A Day Of Disappointments

I was disappointed that neither Talkin Cowboys nor the Lunch Break broadcast today. I consoled myself by watching this and this. And this.

I was sorely disappointed in the new Indiana Jones movie. I liked the first three, but this one seemed too cartoony. I know the others had supernatural elements in them, but they were at least believable. This one reminded me of some of those badly animated Japanese cartoons. It was just bad.

I was disappointed in my knitting. I'd messed up somewhere and couldn't figure out what I'd done wrong. I ended up tinking (that's un knitting for you non knitters out there) and reknitting a row and a half to fix my mistake. I know that doesn't sound like much, but I'm to the point that there are multiple hundreds of stitches on each row.

I was disappointed in the new antenna I bought for my TV. This one was supposed to be specially designed for digital signals. I was really hoping it would not only improve my reception, but would also simplify the convoluted mess of multiple antennas I need now to pick up all my channels. When I hooked the new antenna up, I could not pick up a single channel. Not one. Not only that, when I'd unhooked it, packed it back up to take back to the store, one of my old antennas was no longer working. I believe the problem is in either the co-ax or the amplifier. Tomorrow when I take the other antenna back, I'm going to see if Radio Shack has another amplifier. If not, I may just buy a whole new antenna--a different kind.

I was going to do my taxes, only to discover that Wal-mart no longer carries the tax program I use.

My mail carrier folded my Dallas Cowboys Star magazine in half before stuffing it into my mailbox.



On the bright side, someone gave me a gold dragon egg!(Click it , please)



But the dragon site I post to is down. What else can go wrong?

I'm really wishing I hadn't put that package of Oreos back...

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WIP Wednesday

Yeah, I know it's Thursday, but I was supposed to post this yesterday and didn't. So what you have here is a belated WIP Wednesday.

1. Mystic Waters--I'm about a third of the way through chart E. They go through I.

Here is a close up of the stitch pattern:


2. Trekking Is For Necking--They are a few inches longer, but the shawl has been taking up most of my time and attention.


3. Branching Out #2--Also taking a back seat to the shawl, but I got a few pattern repeats done.

4. Longhorn Socks-- The pattern is Express Lane. No progress this week. Like everything else, they are being supplanted by the shawl obsession.

That's it. I can't believe I only have 4 active WIPs. Well, there's 5 if you count each of the Trekking scarves, but since I'm doing them at the same time, I don't. Makes me want to cast on something else.

In the yard, the daffodils are also slowly making progress. There'll be blooms in a couple of weeks.


Not much else is going on, unless you want to hear about house cleaning. We have been off all this week due to plant shutdown, and I've really gotten the house clean. Well, it's somewhere above total squalor now. Being off has also made me a bit lazy, which is why I think I can't get my brain to function. I've got stuff to blog about, but when I sit down at the keyboard, I find I just don't wanna.

Other than that, I could totally handle this staying at home thing.

Light Blogging

Though I have several posts rattling around my usually empty head, lace knitting has become the all consuming obsession.

I was watching a rerun of the old TV series CHiPS. Roosevelt Grier was a guest star on that particular episode. I don't know if they ever gave the name of his character or not, but I recognized him right away. Anyway, he's a big man, and he was driving down the highway in a tiny little car. I didn't get the make and model, but it was about the size of a Volkswagon Rabbit. He was speeding down the road saying to himself, "I'm so late. I told Mama I'd be there on time, and I'm late". Suddenly his car starts spewing dense, black smoke, and he says, "Oh, now I broke my little car."

Well, the CHiPs pull him over, and while they are writing him his ticket, he destroys his little car with his bare hands. He rips the doors off, breaks the windows, kicks the headlights in, pulls the seats out, and tears the steering wheel off--not to mention all the dents and stuff from kicking and hitting the car.

I don't know what it was about that scene. I think it was supposed to be funny, but to me it just seemed so sad. It started when he said that he'd broke his little car, and just got worse from there.

