I started this project last year, when we found out we were expecting a baby. I figured I would be lucky to finish it before the baby arrived, because it had been almost a year since I’d really knit anything. I surprised myself and finished it earlier than I expected I would.
You can also see the beginnings of the nursery there. We’ve got a crib and changing table, and paint on the walls. And now a yellow blanket. What more could baby need?
As promised, I have some photos from the Tom Waits show. He played in Atlanta at the Fox Theater, and this is the second time I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to see him live. As you can tell from the photos, I did not have quite the incredible seat that I had at the first show I saw, but I was definitely happy, considering how lucky I was to get tickets (again). Brian and I were on about the 20th row of the ground floor of the theater. I actually did not intend to take photos at this show as cameras were restricted, and I did not expect it would be easy to snap pictures. It just happens, though, that I forgot to take my camera out of my purse when we parked at the hotel, and nobody noticed it in the pocket at bag check, so it came in with me. By the next-to-last song in the encore, I was feeling gutsy and snapped three photos. Following are the two best, although they are still blurry, as is typical of no-flash concert shots. There are better shots of the same show on the Paste website here.
Of course, it goes without saying that the concert was amazing. It was more theatrical than the last, with Tom pulling some neat stage lighting and prop tricks (including wearing a magical mirrored “disco” hat and casting beams of light across his audience), and doing some neat variations on his standard songs. The band was great too, and he brought his youngest son out to play bongos on one song (his oldest, Casey, was his drummer, as on the previous tour). It was a much longer set as well, at 2 1/2 hours including the encore. If I remember correctly, the previous show was just longer than 1 1/2 hours. I don’t know if all his shows on this tour were long, or if we got a special treat because it was the last leg of the tour. He played a lot of my favorites, and a couple of songs I hadn’t heard before – with Tom’s vast library it’s not too difficult to miss a few.
On a side note, I’m looking to replace Flickr with a more robust internet photo sharing tool. I don’t like the limits on Flickr, or how cumbersome it is to organize them. I’m considering Picasa Web as well as some other options. If anyone has suggestions or advice, please let me know.
This week has already been an interesting one. With the onslaught of midterms and some hefty assignments at work, I thought I was doing pretty well just to be waking up on time in the mornings. I just never seem to get enough surprises to keep me on my toes.
My truck is currently sitting in the back of the Old Navy parking lot. Dave borrowed it to drive to Greenville on Sunday night, but the battery died halfway there. Brian changed the battery, and all was well and good until the truck died as I was on my way to Wal-Mart. I would take a gander and say that it is the alternator or something, but that’s Brian’s problem now. After all, it is technically his truck.
It caused some minor transportation problems today, though, as I had already made an appointment at the vet to get Penny fixed. Yes, my troublesome evil dear sweet kitty is having the surgery today. Saturday I bought her a kitty crate in Greenville. As she has never had one before (at least not as long as I’ve had her, since she was a palm-sized little kitten), she hadn’t yet built up the dread and fear most cats learn to associate with the carrier. She was quite comfortable in it, until it got to the car and we started it. Overall though, I’d say she traveled well. I thought she would lose it for sure when we were sitting in the waiting room and three large and loud dogs entered at once. She hissed a bit, but kept her cool. That comforts me; I hope she is that calm during the whole procedure. I get to pick her up right after work today, and take home some pain meds to keep her drugged for a while. Maybe a few weeks…
Originally uploaded by Miss Amandy.
I’ve been itching to blog about the Springdales photos Amy and I took after Christmas, but was so ashamed of my dysfunctional blog that I just couldn’t. Now, however, the site is running smoothly, and I’m eager to show off these photos (as well as my Flickr page, because I love Flickr). This is my favorite of the photos, and Sarah did a wonderful job with this one (and the rest) in Photoshop. Sarah also has a new blog, if you’ve been missing her old one and haven’t stumbled across this one yet.
That does it for this post, then.
Right. A promise is a promise:
Jeff Tweedy, and his beautiful band, Wilco. Live at the Civic Center in Asheville.
I had the best seat in the house. I feel tremendous guilt for sitting there, when Amy, Sarah, and Hannah couldn’t all join me (we got the last four tickets; they weren’t together). I got some nice photos, though, and we all had a splendid time.
From the square in Abbeville, of course.
