Thermalgal’s Temperate Mumblings

Misc Ramblings

My car is in the shop. They are going to overhaul part of my transmission. Luckily, I had bought the extra warranty. Which is good news since otherwise I would have been 8k over the standard warranty. I’m not too happy with the fact that my little RAV4 needs to have part of the transmission overhauled at 68k miles. I just hope this doesn’t happen again. And I’m really happy that the warranty will be covering it. I was afraid they would say that since I haven’t gotten my oil changed by them or went in for all the scheduled maintance that they wouldn’t cover anything. But they didn’t even put up a fuss. I learned from my friend George that even if they put it in their agreement it is illegal (he even quote the law). Luckily I don’t have to fight it.

I don’t like to talk specifics about where I work and live. But… the company I work for is having a dedication for a piece of “equipment” that is going on display at the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center. For those who don’t know the Udvar-Hazy center is Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum new museum near Dulles Aiport. For the dedication, my company is basically renting the museum for the night. Since it is a Smithsonian there is no entrance fee. But since it is in the middle of nowhere, you have to pay for parking. For the dedication, we get free parking and we’ll get to roam around the place and nibble on free food. Very cool! The Imax theaters will be open along with the simulators.

Kntting right along

I should have put the knitting away after I finished the front of Gatsby. I even took out Noah’s Ark and worked on it Thursday. I did a little on the ark scene, finished up the mink (or ferrets, haven’t decided which label I’ll use yet), and stated the panda’s. But then on Saturday when I was out and about running errands, I picked up some Lionbrand Micro-spun in French vanilla. I’ve decided to do a proto-type Bobbi bear to see how much I’ll need for the alpaca. And I’ve made good discovery. Sportweight will make a Bobbi bear that is smaller than I want. I think his final height will be about 6 inches when I’m finished. Oh yeah, I started him on Saturday. I didn’t have a lot of time to knit since I had birthday parties and an renaissance festival to attend this weekend. But I finished up his torso last night and will start his butt and legs tonight. Honest! That is what the directions call the various parts! His torso has a diameter of about 2 inches. He is one tiny little bear.

My Tiny Bobbi

I finished the butt and left leg tonight and I just couldn’t resist showing a picture of how tiny he is!

Field Trip!!

While trying to figure out what type of yarn to use for Bobbi Bear, my mom reminded me of an alpaca farm near her. So, we have decided to go on a field trip and pet the pretties. And I’ll hopefully find some decently priced alpaca yarn to use for a small version of Bobbi Bear. Scheduling seems to be the issue right now. It might not be for a couple of weeks until we can go. I’m toying with the idea of whipping up an acrylic version just to get an idea of the amount of yarn I’ll need for my final alpaca bear.

On the car front, the dealership didn’t have any time to see it this week so it won’t go in until Tuesday. They said not to drive my car if possible, so I’m borrowing the Jeep (yet again) from Sue. It could be that I just need a new clutch or it could be as bad as a new transmission. Hopefully this will be covered under my warranty.

Last time we had started saving some money for a house, DH needed a new engine, now that we have about the same money saved up… my car is sick. So, if it isn’t covered by the warrany, I guess we’ll be okay. But at this rate, we’ll never have money to buy a house. But with the way housing prices are sky rocketing in the area, who knows if we’ll even be able to afford anything.

Sorry I haven’t posted much

I did finish the front of my sweater. But I haven’t posted it yet… not sure why. So here it is:

I’m not in a good mood. My car is sick. On my way home from yoga last night, it wouldn’t stay in 5th gear. I’ve been trying to call the dealership, but they won’t answer their phone!

I was looking forward to getting home since the Bobbi Bear pattern my mom mailed me had arrived. But after having to forceable keep my car in 5th and running into road construction so the 45 minute drive took about an hour and 15 minutes… well, I just wasn’t that happy when I got home and even Bobbi Bear couldn’t cheer me up.