Annie Knits

Just Stopping by

As much as anything, I use this blog to record our life events.  When life gets crazy, I tend to get caught up in it rather than sit back, take a deep breath and ponder.  

I'm taking a minute or so this morning to ponder.

The addition is essentially finished.  Dear daughter is home from school and asleep in the dormer on the right.  On the left is the guest room, just about ready for occupancy if any of you are planning a trip to St. Louis any time soon.  Two queen beds and a semi private bathroom -- it's pretty posh.

The great room on the back of the house is just lovely.  Spacious and open and cool in this early summer heat.  As a result of all the trucks and construction traffic, we'll need a new driveway sometime soon, but we knew that going into the project.

From the back yard, you can see that there are still a few things to do.  This week they will pour the patio.

Hopefully they will pour the patio after they get this drain pipe to drain as gravity intended -- that'd be down hill.  Gravity is the law, after all.  Sheesh.

So, we still have one of these in the yard.  Nice.

I have a beautiful new bathroom.  I couldn't make myself document the old one, but suffice to say this is a vast improvement.  The wall paper makes me so happy that I put it in the kitchen as well.

Isn't it rockin'?  I found it on Pinterest and had to order it from England, but it's worth it, don't you think?  Husband kind of shakes his head when I wax lyrical about this paper and its hot greens and gun metal grays.  He's a walls and windows kind of guy.  

And just in case we didn't have enough going on this summer, meet our new fly in the ointment.  

His name is Bacon.  Which I kind of love yelling out the back door.

Oh, all right.  He's not a fly in the ointment.  Mostly, he's cute as can be and pretty darned smart.  He's ostensibly a boxer mix (there's been some debate on that point) that Knit Nite Mindy found on a local pet rescue site when I started talking about Dear Son wanting to adopt a puppy this summer.  She linked me up and I forwarded to DS.

 What you should never do unless you are absolutely ready to adopt a puppy is visit one at a rescue agency.  That is what I have to say about that.  

He's not exactly sleeping through the night...

And he can be a little bit recalcitrant when I want him to come back inside after an outing.  

Today I have to put the final touches on the Seminar I'm teaching at Knitorious this Saturday.  It's a class on reverse engineering a drapey cardigan from a regular cardigan that you already own and that fits you just right.  

Like I did here.  I purchased this oatmeal colored Eileen Fischer sweater and I love how it fits.  I got it into my head that I could make something like it and spent some time planning.  

And then I spent quite a bit of time knitting.

I'll blog this process after I've presented it to the class.

I'm loading the presentation onto these personal zip drives so that the participants can knit instead of take notes.  

Squee.  They are so darned cute!

The other think I'm going to do today is organize the new yarn storage cabinet we had built upstairs in what was essentially a hallway.  I can't wait to show it to you.  But then you'll have to kill me...

Holiday Knitting Round Up

There was a ton of holiday knitting.  I'd say I'm not quite done yet, actually...  I have to finish weaving in the ends of Hubster's holiday cowl and knit the final rounds of my holiday Eternity cowl.  

Speaking of Hubster.  He walked the 6 or so miles of work today (to undo the holiday cookie damage) wearing his Portland sweater, his Quiviut gloves and a Cashmerino hat I knit for him in November.  If I'd had the cowl finished, he'd have piled that on too.  It made me happy.

First up? Purl Soho Bandana Cowls (Ravelry link).  Like lots of them.  On which I embroidered mustaches.  I sized for different kids using different yarns and needles -- all are the same pattern.

Louisa Harding Grace (silk and wool), DK weight, size 8 needles for Evan.

Berroco Remix on size 8 needles for Aidan and Liam.

Encore Chunky on 10s for Seamus and Jacob.

Cascade Cloud on 10s for Lily.  No mustache for Lily though, and I think she wants one.  I'll have to add it.

So fun!  See?

For the littler cousins, I made sweaters.

An Owlet by Kate Davies for Ainsley.

That little peanut likes men only at this point.  Even if you knit her a sweater, she won't let you hold her.  But her uncle?  Smiles until morning...  Stinkas.

For Regan Elizabeth?  A Sima in Berroco Remix.  This pattern is darling, simple and fits like a dream. 

I didn't add the attached scarf, but sewed on tiny buttons across the pockets instead.  It fits her like a dress now, but I think she'll be able to wear it as a tunic for awhile too.  Look at this baby!

Isn't she beautiful?!

I made her big brother Nathan (he's 4) a Meep, Meep Robot Hoodie.

