Thursday, March 16, 2006

every little bit hurts

Of course once I got a digicam, my computer went on the fritz. Had to send it back to Dell. Thank goddess for extended warranties. In the meantime, I've dusted off the old desktop and after a day of installing system updates, I've magically made it online. The odd thing is that this machine seems so ancient, but now that I've done the math, I realize we got it in the summer of 2003. That, my friend, is how fast technology is a-changin'.

Anyhow, notes from the whup ass path.

I went after Lake Erie with a vengeance (a big thanks to everyone who commented, just the boost I needed) and added a whopping 2.5 inches to the thing. That's 2-3 hours of work, so I could feel worse. The problem is that session took place on Tuesday and every time I've looked at it since then, I've felt my intestines rise up in my throat. After much consideration, I've decided I've been paradigm blocked, as my first boss out of college was fond of saying (never mind that there aren't many paradigms one could choose in filing CPR cards and typing nursing certificates).

A reframing is in order here. My new plan of attack is to consider the yarn, not the scarf
itself. In other words, I'm knitting up the ball in the picture and after that, I'm taking Ellen's advice and blocking like there's no tomorrow. If it doesn't come out long enough, my dad can seam it and wear it as a muff. Speaking of Dad, there he is in the background photo, next to my mother and a baby who shall remain nameless. The amount of remaining yarn is about 3/4 of a skein of Cascade 220 Heathers. I usually wet myself when I think of all that yardage for the price, but skein 3, 660 yards, on the same scarf is, to say the least, no longer appealing.

I did say I am out to reconcile my relationship with knitting and while Lake Erie hasn't prompted me to sing along with Peaches & Herb -- "Reunited and it feels so good/Reunited 'cause we understood/There's one perfect fit and sugar this one is it..." -- I have been working on a little sumthin' sumthin' that's got me feeling swoony again. What I haven't figured out is how to upload a picture in under 30 minutes via my current means, so I'll post a visual tomorrow.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Keep going! It's looking good. I wouldn't have the fortitude, but others do.

And your computer is going on 3 years. I think ours is too. But it's running so nicely I can't justify moving on. Can you imagine me surviving with a 40g hard drive and 512MG of RAM? But I do. I want more, I want faster.

I better stick to my knitting.

Ellen Bloom said...

You go, GF! There's nothing the matter with a shorter scarf. It will be easier to fit inside Dad's overcoat anyway! He'll love it. Just get it done and move onto something ORANGE, please.

Lunch next week? I left you a message...call me!

carlita dee said...

Jessie, I thought I was among those with said fortitude, but alas... I think your computer specs are similar to ours. I wouldn't mind, but ours has always ran like crap! The OS has picked up so many ticks (in addition to viruses). To use it this time, I had to restore the system 3 times, because the CD player had stopped working and it wouldn't go online. It still only goes on with AOL (I'm an Earthlink subscriber, conspiracy?) and not through the Explorer window. Let me shut up before I jinx what mojo I've got going with it now!

Ellen, tacos, por favor? I sent you an e-mail. If this scarf was orange, I probably wouldn't be complaining so much. Ha ha.