Lush-Etheriel

Posted on February 18, 2008
Filed Under Song of the Day, music | Leave a Comment


Electrelane-Going Out Again

Posted on February 15, 2008
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The Psychedelic Furs-India

Posted on February 13, 2008
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Update on the update

Posted on February 11, 2008
Filed Under Blather, art, craft, knitting | 2 Comments

So… my pretty blue yarn will not be coming in for a while. Apparently it wasn’t in the lastest shipment from the supplier. I’ve asked for a rough estimate for its arrival.

I was going through my collection of knitting magazines last night and I think I’ve found a good pattern to use with my Debbie Bliss yarn (which I’m now designating as “stash”). It’s an eyelet yoke pattern. I think it will be interesting enough to make while still working with the type of yarn I’ve got.

(The picture of the Eyelet Yoke Pullover from the Winter 2002 issue of Vogue Knitting that I had posted here has been removed from its original location.  Sorry!)

Nora has expressed interest in maybe doing a long distance knit-along on the Brompton cardigan. I’ve had my eye on this one, and I think it might be the best option I’ve come across that could work with my Noro yarn. (Nora… Noro… I guess that must mean something.)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2272/2179957691_652f08ee5a.jpg
Brompton cardigan

I’ve discovered that a ton of the yarn I have is green. Not quite sure how that happened. I guess I like green!* I have some burgundy and rose yarn for projects waiting in the wings, and I’m getting a feel for some natural/gray/earthy shades at the moment, too.

We’ll see what happens first. Right now it’s still all Rhapsody in Tweed all the knitting time.

*(Note that, unless something changes, all of the projects described in this post will be knit in green.)

Knitting update, 2/10/08

Posted on February 10, 2008
Filed Under Blather, art, craft, knitting | Leave a Comment

A few days ago I finished a sweater. It came out OK, I think, and it’s nice to finish things! I’m now pretty well focused on the Rhapsody in Tweed sweater for Ezra.


Progress on Rhapsody in Tweed

I’ve finished the back and am about 1/3 of the way up the front.

I keep re-evaluating what I want to do with my Noro yarn. I’ve seen a few patterns on Ravelry that might work well. I still want to try the Rebecca pattern, but I’m not sure what yarn I’ll use. I’m also thinking that I may abandon the vintage sweater project and use that yarn for something else. It’s just a bit of a boring pattern and there are so many others I’d love to try.

Oh! And I ordered lovely yarn from WEBS that I intend to use for the Saffron Cables blanket. The nice people who work there were kind enough to send me a small sample. It feels luscious!


Valley Yarns Berkshire in Stone Blue

Eurotrip 2007-2008: France

Posted on February 6, 2008
Filed Under Blather, family, photography, wide world of vacation | 11 Comments

So I don’t think I’ll write out our France trip day-by-day because it was more of a family thing and less oriented around sight-seeing… and thus I can’t always remember what happened which days! This post will be long but photo-filled! So, sit back with a beverage of your choice and read on.

The first day we met up with Ezra’s family, who were also in town for the wedding, and wandered around Monaco in the pouring rain. It was windy and awful–unfortunately, really the worst way to see the place. Ez and I had been there before, so honestly it was pretty unpleasant for me. Poor Estee (Ezra’s younger sister) had a cold and I think I picked it up. Having just recovered from a sinus thing, that kinda sucked.


In the pouring rain in Monte Carlo. Note Estee’s pink nose.

BUT, we did get to go to the ballet that night and see a performance of… Faust–which couldn’t have been more appropriate after our visit to Leipzig mere days earlier. It was quite good–very passionate and artistically free. I feel like the more creative ballets I’ve seen in Boston have always gone over like a lead balloon with everyone except for me and Ez and a few others, but Les Ballets de Monte Carlo is a much different animal (as is their audience). April’s good friend Asier danced the lead and he was very good.


At the ballet (Ezra was retrieving his things from the coat check)

While in France we also trekked up into the winding pathways of Eze. Again, Ezra and I had been there before, but it’s a cute place and worth multiple visits. Plus it’s decent exercise climbing around up there. I took a lot of pictures on my film camera there, in black and white, and I keep forgetting to get them developed!! Argh. Need to do that.

