She Held My Socks!

It's all yellow and blurry, because the flash wasn't on. But we went to Annapolis and met the Yarn Harlot! Scroll down and you'll see the photos she took of us. We had a great time. The VIP had brought his laptop, and he spent the time waiting reading her blog and making comments on it. She is a great speaker, has the natural ability to spin a yarn (pun intended) and is just all-around Nice. She told us about The Worst Day on a Book Tour, and since it has been almost three years since it happened, the story has gotten better with the retelling. I almost peed my pants, it was so funny to hear her tell it. And then her talk was over and she went on downstairs to sign books. We were # 125 in line, so we waited awhile. Remembering her harrowing 14 km hike on St Patrick's Day, we brought her a 4-pack of Guinness, and a glass to drink it from. I also gave her my pair of Jaywalkers that I didn't like for myself, and I think she liked them. It was so great though, because even though she had already been through 125 people, when we walked up, she looked straight at the VIP and said "I remember you!"

Lynn has written new lyrics to a favourite Primary song. I have had the original stuck in my head all week, because there are some beautiful white trees blossoming around here. Lots of what my dad calls "tulip trees" too. And then there's this one that hangs like a weeping willow, but has tiny pink blossoms. So beautiful! I do love spring.

LYS Review

Yesterday was the first Saturday we have had in awhile where nobody had anything at all scheduled. So after doing Nothing for awhile, the VIP and I went to a couple of LYSs. I am going to review one, as I'm going to leave the other one for another time.
Nangellini is in Center City Philadelphia. We were lucky in the fact that it stays open until 8pm on Saturdays. It took awhile to get there, as we were coming from Germantown. It was just as easy to go through town as it was to find I-95 to follow the GoogleMap directions. We saw some *interesting* parts of town, I'll tell you what. We went through Temple University, we passed the Shriner's Hospital, and then finally when we saw the statue of William Penn, we knew we were almost there.

Nancy who owns Nangellini has awesome hair. I was so fascinated by it that I forgot to take a picture! But the good news is that they have knitting meetup every Sunday afternoon, and the VIP says we can go sometime. She had just finished an amazing shawl, which the VIP photographed. She didn't have a whole lot in the way of sock yarn, although she had a lovely selection of Silky Wool that her assistant Nicole says that lots of folks use to make socks. I wound up buying two hanks of laceweight yarn, because it was such an incredible price and I *may* double-strand it and make socks with it. That was on the advice of the lovely Nicole. They very kindly wound it into center-pull balls for me and we chatted about all the wonderful yarn and the artwork and the clothing that she has for sale there.

In case you want to go, you can park for free in the Whole Foods parking garage. Apparently at some times you must get your parking ticket validated with a purchase, but when we went it was free parking time so we didn't have to. We bought supper there anyway. They have a wonderful buffet for $7.99/lb.

Here are a few more of my favourite images from yesterday. Enjoy! Click for big, it is worth it.

Yes! We Are Going

Finally, after 25 years, I am going to a Yes concert. They are coming to Baltimore and I bought our tickets today. Now I need to pay for them! I have some wool patchwork blankets I'd like to sell on Etsy, but I don't know how to get started. Can anyone help me?

PS I also have a pair of Jaywalkers knit from Austermann Step that I will never wear. Anyone want to buy/trade for them?

He Is Risen

Happy Easter to everyone. As much as I love Christmas and all that it signifies, I love Easter even more. For one, I don't have to fret about endless parties and gifts and all that. It is just mostly a family day, with an extra-nice dinner if you like. This year Easter means even more to me. I feel like this should really be New Year's instead of January 1. I hope you all have a wonderful spring, and that you get what you want and need.

Occasional Zinger

Last night, it being a Tuesday, the VIP spent time with his DS (my DSS). I was commandeered to drive to NJ, because the VIP has been sick lately and was too exhausted after work. So I brought my sock-in-progress, and the pair of socks I had just finished for DSS. He is such a joy to knit socks for, because he loves anything I make for him. Anyway, after supper, they were working on his homework. He had some vocabulary words. Here is the convo:

VIP: "What do you call the back of a ship?"
DSS: "The stern."
VIP: "Correct. And don't ever call it the 'hind-quarters.'"
DSS: "No, because that would be the poop deck."



