Knitting Skwerl Gurl

Poupee Girl

2009-05-14T10:43:00.002-05:00

Please log onto Poupee Girl using the widgets to the side. :D

Pollen Delivery System

2009-05-14T00:34:00.003-05:00

I Have Not Posted

2009-05-14T00:25:00.003-05:00

In like 2 yrs or so.... Maybe I'll start again with little things I think are cool. I mostly post to my Flickr account which you can access on the side if you choose. Well, we shall see if I really do this or not. Again!

Meet Bob the Stingray!

2007-03-03T08:32:00.000-06:00

Texas Road Runner, we used to have one in our neighborhood in San Antonio. They are very cute!

Giant Centipede at the Texas Wild exhibit.

Not sure what type of snake this is. They are renovating the snake house, so a lot of the signs were down.

Bob the Stingray, the new love in my life. <3

He is a stingray at the Fort Worth Zoo where I will start volunteering! I will help look after Bob and his other tide pool friends. I visited the zoo yesterday to complete my scavenger hunt to get familiar with the zoo itself. I know I will enjoy working there! Even if it is just volunteering! :)

BTW, Bob is soo cute!!! I'm in love! He is just a sweetie!. There is a ledge that he swims up when he wants to be petted. You can only touch him with washed hands and only when he is on the ledge with one finger stroke. This is to minimize the stress on Bob. When he doesnt want to be petted, we put out a sign saying that he is sleeping. :)

I took lots of pics at the zoo and of course I threw out half of them as they were no good.

Explore for Today

2007-03-03T08:31:00.000-06:00

Holy Crap! I Got Eleven This Time!

2007-02-21T07:02:00.000-06:00

I just keep racking them up in Explore!

Explore

2007-02-20T09:34:00.000-06:00

The Bathroom at Adair's made the Explore Page on Flickr. I'm so happy!!!

Today We Spent 4 Hours at a Cafe

2007-02-04T18:31:00.000-06:00

Drive by duck! Shot this on the way to Narah! Cute!

Hot lemon water. Great on a chilly day.

Our friends Erin and Brooke, Brooke's husband Gautum was there too. Taken at Narah Cafe.

One of the dangers of living on an ancient sea floor.

That's four hours! We went to Narah Cafe again to have lunch with friends and smoke the hookah. We kind of lost track of time and ended up almost having diner there as well. On the way home, we drove by the new natural gas well that they are building in the neighborhood. My in laws are actually going to get a little bit of money from this and so is everyone else in the neighborhood. There is some controversy about these things going up so close to home. First of all, they can explode. Second, they are a bit ugly, and Thirdly, the noise. I'm a bit intrigued by this contraption and its on the other side of the road pretty far from our house. But still, its gas.

Mr. Hammi Pants New Crib

2007-02-02T09:42:00.000-06:00

Feet cleaning time!

Well, it's really an old one. I took the old 20 gallon toad tank out of the garage and cleaned it up. Since it had water in it and some other stuff, the glass was a bit cloudy. At least it's clean and the hamster is moved in. I think he likes it. It's definitely more room for him to move around in now. :)

It Snowed Today...

2007-02-01T20:31:00.000-06:00

Snow and Bamboo.

Hot tea is just perfect for today. Brrr....

Grandma and Grandpa in a tender moment.

I mostly stayed inside today. I had to clean my room, it was just getting to cluttered so I did some spring cleaning and threw out a bunch of stuff. I also took pics of old pics. I think they turned out well.

Went to the Japanese Gardens Today.

2007-01-29T17:04:00.000-06:00

My first really good skwerl Pic. The little bastards keep running away from me. :) I need a telephoto lens.

I Went To Work Today

2007-01-28T20:02:00.000-06:00

This is where I get bruised and fall off ladders. :) I need a new job.

Owners Are Supposed to Look Like Their Pets

2007-01-26T17:15:00.000-06:00

Got My Hair Cut and Went Grocery Shopping.

2007-01-26T15:44:00.000-06:00

I got my hair cut today, This is Diana my hairdresser. She's into photography too. That's all we talked about was cameras during this session.

Almost done!

I like the job Diana did on my hair! Now for some grocery shopping!

As you walk into the grocery store, you are greeted by the flower dept. How nice. :)

Beautiful veggie isle.

I prefer high pulp, I like to chew my orange juice.

I had to stop by the cake counter and take some pics!

Yes, it was a fun filled day for me. ;) What I may do is post the pics I take during the day to the blog as a bit of a photo diary - plus my knitting when I actually get around to doing some. I think I'll pull out that throw I'm working on now.

Mr Hammi Pants - So Cute

2007-01-17T09:19:00.000-06:00

He's a brave hunter, that's an elephant he's just caught!

It's Cold Out Side!!! Plus I Finished the Sock!!!

2007-01-17T09:01:00.000-06:00

Me all bundled up looking warm and cute!

My frozen pony fountain. Damn it's cold!

We have snow! It's been icy for the past 4 days, but this has allowed me to finish my socks. Which is a good thing! Just in time for new warm socks!!

Knit on size 1 DP needles ( bamboo)
Yarn: Sockatta yarn. I think this colour has been discontinued. I really didn't like this yarn too much. It was a bit stiff. Not nice and soft. :(

I added Lorna's lace to the heels and toes so those areas are knit with two strands so they don't wear out too quickly.

I'm Determined to Finish This Damn Sock!

2007-01-05T21:19:00.000-06:00

All I have to do is finish this one toe! Then I'll have two matching socks! :) It only took two years!

Body Worlds and The Fair Park Aquarium

2007-01-04T19:49:00.000-06:00

Early in the morning, Dallas.

Cafe Brazil Entrance.

Hologram at the Science Place, it's called Medusa.

This little guy was a camera hog! He kept wanting to be in front of the lens! I think he was attracted to the shiny metal. No flash was used!

One of the largest Alligator Snapping turtles I've ever seen! The size of a wild boar!

Today I went to Dallas to see the exhibit Body Worlds at the Science Place in Fair Park. Since there is no photography allowed in the exhibit, I did not take any pics of it. The tickets were too expensive for me to sneak a pic and get caught and then get thrown out.

We were meeting some friends and so we had to wake up early for breakfast in Dallas before the exhibit opened at 1o am. A good opportunity to take lots of pics! We went to Cafe Brazil for breakfast and I had a stack of pancakes and eggs etc. ( I didn't finish it, to much food!)

Our friends arrived and we went to the exhibit. It was wonderful! Despite all the controversy surrounding it, it was amazing to witness the human body displayed in such a manor. It was artistic and scientific at the same time. I do suggest going to see it if you have a chance. Humans are wonderful machines!

