This weekend started off with period shittiness but fortunately got better. I started a pair of monkey socks for myself with the Starry Night yarn. I love the colors and the monkey sock pattern works so well with colorful yarn. On Saturday, I finally got to go to a lys that I have been passing and passing but it is not in a convenient place. It's downtown Haddonfield, NJ where parking is at a premium. This is one of those towns that strives for old-timey perfection. They have a code that tells you what colors you can paint your house, etc. They once made a Viet Nam vet stop selling hot dogs from a cart downtown because it was unsightly. It is a historic area and terribly expensive. I like to walk down the streets but almost never shop there. I can't afford the snob tax. Well, Peter Kevin, Kate and I were on our way to a farm market on Saturday when he suggested that we stop at the yarn shop. I'll wait while you get back on your chairs. Yes, he said "why don't you check it out?". Kate and I (no fools here) jumped at the chance. It is a small shop, as big as my living room and had a terrific selection of expensive yarns. These were things I had never seen in person, koigu, debbie bliss, and some more unfamiliar names with high prices. I did buy some baby alpaca sock yarn that is so soft. It will make some really nice socks. but I don't think we will go back. They didn't have any medium priced yarns and no sale items. I would have to go without food and utilities to buy much of anything there. Kate wants to go back and treat herself to some koigu but has to wait until payday.

We had a lovely brunch with my Aunt Joan and my cousin's daughter. Kate was knitting and Alana was playing with her gameboy. She watched Kate for a few minutes and asked if Kate would teach her. So, we set her up with some yarn, needles, point protectors, small, foldable scissors and a small bag. She did three rows of a scarf and was so proud. Not bad for a 9 year old. Yay for spreading the gospel of the yarn arts! Next weekend we are going to try to go to a craft fair down at Batsto. Maybe we'll take Alana, too. Reinforce those craft urges.

Strikke along starts tomorrow!

If you enjoy photos like this one taken from the Astronomy Picture of the Day (apod) website, you might have enjoyed our evening last night. Living close to a city of some size is a great thing if you like to attend cultural events such as the ballet or visit art museums. Cities tend to attract speakers who can hold you spellbound with their wit and wisdom. Not this time. Peter Kevin and I are both huge fans of apod and make a habit to visit the site every day to see all manner of interesting images of space and sometimes photos of earth that are often breathtaking in their beauty. So, when we heard that one of the men responsible for the web site was coming to a local astronomical society meeting to speak, we made plans to have dinner and attend. I have often said that I think good teachers are born, not made. I stand by that statement. The speaker was a teacher, a college professor with a Phd who knows his stuff. He is not, however, a public speaker. It was so disappointing. The vice president of the club gave a talk regarding what was visible in the night sky at this time of year and he didn't seem to know his stuff. It was just sad to hear him say, "Hmm, I think Mars should be over here...." and of course, no one could see it. This event was held at the Fels Planetarium which is part of the Franklin Institute, a local science and learning institution for years and years. Every kid in this area has been there at least once on a school trip. Somehow, I managed to miss the planetarium as a kid. As an adult, I was less than impressed. And my neck hurts from craning it to look up for 2 hours.

On a less whiney note, I did get to knit some while we sat on a bench outside waiting for the event to start. The evening was balmy, very warm and humid for September. It was lovely. I am almost finished Elanor's Kaibashira socks. I am working the toe decreases so it will get finished tonight. It was too bad I didn't have my book light so I could have knitted during the lecture....although, I think the rest of the audience might have minded just a little since it was a dark auditorium.

Parcel. Package. Present. Surprise. Today, my package from Olivia came. It had one of her pots in it and it is awesome. I love the pot. It is going to work tomorrow and sitting on my desk so I can show it off. There was some sock yarn from the Knittery and some Pink Grapefruit from Happy Spider. It is so pretty and will make cheerful socks for dreary winter months. As you can see from this other picture, there were some other really cool things in there. Unfortunately, blogger doesn't have smell-o-vision so you can't smell the lavender soap. I love lavender. There is a magnet for my fridge, a bright, colorful window sticker that I will put on my car window, a map with a decidedly different skew on the world, and an Aussie knitting magazine. The little brown beads are all hand carved native woods and they are so pretty. Very different from what we are used to. She also included some postcards and one of Jejune's note cards. They are so pretty and the detail is amazng. See, in the front? There is my pot.

