Last Post of the Year


On Saturday I completed My's sock - okay, it was really late Friday night - I go hunting for some left over yarn I know I have. Only I'm unable to find it. I checked all the usual places I put yarn with no luck. I even pulled out all the skeins and put them away according to use. I have a drawer full of sock yarn. And I do mean full. I started yet another pair of socks. I'm using my new bronze needles. I'm loving them. They are a bit heavier then the bamboos. The swirls do their job well. I demonstrated at the LYS, by holding one needle and shaking it. The sock didn't. move. one. bit. The ladies (and Grilltech) were quite impressed.

I finished the sleeves on the shaker sweater. If anyone is interested in test knitting the pattern, please e-mail me at knittech AT nytecode DOT com. I'll send you the pattern in a word document along with convoluted directions of how to resize the sweater from a child's to an adult. The only thing I ask is if there is any questionable parts (IE you don't understand) to let me know so I can get it cleaned up.

Friday, December 28th

I'm off to a good start today. It's snowing and very slick out there. I fishtailed a few times on the drive to work. Two of the co-workers called in sick, so it's just me. I'm already behind. On the plus side, the morning reskill gives me a few minutes to read. Guess today will make up for Wednesday's slowness.

I made it home and enjoyed shoveling the drive way. Tomorrow Grilltech gets to do shovel, because we're suppose to get more tonight.

My's socks should be done today, Saturday at the latest. I'm using Berroco Sox 1422 yarn. The color is amazing. Grilltech stated he'd be willing to wear a pair of socks made in the color way. The problem? I'm not even half way through the skein and I've found two knots. I'm not pleased. I have a very low tolerance for knots.

Thursday, December 27th

Today, I remembered my badge, but dribbled syrup down the front of my shirt. (Yeah, it ain't a meal unless I'm wearing some of it on my shirt.) The day is going pretty okay. Thankfully it's a short week. I've put in vacation requests for next year already. Most of it will be in the last part of the year. I'll need to put in some early months requests to balance the year out.

You can head over to Grilltech's blog and see a picture of Baby Bird and see what we had for dinner. I've got it rough, I know.

I've started My's second sock. Thankfully it's a quick knit. I'm going to get Grilltech's sweater going this weekend. Less then an inch to go on the sleeves, then it's onto the body. It goes fast, when I work on it.


Anyway, it's been a while since I've finished the (damn) shawl. The camera has finally been charged, so here is a photo of it. It's been steamed to open it up quite a bit, but not blocked. Will block it properly later.















Wednesday, December 26th

I'm here at work, pretending. I should be working, but after six days off, let's face it. I don't want to. I drove all the way to work this morning. Only to realize I left my badge at home. Which only made me 30 minutes late. I forgot my new password to log onto the global network. After six days, wouldn't you forget your newly changed password as well? After another 30 minutes, I was able to remember it. After I had locked my account. I'm so pleased to be at work today. On the plus side, I did remember my lunch, head and how to do my job. So in the long run, it's a good day.

Christmas was nice. It was mostly Grilltech and I. Mr. Sota (the crack dealer) came over and we did Guild Wars most of the day. Grilltech started a Lambic brewing and made Prime Rib, while we played the day away. Grilltech is such a sweetheart or as Mr. Sota kept saying, Grilltech, you're such an adult... Meanwhile, we kept killing things.

I made Mr. Sota a pair of socks for his (belated) birthday. I made sure to point out, the socks were a birthday present. I didn't knit any Christmas presents this year. Mostly won't knit any next year either. It will be all birthday presents.

Anyway, I did get several lovely knitting related presents. MIL sent a swift (ooohh). Rosewood needles size 1, they glow! She also sent the bronze (bronze!!) size 1's. I'm hurrying to finish what I have on the needles so I can knit with them!! (There is more, I'll get to them later.)

Wednesday, December 12th

Did you guys hear that last night? It happened at exactly 1818. I'm not sure if it was a SWEEEEEEEEEEE or fi-an-LY!!. The (damn) shawl is off the needles. Did I say that right?! The (damn) shawl is off the needles!! Better. It still need to be blocked but the hard part is done. Grilltech is happy, because now I can work on his sweater.

Remember me bitching yesterday about sitting at a grey screen for 1.5 hours? I called it in at 1200. I then had someone else log in for me so I could work. At 1430, the whole database is locked up. No one in North America can use the system. IT does their trouble shooting, find a "couple of users had datalocked". (Hmmm didn't I say locked up? At noon!) Today I turned to BBQer and said, be nice to me or I'll lock the system up again. (Because I have that kind of power.)

Tuesday, December 11th

I am beat. Been fending off the crud that's been going around, but I'm slowing. The sinus headaches have begun to decline, but they're still lurking around. I could use more sleep. Thankfully tonight I can get to bed early. I've started the heel for Grilltech's new sock. It's going to be slightly different then the usual slip stitch. I'll show a picture when it gets finished. I've almost finished the (damn) shawl. I've been trying it on when I finish knitting for the night.

I've been sitting at a gray screen for the past hour. Soon as I get off the weekly conference call, I'll need to call IT and figure out why it's not working. Stupid database.

FO Friday, December 7th

I managed to finish up two projects this week. Granted they are small, but done! I started a sock for Grilltech. Navy blue on ebony needles. I can't see the stitches in dimly lit areas.



First up is my anniversary socks. Different color then Grilltech's, but the same pattern. Pretty easy to do when it's stuck in my head.

















Second is mitts for the co-worker. They originally were suppose to be mine, but I can't follow directions to save my life. By the time I realized the error, I wasn't going to rip back. (Funny, I did frog the second one....) Anyway, the guy really liked them. Which brought up another round of can I have... I will admit I caved. But I haven't bought or started knitting anything yet.

Monday, December 3rd

I think I have a sinus infection. My head hurts, but my nose isn't really running. Plus I'm crabby/whiney. Poor Grilltech, he has to deal with me.

I only have the thumb to finish on the second mitt. This was after I frogged the whole thing, because I didn't have enough stitches. I had 60, instead of 64. On the plus side, it was a quick knit. I've finished the gusset on my second sock. I've got patterns running in my head for the next one to knit. Nothing has been decided on yet.

I've been thinking about getting permanent eye make-up. Not really sure why, I haven't worn make-up in something like 20 years or so. One of the knitterly women has it and its kewl. Which is where the thought came up. Most likely won't do it, but the thought it there.

PS: Happy B-day Mr. Sota (the crack dealer...)

Thursday, November 29th

Life's great discoveries:

I can put stuff in a safe place, only to discover it's really a void. I don't have the correct equipment to bring stuff back. Nothing makes me knit faster then determining I'm on the last few rows. Of course, the (damn) shawl does have an edging that is going to make me crazy. Cables are easier to handle in the middle of the needle, instead of being at the edge. I'm now on the fourth sock and it's not nearly the fight the other three were.

Last of the updated Christmas list:
Principles of Knitting (it’s rumored to be coming out as a reprint…)
Treasury of Knitting Patterns (Volumes 1-4 this only shows #2)
The Opinionated Knitter
Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitting Workshop
Selbuvotter
Swift
Rosewood DPNS Size 1
Bronze DPNS Size 1

Wednesday, November 28th

Yeah, it's a rough day. I got to run the reskill script this morning. Couldn't do anything, but read blogs until it was done. (I love being a team player.) It had tried to snow last night. Today the sky is mostly clear with the stars shining brightly. The roads are icy, which makes the walk through the parking lot treacherous. Thankfully, I didn't fall. (I have fallen in the past. I hate lying there feeling like an idiot because I have no traction on ice and wondering how to get up without making it worse.)

Last night, I came to the conclusion I only have 16 more rows to knit before I start the edging on the (damn) shawl. The end is in site sight. Now my only fear is do I have enough to complete the project.

Anyway, Grilltech is happier. His appointment went well. I was able to start my second sock while waiting. I finished the cuff and started the leg. Last night after working three rows on the (damn) shawl, I picked up the sock because its way smaller. Made it through two repeats of the pattern.

My replacement ebony needles showed up. (Now if I could find where I put the other four, I'd be happy.) They sent two needles to replace the one!

Tuesday, November 27th

I've made progress on the shawl. Two more skeins to go before I've finished it! It's mostly done. Mostly.

Monday, November 26th

It's defiantly November. This morning, all the cars parked out on the street had frost on the windows. I'm lucky, I get to park in the garage. I walked out without my jacket, which I had thoughtfully left at work. I'll be sure to bring it home tonight or so I hope.

I didn't get much knitting done this weekend. Instead, I played crack. On Saturday, the pattern for the peacock shawl showed up. I showed it to Grilltech who said, that's beautiful. You're going to bitch the entire time you're knitting it. Yes, I'm sure I will, but this shawl isn't walking out the door without me attached to it.

I didn't get the (damn) shawl finished. I wonder if I leave bribes around the knitting fairy will come finish it for me. (Stop laughing, it could happen.) I should just finish the stupid thing and get it off my plate. Course, I could stop playing crack, so I have more time to knit. I did start the second broad street mitt. I'm ready to start the thumb increases. Which means it will be done in no time, if I actually sit down and knit.

