Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Well, I took a vacation day for today and Tuesday to pad out the Labor Day weekend.
I am a bit burned out and I actually can't ignore work since I have to finish something before a deadline next week and my monthly reporting needs to be checked tomorrow morning. *sigh* But hopefully that won't take long to finish during the weekend.

On a Ravelry note here is my current waiting list standing:
4632 people are ahead of you in line.
14420 people are behind you in line.
36% of the list has been invited so far
So it is progressing along.

Since I have joined two lace knit-a-longs I hope I haven't gotten myself in way too deep.
I have never really worked with lace weight yarn or done a real lace project so it should be an interesting learning experience.
I already mentioned the Secret of the Stole but I also joined secret-of-chrysopolis
That is hosted on the German Yahoo so it will be challenging translating the posts but the organizer will be sending out info in both languages. Whew!

I ordered lace weight yarn for both projects and got this beautiful JaeggerSpun Zephyr in lilac which arrived yesterday from Sarah's Yarns. They have some wonderful yarns at good prices. I ordered two 2 ounce balls late at night on 8/28 and it arrived yesterday 8/30. It is enough for the Secret of the Stole project but not for the other one. They carry cones of it for very reasonable prices which I might order in the future. My Knitpicks Shadow yarn order is almost on it's way. I ordered 2 or 3 different colors in the Shadow yarn and enough of each so I can choose which to use for the Chrysopolis project.

I will post yarn pics soon and perhaps a pic of a swatch!

Woo Hoo! Ravelry Update

Just checked and here is my waiting position:

You signed up on July 10, 2007
You are #15526 on the list.
4919 people are ahead of you in line.
13877 people are behind you in line.
35% of the list has been invited so far

I have less than 5000 people in front of me so I should make it within a week or so after they are on the new servers which they were hoping would be by August 29th since they will be paying for the data center by then.

There is a cool little video on Ravelry features that they have linked to via the Ravelry blog: http://blog.ravelry.com/

On a aggravating note about the fingerless gloves I am knitting for that co-worker, I was re-knitting the other hand since I was unhapppy with the difference in the cast on edge. I had forgotten that I used the cable cast on previously and the other hand was using the long tail cast on. The cable cast on was much neater and merged into the pattern nicely. So I cable cast on and knit it again. I got almost finished when I realized I had somehow dropped or combined two stitches way down towards the beginning. GRRRRR!!!!

Nothing for it than to frog down to where I screwed up. *sigh*
These gloves WILL GET DONE and WILL LOOK NICE!!!!

Ravelry Wait Update

Just checked my position on the waiting list:

5382 people are ahead of you in line.
13050 people are behind you in line.
35% of the list has been invited so far

So, if I can get down to under 5000 ahead of me by the time they are ready on the new servers I may get my invite that first week! Hmmmm... time will tell!

New Lace Knitalong

I saw in Lime and Violet's Daily Chum that there was a new Yahoo group started for a lace stole knitalong starting up for the beginning of October, SecretoftheStole

Since I missed the deadline for the signup for the last Mystery Stole/Shawl MS3 I jumped on this one. It will be interesting since I have never done any real lace projects. It will be educational and should be fun even if I have trouble keeping up.

The button created for the group is really nice and I have added it to the sidebar.
Pass the word around and join up!

A Commuting Nightmare

So there I was rushing to the subway turnstile fumbling in the pocket of my bag for my Unlimited Monthly Metrocard, the one I bought less than a week ago, only to find it NOT there!

I moved over to the side of the turnstile area and started systematically going through my bag. No luck. The regular Metrocard I had in my wallet for emergencies had "expired" in January. I thought I could transfer the balance at a Metrocard machine but was unable to find the right path in the selections. So I gave up and bought a card to get me by until I could check the MTA website for what to do now.

The good news is that since I paid for the Unlimited Metrocard with a credit card I have automatic "replacement insurance" and I should be able to get a credit of a set amount per day left in the 30 day period which started when I first used that card. All I have to do is call a service number and have the credit card that I charged the Metrocard to. Also the regular card is supposed to be able to be transferred to a new one either at a "token booth" or at a Metrocard vending machine.

All I have to do is call to get the credit. Then to deal with the expired card, I just have to get the attendant at my station to transfer my balance to the card I bought tonight. I also need to purchase a new Monthly unlimited Metrocard.

