Cars & Chaos

Well, here's where I recap the weekend (and apologize for not posting in a week). I'll try to keep this rather short (because I'm tired, need to hit the sack, and it's been a long weekend).

I ended up taking Friday off so that I could go car shopping with my father (he works on the weekends, but had Friday off). We met up in Folsom - he and my stepmother and baby brother were up in the area to take their boxer to a clinic (side note - the poor dog is not doing well, and he's going on chemo).

My ride up to Folsom in the Neon was bumpy and by the time I got to the restaurant where we were meeting for lunch, I did not feel well. I couldn't tell if I was carsick from the uneven ride or if I was nervous about looking at and hopefully buying a car. So, I picked at my caesar salad and made faces at Gino to get him to laugh. I did feel a lot better by the time we finished though. Dad had convinced me to look at the Hyundai dealership, since Consumer reports had good things to say about their newer stuff, and the deals were pretty excellent. I was pretty set against that idea when I first heard it, since Hyundai's have had a pretty bad rap in the past. But, I did a little research and found some reassuring materials online about quality and safety. I was still pretty convinced that we'd get there and I'd hate the cars, and we'd move on.

I was pleasantly surprised though, and really did like the Elantras, did some test drives, and ended up settling on the 2006 Elantra GT. I was the most comfortable in it, and it provides a nice smooth ride. I only hope I didn't buy too impulsively, but I would be worried about that with anything I settled on. (Believe me...I know how I am.) And the warranties are excellent. So, I hope that I'm still happy with it in a week, month, year. :)

Saturday, I was still able to meet up with Kristy, Lori and Marissa to start assembling afghan squares into actual afghans for the GrandmotherPurl Project. They were all very nice, and I'd say we had a pretty good time. (At least I enjoyed it, and was satisfied that they weren't all going to end up murdering me and stashing my body under a pile of handknits - well, I should know no knitter would do it. The handknits would get ruined!) We started by measuring and sorting the squares (piles of 8" square, piles of smaller than 8", and larger than 8"). This will make a few blankets...LOTS of squares. We narrowed it down to which ones would go in the first blanket and how they'd be arranged, and then we got to stitchin'. Here's a peek.

This is what the squares looked like (for the most part) laid out for the whole first afghan. I took this after we'd started stitching though.

There was no way we would finish, but we knew that. So, when it came time to pack it up and go our separate ways, we thought we should take some progress photos. Here's Marissa (left) and Kristy (right) trying on their handiwork. (If my sucky camera had taken the photo when I wanted it to, that afghan piece would have still been draped over Kristy's head).And here's the final shot with all of us and our completed pieces. (I counted all the squares in each of our pieces, and yes, I'm the slowest seamer! :( I was afraid of that.)

There's still a lot more to be done, so if you are involved (or wanted to be), you can still send your squares to Kristy (address on the main site for the knit-a-long) for a bit longer. I know she wants it all done before Thanksgiving though, so don't wait too long!

Saturday, after we finished with the afghan stuff, I ran by the car dealership where my lost Lumina is resting in peace for the moment and collected my personal belongings from inside. Now most of the stuff from that car is hidden in the hatchback of my new car. :) I also left a message for the technician to fax me an itemized estimate for the damage. My stepfather was wondering if he could fix it himself (or someone he knows - he has Chevy connections) and let my step-brother, who is 17, drive it. It needs a lot of work before it would be safe for a new driver... (the driver's side mirror is not functional...nor is it currently adjustable...or even truly attached really). But that technician is out until Tuesday, so I won't get it quite yet.

Then, I ran home (okay, I took the car) and grabbed the books I needed to return to the library - perused the stacks for some good reads, and headed to church afterwards. And, in case you are wondering, I did not have any zipper dilemmas this time.

Today, I headed out for lunch with some friends at Sweet Tomatoes, where we ended up sitting and chatting for almost 4 hours. It had been a little while since we'd all gotten together. Then I hung out with Kristin and her husband for a while before heading home. And then I ended up here...

Now...the weekend ends...and I can go back to work tomorrow and relax. (Yeah, relax...what is that again?) I have to go to court on Tuesday morning about that speeding ticket I got way way back in April. I'm bizarrely calm right now, but have a feeling I'll start freaking out again somewhere tomorrow afternoon...