Love that Senility...

Have I done the Four things MEME? Hmmm. Well, for some television shows, there have already been reruns, so, I'll do this anyway.

4 jobs you have had in your life:
Knitting teacher
Computer programmer
Administrative assistant
Data entry for tax accountant

4 movies you could watch over & over:
The Jerk
The Shawshank Redemption
Animal House
The Fifth Element

4 places you have lived
Amarillo, TX
Lenexa, KS
Weatherford, OK
Sayre, OK

4 TV shows you love to watch
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Monk
Monty Python's Flying Circus
My Name Is Earl

4 places you have been on vacation
Washington, DC
Houston, TX
London, England
Rome, Italy

4 websites you visit daily
My favorite knitting blogs (to the left)
The Shady Marlin for my soap's daily recap. I know. I am ashamed.
Here!
Nothing else on a daily basis, more as an 'as needed' basis.

4 of your favorite foods
Fettucini Alfredo
Cheesecake
Ice Cream
saltine crackers

4 places you would rather be right now:
Taking a nap upstairs
At my Mom and Dad's, getting Mom to scratch my back right in the middle where I can't reach.
Having my Husband and I show the Fry around London.
By myself at the Knit Wit's bargain area. (like, I NEED to be there)

4 bloggers you are tagging
Anyone who actually reads this thing besides my beloved Mom. Seriously! Comment and let us know where you are so we get to see YOUR four faves.

Edit: I just went to moderate my comments, to make sure people didn't have to sign up to Blogger and lo! There's tons of comments, waiting for me to approve them! It's going to be fun reading them! Color me red, I'm so embarrassed for not even noticing them. I can be such a goofball.

Tepid Tuesday

Is this really Tuesday? Wow. Already.

I'm rather silly and loopy this morning for a good reason. Last night, determined that Fry should have her crazy socks to wear, I knit until done. Which was about 3:30am. Then up at 7:00am to take her to choir by 8:00, which didn't happen. She didn't want to go, and with her being sick, I didn't make her. The teacher will give me a note, reminding me, but oh well. Fry had missed Friday and Monday, and that's enough. I would, of course, scan said socks, but they're currently running around on Fry's feet.

I taught a class in Lee's Summit yesterday. It's a library that I've taught at many times before, but, with the turnover, they don't remember me. Ha! Isn't that funny? It was a packed house of beginners with a few advanced ones thrown in. I'm so used to being the only knitter I know who has an internet connection and knows how to use it. Thus, when I saw one of my students (who was good enough to have been teaching the class herself) knitting on a cabled red scarf, "Was it," I asked? Yes! It was for Norma's Red Scarf project! Yay! Her name is Chelle and she's a knitting blogger (or blogging knitter), too! Ha! I'm thrilled I met someone in real life who does this, too. I mean, I'll wander into a LYS and no one knows what TINK is. (Knitting backwards, most usually because of a mistake in a prior stitch.) At any rate, her blog is one of those I'm reading, too. I mean, what if she hears of a sale that I don't? It's local, so I can go there and squish the yarn for myself. ::insert evil laugh here::

She is or was, working on some Jaywalker socks in a yarn called Socks That Rock. Ooooo, I'm so tempted. I mean, look at these colors! And if they're in a local store? Heaven. Even if I did get to a local store carrying these, how could I pick just one color?

Speaking of Jaywalkers... Later today I'll need to cast one on, just to have a portable project. Yesterday's students bought all of my kits, and it just so happens that Hobby Lobby has their needles for half price. I plan on cleaning out the two stores near me sometime later today.

First, a nap to get the sleep I skipped last night.

Weekend Update

Too bad this won't be as clever as Saturday Night Live's version.

One! One crazy sock done! Ug. I had to rip out the first version, about halfway done. I love its stripey goodness. Each color change had me craving a different flavor of Skittles candy.

















The yarn is Regia Crazy Color in Bon Bon. The pattern is the generic sock from The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. The swirled pattern looks like one of the socks from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks, but isn't. I noticed this similarity after knitting a little past the heel. I wanted a ribbing that would hug Fry's foot, but have a cool twist to it. So, I continued the K2P2 ribbing, bumping it over a stitch every fourth row.

The high points: Fry has flu, I taught teens to knit on Saturday, finished up the bleaching the lower cabinets' dishes, still haven't caught any more mice, and dropped off my Red Scarf at Einstein Brothers. Of course I didn't think to scan in the finished product.

C'mon, baby. Comment. You know you want to.

