Oh what a night

G'day all!

It may have been a night but it wasn't late September back in 63 (??). It was last night.

A very weird night but fun night!

I dug in the dirt and weeded and got a bed half prepped for vegies.

I did dishes and got really grumpy at Nathan cos
a) he wasn't doing dishes, and/or
b) he wasn't cooking dinner.

Then Nathan started cooking dinner just after sunset cos he realised that I did mean that if I did dishes, he had to cook dinner.

Then the power went out. I was sitting at my computer, grumpy cos an email had bounced. I had lots of grumps last night, but this email was to the place that the pattern for my Olympic challenge is for - the pattern is WHACKO! None of the stitches are defined and there are symbols that are not defined. Not worth USD5 plus postage, IMO!

So I'm sitting at my computer grumping and there's this BANG and GROINCH noise. BANG and GROINCH noses usually mean the power is about to die in my experience. Yep, Nathan's computer is going up and down like a yoyo, which I decided was a Very Bad Thing since we only just replaced it 8 days ago. Nathan pulled the plug on it quick smart. My computer was on the UPS but it seems that Nathan's wasn't. The lights were flickering like it was some sort of Z-grade horror movie - I've never seen them doing it before. The amp was making a horrible screaming noise just to add to the atmosphere. The microwave was going up and down - the lights were all flashing on it. The loungeroom lights were glowing like embers. I was waiting for the ectoplasm to start oozing out of the walls.

So we switch everything off and go outside to see if other people don't have power. M across the road is fine, so are the Sri Lankan couple - they don't even come outside. A boy and his girl from up the road wander down to find out who else doesn't have power. A few torches appear. We examine the transformer outside our house closely to see if the fuses are blown. They look ok so we wander off to look at other power line fuses.

A man, A from up the road, wanders down. He spots a possum looking rather sick and sorry for itself on the transformer - it must've been hiding when we looked. The girl has offered Nathan her mobile to call the power company. The boy, D, has a penlight that throws red light and blue light - the blue is really funky. They are sweet kids. M is talking to a lady in their language.

It was like a street party.

The guy from the power company shows up and looks, then goes off to turn the power on at other fuses, then comes back to fix the lines. By now I've dished up dinner and we have it al fresco in the dark sitting on M's fence and chatting, watching the show. D's mum screeches "D! GET BACK HOME!" from up the road. D makes an embarrassed comment - he's probably about 16 or 17 but his mum still thinks he is 10. At least his name isn't Jason....

Once the power was back on, it was nearly 10:30. I went back inside and worked on swatching for the olympic sock. That is when I found out the chart is STOOPID! (IMO)

The pattern support is fine, but they've given me a phone number to call. A phone number in the USA. I live in Australia. I don't want to cough up the money. I also don't know where the designer lives in the USA and since we are something like 15 hours ahead of Wisconsin (for example) ringing tends to be fraught with the danger of calling them at midnight....

So I have changed my mind about what to make. I am now going to make pomatomus, which is a quite similar style sock. Hope it will be big enough for my big fat foot.

I have the yarn and the needles at the ready. I have checked out the chart. The chart seems to make sense this time. I am so glad I checked out the other chart before the challenge cos I would've had a TOTAL hissy fit rather than the hissy fit that I did have. After all, I dyed yarn for this challenge people! (Oops, haven't shown you the pics of the stuff I dyed, have I?) I will go back to the wings pattern but in my own time at my own pace, not when I am time pressured.

So, here's the husband socks almost to date:

I've only done another 2 repeats of grey - I noticed that I had split a stitch only about two rounds on from when I took that photo (I was knitting in the dark). I noticed I had split the stitch when I was another two repeats on from the split stitch. Sigh. So I frogged it and knitted all that yarn and a little more back onto the sock onthe trian this arvo.

Get an eyeful of this rose.

It is one of the existing roses. It must be some sort of floribunda. It is sad and sorry cos it doesn't get watered but once a month it finds the energy to throw a bunch of flowers.

So tomorrow I join with at least 3,300 other knitters in the Winter Olympic challenge. Woo hoo! Let the Games begin!

anon!