Approach the Internet with Caution Today. It's April Fools Day!

Happy April Fools Day!

And in a related story:

Happy Birthday, Malaia!

If you know Malaia, then you know that April Fools Day is the perfect birthday for her. She has the most incredible sense of humor. She's also my first granddaughter.

Back to the general April Fool theme:

Google has introduced their new Gmail Motion, specifically for the holiday!

There have been an assortment of pranks played in various places. I particularly like the one where Pluto has been bought and redeclared a planet!

Here are the Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of all time.

Here's a list of some of the best April Fools Day jokes you can play on others. Warning: Don't let Malaia or Johnnie read these!

Have the best April Fools Day ever!

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I'm Back

Comcast internet was down for a while around here. My internet service with them has been bad for a long time, but this is the first time my internet service has been completely gone!

Since my landline phone connects to the world through the internet, it wasn't working, either. My cell phone insisted that wifi wasn't working and quit, too. It came back when I turned off wifi, when it switched to being an actual phone.

So, I called Comcast on my cell, and got an out-of-order notice. Their phone service was gone. Their website was down, too.

I got an email from them this morning that said they were experiencing "widespread involuntary maintenance." I got the impression that nature played a nasty trick on them.

I wouldn't be upset with them if this was the only time there had been a problem, but my TV service has been an ongoing problem for 4 years, and internet doesn't work too good, either.

If it was possible to get service from anyone else, I would.

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Holly went to Michigan and (among other things) gave Malaia and Johnny their Christmas presents.

Here they are with their presents:

Johnny got a hat, mitts, and a hood. Malaia is wearing the hood in this photo. Malaia got socks, which she is wearing on her hands for the photo.

Johnny's presents are made with Classic Worsted Tapestry in Loden, which I showed a photo of a few posts back, while they were still balls of yarn. He wore the hat and mitts over the weekend when he went skeet shooting. I hadn't thought about it, but this yarn is not only handsome (Holly described it as "very manly"), but is an effective outdoor camouflage for this time of year.

The hood is from my wimple and hood pattern, and the mitts are from my long, short and easy mitts pattern. The hat is from the Watch Cap pattern available free by clicking on the link in the sidebar.

Malaia's socks are made from Red Heart Heart & Sole sock yarn in toasted almond. She wanted socks last year, and this year she's gotten them. I made three pair of them for me and liked them so much I wanted three more pair, but when I started knitting the second set of three, the more I looked at them, the more I kept thinking they looked like they should belong to Malaia. So, she got three pair of socks.

I'm working on a new line of patterns, and the pattern for the comfy socks will be one of the new ones. I designed these socks to be similar to some socks that were created for an made for diabetics. Holly doesn't have diabetes, but someone recommended them to her and she said they were the most comfortable socks she's ever worn, so I made similar socks with modifications for hand knitting.

Well, that's two presents down, and it means that I can show a lot of what I'm making for Christmas on my blog because Malaia was the one who was reading my blog and was certain that anything I made was for her.

While we're on the subject of knitting patterns, the free Santa Hat pattern is still up on my blog.

This is a quick and easy knit that will keep your head warm and look festive for the holidays. You can make it in more traditional colors (like red), too. I made one last year for Robin in his favorite color, all black. I like mine in navy blue, though. It blends with my coat and other clothes, and still manages to look Christmassy.

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If you're interested in buying a tablet computer, either for yourself or as a Christmas present, I put together a page where you can find many of the current contenders. These are not always the best deals, but they not only have the specs for each computer, but also reviews from customers who have bought and used them. Hope this helps.

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There's a new Chuck on tonight, along with a new The Event and Hawaii Five-O! Chuck and The Event are really dynamite!

Miscellaneous Sunday

I have a batch of unrelated stuff to report on today. There will be lots of pictures!

Last weekend, Holly and Robin went to Clinton Bay, along with a lot of family and friends.

Here are all the ladies that went. That's Holly on the far left in the front, and Heather at next to far right.

Here's (L to R) Holly, and her sister, Heather.

Here's Holly, Chad (her brother) and Heather.

I shamelessly copied these photos from Facebook. I'm going on the assumption that if they didn't want these on the internet, they wouldn't have put them up there.

These photos are not from Clinton Bay, and some are from a Renfair, but they're more family photos.

Here's Malaia, my granddaughter and her husband, Johnnie.

And the same pair in Renaissance gear.

And Johnnie at a Renfaire.

Finally, for this group, is Malaia.

Next time, she shouldn't ask a dwarf to take her photo!

You've all heard me talk about my friend, John Ellis, and I thought you might like to see some photos of him to give you a better idea about the person I keep talking about.

First, to segue from the above photos, here's a drawing John did of Malaia when she was in her teens.

Here's a cartoon he did of himself.

I usually think of him more this way, though.

This was from a while ago, and I think it was while he was working on I Go Pogo.

Here we have John and Phil Cook with one of the models from Invader, so you can see that this was a while ago, too.

Here he is setting up dailies, and I'm pretty sure this was also on I Go Pogo.

John is currently working on getting out the last Steve Canyon DVD, which I'm doing the covers for, and you can see the finished covers for three of them, and the preliminary cover for the one that will be released real soon now if you click the link.

He's also going to get to go to the San Diego Comic Con! I envy him! I'm going to give him a list of freebies I want him to get for me. I asked for The Middleman DVDs last year, but nobody was giving them away. I don't truly expect to get anything out of it this year, either, but I'll probably harass him with requests anyway.

