Rainstorms, Knitting and the Dogs

So last night I finished the leg on Ry’s sock, and just as I was getting ready to start the heel Ry lured me out on the porch to listen to the rain and enjoy a drink with him. By the time we came back inside it was almost midnight. If the painters hadn’t removed the porch light, I’d have probably brought the sock out with me, but it was not to be.

It’s been a long time since I’ve sat outside and listened to the rain and thunder. I forgot how soothing rainstorms can be, especially since in the summer the rainstorms are harbingers of humidity, nasty weather and mosquitos, but in the fall they are perfection. The dogs, however, did not like the rain as much as we did. Molly and Sam hid behind our chairs whenever there was a little thunder and Sam kept walking to the edge of the porch and looking in wonderment at the rain pouring down. He absolutely refused to go potty before bed; the rain was too much for his delicate sensibilities; so he woke us up barking this morning to go out. Molly didn’t go out before bed either (she too has delicate sensibilities), but she’s a camel, she can wait until we’re up before going out.

Tonight we have a potluck dinner with some friends, one of whom has been asking me about knitting. I was thinking of giving her one of my books, some yarn, needles and a pattern and letting her experiment. The thing is…what yarn? What pattern? I have to figure that out first. I have some stuff in my stash that I bought before I became a bit of a yarn snob, which I can’t bear to get rid of because it seems like a waste. So it has been relegated to hats, dog sweaters and experimental uses. I hate to give her some of that lest she think that’s what all yarn is like, but I can’t see giving her some of my more expensive stuff, because it will probably not be appreciated for a first time project, or she’ll have a heart attack if she messes up or breaks the yarn (I almost did). I have multiple colors of one brand, but it’s kind of scratchy and stretchy and I wonder if stripes might be too challenging. Although, I think something like that is fun to learn because then you have something to change up the mindlessness of garter or stockinette stitch. Hmmm…I may have to ponder this further…I’ll have to decide by tonight though! I have some Lionbrand…that’s soft, and it tends to be good for beginners because it’s easy to work with and there will be no heart attacks if you screw up royally….maybe that’s the way to go?


p.s. Do you like my new fall theme?

Mystery Swap

Ok, like an idiot I didn't really "get" what my ideas should be, so here are a few more:

1. Italy (I am in love with Tuscany.)
2. Arizona and the desert. (I grew up there, it's still my home.)
3. Pumpkins and the fall. (My favorite season.)
4. First snowfall
5. Christmas (I used to have red & green Chuck Taylors and broke them out right after Thanksgiving...I should get another pair...)

That's a little more along the lines Kim was looking for, I think!

The Weekend

So, Friday night was "date night"! We went out to dinner and we were going to see a movie when a sudden and vicious pain began attacking my neck. I didn't sleep on it in an unusual way, because it hadn't been hurting since the morning. I think I strained it, here’s why:
Monday through Thursday I carry around a laptop bag at night. It’s easily the cheapest laptop bag that money can buy. It has a narrow strap, no padding for your shoulder and it distributes the weight unevenly. In addition to this monstrous laptop bag I carry a giant purse. Seriously it’s giant. In this purse I carry my lunch, my pens a law book or two, my planner, about 5 lipsticks, a change of shoes (if I am wearing heels) and my knitting…just to name a few things. The weight of my purse is probably about 25 pounds, and it can only go over one shoulder, it’s not a messenger bag type thing. It’s a one shoulder, two strap purse. The weight of my laptop bag (with assorted documents) is probably about 35 pounds. So between the two I am carrying about 60 pounds, unevenly distributed onto one shoulder. Is it any wonder my neck was hurting?

Anyway, back to date night…My neck was killing me by the time we were going to see a movie, so I had to beg off and we compromised by renting a movie from the local video store so I could lay down. We got home, I popped 4 Aleve and we watched Death Proof. Let me say Tarantino ALWAYS makes a good movie and an even better soundtrack. So after the movie I went to bed and crashed out.

On Saturday, Ry & I went to the fair! The first thing we did when we finally got there (3 hours of traffic to get in, thank you very much), was have corndogs and fresh lemonade. Yum! Then we hit the buildings, saw the exhibits. There was a butter sculpture,


a cow that had the same coloring and marking as Sam,


and of course the FOOD! We had cream puffs, lobster rolls, quahog clams, seafood, blueberry crisp, and of course, beer! My neck was still bothering me, but 3 Aleve and 2 beers made me forget all about that! We had a ton of fun, even though Ry turned a little green on one of the rides. (Too much food!)



Sunday was a gorgeous day, so I studied on the porch and pseudo-enjoyed the day.

I only did a little knitting over the weekend due to the neck pain, but overall it was a fantastic weekend!

Quickie

Weekend in review:

Friday: I hurt my neck :(
Saturday: Loaded up on Aleve & went to fair
Sunday: Studied & cleaned house.

...More on the fair tomorrow...

Ravelry

Ahem.

"Your invitation was sent on Yesterday."

Hot Damn! I knew I should have logged on-line yesterday, instead of knitting Ry's sock and doing the copious amounts of laundry! WooHooo!!!! I am extraordinarily excited about this. This means all day Saturday will be spent shooting the stash! This also means that all hopes for paying attention in Crim Pro tonight have just flown out the window. Yaaahhhoooo!

Package Delivery!

So my package from The Loopy Ewe arrived yesterday! Hooray! I have been wanting some Cider Moon Glacier yarn forever and when I had finally decided what to buy, they closed up shop! (The blog says that's temporary and due to a legal matter, so hopefully this won't be too long.) So then I began a quest for Cider Moon, and wouldn't you know? The Loopy Ewe had it! So I ordered two skeins of Taos and a skein Superman. I also ordered a skein of Perchance to Knit in breezy. YUM!


Taos is on the left, Superman is in the middle, and Breezy is on the right

Score!

Here's where I am on Ravelry....

You signed up on July 6, 2007
You are #14529 on the list.
589 people are ahead of you in line.
18893 people are behind you in line.
41% of the list has been invited so far

I am sooooooooooo excited! Can you tell how excited I am? Can you? Can you!?!?!

Ok, I'm out, but I did get my awesome package from The Loopy Ewe yesterday, so tonight there will be sockporn!