For this version I used more Encore Chunky Tweed.  I think it'll be big on him.  I don't know for sure and I don't have a picture of him wearing it because 4-year-olds do not do command performances.  My sister will send me a picture sometime when there's no pressure, I'm sure.  

I made the same sweater for Dear Godson, but in Remix on smaller needles.  It's definitely a size 3 and will fit him this winter, I think.  I forgot to take pictures of that before I gifted it.  Doh.  I bet Julie will send me a picture of that too if I ask real pretty...

This pattern is written to be knit flat, which I did the first time through.  I do not, however, have the kind of brain that can purl colorwork effectively, so the second I knit in the round and steeked.  Ah.  Much easier.

Finally, I made my youngest sister an Eternity Cowl out of Malabrigo Rios.

Love the pattern, love the yarn for the pattern.  Thanks, Sharon!

Yes, there was a smudge on the lens, but this is the only picture of the thing I have.  Dear Sister liked it, I think.

While in Ohio, speaking of Sister, we visited the Hole in the Wall Camp, Flying Horse Farms.  She's an integral part of the management team for this wonderful place.  

Here we are visiting one of the gathering spaces at the camp.  It is a wonderful place that gives kids with serious illnesses a chance to be kids and go to summer camp.  Hubster and I are so impressed with the stories she told and she's found an excellent calling and outlet for her many talents.  Click around on their website and try not to tear up... I dare you!

Geezers

Since my hip replacement, I'm feeling my age.  I'll turn 50 next summer, and not only has the AARP found me and begun mailing me enticements to join via snail- and email, but somehow the Scooter Store and several assisted living facilities have decided I need their services as well.  It's enough to make my hair turn gray!  Hah.  David's Design Salon and I have that covered, so to speak.  Thank goodness for Shades EQ.

Hubster is older than I am, though, and will blaze the path for me this winter.  And that is as it should be.  

When we saw an ad that Paul Simon will stop here in St. Louis on his next tour, we jumped at the chance for a date night featuring our favorite mid-town restaurant and this concert.  I've bought fun boots for the occasion, even.  Two days ago, the Wall Street Journal featured the tour (that's a link to the WSJ article).  Mr. Simon is garnering a new set of fans with this tour -- he's 70 this year.  

When the $%^& did that happen?!  The last time I watched Scarborough Fair on Youtube, the guy was 28!  Jeez.  And if he's 70, how far behind can I be?

On the bright side, I always have something to contribute when I find my self in the company of an older crowd (which is more often than it used to be it seems).  I think it makes folks feel superior when they're my parents' age and can ask me how I'm fairing with my hip.  Even though I'm doing just great and when I get asked how it's feeling, I say it isn't because it isn't (feeling, that is... most days I just forget I had the replacement done), it still makes them feel the tiniest bit superior to inquire after my health.  I'm fine with that -- it's good karma.  I hope there's a nearly 50-year-old around to feel superior about when I'm 70.  Heck, 80 for that matter.  Which, all of a sudden, doesn't seem quite that preposterous.

Also a positive is that when you're a geezer, you get to sit in the geezer seats at the baseball game. And they're some pretty damn good seats, let me just say that, in spite of the fact that we were surrounded by gray hair and trophy wives.  The guy sitting next to us had on a World Series ring the size of a golf ball and it turns out that he was a personal assistant to Lou Brock.  How cool is that?!

 We made the 14-year-olds we took with us sit in the nosebleed seats behind the first base foul pole on the 300 level and we took the 12th row seats behind the alphabet rows behind 3rd base.  Whatever that means.  (What it means is that Brother-in-Law had a grab at 4 slingshot t-shirts, one of which practically hit him in the numbers for Pete's sake, and didn't catch a one.)

And, at nearly 50, lusting after Yadier Molina - who had a spectacular game last night and was responsible for 3 of our 7 runs (this is a better link than the last one, I think, and goes to the Cardinals website) - is considered quaint.  In fact, Hubster will even make sure I'm paying attention when he comes up to bat.  I yelled myself hoarse.  Gosh, is that catcher cute!  

I was only disappointed that our rally towels didn't have the Rally Squirrel on them.  

An Absolutely Perfect Day

That's what we're having here in St. Louis.  It's up to 74 degrees and breezy.  The sun is shining and the sky is blue.

This morning was cooler and less breezy -- perfect for a bike ride.

