crafts + recipes + existential dread
And that includes patterns I didn’t like the first time around. When I bought this Sheep Shop yarn back in May I specifically had the "My So-Called Scarf" pattern in mind. I had tried knitting the pattern with some Manos during the summer and didn’t like the way it was coming out. So here we are again. I think the pattern will work well with this yarn because it’s just so colorful – not sure what other pattern would really do it justice.
The Jeep is just about ready! We will be able to pick our baby back up on Monday. I cannot wait to get rid of that deathtrap Cobalt. I swear, it has to be the most unsafe car I’ve ever driven. Drew had a fantastic near-death experience driving in the rain the other morning, but I’ll leave it to him to tell the story on his blog if he desires. There are some things that are just worth it, you know? I’m not one for luxury homes or fancy cars, but a well-built home or a high-quality car is a must. Even though the Corolla is considered a compact (I think) the difference between it and the Cobalt is striking. Even my old Hyundai Elantra felt much more solid than the rental.
Ahh, just a couple more days.
I just got off the phone with a very pleasant Geico rep. Remember the girl who drove into our car while we were at a stoplight? (She was going probably about 35-40 MPH, to refresh your memory.) Apparently she never reported the accident to her insurance company. They just got the report from ours and they were following up with us. Sigh… Oh well. I just can’t imagine not reporting it right away, especially since her car was pretty much totalled. Well, she’s probably got a suspended license now because she failed to file a claim. People never cease to amaze me.
Wow, I’m really feeling curmudgeonly these days. No, that’s probably not a word, and no I don’t particularly care. Today I went to return my ill-fitting clothes and wound up coming home with a new pair of shoes, though, so that’s a good thing. Shoes can cure most bad moods, you know. I have never liked wedges, so you can only imagine my surprise when I fell in love with this pair. I do like looking a good bit taller, I must admit. I also ran to Best Buy to pick up the special edition DVD of “The Princess Bride” that comes with the t-shirt. It’s one of Drew’s Christmas presents (but he already knows about it). I think I might be the only person in the world who just doesn’t like “The Princess Bride.” It is the only Christopher Guest movie that I don’t like. Must be the whole fantasy/fairy tale thing — just not anything I’ve ever been interested in. While at BB I also picked up season two of “Veronica Mars.” We bought season one on Sunday, kind of on a whim. We’d never seen it, but I knew of a few people online who liked it so we thought we’d give it a go. *So* glad we did! Clear film noir influences and I think even a bit of “Twin Peaks” in there. So while the second season was still on sale I wanted to snatch it up. So now we’ll have something to watch when “The Office” isn’t on, hooray!
I am freezing today! Not at all looking forward to winter. Bah.
There goes my NaBloPoMo crown. I completely forgot to write yesterday. Oh well… I guess the pressure is off for the rest of the month now! This weekend was kind of a blur, actually. I didn’t really do anything noteworthy. Yesterday I went shopping to take advantage of some sales at Kohl’s. Luckily the sale runs through tomorrow because I need to return two shirts that were too big. I didn’t really like the general fit anyway, so hopefully I’ll be able to find two other shirts I like instead.
I’m still kind of in awe of the fact that next week is Thanksgiving. I really feel like it should be two weeks away, and not just one. In case anyone was curious, I did write an article on Thanksgiving wines last week in case you’re looking for ideas. I also flashed my rack in case you wanted to check it ou 😉
I guess that’s about it. Kind of boring today.
I love finding Rosemary Caine stuff. Found someone selling the Infernal EP on Ebay tonight. $24.99!!! I wonder if Drew can collect royalties on that 😉 Caine stuff shows up in random places now and again. When I lived in Somerville, there was this great used CD store called Disk Diggers and they had a Rosemary Caine CD. But they always filed it under “C.” I think they thought it was a woman singer (incidentally there is Celtic harp player of the same name — completely unrelated). That always irritated me. I should have filed it correctly. I think the last time we were in Amherst, For the Record (I think???) might have had some old stuff too. Crazy.