Right. So I was in the yarn store yesterday, oogling yarn while waiting for the Jeep to get a new heater core, and looking at yarn for Fry some Crazy Socks. They had some Trekking XXL, which I of course drooled over. The owner came over to see if I needed anything, and went on to tell me about a lady making the embossed leaf socks from Interweave. I said something like wow, and I've seen that pattern, which I have. Then she went on to tell me that there's a sock on display for the sock class that I could take. Or something like that. I mean, number one, I have a migraine which isn't really there thanks to Relpax. Number two, when someone says something amazing to me, I tend to blank on it. If what is said infuriates or insults me, the words go into the brain, scrambles like the egg, and I don't remember anything except I didn't like it. Odd, huh? It's a nusiance, believe me. In an argument, "Oh yeah? Well, you said...stuff. Stuff that made me mad! So there!" The gist of it was that I could or should take the how to make a sock class.

Um, no. I was sweet and said something like "Oh, ok," then wandered off. When I told Hubby later that evening, both he and Fry snorted, "But you TEACH sock classes!" Even in my classes, I don't assume the student knows nothing. I always ask how much they do know before giving any help.

Still, I found great yarn for the Crazy Socks, AND made sure I mentioned to the clerk that Crazy Sock day is THIS Tuesday. No, not a sock diva, but I am that good. ;) They won't be Jaywalkers (oh the horror!), but something else fun.

I did happen to run into the lady making the Leaf socks mentioned above. I 'attacked' and said "I'd just heard about you!" Then went on to ooh and ahh over her work. She didn't preen too much, but still, that sock in the fall foliage colors WAS lovely. I don't give out undeserved compliments to ANYONE, so if a person gets one, I totally mean it. She may not have believed me, but she didn't have to for my comments to be true.

Us three daughters are planning a surprise for my Father's 60th (!!) birthday. The two other girls will kill me if I spill beans, but let me just say, he'd never imagine this...

Anyone else notice that I seem to be using the same ten words for every sentence in this post? I have a thesaurus, fer cryin' out loud. I should use it. ;)

Dig that crazy sock! Heck, it's on the lable, "Crazy Color". How could I resist? If it weren't for that pesky sick kid wanting hugs and cough syrup, the laundry, bleaching everything a mouse could touch, and wondering why Vogue knitting hasn't cashed my subscription check, I'd be a lot further along. See how the trivial gets in the way of the truly important. ::snicker::

Pre-Friday Silliness

Exiled Stars: Milky Way Boots Members
Isn't that the funniest? Can you imagine our solar system beting evicted from the galaxy? It's pretty cold and lonely out there, past the spirals and all.

The Primate Police: Monkey cops keep primates in line
Well, I tried to watch this newest Cops episode. Yeah, there were orangutans in wife beater shirts, but really, all they said was "Chee chee chee." Where they tasered the organ grinder's monkey, THAT was worth watching.

Mental Exercise Nearly Halves Risk of Dementia Ok everyone, lift your left lobe, now right. Left lobe, right lobe, and over to the side. Stretch the left, the right. Come on people, really use that corpus callosum. Good! Good! Next time, we'll add some bulk to that prefrontal cortex while slimming the medulla oblongata.

Creatures Frozen for 32,000 Years Still Alive
In today's news, we talk to Barry Bacteria. He is one angry germ and blames Percy Paramecium in forgetting to set the alarm clock. Bacteria is quoted as saying "AM versus PM I can understand, but entire thousands of years? Look at how many times I've missed work."

Baffled Scientists Say Less Sunlight Reaching Earth
Scientists are baffled by the decrease in the sun's rays hitting our world. They plan to launch a satelite to study the phenomena. Once a hole is found in the layer of satelites currently circling the Earth, a launch date will be set. Until then, the problem of less sunlight will remain a mystery.

Scientists Discover World's Smallest Fish

It's going to make your Mom ask, "Why is there an eyedropper in the tartar sauce?"

High Cancer Rates Found in Md. Catfish
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - More than half of one species of catfish sampled in the South River had skin tumors, matching the highest rate in the nation, wildlife officials said. Meanwhile, in the North River, increased production continues at the Tan-XLR8R Lotion factory.


It's been a busy couple of days. Class was great, the librarian refered to me as a professional knitter. I tend to disagree, based on all the wonderful knitting weblogs I read. But then, when I'd felt ho-hum while hanging out with my computer programming buddies, my Mom would set me straight. What is average in a crowd of geniuses is fantastic in the general population. I probably am a very good teacher, though. It's not as instinctive to me, so it's not like trying to explain how to breathe.

Let's see, the big excitement around here is my Great White Hunter of a husband. To my horror, I've found little mouse poopies in all the lower cabinets. Nothing like a little bit of rodential ca ca to trigger any OCD tendencies. I have a big bottle of bleach and know how to use it. After washing all the dishcloths and rags in hot water and bleach, I've put them in 2 gallon sized baggies, just in case. I'm still washing the dishes, then putting them in the said baggies or on the kitchen island, currently a mouse-free zone.

