Happy Friday the Thirteenth!

Well, that time has rolled around again. It's Friday the Thirteenth!

This year, we had a Friday the Thirteenth in February, and because it's not a leap year, we also had one in March. We missed it by one day in June when the thirteenth fell on Saturday, and again in August, when it fell on Thursday, but this is the third and final Friday the Thirteenth for this year!

Although most people consider it an unlucky day, there are lucky aspects of the day for everyone, such as special deals on flying and booking a hotel that many people routinely refuse to do on a Friday the Thirteenth.

I could swear that I read somewhere that witches consider Friday the Thirteenth a lucky day, but I can't find any information about it on the internet. It's really surprising not to be able to find some information about something on the internet!

But Crazy Aunt Purl has a post today about Friday the Thirteenth and fear. As usual, she's fun to read.

And today, probably because it's Friday the Thirteenth, the new movie about the end of the world, 2012 will be opening. Find out more about it on io9 here.

I once found a fascinating book called Arachne Rising, about the theory that there had been a thirteenth sign of the zodiac (Arachne), and that it had been eliminated in antiquity, under harsh punishment, to the point that the number 13 has been considered unlucky ever since. Since that sign used a spider as it's symbol, and you would be punished if you kept spiders, it also is supposed to have formed the basis for the fear of spiders. I no longer have the book, but would love to have a new copy for Christmas!

And my grandson-in-law can be happy that he wasn't born a day later, or his birthday would be today!

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I'm almost at the end of the neck part of the wimple. Soon I'm going to have to make up the rest before I can continue. It looks like it did yesterday, only longer.

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!

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Addition!

I came across an article about the remake of The Prisoner, and I thought you'd be interested! Check it out here!

Happy Friday the Thirteenth!

Wow! I just got a case of deja vu. It seems like only 28 days since I last said this.

I hope you're enjoying the second of two Fridays the thirteenth in two months.

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Vicki Howell has a new book coming out, Pop Goes Crochet, and she's got a contest going on over on her blog to win a signed copy of her new book. Check it out!

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I saw this note on FaceBook: "John Ellis is glad things went well last nite..the reception & screening was a BIG hit & John Ellis even interviewed Milton Caniff (!) via some hocus-pocus & razzle-dazzle."

I'm so glad it's going well, and I'm dying to find out how he interviewed Milton!

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Holly called last night. We're going out tomorrow! It'll be so nice to see her again. Ever since the headlights on her car died just before Christmas, I saw her at Christmas and one other time. That's twice in two and a half months. I miss her!

Have a great evening, and don't miss the brand new episode of Dollhouse!

Happy Friday the Thirteenth!

Happy Friday the Thirteenth!

You can find more information about Friday the thirteenth here, on Wikipedia.

One of the most interesting lines in that entry says "The asteroid 2004 MN4 will make its close encounter on Friday, April 13, 2029." Doesn't that sound exciting? I'm not sure if I'm happy or relieved that I probably won't be around to see it in this lifetime. No, I'm sure I'd love to see it!

You can find more information about that asteroid here, and Stargate SG-1 fans will be especially tickled that not only does this asteroid have a name (I didn't know that any asteroids were named), but that it's name is Apophis!

There are some people who consider Friday the thirteenth to be a very lucky day. Go out there and buy lottery tickets!

And, no matter what you think of it, brace yourself, because there's going to be another one next month! And, while you're bracing, there will be another pair of Fridays the thirteenth next year in February and March, and then again in 2026!

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Don't forget the premier of Dollhouse tonight!

There will also be a new Ghost Whisperer, Psych, and Monk. Monk is on at the same time as Dollhouse, but it and Psych are also on later in the evening (more like early Saturday morning), plus they're usually on sometime on Saturday, so you really have to check those listings!

Oh, and for science fiction fans who have kids, on Saturday mornings, on NBC, there's a cartoon called Jane and the Dragon. If you like animation, this is a really beautiful one, probably the most beautiful drawn animation I've ever seen. It's stuff for kids that won't make you barf! Hows that for praise?

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I've been looking around for a good top-down raglan pullover pattern to use for the Coraline sweater in place of the one on the Coraline site. I just don't see the point of all those seams, when it could be knit in one piece. And knitting from the top down means that you can try it on, and see if it fits right. You can end those sleeves at the right length, and make the bottom end where you want, too.

I have a copy of Knitting from the Top around here somewhere, and I'd be willing to bet that there's a pattern in there that would be perfect. 

Now all I have to do is find it.

Knitting with Mohair is a great book for pattern designers, by the way. It has some actual sweater patterns, but it also has some basic patterns for the bodies of sweaters, and pages of different kinds of collars/necklines you can put on them, different sleeve ideas. You can mix and match for the perfect designed-for-you-by-you sweater.

It's a beautiful day out there, and I have to get going and do some errands, so have a great day!

Happy February!

This particular February boasts a distinction that other Februarys haven't had in quite a while.

It has a Friday the thirteenth.

The significance of that is that because February is 28 days long, it means that March will also have a Friday the thirteenth.

Two of them! Back-to-back!

I'm sure you're beginning to understand why some people have said to me, "You're easily amused!"

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I got tagged on Facebook, and put it up here so it would be easier to read. So, there will be three posts up today, so when you finish reading this, there are two more.

One of the entries on Facebook says, "John Ellis is predicting that facebook will blot out the sun and then swallow the earth within 7 days."

