Knitting keeps me grounded, distracted, happy and productive. Being fast just helps me support my habit ... I knit like everyone else, one stitch at a time and I love each and every one of them.
I know that it's been awhile - longer than I thought but between starting a new job & trying to work through some other stuff it was time that I needed. While my knitting slowed down it never stopped (that would totally have been the time for an intervention!!!). Thanks to everyone for staying in touch but not pushing - I know that you would have been there if I had to ask for help and that meant a lot to me! I am going hardcore right now on China Clouds. I haven't called Jackie so I would like to take this opportunity to explain how the rumours about my knitting speed should be amended to the slowest fast knitter! I have allowed deadline knitting to crowd out this project but I am committed to it and I love knitting on it. It is challenging and rewarding and there will be visible progress - it will be blogged.Cindy - make sure that your mom sees this please!!! This is the reverse side of the 1st sleeve blocking - I'm into the 2nd sleeve now.
One of the perks of working at the Mart of Wal is that I can score a movie poster once in a while. Amanda nearly died when I brought this one home. She's Team Jacob - what team are you on?
So it all comes down to this - the safe money is on Meghan & Cheyne based on their performance over the whole race, but I'm backing Brian & Ericka; I think that they want it a lot.
So it's off to the Grace Land Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas for their next clue. Meghan & Cheyne are out in the lead at 11:10 AM. Sam & Dan are next at 12:08 PM followed by Team Zebra at 3:15 PM. Once again the airport is the big equalizer - all of the teams are going to all be on the same flight. Of course it wasn't your fault Sam & Dan - the cabbie asked you for more money for the privilege of dumping his fare. The big cabbie race is on from the airport to the chapel. What is up with the bride in black shoes with the white dress?!? They all arrive at the same time, listen to Elvis finish his corny version of Amazing Grace then the cabbie race to the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Brian & Ericka arrive 1st and Erika is going to do the 600' rappel down the face of the building. Good thing - Brian is terrified of heights!! Ericka is talking the talk about being fearless - we'll see what happens when she goes over the side. Meghan & Cheyne arrive next and Cheyne is going to do the deed. Sam & Dan's cabbie is going the wrong way into the entrance of the hotel.
Ericka is totally doing it but I think that it would go faster if she had her legs straighter. Cheyne is over the side and Sam & Dan have arrived. Cheyne is going down with his eyes closed. Ericka is Down and they're off to the Mirage. Cheyne is halfway down and glad he's wearing a helmet as his head goes off the side of the building. Sam is rocking it out and catching up fast!! Cheyne is Down and opened his eyes. Brian & Ericka have arrived at the Mirage and need to join the cast of Love. One person needs to sproing the other one up from a bungee harness to capture a bouquet of flowers in order to move on. That was lame Brian - she needs more force than that!! Ericka is projecting her frustrations onto Brian and ordering him to settle down. Cheyne is bouncing with Meghan!! OMG Oh snap - both girls almost had it! Meghan just got a piece of hers! Ericka is losing it and demanding that her & Brian switch and she's telling Brian not to get her pissed off. I think that train has left the station. Meghan & Cheyne are off to find the Monte Carlo. Poor Dan is getting his balls squished, but has his bouquet. It's more about using your momentum in the harness than being tall. Ericka is losing it - she can't get the hang of it and is sprawling herself all around rather than compacting herself and springing up to the target.
Meghan & Cheyne don't have the right destination casino & Sam & Dan are following it. Sam & Dan called someone and they're off to the Monte Carlo and are trying to not let Meghan & Cheyne see them peel off. Meghan & Cheyne may be headed off to the Venetian. Brian & Ericka are finally done & headed to the Monte Carlo. Sam & Dan are at the Monte Carlo and need to count out $1,000,000 of chips. Meghan & Cheyne are at the Venetian and are seeking 2nd & 3rd opinions and are now off to the Monte Carlo.
Sam & Dan are arguing about the best way to sort and count out the chips. Brian & Ericka have arrived and started counting. Sam & Dan are at $300,000 Meghan & Cheyne have arrived. It's just a mass of chips clinking and teams encouraging each other to go faster. Sam is a freakin' mess, but Dan is handing over chips. If they don't have the total right Sam is going to go apeshit on Dan. Brian & Ericka think that they are done. Meghan & Cheyne too. Meghan & Cheyne are correct - Sam & Dan and Brian & Ericka ... not so much. They are off to the MGM Grand high roller suite where Mr. Las Vegas will tell them where the finish line is. I'd be totally letting Kerwyn be in charge of counting. Sam & Dan are correct. Brian & Ericka are wrong again and Ericka (no surprise) is falling apart. Meghan & Cheyne are at the MGM and they are off to find Wayne Newton's house. Sam & Dan aren't far behind. Meghan & Cheyne are having a hard time finding the main entrance to Wayne's ranch. But they totally did it!!!
