Phew! A whole week has gone by and I have no idea where it went. Well, that’s not entirely true. I had Post Election Stress Disorder for a day or two, but got over that. Thanks for all the comments to the last post. It was a crazy few days but all we can do is move forward. And a special thanks to KayTee for being hip to the idea of agreeing to disagree. I agree. Hey, lookit that, we agree! I’m touched that you were concerned. However, I haven’t been away because I’m depressed, mostly I’ve been away because I’m obsessed.

That’s right, I’ll come clean and admit that I’ve been staying up way past my bedtime, ignoring my wifely responsibilities, and even shunning the affection of the cats. My eyes are bloodshot, I’m twitchy, I haven’t had a home-cooked meal in days, and I’m getting to the uncomfortable underwear at the bottom of the drawer because laundry is just not that important to me. Not anymore. For you see, I have replaced most social contact with Ratchet and Clank. For those of you in the know (and it looks like there are a few of you based on some comments I received a couple of posts ago), you are no doubt in the same mess I am. You’re dreaming of things exploding and you want to smash everything you see with a wrench to see if bolts come out. For those of you not in the know, well, it’s hard to explain. Ratchet and Clank is a game for the Playstation2. It stars a cute fox-like creature and his robot sidekick, whom he wears as a backpack. There are all sorts of crazy weapons (including one that changes enemies into sweet little grazing sheep!), and there are funny clips telling the story as you go. The actual name of the game is “Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal”, so it’s pretty cheeky (har har). What’s hard to explain is why I’m so powerless against this it. There are other similar games (“Jak and Daxter”, for instance), and I’ve played them, but they just don’t have the same soul-sucking je ne sais quoi. So I have already made my apologies to my family and friends for my absence in their lives, and I will play this game every minute that I can until I finish. It usually takes two weeks or so, but it was my birthday last Saturday and people kept wanting to take me out and give me gifts and stuff, so it really cut into my game-time. Once I’m done, I will have purged my system and will not need to touch the Playstation until next year, when the new Ratchet and Clank comes out (this is the third in the series, and I don’t think they’re about to release their hold on me just yet).

Speaking of my birthday, this was a pretty great one! I turned 35 and I thank everyone who still cards me a nightclubs. Friday night, we had sushi, then went to this thing called Tomb. It seemed like it was going to be really cool. An immersive gaming experience with puzzles and great special effects. It was not. Actually, it was kind of goofy and cheesy and the “tour guide” was so bored, or had to pee, or was just tired of watching people trying to have fun that he kept solving the puzzles for us. But sometimes goofy stuff is just as much fun as actual fun stuff is and we had a good time making each other laugh. Saturday we had dinner with my folks and I had steak covered with lobster. Too bad they couldn’t have topped it off with baby Spotted Owls for maximum decadence. Maybe for the big 4-OH.

I got some great gifts, too. My brother and sister-in-law gave me Stitch n Bitch Nation and another knitting-book-that-I-forgot-the-name-of but-it’s-really-nice-and-has-some-good-lace-patterns. I love the patterns in the new SnB, too! Great stuff. Charlene gave me a Get Fuzzy page-a-day calendar and I am staying away from it so I don’t just read the whole thing right off the bat. Love me some Get Fuzzy! Charlene’s cousin, Laura, gave me a pretty glass mosaic candle holder with a huge pumpkin spice candle. My friend Kristin gave me the Rock, Paper, Scissors Strategy Guide. My friend Victor came through with the Department 56! I love Halloween stuff and my birthday is conveniently located right afterwards. He got me a cute black cat lantern and this dip bowl.

Probably the best gift I got was a ball winder from my parents. I got myself a wooden swift to go with it (with a 50% off coupon for Joanne fabrics, I couldn’t resist). This is the most amazing pair of things ever (many men will disagree, but it’s true!). I am now in possession of the most perfect balls you could imagine (again, the fellas may take umbrage, but . . .). The best part is that even if the cats try to mess with it, they can’t. The spinning swift just knocks them in the head and they get all confused and run away. Truly a wonder.

Before I move on to knitting stuff, I just need to tell you about this amazing show I went to Monday night. Yes, I put the video game controller down and I am so glad I did. We saw a guy named Andrew Bird at Johnny D’s in Somerville. He’s heading to Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, and then France (his website had dates and places). If you are nearby, do yourself a favor and go see this guy. He’s the real deal. A true talent. He accompanies himself of violin while he’s playing guitar, it’s the coolest thing. He starts off most songs by playing some pretty violin riffs. Suddenly, he’s got a guitar, but you’re still hearing the violin. He actually records and layers violin pieces right there, then loops them so they play during the song. He uses pedals to stop and start them during refrains. It’s really amazing. He also plays a sweet xylophone, whistles beautifully and has a gorgeous voice. I’ve dubbed him the Everything Bagel of singer/songwiters. This guy has it all. And he’s cute and quirky, to boot! If you like Grant Lee Phillips, Jeff Buckley, Freedy Johnston, Jonathan Richman, and/or Paul Simon, you will love this guy. Seriously. I bought a CD of his called “The Swimming Hour” at the show and the first 5 songs are all the kind you play over and over. I haven’t heard the last half of the CD much because I’m stuck on the first, but there’s good stuff all over it. There are some complicated, swirling songs with violin that makes me feel like what figure skating looks like floaty and bendy and free. There are also bluesy, rockabilly numbers, a pretty tango, and some catchy Beatlesque tunes. I don’t think he sticks to one genre, unless you consider Freakin’ Awesome a genre.

Man, do I ever get chatty when I’ve been away.

OK, now to knitting. The Manly is done. I repeat, we have completion on the Manly. Earlier I posted that I wasn’t all that happy with it, but now that Jon has worn it a couple of times, I really love it. The sleeves have sort of evened out and you can’t really see the puffiness. I did a little photo session in the back yard that ended in a very Cameron Diaz vs. the Paparazzi way. I hope you enjoy these pictures of my darling husband. I need to send one over to Drew, the host of the Man-A-Long. If anyone has a favorite, let me know!

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I have also finally started the Ostrich Plume shawl. Originally I was using verigated yarn, but the pattern got lost in all the colors. I switched and am using the light blue Geisha acrylic/mohair yarn I got the Elann. It’s much better and using the chart is not nearly as scary as I thought it would be. It’s actually fun and easy! Yay! When I get a couple of pattern repeats done, I’ll post a pic. I’m meeting up with Melanie on her turf for a Stitch n Bitch tonight, so hopefully I’ll make some good progress. Must. Not. Think. About. Ratchet. And. Clank.

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