Poor Blueberry

My car (the Blueberry) has a boo-boo. Last Friday morning I arrived at work at the usual time, and as usual, there weren't any actual parking spaces, so I had to park behind the warehouse, up against the building, in the grass/mud/gravel. I pulled into the "space" where I intended to park, backed up to straighten up the car in said space, and promptly ran into a trash dumpster that occupies a corner of the mud behind the warehouse. Smashed the tail light on the drivers' side. And when I say smashed, I mean shattered into a million pieces that flew past the drivers' side window as I heard a crunch and turned my head in the direction of the trash dumpster. Yes, Lisa, this is the same corner of the car that I boo-boo'd on your tree 2 years ago. Clearly that is my blind-spot. Either that or the car is just too damned large for me, as I am strangely disconnected with what happens in the back half of the car most of the time. I suppose backing into innocent inanimate objects is just an inevitability for someone like me.

Needless to say, we won't be reporting this to the insurance company. Thankfully, none of the metal was damaged, except for a small ding. Shane thinks he can replace the tail light himself. He ordered it from the Honda dealer today. He called me this afternoon to ask if I knew whether the car was made in London or Japan. I guess that makes a difference on which tail light the dealership orders. I didn't know, so he asked me to look at the VIN number, which I just so happened to have on my insurance card. Since the number started with a J, it was made in Japan. How cool is that? My car came all the way from Japan 4 years ago. I know that "foreign car" means that the car was manufactured overseas, but I've never really thought about the fact that my car was made on the other side of the globe. Yeah, I know, small things amuse me.

Finished socks

I've managed to finish 2 pairs of socks over the last month. The first was the pair that I gave Kevin for his 28th birthday (actually given to him on his 29th birthday). I started them in early January. I think they took about 3 weeks to finish.



Sorry for the quality of the picture. I forgot to take a picture of them before giving them to Kevin, so I had to snap a quickie with my phone. Pattern is my own--a simple 2x2 rib with a slip-stitch heel. Yarn is Encore Worsted in navy, done on size 5 double pointed needles. I personally cannot imagine wearing something so thick, but he seems to like them, as these were requested by him last year. I guess he wears them over regular socks. My feet are sweating just thinking about it.

This next pair is the first pair that I have made for myself. I started them last spring and was just able to finish them a couple of weeks ago.



Pattern is Thuja. I adapted it for my foot and used the heel flap that I've used on other socks, so I didn't follow the pattern for the whole sock exactly. The yarn is Opal in a color that I cannot remember. Can't find the ball band. I bought it from one of my aunt Jean's friends who sells Opal sock yarns. I've worn them a couple of times already and they're very comfy. Not as hot as I feared they would be. And the fit is great. I can now see why so many people are devotees of hand-knitted socks.

I'm working on another pair out of the yarn that my SP gave me. It's my first toe-up pattern using the Magic Loop method and I'm really loving them. I'll post pictures later.

From my sweetie

Look what I got at work yesterday!



He even hand-wrote the card, which means he went to the flower shop instead of calling in the order. What a good man!

Soundtrack of my life

Got this little meme from Cere-Knitty. I just happened to be listening to Ye Olde iPod on shuffle when I stumbled upon this, so it seemed fitting to play the game.

Directions:
If your life was a movie, what would the soundtrack be?

1. Open your mp3 library
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press Play.
4. For every question, type the song that's playing.
5. When you go to a new question, press the Next button.
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool.
7. Don't skip songs. (Unless they happen to be podcasts/foreign/downright perverted and you don't want your sister to think you're some sort of dirty whore.)

My Movie:

1. Opening credits: Kyrie – Mr. Mister

2. Waking up: Where the Streets Have No Name – U2

3. First day of school: Two Souls – Howard Jones

4. Fight song: Other Voices – The Cure

5. Breaking up: Zither - REM

6. Happiness: It Doesn’t Matter – Alison Krauss & Union Station (definitely NOT a happy song; this one should have been #5)

7. Life's okay: No Way Out – Stone Temple Pilots

8. Mental breakdown: When You Come Back Down – Nickel Creek

9. Driving: Don’t Stop – Madonna

10. Flashback: Mickey – Toni Basil (bad flashback)

11. Getting back together: Leave Me the Radio – Doug Stone

12. Wedding song: Let’s Go to Bed – The Cure (hee hee)

13. Birth of first child: Crooked Halo – Candlebox

14. Final battle scene: Don’t Bring Me Down - ELO

15. Death scene: Ask for Answers – Placebo

16. Funeral song: Perfect Love…Gone Wrong – Sting

17. End credits: Smuggler’s Blues – Glenn Fry (what?!?)


What does this all say about me? I have an unhealthy affection for the 80s and 90s. Funny thing is that of all these songs, there are 9 that I’ve never heard before. In the days before iTunes and its offering of individual songs for purchase, I used to buy CDs just for one song. There are probably more CDs in my collection that I’ve never listened to in their entirety than there are ones for which I know all the songs.