Since I work in a mental health center, I am thinking of putting the map (which is an "upside down map" with Australia on the top) on a bulleting board with a caption about changing the way we look at things.....I think it may cause people to think and that is always a good thing.

Thanks Olivia! This was fun.

For once, our plans for our Sunday came to fruition and we spent a splendid afternoon driving through the Wharton State Forest. This is what you see as you start your drive down the Quaker Bridge Road. Today is the first full day of fall. This was about 3 pm and the sky was the lovely deep blue that it gets in the fall. Not a cloud anywhere and the sense of quiet in the woods was complete. We passed folks on horseback taking advantage of the day. But other than a few other cars, we seemed to have the woods to ourselves. This photo shows the ferns and underbrush just starting to grow back after a fire. We have had several small fires this year and one major one. The major one was started by an Air Force flyer who dropped a flare on a training mission and it started a forest fire (duh). It burned four families out of their homes and destroyed several thousand acres of forest. But nature is amazing as always and the light greens are becoming visible through the blackened tree trunks and soil. The soil through here is mostly sand. It is only about 25 miles from the coast. We ended up at Batsto which is part of the NJ park system and always an interesting place. Today we were marveling at how low the lake is and how the water over the dam seems so shallow. We also saw how charcoal used to be made. It was mostly burned wood and was made in kilns that looked like this one. Batsto was once a major source of iron and glass in the area. The lake and surrounding rivers are "cedar water" although the orange color is not caused by the trees but by the amount of iron in the soil. The lake today was a brilliant blue as it reflected the sky.

After that, we were all hungry and headed back to the picnic area and had chicken salad sandwiches and home made chocolate chip cookies. And of course, knitting. I got in some knitting on Elanor's Kaibashira socks and will probably finish them shortly. It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I hope your weekend was a good one.

Happy Friday! I got home from work early enough to sit outside and knit (and fall asleep!) in the beautiful afternoon warmth. I have finished the first Kaibashira sock made with the Starry Night colorway. It looks a little big to me but Elanor tried it one and likes the looser fit. It doesn't stretch much so maybe this is good. I am about 3 inches into number 2 so I can finish it before Julie's strikke-along starts. It's hard to tell if the colors come through in this photo but they range from a yellowish green to teal to grey and various shades in between. I can't wait to see what my other skein will look like. I hope it is close because I really love this.

My yarn for the strikke-along came and I am excited to begin. I am doing the Snowflake Sock pattern from IK's fall issue. I am using blue and white yarns and I have never done colorwork before so I am psyching myself up for this!

A while ago, Bells wanted to see photos of where everyone lived. I have never taken photos of my neighborhood because it is not very fascinating and very typical of developments from the 1950's in America. You can see the boxy style of the houses and the large trees surrounding them. We bought our house because it had a good sized yard for our kids to play in and they made

good use of it over the years. It is a quiet neighborhood which is in the process of "changing over". The children have grown and moved on and the parents are moving out and new young families are moving in to claim their own piece of the pie. Both the elementary and high schools are within walking distance which was always nice. The girls went to school with the kids in the neighborhood. I could always tell when the third graders got their flutophones (small plastic recorder-like flutes) because I could hear them playing them all the way home. The music dept. gave them out to gauge interest in instrumental music. The fourth graders get the chance to play real instruments. A good place, I think for children to grow up.

Well, it's time for the Friday night pizza/wings meal and everyone is hungry. After cleaning and laundry and such tomorrow, we are planning a drive through the woods and a picnic dinner at Batsto. I'll try to get some good shots of the beauty of the pinelands. In the meantime, have a good weekend, everyone!

Well, I took the careers quiz and they picked Social Worker as my number one profession.
I guess that's a good thing because I am a social worker. They also said I could be an addictions counselor, clergy or a therapist. All talking professions. Hmmm, wonder what that says? I was kinda hoping they would say "astronaut", my childhood dream. Although I don't think NASA would be interested in a nearly 50 year old social worker....

