Rain, Knitting, and the Lord of the Rings

Here's a photo of the new Santa hat I'm knitting. I finished the hat part, and now have to decide how I want to proceed with the fuzzy ball at the end. I'm thinking it over, and will continue when I have an inspiration. Once it's done, I'll post a pattern. I think it looks pretty good, so far.

I got a start on the hood for John M for Christmas, too. Once it's done, there will be mitts to go with it.

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Do you recall back before Haloween, when Holly bought the mask and I didn't take a photo of it? Well, here it is from both sides. 

I think you'll agree that this is a truly unusual mask.

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In science fiction news, I came across a fabulous post on io9 about Bruce Campbell and his new movie, My Name is Bruce. Click and read the description. I can't possibly do it justice other than to say it's a twist on Galaxy Quest, where an actor is asked to play his movie character in real life.

I hope you've been getting a chance to follow the Lord of the Rings trilogy on TNT this weekend.

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Today is not only a cold, damp, overcast day (like the days we've had most of the month) but this time, it's actually raining! I am so glad I don't have to go out today!

I hope you've been having a fabulous extended weekend.

I'm Moving On into Christmas Mode

Well, Thanksgiving is over, and yesterday I got to shop in a real WalMart, not the pale imitation near me.

I say the one near me is a pale imitation because I only found out that they carry the new Caron Simply Soft Eco yarn because I started seeing a few skeins of white and natural at the top of a big empty section of their yarn display, and the empty section says that's what's supposed to be there.

Yesterday, I got a skein of it in the dark denim color and two skeins of white Fun Fur to make a Santa hat.

This is how far I got last night and a bit this morning. Once it's finished and I like it, I'll write up the instructions and post it. I think I'm going to like it, although I haven't figured out how I'm going to make the furry ball at the end of the hat. I'm mulling over several ideas including knitting it around a big bell.

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Well, Eloise just came on and I want to see it, so this will be short.

I hope you're having a great Thanksgiving weekend!

It was a Happy Thanksgiving

I watched Stargate (the movie) and Timeline yesterday, and then Holly picked me up and we went to her apartment.

Robin, the ultimate chef made a wonderful dinner, and he, Holly, Everett, Jeff and Michele were there in addition to some other new friends. A good time was had by all.

We discussed science fiction, TV, cameras and photography, and lots more. 

After it was all over, Holly gave me the keys to her car and let me loose. 

So I got to drive again for a bit, and go to WalMart before taking the car back today.

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Tonight, Fellowship of the Ring will be on TNT, followed by The Two Towers tomorrow night, and The Return of the King on Sunday. On Saturday and Sunday, the episodes will be preceded by the previously shown ones. Consult your local listings.

Don't forget the Eloise movies tomorrow: Eloise at the Plaza, and Eloise at Christmastime.

I hope you're having a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Due to the fun I plan to have tomorrow, I doubt that I will get a chance to post tomorrow, so I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving now.

More than a week ago, I got a notice that there was a package for me, and when I went to pick it up, I was told there were actually two packages. Then the person could only find one, and thought he was mistaken.

Well, after waiting and waiting for my Knit Picks order, (and judging by past performance, they're pretty quick), I finally asked if there was a package for me even though I hadn't gotten a notice.

It turns out that my package had been sitting there for over a week!

So, here's part of it. That's the black Swish DK wool yarn for a hood for John M, and some of the same in blue/lavender for mitts for another Christmas present. The yarn is yummy, and, as you can see, I managed to make the first mitt last night.

Also, (not in the photo) I got some 47 inch cables for my Options kit, and a delightful book called Knockdown Knits. I bought it because I liked the star shaped bag, plus the hat with a big star on it. Written for and by roller derby skaters, it's fun. It's a great book for active people because it has a couple of patterns for slings for injured arms and one to hold a bag of frozen peas for your knee. Plus lots of other fun knits.

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A new Pushing Daisies will be on tonight. I got the news this week that it will be canceled along with Eli Stone and I'm sad. I fired off notes to the network protesting both.

Later tonight (actually tomorrow morning at 1:30 here), Timeline will be on the SciFi channel according to the electronic TV Guide that Comcast puts out. According to the SciFi Channel, it will not be on. Check your schedules.

And fibermom mentioned that she wanted to see the Eloise Movies, so I wanted to let here know that they will be on ABC Family on Saturday. Check schedules!

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We've been having dull, overcast weather all this month. I ran over to the library to pick up the books they were holding for me in the grey, cold-looking overcast, and as soon as I got back the sun came out. Right now, the sun has just set but it's still lighting up the sky and making everything look very pretty.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

They're Here!