While still in Fair Park we decided to go to the aquarium as well. This is where I really took a lot of photos! Fish beware! I didn't use flash on a lot of them because it hurts their little eyes and they may become disoriented and hit the aquarium glass. So most of the pics I took without flash, if I did take the pics with flash, it was because they had poor or no eyes to speak of and so didn't matter. Overall I had a fine day indeed!

New Years Day Dinner

2007-01-01T20:29:00.000-06:00

Luck and prosperity come from eating fish on New Years Day!

Silver egg rolls, another traditional New Years food.

Yummy soup!

The whole spread! Let's Eat!

I hope that every one has a wonderful 2007 and that good things happen to all of you!

Happy New Year!

2006-12-31T22:22:00.000-06:00

This little guy was chirping at me and not very friendly as I was trying to take his picture!

I wish that everyone have a safe and happy New Year 2007! 2006 was full of heartbreak and not so good times as there were a lot of traumatic events in the world and in my family. I will approach the new year with a clean slate and accomplish the goals that I have set out for myself. Lets put it this way, I have to do this. :)

I'm spending a quiet evening at home and I will usher in the New Year by watching it on TV like so many people. For those of you who care, I'll blow kisses to you from home to wish you good luck in the new year. Kiss Kiss! Love you lots!!!!! (to the 4 people who read my blog). <3

Christmas Party at the Croleys

2006-12-26T10:11:00.000-06:00

Our lovely hosts for the evening. Ann and Rick.

Ann sets a very pretty table.

Ann and her mother busy in the kitchen.

We had fruit and nuts too.

Christmas dinner, tasty turkey!

Christmas angel ornament on their tree.

I had a very lovely Christmas at a dear friend house. Rick Croley and his wife Ann had invited us for Christmas dinner and it was wonderful. There was my mother, stepfather, Ann's mother and another friend of theirs. Unfortunately I cannot recall his name, but we talked about music all night. Ann's mother was wonderful, a very lively older lady who had traveled the world and rights poetry as well. We read some of her poems at the dinner table which seemed to finish the night off well. When I was reading my poem, I had just had some champagne so I was hoping I wouldn't mess up and skip a line. :)

We had turkey, stuffing, string beans, sweet potatoes, creamed onions, cranberry sauce, mash potatoes, and of course pumpkin pie. I and everyone else was stuffed! I had a wonderful time there and was glad to share Christmas with such lovely people. Thank you Rick and Ann!

Tamale Party

2006-12-18T13:07:00.000-06:00

Ed really getting into mixing the masa. Look at that action!

Can't have tamales without some beer!

Putting it together.

Ready for the steamer.

They are done!

The bean soup, it was wonderful!

Rice, Carrots and Tamales!

Yesterday, I went to my mother's house to attend a tamale party. My sister, step father, and two other guests attended. We got a late start and I was the one who started out mixing the masa. Boy was it cold! Because of all the boxes I handle at work, I have a lot of tiny paper cuts that aren't open, but with chili on my hands and cold masa to mix, it was hell. I could only mix it for a few minutes at a time before my hands got painfully numb. After about 10 min, I was done. I couldn't take it any more and I had to surrender to the next person in line to mix. When I washed off my hands, they were red and swollen and they itched because the feeling was slowly returning to them.

After a lot of work, putting the tamales together, we had a wonderful dinner. It was worth all the hard work! I want to thank my father for the new camera that I snapped these pics with. As you can tell, they came out wonderfully!

Flickr Explore

2006-12-13T10:16:00.000-06:00

It's always changing. As of this morning, two dropped off and one was added

As of last night. The most I've had in Explore at one time.

I may be having a crappy time at work but my photos are doing well. If you don't know, Flickr has an Explore page that showcases it's most interesting photos uploaded to the site. You can make these little posters featuring your Explored photos. The photo selections change all the time and some drop off and some stay. To be featured in Explore doesn't mean that they are the best or of any official recognition. It is a bit of a game to see how many one could get up on the Explore page at one time. One of my contacts had 46 of them at once. I'm doing good with 6. :)

Christmas Hell

2006-12-13T09:36:00.000-06:00

I wish I could say that my holiday is going swimmingly, but I can't. It's not that bad but it isn't great either. The up side is that I am exempt from my finals because I made an A in my class! :) The down side is that now I have a lot of time to fill out lots of school paper work. :( Not my favorite thing to do, but it must be done.

That is just a headache though, the real problem is at work. We are going through tough times and are cutting back on staff. With the holidays and retail that spells trouble. Yesterday I worked for 5 hrs and they were the worst 5 hrs I've worked in quite a long time. We only had two people ( myself included ) to work the floor. Since I'm a manager, I had my managerial duties to perform too. My other companion was a newly hired lady. She is good but does not know enough to do a lot of the things that need to be done, like stocking stuff from the backroom and fetching merchandise from there for the customers. So I would set one foot out on the floor when I would have to go to the stock room and get something else for a customer. I was running around the place as fast as I could! I have about two more weeks of this to go, and it's just going to be two to three people on the floor at one time. ( not enough ) We will all be taxed beyond our abilities and the quality of our work will suffer. We will piss off our customers and loose sales if this is allowed to continue. We would surely loose the season if the corporate office does not realise that they just shot us in the foot. I can't wait to get yelled at by a disgruntled holiday shopper.

Well, I think it's time to look elsewhere, when a store cannot put it's resources into staffing itself properly, it's time to move on I'm afraid. I just hope I can make it through till the end of the season without snapping. God I used to love Christmas and now I really hate it.

Killer Vampire Skwerl of Death!

2006-12-06T19:20:00.000-06:00

I thought it was funny!

Shut In

2006-11-30T10:14:00.000-06:00

The aftermath. It was good. :)

The table

Mom's smoked turkey

The centerpiece. I like this shot.

The Thanksgiving ham at the Changs.

Well, today I am shut in. I had the day off to begin with, but the weather decided to ice over in a midday storm. I can hear the ice hitting the window as I type this. School has been canceled and I have knitting and housework to look forwards to today. :) I also hope to go outside and take some pics of the ice coating the trees. That should be pretty. That is about a good as our winters get here, ice, not much snow, just ice.

I have some of the Thanksgiving pics that I have not had a chance to post, I've been getting home very late from work since its the Christmas shopping season. I have not been able to leave the store before 10:30 pm. This is the part of the holidays that I hate. Oh well. It'll be over with soon enough. :) Well, I'm just going to enjoy today. :)

The New Batch of Pictures

2006-11-21T12:58:00.000-06:00

I look scary

Macro of a box of incense

Inside a horse apple. It smelled.

"Ode to Suburbia" the fountain at NE mall. Tacky! But I love...

