StrungOut

B is for.....Bird Flu

Just to let you know I haven’t died yet! But I’ve lost 8 lbs in 24hrs. Yep I’ve got the (bird?) flu. Let me tell you it’s an ass kicker. But with that kind of weight loss it’s all good. I’m ditsy and weak from the dehydration but I’m still here. Not to mention I’ve got my photo programs (yes, I have more than one) working. I’m still behind in taking pictures of my FO’s, I’ve finished my first pair of socks, Mercy and my scollar.

I’ve started my second pair of socks. I’m using the yarn on the left, the whiter one.

B is also for Birthday & Ballons

Which mine was back on the 7th

   

But what I really love about the letter B is...

Books

Boats always take nice photos

Sock O' the month Club

Just an Ultra short post. Yes, I'm still picture-less. This morning while shopping on the web for patterns,  I bought 3 new ones. Like I don't have enough books with patterns in them (check out the library on the right side of this blog). I ran across the brand spank'n new ROCKIN SOCK CLUB at blue moon fiber arts (Patterns are included).Quick go sign up! They start shipping in March. You also have your choice of how many shipments you wish to receive. I of course, signed up for the full year. That way I get an extra skein of a brand new color before it's released to the public. Not to mention it comes to me. All I have to do is open my front door!  OOOOOLALA.

Recovery

I'm slowly getting my computer put back together. Word to the wise BACK YOUR SHIT UP. I got a little lazy, now I'm practically suicidal over what I've lost. I actually called a data recovery service. Wanta know the rough quote they gave me..... Better sit down.   $400.00-$1800.00. My crash is on the lower end of the cost spectrum. (yippee) Yes, I'm actually considering it.  Tonight I have to find all, some, any of my compact flash cards and load them, god knows how long that will take. I liked the way Picasa organized my photos. I just downloaded Picasa2, new and improved I guess. Not to mention I still have my scanner to get up and working. We all know a picture-less blog is boring. It's all about eye candy whatever your definition of it is.....Last night I loaded 200 or so songs on itunes, barely scratching the surface of that mess. I also killed off the last of the vodka in the house. Yes, alcohol does make it all better. The trick is to go to bed before the euphoria goes away.

Do as I Say

Betcha can’t guess what I’ve been up to lately?!?! I’ll give you a hint…..You’re about to hear all about it…. (Not much of a hint is it) Stand back cause she’s about to blow!!! It’s computer related….You got it my lap top died AGAIN!!! The gloves are now off! If you are ever in the market for a lap top Do NOT, I repeat do NOT go to PC Club. I have owned 3 desk top computers all from them and they are still working. Even the one with Windows 95 on it hasn’t died yet. Their desk tops are flawless. However I just learned that laptops, (even desk top replacements) are a whole different species. I don’t know if you remember my first go round but it ended up costing me about 1,000.00 by the time this machine was fixed. Funny thing is I asked them about 2 things….The fan and the hard drive. I was told both were fine. WRONG. I had my puter home for 2 weeks and it totally went ka pluey! The fan was the culprit and most of the insides cooked. I was told originally it was a virus, which it may have been. But that wasn’t all it was. So now 5 months later after many strange unexplainable happenings my hard drive died. All my data is gone. Knitting patterns, tax info, work stuff, photos, oh my beautiful ABC along photos GONE! Now I have spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,200 to rebuild a year and a half old computer. STUPID< STUPID< STUPID. If I only new then....

This last time I took it to notebook shop to have it repaired. I’ll probably buy my next laptop from them. I’m so tired of having to reload all of my software and data I could scream.

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I’m done with PC Club. I have SO MANY COMPLAINTS about them. They are useless. The techs know only one way to fix a problem, wipe the hard drive clean…They don’t even look at the rest of the machine.

I’m sorry if this entry is nothing but incoherent rambling, but I’m so pissed I can’t see straight.

I feel I given sufficient warning for anyone reading this blog. Don’t be an idiot get a name brand laptop.

