Friday, May 25, 2012

Der Misher und Der Masher

Don't ask me why I'm channeling the Swedish Chef - I blame too much time alone.  Luckily, Jeff's class for next week was canceled so he'll actually be in town for the whole week...I joked in an email to a friend that he'll probably expect unreasonable things, like dinner every night.  What??  You mean a couple hard-boiled eggs, some cheese and a mega-ton of watermelon won't cut it?  Geez.

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Speaking of watermelon, I am happy to report that despite the mid-90 degree temperatures, I'm staying well hydrated with watermelon.  Lots and lots of watermelon.  YUM.  Now if the price of cherries would drop just a smidge, I'd be in fruity heaven!
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My hydration also took the form of a sno cone...and not just ANY sno cone, mind you, but one that happened to match my pedicure.  Obviously I like blue:
The polish color is China Glaze's Towel Boy Toy; the sno cone flavor is blue coconut.

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There was some big excitement in my town yesterday - a 17-story building was imploded!  I think just about everyone got up early and came out to watch it fall...how often do you get to see something like this happen, on purpose, after all?  A little backstory:  this was built in 1980 as a Ramada Inn and apparently was THE premier hotel in the area.  Even my running buddy Jenny remembers taking homecoming pictures on the grand staircase - all the big events were held there.  But, it was sold several times and fell into disrepair, and for the last few years it was an eyesore with broken windows and massive neglect.  It sat right across from the university and made for quite the ugly sight.  Finally, some developers bought it and are planning an apartment/retail complex.  But first, they had to take down this building, and what better way than with explosives?  It was interesting watching them get the building ready - they took out all the furniture, windows, insulation, etc, and toward the end, you could see through the building.  The implosion was scheduled for 6:30 am yesterday - I put my camera on a tripod so it would be steady, zoomed in pretty close, and was lucky enough to get a couple of good shots as it came down.  I was about a mile and a half away, just for reference.  Here's the pictures (I ran them through a photo-editing "boost" to brighten them up, as the sun was just beginning to rise and it was still pretty dim):

Now you see it...
 
 
 
 
BOOM!  Now you don't!

The demo people said beforehand that it would take 7 seconds for the building to fall - and they were right!  I couldn't believe it came down that fast.  If you're interested, click here to see lots of videos of the Plaza Hotel implosion.  Afterward, a little girl who was standing near me said "that's the first time I've seen something like that" and I told her "me, too!" - her eyes got really big as I think she realized how lucky she was.

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It doesn't hold quite the excitement of an implosion, but still, I was pretty dang thrilled to finish my windmill bag this week.  The handles came together quite easily, and we ended up wrapping the yarn on the opposite side for fun.  I like it and think it will be great for holding a knitting project, or a change of clothes, or who knows?  I feel so accomplished, having completed this:
 Close up of the wrapped handles.
 
 
 Bottom of the bag.

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We have a three day weekend ahead, thanks to Memorial Day on Monday.  I know, you're probably thinking that every day is like a weekend for me, but this will be extra nice - it feels like the official start of summer.  On that note, I'm thinking that (even more) watermelon and corn on the cob will be on the menu - hey, I just came up with dinner! ;)

Have a great weekend.

14 comments:

  1. Love the blue and the bag! Yep, it seems like summer got here pretty quickly - that watermelon of yours sounds great.

    Have a wonderful long weekend! And send Jeff off to grill something for dinner....

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  2. You are becoming quite the knitter.....love the bag......and photographer too....great photos. It always amazes me how they can get the building to fall exactly where they want it too!!
    Enjoy the weekend and your watermelon and corn.

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  3. You got some great shots of that building! I'm impressed!

    And now I want watermelon. :)

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  4. It's so amazing how precise they are with building demolition, isn't it?

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  5. I've seen building go down like that on t.v. - I imagine it was really loud too?! Your bag turned out wonderful - you should be so proud!

    Have a wonderful weekend Shelley and hooray for Jeff being home for a while!

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    1. It was really loud to the people who were close to it, but we actually heard the boom after it started to fall...difference of being 1.5 miles away? It was so cool, though!

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  6. Happy Memorial Day Weekend Shelley!

    I got a ginormous watermelon at the store last week. It was $4.00 which I thought was kind of pricey, when I thought I've bought a bag of Dorito's for my family for $4.00 and never think twice - so I bought the watermelon and NOT the Doritos!

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  7. I am impressed. Coordinating your drinks with your nail polish? Now that's style. :)

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  8. Shelley, this is so weird. It says 9 comments, but they are not showing. I always like to read the comments before I make mine!

    Anyway, those are some fantastic shots you got of that building going down. I'd like to see that someday myself.

    And your little bag is so cute. I really love the wrap treatment you did on the handles.

    It always makes me laugh when you say how much watermelon you like. I like it a lot too. But I don't eat that much, I guess cause there is too much other food I like too. This year I am eating more corn on the cob for sure. I want to try Cammy's method of cooking it.

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  9. I have never seen a building collapse either and it must have been pretty special to watch it.

    The bag turned out great, I love it. I need to start the front of my sweater but it's so hot these days that I'm spending more time outdoors than indoors and I somehow don't knit outdoors.

    Love the nailpolish on your toes.

    Have a happy long weekend, same as we do except for a different reason.

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  10. Wow, so cool about the building! I think I would have been scared though, too much resemblance to the world trade center.

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  11. 1. The photos are so cool!! They look great!
    2. The bag came out so well! Great job!

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