Holy Frozen Wasteland, Batman

Every now and then, I use this very blog as a reference†: which scarf did I knit for Kelley? what was the name of that perfume? what's the proper generic for Zamboni?‡

That one stopped me dead in my tracks Saturday night. I was trying to impart some wisdom on The Twitter, so I hopped to the blog and searched "Zamboni."

Then "Steve."

Then "Ice."

Then I looked through my post index and found - *gasp* - I WENT TO ZAMBONI SCHOOL% AND ALL YOU GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT.§

There may be more of this. One of my great #OldAndFeeble tricks is to set something up so thoroughly in my head that I think I did it. I know I do it with email and occasionally phone calls. I had no idea the blog had fallen victim.

So.

In February, Steve and I went to Ice Camp. We learned the history and mechanics of ice resurfacing equipment¶ in a classroom setting.








Then we did some hands-on# illustration of what the TV told us.










We watched an ice resurfacing machine empty after a productive trip around the rink.




We had photo ops.






Then we drove the beast.

THEN we made ice.††




Dudes, if we were in a disaster movie and the Zamboni operator freaked out or had a heart attack,‡‡ I could totally resurface an ice rink.


†FOOTNOTE (crossed): As I'm sure you do.

‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): A registered trademark of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc.

%FOOTNOTE (percented): Like Hogwarts, but more athletic. Also? In fricking FEBRUARY.

§FOOTNOTE (swerved): It's actually a cool t-shirt that says "I drove the [picture of a Zamboni] at The Ice Ranch." But you don't actually get it. You have to *earn* it.

¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): Which is the generic of Zamboni.

#FOOTNOTE (pounded): Literally, though you have to be careful, as there are blades that cut and pumps that suck.

††FOOTNOTE (ddouble-ccrossed): When you're in the know, you know better than to say you drove the Zamboni. When you're in the know, you make ice.

‡‡FOOTNOTE (doubble-crossssed): I think this movie should be made. It should be called "The Ice Marin Cometh."

Sticks 'n' Stitches 'n' Nephews 'n' Bitches

It was a busy weekend, what with angsting over missing mail and all.†

[SUMMARY: Got your bitches right here.]

Mostly, you're getting pictures. I shot my blabber wad‡ on bitching about the USPS. And, as always, 1 picture = 1000 words.§

Saturday, I played the role of sole volunteer to Mya's Queen of this year's Sticks 'n' Stitches.¶

Sylvia# and her two boys came...




...Brother and Dr. Doom each brought a friend††...




...and people knit.‡‡




[SUMMARY: Still a knitblog!]

Oh, yeah. There was hockey too...




...and quite a bit of it,§§ but the Avs didn't win.¶¶

Hey! You know what else is in the greater downtown area?






How long has it been since we had a good, old-fashioned crane slurp?##

Tomorrow: What I did on Super Bowl Sunday (abridged)†††


†FOOTNOTE (crossed): If your yarn was missing, you'd angst too.

‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): *giggle* Blabber wad. It's fun to say and it sounds funny. Blabber wad.

§FOOTNOTE (swerved): Over 6000 words today alone. That's dedication to the cause.

¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): Next year, I will be in charge.

#FOOTNOTE (pounded): Knitting related.

††FOOTNOTE (ddouble-ccrossed): I didn't get pictures of their friends.

‡‡FOOTNOTE (doubble-crossssed): And I took blurry photos of them.

§§FOOTNOTE (double toe loop!): Seven goals between the two teams.

¶¶FOOTNOTE (club footed hockey players): Damned Ducks have always had our number. And by "our," I mean, "the Avalanche's"

##FOOTNOTE (like girder frames soaring high): Too long, far too long.

†††FOOTNOTE (holy...): For the sake of the children and several political careers.

Go Avs!

Take the Nuggets with you!