It is getting busier and busier this week. I have to wake up at three in the morning on Friday after Thanksgiving so I can open the store on time at 5. That sucks. Damn consumers! Oh well, I get to leave work early as well (1:30) and we are going to have breakfast there and a bit of a party so its just the waking up part that I'm not thrilled with. I got some film today so I can take pics at Thanksgiving and at work at 5 in the morning. :)

Let's see, I've been watching Naruto lately and I am on episode 161. I'm still knitting on that damn sock. I'm almost done with it. ( will take pics soon) and I have just posted new pics on Flickr. Other than that it's pretty dull. My hamster is sleeping more because of the chill in the air and I've had to turn on the heat to my fish tanks. The newt is still alive and it's a mystery to me how he does it without eating. :)

Nov 13th, My Dad's Birthday

2006-11-14T17:30:00.000-06:00

In the bathroom of Fogo de Chao.

The meat roasting on spits. Yummmm!

Dad's birthday cake, we shared. :)

Me, Karen my step mom, my dad, and my sister.

I spent Monday and a bit of today with my dad and step mom. I hadn't seen them in about 8 years. It was a very nice visit and they had a lot of words of encouragement for me and of course they kicked me in the butt too. :)

They drove in from California and arrived on Friday. They stayed with my sister and then I met up with them at Fogo de Chao . Boy is that a place to eat! It is a Brazilian restaurant and there is a river of meat that comes to your table. The salad bar is spectacular as well! We had everything I think, lamb, rib eye, chicken, sausage, Fillet Mignon, oh my mouth is watering.... :P'''

Well, I could just go on about the food. We rolled out of there quite satisfied. I hadn't seen my father and step mother in a very long time. It was very good to see them, but the visit was all too short. They were going to leave the next day for Carlsbad NM and so I stayed over at their hotel room to spend more time with them. We walked off some of the dinner at the Parks Mall in Arlington and basically sat around and talked.

They both looked great! My dad is doing a lot better this year than last health wise and that's a wonderful thing. I love them both and they are such a cute couple. They took lots of pics of their trip and I may post a few to document their journey to see me and Lisa. I did take a few, but it was very dark in the restaurant and the one I took of my dad didn't come out at all. He was all blurry. :( I was able to salvage a few though. :)

A Few Photos

2006-11-11T20:54:00.000-06:00

Here are some of the pics I've recently taken:

Self Portrait

Quanin, the goddess of love takes a cat nap on the ground

Chinese lanterns in the grocery store

My Flicker Explore Badge

2006-11-04T21:56:00.000-06:00

For some reason, these are the most interesting pics according to flicker that I have. I wonder what criteria it has to fulfill to qualify?

What I've Been Up To in the Past Few Days

2006-11-04T11:00:00.000-06:00

Taking pictures! Along with lots of school and work. :( so here are a few of them:

My monkey

Funnel Cake

Chinese lanterns

Star Wars

2006-11-01T23:12:00.001-06:00

The screen tests....

Grendel

2006-10-30T21:47:00.000-06:00

While coming home from San Antonio, I stopped at Natural Bridge Caverns to take pics of Grendel the dinosaur.

Cat Adopts Skwerls

2006-10-29T09:02:00.000-06:00

San Antonio Trip

2006-10-28T09:22:00.000-05:00

I'm back from my trip to San Antonio. I've been back for 6 days now, but with work and school and a house guest, it's been hard to do an entry! :) I took pics along the way and I had a good visit with my grandmother and aunt. I even got to visit with some school friends from 20 years ago. God it's been nearly twenty years! :P

Very early in the morning. Gassing up my car for the 5 hour drive to SA.

Dashboard alligator, protect me on my journey.

Stopped in West for some kolaches!

Lots of construction in SA. Large parts of it are ripped up. Not a pretty sight.

This wasn't here when I lived here. Loop 410 overpass construction.
I was surprised at how low the ceiling was.

I went to the Mcnay art museum. It used to be the art institute, but they demolished the school around 10 years ago. I used to take classes there after school. I've always loved this place. I also wanted to take pics of the river-walk and the King William district. I went to King William with one of my friends, but I didn't bring a camera. I thought it might be rude if I was taking pics and not actually visiting with my friend. Well, I'll go there next time.

Sculpture, pond and stairs leading up to the second floor gallery. There were a lot of people taking pictures of Quinceaneras and weddings when I was there. In fact, they were setting up for a wedding when I took this pic. It really is a beautiful building.

Driving through Austin, I-35 on my way back home. With all the overpasses, it's like driving through a tunnel. Just before Austin, I stopped at Natural Bridge Caverns and took pics of Grendel the dinosaur. Those are still in the camera and I'll post them next week. I tried to visit the snake farm as well, but they were closed! :( Every time I go to SA, I've wanted to stop there, well maybe next time.

Almost home, I stopped to get kolaches for everyone. After this I got stuck in an hour long traffic jam. Yes, I was home.

Socks and San Antonio

2006-10-19T08:35:00.000-05:00

I have actually turned the heel and am working on the gusset of my sock that I've been knitting for about 2 years now. So I almost done! I will be in San Antonio for the next 4 days to visit relative, but I will be taking lots of pictures along the way!

Good Halloween Costume

2006-10-16T18:31:00.000-05:00

Thanks Angele!

Catching Up on Things!

2006-10-16T16:48:00.000-05:00

Some of my yarn that I got good shots from....

I've had the day off today and I've been busy! I'm actually knitting that darn sock as I type! I'm just about to turn the heel. If I keep it up, I may finish the sock by the end of the week and I will move on to the "Touch Me" Shawl. I did take pics of the sock in progress and will post soon.

I've picked up a new hobby that I am devoting a bunch of time to as well. Photography! It all started with this blog project. I had to take pics of my knitting and I had to learn how to use the Canon AE-1 that we have around here. So I've been learning. Lots of mess ups along the way, under exposed, over exposed, not in focus.... I say it all adds to the artistic quality of my photos. :) It's not a mistake, it's an adventure!

For the 4 People Who Visit My Blog....

2006-10-13T12:46:00.000-05:00

A tenacious chipmunk for you...

OK, it's coming down to crunch time in the retail world. Not to mention all the homework I have. On top of that, I have not been able to dedicate a lot of time to my knitting. Since this blog was supposed to be for my knitting, the postings are going to be getting far fewer. They may pick up around Christmas time. I just can't seem to find time in the day for everything I want to do! :) I guess that means I have a lot of interest.

I am also going to visit my grandmother on the 21st of this month and I hope to take a bunch of pics of my little road trip. I will stop at all the usual haunts along the way to San Antonio, so I will be posting after I get back.

Mean while, I'm still working on those damn socks! I'm just about to turn the heel on it. God I hate knitting with that yarn. It's too hard textured. There is nothing worse than knitting with yarn that doesn't feel good in your hands. You may as well be knitting with barbwire!

Blurry Hammi Pants

2006-10-09T23:35:00.000-05:00

I like this shot.

