The weekend's not complete without a visit from the police

Neighbors across the street got into a screaming fight over whether or not a tree should be trimmed, one of them locked herself into the bathroom and started slashing her wrists. The police were called and they took her away. They needed eight cars for this! (The eighth is parked on the other side of the street.) This isn't her first visit from the police, they're usually here once a month.

*Nerd Alert!*

I got my package today from Knitpicks today. EEEEEE!! They're currently running a book sale at 40% off! Purchases over $45 get free shipping. I was particularly excited about this since I had just finished slobbering over full priced books at Barnes and Noble. The first two books I chose without hesitation were Sensational Knitted Socks and More Sensational Knitted Socks.

When I saw the first book on Amazon.com, I dismissed it purely on its cover alone. Unfortunately, the publisher chose not to disclose any of the inside of the book. If they had, I would have made my purchase long ago. Oh, speaking of Amazon, all these books are much cheaper on their site than in stores. But they were even less at Knitpicks.

OK, so here's the cool thing about the books. They divide patterns into chapters based on the number of stitches in the repeated patterns. The socks in the above picture are based off 5 stitch patterns. Other chapters include 12 stitch, cabled, chevron, fair isle and mosaic patterns.

You pick out the pattern you're interested in, then use the provided chart to decide how many stitches to cast on. Some patterns are available cuff down or toe down and also include instructions in 4dpns, 5dpns or 2 circs.

At the end of each section you'll see several different stitch patterns you can plug in to create the sock of your choice. What it really does is give you the knowledge you need to create your own socks patterns.

Another book I found at Barns and Noble was Victorian Lace Today. However at $29.95, it was out of the question. Thank goodness for KP!!

The chapters are organized patterns created by women during the Victorian period. The above photo is the beginning of Mrs Jane Gaugain's chapter. The glossy pages are full of extravagant photos, the editors were very generous with space for all the photographs.

Each pattern is photographed several times so you really get an idea for exactly what you'll be knitting. The patterns are labeled Easy, Intermediate or Expert Lace.

The patterns seem to be laid out simply but I still don't understand them. Of course, I haven't taken the time to read the special section for newbs. There's no time, I'm knitting a sock! I hope to get to lace soon but based on past experiences, there is a bit of fear. Hopefully I'll get over it soon. Meanwhile, I think I'll comb over these sock books and look for something to cast on. It's about time I start having more than one project going at a time!

Fun morning!

We were both up early this morning puking. There's nothing like puking in your hand because you can't make it to the bathroom. Good stuff. Then there's the whole, "I can't move my hair out of the way because I have puke in my hand" thing. About an hour later, Apollo joined in on the fun but he was lucky enough to make it to the bathroom.

At first I thought it was because I've been sick and I've been coughing too much or too hard. Then because Apollo had the same problem, I realized it may be due to the Taco Bell that we both ate. Surprise! There's an extra Grilled Stuft Burrito sitting in the fridge that I was hoping to eat today. Argh! Maybe it was their lemonade? (Wishful thinking)

I wish I was this comfortable when sleeping

Simba looks so comfortable! (I need a new mattress but they're incredibly expensive.) I can't even remember the last time I actually slept comfortably. If I slept like Simba does (and 20 hours a day) I would be so rested.

A few odds and ends

Just a few miscellany things today. First I started on a new sock.

I'm not sure how I feel about the colors of the yarn mixing with the pattern. Is it distracting? Does it hide the pattern?

I saw this knit blanket in an Irish shop in Coronado. I'm not sure why I took this picture.

The boys are currently outside getting their ghetto on. Apparently, all you have to do is stand outside with music coming out of your trunk and people will show up, park their cars illegally, and drink out of plastic cups with you.

Mishap Monday

You'd like to think so, wouldn't you!!

Me: Hello! How can I help you?

Customer: can u plz tell me how to watch the live ppv event

Me: Please refresh the page using the F5 key. You will then see the links which allow you to choose from several different bandwidths. Click on the appropriate link; if you're not already logged in, you will be prompted to login using your email address and password to begin viewing the video.

Customer: i have paid for it. can u tell me who won

Me: No, sorry. I was working here and unable to watch it.

Customer: so how do i watch it

Me: Refresh the page, you'll see the links you can click on. Next, click on the link which best matches your bandwidth to begin viewing the event.

Customer: ok, and then?

Me: Click on a link, login using your email address and password and the video will begin playing in Windows Media Player.

Customer: so once i log on to somewebsiteonthenet.com, wat do i do then

Me: Please scroll up and read everything I have typed.

Customer: ok, so i go onto somewebsiteonthenet.com, then i type in my email and password

Customer: and it should b there, is that correct

Me: Yes, you should see it at the site where you made your original purchase.

Customer: ok, thanks \

Customer: i think i could figure it out

Aimee's got the blues

Or at least she will once I get these in the mail.