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In other family news, my sister, Lynn had a car accident the other day. It's almost the same thing that happened to me: someone pulled out right in front of her.

The most important thing to know about this is that she's all right. She skinned her right knee, and got a scrape from the seat belt, but is otherwise fine.

Her car can't say the same:

It's so mangled, it's hard to tell, but that's a Prius, and it's really not too old. I feel sad just looking at it.

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Finally, I'm getting around to the knitting portion of this post:

I got a new garment steamer to replace the incontinent one that I'm now afraid to fill with water and plug in, and I finally got around to taking a photo of it. It's sleek and beautiful, with big wheels, and I will try it out any day now.

I love steamers for blocking knits! Steamers are fabulous for knitters. They can change a knitted item from something that looks clumsily homemade to something that looks skillfully hand crafted! There's probably not much that you can buy that will change the finished look of a garment more than a steamer!

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I hope you read my Tweet yesterday about the Being Human marathon on BBC in America today, because it's almost over, and I wouldn't want you to miss it! They're getting everybody ready and up to speed for their Being Human second season premier next Saturday.

In that same Tweet, I also mentioned the Doctor Who marathon that will be on BBC in America tomorrow.

There will also be a rerun on The Big Bang Theory tomorrow night. Check it out!

I hope you've been having a wonderful weekend and will have a terrific week coming up!

Happy April Fools Day!

Happy Birthday, Malaia!

My granddaughter, Malaia, is having her birthday today, and I wish her the best!

Somehow, April Fools Day suits her for a birthday!

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If you look around the internet today, you'll find a lot of April Fools Jokes.

I happened to look at something on TwitPic, and noticed that their name is upside down.

If you go to Google today, you might notice that they seem to have changed their name to Topeka.

And if you believe that, here's an article for you! DO NOT, under any circumstances (unless your boss is leaning over your shoulder) miss that last link! It's totally outrageous!

The most elaborate April Fools Day joke I've ever seen for fiberartists appears here, and involves a whole new fiber that you've never heard of before! This is just too funny!

If you enjoyed that, check out what they did last year!

Here's more information on the history of April Fool's Day. As the article points out, it's difficult to tell if the "history" is true or an April Fool's Day joke. My personal favorite is the "Arm the Homeless" campaign! Don't forget to scroll down for lots of links to other related stories!

The DiGionoro people want to help you publish an outrageous story to Facebook, and give you a coupon for a pizza to celebrate Aprils Fool's Day. Check it out, it's really hilarious.

Wikipedia has an April Fool's Day story on their main page today. That link will probably only get you the story today, but here's what should be a direct link. In case you're interested, here's the link to the actual April Fool's Day information on Wikipedia. Don't neglect to scroll down and find out how Alabama changed the value of Pi! My particular favorite is about the resort called San Seriffe. I have done typesetting, and anyone who appreciates typefaces will enjoy the description!

If you keep scrolling down, you'll be able to spend a large part of today reading about past April Fool jokes and pranks. One of my favorites is the Dead Fairy Hoax.

And last, but not least, click on the April Fool link and read about the Google vowel outage!

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The universe played it's April Fool joke on me just a little early this year. One of the things the doctor prescribed for me to take is Nasonex. I took it according to directions yesterday.

The instant reaction was lots of sneezing that lasted quite a while, strong nasal itching and having my nose and every sinus I own filled to bursting in less than one minute! It was horrible! Kind of like having your head explode!

My nose and sinuses are just now starting to clear out. I think this is what's called a paradoxical reaction. My eyes still feel all swollen and bleary and I'm exhausted from little sleep last night due to imminent suffocation!

But I got the blood tests for the ENT doctor done at 8:30 AM today, which is good.

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In science fiction media news today, check out this link for information on the changing face of science fiction schedules on TV. Some shows are finishing their season and others are starting, so you have to be on your toes to avoid missing something you might want to see. Some of the info is for this week, and some for into May.

There are lots of new episodes to regular shows tonight. They include The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Fringe, Flash Forward and The Mentalist. Unfortunately, if you can only record or watch two shows at a time, you won't be able to watch them all.

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I happened across information on an interesting new artist. Check her out here!

I have some stuff I really (should have done it yesterday) have to get done, so I have to go, now.

I wish I could go out and walk for a bit before it gets dark. It's warm and sunny out, and perfect for a walk.

Back to the grindstone!

Have a great April Fool's Day, and don't get taken in!

Crash Blossom

This is going to be a fun post!

When I checked Facebook today, I found a link to a really great post on another website. This was posted by my friend, Rick Sternbach, and reposted by another friend, John Ellis.

Please do read the article at the link. I think you'll enjoy it. It's full of headlines that say things that were never intended, such as the infamous headline referred to above, "Confusion Caused by Crash Blossoms." The article calls them "the phenomenon of ambiguously or bizarrely worded headlines." This has added a whole new expression to the English language, i.e., "Crash Blossoms."

These are the kinds of headlines that Jay Leno and David Letterman read on their shows.

When you get to the end of the article, don't miss the links for eggcorns, snowclones and Cupertino. The comments at the ends of the articles aren't bad, either.

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Then I checked my email and found this, sent to me by Holly:

You have got to listen to this! If you have hearing problems, like I do, the entire verbal part is also captioned on the screen, so you really don't even have to turn the sound up on your computer. This is an actual recording from a school answering machine in Australia, and it's wonderful!