Today I'm just going to post some pics of the little hammie. His tummy was aching because he had too much lettuce and so he had to take some medicine. That didn't slow him down though. He is feeling much, much better now!

My Birthday for 9 More Min.

2006-10-08T23:51:00.000-05:00

Skwerl cookies I baked for work to celebrate!
Happy Birthday to Me! Yeah!

Skwerl Season

2006-10-07T08:38:00.000-05:00

Skwerl with wings.

I'm not a hunter or want to shoot animals, but a while back I found this site of this girl who does taxidermy. Amy Richie does incredible work, an unusual profession for a young women. Click on gallary and then skwerls.

Let Sleeping Skwerls Lie

2006-10-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

Peter Pan Skwerl

2006-10-04T22:36:00.000-05:00

Another case of wildlife and garbage. But it's kind of funny, trying to get every last drop of peanut butter!

State Fair of Texas

2006-10-03T09:44:00.000-05:00

"Howdy folks! and welcome to the State Fair of Texas 2006! Don't forget to wash your hands!"
He really said that. I suppose it was a reminder for flu prevention.

My favorite pic of the Texas Star from the midway, down below.

The only freaks you will see today are the two headed snakes!

Very friendly camel at the petting zoo.

I went to the State Fair yesterday with my friend Brooke and had a great time! I took lots of pics and surprisingly, did not eat all the bad food. I had one corny dog and a few bites off a turkey leg. It was very hot so what I had was mainly water! I ended up with a terrible heat related headache at the end of the day. I suppose I was bordering on a heat stroke because I was getting a bit dizzy. Well, that's Texas for you! Regardless, we road the Texas Star, the tallest Ferris wheel in North America, saw the pig races, dog show, petting zoo, Chinese acrobats, and the agriculture building. We only saw a small part of the fair. Hopefully we will go back next Sat and do some more stuff there. We didn't see the car show, livestock show, or go to the arts and crafts pavilion. The one place I don't really care for is the midway. This is where all the carnies hang out and try to get you to blow your money getting a stuffed animal. It's very colourful and fun to take pics of though, so I did! Can't wait to go back on the 14th!

Skwerl Awareness Week Starts Today!

2006-10-02T08:16:00.000-05:00

Stumpy skwerl at the Japanese Gardens. Boy, I need to get a zoom lens! This is as close as I can get to him!

According to some calendars, this is skwerl awareness week, Oct. 2nd through Oct. 8th. I'd say I'm all ready fairly aware of the skwerl variety of mammals on the planet. Today I'm going to the State Fair of Texas! I seriously doubt that they will have any skwerl related activities there. I will take lots of pics of the other animals though! Enjoy Skwerl Week folks!

Precious Roy - Skwerl Zapper

2006-10-01T10:17:00.000-05:00

Funny!

Hamster Nights

2006-09-30T09:42:00.000-05:00

Mr. Hammi with a contemplative look on his face.

He didn't jump off the bed.

Mr. Hammi Pants is most active at night, of course! He runs all over the place!

Tongue

2006-09-29T08:40:00.000-05:00

Just a quik pic today, Im running late for work! I think this guy is funny!

Atlanta's Yarn Thief Gets Jail Time

2006-09-28T06:46:00.000-05:00

It seems that Audrey Yandel has snatched her last skein of yarn for now. 68 year old Yandel has been sent to jail after 12 convictions over 20 years of steeling yarn at specialty yarn shops.

Japanese Gardens Fort Worth, Texas

2006-09-27T07:31:00.000-05:00

One of the bridges at the gardens.

Feeding the koi.

This guy landed right next to me, startling me.

Stumpy skwerl, resident of the gardens.

Last week I went to the Japanese Gardens at the Botanical Center. I am going to go and take more pics tomorrow. It is a favorite place to go in Fort Worth. I plan to take more pictures of the city I live in.

New Mr. Hammi Pants Pics

2006-09-26T00:23:00.000-05:00

Getting ready for bed.

A night of adventure on my laptop. I swear! He runs to it when he can!

The Last Knit

2006-09-25T06:29:00.000-05:00

Found this the other day, haven't had anything knitting related on in a while since I can't knit as fast as this lady. It's a lovely bit of animation. One of my new faves!

Mr. Squishi

2006-09-24T11:12:00.000-05:00

I wrote this little story about my newt, Squishi. I've had him for a long time, probably about 7 years. In all this time I seldom see him eat. We would throw food into his tank and hope that he ate it. He must have because he kept on living. Well last week I got to take pics of Mr. Squishi and post the story with it. So here it is. Oh, today we are revamping his tank! He gets new rocks and a new filter pump! Exciting!

9/6/05

Squishi's Journal Entry #1

Hello, I've been thinking of starting a journal of my daily activities. I know what you are thinking.... How can such an active guy like myself find the time to write down the exciting events in my life. Well, I can prioritize my activities to free up a bit of time to keep my friends informed of my activities. I will also be reporting on the happenings of my fish friends as well.

About two weeks ago I felt like moving a bit, and so I did. I had not been in the water for quite some time and I was very hungry. I walked along the bottom searching for food but I did not find any. I was very tired and my little legs would give out. They were like toothpicks. My little hipbones were sticking out as well. I was not my squishy self but a shell of a salamander. I quickly got to the business of sticking my nose in the gravel and I eventually found something to eat. It picked me up a bit. Then someone must have put more morsels in my way because I started to find a lot of food, all over the place.

I stuffed my face and now my belly is bursting with newt kibble. My arms are still thin but if I keep eating and work out a bit, I am sure that I will fill out a bit. My hip bones are not as visible anymore. I've lost that heroin chic look. Just as well it is so over. After I sculpt my arms I plan on sitting in the plastic weeds that are all around me. ( and entering an occasional journal entry if something extraordinary happens) I was thinking of going back to school since I have all of this free time and god knows that I need to improve my mind. ( It was a bit hard to find the food, I knew it was there but I just kept walking all around it) Well it is just a thought.

Now for local news: In the tropical tank it was reported that the elderly Rosie Barb ( name unknown) has finally died due to his arthritis which was in his spine. He died peacefully and floated to the bottom of the tank. Unfortunately he was unceremoniously flushed. Three more fish have now replaced him. They are rainbow killi fish. - Boy when it is my time to go, I hope I do not have a porcelain coffin.

I am exhausted now! This is the most I've done in five years! Maybe there won't be another journal entry.

Squishi salamander

The dullest pet on the planet.

King Tut Book

2006-09-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

Thank you Dad and Karen!

