Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

That's a photo I took in the park behind my apartment the other day.

I don't have a lot to say today, except Happy Thanksgiving!

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But I promised you an update on the Christmas stockings I'm knitting, so here's a photo.

It hasn't been blocked yet, and still needs the decorative stars and the loop to hang it with. I have one of them done (as far as this one's done) for a friend for Christmas, and am almost up to this point with the second one for sale. This isn't a very good photo. It's grey and rainy today, and the light was almost gone, and I was in a rush. Also, the memory card in my camera was full and I have to archive it and wipe the memory, and didn't want to spend the time today.

There will be a better photo of an actual finished stocking real soon now.

You can't see it too well in the photo, but there are beads on the upper part (the leg).

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Last night, while I was watching TV, there were so many ads for places that are selling stuff unbelievably cheap! Both Sears and Best Buy have the Cruz tablet on sale for $50 less than Borders! Many stores will be open today, and will open their doors tomorrow at 4 or 5 am! So, if you're in the market for Christmas presents, get out there and grab them while they're available!

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I took this photo from my window last month, but I thought I'd include it to remind me of what a beautiful universe we live in.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Recovering from Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was wonderful, as usual. I got to see Holly and Robin's new, 52 inch TV, and it's wonderful, but we actually had Thanksgiving dinner in the new bar behind their house.

A while ago, Robin bought a Chinese dragon kite, and he wanted it for decoration. Here's a photo of it on the ceiling in the bar.

And here it is close up:

Here are Holly and Robin behind the bar:

A photo of Robin getting ready to answer a question, it looks like:

And a couple of photos of Holly:

I finally gave up and went home after 1:30 am.

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Before I forget to tell you, Vickie Howell is having her annual book giveaway! Today is the last day to enter, so get right over there!

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For all you knitters out there who need/want a yarn winder, here are instructions for making one of your own for a low cost.

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The ABC Family channel was running the "coundown" to 25 Days of Christmas, but gave up on that for Thanksgiving and Saturday. They're back with some Christmas movies, if anyone cares. I have to admit it, I'm a sucker for those gooey Christmas movies.

BBC in America told the people who put up the digital TV guide that they were going to show the Doctor Who episode, Utopia yesterday, but they really showed Turn Left. I hope they show the two episodes that come after Turn Left (The Stolen Earth and Journey's End). The other two are considered to be a whole story, but I think that Turn Left should be included as part of that story, and it should be a three-parter.

I just looked it up, and they're not showing Doctor Who next Saturday. In that time slot they're showing Torchwood, and they haven't put up any info on which episode yet.

By the way, SyFy is now rerunning Doctor Who on Friday mornings, very early, again, at least for a few more weeks. Next week will be Fires of Pompei. On Christmas Eve (Christmas day) and New Year's Day, they will not be showing Doctor Who. Hopefully, he'll be back in January.

Heroes will be the only new SF programming on Monday. Of course, SyFy will have it's usual reruns of Ghost Whisperer, and there will be reruns of The Big Bang Theory, and Castle. I know Castle isn't SF, but I like Nathan Fillion so much from Firefly.

I have to get going now. I promised John I'd get some more done on the back cover of Volume 3 of the Steve Canyon DVDs over the weekend, and yesterday went in a completely different direction from what I intended, and I didn't get anything done then, so I have to make it up now.

I hope you've all been having a great extended holiday weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

In honor of Thanksgiving, for all you Arlo Guthrie fans out there (like me) I'm giving you a chance to hear a slightly updated version of that Thanksgiving classic, Alice's Restaurant Massacree. The whole thing is only available in three parts, so you'll have to click on the next one when the previous one stops. Sorry.










There's an even more updated version of this where Arlo talks about touring the Pentagon, and discovering that they are manufacturing and distributing arcade games to teach the next generation of Americans how to fly fighter planes and fight in a war!


And then there's the Multi-colored Rainbow Roach Affair, which is not related to anything but a weird story.


I tried to find them both for you, but couldn't.


And if you are an Arlo Guthrie fan, I'm sure you've heard the Motorcycle song. But you may not have heard his story of the significance of the pickle. So, here it is, just in case you didn't understand about the pickle.






He was such a cutie!

Here he is doing Stevie Goodman's City of New Orleans:





You can listen to Coming into London on You Tube if you want, too. Who says Arlo only did folk?


For those of you who love the blues, Saint James Infirmary was one of his best. The acoustics of the place they did this were kind of echoy, but it still has heart!


