Just Another Tuesday

There's not too much to talk about today. I've been busy trying to earn some money by finding neat stuff to sell in the website I'm putting together. I think I've found at least one super product that all you knitters are going to love!

Of course, there will be patterns in both printed and PDF format, and I'm working on those, too. But until I get some of the products I want to sell and test them, I'm going to be a boring person who's busy with other things.

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Tonight is the premier of Covert Affairs and White Collar on USA! I'm really excited about Covert Affairs! 

That's Christopher Gorham and Piper Perabo shown above. If I understand it correctly, it'll be spy fi, but with the usual USA twist.

I'm still waiting to get the card installed tomorrow by the Comcast repairman in a policy that's intended to rip off customers. I still hate Comcast! Until it's installed, I can see some TV, but not everything. They really seem to be trying to punish me for getting a TiVo (translation: a DVR that actually works as opposed to the piece of malfunctioning junk I got from them).

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I have lots to do at the moment, I just wanted to check in with you and let everyone know that I'm still alive and haven't forgotten you.

In the meantime, have fun, and I'll be back with another post in a couple of days!

Monsoon!

I give up. I've been denying it for a while, and we were lucky enough to get a break from it for the Fall Fiber Fest, but it looks like monsoon season is really here to stay in Northern Virginia (or NoVA, as the natives call it).

It's been raining almost nonstop (at least it seems that way) ever since FFF, and there was considerable rain before that. I'm sure I remember seeing some actual sun within the last two weeks, but I couldn't say I did with any degree of certainty.

Rain doesn't usually bother me too much, but it doesn't usually go on for so long. Not without a break every so often.

Another thing that's got me down is that I went to the library yesterday, continued by a trip to CVS, and then swung by Safeway for some groceries. That's a decent walk for me. I haven't gotten to the depressing part yet.

On the way, the very first time I stepped in a puddle (well, not really a puddle, just something about a quarter inch deep), my sock was instantly soaked with cold water! Well, the toes were instantly soaked. It took a little more walking before the top of the sock was soaking the bottom of my jeans.

It really shouldn't be doing that, and I examined the offending left shoe when I got home. These are fairly new shoes with beautiful leather tops that show no wear, mind you. Not a scuff. They look totally and completely brand new! But there is a crack across the sole all the way across, under the ball of my foot! It's completely invisible unless you bend the sole to expose it. But it does a great job of letting water in!

These are nearly new shoes! And I really can't afford new ones!

OK, OK, I know I have a batch of shoes that don't really fit me well anymore that I haven't thrown out, so I can probably find something to wear.

But why should I have to? I mean, these shoes are nearly new!

So, we have a monsoon and a decided lack of shoes!

I should be thankful that I had the foresight to buy some tall rubber boots. I don't want to wear the boots, though, I want to wear my shoes!

And then I think that if that's my biggest problem, I'm really lucky! I should quit whining, and buck up.

But we were planning to go to the Maryland Renaissance Festival this weekend, and it's supposed to rain right through Sunday.

This is depressing!

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I broke down and started to knit my new sweater today. So far, I have about an inch of the back done. Photos when there's a bit more to show. At least this isn't a Christmas present, and I can take photos and show them.

As with all self-patterning yarn, I'm enjoying watching the patterns emerge as I knit. Yes, I know. Fun for the feeble minded!

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I've been meaning to mention this ever since I noticed this about a month ago.

Without fanfare or any notice whatsoever, a new needle size has turned up in the Knit Picks catalog for their Options interchangeable knitting needles, and it's an important size!

Local yarn stores (mostly) carry size 10-1/2 needles, but the chain craft stores like Michaels, AC Moore, and JoAnn Fabrics seem to have buyers who don't actually know anything about knitting needles, so there are never any size 10-1/2 needles!

There's a big leap in size from 10 to 11! Size 10-1/2 helps, but there's still a big size difference between 10-1/2 and 11!

Knit Picks has brought back the size 10-3/4 needle!

If you order a set of any of the Options needles (nickel plated, Zephyr, or Harmony), you won't get 10-3/4 tips, but they're suddenly available to order from their catalog in all those varieties!

I feel like dancing in the street! This calls for a celebration!

And here's something else to celebrate: Laurie Perry (Crazy Aunt Purl) has finished another book! She turned it in earlier this week, and it's already available on Amazon for advance order!