Well, it's Sunday evening and I cannot for the life of me figure out where the weekend went. I know everyone feels this way but damn.

Here is a picture of my finished Tofutsie mock cable socks. They are a pretty good match. The yarn is very thin but knits up into a soft and comfortable sock. I wore them Friday and spent the day pulling up my pant leg to show them off. If I were a faster knitter, I could make a killing selling hand knit socks where I work! Here is the beginning of the Kaibashira socks using the Starry Night colorway from Art Walk .

I really struggled with this pattern. This is try number 5 and I only got the required number of stitches I needed by modifying it a little. Maybe I finally did it right! I don't know but it worked. I love this color. I chose the pattern because it is a really subtle design and I wanted to let the colors of the yarn show through. I think this photo is pretty true to the colors. This pair of socks is going to my oldest daughter because I promised and I can't make myself go back on a promise no matter how minor it seems. However, on a happy note, Roxanne from Art Walk has a cake of yarn left and will sell it to me so I can have one for myself. I am a happy woman.

Kate and I went to check out our new Michael's. They moved into newer quarters and in our opinion, they made a mistake. The new store is nice but the aisles are too small for people to browse and let others go past. And they do not sell sock needles! Thankfully we have another craft store nearby where we found everything we need to start the Strikke along in October. Now we just have to wait for the yarn to come from Knit picks. I know I can order needles from them (and they are good ones) but I like to occasionally go into a store and see and touch things before I buy them. Internet shopping is wonderful, but there is alot to be said for being able to actually see your merchandise.

Our weather has taken a decided turn toward Fall. Then nights are very cool and the days are bright and clear. None of the haze that summer often brings. I love this time of year with the holidays around the corner (or on the doorstep if you listen to Hallmark!)

I hope everyone had a good weekend and that your days are peaceful.

You Are Sunrise

You enjoy living a slow, fulfilling life. You enjoy living every moment, no matter how ordinary. You are a person of reflection and meditation. You start and end every day by looking inward. Caring and giving, you enjoy making people happy. You're often cooking for friends or buying them gifts. All in all, you know how to love life for what it is - not for how it should be.

What Time Of Day Are You?

This is so me. I like my life slow and don't like to be rushed for anything. I did however stay up last night and finish the Tofutsie socks. They look great. I can't wait to wear them to work tomorrow. Now I can play with my Starry Night. I think I found a pattern I like. It's the Kaibashira Pattern by Magknits. You can find it on the Art Walk Sock Yarn website. For some reason I am having trouble linking to it here. I cast on this morning. The instructions say "Cast on 187 stitches" FOR A SOCK FOR WHOM? Then I read the rest and there are stitch decreases involving slipping 8 stitches at a time in the first row so you end up with a normal amount. It threw me there for a minute.



Thanks for the thoughts about comments and blogging. I tend to ignore folks who don't like me, although I remember when I first realized that someone didn't like me. I was devastated. How could they not like me? I was all of 10, I think and it was maddening. Now, I am more philosophical and say meh, no big deal. My girls are another matter. No body disses Mom. I raised them right.....

I have been thinking a lot the last few days (yes, I think!). Mostly about the internet and blogging. I read a lot of blogs and enjoy most of them, otherwise I wouldn't go back and read them. If I have a thought or opinion, I comment. Supportive comments are the norm but often it's just to say I agree, or not, with what someone has said. If I read a very popular blog which has 100+ comments I most probably won't leave a comment because I figure they won't even read all the way down to the end and don't need one more comment agreeing with them. I like finding new blogs and reading about other people's ideas and thoughts. That is one of the most amazing things to me. That you can sit down with a computer and write whatever you want and send it out there. There is a power in that.

The thing I won't do is leave snarky or mean comments on people's blogs. If I read something and don't like what the person is saying I may comment and say what I think but not question their intelligence or their right to blog about whatever they want. It's called freedom of speech.

I don't generally stand on the soapbox but we have been having some discussions around my house this week. My children are very protective of me and tend to jump to my defense even if I don't need it. They are good kids.

