Saturday, July 31, 2010

And This Is Only Part of My Friday Story

All kinds of drama in my house, but I'll write about that later.

For now, I will just share with you the randomness that was Friday.  Friday was payday and I headed to the bank at lunch to deposit my paycheck (side note: I have been procrastinating signing up for direct deposit).  I decide to get in the drive-through at the bank, and pull up behind a car in one of the lanes.  I notice that the vehicle next to me has not fully pulled forward to the speaker.  I am not sure of what they are doing until the car in front of me moves on and I see this:


It's 1:00 p.m. in Florida in July and it's hot as hell and there are cars circling her, idling while she breathes in the car exhaust and fumes.  And, I checked, this bank has handicap access to the lobby of the bank.  Why would she not just go inside?  It's so random.

After a long day at work, I head home, a bit anxious about things, and Steve greets me at the door.  He points to the outdoor table we have on the patio-area of our apartment.  This is what I see:


Six glasses.  Steve had seen someone walking around our apartment that morning when he got home from work, and I was getting ready to leave.  He went to the door but when he opened the door, there was no one there.  He surmised that the person who was walking around in the morning left the glasses there.  I have no idea why.  Steve thinks the guy was moving out and did not want to take his glasses.  I know, it's a ridiculous theory.  How could you not fit six glasses somewhere?  This is so more than random; it's freaky weird.

Before you ask, I did take the glasses inside and washed them and I plan to use them.  What?  They are nice glasses!

Suddenly, motorized wheelchair lady at the bank drive-through is looking pretty good next to me, right?

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Sock Story

I've started on a new pair of socks, and I'm happy with the pattern.  It's easy to do but looks complicated.  I usually knit after dinner and can manage to get in a few rounds while watching television.  At the end of the night, I will just deposit the knitting next to the couch.   mean, it's not really exciting.  Actually, it is sort of boring and sad, but that's my life.  The cat who lives in my house, Delilah, just ignores my yarn stash and my knitting in general.

However, yesterday evening, while I was trying to fall asleep, Delilah cat was in some kind of mood.  Steve had coated a toy with catnip earlier in the evening and typically that high only lasts about 30 minutes.  But, here it was, about 11:00 p.m., and I can still hear Delilah batting the toy around the front room.  I ignored it until Delilah came into the bedroom and jumped up on the bed, ending up behind me outside of my line of sight.  She was meowing so I reached behind to move her to my front and she started yelling at me.  That's when I saw the blue yarn wrapped around her back foot.  While she struggled and practically accused me of trying to kill her, I realized that the yarn was from my sock knitting.  I got out of bed, put on my glasses so I could see what damage she had done, and realized that the yarn was wrapped around the bed and out the door.  I was imaging the worst because I followed the yarn trail into the front room.  It lead me back to my knitting, which  I was happy to see was no worse for being part of Delilah's play time.  She had pulled out the extra yarn from the ball instead the finished product.

The Aftermath

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Not So Simple Socks

I finished my "first socks of 2010".  I sent them to my brother, but upon inspection of the photo he sent, I see that they are way too big around the leg, which was the same problem Steven had with them.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but if you look at the leg, you can see how loose they are.

Sock Envy
So, I immediately started on a new pair of socks, this time aiming for a more feminine look (for me).  I pulled out my stash of sock yarn from KnitPicks and my size 1 double-pointed needles and started K2P2 rib stitch.  I knitted ten rows (about 1 inch) and then started a stitch pattern called braid.  This stitch pattern is so cute and a really easy cable pattern.  But, on size 1 dpns, I was having a bitch of a time with the cable and not to mention that the size of my cable needle was twice that of the knitting needles.  Also, it seemed like my knitting was really tight.  I managed about four rows of the cable pattern and then frogged the whole thing.  Basically, all the work I did that evening was unfurled from the needles and I decided to try again the next night.

Tuesday night, I picked up the yarn and cast on again.  Still using the size 1 needles, I completed my ten rows of ribbing and started the cable pattern again.  I really tried to keep my knitting loose this time, but I royally screwed up the cable pattern.  I was still using that cable needle, although I did look up how to cable without a needle, but my whole problem is that these needles were just too small for me to use this trick.  My first mistake on the cable pattern caused me to rip out the stitches again and forgo knitting for the rest of the night.

Wednesday night, I tried again, but didn't even make it through the ribbing before I pulled the whole thing apart.  I've had it with the size 1 dpns.  They are just too small or the yarn I'm using is too thick.  Either way, I can't knit comfortably with them.  I went searching for my size 2 dpns, which is what I used to make my brother's socks above, and I felt like those flew off my needles.

