Digital TV

Next month, TV broadcasting will go all digital. The debate was that my TV is 14 years old. Do I buy a converter box, only to have my TV go out in another few months? Or do I spend the money on a new TV. We really wanted a new TV. We'd planned on getting one, but then we were cut back to 4 days a week at work. I told Cody, "I just can't justify spending $500 or $600 on a new TV when I can't put groceries on the table."

Thus, the digital converter:


It sat around the house for a couple of months, and just today, I finally got it hooked up. I've managed to find all of my regular channels except for CBS. Weird thing is, I can get them on my rabbit ears, but not with my digital converter box. I hope before the switch next month, I can find them.

As for football, I was 0 for 4 today in my picks. Well, not totally. I wanted the Chargers to win, but didn't really expect them to. Still, I got to see my boy Jacob Hester make a first down. He's the only reason I sort of root for the Bolts anyway.

That's pretty much been my Sunday. That, and knitting a few more rows on my Mystic Waters shawl. Cody is watching the Golden Globe awards, something I have absolutely no interest in whatsoever. I'm feeding snakes. I've got one more, then I'm done for this week. Well, I guess I'd better go get his rat ready.

Until tomorrow, God bless.

Divisional Saturday

It poured down rain most of the day today, which made it a perfect day to stay indoors and knit. And watch playoff games, of course. This weekend is the divisional round. I'm 0 for 2 on my predictions today, but secretly kinda glad the Cardinals won. I hope I do better tomorrow.

Of all of my LSU players from last year who went pro, two are still in the hunt, as of this writing. Those would be Early Doucet and Jacob Hester. I'd love to see those two meet in the Superbowl.

Cody was reading Sports Illustrated the other day, and there was a paragraph on some Colts defender. He was commenting on this article, and in the course of his conversation said, "As dedicated a Colts fan as I am..." I immediately guffawed, "Dedicated fan? You? You won't even sit down and watch a game!"

"I'm still a dedicated fan," he replied.

No child. You become a dedicated fan when you sit through every last second of a 44 to 6 thrashing, and still don't take your Jason Witten jersey off. You become a dedicated fan when your once Superbowl favorite team fails to make the playoffs, and you still wonder where you can go to get a star tattooed on your butt. You become a dedicated fan when you are not just there for the 13 and 3 seasons, but for the 1 and 15 seasons as well. Calling yourself a dedicated fan doesn't make you one. It's something you have to earn.

Knitting Content: I started working on Mystic Waters again. It's a pain having to go from page to page to read the charts, but I'm making progress. I worked on my Trekking scarves during the ball games. I needed something I didn't have to keep looking at a pattern to work on. Those fit the bill quite nicely.

Saturday Sky:

WIP Update

For your knitting content, an update on my WIP list, which I first posted a couple of weeks ago...

1. Mystic Waters--no progress. It's starting to call my name, but the thought of all those charts, in all those pieces...It's a bit off-putting.

2. Trekking Is For Necking--I haven't really worked on them since the last update.


3. Branching Out #2--I think I did one pattern repeat this week. I really need to lay it out and take another picture. By next week, for sure.

4. Longhorn Socks-- The pattern is Express Lane. They are moving right along. I'm almost to the heel, but I don't really like short row heels, so I'm going to find a different one to substitute.


5. Cowboys scarf--It's finished.


6. A Washcloth--completed

Good News and Bad News

The good news is I got to work today. This will be the first full five day week I've worked since--I think August it was. The bad news is, I'm no longer used to working five day weeks, so I'm really tired.

I didn't make it all the way through the game last night, either. I'm not a fan of either of those teams. In my case, who to root for depended mostly on which team I despise less. Florida won out, but only by an eyelash, so I rooted for Florida. I wanted to stay up for the whole game, but by the third quarter, I was fading fast. If I'd had today off, maybe I would have stuck it out, but as I had to work, I went on to bed midway through the third quarter. Cody stayed up and watched. He was rooting for OU, and I pretty much knew how the game was going by hearing him holler. At one point, I had to holler at him to quit hollering because I was trying to sleep. Well, I knew how the game would go once I saw how Florida's defense shut down Sam Bradford. I guess they didn't appreciate the arrogance of OU boasting for the last month about how they were going to hang half a hundred on Florida. Two measly touchdowns. That's all this Heisman Trophy winner could come up with.

I find it funny that of the three teams around which the Big 12 controversy swirled--Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma--the only one that won their bowl game is the one who kept getting overlooked--Texas. Got overlooked in the conference championship. Got overlooked in the Heisman race. Got over looked in the National Championship. Got overlooked in the AP All-American first team. Got overlooked in the AP Player of the Year. All of those awards went to either Sam Bradford or Graham Harrell. And poor Colt McCoy got left out in the cold. I guess it just goes to show that in college football, winning doesn't mean a blamed thing.