While I was there checking that out, I found this:

I've heard this one before, but it's always fun to listen to again.

And the ultimate answering machine message from God:

Well, I thought that was the ultimate answering machine message until I heard this. This explains the whole "telemarketers are going to hell" theme from the previous message:

And I think we've reached the end of this particular theme!

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Eastwick will be back with a new episode tonight!

I picked up some books I ordered from the library yesterday, including The Witches of Eastwick. I've heard that Eastwick was based on the book, so I wanted to read it. The other book I picked up was The Sorceress. I can't wait to read both of them!

I'm almost done reading The Wizard of Karres, so I'll be ready for them soon. I'm looking forward to reading The Sorceress of Karres when it comes out next month, too. If you're planning on reading them, be sure to start with The Witches of Karres, which is the first book.

I am so far behind on my Christmas present-making! Thanks for losing your mitts, Malaia! I'm taking extra measures to help you hang onto these!

Have a wonderful evening!

Christmas Eve Is Two Weeks from Today!

I just wrote it and I still can't believe that two weeks from today, it will be Christmas eve!

I still have so much knitting to do!

Just before I sat down to write all this, there was a knock at the door, and when I went to answer it, there was a box full of shiny yarn! Some of it is Lion Brand Festive Fur, and some is Paton's Brilliant, but it's all shiny, and it's all intended to make Christmas stockings with.

About two weeks 'till Christmas, and I still haven't made all the Christmas stockings! Well, I made some shiny Christmas stockings for Malaia and John a couple of years ago, so I don't have to do those. But I'd like to get some made for Kyle, Bob, Holly and Robin, at least. I'd like to make stockings for several other people, too, but I think that's unrealistic at this point.

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I have hypothyroidism (low thyroid function), and I got a phone call from the pharmacy yesterday. I ordered a refill on my prescription three days ago, and they called me two days ago to say that they'd run out and would have to order more, so it wouldn't be ready on time. I thought it was odd at the time. I mean I had filled a prescription with them and they knew I would be coming back for more, so why not keep it in stock?

Then yesterday they called to say that the Armor Thyroid that had been prescribed wasn't available AT ALL! The woman I spoke to said that they'd keep trying to get some more, but she didn't hold out much hope.

There are two different types of drugs for an under-active thyroid: natural hormones and synthetic (patentable) drugs.

The thyroid hormone that human bodies make includes chemicals called T1, T2, T3, and T4 as well as calcitonin and possibly others. The most popular synthetic drug (Synthroid) contains T4. The argument for the synthetic drug is that T4 is kind of a "holding" substance, and can be converted to T3 (which is the active ingredient that your body actually uses) in a body with a healthy endocrine system. Since it's only given to people who are already proven to have endocrine systems that are malfunctioning, as you might expect, some people just can't convert T4 to T3 well or at all, and Synthroid is about as useful to those people in solving their thyroid problems as drinking a glass of water. The further argument for synthetic drugs is that researchers haven't been able to discover a use in the body for T1 and T2, so they have come to the illogical conclusion that they don't do anything, and therefore, don't need to be in the drug given to people. Of course, if they put all those things into the drug, it wouldn't be patentable, and they wouldn't be able to charge the big bucks.

Calcitonin, by the way is also marketed as a drug to deal with osteoporosis and Pagets disease. I have Pagets, by the way (in my skull0, and I'm working on osteporosis, so this is important to me. A large amount of Calcitonin gives me horrible headaches, so I don't really want to take the very expensive drug form of it, but I suspect that the bit that's in the natural hormone helps. And, of course, that's not in the synthetic.

The problem here seems to be Big Brother. In all it's wisdom, the FDA is jealous of the small amount of money that the manufacturers of Armor Thyroid and the two other natural thyroid drugs are making and they want those profits for the manufacturer of Synthroid (and more, since Synthroid costs a lot more), so they're coming up with the idea that the natural hormones that have been safely in use since the 1930s (closing in on 100 years) are "new drugs" and have to go through the whole certification process from scratch! They're overlooking the fact that almost all doctors who actually have hypothyroidism have tried Synthroid, and switched to a natural thyroid medicine because they found out how BAD Synthroid makes them feel!

They're also proving once again, that they couldn't care less what they do to US citizens' health, as long as they get their bribes and help the drug companies harm us. At least I can't think of any other good reason why they'd do such a thing!

So, the plan is to find out if any other natural hormone is available, and if so, get a revised prescription from my doctor so that I can get that. Failing that, I need to get a new prescription and send it to a pharmacy in Canada or Europe, where these drugs are still available because doctors there are out to cure or help people rather than make lots of money for big drug companies!

As a matter of fact, if I lived in Europe, all I'd have to do is go to a doctor and he'd prescribe an antibiotic for my ulcerative colitis, and I'd be cured. But, unfortunately for me, I live in the US, and doctors here would rather tell me it's incurable and prescribe a drug that costs $400 per month (well it did nine years ago, it's probably more now) and doesn't do much of anything.

Lucky for me, I talked to someone who grew up in England, and he told me what doctors prescribe there: multi-minerals in a sublingual form. I can't find them in sublingual form, so it took longer for it to help, but multi-mineral tablets (at just under $10 per month) do a much better job than the expensive drug (Asacol)! In fact, they make the UC act like it's not there, which Asacol never did.

I HATE the FDA!

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I have so many things that I'd like to get done today that there's no way that I can possibly do them all. The day just isn't that long.

