I sometimes forget about them.  But this one is my current favorite, and the one that I take with me every time I venture outside.

It’s perfect for me, because it’s big and soft and fluffy.  It’s square-shaped so it can be folded in half, twisted, or worn pretty much any way you can think of, and it keeps my neck very toasty.

Another reason I really like this scarf is that I actually added some detail to it. I’m a pretty simple knitter – I like to stick with knit/purl combinations and I rarely do anything fancy.  But with this scarf I made a diamond pattern at the ends.

It’s kind of hard to see in the picture, but I think it gives the scarf enough pizazz so that it’s not just a boring old square scarf with some fringe on the ends.

Keep an eye out for more Wattlebird posts highlighting some of our favorite handmade scarves and other cozy creations!

That’s right. I’m going to subject you to a bit of kitten cuteness this morning. But first, an update on my Toasty fingerless glove thingies. I did manage to finish them last night, I totally impressed myself. I know I said I would finish yesterday, but in the back of my mind I wasn’t totally sure I’d manage it. So here they are, along with the oatmeal colored pair I made last year.

Oh, and here…let me model them for you!

Pretty awesome, no? I feel like a character straight out of a Charles Dickens novel…lol! I do love these and therefore, I think you all should knit some too. I’m going to make one more pair in charcoal tweed.

Ok, on to the cuteness…

Here’s Moira, she’s 3 months old now…

She’s posing with her favorite toy. Yes, it’s a pair of my old “Smart Wool” socks that unfortunately developed a huge hole after 3 years of heavy use (love these socks!). So now they belong to her. One thing I’ve discovered is that buying cat toys is a waste of money. The best ones are the ones you make from stuff around the house. Like these old socks for instance. She beats the hell out of these socks, she drags them everywhere, just like a lion drags a dead antelope between it’s legs…so cute! Anyway, I tied a little bell inside them and voila! Instant cat toy! She also likes crumbled up pieces of paper and heavy plastic packing straps that are tied up into a big knot (basically making a kind of ball) . She DOES love the little mice that you can find in any pet shop, but that’s the only toy that I buy for her. I do have knitting patterns for cat toys, I’ve just been too lazy and I know they will end up under the couch or some other deep dark recess where they won’t be seen again for at least 10 years when we finally decide to move the furniture.

Anyway back to Moira…Wow, she has grown so much in the 3 weeks that we’ve had her. She’s gone from a tiny terrified creature which spent it’s entire first day with us hiding under the couch, to running around like a Bat Outta Hell causing terror, chaos and mayhem everywhere she goes.

Here she is subjecting me to the terror, chaos and mayhem that I just mentioned…

Now if only “Number 1 Cat” Esme would learn to love her, or even just tolerate her, our household could return to the peaceful, blissful haven that it once was (pre-kitten). She’s slowly coming around, although being a calico it is taking a lonnnng time. Ok, I think that’s just about enough kitten cuteness for one day…don’t worry, I’m sure there will be more… :O)

So, today is shopping and house cleaning, tomorrow is birthday party. I probably won’t make it into the studio until Monday. Hope you all have an excellent weekend!

It’s that time of year again. I seem to have an internal “it’s time to knit” clock because it started going off last week. Yesterday I couldn’t resist it any longer, I broke into my carefully packed away knitting things, my yarn stash, my unspun wool, I was just like a kid in a candy shop. I found my little basket, just like I left it when my knitting mojo left me last spring. I had finished one fingerless glove and half of the other one. That is what is laying on top in the basket, I love this color by the way, it’s a sort of a chestnut brown tweed. This pattern is perfect for Fall so my first project is to finish last year’s unfinished project. These will keep my hands nice and toasty on those freezing early morning trips to the open air farmer’s market on Saturday mornings. I hate having to take my mittens off when it comes time to pay and with these I don’t have to.