Now it's 1030 and the heaters have kicked in here at work. My hands aren't hurting, it's actually nice. Which means, in 20 minutes, the air conditioning will have kicked back on and I'll be back in the meat locker. Do you think they'll notice if I bring a space heater to work?

I did make it out of the house on black Friday. I wandered down to the LYS about 1300. I knitted until about 1430. Some sock yarn muscled its way into the car. I tried to fend it off - not overly hard - but in the end, I could only shrug; then give it a ride home. It's called Flat Feet, by Conjoined Creations. Instead of coming in a ball, it’s been machine knitted flat, then painted. So when it’s knitted, the pattern is completely different then what is seen. I tried to find it on their web site, but it's not listed. I'll take a picture before I start knitting with it.

Anyway, I have to knit Grilltech a pair of socks, before I can start another pair for me. Who am I kidding? I could knit more socks for me if I wanted.

Sunday, November 25th

I haven't done much. Spent the day playing Guild Wars.

Thursday, November 22nd

It was a good day at chez Tech house. Grilltech stayed up last night smoking the turkeys. I got up this morning and he went to bed. I listened to music most of the day while getting food ready. The herd showed up about 1330. We ate at 1500. I sent quite a bit of it home with them. Grilltech still has a large amount of stuffing left. It freezes good. Amy Lane shared her stuffing recipe, so here is mine:

Package of sliced mushrooms
Large onion chopped
Jalapenos chopped
Garlic
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Breadcrumbs
Chicken broth

Unfreeze all the cornbread and bread guts saved from the year, cut into pieces and place on baking sheet. Bake at 300 for an hour. Saute the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and jalapenos until soft in EVOO. I usually salt and pepper to taste and add other flavorings to the veggies. Add the veggie mix to the breadcrumbs, mix in the chicken broth, and bake until heated through.

All amounts are subjective, so make as much or as little as needed.

Wednesday, November 21st

It's the day before Thanksgiving (US). I'm mostly ready. Mostly. I pulled out the bread to make stuffing. I chopped and sauted the jalapenos, mushrooms, onion, and garlic for the stuffing. I picked up the rolls for dinner. I don't feel like making rolls. I might make some for Christmas.

I worked three more rows on the shawl. Every stitch helps. I've started the decrease for the cover of the mitt. I haven't started my second sock yet. Grilltech's sleeves are still sitting.

Hope everyone has a safe day, trip, and/or meal.

Oh yeah, I'm a dumbass. I copied my bookmarks, but never sent them home.

Tuesday, November 20th

It was snowing this morning on the way to work. ACK! Winter is still a month away. The snow should be melted off by the time to go home. But it does make for cold sitting in the car waiting for Grilltech in the afternoon. It's now 1400, the snow has melted and the sun has come out. It might be a nice day after all.

I heard back from Lantern Moon, they're going to send out a replacement needle. Hope to get it relativity soon. I switched over to my bamboo needles to finish the current sock. I've ready to start the toe, then I will be moving to the second one. I worked on the shawl last night. It took me almost two hours to do three rows. Two hours! Its never going to get done. I'll be working on it until the day I die. I want to get going on the sweater. The sleeves are sitting on my desk, looking very forlorn. Plus the cats like to lay on them.

Since I've got the next four days off, I've sent home my bookmarks. I'll be updating my reading list soon. Some have fallen off and others have been added.

and now for something completely different: (thanks Sandra)
Reading Level


How the heck did I get postgrad?!

Monday, November 19th

Happy Monday. The day is almost over. This morning, I did my normal routine. I ate, I read blogs, I knitted for a while. One of my new Lantern Moon needle broke. I had been worried that one was a bit more flexible then the others. Sure enough, this morning while doing an SSK it snapped. Now I need to look up what their replacement policy, which they don't post on the web site. I e-mailed customer service. Now I'm waiting impatiently for them to get back to me. (tap, tap, tap)

In the mean time, it's pouring rain. I forgot to pull out the hamburger for dinner tonight, so we're having a canned meal. Either chili and tamales or something else I can't even think of currently. I'll need to pull the burger when I get home.

I'm wanting to finish the shawl soon, so I'll need to start working on it. Maybe I'll get it done this weekend. (Stop laughing, it could happen...)


And now for something completely different:(from Grilltech)


We scored the same, I wonder why....

Slacker Sunday, November 18th

I finished the first mitt. Helped Grilltech make the Dicken's Bunny (Christmas Ale), it smells very good. Can't wait until it bottled.

Scenic Saturday, November 17th



Scenic Saturday. This picture was taken last November. You really can't see it very well, but there is a tangent at the top of the halo. There was more colors, but our camera isn't top of the line, so it looks pretty white. I was going through pictures yesterday, and thought it would be a lovely post.

Today is the steeking class at the LYS. Its at 1000, but I can't make it. PrinterTech and I are going out to breakfast with Aunt K in the same time frame. Since I swore I would only use my powers for evil, I can't be in two places at once. Altho it would be evil to blow off my Aunt...

I've finished the gusset for my mitt. Tried it on, and it was way to big!! Crappy! I'll finish them and give them to a co-worker of Grilltech who wanted a pair. (So they're not in the colors he really wanted, but they're done. Which is better?) I'll be able to pick out different colors for me as well.

FO Friday, November 16th



It's FO Friday! First up is the hat for Jason's wife. I guess she really likes it. She wore it around the house all day yesterday. He wants one for himself. I might make him one for Christmas or not. I'm so fickle.













I started knitting socks for C about a year ago when her mother died. I thought she would need something for her like a hug. I showed them to her and she didn't seem to be too enthunised about them, so it took me a while to complete them. I knit both of these at the same time, so they seemed to take forever. I'm not so sure I really like knitting two at once. I don't mind sleeves being knit at the same time.

Thursday, November 15th

It's Friday Eve and I'm happy. Friday is Flash Gordon and Moonlight TV watching. About two months ago, we watched the original Flash Gordon, with a 16 year-old-girl. I don't know what was more hysterical, the movie or her response. Dale Arden was there to gaze longingly at Flash, while appearing to be dumb as a rock. The part where Dale was being a cheerleader was, well insulting, enough to leave the 16 year-old speechless. Even I thought so when I first watched it back in the early 80's. I had to keep pointing out to her, it was a different time in the late 70's, early 80's. Movies portrayed women as pretty-young-thing-who-shouldn't-worry-her-cute-little-head because a man was there to take care of her. Even Doris Day, who was then a strong leading lady, deferred to the strong, handsome man. It wasn't until Alien and Terminator that strong women came into the movies.

Updated Christmas List:
Selbuvotter
Peacock Feathers Shawl (pattern only)
Swift
Rosewood DPNS Size 1
Bronze DPNS Size 1

Wednesday, November 14th

The morning drive into work was very crisp. Cars parked out on the street had frosted windows. The stars twinkled brightly in the sky. Venus was the brightest of all the lights in the pre-dawn sky. And I'm crabby as all get out. The artic breeze blowing on me isn't helping at all.

I gave Jason the hat. Now he wants one. I'm thinking, he need to be taught how to fish, right Lenya? Anyway, I'm almost to the point where I need to start increasing for the thumb on my mitt.

Tuesday, November 13th



I made a picture of me, because I'm a lemming. I showed it to Grilltech, he said, but your hair isn't red anymore. Yeah, I should have kicked him. Instead, my revenge is the next pair of socks I finish after this pair will be for me. Two in a row, sometimes it's good to be the knitter.

Oh yeah... the pictures are working again. I'll post my FO's soon(tm).

Monday, November 12th

Answers to a meme, from Amy Lane:

1 Name one person who made you laugh last night? Mr. Sota and Grilltech
2 What were you doing at 0800? Sleeping.
3 What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Playing Guild Wars
4 What happened to you in 2006? I got an 8% raise.
5 What was the last thing you said out loud? “Yeah, that would be rough.”
6 How many beverages did you have today? 3. Water, Pepsi, Chai Tea.
7 What color is your hairbrush? Purple and black.
8 What was the last thing you paid for? Bagels for breakfast
9 Where were you last night? At home, playing crack (Guild Wars)
10 What color is your front door? Walnut.
11 Where do you keep your change? Coin banks around the house.
12 What’s the weather like today? Mostly sunny.
13 What’s the best ice-cream flavor? Chocolate.
14 What excites you? Grilltech, knitting with an exotic yarn, reading and sleep.
15 Do you want to cut your hair? Nope.
16 Are you over the age of 25? Yes.
17 Do you talk a lot? Nope.
19 Do you know anyone named Steven? Yes, he’s a flake.
20 Do you make up your own words? I think so.
21 Are you a jealous person? Hell yes. Grilltech is M.I.N.E!
22 Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. Andrew.
23 Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. Kathy,
24 Who’s the first person on your received call list? “C” she called to tell me her apartment building caught fire.
25 What does the last text message you received say? “Mom, call me.”
26 Do you chew on your straw? Yes, but I rarely use a straw.
27 Do you have curly hair? Just enough to be annoying, unlike the Youngest who has kinky hair.
28 Where’s the next place you’re going to? The store, need to get next week’s lunches.
29 Who’s the rudest person in your life? That would be me.
30 What was the last thing you ate? Almond Roca
31 Will you get married in the future? Nope, married now.
32 What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Everafter
33 Is there anyone you like right now? Grilltech
36 Did you cry today? Nope.
37 Why did you answer and post this? Because I’m a lemming.
38 Tag 5 people who would do this survey. Anyone who wants to, should do it.

