Googles the Duck

At long last I have finished Googles the Duck. He was intended to be a Christmas present for my stepsister, but uncontrollable circumstances delayed his completion until today. His design comes from the book Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts!: Amigurumi by Chronicle Books. It was originally published in 主婦と生活社, which roughly translates to Housewife and Life Style Co.

Hmm I'm no housewife, but it'd be a compliment to be considered as crafty as one!

Here are some pictures of Googles in his natural habitat--Botanica by Barnes and Noble Books:

These Are a Few of my Favorite Things

I recently moved to the southernmost edge of the Maple Leaf neighborhood. As well as being a refreshingly residential area, it has a surprising number of animals. Let me show you just a few of them:

My roommate's ridiculously cute rats. The one on top is named Beers, the other is mini Beers.


The cat that stalks through our yard and stares into my bedroom. I suspect he came in once too. I found dirty paw-prints.


The spider that protects my tomatoes. His web forces me to pick very carefully.


A hummingbird that visited today. My parents spotted one last weekend, in a yard a couple blocks from here. I take their presence as a good sign.

Cute Photo from Yesterday II

Columbia City Farmers Market, Girl watching bellydancers, around 6p.m, September 3.

Cute Photo of the Day (that day being yesterday)

Shot on the second floor of Bauhaus on Capitol Hill around 3p.m, September 2.

Anything-Goes Seating

If you want to see humanity at its most inventive, check out how people sit at festivals.

Not convinced? Well, let's take last Sunday's Chinatown-International District Festival, put on by Seafair, as an example.

Some sat in families.

Some sat enthroned.

Some sat quite authoritatively.

Others were more daring...

and even sat illegally!

Some preferred fire hydrants...

... and even used them as fashion accessories.

But everyone sat with a friend.

The First Issue

Hello future, imagined readers!

Welcome to my personal realm, where I publish what I like, edit myself (poorly), and write about what I find interesting!

Step inside for a quick peek at some terribly cute little ducklings that someone threw in Drumheller Fountain at the University of Washington this morning.

A representative of Facilities Services said that ducks nest all over campus, and sometimes leave their ducklings resting in the shade. The ducklings swam laps around the fountain because they couldn't climb up the walls of the fountain and were in danger because of the strong sun.


When I arrived there were only two ducklings still in the fountain — and the one pictured above right had just been found by its mother. The facilities man put out a ramp on one side of the fountain and a little floating platform on the other, so that the ducks could rest when they wanted to and escape when they figured out how to. Two men in a boat followed the two ducklings in a circle pretty ineffectually, holding their net up waiting to get close enough to nab one.


A few people stood and watched, while some went up and talked to the facilities man. A man in medical scrubs stood by, net in hand, ready to spring into action if needed. It turns out they had rescued most of the ducklings already, and they were resting in a box next to the exit ramp. The facilities man cautiously let me take a few quick photos. Thanks facilities man!

Here they are, all hunkered down:

Facilities man said they would probably relocate the duck families to Portage Bay, where they would be far away from mischievous college students.