New Mini-van
Originally uploaded by Mary The Digital Knitter
Here it is. It got here at 1506 Friday.
Showing posts with label Mini-Vans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mini-Vans. Show all posts
20 October 2007
19 October 2007
Mini-Van News
The mini-van is back from the Toyota shop, all fixed, and Mobility Works is cleaning it up for delivery. It should be here by mid-afternoon. I've got to clear off the data card in my camera so I'll have room for lots and lots of photos. Today is a beautiful day, calm, cool, and sunny so the photos should come out well. We're supposed to have high winds again tomorrow but by then the new van will be safely tucked into the garage.
We're members of a rare breed here in SoCal; we have a two-car garage with two cars in it. The rareness of this breed in caused by geology. A lot of California is on or near an earthquake fault so our houses tend to be built on slabs. Slab floors pretty much rule out basements. However, we still have the stuff that people with basements fill them with. It has to go somewhere and that's out in the garage. Pretty soon the garage is full of stuff and the cars are parked on the driveway. Fortunately, even up here in the High Desert, the weather is moderate enough that this isn't a problem. We usually don't have enough humidity to have frost or even dew, for example.
We're members of a rare breed here in SoCal; we have a two-car garage with two cars in it. The rareness of this breed in caused by geology. A lot of California is on or near an earthquake fault so our houses tend to be built on slabs. Slab floors pretty much rule out basements. However, we still have the stuff that people with basements fill them with. It has to go somewhere and that's out in the garage. Pretty soon the garage is full of stuff and the cars are parked on the driveway. Fortunately, even up here in the High Desert, the weather is moderate enough that this isn't a problem. We usually don't have enough humidity to have frost or even dew, for example.
18 October 2007
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
I haven't posted anything here recently because I was hoping to have some good news and avoiding some bad news. I still don't have the first, but I've accepted the latter, so I can actually write about it.
It's the Bigfoot Shawl. I had made an error and frogged one pattern repeat and reknitted it at about the eighth pattern repeat, which was a bunch of rows back. I'd managed to miss a yarn over and, therefore, multiple stitches in subsequent rows, so when I reknitted it I didn't really have enough yarn and the entire repeat was tight for six rows. I'd told myself it would come out in the blocking, that no one would notice, that it was OK, but it was preying on my mind and the day before yesterday I frogged 36 rows (averaging 346 stitches). I am not a happy knitter right now.
I must say that the yarn Knit Picks Gloss, has held up beautifully in the face of this abuse. I put a Options Harmony US 4 needle onto the longest cable and picked up the stitches of a purl row after ripping back. The yarn cooperated with this, not running or anything. The live stitches just sat there, ready to slip onto the sharp little needle. The yarn is 70% merino and 30% silk, so this probably isn't too surprising.
The good news I'd hoped to share was the delivery of the modified mini-van. It was supposed to come up early this week, but the wind was so bad we had them hold off. The old van had gotten sand-blasted in the Dryden parking lot about four days after we'd gotten it, so we're kind of jumpy about too much wind and a new vehicle. You may have seen the news stories about the big multi-vehicle, multi-fatality crash on SR-14 here Tuesday, caused by a terrible dust storm. The wind was gusting up to 50 mph here on Tuesday and Wednesday. They were going to bring it up today, which is a beautiful cool, calm day, but the ABS light came on, so they took it to Keys Toyota (Toyota problems get fixed by Toyota, modification problems get fixed by Mobility Works) and it looks as if we'll get it tomorrow afternoon.
I went by Tuesday and rented a 10' x 7.5' storage space and I'm going to get the moving guys in on Monday, 29 Oct. I have a queen hide-a-bed here at my house to go to a local charity. It'll be replaced by the couch and loveseat from my mom's house. The rest of the furniture from her house (a queen bedroom set and some other pieces), plus a whole bunch of boxed stuff, will go to the storage space. There's also a solid rock maple hutch that's stopping at the storage space for a while, before going to live with my friend. Once the house is empty, I'll get the painter in and the house will go onto the market.
I picked up paint chips from Frazee Paint on Monday. They gave me an entire swatch book, too, and there are some beautiful colors in it. I love some of the accent colors, but not for a house I'm trying to sell. I'm inclined to paint the entire interior in Swiss Coffee, which is the color of our Palm Desert house and will be the color of our Lancaster house. It's a very popular warm off-white that I really like. However, I have to see how it looks with the drapes before I decide.
It's actually been a busy week; in addition to all this stuff I had a routine doctor's appointment yesterday and a mammogram today. Then tomorrow I go to the ophthalmologist for my yearly exam. Plus I need to meet with the cleaner and painter for estimates. I'm trying to get the cleaner in at the end of next week.