Signifying Nothing

TTHFCIF

You Are An ENFP

The Inspirer You love being around people, and you are deeply committed to your friends. You are also unconventional, irreverent, and unimpressed by authority and rules. Incredibly perceptive, you can usually sense if someone has hidden motives. You use lots of colorful language and expressions. You're quite the storyteller! In love, you are quite the charmer. And you are definitely willing to risk your heart. You often don't follow through with your flirting or professed feelings. And you do break a lot of hearts. At work, you are driven but not a workaholic. You just always seem to enjoy what you do. You would make an excellent entrepreneur, politician, or journalist. How you see yourself: compassionate, unselfish, and understanding When other people don't get you, they see you as: gushy, emotional, and unfocused What's Your Personality Type?

Thanks to Robin for allowing me not to think on this sunny Friday.

Except to ponder that:

1. Should be amended to read: "Incredibly perceptive, you can usually sense if someone has hidden motives unless it's a boy who has romantic possibilities, particularly if he has not realised the door to that sexual identity closet opens."
2. That heartbreaker thing? Feh. I don't think I've ever broken a heart in my life.
3. My job acumen? Marin for President, 2012! Oh, hey, wait... saint isn't on the list...
4. How I see myself? They forgot fuzzy.
5. How others see me? They forgot breezy.

Shout out to my Avalanche. "Were you hoping they'd buy you breakfast?" to my Rockies.

And If We Have the Pig, Shall We Not Lick It?

TTHFCIF



And if we have three pigs, shall we not go hog wild with the pig-licking?

Don't get too excited... that may be the most fun we have all blogday here. I may have just shot my wad.%

[SUMMARY: They don't make wads like they used to.]

*************

Spring Training!

I don't really have a whole lot more to say than that, but it may be the first time, um... ever, that I'm kinda excited about spring training.

[SUMMARY: The boys of summer... in February.]

*************

Guess what I did last night. No, really. I could make good money betting that you'd never guess.

The first part of the evening was wrapped up in eating,† which is a good thing. It's Denver Restaurant Week‡ and I managed two outings in honour of food: Monday at the Samba Room and last night at the Jewel of India. Excellent outings, both.

And if I may sneak in a little aside here -- we are pig-licking, after all -- if you've never had the carrot pudding at an Indian restaurant,§ it is really, really good. If you like carrot cake, you'll like hot carrot pudding.

Anyway, Kelley and I have had dinner plans for last night for a week or more, so that wasn't a surprise, but Dad emailing yesterday was:

Daughter,

I have an extra ticket to a fly fishing show at the Oriental (44th & Tennyson) tonight - starts @ 7:30.

My "date" got sick. If you have absolutely nothing else to do and could stand the thought of 2+ hours of fly fishing movies...I would love to have you.

love you,
dad

So, yeah. I went to a fly fishing film festival with my dad last night.

[SUMMARY: *THIS* was the big surprise?! I want my money back!¶]

*************

I never knew until last night that I want to go to Slovenia.

Slovenia, it turns out, is highly literate, sort of democratic, controls major transit routes, is extremely beautiful and very... high. Its highest point is only 2,864 metres above sea level,# but it starts at zero,†† so... tall.

It's just a little smaller than New Jersey, but judging by the pictures, it's all mountains. And trout streams. Just look...

Rafting on the Soča River

Photo by B. Kladnik


Unless you're just plain anti-outdoors, how could you not want to try this?

And they have big, fat fish. As Dad said last night, "Any fish with shoulders is a well-fed fish."

[SUMMARY: We may be licking the pig, but we're slurping the fish.]

*************

Speaking of sports,^ did anyone else see the Avs put together the Old Player Nostalgia Tour this week?

At least I'll get to wear my Foote sweater again.

[SUMMARY: Desperation smells... icy.]

*************

OK, I'm totally, horribly remiss.

Lia at the Fruity Sheep and Pam the Yarn Goddess both very kindly passed this You Make My Day Award to me about a bazillion years ago and I, ingrate that I am,‡‡ completely missed the boat, both in passing it on myself and in saying a big ol' thank you to those who say I make their day 'cause... well, it makes my day.



I know I'm probably the biggest dork in the world, but it really does mean something special to me.

So here's my list of ten blogpeople who make my day:

Enchanting Juno
The Chairarmed Quarterback
Fuzzy Logic
Fey
Things Look Like Things
A Long Yarn
Comfort Sphere
Skull a Day
Affiknitty
Frank Notes

It's neither inclusive or exclusive, it's just a good use of blog resources.