Sunday, November 11th

In spite of doing crack today, I finished the hat. Started mitts for me and was tagged for a meme, which I'll get to tomorrow. Night all.

Saturday, November 10th

Mr. Sota is feeding me crack, in the form of a game called Guild Wars. He's a drug and alcohol councilor and he's pushing crack. I have wonderful friends. He's got Grilltech is hooked also. I went and picked up a copy for me. Got it home, opened the "secret code" packet, it. was. blank. WTF?! Took it back to Best Buy and got another copy, opened it up to make sure the code was there. After six hours of playing, it was time to stop and knit. How much knitting have I gotten done? Not as much as I'd like. However, I've started the decreases on the hat. I might have it done next week, if I can tear myself away.

Friday, November 9th*

I'm so glad it's Friday of a long weekend. I'm beat. The weather has turned colder, I don't have mitts to help keep my hands warm. Think I'll finish the hat, then make myself some.

I'm off to knit until Moonlight, then it will be bed time.

Thursday, November 8th*

It's starting to get cold here in the mornings. Cars when left parked out side have frost on the windows. I can see my breath when I walk across the parking lot. It's time for jackets and gloves. I didn't realize, I'd need them in the building as well. Yesterday, my hands were so cold they hurt until about 1030. That is what time the heat finally kicked on. Today I put my jacket on so it's not as bad. I can still feel the blast of cold air under my desk. Maybe I'll get a space heater.

I've finished up the toes of C's socks. I'll post pictures soon as I can. I don't think I'll buy anymore of that brand of yarn again. One skein had two knots in it. Ick. I think I'll gift the other two skeins along with the socks to C.

Tonight is Grilltech's meeting. I'll get plenty of knitting done.

Christmas Wish List: (so far)

Peacock Feathers Shawl (pattern only)
Swift
Rosewood DPNS Size 1
Bronze DPNS Size 1

* Yes, I'm still a dumbass, but I know what day it is.

Wednesday, November 7th

My dates are wrong in the couple of posts, because I'm a dumbass. My calendar is still set to October. There are times I'm truly impressive.

I'm started the toes on C's socks. Soon as they completed, I can start a hat for a co-worker. I laughed at him because he was wearing a "crappy machine knit hat". He thought I was laughing because it's a Detroit Lion's hat, but I set him straight. He came back and asked if I would knit something for his wife who is from California and isn't used to the cold. Yes, I know I've said it in the past, no more knitting for other people. But I like this guy, so I should be okay.

Sure Grilltech, you didn't lose the sock. What ever it takes for you to sleep at night.

And my mail is working again. I guess maybe (but doubtful) he didn't lose the sock after all.

Tuesday, November 9th

About 1930 last night, Grilltech had given up on getting mail to work. He was frustrated and crabby. He sat down at the laptop, only to realize, he had mail. He was really happy and relieved. I don't have mail yet. :(

I found a sock meme from Molecular Knitting.

1. What’s your favorite sock yarn? (please note that the word ‘yarn’ is singular. Just pick one. I know it’s hard.) My favorite sock yarn is Lorna's Laces. I've only knitted 1 pair of socks and started a second pair, but I love it!

2. What’s your favorite type and brand of sock needle? I prefer wood needles. Bamboo and I've picked up a pair of ebony ones. There are some lovely rosewood ones I would like to get as well. Clover is the leader of bamboo DPNS.

3. Do you knit your socks toe up, cuff down, or sideways? I knit my socks top down. I've tried the toe up method, but the instep was way to tight.

4. Do you knit both socks at once or just one at a time? I use DPNS, so it's one at a time. I also have a pair of socks on the needles doing the Magic Loop method. I'm sure I knit the same amount of time, but it seems to take forever when I'm working on two of them. Which is odd, because I have no problem knitting two sleeves at the same time.

5. What’s your favorite toe and why? I like the wedge toe. I've tried the star toe, but it's too round. I use four stitches between the decreases, instead of two. More room.

6. Favorite heel? I use a Dutch Heel, which is not to be confused with Dutch Cowboys.

7. Do you prefer plain or patterned socks? Plain socks are fast and easy. Patterns keep one from falling asleep. I'm starting to put more patterns in my projects.

8. Who do you knit the most socks for? I knit socks for Grilltech and myself. My father gets a pair for Christmas every year as well.

9. Do you darn your socks? If not, what do you do with them? Heck yea, I darn my own socks. Those things are $$ and I want all the use out of them I can get. (Grilltech before you say what about my Bio-hazard ones? Those are cotton and you have talons for toe nails... Need I say more?!)

10. Do you only wear handknit socks? I'm getting pretty close to being able to only wear hand knit socks. Grilltech used to be able to wear a set every day, but he's worn down two pairs and lost a sock. Yes, L-O-S-T.

Bonus question: What pattern, if any, is your basic “I-just-need-a-pair-of-socks” sock pattern based on? Do you keep it written down or memorized? When I started knitting I had to follow the pattern, which lasted about three pairs. Now I write down the generic stuff. (CO 72, ( K2 , P2) for 20 rows. 7" total. 20 slips, 8 per side, 20 left.) If there is a pattern, I'll write it down for reference, because those can be tricky.

Monday, November 5th

The swearing began about two hours after my post yesterday. He thinks he's narrowed down the cause of no mail. Maybe it will be fixed soon.

First day back after three days off. We have a trainee. I'm not sure I care for him. Not that I have much to say about the whole situation.

I've started a new pair of socks for me. So far I have thirteen rows of a cuff.

Sunday, November 4th

Grilltech is busy working on the server. He did the sad puppy dog eyes while shopping and ended up with a new HD for the server. He's now loading Linux, so it will be a bit more secure. He's not swearing at the computer, which a good sign. But I'm not sure when the pictures will be back.

I've been taking it easy on the knitting right now. My arm is getting better, so I don't want to over do it.

Saturday, November 3rd

The server is down, so the pictures aren't available. Grilltech will have it fixed soon as he can.

Friday, November 2nd

My size ones are still missing. They’re not in the dishwasher. Nor are they in the washer or dryer. I can’t find them under the couch or cushions. They’re not with the (damn) shawl or the sock yarns strewn around the living room. Or under the piles of mail I’ve let pile up on my desk. Instead, they’re found in the “extra” space pull out on my desk. I’m such a dumbass, but relieved that they’re found. I guess this means I’ll need to give Grilltech his thumb drive I found while doing laundry.

Pictures!

My socks:


















Grilltech's socks:


















Grilltech's anniversiry socks:

















Grilltech's hat:

Missing!

Two pairs of size one DPNS are missing. Grilltech would say it's somewhere on the mess of my desk, but I don't think so. I had them this morning, now I can't find them!! I think Fran stole them... Evil kitty!!

In the past 17 years, we have…

Moved four times.
Lost five wedding rings. (One in the bedroom!!)
Raised two lovely young ladies.
Worked at the same job site, twice.
Held hands when no other comfort would do.
Laughed at ourselves and the world.
Cheered at triumphs.
Worried at illnesses.
Fought over trivial and silly things.
Kissed each morning and night.

I think I’m ready for another 30 years or so. Happy anniversary Grilltech!

Monday, October 29th

It was a pretty laid back weekend. Saturday I went and knitted down at the shop. I finished the first sock of the pair that I want to complete by Wednesday. Some how I don't quite think I'm going to make my goal. Oh well, can't everything. I think if I didn't knit so much on Grilltech's sweater the sock would be further along. But the sock would require too much attention to detail which would have taken away from watching Odyssey 5. Sci-Fi is showing them in place of Doctor Who. I'd missed a couple of episodes, so I asked Grilltech to download them for me. Then he proceeds to tell me, there was only a total of 20 episodes. Crappy! So, I'm watching them and enjoying them, but trying hard not to get to attached.

Sunday we cleaned the house up a bit. While putting the broom back, it fell on my arm. I have a lovely goose bump on my forearm. And today my thumb is sore. Not sure if it's related or not.

Friday, October 26th

It's Friday and I'm happy. I may even get to leave the datamine early. The dream of all workers, to leave early. Turns out I do get to leave early.

I'm about two inches away from turning the heel. I should have it done today.

Thursday, October 25th

Early morning conversations from the house:

Me: "You know the worst part of today? I thought it was Friday, turns out it's only Thursday." Later, the alarm is going off. Him: "Hit the alarm button twice, that way it's ready for tomorrow." Me: "But you don't work tomorrow, it's Wednesday."

I've started another pair of socks. I'm putting X's and O's down the sides. They look really neat. Enough to keep it interesting, without putting me completely to sleep. The design really can't be seen very well, but I know it's there. I showed D this morning, she really liked the pattern. So I sent it over to her.

Tuesday, October 23

I still haven't finished the (damn) shawl, but I've started really working on Grilltech's sweater. I keep giggling and holding up the four inches of sleeves to him. I've even made him pet them, he rolls his eyes, but does so to make me happy. Because he's that kind of wonderful husband. I've almost finished the gusset on my sock. Then it will be a quick couple of days to the toe. (I'm about eight rows away from completing the toe. Sock will be done tonight!)

