Knitting etiquette

I started with a zig zag scarf pattern, but it looked funny with this fluffy yarn, and I was not in the mood to keep close track of where I was in a pattern. With the help of an eager three-year-old I ripped out the zig zag scarf and started over with the simplest of knitting patterns: 30 stitches across of garter stitch. It's relaxing just to knit without paying close attention to what I am doing. The problem now is that I can knit doing almost anything else that does not require my hands.

I had my knitting with me at church yesterday, and I knit between the youth service and the adult service. I put away my knitting when the music started, because I would much rather stand, praise God and sing than knit. However, when the sermon started I was so tempted to get my knitting out. I would never do this at my regular church, because our pastor is a very good teacher, and I really like to take notes. The preacher yesterday was good, but did not say anything that I had not heard before. He is a traveling evangelist who is very much like Billy Graham. His message was give your heart to Jesus today. He had a few points to elaborate on the theme, but it was not complicated and nothing that I had not heard before. An excellent message for those who have not decided to follow Jesus yet, but I gave my life to Jesus when I was a junior in high school, so I need no convincing to walk the aisle. Been there; done that (and I highly recommend it.)

So my question for my church-going friends is: is it OK to knit in church? Would it distract you from paying attention to the sermon? Would you think "How industrious, just like the women in Proverbs 31:19!" or "I can't believe she thinks it's OK to knit in church!". It's probably a moot point because we will be back at our regular church Sunday where I won't be tempted to knit, and probably won't even have it with me. I'm still curious if anyone has any suggestions for knitting etiquette. Mom told me that she saw a gal knitting at a stoplight the other day. That seems a little crazy to me. Don't worry, Brent. I don't think I will be trying to drive and knit anytime soon.

Their is a great online quiz for a change!

If reading the title this post was worse than the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard, then you are like me. My English usage is not perfect, (and probably gets worse the longer I am out of school) but I have a lot of pet peeves regarding the misuse of words. I liked this online quiz that tested my usage. (I only missed one! It was in the beginner category, which I found amusing.) Some of these errors I've even seen in newspapers and magazines. Please, if you are confused by there, their and they're, please learn them. Don't torture me by using the wrong word. I have a really hard time getting past errors to understand content. It is just too distracting. (The question I missed: I said he had a hardy appetite. He really has a hearty appetite.)

Link: The Commonly Confused Words Test written by shortredhead78 on OkCupid Free Online Dating

For the complete Answer Key, visit the blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

Street Party

It was gorgeous weather out tonight so we all went outside to play. Blue with his skateboard construction project and the girls with their bikes. Before long some neighborhood kids showed up and it was a real party. It took me awhile to convince the girls that it was time to go in the house, and just as I had succeeded, our friend and his kids showed up and sabotaged me. They came with skateboards and cones, and the minute the girls saw him I knew that bedtime would be late tonight. Blue abandoned his table saw and grabbed his board, and pretty soon the street in front of our house was a mass of kids big and small.

Note the second grader on the skateboard -- she rocks!
Here are the big kids:

Here is a close up of the safety cones. They are not solid construction so it will not hurt if you fall on top of them. However, if you run into them like Blue did, they are not so safe.

Here is Blue wishing he had been wearing his elbow and knee pads when the board hit the cone.

The last week

Well.... it looks like it's been a week since I took up longboarding.... and a week since I posted anything.

Coincidence?

Yes.

No..... I'm not in the hospital or anything.

I've been spending a good bit of time at the Silverfish longboarding forum, I've been working on another longboard and my friend and I have been going out to local hills at night. My wife says I'm obsessed. She's probably right.

It's funny..... we actually met some other longboarders while we were out tonight. Apparently we aren't the only crazy ones. I was trying out some new wheels I got today. They're very fast. I kinda scared myself a couple times.

Anyway..... with all my building and tweaking and riding and crashing..... this seems to hit pretty close to home. Well sorta....

Longboard pics

Following my friend's lead..... I decided to take one of my old snowboards and cut it up to make it into a longboard. I decided to go with the Sims because it's the most structurally sound of the old ones. Not to mention it's good and long...... so I'll have plenty of room to work with. I looked through pictures of longboards on the internet and sorta came up with a shape I like.

Here it is ready to cut with the shape mapped out on masking tape.
















After cutting.
















After sanding it smooth and pulling of all the old stickers and gunk..... oh.... and drilling the holes for the trucks.
















Add grip tape......
















and trucks and wheels......
















and you're ready to go. Right???

Not quite!

Hmmm...... seems a bit too flexy.
















Here's my solution..... at least for now. I cut a piece of plywood to run under the trucks to stiffen it up a bit. The flex is just about right..... but I don't really like the rough slab of plywood solution. I'm not sure what I'll do, but I don't think it'll stay like this for very long.
















It's a lot of fun to ride. My friend and I have been going out in search of hills the past 2 nights. I still have a few issues to work out with the way it turns....... but I'm pretty sure it's nothing a bit of tweaking can't handle.

Snowboards

While cleaning out the garage the other day we started pulling out all the old snowboards and we figured we'd get some pictures of them.

Here are mine. The Crazy Banana (neon) was a weird (sucky) design and is busted. The Sims (green) was a great board...... but it lost it's camber. The Division 23 (orange) was great..... but it broke. The Joyride (light blue) is the best of all of them...... and thankfully it still works fine.
















Here are Red's. The Barfoot is really cool.... in a retro sorta way. It looks like a gym floor with the wood and a thick glossy finish. It's a great board for riding in powder but on hardpack it's a bit too stiff to be much fun. The green one is her beloved "Gordon." It's a Division 23 and has a lizard on the bottom that just sorta seems like it should be named Gordon. It's just about perfect for her.




















Coming Soon -- Pictures of the transformation of the green Sims into a longboard skateboard.

Cruise anyone?

I can't imagine how horrible it would be to lose your home and not even be able to assess the damage. Your whole city underwater. However, if you must accept the government's help providing shelter, a cruise ship wouldn't be so bad.