Sock Monkey Ideas?
After last year’s stroke of brilliance with the gay sock monkey cowboys, I’m having difficulty coming up with a concept for this year’s Oscar contest prize. None of the movies seem as iconic or ripe for parody, you know? So I’m opening it up to you guys. Any suggestions? If I use your idea, I’ll make an extra monkey and send it to you.

Typographic Pinup Girls. They look “Not Safe for Work” from a distance, but up close it’s all type, baby.

Lego Death Star. Sweeeet. (Link courtesy of the Snook.)

Happy New Year!
The Snook and I celebrated with steak au poivre and a bottle of bubbly. At midnight I rang the fam and talked to my Mom for too long before we realized that Skype would be much cheaper. So Mom and I video-chatted, and then I rang and woke up Dad. Snookums is still working on the video-encoding of Sydney’s fireworks. Me, I’ve been looking at last year’s resolutions. And you know what? I didn’t do too bad! I got to my healthy BMI level… though I’m probably above it now. But I’m not gonna beat myself up over it. I ran four races with the Snook, including the City 2 Surf. I read more books. In 2007 I’d like to:

• Reach my goal weight of 75kg, just to prove I can
• Run a half-marathon
• Get my finances in order, so the Snook and I can face our thirties as grown-ups
• Make a definite plan for buying a house

Not that these are my goals alone; I’ve just conferred with the Snook and he’s onboard too. “That sounds like a lot to do.” It’s gonna be a big year.

On a whim last night, I rang Prague in Potts Point to see if they were booked out. It’s a well-known Czech restaurant famous for its food and beer, and the Snook and I have been talking about going there for ages. The nice man said he could fit us in at 7 so I headed off to meet the Snook to celebrate my last day of the sale. We were seated in the upstairs area, and I was quite surprised at how modern and posh it seemed. (I was expecting more of an “oom-pah-pah” atmosphere like Una’s.) We settled in with half-liter mugs of beer and watched the rain come down. I ordered the “Bohemian Party Dish,” while the Snook had the Goulash with Bread Dumplings. It was a TON of food. I particularly enjoyed my potato pancake and smoked sausage (which reminded me of Eckrich Farm sausage at home, and how much I missed that). We finished the night with another beer, the Gambrinus. I was all very enjoyable, but I have to say I think I still prefer Una’s. Prague was like visiting an actual high-class Czech restaurant, while Una’s is more of a friendly family place. The older I get, the more I realize how much I prefer the latter.

The January 2007 issue of Australian Women’s Weekly has a pattern for a “Gumnut Babies Hat,” for those who might be interested. It’s a little garter stitch helmet with ear flaps, and it features stuffed gumnuts or wattle hanging off the sides. It’s a little daggy, but still kind of cute.

The Knitting Spectrum
On one hand you have a knitted piece of Christmas poo, and on the other you have knitted mathematical representations of hyperbolic space. And I like both of ’em!