Across the river, just outside of Granite City, Illinois, is a network of bike paths that stick mostly to the floodplain of the Mississippi River and wind in around the small towns on that side of the river. It's a beautifully maintained set of trails which husband rides often.  I've been too incapacitated to ride them, but on the 2 month anniversary of my surgery, the weather cooperated and I was ready.

Hubster is an inveterate cyclist and knows the trails and bike paths in the area well.  He chose this set of Illinois paths for my first long ride because they're so well maintained and because they're flat.  We started here, at Horseshoe Lake State Park on Horseshoe lake.  The lake is actually an oxbow lake, or part of what was once the Mississippi river's channel. The river runs closer to the Missouri bluffs now and this lake is just a remnant.

See?  That's St. Louis across the lake.

This set of bike trails sticks mostly to the floodplain which is wide here, and floodplains are flat.

Did I mention the trails are flat?  Flat is good when you aren't so confident of your stamina.  Which I am not.

See Horeshoe lake at the bottom of the map?  We actually got a bit past this marker for a round trip total of 13.6 miles, with a few photo-op stops along the way.

See what a perfect day it was?

The sights included:

• a covey of quail;
• a gaggle of geese;
• a solitary snake;
• lots of butterflies;
• turtles;
• fish jumping;
• a snowy egret; 
• lots of sun flowers and thistle and black walnuts;
• a recumbent tandem (hubster says they're for old people, but I thought it looked really cool).

The trails take you through everything from trailer parks to farm land to city parks to state parks.  They used to be railway rights of way and I think that cities and states are making this kind of trail all over the place using former railway beds.  Do you have any in your neighborhood?

Hubster rides almost every weekend and has cool biking togs which include very visible shirts and shorts with a gel insert for ... um ... comfort.  

All I have to say is that I'm acquiring gel insert shorts for myself before the next long ride.  That's the only part of me that got tired.  ; )

Sweaters That Are and Sweaters That Are Yet to Come... And a Scarf

Here is Remsen, finished and seamed and worn a few times.  I kind of love it and would have modeled it today if I hadn't just ridden to the local farmer's market and back.  I have bike-helmet-head. 

It's flattering and fun to wear.  The weight loss I've accomplished has made a difference in the fit, I'm sorry to say, but not a terrible one.  I'll still wear it.  

We finally got the yarn and the pattern in at the shop and it's generated some interest.  I practice full disclosure:  the pattern is good, the yarn is fiddly to knit with, the end result is worth it.  Oh, and I'll help you put the darned thing together if you so desire.

Next on the needles has been a 4 year old-sized sweater using the numbers from Ann Budd's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns.  I'm using five colors of odd ball sock solids that I had kicking around -- someone didn't want them for her sock blanket.

Here is the body of the sweater, up to the arm pits.  I've also got half a sleeve done.  The stripe sequence is counted using the Fibonacci Series of numbers (that's a Wikipedia link if you're not sure what the Fibonacci Series of numbers is.)  I saw a Fibonacci sweater years ago and I've always wanted to to one.  It appeals to the geeky find-hidden-meanings deconstructionist in me.  I do think that the spacing and sequence are appealing.

I also think that the sweater at this stage resembles the 4 year old for which it's intended, probably most 4 year olds actually.  

Darling but a lot of ends to weave in.

We took Dear Daughter to college last weekend and, so far, she's having a great time.  She's playing her trumpet in the pep band today during the school's first football game.  She told me that she's going to fake interest in the game if she has to.  Atta girl!  I got most of the knitting on this Hitchhiker scarf  (Ravelry link) done during the car ride to and from dropping her off.  It's Dyeabolical Bling sock yarn in the We're All Mad Here colorway.  It's really striking, I have to say.  Just as eye-searing and fun in person.  It's too bad that the bling doesn't show up in photography.

Next up?  This yarn jumped to the front of the queue somehow this week... in front the other yarn and pattern book I actually bought several weeks ago with an eye to holiday knitting.  Dangit.  

It's enough of Rachel's Carnivale colorway to do another sock yarn sweater.  I will decide which one soon.  Because I'm jonesing to knit with this stuff, you know?  

A Room With a View

Here's mine.

In case you live under a a rock or aren't my friend on Ravelry, Twitter, or Facebook, since I posted last, I've had my right hip replaced.  I chose something called the anterior procedure and I'm now almost exactly two weeks post surgery.

Today I can go up and down stairs, bending my right leg like a normal person, unassisted, a thing I haven't done since last calendar year.  I can get up and down from chairs reliably, of course, and I can walk nearly without a hobble.  Crutchie is still a constant companion though, because I'm afraid to fall and injure this miraculous thing that is my new hip.