I've picked up a ball winder this weekend. I haven't used it yet, but I need to wind the yarn for the (damn) shawl. Dad's buffalo socks and anything else I can think of or can find in hanks. I don't have a swift yet, but I'm sure Grilltech will be happy to either wind or hold. He's such a sweety.

We had knit and eat on Friday night. The girls tried some of the Peach Meade. It was very good. And has enough kick to knock you on your ass.

Monday, October 22nd

No post today, because e-mail bounced. Will post tomorrow.

Thursday, October 18th

I finished a green hat. I picked up some (drool) lovely blue Quivot. I finished Grilltech's socks. Worked two rows on the (damn) shawl. Petted some buffalo yarn. (What's the difference between a buffalo and a bison? Can't wash your hands in a buffalo.) Listened to the guy from Buffalo Gold. He was funny and nice. (Bison, it's what the Mommy buffalo says to her son when he leaves for school.) I can't wait to knit up the socks for my dad using the buffalo.

Anyway, Grilltech is feeling much better. He's ready to eat real food, but still is on the special diet until he's off the medication, which will be Friday. The eldest had to be taken to the ER last night. She's not able to keep anything down. Sounds like the flu hit early at her house.

I'm (still) not sleeping well, which makes it really hard to get up in the mornings. Work has been leveling off. Had a bi-annual review. I'm not "living up to my potential". Yeah, I'm not a slacker, but I'm not doing enough. I have a very narrow view of what I do, that's the problem with specialization. I could use more sleep.

Friday, October 12

Thanks for the supportive comments. I think a lot of the "bored of knitting" is coming from the stress. I started yet another project. I hat for him. It's small, mindless and on size six needles. Sure the (damn) shawl is on size eights, but its lace. I've also been doing quite a bit of stress eating. Which really adds to the stress level.

Work is starting to be a little less crazy. Should have gotten tons of OT, but our Corporate Master's decreed there will be no overtime or the beatings will be more serve. I'm having to take the I am a leaf on the wind attitude. It does help at times. Twelve minutes and counting, then the week is ovah! On the plus side, I did get two 19 inch monitors for my systems. The down side? Its the same exact resolution as the 17 inch ones.

Wednesday, October 10th

No real knitting progress to report. I'm to the heel on Grilltech's charcoal sock. I've made about four inches on the second purple and teal (Turquoise?) sock. It's amazing how much knitting can be done at the ER. (MIL, you may want to stop reading and call. On the other hand, I should make him call you.) I added about .25 of ribbing, and the rest is straight knit. I would have gotten more done, but I was bored of knitting. Yes, bored. of. knitting.

I was sick on Thursday and Friday of last week. Grilltech wasn't feeling well on Friday. He thought he was passing a kidney stone. By Monday, he can hardly do more then hobble around. We call the doctor and she said, go to the ER so they can do a CAT scan. (I said, we've got four cats, why do we need to go to the ER?) Anyway turns out it's not a kidney stone, but an infection. He's on two strong antibiotics and pain meds. They offered the choice of staying at the hospital or going home. He opted for home. I asked what to watch for, and home we came. Last night, he was much cooler to the touch, so I think he's on the mend. Tomorrow we have a doctor's appointment, so maybe we'll know more.

Anyway, I'm off to (maybe) knit.

Tuesday, October 2nd

About a month ago I ordered a silver snake chain from a jewelry store. I wanted a 22 inch chain, which they don't make them that length. I went with the 24 inch and he said he would cut it down for me. Good deal. Saturday, he called me and let me know it was in. I was excited. Monday after work, I went to the store to pick it up. He showed it to me, then said, you can pick it up tomorrow morning. I haven't cut it down yet. WHAT?! So, after work today, I'll need to run to the jewelry store again and pick up the chain.

I've finished the first of the purple and teal socks. Haven't casted on for the second one yet. Lazy I know. I'm about half an inch away from starting the heel on Grilltech's second sock. He'll be happy when this set is done. I'll need to drag out the dark blue I got him for another pair of socks. He's wearing holes into the socks I make him. Well, the cotton ones. The wool ones are holding up really well.

I'm having a hard time finding a minute here and there. My work flow has changed, so I'm busy, really busy. I don't make it through all the blogs. I missing reading about my internet friends.

Monday, October 2nd

It's hard coming back to work after a five day weekend. I don't know how teachers do it after three months off. Work? Why would I want to do that? I had a mountain of e-mails I had to wade through. It took me most of the day to get caught up.

Friday, September28

First leg of the Fiber Frenzy Shop Hop is done. We had to go to John Day, Oregon. It was a long ass trip. We missed the turn and went back into Idaho. ARRGH!! Two hours lost. We turned around and finally made it to Skeins. Very nice shop. She had quite the library. Almost purchased several books. Next place we made it to was LaDonna's Fiber Arts in Baker, Oregon. It was more of a quilt store then a knit store. Didn't pet much. Next place was White House Yarn & Fiber in Ontario, Oregon. Once again, a nice place. They had on display the "grand prize". I'm hoping not many people make it all the shops. There is about $750 worth of knitterly goodness, I could use. Ewephoria in Nampa, Idaho was under construction, they're expanding into quilting stuff. More of the high end fiber. Some under lock and key. Last place we made it too was Knit One, Quilt Too, in Kuna, Idaho. We ended up buying some really nice fiber. (For the life of me, I can't remember what it's called. I can barely think straight right now.)

Tomorrow, we're off to McCall. Then we only have three shops here in town to get then we'll be done. Funny, the only shop so far to have a web site is Fuzz. Go figure.

Now I'm going to drag myself off to bed. Night all!

Happy B-Day Grilltech

42 reasons why Grilltech is the bestest husband in the world.

1. He makes me laugh.
2. He's incredibly smart.
3. He wears the knitted items I make him.
4. He makes the best beer in the world. And I don't like beer.
5. He smiles and nods when I hold up a project. "Sure honey, it looks great!" (And means it.)
6. He tells me how beautiful I am, even when I don't feel that way.
7. His smile brightens my day.
8. He is the most handsome man in the world.
9. He's like a comfortable pair of needles, bent to the shape of my hands.
10. He's a wonderful father.
11. Every time he leaves, he kisses me good bye. Every time!!
12. He tells me how much he loves me daily.
13. When he leaves in the mornings, he'll put a blanket on the bed to keep me warm.
14. He listens to talk radio in the mornings, so I learn something new everyday.
15. Because of him, I know what a carboy is. (See #4)
16. I like how he sighs when one of the cats jumps up on him, then he pets them.
17. The sex is amazing!!
18. He doesn't mind having my stash hidden around the house.
19. He has a cute dimple on the left side of his face.
20. He smiles when I tease him.
21. He quit smoking.
22. He loves Lego's.
23. He's 81% geek.
24. He's happy to figure out my knitting math at times.
25. He likes to go star gazing with me.
26. He babies me when I'm sick.
27. He doesn't whine to much when he gets sick.
28. He makes the best Barbecue.
29. He doesn't mind when I spend $$ at the LYS.
30. He plans out his brewing, then gets his Brew Mag, and it changes.
31. He's always reading something.
32. He likes to play both computer and board games.
33. He'll record my favorite show, even if I forget to record his.
34. He has the most amazing brown eyes.
35. He makes up his own words to songs, which are funny.
36. He lets me shower first in the mornings, so he can get an extra five minutes of sleep.
37. He's willing to do dishes.
38. He gets my dark humor.
39. He calls me on his breaks on Saturdays.
40. He laughs at me when I swear at the knitting then shakes his head when I say, it wasn't to bad when completed.
41. He doesn't let me win, I have to work for it.
42. He's the same age as the answer to the ultimate question of the universe.

Tuesday, September 25th

And now for something completely different (Thanks Grilltech)


69% Geek
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Monday, September 24th

Things around here are starting to get back to normal. Okay, not normal, a little less crazy - maybe. I know most of us on the team busted our butts to make things go smoothly. Now? Supervisors are asking about stuff they should have taken training on. I'm trying to hard to be nice about it. "Oh you don't remember, let me show you." But the fifth time, by the same fraggin' supervisor? They're begging to be killed. No judge would convict me. Agents are pulling the same thing. But I can't submit my vacation requests. I check, they haven’t even registered yet. Yeah, nice try. Go do the training, and then we'll talk. I call deal with the great unwashed masses bitching, but the cow-orkers who sat through the same fraggin' training I did? When I do snap, well... I'll be making multiple trips to the door.

Saturday, September 22nd

I am a dumbass, plain and simple. There is no other explanation. On Friday, I “helped” slam PK’s finger in the door. It was an accident, but I did have some responsibility in the event. It was bad enough she had to go have it X-rayed because it might have been broken. Thankfully, it wasn’t. But it is (or was) swollen enough to prevent feeling. The running joke in the office was, don’t let Knittech walk you to the door. You might not come back. (My response: she deserved it, and you’d better stay out of my way. It's hard to razz someone who throws it back.)

