i hate expensive machines

Posted on Posted in book reviews/events, designing, food and garden

remember the honkin’ big new printer we bought just before the bee shawl was published?

now, i avoid purchasing big appliances at all costs, and when i do, i put a lot of careful research into every possible aspect of it; final decisions are agonizing.

because i know what will happen.

heh. a couple of weeks ago i started having problems with the new printer. of course, we did not immediately call in the problem because i was the one having it, and well, my group skills with office equipment tend to run in the, er, unfortunate direction.

my tolerance for expensive-but-misbehaving equipment is about one nanosecond. then i get the baseball bat. also, i cannot be trusted to deal with “service” representatives. so david sat here for about five hours today (his birthday) watching the guy fix the machine (of course, he probably found this fascinating).


(i call this one big fat hole in office scenery where printer used to be)

they are supposed to bring it back tomorrow.
all i can say is, it better be brand new, in a box with all the original wrapping when it gets here.

ok, i’m done ranting . . . (seriously though don’t you just hate them, the machines??)

mmm, i’m baking a carrot cake while i write; it’s for david . . . in a stunning reversal of taste, he asked for carrot instead of the usual chocolate. he must be playing mystery man.

we had a great weekend, though no mind-blowing knitting got done.

we went to a wine and wool festival

caught up with my friend melissa, who is opening a new yarn shop here in town. so she was representing at her first public event as the proprietor of Yarnia.

doesn’t she look happy?? you would never know she spends about 16 hours a day trying to make the contractors behave so she can get her shop open.
“that glow” HAS to be coming form all the gorgeous yarn she’s packin’. knitters in the area, beware; there will be no resisting it.
and she’s having a coffee bar in the shop. how unfair is that?

we followed that excursion with a great meal,

good music, lots of gabbing and wine, and silly pictures

here is david doing the dishes while james goofs off.

still, it was good to put my feet up on sunday afternoon and take up some sock knitting.

the cardigan sock is almost done and boy, is it cozy. the only thing i don’t like about this yarn is that soon it will all be knit up. and then i won’t have any more.

i also got a bunch done on the acorn sock,

enough to get the pattern as far down the foot as i think i want to go before switching to just the rib stitch. i don’t think we want the acorns to go all the way to the toe . .

they might not be so comfortable under shoelaces. but of course, you don’t have to follow the pattern to the letter; you could go crazy with them if you want.

my red cardigan is heading into the home stretch; i’m about halfway through the back. i think i’m going to hold back on pictures til it’s done, though, in order to give you the benefit of the full effect, good or bad, in modeling shots.

i have not started my thistle wrap yetβ€”can you believe it? but the pattern is with the test knitters and i think they are well on top of it. it’s my goal for this week to get a jump on that, but i also have another big project on the drawing board . . . SO much designing and so little time.

33 thoughts on “i hate expensive machines

  1. Sorry about the printer. I hope it works out in the end. Glad you had a great day anyway. A wine and wool festival, cake, good food, good music, more wine, sounds like a good day.

  2. Love the cardigan sock! Then again, I love everything you knit.

    I understand about the technology problems. My very costly clothes dryer has “issues”. The repairman came out and told me I didn’t understand how to dry clothes and that my perception of “dry” was wrong. Huh? I’ve been doing laundry longer than this kid has walked the earth! heh. Good luck with your printer!

  3. YARNIA!

    What a fabulous name!!

    Given the imagination behind the moniker, one can expect great things from the shop.

  4. Hi, anne, i would love to know what is in your casserole dish…it looks wonderful. regards, Mary in Cincinnati

  5. Blasted technology. I hope it all gets sorted as easily as possible.

    Those acorns make me giggle every time. πŸ˜›

  6. Oh, the printer….my enemy. Mine is currently on the outs too. Those acorn socks, on the other hand, are my friend. They are so cool.

    Happy birthday to David and have a great week! πŸ™‚

  7. Happy birthday to David! Personally, I’m a fan of technology – but never when it interferes with birthday celebrating πŸ™‚ Also, I can’t think of anything better sounding than a “wine and wool” festival – can you export that down to Nashville, pretty please?

  8. Big expensive machines can be such a pain.
    Seriously? A Wine and Wool festival? I would think the wine would surely increase the wool sales.
    Happy Birthday to David!