The brand new copies of The Complete Steve Canyon on TV Volume 1 arrived at John's on Thursday (late), and he's been going crazy mailing them out ever since. If you ordered, yours is probably already in the mail, but the last few should be going out today, if all goes to plan.

I got my copy yesterday, and I'm so excited! The covers and labels look great! 

It arrived late, and I haven't gotten a chance to see the actual episodes yet, but I can see at a glance that I did the covers, etc. well.

Please do click on the link and order your own copy if you're into Steve Canyon!

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It looks like I've been commissioned to make some Christmas stockings. There are several of them, so they'll be taking up a lot of my time between now and Christmas. But that means a bit of extra Christmas money! Photos will go up here as they are finished. Which will be exciting for the first one, and then boring after that, since they will all be alike except for names and dates. But you will get to see it here as it develops.

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The Mentalist and Fringe will be new episodes tonight! Enjoy!

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My arm is still hurting from the fall, so I'm going to try harder to give it a rest by not knitting as much or blogging/using the internet as much. Hence the short post. The stockings will be in worsted weight yarn with small needles at a gauge of 7 stitches per inch, so they'll require a bit of muscle. I knitted a swatch the other night and it made my arm even sorer than it was. So I'm going to have to balance my efforts to get them all done by Christmas with a little common sense.

Have a great day!

Oooops!

First of all, let me say that I'm OK.

Yesterday, I scored a new, personal record, and not a good one.

For the last 55 years, I've frequently walked around reading with no ill effects. Yesterday, I broke that record.

I've come to the conclusion that reading while walking (with some caution) is OK. 

Carrying home two big bags of groceries in the dark and using a flashlight to read at the same time doesn't seem to be a good thing, though.

I walked right into a curb that was nearly invisible in the dark. One second, I was walking along with no problems, and the next I was flat on my face in some thick grass with some very soft ground under it. I didn't even have a second to react and try to break my fall.

This is a very nice neighborhood. By the time I realized what happened and began to pick myself up, someone in a car had pulled up next to me and there was someone asking if I needed help. And when I fell, there was not a moving car in sight. I told them I was OK, and went inside. Fortunately, it was right in front of where I live.

I have a very small cut on one hand, and it feels like a very mild case of whiplash along with soreness in my right arm. My neck and arm have been informing me all day that I never should have done that, and they are not amused. I put a gel band aid on my hand, effectively  repairing it immediately. The arm and neck will take a day or two to get back to normal.

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I had planned to go to WalMart today for some stuff, but when I checked my email, I had a request to do some Christmas knitting for someone. I spent some time checking the availability of different yarns and the general feasibility of the project. It looks like I'll be knitting five Christmas stockings in a very intricate color pattern. You'll see photos for that if and when it progresses. I'm thinking about doing it in Caron's new Simply Soft Eco yarn. Well, most of it. Santa is on the stocking and has, of course, a white beard and trim on his suit, which I want to make from fuzzy yarn. Plus I need to find some yarn in a  color for his face.

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Spike is showing the first two Star Wars movies tonight. Phantom Menace just started and I want to get to see it, so this post will be short. It will be followed by Attack of the Clones.

Of course, SciFi will be having it's usual four hours of Lost tonight starting at seven.

And NBC will have it's usual line-up of Chuck, Heroes, and My Own Worst Enemy.

Oh, and the Eloise movies will be shown on ABC Family next Saturday. If you've read the Eloise books and liked them, these movies look as much as it's possible for live actors to look like the drawings from the book. They are enchanting.

I have some other, exciting news that I can't announce yet (maybe tomorrow). I can hardly wait!

Have a great evening!

Pre-Thanksgiving Weekend

It's the weekend before Thanksgiving, and, if you judge by TV and the sales, Christmas is here! If you scroll down to the bottom of my blog, there's a countdown timer to Christmas, and it's much closer than it seems like it should be.

There are loads of great Thanksgiving movies, but none of them are on TV. Just Christmas movies.

I'm waiting for the Eloise movies. I read at least one of the Eloise books when I was a kid and I loved her and the books. Whoever did the movies did a great job on them. The non-Christmas one is Eloise at the Plaza, and the other one is Eloise at Christmastime. They are Christmas movies for kids that won't make adults sick. Eloise reminds me of my granddaughter, Kyle in these movies.

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So, I've been watching Christmas movies and knitting on my Celtic sweater. It's finally down to the point where there's just garter stitch, worked even until the last ball nearly runs out, and then a picot bind-off.

Oh, and darning in ends, blocking and sewing on buttons.

But I thought you'd like to see the finished side knot. It's much different than the first one, and I like this one better. It continues the Saint John's cross theme from the back, sleeves and hood.

I'll be glad to get back to Christmas present knitting.

