Mowing, Knitting, and Rabbit Bites

After work and going to Curves, I decided, heck, I need to mow this lawn. It was starting to get pretty high and after two hours of no rain, I figured that was going to be the driest it was going to be until Sunday. It would however keep growing until then, so mowing was the thing to do last night.

My previous attempt at mowing was on Tuesday after the test on my wrist. I tried to start the damn mower, but to no avail. I thought I was just being a weakling, so I kept pulling that cord and then finally gave up. I had dinner to cook after all, so had to put up the machine. Last night I was determined to start the sucker up. So, I looked over the contraption and realized that a plug was unplugged. Could this be my problem? After weighing the odds that the whole thing would blow up after attaching said plug, I decided to go for it. Bingo.

My lawn is now cut. I think this is the first time I have had to mow since I was, oh, maybe 10 years old. Lucky me, I get to mow now. At least it is an easy yard to mow. So after mowing with the mulching mower, I ran inside and washed all the green off my legs (I swear to you, I looked like she-hulk or something) and then flopped down on the couch with a big slice of apple pie and vanilla ice cream (yep, negating all the exercise I had done yesterday). After watching the rabbit do her crazy jumping thing, I decided to work on the sock for my mom. I am hoping to get the rest of it done today between knitting on breaks and lunch and at home. Hey, I can even knit while playing poker again. Who knows, I might do better again...

I was worried about the dumb rabbit yesterday too. In the morning, Spooky missed her cage door when going back in and she got her foot caught in it and struggled against it. She was really favoring it when I left, so I thought that she could have broken it. thankfully she didn't. She was back to her usual self last night. She did give me a glare like, "I could eat you if I wanted"

I guess she decided that was her spot for the nap. She likes cool spots. She also likes to play with the wooden thing to her right as well.

So to prove that she was able to eat me, she bit my arm this morning when I went to get her in her cage. Damn rabbit. She didn't get a carrot this morning because of that. She'll probably stare at me even more tonight.

Knit on...

The Verdict

After tests that I never want to repeat in this lifetime, they have determined that I have a pinched nerve and not carpal tunnel. They decided that I should go through some physical therapy in order to try to un-pinch the nerve. Fine by me. The second thing I asked them was if I could knit again.

Yes, I can knit again. I have to wear a special glove, but I can knit again. Woot!

So, the first thing I did when I got home? Let Spooky out and knit. Spooky seemed to be interested in this new thing.
I worked on DBF's sweater some. Got another two inches done on it. The thing is still camera shy. One day I will get a better picture of this. I also got a lot of work done on my dragon cross-stitch while I was waiting for the clearance to knit again. I will eventually finish it, but it may be put on the backburner now that I can knit again and work on Christmas presents.

That's about it for now. Better get to work.

Knit on...

Off to the Neurologist

They left a message on my machine yesterday saying to come in at 8:30 this morning. I finally get to find out what this thing is and if I can knit anytime soon.

Knit on...

Plane Crash and Rabbit

I woke up yesterday morning to the news of a plane crash at Bluegrass Field near where I live. The crash is only about 5 miles from where I live, so it's really not all that far away. It's really sad what happened there, especially since it seems that the plane took off from the wrong runway. That is the flight I usually get on when I have to fly to Florida to visit mom and dad, so I'm familiar with the type plane that was flying and how smooth of a trip it usually is. So sorry to hear about this flight. My prayers go out to the victims families.

One of the saddest stories I've heard so far is about the young couple who just got married and were leaving for the honeymoon. She was going to UK and he already graduated from there. Another worker at UK was on the plane as well, so the University is mourning today.

I didn't do much this weekend. DBF and I went to a Civil War re-enactment on Saturday which was very loud, but kinda cool to see. Hopefully the pictures turn out good. We'll find out. Sunday we were lazy and had lunch with his mom and then took a 3 hour nap since all the TV stations were going nuts over the crash (local news rarely gets a national story to report on) and there wasn't much developing about the story. After that, we went and saw the movie Click. It was actually a sad movie when I thought it was going to be a funny movie. Good moral to it though.