I need to do something about getting some more natural thyroid medicine, pick up the books I ordered at the library, go try to get the shoes I want, get to WalMart and get some new jeans as well as the vitamins, minerals and OTC stuff I've replace all my prescription medication with, and a trip to the grocery store would be helpful. Since I have to do any traveling on the bus, that's way more than I can do in one day.

And I have to knit those presents!

So have a great evening and enjoy all the reruns on TV tonight!

Happy Columbus Day!

Happy Columbus Day, particularly to those of you who have a day off work!

For this blog, it's going to be a Miscellaneous Monday. And to kick off this insanity, here's a great photo with a great story to go with it:

Although, I must say that the photo sort of says it all!

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For those of you who were worried, I found an article that proves that the 21st of December in 2012 will not be the end of the world. According to the article, the people on the History Channel have just misinterpreted some things.

Well, I'm certainly relieved!

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Now we have several different items about knitting.

If you're a knitter and also into fashion, you're in luck this year. Knits are big in both senses of the word in fashion at the moment! Read more about it here!

Knitstorming hits the news in this article.

Has your stash reached SABLE (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy) proportions? Read about yet another scheme to hide your addiction here.

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I'm busy! Sorry! Otherwise I would be blogging more.

This past week, I had a lot going on that I couldn't control, including: having my kitchen completely redone (they ripped things out to the point where only the walls were left--I'm still moving stuff back into it), a dental appointment, and a doctor's appointment. That's on top of the normal stuff.

I'm currently working on the outside cover for Volume 3 of the Steve Canyon DVDs.

I'm not only knitting, but also designing Christmas presents. I'd love to discuss it more here, but can't for obvious reasons. I have just a bit of the toe to do to finish Holly's birthday present socks. The Christmas present socks are done and were delivered on Saturday. She knew all about them and even picked the colors for them, so I saw no reason why she shouldn't be enjoying them right now. On the subject of socks, that leaves only Malaia's socks to do.

But I'm trying to focus on Christmas stockings for all those that I haven't made them for. Which means that you can forget about it, Malaia. I already gave you and John yours.

But that leaves me trying to figure out how to make a festive Christmas stocking in Robin's favorite color, which is black! I am piecing together a concept for that little by little. Actually, I had a concept a while ago. I just have to find the yarn and stuff to put it into practice. Last year, I gave him a black Santa hat.

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There's a new Heroes on tonight! As well as a new Big Bang Theory.

Dead Like Me: Life After Death will be on the SyFy Channel at 5 (locally) in case you missed it the first time it was on, and will be followed by four episodes of Ghost Whisperer.

Have a great evening!

International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day today!

You can actually buy a book about the day! It's called The Pirate Life.

Holly will be at a renfair in Michigan (or possibly, Ohio) today, and she'll be wearing her pirate costume, which you may remember from last year.

Whichever fair she's at, she'll be at the other one tomorrow. I envy her! Not only that, but she's getting to see Malaia, John, Heather, and all the other wonderful people out there. I miss them! And she's already gotten to go to Hoagie Man, and will get to go back again before she leaves. I envy her! And she got to fly there on a plane! Even if her flight was delayed and delayed, and even though it was a commercial flight, she still got to fly, which is one of my favorite things in the world!

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I started the fourth and last sock for Holly in the Winter Night color last night. I have to decide if I want to do the green (Kenai) or the purple (Cosmos) ones next.

Heather sent some hand spun yarn that was dyed in logwood, which makes a beautiful lavender color. She wants me to knit it into a copy of the hat that Hermione wore in the Half Blood Prince movie. Here's a photo of the one I made for Holly.

The yarn seems to me to be a little on the light weight side for this hat, though. The yarn was very scratchy, and rough, so I've washed it in a combination of shampoo and conditioner in the hopes that it'll get much softer. It's still drying, but part of it seems to be dry, and slightly softer, although it seems like it will never be something that I would consider nice to touch. I'll have to knit some swatches to determine the gauge I'll want to use.

I'm thinking hard about wanting to do something more interesting with it than the Hermione hat, though. Something that will show it off at it's best, which I don't think the Hermione hat will do.

Well, it has to finish drying, and get wound into balls and have some swatches made before I make any decisions.

Heather says she really wants that particular hat, but I think this yarn could be so much more.

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In case you haven't noticed, BBC in America has started to do the same daytime thing that SyFy has been doing: they're picking a series and showing several episodes of it each weekday. On Monday, they'll be having Being Human: the first episode, and then the last few of the first season. This past week, they showed some of Torchwood and some of Doctor Who. Keep your eyes open for the future.

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I had planned to go do some things with my friend, Nancy this weekend, but I'm still not feeling too good. The antibiotic should help in the long run, but it's making for some side effects at the moment that made me want to stay home and just exist until I can manage to feel better.

Yesterday, everyone in the world wanted me to be up early and be busy doing stuff. I wasn't really too enthusiastic about it. One of the things was a series of blood tests, and these make me think that I may have found a doctor who knows what she's doing. She ordered some very intelligent tests, and one no doctor has ever thought to do for my thyroid problems. So far, I'm impressed!

So, I'm probably going to spend the weekend knitting and watching TV. I have Children of Earth on the DVR that I recorded last weekend, and I'm thinking about spending the day watching it.

I hope you're going to have a weekend that's at least as much fun as mine, and with any luck, as much fun as Holly's!

Birthday!

It's my birthday today!