Today, I am also still housebound so as to keep my insurance coverage for the home health care folks who come to do PT and OT and Home Health.  It was major surgery after all, and I kind of like that my vital signs are monitored most days, etc.  I'm here, with this view, until a week from Thursday -- a quirk of the calendar and vacations and husband's travel schedule, I could technically be released from my homebound precautions as of tomorrow if the appointment with my surgeon had worked out.

So.  Here I sit.  Spinning (finally) and listening to books and reading and Tweeting about how if my friends really loved me they'd come over and visit me.  Most of them really do.  Love me that is.

My family and I've had tons of lovely friend-cooked dinners and desserts.  I've had visitors nearly every day and many visitors some days - back to back all day.  They've laughed at my Vicodin induced hazy conversations and bemoaned the fact that they missed them all together.  I am truly blessed.  

Bullets of Hip Surgery Humor:

• I was bemoaning the fact that my surgeon didn't even come talk to me before the operation and how rude that was, when Hubster informed me that I chatted with him for 10 minutes that morning.  So now we know that the stuff they put in your IV an hour before surgery to relax you is a BLACKOUT drug for me.  Sheesh.  I remember nothing except that it wore off just as I got into the operating room and I saw the table they use for the anterior hip replacement procedure.  Yikes.  They shouldn't let you see that thing before they strap you onto it... (I've watched the videos but I won't link to them.  They're graphic and scary and make your stomach hurt.  I'm not an orthopedic surgeon for a reason.  Google them if you want.  Gack.)
• The night I got home from the hospital (two days post operation) I (apparently because I have no memory of this either) thrashed around crabbing that "There's something wrong!" and it was that my foot was tangled up in the sheet and Hubster had to try to wrestle my still ham-like right leg clear before I stopped my whining.  His words.  Gosh.  Tough crowd.
• My fourteen-year-old Dear Son asked last Tuesday (5 days post op -- at least I could feel my right leg by then) if I could drive him and a few of his friends to a movie the next day.  I blinked at him and told him probably not.  Oh, he said, well, we could try to take the bus, I guess...  He's Captain Oblivious.  I'm going to have a cape and tights made for him.
• Physical Therapists are tricksy.  When they tell you to drink at least 96 ounces of water a day, implying that with all that hydration your body will heal faster, what they really mean is that you'll have to get up to go to the bathroom every hour or so and all that walking is what does it.  

I've complete just a little over 8 ounces of spinning, most of which I'm not allowed to blog about until an indie dyer who shall remain nameless says it's ok.  It's this month's fiber club after all, and I was test driving it.  In the photo, you see some Hello Yarn club fiber, a Polworth top, colorway Prism.  It's pretty and sproingy to spin.  

While spinning, I've been listening to the novelized version of the Scottish Play that Audible's been pushing.  It's pretty good.  Gory, of course.   What did I expect?  It focuses on what happens behind the scenes.  No Shakesperean language or even scenes directly from the play, which I was actually hoping for.  Now I'll have to go online and re-read the plot highlights since it's been forever since I studied that play.  

Oh well, something else to occupy my time until I can cajole another friend into dropping by.  ; )

Busy, Busy, Busy

Home again.  Here are a few more pictures of vacation fun, though, just to keep me centered.

My lack of dolphin sightings was a theme on the vacation.  Everyone but gimpy ol' me had seen them by the 2nd week, either on a boat outing or riding bikes on the beach, which I couldn't do.  Too windy.  It's hard enough on the bike paths with just one leg, and that's all I could use to pedal.  To my credit, I got up to 4 miles round trip toward the end of our stay.  I had to go hear the snapping shrimp again and that marsh was a good ways away from the house.  Yay me.  But I digress.

The whining got to Dear Husband, apparently, so he took me on a dolphin cruise.  This pod was feeding at the inlet round back of the island.  They'd push schools of fish up onto the beach and launch themselves onto the sand to eat the stranded fish.  It's a feeding strategy that apparently started here on the Kiawah river, but is now common from Florida to North Carolina -- naturalists think that the Kiawah pods teach their young, the males of which go out into the ocean and disperse when they come of age.  The behavior's been featured on a National Geographic show.  Really cool, but hard to photograph. 

This photo is kind of fuzzy, but if you look closely, you can see the baby dolphin's dorsal fin just behind his mother's.  He was born in February.  So cute.  My vacation was complete.

