Been busy

Last Saturday it seemed a lilbit slow at work, and we were hoping for a LCV. But we usually get them before lunch, and when lunchtime came and we hadn't had one, we figured it wasn't going to happen. So my friend MW and I went to lunch. But when we came back, one of the other team leads was asking people on our team if we wanted to go home early. Since my DD had been home alone all week, I jumped at the chance to go home and spend time with her. I was home by 2:45, and we decided to go up to Idaho to spend the rest of the weekend. DD called BT to ask if we could stay with her, and we were welcomed warmly. She and her husband were planning a backyard barbecue for their neighbourhood and we were invited to join in as well. So we hurriedly packed (so hurriedly I forgot to pack pyjamas) and drove up to Idaho. We stopped at the truck stop in Downey and got hard pack ice cream (I had no idea they had that there, and I am sure that will be a regular stop from now on. Less than $2 for a nice-sized cone) and by the time I usually get off work, we were coming off the exit ramp in Rexburg. We enjoyed a lovely backyard barbecue with wonderful grilled chicken and lots of other goodies and met several new friends, which is always so nice. I did have to run to town to buy some pyjamas but I am used to forgetting stuff so no big deal.

The next morning was church. DD and I got up and ready, as church starts at the insane hour of 8:45am. There are four wards meeting in that building right now, so the meetings are really stacked on top of each other. You have to move around the building in a counter-clockwise manner so that you aren't always trying to push against people going in the opposite direction. It's a great system, when the ward in the chapel doesn't go overtime. But the ward ahead of us usually does, and we stand out in the hall for ten to fifteen minutes sometimes.

Church was so great. That is my home ward, not the ward I attend in Logan. The people in my Rexburg ward really really love us, and they miss us. I hadn't been there since Christmas (when I showed up, I was invited to sing with the choir, even though I had not been rehearsing with them at all) but it was as though I had never been gone. So many people asked if we were back to stay. We were all so sad when I said I had to go home that night. DD was invited to go to Day Camp with the other Achievement Days girls. Her leader came and asked me if she could come with them all, it was the next morning, pack a lunch, wear sneakers, it costs $11, etc. I can feel all the love that emanates from these people towards us. If I had a way to move back to Rexburg, I would do it yesterday. And I would attend that ward, no matter where I lived. If I had the money, I would drive up there every single Saturday night just so I could go to church there every single Sunday

After church and supper, I left to go back to Logan. DD stayed with BT, who promised to pack her a lunch and see that she got to the meeting place to go to Day Camp in the morning. My parents came home from Caldwell later that day and came and picked her up. My sister and her 6 children arrived that evening. My poor mother is tending seven grandchildren for most of the summer. I had asked her before school ended if DD could come for most of the summer, and she said yes. But then the last time I was up there my sister called and asked if all her children could come too. Apparently my sister is selling her house here in Logan and moving to St George. Of course, she didn't tell me any of this. When I dropped my niece off after Fighter Practice a few weeks ago, I saw a For Sale sign in the front yard. One disadvantage to not speaking to your sister is that you don't find out what's going on. It is not a big enough incentive to "take the high road". I simply do not care what she does with her life, as long as she keeps out of mine. And I am unanimous in that!

Knitting news: I have finally finished RM's first sock! I finished it on Sunday after church and immediately cast on for the second one. For some reason SSS is not a problem with me, it tends to be FSS. It takes me Forever to get the first one done, but the second one just zips along like lightning. I am almost ready to start the heel flap on sock #2. And then I will have to finish his DD's poncho so they can both go in the same package. The story behind all this is that winter 2004 I asked him for ideas for a holiday gift for him. He expressed an interest in wool socks. Well, I really had no idea where to buy them so I got him something else and didn't think much more about it. But when I learned how to knit in February of this year, I decided I wanted to make socks. I made my first and second pair:
and then I cast on for MCM's Opal Dreamcatcher set, seen in a previous post. In April I started RM's first sock, made a scary error in the 19th out of 20 rows of Evil Ribbing (k1p1) and worked at it haphazardly since. But I am not-quite halfway done on the second one and I know I will have no trouble finishing it. So far he does not know this blog exists, but I will tell him about it when I send the package.