But, back to the hunting. Hubby set the traps, and caught one this morning! Yay! He left it for me to see his prowess and to be assured the mouse is toast. Um, ok. Now the mouse is the one in the baggie. My dishes are, still, and the traps are baited for another night, just in case. I was a very sweet girl and didn't do the evil hit-the-puffed-paper-bag trick while he set them.

More on the finished red scarf and the new crazy socks I want to make for Fry on Tuesday's crazy sock day. :)

Another career choice shot to hell.

Great. Just great. I get a BS in Computer Science, and jobs are outsourced. Then, with overseas people programming for dollars a day, I choose another career. I get really good, judging by my husband's pained expression, and BAM! Another death knell to my blossoming occupation. Crud.

U.S. 'outsourced' torture, investigator says

There's got to be SOME occupation that can only be done in America...

I get to teach a class tonight! Yay! It's Knit a Scarf, always fun. People always pick eyelash to work with, so I bring some doggy worsted weight (Red Heart) for practice. It doesn't lose its shape if the needle drops to the floor. I do love the stuff for kids' sweaters and beginning knitters.

My energy level is so low...I've had a tough time even doing my boneless chicken impersonation. Blame the PMS, it's a good catchall. Once I'm on my way to class, I'll be peppy, but right now, I'm wanting to study the back of my eyelids. :D I ordered more yarn for my upcoming classes in February and then received my Elann.com order today. Yummmm. The Peruvian highland wool and alpaca skeins are already in their project bags, so no lame scanned pictures of yarn porn. I'm so almost done with the red scarf, one more day, if that, and it's outta here.

Aren't I supposed to LOSE weight on a diet??

Ah, the lovely Monday morning weigh-in. Up a pound from last week's official weight. I didn't post the numbers, but in an effort to hold some sort of threat over my own head when the Twinkies attack, here goes.

Last Monday, 161 weight, 41.5 bust, 34.5 waist, 39 abdomen (oh yea, I'm such the apple), 41 hips, 7 wrist. All measurements are in inches, excluding the weight, of course.

This Monday, 162 weight, 41.5 bust, 34.5 waist, 38.5 abdomen, 40 hips, 6.5 wrist.

Shame as a weight loss tool. Plus, no Weight Watcher fees to pay for the public humiliation.

Considering that PMS, with its aggressive water hoarding, bloat, and general ill temper, has happened between this Monday and last... I suppose I should be grateful that weight is up only one point while bust and waist are holding steady. Bellies sustained a loss of .5 inch while hip experienced a dip of an entire inch. The expected numbers for this period were a weight gain of 5 lbs with bellies expanding beyond scary proportions. The softer increase has led to less pessimism overall. Next week's market is expected to make a serious drop.

I'd slipped into South Beach's phase two in the tortilla and pasta department, with a brief and debached visit into refined pastaville over the weekend. Blame the PMS again. I go carb-crazy, nothing's safe. But! And it's a BIG but(t), no sugar was eaten. Not a grain. Good for me!

So what if I was shooting up honey and freebasing corn syrup. That's not sugar, right?? Just kidding. I stayed away from those, too.

Enough of that. Any more emotion over my minimal/lack of progress and I'll have to use that elephant tranquilizer gun on myself.

Saturday, I come up with the idea of designing a lovely shawl for my beloved Mom. Lorna's Laces Tuscany, of course. It being Tuscany, I wanted a leaf/vine/grapey motif. So I sat down with my chart paper and drew. Then swatched. Redrew and reswatched. Did this a few times more until people around here wailed for food. Took a break to serve up some slop, then ate while looking at eraser shavings. Hmmm. This designing thing is a bit trickier than I'd thought. Gave up finally on the wonderful twisty vine pattern I'd tried to force the pattern into and started researching other lace stitches. Sigh.

Then, this morning, while looking at About.com's knitting section's free patterns, there it was. On elann.com, a lovely shawl in sportweight. (not as thin as lace, but still pretty thin) Hmmmm, looks good, so I scroll down and see the handscribbled stitch pattern. Instantly, because I'd spent at least ten hours trying to make the thing work, I see that it's the viney stitch I'd wanted to repeat throughout the shawl. Officially, it's called Travelling Vine. The pattern calls for sport weight and ends up being pretty large. 80 inches across. Mom's "only" 5'7", so I could cut the size down by a foot and it would still be big enough.

The red scarf is almost done. Hubby's Jeep's heater needs work, so I'm hoping to finish it up today or tomorrow. Although I want to start something new, I'd rather complete the started things laying around. Fry's Nordic mittens and the fair isle sweater being the ones. I'm dying to start Mom's shaw, make some baby booties for fun, knit up the Peruvian Highland Wool into sweaters, and start some new Jaywalker socks.