[SUMMARY: Manners fail. Will charm save the day?]

*************

Speaking of bad manners... I really should go thank the boss's wife for the nice TV8 Vail calendar she sent me for Christmas.

[SUMMARY: What is wrong with me?]

*************

The Coral Room will be hosting a (drunken) spelling bee§§ on March 22 to benefit a friend with cancer. Her medical bills are astronomical, so they've¶¶ done several fundraising events to help out.

I'm looking forward to it even though I'm sure I've aced myself out of contention by telling everybody else how easy they're going to be to beat. It nearly ensures I will go down on a word like, "tapestry" or "impala."

My old friend Shane## put in the sound system at The Coral Room and was in there one night last week. Sue related this story to me:

Sue told Shane about the spelling bee and he said, "I'm gonna beat everybody. Oh, wait... is Marin going to be there?"

"Yes, she is."

"Fuck it. I'm not even coming then."

I've asked Sue to pass that on to my competition. Maybe I can psyche them out to counteract the hubris I've been spewing to the universe.

[SUMMARY: Makin' my own yin and yang.]

*************

I could go on and on,@ but it's Wahoo's Friday, so I'm outie. Happy Leap Day!


%FOOTNOTE (percented): Heheheheheh.

†FOOTNOTE (crossed): OK, this isn't the part that may surprise you. I eat. You've seen pictures -- I eat pretty well.

‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): Where all week, various restaurants have $52.80-per-couple meals. Get it? $52.80? 5280? Like "feet in a mile"? Like "Mile High City"? Trust me, if you live in Denverish or even spend a week here on vacation, you'll never again forget how many feet are in a mile.

§FOOTNOTE (swerved): Which I would totally understand. I like carrots and it still sounded disgusting to me.

¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): And here would be where I point out that I provide a free service here at the Rickety Blog and you clearly get what you pay for.

#FOOTNOTE (pounded): 9,396' feet, which may not sound all that low if you're from, say, LA or New Jersey, but my living room is at 5,460' so I live by a different altitude standard.

††FOOTNOTE (ddouble-ccrossed): Colorado's lowest point, by comparison, is 3,315', with a high of 14,440'. And its mean is 6,800', making it the highest mean elevation in all 50 of these United States. The state bird is the lark bunting and our motto is, "Nil sine Numine" ("Nothing without Providence"). Colorado is the only state to have rejected the Olympics, when 62% of voters decided hosting the 1976 Winter Olympics would cause too much traffic and pollution.

^FOOTNOTE (careted): Yes, we were.

‡‡FOOTNOTE (doubble-crossssed): My mother raised me better. My father raised me better. Hell, if I'd been raised by wolves I would have done better than I done.

§§FOOTNOTE (corkscrews): I'm not sure that's how they're billing it, but I am reasonably sure that's how it will end up.

¶¶FOOTNOTE (club footnote): And by "they," I mean, "Sue and Mama Love," not The Coral Room in general.

##FOOTNOTE (pounded like a tequila hangover): You may remember Shane... right up there with Tommy on the eye candy scale.

@FOOTNOTE (atted): Duh.

Weekend Between the Pipes

For those of you not hockey-literate, that has nothing to do with the crack y'all might assume I've been smoking, lo, these past 10 months.†

Genius Sarah and I toddled over to the Pepsi Center early to "help set up." I use quotes because Annie and Sandi were really on top of it and didn't so much *need* us. But it did give us an opportunity to insist the security people at the Pepsi Center call all over the arena on their radios to get us clearance.‡

[SUMMARY: Wreaking havoc wherever I go...]

Sylvia sent a load of fuzzy crack and some fantastic prizes§ along, so we lugged those up to the Interweave Sticks 'n' Stitches% table at Section 317.

Mostly we just stood around for awhile, jawing and shifting from foot to foot. Sandi was hungry, so we went in search of our complimentary hot dogs at Section 354. "Why 354?" you might ask, when there were stands so much closer to the table at 317 and our actual seating in Section 312.

