we're going to go to a ropes course next weekend (either the afternoon of saturday aug 1, or sun aug 2) to celebrate hank's birthday. would anyone else like to come? if so, please tell me what day works better, and we'll schedule it so that the most people can come.

-kate

when: saturday, april 18th, ~7:30 pm

what:
monsters! documentaries! science!
hmmmm. this may require a bit more explanation... we will be creating monsters, and documenting their unnatural history. please bring one thing (or more if you're feeling froggy) to the party which could be used as part of the construction of  a birthday monster.  groups will  assemble their beastie from the materials brought, plus any crafting staples lying around my house.  we'll also have yummy birthday cake, and some suprise desserts in the name of weird sicence. 

hope to see y'all there :)

shgb & I are having a 4th of July BBQ and we hope you all can come.

When: Tuesday, July 4 starting at 3pm.
Where: Our house.
What: Food & frolicking. We just got a volleyball/badminton set, and hope to put it to good use. We also have an arsenal of bop-swords that hasn't seen nearly enough use, and some super soakers. As far as food goes, we'll provide burgers (meat & veggie), hot dogs (meat only), buns, condiments, and lemonade.
What to Bring: squirt guns. things that explode and make pretty colors. a kiddie pool. a bathing suit & towel if you plan to get wet. outdoor toys of any sort. food to grill. beverages.

If you know anyone that you think would enjoy this crowd (and vice versa), please pass the invite along. It would be nice to have people in addition to the usual suspects.

Please let me know if you are coming (and if you're bringing company), so we can have some idea of how much food to get. Also, feel free to use the comments here to organize who is bringing what, so we don't end up with a thousand ears of corn and 7 kiddie pools :)

shgb & i were planning on hosting a 4th of july shindig. i don't have a clear idea of how many people have that day off from work... so should we do it the weekend before, or the day of?

i found a music thingie! it tells you what artists are similar to ones you like, and it seems to be far more accurate, at least for my taste in music, than pandora's music genome.

folks are welcome to drop by tonight at 10 for battlestar gallactica.
sorry about the interruption of service :)

anyone want to catch the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe with me, shgb, sylvantechie, and woobat? we're going to the 7:20 show on sunday at the berkshire mall. we should figure out who's going so we can arrange carpools.

damn you people. why can't you all be free at the same time? ok, here's the plan...
i'll be having an open house on both saturday the 17th and sunday the 18th from 1pm - 6pm. show up whenever you can. if you manage to make your pattern on saturday, and want to start constructing on sunday, my machine is available on a first come, first serve basis. if this isn't a total disaster, i'll be happy to run one later for those who can't make this one. for the workshop, all you'll need is your bad self and an unpadded bra that fits you well (don't worry, we won't cut up your bra or anything). later on you'll need...

( corset making supplies )

i've heard several folks mention that they'd like to learn how to make a corset. i'm by no means an expert, but i can get the job done, and would be happy to hold a little gathering to demonstrate the "wrap yourself in duct tape and make a custom pattern" method. i'm not sure how much actual sewing would be involved, because i've only got 1 machine, and it's time consuming. however, i'm hoping i can send everyone off with a ready to use pattern, and have a sample corset or two in various states of construction so i can show how things fit together. so, who is interested, and which day is best for you?

Sat Dec 17th [would be scheduled to not overlap with woobat's solstice party]
Sun Dec 18th
Sat Jan 7th
Sun Jan 8th

also, if you've already made a corset, i'd love to hear how you went about it. is there a good pre-made pattern out there?

thank you to everyone who said nice things about my costume! *blush*

if you haven't found your way to the halloween pics, you can find them here.

the results are tallied, and the final rankings are... [along with suggestions for improvement]

1. root beer
   
2. chocolate chai [use dark chocolate truffles next time?]
   
3. peanut butter swirl [more chocolate! use chunks instead. too gritty.]
   
4. tiramisu [can't taste cheese, too gritty]
   
5. chai [needs stronger black tea flavor]
   
6. strawberry peach [probably better when fruits are in season]
   
7. mint chip [grind leaves better. ice cream should not get stuck in teeth]
   
8. mudslide [too sweet?]
   
