I'm still having a lot of trouble updating the blog which is why nothing new has been posted lately. Dave is working hard to come up with a solution, and he's also working hard on building me a new template. Isn't he great?

I'm trying to make some template changes here and Blogger is being obstructive, for some reason it refuses to save and publish. Hopefully Dave will be able to figure it out, if not, well he's looking into some other possibilities.

Our trip was very nice, we took a couple of extra days before the wedding so that we could explore the city, and so Dave could show me all the places he remembered from growing up there because we knew once the bride and groom and their families arrived we'd have no time to ourselves. And we were right, the three sets of parents (his are divorced and remarried) spent all their time trying to one up each other by buying the wedding party lavish and expensive meals. Which was amusing and fun for us because we aren't related (although Kim's mom considers me her second daughter), but embarrassing to Kim and JC.

We got so tired of all the millions of photographs being taken that our camera managed to spend most of its time in the hotel room but we did get a picture of us dressed up waiting for the bride's hair to be done so we could squeeze her into her dress (a corset was involved, so I'm not being as cruel as it sounds)



And a photo of the wedding from street level taken by one of the people who wouldn't fit on the tiny, tiny balcony. Unfortunately you can't make out much detail, but its really pretty with all the lights.



We stayed at a little bed and breakfast type place over the weekend, and found it charming and eccentric much like New Orleans itself. Kim and JC put us up at the Marriott for the day before and the day of the wedding, and even though it was five times as expensive we didn't like it anywhere near as much.

I got to meet an internet friend that I met through bookcrossing, which was pretty cool. The three of us spent several hours at a coffee shop chatting away as though we'd known each other for years. Dave discovered that he went to high school with one of her cousins. Imagine that, small world! I'm the one on the right.



We ate and ate and ate. I love cajun and creole cuisine, and it just isn't as good in Dallas where in order to call something cajun, it just needs a sprinkle of red pepper. The seafood was a delight, there's nothing like really, really fresh fish and crustaceans that have never been frozen. We did a little window shopping, but didn't really buy anything. It was more fun to just look.

Parts of the trip made me sad, we drove past an area where the houses were extensively damaged and FEMA trailers dotted the landscape. My heart went out to all the people who lost their homes and belongings and possibly loved ones. It made me cry to see the signs that people had spray painted saying stuff like "Please save my dog, his name is Slim, he's a good dog" and "Two kittys inside".

Off to New Orleans for a week. Our best friends are getting married on Halloween in the French Quarter. They're hoping to be married by Lord Chaz the vampire, but haven't been able to get ahold of him to confirm, so are working on a back up plan.

We're taking a few extra days so we can enjoy the city alone. Dave is from the area, so I'd like to see and do some of the things he remembers and enjoys.

I've finished the first baby sweater and found a pattern for the second. The first set of matching socks is almost done, and I think I'll have enough of the yarn left to make a matching hat. Not that I expect R to put all the clothes on the girls (did I mention the ultrasound showed that the twins will be girls?) at the same time, but she could if she wanted.

Wow it's been a long time since I had something to say.

Found out that my brother-in-law's SO, I'll call her R, is pregnant with twins. It's nice that my in-laws will get the grandchildren I can tell they really wanted, Dave wasn't sure how his brother and R felt about having kids, and we already know there won't be any in our future. I'm probably going to be knitting something, I'm not sure what yet, and I won't post any pictures because I know that R reads the blog sometimes and I'd like the actual items to be something of a surprise.

I also fell in love with the cover sweater from the Fall 2006 issue of Knitter's: so much so that I immediately ordered the yarn from ThreadBear. It's Classic Elite Inca Alpaca, 100% alpaca, and very nice and soft to work with. I've heard that alpaca is very warm, so it's a good thing the sweater is very jacket-like as I wouldn't get very much use out of it otherwise. I'll get a photo of my work once I have more than 11 rows on the needles.

Managed to get one of the "extra" closets shelved, so now I again have a yarn closet. It was nice to unpack all those boxes and play in all my yarn. I have yarn for projects that I completely forgot about, and I also found where I'd carefully packed my Dale Svale fair isle sweater. I might actually work on and finish that one, since I just have the sleeves to do. I still have shelves and shelves of sock yarn, so I probably should make another couple of pairs of those. Speaking of which, I discovered a pair that I'd finished except for sewing in the loose ends. Woo hoo, new socks that I didn't even remember I had.

Hope the drunken migrant worker wasn't rabid:

Reviewed for Front Street Reviews

The Medici Giraffe and Other Tales of Exotic Animals and Power by Marina Belozerskaya
Little, Brown and Company

Don't be fooled by the title, this book is not filled with cute stories featuring fluffy animals. Instead it is a scholarly treatise in which the author explores the role of exotic animals in international politics from ancient times to the modern day. The animals appear in the stories but more as backdrops than as main characters, even the titular Medici giraffe receives only a few paragraphs.

Marina Belozerskaya has chosen seven such instances and devoted a chapter to each. Beginning in Alexandria, Egypt we learn about elephants as war machines. From there, Ancient Rome where exotic animals are used for entertainment in the arenas. The more exotic the animal the better it is received by the crowds. Then comes the Medicis and their giraffe, and how it (and other animals) turned their family from merchants into nobility. Next stop, the New World and the Aztecs where the kings kept extensive private zoos - that included albino humans among the exhibits. The next chapter details the menagerie of Rudolf II, a strange and eccentric king who often ran out of money to feed his wild cats, yet still gave them free run of the palace grounds. There is also the story of the Malmaison collection, where Empress Josephine (wife of Napoleon) kept her collection, including her favorite black swans, the descendants of which can still be seen today. Animal welfare advocate William Randolph Hearst's ranch at San Simeon where he kept herds of exotic hoofed stock roaming freely to the delight of the guests. And the final chapter details the giant pandas given to First Lady Pat Nixon by Chairman Mao Zedong as a diplomatic gift.

The author hopes that by telling the stories, it will show that the way we perceive and treat animals illuminates our own values, concerns and aspirations. And that by pondering these relationships, we may discover something about ourselves. Altogether an erudite and well-polished window into the world of animals in politics, this book should interest both history buffs and animal lovers alike.