I also tried out my new six-quart crock pot from Overstock.com. I got a really nice chuck roast at Albertson's and bought it on the spur of the moment. Normally I plan my grocery shopping so that I don't have to run all over the store but not this time. Once I got the roast I had to go back and get the vegetables. It came out really well and I was pleased. Cool-weather food....
It's the Bigfoot Shawl. I had made an error and frogged one pattern repeat and reknitted it at about the eighth pattern repeat, which was a bunch of rows back. I'd managed to miss a yarn over and, therefore, multiple stitches in subsequent rows, so when I reknitted it I didn't really have enough yarn and the entire repeat was tight for six rows. I'd told myself it would come out in the blocking, that no one would notice, that it was OK, but it was preying on my mind and the day before yesterday I frogged 36 rows (averaging 346 stitches). I am not a happy knitter right now.
I must say that the yarn Knit Picks Gloss, has held up beautifully in the face of this abuse. I put a Options Harmony US 4 needle onto the longest cable and picked up the stitches of a purl row after ripping back. The yarn cooperated with this, not running or anything. The live stitches just sat there, ready to slip onto the sharp little needle. The yarn is 70% merino and 30% silk, so this probably isn't too surprising.
The good news I'd hoped to share was the delivery of the modified mini-van. It was supposed to come up early this week, but the wind was so bad we had them hold off. The old van had gotten sand-blasted in the Dryden parking lot about four days after we'd gotten it, so we're kind of jumpy about too much wind and a new vehicle. You may have seen the news stories about the big multi-vehicle, multi-fatality crash on SR-14 here Tuesday, caused by a terrible dust storm. The wind was gusting up to 50 mph here on Tuesday and Wednesday. They were going to bring it up today, which is a beautiful cool, calm day, but the ABS light came on, so they took it to Keys Toyota (Toyota problems get fixed by Toyota, modification problems get fixed by Mobility Works) and it looks as if we'll get it tomorrow afternoon.
I went by Tuesday and rented a 10' x 7.5' storage space and I'm going to get the moving guys in on Monday, 29 Oct. I have a queen hide-a-bed here at my house to go to a local charity. It'll be replaced by the couch and loveseat from my mom's house. The rest of the furniture from her house (a queen bedroom set and some other pieces), plus a whole bunch of boxed stuff, will go to the storage space. There's also a solid rock maple hutch that's stopping at the storage space for a while, before going to live with my friend. Once the house is empty, I'll get the painter in and the house will go onto the market.
I picked up paint chips from Frazee Paint on Monday. They gave me an entire swatch book, too, and there are some beautiful colors in it. I love some of the accent colors, but not for a house I'm trying to sell. I'm inclined to paint the entire interior in Swiss Coffee, which is the color of our Palm Desert house and will be the color of our Lancaster house. It's a very popular warm off-white that I really like. However, I have to see how it looks with the drapes before I decide.
It's actually been a busy week; in addition to all this stuff I had a routine doctor's appointment yesterday and a mammogram today. Then tomorrow I go to the ophthalmologist for my yearly exam. Plus I need to meet with the cleaner and painter for estimates. I'm trying to get the cleaner in at the end of next week.
I also tried out my new six-quart crock pot from Overstock.com. I got a really nice chuck roast at Albertson's and bought it on the spur of the moment. Normally I plan my grocery shopping so that I don't have to run all over the store but not this time. Once I got the roast I had to go back and get the vegetables. It came out really well and I was pleased. Cool-weather food....
19 June 2007
Argosy Baby Blanket
Argosy Baby Blanket
Originally uploaded by Mary The Digital Knitter
Here's my Argosy Baby Blanket. It's more nearly done than I thought it was. I haven't knitted much on it recently, because it's too warm to sit around with a woolly blanket on my lap. However, seeing how little I have to go, maybe I'll try to do a little every day. It's cool enough in the mornings here (68° F when I got up).
Looking at this photo, I'm convinced I can see a pattern in the color placement. It looks like a moiré pattern, doesn't it? Or maybe a Bargello flame pattern?
Let me suggest to anyone who wants to knit this blanket that you not use sport weight. Try worsted or heavy worsted (aran). If I had, I'd have been done a while ago with the number of stitches I've knitted.
And, especially, don't use Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport. It has long stretches where it's thinner than fingering weight. The color of this yarn disguised that a bit, but it would look wretched otherwise. Since the yarn is merino it should "bloom" a bit after being washed, but I obviously haven't done that yet. Still, I don't think all the blooming in the world would be enough.
22 May 2007
Aarrgh!
In my previous posting, Photo Finish!, I asked for comments and then somehow managed to disable commenting. If I'd known what I was doing, I would never have done it. It's taken me two days to figure out how to fix it, in fact.
It is fixed now. Please re-read the posting and make comments. Please. I really want to hear what you think.
