More Thoughts From the Ballgame

Championship Game 1 of the College World Series. It was a good game, but what I enjoyed more than the baseball was the rain delay. We sat dry under our rain ponchos (ponchoes?), watching the tarp get pulled out, laughing as the slow exodus to the exits turned frantic when the rain changed from a light sprinkle to a cold downpour.



Best of all was the rainbow that formed to the east of the stadium. It started as part of an arc and grew until it formed a complete semicircular stripe of color.



A 2nd rainbow seemed to be a reflection of the first. I've never seen the colors mirror-imaged like they were on these two.



Best Shout From the Stands: Still the trading of insults between the right field and left field bleachers - "Left/Right Field Sucks!"

Best T-shirt: You can't fix stupid.

And the Wave - that unique American institution which unites everyone at the ballpark, regardless of race, religion, color, sex, or team affliation, into a single organism enjoying the moment. Carpe Diem!

Random Thoughts from the College World Series

After 10 years on the waiting list, I was able to buy season tickets this year! Great location on the 3rd base side, so the sun never shines directly into our faces. The CWS started last Friday (Happy Birthday Kyra!) and the two-game-per-day pace is catching up with me. I don't feel much of an allegiance to any of the teams playing, so I can just enjoy good baseball.

Best T-shirt seen so far: "Don't Run Over the Parking Lot Guy"
Best name: Yonder Alonso of the Miami Hurricanes.
Shortest Rain Delay: 4 minutes. The rain started hard, the tarp was rolled onto the field, the rain stopped. Tarp unfolding halted, meetings were held. Tarp rolled off the field, game restarted.
Worst Almost-No-Hitter: Rice pitcher Eddie Degerman had a no-hitter going into the 7th inning vs Georgia. His 8 walks (including walking the bases loaded early in the game) overshadowed the no-hit bid.
Most Annoying Traffic Control: Traffic control which doesn't allow right turns off the 13th Street exit, which meant that even though I had less than a 100 yard drive to my permit parking area, I was forced to drive a looping path through the neighborhoods for 20 minutes in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Someone has an inane theory that slow-moving traffic is better than getting a vehicle off the street & parked. I'm guessing this traffic pattern designer owns a gas station or two. Same guy must be the one who decided to have the signs that list what you cannot bring into the ballpark where you don't see them until AFTER you've gone through the inspection of carry-in stuff. I've pointed it out every time I've walked into the ballpark, but no one seems to notice the irony but me.
Best Food: $1/slice Freschetta pizza stand directly across 13th St from the Stadium. Second place (because of the $4 ballpark price tag) goes to the frozen lemonade which is heaven on earth on a 90 deg day.
Best Shout From the Stands: "Right Field Sucks" from the 10 people in the left-field bleachers after a long rain delay. (Right Field Bleachers have a answering shout, but couldn't get the job done this time.)

There is no where like Rosenblatt Stadium during the College World Series. See you there at 4 pm today!

Kudos to Alltel!

First - a word from our sponsor with my Experiment Results.

Which were mixed. I dyed two pieces of fabric with the identical dye in different amounts of water. The results didn't support my hypothesis. The length of fabric dyed with more water had more texture than the other piece. Why doesn't more liquid = more even color? Hmmm. I'm surprised. I'll have to repeat the experiment before I accept these results.

Kudos to Alltel!
After using the modern day equivalent of chewing gum & baling wire (hot glue) to "fix" my phone, I wasn't really optimistic about using it. The flip phone was glued in the open position, which made it impossible to fit in my pocket, my purse, or anywhere else. So I was pleased to get both an email and a phone call from Alltel after I contacted Scott Ford & a couple other Alltel Big Guns. The end result was exactly what I wanted - I got a replacement phone. I was willing to pay for a new phone, but got a freebie. A used freebie, but hey - my sad sack broken phone is permanently retired.

I am pleased! I can return to bragging about my wireless phone service, which works when Verizon & my On-Star phone don't. I can carry my phone in my pocket! Thank you Alltel! And thanks to Peggy Seals, Executive Customer Relations, whose efforts made it happen.

Dyeing Experiment du Jour

I dyed gradations today. Boring work. Not only do I dye the same color over & over again, but instead of getting the multiple shades and the wonderful textures that make hand dyed fabric so... well, so wonderful(!), I have to work to keep each length of fabric mostly the same shade. I know that beautiful quilts have been made using gradations. Quilts that are stunning & eye-catching. And those designs appeal to a huge group of quilters who want those gradations.

Personally, I would rather use two oranges and a yellow than a gradation. Or five different pinks plus a couple more pinks with hints of yellow & orange. But, since I'm dyeing this fabric to sell, I need to dye what my customers want, so I'm dyeing gradations. (FYI: I also dye & sell "for me" fabrics!)

I experimented with purple today. I *think* that it is going to be fabulous. It looks that way in the dye bath. I'm hoping the color holds through rinsing and drying, since both processes lighten the color. Fingers are crossed! That, however, was not my Experiment du Jour.