Just This Once

I am part of the Gator Nation.

But only for tonight.


Go Gators!

I Almost Forgot

to blog, that is. I was just about ready to head for bed--early tonight--and realized that I hadn't posted. So here it is.

I had the loveliest dream a couple of nights ago. It was just like a movie.

I dreamed I was able to travel through space and time through portals in the continuum. Every door could be a portal. I would get into an elevator, and when I got out, I'd be in a completely different place in a completely different era. Or those revolving doors--I would go into one in, say, New York in the winter and when I came out, I'd be back on my college campus in the spring. I had no control over where and when I went.

Anyway, in one place and time, I met a man and we fell very much in love. We were planning our future together, but alas, I had to leave the house. As I walked out the door, I stepped through a portal and ended up sometime in the future.

But something happened on that trip through time. I don't know what, but my traveling through time was done. I would never bend the space/time continuum again.

The entire rest of the dream was spent trying to find him, and wondering if he would still remember me. Finally, just before the dream faded, I did find him. He did remember me, and he had waited for me all that time.

Just like in the movies...

(Hey, beats the heck out of the eyeless ghoul who wants to marry me!)

A Quickie

I'm really sleepy tonight, so this'll be a quick one. I did want to show you the dishcloth I knit Sunday while watching the playoffs.

Once I'd finished it, I couldn't even find where the knot was, even though I made note of it when I knit it. So, into the gift drawer it went. The pattern is Pumpkin Dishcloth from Knitwits Heaven. The yarn is Peaches and Creme cotton, colorway sunburst.

And here is the progress I've made on my Longhorn Socks.


The pattern doesn't show up well in this picture, but right now I'm too tired to go take another. And just why am I so tired? Well, I stayed up until nearly 11:00 last night watching the Fiesta Bowl between University of Texas and Ohio State University. And what a game it turned out to be!

Everyone expected a high scoring offensive game, but it ended up being the defenses of both teams that dominated. The scores stayed low--and close. I don't think either team led by more than 4 points at any time during the game. When Ohio State scored their go ahead touchdown with 2:05 left in the game, it was already well after 10:30. Since 5:00 AM waits for no Longhorn, I said, "Well, that's the ball game," and turned off the TV and went to bed.

I should have known better.

A tiny part of me believed that Colt McCoy would be able to score that last minute touchdown, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. Imagine my joy when I got up this morning to find that it was true! (I'll tell you what, that Romo guy had better watch out. He's just about to get knocked out of the top tier of my personal pantheon again.)

Both teams went into the game with something to prove. Ohio State wanted to prove that they really could win the big game--having lost the National Championship game two years in a row. Texas wanted to prove that they really did deserve consideration for a national championship, but they probably won't get it. They'd won over a tough team that played them a tough game, but it's unlikely to impress those who vote for the rankings, because they didn't win "prettily" enough. The way the BCS is done is turning our college athletes into unsportsmanlike, beauty pageant contestants. Ah, but that's a topic for another post--preferably written when I've had more sleep, which won't happen anytime soon if I don't get off of here.

Listening to: Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry. A perennial Christmas favorite, be sure to keep listening after the story is finished. There is an absolutely beautiful piano rendition of Deck The Halls.

OK, I Lied

One more gratuitous Colt McCoy photo

(Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

One Last

gratuitous Colt McCoy photo

(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Catching Up

I've gotten a bit behind on my blogging. I guess the change in routine--me being off work--has got me, let's say a bit more relaxed than usual. I'm going to try to catch up a bit here.

Cody did go hunting Friday, but didn't even see any deer, so no pictures. Worse than that, no meat in the freezer. I'll have to keep shelling out bucks for hamburger meat.

I was doing the happy dance later that night. Cody had All State Band tryouts Saturday down in Pearl. I thought I'd have to drive him, and stay down there all day until he got finished. However, Friday night, his section captain called and said they'd gotten a bus to take them down there. So all I had to do was have him at the school by 5:30 Saturday morning, then I could go back home and back to bed. I don't know how Cody did at the tryouts. I asked him, and all he will say is, "Epic failure," but he won't tell me what went wrong. I don't know if he totally messed up, or if he just thinks he didn't do as well as he wanted to .

Now, to catch up on my WIP list, which I first posted a couple of weeks ago...

1. Mystic Waters--no progress. I've kind of lost interest in this one because of the charts being so disorganized. I'll get back to it eventually, though.

2. Trekking Is For Necking--They are moving right along--a bit slowly since I'm doing them both at once, but moving along nevertheless.