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Well, science fiction seems to be shoved aside on TV in favor of Christmas movies. I happen to enjoy Christmas movies, but The SciFi Channel seems to be almost the lone oasis of SF this year except for the SF series that we're (thankfully) seeing for the last two or three years.

Holiday movies are fun. We just finished with the batch of Halloween movies, Thanksgiving movies should be on, but aren't, and Christmas is here. The next big movie holiday is Easter, which I always enjoy. The trick with them is to consider them science fiction. Actually, many of the miracles have scientific explanations, if you think about it. Then the 4th of July movies (Independence Day, etc.), and then there's a break before getting back to Halloween.

John has recommended that I see the 24 movie that will be on Fox tonight. It's called 24: Redemption. I haven't gotten into 24 in the past. We'll see.

I hope you've been having a great weekend!

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Addition:

Today is the 45th anniversary of Doctor Who!

Read more about it here!

Rerun

I know it's a little early in the season for this true Christmas story, but here goes.

Two years ago, on the 14th of December, I put this entry on my old Xanga blog, and I think it's worth repeating.

Miracle on 34th Street

OK, so it wasn't 34th Street, it was the Fairfax County Courthouse.

Back at the beginning of October, before I learned to say "No, no, NO!" my landlady made me miss a day of work, and late for work two other days, and Prince William County made me late another day. All in one week.

On one of those days I was late for work, I got a speeding ticket.

I didn't have the money to pay it, so I had to wake up at 5:30 am today (a miracle in itself) and go through dense fog to the courthouse.

Side note: we had a high of around 60 F, hence the fog. 35 or 40 for a high is more usual for this time of year.

So, on the way in, I was practically subjected to a strip search. Well, I kept setting off the metal detector until I finally took off the belt that I like because it has lots of star-shaped studs.

Anyway, I sat through a bunch of people protesting their innocense or admitting guilt.

Finally my name was called. The judge told me to sit and wait, but called me back in a little bit. He called me in front of the bench, which was a relief, because we had been shouting across the room at each other from where I was supposed to stand. So I could hear him. I asked a question, got an answer, and told the judge I didn't have the money for the fine and why I didn't have it. He reduced the fine DRASTICALLY, and sent me off to make arrangements to pay.

When I was making arrangements, a lady came up and interrupted. She asked if she heard right, that I was getting Social Security. I said yes, and she shoved $30 onto my hand to help pay the fine and said Merry Christmas!

I handed it over, and while the clerk was writing a receipt, a gentleman walked up and asked the clerk how much was left to pay. The clerk told him, and he said "I'll pay that!" he did, and also wished me a Merry Christmas.

I had tears in my eyes when the lady gave me the money. I was amazed!

By the time I left, everyone there was wishing each other a merry Christmas, and my tears had spilled over.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Clause!

This was all inspired by Crazy Aunt Purl's blog today. She had a run-in with a traffic cop of her own.

I should mention that I never should have gotten the ticket the way it was written, and the judge should have dismissed it immediately. The ticket said I was speeding on the Occoquan Bridge. It was written by a Fairfax County cop, and I had to go to court in Fairfax County. The Occoquan Bridge is in Prince William County, where the cop and Fairfax County have no jurisdiction! The cop also saw me speed in Fairfax County (as I was getting off the bridge), but that's not what he wrote on the ticket. It should have been dismissed. I even made this point to the judge, and they told me I was wrong, but subsequent investigation proved I was right

By the way, if you live in Fairfax County and have just moved here, when you pay your property tax, keep the canceled check or the photo of the check from the bank. They will tell you that you failed to pay the previous year's tax and charge you for it again the next year. Don't feel bad. They do this to everybody.

The first time they did it to me, and I showed them the canceled check, they said "Oops, computer error!" I believed them that time. The second time, I was highly skeptical. The third, fourth, and fifth times, I didn't believe them at all.

Fairfax County reminds me of something I heard a comedian say when I was a child, "The only difference between organized crime and government is: government says they're legal." They constantly do things that are illegal by their own laws. The state of Virginia should clean up Fairfax County.

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We have the standard Friday line-up tonight, except that The Mentalist is on again after Ghost Whisperer.

Have a great evening and weekend!

Snow Tomorrow!

My new needle case arrived last night!


For anyone who knows me, you can see immediately that it's mine. I have white mullets (five-pointed stars) on  a blue background, and the same thing with the colors reversed (counterchanged) on my SCA arms, so when camping, I mark my things with a mullet.

