All Jacked Up

I do love me some country music. None more at the very moment that Gretchen Wilson's "All Jacked Up". No, I'm not all likker'd up but I am Jacked up just the same. VERIZON DSL CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS. This afternoon, our online protection package sprung some kind of a problem and after a fucking hour with online support, I am no further along than I was an hour ago. Took "Cherie" over 20 minutes just to get around asking my name. Nothing pisses me off more than crappy make that truly shitty customer service. Regardless if I am right or wrong, the PROMISED PACKAGE IS NOT WORKING. Therefore the second sentence off her fingers should be "I am authorized to give you $5 off next month's dsl fee". Right after she profusely apologized for the problem. BUT NO. The almighty buck means more than happy customers. I can rip folks a new one with the best of them but this ditz was not getting the picture. Hell, I think I could have tattooed it on her hand and she'd have missed it. I am entitled to rant about customer service. I have worked with the public over the years and was always taught the first step after apologizing was to offer something to smooth things out, no matter what. Other reasons I am entitled to complain? Well, I paid for a service that did not work. Penny pinching old skinflints like me are silly that way. We actually expect things to perform as promised. We squeeze every last penny until old Abe is begging for mercy. (For the record, I wasn't ripping her a new one until she told me twice there is nothing verizon can do about the problem. That fired me up.)

Some pictures. Knitting pictures at that! Rockin' R's Guernsey. The back. Isn't it lovely?


More pretties for Rockin' R. Pattern found here: One Skein Sockettes
I'm sure you all recognize the Knitpicks Simple Stripes. US Size 2 Addi Turbos. Cast on for last night, heels turned this afternoon. I think they should be done by morning given the current sleep pattern. ugh.

The left front of Hubster's Watch Hill Buttondown. Paton's Classic Merino Wool in "New Denim". I love the feel of this yarn. I love the color of it, the way the stitches are coming out. Must admit to not properly swatching, washing or blocking before I jumped in with both feet so I have no idea if this yarn blooms a lot or not. Not that I happen to think it matters much for Hubster.
Some may think this is just awful but one of the reasons I wanted to knit this for Hubster goes back some 30 years. My grandfather also had emphysema and Gma knit him a cardigan (why do we tend to only call them cardis for women?). When he passed away, she kept the sweater and wore it with the sleeves rolled up despite having many in her size. When she passed away and we were cleaning out the farm house, it was cold. Grams sweater was on the back of a chair, right where she'd left it. I put it on and still have it today. I want to have that same sort of thing to pass along to the girls when Hubster (or I) pass away. That feeling of being back beside our loved ones, being wrapped in not only the love someone had for knitting but also the love they had for another person. Some of you know exactly what I am talking about. I know the girls already know what it is like thanks to the quilts Duck made them last summer. They talk often about being wrapped in her love, protected by her prayers, etc. I just want them to have that from US too.

I am a joiner again. Amanda put together the Yarn Aboard! swap and I was lucky enough to get in on the fun. My mailman, Brent, will surely end up hating me before the year ends, between the GUSYS, YA and a private stash swap I have going with my twin-sister-born-to-different-parents-in-another-state-and-year. She and I really should just swap houses, hubbies and kids for a while then return to our homes to marvel at the wonders brought about by the other. Only problem? The fear that we might actually like our new homes and stashes better than the one we left behind!

I am off to reclaim my recliner, crank up the heating pad for the back and knit. Oh, btw: Hubster's stress test came back ok so we hope to have a new surgery date either tomorrow or next week.