I’ve purchased three skeins of La Boheme Jamaican Spice. I don’t have nearly enough to make a decent shawl. I’ve ordered three more skeins of the stuff. It’s pretty and sparkly, but costly. By costly, I mean I’ve spent almost the same amount for the shawl that I did for Grilltech’s sweater. The problem? I don’t know if the person I’m making it for will like the damn thing! I believe she has seen the yarn and thought it was “cute”. I’m having the dilemma of do I keep it and make her a cheaper one? Or do I finish it and hand it off, not telling her how much it cost. It is a gift, whether she uses it or not isn’t the point.

Grilltech’s yarn is taunting me. It’s trying to seduce me into knitting his sweater before I finish the damn shawl. So far I’ve resisted, but it’s tempting. Oh so tempting.

Wednesday, September 19th

The upgrade on our side of the wall, went very well. We have problems here and there, most out of our control. The other side of the wall on the other hand is having problems. I'm not sure what all they are, but I'm glad we had our ducks in a row. WOWer1, turned to me and said "You rock!" (I spearheaded the workbook for the upgrade.)

I'm working on Grilltech's second sock. Its coming along. I think he wants it NOW. I picked up the yarn for his sweater. More money on the sweater then any other project, to date. He didn't have a heart attack, only because he's going to spend that much on brewing supplies.

Monday, September 17th

Most days I love my job, I really do. Today, not so much. (I started this on Friday, but it applies for today (Monday) as well.) I've got a cold. (bleck) I've forgot to bring breakfast. My lunch has become breakfast, and I'll need run and pickup something for lunch today. The database is up and running, which means I now have a weeks worth of data entry I need to get completed as quickly as possible.

And now for something completely different: (Thanks Roxie)







You Are Midnight




You are more than a little eccentric, and you're apt to keep very unusual habits.

Whether you're a night owl, living in a commune, or taking a vow of silence - you like to experiment with your lifestyle.

Expressing your individuality is important to you, and you often lie awake in bed thinking about the world and your place in it.

You enjoy staying home, but that doesn't mean you're a hermit. You also appreciate quality time with family and close friends.

Wednesday, September 12

At the datamine, the database is being updated. We're going from 3.3 to 7.7. There was quite a bit of prep work which needed to happen before the database went down. Right now, we're in limbo (how low can you go?) waiting for the IT people to tell us, you can go in and start processing data. In the mean time, we're having to use spreadsheets to track everything. Shift swaps aren't suppose to be happening, but they are. Well, Billy-Bob has to go have his dog's teeth flossed and he didn't know he was drafted to work this Saturday, until you sent the e-mail this week. We check, Billy-Bob had been drafted back in June, but didn't bother to check. Plausible deniability. I want a clue brick.

On the knitting front, I've started another shawl. This one is a Christmas present. So the kids can't walk out the door with this one. It's another Alberta shawl, but I'm using Fiesta Yarn. I'd show you guys, but I can't find the yarn. I'll need to look at the tag when I get home.

Lynne, you can knit the Shaker sweater in adult sizes. You'll need to adjust as needed. I'm making one for Grilltech. But be warned, it used 20-30% more yarn then a normal sweater. The gals at the LYS sent a picture of the sweater to SWTC, and they want to talk to me. Yeap. I've only written the sweater in one size, it can be easily adjusted. But to be published?! OMG. Now I need to talk to them before I start jumping off the deep end.

Tuesday, September 4th

The Shaker Baby Sweater is completed. I need to weave in the loose ends and it's done. Now I need to drop it off at the shop. The other night we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. We sat across from faux stone carving of two peacocks. I kept looking at the tail of the one and thinking, that would be a great lace pattern. I suppose I could look and see if there is a lace pattern out there already instead of trying to re-invent the wheel.

I'm a dumbass, no big surprise there. The Youngest has been knitting on a lace shirt for about 2-3 month’s now. She had divided for the front and I told her the wrong information. We had her try it on, it was too small. So I've taken it to be re-knit. I've added more stitches for a better fit. I've had it for four days now, she's already asking is it done yet. No, but I can give it back to you, so you can finish it...

It was a quiet weekend. We was going to go star gazing Sunday night. But the moon rose about the time we was ready to leave. No point in going, the light would be too bright. So we stayed home and I knitted.

Grilltech did his second sleep study. (He stops breathing when he sleeps, so they're going to fix the problem.) He said he did feel better, so that's a bonus. He also bottled the Frozen Bunny Beer on Sunday. Moved the Peach Mead, into another carboy. He's thinking the mead is about ready to be bottled. I'm thinking, it could wait another two weeks. Something about bottle bombs make me a bit nervous.

Tuesday, August 28th

We've changed our work flow here at the datamine; and I'm having a hard time getting into the pattern. I'm still getting everything accomplished, but I'm finding it hard to grab a couple of seconds to update my blog.

I have been knitting, working on the socks and Child's Shaker Sweater. I'm even writing up the pattern for the sweater. I'm trying to decide how to write the instructions for the short rows. I think I've come up with a way to make it understandable. I haven't started another shawl yet, but I should get going on one. While I'm not knitting for Christmas, there are two three people I do knit for.

Next month is Grilltech's birthday. I'm not sure what I'm going to make him. He's talking about needing more socks. (He needs them.) But he also loves the sweaters. Decisions, decisions.

Wednesday the 28th there was a Lunar eclipse. While I drove to work, I would glance up at the darking moon and smile. Most of the crew missed it. There are some perks to going to work in the middle of the night. I only wish we didn't have so much light pollution, so I could see the stars a lot better. Oh well.

Monday, August 27th

Wednesday and Thursday were much better then Tuesday. Thank you for the well wishes. I went and knitted at the coffee house. It was just me, it was nice to get out of the house. Granted I was in a noisy barista, but it was a good change. I also got the shawl blocked. It's a lot bigger then I had pictured it would be. Now I don't feel to bad about running out of yarn. The contrasting edging is very nice. Now we need to go star gazing so I can use it.

I'm a bad knitter. I’m a bad blogger. I finished the shawl. It was blocked. I folded it neatly to wait for a trip out to the stars. The Eldest came over and I showed her. She took it home with her. I didn't even get a picture of it in all its glory. Guess this means I'll need to start another shawl, this time made of cashmere. That baby won't be walking out the door without me.

The mitten and sock student is now caught up. Hopefully she'll be where she needs to be on Friday night. I'm still working on two different socks. Should have both of them to the same point by Friday.

Here are the finshed shell socks.

Tuesday, August 21st

Yesterday, we're getting ready to leave the parking lot and the car won't start. Crap! I call the insurance company to arrange for a jump start. Call one of my co-workers and he has jumper cables. Car starts! Another call to the insurance company back to cancel the jump. Start driving, make it far enough to block the entrance to the parking lot when the car dies. Crap! (You know, I'm not really saying crap.) Yet another call to the insurance company back to arrange for a tow. Mean while, people are driving up and waiting behind us, like we can go anywhere. There is zero power, it won't shift into neutral unless the break is pushed. Finally Grilltech is able to get the car into neutral (picture more swearing or not) so we can get it pushed onto the street and out of the way.

The tow guy "Mike" shows up, 15 minutes earlier then promised. He was chatty. Annoyingly chatty. Makes-you-want-to-punch-him-in-the-head-repeatedly-with-great-vigor chatty. He had such great gems like "be glad it didn't happen yesterday in the 100 degree heat" and "guess smart people need to have guys like me around" and "I've towed people from there and there and there". (Shoot me now. Please.) The car gets towed across town at 1700 traffic, with a tow driver who like to hug the passing line. At one point we run over a soda can. Grilltech and I start cracking up, Mike throws me a curious look. I tell him, "Sorry about your car.." and in a panic he's telling me it's a soda can. We *knew* it was a soda can, but we drop it. We drop the car off at the mechanic's who just takes the keys, because "we've worked on the car before so we have all the information." Today I'm waiting on a phone call from them to find out what needs to happen. (Please be something simple like the battery needs to be replaced...) The mechanic called, it was the battery. YEH!!

At this point it's now 1730, I'm tired, crabby and hungry. Grilltech walked home to get the pickup because we live a stone's throw away. We decide to have Chinese Buffet at your Table for dinner. They seat us in a semi-dark corner (good) with an annoying, hyper child one booth away (bad). He's shrieking, pounding on the table, and running around the restaurant. The waiter comes back, we tell him we want to be moved to a different location, with more sun light (better). I'm able to see the sock I'm working on. Child is still running around, the mother is saying lovely things as "dude, you can't help them cook" and "sorry". (Never once did she say "sit your butt in the chair and be quite." Too much?) Grilltech pointed out, she wasn't really sorry, because if she was then she would have put a stop to it.

When we get home, I grab the camera to get pictures of the shawl and the battery is dead. Yeah, it was a good day yesterday. I'm hoping today is much better but the day is still young.

On the plus side, I've completed the gusset on Grilltech's sock. Might even get close to finishing it by Friday. It's really nice to have an hour to sit and knit after work. Picture this I've got head phones on, I'm knitting away. People will come up and ask, why isn't the TV on? Hmm because it's broken? Because I really want to be interrupted by people who ask stupid questions. Yeah, I'm so there.

Monday, August 20th


I've mostly finished it. I still need to block the damn thing, but it's done knitting wise. I've started the new project. It's a Shaker sweater, child's size because it's a sample for the shop.