And I love the title! It's called Home is Where the Wine Is.

You can read more about it at the above links.

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Dollhouse is, sadly, not on tonight. In a way, that's a good thing because there are two other things I want to watch at the time it would normally be on. Three if you count Stargate Universe (which also comes on later, so I can catch it then). Universe, by the way, has moved on from it's initial, never-ending episode called Air, and is now into Darkness. It's been pretty elemental, so far. Oh, and there's the second episode of the new season on Sanctuary, while we're on the subject of SyFy.

Normally, I watch Ghost Whisperer at 8, followed by Medium and Dollhouse at 9.

What's throwing a monkey wrench into this schedule is Ugly Betty.

OK, I know it's not science fiction or even fantasy. I know it's really a prime-time soap, but I really like it. It was worth watching in the past just to see Christopher Gorham. It's probably good that they moved it from Thursday night, because I'm already missing Grey's Anatomy because of the pile-up of great shows, but why couldn't they have moved it to Tuesday, when there's nothing at all worth watching anywhere on TV!? Or, failing that, Wednesday at 9 or even 8 is a good time for me. The only thing really worth watching on Wednesday is Eastwick. With any luck, Betty will be on at 8 in the future, and won't mess up my schedule.

Oh, well. Tonight is jammed with great things to watch. I'm going to sit and knit in front of the tube this evening! Again! One of my favorite things to do!

Don't forget to keep your eyes open for Halloween programming! There are so many networks that are putting up lots of holiday shows! Too many to really list.

Oh, and here's something I was talking about with Holly, Everett and Jeff at the FFF almost two weeks ago. We all enjoyed it so much then, I thought I'd rerun it!

Have a great Friday evening!

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Addition:

Canada is issuing a silver $4 coin picturing a Tyrannosaurus Rex!

More Fairy Doors!

Chris Gorham posted more photos of fairy doors he's found:

This next one is a fairy ticket window, with tickets to A Midsummer Night's Dream.

I got a laugh out of that one.

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My new computer arrived yesterday, almost at the end of the time that FedEx delivers. But it did arrive. I spent last evening reading the documantation.

Yes, I know, who reads the manuals? Well, I've done a lot with computers in my life, but aside from a brush with PCs in the public library, all of my experience is with Macs. I can do anything with a Mac, but PCs are a whole new thing for me, and there is a lot to learn.

I plugged my iMac into the internet without a thought or care. But I feel that I need some protection against viruses with the new one. Oh, and the "documentation" for the bluetooth, and some of the rest of it, is on CD! I'm really annoyed that they would send discs to reinstall the OS, and the documentation on CD to go with a computer that doesn't have a CD drive! This is a serious mistake!

Once I get it in touch with the internet, I have to download some software so that the computer can actually do something, too. So, it's not a matter of just opening it up and turning it on and going.

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Well, I'm past the heel and the gusset (in two more rows) for Kyle's third sock. There will be four pair of socks in all, so I still have a five more after this one. Photos soon. Actually, photos will probably go in my comfortable sock pattern, which will be up soon.

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I'm really feeling the let-down, now that I've finished reading the Mediator books. They're so great, but they're done. I always feel that way after reading a really great series of books.

While I was putting together the links for the books in the last post, though, I noticed another series by Meg Cabot, and I think I'll check and see if the library has them. The series is 1-800-Where-R-You. As mentioned, I haven't read any of them yet, but plan to look for the first one, When Lightning Strikes, right away.

Well, while trying to find the books on my local library website, I found out a lot about Meg Cabot. They don't have those books by Meg Cabot, but they do have them written by Jenny Caroll! She writes under several pen names, and the books have been printed under both names! I find that quite surprising! Not that she has a pen name, but that the books are published under both names.

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For all you knitters out there, here are some neat photos I came across that I think you'd enjoy. This is something to think about because Halloween is coming up soon from the perspective of knitting something to wear.

I have to run. Lots to do!

There's a new Leverage on tonight!

Have a great evening!

Fairy Doors!

I've been following Christopher Gorham on Twitter, and he's apparently in Ann Arbor at the time I write this. He keeps posting links to photos of Fairy Doors in Ann Arbor, Michigan. If you've been following me on Twitter, I've retweeted many of them.