Ez and I also wandered around Old Nice (Vieux Nice) a few times. It’s a pretty little area with little shops and cafes… it feels very old world compared to what you find in the U.S. The first day we wandered there it was still rather rainy and blah, unfortunately. Some places you go and the weather doesn’t matter, but in Nice I felt like it really did. We went back on the morning of April and Manu’s civil ceremony, and it was MUCH nicer. I found the soap shop I’d fallen in love with when we visited April in 2004 and bought them out of the Eucalyptus soap I love. It was sunny that day, and there was a fabulous antiques market going on. If there hadn’t been a wedding that day, I could have wandered the antiques market for hours. There were so many amazing things!! Simon found a train car for a friend of his who collects them and I bought an old advertisement from a man who was selling boxes and boxes of them. They were really wonderful.


The antiques market in Vieux Nice.


The vintage advertisement I bought at the antiques market in Old Nice.

One of the best parts of the trip was seeing April and Manu, meeting Manu’s family, and doing wedding-related things. I don’t think I’ve ever seen April happier than she was at the wedding, or more nervous than she was the night before. She was very kind to me and honored me by asking me to photograph the wedding (which I think I’ve mentioned before). Their kitty, Gus, made everyone feel more at home, I think.


Manu and Gus

We spent time with them in their apartment in Nice eating and drinking (too much eating, of course!) and chatting. On the eve of Three Kings Day we all got together there with Manu’s wonderful sisters Julie and Marianne and had delicious king cakes. The one I sampled was made with almond paste–so lush!! And I think the other was made with pecans. Ezra’s mom and Manu found the little tiles in their cakes, so they were the king and queen the next day.

The night before the civil ceremony the family got together at their apartment and had a sort of mini-bachelorette party. Simon, I think (or was it Abby), had brought a silly little bachelorette party kit with stickers and temporary tatoos. I forget now what my tatoo said!! But it had a strawberry on it and I got it in the middle of my upper back. Simon thought that looked pretty good and suggested that I consider getting a real tatoo there (ha ha, wink wink). Ez got his on his ankle and it took forever to wash off. We all got them–Ezra’s parents and everybody. So that was fun. I think April had a tiara as well. She gave me the bride’s VIP sticker, which I have affixed to my Sudoku book.

The day of the civil ceremony was, as mentioned, really pretty. All the rain clouds were gone and it was sunny and bright, with a high blue sky. After enjoying the antiques market a bit (and briefly losing Ezra’s dad), we headed back to our hotel to primp. Once we were all ready, we formed a little sort of parade heading off to city hall. April wore a gorgeous Chanel suit and some nifty stockings. Everyone looked quite sharp.


Before the Civil Ceremony. Jeroen, Manu, April, Christian, Asier, Simon, and Julie.

Marianne, Estee, and Julie
Outside City Hall. Marianne, Estee, and Julie

April's stockings
The stockings

The city hall was a nice little old building. We all went into the wood-paneled room and were able to witness the ceremony. The mayor did a bit of talking, mostly in French, and I think he made some sort of sly remarks about Manu being a DJ… but mostly he was fun. There was a lot of signing of papers and grinning. I took a bunch of pictures and tried not to make too much noise with my heels on the wood floor.


April and Manu with the mayor of Nice

After the ceremony we all walked over to Le Meridien Hotel were we had a couple drinks in their lounge. April gave Manu a special gift and we generally basked in the sunlight pouring in the windows and the overall happiness of the occasion.


The happy couple at Le Meridien

Then I think we took a quick pit stop at the hotel to change our shoes and then crossed over to the church for the rehearsal. The church ceremony was in an Anglican church, and the priest was British. He told us a bit of history of the church and his role in it. The rehearsal went pretty quickly. I guess dancers are used to learning these sorts of things fast! I tested out my camera and lenses and tripod to make sure I’d be able to get some shots the next day.

After the rehearsal, we paraded once again to dinner at an Italian restaurant not far from our hotel in one of the shopping areas. I was starting to feel my cold at this point, unfortunately. We all commented on how huge the portions were (so much for American restaurants having huge portions!!). I ended up having to leave a little early, especially knowing I had to be up for photographing the next day.


Abby doing the chocolate dance with her dessert. That’s what I call a large portion. Needless to say we shared–and yes, it was good.

Happily, I felt fine the next morning. I got ready early so I could take pictures of the others getting ready. We all had breakfast together at the hotel that day, which was nice. I had a few minutes while everyone was getting ready and before they wanted me to take pictures, so I went out into the little hotel courtyard and took some photos with my film camera. Then it was back inside to take some photos of the ladies dressing. It’s a wonder they got ready so quickly considering how often people kept knocking at the door, but again–I guess dancers are used to fast changes!! And with the church right across the street we weren’t too worried.


