Molly Bee's Attic

OK. Confession time. I cheated on this week's Diva Challenge . I don't have a whole lot of time to spare this week. I'm working on some knitting commissions, and I have a work conference, and there's always the mountain of spinning...so my entry for this week's challenge, which is to tangle where you're from, is a couple of pieces I did a while back. But they fit the bill, so I'm going with that. I'm all about adapting on the fly this week. I love the idea of tangling where you're from.  I tend to do a lot of Maine designs because I love it so much.  It's beautiful and inspirational to me. Here is a piece I did when I first started tangling.  I can't remember what that fish tangle along the bottom  was called, but I really like it. I was surprised that a  lot of people missed the moose the first time around! And here is one that I did as a t-shirt design idea and entered it in the employee art show at work. It's the second lob...

Last night I went to Knitter's Guild where the AMAZING Arne and Carlos spoke. I had wanted to take their Christmas ornament class on Sunday at The Sow's Ear  but I had to work. They couldn't have been more engaging, funny speakers and were very friendly to everyone. They live in an old train station built in 1900 in the mountains of Norway outside Oslo. They've fixed it up to be truly lovely and even landscaped it with gardens that no one though possible at the elevation where they live.  They have been fashion designers and now concentrate on knitting pattern books using traditional Norwegian patterns with a twist. I got both of my books, one on Christmas balls and one on knitted dolls, signed and had SUCH a great time. (I also learned a very important fact. It's pronounced E-kea not I-kea. They should know!) I didn't get home until 9PM and had chores to do, but I was so reved up after the meeting and anxious to start this week's Diva Challenge that I d...

It's been a pretty stressful week for me.  When I start ruminating, I know what to do! Get out the pen and paper. You can imagine the state of my psyche when this emerged! Yikes.  I call it Weird Science.

Things have been a little crazy around Chez Bee lately. Work has been busy, which I like. The 'kids' continue to amuse me, which is essential to my happiness. Yesterday I had to help a Mechanical Engineer remove paper from the hole punch. His educated mind couldn't grasp the concept I was explaining as 'just wiggle it'. I finally went over, grabbed, wiggled and popped it free and he was incredulous. You would have thought I'd blatantly displayed one of my numerous super-powers. The Knit Chicks came by for a Girls' (and Ben) Night get-together. I made the mistake of trying to 'teach' Ben not to rush the door and slobber people...to let them get in and settled first.  He didn't take it well and consequently Mr. Life-Of-The-Party sulked in the bedroom all night instead of attending to his honorary aunties. I've never seen him so ticked and pathetic. It was kind of scary at the time because I thought maybe he was hurt or sick, but in restrospec...

This week's   Diva Challenge was very interesting. It called for the 'string' , or penciled guidelines that you draw and then pattern in, to be concentric/eccentric circles. I think the hardest part was drawing the string and sticking to it. It looked ugly and I wanted to try another, but my rule is to keep whatever comes first no matter what. Thus, I give you...well.....er..... this : Hmmmmm....yeah...I know...WAAAAYYY out of my comfort zone, but it was challenging and that's what it's all about.; stretching and growing. And above all it was fun . That Diva...she sure knows how to throw a party! I can hardly wait for Mondays to come around so that I can see what the new challenge will be!  Thanks again Diva! You ROCK!

This week's challenge was to use the tangle Bridgen from Carol Ohl's blog .  Not a lot of time, so it's not as neat as I usually like-didn't get to clean up a lot of the pencil, but I still like the design so I'm posting it! One version of Bridgen is the border and another version is the dividing line with the white 'pearls'.  I think the connectors between the pearls kind of look like springs. Even though I didn't have a lot of time, it was relaxing and much needed break. Another great challenge! Thanks Diva!

Hmmmm....Beginning to see the possibilities of the Zenlettering stuff....

I got a book on Zentangling letters a week or so ago. I finally sat down with it while The Hatfields and McCoys was on last night and gave it a whirl. Not really happy with the 'aith' but am pretty pleased with the 'F'. Not bad for a first try. I see lots of Zen words in my future! Fun!