The worse thing besides the aggravation is that I will miss the hard Metrocard holder that I lost along with that card.

It is always something!

Ravelry Update

Well, I just checked and I have made more progress. Woo Hoo!
5903 people are ahead of you in line.
11639 people are behind you in line.
34% of the list has been invited so far

According to the Ravelry Blog their servers should have shipped today and since they will start getting billed by their data center in 10 days they are working to get everything running ASAP once the servers arrive. They expect a couple of days of testing after everything is installed before they switch over and then they hope to crank up the invites with a goal of 5000 in the first week.

So with any luck by the time they get their servers up at the new data center I will be at 5000 or under people ahead of me in line. Which means I should be getting an invite in a few weeks!!!!

What a Nice Saturday!

After some horrible storms last night, the weather is cooler than normal for this time of year. There is a nice breeze, it is sunny and no air conditioning needed.

Ravelry standing update:

You are #15526 on the list.
6172 people are ahead of you in line.
10912 people are behind you in line.
34% of the list has been invited so far

Of course, with the earthquake in Peru and all the devastation I am wondering if a former colleague and his family are okay. I believe he retired to his home country and that was Peru. Waiting to hear from a current colleague who keeps in touch with him.

One of our other colleagues is going through some bad health problems. She is around my Mother's age and just got discharged from the hospital. I am trying out some hat patterns in her favorite style, beret, and want to try out a pattern for fingerless gloves for her. I am going to pilot with Carrons Simply Soft and got the cotton yarn from KnitPicks that I ordered for the final version.
My problem is gauge. Finding the right needle size with the yarn to get the correct gauge for each project. *sigh*

It doesn't help that I am exhausted. I have been getting a "second wind" and staying up too late. So I have not gotten enough sleep on a regular basis for the last couple of weeks.

On a happier note, I did finally manage to catch the last Harry Potter movie Order of the Phoenix before the newer movie releases push it off the schedules. I was able to run over to a theater near my office after I went to the dentist last week and catch the 4pm showing. I enjoyed it and I am glad I got a chance to see it on a theater screen instead of just my TV when it comes out on DVD.

I am definitely going to try to enjoy the day before the weather turns again.

Ravelry Waiting List Update

7127 people are ahead of you in line.
8480 people are behind you in line.
34% of the list has been invited so far


woo hoo! It went up 1% more invited. And I am a little... closer....

What a Storm!

I woke to a huge crack of thunder above my building this morning. It was pouring rain and alot of lightning and thunder. I expected that Mom's health aide would have a major problem getting here and who knows what my commute would be like!

Well sure enough, my Mom's health aide called and didn't think she would be able to make it since none of the subway lines near her were running due to flooding in the tracks. She had been trying to contact her office to let them know and the line was just ringing busy. What a mess! They were stating which lines were having problems and it definitely started to be more like which lines were running at all.

With the bridge collapsing in Minneapolis recently still on everyone's mind I knew that Mom would be worrying about everything. If I went into the office it would stress her out completely. So I opted for the working from home option and let everyone know. I managed to get quite a bit done from home today despite the cat screaming for attention and the extremely steamy weather once the rain stopped.

I will find out all the horror stories when I get into the office. Of course I still haven't reached my doctor to find out how he felt my blood test results were and if we need to adjust my medication.

The news stated tonight that there was a Tornado that affected Brooklyn this morning. Trees down, and some of the houses lost their roofs! Wow! I believe they said it was an F2 tornado!

Let's hope it stays calmer for awhile.

What A Commute Home !

So it was Friday night and I was the last one left in the office. I managed to finish all of the requests that I had outstanding. *whew*

Watered my plants, cleaned up my desk (just a little) and left for home.
Well almost made it out when I realized I had left my pocketbook in my desk drawer. Once again! I should have known since I was alot lighter. So I went back for it and was on my way again.

The subway station was stiflingly hot but I managed to catch the train that was just about to leave. When I transferred to the line that stops at my home station it was just as hot. So I took the train going in the opposite direction and sat in the air conditioning for the two stops before it turns around. Unfortunately it was obvious that it was going to be an express and I needed a local for my stop. Usually just as you get near the train on the opposite track the doors close in your face. This time I made it!