The photos are ones that Malaia took at a fairly recent air show, and they're there because I just like them.

I couldn't get her to answer me about this, but they look like the Blue Angels to me.

Steve just put up an entry on FaceBook that says:

Off to the air show, then a swell party.

I asked about the show, and he said:

51st annual Chicago Air and Water Show, with the Thunderbirds, Lima Lima, Golden Knights, and assorted other team and single displays by civilian and military fliers. It included a flyby of the USAF Heritage Flight, a P-51, A-10, F-15 and an F-16. All were "loud and proud". Sorry, no pix.

This is part of the reason that I felt compelled to put up photos of planes, even though they're not the Thunderbirds.

On the subject of birthdays, I really got a haul this year. The computer I've been saving up forever to buy is finally bought, shipped, and has arrived. I now have to configure it to utilize the internet, and then add software for the things I want it to do. John called me and told me about a pile of software that I need to install immediately to avoid viruses, etc. It sounded all very complicated. I need to get him to write down the list of what has to be installed.

Before I can do that, though, I needed to get an internet connection for it, and I looked to T-Mobile to provide it. They currently have two deals to do that. One is a USB dongle that connects your computer to a 3G cell phone line. It's an elegant solution, but the monthly charge is a bit pricey, and there's a limit on how much use for each month.

The other one is a really great deal. Start-up costs include about $40 for a combination converter for a phone, wifi, and T-Mobile hot spot that plugs into your existing broadband connection, plus a $35 installation fee. Monthly fee is $10. For that you get an unlimited connection for a landline phone inside the US. If I'd wanted to call overseas, I could add $5 additional. Also, unlimited wifi and/or hotspot.

I had been planning for a while to get the $10 a month unlimited phone service for a while. The new hardware also includes wifi at no extra cost, and since I'm about to set up the computer right now, it seemed the perfect time.

Of course, that also means that I need an actual phone. Holly chipped in $22 of the total price to buy me a really nice phone, rather than the cheapest one from WalMart that didn't have all the features I wanted. The one I got has everything I could possibly want in a phone: volume control on the ringer, with several different ringer sounds that I can really hear, and that won't sound like the phone on a TV show; volume control on the handset; it's cordless; 50 name/number phonebook (this is what I need to program); and I can plug in the headset I already have!

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I got this far in my post, and Lynn called to wish me a happy birthday. I told her all about my new phone and gave here the number and her cell phone battery ran out, so she called me on the new phone! My first call on the new phone was my sister, to wish me a happy birthday! How cool is that?

She also had some news that was a little less happy. She's been diagnosed with a macular hole in her eye, and had surgery for it on Wednesday. She's off from work for a while, and at home recuperating. If everything goes the way we hope, she'll have all her vision back in about 6 months. As of right now, she can't see out of her right eye. So far, everything seems to be going perfectly. I'm glad that it's fixable, and that it looks at this point that she'll be OK, but I feel bad for her that she had to go through it. At this point, it's a major nuisance, but that's so much better than losing the vision in that eye. It would drive me crazy, though, if I had to go through it, so I feel really feel bad for her.

I told her that from time to time I feel sorry for myself that I'm losing my hearing (especially since I really believe that I don't need to, but that doctors don't care or feel I'm worth bothering about), but then I think that if I had a choice between losing my hearing or vision, I'd definitely want to keep my vision. Lynn said I need to get another eye exam soon, and I'll have to investigate that, and plan to do it in September.

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There will be two episodes of Merlin on tonight, and if I'm not mistaken, these will be the end of the season for the series.

Also, The Chronicles of Narnia will be on tonight on ABC Family. Naturally, with two good things, they'll be on at the same time (at least for part of the shows).

I hope you're having as much fun as I'm having!

The Christmas Blog War

Saying that I'd gotten the yarn to make a Christmas present for one of my granddaughters has sparked a flurry of text messages and phone calls and discussions about it.

Holly reminded me in the comments that Malaia reads my blog, although not all the time, so if the present is for her and I don't want to tell her what her Christmas present will be, I shouldn't write about it on the blog.

Malaia saw that in the comments and let Holly know immediately that she shouldn't have told me that, and that she wanted to see her Christmas present as it developed. Always supposing, that is that I was talking about her.

Holly and I had a big discussion about all of this yesterday when I saw her. We also discussed Christmas presents. I said I was going to make socks for Kyle for Christmas, and she asked me what color. I said green because that's Kyle's favorite color. Holly said that she didn't think it was anymore.

At this point, I feel I should mention that I can discuss this on my blog because I've changed my mind about what I'm going to make for who, so all of the foregoing, and some of what is coming up is totally wrong, and completely changed.

To continue... Holly sent a text message to Kyle saying "What's your favorite color?" The answer was "Purple, why do you want to know?" After a few more text messages, Kyle now also knows that I'm making Christmas presents and that some will be for her.

Christmas is difficult in this age of instant communication!

And, as if that weren't enough, Holly reminded me that Kyle's birthday is later this week. I knew that, but, as usual, was lost in time.

I can know things, but not connect them to the timeline. Sometimes it's as simple as "Oh, is it Wednesday already?" syndrome, where I know that something happens on Wednesday, but am completely oblivious to the fact that it is Wednesday.

I don't know where I went wrong in this case, but I did want to make or get something for her.

So, I've completely revised everything. I'll be making some socks for Kyle for her birthday, and they'll be late, but at least she'll get them. And here is the photo of some of the yarn I'll be using to make them.

