Since we had so much fun last weekend getting together and doing yarn related things, our little band of intrepid knitters got together again this afternoon. This time it was so the mom/daughter duo could demo to the rest of us the glory that is the knitting machine.

I have to admit that I was not entirely sure what to expect. When I hear the word ‘machine’ I think of something into which one feeds yarn, then presses a button and poof, out comes a sweater. And somehow that seems remarkably like cheating. But these things look nothing at all like I imagined. Over the course of about an hour I learned how to do all sorts of nifty things on one of the contraptions and I think I am now sorely tempted. They are pretty handy little devices, and I could certainly see how they could be useful, but I think I need to ponder whether or not I actually *need* one.

Things have been a little tense in our family because with Oracle’s recent hostile takeover of Peoplesoft, all the Peoplesoft employees were told they’d get a registered letter sometime this week letting them know if they still had a job. My dad is one of a number of people I’ve been very worried about, so it was nothing short of a relief when he called this morning to tell me that he, at least, is safe. Of course, that’s no consolation to the over 5000 people whose letter arrived with unhappier news, but at least everyone I was worried about is safe. For now.

My parents had been a little concerned about the job thing as well, beyond just the initial worry, because apparently they received word their new car had arrived earlier this week, and they didn’t think getting a new car would be a good idea when my dad might be losing his job. Luckily the dealer was willing to wait a few days, and so we all headed off to the latest DMTC play last night in their brand new silver Prius. Yay – it’s becoming a family thing!

Theirs is silver, while ours is blue, and theirs is a 2005 while ours is a 2004. But otherwise the interior looks pretty much the same. I could see my mom being just as confused as I was when I first got mine, since putting the thing into drive, parking it, and turning it on and off are a lot different than what we’d been used to. Next up – to convince both sisters that they should get one too (or if not a Prius, at least one of the newer hybrids).

I have to admit that we’ve tended to be a little hesitant with each offering over the past year from DMTC, since the quality has been rather unpredictable. But tonight was a reminder that they can actually do pretty good work. They put on Evita, which can be difficult if you don’t have good singers. But the guy they had as Che and the woman they had as Eva Perone were full of energy and talent. So with the knitting fun, and the fact that my dad and all my friends still have their job, and the nifty new car, and the after-play pie, it was a very good day.

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