At the beginning of Sept. I had received a book in the mail. I looked at the packaged book and it didn't look familiar at all. It had my name on it but I didn't recognize where it had come from. I was mystified. I opened it up and it was a book on King Tut. ????? Now the questions marks start to form in my head. I had just gone to Chicago a month before, I had been in the same place as the Tut Exhibit, could I have signed up to receive a book and not have known it? Then I looked more closely at the book. Wow! It was really cool! It was the original book that went with the original exhibit. Not the one from Chicago I had just been to. This was the book I wanted when I was a child! The one my mother would not let me have! I flipped through the book. I was still in a quandary.

This was the week my step sister had died and so I wasn't thinking very clearly anyway. I put the book back in it's box with the receipt and I started to look at my bank statements to see if I had purchased this book. I had to solve the mystery of who sent the book. Or did I buy the book and just not remember doing that? That was a scarier scenario to face, not remembering if I had bought something that I very well could have.

I could have figured it out on my own if the timing wasn't so off. My father had called me like a week or so before I received the book! Duh! He said that he was going to be sending me something in the mail and to be on the lookout for it. I was clued into this when my step mother called to check up on me and see how I was doing. Then she asked if I liked my book. The light went on! This is what I was to be on the lookout for! They had taken the trouble to track down this book after reading my recollection of unsuccessfully trying to convince my mom to buy the book, thirty years earlier! I finally got my book. <3<3.

Baby Skwerl

2006-09-22T07:30:00.000-05:00

Labor Day weekend, I had a friend come to visit his family. They had a backyard BBQ and noticed a baby skwerl had fallen out of it's nest. My friend's uncle came up to the skwerl and started to pet it. It didn't run or try to hid, staying still was it's only defense. My friend snapped off a few pics, then the mama skwerl came out of the trees and picked the baby up by the scruff and went back into the trees. The next thing they heard was the mama screaming at the baby for falling out of the nest. I guess mamas are all the same. :)

The Orphan Squirrels - DAY 5

2006-09-21T07:45:00.000-05:00

The Orphan Squirrels - DAY 4

2006-09-20T08:37:00.000-05:00

Can't Sleep

2006-09-20T00:44:00.000-05:00

It's been hard to go to get to sleep! So I checked out the Squirrel Cam. What else is there to do this late at night?

Talk Like a Pirate Day

2006-09-19T07:13:00.000-05:00

It's officially "talk like a pirate day!" A little pirate skwwerl from Scarry Squirre World, to celebrate!

The Orphan Squirrels - DAY 3

2006-09-18T07:46:00.000-05:00

The Orphan Squirrels - DAY 2

2006-09-17T09:32:00.000-05:00

The story continues...

The Orphan Squirrels - DAY 1

2006-09-16T11:07:00.000-05:00

I found this video story on these little guys and I thought it was quite touching. I'm going to follow the story.

Here's a Cutie!

2006-09-15T22:15:00.000-05:00

Right now I am still working on socks, I've got school now so it has slowed the knitting down. Therefore more skwerl pics!

Mr Hammi Pants!

2006-09-14T23:06:00.000-05:00

Kristen Hurley with Mr. Hammi Pants.

He is a very calm and curious hammi, well behaved! :)

Here is my new little friend! Photos taken by Jason Hurley when they visited two weeks ago.

Front 242 - Happiness

2006-09-13T22:55:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite videos ever! I have this on VHS and it is about to die. It's techno, it has cool graphics and deep sea animated fish! What more could a girl want!

This video actually reminds me of a reoccurring dream that I have every once in a while. I am the caretaker of these large aquariums. The water is very dark with tannin, it looks like tea or coffee. Each tank is lit with a single bright light and I am in a huge concrete room. There is water on the floor.

I look deeply into one of the largest tanks there and I see a movement in the dark gloom of the water. A snakelike body swimming with a side- to- side undulation passes by me. Needle like teeth are lining it's mouth, I can barly see it, but they catch the light. I have to care for them, these monsters, they are my charges and they fasinate me at the same time.

I've had this dream since I was a kid and is one of the reasons I love deep sea life. This video is alot like my dream, ( the fish is) Enjoy!

Naughty Skwerl ....

2006-09-13T18:40:00.000-05:00

This is a fun story from Wisconsin that was reported last week. It seems that a skwerl was steeling the little flags from grave sights at a cemetery in order to make a large skwerlie nest. It's cute and creepy at the same time. I wish I had a picture of the thief!

Nutella

2006-09-12T07:13:00.000-05:00

I like it too!

Katie, Alison and Alexis

2006-09-11T09:22:00.000-05:00

Ed Stone and Katie Stone Hagen

This entry I have had difficult in writing and I hope that it is appropriate and that I convey what I feel. I don't know if I accomplished that, but I did my best.

One Christmas, maybe six or seven years ago, we were all gathered at my mother and stepfathers home. We had the usual good time, but it was the passing out of the gifts that I was really looking forward to. That was always my favorite part! Katie, my stepsister, had knit my mother a burgundy scarf and her father a handsome vest. Wow! It was magic when I saw what she had done. I didn't know she could knit until that moment. I had always wanted to learn to do something like that, but I didn't know if I could. I asked her if it was hard to knit, she said that it wasn't and that I should give it a try. She couldn't really teach me to knit since she lived in Austin and I didn't have any needles or yarn at the time. So I just kept the image of the scarf and the vest Katie knit in my mind as what I wanted to achieve one day.

Then the world changed, Sept 11th 2001. I felt myself turn inward along with the rest of the country. I became more interested in my home and became a lot more domestic. I already had that bent anyway but it became intensified. I still had the vision of the scarf and vest in my mind. In January 2002, I worked up the courage to invest in a knitting class and discovered my talent for knitting. I was hungry for it and devoured all knitting knowledge with gusto. It was an obsession. I have Katie to thank for my addiction to knitting and her encouragement in its pursuit. After that, when I saw her, we would always talk about our current projects. It was fun to bond with her in this way.

On September 4th at 4:20 pm, our family lost Katie (35yrs.) and her two daughters Alison (5yrs.) and Alexis (3yrs.) in a terrible automobile accident. This past week has been a very hard one to go through. She was to us, a daughter, a sister, wife, a mother and much more. She was the heart of a family and an inspiration to many other people and her children were a joy to everyone. We knew this, but, Katie had so many friends and people that cared for her and loved her, I was amazed to see how many there really were. I shouldn't be surprised at this though. She was a loving person and her two girls were so sweet, it would be hard not to return their love and friendship. Since she lived in Austin, I didn't get to see Katie very much, I wish I had the chance to see her more often. These are things that are would haves, should haves, and could haves, they can't be changed now. Our whole family misses them deeply.

Ed and Lexi reading.

Alison Hagen with her brother Andrew

Something Lighter...More Cats!

2006-09-04T09:51:00.000-05:00

Blog, blog, blog.

Well, the past few posts have been sad and unbelievable. I had to post pictures of my sister's cat, Baby. She's a cutie! Ahhhh.... :)

Crocodile Hunter Dies in Freak Accident

2006-09-04T01:50:00.000-05:00

Steve Irwin dies by punture wound to the chest. He was 44. I can't believe he's gone.