Just a little word of warning: If amandy.net disappears at the end of this month or the beginning of next, I haven’t died or run away to Nevada or anything. I’ve just run out of money, and can’t afford to pay my bills, including that $35 one from GoDaddy.com and HAIsoft.
Checking account: a wreck (and close to empty)
Laundry pile: a massive wreck
Desk and floor: can’t even see them
Planner: so full of sticky notes and to-do lists that I can’t even see what day it is
It’s not so much that I’ve gotten busy.. just lazy. Today is the day in which I sort through at least a few of these things. I’ve also got to grade a metric ton of papers from the high school class. So much time, so little to do. Erm.. strike that; reverse it.
Oh joy. I can’t really find the words to describe the beauty of Iron & Wine. Perhaps Amy went into more detail. I will, however, share with you all a beautiful photo that she did not, as well as the photo that she shared, uncropped* and in its entirety.
I apologize for the blurriness of the first photo. It’s a fact that I’m sure many other lower-end digital camera* owners must face occasionally: the too-far-from-the-stage problem. With the flash turned on, the photo is too dark because the flash catches the backs of the heads in front of you. With the flash off, the shutter-speed is longer, and it makes it look a little blurry. Now, those of you with the new sleek shiny cameras are probably laughing at this, but there’s little I can do. In a way, I think it’s kind of artistic.
Anyway, I just felt the need to update with a few photos. I’ve got plenty of nice ones that I’ve been meaning to share with you all, just haven’t found the time. Good news is that next week should be a little less crazy than this one has, and if not, it’s almost summer!
On with the photos.
Sam Beam.
Corey, Mandy, Amy, Sam Beam.
*For the sake of complete honesty, I did crop it a teeny tiny bit, just because there was a lot of black space around the edge that had nothing to do with Sam Beam.
**When I got my camera, it was top-notch, and I mean it no disrespect by putting it in the low-end category. It’s not a low-end camera, but it certainly has a couple of years on most others.
So, as promised, I present to you the best of the photos taken in Georgia.
3/10/05 – Huddle House of Cartersville. It’s most grand, as far as Huddle Houses go.
3/11/05 – Here at Redtop Mountain State Park, thanks to the trusty camera timer.
3/12/05 – At the Harvest Moon Cafe in Rome. We crammed ourselves into the tiny (and adorable) telephone booth. Our kind waitress took this photo.
3/12/05 – Jessi tickles the ivory at the snowball shop in Rome.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! This photo was taken a few years ago, but it will do for the occasion. When we lived in South Greenwood, our backyard would breed four-leaf clover. I still have a box of some that I pressed, if I could find it. Here in Spring Valley, I have not found even one.
Photos from the trip coming soon…
View of Greenwood from the top floor of the Grier Building, which is currently under construction.
Tota at the seventh floor landing.
Amy took this photo at the Bright Eyes show in Atlanta on the first. Finally got around to uploading them all from my camera today, and this was the clearest out of them. We couldn’t turn on the flash, or we’d be asked to leave. Ah, well. Sacrifices. :)
Christmas from a shop window in Abbeville, one of the most beautiful towns in the world.
My heart breaks for them again. I want so many things for them, but they’re things that I can’t give them. Do you see, they still have our cross up from last summer. :) That’s Kelly in front, and then Aron, Junior, and Rachel behind her.
Junior took this picture. :)
I don’t know what it is about my front yard, but it always manages to inspire me somehow..
I have this strong desire to have a cup of coffee and be productive all night. I would accomplish so many things:
- Downloading songs that I have not heard in years
- Catching up on Megatokyo and Real Life
- Typing up the Java Labs and homework that I haven’t really finished over the past month
- Writing the Research paper that is due next week
- Downloading anime that I never finished downloading
- Forming the Master Plan for world domination
Do you know how I could accomplish all of these things in one night?
That’s right. The Lockabys got DSL.
Now, for those of you who aren’t aware, we have been praying and waiting (impatiently, I might add) for DSL for the over-a-year that we’ve lived here. Our time with it back in the depths of South G-wood was a brilliant and beautiful time indeed. We suffered a lot this year without it. But now, now… :)
Sadly, I’m unable to spend my night getting hyped up on coffee and enjoying my 1.5 mbps, for I’m hiking Table Rock tomorrow, and must be fresh as a daisy at 8 in the morning. Still, I suppose I can still dream of the caffeinated geekdom that is about to re-envelop my life. Ahh, my sweet, sweet DSL. I missed you so.