My experiment was done with the leftover purple dye. I've been wondering how the amount of water used affects the color, so today, I decided to find out. I measured two identical amounts of dye stock (3 T each). To one, I added water to get a very generous almost 2 cups of liquid. To the 2nd dye stock, I added water to give me a very scant 1 cup of liquid. I dyed two 1-yd lengths of Kona cotton. I added the dye to the fabric and manipulated both pieces quite a bit. I wanted to eliminate some of the shading & texture so I could see just color. My hypothesis is that I will get the same color in both lengths, but the fabric with more liquid will have more even color over the entire 1-yd length.

Tune in tomorrow for the results!

SSDD at Alltel

All this because I wanted to be a safe driver. Heading out to a friend's house, I knew I would be driving through the Dodge-144th St Construction Zone. My cell phone was in the pocket of my shorts. I *knew* I would get a call just as I got to 132nd Street. And I also *knew* that I would never be able to get the phone out of my pocket and answer it, while simultaneously checking out construction progress, keeping under the 35 mph speed limit, and staying safely within the confines of the one-weavy-open-eastbound lane. So before I got into my truck, I took the phone OUT of my pocket to put it with my purse on the passenger seat. It slipped out of my hand, but was not able to stick the landing on the concrete garage floor. A small bounce and small pieces sailed off. My phone was now in two pieces held together by the connecting wires, instead of the usual hinges.

No really big deal, I thought. I'll go down to Alltel tomorrow & pick up a new phone. Maybe a Blackberry, or a Palm Treo, or even better, a RAZR just to irritate my teenager. But no!

Now, I've been an Alltel wireless customer since 1995, before they were Alltel. And every time I want to upgrade a phone or my calling plan, I have (with only minor complaints to the salesperson) signed a new contract. BTW, that would be a take-it-or-leave-it contract, not open for negotiation. Today, when I went in with my sad story and my broken phone, I got this BS: "You are not eligible for any of our phone specials because your current contract doesn't expire until October." I'm willing to sign a new contract, I just don't want to pay their inflated "retail" price for a phone!

I'm going to try either the hot glue gun or super-glue to make my phone somewhat usable while I figure out a way around Alltel's STUPID & INFLEXIBLE policies. Anyone know Scott Ford's (Alltel Prez & CEO) email or phone number?

Pink! Orange! Yellow! and always - Black!

A beautiful day! I went shopping for something to wear to Caitlin's Confirmation. I absolutely LOVE Coldwater Creek. Having a brick & mortar store is so much more fun than catalog shopping! I bought a pink silk jacket (lined in a soft orange) that has wonderful (!!) threadwork in matching pink thread. I wish I could tell people I made this jacket. Throw in a black w/bright flowers skirt & a black tee & I'm set. I bought a second tee & a purse too. The pink purse called my name, but when it didn't match my awesome jacket, I went with my favorite - black.

I'm rinsing fabric that I dyed earlier this week today. Wonderful reds, rich oranges and strong yellows. Yummy!

The red at the back of this photo is my DyeCloth for that day. I threw the leftover dye on a cloth that was all kinds of "ugly" and got a yard of this wonderful red with very dark places fabric. A beautiful day!

We All Have Faults - These Are Mine!

I ignore superstitions and many holidays. I cannot remember the last time I played an April Fools joke on someone. Or intentionally wore green on St. Patrick's Day. I've never worried about the negative effects of doing laundry on New Year's Day and I've gone to bed angry more than once. I haven't cooked a turkey or a whole chicken in years, so I haven't been able to break a wishbone with anyone. I occasionally cross against the light and I use language in front of my friends that my kids and my mother have never heard come out of my mouth. I always look up into the night sky and wish on any & all stars that I can see. I cross my fingers when I make a promise that isn't sincere. I really believe the Reds have a chance to win this year. I can only remember a few jokes - most of them involve engineering humor and are not always funny to non-engineers. I don't understand why people don't like math.

I think my kids & my pets are smarter and prettier than anyone else's. I'm very cynical, but I wake up every morning thinking it is going to be a great day. I hold grudges. I hate to cook, but will cheerfully clean up after anyone who cooks for me. Every spring, my flower garden starts out pruned and weeded and beautiful. I vow it will stay that way all year. By mid-summer, there are dead leaves which should be removed, thin spots where annuals have wasted away from too little water, drooping plants which should have been staked long ago and roses perpetually in need of dead-heading. I store away the seeds I intended to plant and promise I will be different NEXT year.

I'm impatient. I get irritated at people who don't seem efficient. Especially when they don't CARE! While I didn't invent multi-tasking, I have taken it to an art form.

I wonder why everyone doesn't recycle. I hate to shop for clothes. I get cranky when I'm tired. When a project is going well, I don't want to stop for anything. I hate rap-crap. I don't exercise enough. I don't believe in horoscopes, but my biorhythm is always on-target.

OK, I lied. These aren't all my faults, just those I'm willing to share.

Did you hear about the atom who went into the bar muttering to himself? The bartender asked him what was wrong. The atom replied, "I've lost an electron."
Bartender: "Are you sure?"
Atom: "Yes, I'm positive!"