  9. Huge bummer about the printer!! So far mine is working…..fingers are crossed it stays working.

    I love, love, love those acorn socks!!!!

  10. What a fun fall you are having! And coffee AND yarn. I would never leave. lol! I bask in the IDEA that my yarn shop was formerly a coffee shop. I can almost smell the fumes of wool and coffee mixing.

  11. I have no patience when it comes to big appliances or machines either lol, I just wanna give a swift kick in the arse (if they had one that is) πŸ˜‰ Even though you had a naughty printer, sounds like a nice weekend!

    Wow those acorn socks are so cool, I think that pattern is so fallish (if that’s a real word, and it’s not I’m sure!).

  12. Wine, wool and cake? Good times. Good times…

    I’m coming to OH on the next plane, so make room πŸ™‚

    p.s. Feliz cumpleanos, David!

  13. When I walk towards a printer, it quits working. My husband @who is a technology director) always says, “What did you do to it?” Grrr. I hope you get your printer back today.
    Did you eat the mushrooms yet? Vegetable lasagne? Love the socks! I can’t wait to see the sweater.

  14. Happy Brithday David! In all (despite the printer) it sounds to me like you had an absolutely fabulous weekend.

  15. Sounds like you had a fun weekend, and a great visit with your nephew. A yarn store and coffee shop all in one? It’s a natural! As usual, love the socks.

  16. P.S. You *really* don’t want to get me started on computer-related machines. I feel for you.

    P.P.S. I have the same basic problem with toasters. They don’t like me. Honestly! Give me a perfectly ordinary (or fancy, take you pick), run of the mill, *functioning* toaster, and within 3 days, 5 at most, I’ll have it toasting only part of the bread. Maybe one end. Maybe only the middle. Maybe just one side. Really! You think I jest. Just ask my husband. The really rude thing? I *love* toast.

  17. I profess myself a modern-day Luddite and therefore can totally relate to your hatred of machinery. Wine and Wool? Just throw some chocolate into the mix and it sounds like Heaven. Happy belated birthday to David.

  18. Was it an HP printer? I have an understanding with all HP products: I do vast amounts of research, including asking other HP users, who rave about their HP printer/scanner/computer…and then the damn thing breaks down. Every. time. Once I tried to avert this by buying a Compaq. The week before HP bought out Compaq. Can you guess the end of this fairy tale?

  19. 1) I’m with you about the technology; I don’t even use my cell phone except in emergencies
    2) what a perfect pattern for that yarn (acorn socks)!
    3) does David’s hair ever drive him crazy? My husband and I both had waist-length hair, and finally cut it to get it OUT OF THE WAY!
    4)yeah, what is in that delicious-looking casserole?

    P.S. I’ll try to put in a good word with the printer fairy for you πŸ˜‰

  20. Ugh. I am button averse. Completely. Anything with buttons (except for cardigans, or course) is bound to be a problem. I feel your pain.

    Melissa DOES seem to be glowing! She looks very happy in the midst of all that lovely yarn. Does she need help at the new shop? Maybe I could commute from California. I’ll bet it’s a lot more fun than practicing law.

  21. HATE those over priced pieces of crap disguised as very important office machines… just had to replace a printer myself, tho not the behemoth that you had (sorry)… and isn’t it wonderful to have your very own man of mystery, I don’t think my man of mystery would ever ask for carrot over chocolate, but they are mysterious and confusing creatures after all . . .

  22. Mmmmmm … what is that you cooked? I don’t even know what it is and it’s making me super hungry. Looks delicious!

    When’s that book of patterns and recipes coming out? I can see it now: “Allow to simmer on a low heat for 25 minutes. While simmering, turn the heel of your sock, pausing to stir the pot on every other decrease row.”

  23. did y’all eat that big mushroom ?!
    and, could you please post a picture of the acorn socken being modeled ? i’d really appreciate it … i’d like to see how it looks stretched on a leg πŸ™‚

  24. my condolences on the printer – those things are evil. we have one at work that i swear is possessed – it choses what to print out, when and in what quantity -all by itself. and forget canceling anything!

    and i must say, those socks are looking pretty snazzy!

  25. I hope your printer issues have been resolved. Technology issues are quite the pain. I really like how the acorn socks are knitting up.

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