I don't know any knitters in person, so I don't get any feedback on my knitting. My dear husband is both honest and tactful, but he's mostly evaluating general appearance.
Speaking of dear husbands, mine brought an entire family of Iowans to our marriage and they're wonderful targets of opportunity for a knitter. He can knit, but hasn't done so since the '50s, when he learned. Still, it makes him very empathetic when I'm frogging away.
And, totally unrelated to knitting, you may remember reading about our going to the Honda dealer to look at mini-vans. Well, tomorrow the van modifiers are putting a modified Honda mini-van on a flat-bed and bringing it here (from the San Fernando Valley, 140 miles away) so we can look it over and drive it a bit. This van isn't the one we'd get, because it doesn't have the sunroof or the navigation system, but it is the right color (I told my husband he could have any color he wanted as long as it was red). The right one for us is going to be coming off the assembly line in three or four weeks and the modifiers want to claim it. I guess the next one won't be available for a couple of months.
We never did go look at the Toyota mini-vans. There's so much unanimity regarding the great ride of the Honda that we just didn't bother. Our current mini-van doesn't have the best handling qualities in the world and I've decided that's not going to happen with the new one.
This van is going to be hideously expensive. I keep telling myself that it's not that much per year if we keep it for ten years. After all, we bought the current van in '99, so it's not as if we do this very often. We bought my car in '96 and the convertible in '92 (we dropped a new engine and transaxle in it in '01, though).
And last, but not least, Vivian Høxbro's Domino Knitting showed up on my doorstep this morning. I was convinced by the comments I got here earlier that I really needed this book. I also bought Roxana Bartlett's Slip-Stitch Knitting and volumes 7, 8, and 9 of the Weldon reprints from Interweave Press. I'd bought the first six volumes of the Weldon series when they first came out and then, for some reason I don't remember, stopped getting them. I decided I'd better get the rest of the series now, before any more go out of print. I got volumes 10, 11, and 12 from Amazon for a slight discount and free shipping.
I'm not entirely sure I'll ever do much in mosaic/slip-stitch colorwork. I found the Mason-Dixon ball-band washcloth fairly attractive worked in a variegated yarn with a coordinating solid, so I thought I'd look further at the technique. I don't care for Fair Isle or intarsia. Most of you are probably too young to remember the Mary Maxim intarsia sweaters of the '50s, but if you do, you probably understand my aversion instinctively. As for Fair Isle, maybe it's just that I never liked the Duke of Windsor.
It is fixed now. Please re-read the posting and make comments. Please. I really want to hear what you think.
I don't know any knitters in person, so I don't get any feedback on my knitting. My dear husband is both honest and tactful, but he's mostly evaluating general appearance.
Speaking of dear husbands, mine brought an entire family of Iowans to our marriage and they're wonderful targets of opportunity for a knitter. He can knit, but hasn't done so since the '50s, when he learned. Still, it makes him very empathetic when I'm frogging away.
And, totally unrelated to knitting, you may remember reading about our going to the Honda dealer to look at mini-vans. Well, tomorrow the van modifiers are putting a modified Honda mini-van on a flat-bed and bringing it here (from the San Fernando Valley, 140 miles away) so we can look it over and drive it a bit. This van isn't the one we'd get, because it doesn't have the sunroof or the navigation system, but it is the right color (I told my husband he could have any color he wanted as long as it was red). The right one for us is going to be coming off the assembly line in three or four weeks and the modifiers want to claim it. I guess the next one won't be available for a couple of months.
We never did go look at the Toyota mini-vans. There's so much unanimity regarding the great ride of the Honda that we just didn't bother. Our current mini-van doesn't have the best handling qualities in the world and I've decided that's not going to happen with the new one.
This van is going to be hideously expensive. I keep telling myself that it's not that much per year if we keep it for ten years. After all, we bought the current van in '99, so it's not as if we do this very often. We bought my car in '96 and the convertible in '92 (we dropped a new engine and transaxle in it in '01, though).
And last, but not least, Vivian Høxbro's Domino Knitting showed up on my doorstep this morning. I was convinced by the comments I got here earlier that I really needed this book. I also bought Roxana Bartlett's Slip-Stitch Knitting and volumes 7, 8, and 9 of the Weldon reprints from Interweave Press. I'd bought the first six volumes of the Weldon series when they first came out and then, for some reason I don't remember, stopped getting them. I decided I'd better get the rest of the series now, before any more go out of print. I got volumes 10, 11, and 12 from Amazon for a slight discount and free shipping.