I'm guessing because you had to pass a lot of mini bars on the way and they hoped knitters wouldn't be able to pass up the chance to belly up to the bar. As I liked to say when subsequent knitters asked where it was,¶ "Go past the beer stand, two Tuaca bars and the margarita bar and it's on your left."

[SUMMARY: You know more about Pepsi Center concessions than you ever needed to know.]

Sandi, my new best friend, managed to escape my camera,^ but I snapped this lovely shot of my new best friend, Annie, and Sarah# just before the floodgates opened.




Knitters started showing up in small droves, perusing the available goodies and walking away with new stash. And magazines. And patterns. And project bags. And Posh coupons.

Annie told us when we got there to grab what we wanted and I thought, "Well, I'll just wait and see if there's anything left that speaks to me. Let the other knitters have first crack."††

This would be knitters. Taking first crack.



Sarah and I manned‡‡ the table between the second and third periods, just in case there were additional donations to Warm Up America and it looked like locusts had descended upon the table. There were a few magazines and random patterns left, but the knitters had done a pretty good job of denuding the crops.

Which is OK. I don't need any more yarn.

[SUMMARY: Need is such a confining word.]

Hockey knitters at work and play



I also got to meet my new best friend, Brendan, my rock star contact at the Colorado Avalanche. Isn't he cute? He even asked after my Lizard Ridge.§§ Apparently, Brendan's brother-in-law¶¶ works at Interweave. Maybe in accounting.

[SUMMARY: Six Degrees of Interweave Press.]




Now, this one I'm sharing, despite its god-awful camera shake because it made me laugh. More than once.




I caught Genius Sarah in a yawn, but doesn't it look like she's harmonising with the guy behind her and the chick down front? And I love the look on the face of the girl in the lower right corner. Like she was caught doing something naughty.##

[SUMMARY: Everything's naughty with the wrong mindset.]

TiVi STAR UPDATE: eBeth, the SIL, caught my SupaStar appearance on the TiVi at the gym. For those of you not following along in the comments, she first recognised me by my HANDS. Which shows a dedication to the cause I find admirable.

Also? I can't help but wonder if I went to the gym more if it might not have been bigger publicity for me. Y'know... like people would look up and say, "Hey! Isn't that the chick who's on the treadmill every day? I spotted her on the free weights last week! Ooooh! Brush with greatness!"

[SUMMARY: I may have to revisit the New Year's Resolution thing to include going to the gym more simply for recognition factor.]

Happy Monday, y'all. It's going to be a long, long week -- the first time some of us have to work five full days in AGES.


†FOOTNOTE (crossed): It refers to the goal... the area between the pipes that make up the frame on the net in hockey. Let it never be said I'm not wildly educational.

‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): They don't let people in more than one hour before the game (we were there at 5:30 for a 7:00 drop), but you see, we weren't just PEOPLE. We were VOLUNTEERS.

%FOOTNOTE (percented): I know the Columbus Blue Jackets are also hosting a Sticks 'n' Stitches, for those of my peeps in the Greater Columbus Metro Area. There may be others -- check with your local teams. If your local teams aren't on board, maybe you should look into Sticks 'n' Stitches of your own for next season.

§FOOTNOTE (swerved): Lovely little project bags madly run up on her serger in the back room of Posh like Nikes in a Thai sweatshop.

¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): Because I think I'm funny.

^FOOTNOTE (careted): It was Sandi's first hockey game ever, so Annie wanted to be sure she didn't miss the skate-around or the gobo-infused introductions. Annie's from North Dakota, so she knows how important the whole hockey *experience* is for a virgin hockey watcher.

#FOOTNOTE (pounded): Note Sarah, in true Genius fashion, sporting the Koolhaas hat from the Interweave Holiday Issue. I'm beginning to think a good reason to knit stuff for myself would be so I have something handknit to show off at knitting events. Or so I can suck up to the Interweave crew by wearing something from their publications.

††FOOTNOTE (ddouble-ccrossed): First FUZZY crack... BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *sniff* Sometimes I crack me up.

‡‡FOOTNOTE (doubble-crossssed): Knittered?

§§FOOTNOTE (tempest-toss'd): He didn't know he was asking after my Lizard Ridge, per se... he just asked what I was knitting, made some appropriately non-commital appreciative noise and exhibited extra interest by grasping the concept that I would be sewing the strip together with other strips to make a blanket.