The rabbit was her usual self. She hopped up on the couch with me and DBF a few times and decided to poop all over the house this weekend. Any tips on litter training a bunny to poop in the box? She pees in it just fine, just can't seem to get the poop thing down. Oh well, I'll keep on trying. Guess I should get to work.

Knit on...

Friday...ah, Friday

Last day of the work week, first day of the weekend...Friday. I'm glad I set my alarm this morning because I would not have gotten out of bed if I hadn't. I spent the latter part of the evening chasing a crazy bunny around the house, making sure she didn't chew on anything she didn't need to be chewing on (electric cords, dishwasher, me...) and making sure she used her litter box.

Announcement: The bunny will now pee in her litter box. If I could get the poop in there too, I'd be a very happy bun owner. At least poop is much easier to clean than pee.

Spooky is still living up to her name, but she has warmed up to me and DBF finally. She wants and likes to be petted, so she'll just flop down next to you and wait for you to pet and love on her. Last night, she hopped up on the couch with me and crawled up into my lap for a split second. I really do think this bunny was a cat in a previous life.

When I took my shower this morning, the bunny decided she wanted to hop in too. She scrambled in and realized that water was falling from that faucet up there and out she went. Hopping into the bathtub is a new experience as well for her. I've already fallen for this bunny who was a cat in the last life.

She even sat in the kitchen with me last night while I made dinner. I think she gets lonely while I'm at work all day and then wants to be around someone after that since she's been alone for 9 hours.

On another note, I've been going to Curves this week again. I stepped on the scale this morning and I'm already down five pounds. I even noticed a difference in my belly roll too. It's not so rollish right now ;oP I've been following weight watchers very strictly this week, haven't even used a flex point, and have been working out everyday (except Wednesday since that dumb evening course I was going to take knocked me out of working out). I've just been going there straight from work so that I make it a habit. If I go home before, I'm much less likely to get back out.

Anyways, no new knitting news of cross-stitch news. Come on September 12...I want the clearance to knit again...

Knit on...

School's out for...ever!

Yeah, I wish! I started classes yesterday for the first time in over a year. Blah, I thought I was done with this. I need knitting more than ever now. The first class went fine, but then again, that's with my thesis advisor and I like her, so the class should go fine. The night class though...hm...not so well. I feel like I am way over my head in this class and the teacher went way over class time yesterday. I will be dropping that class.

I need to focus on my organic petrology research anyways. OK, enough about school...

We're creating a new SnB on campus that will be considered a student organization. The reason we want to get all formal now is because we get 500 bucks to spend on a shindig if we do! So, formalizing it is!

I'm getting there on the dragon cross-stitch. It's just going slowly. I'd rather be knitting or crocheting. I know I'm going to complain about this until the doctor says I can knit again, but damn, I wish I could finish that sock sitting on the counter at least. I might have to take it off there and put it away so that I don't get tempted to work on it and screw up my hand even more. Anyways, I better get my butt to work.

knit on...

Without knitting...

I cannot play decent poker. Why is this? I was doing all right before I started knitting and playing poker, but now I can't seem to get in the same groove. I overthink hands and I don't make good calls like I was doing. Doesn't help that my hand hurt like hell anyways.

I got my appt. with the neurologist scheduled for September 12, so at least it's not 3 months away. I would like them to say knit again, but knit slowly or even better, knit like you used to. We'll see.

Today classes start for college students of the area. I didn't think I would ever say this again, but I start classes today...what the hell? I thought I was done with school! Guess not. I'm going for my master's in geology, specifically, Organic Petrology. We'll see how this goes. I've heard that working full time and being a part time master's student can be quite challenging. I need knitting more than ever!

I forgot to take a picture of my dragon cross-stitch that I worked on yesterday. It's getting there. I really am getting kinda close to finishing this sucker. This one has been in process for over 4 years now. I start then stop, lather, rinse, repeat over and over again. Maybe now I will get it done. I better get it done before September 12, because I might be able to knit again after that.

I have had several people recommend the Hand-Eeze gloves to me if I am able to knit right after Sept. 12. I think I will order these once I get the OK from the doc. I had to cancel my chance at Sock Wars because I was afraid it wouldn't be fair to someone to get a barely even worked on sock because my hand cramped up too bad. If they have it again, I'm there. I will be watching the events intensely.

