snow leopard

...the elusive suburban species

carol's cat sanctuary © 2010

white-in

clouds so swift / rain snow won't lift
gate won't close / railings froze
get your mind off wintertime
you ain't going nowhere

( thank you bobby dylan )

spring chickadee

(photo credit)

this chickadee has a serious case of spring fever. dangerous if left untreated, it is best to nip it in the bud (pardon the pun) lest it persist and threaten productivity for the whole season. so there will be a little blog break this week while we manufacture some vitamin d and recharge the batteries. xo.

snap shots

it is all systems go here at chickadee central as we amp up production for this sunday's homespun yarn party. hopefully, by the end of the week, we'll have stocked up on several new products to suit the needs of knitters. while we continue to work on our mad dash to the finish, have a look at some photos from the trip:

the last leg of the trip was spent by the sea in santa monica. not only are there awesome ocean vistas, there are several local yarn, fabric and craft stores to check out. hopefully there will be a chance to talk more about those places later, as they all had a wonderful selection and sweet, helpful salespeople. it is a wonder that i was able to limit myself to one little bag of goodies.

don't forget!

the long lines haven't deterred these flamingos. be like your feathered friends, get out and vote!

(placido flamingo approaches the voting booth)

(the queue for ballot casting is so long that the flamingos have chosen to stand on two feet)

(pretty little pink birds all in a row)

no flamingos were harmed during this photo shoot. in fact, they seemed to be enjoying the opportunity to participate in the democratic process. early polls show senator shrimp leading congressman krill by a beak, but it is much too early to call. thanks to the people up the street who set this up and (unknowingly) allowed me to photograph it.

sign o' the times

when pressed for time, this chickadee often decides that it is high time to dive in to a dreamed-up project. these are often elaborate, time consuming flights of fancy that tend toward the frivolous. perhaps it is a creative form of procrastination. true to form, as the deadline for the ballston market loomed large last week, your faithful friend could be found on the floor of her living room hand-stitching felt pieces.

the sign you see above was well worth the care of construction. the background is made from felt pieces patched together. the felt cutouts were fairly labor intensive as they required hand cutting and hand stitching to protect their placement. finally, a fitting fabric of amicable avians makes up the border and the backing. it looked lovely on market day and will happily travel with the the rest of the handmade menagerie that makes up the colorful chickadee circus.

happy chinese new year!

it's the year of the r.o.u.s.
(i don't think they exist)

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

it is 66 degrees and sometimes sunny on this delightful mid-november afternoon. as a consequence, there is a work stoppage in effect at chickadee central. we expect this to continue until the weather returns to its usual pattern of cold, rain, and general unpleasantness...which will probably be a little bit later on in the evening, definitely tomorrow.