This and That

Well, it's been an exciting day so far. First thing this morning I went out to the garage to start my car and head into work, and when I pushed the button to open the garage door there's nothing but a screeching sound and one side of the garage opens about a foot, and the other side only a couple of inches. The door was well and truly fucked. So, I called Stephen (he goes to work about an hour and half before I do) and he came home and we figured out that the chain (spring loaded) on the side that didn't open had snapped. Eventually, we gave up on opening the door and decided that the best we could do was get the door to close all the way so that our stuff wouldn't mysteriously disappear during the day. To do that we had to sever the chain on the other side (because it's spring loaded.) So, long story short Stephen brought me in to work (late) and then took the afternoon off to call a guy. The door is fixed now (the guy was quick!) and my car is no longer in garage limbo. There is nothing like trying to lift a steel door to expose a person's wimpiness.

While waiting for the doctor to come in and give me my (company-mandated) physical (to prove that I am fit to sit behind a desk and read files) I cast on for Kew. For myself. In the leftover LL Shepherd Sock in Bittersweet from the pair I made for my mom. I had worked a couple of rows by the time she came in. We chatted about the cost of medical school and law school and she told me that she had thought about getting her law degree after she retires. I told her that she should find something better to do in her retirement. Because seriously? Law school, like anything else worth doing, exacts a price, requires a sacrifice. It's not a thing to be taken lightly.

I've continued working on the wide bordered scarf. I'm down to 31 grams of yarn. As I get nearer the correct weight (21 grams) for starting the border I have started to worry about the accuracy of my kitchen scale. It's just a little, cheap, digital scale that I bought at Fred Meyer so that I could weigh ingredients (like the flour that goes into a loaf of bread) and not be left guessing when recipes give the ingredient measurements in weight instead of volume. As a result, it's really not that accurate. I plan to kind of play it by ear, weigh often, and start the border early if I need to. I'm also prepared to rip back if necessary to start the border earlier. The scarf is coming out very pretty though. I really like the leafy center panel.

Most of the time I watch (listen to) movies or television when I knit. Lately though, since we bought the iMac, I've been sitting upstairs and listening to podcasts instead. And very lately, over the last month or so I've been listening to books from Librivox.org. Do you know about Librivox? Every knitter should know about Librivox. The site contains audio files of books that are in the public domain (that are no longer protected by copyright) and read by volunteers. There are lots of classics, and not just fiction. There are scientific books (Einsteins's General Theory of Relativity, Darwin's Origin of the Species, etc.) as well as beloved classics, like Emma, Pride and Prejudice, The Wizard of Oz books, as well as many, many other works. I recently listened to all of Brenda Dayne's reading of The Age of Innocence, and am currently listening to Emma. It's a great site. I can't recommend it enough.