Just wait until our thoughts are no longer private.

In the "Anything you say can and will be used against you" category:

U.S. Obtains Internet Users' Search Records
Yahoo and others reveal queries from millions of people; Google refuses. Identities aren't included, but the data trove stirs privacy fears.
By Joseph Menn and Chris Gaither, Times Staff Writers

SAN FRANCISCO — Federal investigators have obtained potentially billions of Internet search requests made by users of major websites run by Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and America Online Inc., raising concerns about how the massive data trove will be used.

The information turned over to Justice Department lawyers reveals a week's worth of online queries from millions of Americans — the Internet Age equivalent of eavesdropping on their inner monologues. The subpoenaed data could, for example, include how many times people searched online for "apple pie recipes," "movie tickets 90012" or even "bomb instructions."

Thus, my parents and grandparents were right. Never write what you wouldn't want printed on the front page of a newspaper.

Also, while I know Bin Lauden isn't THE most trustworthy man in the world, for some reason, this bothers me.

U.S. Verifies Bin Laden Tape, Calls His Offer of a Truce a Ploy
WASHINGTON-A new audiotape believed to be from Osama bin Laden warns that Al Qaeda is preparing terrorist attacks on the United States but says they can be avoided if U.S. officials agree to a truce that would allow Muslims to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan.

Why is it so bad to let Muslims rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan? To put it simply, those countries, like my kid's room, are theirs. If they want to clean it up, we'll help. If they're happy with the way it is, great. Do I want to paint over the pink and blue splotches in Fry's room, making the walls an African Savanna to match her lion collection? Sure I do and could when she's off at Gran's. Do I barge in and paint, even though she's violently opposed to any sort of painting her room ideas? No. I can demand that it not be a health or fire hazard, but that's her room. I respect her space.

As soon as she's moved out, though... That bad boy is being redone into a cozy guest room.

The red scarf is longer, didn't knit on anything else in an effort to meet the Jan 30th deadline. Today's goals are: Pay bills, get the house company clean for the weekend, put away all the laundry (seventy billion loads), inventory class supplies and maybe shop, and grocery shop (yay!). By then, next month sometime, I'll start supper and be ready to knit all evening. Maybe not that long, probably by 4:00pm. :) Hug and kiss on Fry at 4:30, putter around the kitchen, then eat at 6:00. I know, I know. Beyond thrilling.

Now for some Friday fun...

Stare at the black dot in the center and watch the colored spots disappear!

I Wouldn't Pick You If You Were A Booger.

I know. Strange, but funny, too. We tend to brake for The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy around here.

Ever have one of those days where you're both anti-social AND feeling like no one loves you? Thus begins PMS, I'm afraid.

Not only that but just this week I've received a yarn catalogue, a spring plants catalogue, and a combo class schedule/plea for help in reducing her inventory from my favorite yarn store. Everybody now, "Noooooooooooo!" I not only want to finish up what's on the needles:



but also want to start on a few sweaters, socks, and shawls as intended. I have quite a few classes coming up in the next three months. I need to take advantage of Hobby Lobby's half price needle sales, AND need to order some yummy 100% wools from Smiley's Yarns.

Ok, something else that has bugged me lately and I've not posted a word about it. This has happened twice in the past couple of months. I'll go into a Michaels or Joann's, the yarn department worker will chat with me a bit. The next thing I know, I'm talking to the education manager about my teaching there. Their enthusiasm gets ME enthusiastic, so I either fill out an application or call them back for a meeting per their request.

In the application case, when I handed over the paper, the gal was rather frosty and I knew I'd wasted my time. Then, in the second when I called back at the specific time, I was asked to call next Monday when she'd know the students' interest better.

I didn't ask them to consider me as a teacher, I was just there browsing for sock yarn (and not finding ANY, I might add.) Sure, I could teach more classes, but am happy with what I'm doing for the library. On one hand, I feel icky at being rejected, but then, I didn't ASK to be hired, either. How weird.

The next time, if there is one, I'm asked to teach a class at a chain hobby store, it's not happening. I'll politely say that my schedule won't allow me to take on any other commitments. Unless, of course, they have a W-2 for me to sign right that minute. Even then, I'm leary.

Fry just showed me she's made the Honor Roll. Plus, she did her paper route without losing any limbs, real or imagined. Glad that appendix is still holding up.

Red Scarf and resisting the Knitting Olympics

This is what I did yesterday. While I'd wanted to work on Fry's mitten, this compelled me to continue. Not only is it "Just one more row," but also, "Let me finish up this yarn." You'll see the subtle color changes a bit better in the next picture.