There's plenty of room for all my needles, plus a few more, should I want more. Two sets of needle tips are not in the case because they're being used. It's got room for 4 different lengths of cables so that I can find them without having to measure them against each other. Left would have 24 inch cables (if I wasn't using all of them at the moment), next is all the 32 inch cables (I'm not using any of them now), then the one 40 inch cable that I'm not using, and an empty space for the 47 inch cables that are ordered and will probably arrive later this week.

If you want a wonderful bag like mine (I think she said she made two of them), check out LunaStitch on Etsy. If you see anything you like, buy it quick, because they're moving out as fast as she can make them!

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John has a new post up with more Steve Canyon news and some great photos and trivia! Volume one will be out really soon, and the excitement is mounting. 

There are photos from the series, along with trivia about the actors and episodes, and photos of some of the menus on the discs.

You may be seeing news reports on the internet about it soon.

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There's a new episode of Supernatural on tonight! Check it out on the CW.

Also, we have Eleventh Hour and Life on Mars, naturally on at the same time.

The SciFi Channel will also be having their weekly Doctor Who episode late tonight/early tomorrow (5 am here). This week it's The Doctor's Daughter, a really excellent episode, and the set-up for a spin-off if I ever saw one.

There's also a weekly broadcast of reruns of Knitty Gritty at 6:30 am on Home and Garden TV.

I have some errands to do that I've been putting off since Monday, so I should get rolling.

Have a great day!

Walk to the Library

After my post yesterday, I went to the library. I returned two books, picked up two books I'd requested, and found two other books to take home with me.

On the way, I played with my new camera and discovered that Winter had arrived!

The first bridge on my walk is a tiny one:

Followed by the covered bridge that I like so much.

There's a fabulous view of a fountain further up in the water, but there were only so many photos I could download. I'll add it tomorrow. You can see the fountain in the background on this photo, though.

This is part of the maze of townhouse-like buildings in what is actually a business park.


The maze is full of stairs, ramps and other levels, as well as winding paths.

Beside the lake, is this little outlook point at the back of the mill.

I love walking to the library. It's so pretty.

But I didn't love the results of the walk last night and today. It felt like winter, and I could tell it was cold, but I didn't feel cold. Unfortunately, I am now dealing with the reaction my muscles always have when they get cold. My back muscles are all crampy and sore. I plan to do some serious laying down today interspersed with other activities that support my back.

The most vigorous item planned for today is pulling out the heating pad for my back.

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I've finished the second front part of the pockets, and gotten three quarters of the way through the back down to the bottom of the pockets. By tomorrow, I expect to be where I was three days before.

No point in photos, they just show less than the photos I've already posted.

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Pushing Daisies is back with a new episode tonight! And at 11 pm, Van Helsing is on TNT.

Have a great one!

Celtic Troubles

What was wrong with the fronts to the Celtic sweater was that I counted different amounts of stitches from the front to start each pocket.

So, the back and one pocket section have been ripped out.

I can't bear to take photos of disaster, so let your imagination run amok thinking about it. I'm sure you get the picture. I frogged more than two whole skeins of yarn, so that's close to 500 yards. As I said, I can't bear to take photos of the debacle.

It's going to be pretty when it's done, though. I'm much happier with the revised knot that I'm going to put on the side than I was with the first one.

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All the information, computer files, etc., have been shipped off to the people who are actually going to make the DVDs for Volume One of Steve Canyon. John and I are experiencing huge amounts of relief. We'll feel that until tomorrow, when we'll probably start over with Volume Two.

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For tonight, we have Fringe and The Mentalist on at the same time on Fox and CBS, respectively, followed by Eli Stone on ABC.

Starting at Midnight, the History Channel has a couple of interesting episodes of The Universe, the first about The Most Dangerous Place in the Universe (cosmic hot spots), and one of my favorites, Parallel Universes. That last episode just fills me with so many ideas I feel like I'm going to explode.

I'm still catching up on the programs I missed (due to phone calls and deciphering the problem with the sweater and ripping it out, picking up stitches, etc.), but recorded from last night.

Have a great day. I'm headed to the library.

The Further Adventures of Ms. Bumble

If you've been following my misadventures with the Celtic sweater, you know I've done an extraordinary amount of frogging!

Last night, I got to the bottom of the pocket shaping, and I was having so much fun with the knot I was putting on the side of the sweater that I didn't notice right away that somehow, I managed to wind up with one front that was considerably wider than the other front.

I blame it on the arithmetic. I was always bad at arithmetic. 

So, now I have to analyze it and figure out where I went wrong. After that, there will be some more frogging!

This is what distracted me. I kept holding it up to admire every few rows, while not looking at the fronts at all.

I suspect I'm going to have to frog the back section and one front section. Possibly everything back to the waist.

But the yarn for some Christmas presents will distract me from all this with it's arrival soon. I can show some of what I'll be making because the person already knows about it (he picked the color).