Want to see my latest Kaffe Fassett socks?

This just in:
Madeleine Albright loves to knit socks!

I Like It Here

Go have a look at my beautiful city.

And then go have a listen to this woman from Philly, who does amazing accents.

Now With Actual Knitting Content!

Since there's an extra day this month, I decided to post. Hang on!

In the left-hand column is three shots of the same pair of socks. Before I left Logan, the LYS got in some 100 g bags of Bearfoot mill-ends. I bought a couple, wound up all the little tiny skeins into walnut-to-golf-ball-sized balls, and tried making a somewhat fraternal pair of short socks. I used my regular needles, and my regular stitch count, but they fit my DD. So they are hers. I'm not a huge fan of Bearfoot for socks, anyway. I still have 200 grams left, in basically two colourways, so I think I'll make a couple of Moebius scarves to have on hand for whenever I need a gift for someone special.

The right-hand column is yarn given to me by Prairie Mama as a going-away gift. DD saw it and begged for socks from it. The yarn pooled quite strangely, but DD loves pooling socks. The second photo down is a pair for the VIP, which started out life as a Brown Sheep mistake, which I overdyed. One sock has a Harry Potter-like lightning bolt going up it. The last photo is proof that I have actually been knitting for myself as well. All of these are mine. All have Wendy Johnson's short-row heel (which I finally learned!) Across the top is Austermann Step, Regia Kaffe Fassett, and Opal Zebra, which I overdyed pink. On the bottom row is Regia Galaxy, the new Noro sock yarn, and Lorna's Laces. I haven't worn or washed the Noro yet, but I did knit it on a half-size larger needles than I normally use, because although it has nylon, it is not superwash. I am expecting it to felt a bit, but hopefully it won't shrink too much. If it does, one of my small-footed friends will have a nice birthday present! There's one more pair that I made for the VIP's son, but they got given away before being photographed. I'll be spending most of the weekend with him, so I'll see what I can do about getting a photo.

Currently I am working on another Kaffe Fassett pair. I think I want to collect all twelve colourways, and then after I've got all the regular socks made, make monstersocks with all the scraps.

Now that I've got that out of my system, I can concentrate on my second Stuff I've Noticed post. It will also be picture-heavy, so it may take me a few days to get it together. Talk amongst yourselves until then! I also have visited a few LYSs in the area, and have some reviews.

Of Special Interest

I got an email from LDS Living this morning, and there was an article about a young lady who has written a song around the special prayer that President Hinckley offered on behalf of the youth of the Church. Please go here for more information. You can download the song for free by right-clicking, and saving. I have iTunes, so I just saved it to my desktop as an mp3 file, then imported it into my iTunes.

Taking A Poll

Hi folks! I am taking the time now to clean up my sidebar links. I need some input, such as what links do you go to and browse, and which ones do you not? Are there some blogs or websites you think I and my three other readers would enjoy? Does anyone know what happened to Whoopsy Daisy? She seems to crop up and disappear without warning from time to time.

I've got another edition of "Stuff I've Noticed" brewing, but I'm going to wait a bit while I think of more stuff. In the meantime, please comment! Tell me what you want to know, or want *me* to know.

Stuff I've Noticed

I've made some observations in my month living here, and I'd like to share them.

We have to drive ten miles to get to church. And, said church has a brick-and-wrought-iron fence around it, and the gates lock. Last Sunday we had a potluck dinner after church. It looked like a bunch of piranhas had swum through. And far too many women wear pants and jeans to church. I still don't have the story behind that, but I'm surely going to ask about it! Our lesson manuals are distributed in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

The banks are open seven days a week.

There's a Dunkin' Donuts on every corner. Their Milky Way hot chocolate is really good.

It's humid here.