He's got a point.

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The Christmas stockings, which were done last week were picked up and paid for last night! The fact that the project is completed is a major relief for me, and it's leaving a knitting vacuum in it's wake.

I have several projects in mind that I'd like to do, but no yarn! I'd like to go out today and get some yarn, but this cold/flu/infection is hanging on, and I woke up today with my feet swollen up and my right foot hurting. It hurts enough to make me want to limp, so I'm less than enthusiastic about walking to the bus, and then walking to all the places I'd like to go. 

I have a $15 credit at Borders, and I want to use it to buy a copy of Backup. The list price for it is $20, but it's a novella, barely more than a short story. I have no doubt that it will be good, but everyone that's read it thinks the price is more than a bit stiff. Yes, I know that it's available at Amazon at a lower price, but there's also shipping, so it doesn't make a lot of difference. But my credit will mean that it'll only cost $5! So it will be well worth the price. I'm really looking forward to it.

Here's a quote from the beginning of the book:

Let's get something clear right up front.

I'm not Harry Dresden.

Harry's a wizard. A genuine, honest-to-goodness wizard. He's Gandalf on crack and an IV of Red Bull, with a big leather coat and a .44 revolver in his pocket. He'll spit in the eye of gods and demons alike if he thinks it needs to be done, and to hell with the consequences--and yet somehow my little brother manages to remain a decent human being.

I'll be damned if I know how.

But then, I'll be damned regardless.
My name is Thomas Raith, and I'm a monster.

I can't wait! It's really a book in the Dresden Files series, but it's told by Thomas, and it's an account of his adventures providing backup for Harry on a case.

I also want to buy a copy of Coraline while I'm there. Coraline has either just come out or will be out as a movie real soon now. I want to see the movie, because, as the second link will tell you, the entire world of the movie has been created by hand. And then again, it's been written by Neil Gaiman, so it couldn't possibly be bad.

And then I want to walk across the road to Radio Shack to buy some DVD cases. Then there's a walk over to WalMart, and I really need to stop at the dollar store, which is another walk. None of these trips are far in themselves, but all together, it's a lot of walking.

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I haven't been telling you about what I've been reading lately, so let me remedy that.

I joined the Folklore and Fairytales group on Ravelry. I suspect that if you're not on Ravelry, you won't be able to see the page that link takes you to. It did cause me to put up a Fairytale section in my Amazon store, though.

Anyway, they've been discussing lots of interesting books, and I've been carrying tons of them home from the Library and reading them. A large part of what I've read because of this group is from Dianna Wynne Jones. First, I reread Fire and Hemlock, which is a tale heavily based on the Tam Lin story, with a touch of Thomas the Rhymer thrown in. Then I continued with The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volumes I, II, and III. 

I'm currently reading the Inkheart Trilogy, having finished Inkheart and Inkspell, and I'm now partway through Inkdeath, and I'm enjoying it immensely. My library card has been getting a workout with all this! The first of these three has come out as a movie (last month) and I suppose if it does well that they'll do the other two. If anyone has read the book and seen the movie, I'd really like a review from you.

I currently have a copy of The Alchemyst lined up for when I finish Inkdeath, and it's sequel, The Magician, is on order at the library. I'm going to have to wait until May for the third book, The Sorceress, though.

These are fictional stories about a real character named Nicholas Flamel, who showed up as a peripheral character in the Harry Potter books.

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This post is starting to get out of hand in length. Blogger has just thrown a fit because I have too many tags listed, so maybe I should quit while I'm ahead.

There will be a new Fringe, The Mentalist and Leverage on tonight!

Have a good one!

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PS-- Here's a link to information on a movie that John's just finishing some work on. He's syncing dailies, so the movie is nowhere near finished.

Good News and Bad News

I'll start with the bad news first.


This is the view out my friend John's window. Yes, that's a fire you're seeing the smoke from. Part of a mountain is on fire. He's remarkably calm about it. He said that if worst comes to worst, they have marshmallows and weenies.

There's a major highway between his home and the fire, and he says they won't allow it to cross the highway.

But I don't think it's beyond possibility that the fire won't do what it's told. I'm worried, and I'll be checking the news periodically during the day.

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I had some good news in mind when I wrote that title, but I can't remember what it was, other than the fact that today is just jammed with good things on TV.

Friday the 13th is showing on the SciFi daytime rotation today, followed this evening by Lost.

NBC is giving us new episodes of Chuck and Heroes, followed by My Own Worst Enemy. I don't know enough about that last one to know if it's SF, but it's certainly action/adventure.

Lots of great stuff to watch while I get my apartment ready for inspection tomorrow.

So, here's another great photo from John for today.

Have a great week!

Renfair Tomorrow!

Friday the Thirteenth is on the daytime rotation at SciFi today.

Tonight, they'll be having a new episode of Sanctuary, plus a new episode of Stargate Atlantis, preceeded by last week's episode, which was continued to this week, so if you missed it last week, you might want to watch it tonight.

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Renfair is tomorrow! Holly, Malaia and I will be going, and I assume that John, Everett, Jeff and Ashton will go, too. You can expect no post tomorrow.

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I have a lot of work to do on the bedroom today if I want to have any hope of being ready for inspection on Tuesday, so you may notice that this is a very short, quick post. So, here's another photo John sent me for your entertainment.

Have a great Friday and weekend!