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In other news, the new needle case for my Options needles is done and will be mailed out sometime today. I'm very excited about this!

LunaStitch has some great needle cases if you have Options needles, and knitting bags, etc., plus a few other kinds of cases. She's gotten very popular lately, so if you see something you want, grab it right away, because if you don't, it'll be gone when you go back for it.

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We're having our usual crammed full of SF Monday tonight. As usual, SciFi is showing four episodes of Lost, and NBC is showing Chuck, Heroes, and My Own Worst Enemy.

Have a great Monday!

Quiet Saturday

I've only taken a few photos with my new camera to test it out, but I thought you might like to see some of them.

Here's a photo of a gargoyle that Steve gave me for Christmas in 1999. I really love this little gargoyle.



We've had cloudy, rainy days most of this week. I was hoping to get a chance to take some photos of the full moon because my camera has a long lens and I should be able to get some good shots. But we've had complete cloud cover all the time that it's been near full. Last night, the ceiling was at zero feet.

But things started to clear late in the afternoon, and the sky looked like this.

Right after that  picture was taken, the TV started displaying tornado warnings for my area. Actually, the warning expired at 7:20 local time, and they were still showing warnings at 9:30. You know Comcast. Anything to make a problem for viewers. They can take a public service (like announcing a storm warning) and turn it into a public nuisance.

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I still haven't gotten to the bottom of the pocket openings on the Celtic Sweater, but I decided to put another Saint John's cross on each side in the shaping instead of the generic knotwork I put there the first time. Photos tomorrow when I get some daylight to work with. I have a flash, but natural light is so much better.

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The BBC in America showed a rerun of the first episode of Primeval. They'll be showing it again tomorrow in case you missed it the first time around.

They also showed a rerun of the latest Christmas episode of Doctor Who, and the first episode with Donna Noble, Partners in Crime.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Fun Day!

I woke up later than I intended yesterday, and scrambled out of here to get to the dentist.

Once I was in the chair, he said it was going to be a "fun day." What he meant by that was that he was going to clean my teeth.

Well, maybe I missed something along the way, but tooth cleaning was never very high on my list of fun things to do. I can never imagine myself saying "Hey, guys, let's cancel that tour or Europe! My dentist has agreed to clean my teeth!"

The other fun thing he had in store was letting me in on his plan for getting my teeth in shape. This will take four visits. He'll start with fixing all the teeth on one side. Then it's time for all the teeth on the other side. Finally, he's going to get around to doing the work that's going to be more and more unlikely to be successful the longer it gets put off. This doesn't seem very logical to me. It seems to me that it would be more constructive to do it in the opposite order.

He will be taking out some (but not all) of my metal fillings and replacing them with a composite material. This may turn out to be a really good thing. The dentist keeps insisting that the metal fillings (including mercury) could not possibly have a negative impact on my health. I really don't understand why dentists do that. It seems to me that putting something toxic in your mouth isn't a good idea, and I don't need an "expert" telling me that it's OK to realize that it's got to be bad for me.

So, anyway, I got a flu shot on Wednesday, then followed it up by getting up early, going to the dentist (after taking a Valium plus some antibiotic) and getting my teeth cleaned. By the time I got home on the bus, it was about the time that I usually wake up. I was in a daze. I went back to sleep.

I still feel like I'm dazed from it all.

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But I do have some more photos from last weekend's trip to Baltimore, courtesy of my sister, Lynn.

Here I am at the train museum.

And another photo of me on the water taxi.

 Holly's turn for a photo at the train museum.

Holly and I on the dock, waiting for the water taxi.

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I've gotten back to the Celtic sweater, and am now down to the bottom of the pockets on the front. I still have to do the back and sides to catch up to the front. The pockets are diagonal, and the two front sections are knit, followed by the pocket linings, sides and back in one piece. When I get all three pieces to the bottom of the pockets, it will be joined again, and then all I'll have is to knit down to the bottom. Well, and then the pocket linings, which won't be knit below the join. Sewing involved will include sewing down the pocket linings and tacking the button loops down. The way it's knit, the loop crosses itself, which makes it want to pop up three dimensionally rather than lay flat. There will be a few stitches to flatten it. Then there will be only blocking and sewing the buttons on. If I do actually sew them on. I'm thinking that I might prefer to sew them to backer buttons and put them through the knit. Then they'll be removable for washing. 

It'll be good to have this finished. Finally.

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I got a call from John last night, and helped him make decisions about the appearance of the menus for the DVD. It was fun.

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Tonight we have a new Ghost Whisperer, Stargate Atlantis, and Sanctuary. The last two are on SciFi. Check your local listings!