9. pear brie [too subtle. skip vanilla next time? use real pears.]
   
10. eggnog [more nutmeg. needs to be creamier, eggier, and well, noggier]
    
11. pomegranate pineapple brandied cherry [too sweet]
    
12. honey butter spice
    
13. pineapple surprise (coconut crab pineapple)
    
14. coffee coffee buzz buzz [serious textural issues. grind coffee VERY finely or leave grinds out]
    
15. pumpkin spice [more spice. creamier. sweeter]
    

as it turns out, if the same wasp stings you, say, 8 times, the stings become progressively less painful. i guess they run out of venom. i think i'll add this fascinating piece of data to the "things i'd rather not have learned empirically" list. gah. gardening deserves hazard pay. and no, i have no idea how the damn thing got in my sweatshirt, but it really wanted out.

the votes are in, and the punkin-carvin/ice-cream-eatin gathering will be on thursday, at 8pm. and if the freezer bowls i ordered show up today, we'll have some bonus ice cream flavors :)

What: a dual purpose ice cream eating/pumpkin carving gathering
When: thursday, 8pm (or possibly friday- see addendum)
Where: my house
What to bring: your sweet tooth, and desire to eviscerate gourds! if you already have a pumpkin, or you feel your artistic vision would be compromised if anyone but you picked out your canvas, feel free to bring your own. otherwise, i'll have some available on a first come, first serve basis. a small donation would be appreciated if you take any of those home with you.

ice cream update: slowly but surely, i'm getting all the flavors we made frozen. sorry it's taking so long- my sad freezer bowl is working as fast as it can, which obviously isn't very fast at all. sigh. for those who weren't at the first gathering, the flavors we made are:

• root beer
  
• honey-butter-spice
  
• pineapple surprise
  
• pomegranate-pineapple*
  
• pear-brie
  
• mudslide
  
• peach-strawberry*
  
• chocolate-chai
  
• tiramisu
  

in case you read my lj, and not outsidetheparty's...

we're throwing a halloween party on saturday the 29th, and you should come! crash space available at my place for out-of-towners. party details.

uhoh! i just got meme-tagged by cute_fuzzy_evil.
List 10 things (in no particular order) that bring you a moment of joy and tag 5 friends to do the same.

1) thunderstorms
2) sleeping weasels
3) looking for beauty and finding it
4) accidents that turn out better than plans
5) sexual tension
6) movement (driving, dancing, walking)
7) the cycle of green things
8) stories
9) the comfort of old friendships
10) being reminded of why you love someone

i tag entrochan, bayleaf, vacare, bombasticus, and outsidetheparty.

off to dragoncon! shgb & i will be dropping offline until tuesday. byebye.

ok, this means war you little motherfucker. i WILL plant my daylillies next to the vegetable garden. i don't care if that's where you want to live. we *could have* coexisted peacefully. i think you would have even liked the lillies. but no, you had to sting me on the nose, and now you won't get to live to see the lillies. say your prayers wasp. the primates may look wussy when they run away from you whimpering, but do not fuck with them. they have chemicals. and large hardcover books.

OW. that really hurt! i've never been stung by a wasp before. did i mention OW!!?

addendum: the baking soda did seem to help. thanks for the suggestion. turns out it's not just 1 wasp. after spraying its hole, dozens more just like it came spluttering out in toxic wasp unhappiness. i think i'll delay my planting for a bit. eep.

Instructions: Type "[your name] is" with quotes into a Google search, then pick out your favorite 5 responses. Copy and post:

ok, i couldn't pick just 5.

Kate is all manufactured in rural America with great attention to detail
Kate is of course born with networking transparency
Kate is armed with scissors
Kate is surprised and says "We agreed nobody would get hurt"
Kate is so bad-tempered that she is known throughout Padua as Kate the Shrew
Kate is moving north northeast at 40 knotts
But Kate is mostly just a bowl of milk