We Lost an Hour Today!

That's right, it was time to spring forward early this morning!

It comes around every year, and I'm never prepared. Loosing an hour of sleep always makes me cranky!

But, it's a little after 7 pm, and it's still daylight here! That's a good thing! It makes me feel like Spring is really on it's way.

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Get in on a Review and Giveaway for Knitters!

I came across a great article about something every knitter needs today, and they're giving it away!

Check this out!

If you have hearing problems, like me, you don't really have to hear what she's saying in the video to get the gist. She's giving away a gadget that looks like the spike you stick receipts on, but it looks like it has ball bearings or some other provision to make it spin easily. You impale your ball of yarn on the spike, and it feeds off evenly and without tangles! What knitter doesn't need something like that?

Enter today! The giveaway closes at noon on Tuesday!

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Since I Keep Changing Subjects So Often, I've Decided to Make it Easier

I've decided to not only put in a row of asterisks when I change subject, but to put in a title for the subject change so you can read what you want and disregard the rest.

Enjoy!

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Star Trek 2!

The other evening, I was watching Star Trek (the new, revised version with a whole new history), and loving it, just as I did the previous 5 times I watched it (it's still on my DVR so I can watch it again), and wondering, now that he's created this great, brand-new history, what is J.J. Abrams going to do with it?

Well, that question has been at least partially answered!

They started filming the next movie in January, and we can expect a brand-new extravaganza next summer! Wikipedia has more news here, and that link will probably take you to updates over time. They haven't got a release title yet (movies seldom do at this stage), so everybody just seems to be calling it Star Trek 2.

I don't know about you, but the only other science fiction news that could get me this excited is if Joss Whedon announced that he was putting Firefly back on the air!

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There's a New Sookie Stackhouse Book Coming!

On the first of May, there will be a brand new book about Sookie Stackhouse out! I can hardly wait!

It's called Deadlocked , and there's no information about the story, only preordering on Amazon.

Charlane Harris has some general information about what she's up to (along with some other really great writers) on her blog here. She has, however, published Chapter 2 of Deadlocked using Flash (so you probably can't read it on a phone or tablet). I don't know why she published Chapter 2 rather than Chapter 1 (I haven't read it yet), but it's there if you, like me, can't wait.

If you're a fan of Charlane, you might want to check out Diana Gabaldon, who is the author of the series I'm currently reading, the Outlander series.

The first book in the series is Outlander , and it's about Claire Randall, who lives in England during the 1940s. On a trip to Scotland, she walks between two stones of a henge to collect a botanical specimen, and winds up in the 1700s. Her adventures are immediate and exciting, and it all takes off from there.

I'm about halfway through the second book, Dragonfly in Amber , and loving it!

Oh, Once Upon a Time is on! I have to go watch it!

Have a wonderful week!

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Fiberarts Update

Ever since the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, I've been thinking a lot about spinning. I got some (4 oz.) roving that's 50% merino, 25% silk, and 25% bamboo, and it's a dream! It's space dyed in one color, and goes from navy blue to natural white, with all the shades of blue in between represented. I'm spinning it with some slubs in it, and I'm going to ply it with some medium blue corriedale that I'm making slubby, too. I'm pretty sure I have a lot more of the med. blue, so I'll probably have a solid yarn to mix with it in a project. Here's the variegated blue.

And I've not only been thinking about it, I've been doing it! I have about half a bobbin of the medium blue spun, and I just started on the variegated blue yesterday. This is what I did yesterday.

I also got 8 oz of the same stuff that's hand dyed with lavenders and blues. It's in two 4 oz bags, and the bags don't seem to exactly match, so I think I'll use one bag for one ply and the other for the other ply and make it a slubby two ply. MAYBE, I might even sell it in my Etsy store!

All of the roving shown here is from Bullen's Woolens, and it's just dreamy, and a joy to touch or spin!