Have a great weekend!

It's Here! It's Here!

The extra printer cartridges came the other day, but the printer and camera all arrived today.

Well, that's not exactly true. The camera arrived at the building I live in, but they wouldn't give it to me because I checked for it after 4:30. If you get a package, you have to pick it up at their convenience or wait until the next day (at their convenience).

So, I already knew the camera was there (no mail yesterday because it was Veterans Day, and this was shipped via courier), and went down early to pick it up.

Which turned out to be a good thing because they were doing flu shots this morning, and I forgot about it. So, because I was up and out, I got my flu shot today.

None of it is completely operational yet. I put an SD card in it from my little camera and tested it. It works. It comes with a book to read, and I've just skimmed the beginning, so there's a lot to do there.

The printer will involve lots of moving things around and rearranging furniture, so it may not be up and running for a couple of days. Maybe three days. I have a dental appointment tomorrow. I suspect that between the length of time of the work the dentist is doing and the bus rides, plus time to lay down and take a nap when the Novocaine wears off, it's going to take up the whole day.

I may just set it on the floor and plug it in to test it, and then move it where I want it later.

I kept thinking of it as a bulky commercial Xerox machine, but it's actually much smaller. The listing said that there was only one set of ink cartridges included, but I thought I saw two when I started to unpack. It's not completely out of the box yet, so I should wait until I get it running before I say anything about it.

I also have to go to the library. I wanted to get that done, and went yesterday. I didn't remember that the library is closed on Veterans Day until I got there. So, I still have to go today.

I'm currently reading Fire and Hemlock, by Diana Wynne Jones, and it's very good! It's a modern retelling of the ancient story of Tam Lin, who is captured by the fairies, who later plan to sacrifice him to hell, and how he's saved by his girlfriend, Janet (or in this case, Polly).

The story starts with Polly at the age of 19, remembering things that happened to her when she was 10 years old. She meets a man named Thomas Lynn, and they become friends and start inventing fantasies together. Things get a bit more stressed-out when the fantasies start coming true, causing some scary moments. I read this book a while ago, and loved it. I'm loving it all over again this time.

I have to go. There's so much to do today!

Have a great evening!

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RED ALERT! RED ALERT!

This post has been modified to add this information:

There's a cool article about the new Steve Canyon DVD that John and I have been working on!

See the new art large, here!

I'm so excited!

Happy Veterans Day!

Happy Veterans Day!

For some reason, when I went to sleep last night, I really checked out. Usually I wake up at least three times and get a drink/run to the bathroom/whatever, and then go back to sleep. I barely woke up at 7 am, and then was out cold until 1 pm. But I feel much better than I have for a while. It really helped me get over all the walking this past weekend.

When I woke, I checked my phone and found a message from John. There was one more tiny change on the DVD art. Apparently, when you have something round and flat, it's called a disK. Unless it's a DVD. Then, it's called a disC. So all the PDFs had to be done over again and uploaded again, which is very time consuming, even though the actual change only took a couple of minutes.

But it's really done! 

And if you've been able to keep track of how many times I've said that and been wrong, you're better than me.

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Now, to get back to the topic of yesterday which was the Stitches East trip!

Actually, the part that's left, Sunday, didn't include Stitches, but the first photo is from Saturday, of a ship in dock next to the Tourist Center.

Spiffy, huh?

After a big breakfast, we went to the B&O Railroad Museum,  as you can easily see from the photo below.

We had a ride on one of the trains, and walked around the museum, which is mostly in the old roundhouse.

After the train ride, we stopped to check out the model railroad in back of the roundhouse.

And here's Lynn walking around the grounds.

I think mostly that we just didn't want to say goodbye to each other, but we did.

So, all in all, it was a wonderful trip!

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Wow! As usual on Monday night, there was a boatload of good stuff on TV! There's still stuff on my DVR that I haven't watched.

Tonight, we have Fringe (it's NEW!) and The Mentalist (naturally, on at the same time), followed by Eli Stone! Check your TV guide.

Have a great Tuesday!

Stitches Was a Blast!

What a trip!

I'll start from the beginning, and only cover Saturday because I have so many photos! You'll get more photos tomorrow.

Holly and I were severely delayed by traffic on Friday afternoon and evening. Lynn waited for us before having dinner, and was starving. Sorry, Lynn!

But we had delicious food and, best of all, great company for dinner. Holly just got a new G1 phone, and showed it off to both of us. She handed it to me when I got in the car, and made me get it to give her directions to the hotel (with some stiff help from Lynn, who said that we really wanted to drive to the parking garage, not the hotel). The garage entrance was on the other side of the building, and with so many one-way streets, it involved some driving to get there.