Better get to work..., then to class...

Knit on...

A sad, sad day

Sorry there was no post yesterday. I wasn't supposed to be on the computer, so I took a day off of work to rest my hand. I went to the doctor yesterday about the carpal tunnel symptoms and here's the verdict...

No knitting until I get to the neurologist. Blah. It might be 3 months from now. Blah blah.

They took x-rays of my hand yesterday and it turns out that I had two stress fractures in my wrist that had healed up from several years ago. Appears to be softball related. Once again, softball injuries come back to haunt me. Anyways, they probably aren't the problem, but have to go to the neurologist to make sure they're not pinching the nerve.

So, I will be working on needlepoint and cross-stitch for a while it looks like. At least I can do that in my brace. I also have to learn to use a mouse left-handed. Blah.

On the bright side, meet my new pet: Spooky
Spooky was a loner, so I had to get her. She didn't get along well with the other bunnies, so she was being kept with the guinea pigs and was queen of the pen. She just had to come home with me. So, why named Spooky? This rabbit is quite jumpy. She hears a noise, or not, and she jumps right into the air and runs around like mad. Is this normal rabbit behaviour? Anyways, she's adorable.

She didn't want to cooperate her first day home, but she's starting to warm up to me and DBF. DBF sat on the floor and just petted her for 10 minutes. The bunny was in heaven :o)

Knit on...and needlepoint too...

Have 30 minutes to kill?

Make a table top of all poker chips. It's not that difficult. You just need two people (or one if you're doing this all alone), two sets of poker chips, and a camera club topic of "zig-zag"

DBF and I have been competing in this A-Z competition. It's been kinda fun, but we have certain topics for each letter already picked out. A was automobile, B bridge, etc... We got to Z and we needed a zig-zag. How do you get one? Create it yourself of course! It really does make a cool pattern.
So I left this on my dining room table so that I can get some film shots of it this afternoon after work. It's just fascinating me. That and it took a while to set up, so taking it immediately down didn't appeal to me.
That was a lot of poker chips too. It was still fun to set up. I'm just fascinated by the colors and patterns.

We had too much time on our hands last night. Knitting? You want pictures of knitting? Not much has changed with any of my WIPs. Unfortunately, my hands have been giving me a problem now. My pinky and ring fingers on my right hand are going numb when I do repeated motions like knitting, typing, or clicking the mouse. I wear a brace at work, but I may have to go to that at home when knitting as well. I'll go see what the doctor thinks should be done. Blah.

Have a great weekend, everyone. Knit, crochet, play Magic, poker, or whatever your fancy is and have fun.

Knit on...

Of Move-Ins and Sleep

I'm still bringing crap over from my other place to the new house. It amazes me how much crap can accumulate in 4 years, and then, how much crap I managed to cram into one room. Oh well. Here's the new house pictures:
The front, with a nice sunbeam coming out to greet me last night.
The view from the back porch.
The kitchen.
The living room, wait, it is there, it's just behind all those boxes...
Master Bedroom. This bed is as hard as a rock, so I haven't been sleeping all that well on it. Not so much not sleeping, but rather just waking up tired and with a sore back. Oh well. Sorry, no bathroom pictures or any more house pictures. I won't laden down your computer with images. once I get everything put up, I might add some more to this mess. Last, but not least, the sock for my mom:

Yeah, it's a crappy picture, but what do you expect for 6:45 AM? Be glad you even get to see it :oP It's an ankle sock and it's pretty tiny anyways.

Better get to work.

Knit on...

Edited on 10/24/06: Added Rebelle sign to put up on blog template

The New House

No pictures for this post, sorry. It was dark by the time I got to start moving in and I was a lazy ass, so no interior pictures. I moved in a load of my crap last night and spent the night in my new place. The bed is really hard, so my back is not too happy this morning, but I'll live.

I unpacked the necessities: food, clothes, soap, yarn, you get the idea. I have some more empty bins I can take back and stick more crap in, so I'll be doing that today. I've decided I'm taking a half day today so I can work on moving all this crap because this weekend, I'll need to sort through everything.

