Stealth Skates

(I was going to put pictures with this post, but don't have any on hand. And I'm too lazy to get out my camera.  Eventually I will get around to it. Enjoy.)

I bought a pair of roller skates a few years back, for my birthday.  An E-Bay steal at $25.  New, vintage, "space-age" plastic.  They were found in an old skating rink, still in the box (which disintegrated upon arrival).  Bright blue with yellow stripes and wheels.  They were exactly what I expected.

Years ago, back in NoCal, I had wanted to join the roller derby.  The only "skating rink" was a community center in Blue Lake, on the basketball court.  40 miles seemed a bit far to drive several times a week.  If only I had known then that every time I moved, the distance would get farther.

(A few weeks ago we found that Northern Virginia had a new-ish league, so we went to a bout.  Booty Camp starts next month!  Read all about it on K's blog, Gears & Such, pics and all.)

So, I've been reading up on skate maintenance online, because I cannot find a book.  I took off the wheels, and pulled out the bearings to see what they looked like.  They looked rusty.  Very rusty.  Rusty enough, that when I put them back in the wheel, it would no longer spin.  Oops.

Well, I had been wanting softer, bigger wheels anyway, since I'm only rolling in parking lots, so I found a deal at Sin City Skates that included 8 wheels and 16 bearings.  Radar Zens.  They came recommended by my brother-in-law, and probably his derby-playin' girlfriend.  The only disappointing aspect of this purchase, was that the shipping cost almost as much as the skates.  To ease my mind, however, they did arrive the next day.

These wheels are much wider than the original ones.  The nuts did not want to screw down very far.  They felt tight, like they didn't want to spin very fast, but I didn't want them falling off either.  I brought a socket to our skating session, just in case they needed to be loosened.

The most awesome part was not the super comfy ride on the softer wheels, but that the new bearings were completely silent.  Roller skates and skate boards have a very distinctive sound.   I thought it was because they have hard wheels, not inflated tires, like bicycles.  I was wrong.  It's the bearings.

It turned out that I did not need to loosen the wheels.  They are very, very slick.  Slick enough that I managed to fall on my butt while standing still.  Thankfully my wrist guards had arrived too.  But my poor right elbow got the brunt of it.  Not too bad of a bruise, and really no road rash, but a week later  it still hurt a bit when I bent and straightened it.  Next purchase, elbow pads and better toe stops.  I've been leaving my stops all over the parking lots.  They are not going to last long. They leave a thick, yellow, chalk-like smudge.  Maybe I should try writing something?

Update: Replaced the toe stops.  Apparently new skates are 'standard sized' and mine are not.  I could only find one pair of stops that had a removable bolt, and then I could only find wholesalers.  Haven't tried them out yet.  They are quite a bit larger than the old ones, and I needed to find new bolts.  The guy at Home Despot tried to sell me a hex bolt, "the only one that will work", but upon further inspection, I found one that needs an allen wrench instead (something I can fit in the hole).  If these $4 bolts work, it may help put off buying a several-hundred-dollar pair of skates a bit longer.  Though now I am certain the upgrades to my skates cost more than the original skates.

Hold your horses!

I have a few blogs in the queue, just waiting for me to get on (off. I meant off) my lazy ass and finish them.

Pictures!  I need pictures!

That's my dog!

The other day, as I was getting ready for work, the dog came in with his chicken, placed it smack in the middle of his bed, and stepped back to whine at it.  The same kind of whiny dance he does when a bug he has spit out continues to move.  It was as if the chicken was hogging the bed, and wouldn't share.

I told the dog if it bothered him so much, he should move it.  Particularly as he was the one to put it there.  He continued to whine, prance, and look between me and the chicken.  Eventually I picked it up, looked at it (maybe it had some weird goo on it), held it for the dog to sniff, then placed it back on the bed, exactly where I found it.

Bayram looked at me, with his head cocked, picked up the chicken, and walked out of the room.  I saw him walk to the living room and place the chicken on the floor.  He nudged it with his nose, batted it under the sewing table, and came back in and laid down on the bed.

What is my dog thinking?

So threatening...

I need to take more pictures.

And download them to my computer.

And sort them.

And post them to my blog.

Then I might be a more interesting person. 

But, then again, I'm lazy.

In Search of the Elusive "Perfect Sweater"

Things I want in my Perfect Sweater

Cables
Pockets
Hood or Wide Collar
Hip Length
Buttons
Cardigan that looks good open or closed.  No "asymmetry".
Possibly a v-neck.  High closures do not "flatter my figure".

I don't see why this sweater is so difficult to find a pattern for.  I've even expanded my search to include patterns I would have to pay for.  After the disaster with the wedding dress yarn, I still turned to Webs.  I wanted a traditional "aran"color, cream, oatmeal, off-white-ish.  However, the color I wanted was on back order for at least another month.  But I don't want to wait a month!  By the time I get the pattern figured out, this sweater won't be finished until next winter as it is.  So, with K's blessing, I bought all of the hemlock green color they had. 2700 yards should be plenty for a cabled, overly large, hooded sweater, with enough left over to make lots of swatches (yeah right).

Even the pattern I like most on Ravelry isn't really a pattern.  I'm pretty much left with trying to design my own sweater.  And a complicated one at that.  I suppose I'd better get crackin'. (No, not Kraken)

But the real question is, am I really ready/experienced/talented/creative enough to do this?  I hope no one is expecting handmade presents next Christmas.  This one's for me, baby!

(If it doesn't end up working out... next stop, trip to Ireland)