3. Branching Out #2--I've done a couple of pattern repeats, but not enough to make much of a difference.

4. Longhorn Socks--I picked a pattern, and cast on. I'm doing them both at once. I wanted a toe up pattern, even though that is not my preferred method. The knot in the yarn made one of the balls kind of small, so I wanted to be sure I had enough to at least get the foot done. The pattern is Express Lane.


5. Cowboys scarf--It's finished. Blocked, grafted, and everything. The only thing about it is that it tends to fold in half in the middle. I'm pretty sure this is because of the way the pattern is. Other than that, I really like it.


6. A Washcloth--I found my pumpkin pattern, and will do this one this afternoon.


Not on the list, and not really a project yet, I did swatch this pattern up a bit. I'd done a scarf in this pattern before. It's one I adapted from a blanket pattern, and I wanted to get it written out and charted. It's written, but not charted yet.


Cody has gone hunting again. I hope he has better luck today. Right now, Baltimore and Miami are on. Gonna go watch.

Back

by popular demand,

Saturday Sky

The Cotton Bowl

When Houston Nutt took over as the head coach at Ole Miss, he asked his new team, "How many of you have ever played in a bowl game?"

Not one single player raised his hand. Not one single player on that team had ever been to a bowl game. It was true. The last time Ole Miss had appeared in any bowl game was back when Eli Manning still played there. The SEC considered Ole Miss to be one of the sorry teams of the conference. Nevertheless, Nutt promised his team that if they would work with him, if they would do what he asked them to do, he would get them to a bowl game this year. They believed him. They did what he asked, and he kept his promise.

Once the team became bowl eligible, Nutt kept them motivated by telling them, "The more you win, the warmer it'll be." By the end of regular season play, speculation had the Rebels in the Cotton Bowl.

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

When the Bowl selections were announced, speculation proved correct. Ole Miss would indeed be playing in the Cotton Bowl.

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

But then, the entire state of Mississippi groaned. Who had decided this? Who had determined that the #20, 8-4, relatively unknown Jevan Snead led Ole Miss Rebels needed to face

Texas Tech

#8

11-1

Graham Harrell

(Photo By Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

in the Cotton Bowl?

It just didn't seem fair. It made one wonder how these matchups were determined. This one certainly favored Texas Tech. Everyone expected them to win. Everyone expected Ole Miss to get absolutely slaughtered in this game. No one expected them to be anything but pathetic against this team who had spent most of the season in the top ten. No one expected

47-34

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

And with that decisive victory over a team which had once been considered a national title contender, with a quarterback who had once been considered a Heisman trophy contender, the Ole Miss Rebels have declared themselves to be sorry no more.

They are a team that must be taken seriously.

Even without Eli Manning.

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

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Show Me January

I've seen this done on a couple of blogs I read, so I thought I'd try it here. I'm challenging every one who reads this to play along. If nothing else, it'll give you blog fodder once a month.

What you do is simple. On the first of the month, post what's on your calendar. I'm a little late this month, but will be on time from here on out. First off:

My sister in law sent me this calendar for Christmas. It hangs in my bedroom--or will, as soon as I get it put up. This is my adorable nephew Joshua.

This is my kitchen calendar. It was given to me by my sister who lives in Alaska.

And finally, this is the calendar that hangs in my office/computer room:


What's on your Calendar?

Knitting In Review 2008

I wasn't going to post one of these lists, because I didn't really think I'd gotten that much done. However, with the help of Ravelry, I realized I really had gotten quite a bit of knitting finished in 2008, so here you go:

By the way, it took me a little longer to do this than I had anticipated. As I was browsing through past entries looking for old photos, I got a bit distracted by this post. It recalled memories of happier times. Brighter days. But ah, let's not be morose. On with the post:

SOCKS: 9 pair
Favorite: Baudelaires


SCARVES: 26
Favorite: Branching Out

HATS: 2
Favorite: Pinwheel
SHAWLS: 4
Favorite: Rona


WASHCLOTHS: 7
Favorite: Ornament Cloth


Miscellaneous: 2 headbands I knit out of leftover yarn. 1 Calorimetry.

Total: 51 projects. Disclaimer: Half of them were garter stitch scarves knit from novelty yarn that were to be donated to charity. They don't take but a couple of hours knitting to finish one.

That's my knitting summary for 2008. My goals for 2009 are to continue to knit from stash as much as possible, and to try to find a sweater pattern and knit myself a sweater. This one will present a challenge. Not to my knitting skills, but to find a pattern that I don't think is just plain ugly. I do not at all like most of what is considered fashionable these days. I couldn't imagine myself wearing some of it.

I will keep you updated.

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Happy New Year!

I took down my Christmas decorations, which always makes me a bit depressed. Maybe that's why I can't think of a single thing to say.

Cody is going hunting in the morning. Maybe I'll have deer pictures to show you tomorrow.

For now, I'm going to bed.

Goodnight.