Gold, Sex, the Clap, and Babies!

After an epic battle of wills, I finally got my computer back into a very healthy state. Better even than when it was new! All for the want of a stupid .NET Framework file that hung up everything. Well, that booger is finally in, after much shoe-horning on my part. I'm pretty certain that the cliched 'mark of the beast' is the Microsoft logo, and that Gates is actually Satan Junior hisself.
Anyhoo, the result? I'm back on the voice chat again with my guildmates in the World of Warcraft, and my scanner works again, and my knit designing software all works too. Yay!

(non-gamers, feel free to skip the next short bit. Go get a fresh soda or something, and I'll return to knitting in just a few paragraphs)

So, um, I've been playing WoW every chance I get, more for the reunions in voice chat than anything else. That, and I'm still grooving on playing the virtual economy there. I've also started listening to this hunter-class podcast, OutDPS, that really has me jazzed about what's been my favorite spec for a long time, marksman. That toon did enough this weekend to get the second heirloom piece for my druid alt, while my priest toon got herself firmly out of low-item-level Land.
Now if only somebody would put out a priest-class podcast; that would make me so happy that I'd pee like a puppy. Really.
There's also this other one, which is to blame for my recent fixation with the virtual economy, and that's Call to Auction. Actually, it's only a little bit about the math. Mostly, it's the sociology behind what drives the numbers, that has me intrigued. The differences in the Alliance market compared to that of the Horde has got to be found in the types of players that are drawn to said factions. I think that, because having been (cough) on a few different servers, I see the same market patterns, when comparing the two. Fascinating.
No, my toons ain't rolling in gold (yet), but they are making more than they were, and that's definitely an improvement. Granni the priest simply must have her epic flying, and soon. Won't nothing else do for my neediest of toons. And what good is a hunter without a wooly mammoth mount, I ask ya? Seriously.


I did pull the headset off and power down the 'puter long enough to connect with my local knitting friends, and this particular knit-together was a special one indeed. Not long after we named ourselves the Fertile Turtles, two among us discovered that they were pregnant. No kidding! Well, now those two are due in a couple of weeks, and we had their baby shower this past Sunday, during our regular knitting group. The mochas, cupcakes, and knitted goods flowed, whilst I wrestled with a camera who's batteries were dying. Sigh.

Anastasia (wearing her finished cardigan, btw!) provided us with the opening act, via her laptop. Um, she was showing those of who haven't yet heard of the "The Sex Bomb" what all the hullabalo was about. Yeah, she pulled up this video while a dozen of us peered over her shoulders to watch it. Um, much fanning and blushing was needed, as we coped with that moment being so very public. Afterwards, I poked her and declared that I wanted that link. Clickety click click and it was posted, just like that. She then proceeded to knit her project from the pattern stored on that lap top.
Okay, maybe it's my hillbilly-ness showin', but that was all just too Star Treky and yet kinda hot.
Pat wore one of her own hand knit sweaters, and I love this one too. She also made the necklace she was wearing - pretty!
She's currently working on her own design for a lace shawl. Yeah, knitting lace wasn't enough, she's designing it on the fly now.
The sweater she wore last week was a Rowan pattern made with Misty Alpaca.



Kristina brought in a finished purse, and is currently working on 'an old baby sweater.'
Pam has the Glynis sock still in progress.
Caitlyn finished her Clapotis while with us that afternoon, and we clapped! And it kinda answered who it was Brooke was talking about when our end of the tables overheard her saying, "She has the clap, okay?"
She obviously meant the Clapotis, right?
Now that Anastasia has the lacey cardi quite literally under her belt, she's cast on for the Cherry Blossom Shawl, another lacey thingy.
Brooke has begun clue #2 on her mystery shawl KAL (knit along), and Mary Beth is making our eyes quiver with her pop-art baby blanket. Nicole is still doing the secret agent test knitting thing for Kristine, and Debra's cable work is done enough to really see the pretty fabric of her sweater-to-be.
Carol declared that her two-toned vest will be finished this week, and by golly I believe her.
Raeus is taking a bit of a break from her 4 Seasons coat, and started an East Meets West jacket.
Kim is making Froggie baby booties. No, not frogging baby booties - she's making little baby socks that look like Frog's feet. You know, Froggie baby booties.
Aggie is still digging the sock scene, Angie has the Calorimety bug (but is afebrile), and Daphne lied when she initially said she wasn't knitting anything. She'd had a night of frenzied knitting, and was kinda frazzled still when she first came in that morning. But before long, she pulled out this gianormous knitting bag, and resumed peaceful knitting on a green scarf.
Jason enthused about his new interest, the Nascar races. He and are becoming Trevor Bayne fans - y'all watch out for that young feller. He's going places fast (and in a left turn kinda way).

And then the gift-giving began, which is about when my camera started whimpering. But I got some shots, and Mary Beth did too. Click on the shots, for a bigger view, if'n ya want.