Grilltech and I went stargazing Saturday night. It was a nice night, a bit on the chilly side. So I'm happy the shawl is mostly done. Hopefully the kitchen sink won't have Grilltech's brewing in it all day again. (I can't complain too much, because I'll get to drink some yummy brews.) He racked the Mead into the secondary carboy filled with peaches, then he made Frozen Bunny Beer.

And now for something completely different: (thanks Curlerchick)







Are you a knitter?



You are a masterful knitter! I don't know how you got this result, but what the hell... Enjoy your title, and try selling some of your "unvented" patterns- you may make enough for that bundle of qiviut you've been drooling over...

Take this quiz!






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Thursday, August 16th

We have four cats, I’m sure I’ve mentioned them before. Fran, aka Spawn of Satan, isn’t the brightest cat we have. Not even the cutest cat we have. But she does have heart. Yesterday I tried to get a picture of Daisy, because I forgot to get one while she was in our yard. The other dog, Spot was barking at me because I was near his domain. Fran comes shooting across the yard ready to do battle on my behalf. Granted, she was behind me, but she was ready. This morning I hear a deep throaty hissing and I can see flashes of white on the back porch. I flip on the light and Fran is engaged in a I’m-tougher-then-you with a juvenile raccoon. I grabbed the camera and tried to get a picture, but it was dark. She chased it out of the yard, when it decided to leave.

Chocolate Cream Stout is a beer Grilltech made. It’s a bit on the bitter side for me, I don’t drink coffee because it’s too bitter. He entered it in the Canyon County Fair and took first place for that division. He’s very happy, and makes claims of Award winning Naked Bottle Brewery. It’s all so cute.


And now for something completely different: (thanks Grilltech)

I AM 60% OPTIMUS PRIME

Take the Transformers Quiz

Wednesday, August 15th

Wow, I finished the Deathly Hallows. Now I can blog. I cried. I laughed. I thought it was good.

I've not finished the (bleeping), (bleeping) shawl. I've ripped out the edging twice. I don't have enough to complete the edging with the yarn I have left. So I'm going to knit in pattern until I run out of yarn. I have a single skein of sock yarn I'm going to use for the edging. It has some of the blue, white, and purple in it. It will be interesting to say the least.