I turned the heel on my mom's sock and am now working on the instep decreases, so that's about it in knitting news. I'll try to get pictures of the place today while it's still daylight out. For now, I better get a bunch of work done before I go home.

Knit on...

My New Toy

Meet my new toy! Grandpa surprised me when I came home from work last night with a moving-out present. There, sitting on the table was this:

A home-made swift! It's huge, but it has movable pegs to adjust for the size skein of yarn. He got the pattern from here: http://www.craftydiversions.com/yarnswift.pdf

So, I immediately had to try it out of course! So, I wound a little yarn onto the ball winder and wound a little bit:

This is my New England Highland Wool which will become the plate tectonics scarf one day. Then I let her whirl:

Go Swift, Go! Grandpa said it took him about 30 mintes to make and a grand total of 8 bucks (I offered to pay him for it, so he told me how little it cost!) He did modify the instructions a little bit and made the base a little heavier and the swift arms a little deeper so that the thing wouldn't run all over the table when in use. I was just thrilled when I saw it!

After that, I went and played poker. I did OK, but one guy was making fun of me knitting at the table. So of course I had to put him out of the tournament. They all warned him that I was a good player, but he wouldn't take their advice. He saw me as a knitter who was just there because her DBF was there. True, I go there to hang out with DBF, but if he can't make it for some reason, I still go out because I usually like to play poker. So, I knit on my heel flap for the socks for mom and the flop comes up Q 6 6. I have Q 6 in my hand. Turns out he had the other 6, so he goes all in and I quickly call. Damn knitters :oP You just can't read them!

So, in my dreams of grandeaur, one day I shall make it to the WPT and I will be knitting at the final table. The next year, Ivy, Helmouth, Ferguson, and all the other big names will be knitting :oP

No pictures of the short socks for mom, but I'll get some of those tonight when I'm...MOVING! Yes, I am moving out tonight and into the new house. I will have pictures of that as well. I won't be able to get totally moved, but I will get the basics in there for certain tonight. All I need are my pills, alarm clock, and some clothes :oP

Anyways, I should get to work I suppose.

Knit on...

Be Vewy, vewy quiet...

I've been hunting hummingbirds all weekend. Yes, the hummingbirds are in the back yarn and they have been posing (in their hummingbird-like way) for pictures all weekend. No pictures with the crappy digital camera, I mean, it blurs socks that are not moving...

That's right, I finished my first pair of socks. I didn't get them done by Friday like I had hoped, but I did get them done Saturday morning, so I was close. I wore them while shooting pictures on Saturday and they felt pretty good. Slightly warmer than other socks, but they still felt nice. Mom has asked for a pair out of this yarn, so I think I have enough left to make her a short pair, so that's the latest pair I have now cast on. I can't wait to work with another type of sock yarn.

For those that want the yarn specs, here they are: Fortissima Socka yarn by Scheuller and Stahl (probably butchered the spelling there). I got it on sale before K1P1 closed down here. I miss K1P1, but I have two stores now to choose from (aside from SN, I know they're here, but I don't like them much). I can go to either Magpie Yarn or I can go to...

Robyn and Sarah's new store called ReBelle. I can't wait till they open. It's a holistic women's health store with yarn. How much better can you get?

I get to move into my new abode for the next nine months tomorrow night. I went out yesterday and bought some bird feeders to attract some feathered friends that need their pictures taken. Hopefully the little hummingbirds will come by there too. We have three at my grandparents' house now that chase each other around the yarn and fight for the feeder and the butterfly bush. They are very territorial I guess.

Tonight is poker, so we'll see if I can continue my knitting/poker streak tonight. Maybe I'll actually win something now...Well, better get to work.

Knit on...

WIP it out and Poker

So, what else is new? I played poker again last night and was the first one out in the tourney. That was the first time I was the first one out. Oh well. Gave me plenty of time to work on my sock. So I knit and waited for others to get knocked out and eventually enough went out that we got a side table together. People hate seeing this:

Yeah, it's a little blurry, but you get the idea. I won the side table and knit the entire time. I've got a knickname now...I'm...yep, you guessed it...

