Positive things

Calvin passed swimming! Talk about a gift. I think I'll sign him up for semiprivate Ultra 3 since he doesn't seem to learn anything in regular classes. The first go-round was fabulous - we had an awesome teacher with some maturity who demanded respect like a regular teacher. This was perfect for C. He go over his pathological fear of getting his face wet and it was the best intro to swimming lessons ever. However for both subsequent rounds of Ultra 2 he's had the same teenage girl and spent the entire time horsing around with Ben, who is a terrible influence. I was not pleased to have her a second time, but due to my colossal eff-up I had no choice. Semi private is twice the price but will be worth is as now he has to actually learn to swim properly. Jack? Enrolled in Horseplay 2? I cannot imagine he'll get to Preschool 3 and even if he does I'm going to redo Ultra 2. He's a maniac and thinks he can swim.

Ravelry. How did people function before the internet? I think the information sharing that occurs over the web is the best part about it. Me and my trusty knitting machine have benefited immeasurably from the wealth of resources. The MK board on Ravelry is awesome. The people are so knowledgeable, everyone seems to have dealt with the issues before and there is so much generosity and willingness to share information. I have yet to see a snarky post saying "check before you post" on those boards. Just a nice gentle link to the previous information. And what information! No service manual could ever impart the collective knowledge of these women. I swear, any conceivable manipulation on any conceivable machine - they've done it. Manuals, punch cards, all freely offered. Problem-solving heaven.

We shall not discuss my recent attempts to knit lace on my machine. Suffice to say it got better when I was not attempting to use the ribber cards to knit lace (moron). And discovered the tension setting went the opposite way than what I thought (7 is tight, not 1 - read the instructions, ding dong). I think I learned better when my short term memory wasn't fried.

The ukulele. Shall I get sucked into attempting to learn another instrument? I am easily swayed. It's small, relatively cheap, comes with a ready-made group to hang with. (Not that that's really a bonus for the non-group loving me, but hey, I could change. Stop laughing.) Plus I could play stuff like Big Rock Candy Mountain and sent the kiddies into paroxysms of ecstasy. (Who am I kidding? They hate my singing. But Calvin loved the uke dude who came to school.) And I could play at Jo's parties. Finally. Instead of getting wasted and pretending I can play the bass.

I love my upside-down, no-purl, eternal Monkey socks. They have been on the needles for ages and cause me no stress at all. I pick them up when I need some light knitting, and aside from the short row heel - done! - I don't have to concentrate more that the tiniest amount. That being said, I got a bit cocky and was not even checking the pattern until I took a good look at them and discovered I had been reversing the SSKs and K2togs for the last few repeats.
Yeah, there might be a little mohair in there. Or angora. Something fluffy.

Not a tragic mistake and an excellent illustration on the difference between left- and right-leaning decreases. I took this pic with my camera resting on my desk to illustrate this and it's awesome! I love the total close-up and SURPRISE - if the camera doesn't wobble, the pic isn't blurry!

(There might be one other potentially positive thing, but I cannot discuss it for fear the fates will kick me in the arse.)

And have you noticed my lack of profanity lately? I'm trying to clean up my potty-mouth a little.