They have so many streets and roads here, that they have run out of names. You may *think* you're on the right road, until you realise you want Bristol Pike, not Bristol Road. Also, there is a Street Road here. Talk about unimaginative!

There is a turnpike here. What that is, is a highway that you get to pay to drive on. Supposedly it is maintained better, but so far I haven't noticed that. The fun thing about the turnpike though is that they have these things called Service Centers. These are like rest areas on steroids. Each of them has a different name, and they are usually named after prominent historical figures. There is not only a gas station, but a building that houses at least two different choices of eating establishments, plus a convenience store. The restrooms are clean, well-lit, and climate-controlled. Many of the Service Centers have a pressed penny machine, which is fortuitous, since I collect pressed pennies. While you are driving on the turnpike, you'll see a sign stating the distance to the next Service Center. It also lists the brand of gas station, and the current price of gas. Also listed are the restaurants. That way, if none of those floats your boat, you can drive on. I think Service Centers are way awesome.

There is no Deseret Industries here. And the Goodwill store leaves a lot to be desired. But there are a million antique stores around.

The squirrels here are grey, not red. And they are FAT! They look like those pickups with an extra set of wheels on the back.

There's a laundromat down the road from the school. The sign outside says "AUNDROMA", because the L and the T fell off. I just *know* there's a little girl running around here named Aundroma, because her mom thought it was a cool name.

People talk funny here. I have to ask everyone to repeat themselves, because the first time it just didn't compute.

But overall, I like it here. I like the trees and the hills. I like being in a smallish town, but close enough to the city. And I like being near my brother.

Ceiling Cat Haz U 2

Our dear Prophet has passed away. My mother called me last night about 90 minutes after it happened, to tell me. My wonderful DD woke late this morning, but took extra care to dress in church clothes, in respect for President Hinckley. The Rexburg Temple is due to be dedicated next Sunday, and as I understand, plans had already been made for another member of the First Presidency to be there, rather than him, so it will probably go on as scheduled. If we follow tradition, President Monson will be ordained as prophet in the next few days.

I will miss President Hinckley. He has been so dear to us, even before he was Prophet.

Ceiling Cat Haz U Nao

If you don't already know, this is what I'm talking about.

Stuff Is Missing

You *always* lose something when you move. But I have lost some very precious things, and I'm quite upset about it. First and foremost, my marked-up scriptures. My working copy, so to speak. My BoM has something written on every single page, and the notes began in 1996. I even notated the pages where my daughter scribbled on them. Now, all is not totally lost, because before I left Rexburg, I made a copy of my BoM for a friend, and I know she would lend it back to me for a few weeks while I re-copied it. My D&C and Bible aren't marked up as much, and because of that I think all of those notes made it to my small-edition. The bag they are all in, is a special Kirks Folly bag that I got when I went to Fairyland 2000. It's a nice bag, but I really just want the contents. I am also missing a bag that has my pink Birkenstock sandals that my Mom bought me for Christmas a couple of years ago. I *think* it also has the special door-holding-open rock that I've had since 1991. I could be wrong on that count though. And then there's the sock yarn. I've lost my sock yarn. Not my huge sock yarn stash, but my leftovers stash. All the remnants of all the socks I've made. I had enough there for at least another six pairs of socks.

I have gone through almost every nook and cranny in this tiny house, and I have not come across these items. I am positive they all got into the truck with us. I am even sure I've seen them in the past 3 weeks. But now they are nowhere to be found.

Oh, and I woke up this morning with a sore throat. It's 20* outside, too.

We are home of the sharks......... yay?

*Today we have a guest blogger, DD*

Kai. So mai mommy and I went to the middle school to register for schooly... We got out of the car. We walked up to the scary doors of education and security. IT WAS LOCKED!!! There was a sign on the doors that told us to ring the bellithingy. So.... We rang the bell thing and the door unlocked. Kai, the first thing you see when you walk in is:




So take a little moment and uhmm... GAZE upon the very real-stuffed shark. I BELIEVE IT TO BE BEAUTIFUL....