The whole scene just made me sad.

So here's a bluebird of happiness.

Taken this morning, looking out my back window.

The Reject

This is the photo I wanted to post on my Project 365 blog, but when I looked closely, I found it to be out of focus. So you get to see it here.

I really liked this one, but there seems to be just a bit of camera shake. What can I say? It was 20' out there!

I Am A

My Conservative Identity:

You are a Faith-Based Fighter, also known as a religious conservative. You believe in Judeo-Christian values, restoring God’s rightful place in the public square, and in showing all the unwashed and unsaved liberal sinners the path to salvation, or at least to the GOP.

Take the quiz at www.FightLiberals.com

That Didn't Take Long

The man's just been inaugurated, and Iranians are already burning him in effigy.

So to speak.

(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

They sure didn't waste any time.

Project 365

There's this thing out there called Project 365. I'd heard of it before, but it sounded like too much commitment. The short version is, you take a photograph every single day of the year and post it. That's it. But the thing is, you take a photograph every day. You can't just take a week's worth on Saturday and post one each day.

I'd thought about trying it, but I was afraid I'd forget, then just run out and take a crappy photo just to have something to post.

But it does sound intriguing. I thought maybe I could try it on a smaller scale. Like maybe a month. Or a week. Or days when blog fodder is lacking...like today.

So here is today's photo. Yes, the sky really did look like this. At least for a time. But don't let it fool you--it was cold out there!


You know what, I think I'm going to give her a go. As long as it doesn't become a burden, that is. I'll be posting my photos over on my old Summer Photo Project blog, which will be renamed accordingly.

You can join me if ya want.

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Championship Sunday

There will be one less name on the list of teams that have never played in a Superbowl.

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Kurt Wariner led the Arizona Cardinals to victory in the NFC Championship game, and to the franchise's first ever Superbowl appearance. Their opponent will be the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I don't think this Cowboy fan could have handled a Philadelphia - Pittsburgh Superbowl.

Shawl Progress

It was a bit warmer today than it was yesterday. Highs actually got up into the 50s, whereas yesterday the high was only 30. I eventually got dressed and ventured out to do my weekly grocery shopping. It was gray and drizzly, and still a bit chilly, though I'm beginning to see signs of spring wherever I look.

Signs of Spring:

Daffodils beginning to poke their heads out of their winter beds.

I spent most of the rest of the day watching shows from my Netflix queue on my computer and working on Mystic Waters.


My computer chair is not as comfortable as my recliner, but it's easier to work on the shawl there because I can spread my pattern out on my desk. Speaking of, Abigail has just made my life so much easier. She posted a link to these Magnetic chart holders. I have two already, but have been unable to find more locally. I have just ordered three more. They will make my dealing with those myriad of charts in Mystic Waters so much more doable. I'm thinking I should have ordered 4.

I am almost back to where I was when I ripped the whole thing out. It's going fairly quickly, mostly because lace can quite easily become an obsession. In fact, I'm going to leave you now and go work on it some more.

Good night.


Saturday Sky:

Do You Have A Life?

SUPPOSEDLY if you’ve seen over 85 films, you have no life.

There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own blog, paste this . Then, put x’s next to the films you’ve seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, and click post at the bottom. Have fun.

( ) Rocky Horror Picture Show
( ) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
( ) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
( ) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
Total: 4

(x) The Princess Bride
( ) Anchorman
( ) Napoleon Dynamite
( ) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
( ) Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
(x ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 8

() Scream
() Scream 2
() Scream 3
() Scary Movie
() Scary Movie 2
() Scary Movie 3
() Scary Movie 4
() American Pie
() American Pie 2
() American Wedding
() American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 8

() Harry Potter 1
() Harry Potter 2
() Harry Potter 3
() Harry Potter 4
() Resident Evil 1
() Resident Evil 2
() The Wedding Singer
() Little Black Book
() The Village
() Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 8

(x) Finding Nemo
(x) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
() White Chicks
() Butterfly Effect
() 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
(x) Robots
Total so far: 14

() Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
() Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came Polly
() Deep Impact
() KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
() Meet The Parents
() Meet the Fockers
()Eight Crazy Nights
() Joe Dirt
(x) KING KONG (The Original)
Total so far: 18

() A Cinderella Story
(x) The Terminal
() The Lizzie McGuire Movie
() Passport to Paris
() Dumb & Dumber
() Dumber & Dumberer
() Final Destination
() Final Destination 2
() Final Destination 3
() Halloween
() The Ring
() The Ring 2
() Surviving X-MAS
() Flubber [the original]
Total so far: 19

() Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
() Practical Magic
() Chicago
() Ghost Ship
() From ***
() Hellboy
() Secret Window
() I Am Sam
() The Whole Nine Yards
() The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 19

() The Day After Tomorrow
(x) Child’s Play
() Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
() Ten Things I Hate About You
() Just Married
() Gothika
() Nightmare on Elm Street
() Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
(x) Coach Carter
() The Grudge
() The Grudge 2
() The Mask
() Son Of The Mask
total so far: 22

() Bad Boys
() Bad Boys 2
() Joy Ride
() Lucky Number Slevin
() Ocean’s Eleven
() Ocean’s Twelve
() Bourne Identity
() Bourne Supremecy
() Lone Star
() Bedazzled
() Predator
() Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
() Curious George
Total so far: 24

(x) Independence Day
() Cujo
() A Bronx Tale
() Darkness Falls
() Christine
(x) ET
() Children of the Corn
() My Bosses Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
() War of the Worlds
() Rush Hour
() Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 27

() Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
() She’s All That
() Calendar Girls
() Sideways
() Mars Attacks
() Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
() Big Trouble in Little China
() The Terminator
() The Terminator 2
() The Terminator 3
Total so far: 31

() X-Men
() X-2
() X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
(x ) Sky High
() Jeepers Creepers
() Jeepers Creepers 2
() Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday (the original)
(x) Reign of Fire
() The Skulls
( ) Cruel Intentions
() Cruel Intentions 2
() The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
Total so far: 39

() Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
() Old School
(x) The Notebook
() K-Pax
() Krippendorf’s Tribe
(x) A Walk to Remember
(x) Ice Castles
() Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 44

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 50

() Baseketball
() Hostel
() Waiting for Guffman
() House of 1000 Corpses
() Devils Rejects
() Elf
() Highlander
() Mothman Prophecies
() American History X
() Three
Total so Far: 50

() The Jacket
() Kung *** Hustle
(x) Shaolin Soccer
() Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
() Shaun Of the Dead
() Willa74
Total so far: 53

() High Tension (Haute Tension)
() Club Dread
() Hulk
() Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
() 28 days later
() Orgazmo
() Phantasm
() Waterworld
Total so far: 55

() Kill Bill vol 1
() Kill Bill vol 2
() Mortal Kombat
() Wolf Creek
() Kingdom of Heaven
() the Hills Have Eyes
() I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
() The Last House on the Left
() Re-Animator
() Army of Darkness
Total so far: 55

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
() Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
() Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 61

() The Matrix
() The Matrix Reloaded
() The Matrix Revolutions
() Animatrix
() Evil Dead
() Evil Dead 2
() Team America: World Police
() Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
() Hannibal
Total: 62

Dilemma

While I was at work today, I had a nice, long, interesting post all composed in my mind. I was going to tell you all about something that happened to me while I was in the Navy. However, when I sat down to type it out, all I could remember of the story was, "While I was in the Navy..." So, I will try to remember what I was going to tell you about, and post it at a later date. In the meantime, here is a pretty picture.

I call this one Winter Sky.


A while ago, we did this meme. Post what is on your desktop. Mine is set to rotate every so often. Here is my current desktop.

I'm tagging everyone who reads this.