There was, of course, shark fishing.  These boys.  No matter how much they are enjoying themselves, they do not smile broadly enough to show their braces...  

Smile, dear daughter...  She's a little more comfortable with the process this year.  ; )

Along with us the second week were Blogless Janet and her family.  Here, her Dear Son is getting pointers from our favorite Kiawah Island naturalist/dolphin spotter/shark fisherman John.  How many scrapbooks do you think that guy's in?  A lot, I bet.

But enough about relaxing.  I've got finished knitting to show off.

Ta Da!  (Many thanks to Photographer Deborah.)  Celery re-worked.  See how the collar lies flat now?  Yay me.  Needs blocking and while I've lost 23 lbs, when I see this picture, I realize I should lose 20 more.  I'll get on that.  Either that or I should crop more selectively...

That aside, did I tell you how much I love this sweater?  The fit is good, the yarn is light, but wool so it'll work through multiple seasons.  One downfall, I guess, is that the color is so distinctive that when I wear it all the freaking time, people will notice.  Let 'em I say.  I love this sweater.  

Too bad I finished it right when the weather is about to turn hot.  Oh, well... I'll have to go to the movies.  Or somewhere where the air conditioning is cold.  Definitely.

Stats: 

Pattern:  Celery, size large

Yarn: Dyeabolical Bling Sparkly Sock, Annie colorway, 3.2 skeins.

Needles:  Size 5 US

And the Cascade baby sweater is done.  It'll be cuter when I actually sew the buttons on.  So, technically not done, I guess.  

This baby's born too, so I'll need to get on the stick.  I should mail it before my surgery.  

Statistics

Pattern:  Cascade, size 1 year

Yarn:  Berroco Vintage, leafy green color, 1.2 skeins

Needles:  size 7

This cutie took just a little more than a skein of yarn and 3 days to knit.  So cute, so fast. 

And finally, a WIP.

Rachel of Dyeabolical is doing sock blanks now.  Except she calls them something else that I can't remember.  (For the uninitiated, a blank is knit fabric that you dye and then unravel to knit something else.  Really.  The joy is in seeing how the dye job knits up in the new article.  Geeky, but fun.)  

She tossed this blank at me last night for a test knit.  I suppose I committed to socks, I can't remember, but by the time I got home, I'd cast on for a long ruffled scarf.  I'm not sure how it happened.  

This blank is knit with two strands, so you knit socks two at a time or you do what I'm doing with a scarf which is alternate rows, 2 with each strand.  Works for me. 

I'm justifying my lack of sock-knitting to myself with the idea that lots of folks knit scarves with sock yarn and Rachel's customers would love to know how this stuff knits up in a long, thin, ruffled, kerchief-shaped scarf.  Who's with me?

Knitting First, Beach Second

Not.

Ok.  Now that that's out of my system.

I finished the knitting on the Celery Cardigan in the car on the way down here.  Well, ostensibly.  The sweater fits just the way I want it too.  It's light enough for air-conditioning and it's a little bilgy (which doesn't show up in pictures, but is fun and subtle in person).  I love the way the dye-job acted.  

Ignore the wrinkles.  They're there because I stuffed it into a bag when I finished.  This is why.

I knit the increases at the mandarin-ish collar incorrectly.  There are too many of them so the collar is floppy where it should be flat.  Harumph.  The pattern was clear enough, I just jumped to the conclusion that I should do the corner increases every time I came to them on a right side row.  Not so much.  I could put decorative buttons on the flaps and call them lapels.  Or I could rip out all of those short row increases I'm clutching and re-do this puppy so it's right.  Probably I'll choose door number two.  I've got 16 hours in the car coming up -- plenty of time for re-knitting.  Harumph again.

But don't you love the yarn?  

Here are some of my other beach house pastimes.  One at which I am terrible, in spite of my English degree, the other of which I'm flying through.

The baby cardigan is the Cascade cardigan.  Easy, cute, a little bit of pattern drama, but I figured it out.  The button holes are located at the tips of each leaf stem, see them?  I've got cute flower shaped dyed shell buttons.  Several inches of sleeve, collar and button placket and I'm done.  This baby is due June 25th.  I'll finish the cardigan today and ship it.  

Husband is relaxing.  Finally.  

Boys have eaten oysters again.  And not even under duress.  Aren't they handsome?

I've been riding my bicycle every day -- hurts some but is good for me, I think.  I've seen 5 alligators, one of which was a baby, and lots of deer.  The kids went dolphin watching with Dear Godson's folks.  I'm sure there's more, but I have to go to the beach.  It's calling.  Can you hear it?

