Many Thanks, Secret Pal!

So, on Monday I got a package from KnitPicks. No, I didn't fall off the wagon, ye who have so little faith in my willpower! :-P I had no idea who sent it. I initially thought that KnitPicks sent it to me by mistake! There was no packing slip, nor any kind of card inside. So I checked with my secret pal and lo and behold! It was, indeed, my final package from my secret pal, who is Ginny! Thank you so much, Ginny, for making my first Secret Pal exchange a great one!

Contained within the box was a book that I had on my questionnaire wish list called The Yarn Stash Workbook. Because, hey, I've got a LOT of yarn! Here's a picture of the book:



















Also in the box was four skeins of Wool of the Andes Yarn in the color "maple syrup," which is a deep reddish brown color. Here is an up-close shot of the yarn color.














And there was also a pamphlet of little, bug finger-puppet patterns! Very cute!

I can't seem to find my own digital camera. I might have tossed it in a box or put it in a closet somewhere. In an effort to keep my house tidy, as we are now showing it to potential buyers, I've got stuff tucked away in drawers, closets, boxes, etc. all around the house! It could be anywhere!

But anyway, many, many thanks, Ginny, for all the great goodies throughout Secret Pal 9!

Horribly Wrong

You know, sometimes... you gotta say, "What the fuck?"

And in the case of Highlander II, you gotta say, "What the fucking fuck?"

Seriously, I REMAINED.

It's just...uh...wow...yeah...really...freakin' bad....

My mouth hung agape for the first 15 minutes, just out of utter disbelief and confusion. Then I turned to Todd and could only muster, "WHAT?!?!?!?"

We managed to get through about 45 minutes of it (a torture only slightly ameliorated by a group of people who gave it a bootleg MST3K treatment).

I don't even know if I can stand to watch the rest. Seriously, I really don't. It was that bad. In fact...

I'm going to go as far as to say...

that Highlander II has now surpassed Rob Roy as the worst movie I've ever at least partly seen.

If you've seen Highlander or even if you haven't seen it, but know about the premise of Highlander, or even if you're not sure and think you may have overheard part of a conversation your cousin's boyfriend had about Highlander at some point over a Christmas holiday one year, then I implore you: DO NOT SEE HIGHLANDER II. I don't even want to italicize it; it somehow confirms that it's a real film. But the grammar freak in me compels me to do so.

Speaking of bad movies, I'd like to take this opportunity to list a few of the less-than-stellar celluloid gems I've seen recently. In no particular order:

The Simpsons Movie: So incredibly unfunny. I don't think I laughed once. I cracked a smile at ONE joke. ONE. C-

Transformers: Supremely dumb. You'd think a movie about gigantic space robots beating the crap out of each other would be awesome. Nope. I'll be honest, I was not a rabid Transformers fan as a kid. I watched the toon a few times. But even my soul died a little when Optimus Prime uttered, "Sorry, my bad" in the movie. C-

Spiderman 3: How did this happen? HOW?! Painfully, squirm-in-your-seat embarrassing 3rd installment to what was looking to be a fantastic franchise. Villains were stupid. "Dark" Spidey was really asinine. Just all around pathetic. D+

Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End: What is this crap and are you finally done shoving it down our throats? Admittedly, it was better than Pirates 2: The Black Pearl. However, it was still convoluted and over-the-top. And not in a good way. C

I would also like to make one request of Hollywood: Please, for the love of CHRIST, stop making movies out of video games. PLEASE. I AM BEGGING YOU.

Heavens To Mergatroy!

WE

GOT

THE

HOUSE!

Blades of Glory Movie Trailer

I simply CANNOT wait....

Let It Snow? No, Thank You.

So this is for Patty, my hostess, for our last SP9 contest:

Ah, snow. Fresh, white, crisp snow that crunches under your feet, silently piling up in front of your window like layers of sparkling blankets is the stuff that childhood memories and countless greeting cards are made of. Indeed, I doubt that there is anyone who doesn't like the look of newly fallen snow, especially on trees.

That said, let me tell you all the reasons why I, personally, dislike snow. Anyone that has ever lived in a large city in the winter will probably know what I am talking about. If you spent most of your winters sledding down hills and making snow angels on your front lawn, then just stop reading right here.

First of all, it's freakin' cold in Philadelphia. Yeah, yeah, I know. You Minnesotans are like "SHUT. UP." But I'm sorry. We have 100-degree heat in the summer and 10-degree cold in the winter. I think a 90-degree range in temperatures allows me to complain about the climate. And when it's really cold, no one wants to be outside shoveling out their Saturn or waiting for a bus so they can go to work.

Another reason I dislike snow is this: the beauty of pristine, white snow lasts all of about 3.65 seconds. After which time, we end up with a nasty, brown, murky, slushy, slippery mess. Also at this time we are treated to the sounds of several cars outside spinning their wheels trying to get out of parking spots. Not to mention having to listen to your front door being pounded on incessantly by neighborhood kids wanting $20 to shovel the 20'x12' piece of sidewalk in front of your row home.

Another? We get annoying snow. What am I talking about? I'm talking the three- to nine-inch snowfalls. Look, if it's going to snow, I want it to S. N. O. W. I want to not have to go to work for 2 or 3 days. I want to see at least 24 inches of the stuff. I want to not be able to open my front door. Oh yeah. We almost never get that. We get enough snow to really piss everyone off because kids still have to go to school and people still have to go to work, yet roads are terrible, buses are inordinately late, your car still needs to be cleaned off and dug out, and you still have to shovel the crap.

Know what I really hate? When it starts snowing when I am at work. OH MY DOG. I hate it when it's like 10:00 am and I look out the window and there's practically a blizzard out there. Then it's all like "Are we closing early, or not? Will I be able to park my car? Did they clear the side streets?" I don't even know why I put that question in there because I know the answer. They NEVER clear side streets. I know this because I've lived on one for over 5 years! (Hopefully, though not too much longer!)

I hate when snow soaks through my gloves/mittens. I hate when I am clearing my car off and I look down at myself and realize that the entire front of my coat and my legs are all COVERED in snow, which means that I will be wet in about 5 minutes once I get in the car. I hate wearing snowboots. I...

Ok, I am ranting now. Sorry.

That is all.