There's a knot that needs hiding, too. Ah well, blocking is my friend. There's been lots of progress on the Nordic mit since the last picture. I'll need to post that on Wednesday, too. During the Winter Olympics, the Yarn Harlot is hosting the 2006 Knitting Olympics. A large, overextending part of me wants to sign up this minute. Then the saner part kicks in and wants me to stick to my no UFO policy. We'll see. I might go ahead and pick out a potential Olympic knit project, just in case.

Since all of us were home on Monday, we all went on a cleaning frenzy and the upstairs looks lovely. The downstairs needs work, but could be company clean in 30 minutes. When the cat hasn't been dragging injured mice across the dining room floor, he's been doing the hairball trick. Oh joy. Wednesday's anti-procrastination task is Bisselling the carpets. Maybe all, and certainly in the strategic spots.

Wednesday is also paper delivery day and the excuses have already started! Last week, Fry just KNEW her appendix was ready to burst. Tonight, she's casually mentioned, "Mom, you're home all day, while I only have an hour to deliver all those papers." The newspaper bought another company, and now only comes out once a week. This frees up our Saturdays, sure, so I'm not sympathetic at all. Plus, I'm the one carrying two bags of rolled up newspapers, while she does the tossing. It's a good workout. Still, Fry is already starting with the con. Amazing.

Gosh, my life is exciting. Fine by me, I like my drama in soap opera form only.

Speaking of drama...The latest post 'to' the Grammar Police, me and a couple of others, on the Diary of V forum states that the Grammars must be jealous of wassherface's writing ability. Um, riiiiiight. The comment, though vastly inaccurate, did remind me of my underused fiction writing talent. I've been reading Miss Snark, literary agent all day for inspiration. I have at least three unfinished novels (UFNs), and at least one screenplay to edit. Lately, I've been feeling the urge to write. If I let myself, I'll get a ton of decent story ideas. It's very frustrating coming up with the plots and then not developing them. My writing skills are also out of practice. I may have to write up some test paragraphs to work out the kinks.

South Beach: Day 2. Good both days, but a bit of a cheat with Chicken and Dumplings for dinner. The dumplings were homemade out of mostly whole grain wheat flour ground at the store. The remnants from a near empty bag of refined flour finished up the dumplings' flour requirements without me opening another bag. I think I needed the refined goods, since the so low carbs gave me a headache earlier today. For Mom: Excedrin Migraine kicked the pain, I'm fine. While the food thing wasn't perfect, NO sugar snuck into today's menu. Those Jell-o Sugar Free puddings are a lifesaver. If I can't avoid a certain starch or refined grain entirely, at least I can avoid the sugars.

Alert Mermaid Man, I'm eeeeeevil.

In the message board over at the Diary of V at Redbook, I'm known as lauraks555. How am I evil? Well, it seems that once I started a battle of wits, I had no idea that most of the others were unarmed and unable to fight. Last night, as I went to bed and pondered the defense of 'mispelling' and wondered why I was called 'kitten', it hit me. I'd been attacking the short bus riders. Exactly what Mom had told me to never do. Be nice to the special ed kids, because they get a hard enough time from the others, she always said. I've lived by that creed all my life. If anyone DOES go over there, just to see how ornery I can be, feel free to comment on my meanness once you're back here. Hubs thinks everything I wrote was a hoot and correct, but then he's biased. :D

To more of my shame, I've not started the red scarf yet. The pattern and yarn are sitting right here. The lure to cast on for yet another pair of Jaywalkers is strong, but no. I did a few rounds of Fry's Nordic mittens. The cuff is done! Yay! It's not as bad as I'd thought, so I'm wanting to get to the part where the thumb stitches are put on a holder before quitting tonight.

My beloved baby sister's 26th birthday is tomorrow and I've not started on what I wanted to make for her. As in, a lovely shawl edged in real, rough-cut garnets. That would be pretty, and I'd have to make Mom one edged in something resembling her birthstones, too. Generally, when I knit up something for a family member, there really should be something for everyone else, too. Or mass pouting ensues. Better that than everyone fighting over who has to take the things I make, ha!

Now then, if you'll excuse me, a little Girl Scout dropped off our cookie order. I need to get all the thin mints eaten before Fry and Hubs get back from Target.

(Just kidding, it's really the peanut butters I'm after.)

Considering this conversation earlier in the day, maybe I'd be better off finishing up the celery.

While watching figure skating...
Me: Look at that, the guy is holding her with ONE arm.
Hub: Yeah, I'd have to use two arms with you.
(pause)
Me: Don't like sex much, do you.
Hub: No no! I'm weak, I need to work out. That's what I meant.
Me: I don't think I need to care about your needs much after that.