Kate has ordered the yarn for our Strikkealong that Julie is running. We are making the Snowflake Socks from the fall issue of IK. Neither one of us has ever done any stranded color knitting and this is an adventure. Kate just got her first debit card and wanted to try it out so she ordered the yarn from Knitpicks. Her card works just fine. That could be a problem. I am concerned about the socks fitting. I know that stranded color knitting does not stretch well so I am going to make them on larger needles. I hope that helps. The pattern is too difficult looking for me to try to mess with stitch counts to increase them. Who doesn't love a challenge?

It came today. I knew what it was by the postmark and I wanted to prolong the anticipation just a little. So, I put it aside as I finished one more chore. And then I couldn't wait anymore. Here it is, the colorway is Starry Night and it is named after the painting by Van Gogh. It is beautiful. I knew it would be because Roxanne has such a good eye for color. This is the second month of the Art Walk Sock Yarn and I am loving it. Not only do I get some lovely yarn but Roxanne includes a page showing the painting and giving some info about the artist and the particular painting. Starry Night has always been one of my favorite paintings and the colors she pulled out of the painting for the yarn are so lovely. I promised my oldest daughter, Elanor, that she could have the socks made from it but I am having second thoughts. What kind of mother would deprive her child of socks so she can make some for herself? (even though the child is 23 and able to make some of her own if she could knit). I'll probably give them to her.

And I noticed that now my Knitting Daily button has disappeared. What is going on? Where are these buttons going? Are they floating around the blogosphere waiting to be snagged and brought back to the page? So, if anyone sees my knitting daily button, (or my meez for that matter) let me know.

I finished sock number one of the blue/white tofutsie mock cable socks. This is sock No.1, Partial Sock No.2 and potential sock. Bells is right. This is an easy sock and it looks great and it seems to go very quickly. This could become a favorite. It looks even better when it is stretched out on my foot. Then the "cables" really show. Number two is about a quarter of the way done. I want to finish them so I can wear them, of course, but also because I am anxiously waiting the Starry Night colorway from the Art Walk Sock Yarn Club. It should arrive any day and I want to play with it. I am not real good with more than one project at a time. I'm afraid I will succumb to the terrible scourge that is SSS.

As I was riding home today, I was working on my sock and a young woman sat next to me. She asked "Is that knitting?" I replied that it was. She was intrigued with the four needles so I explained that it's really easier than it looks. She is interested in crochet and wanted to know which was better. Here is where my better angel took over. I said "both are good. It all depends on your preference although I think knitting is more versatile". She was going to try to find some web sites to teach herself to knit and crochet. I allowed as to how it was ok to do both and she might enjoy both. She left with a smile.

And lastly, I showed off my finished sock at work to a friend who asked to see it. She gave me what I am sure she thought was the ultimate compliment. Can you guess? She said "It looks like it came from a store". But she kept touching it and rubbing it. I wondered, "when's the last time you fondled 'store bought' socks?".

On the boardwalk in Atlantic City....Come on, sing along! Yes, we made it to Atlantic City and back safely although that was iffy for a while. As you can see in this photo, the day was brilliant. The weather was perfect. This is the boardwalk from outside of Bally's casino looking down the walk. The scaffolding on the left is part of the seemingly everpresent construction. They are putting in some upscale designer shops. On the right is the facade that makes up the Golden Nugget casino. It's made to look like an old western town, if old western towns went in for pastel shades of paint. The next photo is a shot of the inside of a store called It'Sugar. And it is. All of it. It is a candy store with three floors. I loved these candy buttons when I was a kid, although I remember eating a lot of paper when the candy didn't come off. And here is a photo of my almost finished sock resting on a bench in the shade. I won't describe the look on the face of my group member as I took photos of my knitting. Suffice it to say, she thought I was a little strange. I tried to take a photo in front of the Welcome to Atlantic City sign but there was a large bag of trash in front of it and I just didn't want to touch it and move it.

We got to the bus station in time and waited in line for the bus. It is first come first served when you ride Greyhound. This is an important point to remember. We got there in an hour and the group broke up and went our separate ways. Some folks gambled but I decided to walk outside in the perfect day. We shopped in kitchy souvenir shops and had lunch outside. By 2 pm we were waiting in line for the scheduled 2:45 bus to take us home. We were waiting with about 80 other folks for the same bus. Well, it came and of course only about 50 people fit on the bus, leaving 30 or so left stranded. Greyhound doesn't guarantee anyone a seat on any bus at any time. After standing in line for over an hour, waiting for a bus we were assured "was on its way", a police officer told us that they were having "problems down the line and no buses were on their way". He then advised us to walk to the bus terminal, 2 blocks away and see if they could help us. To make this long story short, they couldn't.