That's the Knit Picks sock yarn which was called Essential, but is now called Stroll, in the new color, Sprinkle Heather.

As you can see, I haven't even started, and, in fact, currently have a sock for me on the needles. But I'll be getting started on them real soon now, and I'm guessing she should get them around my birthday.

I'll also get the sock pattern up real soon now, too.

I have so many things to do that I don't have much time to blog. Add to that the mouse problems I'm currently having, and I just can't do it right now.

Have a great evening!

Happy April Fools Day!

Happy April Fools Day!

And

Happy Birthday, Malaia!

It just wouldn't be April Fools Day without you!

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Addition:

In case you want to see how Neil Gaiman spent Arpil Fools Day, check this out.

2009 Schedule!

I've been putting this off, but it's time to put up the 2009 schedule so that we can all be on the same page and at the same event, without having to say "Oh, I should have made a request 2 months ago for time off so that I could go to that!"

For those of you who don't know, there are an array of events that I used to go to every year alone. Then Holly moved to this area and went with me, and then she met Everett, and then Lynn found out about it, and it's escalated from there, or possibly got out of control, depending on your viewpoint. The more the merrier, but we'll probably have to take two cars. Maybe we can drag Malaia and John along on at least one event this year. Malaia said she wanted to go to the Sheep and Wool Festival.

So, this is the plan for 2009:

2 & 3 May-- The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. This is the biggest event of it's kind in the United States. It's a once-a-year, not-to-be-missed fiberarts extravaganza! We may only be going on the second, but it'll be open both days. It's free, you just walk in. But save up your money, because there will be a lot that you'll want to buy!

16 & 18 May--Maryland Faerie Festival This was recommended to me by Dancing Pig Pottery, and it sounds like fun.

16 May to 14 June--The Virginia Renaissance Faire. I've never been to this, but I'm putting it up here in hopes that someone else will feel like going and take me along.

13 & 14 June--The Potomac Celtic Festival. For those out there who love bagpipes, and men in kilts, this is the place you want to go! They have cider and ale as well as beer, and I advise that you stick close to Holly, because she always finds the best stuff immediately.

29 August to 25 October--The Maryland Renaissance Festival. One of my favorite things to do. We try to go twice a year. This is a really fabulous Renfair!

3 & 4 October--Fall Fiber Fest. Not anywhere as big as the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, but it staves off withdrawal until the next year and lets me get last-minute (so to speak) ingredients for Christmas present construction.

I hope you're all enjoying the Harry Potter weekend on ABC Family! Oh, and don't forget that Castle premiers on Monday!

Spring Is Here!

Well, it was today, anyway. Today would make a believer in global warming out of anybody. Considering it's February, anyway.

Holly and I went out and it didn't take long before we took off our sweatshirts (that we were wearing like jackets).

I know the weather will go back to winter in a few days, but it probably made it up to 60 degrees, judging by how it felt.

I got an IM from Holly last night saying that the headlights in her car were out again! I IM'd back "Will I ever see you again?" We did actually go out today, but we had to be sure that Holly started home in time to be there before dark.

We headed for Borders in Springfield first, with a stop at Michaels, since we were going right past it.

Michaels had some beautiful yarn that Holly bought to make a baby blanket for one of the ladies at work. It has ombre stripes and dots of different baby-type colors, so it's self-patterning, like some sock yarn. She'll be making a circular blanket, and I can't wait to see it.

At Borders, I finally got my copies of Coraline and Backup! They are both very short, but I suspect, very good. I started reading Coraline when I got home.

Then we headed to Walmart (the one in Dumfries that has yarn), and I bought lots of yarn. Now I can knit actual projects again. Most of the WalMarts in the area have essentially eliminated yarn from their inventory, so I have to take two buses to get to one that actually has yarn, unless Holly gives me a ride. I also bought lots of regular household supplies.

We stopped and got something to eat, and had a great time talking. Holly got her birthday presents (finally!), and really liked the protective "skin" I designed for her phone.

Then there was a quick stop at Giant, where I used the gift card I got for Christmas.

Holly went to Baltimore last night, which is where she was when she discovered that her headlights are out again! She and Malaia went to the Baltimore Aquarium yesterday, and watched their movie. Holly says it was in 3D, and scary. Kids were screaming, and being removed from the theater by parents, and it was all quite exciting. They also wanted to watch Coraline, but it was sold out far in advance, so they missed out on it.

I need to get some work done for all of you people who are fans of Steve Canyon. John has a new post up on the Steve Canyon blog, by the way, so go over there and check it out! The Steve Canyon hats will be back soon, so you'll want to read all about it. They sold out fairly quickly before, and this may be the only new batch of them, so get them now while you can!

Now I'm going to get something done on the covers so you can watch the second volume.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Miscellany

Here's a photo I took on my way to the library the other day. Most of the pond was frozen, but there was still a little hole of unfrozen water, and some of the geese where swimming in it.

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I watched the news on Thursday night, and noticed a few things that I hadn't seen reported before.

An unnamed White House source said that Obama did more work in his first two days than Bush did in eight years.

The newscaster said that our new president seems to be "working hard to clean up the mess left by Bush."

I've never heard the press speak about a president like that (the way they spoke about either one of them) until just recently.

