I think the first movie I saw at the Westgate Cinema in Beaverton was Star Wars. That would be the original Star Wars, before there were any others. The hype for that movie was amazing. I saw it on opening day with my former college roommate who was in town for a visit. I remember a helicopter landing in the middle of the parking lot — an area was roped off, the rest of the lot was full — and out came actors playing the Star Wars characters. Darth Vader walked up to me in line, breathed heavily, and said, “Acme Respirator Service.” Leia and Chewy walked up and down the aisles looking for seats. Han and Obi Wan may have been there also. My memory is, alas, imperfect.

But when was the last time you went to a movie opening night like that?

Today I decided not much was happening and a movie was in order. I’ve been wanting to see Serenity. I’m a newly minted Firefly fan. I’m sorry I missed the show when it was first on, and sorry that it was cancelled. I wanted to see the movie. I looked up times and places, and the closest was the Westgate.

I’ve always liked the Westgate, even before the big remodeling. It has character, and so many of the newer theater complexes don’t. I was sorry to see it fall on hard times, and sorrier that it never picked back up. I knew that a new theater had opened just a few blocks away, and figured that had sounded the death knell for the Westgate. But I didn’t realize it would be so soon. I guess I’m sadly out of the theater opening and closing loop, because I didn’t have a clue that it was today.

At the Westgate I didn’t have any problem finding a parking place. There weren’t more than 10 cars in the whole lot. As I walked up to the ticket office, a guy ran out from inside and stuck a camera in my face.

“Do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?” He asked.

“Why?” I said. I’m not really all that newsworthy, myself, you know.

“The theater is closing.” He answered. “This is the last night. I’m from channel 12 Did you come here often?”

Wishing that I’d maybe combed my hair a little better, I blathered something about always liking the Westgate, and wasn’t Star Wars fun, and how sad that no theaters have character any more. And then I escaped to the ticket booth.

The gal selling tickets was in tears. The kids selling snacks were likewise sober. I heard one ask the manager to please let him stay until the theater closed.

Serenity? It was OK. Not the best of its genre, but certainly true to the Firefly ‘verse.

It seems somehow fitting that both the first and last movies I saw in the Westgate were sci-fi. I wish more people had been there.

Not with a bang, but with a whimper.

Goodbye Westgate. I will miss you.

As promised, here’s the finished picture of E’s fingerless gloves. Aren’t the heart snowflakes adorable?

The yarn colors played havoc with my digital camera, and this was the best I could do. The gray is a dark charcoal and the pink is a hot, hot fuchsia pink.

I vaguely use the pattern at the Glove Pattern Generator, except I make several changes: I knit both mittens at once on double circs. I ignore the part about knitting so many stitches past the beginning of the round before starting the thumb gusset increases. Instead I decide that one of the circular needles represents the palm, and I mark the center of the thumb gusset as being the third stitch in from the right for the right-hand glove, and the third stitch in from the left for the left-hand glove. This appears to work pretty well as far as putting the thumb in the correct position. I never seem to end up with the same number of stitches on the fingers that the pattern suggests. I rib the fingers so that they fit more snugly. I usually use a size smaller needle for both the wrist and finger ribbing.

The snowflake motif is from the book Knitting Fair Isle Mittens & Gloves: 40 Great-Looking Designs by Carol Noble I haven’t actually knit any of the gloves in this book, but it’s a wonderful source of inspiration.

When choosing a motif for the back of a pair of gloves, I first work a gauge swatch and determine how many stitches across the back will be, then I choose a motif that’s either the same number of stitches or a couple of stitches smaller than the back of the glove. The color pattern on the glove palm and the thumb gusset I pretty much make up as I go along.

The yarn for these gloves is Frog Tree Alpaca, colors #57 (pink) and # 0012 (gray). The gray is natural, undyed alpaca color. The gloves were knit on size US#2 and US#3 Inox Gray needles. I used 5″ US#2 Bryflex DPNs for the finger ribbing.

Note to #1 Son’s Friends: In the knitting scene, “UFO” = “Unfinished Object”. I am really not into UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects), despite what #1 Son may have told you.

ed. 11/19/05 3:44 pm: On second thought, carrying around alien spaceships in little tote bags would be pretty cool.