THE KNITTER

Beware the knitter!

I also thought I would show you a picture of the camera-shy sweater. First, allow to me explain that the sweater is not this purple color as it appears in the picture. In reality, it's a deep navy blue. But you see, the sweater doesn't like to be photographed, and my camera doesn't like it much either. Anyways, here it is...

I thought that maybe if I stuck the sock in with it that it wouldn't be as camera shy. Yeah, you see how well that worked. You can see a little bit of pattern in there. It's the Cape Cod sweater from Lionbrand. I'm using Wool-Ease because it's machine washable and I had a ton lying around the house.

Today is the work picnic. I have my camera, ready to get incriminating pictures of my coworkers. I also get to go see when I can move into my new abode tonight. Hopefully tomorrow is the answer to that question. Or tonight, I'd even take tonight. I packed up almost all my yarn into a big storage bin (I was amazed it all fit in there) so it's ready to go. I also have all my video games and DVDs packed too. What, you mean I need to take clothing with me? I haven't packed that yet! I got the most important things packed...games and yarn! Food, you mean I should have food there too? I guess I should maybe pack some more this afternoon while my squash casserole bakes.

I suppose I should get a little work done since I'm leaving at noon to go cook a casserole and slice tomatoes for this picnic. Have a great weekend!

Knit on...

Of Chinese Food and Bathing Suits

Why have I been going to Walmart so much here recently? Is it because I'm broke? Probably. Anyways, I picked up a bathing suit there last night for 9 bucks total. It's a bikini (yikes and run under the bed!), but it has a coverup and I imagine I will be in need of a tank top to cover the top of it. So allow me to rant.

Dear Bathing Suit Designers:

I like bikini tops. One pieces don't do well for me, but I have one complaint about your sizing. When you say something is an XL, it looks more like a slightly bigger wedge of fabric than the L. Problem is, I am a 40D sized gal over here. I need something that covers a little more than my nipple.

Could you actually make bra tops that cover most of my boob so that I don't have to wear a tank top over it? Thank you.

So after the Walmart expedition, DBF and I had a very nice dinner at Dragon Garden. It's an all you can eat Chinese Food place with crab legs always on the menu. They weren't has good last night, but the crab rangoon was out of this world as usual. That might explain why I woke up with heart burn this morning.

It was just a nice quiet evening with DBF and it was very nice. I left work early yesterday because of a doctor appointment (my back is fine to let everyone know. No new herniations or anything) and then went over to DBF's house where we watched the movie Clue. I forgot how dorky the movie is, but it was fun to watch. Took a nap then began the trek to Walmart.

Tomorrow is the work picnic. I will bring a camera so that I can get incriminating photos of all my coworkers to use when the time is right :oP

Knit on...

WIPS

OK, here's some pictures for you all. I bought a really cheap digital camera from Wally World the other day, so the pictures aren't great, but at least they're pictures. First up, the MDK nighty in progress...
Close up of the lace:
And now for what we've all been waiting for...the sock!
Yes, it's a really crappy picture, but here's the most important one:

The one that shows that it fits! Woot, there it is...

I'm also working on a sweater that is camera shy. All the pictures I took of that one turned out like crap. I need to get used to this new camera now. It's pretty crappy, but it takes pictures in digital format at least! I've been wanting a little point and shoot of my own ever since my good Sony died. Mom and Dad said they would let me buy their older Kodak one, but that fell through, so now it's on to the craptapulous Digital Expressions 4.1 megapixel crappy lens, crappy flash camera! DBF's digital is 3.5 megapixels I think and it takes 100% better pictures. He got a steal on it too when he got his. One of these days, I will upgrade to a digital SLR, but in the meantime, I can take WIP pictures with this little one. It gives you the idea at least.

The second sock is about 4 inches long now, so it's coming along. I've been bringing that one into work to knit on since I can hide it in my purse and just take my purse out on breaks and to lunch with me so that people don't see me toting knitting with me. Pretty sad when you have to hide one of your hobbies like that. I bring in Magic cards to sort every now and then and they don't say anything about that...blah.