One of my favorite memories of Arlo, though was one night he and David Bromberg showed up after their local gigs on the Gene Shay show. The two of them got to playing a risque tune, and had an impromptu competition to see who could make up the raunchiest lyrics to it on the spot. They were supposed to be off the air at midnight, but it ran 20 minutes over because everyone was having so much fun! And being so rowdy!


This is the song they were doing. Here, David is playing with Jorma Kaukonen.




And the two of them aren't trying to make up off-color lyrics like David and Arlo were doing that night.

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To give you something else to hope to be thankful for, here's some info on a contest by Berroco, where you can win all the Barbara Walker stitch dictionary books! Click the link in the sidebar on the right.

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All this is my Thanksgiving present to you!


Now, tell me what you're thankful for this year!


Happy Thanksgiving!

Shifting into High Gear for Christmas

Sorry! I feel like I've been neglecting you, but I'm shifting my previous efforts toward Christmas into high gear. We have only about a month left until then, which for knitters and crafters is getting to be last minute.

I'm also preparing a Thanksgiving post (which will go up on Wednesday) about some of my favorite Thanksgiving stuff. I'm putting it up on Wednesday because there are some people who will be away for the holiday, and I want to give them a chance to see it before then.

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I finished an absolutely gorgeous hat for someone last night using the Bernat Alpaca yarn in lavender.

It's just a little darker than it looks on my screen in that photo. The color is soft and beautiful, and it feels just as soft and cuddly, with just a little bit of fuzzyness. I really don't like yarn that's this thick as a general rule, but I love this yarn, and especially this color. They also have a plum color that's to die for, and a beautiful denim as well as other colors.

Considering that it'll be a Christmas gift, I'm going to take a picture (although not today: it's raining outside and dark in here), but that will not be available until after I give it for Christmas. Sorry, you'll just have to wait along with the recipient, and I'm not saying who that will be. I have finished knitting the hat, but although it fit my head snugly when I tried it on while I was knitting the critical part, now that it's finished, it feels a little loose, so I'm going to get some thin elastic cord and weave it through the area where a hat band would be to make it a bit more snug, so it's not completely finished. The hat is completely original, specifically for the person it was made for! And did I mention how beautiful it is? I may make a similar one for myself!

I'm busy making a hood out of the same stuff, for the same person. Then, I'm not sure if I'll make mitts or mittens to go with the set. I'm also considering the possibility of making a scarf in a way that will drive any knitter nuts trying to figure out how I did it. But I haven't made any decisions yet, except for what I'm already knitting.

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Some of the networks have thrown out their normal scheduling completely for the duration of Thanksgiving week, with SyFy leading that parade. They're having movies on instead of their normal daytime rotation all this week, with only James Bond movies on during Thursday and Friday. In a few cases, they're putting on movies that I previously wouldn't have expected from SyFy, so maybe they are trying to change their programming a bit. I personally thing they could stick to science fiction and fantasy and still expand their borders tremendously. Case in point, Grendel will be on again soon, specifically, Saturday at 11am (here), and on Sunday, we'll have the complementary Beowulf. I still can't figure out how someone could take such a timeless classic, and destroy it as thoroughly as they did in those two films. They beg to be on MST3K! The only was these films would be watchable is if you watch them with friends and either supply MST3K-like remarks or have to drink a shot every time Grendel uses his "scud missle."

There are some new episodes on tonight on Heroes (NBC), The Big Bang Theory (CBS), and Castle (ABC) as well as the usual Monday night line up of four reruns of Ghost Whisperer (SyFy) tonight.

Tomorrow, we have only one new SF entry, V, which will be the last new episode shown this year. Read about it here.

For the overall outlook of science fiction on TV this week, check this out!

And don't forget to check your local listings for The Legend of the Seeker, which is the only worthwhile sword and sorcery on TV right now. I'm seeing it locally on the CW on Sunday nights, but it may be different where you live, and they keep moving it around, so you may really have to look. Saturdays and daytime weekend TV have not been immune from this enjoyable series, so check it out.

Although they usually show the episode from the week before, and then a new episode, last week they showed the episode from the week before and then repeated it again immediately afterward. I was hoping they'd catch this, and show the new one they should have shown last week along with the next one, but they have definitely skipped an episode, and a whole new character has shown up and we don't know why. But they are doing reruns, so maybe we'll get to see the missing episode for the first time during the reruns.

Have a great evening!

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Addition:

Today is the 46th anniversary of the showing of the very first Doctor Who episode!

Happy birthday, Doctor Who!

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!

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!