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I ordered a new computer. Parts of the keyboard on the good ‘ol 12″ powerbook G4 died when I spilled water on it. Go ahead, move that cup AWAY from the computer. And if you’re holding that cup of water in your elbow as you’re using the computer on the couch, put it down. Let this be a lesson to you. I guess I’m lucky it lasted this long with all of the accidents we’ve had.

I just have one thing to say. Whose idea was it to make computers out of METAL?? I mean, I could barely get the battery back in. And don’t just say “well, honey, you shouldn’t have dropped it.” To that I say it’s a laptop, it’s mobile. I use it for my itinerant job every day. It’s my other appendage. Bumps and bruises are bound to happen. Make it a little more durable people!

I’m scared. Will I get along with my new computer? Will we like each other? Did I make the right decision? I’m a Libra, I’m the worst decision-maker ever.

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Ron and I both had posion oak for Thanksgiving. I think we got it hugging a mossy tree the weekend before (insert “treehugger” joke here). Not our typical behavior, but at the time it seemed like a good idea. I have a patch on my chin. Ron’s showed up on Thanksgiving morning when we were leaving for our trip to Eureka/Redwood National Park. We had a dinner reservation at 5:15 in Eureka and mapquest said it would take 6.5 hours to get there. I still made us go to the emergency room (doctors closed) so Ron could get some medicine. He had it on half his face, and if it blistered up like mine did, it was going to ruin the whole weekend. We were convinced Ron’s was going away without getting worse, but when we got home on Sunday, it was all over. As he was popping those pills, I’m sure he was thankful (how appropriate) we sat at Walgreens for 45 minutes on Thanksgiving day for that prednisone prescription as we wondered if we would make our dinner reservation. Well, the drive was a breeze, we got there early, had a fab room at the B&B in Eureka where we also stayed when we got engaged 2 years ago, and the turkey dinner was to die for! The drive was so beautiful and pleasant through the golden autumn vineyards and the mesmerizing tall green redwoods we didn’t even turn on the radio. Heck, I didn’t even knit. We went further north on this trip, all the way to Jedediah Smith Redwoolds State Park near Crescent City, CA very close to Oregon. Wow, was it worth it. The serenity of this ancient old-growth forest was beyond words.

We must go back.

If you just can’t get enough, here are some videos:

Jedediah video 1

Jedediah video 2
(I love how you can hear the birds chirping in this one)

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You may remember this yarn on the magic loop, but I changed my mind. It was turning out too big anyway. I decided I wanted to make Thuja from knitty if I was going to make a sock with a heel flap. And I wanted the Thuja with the flap heel to be in this color yarn:

Don’t panic. Yes, I ripped out the heel all the way from about half of the decreases. It was coming out crooked and uneven and funny-looking. But it was part of a class and I had assistance from Jesse the instructor, so I wasn’t afraid. I re-turned (is that a word?) the heel, got through the confusing part of starting the decreases on the magic loop, and am well on my way again. I’m at about the same point on the second sock, so I think I should knit up to the decreases on that sock, too. Hopefully going through it the second time and making notes was enough for me to remember how to do it. I wouldn’t normally knit two socks at the same time, but I had an extra size 3 from the KnitPicks manufacturing defect. The cable hasn’t fallen out yet, so even though it’s not particularly smooth, I’m still using it.

I really thought I was going to be able to post a finished second sock to complete my pretty purple peds, but we had some words over the short row heel and are currently not on speaking terms. In due time. I *really* thought that was going to be my very first completed pair.

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In Klamath, California.

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One too many drops, trips over the power cord, and water spills has brought me to the Genius Bar. But at least I have something to pass the time.

By the way, why does the isight on this $3000 store Mac that I will never be able to afford take pictures backwards? And why do they make appointments if they’re going to be 45 minutes behind??? I was early, too.

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I’m learning the magic loop method of knitting. It’s a way to knit a circle with only one long circular needle. I wanted to learn this method because when I knit a sock with two circular needles, 4 needles is a lot to have dangling around a sock. So I thought I’d give it a try. I won’t discuss how I left a 2 hour class with only 56 cast-on stitches. But look! Progress! Now let’s see if they’ll let me on the plane with it (that’s right, I’m going somewhere this weekend). I didn’t have to report to jury duty yesterday to see if they’d let me in the courtroom wielding the needles. I thought that would be a fun experiment. Anyone ever successfully knit during jury duty? That would be one way to combat the waste-o time-o listening to everyone’s excuses. I did that once before. “I’m sorry, sir, just because you’ve been in a car accident, doesn’t mean you are prejudiced against a car accident case.” Actually, they’re calling it “jury service” now. I wonder why the change.

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My favorite hike is a network of about 5 or so miles of trails only 20 minutes from where we live. I love it because you can hike among the redwoods practically the whole time. None of those high and dry ridges or prickly chaparral (i had to go to the online dictionary to hear how that one was pronounced). I am looking forward to visiting my favorite spot throughout the different seasons. The first time we went there was a trickle of water in the stream. It disappeared the next hike, but since we’ve had two rains lately, the trickle is back. It’s an amazingly pure sound in the silence of the woods. I can’t wait to see what it’s like during the rainy season!

Exhibit A: Banana Slug. Aren’t these things rad? They’re huge!

Exhibit B: Ladybug Plague. The end is near. See all the orange on the ground next to the sign? Ladybugs.

Exhibit C: The bestest sammich

Exhibit D: The delicious orange and green of the redwood forest

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I thought I’d put the African art to use as a model.
Yarn: Artyarns Supermerino, a bit more than one skein
Color: 144
Needles: US 7
Pattern: Based on this: www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/hatrollbrim.htm

I’m also working on cranking out the rest of this scarf this week. It’s such a soft cotton!

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I know other people have had the same problem, so I’m not surprised I received a KnitPicks classic circular knitting needle like this:

Pretty disappointing. The cable wiggles in and out of the needle. I ordered it to use for a magic loop class that’s starting on Monday. I called KnitPicks and they are sending me a new one, but the shipping they use for their “problem orders” won’t get it here in time for the class. I guess I can use this one in the meantime until it completely separates from the cable. Not exactly a smooth join.

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Someone transport me back to last weekend when we were enjoying the Allianz Cup in San Francisco. Last night I was awakened at 2am by my car alarm going off. I looked out the window and someone was trying to get into my car!! Talk about panic!! We shouted at him, but he didn’t budge, I couldn’t figure out what he was doing. Some people walked by who seemed to shoo him off. He stumbled away, talking to himself, then fell in the grass. He must have been drunk, high, or disturbed. We called the cops and they actually showed up in 5 minutes. After awhile, they took him away in the squad car. He probably wouldn’t have actually gotten into the car given his state, but I hope this isn’t a sign of more things to come. Back off the Honda!!