Apparently, Ann Arbor is beginning to earn a reputation for being a place to find fairy doors, tiny doors that are located in random places in buildings in downtown Ann Arbor. They seem to appear in baseboards or other low spots in buildings, rather like traditional mouse holes. Only much more endearing and fun.

They seem to have started inside the Wright home, and have spread from there. That last link has a ton of information about them. Just keep clicking the links to other pages on the site. There's even a Tooth Fairy door at a dentist's office (see above)! You can wander around this site for quite a while without seeing it all, so check it out! If you keep going on the site, you will eventually find a way to get some fairy doors of your own!

And you can read about, and see photos of a fairy door hunt here. And don't forget to check out fairy doors on Etsy.

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Book review for a series better than Twilight!

I've just finished reading the whole Mediator series of books by Meg Cabot. The series is one of the best love stories I've ever read. I almost want to go back and read it all over again.

The heroine is wonderful, too. Susannah Simon is the kind of role model that's good for teenage girls, not like Bella, who can't seem to stay out of trouble or do anything to help herself once she's created it. Suze is the kind of young woman who is smart, funny, quick on her feet and with her fists, and an absolute joy to read about.

Suze is a mediator--someone who helps ghosts find their way to wherever they're going after death. She's also someone who isn't afraid of a little action, even if it means punching a ghost. She says, "After all, nasal cartilage is nasal cartilage."

The story starts after her mother marries a man who lives in on the other side of the US, and she and Suze move from New York to Northern California. She not only gains a step father, but three step brothers, which she proceeds to nickname Dopey, Sleepy, and Doc.

Once she arrives at her new home, she finds that she's not only gained a new step family, but also a ghost named Jesse, who is (unbenownst to her mother) her roommate!

If you liked Twilight, try this out, it's excellent.

The books in the series are:

1. Shadowland
2. Ninth Key
3. Reunion
4. Darkest Hour
5. Haunted
6. Twilight

Try them. You'll love them.

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For any of you out there who are into helping animals in trouble, I have a friend who has opened his home to many rescued, otherwise unplaceable dogs and cats. He's currently in financial trouble, and in danger of losing his home. Losing his home would be a tragedy for him, but would mean a death sentence for the animals he's currently helping. If you feel you can help, here is the link with more information.

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We have another Warehouse 13 to look forward to this evening!

Have fun!

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Addition:

Don't forget to watch the meteor shower tonight!

Sonic Boom!

John posted the URL of a really neat news article about sonic booms. I didn't know it, but sometimes sonic booms are visible as well as audible.

You can see an even better photo of a sonic boom here. It looks to me like it's being generated by a Blackbird, but I could be wrong. I especially like like this photo, and there's a simple explanation of the physics involved.

This sonic boom is kind of wispy in spots, but I like the photo because it's of a shuttle launch.

Sonic booms bring back so many fond memories for me. 

When I was stationed at Charleston AFB, I lived in the WAF barracks, which was located at the end of the old East-West runway. They flew F-101 Voodoos out of the base, and they would take off in formation and go supersonic just off the runway as they entered the climb corridor. It was SOP to hear the "Boom-Boom" of the two planes as they'd take off, and it was a part of everyday life there.

When I lived in France, and was working at the Service Club, the Blue Angels were stationed at Evreux AFB temporarily, while they were there for the Paris Air Show. While they were there, they practiced, and, once again, we had lots of sonic booms. They gave a special air show just for the people on the base, and almost everything on base shut down for it. I was lucky enough to watch the show from the cockpit of one of the choppers stationed there. It's good to know chopper pilots!

But my favorite sonic boom memory is from an air show at Andrews AFB, where the Thunderbirds did a performance one year. They also performed at the air show where I got engaged.

They had most of them do a neat maneuver, where they flew down the flight line at LOW altitude (about 20 feet), and when they got past the crowd, one of them followed them right down the flight line at mach 1. I was lucky enough to be right down front, so the plane was less than 50 yards from me, and quite startling!

Some of my friends were standing much further back, and they could see the plane coming. They said it generated a "wave" effect in the crowd as people jumped when the boom hit them!

I never complained as much as I did while I was in the Air Force, but it was SO. MUCH. FUN!

Most people seem to be starting the weekend today (late in the day), so I'll wish you a happy weekend now!

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Addition:

Christopher Gorham says he's making coffee here. I'm not so sure.

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Another Addition:

Here is a link to some great sonic boom photos!