I played poker last night and got some really crappy cards. That's just how it goes some nights. At least smirnoff was involved.

Knit on...

Sock One Done

Yep, I finished sock one. It fits nicely and actually feels pretty good on. It has a rather pointy toe thanks to my first attempt at kitchener stitch, but it actually works out well for my foot. I'll have pictures tomorrow, I promise. I also owe you all pictures of the nighty and the sweater in progress (Cape Cod Unisex Pullover).

I want to chart the Magic: the Gathering symbols and make them into a fair-isle pattern. Does anyone know of some good charting software out there? I am seeing a scarf in the future, but I will need the symbols charted out and I think they wouldn't be that hard. I might just play around in excel when I get home from work.

Day number one of wearing skirts and dresses instead of pants at work went well. I got a ton of compliments about how skinny I looked in them. If I had known this, I would have been wearing them from the very beginning. Oh well.

No guys commented, but all the women here did. I would have been a little concerned if the guys had commented. Well, speaking of work, I better get to it.

Knit on...

I came, I knit, I bought dresses

That is the story of my weekend. Friday night, DBF and I played poker. I finished 2 in the first tournament and won my money back and then went out quick in the second tourney. I did knit the entire time I was there. The first sock is almost done. I will finish it tonight since I'm about to start decreasing the toe now. Yippee!

Anyways, there was a guy at the tourney who just couldn't understand the concept of knitted socks. He kept asking me what the deal was with the sock. Aside from just plain out telling him that you wear socks on your feet, dumbass, I tried to explain it kindly. We ended up heads up in the end and I really wish I would have beaten him. Oh well, at least I got my money back.

Saturday was lazy day and I didn't do much except buy a couple of dresses at Walmart.

Sunday DBF and I went to Louisville to play in the PTQ Kobe Magic tourney. We both sucked. So, DBF got a bunch of cards from the 50 cent rare box to fill out his sets and then we went to the bookstore where I picked up 30 bucks of knitting magazines. DBF was shocked at the amount. I told him it was a good thing he didn't go with me when I buy yarn :oP

After Borders, we went to Hard Rock Cafe and played tourist. It was a very nice dinner and we each got souveneir glasses. DBF bought a hat and bought me a Hard Rock wallet (hey, I might be trying to be girly, but I still like Hard Rock!). It was just a nice day, even if we did suck at Magic. .

There's the weekend update. I'll post pictures of WIPs sometime soon, I swear. I'll take a picture of the finished sock at least!

Knit on...



Edited on 8/17/06. Needed a place to stick this button

May I have your attention, please?!

Knitting Magic Girl has turned her first heel on her first sock.

I repeat, the heel has been turned!

I started to look at my sad and lonely sock this morning, sitting on my desk, half-buried under bernat baby coordinates blanket in progress, and I decided the sock should travel to work with me today. So the sock was put in the purse along with the MDK nighty in progress and we headed to the office. I sat down and realized I was really early for once, so I decided, what the heck, let's do this thing.

5 minutes later, I have a heel. The heel has been turned.

Now, will someone explain to me why I have been fearing socks for so long. Albeit it was boring knitting until turning that heel, but it was very easy. Do you get addicted to socks after you turn your first heel? Because now I want to finish this sucker and start on the next one.

This must be the phenomenon that is sock knitting. Kathy told me that the phenomenon hit her many years ago. I now understand. The earth may return to its peaceful state now. Who knows, I might have a sock done by the end of this weekend.

Knit on...

Let the holidays begin!

OK, yesterday was August first. I had planned to start on Christmas presents on August 1, so I grabbed some Wool-Ease out of the back of my car (yes, I have yarn in my trunk and it's been there for many months now) and began to work on a sweater. I still worked on my nighty, but alas, it must take a back seat for the more important stuff.

Here's what I plan to make so far:

This sweater for my mom and probably for my grandma up here. The instructions on lionbrand are awful though, so it will take some interpretation. I have to go buy yarn for this though. It will have to be wool-ease or superwash wool of some sort because my mom will not, I repeat, WILL NOT hand wash anything.

This is the sweater I will be making for my dad. Again, it's out of wool-ease. I think I'll make it in maroon.