I know he really WAS thinking of weakness, since his Army Physical Fitness Test is in a couple months. Meanwhile, I'd thought "She's light!" before the one arm comment. So, I'll cut him a break.

Speaking of larger people... Fry is officially 4' 8.5". Wasn't she just 4'7" at the start of the school year? I need to stop feeding her the Weed-B-Growing, obviously.

I've got good news and bad news

The good is first, the Jaywalkers for me are done! Yay! They aren't exactly alike, mainly because the first one was tried on a lot more than the second as I was knitting them. The stripes are also off, not lining up like I'd planned.

Bad news is I missed Cara's update deadline for this week, again. By next week's update, maybe the socks Fry left at Aunt Toppa's will be here so we can do a group photo.

Something fun!

Sometimes I go quiz-crazy.

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

You Should Get a PhD in Science (like chemistry, math, or engineering)

You're both smart and innovative when it comes to ideas. Maybe you'll find a cure for cancer - or develop the latest underground drug.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

You Are Broccoli Casserole Soda

Vegetarians taste better!

What Jones Holiday Soda Are You?

I am so almost done with my Jaywalker. If it weren't for running out of dishes and clothes, I'd have two lovely socks done. Thanks to decluttering, we run out of dishes every two days and favorite clothes every one week.

There's a 2 gallon baggie full of red yarn. "So?", you say. Well, Norma has advertised on her weblog that a charity is giving out red scarves for college age former foster kids. Instead of starting another pair of Jaywalkers right away, I'm doing at least one red scarf for the kids.

In other news: People over here are extreme achievers (except me for the moment). Hubs made the Lieutenent Colonel list, meaning, until he 'pins on', he's a Major promotable. We actually have a Colonel in the family! Too bad he's a Yankee.

Then, Fry came dragging home her progress card for the quarter. What was a C is now an A, what was a B is now a B+. Sadly, what was an A is an A-, but oh well! All her teachers say she's a delight and does her personal best. That is much more important to me than any letter grade at this point.

Must finish Jaywalker before 7:00pm to get in on the update...

Commenting all over the place.

Random knitting note. While watching Monty Python's last night, I noticed something new. Terry Jones DOES know how to knit, while Michael Palin was just faking it. Rather badly, too. I'm totally impressed, as Terry isn't even the gay one of the group. Not that male knitter equals gay, but still. A guy can still know what to do with a bit of wool and STILL be butch, I say.

Yesterday's weather was mostly lazy with today's forcast being somewhat sluggish, and an anticipation of some activity later today. This evening, pretty busy with a newspaper carrier meeting and later settling back down to completely lazy in the latter hours. Knitting and reading others' knitting blogs dominate the weather, with bits of housecleaning and laundry peeking through.

Wendy answered my Noro question! Yay! Plus, a lot of other people (ok, two so far) have left suggestions as well. I'm leaning toward the cardigan idea, myself, since I have the black Lamb's Pride wool to offset the colorful Kureyon. Then, while I was ignoring the alarm this morning, I thought, I carefully avoided buying the same dyelot and colors in each of the five skeins. Why am I worried about running out??? Sheesh! So with reading the lovely suggestions left by other commenters, I've added several new projects to the future knits list. Something I'd like to do is add some of the newer weblogs I read to the list, and then add both a finished object (fo) and works in progress (wip) list to the side. I'd like to do a 2005 retrospective because how do you know where you're going if you don't know where you've been?

WIPs, and snarky celebrity observations

The works in progress: The white lace is Seascapes knitted in Merino lace (in case no one wants to go to my archives) and satisfies not only the Summer of Lace button on the left, but also the Guilt as well. Nice, huh? A two-fer. Then, the striped sock is almost done and fits the Jaywalker button. The yarn is Moda Dea's Lucky. Lastly on the knit-a-longs is the cuff of a mitten. I've discovered that fair isle is not my strong point. Neither is keeping my attention on counting, which is why the cuff is only a cuff. The grey will be a sweater someday, ladies medium. It's in Lion Brand's discontinued Alpaca, which is apropos for me.

Yesterday was busy AND lazy. Fry was home sick for the day. She won't take naps on sick days, which is what she needs. So, I'll con her into laying down in our bed so she and I can torture the cat when he jumps up. When she's sick or tired, she'll fall asleep, then I can get up and finish my daily duties. Ha. Let's just say I had a couple of really good naps. The furnace and a/c guy came over and installed a new circuit board, so now we do have heat. Yay, since freezing pipes are always bad. After a chicken soup lunch, cleaning house to a company clean for one of Hub's friends in the evening. A mad dash to Fry's employer to turn in her newspaper collections, then to the grocery store for orange juice. The friend left, we had dinner, and by the time I was able to knit, it was 9:30pm. I know, I know. So sad. ;) People are about to cry for me, I can tell.