This week's Diva Challenge was to do a tile using only the Crescent Moon pattern and it's variations. I tried it using squares, triangles and hearts as the 'moon' with varying degrees of success. I'm not happy with the tile, but it's the only one I have time for this week so it will have to do! It was a sad weekend at The Farm. We lost two hens (Penny and Gigi) and a rooster (Mr. Pickles) to a raccoon attack. They were all sweethearts and Gigi was especially adorable with her little, fluffy pantaloons. They will be sorely missed. Also, Toby-the-calf got moooo-ved (get it?) to his temporary home in New Glarus. He needs to spend time in the company of other cows because, quite frankly, I don't think he knows he is one. He's part dog, part people. We'll get him back in the future when he's done attending 'how to be a cow' school and we have a new facility built but there will be a big, empty hole in the barn and in our hearts until h...

This week's challenge from the Diva's blog was to use the new pattern 'Pea-nuckle' in a tangle. I was excited to start but soon realized that it's a difficult pattern for me. The spacing has to be pretty correct so that you can connect everything and really make it shine.  It's the pattern there on the left hand side. As you can see, I failed miserably.  I'll keep trying. It looks great if it's done correctly. It was still a fun challenge and neat to do it in the small size that official 'Zetangles' are supposed to be-3.5' square. I usually use a lot more real estate. Thanks again Diva for a great challenge and a relaxing evening!

I went to see Who's Line Is It Anyway-Live at The Overture Center this weekend. Walking in from the parking garage I looked to my left and saw a gentleman, sharply dressed in black, talking on his cell phone.  Two steps later I  realized it was Greg Proops , one of the improvisational comedians from the show. I did the stereotypical double take and waved. He gave a kind of  'Oh-My-God-If-I-Give-Even-The-Subtlest-Encouragement-This-Lady-Is-Going-To-Come-Over-Here-And-No-One-Wants-To-See-That-Happen' lift of the chin in acknowledgement. You know...the kind you don't get it you're 19...and blonde...and stacked. Anyway, I was glad just to have a wee brush with one of  The Shiny People to add to my list. The show was phenomenal. I am amazed at the quick wit and talent of that kind of comedian. I've been a Ryan Styles fan since I first saw him on The Drew Cary Show and he certainly didn't let me down Saturday. Chip and Jeff were outstanding as usual.  Bril...

I have another sighting to add to my bird list.  Earlier this week I was surprised to see what turned out to be a Virginia Rail in a tree by the pond across the street from my house. And last night I saw this. This is a rare and elusive  El Pato . She was not very scared of people. I walked pretty close to her to get this shot with my phone.  They are noted for their plaintive cry, ' Graznar! Gaznar !' I know this is an El Pato and not a regular old duck because she was standing outside the front door of  Cuco's Mexican Restaurant. Had a nice dinner with friends. Here you see 'Senor Scottada' after his really big Margarita...ole! I tried to have my picture taken but  I am 'fun-sized' and apparently this is just a photo op for tall people.  My face only came to the mariachi guys chest! My  face only came to the mariachi guys chest! You could see a little bit of my hair though. Looked like he had a beard, but no face. It was horr...

This week's Diva Challenge was so much fun! Ben and I sat out on the patio last night. We're getting to be real accomplished patio-sitters, me 'n' Ben! I ate my supper and worked on the challenge in the gorgeous spring weather. I met new neighbor Phil and his dog, Hershey. And I was glad to chat with my upstairs neighbor, Annie and her dog Finnegan.  Annie is doing well after her date with the hunky EMTs and fireman who swept her off her feet and took her away on Saturday. Just another beautiful evening in the 'hood.  The Challenge is called "Colour Me Sepia"...and yes, 'colour' is spelled like that because she's from Canada so she's allowed.  I am merely guilty by association and will return to the more uncultured spelling of things after this post.  But for now I like the flavour.  But I digress....  The challenge was to use brown in the typically black and white tangle. I decided to take the challenge literally and use the brown ...

Although the weekend got off to a rough start , it turned out to be pretty eventful. I went to breakfast and to see Dark Shadows (campy) with a friend on Saturday morning. The day was so beautiful that after our breakfast at Hubbard Avenue Diner , we got a walk in before the movie started. Saturday afternoon I found myself uber exhausted and decided that the chores I had planned could be shelved in deference to gorgeous weather and Mr. Ben and I parked ourselves outside in the fresh air. It wasn't too long before an ambulance and fire truck pulled up and carted my new upstairs neighbor off to the Emergency Room. Not sure what happened. It was encouraging to see her walk down the steps of her own volition (although heavily assisted) after the hunky firemen busted her door down to get her out. I told her not to worry about her dog Finnegan.  Ben and I would go get him and take care of him. Turns out Finn is a carbon copy of Ben. He's a boxer lab mix of the...

