I think the people who visit this site are among the classiest on the web. Just yesterday, people searching for "leopard print flatware" and "shrooms Whidbey Island" came by Pensive Frog. If I could only get them together, they would have a rockin' good brunch party. And many other visitors are intereted in frogs - though the searches for "frog season", "frog recipe", "pictures of a frog dinner", and "frog specimen in a bag" make me (and Princess Jessamine) a little nervous. But whoever was looking for a "frog festival", I think they found it. Oh, whoops, that's the festival of freaky dolls. And a little note to whoever was looking for "animated pictures of celery" - let's be friends.

This has been a busy week chez Pensive Frog! Too busy to post, almost. Well, here's your week in review. I finished the Ribbed Shrug from Summer 05 IK, and boy, is it hideous. I tried to take a picture of myself wearing it, but I couldn't find an attractive angle. I asked someone to take a picture of me wearing the shrug, but he can't even bring himself to look at me when I'm wearing it, so that might not work. I think the yarn I chose (Patons Decor) was way too bulky for this project. The delicate ribbed ruffles turned into flamenco-dancer-worthy floppy rings of doom. However, it is comfy to wear, and warm. Just the thing for cool spring nights. Too bad I can't wear it out of the house. Oh, you're just DYING to see pictures, aren't you? I'll find a way... Earlier this week I went to a poetry reading at the Seattle Art Museum, where the 60 winners of the Poetry on Buses competition read their winning entries. Yes, I was one of the 60, and my little poem is zooming around the Puget Sound as I write. After the reading, we drove over the Fremont to grab a coffee at Peet's, and sit by the water to enjoy the passage of boats at dusk. Peet's is actually opening a new location in Greenlake this weekend, so there will finally be two locations to choose from! Fremont is a great neighborhood (love that famous rocket!), and we were only hit up by strangers for bus money twice! No doubt they heard there were some wicked awesome poems to read...

Finally, I weaved in the ends on my Variation on a Frill. This sucker is long. Draped around my neck, both ends drag on the floor. Does anyone have suggestions on ways to successfully wear a verrrrry long wrap? And of course, since this is one of my projects, the frilly ends don't match. The second frill I made is much looser, and the cast-on edge is extremely loose. It doesn't look bad in itself, it just doesn't match the other side. Good thing the overall pattern is chaotic - I don't think the difference is noticeable until it's pointed out. I've GOT to remember not to do that... I'm making very good progress on my shrug - only about 9 inches to go until I'm done. The 1x1 rib is going really fast - I think the simple pattern is a nice vacation from more difficult projects.

This morning we went to the Salish Lodge for brunch, followed by a viewing of the spectacular Snoqualmie Falls. On the advice of several friends, we opted for the four course Country Breakfast, which is huge and decadent. It was great, especially the coffee service that includes little pots of chocolate shavings and whipped cream to add to your coffee. I could have done without the constant coaching from the waitstaff. Over and over again, they warned us to "save room" for the next course, and pointed out which courses not to fill up on. Enough already! Do I look like an amateur? Sheesh. Next time we visit, I think we'll schedule our falls-viewing time before breakfast. By the time we finished all four courses, the falls viewing area was ascramble with tourists and families out for a Sunday adventure. A huge tour bus had belched out scads of people trying to get photos of the falls without getting wet. The spray from the falls was amazing, with huge rainbows suspended in the mist. Quite lovely and enchanting, even with a verrrry full tummy.

Or maybe just a bag of peaches! I'm so very excited that my new hometown of Lake Forest Park is starting a Farmers Market this summer! They've pledged to focus on produce and other foodstuffs, instead of crafts. I think that's a good thing, because the produce is what keeps people coming back week after week. I used to love going to the Davis Farmers Market when I was a student there. In addition to weekend mornings, the market would also open every Wednesday night in the summertime. Local restaurants would sell their food out of carts in the park, musicians would play, and little kids would splash in the fountain and run around on the grass. It wasn't unusual for temperatures to break 100 degrees in the daytime, but after sunset, it would cool down to about 75, the perfect temperature to eat dinner on the grass and stroll the market picking up fruit for tomorrow's breakfast. I really hope the LFP market is successful, and I can't wait to get my hands on some of that summertime fruit.

Someone found their way to this site by searching for "tropical frog". Was this what they were looking for, perhaps? Gotta give the people what they want. My progress on the hourglass sweater has come to an abrupt halt until I can find a way to make the sleeves, preferably using the needles I have. I tried doing a little magic loop action with my Denise needles, but that was a failure. I may just order some extra #8 Denise needle tips, and make the sleeves on two circulars. I could go out and find a 12" #8 circular like the pattern calls for, but I think it's important for me to use the exact same type of needles for the entire project, because my gauge could be thrown out of whack if I make the sleeves on bamboo or metal needles. I was planning on ordering the new 9" cord length for my Denise needles anyway, to make hatmaking easier. So, I cast on for Pam Allen's ribbed shoulder shrug from the Summer 05 IK. The 1x1 rib is a little tedious, but the perfect thing to do whilst watching America's Next Top Model. I'm using Patons Decor yarn, which I think will be very itchy. Perhaps I'll wear it as a form of self-flagellation when I'm slacking off on my schoolwork. Either that or I'll wash it in hair conditioner and hope for the best. Yesterday I tried out the happy hour at the Apartment Bistro in Belltown. We enjoyed tasty lemon drops and pommes frites with roasted pepper aioli on their cute little patio. I will definitely go back, because it turns out that the Apartment is only a hop, skip, and a jump from So Much Yarn, the coziest yarn store in Seattle.