The other night there was nothing on TV (what else is new, though) and for whatever reason I found myself sucked into some show about big-budget weddings. This particular bride was a Texan and she and her husband totally had the big, better, more mentality, proudly proclaiming that they do everything bigger in Texas, so their wedding had to follow suit. (Insert eyeroll here… luckily I know enough Texans to know that they don’t all think this way.) At any rate, the wedding was so over-the-top it was almost unreal. They had a $50,000 budget just for wedding flowers alone! Plus a band, a DJ, singers and dancers, and let’s not forget the dramatic helicopter getaway.
Wow. Just… wow. It was certainly an affair to remember. But I’m glad our wedding was a low-key reception. And I think the entire thing cost less that this woman’s wedding gown!
OK, first the bad news: I didn’t have time this morning to take a photo of the lovely goodies I got from the Fall Into Autumn Swap.
Now, the good news: Risa sent me an amazing package that I absolutely love! She knit a dishcloth with a star on it and sent along two skeins of KnitPicks Swish in a beautiful shade of blue (I can’t remember the name because the yarn is at home and I am at work), a ball of Sugar ‘n Cream holiday yarn that is cream with gold running through it, a kit to knit up some little fall pumpkins, and a delicious smelling bar of chocolate-mint soap. I am so thrilled with everything and will add a photo to this post tomorrow. I know she has had a tough month, so I just wanted to let her know that I really appreciate the great package!
My pristine driving record is now tarnished. I have been driving for around 16 years now, and have never had a traffic ticket. A couple parking tickets yeah, but that’s about it. Before last night I’d been pulled over twice — once on April 7, 2000 (I remember the date distinctly because I got pulled over right around the time my Uncle Frank died), and once in December 2002. Both times I just got a verbal warning. (Actually, the first time the cop had pulled over another car along with me and that car was trying to take off, so…)
At any rate… So we’re still driving the piece of shit rental car (the Jeep needs a new gas tank and the back door has to be replaced and the fine folks at the local garage are really taking their sweet time — isn’t small town life wonderful?) It’s a Chevvy Cobalt — red with NJ plates. If that isn’t a target, I don’t know what it. I hate this car. And one of the reasons I hate it is that if you are over 5 feet tall, it is damn near impossible to see the spedometer because of the position of the steering wheel. So on to last night. My mother-in-law was watching Noah yesterday and I was going to pick him up on my way home from work. I’m in the middle lane on the Taconic (which is a three-lane highway at this point), just following traffic. And honestly I was kind of spacing out. I certainly was not paying attention to my speed. Suddenly I see the old red lights flashing away. I believe I dropped the f-bomb once or twice. More likely it was a variation on the f-bomb. (Those close to me know what my favorite swear is.)
So after getting my car in the absolute perfect place on the grass, thanks to the helpful officer using the megaphone to scream out “PULL OVER FURTHER!” I stopped the car, got my licence out, took off my seat belt because my coat was bulky and I couldn’t reach the glove box, and tried to find something that identifies the car. It’s a rental. Remember? Meanwhile, I’m starting to worry that the COPS camera crew is going to be running over for my close-up. The cop comes over and asks if I know why he pulled me over. I was completely honest. Duh? Why else would I be getting pulled over? He asked for the registration and I explained that it’s a rental and I started getting slightly flustered because I couldn’t even find the rental agreement.
Luckily, the cop was pretty cool and told me not to worry about it. Because I was honest he wasn’t going to give me a speeding ticket. Instead he gave me a ticket for “not wearing my seatbelt” even though I was. (Whether I was or wasn’t really wouldn’t have mattered — seems to be a cop trick that has been used on a few other people I know who found themselves in similar situations — instead of ticketing you for speeding, you get a ticket for not wearing your seatbelt *cough, cough*). But I wasn’t going to argue because I knew I was getting a good deal. The speed limit is 55 and traffic at that point often runs at 70-75. I am sure I was doing between 65-70, so do the math.
Today I’ll send in my ticket, return-receipt required, pleading guilty. I will pay my $50. And I will mourn for my clean driving record which now after all this time finally has a ticket showing up on it. On the bright side, at least this will not result in points on my license or in a visit to traffic court like Drew’s ticket did (his six-part epic begins here — it really is quite a tale, trust me).
But still. Argh.