The first Monday of the month, the Diva calls for a UMT (Use My Tangle) Challenge. She chooses a tangle pattern invented by one of her loyal followers and challenges everyone to use it in a design. This week's UMT called for the use of   Eden's tangle 'Groovy' .  Yesterday was one of those days...so I looked forward to actually sitting down for the evening and working on this one, no cookin', no laundry', no nuthin', just me and the pen. All of the issues I'd been ruminating on all day fell away and it was just lines and curves. By the end of the evening I was much calmer, relaxed and ready to go to sleep. I cannot begin to tell you the immeasurable ways that tangling has helped me with all kinds of angsty, depression, anxiety-type issues. I SO encourage everyone to give it a try.  Yes you CAN do it; one pen stroke at a time, line by line. No one has to see it but you. You'll be amazed at how you feel. It's almost like hypnosis and it gives your...

♫ Ben has a  girlfriend! ♫ Ben has a girlfriend!♫ Miss Molly is spending a couple of days with us while her folks go away for the weekend. She's a looker, Molly is.  About 8 " tall and maybe 6 lbs (if you strap another mini dachshund to her back)! She's an older girl and doesn't let Ben push her around just because of his size. She thought he  took a little getting used to at first, but they were buddies within a couple of hours.  This morning though, he strolled by  while she was eating her breakfast and she bared her teeth and let him have it with her best 'I-Will-Eat-Your-Face-Off-If-You-Come-One-Step-Closer' growl and Ben was all like, 'Uh...Gosh...My mistake, Ma'am!' and couldn't back up fast enough. Girl Power! I walked them separately last night, but together this morning. It was like a circus sideshow; Ben oblivious to the fact that there was anyone outside with him at all and Molly creatively macrame-ing his paws together b...

This week's challenge over at The Diva's blog  is to create a tangle using just two patterns: Hybrid and Strircles. Here is my attempt: I really enjoyed this one since I use these patterns a lot. Thanks again for a wonderful challenge Diva!

Friends, Aaron and Terri Browne, formerly of my building and now of Minneapolis, visited last week with my honorary niece and nephew, Noelle (8 months) and William (3 in a couple of weeks!).  No bias on my part when I say they are the most adorable, beautiful, brilliant children EVER!  I regret to say that I was so living in the moment that I forgot to take pictures. I got a couple  of  hasty ones of William at breakfast on Saturday Someone explain to me why, with my limited photography skills, I insist on taking photos of children and animals, the two subjects who are always in motion.  Isn't William a sweetie? He's growing big and strong on the dog bones we feed him.  Just kidding, the bones in the picture were ones he was taking to his dog, Brinkley who was waiting patiently in the car....See? Then it was off to the Alpaca show. I communed with the animals: I so wanted to hug this guy. He was the most teddy-bear like guy in the ...

I'm babysitting my friends' dog, Brinkley this week. Bentley LUVS his old buddy Brinks and the two of them have been having a blast since Brinkley arrived yesterday. They are play-pals and snuggle-buddies and do everything together. It wasn't until this morning that I realized that they are also cahoot-ers and I am woefully outnumbered! Ben found SpongeBob Squarepants rubber ball in the garage a week or so ago. He has loved it so hard that it can no longer rightfully be called a ball.  It's more like some scraps of rubber loosely associated into a orb-like structure.  Pitiful as he is, SpongeBob has been the belle of the ball (get it?) as far as the dogs are concerned. They spent most of last evening playing 'Hey! Look over there!' and then stealing it from each other. At bedtime I put it away because, and Ben and I have had this discussion for a week now, Bob is, quite frankly, disgusting. I know sponges are supposed to be wet and gooshie, but waking up with ...

This week's challenge over at the Diva's blog  was to do a design that represents Earth Day.  (Her adorable son calls it 'Amanda Day' so that's it's title).  Dig around for a picture over at her blog...both of her sons are absolutely precious! Happy Earth Amanda Day!