Okay, I know I complained about Seattle's lack of springyness, but hey, today it's nearly 70 degrees, the sun is shining, and the bees are buzzing right into the windows with satisfying little donks. I just love to watch my little porch garden grow a bit each day. And if anyone was curious about what that Shrinky-Dink stitch marker actually looks like, here's a closer picture, as well as some embarrassing photos of my other attempts at Shrinky-Dink stitch markers and wine glass markers. I was planning on making a whole set of glass markers, one with my name on it, and the rest with some really clever labels that I've forgotten. It would be funny to label one of them "idiot" so I can say, "What idiot left their wine glass on the subwoofer?" Well, I'd say that anyway. Gosh, I wish I could remember what I had originally planned, because I recall laughing my ass off about it.

To have received not one, not two, but THREE fun things in the mail today! I wasn't even expecting the Summer Interweave Knits for a couple of months. I love so many patterns in this issue, including all the variations on the shrug! Oh, I know it's this season's poncho, destined for years of ridicule once we're over the fad, but I love them anyway. And how convenient that the KnitPicks catalog should arrive simultaneously! It's like the postman is looking out for me. Which I know for a fact is not true, because if we get mail that doesn't contain our unit number in the address, he doesn't deliver it. Instead, we get a note in the mailbox saying to tell people who send us mail that the unit number is an essential part of the address. Of course, he KNOWS who the mail is for, otherwise how would he have known who to give the note to? Garh. When I was growing up, we had the nicest postman - I always remember him trekking up our very steep street with his bursting mail bag slung over a burly shoulder. Anyway. And I'm making progress on the Hourglass Sweater, and have dutifully joined the Knitalong - my first ever! I don't think that you can make it out in this small pic, but the stitch marker is one of my original Shrinky-Dink creations - there's a little drawing of a DNA double helix and the word "wildtype". It's a little nerdy, and has really nothing to do with knitting (besides the fact that it's a stitch marker. Could also be an earring, I suppose, since I made it out of an earring hoop. Now that would be wildtype). I never wanted to be one of those people who take photos of their dinners, but I couldn't resist with this one. Grilled 'shrooms, zucchini, and mahi mahi with an avocado relish. I also threw together a sweet n' sour red onion and cucumber salad, just like Grandma used to make. I think it turned out pretty - but it's all just a rehearsal until summer weather comes in earnest. As you can tell from this pic taken this morning on my trek into work, Seattle is still a little under the weather. But hey, sunset isn't until 8 pm or so, and we still have 2 more months until the longest day of the year. I love the northern latitudes...

Until today's rainstorm, the cherry trees around our condo complex were sporting big, juicy sprigs of pink blossoms. Now, not so much. We braved the rainstorm to attack the library booksale, which was just as mobbed and nasty as in previous years. If I didn't love bargains so much, I would be turned away by the moist clouds of B.O. and urine wafting off the other buyers. I can stand it for about 45 minutes, then I have to get out of there. I found lots of interesting fiction books for this summer, as well as some wedding planning books for my sister (Hi Eri!). I scoured the "domestic arts" section, and there were zilch knitting books. Tons of needlework, macrame, macaroni arts, home decor, and entertaining, but no knitting. I wonder if someone got there early and cleaned them out. Most of these books were from the 1960s-1980s, and maybe knitting books weren't popular back then. I also tried to find hidden gems in the cookbook section, but unless "Microwave Masterpieces" is your idea of a fancy dinner, there was no joy to be had. If I had the time (and the Vapo-Rub to smear under my nose), I'm sure there were lots of interesting diamonds in the rough. I'm happy with my haul, and for a total of $7.50, I'd say it was a great deal. And for lunch, a scrounged-together combo of tasty, hi-cal yogurt, Lindt Excellence Intense Orange Chocolate, braeburn apples, and goat cheese. Super.

Ok, I have unplugged the Dolman Updated project. My gauge is so unstable that I think it's impossible for me to produce four equal quarters. So, I'm channeling this yarn into the Last Minute Knitted Gifts famed Hourglass Sweater. It's knit in the round, so any gauge changes will be spread evenly over the sweater, and I can (more) easily match my gauge to what has come before. I feel pretty good about this decision - I honestly didn't like the way the knitted fabric was looking on the Dolman, even though I was using the specified yarn. Out with the old, in with the new. I may find even more patterns to try out tomorrow at the Seattle Public Library Booksale, where I always seem to score something cool, like a 1958 etiquette book, which tells us "Nothing, not even a bad clam, is ever spit, however surreptitiously, into a napkin. But it is sheer masochism to down, for the sake of good manners, something really spoiled, once you have got a goodly mouthful. Certainly, a partly chewed mouthful of food looks unappetizing to one's dinner partner if it has been necessary for you to deposit it from your fork on the side of the plate. It should be screened, if possible, with some celery leaves, or perhaps, a bit of bread." Speaking of old stuff, there is the coolest chart for a Kermit head in an old issue of Vogue Knitting. You can make sweaters for the entire family! You just KNOW someone out there made the entire set... And just to round things out, here's a pic of some yummy lemon bars I made last night. I had bought a massive haul of lemons at Costco, and you gotta do something with them, right? This recipe is from the UC Davis Coffeehouse Cookbook. I used to love stopping at the Coffeehouse to pick up a muffin or cookie between classes, or a steamy bowl of clam chowder on Friday afternoons... They had these fabulous chocolate peanutbutter cookies called Ecstasy Bars... ooooohh those were good. Maybe I'll make a batch of those tomorrow.