Lastly, this is already in progress, but this is for DBF's mom.

This is being made in purple homespun. Purple is her favorite color, so it just made sense. I swear I do not knit only lionbrand patterns. These just happen to be three that I saw that I liked and would make good gifts. I also intend to make a bunch of warshrags from MDK to give to people as well as an afghan of some sort for my grandma in Florida. She might get a shawl though, depending on how much yarn I have left.

I might have to re-do the diamond shawl though. I was making YOs the wrong way, so the diamonds don't pop out like they should. I could probably block the hell out of the thing, but then whenever she washed it, it wouldn't look the same. I think I will definitely re-do it now that I think about it. I want it to look right.

There you go. Bring it on, Holidays!

Knit on...

PS: I lost another 0.2 pounds this week. That puts me at 3.4 lost in the past 4 weeks. I have come to the conclusion that I am very affectionate for my fat and I am having a hard time parting with it. I need to just tell myself that the fat does not appreciate me and I need to kick it out...

Tag

5 things always in my purse
checkbook, credit card, keys, crochet hook, 20 sided dice
5 things always in my wallet
driver's license, debit card, cash (sometimes...), HMO card, Checks
5 things always in my refrigerator
Cheese, milk, squash casserole, green beans, lemonade
5 things always in my closet
Boxes of Magic cards, yarn, shoes, clothes, and purses
5 things always in my car
tissues, yarn, knitting needles, magic cards, 20 sided dice
5 things always on my desk
coffee pot, pictures of me and DBF, calendar, ball winder, yarn

Knitting, Poker, and F&^%%ing pocket queens

OK, so last night, I had two revelations that will impact my life greatly. First, the reason I have not been doing well at Poker is because I have not been knitting at the tables. Second, the reason my stockinette stitch looks twisted is because I have been purling wrong since the day I learned to purl...

OK, the second revelation came during the day when Kathy looks at my purling and told me I was wrapping the yarn the wrong way. How have I gone this long purling the wrong way? I've made several sweaters, purses, scarves, and other things and have been purling the wrong way. I never even thought to change it. I guess now I'll have to work on making the right way habit...after I finish the MDK After Dark Nighty.

The first revelation hit me shortly after dinner when I was soaking in a tub of bubbles and hot water. I started to think about poker (it's usually Magic thinking when I'm in the tub, but poker came up last night) and realized that the two times I had won at the league, I had been knitting. I started thinking more and realized that I have not made a final table unless I have been knitting or crocheting. Things that make you go hmmm...

So I grabbed the nighty, crammed her in my purse and ran off to the bar where we play. It was hotter than hades in there, but at least it had malibu rum and diet coke and beer. I wipped out the WIP and all the guys at my table stared rather puzzled, but one of them remembered me from the other league when I won.

"Watch out guys, she's serious now"

They all chuckled. I put them out, one by one. Each time on a purl row. I don't play hands unless I'm purling. I got moved to another table with DBF and put two people out in the same hand. Yep, Purl row too. I knit my little hands off and kept winning. I then went on a losing streak.

I got to the final table. I go all in blind. I have A 7 of clubs. The river hits the nut flush. Yep, purl row. I double up and practically do it again. I knock the big chip stack out. I'm now chip leader! DBF is sitting there pretty short stacked. OK, not just pretty short stacked, he was getting close to a chip and a chair.

Then they come...the pocket queens. I nudge DBF to fold his hand because I'm taking this pot. he gets the hint after I slam his knee under the table and folds. I go all in. The other guy calls...with A 6 off suit. Yep, you guessed it, he hit an A. I tried to come back, but I couldn't. I finished 3rd.

Now, you'll remember that DBF is very shortstacked. We all assume he's about to go out. Well, after a few doubling ups, he takes the chip lead! The other guy goes all in. DBF and I look at his cards and there, staring back at us are two cowboys. Yep, that's pocket kings for those of you who don't know poker lingo. It's one of the best hands you can have in heads up poker. He calls immediately and...

DBF wins! He wins the tournaments! A chip and a chair, baby!

So, tonight is poker again. Guess I better bring the nighty with me again!

Knit on...