Grrrr

Shane came home from work on Friday and said that his father had called him earlier in the day. This is the first contact we’ve had with him since the day before our wedding last April, when he told Shane that he and Marilyn (his wife) couldn’t come to the wedding because they “had something else to do that day.” Shane’s relationship with his father has always been difficult, rooted mostly in Bob’s abandoning Shane and his [blind] mother when he was a child, and Bob’s tendency for selfishness. However, because family is so important to me, I have always pushed Shane to have some sort of relationship with Bob, if only for the sake of Brady being able to see his grandpa. Well, not attending our wedding pretty much ended any desire I had to be “familial” with Bob and Marilyn. How does one justify not attending his own child’s wedding? I cannot imagine a scenario where my family would not be there for me during such an important time. I told Shane that if we were going to talk to his dad ever again, then Bob had to make the first move. I just knew that if I tried to contact him, I would end up blowing up at him, and from what Shane tells me about past problems he’s had with Bob, it wouldn’t matter anyway. My reaction wouldn’t make any difference in his behavior.

You can imagine our shock when out of the blue, Bob called Shane at work and asked if they could have breakfast together on Sunday. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall. If I could have figured out a way to record that conversation, I would have. Here’s what Bob had to say for himself: He was really upset with Shane for not attending his mother’s funeral in December 2005. Even though this woman was Shane’s grandmother, he barely knew her. He’s not close enough to his dad to have wanted to go to the funeral for his sake, and since his own mother died 15+ years ago, funerals are really hard for him. He’s not going to go to one unless it’s for someone he really cared about. Additionally, Bob said that he was upset that Shane and I didn’t involve him and Marilyn more in our engagement and wedding. They never had a chance to meet my parents before the wedding, mostly because on the several occasions that Shane invited them to go out with my parents, they were busy.

Here’s my interpretation of Bob’s position: He was pissed because Shane didn’t go to his mom’s funeral, so he decided to get back at him by not attending our wedding. Further, because our engagement and wedding was focused on us, the couple getting married, and not on him, then he had more justification for not attending. Yes, Bob is a grown man in his late 60s, but apparently he has the maturity of a 14 year old girl. What kind of adult person behaves like that? I’ve been accused of being selfish most of my life, and I think that there are many times when that assessment of my personality is fair, but I would never act like I should be the center of attention during the planning and execution of someone else’s wedding. His selfishness shocks even me.

What’s most amazing about all of this is that Shane let him off the hook. After a lifetime of disappointment from his father, Shane is well-versed in the language of forgiveness with regards to his father’s behavior. He knows that nothing he says or does will ever change his dad, so he doesn’t try. He stays mad at him for a while and then forgives him. This doesn’t mean that he allows Bob to trample all over him. On the contrary, Shane is very well aware of the bad that Bob is capable of. But anger is not an emotion that Shane feels very often and he doesn’t like to waste a lot of energy on it. I think it’s easier for him to forgive, never quite forgetting, and to move on.

I, on the other hand, have saved up a few choice words for Bob. Shane has already warned him that he has a lot of making up to do with me before I’ll forgive him. He has no idea.

My new favorite snack

My afternoon snack today is a 100 calorie pack of Doritos. What clever marketing people must work for Frito Lay. When I purchased the box of little baggies, I was prepared to find the "Doritos" to be a low-cal, i.e. low-taste, version of the original. Instead, what I found were actual Doritos, in miniature. The serving is probably only about 20 chips, but because they are smaller than the original, you can grab several at a time and pop them in your mouth all at once. Now, I know that makes me seem a bit gluttonish, but honestly, when I'm sitting at my desk, I like finger foods that can be eaten by the handful. And the fact that they are actual Doritos pleases me more than I can describe. When one is trying to lose weight, diet food becomes about as appealing as chewing on sawdust. You just get sick of the lack of taste after a while (or the increase in herbs and spices meant to mask the fact that there is not fat--who are the food manufacturers fooling? This southern girl can tell when butter, or fat, is missing.). I love that I can have a "bag" of Doritos and they're only 100 calories.

Carry on.

I got presents!

Friday was a long day. Knowing that I had 2 issues due today, I tried to get as much stuff done on Friday as possible. I ended up working until about 6:15. So, imagine my surprise and joy when I opened the mail box and there was a package there from my SP!



Here's what was inside:

That's Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm, 2 boxes of Valentine's conversation hearts, a bag of caramel Hershey Kisses, 2 hanks of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Vera, and a 40" US size 1 Addi Turbo needle. How cool is that? I've never tried Lorna's Laces, so I'm really excited to finally have some. It is in a colorway that I would have picked for myself--a deep pink that transitions to a dark brown and then to an olive green.


I love it! The needle is so that I can learn Magic Loop. I'm now on the hunt for the perfect sock pattern. I think this will be my next new project, after I finish a couple of straggler projects that I want to get out of the way.

Way to go SP! You're the best!

I hope to be able to send my downstream SP her package tomorrow. I bought everything over the weekend; just have to get a box. Shane said he'd bring one home from work today.

Happy Groundhog Day

Looks like we'll have an early spring this year (according to the Pennsylvania rodent). Given that it's about 10 degrees outside right now, an early spring sounds pretty good. But this is Kansas, anything can happen with the weather at any moment. Who knows? Maybe we'll have a heat wave tomorrow.

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I finished Kevin's birthday socks on Wednesday, just in time for his birthday this weekend. Okay, so they were supposed to be for his 28th birthday and this is his 29th. So what? Better late than never. I'll post pictures of them later. Not that they're anything great to look at. Boring 2x2 rib in navy blue. It's exactly what he requested, and they were a total snooze to knit. I'm so glad they're finished.

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My secret pal sent me an email yesterday saying I had a package coming to me. Hee hee! I can't wait! My intention is to go shopping tomorrow to get some stuff to send to my downstream SP. I need to get the package in the mail by Monday if I want it to reach her in Germany by Valentine's Day.