Fry and I did hatch up an ingenious prank on her Aunt Toppa. The said Aunt has THE most adorable little kitten, one of THE smallest I've ever seen. It's stuffed animal small, I tell ya. What I'm wanting to do is get one of those little stuffed kittens from the store, subversively take out the stuffing and attach the remainder to the bottom of my shoe. Then, Fry can hide Toppa's kitty and I can walk around with the fake cat squished and clinging like toilet paper to my sole. Fry and I had tears in our eyes from laughing over the shrieks this would cause.

Things/People I hate:
Jessica Simpson-I'm sick of her in a way I've never been sick of Britney. Actually, Brit is pretty fun since her descent into white-trashdom. Why Jessica? Besides the odd plastic surgery look of her, it's her smile. Try this, smile in a huge way, then open your mouth at least two inches. Is that anywhere near natural? No, it's freaky and weird.

Oprah-What do you call hosting a dinner and awards party where only one specific gender and race are invited? Um hmmmm, sexism and racism comes in all genders and colors. No one is immune.

Ellen Degeneres-For some reason, I shriek and flip the channel when her show comes on. Am I anti-lesbian? Not so much as anti-unfunny humor.

Eva Longoria and Teri Hatcher-Did you know that they are NOT the only skinny and beautiful women in the world? Seriously. I'd like the media to give them and Angelina a break already.

Howard Stern-Freely cursing, having naked women in his radio booth, and being an ass in general makes him entertaining? Or even news? Didn't he peak like, 20 years ago?

Reality TV-They have scripts and editors. It's not real. Not interesting, either.

That blonde spokeschick for Success Meals-She's a watered down Pamela Anderson. Still, when she tells you that "Success Meals just makes sense," she turns her head to the side with her forehead tilted forward. Note to the gal: Nope, I still don't think you're telling me the truth. It's tiny, overpriced meals. Sorry.

Colin Farrell-Male or female, a slut is a slut is a slut.

Jennifer Aniston-I don't hate her so much as I don't see what everyone else does in her. Same with Sarah Jessica Parker. Pretty? Talented? Nope, don't get it.

Things I should hate:

Cops-It's reality TV, but they leave in all the stupid bits. It's best when it's bad.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit-Honestly. How many hours should a person watch a tv show before getting sick of it? Obviously, I've not hit the mark for this.

British Comedy-Speaking of hours watched... Most Americans don't get it, and when I try to explain anything funny on a Britcom, I'll get blank stares. Most of my family members get British humor, thankfully. :)

Nash Bridges-I know. The show is stupid as heck, but still, it's a guilty pleasure. I'll catch it when it's on, but not go out of my way.

California Court Cases-Another should as in, I should be sick of Scott and OJ, but am not. After seeing the DNA evidence portion of the hearing back when I was on maternity leave, OJ left far and away more physical evidence than Scott ever did. Color has nothing to do with it, blood evidence isn't discriminating.

Dr Phil-I'm not crazy about him, but most times he does make sense. He can be a bit of a butthead, but most times, I think he's on the money.

Coats and Clarks yarns-If I were a yarn snob, nothing these people made would be in my house. While I'm not keen on the eyelash yarns, anything else has a purpose. I love the better stuff, of course, but if it's a decent color and feel, it's on my order list.

Speaking of yarn, and that subject should be on the "Things I Should If Not Hate Then At Least Don't Obssess Over" list, I received my order from the Yarn Barn yesterday. It's not the one in Lawrence, KS, but somewhere else entirely. They're fast and the shipping is very reasonable. It's going to be tough to resist ordering from them. :D

But I don't wanna blog..

Ok, maybe I do, but not a lot. For someone who's got a lot done, I'm feeling rather lazy. Fry and Hubs are doing the newspaper payment collections at the moment. They'll fight, since Fry is fighting a cold, then do the Chip and Dale thing on apologies, then fight again.

Friday: Cleaned, grocery shopped for only South Beach stuff, shopped at Joann's, worked on my sock.
To frog or not to frog, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler to exactly match the stripes or let the imperfections be a beauty unto itself...

I'm probably not going to sweat it, much. If it were a gift, oh yeah, it'd have been frogged and reknit already. But for me? Bleh. My sneaks will cover it anyway.

Stash enhancement, like, I need it.If my Mom, Dad, sisters, friends, should happen to like any of these colors, they should let me know. Each skein of yarn will make one sock for an adult. Their mates, while not the same dyelots, surely, are on their way here. The colors are all discontinued, so while they exist, I had to get them. There are three others I couldn't find matching skeins for, so they're going to be kids socks in a future life.

