Saturday, April 5, 2008


Here it is Saturday morning and I am indulging in a bit of vanity. Hello, my name is Donna Lee and it's been three weeks since my last dye job. I have no intention at this time of stopping. I like it when people are surprised that I am 50. I am not ready for all the grey that is lurking under the L'Oreal Dark Auburn (no. 4R). Someday, but not today. So, while I sit here engulfed in lovely chemical smells, (aren't you glad we don't have "smell-o-vision"?), I'll show you Peter Kevin's Spey Valley socks.

Those are his feet perched on the messy computer desk. The socks came out great. He wore them to work yesterday and reminded me not to put them in the washer today when I do the laundry. Like I'd forget. They used much less yarn than I expected. It is thick and warm and he probably won't wear them much this year although he doesn't wear thin dress socks. He likes thick ones. It was an easy pattern and I would use it again.

I am now working to finish the MacGreggor socks for Em and the Go with the flow socks for me. Kate and I were in the local craft store and we noticed that they are now stocking Lion Brand Fisherman's wool in two colors. I wanted to make PK a cabled sweater and the soft brown that they carry is perfect. Now I have to find a pattern that is not too fussy. I'd like it to be a Christmas gift but that would be hard since he is always around while I'm knitting. Maybe it could become my train knitting. Kate and I would like to make lace shawls for my aunts for Christmas. I guess I need to get started or these things will never happen.

We are getting a reprieve in the clouds for the moment. The sun is out and I can see the red buds on the maple out my bedroom window. Soon that tree will be covered in helicopters and so will every surface around. Nature is remarkably creative in her endless desire to propagate a species. Peter Kevin is outside getting ready to rake the dead leaves and turn over garden soil. I can taste the tomatoes already!

11 comments:

roxie said...

As long as you keep the roots covered, I can not fault you. To each her own. I wear my grey with pride because, dammit, I EARNED it! But I'm lucky in the way it's coming in, so no complaints.

The socks are awesome! Bravo! Lucky man.

Your description of the morning is so delightful. How about a photo of that redbud? I don't think I've ever seen one.

amy said...

Oh, I hope some of that sun works its way up here. Spring is so late. I feel like we're running the last mile of a marathon, just to get to some decent weather. It's wearing on me that much.

I don't dye. My grey is too stubborn for the at-home kits, and I'd rather spend the money on something else than a salon dye job. But I'm always shocked by how much older I look. I've also had grey hairs since my late 20s, though. It's genetic.

Bells said...

i'm with you on the grey. At 35 I'm too young to go grey and I have a lot of it so it HAS to stay covered. Although, I'd consider going properly grey if I didn't have to grow out the dye first. Can you imagine?

The SV socks are fantastic. Really lovely.

Yay for spring gardening!

Sheepish Annie said...

I have no problem with the gray hair. As long as it is sensibly dressed in smelly bleach. My "highlights" aren't there just for that sun-kissed look. They hide a multitude of sins.

I stand beside you with pride.

Rose Red said...

I kinda like my grey hair (lots of people ask me if I dye it that way!!) - but each to their own, if dying makes you feel good then go for it!

Nice socks - it's a good pattern, isn't it!

TinkingBell said...

Gosh - you have been in the wars while I've been away! I hope you feel much much better soon! (I love henna BTW - I'm speckly gray bits over dark red, so the henna looks great and fades - so no root problem - when I get greyer I'll have to re-assess!)

Bezzie said...

And now the clouds are back!

Nice socks! They turned out great--a nice manly color and not too boring pattern!

Alwen said...

I'm lucky there, 40+ and just starting to get the odd silver thread. If it goes like my dad's (minus the male pattern baldness, thx very much), I'll be in my sixties before it really goes grey.

Anyhow, beaming health rays at you & admiring those socks!

Olivia said...

Well I think you should wear your hair any colour you want.

PK's socks look fabulous.

Amy Lane said...

That sounds like like a lovely, easy, sweet way to spend a weekend...the socks are fabulous...and I don't know about PK, but I know that I could be working on a sweater for Mate for weeks before he'd ask what I was doing!!

jessie said...

Great socks!

You know, Time or Newsweek recently did a survey on women coloring their hair, and sadly, gray hair is apparently not popular. I'm 40, been coloring since 30, if not earlier, and I really want to stop. But I look so much better without the gray! (Note: I know several woman who have absolutely stunning gray hair, but I get skunk streaks that I do not find flatter me at all.)

In the magazine article, a woman who stopped coloring her hair said not only did people rate her as less attractive, but then women who did dye their hair hated her for having the courage to go natural.

You can't win!

Happy Sunday!  I am sitting here working on my sweater made with the cashmere yarn my husband gave me for my birthday last year. I’m further...