#1 - Meghan & Cheyne - no one else matters tonight.
Just for fun - Sam & Dan are the 2nd place team. They didn't show how much longer it took Brian & Ericka or the ragging that she must have done on him.
It was a great race - thanks for watching it with me!!!
So from Prague Castle, Meghan & Cheyne are the 1st out at 9:46PM to the Spanish Synagogue for their next clue. Their next stop is the Ekotechnicke Museum where they'll find their next clue Sam & Dan are out next at 10:13PM. I'd be totally excellent at attempting the absurd!! Okay, the ringing phones would drive me mental but I'd be excellent at remembering a few letters. Romeo Zulu who would pick "ferret" over the obvious "fox"?!? Foxtrot Ummmm ... Newt? November Right behind are the Globetrotters at 10:17PM. Alpha Why wouldn't she fill in the letters first and then the rest of the form? Meghan & Cheyne are off to the Kryocentrum for their next clue. Geez - they're talking about stealing someone else's cab again! Not good karma. Brian & Erika have some time to make up - their out at 11"40 PM and they have to do a Speed Bump task. Dan's working the phones. Yeah, that totally has to suck that you're way out in front of everyone else and then you have to wait for your own taxi. Flight Time & Big Easy have gotten to the Kafka-esque task - BE is doing it for them. Dan didn't rearrange the letters to FRANZ. -180C!!! WTF wouldn't you lose skin at that temp even for 2 minutes?!? I don't know if I'd be able to do it. IDK, making and drinking a shot of absinthe doesn't seem like such a bad speed bump, especially with that cryo thing coming up. BE has all of his letters; Dan's still struggling. BE got his first guess wrong. These two guys obviously don't play many word games!! D'oh!!! Meghan & Cheyne are don't their two freezing minutes and are off to the Charles Bridge. Brian & Erika have tears in their eyes from that drink, but they are one their way. Dan & BE had an agreement to work together and now that Dan has the word right he's saying that he'll only give Big Easy the first letter!!!
BE is a man after my own heart - it is what it is. Brian is at the phones now - this could be close!! Legend or Lager Teams need to cover a wooden gollum with clay, then transport it across the city to a synagogue or deliver 30 beers across town to a tavern full of roudy soccer fans. Legend would be heavy but there'd be less chance of spilling and dropping the glasses of beer. Sam & Dan are at the Kryocentrum - brrrrr all over again!!! Brian has all of his letters and Big Easy is still at his guessing. Meghan & Cheyne are doing the Legend. Oh man - I'm sure that I'd break a nail or two in that clay!!! Sam & Dan are out of the freezer and off to the Detour. OMG - Brian has the answer and is outta there!!! Poor Big Easy!!! The Globetrotters are going to take the penalty - 4 hrs!!! - rather than keep trying to figure out the word. Geez!!! Brian & Erika totally got lucky!
Meghan & Cheyne are done "mudding" up their gollum and are wheeling it across the city. Sam & Dan have just arrived at the Detour while Brian & Erika are about to step into the freezer. Sam & Dan are doing Legend too. They let their gollum drop and apparently cracked it's arm. Team Zebra is done in the freezer and on their way to the Detour. Meghan & Cheyne are struggling with their gollum across the city - Cheyne is in no end of pain from hauling the gollum; it's got to weigh about 200 lbs. Brian & Erika are doing lager. Meghan & Cheyne are filthy and exhausted but on their way to the Pitstop at the Strelecky Ostrov. Sam & Dan are done mudding up their gollum but are having a rough time moving it. Dan wanted to leave the gollum in the road and find the synagogue first so that they knew where they were going. His argument was that while a car could hit it, the gollum would stop the car. ARGH!!! Princess Erika is carrying her beers trying not to be all offended by the roudy soccer fans. Meghan & Cheyne are checked in and have won matching 50" TVs. Kerwyn & I totally have to do an AR - we'd rock!!! Sam and Dan are fighting about how heavy the gollum is and are yelling at each other in the street. The Globetrotters are still waiting ... Brian dropped one drink and Erika dropped her whole tray. Erika is begging to switch tasks (Lord, if she only knew!!!). Brian used to be a server so he's not caving. Good on ya man, stand yer ground!!!