Putting on the veil

The church ceremony was pretty. The church has some lovely colors–reds and blues. I managed to get some shots in the church, but the light at the church entrance and at the little reception afterwards was much nicer and I think I got my best photos in those places. I was especially nervous about taking group portraits, but I think they came out OK. It was a little bit of a learning experience to have multiple lenses at my disposal. Ezra was a wonderful assistant.

April and Asier
April gets a kiss from Asier

ballet friends
Even with group shots, the candids are sometimes the best. Here we have April and Manu with a bunch of friends from the ballet. It probably looks better bigger (see my flickr site).

The reception was at a nice little restaurant in Old Nice. The food was good but I was so full and I think a bit affected by the cold (without realizing it)… I couldn’t eat much. We had really nice chats with Abby, Dan, and Simon (we were all seated together) and just a really good time.


Manu’s sister Marianne at the reception.


Abby


Estee


Some brotherly conversation.

(Let’s hear it for the new portrait lens!)

After all of that, we changed and ended up back at April and Manu’s. I was starting to feel quite ill by this point, but I held out for the fabulous wedding cake. I remember I was quite proud of myself when I understood a conversation that Manu’s mother and stepmother were having–all in French! Of course, my French is not so good that I could chime in.


The traditional cake

The next day we had to be on our way back to the U.S. We’d had a great trip and had lots of fun mementos and pictures to bring home, but we were wiped out and missed the kitties. We flew back through Heathrow, where we had a bit of a layover. I read Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go while we were vacationing–mostly while we were in France and especially on the plane trip from Berlin to Nice–and I wanted another book for the flight home. Well, it was crazy! I went to two different bookstores, I think, and looked through all of their books twice and couldn’t find anything. Finally I went to a WH Smith and that’s where I hit the jackpot. I got The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, which I loved. I recommend it!

If you want to see even more of the photos I took during our time in France (mostly wedding-related), go here:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/tercat/sets/72157603695146753/

My mom kicks butt

Posted on February 5, 2008
Filed Under Blather, craft, family | 3 Comments

I will have to post pictures soon.  Mom altered two jumpers for me.  And they look great.  And I am just so impressed!  She’s quite the seamstress.  Mom rocks!

A silly thing that amused me…

Posted on February 3, 2008
Filed Under Blather, me and my brain | Leave a Comment

A friend of mine posted this and it amused me.

The photobucket survey Body:
1) Answer the questions below
2) Take each answer and type it into Photobucket
3) Take any picture from the first page of results and post. (click on the
picture and copy the HTML code)
4) You can’t copy the persons answers who posted this before you!

Your Name?:
Terri

Terri terri terri

Favorite Actor?:
Has to be an actor, huh? I have definite favorite actresses, but with actors there are just a bunch I like but not one clear fave. I’ll say Claude Rains.

Claude Rains

Car you own/want to own?
I drive a blue 1992 Honda Civic.
(Photobucket didn’t have any blue ones!  Actually, the bit you can see of the one in front of this car looks more like mine.)

1992 Honda Civic Rear

What are you listening to?:
white noise

white noise

Astrology sign?:
Scorpio

Scorpio

Alcohol of choice?:
White wine

White Wine

Eye color?:
Light Blue

blue light

Favorite fast food?
None, really.

None

Last Movie Watched?
Intermezzo: A Love Story

Love Story

Favorite TV show?
The Comic Strip Presents

The Comic Strip Presents - Complete Collection

Try this

Posted on February 1, 2008
Filed Under Blather, me and my brain, politics | 5 Comments

Via a number of blogs… this is one of those tools that helps determine which candidates are in closest agreement with your views on various issues.  I got Kucinich #1 and Clinton #2.  Edwards was #5, Obama was #7, and Romney and Hunter (?) were way way at the bottom.

A little thought about photography

Posted on February 1, 2008
Filed Under Blather, art, me and my brain, photography | Leave a Comment

I guess you can say that a great photographer can make any ugly thing look beautiful and anybody can make something beautiful look good in a photograph. But I still think this: I have a decent eye as a photographer. It helps to have beautiful things, or at least things that spark my sense of beauty, to photograph. Everybody needs a spark.

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