So there I was with a seat, in working air conditioning, catching up on some podcasts and knitting. When we got to the first major stop in Queens as usual a whole pile of people got on and some managed to grab the remaining seats.

All of a sudden, a man who had just gotten on and was sitting in a seat nearest a set of doors got violently ill - explosively christening what had been a fairly clean subway car floor. As you can imagine, people were trying to avoid the mess when he got sick again. At this point people were rushing away from him since he didn't seem to be stopping. I can only assume he was extremely drunk since he didn't seem to be at all concerned with what he was doing and the effect it had on everyone else.

I wasn't that close to him but I got a bit squashed in the rush. Luckily I didn't get christened by any of the mess and I wasn't close to stepping in it either. I just moved closer to the end of the seating I was on when I could. It was only 3 stops before I would get off. I warned some people getting on who were instinctly going towards the unoccupied seats and a couple with small child and baby carraige just about to get on when I was getting off.

So of course just when you think you have successfully escaped, the drunk gets off at the same stop! I held back and waited until he and the others had gotten closer to the lower level before I went down the stairs. Just in case. When I reached the street I saw him staggering towards the opposite sidewalk and it looked like he might be aiming for another bar when he reached the sidewalk. But he turned and didn't go in. Thankfully that was the last I saw of him.

When I got home Mom told me that the cat had either left a pool of diarrhea or puke in the hall just outside our bathroom within the last hour. Asking her what it was was useless since she couldn't tell or remember and then she couldn't remember what she did with the paper towels she used to clean it up. Well they weren't in ANY of the waste baskets in the apartment which left only one place. Yep, instead of dumping it in the nearest wastebasket (either in her room or the bathroom) she admitted that she might very well have flushed the paper towels down the toilet.

The one place that I constantly repeat this mantra to her "Only TOILET paper goes into the TOILET". If the toilet or line gets stopped up I get to pay to get it fixed and any other damage caused. Nothing we use other than toilet paper will break up enough to not be a problem.

In the past I have always told her just to put a paper towel over the mess and I would clean it up when I got home. That way she would be able to avoid stepping in it and I would be able to track what problems the cat was having. So instead she is bending over to clean it up and getting dizzy and tops it all off by flushing things she shouldn't. *sigh*

Just what I needed. What a night.

My Ravelry WaitList Position Update

Moved up a bit more!
You are #15526 on the list.
7589 people are ahead of you in line.
7417 people are behind you in line.

Just a little more progress!

News on Dulaan 2008

Well another sad note is that Ryan will not be working with F.I.R.E. any longer for any drives. Here is her blog : Mossy Cottage Knits

Still a worthwhile organization but blind it seems to the impact that Ryan and the Knitting/Crochet community had on the success of the project drives. Perhaps it is similar to what we learnt in Psych in college, when you decide between two things you justify your decision by bringing up negative aspects of what you did not choose.
Hence, Ryan's decision to end the Dulaan Project due to the better conditions in Mongolia has caused the organization handling the donated items to disassociate themselves. Read her and Tom's posts on her blog for details.

The Yahoo Group for Dulaan is going to continue but will be renamed. The name has not been decided yet.

Never a lack of charities for donated items so nothing will go to waste!

Getting Closer!

Well, I just checked my Ravelry wait and here is the latest:
7729 people are ahead of you in line.
6919 people are behind you in line

So I am getting CLOSER!

On a Sad note, the bridge collapse in Minneapolis is horrible!
I know that is a major route for everyone in the Twin Cities area and I am concerned about those that I know there. Some of them are part of a Yahoo group I belong to and we heard that they are all okay. But some are personal friends that I have lost touch with over the years. I sent an email to another friend who is still closely in contact with them and I am waiting for the reply.

I hope that alot of people were able to get out safely. I have been hearing conflicting stories on the numbers. We can only hope that people are okay.

All these stories on the news have gotten my Mom worried. So she had a nightmare last night. Which explains her being up at 6:30am this morning.
She is still worried. We are in NYC but our bridges are alot older. So it is understandable that everyone is concerned. But what can you do? You have to get there from here. *sigh*

I just hope she calms down about it all since she can work herself up so much that it affects everything. Her health aide is going to have her watch some Columbo episodes on DVD to distract her. It should help.

Meanwhile it is hot and humid here and is expected to be even hotter today.
Makes it hard to get around to do any errands and the subway stations are stifling!