¶¶FOOTNOTE (gone clubbing!): Or brother. Or sister-in-law. I'm old and feeble and don't necessarily remember the details, but I KNOW Brendan has family at Interweave somehow.

##FOOTNOTE (pounding like a tequila hangover): Hand-in-the-cookie-jar naughty, not rug-burns-from-the-stairs naughty.

This is My Brain on Zamboni

TTHFCIF

Any Philly's fans out there?

So yesterday I was nowhere near a computer I could use all day. Then I went home and TiVi'd and knitted until bedtime.

It was lovely not going anywhere or doing anything.†

I intend to maybe do a little more of the same tonight.

[SUMMARY: Lazy and loving it.]

I'm rapidly approaching the heel on the last Sparkle Sock and I cast on Yorick last night and got the first skull and two or six or ten inches% of the scarf part done.

I may finish those up before New York after all.

[SUMMARY: Still a knitblog!]

I can't get all wild-hairy tonight anyway. I accidentally^ blew off my grandmother two weekends running and I *must* go see her tomorrow. Otherwise they will revoke my granddaughter card and my cousin Tani will take over Most Favoured Granchild status solely on the basis of having the most recent baby.

We can't be having that.

[SUMMARY: Family politics.]

Besides,‡ I do love my grandmother and it makes her really happy when I come to visit. And if we get the conversation steered the right way, I learn really cool things about Dad that I can use as leverage should I need it. Or just for fun table talk at family dinners.

[SUMMARY: And the family politics just keep coming.]

It's going to be a busy, busy weekend. Before I talk futures, let's visit Wednesday night's hockey opener.$

I love mechanical things, toys. From C-batteries to supercharged cars to jet engines, I love them all. Perhaps the Zamboni most of all.§

And look at this one:




Feng-schwogie!

Huh. It just occurred to me that I may have sub-consciously bought the Mini Cooper because it is the car that most closely resembles the Zamboni.&

Anyway...

The preamble for a game has all the subtlety of a drag queen.

The ice goes red...




...the ice goes blue...




...the ice spins and dapples and goes red and blue and flashy from all sides and there's stuff that looks like leopard spots or maybe ripples in a pond and spotlights swing in mad circles and...




...and then they bring the players on. Loudly.

Look!

One hockey player... two hockey players... three hockey players... four, four beautiful hockey players!¶




That's it, I'm out.

[SUMMARY: Can't count past four.#]

Then skate-around...




...then face-off...




...then a hat trick by Stastny. I do have a picture of hats on the ice and little maintenance people shuffling around with garbage cans, picking up the hats off the ice. But it's at home. In my other computer.

I'm pretty sure that, in looking at the 27,000 pictures I took to get this one...




...I didn't realise one of them was the hat trick and forgot to upload it so I could share.

Things you might want to know:

That shot that I am claiming is the best of 27,000 is because of the reflected skaters in the glass around the ice.

See, I have a strong shiny-object lobe in my brain.†† It finds objects and fixates on them and won't let go until some loud noise or person next to me waving their hands in front of my eyes snaps me out of it.

When I watch basketball, if I hear a shoe squeak -- just once -- I can no longer focus on the game because I can hear *all* the shoes squeaking. With football, it's night games where the lights turn the players and their shadows into highly mobile jacks.‡‡

Wednesday night, for the first time, I noticed how cool the reflections are when skaters go by the panels of glass in the corners. This may be what passes for artsy in hockey.

Despite all that distraction, I do know the Avs won. I cheered every goal.§§

[SUMMARY: Hockey hockey hockey hockey hockey hockey hockey]

Kelley drove and picked a parking lot+ under not one, but TWO cranes.

[SUMMARY: Always the cranes...]

So this weekend... ah, this weekend.

Tomorrow morning, I go see Grandma. Tomorrow night, I go see Genesis.

Sunday morning, breakfast with Bag Lady Kathryn (not too early, I admonished, Marin will be shutting down a bar Saturday night).

Possible snow.

Broncos.