I guess I'm pretty relaxed too... ; )

Another Week in Pictures

We spent last weekend at Dear Daughter's college orientation weekend.  Benedictine College is a lovely place in Atchison, Kansas on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River (the hills and Crutchie are not a good mix... more on that later).  She stayed in the dormitory while Hubster, Dear Son and I went off to explore St. Joseph.  Before we left her to her devices, we got to sit in on a sample lecture -- it was the medieval-literature guy's Holy Grail lecture -- and, boo hoo, I want to go back to college and study medieval literature!  

There was a bar-b-que and a dance and a movie in the quad.  Her class of 400 and some is the largest freshman class in their history.  The teachers and administrators we met were excellent and enthusiastic.  The key?  The president said it best in a presentation to the parents the first morning.  Benedictine has chosen to be a Catholic, liberal arts, residential college.  They focus on those so-called pillars without shame or compunction.  And while I didn't think I cared particularly about the religious nature of the place, to have them focus on it rather than take a kind of wishy washy only if you search it out approach like the other places we visited makes this place feel purposeful and right-minded.  And the liberal arts focus means that they focus on giving kids that kind of approach to life -- you learn about something and then make a decision about it.  And you're not ashamed of knowing the history of an idea and how it's viewed by others.  I like it.

The Sunday morning after we got back, this guy came for the morning while his parent's provided music for the 7:30 a.m. mass.  

We made and ate pancakes, chatted about other foods that are sticky, played the vuvuzela, played with cars, played with Transformers, played the guitar, moved all the dry dog food into the water bowl (ok, that was a lack of supervision on my part and it happens with Leo too...), ate ice cream (ok, not ice cream but frozen bananas and frozen strawberries whizzed up in my Vitamix blender which I love in an unreasonable fashion -- it's fun to get away with something once in awhile other than moving all the dog food into the water bowl of course), took pictures, read the beach book, woke up Dear Son, and played fetch with Monte.  

It was a busy morning.  There is a reason Mother Nature makes it hard for nearly-49-year-olds to acquire 2-year-olds on a full-time basis.  

What with driving all over the Midwest and all, I got a lot of stitching done on my Celery Cardigan.  I love the colors (pretty true in this picture except that you can't see the sparkly bits in the yarn) and there is not too much overt pooling.  And it fits beautifully through the arms and down the back.

I'm going to have to rip back the collar, though, I think.  It's a little lettuce leafy and it isn't supposed to be.  I'll take out a few of the corner increases and re-knit the plackets.  It's more knitting than you think, though.  Those fronts are widened by short rows and each row consists of the stitches all the way up the front, around the neck, and back down the other side.  It's ok, though... what else do I have to do right?  Lot's of time on my keester this summer.

When I'm thru working on Celery, I'll finally be able to finish this puppy.  And it's all about the kindness of strangers here. 

When I lengthened the body earlier this spring, did I think about the fact that I'd run out of yarn for the sleeves in so doing?  Run out of a long-discontinued yarn?  No, I did not.  When it happened, I kicked myself all over the place until I thought to look through people's Ravelry stashes.  Lo and behold, lots of folks have this yarn.  Most of them have only a skein though, and I needed two.  

I found someone who looked like she had two and emailed her asking if she'd like to trade for it.  She'd knit with it already but was willing to rip out what she'd knitted because it was a UFO that she wasn't pleased with and send me the yarn.  And she did!  I sent her some sock yarn in trade.  Gives you a little tear in your eye, doesn't it?  Ah, me.  The kindness of strangers.

Then, of course, I have to make a going-away-to-college afghan.  I have no idea which one yet.  Something with wavy stripes and fringe.  I'll decide this week.

And, there's another baby due in the family later this month -- half-sister's having a girl.  I'll make Cascade I think (Ravelry link).  It's a cardigan with leaves for the button band.  So cute.  

Looks like a lot of knitting, doesn't it?  I'll have time.  My hip-replacement surgery is scheduled for the 5th of July.  Put me in your good thoughts, won't you?  Then, there's the on-your-butt recovery time.  Plenty of time for knitting. 

I Have an 18-Year-Old

Whew.  That I started parenting 18 years ago this morning is amazing to me.  It seems like an eternity ago.  And it seems like yesterday.

When you have little kids, the days and nights seem long, but the years are short.

Happy Eighteenth Dear Daughter.

I love you and I admire the person you've become.  

You make my heart sing.