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I went to Michaels on Thursday. They sent me an ad with a coupon. In the ad, it said that they had Kroy sock yarn on sale, and I wanted some. If they had been honest, they would have said that it was a clearance sale, and I wouldn't have bothered going. I was there two weeks ago, and they had just a few balls of Kroy sock yarn, so I would have known that there wouldn't have been much left if they'd said clearance.

In actual fact, there was one ball of solid black sock yarn. Enough to make one black sock. And I had to ask an emplyee to even find it.

Who wants to buy yarn for one sock? 

I used the coupon to get a pack of stitch markers. I think they're overpriced, but I like them. A coupon makes the price much more acceptable.

And I got a tiny bottle of something similar to Fray Check, only flexible. It's intended to glue glitter to clothing. That's not something I can envision wanting to do unless the clothing is Christmas stockings or something. I want it to deal with really tiny areas of color on the stockings I'm knitting. When you only have two stitches in a color, there's really not a big enough area to darn in ends. So, I'm tying a knot and using the glue (which won't come out in the wash) to keep the knot tied, and then cutting the ends leaving a short section. I bought a tiny bottle because they always clog up and dry out before they get used up, so maybe I'll actually get to use most of what I bought.

I also bought a pair of scissors that are supposed to cut a deckle edge on paper. They cut much too cleanly for my taste, but then again, they were only fifty cents. And they're so flimsy that they'll probably soon begin to malfunction and chew up the yarn making a nice deckle edge.

I still have a bit of money on the Michaels gift card that Malaia and John gave me for Christmas.

I liked what I got at Michaels, but it wasn't sock yarn. I was disappointed about not getting sock yarn.

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I'm past the "cuff" and into the colorwork on the last Christmas stocking of my commission. I'm so glad to be nearly done!

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I have piles of stuff to do, so I'll just remind you that BBC in America will be showing the first of the final three episodes of the latest season of Doctor Who tonight. The last three episodes are Turn Left, The Stolen Earth, and Journey's End. It's the most dynamite ending to a season of Doctor Who that's ever been done! If you haven't seen it yet, check it out.

One of the things I'll be doing is working on the cover for Volume Two of the Steve Canyon series DVDs. Oh, I was talking to John (the producer) last night, and he told me about all the good feedback he's been getting on the cover for Volume One. He said my friend, Allen Asherman said that when he got his copy and pulled it out of the package, the cover was so beautiful it brought tears to his eyes! Wow! There have been other really good comments about it, too.

Have a great weekend!

Inauguration!

Yesterday, Washington DC was standing room only!

No kidding!

All of downtown was filled with people to the point that there was only room for them to stand. Well, you know that if you watched the inauguration on TV.

Holly said she looked at the photos of the crowd and was floored. 

I looked at them and something in the back of my brain said "That can't be right." I found myself checking landmarks, thinking that they couldn't be taking those photos where it looked like they were, and it must be someplace smaller. But no. Downtown DC was literally standing room only!

And the commotion extended all the way out to here in Northern Virginia (or NoVA, as the natives refer to it). I was at PRTC (local bus company in PW county) headquarters in Woodbridge, and watched big buses leaving in a constant stream with big signs on the front that said "FREE RIDE DAY." They were headed to the Metro. For people going to or coming from DC on the Metro, buses were arriving at the Springfield station and leaving every minute, apparently all day. I didn't know they had so many buses. The only thing to or from DC yesterday was public transportation. Which was probably a good thing. After all, where would you park?

The local buses were not free yesterday, though. Which I found out since I rode around on three buses yesterday. I took four trips, but caught one of the drivers on the way back on the same bus.

After watching the actual inauguration on TV, I pulled myself together and took the bus to the station and took another bus to Comcast to straighten out the mess. It's not totally straightened out, but at least they're not planning to turn it off at this point, and I can not only watch TV, but blog and use the internet without fear of sudden disconnection. I caught the same bus on it's way back to the station. I've been riding the bus so much that I'm beginning to know all the drivers.

Yesterday, the temperature did not get above freezing at any point. So, I was amazed to watch our new president take the oath wearing a business suit. His only concession to the cold seemed to be warm gloves. I can't imagine how he avoided freezing, but he did look spiffy.

I watched the proceedings on Channel 7, and Holly watched it on 4. We compared notes later and discovered that we had seen very different things because of the way that it was presented. One of the things that I missed, but Holly filled me in on was that he was sworn in with the same bible that Lincoln was sworn in with.

Since I spent my day riding around (it was well after dark by the time I got home), I missed the parade. Holly says that despite the strong resistance of the secret service, Barack and Michelle got out of their bulletproof limo and walked for a couple of blocks, and then did it again for a shorter distance later.

I have been around Washington, DC, one way or another ever since 1964, and I have never seen such a wild frenzy here. I wasn't crazy enough to go downtown, but stories of friends are filtering back to me. It's awe inspiring.

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I'm halfway through the leg of the fourth stocking. This is what it looks like from the front.

This is what it looks like from the back. Please note that I have darned in the ends from the colorwork at the top. The ends from the name and date, and the ends from the edge between the white of the "snow" and the red of the body of the stocking. The mess you see here is just from the tree and Santa designs.

This is why I don't like to do colorwork. I can't just knit. 

I have to keep stopping to count. And cut new lengths of yarn for a new color section. And wind bobbins. Then unwind parts of bobbins so I can knit a few more stitches. And periodically stop completely and spend an hour untangling the mess and darning in ends because the yarn ends have gotten too unmanageable to continue unless I do. 