Students to Share Memories of Squirrel

2006-09-02T07:41:00.000-05:00

I went to UNT years ago, before the albino squirrel preservation society was founded there. Since then, they have had two albino skwerlies. Unfortunately, now they have none. It looks like a hawk has taken their "lucky" skwerlie. :(

Garbage

2006-09-01T20:48:00.000-05:00

Doomed Skwerls

A very sad story where wildlife and garbage collide. Five baby skwerls had their tails tangled together in a knot of twine. The outcome was not good for the babies. Poor babies! In a related garbage story with a different creature, the hedgehog. Mc Donald's is redesigning their containers so the hogs won't get their heads stuck. This article has audio.

Caption Me: Red Squirrel

2006-09-01T08:25:00.000-05:00

Fun pic from NBC 10, I think the skwerl looks like a little gnome! The tuft of grass is it's beard. :)

Caption Me: Red Squirrel

Now That School Has Started....

2006-08-31T21:33:00.000-05:00

A guide to Campus Skwerl Listings. How skwerlee is your school? It seems that the United States Navel Academy is a prime skwerl spot!

The Coolest it's Been All Summer

2006-08-30T08:02:00.000-05:00

Wow! 68 degrees! Break out the coats! All summer long my weather pixie has been nearly naked. This is the first time she is wearing more than a flimsy dress. Yesterday was my first day back to school and I was hoping to see a skwerl on campus, but there were none around. I wonder if they all didn't die in this blazing heat we have had ( up to 106). I haven't seen a live skwerlee all summer long. :(

Skwerl Man

2006-08-29T21:32:00.000-05:00

Antony, SM

OK, this guy is over the top. I love skwerls too, but this guy doesn't want them to ever die. This guy is nuts! Its a bit creepy and funny at the same time. I especially like the Red Bull in the squirrel kit. He was even on Jay Leno.

The Nutz - All Skwerl Band

2006-08-28T00:10:00.000-05:00

"Callo Ratufa"

I love it! An all skwerl punk band, they do some good stuff for being skwerls. I guess I'm a punk at heart. A new version on London Calling than I grew up with!

A creepy picture of the fans.

Kawaii Totoro Hat!

2006-08-26T23:55:00.000-05:00

I was just checking out Hello Yarn and they posted a new pattern that I have to try out! Right after I finish the four other projects that is! :) She doesn't say what it is, probably because of copyright stuff. So I will: that is the cutest Totoro hat I have ever seen!!!!!!!
KAWAIIII!!!! I need to knit this for myself, forget the kid! Well, I don't have kids anyway and I don't know any. So why the hell not!

Skwerl Stamps

2006-08-25T23:13:00.002-05:00

This is Dedicated to Thunder Skwerl

2006-08-24T22:35:00.000-05:00

The chickens at the end are stupid, but the rest is brilliant!

Day Off Skwerl

2006-08-24T20:59:00.000-05:00

Looks nice and cool.

Today I had the day off. I did a bit of house work and knitted a sock, ( which I finished) and I got a new friend today. A hamster! :) It's not a skwerl,(to bad) well, at least it's a rodent. I have no idea what to call him. I have been calling him Mr. Hammi Pants and Kumo interchangeably. Hammi Pants is winning out over Kumo at this point. I've been taking it easy and lounging around in this hot weather, much like this pic I came across last night. It's so hot here I feel like doing that myself! Well, back to knitting the other sock.

Interview with a Skwerl

2006-08-22T10:06:00.000-05:00

I wish I could get the skwerls around here to stay this still. I love the squeak it emits! Cute!!!!

Sleeves to Blue Shimmer Aran

2006-08-22T09:15:00.000-05:00

One sleeve started on #6 dp needles.

Stitches saved for the arm hole.

Currently in my knitting, I have been working on about 4 projects at the same time. A Shawl, a pair of sock, the gloves I just finished and the shimmer aran. I just stared the sleeves. It's going to take a while for it to be finished. At this rate, it will be Christmas before it's done. Which is probably not too bad since we are having 105 degree heat, we will probably not get cool enough for sweaters until then!

Gus the Skwerl Finds Room at the Inn

2006-08-21T12:20:00.000-05:00

photo by Holly S. Anderson
VillageSoup - Community - VillageSoup

Wipe Out Threat for Red Squirrels

2006-08-21T12:05:00.000-05:00

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Wipe out threat for red squirrels

Baby Skwerl Steps

2006-08-21T00:56:00.000-05:00

DeLovely in a Bowl

2006-08-19T22:07:00.000-05:00

My mom's cat "Delovley" loves to sleep in the fruit bowl on the dining room table.

Cat with Fruit still life study. She also likes sinks.
Thank you mom for the pics! Love ya! :)

Fingerless Gloves Part II

2006-08-18T20:43:00.001-05:00

It took a few attempts, but I had finished the gloves with a fair isle pattern on it. The design pattern was actually taken from a photo of a Bohus Stickning sweater. I tried a few traditional fair isle patterns and it was trying at times for me to get the tension right. I still think I need more practice at that and I think I will do some more gloves to try to get the technique down.

What I found is that the yarn would scrunch in even if I tried to stay loose on it. It would just pull in and at one point, I was experimenting with three colours at the same time, I could barely get my hand through it.

Starting the fingers! The pattern isn't so bad either. They look like Galaga war ships :)

Just the pinky to go!

Modeled by the intended victim.

Skwerl TV

2006-08-17T23:02:00.000-05:00

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | South of Scotland | Town going nuts for squirrel TV

My First Attempt at Knitting Gloves

2006-08-16T21:57:00.000-05:00

I had a request for some fingerless gloves from one of my friends and I had never knitted gloves before so I took it as a challenge.

I had ordered Andean Treasure from Knit Picks in Granite. It was a very nice yarn to knit with and for the price I paid, I was surprised at the quality of it. I knit a very nice swatch, the pic did not come out though. It knit up to 6 st/ inch on a size 3 dp. The pattern that I used was off of a website that had a collection of patterns. The one I used was for Men's Fingerless Gloves. I also used an article from Interweave Knits that one of my knitting buddies told me about. Beyond Basics: Thumb Gussets ( P. Allen). Winter 2003 issue pg. 90- 92. This helped me a lot when it came to knitting the gusset. I had never done that before, I had to work out how to do it. I did a lot of ripping! Here is my progress:

Almost finished with the cuff

Finished with the gusset, just about to start the fingers.

Another view of the were the thumb will be. Cute fingers!

Almost done with my first glove. It is at this point when I wanted to add some pattern to it and decided to do some fair isle on it. I don't do a lot of fair isle in the first place and that is when I got frustrated!