I'm not entirely sure I'll ever do much in mosaic/slip-stitch colorwork. I found the Mason-Dixon ball-band washcloth fairly attractive worked in a variegated yarn with a coordinating solid, so I thought I'd look further at the technique. I don't care for Fair Isle or intarsia. Most of you are probably too young to remember the Mary Maxim intarsia sweaters of the '50s, but if you do, you probably understand my aversion instinctively. As for Fair Isle, maybe it's just that I never liked the Duke of Windsor.
06 April 2007
Shopping For A Mini-Van
We're currently driving a modified 2000 Olds Silhouette mini-van. It's out of the extended warranty now and it's getting a little old, even though it has less than 60,000 mi on it. The modification computer developed some problems and we had to disconnect the power door. Then the microswitch on the ramp quit working and now it doesn't extend unless dragged out by hand. In addition, the modification systems were drawing a lot of electricity and running down the battery. We hadn't noticed that when it was being driven to work at least three time a week but we sure did notice it after we retired.
So we've been looking around for a new mini-van. We won't actually buy the van; the folks doing the modification do that. They're actually dealers for a wide variety of vehicles. Anyway, we decide what we want, consult with them about the mods, leave a deposit, and wait for them to drop the new mini-van off. They'll even take the old one as a trade-in. If it weren't that it needed work on the mods, we'd probably try to sell it ourselves.
So, anyway, there are three possibilities, Honda, Toyota, and I forget (hey, we're just starting). At the southern end of our development, right on I-10 at Washington, we have an auto mall with both Honda and Toyota dealerships. So I dragged my husband off to look at Hondas. We got a very accommodating salesman who brought the exact model (fortunately in the wrong color) we were considering around and let us sit in it and play with the gadgets. It even had a sunroof, which nearly clinched the sale.
It had really slipped my mind how nice a new car is. I was ready to take that baby home right then, without even looking at the other two possibilities. Fortunately, I'd known I'd feel this way and I was prepared for it, so all we left with was some literature.
Not yet being totally reconciled to a lifetime of driving a mini-van, I also got some S2000 literature. I wouldn't let the salesman bring one of those around to look at because I know exactly how weak my willpower can be. Besides, I'm still thinking red Mustang convertible, have been in high school when the Mustang was introduced (we had a '64½ Mustang convertible for years and years, until we got the Olds Cutlass convertible in '92). Notice, however, that there's no mention at all of visiting a Ford dealer. I know better than that.
Next week it's the Toyota dealership. I need to do a little research on the Web, so I'll know what to expect. I'm pretty sure their mini-van will be just as nice as is the Honda.
I need to go set the pork chops and steaks out on the counter to warm up for dinner. I'm going to grill like crazy this afternoon. I got about ten of those thick boneless center-cut pork chops and four New York steaks. I'll grill them all and then freeze most of them. Then when I don't want to heat the house up on a miserably hot night I can just thaw out a package and nuke something potato-y. I might marinate some of the chops, now that I think about it.
So we've been looking around for a new mini-van. We won't actually buy the van; the folks doing the modification do that. They're actually dealers for a wide variety of vehicles. Anyway, we decide what we want, consult with them about the mods, leave a deposit, and wait for them to drop the new mini-van off. They'll even take the old one as a trade-in. If it weren't that it needed work on the mods, we'd probably try to sell it ourselves.
So, anyway, there are three possibilities, Honda, Toyota, and I forget (hey, we're just starting). At the southern end of our development, right on I-10 at Washington, we have an auto mall with both Honda and Toyota dealerships. So I dragged my husband off to look at Hondas. We got a very accommodating salesman who brought the exact model (fortunately in the wrong color) we were considering around and let us sit in it and play with the gadgets. It even had a sunroof, which nearly clinched the sale.
It had really slipped my mind how nice a new car is. I was ready to take that baby home right then, without even looking at the other two possibilities. Fortunately, I'd known I'd feel this way and I was prepared for it, so all we left with was some literature.
Not yet being totally reconciled to a lifetime of driving a mini-van, I also got some S2000 literature. I wouldn't let the salesman bring one of those around to look at because I know exactly how weak my willpower can be. Besides, I'm still thinking red Mustang convertible, have been in high school when the Mustang was introduced (we had a '64½ Mustang convertible for years and years, until we got the Olds Cutlass convertible in '92). Notice, however, that there's no mention at all of visiting a Ford dealer. I know better than that.
Next week it's the Toyota dealership. I need to do a little research on the Web, so I'll know what to expect. I'm pretty sure their mini-van will be just as nice as is the Honda.
I need to go set the pork chops and steaks out on the counter to warm up for dinner. I'm going to grill like crazy this afternoon. I got about ten of those thick boneless center-cut pork chops and four New York steaks. I'll grill them all and then freeze most of them. Then when I don't want to heat the house up on a miserably hot night I can just thaw out a package and nuke something potato-y. I might marinate some of the chops, now that I think about it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
