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.