Mr. Shife sending Quincy* over to try and Ninja some of Grilltech's award winning Chocolate Cream Stout is unacceptable. And don't try to tell me it was Quincy's idea. I know he's plotting to over throw your household, not the Tech household. (I tried to get a picture, but Quincy was way to Ninja like.)

~~~~~~~~

* Okay, it's really Daisy, the next door neighbor's dog. She broke out of her yard and ended up in ours.

Wednesday, August 8th

I've been listening to The Half-Blood Prince at work, so I haven't been posting. It's hard to put my own thoughts down, when I'm listening to someone else's. So no audio book until I've got the post mostly written.

Saturday night, Grilltech and I did make it out of town to watch the Perdiod meteor shower. We got there about 2230, it was a fairly clear night. Around the edge of the horizon was the haze, from the smoke. Overhead there was nothing but clear skies. I managed to catch six meteors, three of the Perdiod meteors, three normal ones. (Because the other three wasn't going in the correct direction.) Two of the three were a lovely shade of reddish/orange. Grilltech only managed to see one. There were a handful of satellites to be seen as well. This weekend is the big show of the shower. Here to hoping for another clear weekend.

I'm not sure what I should do with the shawl. I'm down to half a skein. If I do another repeat (sixteen rows), I might run out. On the other hand, I might have enough to do the repeat and the edging. I'm thinking I should put in a lifeline and do the repeat. Then I'll be able to finish the shawl.

I should have my shell sock finished today. I'll have waiting time at the dentist's office today. I should be able to finish up the toe.

Friday, August 3rd

(Yesterday's skies were much worse. I had ash in my car.) When you think it can't get any worse around here, something comes along and proves you wrong. It's been suggested that people with breathing problems stay inside. Healthy people might want to think about not doing stuff out side. Gee, ya think? When we drove into work Thursday morning, I could see the moon, directly overhead. It was a lovely shade of orange.

I'm hoping the threat of rain will put some of the fires out. Or not start any new ones. While thunderstorms are exciting to watch, the sage will burn at the drop of anything flaming. I think lightening counts as flaming. Okay, not really, but can cause flaming. We didn't get rain, in fact the smoke has cleared up somewhat.

We're hoping for the best about clear skies this weekend, chances are slim but there is always hope. The Perseids meteor shower is starting. Next weekend will be the greatest number of meteors. Knitters are such optimists.

By Saturday I'll be on the final skein, for the shawl. It takes me almost thirty minutes to complete a row. I didn't want to start the next row last night, so I started working on a sock. Grilltech had the "huh" look, when it was time for bed.

Random things from the office:
One of the programmers bounces his legs, his chair squeaks just like bed springs. Thanks dude, now I have Korn's ADIDAS running through my head most of the time.

To the barking cough guy in the break room: GO HOME!! You don't need to be spreading your sick germs to others.

To the woman in the break room: I was knitting, not crocheting. Thanks for noticing.

Wednesday, August 1st


I'm getting down to the dregs of the second skein. If I keep up at the pace I'm going at, I should be on the third skein by the weekend. Alberta is starting to get large. I've got over 150 stitches per side (something like 350 total). It's taking longer and longer to get rows finished. I did look up how much yarn should be used on the shawl, it doesn't say.

Tuesday, July 31st

I was out sick on Monday. Today, I made it in, but my head doesn't like being here under the bright Florissant lighting. On the plus side, the day is mostly over. Mostly.

The Youngest and I went to the 200 dollar store and spent (brace yourselves) 40 bucks. We picked up 12 pounds of Gummi Bears - the good ones! They were divided up into one cup baggies. She took her six pounds and went home, hours later and after knitting. I hope she was able to hide them from the roommates. No, we didn't just spend 40 bucks on Gummi Bears. We also brought 40 pounds of briquettes.

No sock class this weekend. Advanced sock class, will be as needed. I'm okay with that. Basic sock class, her daughter is (was?) in the hospital. She wanted a refund. M was telling her, you'll need to come in and we'll talk. I said I'd be willing to work with her schedule, so who knows how it will turn out.

I've completed about four inches since joining the new ball of yarn, on the shawl. It's growing. I'm still having nightmares about not having enough on hand to finish. I've been looking at other people's shawls and reading their amounts used. I should read the pattern and see how much it's called for. (Yeah, like it's really that easy...) I already know I'll need to purchase about two more skeins for the second shawl.

I've been knitting pretty much every night, for the past week. My wrist is killing me. I haven't been doing my powerball. Guess it's time to get back into that routine, otherwise I won't be able to knit much longer.

Friday, July 27th

Wednesday coffee was only BFF C and I. There was another lady knitting on the other side of the building, but neither of us wanted to invite her to our PMS party. I did manage to get three rows of the shawl completed. I still have a long way to go.

Beth has finished her Hyrna Herborgar shawl. It's not even dressed (blocked) and it's breathe taking. The inner child in me is screaming for one. I even have the color (copper) I would want it in and it's cashmere! I'd better get into gear and get Alberta finished. BFF C, did have the other two skeins of blue, so I've got them now.

Last night was dreadful. Grilltech had a sleep study, so he wasn't home. It was hot and I could.not.get.to.sleep. Today, I'm whiny. 'nuff said.

Today the database is crawling, which makes me want to pull my hair out.

Something for those Harry Potter Fans.

Wednesday, July 25th

I'm a day behind. I thought it was Wednesday, alas, it was only Tuesday. Oh well, nothing better than living the same day over. I managed to get three repeats on the shawl completed. Not sure how many stitches I'm up to, but it's spreading out nicely. I also had to do a row below fix. I haven't put in a life line, because I like living on the edge. (Or I'm a dumbass, but jury is still out on that one.)

Cube mates was saying it was raining this morning. Rain is good. Too bad it will be gone by the time I get off work.

I've finished the heel on my sock, and should have the gusset finished on Thursday.

Tonight is coffee.

Tuesday, July 24th

It's been a while since I last posted. There are only so many ways one can say. Nope haven't knit a thing, time to talk about something else. I have started knitting again. Set up the fan to blow across me is the only way to knit in the arid, hot place we live. I've got two sock classes going. A basic sock student, who knows how to knit but is intimidated by heels. She’ll be working heels in no time. And an advanced sock student who wanted to know how to design socks. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: You know the number of stitches you need to knit a sock, pick a pattern and make it fit.

Her: That's it?

Me: Yep. Pick a pattern and we'll talk a bit more.

Easy money. Gotta love that.

The Alberta shawl is coming along very nicely. Pattern is easy to remember. I've only fragged up twice. Did the below row fix and called it good. Main worry: I won't have enough yarn to finish the thing. I picked up the yarn on E-bay and made a sweater out of several of the skeins. Gave three of them to BFF C, because I wasn't going to use them. Took one back and decided it would be perfect to make a shawl. Now I'm trying to get a hold of her to see if she still has them and will part with them. Other wise, I'm back to E-bay and instead of having a dark blue shawl, it will be bright pink. Oh well, I'll get something figured out.

Monday, July 16th

Saturday was the second annual birthday* trip to Jackpot. It's a three hour drive, and we take two cars, men in one and women in the other. We do a lot of talking, what else is there to do? I was driving so there was no knitting going on and the other two are muggles. We passed a truck, I tried to get BFF K to flash him. (Didn't happen.) We passed the guys, I tried again. (Didn't happen.) We stopped to get drinks, I told Grilltech the running joke. He told the rest of his car. So when ever we passed them or they passed us, her husband was watching to see if she would. (Didn't happen.) It was commented that our car looked to be having more fun then the men's. I asked Grilltech, he said they had been talking and joking also.

We made it to Jackpot about 1800. First thing we did was eat dinner, a full stomach is better to drink on. I found a great table of 21. When I got there, it was two women (including me) and three guys. G3 was on a winning streak, so hot when he left the W2 moved into his spot to capitalize on the residual luck. It was power hot and it took a while before the waitress came by. BFF K will confirm how crabby I was while having to wait for drinks. On the other hand, I was tipping** well, because as the dealer put it: "Its hard to find people who want to wear the outfit and work for minimum wage." Part of the troop stood and watched me for a while. Others would wander by and ask how it was going. S would say, she's doing very well.

About an hour later, BFF K showed up because she didn't want to gamble alone. Grilltech and two others went to the casino across the street because the roulette table was packed. We stayed at the table, winning and making the rest of the table laugh. One of the "hot" guys was cashing up his red chips when ever he made enough for a black one. I realized, that was bleeping brilliant. So I started doing the same thing. By the end of the evening, I must have pocketed five black chips.

I went back to the tables Sunday morning, I lost 2.5 black chips. When we decided to leave, I go to cash out, low and behold, I still had four black in my pocket!! SWEET!! I wasn't sure if we had enough to purchase a roto-tiller or not, so I gave Grilltech enough to take the certification test. Plus extra for "whatever", he'll most likely buy stuff to make beer.

We made it home in time to go see the 1550 showing of Transformers. WOW! It grabs you and doesn't let go. By the end, I was a bit tired and ready to go home.

I didn't get any knitting done. Yes, I'm a bad knitter. But it was so worth it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* Yes, it's a month late. We waited because one of the friends had a full schedule.

** It must have made an impression because when we moved to slots, she remembered what I had been drinking. It was a Saturday night, she was busy as hell.

Thursday, July 12th

It's hot. I'm sure you've heard me whine about the heat before, and will again before the summer is over. Right now, I'm waiting for the air conditioning to make the house cooler. Then I can knit. I knit last night, four rows on the shawl. Hope to get four or more done tonight.

Went to the dentist today. I have to go back next month. Blah. They want to replace a older filling. I'm hoping to only have to work half a day tomorrow. It all depends on the overtime mandate. (Grilltech forget you saw that.)

Stay cool everyone.

Wednesday, July 11th

I could lie and say I had a wonderful post written out for Tuesday, and blogger wouldn't let me post it. I didn't - well it wasn't wonderful - we all know the karma cost for lying isn't much. But I used most of my karma yesterday and need to build up more.

After work, we had to run to the doctor for Grilltech's follow up. After we left he commented on how much he liked the new doctor. Mind you, I had to practically hog tie him to make him go. Its a woman, I'm not to comfortable with a woman doctor... I'm a sexists at times. How can he be sexist "at times?" (insert eye roll here) He has to go back next month to have two more moles removed.

MIL, you might want to skip the next two paragraphs...

We went out to dinner afterwards. It was one of the places from the Brew Festival. Grilltech had a dark stout and I have a hoppy raspberry wheat with dinner. Food wasn't bad, but the beer was good. We tipped well and left. Made it about 50 feet down the street when Grilltech said he couldn't find the phone. I whipped around and pulled back into the parking lot and booted him out. The waiter was coming out the door as Grilltech was heading around the car. Nice guy, we'll be back.

Afterwards we went to the Co-op and wandered around. I found a pair of glass earrings I wanted to look at. I went to pick them up, they fell, smacking the concrete floor and one broke. We looked at each other and he picked up the broken parts and I hauled them around the store. Because, I broke it, I bought it. He found the huckleberry beer he wanted. I picked out a dark cherry lambic. We went to pay and the cashier held up the earrings said it's broken. I explained what happened. He said, we don't make people pay for accidents. Wow... good deal. We may join, they have a ton of stuff we could buy.

From there we went over Eyes of the World. I found a lovely moonstone pendant, reasonably priced. I could have wandered more, but Grilltech went out to the car and I didn't want to leave him in the heat. We made it home about 1900. The lawn was still being watered. I missed how it happened, because I was emptying the car. I went out to see what he was doing and the connecting tube from the pump had came off spewing water everywhere and all over him. I pulled the plug, so he could fix it. He came in and changed clothes then took off to the game store.

It was still to hot to knit. Maybe I should have turned on the air conditioning last night, so I could knit.

And now for something completely different: (from Judy at Persistent Illusion)


The sorting hat says that I belong in Ravenclaw!





Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose intelligence is surest."


Ravenclaw students tend to be clever, witty, intelligent, and knowledgeable.
Notable residents include Cho Chang and Padma Patil (objects of Harry and Ron's affections), and Luna Lovegood (daughter of The Quibbler magazine's editor).




Take the most scientific Harry Potter Quiz ever created.

Get Sorted Now!



I could have been a Gryffindor, three points shy.

Monday, July 9th

Things are back to normal around here. The child is married and MIL has gone home. Sabrina (the pigrat) is missing MIL something terrible. She came and laid on Grilltech's pillow Sunday afternoon. Then she laid on the arm of the chair while, he played on the computer.