Just to prove that I have been slaving away on E’s gloves, here’s a pic of the one that’s finished. The other only needs the pinky and thumb knit and it will be complete also.

Of course, if I had a decent camera on my phone you could see how absolutely adorable the heart snowflake is on the back. Adorable. There just isn’t any other word!

And a decent cell-phone camera would also show that the view from my window at work at this time of year shows Mt. Hood framed in lovely fall-colored leaves.

Because I have a sucky camera, you get to see orange blobs and miscellaneous sticks. But Hood, like the truth, is out there. Trust me.

#1 Son’s car was supposed to be ready last Thursday. Then it was going to be ready on Friday. Then Saturday. Then Monday. The mechanic and his cronies had the annoying habit of talking endlessly and never saying anything. (They would make awesome IT consultants!)

Monday they said, finally, for sure.

Monday #1 son had to be at work at the time the car would be ready. So the plan was that I would pay for the repairs (mom = credit card), leave the car parked at the mechanic’s shop and drive the keys downtown. #1 Son would run out and grab the keys, then take the bus after work to the shop to get the car. Good plan, no?

No.

The car, it seems, wasn’t quite ready. While test driving it the mechanic had found yet one more thing that needed to be taken care of.

I believe the guy. I do think he was being honest with me. And it did need taking care of before the car could be driven. But it meant that they had to keep the car one more day. Just one more. They promised.

#1 Son has now been without a car for nearly two weeks. Since gaining his license and inheriting the Outback, he’s forgotten how to take public transportation. In the last two weeks, I’ve regained my job of chief taxi driver. I want that car to be ready so I can go back to my own schedule and we can stop arguing about why he doesn’t get to make a habit of driving my Prius. (Today he woke up with a cold coming on and had to go to school. What was I going to do? I had to let him take the car. I told him not to get used to it.)

This all might explain why knitting seems to have hit a wall somewhere. I promised myself I would not start the new sweater until I’d finished the gloves for E. I have one glove done. The other is still minus fingers. It doesn’t take that long to add 1/2 fingers to fingerless gloves, but I just can’t seem to motivate myself to do it. (They’re cute gloves, too!)

Today, as promised, the car was ready. I’m home, and I don’t have to pick #1 Son up later or ferry him around anywhere. He has his own wheels back and I have my own schedule back.

Now if I can just get those gloves done…

I’ve managed to remember to bring knitting needles along with my yarn the last couple of days, so I’ve made progress on the Fair Isle gloves for E. They’re about 40% complete or so. I want to get them finished and start on the Donegal sweater.

#1 Son’s car is supposed to be ready tomorrow, which means he will once again be launched on an unsuspecting driving public, and I will once again be out of my job as taxi driver. I’m not sorry about that.

I wore the Tilt sweater today. I received only a couple of comments, both of which added, “It’s bright!” Sigh.

#1 Son drove his car (that would be my old Outback) with leaking water pump and no coolant. The car was not happy about it. The mechanic supervising the rebuilding of the engine is probably a lot happier — or will be when I fork over my hard-earned cash to him. It was an expensive lesson and one that comes at a bad time of year and means a bit of belt-tightening at the PI household.

The current lack of working motor vehicle has caused #1 Son to hitch rides downtown with me in the morning and then catch the Max to school from there. Ditto for picking him up at the transit center at night after work.

This morning we were running late. I can do that well all by myself, and #1 Son can do it even better. So with both of us trying to get out the door at the same time, we were a bit pressed for time.

I always bring an UFO to work with me, just in case I have time to knit during lunch. I have several little totes that I keep UFOs in for just that purpose. This morning I took the Lorna’s Laces socks out of “their” tote because I wanted to start the Fair Isle fingerless gloves for E. I need to wind the pink Frog Tree alpaca into balls, also.

Did I say we were running late?

I arrived at work with yarn in hand, but no nostepinne for ball winding. I found that a white-board marker is just about the right size to wind a center-pull yarn ball, so I was going great guns. Until I realized that I also forgot to bring any needles.

AARRRRGGGGHHHHH

I have absolutely no office equipment the same size and shape as a US#3 circ.