I got to show off the new set of Options needles that Holly bought me for my birthday, too.

We went back to our suite, which was really a small apartment, complete with kitchen! A great place to stay! We watched some TV and talked a bit, and generally had a good time.

Saturday morning, we had breakfast, and caught the water taxi.


This was just so much fun, and a wonderful way to see the inner harbor!

Here are some photos of Holly and Lynn on the water taxi:





And here is a photo of one of  the sights we saw and took photos of:

Blogger is being stingy with letting me upload photos, so there will be more later.

When we arrived at Stitches Marketplace, we sat and watched the fashion show witch was just beginning, and then wandered the market and saw the sights. Wow! So many neat things to buy. I could've spent $1,000 there, if I'd had it.

There were so many places that had great shawl pins (penannulars), I would have loved to buy several. And I finally got to see and feel some Malabrigo yarn up close. I'm in love! I loved all their yarns, but couldn't walk away from the silky merino. More on that coming up.

As it was, my loot was much more modest. I lost my ugly pink counter, and replaced it from the Mannings. 

Holly bought some square single point wooden needles last year at Stitches and some at the Sheep and Wool Festival, and reported that she liked them. I don't really seem to like wooden needles, and all the ones I'd seen were in larger sizes than I usually knit with. Although the square shape intrigued me, and I wanted to try them, the wood and size discouraged me. At Stitches, I saw some small, square, metal, sock needles, and thought about buying them, but thought it was a shame that they didn't have them in circular needles. Well, a few shops later, I found them in circular needles! I bought a pair of size three needles in the 24 inch length. They have a copper finish, and the cables are absolutely floppy! I haven't tried them yet. The points don't look like they're a sharp as I usually like, but I'm reserving judgement until I try them.


And I just couldn't resist the silky wool. The color is called London Sky, and is not quite as bright as the photo makes it look on my screen. It's a softer color, a bit grayer and more lavender than it looks on the screen. I have several ideas for what I might want to make with it, and haven't decided yet.

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I'll leave Sunday during the day for tomorrow, but I finally finished all the art for volume one of the Complete Steve Canyon on TV DVD last night, and got it all sent off to John.

I expect to start on volume two real soon, now, but for just a few breaths, it's done and caught up. John is getting the last little bit of the extras finished, and will be scrambling to get it all to the printer, but as soon as he gets a moment to catch his breath, he'll be putting up a post with more information. Check for it at the above link later.

This is so exciting!

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There will be the usual four hours of Lost on the SciFi Channel tonight, and Chuck, Heroes and My Own Worst Enemy on NBC tonight.

Have a great day!

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PS-- John just called and said we forgot something on the cover. It's not over!

Leaving Today for Stitches East!

Well, I finished all the artwork for the new Steve Canyon DVD, and I suspect that John will be putting up something on the blog about it. There was some loose talk about letting you see what some of the art will look like, but I'm making no promises. Go check it out over the weekend!

I've been packing, and getting ready for Stitches, and I'm more and more excited about it.

But there's not much that's newsworthy around here.

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Doctor Who is on the daytime rotation on SciFi, but that's almost over. They're showing the season with Martha Jones. Otherwise, it's standard Friday night stuff this evening.

Tomorrow, the BBC in America has finished Primeval, and will be switching to Doctor Who in the evening. They'll be starting the season that has Catherine Tate, so all you Donna Noble fans won't want to miss it!

Have a great weekend! I know I will!

Hello, and 'Bye for Now

I'm desperately trying to pull myself together and get ready to leave for Stitches East tomorrow!

I also need to get all the stuff together for the first volume of the Steve Canyon DVD!

So, this will be a short post. Really short!

And I've been trying to order a new camera, specifically, a Canon Powershot SX10.

It seems that the places on the internet that advertise the low prices will only sell you a camera if you buy extra-expensive accessories at the same time. The first one I tried, Prestige Camera, asked me to call them to confirm the order. They said the camera was in stock and would ship the same day. But I didn't want to spend $175 for a memory card that was half the size of the one I could buy for $8, and, in fact, later got free (from Amazon) with the camera. Then they decided that the camera wasn't in stock! They just were refusing to sell at the advertised price because I wouldn't buy the card or some batteries and charger at grossly inflated prices.

I tried another place, and they tried to do the same thing, and then finally said that they would sell me one at the advertised price, but it would be the European version (?), and it wouldn't have a warranty.

I finally ordered from Amazon and got the free memory card.

I have the disk labels to do on the DVD, and some left on the inside cover, and I still have to do laundry!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

I have so much to do on getting the first of the Steve Canyon DVDs out that I really don't have time to write.

But I wanted to make sure that I wished you a Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

And the election is over!

