Sunday, December 10, 2006

Hangin' With The Cool Kids.

Way, way back in The Way Back, there was a little Sheepie with but one goal in life. A mission that would forever ensure her a social position of good standing. She pursued this goal with single-minded doggedness.

I was somewhere between fourth and sixth grade at this point. I don't recall exactly which year because I am old and old people don't remember things so good. We have vast amounts of life experience upon which to draw and access to only about 10% of it. It is a conundrum...

Where was I?

Oh, yeah: my goal. I wanted more than anything on this planet to be able to stay up late enough to watch The Donny And Marie Show. All the cool kids got to do it. They would come in to school the next day full to the brim with critiques of the outfits, the dreaminess level of one Donny Osmond, and whether it would be better to be "a little bit country" or " a little bit rock 'n roll." I, however, was a little lambie who was in need of lots and lots of sleep. Mommy Sheep forbade viewing the show due to the lateness of it's airing. This was going to take some doing...

After what seemed like months of good behavior, promises of future good deeds and displays of well-restedness, the goal was reached. I was able to stay up and watch the show. I, your humble Sheep, was able to stride into school the next day with my head held high and a valid opinion on the subject of purple socks.

Some things never change.

Up until a few days ago, I had never, ever watched a single episode of Knitty Gritty. Not a one. Sure, I could fake it. I could go to the website and read up on the production. I could nod my head sagely and pretend to know what everyone was talking about should the subject present itself. But, it was really just elementary school all over again with me so very out of the loop and hoping against hope that the in-crowd wouldn't catch wind of my lack of exposure to that which is cutting edge.

It wasn't my fault. My cable company didn't carry it. There was nothing I could do except try to find some meaning in my life as it stood. Not cool...not cool at all.

So you can only imagine my delight this past Friday as I was killing time before heading out to my various appointments to see a certain special something gracing my television screen at 11:00. There it was. The show that could propel me into the twenty first century of knitting, take me from being a mere fringe-dweller to the inner circle and solidify my standing with the cool kids was right there on my very own television. There was great rejoicing in The Sheep household that day.

It didn't matter that I couldn't watch it all the way through or that it is on during the week and that I will rarely see it. It was now a possibility in my life and that was good enough.

There will be a discernible swagger in my gait for the foreseeable future. This is to be expected as I am now one of the cool kids and all.

Of course this has done little to affect the actual production of knitted goods in my life, merely my ability to reference cool things about knitting. The scarf is progressing and should be finished by midweek, barring further screaming for attention by the sock. It is continuing to try and lure me back to the dark side of selfish knitting and I am resisting with all my might. Mr. Needy-Sock will remain safely ensconced in his sock bag for the time being. I hope. I've also managed to almost finish a second felted ornament and a third has been started in the event that I decide to follow through with the whole finishing of things habit.

You will note that there has been no mention of the handwarmers promised to The World's Greatest Stylist. We will not speak of this. To do so would put a serious harsh on my mellow, dudes.

That's how the cool kids talk...

SA

8 comments:

April said...

My mother would never let me watch "The Tom Jones Show."

Trust me, that was a serious harsh on my mellow.

Mel said...

Well, seeing as how we still haven't made it into the 21st century, you're already ahead of me on the "Knitty Gritty" thing. I did get to watch Donny & Marie, though. Every week.

Anonymous said...

I was so lucky that "The Partridge Family" was on Friday nights when I was allowed to stay up until 9:30. There was nothing like watching David Cassidy. He was dreamy. I even saw him in concert in Boston in like 1971, my one and only concert. I was 10. Sadly a few VH1 specials have tainted by perfect memories. He wasn't as happy to see his fans as we were to see him. Damn. It's not worth it trying to be one of the cool kids...
No one mentioned handwarmers that I noticed.
Karen
http://nothingbutknit.blog-city.com/

Anonymous said...

I don't get Knitty Gritty. Sigh...

I definitely remember Donny & Marie. Looking back, it seems that it was a pretty goofy show. But, I loved it then!

Lorraine said...

This is too weird! I just found Knitty Gritty on HGTV on Friday, too! And I never got to watch Donnie and Marie either. Eight o'clock bedtime, no exceptions. I'm saving up for a digital recorder so I can record all the episodes because I shouldn't really watch t.v. during the schooling day. It would be cheating.

sheep#100 said...

Thanks for the heads up, Sheep. I just checked my programming guide and HGTV is carrying Knitty Gritty now. We won't spring the extra bucks just to get DIY Network (didn't like any of the additional 119 channels that you have to buy to get DIY) but this is good now. I may have to record it, though, since normally I am at work at this hour.

Sheila said...

Maybe you or yours should get you a DVR for Christmas? The Yarn Harlot will be on Knitty Gritty soon and talking about socks, so you won't want to miss that one!
I got to stay up and watch all those cool shows, but I still managed to be a semi-nerd.

debsnm said...

We must be living in alternate universes! I got to watch Donnie & Marie, but I just found out last week that Knitty Gritty is on my cable too! I'm off this Friday, and just GUESS what I'm going to watch? I'm seriously considering getting one of those TiVos or something to record with - wonder if my old VCR still works????