Family dinner.¶¶

Avs.##

Possible Rockies.†††

Drinking with Kelley.‡‡‡

[SUMMARY: Is there such thing as too much fun?]

And late to work on Monday.

Happy Friday, ev'ry-bahdy!



†FOOTNOTE (crossed): I say that like that isn't exactly what I did all weekend last weekend. Well, except for the part where I helped Bag Lady Kathryn paint her dining room. Well, I be. I guess I was useful last weekend. Yea, me!

%FOOTNOTE (percented): How am I supposed to gauge this? The boys keep telling me ten inches looks like *this*, but then the sweaters never fit.

^FOOTNOTE (careted): Yes, it's possible. No, I won't teach you how.

‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): This is not the afterthought it seems. I'm nicer than that. Shut up.

$FOOTNOTE (moneyed): Mostly because I'm in love with how well my camera handled hockey.

§FOOTNOTE (swerved): Yes, even more than the variable-speed, purple, g-spot vibrator. That's a *lot* of Zamboni love.

And that sounds ten more kinds of dirty. What is wrong with me today?

&FOOTNOTE (ampersanded): So much Freud, so little time.

¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): And I do mean beautiful. Hockey players are hot. So hot. Oh, my C-batteries! Seriously, other than Scotty Bowman, who is the exceptional toad that proves the rule, hockey players have a minimum level of hotness that rivals the upper echelons of real-world male hotness.

Does the ice keep their skin pretty or something?

#FOOTNOTE (pounded): Some of you may recognise the amazing improvement this represents, since I couldn't count *to* four earlier this year. Knitting has helped me grow, and I'm a better person for it. Or at least less likely to blindly accept the wrong change at Starbucks.

††FOOTNOTE (ddouble-ccrossed): No, AntiM! Say it ain't so!

‡‡FOOTNOTE (doubble-crossssed): The pick-up kind that comes with a red ball that you got when you were a kid.

§§FOOTNOTE (curvalicious): Sometimes smacking the guy in front of me in the head with my camera as I did. It's OK -- he was cheering for the other team.

+FOOTNOTE (plussed -- the opposite of non-plussed?): I just want to be sure you understand that I didn't park us somewhere just to get under the cranes (dirty!). It was Kelley's choice, all her own free will and everything.

¶¶FOOTNOTE (all the pretty paragraphs): For which I will bake the first cherry pie of safe-to-turn-the-oven-on season.

##FOOTNOTE (pounded like a beer at last call): Who moved gametime Sunday to allow for a possible Rox game.

†††FOOTNOTE (tres... tres cruces bonitos!): Y'know... if they don't put the Phillies away Saturday. Also, if you're in Denverish on Sunday, don't be. At least not downtown. Sportsfest, Oktoberfest, 12,000 women in pink hats (Race for the Cure, in case I out-clevered myself on the reference), free parking... it'll be a madhouse.

‡‡‡FOOTNOTE (railroad tracks!): Who works for a credit union and has Monday off for Columbus Day. Hey, I can't let my girl drink alone.

Keep Your Penis in Your Genus

Take that, Google!

Did anyone else watch "Cavemen" last night?

I just have a crapload of brain lint for you today, as I did nothing useful last night and apparently don't intend to do anything useful in the very near future.

Well, except for hockey.

Because I volunteered to help Interweave Press with this year's Sticks 'n' Stitches,† I'm on this special offers mailing list for the Colorodo Avalanche. It's not totally rockstar-VIP, but it is a nice litte tweak.

Kelley and I are attending tonight's season opener. I don't know if you've ever attended one sporting event (i.e. -- tonight's hockey game) while a big sporting event from another sport is going on (i.e. -- tonight's Rox playoff game)... it's really wound up.

The Rox score will be updated frequently -- maybe even constantly displayed. During TiVi timeouts and such, they'll show highlights from the baseball game. The Pepsi Center will hum and vibrate with the energy of 19,000 swept up sports fans.

So don't call me tonight 'cause it's going to be off the hook.‡

[SUMMARY: With hip talk like that, I could write sitcoms for CW.]