Lots of cause for celebration!

Hope You Voted!

I've had a busy couple of days riding around on the bus doing things.

Yesterday, I went (on the bus, very early) to the county dental clinic, and they are going to fix my teeth!

Then, I had to go to the doctor's office to get a note from the doctor, and a prescription (so that the dentist will work on my teeth). Although there were regular office hours on Monday, they were not open for some reason.

Which segues into today.

Today, I got up early for me, but not as early as yesterday, and ran out to vote without a shower or brushing my teeth. The water was off this morning and so the lack of ablutions.

The busses were NOT going to the polls today, so I rode to the nearest stop and walked. Although the people there said it had been quite busy earlier, there was no line when I arrived, and each voter was almost able to go through the whole process solo. I was in and out so quickly that I was totally surprised.

After walking to the polling place, I found that I was now in between two bus stops, and one of them was the one where I usually get off to walk to the clinic. So I had a loooong walk over to the doctor's office, and after a short wait, was successful in getting the note and the prescriptions I needed/wanted. I talked the doctor into giving me a heavy duty Rx for Valium, too. Dentists stress me so much, and I used to be able to avoid it by having them tell me what they were doing as they worked, but my hearing problems make that impractical. Hence, the request for Valium.

Then, it was back on the bus to Potomac Mills Mall to look at a camera that's just come out. 

I was really upset to discover that Ritz Camera doesn't have either of the cameras I was considering. They seem to be doing a brisk business online, but the store I went to was one of their main stores, and they had very little. The shelves looked very empty. They did have some nice camera bags, but nothing that was really tempting.

Back to the bus for a ride to Best Buy, which had one of the cameras I am interested in. At the same price as everyone else. I mean, this is Best Buy! I expected a better-than-average price, but no. They had the same price I could get anywhere (except Ritz Camera). At least I did get to see the actual camera and try out the different functions.

It's amazing! 

I looked at the Canon Powershot SX 10 IS, and loved it! They're not kidding about how long the lens is. It went from a real wide angle to nearly telescopic! The thing I loved was that the camera would make a good stab at focusing, but the instant you moved to include a face, it immediately focused on the face! And when I set it to the right timer setting, I could pan around to various background shots, and it waited until it could see a face, and then took the photo! I love this camera! I just didn't love it enough to pay an extra $100 to buy it at Best Buy. I'll get it elsewhere and save. 

Unfortunately, that means I won't have it this weekend. I probably wouldn't have taken a lot of photos at Stitches anyway, but we were going to ride the water taxi (maybe), which would have given me the chance for some good photos, and I would really like to take some good photos of Holly and Lynn. We might go to the aquarium in Baltimore, too.

So, I got home, totally exhausted, at about 6 pm.

 There's not much to watch on TV except the voting results, which are just starting to come in now. The results are exciting, but watching it on TV is like watching glacier races. It makes me want to watch something else, and check in on it periodically.

Have a great evening!

Busy Days!

Today, I got all busy doing some more work on the Steve Canyon DVDs, and everything else slid.

I have places I have to go and things I have to do tomorrow and Tuesday, so posts then will be iffy.

Practical Magic will be on TV today at 6:30 (here) on ABC Family.

Happy Celtic New Year!

I hope you're having a great weekend!

Vote!

For all of those people out there who may have been worried about my friends whose home was about to be foreclosed on, they managed to avert disaster by the skin of their teeth. They, and their pets, still have a home, at least for the near future.

I don't know about you, but I can breath easier.

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Which leads me to my next topic: politics.

I hate to talk about politics because usually it just accomplishes getting people angry with each other. But lately I've heard people saying things I just find so unbelievable that I am speechless.

For me, the bottom line is to look at things from nine years ago and look at them now.

Nine years ago, I had a job and would be able to get another one should I wish to. Since then, there are now at least 300 people applying for any job that's not at McDonald's or stocking shelves. I've been homeless since then. I'm living on less than 1/3 what I was making then (almost 1/4). I no longer have a car.

Look at your own situation, and look at people around you. If you want homes foreclosed and banks failing, vote Republican. If you want things to go back to a wealthier era, vote Democrat. Or, for you ladies out there, here's a little eye candy who is expressing an intelligent opinion:

Of course, it's John Barrowman.

But, whatever you think, get out there and VOTE!

Oh, and for those ads that say McCain has more experience, I say, "Yeah, he has more experience in standing next to Bush and nodding."

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Holly and I were supposed to go out and do something together today. I was not surprised (after hearing her Halloween plans) that she called me and said she didn't feel like doing anything today.

Well, I don't blame her, I don't feel like doing much today, either.

I hope you're having a more energetic (and fun) weekend!