complaints division

My horoscope did not warn me that this would be the week to not touch anything. Especially don't touch any technological anything! Nothing new, shiny or expensive should pass through these hands, apparently, but the astrologers told me nothing about it. Not even a fortune cookie. Where can I file a complaint?

I'll get on to the story of the messed-up new stuff in a minute, but first, my favorite topic, and yours too, I hope... knitting!

First of all, this bear. As of now the bear remains nameless. It's a slight adaptation of Jess Hutch's free bunny pattern (but with bear ears and a sweater). Pretty cute, huh? So the increases show up as big gaping holes in the knitting, his eyes are two different colors and the nasal embroidery is, well, less than perfect. I think these things all just add character, myself. In the true test of whether a stuffed animal has character: Simon doesn't like it. He gave it a sniff and then ran off during the photo shoot this morning. Character test, passed!

And now, just to prove I've been working on it, the back of my project for Jay's Celebration Challenge. Over the weekend I took advantage of the gorgeous spring weather to sit out in the backyard and finish the back (no, I haven't started the front yet).




the deceptively-simple stitch pattern, close up (from far away it looks hard)

I'm still trying to figure out how to do the vintage lacey neckline. This may be a job for a crochet hook (oh, the humanity!). Does anyone know of a good source for crochet edgings, particularly of the lacy variety? I have very few crochet references around the house.

So really, a crochet hook is the level of technology that daunts me. Computers... that's another dimension of scary. I can use them if they are working properly. If there's something wrong with them, well, I'm scrooged, as my mom would say.

We got some brand spanking new computers at work this week. The new desktops around the office are all fired up and raring to go. My new laptop, however, is back in its box, because either I fried it or it fried itself during the setup procedure last night. People, I had barely gotten past what language it was supposed to talk to me in, when the damn thing went haywire. It was a terrifying nuclear meltdown that left me stupidly facing the silent gray screen with no thought in my head but a glass of red wine.

I turned it off and left it overnight to rest. Thinking it might all have been a bad dream, I came back in this morning determined that I had just thought the wrong thoughts during the setup yesterday and there was really nothing wrong with the machine. But alack, oh woe... the badness came back again with a vengeance during the setup rigamarole. It was horrible, horrible. I don't think I can talk about it anymore.

Meanwhile, my old laptop struggles along, running out of memory for all the demanding tasks I apparently give it to do, like 'save' and 'edit.' I must be such a task-master.

To make matters worse, I got chocolate on my pants yesterday - my new suit pants. I was wearing the beautiful heathered tan wool/silk suit I got from the clearance rack at Banana Republic last week. I knew my bourgie decadence would catch up with me! It's jeans and t-shirts for me from now on while eating. No more snacks while dressed in anything above business-casual!
Thank the goddesses of fashion that Flems is always just an email away. Her sensible chocolate-removal-advice kept me calm in the face of meltdown... get it? chocolate? melt... oh, you got it. Sorry. Speaking of which, I think I have some more of that chocolate right here in my desk! Hooray! Luckily, the packaging isn't too high-tech, otherwise I'd be forced to call in a consultant.