Okais well lets stop staring at the purty sharkie now. SO! I shall continue my story.

Well, after seeing the shark, I was kinda excited. We walked into the office and..... there was the secretary. AHHHHH!!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!! Waaaaaah she's really scary. Wowzers! *cough she kinda looks like a dragon cough* Yup yup. And so after a veryveryvery long time of giving her papers and her yelling at us for not having the right stuff, she sent us out to the BIG scary hall of edjumacatin to wait for the registration secretary. Well, here is a picture of how it was while we were supposedly "waiting" for the registration secretaryperson.



Wowies!! It was... BORIN-nuuu i mean it was so much fun and HAPPY BUNNIES!!! hehehehehehehehe I like orange juice.

I think the only thing keeping us from falling asleep was making fun of the office peoples names.... WHICH we did take a picture, but i don't really feel like putting it on here.

Well, the registration secretary came back and we talked to her for a bit. She is KINDA COOL! But, ya kno, not.... cool. And we had to fill out this paper thingy for gym clothes... grr i do not really care for gym.

Yes well this unpleasant experience could not have possibly prepared me for the next few days of.....ABSOLUTE HORROR~!! dun dun duuuuun... or for mathnetters, dun dun dun dun. DUUUUUUN!

My Oscar Acceptance Speech

It's way longer than 45 seconds, and some of it is repeated from that last post. So go get a beverage of your choice and put on a CD and we'll get this started. And if you've got a short attention span, too bad. I am naming Everybody here so you don't want to miss your own name.

In no particular order, I would like to thank my DD, for getting through the day with grace and maturity. I forgive you for forgetting my shoes! My parents, for their love and support both moral and financial. Tan, for some lovely Wollmeise, and a wonderful girls' day out. Come to Rhinebeck! Kim and Val, for sock yarn, chocolate cake, and well wishes. Rita, Brenda and Tina, for being such neat LYS-people. Monica and Cheryl, for the beautiful pink laceweight yarn. Tina and Ronda, for pizza and company, and good girlfriends. Liz, for the wonderful experience of a three hour pedicure! That was so relaxing and thoughtful. Rae, for being an awesome boss. Sheron, JeCo, JeBla, Cory, Jean, Stan, Jacq, Michelle, and all my other teammates at Convergys. I will miss seeing you. Pam, for tea and sympathy. My doctor Deb, for making a house call to see to the ulcer on my dad's leg, and talking to me and DD at all hours of the day and night. My home teachers Marcus and Pat. My visiting teacher/RS President Becky, for saving my arse at the last minute. My neighbours Mindy and Darin, and Chelcie and Jesse, for taking my extraneous stuff. Daryol and Rena, for schlepping my bed up to Idaho, and for running the music at the wedding. I will miss you guys immensely. Jeanine, Barbara T, Barbara A and Barbara C for helping my mom. Kolette, for being so patient and waiting arounnd until we got there, and for keeping me company while I got dressed. Marjorie and Kelsie, for insisting on trying to make my hair look sort of presentable, and for being in charge of photos on my camera. Emily, for waiting as long as you possibly could before going home to a hungry infant. Flora and Aggie, for being our best man and matron of honor, and for doing our flowers and general fix-it folks. We love you So. Much. Mole and Mani, for being game enough to dress up in your card gowns. You both looked absolutely beautiful. Tamar and Jamukha, for bringing your children and also Christian and Carol with you. We are so glad you joined us. Paul, for going through what was probably one of the hardest things in your life. Don't let this affect you negatively, please. Shauna, for always being such a wonderful example to me. I am so glad I followed my prompting to find you. All of our guests from 11th Ward and 1st Ward. I am glad you thought enough of us to come see us on our day, even though we were so delayed. Kevin, for marrying us, even though you'd only been a bishop 2 weeks. Any wedding after ours will be a piece of cake! Josh and Charity, for upstaging us by being in the hospital having a baby! Luke, for sending me a congratulatory text. Guy and Machel, for not only coming to help us clean, but also for helping us re-pack the RV. The staff at the hospital in Kimball NE, for hauling the doctor-on-call out to look at my infected finger on Christmas Eve. Walgreens, for being open on Christmas Day. Flying J, for having such nice showers and restaurants. Mary and Duncan, for meeting us in Middlebury IN for lunch. I wish it could have been longer. Paul and Alison, for helping us unload the RV while wearing church clothes in a downpour. Barbara T again, for taking DD with her to Baltimore to visit her daughter while we drive across the country. I didn't have to worry one minute about her. Helen and Adrian for hosting Barbara and DD, and for letting me covet your pink wool blanket. It exactly matches my yellow one and it will be very happy with us. Liz and Ronda again, for calling me this week. I really miss you guys. Tina again, for sending me random texts. I have this terrible feeling that I am forgetting folks. If I've forgotten you, leave a comment reminding me. I promise to get thank-you cards out as soon as I can find them!