Yarn: Blue Moon, Blue Moonstone
Pattern: Vine motif taken from Dublin Bay Socks (the condensed version)

Jaywalkers ok by me

I finally gave in and decided to try the Jaywalker sock pattern. It was the only pattern I could find which showed off the these beautiful colors. Who knows, maybe Monkey will follow? Of course, I just bought a couple sock books from Knitpicks (40% off!!) so we'll see.

I'm not sure why the yarn is all tangled up. It reminds me of Faythe, though. :)

Fiber Friday

This is the last of the yarn from the first batch I ordered from Blue Moon Fiber called "Lucy." It's also the only one I chose from their Multicolor Wave. Normally, I wouldn't think I'd pick out this color combination but honestly, it was love at first sight! It reminds me of a siamese cat or of a robin and eggs. I've been obsessing over it, I can't wait to get started. :)

Sick

I'm taking a sick day today. I always feel some guilt whenever I call in sick. I could be losing blood from a major artery and I'd still feel guilt. Maybe it's not guilt so much but empathy for my coworker(s) who will have to work that much harder in my absence.

I think sleeping with only a sheet and the fan on high all night long is probably part of the reason I'm feeling like crap.

Hello Kitty loot

I went to Target today. Sometimes the little bargain bins at the front of the store hold some great trinkets. Today I discovered Hello Kitty ice packs and a water bottle for only $1 each! The ice packs are two per package. They also had Disney Princess ice packs, Spiderman and Cars. Of course, HK won out. :)

Just checking in

I continue to be annoyed at my inability to take a quality photograph but that doesn't stop me from taking them. I may have to consult a professional. Or read the manual again but this time after 8 hours sleep.

After much obsession, I decided to scrap all my plans and am using a familiar pattern for the next socks. I'll use one of those patterns on the other yarn I have yet to order. This yarn is really pretty, it's actually much lighter in color than in the photo.

I have two days off. IN A ROW. Though I had volunteered to work these late night shifts a couple days a week and while I enjoy working at night, it's really messing with my sleep schedule. I'll probably be sleeping a lot these next two days.

Healthy snacks

My tomato plants are producing a lot of juicy, rich tasting fruit but there's something wrong with the plants. They're starting to turn yellow. I'm worried they may have blight or some other disease which from what I understand is irreversible. :(

For Faythe

I'm getting frustrated with the macro setting on my camera. It's just not that good. I was beginning to think it's operator error but no matter what I do, and yes I even read the manual, it looks awful.

This is an approximate break down of the different stitches. The second from the bottom and the top stitches are the same.

Don't look at me, I'm hideous!

I don't want to be a cable sock! My color is much too delicate for cables and ribbing!

Yummy!

I'm getting ready to wind this beautiful yarn up into a ball but I wanted to show it to you real quick. It's so pretty!

Confetti socks - done!

Me: Hello, how can I help you?

Customer: Hi, I've managed to register, click on the Buy button, enter my credit card details and successfully purchase the webcast but I can't figure out how to watch the event. There is obviously something wrong with your site, the instructions aren't clear, I don't know what to do! I demand a refund if you can't help me!

Me: Please scroll down the page and click on the Watch button located two inches below the Buy button.

Customer: I'm an idiot!

Me: Yes. *


I had hoped I'd finish these socks on my lunch break tonight but since we were extremely busy, there was no lunch break. I only needed to finish the kitchener stitch and sew in the ends and since this was all that was keeping me from sweet sweet freedom, I stayed up late tonight to do it. The confetti socks are done! I hope Faythe's Mom is happy. Simba is not.


*For the record, I did not say "yes." I wanted to though. Also, this chat is not a real chat thought it's very close. And yes, people have said "I'm stupid" or "I'm an idiot."

Knit, knit, knit, kniiiiit, knit, kniiiiit, knit, knit!!

I've developed a system which allows me to knit two pair of socks at a time from one ball of yarn without cutting the yarn. At first I had some issues with tangled yarn but now I'm a pro.

A closeup of the pattern. It took a while, but it's growing on me. Maybe in a different color... I can't wait to finish them but no matter how much I knit, it seems like I haven't done a thing! GAH these socks, GAH!!

"I Hope Mom Likes Wool Socks" socks

I'm not sure if you can see the vine motif on the side, I put some paper inside the socks so you could see it a little better. These are for Mom, I'm not sure if she's going to like them or not. I didn't want to do anything too fancy since I figured she wouldn't like the "holes." She loves red though I think she's getting tired of red gifts. Oh well. We'll see how she responds.

Yarn: Blue Moon, Lovers Leap

Pattern: Vine motif taken from Dublin Bay Socks

I've been struggling with my new camera, I haven't taken the time to read the manual so for now this is the best I can do.

PS - You can find a better picture of this beautiful yarn by clicking here.

A wake up call

I got a few phone calls at 6am this morning from my co-workers. Not a big deal, the power was out in the office. I did some damage control, I think it went well. Speaking of damage control...

