WTF Wednesday

I have never participated in What the Fuck? Wednesday, but today, I have to. Why? Because I got the following email from a labmate today:

Long story short, there was a short in the switch to turn on
the lights in lab. 

After some phone calls, me getting to pull a fire alarm for
the first time in my life, AND a visit from 10 or more fireman
power was turned off to that switch.  should be fixed by 8 AM
they say, but until then only safety lights in lab.

Yay!  Lab burning event averted!

L

Okay, first of all, no burning down the lab before I graduate, are we clear? Second, there are still no lights in our lab. It is now 10:40am. Fortunately, we have electricity from the outlets so our equipment still works, but the lights are out. Also, fortunately, it is one of those rare sunny days in Chicago otherwise it would be much, much darker in here. But, the windows are small so it's not like we're flooded with light. And, I have a lamp. So, there's some light there. But, here's the thing, I have seasonal affective disorder so darkness, it is not good for me and second, my experiments aren't working, I have to get them to work before I can even start on the next thing, I have to get all of this done to graduate and I'm leaving this Friday to go to LA until Tuesday (Yay!), so that's time away from lab, so I can't just say, "fuck it," and go home. People have been called. Advisor out of town so no help from that quarter. If the lights aren't on by this afternoon, I'm going to hunt down the facilities people and force them to work on the lights at gunpoint (don't ask me where I'm getting the gun, this is the Southside of Chicago, I'm sure I could buy one off of someone fairly quickly, and as long as I get a receipt, I can get reimbursed).

That is all. Rant over. For now.

Knitting unto others

I have been doing the charity knitting. Here are the finished hat and a pair of mittens*:
I think the mittens are actually too small to be worn by the same person who wears the hat, but that's okay. The mittens are connected to each other by a long, crocheted chain so that they will stay together.

A close up of the hat:


I actually like how the fair isle came out.

I have started a red scarf. I went through the same problems with this one as the first one I started except for the hating the yarn part. I really liked the yarn, I just couldn't decide on a pattern. And I had to go down a needle size. But I think I have something I'm happy with.

Grandma update: I haven't been able to get ahold of her, but I talked to my mother after she saw her and Grandma is doing great! She is pain-free for the first time in years. According to the doctors, her hip was the worst they'd ever seen in terms of arthritis. The past couple of years, Grandma has really started to look old. She never had before, but all of the sudden, she just sort of sagged, and looked unhappy and frail. Mom says she looks like her old self now. So, hooray!

Speaking of Grandma, we have a Grandma's Mother's Day socks reprise. The socks I made for her didn't fit. So, the last time I saw her, I took them back. Here they are along with Mom's flip-flops before I mailed them off:
I lengthened them, and sent them off today:

I couldn't find the left-over yarn I had (probably in California), so I redid the toe in purple. Then, to make the toe look like it really belonged with the sock, I did the purple ruffle at the top. I sent these to Mom so she can bring them to Grandma next time she sees her. It makes me smile to think of Grandma wearing these pixie socks in the rehab facility.

*Ghiradelli has been complaining that he doesn't get his share of blog time. "There's a picture of Lucy everyday on Wendy Knits," he complained, "And Miss Lulu Kitty gets screen time over at Cabin Cove." I tried telling him that I didn't want to exploit his cuteness for the sake of my blog, but he just sniffed, turned to show me his butt, and walked away. So, I decided to try to include him in my pictures here, but he wasn't particularly cooperative. Honestly, how am I supposed to include pictures of him in my blog if he doesn't pose for me?!