"Kamikaze Rodents"

2006-08-16T07:50:00.000-05:00

Lately, there has been a lot of reports of fried skwerl. This one is from the Texarkana Gazette, where a skwerl bar-b-qed itself on a court house transformer.

In another story, a lone skwerl entered a power substation and, well you know the rest.

Mall sued over squirrel attack

2006-08-16T07:41:00.000-05:00

Our legal system at work. I don't know, when I was in Chicago, the skwerls seemed fine. Mall sued over squirrel attack

Tall Ships

2006-08-14T16:49:00.000-05:00

The Shedd from out on the lake.

The last full day that we had in Chicago, we went to see the tall ships. My stepfather was very interested in them and it was mostly for him that we went to view them. He got a real kick out of it! :) One thing that I miss judged was the sun. I had suffered the whole trip with mosquito bites that I got when I was locked out of my mother's home, but I forgot about the sun. I just thought that we would be indoors at the museums and I had no idea that we would be outside looking at boats! None of us had brought any sunblock with us that day. We got all sunburned.

At the boat show, we got to board the Red Witch and went out for an hours sail. It was wonderful! For the first time since we had been in Chicago, the temperature was perfect! It was nice and cool out on the lake and I wanted to stay out there for the rest of the day. We ended up at Navy Pier were we had lunch at the Billy Goat. That is the place where John Belushi did his "Cheeseborger! Cheeseborger! No coke, Pepsi! " thing on SNL. Lunch was OK. I think my mom wanted an authentic Chicago style hotdog and she didn't get one, so she was disappointed.

On the Red Witch

I, on the other hand went trinket shopping and to my surprise, didn't buy anything. The pier was a bit touristy. We were all tired and a bit crispy on the nose so we went back to the hotel room to rest up. Our lunch was light so we decided to go into China town for dinner. My sister had gone to this restaurant there on a previous visit that she liked a lot.

We took the red line there ( after getting a bit turned around) and ended up at Laoszechuan. There was a line of people going out the door when we got there. We took a numbered ticket and we waited. When we finally got in, we indulged in some really good Chinese food. We were tired from the day and went to our hotel rooms. We were leaving the next day. Thank god. I was ready to go home by now.

Oak Park, Childhood Home

2006-08-13T08:24:00.000-05:00

On the fourth day we went to Oak Park to visit our old neighborhood. We took the EL out there and it was a straight shot on the green line. Looking out the window, I remember seeing housing projects and the older parts of town as a kid. Most notably, Cabrini-Green. I couldn't remember, was it on this line or another? I would stair out the window and wonder who lived there? Riding out on that day, I still wondered, but what struck me was how close the stops were and how small and close together everything seemed to be. Coming from the North Texas Metroplex, I suppose everything would seem smaller.

Off the "EL" and into down town Oak Park.

We had reached our destination. My stepdad had left earlier to attend the service at the Unity Temple and it started too early for us. We gladly met up with him later. The Unity Temple was our old church, right across from the library, I had fond memories of both. Story time at the library and I saw Hardware Wars at a church youth function, both fave memories of childhood.

Me, my stepdad and my sister in front of the Unity Temple. It was very hot and muggy, that is why we are not smiling, we are melting.

By now we were very hungry so we had lunch at the Kyber Pass. My parents used to go to the old one that used to be in Chicago. I wanted to go to visit Petersen's Ice Cream later but we were all to stuffed to do so. That was definitely a childhood favorite place to go!

My sister on a previous visit to Oak Park had made contact with the family who now lives in our old house. They were very nice to receive us again and show us what improvements the house has gone through in the last 30 years. They did a great job on the house, the interior was beautiful! We walked through it and saw the improvements they made to it. It was amazing how small the house really was. We thought it was a big house, but it turned out not to be so large after all. They had expanded the back end of the house and moved the garage as well. One thing that was funny was that the living room had the original rust red colour over the fireplace that we had originally chosen for it when we lived there.

When I was a kid, I was in the habit of locking myself out of the house, so I would go over to the kind Italian family next door and the mother would always feed me. Oh the good old days. :) While we were visiting and having coffee, my mom spotted a skwerl out the window, I took a pic of it:

They have a skwerl problem, there are too many of them and they are getting into the garbage. The owners of the house told us that the city had set humane traps and they caught about 9 skwerls in a few days there. This one was just lounging on the fence post. I haven't seen a skwerl in a long time. I think down here in Texas it is just to hot for them right now. I then walked around the neighborhood and visited my old elementary school. Inside the school I remember that there used to be a WPA mural depicting the history of America just by the doors. Since it was summer and a Sunday, the school was closed. I would have liked to take a photo of the mural for old times sake. My sister and I also visited the Episcopal church that is in the neighborhood. My sister had a friend that used to live in the church when they had apartments there. They have converted them to more classroom space apparently.

I want to thank the Oligs for the lovely visit we had and for showing us such kind hospitality, letting us into their home to reminisce.

My old school, Hatch. "Frosty" the crossing guard used to help us cross the street. She was a kind older lady who wore a suit that looked like a police uniform.

The Episcopal church.

The castle house. There are a lot of strange houses in Oak Park. This one is across from the school. I remember trick-or-treating here as a kid.

This is one of the new strange houses in Oak Park, don't remember this one at all. It looks like something the Borg would have built. It clashes with the rest of the gingerbread and prairie homes here.

On our way home, view from the train station platform, over looking the pool in which Mrs. Johnson took us to in the summer to learn how to swim. You can just see it in the background.

Running Red Skwerl

2006-08-12T18:46:00.000-05:00

I've had a request for skwerls and less vacation pics. Well here is a little skwerl for you. You know who you are! :) I also have more knitting stuff too. I thought better of bringing any knitting needles on the plane and a good thing too in view of what has gone on in the past few days.

Pics My Mom Took from Chicago

2006-08-12T18:20:00.000-05:00

Night time view of the Art Institute.

Day 3 More Museums

2006-08-12T07:54:00.000-05:00

Going into the Field Museum.

We started the day early once more and I was really looking forward to visiting two more museums. My sister and I had noticed that Lollapalooza was taking place at the same time we were there. To be honest, My sister would have preferred to go to Lollapalooza instead of visiting the museums. But she stuck it out for my mom and went. What a trooper.

We began with The Field Museum of Natural History. The Tut exhibit was being shown there but we didn't go to it. I had seen the original exhibit as a child, at the Field, and still remembered how spectacular it was. Every turn you took in the exhibit was spectacular, gold and artifacts everywhere! I had begged my mom to buy the accompanying book of the exhibit, she didn't. She thought that would be a waste of money. To this day, I wish she had bought that book. It was a once in a lifetime exhibit and I would have liked to re-visit it in book form. This is one of my childhood regrets, not badgering my mom enough about the book. Our plan was originally going to be to catch it again while we were here but my sister had seen it in Los Angeles and was not that impressed. Her assessment of it was that it was made of artifacts from people who knew someone who knew Tut. Plus it was kind of expensive for the tickets, so we skipped it.