So, here comes Thursday night and I'm casting on 64 stitches on size 2 needles.  I make it through the K2P2 ribbing, but when it comes to the stitch pattern, I've decided to change it to something without cables or just straight knitting.  I choose a pattern that is only a combination of knits and purls - called Moss Rib.  It's on the insert that came with my KnitPicks sock yarn.  I actually complete about four rows of this pattern before going to bed, the first time in a week I have knitting on my needles and not in pile on the couch.

It might look messy but it really is coming together
Our next-door neighbors had a huge fight outside last night.  Steven would not turn down the television and let me listen to what they were saying, so I could not make out what the fight was about.  These neighbors always seem to have some type of drama going on and they apparently love to share it with everyone in the complex.  I went outside to get Delilah but made little attempt to hide the fact that I was more interested in the fight.  Steven came out after me and scolded me for my nosiness.   He never lets me have any fun.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Starbucks Has Been Replaced

I like the new blogger format because it automatically resizes pictures for me.  Just another extra step I don't have to worry about.

I have already finished one sock and, true to my knitting skills, it's way too big for me.  So I immediately looked to my left to the gentleman with the size 9 1/2 shoe, and he is the lucky recipient of my as-yet-unfinished socks.    He still has room to grow, especially around the ankle, but I am satisfied with the outcome.
For My Boyfriend With Big Feet
You know how I complain about my job?  And before you think it, yes, I end up complaining about every single job I've held (since I moved to Orlando).  Today, I received some "friendly advice" not to trust everyone because I could end up on the wrong side of a "power player" and this person offering said advice has seen people lose their jobs over this.   As if losing my job scares me, that doesn't scare me; you scare me by saying I did a lousy job or my work product sucks.  But to scare me by saying I could be fired?  Not happening.  Yes, I have bills and obligations but it's just me.   I can take care of myself, even if I were to be fired.  I had to stifle a laugh when she acted like being fired was the worst thing possible.  She's never walked in my shoes.  Being fired would be a relief.  She should have said that everyone would think I'm stupid.  Now that is what causes me agita.

I can relax when I get home, although it never seems like I have enough time in the evenings, and I get to see Steve and Delilah.   The more we get to know Delilah Cat, the more I see her tailoring her activities (eating, sleeping, and prowling outside) to Steve.  She's really got herself set to his schedule.  She sleeps when he does and then when it's time for him to leave for work, she's out the door to do her own rounds of the neighborhood.   It's never been more evident to me than when I caught the two of them napping together over the weekend.

Mirror images of each other
I snapped several pictures, without the flash to make sure I would not wake them, and I even watched them for a few minutes, much like a creepy stalker.  This becomes my  new "happy place" where I want to go when the world and life and people become too much to take.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Not Wasting Time

I have one of those energy-efficient light bulbs in the lamp over my dining table.   You know what I mean, it's in the shape of a curly-q.  Tonight, a small moth got into the house, and while I sit here at the table, I am watching this little moth fly in circles up to the light and then down from the light, like it's caught in a tornado.

I finished the baby blanket today.  I ended up using the full two skeins of yarn because I was not under a time crunch with this one.  The finished project is 28" x 40".   The mom who requested the baby specifically wanted white only.  I did not double-strand the yarn so it's a very thin blanket, which is not a problem because it's ridiculously hot and humid here.

This is pre-washing and blocking
Delilah does not enjoy the fireworks tonight; she's taken to her favorite hiding space under the bed.  I'm happy with that, as long as she's in the house.

Even though she has greatly increased the amount of time she spends indoors, when I assuming has a lot to do with the extremely warm weather, she still has her moments.  She even coined a new term in the household - "mep".  When she's had enough from me, she lets me know with a "mep", which is sort of an abbreviated meow and yelp in one.  It's definitely her signal to me that I don't need to get anywhere near her.  Just me pointed in her direction can cause a mep.  I'm going to get a sample of a mep recorded so there is evidence of just how much this cat controls my behavior.

Delilah sleeping in the printer box
Did I tell you that I am knitting socks again?  Right after the baby blanket was finished, I started my first pair of socks since my Ocean City socks from last September.  Remember I have a ton of sock yarn that I need to use up before Steve will let me buy anything else.  The only problem with sock knitting is that  I constantly lose my double-pointed needles.

I'm so glad I don't have to work tomorrow.  The benefit of a three-day weekend is a four-day work week.

Finding My Treasure

Now that my shawl is complete (yarn purchased during the Orange Blossom Yarn Crawl in March), it is just hanging out in my foyer until I de...