There we were, 30 people waiting for a ride home. We were tired, dirty (a seagull decided I was his target for the day) and grumpy. When a Greyhound employee walked down through the crowd and people started to complain, she gave them the "pity violin gesture". You know the one, where you pretend to play the violin? Well, I thought the crowd was going to tear her apart. These were some tired people and she was dissing them big time. In the end, we waited until 5 o'clock for a bus to take us home. Three hours of standing in line. Damn my feet hurt.

So, if you are contemplating a bus trip, my advice is DON'T TAKE GREYHOUND. As Harry Chapin said "It's a dog of a way to get around".

Monday holidays are great. Until Tuesday rolls around and work starts again and you keep forgetting that it is Tuesday and not Monday. Which I did. All day. It was weird. But now Tuesday is over and somehow the fact that tomorrow is Wednesday is not so weird at all.

Wednesday is the day we are taking our Social Rehabilitation program to Atlantic City. Yes, folks, America's playground here we come. Well, that 's what the sign said and it was always ok until Las Vegas got all sexy with it's "what happens in Vegas..." campaign. Now Atlantic City thinks it needs its own sexy slogan. It is not a sexy place. It is trying to throw off the Miss America image that it had for years and years. It's kinda sad really. Miss America belongs in AC. But, anyway, the Soc Rehab folks wanted to go walk the boardwalk and so we are going tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be glorious and I am looking forward to spending the day walking in the sun and admiring the ocean. I got both of my tattoos in AC and if I had any money, I might be tempted to get number 3. Didn't know I was an inked woman? Yes, it's true. I have a flower bracelet on one ankle and a coordinating flower on my wrist. I love them. I chose my ankle and wrist because they are the least likely to sag as I get older. No one wants to see a saggy butt with a butterfly! This is my wrist flower . It has some bumps because when I had an mri done in April, the iron oxide in the ink was drawn to the surface of my skin. Now I just tell people it is Braille.

This is my ankle. The pale skin with the mosquito bites all over it.

I am taking the camera tomorrow and hopefully will get some wildlife shots in Atlantic City. The local fauna can be quite exotic.

We will call this "Toreador Monkeys on cooler". The Toreador monkeys are finally done and are at this moment in South Carolina cradling Emily's toes as she vacations in Myrtle Beach. I was lucky to get a photo before she packed them up. In keeping with my resolution, here are my mock cable socks made from some Tofutsie yarn that I bought a while ago. I like the colors and I like the way the pattern looks like a cable when it is really just a series of yo's and slipped stitches. The repeat is only 5 rows long and it is so easy to memorize. I have frogged these far less than other new patterns I have attempted. Wait, forget I said that. I am getting cocky and the knitting goddess will stomp on me hard! Here is a close up of the stitches and the ball band.

I included the ball band because this yarn has a strange composition. It feels very string-like when you touch it. I think I bought it because of the colors it came in (I have a pretty grey and pink ball as well) and for the uniqueness of it. For anyone who doesn't know, chitin is made from crushed crab and shrimp shells. How strange is that? Who thought that would make a good yarn addition? The label says "naturally antibacterial" but I am not sure how well that will hold up in the wash. The knited fabric is soft and springy to the touch. Fortunately, the pattern is very stretchy because I was afraid that anything made with this yarn would fall down. The pattern is from scarlettknits and I think it works really well with this stuff.

It is Sunday morning and we have just finished brunch. Sunday brunch has always been a big deal around here. All meals are a big deal (can you tell we like to eat?) but there is something peaceful about Sunday mornings. I am feeling relaxed and on my way to rested. I have gotten the shopping done, the house is clean and everyone is fed. Now I have to go feed my brother's cat and the rest of the day is mine. And tomorrow. Gotta love these long summer weekends. I may even be ready to go back to work on Tuesday.