Knee Deep in It

Today, I am thankful for one thing. That I don't keep my yarn in the basement.

Actually, I'm thankful for more than that: That I don't keep my photos in the basement.

And that I have a husband who is a total gem in a crisis.

Because when your basement is under 4" of water and sewage backup, you really need a good partner.

(I'll spare you the photos.)

Quickly-

The trip to Denver was, physically, perhaps the worst flight I've ever been on. It was so turbulent (something about a "wind shear") for more than an hour that I almost threw up. I don't normally get motion sick. I'm fortunate that no drinks spilled on me. The folks across the aisle weren't so lucky. In any event, I didn't get much knitting done since I was terrified I'd stab myself in the eye, we were so bouncy.

Once in Denver, I picked up the needles some -- I tried to find the right number of stitches for the Ellens Half Pint Farm sock yarn that Erin and Maeve selected for me. It was looking great -- no pooling -- at 60 stitches, but wouldn't fit around my foot. Bummer! So I went up to 68 and 72 stitches, and got ugly pooling at both. Might have to go up (or down?) a needle size to get what I want -- right now I'm on size 1s. Maeve -- what was your magic number on that yarn?

It was good to see all my family in Denver -- several cousins I hadn't seen in years. Being at the funeral was strange. It was at the same parish where my parents were married 36 years ago, so it should be a place of joy. I remember going with my Grandma to Mass when I was a little girl, and how special that was. But the last three times I've been there have all been sad -- funerals for my mom, Grandma and now Grandpa. He did get a military burial the next day, replete with 21-gun salute that scared the bejesus out of my sister and me. And afterwards, we just got to all hang out together. If there's one thing a funeral teaches you, it's the value of time with people you love. (A lesson worth learning again and again.)

I arrived in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, and for some unknown reason I got to sit on the tarmac for nearly 2 hours. Home by 3, at work the next morning... I'm still recovering and catching up on my sleep. The bright side -- I came home to a clean closet, freshly painted and organization in progress! [pictures soon.]

I'm thisclose to finishing the main body of Breezy. If I can finish soon, I can go buy beads this weekend!

Odds, Ends

God bless summer. I love how cool it's been so far -- we've only had our air conditioning on for four days, and it's mid-June! I know that will change this weekend, when it gets hot. I will be in Denver for my grandfather's funeral, spending quality time with relatives. I fully expect to return to a hot, humid Washington summer.

Last weekend, I spent some quality time with friends, enjoying a wedding gift:

I've wanted a grill since we moved into the house last fall. Several of JT's friends finally granted my (our!) wish, so we had them over to feed them meat and veggies. We've been feasting on leftover corn and sausages all week. And, I tried the "best moist well-done burger" recipe from the latest Cook's Illustrated -- it involves adding milk and pulverized bread to the meat. I'm not a burger-eater, but the burger-eaters present raved. Yay!

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I've been knitting on the same project as for the last two months: Breezy. Breezy went to Monday's Nationals game, and I am now midway through the fifth (and hopefully last!) skein. Then I'll have to figure out how to knit with beads and do the edging. I'm reminding myself that the beading was one of the things that drew me to this project oh so long ago.

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Especially for Maeve (and back-among-the-living Kristine): The great Diet Coke and Mentos challenge.

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I am WOEFULLY overdue at showing off my Sockapaloooza socks. Check them out!

They were knit by the very talented Dyann of Dyann Knits. She used Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in a vibrant turquoise/blue/green mix -- I love them! And check out the top of the Cascading Leaves pattern:

Best of all, they fit! And they are SO SOFT -- thanks again!!

[For those wondering: I sent the Elfine socks to Amy.]

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Thanks to Allison for telling me about this:

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 9032403

Anyone else game? (cough cough Holly cough)

ISO: Knitting Zen

Oooh, look, knitting!

I confess I haven't felt much knitting zen lately. In my head, I'm all a-knit. But when I sit down and take the needles, I get frustrated. I grow restless. I love the process, but most nights it's putting me to sleep. Also, because there's so much else going on--we're about to undertake some fairly major redecorating/reorganization/decluttering steps--it's hard for me to relax and enjoy the knitting zen. My eyes are darting around the room, scanning for possibilities in the house's bones.

In any event, I'm s-l-o-w-l-y making progress on Breezy. I'm just about to finish the fourth (of six) skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca Silk. Luckily, this yarn is still like butter, or I would've given up long ago. The bad news is that this project has officially outgrown its little ziploc carrying case, which means it's no longer suitable subway knitting. Too bad - it was a perfect subway project. It's now rounding the 40" mark:

Here's what I worked on in Belize: It's a Badcaul sock by Anna Bell, worked in Mama E's sock yarn in the Lollygirl colorway. LOVE the color! Love the pattern! The pattern does not love my feet -- I turned the heel and can't get it over my foot! I'd already added four stitches to the ankle for the turning-bleh. Tinking is next up, and I really am having a hard time getting behind that. I'm ready to wear these socks already!