Knit Four

Rather than doing my current project in feather and fan, I thought perhaps I should keep it simple since I'd really like to complete it before the baby starts school. Instead, I am doing this very easy diagonal baby blanket. The only change I've made is to use a different brand of yarn, as the shop was out of the pound of yarn called for in a color suitable for a baby boy. I'm making it in a dusky, denimy blue that feels very nice.

I wish I'd re-taken up with the knitting before. It would have filled lots of hours lost to Sims 2 University, that's for sure. :)

Lately I've been playing around with a variety of free online games to see what else is out there. I already know I don't like FPS, but there's so many interesting and surprisingly free games in the world...mini-games, RPGs, weird ones like Kitten Cannon. I might jot down some highlights later. So far, I think my favorite is one of those mini-games that I find so endlessly fascinating: Slideout.

The Doomsday Machine

I've enjoyed the digitally remastered Star Trek episodes. Star Trek was so cool to me back in the day, I was dismayed to realize I'd be in my 40's in the 21st century :) I wanted to be young enough to join Star Fleet because I was going to be Lt. Uhura someday. Hahaha!

Last week's show was one of my favorites, The Doomsday Machine, or as my sister and I like to call it, "The Ham Hock Episode" due to the machine's shape. While it's still going to be a favorite of mine, I have to admit that I miss the sparkly glittery innards of the old ham hock. It's much more impressive now with its spiffy CGI-ness. And, the shots of the Constellation adrift are really nice, especially when a little asteroid hits it and falls to pieces as one might expect.

But when they showed the interior of the ham hock, I was disappointed. Instead of enhancing its peculiar iridescent swirl, they replaced it entirely with an orange flame. Nice, but now how I remember it.

Oh, well. They aren't trying to please just me. At least they've been doing some of my favorite episodes so that's good.

My eyes are shutting on me, telling me I'm exhausted. Could it be because I was flipping channels last night and got hooked on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders, hosted by William Shatner? Until (I believe) 3AM whereupon I fell asleep, completely missing the top ten anyway? :(

Best Birthday Ever!

This year a bunch of places that I've signed up with in the past sent me emails with coupons for free food or percents off their goods for my birthday.

Today's free lunch was courtesy Red Robin's birthday club :) In my purse is a coupon for a free Coldstone Creamery creation. And then there was the coupon for a free lunch special at Knockout Pizza, which unfortunately expired today as they only gave me two days in which to use it. But it's the thought that counts!

My sister spent the day (and a lot of money) entertaining me and my usual lunchtime suspects. She took us all to Le Peep for breakfast as lunch, which is always a favorite with me. Then we went to dinner at Tajima's, which our Japanese community rep Midori had recommended to us for its okonomiyaki. Very tasty! Barb and I followed this with a visit to Mitsuwa to look at Japanese groceries and sundries, which remind us of Hawaii every time.

I bought a tetsubin (cast iron tea pot) for myself; I've always wanted one, and this one is gorgeous, with a little stand and two tea cups.

And then, there is the new love of my life: my pink DS lite! Yay! Rob very thoughtfully had it sent to my office last week and I took it with me on my trip, playing the heck out of Animal Crossing every chance I got. Once back at work, Paul let me borrow his Animal Crossing game, SimSlayer Joe lent me his DS and I went fruit foraging in Paul's little town :) Now I am the happy gardener with every single type of fruit in the world!

Combined with a wonderful weekend, the magic bay leaf dinner and cookies by Chris and all this goodness in the form of food and DS-ness, this has been a marvy-cool birthday.

Thank you, y'all! :)