the good, the bad, and the kitty

This weekend I began work on my wintertime project – a baby afghan for my niece/nephew, due to arrive in this world around June 5, 2009.  I was going to make a granny square afghan until I serendipitously came across this pattern through my Google reader blogroll.  I abandoned my boring ol’ granny square idea the moment I saw this, and ran out on Saturday to buy 10 different colors of yarn and get started.  So far I have only completed one hexagon but let me assure you that there will be many, may more where this one came from.

Below are the colors of yarn I have so far, but after looking at the photos of the hex-afghan pattern, I might go buy some more subdued colors to mix in.  I plan to use the bright green yarn for the center of every hexagon in an attempt to tie the whole thing together.  My sister and her husband don’t want to know the gender of the baby before it’s born, so they are going with gender-neutral green as the primary baby color.

I realized yesterday that crocheting is my new smoking.  Ryan and I quit smoking prior to Halloween, and I have replaced my addiction to cigarettes with an addiction to crocheting.  I haven’t crocheted anything for a long time, and forgot how much I enjoy it.  It’s quiet, meditative, and keeps my hands occupied.  I have been finding my Zen somewhere between the metal crochet hook and the skeins of yarn, rather than in a cancer stick.  Crocheting is possibly more addictive than smoking and best of all, you can’t die from it (usually…)!

Also this weekend, I shot some belated outdoor wedding photos for Bryan and Tracy.  The weather did not accomodate for outdoor shots on their wedding day (Oct. 26th) so we took a little trip to Herbert Hoover National Historic Site yesterday and ran around shooting photos in the cold.  It was about 30 degrees but I, for one, had a lot of fun.  Here is a brief sample of what we did, but there will be more to come in the next week or two.

As always, check out my Flickr pages for more!

On Tuesday I did a photo shoot with my friends Raw Mojo – who just so happen to be local rock stars and are putting out their very first album in December!  We did a shoot for the album cover art, and so far I have come up with the following images for their debut release, titled “Veins.”

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Do either of these look like a potential album cover to you?  I was mostly just playing around with the images last night but I like where they are going.  There are more images at my Flickr pages.

There is a buzz in the air today, and I feel energized and hopeful and thankful to be alive during this historic election.  Today is the day that – hopefully – things will change for the better, and I think a lot of people know it.  The anticipation and excitement floating around today are contaigous.  And I f-ing love it!

Rachael commented earlier, “It’s like Camelot again,” and I think she’s right.  In addition to the likelihood that we will actually have attractive people in the White House (because THAT’S what is important!), there is also a strong possiblity that we will have someone who is inspiring and well-liked.  When was the last time that happened?  Clinton?  Kennedy??  I think we’re overdue.

I’m very excited about Election Day this year.  I realized earlier that this is the first election I’ve voted in where I actually LIKE one of the major candidates and want him to win with every fiber of my being.  I didn’t care for John Kerry back in ‘04 (I think I voted for whoever was running for the Green Party), and I couldn’t even remember who was running against W in the 2000 election.  I guess Al Gore’s democratic campaign was utterly forgetable.

I will celebrate a Democratic victory this evening by shooting album cover photos for Raw Mojo, and then maybe head to Heather’s Election Day party to celebrate the Obamarama.  Hopefully – probably – we will all raise our glasses and toast to change.  It’s about fucking time, America!

Oakland Cemetery, October 30 2008.

(Read about the Black Angel here.) 

Raptor Center, November 2 2008.

My sister Jenn, 9 weeks pregnant.

More of everything at my Flickr pages!

After finishing my vegan breakfast burrito from the co-op this morning and settling in for some “Cooks Country” on PBS, I was surprised by my kitty Oliver as he turned up in the parlor with a live bird in his mouth. I was baffled at first – how the hell did he get a bird? He’s not allowed outside, and the last time I checked my house wasn’t boarding wild, feathered tenants.  Hrm.

When my initial befuddlement wore off, I immediately started to panic. I could see the bird was still alive in his mouth, and wondered how I could safely remove it without causing further injury. I know cats are hunters and predators by nature, but I’m not keen on the idea of my furry children killing other living things. Oliver generally doesn’t eat his prey – I think he tends more toward playing with it until it can’t play anymore…ever.

I started yelling at him to drop it, sticking my fingers gingerly in his jaws to see if I could release the tension enough for the bird to free itself. Oliver ran into the bedroom with it, which conjured unpleasant images of feathers and bird innards between my sheets. He eventually dropped it and I banished him from the room, pausing then in panicky silence as I tried to figure out what to do. I’ve held wild red-tailed hawks and fed mice to owls for nearly two years, but the presence of this small wild animal in my home was intimidating.

I couldn’t tell how injured it was, as it hopped under the corner of the bed. I assumed I would be able to catch it in a towel or blanket and safely escort it out of the house. When I looked under the bed, though, I couldn’t find it. A disappearing bird? No. It was perched on the three-plug adapter plugged into the wall behind the bed, and appeared to be relishing the brief moment of rest. From there, it hopped up to my pillow, and then came to rest atop my bedside reading lamp.  It was actually quite adorable.

Ryan came in the bedroom at that point to see what I’d been yelling about. Together we kept an eye on the bird and opened the deck door. He left the room to get his work gloves, should we need to physically remove the bird; but as soon as he left the bird hopped to the threshold, glanced around a bit, and then hopped outside.  

I watched it hop sprightly around the deck for a few moments, as though it had realized it escaped the literal jaws of death and was given a second chance at life. I was relieved – and felt a sense of pride and selflessness, knowing I had saved a life today and returned it to nature where it belongs.

Godspeed, little bird! May you live long, fly far, and be the best bird you can be.

(Note: the mystery of how the bird even got in the house in the first place is yet to be solved.)