Saturday: Clean house, fix dinner, family time and that's it.





Sunday: Same song, second verse, except I'm thinking I need to felt this just one more time. It's nice, but way too wide. It's ok so far, but not where I want it to be. There's a little yellow blob there, for some strange reason. There's no join or anything, very odd.

It's Alive!

Yay! The SBC guy fixed it! We were out of phone and DSL service all day yesterday. Didn't realize how much of an internet junkie until it was gone.

First off, in the "it ain't no fun if it ain't illegal" catagory... Just because a person dislikes someone brazenly breaking the law doesn't mean that person is unpatriotic, against our military, and supports terrorism. Just saying. Actually, I feel bad for Nixon and his family. The guy was vilified for doing things equal to and even lesser than our current President. Nixon was the butt of jokes for many years, was a pariah, and why? Half our country voted the current guy into office, will defend him no matter what, but then will laugh at Nixon's disgrace. Obviously, one man's trash IS another man's treasure.

Whew, rant over. In knitting news... here are the current works in progress. My second sock is there, as is Fry's new sweater. Fun fun! The cuff is done from the earlier post, not a lot else has been done. I've been trying to clean, but just haven't been motivated until today when the SBC guy appeared at the door. Eeek. Since the connection is up, I'm clearing out the emails, catching up on my fave knitting blogs, THEN knocking out the clean house checklist.

We delivered the newspapers yesterday, lots of fun hanging out with the Fry. For some reason I thought of a cute story from my childhood that cracks me up every time I think of it.

I'm fuzzy on the details, so feel free, Mom, to comment and fill in the blanks. Ok, we had just moved to Oklahoma, so I must have been almost in first grade, about five years old. Toppa was two, and us girls, Mom, Toppa, and I, were out with a friend of Mom's and the friends two kids. It just so happens that Mom was driving that day and had to go through a license check roadblock thingy. If I were five, then Mom was 25. She, even after two kids, was tall, thin, and gorgeous. Did the police looking at her Texas license notice her beauty? Yep! Now that I know guys, I know that one of them saying "Looks like I'm going to have to take you to jail," was a flirt, not a statement of fact.

As a child (and let's pretend I outgrew it, ok?) I was the queen of melodrama. When I heard "Mom" and "jail" in the same sentence, I screeched like a banshee and wrapped my arms around my Mom from behind in what must have been a death grip on her neck. Ever the me-too type, Toppa joined in the screaming and crying, which led to the other two kids rounding out the chorus. I do remember the other cop saying something like "Why'd you say THAT?"

Somewhere, there's a psychologically scarred old police officer instructing the cadets, "Whatever you do, DON'T say 'jail' to a Mom unless you mean it." That poor guy, poor Mom and her neck.

I'll Have To Ask The Hubs For Help...

Let's see, I figured I should post something before a week goes by.

Those keeping track, and I don't know why anyone but me would, can probably tell it's about time for me to have a migraine. Do you know just how shitty it is to have one on THE hangover day of the year, yet, not have a single drop of alcohol? I didn't feel so good last night to justify feeling this bad today. I took the last little Relpax, thus, my fingers are crossed that there are no more bad headaches until the next shipment comes in. (After January 4th sometime, for my Mom. :D)

A quick rundown, what I can remember:
Wednesday: Dropped off Fry at her Aunt Toppa's to play. Had Chinese food, got puffy from the sodium.

Thursday: Took in pickup to Bill's for him to put the dipstick filler tube back on the transmission. Played darts in his garage and read a geology book, making me miss my Dad a lot. Left said book in the shop along with a $10 off Knit Craft shop coupon used as a bookmark.

Friday: Cleaned a little, but had a headache because I don't remember much about the day. Knitted during some of the Law & Order:SVU marathon.

Saturday: Bank stuff with Hubby and his year end bonus (Fry said she hoped he didn't get "Jelly of the Month Club" bonus per Christmas Vacation, ha ha!). Stopped by Bill's for book, he's such a Tar Baby. (as in, I'm stuck there for a lot longer than I want to be.) Picked up Fry, had Chinese food with Toppa and the Gang. Home, then Happy New Year!

Today: The migraine I'd been fighting all weekend is worse today. Bleh. I've been tearing out magazine articles, but that's the only productive thing done all day. One piece of good news is that in this Day One of South Beach, I've not had a bit of sugar or other refined stuff, yet. For this, procrastination is my friend. I can have all the sweets I want, tomorrow. :D Funny how tomorrow always turns into today.

In the knitting arena, we have a soap sache', the second cuff on the purple needles, and the beginnings of a sweater for Fry. Once the cuff is done, I'm starting the second jaywalker, starting a ballet bag for Goopa's birthday, and finishing various other things in my UFO basket.