The shape of things to come

Here are my thoughts on my first felting project.

1)     I knit like a fiend, hours per night to be able to throw all my hard work in the wash. That may just be a definition of insanity for knitters.

2)     I followed the pattern to a T, 85% of the way. The only change I made was to take out 30 rows. Yet it’s still too long!

3)     I made a friend insane. I had her count all of my rows, hundreds of them to be sure I was doing this correctly.

4)     I washed it a total of 5 times and threw it in the dryer and it still didn’t shrink enough.

5)     You can tell what pattern I used, but it doesn’t match the pattern photo (shape wise) as much as I’d like.

6)     If I were to cut say 4-6” off and then sew the parts back together it would be an exact match. Yes, I am actually thinking about doing this.

7)     If I make this pattern again… I will shorten it by at least 30 rows. Perhaps as Much as 50, in the body length. I will also keep those 30 rows off the top. That’s up to 80 rows shorter. But I won’t change the width at all.

8)     I know it doesn’t sound like it at this point but I REALLY did enjoy knitting this. I don’t mind mindless knitting at this point.

9)     I’m just a little disappointed in the out come. I expected the perfect bag and it didn’t meet my expectations.

10) Cascade Pastazza felts beautifully and I highly recommend it.

11)  The very first wash was nerve racking. A knitting friend of mine had me call her after every wash. She tried to hold my hand via the phone. I think she thought she was suicide prevention.

12)  I will felt again!

This is how I shaped the top. Over a dining room chair.

I have yet to take a finished photo of Klepto. I may just use it as my Farmers Market bag. It's certainly big enough.

It's 5 O'clock Somewhere

Thank GOD for CAP!!! Her Hor-o-scope explains a lot.

For example why I’m on the third,  make that fourth try on felting my Klepto bag. It’s felting beautifully, however the shrinkage just ain’t happening to the level that I want it to. It’s still at least 3 feet long. I have a feeling I’ll be felting all fucking night long. Thank Lucifer for liquor, because I will be consuming it in large quantities soon. Hell it’s 5 o’clock somewhere. Let’s not forget my little fire mishap yesterday. I borrowed my scope from her blog…. I guess the only positive thing to do is to keep my glass half full at this point.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18)
Would you like fries with that Quarter Pounder of Stress? Your commitments to school or work combined with the constant demands from your family and friends have you near the end of your rope this month. That urge to escape your life and run on autopilot is particularly strong near month's end. You might begin harboring serious fantasies of sitting alone on a mountaintop and pondering your navel. Take a deep breath, clear you calendar for at least one full day in February, and commit to some serious alone time before you become commit-able. You may long for a padded room ... but I hear that straightjackets make your butt look big.

You know what they say…..”when the going gets tough, the tough get a pedicure. That’s it I’m getting a pedi tomorrow for sure. 

Lock me UP

What a morning I almost blew up my kitchen or at least caught my place on fire. Technically it was on fire. All because I wanted to make a cup of tea, God I’m inept! I had to light the burner with one of those candle lighter thingy’s. My cell rings, which is up stairs so I put the lighter down, obviously oblivious to the fact I have a burner on, covered by a tea pot. Run to get the phone, yak a minute, come back downstairs walk into the kitchen and BOOM  there’s an explosion and a flash of light. Not to mention a small fire. The lighter is burning, the teapot appears to be burning and the smell is awful. Big Bad Brave me is afraid to go near the stove. I’m already standing next to it. So I got my nerve up wet a paper towel (told you I’m a genius) and throw it on the flames. Believe it or not it did the trick.

I’ve already reproduced how frightening is that!!! What have I become? I think all of my academic awards should be stripped away as well.

Oh the call, was my boss to tell me I was a top performer for 2005. How frickin scary is that?!?! Thank God he wasn’t on the phone for the explosion…. I’d have fired myself for that stupid move. I think this should qualify me for a Darwin Award, don’t you?