Saturday, I took the MIL to the LYS. She wandered around and thought a skein of sock yarn was a bit pricy. I had to laugh, because junkies don't think sixteen bucks is bad. I won't tell her about the skein of Anne Schaffer I purchased. That was pricy.

Grilltech had a good time chatting. I don't think the TV was turned on once while she was there. (I wonder if she'd like to move in. Oh wait, that means yard work would have to be done, never mind.)

The Day After, July 7th


The wedding is over and whose idea was it to have it on the hottest day of the year?! 109 made it miserable. Mother Nature towards the end of the evening provided cloud cover and cool breezes. The Youngest and Husband looked very cute. I looked very hot and Grilltech was uncomfortable in the black outfit.

Grill’s Mom came on Thursday morning. We picked her and took her to breakfast. I’m not hungry, was before we arrived at the restaurant. She ate, after we got there. The Youngest went off with one of the Maid of Honor and went swimming.

Friday morning at 0830, Youngest and I went out to breakfast. Swung by the cellular store, but they weren’t open. Went to her hair appointment at 1000, the lady doing her hair was uhh, that’s a lot of hair! Youngest and I made it home by noon. At 1300, I started making the Greek salad. By 1400, I made the Youngest help, because she’s bored.

At 1530, we’re getting ready to go, loading the car and changing clothes. At 1615, we’re off and running to Nampa. Youngest and I are in the air conditioned car. Grilltech and his mom in Youngest’s car. We’re half way there and I realize, we don’t have the marriage license. I take the next freeway exit and have her call Grilltech to let him know what’s going on. It takes us 20 minutes to get home, and two minutes to change into the wedding dress. We’re back into the car, and driving to the park. We get there about 1730.

Planning? There wasn’t much. The picture person showed up at 1800, pictures were supposed to start at 1730. After a ton of pictures, we’re ready to get started. Which is a good thing, because most of the wedding guests are there waiting for the celebration to begin. It’s so hot, everyone can hardly breathe.

After the wedding, I go change into my street clothes. Finish setting up the food. I've taken the Bride her clothes to change into, which she does. Then it was time to do the cake. She had to change back into the the top at least. (Okay, so I didn't think that through.)

By the time we’re getting ready to leave, there is one bowl of salad left. (I sent it home with the Eldest.) Everything else is gone or not enough to eat, better put that back. We’ve helped breakdown the reception area. Help load cars and then I’m ready to leave.

They didn’t open presents. Well, they did open one card, the one from us and his mom. We chipped in and paid for the night at the Anniversary Inn.

It’s Saturday morning and my feet still hurt. I’m glad it’s over!

Tuesday, July 3rd

Missing: My Knitting Mojo. Last seen at LYS or possibly on the living room couch. It may have been wearing a blue lace shawl, a single opal sock, and a mitten with 1.5 inches left to be knit of the thumb. It's owner misses it terribly and is offering a reward for it's safe return. No questions asked.

It's Friday and I'm so sleepy. Grilltech was smoking the briskets last night and had to get up every two hours. I slept through two of them, but the last two woke me up. On the plus side, today is my Friday. T-2 for MIL and T-3 for the wedding. I wonder if there will be anymore melt downs between now and then.

On the way home tonight I'll need to pick up the wedding dress from the cleaners. I still haven't picked out what I'll be wearing. I may go with a red dress, because red is for passion.

Grilltech took the day off, hence the reason why he was up all night smoking. He said he was going to get the house straightened up. (Washing the top of the fridge? MIL is only 4'11" at best, she can't see the top of the fridge.)

Monday, July 2nd

Friday after work, I drug Grilltech kicking and screaming to get his hair cut. (Don't believe him when he says, I didn't notice the hair cut.) From there we walked down to the new/used book store. He found another brew book. At the rate he's going, he'll have more brewing books then I'll have knitting books. We walked from there to Outback for dinner. It was nice to sit and chat, even if I was overheated. The Eldest is telling me it might be menopause. I'm trying hard not to roll my eyes to much.

On Saturday, the Youngest and I went and wandered yard sales. We found a cake knife set for ten bucks, which made her happy. I also picked up a Christmas present. On Sunday, she called me in tears because the diamond popped out of her engagement ring. I think its more nerves then anything else.

We went and saw Live Free or Die Hard. It was an action movie. Best quote: "I know that tone, it's strange coming from someone with hair."

The Eldest and family came over to dinner on Sunday night. Baby Bird was fussy towards the end, the Eldest said it was nap time. We laughed and said she'll sleep in the car on the way home, then be wide awake. The joys of parenting.

Saturday night, I made Grilltech drive me out to the desert. The moon rise was a 22:15 and it was one of the illusion ones. When the moon crested the hills, it was a lovely peach color and the size of exercise ball. We stayed until the moon turned silver. Next time we'll need to go when the moon isn't full, so we can see some stars.

I didn't knit one stitch this weekend. Not one. I think it's been close to a week now since I've last knit anything. Trish is right, it's time for cotton. Grilltech needs to new summer shirt.

and now for something completely different:

58%

Friday, June 29th

I am having the hardest time staying awake this morning. It wasn't evil kitties last night. It wasn't the tap-tap-tap of the oscillating fan. (I got up to turn it off and Grilltech threw his pillow at me. Okay he was aiming at the fan, but hit me instead.) I'm currently drinking my cup of iced tea, and it's not helping. I may have to get another cup. Broke down and drank a soda. After two sips, I'm more awake. Yea me

Wednesday, the youngest came over and wanted her birth certificate so they would be able to get the marriage license on Friday. What did I discover Thursday night? Yip, the certificate sitting on the coffee table. I called her twice, only to get her voice mail. She may have to swing by the house to pick it up on her way. I started the thumb last night. I managed to make about eight rounds before I quit knitting. I think it's way to hot to knit with alpaca/wool. It keeps sticking to me. I tried to get Grilltech to turn on the air conditioning, but he said, nope, it's not warm enough out side yet. It was 84 in the house. Summer doesn't appear to be for knitting.

I got the pictures working again.

And now for something completely different: (Unlike Trish I'm a family friendly site. (ha!)

Online Dating



This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

> dangerous (1x)

Thursday, June 28th

Today is the first day at work, I think I'll make it through the whole day. Still a bit icky, but not as bad. To make matters worse, I'm having to defend actions to managers. (The person left early that day, he's marked sick. It's fragging logged as EXCUSED. Get over it.) On the plus side, the raging crazy seems to be subsiding or not.

In seven days the MIL will becoming for the wedding. I think the hardest of her coming will be figuring out where to take her out to dinner. I think with all the cooking we'll be doing, dinner out would be great. I think she'll want to see the yarn shop as well. Not that she knits, but I do.... I don't think she'll want to see the brewing store with Grilltech.

I need to finish the thumb to the two-tone mitten, then they'll be done. Well, I need to type up the pattern. I've discovered people tend to learn better if they have to write their own pattern. Sure, I'll tell them what to expect, but how they word it is up to them. Which reminds me, I need to knit up a couple of sets of striper gloves. I also want to get the mitten finished up so I can get going on the shawl.

We both had a hard time sleeping last night. It was so hot, it was hard to breathe. Sure, we could have turned on the air conditioning. Once the sun went down it starting cooling down, which helped. The brats were annoying most of the night. Evil pests. Fran: I want in. Fran: Now I want out - didn't realize she wanted out, thought she wanted in. Uggy: I'm screaming because I'm all alone.

I found a really neat looking program called Scrivener. The problem? It's only for OS X. I'm running Vista. Blah. I guess what I really want is the "cork board" section. I wonder if I can hunt down a Windows version.

Monday, June 25th

Its the forth day of summer, and I'm sitting here huddled down wishing I had a jacket. I was cold some of the night, with just a sheet, Grilltech and cats for warmth. I'm wearing a 3/4th length shirt at work, but it's not enough. At this point, I'd like to thank my cube mates, Wow1 and BBQer for this lovely disease, In the future, you can keep your own germs. Since I'm taking the time to thank people, I should thank the Lawn Mowing guy from last night. Who mows their lawn at 20:30 on a Sunday?! I can mow (who am I kidding? Grilltech would be mowing) at 04:30? I hope to be sane soon. It may take a while.

I helped out at the store on Saturday. I suppose I should back up. Friday night, it was eat and knit at the shop. I made dip, because it was a) cool and b) quick. There was a handful of us and a good time was had by all. Grilltech stopped by and laughed at us. I left about 19:45 because I was tired. Went down to help out at the shop on Saturday. M ruptured the tendon in her foot, so she's on crutches for the next six months or so. It wasn't overly busy. But the elderly lady who needed help with a sock sure made it interesting.

I went home about 16:15. Grilltech and I went to the Second Annual Brewers Festival. It was crowded, loud and hot. There must have been about 30 booths, some had three or four different types of beers. OMG, De Boomgaard makes the most amazing Peach beer. It's a bit pricey, but worth it I think. We went back to that booth four times. YUMMY! At one point, a guy was cutting through the line, he looked at me and said, I'm just going through, not cutting. I was okay with it, then he starts, dancing I'm on this side, I'm on that side, cutting back and forth in the line. (It wasn't moving so I was more then okay with the entertainment.) Grilltech must have been glaring at him, because he stops, points at me, then Grilltech, then back to me. I smile and nod, he holds up his hands in the universal, I'm-not-doing-anything gesture, and then he disappeared into the crowd.

We did run into some of the local brewer club members. Since I only met them once, I didn't recognize them, but Grilltech did. They chatted a couple of minutes about which beers they liked so far and Spawn of Satan er, Fran. By the time we left, we must have consumed about three beers a piece. We sat in the park across the street, smelled the lovely BBQ fumes and listened to the DJ for about half an hour. I did get a bit sun burnt, but had a wonderful time.

I'll get the pictures fixed. I'm just being lazy, lazy.

Friday, June 22nd

Overheard phone conversations:

... it's in the closet. You know where their clothes are stored.

... if you don't mind him wearing something that's not ironed, the blue pants are on the chair.

She's talking to her husband who trying to dress the child who is 1.5 years old. She irons baby clothes? I don't iron my clothes. I guess it makes sense, she spends her time ironing, I spend my time knitting. What ever helps people make it through life works.

It's amazing what a good nights sleep will do for a person. I'm energized. Still willing to rip people's heads off, if they annoy me.

And now for something completely different: (A meme from Carrie Penny)

The rules are to go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday month and day only. Then post 3 events, 2 births and one holiday that occurred on your birthday, then tag 5 friends.

Events:
1429 - Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc leads the French army in their capture of the city and the English commander, William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk in the second day of the Battle of Jargeau.

1994 - Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman are murdered outside her home in Los Angeles, California. O.J. Simpson is later acquitted of the killings, but is held liable in a civil suit.

2004 - A 1.3 kg chondrite type meteorite strikes a house in Ellerslie, New Zealand causing serious damage but no injuries.

Births:
1. 1577 - Paul Guldin, Swiss astronomer and mathematician (d. 1643)
2. 1929 - Anne Frank, German-born Dutch Jewish diarist and Holocaust victim (d. 1945)

Holiday:
Roman Empire – sixth day of the Vestalia in honor of Vesta

Tag your it!
Grilltech
Amy Lane
Sandra
Trish
Red
Leyna

Happy Solstice!!

Summer is officially here, now it's time to celebrate:

The Solstice is here and the Tau has stopped their endless movements for one day and night. Clans will meet if their travels will allow. In the day light hours children will gather twigs, flowers, and herbs to tie into bundles. While men prepare large bonfires and women fill tables with food and spirits. Children play games, and laughter flows like wine. The fires will be lit long before the sun goes down. People circle the fire throwing in gathered bundles. Fragrant smoke will fill the air, along with music and cheers. Toasts will be made to the both the sun and moon. Children to drift off to bed and adults dance the night away. Taken from the wandering scribe Xeno Fett History of the Tau, Year of Oak, 639

The evil ones were doing their jobs last night. Uggy kept waking me up once an hour - every hour - for the first three hours. About 0130, Fran demanded to be let into the house. The three that was out came in, while Uggy went out. At 0330, Uggy is at the window demanding to be let in. I think I'm going to invest in ear plugs. The brats can stay out all night.

Today the database dumped me five times. Time lost having to log in again was frustrating to say the least. Since I was still able to work, the system changed tactics and database started lagging for an hour. By lagging, I mean, timing out four times. Time is eaten away here and there, with nothing being completed. Before the system completely died I managed to get quite a bit done. I’ll still managed to get out the door at the correct time.

Last night, I did get the ribbing for the two-toned mitten finished. Then I happened to notice, well, I won't say, but I was really unhappy with Peaches and I had to wash the completed mitten.