We Tied The Faery Knot!

I got married on Friday, but I've been so incredibly busy that I'm just now posting. We are in a Flying J truckstop in Evanston, WY where we slept in our rented RV last night.

I don't have all the photos yet, only those taken on my camera, by our 14-year-old photographer. As soon as I get the photos from other people, I'll post some more.

We had under-estimated the speed the RV could travel and, as a result, were 90 minutes late to our own wedding! But we were forgiven, and everyone had a good time. We took about 10 minutes to get dressed, then flew down the aisle so that we could get to the good part of eating dinner! My DD had forgotten my box with the things in it that I needed, including my shoes, so I didn't wear any! Our dear friends Aggie and Flora were our best man and matron of honour, and they dressed as the Snow King and Queen. The poor bishop had been put in less than 3 weeks ago, and it was his first wedding. But he did very well, and it was all fine. I wish you all could have been there, but we had such fun with those who were able to come. I want to give particular thanks to Daryol and Rena, who brought my bed from Logan to Rexburg. I wanted to give it to my folks for their guest bedroom, and more particularly my grandmother who is currently occupying that room. I also want to thank Kolette and Marjorie, who helped me get dressed. And Emily, for waiting as long as she could before leaving to go home and feed her baby. Mole and Mani, for dressing up in their card dresses and looking so beautiful. To Shauna, for being Shauna. To Paul, for coming so early, and staying so late. To Barbara, Barbara, and Jeanine, who helped to decorate and put the food together. I'll have to do some more thinking and continue this post later.

Countdown

So I'm going to post this and then pack up the computer.

Last week I spent time with my friends. Monday, I met Tan and we shopped and had lunch. She gave me a skein of Wollmeise in this incredible black/purple colourway. And the bag it came in, has knitting instructions in German, which will be helpful if I ever run across a pattern written in German and I need to translate it.





And then Tuesday I got together with Val and Kim. I got some lovely sock yarn, and I got to see Val teaching Kim how to use a drop-spindle. Also pictured is some sock yarn I received from Tina on Thursday.
Also Thursday was our LYS's gift exchange. I had brought a skein of KnitPicks Bare superwash worsted. I had meant to buy the Bare sock yarn but I made a mistake. What I got was some Regia in a colourway I've been wanting for a long time. There should be enough to make a full pair of socks for myself. Friday was regular fiber night at the other LYS, where I received a beautiful skein of pink laceweight yarn.

Tonight I'm getting together with three more friends, and Wednesday is my last SCA meeting. Thank you, everyone! I will miss you all very much.

In Search Of . . . .

Please, if I could get all you little detectives out there in blog-land to help me, I'd really appreciate it. I am looking for a specific item. To wit: Pentel brand R.S.V.P ballpoint pen, fine line, pink colour. I have tried in office-supply stores, but they have the more basic colours. I need pink, because that is how I make notations in my scriptures, and have done for over 15 years. I don't really like gel-ink pens, I much prefer ballpoint. So if any of you are out shopping and run across this little gem, please let me know. Thank you!

Back to our regularly-scheduled program of packing.

And This One Reminded Me of My Daughter

This Reminded Me of My Dad For Some Weird Reason