I have heat!!

The heating guy came out around 1 this afternoon and left shortly before 5. It turns out that my flame sensor (the same part that broke on my furnace at the townhome) had broken on my furnace. And he was poking around inside and showed me how the motor was probably going to die within the year too.

It's all fixed now....to the tune of $585.64. Ouch. I guess it could have been worse. And now I've got a service agreement with this place so they'll be coming back in the spring to check my air conditioner too. The guy said that if the air conditioner is in the same shape the furnace was in, then he's surpised it ran this last summer without problems.

Knitting news: I'm almost done with the orange dog sweater. I've got to pick up around the front leg holes and knit some ribbing, then seam the whole thing shut and it's done. Other dog sweater will be delayed until Sarah's present is done. And I'm waiting for Miss Lime to email me a sock pattern to test knit. I'm stalled out on the Ugly/RPM sock until Diane gets back to me with her shoe size. Started the Marble Arches sock tonight that was in the November Rockin' Sock Club kit.

Guess that's it. I'm off to bed!

*shiver* again

Ok, so my furnace decided that even though I had fixed it it still didn't want to work. I've got a call in to a heating place and since my fireplace is still working, I told them it wasn't an emergency (plus I didn't want to pay huge emergency service charge). I'm just waiting for a call from the office when it opens, and then I'll find out when they'll be able to come out and fix the dumb thing. So I guess that means I'll be staying up most of the day, then calling in to work tonight since I probably won't get enough sleep to function. Stupid furnace! *kicks the furnace*

*shiver*

So I was sitting in my living room about 10 minutes ago thinking 'Dang!! It's getting cold in here!!' Now I realize that it's way below freezing outside, but when my thermostat is set at 72, I shouldn't have to be under a blanket as I sit in my living room, trying to knit but being unable to feel the needles because my fingers have gone numb.

Check the thermostat. Sure enough, it's set for 72, but currently reading 61 in the house. Check the furnace. Not running. GRRR!!! What is up with me and large appliances?!? First the drama with the air conditioner at my townhome, then the furnace there went out as well. Now this one!!!

Got down on my hands and knees to check the little flashy light thing that tells you what's wrong. Burner(s) failed to ignite. So now here it is at 12:45 AM and I'm trying to find the instruction manual for the furnace so I don't freeze. Thank goodness my fireplace still works. I've got that running now.

I'm currently draining air out of the gas line according to the instructions, so keep your fingers crossed that this works and I don't have to pay someone to come out and fix this and/or that I don't make the house go boom when the furnace (hopefully) ignites.

ETA: IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!! Who needs a man to figure something like this out? Not me!!! Gosh that was empowering....after the moment of panic when I was thinking "What if the house blows up?"

Crisis averted.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I know this is a little early, but I'm leaving in the morning to go to my parents' for the next three days. I'll be back Thursday night and then I've got to work the weekend.

Christmas knitting continues. I had a major breakthrough this afternoon about how to make the retina-searing orange sweater easier/quicker. Yay!!! Then it'll just be the little dog's sweater and Sarah's present (forgot that she reads this blog and almost said what it was I was making her....whoops). I might actually finish everything in time.

And Mom had me order myself a Woolee Winder for my spinning wheel for Christmas!!! Yay!!!

In other news....my neighbor cop that I had kind of given up on since I hadn't talked to him in about a month and a half emailed me today!!! Twice!!! And he told me that he still wants to take me out to lunch or dinner sometime. *does a happy dance*

Sock knitting....not so much in the happy dance category. I tried to start the Snakes on a Sock pattern from Lime and Violet, but I just wasn't feeling it. So I ripped back the inch and a half that I'd gotten done last night. I'm going to start on some RPM socks in Scottish Highlands for a friend from Scotland. I hope that she likes them!

Guess I'd better finish getting ready for work and try to start packing a little. Hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and gets to have one of those lovely tryptophan-induced naps.

Road trip teaser and finished Jaywalkers

Here's the one and only pictures I took on the Twin Cities yarn crawl. It's of the sock yarn wall at Borealis Yarns. I couldn't even fit the whole thing in the picture, this wall was so big!!


And here are the finished Jaywalkers made in the Lisa Souza LimeNViolet colorway. I've got about 10 yards of the yarn leftover. Modifications included knitting them on size 2 dpns, and making the cuff 9" long. I wore them to the Omaha Weavers and Spinners Guild sale today and had about 5 ladies just gush over them.


And, of course, the Christmas knitting update. Found yarn for Mom's dog's sweater in the cities. I was going to start with that one since it's smaller and with less eye-searing yarn (hunter safety orange). But then Dad called to tell me how his day had gone with pheasant hunting. And he told me all about how, at one point, Cozy had been so cold she'd just been standing there shaking.....so of course that got my guilt-o-meter to shoot way up, so I'm starting the big dog sweater first. But here's the kicker.....Dad doesn't even know I'm knitting his dog a hunting sweater!!!!! So he was able to lay on the guilt without even knowing it. So now I've got three balls of this retina-searing orange staring at me and mocking me to turn it into a dog sweater. Guess I'd better get started.

Minneapolis rocked!!

Well, I've recovered from my weekend in the twin cities. A friend from college got married this last weekend, so I scheduled in a little yarn debauchery as well. Got to 4 different shops. Two I'd definetely go back to, one is a maybe and the fourth is a definete no.

Total damage included enough yarn to make the cardigan for Arwen from the Winter '06 IK, 7 skeins of sock yarn, some norwegian yarn to make myself some mittens, and some cascade for a dog sweater for my mom's dog. And some sock blockers, and a silk cap for spinning. All in all, it could have been much worse.

Pictures and a better write-up will follow.

I was very very bad....

My STR purchase from after my bad night at work finally arrived on Monday. Beautiful, perfect colors. I got Chanticleer, Rocktober, and Love in Idleness. On the right is the October Rockin' Sock Club colorway of Pink Granite. I signed up for the 2007 sock club as well. I guess I'd better get my butt in gear and knit some socks!



Speaking of knitting socks....I think I finally found a way to have Jaywalkers without having the 20 minutes wrestling match getting them on and off my feet. I cast on a new pair using the larger size and size 2 dpns. Things seem to be going well and I can easily fit them over my heel. I'm using the Lisa Souza LimeNViolet colorway and I'm loving how it's coming out. I'll have a picture of it when the first one is done.

No progress on Christmas knitting. Why do Christmas knitting when I've got all the pretty sock yarn to tempt me?

I survived another Halloween

I will say that trick-or-treating in this neighborhood is very different from in my old neighborhood 2 miles further east. Here it was mostly very small children (not older than 8 or so) with their parents trailing along behind. They were all very polite and remembered to say thank you. When I was at my townhome, so of the kids wouldn't even say "trick-or-treat" when I opened the door. I had maybe 30 kids come around and a ton of parents complimented me on my jack o'lantern. Thanks to everyone who said something here too.

I've still go to go find a present for Mary's wedding. And find an outfit to wear.

Christmas present knitting is zooming along. #2 is complete and I'm about 80% done with present #3.

Guess that's everything!