Can I just say here than anyone who doesn't read the comments... well, they're not necessary to your mental health or your understanding of the complexities of this blog (*ahem*), but brilliant and incisive minds come from all corners of the Innernets to comment, kibbutz and debate the merits of the term "pounded like a two-dollar whore."

It's a regular Algonquin Roundtable there under the surface. You should try it some time.

[SUMMARY: This may partly be a shameless slurp to ameliorate the ick that is to follow. But it works 'cause it's true.]

Right across from the office I'm working in (I can see it from my window) is a Hampton Inn Suites. I walk right past it on my way from the parking lot to the office in which I'm working

Every morning, there's about a half-dozen tourists waiting for their rental cars from valet or catching a cab or gearing up§ for a big day's cruise around downtown. An odd pattern I've noticed: they're almost always wearing Bronco shirts -- the entire family -- and the wife and daughter are more often than not wearing pink Bronco shirts.

Every day. For two months.

And about three-quarters of the nights when I'm heading to my car, Papa John's is delivering pizza. Doesn't matter if it's 4:00 or 7:00. Papa John's is there.

I wonder if the people at the front desk of the Hampton Inn Suites notice these vignettes.

[SUMMARY: Now that work has slowed down a bit, I apparently have too much time on my mind.]

I was trying to come up with a title for today's post. I got stuck in a "bits and bobs" loop, but (or because) Franklin just used that delightful little phrase. So I thought, "Google. Maybe there's a sort of thesaurus for phrases¶ and I can discover an equally delightful little phrase."

Read the footnote -- I didn't find a phrasal thesaurus,# but I did come across a website for English idiom, including a message board for ESL linguists trying to get by in the English-speaking world. I read through several of the forum entries and it fascinates me that they are so fascinated with phrases like, "to grease a palm"†† or "work like a dog."‡‡

[SUMMARY: English, she is more interesting than we remember.]

There's a girl on Ravelry with the screen name "Diva de los Muertos."

Best. Screen. Name. Ever.

Don't think I didn't stalk her and tell her so.

[SUMMARY: *slurp*]

My rug burn is almost completely healed. I need a new one.

[SUMMARY: Is she whining about sex again?§§]

Heh. I've been waiting for a good opportunity to use this picture from Cute Overload. Perhaps it could be the first installment in the Phrasaurus:

Lick the pig: jump the shark, screw the pooch, bite the big one, cock a snook, take the mickey, wag the dog, milk the joke.

[SUMMARY: This has to end soon.]

You know, when Enchanting Juno gets whimsical and musey, it's like a soft summer evening, warm and golden and jasmine-scented. It brushes melancholy and touches on philosophy and there's wisdom and usually fibre somewhere.

When I get whimsical and musey, somehow we end up with rug burns and children licking pigs.

[SUMMARY: Where do I go wrong?]

Ooh! Ooh! Fibre! I started the second Sparkle Sock last night and am halfway up the foot.

[SUMMARY: Weak attempt at knitblog.]

Second choice for TiVi quote blogtitle: "You all have numbers so we'll be doing this alphabetically."

[SUMMARY: Wow. This passes for blogfodder?¶¶]

You're right. I'm done.

Go Rox! Go Avs!##


†FOOTNOTE (crossed): January 5. Mark your calendar. $27 gets you tickets -- much better than last year, my buddy Brendan in the Avs' ticket office tells me (he also tells me, "You have my direct line. If you need tickets this season, just give me a call and I'll see what I can do." I love Brendan. I wonder if Brendan has ever operated a crane...). Your $27 also gets you a hot dog and a drink, plus a goody bag (which I will be helping to assemble in one fashion or another).

‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): I may have full-circled right past dork and back to cool. Humour me.

§FOOTNOTE (swerved): Camera, fanny pack for Mom, fishing vest with guidebook for Dad, comfortable shoes, bermuda shorts, Barbie backpack for little Amber... it's a daily festival of guppying up to the stereotype

¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): Nope. Not that I could find. There should be.

#FOOTNOTE (pounded): Phrasaurus?

††FOOTNOTE (ddouble-ccrossed): I never realised how dirty that sounds until just now.

‡‡FOOTNOTE (doubble-crossssed): You may be wondering why, after a certain amount of research, that's the title I came up with. Hey, a chance to use the word "genus"? I'm there.