My epizoodies are a lot better today. I think what I needed most was a good night's sleep. Which I sort of got. Except the times the cat woke me up crawling across my face. No, she doesn't normally sleep in the bed with me, but last night was supposed to be cold, so I let her in. Tonight is supposed to be even colder. They're forecasting down to 12'. That's cold, no matter where you live.

Now, just so the epizoodies don't get ahold of me again, I think I'll take my desktop and go crawl under the covers.

Without the cat.

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Epizoodies

I don't really know how to spell it, I just know I've got it.

So I'm going to bed early.

Really,

I am.

I'm not kidding.

I'm going to bed.

Right now.

Goodbye.


Still there?

I'm leaving this time.

I'm going to bed.

Goodbye.

Stop reading.

Seriously.

I'm going to bed.

Now.

Goodbye.

Why are you still here?

I said I was going to bed, and I mean it this time.

Really.

I mean it.

Goodbye.



Goodbye.


For real this time.

Goodbye.


*sheesh*

What I Have To Say

may surprise some of you, shock others, and have some of you rolling your eyes and thinking, "There she goes again."

But before I get to that, let me thank Leslie, Ruth, Sus, and Lou for commenting on my post yesterday. In the three years I've been blogging, I'd never gone so long without a post receiving a single comment, yet in my last seven posts, I'd only received one comment. Ironically enough, it was just to say, "No comment." I'd begun to feel just a little bit deserted. Thank you for sticking with me, even through the down times.

And now, back to today's regularly scheduled post...

What I have to say may surprise some of you, shock others, and have some of you rolling your eyes and thinking, "There she goes again."

So what is this surprising, shocking, eye roll inducing news? Just this...I frogged the Mystic Waters last night. Every last bit of it. Down to the very last tangled bit of yarn. I cast on again and started over. I finished Chart A today, and have started Chart B.

So why did I rip it out, just to start it right back over? A couple of reasons--neither of which was the mistake I mentioned finding. One, I just wasn't feeling any continuity between what I'd knitted before and what I was knitting now. Everything seemed disjointed. Like it just wasn't right. So I started over, hoping to attain more of a rhythm. A flow. A connection, if you will.

Secondly, and probably more importantly, I'd started this shawl as a KAL* with a long time blogging friend. For reasons she never chose to explain, this person had suddenly decided to discontinue our friendship. No explanation, no goodbye, no nothing. She just unfriended me, both on Ravelry and on Facebook, and has stopped coming by the blog. It was soon after that that I set the shawl aside.

When I started working on it again, I was hoping to put this behind me, but I found I just couldn't. Picking the shawl up--knitting on it--every stitch became a painful reminder of this severed relationship. By ripping it and starting over, I was making this my project, instead of our project.

This is also a big factor in my melancholy of the last few days. The lack of comments was making me wonder if all my friends were deserting me. I'm glad to know that at least 4 of you are still out there!

To tell you the truth, I am pretty sure I know why she deserted me, even though she didn't have the decency to face me about it. It was over a difference of opinion. I do have strong opinions about certain things--politics, though I mostly keep them off my blog, and football--which is one of my main blog topics. I do hope all of you know that you can come here and disagree with me, provided you can discuss the topic in a rational, adult manner and not resort to name calling, trash talking, or personal attacking. Oh, and that you don't hide behind the anonymous label, because I won't take you seriously if you do that.

Posting anonymously is such a cowardly thing to do, don't you think?

*KAL--Knit A Long--an activity in which two or more people knit the same project at the same time.

Delurking Day

Today is Delurking Day. If any of you are out there, I'd sure appreciate if you would let me know. The lack of comments here lately is really getting discouraging. Am I really that boring that all my readers have abandoned me?

Still plugging away at Mystic Waters.


Boo. When I posted this picture, I noticed a mistake . It's several rows down, and I don't think it's one I can drop down and fix. I guess the real question is, do I really want to rip back 30 rows and fix it, or pretend I didn't see it.

I think once I've blocked the shawl, it won't be all that noticeable. I'll just leave it.

Hello?

Is anyone out there?