A crappy picture of Sue the T-Rex. It was the best my camera could do.

As soon as we got there, I headed for the Lions of Tsavo. I had a request form a co-worker to take a pic of them, so I did:

Man eaters!

The one exhibit that I really enjoyed was the Evolving Planet. My stepdad spent the whole 3 hours there in that one exhibit! I think I spent an hour there.

One of the highlights for me was the Cambian Period. I love the animals in this period, Hallucigenia, Opabinia, Pikia, Wiwaxia etc. They had a great animation that showed these animals in action and I stared at it for quite some time. Phlesch Bubble did the animation, really something to see.

Some of the creatures in the exhibit. ( from website)

I followed the time line through the exhibit and did take one good picture of an archioprtrix. I think I did a good job with this one.

The thing that I enjoyed the most was the murals that were in the exhibit. They had been there since I was a kid and looking at them again, I fell in love! They were painted by Charles Knight. I was hoping that at the end of the exhibit, I could purchase a book of his paintings, but they are all out of print! :( There is a calendar, which I will get from Amazon for 2007. I did find a website that is about him though.

One of the murals in the exhibit.

After seeing Sue and Lucy and a waxworks Tut, I quickly ran through the rest of the museum. I saw all the gems and stuffed animals, I then hit the gift shop! I met up with my folks and then we were off to the Shedd!

Ed in front of the Shedd, and my sisters shoulder ;)

Inside the Shedd. There are sharks and sea turtles in the tank. I did not take the pic. Too dark.

I was very excited about the Shedd! That is my passion and I could spend the whole day there. My sister had other ideas. We had lunch there at Soundings and after lunch she split! She was done with museums and went off to do her own thing.

Unfortunately, I could not use a flash in the aquarium as it would stun the fish. The pictures I took inside did not come out except for one: ( from Wild Reef )

A photo of skates. I think it came out because it was well lit.

One of the things that I wanted to see was the new baby Beluga Whale! I was so excited! We saw the dolphin show and it was right next to the Belugas, after the show we rushed down there and it was closed! :( The baby was new and in seclusion for it's health. I could understand that, but I was still disappointed.

The exhibits that I liked the most was Wild Reef! There were sharks and the exhibit itself was very colourful, but darkly lit, very atmospheric. It was like I was underwater myself. I took lots of pics there, none with the flash, I was hoping that they would come out, the only one that did is above.

After we were done we went back to the hotel. My sister went to Lollapalooza. She didn't go in she just hung around the fringes and listened to the music, she got coffee and then went to the hotel. We had dinner and collapsed at the end of the day.

Day 2 of Chicago Visit

2006-08-11T09:49:00.000-05:00

On the way to breakfast.

One of the Indians in Grant Park, right across from our hotel.

My sister and I got up at 7 am to take on the day. We had an early breakfast at the Corner Bakery across from the Art Institute, and were joined by my mother and stepfather about 10 min later.

My mom had a big day planed. We were going to hit two museums today! We had our City Passes and we were on our way to the Museum of Science and Industry!

The nice thing about this pass is we got to skip the long lines to get into the museums.

One thing that we noticed when we walked to the bus stop was how warm and muggy it was. We had just come from Dallas and escaped 102+ heat and now we were experiencing 98 degree mugginess, which felt like 102. Mostly Chicago does not have air conditioning since it doesn't get that hot there usually. It was always muggy, but I remember it only getting into the high 80's when I lived there. I reminded mom of this when she looked like she was melting.

I remember the MSI as a great place to play when I was a kid. They had a coal mine, baby chicks, a walk through heart and the U-boat. It also had lots of buttons you could push and pull and see what happened. As a kid, the place looked huge! As an adult, it looked a bit smaller than I remembered and some of the exhibits had changed too.

I had seen the baby chicks, they are always cute. I also saw as much of the museum that I could in the three hours that I had there. I walked through the heart, saw the sliced humans, and all the medical stuff. ( a child hood fave) But the real attraction was the U-505! That was gold! I took lots of pics of it and none of them came out! :( I suppose that it was just too dark in there, even with a flash.

Inside the heart, It actually thumps when you walk through it.

As a child, the U-boat used to be on the outside of the museum and they just got done restoring it and they moved it inside! It is something to see! I am not a particular fan of tanks and subs etc. ( my husband is) but this is something I grew up with and had fond memories of. I almost started to cry when I saw it in all its glory. They did a great job on it.

I also found in a lonely corner of the museum, the " Fairy Castle" This is one exhibit I had shady memories of as a child. I thought I remembered seeing it and had mentioned it to people that I had, but I was not sure myself, and here it was. This time I was not sleepy and could appreciate it. ;)

Some of the better pics that I got out of MSI!

We had a sandwich in the museum cafeteria, the exhibits we did not see were the Leonardo exhibit, because you had to pay extra for that one. I wasn't too interested in it anyway. The U-boat beat the pants off of it in my book.

The next stop was the Adler Planetarium. Now as a kid, I always liked it. I had bought a foam model of the space shuttle there once and always liked the shows they had there. Actually I liked the seats they had, it was like a big cushy swivel chair that you would fall asleep in while the stars were above you. The reality was that I think they renovated to put in more seating and they were not a plush as they once were, but I did almost fall asleep. The show that we saw was the Stars of the Pharaohs. Right now everyone is Egypt crazy because of the Tut show, but more on that later.

Taken outside the Adler, I do not know why I didn't take a pic of the sundial like everyone else.

Another view.

When we were done with the museums we had dinner at Miller's Pub. This place became a fave for us and we dined there several times. The wait staff was excellent and the Prime rib was to die for! I felt like I was eating my way through Chicago already and it was only day 2! I had a Greek salad with anchovies and a bit of my step-dad's prime rib. ( he had the 20 oz so there was plenty to share!)

All these pics were taken with a disposable camera, so not all of them came out great. :(

The Thorne Miniature Rooms

2006-08-11T09:17:00.000-05:00

French Anteroom of the Empire period, c. 1810 (E 26)

Pennsylvania Kitchen, 1752 (A 17)

California Hallway, c. 1940 (A 37)

English Entrance Hall, c. 1775 (e 11)

Going through my papers that I brought back from Chicago, I found this pamphlet that I must have picked up at the Art Institute. Heck I don't remember picking it up, but I'm glad I did. Since I didn't take any pics of this exhibit, I scanned some in from the pamphlet. In person it is truly something to see. I have always wanted to build a doll house, this inspired me to try it some day.

Here is info on Mrs. James Ward Thorne: