Last Night ... Thinkin' 'Bout Last Night

Hey, guess what happened last night? You'll never guess. No, really, guess.

I finished knitting my sweater!

The ends need to be tucked in, but the knitting is done, and I think I like it.

I'm not saying that with more assurance because, A, it about 90 degrees still at 7PM (not that I am complaining, you know), so if you think I'm putting on a sweater you're crazy, and B, I've been a little distracted since I finished it because the Bruins won the Stanley Cup.

The Bruins won the Stanley Cup! The Bruins won the Stanley Cup! The Bruins won the Stanley Cup! The Bruins won the Stanley Cup! The Bruins won the Stanley Cup! The Bruins won the Stanley Cup!

Wow. I don't think words can capture how happy I am. I keep randomly smiling. I put a picture of the team with the Cup on my desktop at work, so it would trigger more smiles. Ahhh.

And! They scheduled the parade for Saturday, not Friday, which is excellent because I don't know that I would have been able to go tomorrow, the department is short-staffed and busy and it's a new job and holy cow the stress, I have to go, who needs it? Saturday is perfect.

I e-mailed my biggest-Bruin-fan friend* this morning after they announced, to ask if she was coming, and at almost the same moment she texted me to ask the same thing. Great minds.

*She's the one I went to the rookie exhibition game with, back in September. You remember!

By the way, I read a really good joke about the Finals series:

What time is it in Vancouver? Twenty past Luongo.

Ouch! But funny all the same.

I'm sure I'm going to be sharing a lot of what I see and read about the series in the next week or so, but I haven't even had time to read all of today's coverage yet. Still, you might want to go here, and look at the photo at the top of the page. The caption is, "At least someone from Vancouver can score on the road!"

Some Random, Mostly Hockey

So. Ahem.

Woo-hoo!

Excuse me. I'm coasting today on not enough sleep*, and I need to summon the adrenaline before I crash right here. Bruins! Game 7! Last game of the season, for all the marbles, is tomorrow. Ahhh. Go Bruins.

*Oh, I'm so tired. It's so worth it, but I'm so tired.

Yes, the game was good last night. I was nervous at the start, of course, and there were a few minutes at the beginning of the third period where I might have been shouting, "Move your feet!" but overall, that was very satisfying.

I would like to add that although I was not sorry to see Roberto Luongo chased from goal, I could have done without the constant Luongo-on-the-bench camera coverage. Enough already. Find a happy face. Replay Horton waving at the crowd. Or Milt Schmidt, getting the crowd going before the puck dropped. Or any of the current Bruins, for that matter: lots of smiles there. I was listening to the radio, so I don't know what the TV guys were saying about Luongo, but they sure were showing him a lot.

Other snippets:

• Tim Thomas has now allowed eight goals in six games in the finals. That's really good. It's also the same amount that Roberto Luongo allowed ... in game 3. Heh.
  
• A good headline for a Brad Marchand story, after the happy little pest* broke a franchise playoff scoring record last night: "Marchand's been a broken record in postseason".
• Hey, I totally understand that the hockey bloggers aren't heavily proofing what goes online. Mistakes are made. I get it. But saying that Bobby Orr "waived" a Nathan Horton banner before game 4 is just wrong. Yeesh.

*Pest is one appellation he's earned. Another is the one he used himself: rat. If he's playing for your team, you love him.

Whatever happens tomorrow night, it's the end of the season. The playoffs started two months ago, and it's going to be weird not to have them any more.

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I got my sweater close to done last night, and decided to try it on again before deciding if I need one more repeat, or if his length is good. I don't want to rush it because I'm excited to finish, and then wish I'd made it an inch longer. Still, I am excited to finish, there's no denying it.

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Unclear on the Concept
I called my doctor's office at lunch to leave them a message. They have a whole complex voice-mail system with different areas for referral requests, prescription refills, appointments, etc.

Except that I got the answering service instead, because the office was at lunch. In order to get the machine, I had to call back when someone was in the office.

They're not thinking clearly here.

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After I mentioned last Friday my ecstasy that fresh pea season was finally here, I did indeed go back on Saturday for more. I raked enough into my bag, okay two bags, that a woman who was there, with her daughter, picking individual pods, jokingly asked who was going to do the shucking for me.

Me. All me. I bought four pounds of peas on Saturday, which is roughly a pound and a half once the pods are off. Yum.

And then I went back again today. They're not quite as perfection-incarnate as they were, but they're still damned good. I don't have to go every day ... but twice is a week isn't so much, during this short and treasured season.

Maybe three times a week.

I'm Sorry, I Can't Come to the Blog Right Now

I have a hockey game to not watch.

I can't watch. If I'm this nervous before it starts!

Go Bruins, go Bruins. Ay. Please.

Scattered Sunday

I know this is true of headaches, and probably it's true of other ailments and maladies as well: if you have a bad one, or even a semi-bad one, then when it gets less bad, you're kind of grateful, even if it doesn't go all the way away. You wish it would go all the way away, but you know it could be worse because it just was, so you have to be a little happy about that. Which is kind of weird and backward now that I write it down, but this is the best I can do with half a headache.

So: the bad news is that I have half a headache, but the good news is that I don't have a whole headache! And my stomach is barely upset (it currently rates one on a scale of one to ten, one being Am Aware of Stomach). So this is good!

Because some function is possible with half a headache. Sadly for you, coherent and entertaining blog posting is not on that list, but laundry is (good thing, since I blew it off last weekend), and washing dishes, and even making tuna noodle casserole (currently in the oven). Knitting is, assuming no complex patterns, and taking pictures of knitting also is. Behold the sweater:


Doesn't it look ... kind of close to being done? And like it might fit? I am waiting for the other shoe to drop, metaphorically speaking. We'll see where tomorrow night's nervous knitting gets me.

And now, since we have that lack of coherence thing going on, here are some random pictures for you. A shoe store that should be ashamed of itself:


I mean, selling shoes for just one kid? Doesn't that sound wrong? This is America! Shoes for all kids!

A car with stickers I crave:


Eat chocolate. Feel Better!

Finally, this was in a charming old novel I just read, called Marjorie's New Friend. It's part of a series, it was published in 1909, and I enjoyed every peaceful page. And it tickled my fancy to think that a century ago, a girl of about twelve would know a word that sent me to the OED to look it up. Eleemosynary!



There was also this charming piece of advice:

For every evil under the sun,
There is a remedy, or there's none;
If there is one, try to find it,
And if there is none, never mind it.

Easier said than done, don't you think?

Quick, Before This Saturday: Last Saturday!

Before I get started here, I just have to say: PEAS! I went to Wilson's after work tonight, and they had their own fresh peas. Yay!

I bought 2.87 pounds. I ate them at red lights all the way home, then settled in and finished them.

They were fantastic.

I'm going back tomorrow. Not enough!

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All right! Now that the computer/photo Thing is resolved, I can tell you (and show you) about Saturday. You're so excited, I know!

In the morning, the main accomplishment was getting the oil change done on the car, which I admit is not a huge accomplishment but hey, anything crossed off The List is a good thing. I went home, had a little lunch, and headed in to Boston. I compromised on the walk to the T versus park there for $5.50 decision by driving half way and parking on a side street, since I don't like to pay if I don't have to, but figured I would be doing enough walking the rest of the day to make walking the whole way less alluring. (And was I ever right about that: I had some almost-blisters by the end of the day.)

I took the T in to North Station and stopped in at the Bruins pro shop to see if there were any t-shirts that wanted to come home with me. Sadly (although not for my wallet), none of them was Just Right, so I managed to walk out without stopping at the register. Still, it was nice to see signs of the season in the area:

This one is on City Hall!

I decided to walk to the Public Garden, which was the next destination on my list, since it was a nice day and the idea of going down into the T again was not immediately appealing. I didn't take the most direct route, as I had to (really, had to) stop at Windsor Button for a small knitting emergency (I was near to finishing the sock I had with me, but could see that in order to get it off the needles so I could start the second, I would either need to finish the toe [which requires time to concentrate, plus a darning needle], or I would need to put the stitches on waste yarn to free the needles [which requires a darning needle], so I needed a darning needle). I ogled the yarn (they have a nice selection), but managed to limit myself to darning needles and a hanging row counter that I wanted for my sweater. Pretty controlled, really.

Then it was on to the Public Garden. I wanted to see the statues of George Washington, and of Mrs. Mallard and the ducklings, in their Bruins jerseys, and I had a great time doing so. There were kids crawling all over the ducklings, which in a way impedes clear photos but you know what, that's what the statues are there for, so I couldn't get too bent out of shape.


The father of the little cutie in the jersey mentioned to someone that he'd been hoping to take her to her first game this week, but $400 per seat in the nosebleeds was just too much. Can't blame him, though as it turns out either game would have been well worth it.


The "jerseys" were really more like little capes, custom-made and with each duckling's name on the back (has everyone read Make Way for Ducklings? It's such a classic around here, but it won the Caldecott too, so I hope it's not just locally known).


Getting clear photos of George was easier, as he's way up there, though the lighting of sky versus jersey didn't come out as well as I'd have liked.. He too had a custom jersey, and while the number one is traditionally a goalie's number, it's also quite fitting for the country's first president, so I'll give them a pass on that (personally, I see GW as more likely to be a forward).


Having seen what I came to see, and with some time to kill, I settled down to knit on a bench in the sun. The weather was pleasant, but with a strong breeze that made the shade less palatable for spending time in. Even in the sun, there were chilly moments, but overall it was really nice to hang out, people-watch, and knit.

(When I mentioned to my friends later that it was so nice that I almost called someone just to say how happy I was, one of them suggested that that's when you go on Facebook, to share that kind of thing. Um ... okay? That never crossed my mind. I'm on Facebook, but I'm just not that deeply involved in it*. Not getting on any supposed moral high ground, just ... well, it doesn't come to mind. To digress for a moment more, it's an interesting thing about the internet, how varied our interests in things can be. For me, blogs and e-mail are things I can hardly imagine doing without, but I use Facebook only lightly and Twitter not at all. For that matter, I barely text, while some of my friends use their phones for everything but making actual calls. Technology...)

*Plus, though my phone may technically be capable of going online, I don't know how to, and since it would cost extra, I have no particular interest in learning.

Back to Saturday! After a little while knitting, it was time to move on to the MFA to meet my friends. Back on the T, where the crowded car practically emptied at the museum. I was a little early (how shocking), so I sat on the steps in the sun and finished sock number one, and had time to put the toe on waste yarn and clear the needles to start sock number two (I left the toe to do at home, when I could be sure of not having to stop in the middle). Just sitting in the sun, knitting, ahhh.


But when my friends arrived, it was time to put the knitting away and go see Chihuly! If you're not familiar with him, he's an absolutely amazing glass artist, and the MFA had a big exhibit. I was telling my friends that I had checked the museum's website for their photo policy, and it said that photos were only allowed of items in their permanent collection, not loans, and while I could understand that, I was bummed about it. However, when we went in to the exhibit, at least half of the people had cameras and camera phones out, taking pictures, and not a guard complained.

Well, okay then! Out came my camera, and I went to town. Here are just a few, to whet your appetite and make you want to go yourself. (If you've been here long, you can imagine that I took a lot more pictures than this. A LOT.)


Just amazing. They did a wonderful job with the lighting and the reflections, too. And literally as I was starting to feel like I couldn't take in any more, we were at the end of the exhibit. Just the right size, to me.

We took a quick walk through the new Art of the Americas wing, where I was glad to see some old favorites:

I could not get this without glare. Argh.

Go to the MFA if you can. If you're local, go to the Chihuly, it's there for another two months. If you're not local but you plan a visit to Boston, you really should go anyway.

After the museum, it was time to head to JP for dinner, which was really good (and not too spicy for me) Indian at Bukhara. As it turned out, we were then right down the street from ice cream favorite JP Licks: how fortuitous!


After which, I took the T home, arriving just before the puck dropped. The game, well, that was game two, and I was much more depressed about it at the time than I am in retrospect, with games three and four being what they were (ie, successful). Saturday night was not so much fun. But I did make plenty of knitting progress, at least, finished the toe of the sock and got to the second sweater sleeve (since completed).

And that is the (last) Saturday Report, at last!

And just in time for game five. Go Bruins!

A Mix of Birthday/Hockey/Knitting Things

First off, happy birthday to my mother! Blogging at night, I don't always remember to bring up events of the following day. So if you're reading this on Friday, well, her birthday was Thursday. Is Thursday, as I write this. Anyway. Happy Birthday!

(inspired of course by the amazing Sandra Boynton)

Second, after I blogged last night, I did hop on Amazon and order an external hard drive. Soon, I will be backing up my computer like a responsible person. Or at least a person who doesn't want to lose a year's worth of photos and everything in her documents folder. Ahem. Thanks again, my brother.

Third, how about last night? How about those Bruins? As the man said on the radio this morning, "How many saves did Tim Thomas make last night? All of them." Four-nothing! Nice job, gentlemen.

I can hardly wait for tomorrow, to see what they do in Vancouver. Can they carry the momentum? Or more to the point, will they? (They just outscored the regular season's best team by 12-1 in two games; I'm pretty sure they have the skills.) Reportedly, Nathan Horton was in the dressing room after the game last night to congratulate them, and surely that should give them any emotional lift they need to carry them west. I'm so happy to hear that he can get out at least a bit; in the early stages of their concussions in recent years, both Bergeron and Savard were reported to be staying home in darkened rooms, so this is good news indeed. (Not that he'll be playing again in the series, but for the state of his health in general.)

Next, I will have to take more pictures (maybe this weekend), because I'm done with both sleeves and working down through the waist shaping, but here is the sweater as it was not so long ago. June first, in fact. It's growing!


All the Nervous Hockey Knitting is getting a lot done. Bulky yarn and large needles don't hurt either. Vroom.

The Post of Much Whew

Happy!

I am super-ultra-happy to report that my brother has earned the title of Official Super Genius of Remote Tech Support, by discovering my missing photos and documents. It turns out that my computer, in the process of restoring after last week's Little Incident, made all the files "hidden" ones, and once he told the machine to "stop that right now", it meekly said, "Oh, you mean these files, here they are! No hard feelings!"



So! I have my pictures back, which is a huge relief. Only after this question was resolved did I dare go get my Baggie of Backup Memory Sticks, at which point I learned that it was even longer than I thought since I last backed up. A lot longer. There would have been some serious talk-me-off-the-ledge-ness required if the photos were really gone, not just hiding, those little minxes.

Peek-a-boo!

So, having learned the lesson (almost the hard way), I promptly started backing up with the memory sticks I have (I'm going to get an external hard drive, but that's ... sigh ... on the to-do list, not the done list). The more that's saved, the better I'll feel.

And then it's Go-Bruins time again. Fingers firmly crossed!

Now that's more like it, campers!

Leaving stitch and bitch last night (with the second sleeve almost done, woo), I was saying to a friend that I was so nervous about the Bruins game, that the close games were killing me, and that I wished they would just win 7-2 so that I could relax and enjoy it. "After all, why would they want to punish me?" I argued, and we laughed that I live in a ccr-centric universe and it is all about me.

And then the Bruins won 8-1, in a game marred only by a serious injury to Nathan Horton*, and after four or five goals I could laugh and enjoy it.

*He's out for the season with a serious concussion, while his attacker was thrown out of the game last night, and given a 4-game suspension today.

Part of what I was laughing at, actually, is that one of my neighbors seems to have TV reception that is literally three seconds ahead of mine. Perhaps it's a different cable provider, perhaps it's HD, I don't know. All I know is that I would hear him yell "Yes!" and three seconds later, the Bruins scored on my TV. It was pretty funny. Made for a good warning system, so I didn't miss anything.

Seven different goal scorers. Two power-play goals, from a team whose power-play is a league laughingstock. Two short-handed goals, including an absolute beauty by Brad Marchand:



Ahhh. Good game. Root, root, root for the home team.

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We've got some crazy weather coming, if the forecast is to be believed (ha! I know, I know, I never learn). Look at this:




Can you see that thirty-degree drop in two days? Wacky as all hell, my friends. At this time of year, whether the sun is out makes a big difference in how a temperature feels, so it may not feel as hot or as chilly, depending. (I mean, feels-like-85 and feels-like-75 are not so far apart.) Or maybe it will. It's not like they really know.

Well, My Intentions are Always Good

I had a busy but mostly very good day on Saturday, which I planned to write about on Sunday. You may have noticed that instead, I didn't write anything on Sunday. I don't know if I have a good explanation for that, but here are a few possible reasons.

1. I was tired, emotionally hungover from one or more of the following:
1a. the Bruins losing eleven seconds into overtime Saturday night, shoot me now
1b. allergies, which are making me feel like there's a layer of pollen on my brain
1c. new-job-brain-full syndrome

2. Carlos wanted a lap really badly.

3. I was afraid to upload my pictures to the computer, after last week's Troubles. Yes, honestly.

4. Laziness, or possibly mental illness (it's a fine line, isn't it?).

Or maybe something else altogether. Who really knows? I managed to get a few things done this weekend, but honestly, I didn't make much of a dent in the to-do list. Still, let's see specifics:

• took the car in for its (overdue) oil change
• loaded, ran, and unloaded the dishwasher
• packaged up some things to take to the post office
• trimmed my nails (hey, it's important; if I leave it too long, I can't get my contacts out)
• made the salsa, yum
• got a lot of crap off the kitchen table/random junk repository
• checked the bank balance and bills due
  

I also tried to buy Nutcracker tickets online (I know, in June!), but was thwarted by the Boston Ballet's website. They group the tickets together one way (by price, I believe), but show the seating areas on the chart another way (orchestra, dress circle, etc), which means that if you want to see where the seats are that they're offering you, you're good, but if you want to order seats in a specific area, it doesn't work. I had to call last year, same thing this year. So instead of taking something off the list, this ended up putting the item in a different category (yes, my to-do list has categories). Not quite a step back, but not a step forward either.

Calling them is a piece of cake actually, and the people I've talked to have been very nice, but it's remembering to do it during box office hours that can be a challenge for me. But I managed to have a very productive lunch hour today (key to success*: lunch hour, not half hour), picking up library books, calling the Ballet and my dentist to reschedule, and going to the Post Office. As well as, you know, eating lunch.

*Also key is working on the same block as the library and post office.

All of which is to say, I hope to have some great pictures to share with you in a few days, maybe. Meanwhile, I'm off to knit while listening tensely to the Bruins game. Ay.

Can't be Too Blue on Friday Night

Maybe just a little, though.

This is not an original thought, but it baffles me how short weeks feel longer than regular ones. All yesterday morning I felt like it had to be Friday, and it just stubbornly wasn't. I'm wiped out by this week, emotionally as well as energy-wise*. The computer woes and the Bruins losing didn't help (and the Bruins losing to a background of near-constant thunder and lightning didn't help particularly either). Also, I blame allergies for the itchy eyes, runny nose, and general weariness this week (though yesterday, the weariness was more correctly attributable to the Bruins game not finishing until 11 the night before).

*I'm so grateful not to have been wiped out by a tornado, but even with it happening so close to me, it doesn't feel real, you know? Not like it could truly have happened. I'm sure the people who went through it fell the same way, though.

Having lost the photos makes me very sad. It doesn't help that there is no one to blame but myself. Not even just the vague feelings of maybe if I'd done this or that to the computer*, it wouldn't have gone all wonky, but literally that I've had "back up photos" on my to-do list for ages, and just didn't get around to it. So, poof, they're gone. Sometimes you dodge the bullet and sometimes you don't.

*And I'll be adding this to the endless to-do list as well. Great.

On the other hand, I remind myself, if I lived in Springfield this week, I could have lost the photos and everything else I have to a tornado. Not comforting, but true.

**********
I don't remember if I mentioned this when I wrote about interviewing (and I'm too lazy to go back and look), but one thing I have in common with my new boss is migraines (lucky us, eh?). She was actually out Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday this week, and came in today clearly in pain. It seems I'm not the only one who can't help rubbing at her head as though that would chase the pain away. (It doesn't. But I do it anyway.)