Once I get past the colorwork on the leg, the rest is simple. Just knit. Well, and there's some shaping, too, but that's easy. And it doesn't require untying a bad tangle and darning in ends.

Actually, I took the photo a while ago, and in the meantime I've darned in most of the ends and gotten further. Only one more complete stocking to go!

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Haunted has been on the SciFi daytime rotation all today, and Doctor Who will be on Friday's fare. Those episodes will include Tooth and Nail, and School Reunion, which show the inception of Torchwood and the beginning of The Sarah Jane Adventures, respectively.

Which reminds me of the Leverage episode last night. They suddenly find they need some aliases, and they go through "Sylvester McCoy" and decide on "Tom Baker" and his wife, "Sarah Jane." Who says they don't have a sense of humor?

SciFi is starting two reruns on it's Friday night line-up starting this week. Look for Invasion and Moonlight on Friday.

They're both good series.

Invasion is about a first contact situation during a hurricane in Florida. It started on the air right before Hurricane Katrina, and was interesting because you could watch a hurricane aftermath and clean-up both on a TV show and on the news. The show was far more bizarre. Kind of Hurricane Katrina meets the pod people. Although it was very good, it ended after the first season, and they didn't have a chance to wrap up the story successfully, so it was very disappointing that way. I want to watch it over again, though.

Another really good show that ended after the first season was Moonlight, about a vampire private investigator. It starred Alex O'Loughlin as the most likeable vampire ever, Mick St. John. This one is beyond description, it's so good. You really need to watch it. They didn't get a chance to wrap this one up successfully, either, but it's easy to assume that they just went on with their lives (or undeadness). Invasion never got a chance to tie up the loose ends that really needed to be resolved.

I was very unhappy when each of these shows ended.

But the really BIG news on TV is the premier of Lost tonight! This is what everybody has been waiting for!

Enjoy!

I know I will.

And don't forget that Burn Notice will be having it's premier Thursday, too, on USA!

Oh, and Dragon Sword will be on SciFi on Saturday.

Check local listings!

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After riding around on all those buses yesterday in sub freezing temperatures, with a 20 mile-an-hour wind with who knows what kind of chill factor in order to pay my Comcast bill, Comcast thought it was necessary to call me today and ask if I'd like to make a payment. This is just another example of their substandard everything. I wish I could change to another provider.

Oh, well, it's supposed to go above freezing tomorrow, and I might even go out voluntarily under those conditions. I still have money on the Michaels card that Malaia and John gave me, and I'm thinking about using it for some sock yarn. Yes, I really want to take a break from knitting Christmas stockings with knitting socks! Even though it sounds crazy. I also have to get busy on the photos for the cover of Volume 2 of the Steve Canyon series. Busy, busy, busy!

Have fun with Lost tonight and Burn Notice Thursday!

Ho Hum

In an effort to brighten up a ho hum Monday, here's a photo of the gingerbread house that Malaia made for Christmas:

I forgot to mention to her how impressed with it I was. She's an amazingly crafty kid.

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I worked myself up into a headache last night over the Comcast thing. I finally realized what was going on and took a Valium (which is why I asked the doctor for them) and some Aleve, watched Harold and Maude, and went to sleep.

Before I did all that, I did some research on the internet about TV and internet connections, and I think that no matter what Comcast does at this point, DirecTV and a Verizon internet connection will make me happier. I have severe doubts about Verizon because they've treated me badly in the past, but they were very nice yesterday, so I'm thinking about giving them a second chance. Also, they're willing to give me a connection for $20 a month instead of Comcast's $45 per month. I am pretty sure that it's a slower connection, but it's a lot less money. I think I can live with that, and if I can't, I can get a faster connection for $10 more, which is still lots less than Comcast.

I just can't imagine anything that Comcast could do to make me want to continue with them at this point. I did ask them for an itemized list of all the charges and payments to my account for at least the last year. Even if they straighten that out, they've made too many problems over too long a period of time for me to want to continue with them.

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I finished the mitts last night, and started on the hat. I'll post photos soon. Come to think of it, I don't have a photo of the finished mitts, but here's something:

There's one finished mitt (L to R), one that's finished knitting but doesn't have the ends darned in, and one that's just started. I think I put this up before. The third mitt is done, and all ends are darned in! You should know that the mitts look weird until you put them on, and then they look and feel great.

Photos of the hat when I get them.

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There are four hours of Lost on the SciFi Channel tonight, and the premier of Kyle XY on ABC Family, which follows a Kyle marathon today. And don't forget that G4 is running single episodes of Lost at random times (usually, but not always at 11 am here), so stay alert! I think G4 is using them as filler, hence the random timeslot. Oh and there will be another three episodes shown on Wednesday on (I think?) ABC. Everybody's gearing up for the big premier later this month.

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I have a lot to do today. I got several letters/bills that are wrong all at once, Comcast being only one of them, and I have to write letters/make phone calls to straighten them all out. 

I also have to get to WalMart for some additional yarn to complete the stockings, a coaxial cable for the DVD recorder, and some blank DVDs to record. I want to get anything I really want to keep off of the DVR so I won't be upset about giving it back. And I want to make a stop at Shoppers while I'm out. That means about 2 hours of bus time (not all actually on the bus, but time spent walking to the stop and waiting).

And I have a dentist's appointment tomorrow morning, so any post that I might make will be late. This will be the last appointment (he says) before getting the caps for the front teeth. That will have to wait until they get more funding next summer.

Have a great week!