Erika is telling the drunk passers-by, "get outta the way, no, no, don't touch" Sam & Dan are still struggling with each other and their cracked-arm gollum. Erika is threatening the harmless drunks who just want a wee drinkie. But they only need one more trip to bring 11 more. The rabbis are totally oblivious to the cracked arm and have given Sam & Dan a pass to the Pitstop. The Globetrotters are on their way to the Krycentrum; Brian & Erika are on the way to the Pitstop. They totally dodged a big ole bullet on this leg of the race! Flight Time & Big Easy don't even have to go into the deep freeze - their clue said to go right to the Pitstop. They were a fun team & I'm a bit sad that Dan was such a jerk and didn't help them out when he'd made the agreement to.
#1 - Meghan & Cheyne #2 - Sam & Dan #3 - Brian & Erika Good bye - Globetrotters
Sorry - Amanda & I went to The Royal last weekend and she was feeling oogy (yes, a technical term) and I was totally exhausted and then we had some hardware problems that required the services of a professional Nerd. But I'm back and completely gutted that I missed the straw rolling task!!!
Flight Time & Big Easy are out 1st at 2:23AM on their way to Estonia. I'm seriously annoyed with our new virus software - it won't let me download my smiley faces!!! Yes FT, 17:45 is a long time from the wee hours of the morning. Meghan & Cheyne are next out at 4:12AM. I'm not sure that cutting off a taxi is the best introduction to asking for his most accurate help. Team Zebra is next out at 4:37AM. I've got to agree with Brian - winning the battles are irrelevant if you can win the war. Sam & Dan are next out at 5:04AM - they seem unreasonably excited about visiting Estonia, unless maybe while they're out of the closet they are still closet knitters!! FT & BE are sleeping in their car - the other teams are blown away that the ferry isn't until 5PM. Gary & Matt are out at 6:29AM & have a great shot at finishing their speed bump and still getting to the ferry with the rest of the racers. Argh - the Speed Bump is after the ferry ride. Meghan & Cheyne and Sam & Dan are the first in the house of the Brotherhood of Blackheads. They need to find a candelabra, pick a room number, find the room and uncover their next clue on a "blank" parchment. Gary & Matt need to get on a Saunabuss and take a 5 minute sauna. That doesn't sound so horrible. Erika is having a hard time getting the secret door open; the Globetrotters have caught up with them. Erika & FT are doing this task. Sam & Cheyne are still searching for their rooms. FT found his room and is trying to find the clue on the scroll by rubbing a red "crayon" on it. Cheyne right away starts rotating the scroll ofer the candle, as does Erika. FT had it over the candle and the clue was on the paper but he didn't notice!!! Cheyne has it - Pikk Hermann Tower Garden. Erika as well. Why is she still carrying her candelabra? Gary & Matt are done with their sauna and are back with the rest of 'em - Matt's doing the task, but he doesn't know what a candle-a-bra is!! D'oh!!! Sam & Dan are off and FT finally sorted it out. Poor Matt, but I guess there really isn't any call for high-falutin' candle-a-bras in Minnesota.
Ding, ding, ding!!! I guess the "candle" part finally twigged with Matt and he's off to find his scroll. Serve or Sling Mud volleyball or hitting a tiny Moose target with a slingshot. Megahn & Cheyne are going with Serve as they have played volleyball in high school and on a beach. Matt tries the rub technique but is now holding it over the candle. Matt only got the Pik Herman Tower - I hope that the "Garden" part isn't too important. Sam & Dan and the Globetrotters are looking for a taxi and end up sharing one. Gary & Matt don't see the clue box and are trying to figure out how to get into the Tower - I guess the garden part was important.
They finally find the clue and are going to Sling it. Brian & Erika are going to Serve. I think that once the girls see the mud that they'll rethink playing in their underwear. Meghan isn't certain that the mud is entirely mud. LOL The 2 boys teams are going to play volleyball too but they and Team Zebra can't find the route markers. Meghan & Cheyne have gotten their 5 points and are on their way further through the bog to Keava Rava Overlook Tower. Brian & Erika are taking their "shot" at the Sling since Sam & Dan and Flight Time & Big Easy are using the 2 volleyball bogs. BE is almost up to his waist in the bog and Sam & Dan are not having fun and are taking it out on each other with advice on how to play bog volleyball.
The Globetrotters have their 5 points and are on their way. Sam & Dan are right behind them. FT & BE have been running the wrong way and it's a real foot race - Flight Time fell on the wooden path and tripped up Dan a bit. Now there's a bit of a macho pissing contest between the boys. Brian hits the target and brings down their clue just as Gary & Matt are arriving.
