Frilly!

At work we do a Christmas gift exchange. This year I thought I would knit something up. I didn't want to wait till I knew who I drew out of the hat, cause I don't always knit so fast, so I decided a nice scarf out of Frill Seeker yarn would be good. I totally blame Curlerchik for showing me this yarn, by the way.....




While this was a fast, fun knit, I must say I was NOT amused at the 5, count em 5 knots I found. Fortunately this yarn hides the ends nicely, but still, this yarn ain't cheap and 5 freaking knots!!!

ciao for now

Actual Knitting

I finished the cowl! Woo and Hoo!





I am quite pleased with how this turned out. To recap:

Yarn: Berrocco ultra Alpaca
Pattern: Ciara's Cowl
Needles: 3.5mm

The knit inspector in the top photo was satisfied with the quality of this knit too.

Ciao

Fingernail Friday

Apple Can Suck It

As regular readers here (if any) know, I wear hearing aids. This poses a problem when it comes to things like cell phones. Cell phones that are not shielded properly create a buzzing that is very unpleasant and makes talking, or rather hearing the other person very difficult. On an old fashioned landline analog phone, there is a setting on the hearing aid called a t-coil (telecoil) that interacts directly with the phone. Some cellphones have t-coil compatibility. These are rated with T4 being good and T1 not so good. In the US FCC mandates that cellphone manufacturers of a certian size must have a minimum percentage of their phones that are hearing aid compatible. (I have no inclination to look up the actual numbers, if ya feel like it, knock yourself out).



I, like many other people, like gadgets. Apple's iPhone is an ultimate gadget. However if I can't use a phone like,well, a phone, there's no point in spending mucho money on it. I went hunting for info. Found this website on which Apple goes on and on and on and ON about accessibility of their gadgets for disabled people. Yeah, the section on hearing disabled blathers on about things like the video option is great for sign language. Not a fucking peep about hearing aids. I know we are not the largst percentage of the population, but dammit, we are not miniscule either.



Apple is ignoring us. Assholes.



Fuck it. Blackberry anyone?

Happy. Not.

An hysterical open letter that totally sums up what I and many other women, I am sure, feel.



GO HERE

Christmas Cat Wrap

In honour of Christmas and all that that entails, I give you:


How to wrap a cat

Keeping Warm

As the weather turns cooler, kitties like to find all the warm spots in the house. elvis has dscovered, as did her brother before her, that the newly opened dishwasher is quite toasty.




silly kitty!

Cowl

I am currently working on a cowl. It is taking much longer than I had thought, as the tooth that needs to have a root canal (this tuesday!) is complaining bitterly. Which means the heavy duty painkillers. Which are NOT conducive to knittng, as I discovered after I had to rip out an entire evening's work. So, here is the cowl thus far:



It's not too feminine is it? It's a gift. For a male. I think it's got some texture without being 'lace-like', but now I am second guessing myself....

Trimming Kitty Claws

How to trim kitty claws



1. Search for supplies. Clippers, kitty treats. bandaids, gauze,wine (open the bottle first. trust me)

2. Search for cat.

3. Sit on floor with cat.

4. coax cat out from under coffee table

5. sit on floor with cat and pick up clippers.

6. wrap bloody scratches up with gauze, pry cat out from under sofa.

7. Sit on floor with cat held firmly.

8. pick up paw.

9. put bandaids on wrist.

10. pry cat out from under bed, grab paws and clip very quickly.

11. take kitty treats, throw box under desk, pour wine and drink.




Who us? No, we're GOOD kitties!

Money Grab

The utility company has installed something called a 'smart meter' on my house. It measures WHEN I use electricity and then charges me depending on the time of day. There are 3 rates: Stupid Expensive(9.9cents per kWh), Sooper Expensive(8.00 cents) and Expensive(5.3cents). The highest rate applies during peak hours. During the summer, peak hours are 11am to 5pm off-peak is 9pm to 7am and the rest is intermediate. During the winter off-peak remains the same, but peak changes to 7am-11am and 5pm-9pm.

Now, I can change some things like when I run the dishwasher or do the laundry. I have , in fact, done these things. Yet my bill is half again as high as it was pre-smart meter. It's going to get worse, as I cook with electricity and peak time will be changing November 1st. I cannot change my stove to a gas one, as I rent. I have no fireplace to cook over the flames, so I am basically screwed.

I fail to see what else I can change. At night we only keep the one lamp on in the living room. We have lowered the wattage bulb we use dramamtically. The only things that run during the day are the furnace ,which IS gas thank goodness, and the computer and tv. The hubby rarely cooks during the day. Lunch is usually something he can heat up in the microwave or a sandwich.

However, once peak time changes to 5pm-9pm, I will be forced to pay the higher rate in order to eat dinner. I can't eat sandwiches all the time.

Quite frankly I think this is a money grab by the utlity company. They could do other things to promote energy savings. For example, in Italy, houses do NOT have 200 amp service as a matter of course, I think 'normal service' is 50amps. So if you try to run too many appliances at once, the breaker trips. This forces people to spread out what they are doing and reduces the drain on the grid.

I am really hating this as it is forcing me to spend all weekend doing laundry. (weekends and statutory holidays are just Expensive) I can't throw a load in the washer until after 9pm during the week, which means I'd be up till after 11pm to get one lousy load washed, dried and folded. Can't do it when I have to get up early to get to my job. Which I need to pay the enormous electrical bill.