Exciting times

We've had lots of hair raising, heart thumping, exciting times in the Jeannie Gray Knits household recently.  First, there was that whole Babadook experience.  My pulse is still racing.  There were several hours worth of conversation with the girl child regarding what made the movie so scary.  Things didn't jump out at you, much.  and it wasn't bloody & gory, at least not much.  Neither of us could put our fingers on exactly what made the movie so horrifying.  The dog bothered us both but beyond that, Sarah wasn't really able to voice what scared her, yet she readily admitted to blocking her closet doors shut & sleeping with the lights on for a night or two.  For me, the idea that the Babadook came out of a children's book was upsetting.  And the mom's breakdown reminded me of those early motherhood years of postpartum hormones and sleepless nights.  Those sleepless nights especially can make a mom go a little batty.  But still, what was it about the movie that was so terrifying?  Even after a lengthy conversation, neither of us could put a finger on it.  How about you? Have you seen Babadook?  Were you totally freaked out?  What did you find so scary about it?

Next up on the excitement list.... Avengers, Age of Ultron.  Sarah is a Huge Marvel fan and she intends to one day marry Captain America.  Me, I couldn't care less about the comics, but I love anything Joss Whedon touches.  I love his style of humor and sarcasm and how his characters interact with each other.  And, well, Thor.  Thor on the big screen always gets my heart pumping.  And then there was the group of eight seven year olds who sort of sat behind us.  They got the heart pumping too, but not necessarily in a good way.  It was so frustrating.  We went to an early show and there was hardly anyone in the movie theater, yet this group of eight seven year olds and one mom sat in the row directly behind us.  Then they proceeded to talk, yell, shush each other and run up and down the steps throughout the entire movie.  Sarah & I were both ready to turn around & go all Hulk on them.

Once Sarah and I had finished our individual "I hate seven year olds" rants and had stopped coming up with all kinds of fun, torturous things we would have liked to do to those kids for interfering with our time with Marvel, Captain America, Whedon witticisms and Thor, we then proceeded to have a long and lengthy, and sometimes heated, discussion over the actual outcome of dropping a small island on a large city.  Would it really cause global destruction? And would the dust cloud be worse if the island was intact or already turned into dust/rock chunks when it fell.  I have to say, I was impressed with Sarah's scientific knowledge and our discussion made me sad that we have finished our homeschooling years.  The argument would have made for an excellent homeschool science project.

And then there was today.  Today was the most hair raising, exciting time of all.

My baby got her drivers license.

And off she went.  All by herself.  Without me.

I'm having a hard time letting go.  I sure hope Captain America is out there somewhere, looking out for her safety.

OTN - Garnet Lace

On the needles today is still the lacy, slouchy, Christmas gift hat.

Hmmm, there's a lot to say about that photo.  First, Mr. Creepyhead is modeling it rather than Mrs. Creepyhead because Mrs. Creepyhead is more child sized than adult female sized and that hat will be a gift for someone who shares my DNA which means their head is the size of Texas.

Second, it's actually a pretty lace pattern.  Simple, but pretty.  It will look much better after blocking.  I hope!

Third, I can't tell if the photo is blurry or not.  One minute it is, the next minute it looks clear & crisp.  I've been dealing with a migraine since yesterday morning but luckily, (maybe, depending on how I look at it) rather than the massive headache, my vision is impaired.  Everything is sort of wavy & slightly acid trippy. (Or should that be tripy? Obviously I don't know my spelling rules & SpellCheck wasn't around in the 60's & doesn't recognize it.)  Anyway, my apologies if the photo is way out of focus.

Fourth, the hat is knit with Knit Picks Palette in Garnet Heather with my new Knitters Pride Karbonz US 3 interchangeable needles that I bought from Webs.  The needles are super pointy & great for lace.  I may have to ask Santa for a full set.

I haven't made a ton of progress on the hat because it's my "at home" project and I haven't been at home.  My daughter's drivers' ed has taken over our lives and we've been spending 6+ hours a day (counting travel time) there.  The class is too far away from our house to come home between dropping her off & picking her back up so I've been spending a LOT of time at Starbucks.  I haven't mastered the art of knitting lace, reading and people watching all at the same time.  And there are some very interesting people to watch at Starbucks.  But, progress will be made soon.  Sarah had her behind-the-wheel test last night & passed with flying colors.  Another week of classroom learning & she'll be done.

Flying Monkey Zombies

Look what I got...

I'll admit that I bought this yarn simply because of it's colorway name - Flying Monkey's Revenge.  I have always loved the Wizard of Oz and I have always been terrified of the Flying Monkeys.  They freak me out so badly that I'm a little creeped out when I see large birds like geese or herons fly overhead.  What if they aren't really geese or herons?  What if they are really flying monkeys?  I'm not sure why this yarn called to me since the idea of the flying monkeys seeking revenge is enough to give me nightmares but I had to have it.  HAD to!

If you want your own, I ordered mine from Simply Socks.  I'd heard good things about them but had never ordered anything from their website.  The other night, an ad for them popped up on Facebook.  Normally I avoid those ads like the plague but this one was for yarn, from a company I'd heard of, and the ad promised reduced yarn prices.....  Less than 10 minutes later I had a big ol' box of yarn on the way.  And on the way it was!  I received my big box of yarn less than 36 hours after ordering it!

Meanwhile, my daughters' drivers ed class is going well.  While she sits in class, I sit in either Starbucks or Barnes & Noble, drinking coffee, eating pastries & knitting and/or reading.  Thank goodness for their membership discount cards.  I can not fathom how broke I will be at the end of the four week class.

Another funny thing about drivers' ed....

I have no idea what the company does, but this is the sign on the office space next to the drivers' ed space.

I just pray the zombies & the flying monkeys don't get together.  Can you imagine the terror that would create??

As for being thankful today, I'm thankful for having heat in the house.  I know, that's not very creative or interesting but it's honest.  The polar vortex hit over night & it went from being in the mid 60's to the mid 20's.  It even snowed!  Not enough to stick, but the flakes did fall.  So yeah, I'm quite thankful for heat in the house.