Knowing what it feels like on the inside made seeing her rather painful for me. I just felt so bad for her! Coherent thought is almost impossible with a migraine. But there she was, trying.

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I got a spam message recently that started out, "Hallo user To live long without deceit." Oh Really?

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Finally, I leave you with this nugget of wisdom from the library's website. I was looking up a book called Mrs Miniver, with the author Struther. Good thing I found it that way, since I don't think much of their suggested alternate, do you?


Computers. They think they're so smart.

I Hope You're Not Expecting Coherence

So... it's getting late, and thoughts are pinging around my brain like random ping-pong balls (are there any other kind?). Such as:

• I'm sorry the Bruins lost last night. They played a pretty good game, and got really excellent goaltending (thanks, Timmy!). But even if your goalie was four feet tall and six feet wide, thus blocking any way for your opponent to get the puck in the net, you can't win a hockey game without scoring.
• It's pretty bad luck to make it to twenty seconds left and then get scored on. But the same thing could have happened in sudden death overtime, so let's keep perspective. Lost. Move on. Win game two.
• I worked on knitting my sweater during the game, and finished the first sleeve! I didn't bind the end off, in case I decide I want it longer, but provisionally I like it as is. Pictures to come.
• Speaking of pictures, my computer event of the other night seems to have lost my pictures (the folders are still there, but they're empty). I do have years of them backed up, but that's something I hadn't done recently, so I think the last few months are gone. I'm trying to keep my sense of perspective up--they're just pictures, no one died--but it's a pretty upsetting thing, and I can't stand to look into it further tonight. A little more ignorance is bliss over here, waiter, please.
• I think I should add IT specialist to my list of Mythical Staff, don't you? You know, I wish I had a ... cook, housekeeper, mechanic, shopper, personal trainer ...
  

Really, there aren't that many things I don't want to outsource. Reading, knitting, playing with the cat, watching the Bruins.

On the plus side, I think I named my blog well.

The Cup Finals Begin!

Go Bruins!

Mrs Mallard and the ducklings are rooting for you:


George Washington is rooting for you:

Screen shots from a local news story: see it here.

And of course, I am rooting for you. Go Bruins!

(Parts of Massachusetts are under a tornado warning this evening, so I am thinking about hockey. La la la, I can't hear you!)

Sorry, No Content Tonight

Something awful tried to take over my computer tonight, flooding me with death-doom-and-despair messages and trying to get me to spend "USD 74.5" to get the advanced fix-it-level tool to make all my problems go away. It looked slightly off, if you know what I mean, so I called tech support, and fortunately my brother* was available.

*If you don't have someone in your family who knows more about computers than you do**, I advise you to shop around for smart, patient friends because it's so worth it.
**Assuming that you know as little as I do, that is. Perhaps you are the one in your family, in which case bless you.

Anyway, we tried wiggling the rabbit ears and whacking it upside the head, and I think it may be okay now, but to be honest I'm ready to turn it off and let it rest from the whole ordeal.

Or maybe that's me who needs to rest. Hasta mañana, hopefully!

Good Weekend. You, Too, I Hope?

I've had a lovely lazy weekend. Oh, I did laundry, cleaned up the kitchen, ran a few errands, but I also did a lot of sitting on the couch reading, and it was good.

I had planned to write at more length tonight, but time is getting on, and I have one of these waiting for me:

Actually right now he looks more like this:

There's also one of these, but of course she's with him, not waiting for me.

Still, places to go, laps to be. You understand.

Nervous Knitting mode

During the third period of game six on Wednesday, I got to the point where I simply couldn't watch the game, couldn't look at the Bruins not winning. I picked up the sweater I'm knitting and looked at that instead. I got to where the first sleeve breaks off from the body!

I listened to the rest of the game, until the Bruins had conclusively not won, then turned off the TV and knit a few more rounds in the quiet before going to bed.

Tonight is game seven, so it's even more so. I picked up the sweater in the first period. And now it's the second intermission, there's no score, and the sleeve is past the elbow.

(Pictures of it this weekend, I hope.)

And though the Bruins are playing fairly well, I'm not really enjoying this game.

Edited to add: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!

What a Difference a Week Makes

Last week: I was wrapping up the temp job.
This week: I started the permanent job.

Last week: The weather was cold for the time of year, in the 50s, and it kept raining. And raining.
This week: Can you say 70s? And 80s? And sun? I can!

Last week: The Bruins lost one game, but won two.
This week: The Bruins won one, lost one, and play tomorrow. Looking at everything else that's happened, it seems they have to win tomorrow.

And by that I mean, they have to win tomorrow. If they're going to make me stay up late, they'd better win!

Quick (and Funny) Hockey Story

Yes the job is still good, yes I'm still tired*, yes the Bruins play tonight and if they win, well, let's hope they win, I'm ready to pass on a game seven for once.

*It's an adjustment, having work to do all day.

In the meantime! Something funny to share from the hockey world. You know how that evangelist who claimed the Rapture would be last Saturday is now saying it will be in October? Well, a minor league team, the Las Vegas Wranglers, has a game that night, so they're having a promotion for it, and calling it Rapture Night.

Best line ever:

"This is a low-risk proposition," said Wranglers president and COO Billy Johnson. "If it doesn't go as planned, it's not the end of the world."

I will be laughing all night about that.

Go Bruins!

More Brief Than Brief

It's funny how when my brain is this tired, this full of new things, this busy trying to make sense of them, my body falls in line and is exhausted too.

Basically: new job is looking very good. New boss, too. And perhaps this weekend, I will be able to keep my eyes open long enough to expand on that.

Thanks for all the good wishes!

Quick Report: Looks Good

Seeing as I felt more welcomed and valued at this job on day one than I did at my last job after seven months? It looks good.

And given that the day had far more boring to it (tax forms, Word 2007 training) than scary (what is he talking about? is that even English?), it beats the last three first days I've had. So that looks good.

The commute was good.

I'm having lunch with my new peers tomorrow. That's good.

The Bruins, now? After their disintegration on Saturday, I expected them to come out at the top of their game tonight.

They did not.

They don't look good.

But if I had to choose one of the two to keep being good, I'd pick the job. Sorry, Bruins. I hope you rebound. But I know what's more important.

It's good.

The Latest Knitting Update (brought to you by Amtrak)

I mentioned when I was planning this trip that I looked forward to the travel time as knitting time, and that certainly turned out to be true. I got a lot done!

Here we have the second china rose skyp sock, as it was when I began my trip that Thursday morning:


And here is the knot I found in the yarn, just for reference. I undid it and managed a felted join in the station--not my best work, but you can't even tell where it was in the finished sock, which suits me fine.


I got a lot done on the train, and in the car going to Monticello and back, and by Saturday night, watching the Bruins game, I was kitchnering the toe. Here the pair is on Sunday morning, in the sun:



They took two months to make: not a record, but not bad for purse knitting. I can't wait to wear them! (After I show them off at stitch and bitch.)

If the Bruins game had been going my way that night, I might not have started in on the next socks right away, but as the screen was hardly worth watching, away I went. I made a short false start, but quickly ripped and restarted. This time I was doing the handy skyp pattern in the Regia yarn I bought in March, while yarn crawling. Rainbow skyps!


All right, you can't tell in a night-time lighting photo. Here they are Sunday morning:


I found the color patterns very entertaining.




So here is a shot of the sock, on my knee, on the train, Monday morning.


And this is what I had when I got home. Knitting most of an 8-hour trip brings visible progress!


It's a little snug, but it fits!


I like the colors over the heel, too.


I've made eleven pair of socks so far, so these will probably be the twelfth pair I finish (unless it's the exercise bike pair first, but I doubt it). How about that for someone who had to take a class to get the nerve to make them at all?

The only non-sock project I have going right now is the sweater, which I didn't bring on the trip since it's getting a little big to go when I'm traveling light. I have been working on it, though, and tried it on while I was switching from the 29" needle to the 40". I think it might work!


I like the pattern, down the front and along the sleeves.


And the fabric feels good. Onward!