This pattern actually IS called “Toasty” and if you want to whip up a pair for yourself, the pattern is free, here is a blog post all about them, there’s a Toast (only goes to the wrist) and a Toasty (covers fingers to second knuckle and most of the thumb). Anyway, you’ll find links to the patterns on this page, in the right hand menu bar. These are a quick and easy knit. I want to make some in a charcoal colored tweedy type yarn too :O) The yarn I am using on this pair is a Merino/Silk blend, soooo squishy soft and warm…Mmmmm. I want to finish them today so I can wear them tomorrow. Around here, the mornings are crisp enough now for them.

On the bead scene, I actually listed an orphan auction, amazing huh? I was going through the studio, doing a bit of cleaning and I found a few boxes of beads tucked away that I had forgotten about. I still going through them so there may be another auction to come in future, but for now, I have a nice mix of focals, pairs, and mini sets. There are 28 beads in all shown in the listing but I am adding beads (I’m up to 31 now) so you’ll get a few surprise beads too. Here’s a photo.

“Orphans”

In other news, last night’s guitar class was, um, interesting, lol! I’m not sure how much I’ll actually learn but it’s fun to play in a group. We are starting with German folk songs. The instructor decided it would be easier for us to sing in German instead of having to concentrate not only on playing the guitar but also singing in another language. Well of course that is exactly what I am having to do! I’m not singing though, these songs are way too embarrassing. But then, so are most old folk songs, doesn’t matter what country they come from…lol! :O)

This weekend is Nils birthday (Peer’s son). He requested chili (good choice!) but he also requested that I put meat in it and serve with grated cheese and corn chips. I only bend to a request like this on birthdays, normally it’s tvp chili and plain corn chips. The kids are really great about eating vegan (they are only here on Sundays so it’s not that hard for them), they are willing to try just about anything I make, but on birthdays they want their meat/cheese. I can’t say no.

SMS sent Saturday mid/late morning 25 July 2009:

The clouds just covered the sun…they’re patchy so sunny will be back…4 a minute there all was toasty and fine…for a few minutes now all is still toasty and fine…ok so the toasty is on the inside…missing the sunshine i have…

stretch…

lizard boy/man is up 4a wall climb…G is checking opp shops &buying running skins…have a lovely weekend…

Gx : currently thinking equal love…

300 g cuket, 300 g mletého masa, 150 g čerstvých hub, cibule, 2 lžíce sójové omáčky, máslo,olej, pepř, sůl

It was a scorcher today! We walked out the front door headed to one of the parks and decided it was too hot for a walk. Nakiah wanted to play in some water so we broke out the pool.

We watched the clouds go by. Splashed and laughed.
Nakiah wanted to know if the clouds were going to California. We think that maybe they’ll travel the world

After a couple of hours we heard thunder. Ava asked if the thunder was coming to her. It was definitely headed our way. We packed up and got warm back inside.
We had a leftovers picnic for lunch. Spread a blanket out on the floor and had chicken, corn, green beans and sweet potatoes.

Then the girls got tattoos. Hearts, crowns, lips, and all with glitter.
We pick ours up from the dollar store. They always have a nice selection of washable tattoos.

The girls have been in their swimsuits all day. Ava even took a nap in hers. I have a feeling they’ll also be bathing in them this evening.

I hope your Tuesday was a good one.

It’s been a very different and very busy #MoreCheeseMonday.

Here’s a selection of activity from the Twitterverse:

@JimAnning’s Cheese and Marmite Omlette:

These from @Chris_Alexander’s lunch time toasty:

This showing @furby at last Monday’s Cheese Rolling event in Gloucester:

Today’s #MoreCheeseMonday even has a song, tweeted by @craigyd.

If your on twitter and need some comic relief… Follow pausepolice.

There is a lot of akward moments and sayings in this commercial.

Na plátky chleba dáme nakrájený šunkový salám, rozkrojená kolečka tvarůžků, posypeme sladkou paprikou a trochou pepře. Dáme zapéct do trouby, až se tvarůžky roztaví. Na hotové nakrájíme kolečka cibule.

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