§§FOOTNOTE (Pamela Lee got nothing on me): Why, yes. Yes, I am.

¶¶FOOTNOTE (more paragraphs than sense); Why, yes. Yes, it does.

##FOOTNOTE (pint's a pound the world around... believe I'll take two): Take Marin with you!

Ramble Redhead

...as Jaxon's blog says sometimes.

So I ordered some Sugar 'n' Cream from Herrschner's because I don't have nearly enough yarn† and I really got a bug to knit washcloths‡... oh, some time last week.

Did you know Herrschner's has some really good yarn?

Why didn't you tell me?

Now, I've received my share of Herrschner's catalogs in my day. And, because they happen to be headquartered in my mom's hometown,§ I've been to the Herrschner's store. The impression that has stayed with me is "cheap."^ And possibly "totally craptastic version of Michael's."

I picked up the mail this morning and there was the package from Stevens Point.% I hit the office early and Googled Herrschner's to 1) be sure I was spelling it right,¶ and 2) get the URL to link here. What to my wondering eyes should appear? Debbie Bliss! Elsebeth Lavold! Louisa-freakin'-Harding!

Herrschner's has Rowan in their Miscellaneous section.

I did a couple of price comparisons, and some of them are downright astonishing: Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk at about $5 a ball. It runs upward of $8 most other places I looked.# Noro Kureyon, not such a bargain at a very standard $8.50 a ball, but mostly good prices.

Maybe I'm finding a new niche. Maybe I can be the bargain knitter -- discount yarns, remainders, scratch-and-dent, limited selection, synthetic blends.

Then again, I'm pretty sure if I go that route I can't do muppet fur experiments just to do muppet fur experiments.

Or buy Cider Moon yarn just because they tell me there are only two skeins of that colour and I can be the only kid on my block with Hex socks.

Or panic and press the "charge my card" button just because the Fearless Fibers Seven Deadly Sins Sock Club only has two memberships left.

Or even *contemplate* knitting cashmere socks.

Huh.

Nope. Not quite feeling that.

OK, so I'll just let you know when I find something good.

[SUMMARY: She used THAT many words to bring us back to square one?]

Speaking of Cider Moon...

Does anybody out there know what happened? What's happening? Will they ever come back? I feel like I've lost my new best friend.

[SUMMARY: When bad lawyers happen to good people...]

Speaking of knitting...

Have you seen the new Knit.1? Holy fucking cats...

While there's a cool Dia de Los Muertos doll family,†† there is a paucity of really good patterns and a plethora o' weird-ass, what-were-they-thinking stuff. Flip through it next time you're near a newsstand. It'd be good lunchtime entertainment.

[SUMMARY: Suddenly, a critic.]

Guess who just volunteered to help with the local Sticks and Stitches‡‡ this year?

[SUMMARY: Not too bright, but at least I'm in the loop.§§]

Lookie there. I did pretty good for someone who thought she had nothing to say and almost skipped today's blogpost.

You're welcome.


†FOOTNOTE (crossed): Colour me dork.

‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): That would be the C part of the OC thing.

§FOOTNOTE (swerved): Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

^FOOTNOTE (careted): Not "good prices," but cheap. Cheap like a Furr's Cafeteria checkout girl in blue glitter eyeshadow and Barbie pink lipstick to match her shiny plastic high-heeled shoes.

%FOOTNOTE (percented): It was kinda like a letter from Mom.

¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): Maintaining the high standards of spelling and grammar you've come to expect here at the Rickety Blog...

#FOOTNOTE (pounded): Which would pretty much be Yarn Market and The Yarn and Fiber Company. Yarn and Fiber came in at the second lowest price at $7.65.

††FOOTNOTE (ddouble-ccrossed): Thus:

‡‡FOOTNOTE (doubble-crossssed): NHL hockey with knitting. I don't know if it's league-wide or just in Colorado since, y'know, we have Interweave Press here. 'Tis a privlege to live in Colorado.*

*FOOTNOTE WITHIN A FOOTNOTE: The motto of the Denver Post.

§§FOOTNOTE (how curvy are you willing to go?]: Ha! Pun!