Oh, and while I was at the Sheep and Wool Festival, I got a bag to hold a sock project. It's a Hiya Hiya small project bag. The good part about it is that I can close the zippered top most of the way, and the yarn feeds out through the space left, and it's got a small zippered pocket inside to hold stitch markers, sock needles (I like to knit most of it on two circular needles, but the heel is much easier for me to knit on double points, so I like to have the double points with me for when I get to the heel.

The sock that's shown with it still needs the cast-on yarn end woven in, but it's a sample of the yarn I bought on Mother's day. I love self-patterning yarn! It's Red Heart Heart and Sole yarn in toasted almond.

I also bought a beautiful pendant knitting needle sizer from Carolina Homespun, although I believe it's distributed by Deborah's Garden. The one I bought is the light lavender one, and it's much prettier than it looks in the photo! I have to get a cord or chain for it!

I also ordered some stitch markers yesterday. These are being sold by Seeking Sanity on Etsy, and she's currently having a sale of some really beautiful stitch markers. She's about to move soon, and would rather sell her stock than move it, so check it out if you're in the market for stitch markers because she's got some great deals. The ones I ordered are, first a set of small markers (left) for socks. The end-of-round marker is a lavender glass, and the others are blue goldstone.

The medium markers on the right are a pale lapis, and very pretty. She's also made me a set of medium markers in blue goldstone. They were shipped today, and I can't wait for them to arrive! I was just looking at her site and found another listing for stitch markers that I like.

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For you science fiction fen, here is a reminder that Towel Day is rapidly approaching, and you should prepare your towel now! Towel day will be next Tuesday, the 25th of May!

As you can see, carrying a towel on Towel Day is mandatory, but there are a lot of other ways that you can celebrate. You'll have to scroll down pretty far on that link, but there are all kinds of celebrations all over the world, plus other ways you can celebrate, such as wallpaper for your computer.

42!

Oh, and if you don't understand that, you urgently need to read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!

Oh, and BBC in America has started showing Doctor Who and some other SF shows in the afternoons and Tuesday evening. Check your local listings for exact times!

Tonight, we'll be seeing a brand new Fringe and The Mentalist! If you check your guide and find a rerun of The Mentalist, keep looking. There'll be two episodes on tonight!

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I keep meaning to mention this and keep forgetting. My granddaughter wanted to buy some of the Sookie Stackhouse books, and asked me to put them in my Amazon store. So, I created a whole separate section for those books and videos. Check it out here. It has an advantage if you're shopping Amazon anyway. Amazon lists the first few books with the number of their order in the series, but quits after the first three or so. Then it's hard to figure out which is the next book. These are all listed in order, ending with a collection of short stories and the DVDs of the TV series.

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Comcast really surprised me yesterday!


First of all, they called me three or four times on Tuesday, to ask if the problems that have been going on for more than three years had magically healed themselves the way Christian Scientists think they can do. After being told that no, they hadn't magically gone away, they called me several more times yesterday to ask if the problem had cured itself, and did I still want someone to come out. I assured them that I did.


Then, nobody showed up!


Well, they told me that the supervisor (instead of a regular repairman) would be checking the whole building, and might not come to my door, but that was before I requested a new DVR.


I didn't realize until last night that he must have come and fixed whatever was wrong with the building. It took about a half an hour of watching before I realized that I had a crisp, clear picture that wasn't freezing or breaking up every 5 minutes or so. The sound didn't cut out at any point, or drastically change it's level, either! And the closed captioning continued to display, not fading out every so often. Then I started watching some recordings on my DVR, and, while not perfect, they were much better than they had been! I don't know what he did, but I can't help but wonder why he didn't do it thee years ago.


I have to say that I'm stunned and amazed! I'm almost afraid to say this out loud (because I'm afraid that if I say it, it will all go away), but I think they actually fixed it!


If this keeps up, I could even get to like Comcast!

I'm rethinking my need for a TiVo. I'm sure that I'd like a TiVo better, but it costs money, and the DVR I have didn't. It's a hard choice.


Well, I'm going to go do some spinning and enjoy my newly functional TV reception!


Have a great evening!