Saturday, December 04, 2004

Meet the new blogdog, same as the old blogdog

Well, I'm back. In June I deleted my old blog because I just didn't have the time to keep up with it. Since then, RSS and Atom syndication have become more commonplace, and everybody and his dog has a blog now. I started missing my old blog, so I just had to jump back in and start again.

There are some wildly talented people out there churning out goodies (such as templates) for blogs nowadays. I've downloaded a fabulous template from Blogfrocks, and can't wait to figure out the thing and get it installed. Another great template from a terrific designer is Migraine Designs. I need to spend some time figuring out how to work with these templates, as well as how to make my own. I know HTML and a little about CSS; I just have to translate from Web page to blog.

Had an interesting journey around the Web as I thought about reviving my blog. After reading about Microsoft's new MSN Spaces blog tools, I thought I'd check them out. Some of the features they automatically include are pretty neat, but (as with anything else designed by Microsoft) their templates are the McDonald's of blog design. If you're not looking for anything fancy, they might be a good choice. They sure looked like tricked-out PowerPoint templates to me, though.

We had our first big snow of the season yesterday -- about 5" in all. I emailed these photos to my co-workers in California, and the responses I received ran roughly 50-50 between longing to see the beautiful snow and "Neener neener, we're going to the beach."

Charlie's happy in the snow. His coat is so thick that he's uncomfortably warm in the house, and he keeps asking to go outside.

Doogie has grown so old and feeble in the past year that he only stays outside for as long as it takes to pee, and then he's right back inside. He's not as steady on his feet as he used to be, and walking in the snow is difficult for him.

Greg's been practicing his new piano suite. He's playing it at a concert on Tuesday, and he's already worried about the performance. He has also been taken with a wild idea that's turning into quite the big band extravaganza.

As for me, I've been a total reprobate. I haven't been to a rehearsal in over two weeks, and we have concerts next weekend. I just can't summon the enthusiasm for this year's program, I guess. Last year's was so well put together (plus we did a piece of Greg's) that this year's just doesn't compare. With the exception of Pinkham's "Christmas Cantata," which is pretty neat, everything else we're doing is just old and tired, or so schmaltzy that it's hard not to gag while singing.

I'm a beginning knitter, so you won't be finding complicated folk patterns proudly displayed on my needles for the world to see... at least, not for a mighty long while. I just keep reading Yarn Harlot's blog and sighing with envy. Someday I'll get the the point where I too can just whip off a mitten in a few spare minutes.

Just finished:

  • pink Fun Fur scarf for a co-worker who wanted one
  • yellow scarf in Sirdar Snowflake, a yarn I hope never to knit again (it was given to me by a dear friend)


On the needles:

  • pretty red scarf in Berroco Glitz for the friend who bought me that Snowflake yarn
  • First foray into felting: a cell phone holder in Brown Sheep Nature Spun in pink


In the frog pond (Thanks for that, Pam!):

  • Alpaca lace scarf

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