#1 - Meghan & Cheyne #2 - Sam & Dan #3 - Flight Time & Big Easy #4 - Brian & Erika
Sayonara - Gary & Matt - you ran a good race and dodged a bullet last weekend and were a fun team to watch!
Meghan & Cheyne are out of the gate at 8:17 AM and off to find the Dubai Yacht Club. This Roadblock is for one of the team members rowing a dingy out to a yacht, receiving a watch, rowing back and then realizing that the code to open the briefcase that they chose at the beginning of this leg is the time on the watch - 8:35. Brian & Erika are out at 9:59 followed by the Globetrotters at 10:42. Big Easy has summed up the climate by repeating the word "Hot". Matt & Gary are hot (no pun intended) on their heels at 10:45 Cheyne has his watch and has opened the the briefcase with no problem to get their next clue - off to the Abra Station - a water taxi port - for their next clue. Brian is trying to get the hang of rowing a dingy. Sam & Dan are off at 11:34. Big Easy & Flight Time's cabbie have taken them to the wrong marina. Brian and Erika have no trouble with the lock code. Awwww - Brian has a blister! Gary's off in his dingy and is laying on his stomach to row is canoe-style-ish. Detour - Gold or Glass Teams have to either weigh out exactly $500,000 worth of gold - based on a constantly changing gold exchange rate or assemble 12 hookahs from parts in a crate. Maria & Tiffany are next to depart at 11:47 AM. Mika & Canaan are the final team out at 11:54 - 3:37 after the lead team. Big Easy is going to row for their team - definitely out of his element in the water!! Meghan & Cheyne have chosen the hookahs - while I think that it would be easier than the gold weighing, it's not easy; all of the hookahs are different. BE & Dan are rowing with his hands!!! Meghan is losing her cool real fast on this task. Brian & Erika have decided to go for the gold. FT tells BE to "Do it for the 'hood!" so Sam tells Dan to "Do it for the suburbs!" The are having a rough time figuring out the combo to the briefcase - Sam & Dan are out ahead of them. Tiffany is rocking out that rowing!! Canaan has his watch; Tiffany has figured out the combo and Big Easy is still trying - he's hung up on the hand being on the 7 rather than thinking of the "35". Mika & Canaan have left the Globetrotters sitting on the dock.
He's finally got it and now the 'trotters have some time to make up. Kerwyn would be totally awesome at the math for the weighing - Brian wants to switch tasks but Erika says that he can do it. Gary & Matt are going to do the hookahs. Meghan & Cheyne don't realize that they have some spare pieces on the edge of their carpet & Team is switching tasks. Meghan & Cheyne have their hookas done and off the the Atlantis, The Palm to a massive water slide. Sam & Dan and Maria & Tiffany are going to try the gold weighing. Nice - Mika opens the envelope, drops the garbage and tells Canaan to "pick it up". Brian & Erika are stuck on the hookahs. Sam & Dan have a calculator but can't sort out the price/oz and it's relation to $500,000. Maria helps them out with it but the price/oz keeps changing. Mika & Canaan are working on the hookahs. Sam & Dan and Maria & Tiffany are on to the water slide. That water slide is killer scary - almost straight down and it passes under a live shark tank!!! Meghan and Cheyne hold their lead and are the first to check in. BE & FT have arrived to put together their hookas; Brian & Erika still can't sort out what little detail(s) are keeping them from being finished.
Brian & Erika are trying to step through what the problem is - they had the wrong hoses on a couple of the hookahs. Matt is really feeling the heat. Maria & Tiffany have taken their "leap of faith" and are off to the pit stop with Sam & Dan close behind. Seeing how long it took Brian & Erika to do the hookahs, the have switched to the gold task. Gary & Matt have assembled their hookahs. Brian & Erika are down the chute. Mika & Canaan are done the hookahs but remember that Mika is terrified of heights. Gary & Matt did the slide with no problems. Canaan is trying to bully poor Mika into going down. Big Easy & Flight Time are done with the gold and are off to the water slide - will they make it before Canaan can get Mika to go down it?!? OMG - I can't that he tried to push her down!!!
Flight Time & Big Easy have arrived - Mika has 2 minutes to summon up the courage to just go down. FT & BE are trash talking her which Canaan is totally pissed about. She couldn't do it - my heart breaks for her because she's really scared that Canaan is going to hate her for not being able to go down the slide. Of course he doesn't hate her - I can't imagine being that crippled by a phobia.
#1 - Meghan & Cheyne #2 - Maria & Tiffany #3 - Sam & Dan #4 - Brian & Erika #5 - Gary & Matt #6 - Flight Time & Big Easy
She's Team Jacob - what team are you on?