Apollo was already up starting to set up his receiver and subwoofer. The receiver did some sort of meter reading of all the speakers to check their quality. Or something. I'm not exactly sure what it did, I'm not going to try to figure it out either. This is one of those things I'm going to leave to the men. I can change my oil but that's where I draw the line.

So one of the speakers passed the test but it didn't even sound remotely as good as all the others. At this point I think it's worth mentioning that this is the speaker that's the closest to where I sit and always makes a damn cricket sound. I'm constantly bitching about it and asking Apollo to turn off the receiver. I swear, it's enough to drive a person crazy. Unless you're already there. ANYWAY.

Apollo replaced the wire for one of the speakers in the room and...ok, I think this is also a good place to mention that we had four speakers hooked up. The fifth one blew out at the Memorial Day party, we took it outside for Tee to use while deejaying. Unknowns to me, because I leave all this crap to men, the speakers were set up in stereo, not surround sound. Apparently this is because the receiver is almost 20 years old and doesn't have that capability. Apollo laughingly tells me that he tried to create surround sound by setting up speakers around us so we'd be surrounded by sound. *insert stunned look here* He's now telling me how he converted a four channel receiver into a two channel receiver after two of the channels went out. He basically took all the wires and poked them into the two remaining jacks. *sigh*


Anyway (geeze, me and my tangents!), Apollo set up the wire for one of the speakers and then got ready to replace the wire for the second one when he casually mentioned that he had spliced the wires together. Ahem. This is the speaker that made the cricket sound and made me lose it a few times. He then mentions that he may have spliced more than one wire together. He starts pulling them out (they're hidden under the rug at the baseboard of the room) and lo...five, yes FIVE wires were spliced together!!


It turns out they're all of varying gauge! Some of the spliced sections were even bare. It's a wonder we didn't start a fire!! Yes, what you're looking at above is actually the pile of wires he used to splice together for one speaker.


Just for the record, the above photo represents what you should see when looking at speaker wires running to and from your receiver. Not this:

I swear, sometimes I wonder what's going on in his mind. He has to make everything so ghetto!! He defends himself by saying, "A man gotta do what he gotta do." Well in that case, maybe it would be better if I got involved after all.

Sock blockers anyone?

Me: Hello, do you have any Fiber Trends sock blockers?

Lady on phone at yarn store: Sock blockers?

Me: Yes.

Lady: I've never heard of them.

Me: I'm looking at Fibertrends.com, they say you're a supplier. I was just wondering if you do sell them. I would rather buy them from a local store than online.

Lady: *silence*

Lady: What do sock blockers do?

Me: They block socks.

Lady: I knit socks. I have never blocked them. Why do you need to block socks?

Me: (getting annoyed) They're not really for me (lying because I feel stupid for wanting sock blockers, I worked hard this last week and want something frivolous). They're for someone else, they're a gift.

Lady: What do they look like?

Me: Well, they're a two dimensional shape of a sock. Basically, they're flat. And look like a sock.

Lady: Oh, let me ask someone. *muffled sound as she talks to a coworker* She wants to know if we sell trendy sock blockers, she see's them on the internet.

Lady: Sorry, no we do not have them.

Me: OK, thank you!

"Annoyed" is becoming a common self-description

I almost had a Dartha Yaya moment today. Afterwards, I realized it's because of the line of work I'm in, and that she used to be in. I know how easy it is to mess up and I can tell when someone has messed up or when a situation is about to get bad. Plus, I really need a break from being nice to people. I know that sounds terrible but I just want to spend my time off relaxing and not having to always smile when someone's being an ass or just plain stupid. The job has made me cynical. Or crabby.

Anyway, it all went down at Fry's where Apollo picked out his birthday present. He initially had no idea that's what he was going to be doing so that made it even more fun. By the time he picked out his receiver and subwoofer, I was exhausted. I felt like we had just bought a car! With our cart full of all the necessary extra cables and wire, we proceeded to the cattle round-up style checkout counters. It took a little over ten minutes for the cashier to ring up my order. He kept getting tips from one of his coworkers who pretty much had no idea what he was doing. Twice they called over their supervisor who was wearing an ill fitted fat striped tie and appeared to be all of 17 years old. The cashier swiped my card several times, mumbled to himself and kept scratching his head while looking at his register. I got nervous and said, "Are you sure you didn't ring up anything twice? I saw you scan those cables twice. I'm also concerned at how long it's taking to ring up all my items, plus you still have my credit card."

Anyway, long story short, even though I asked him three times and each time he said no that he didn't ring anything up twice, it turns out he did. Thankfully I counted up all the items on the receipt before signing and noticed an extra item and then the obvious discrepancy. I had to go to the infamous refund section of the store to get a refund that would post to my account in two to three business days. My bags were searched three times by three different people because they didn't believe I was charged twice. I was...annoyed. I know it wasn't that big a deal but, damn.

I didn't make a scene but Apollo tells me my body language did it for me. I guess I have high expectations. I'm sure Yaya knows what I'm talking about!

Apollo checking out the back side of his Onkyo receiver.