Wednesday July 18, 2007

It bothers when the stupid meteorologists keep interrupting what I’m watching (So You Think You Can Dance) just to tell me it’s raining. It’ raining. Eek. Oh, and there’s some lightning, too? Whatever shall I do? Seriously, it’s just a thunderstorm. It’s not like I can’t handle it. Just wait until it’s winter again and they interrupt to tell me that it’s snowing in seventeen different ways – what the hell is the difference between a snow advisory and a winter storm warning? Just look outside. You’re almost always right if you just look outside!

 

 

 

Singing along to Dreamgirls. Hairbrush microphones are essential – required equipment.

 

 

I have had a productive week thus far (it’s amazing how much crafting one can accomplish when one is on summer vacation). Here are a pair of socks that I finished this week. I actually completed the first sock in May, but I didn’t cast on the second sock right away because I needed to work on my uncle’s socks for his birthday. After completing his in Montreal, I cast this one on. Well, I cast it on at the Montreal airport. Because I had to sit on the tarmac for 4 hours before taking off, I managed to complete the leg of the sock on that “flight.” It was a rather frustrating experience. It’s not so bad to be stuck at the airport; it’s entirely different to be stuck on an immobile aircraft (especially when you’re sitting in the window seat and really ought to have a good reason to make two people move out of the way so you can get up). It’s okay though, because after 3 hours of being on the plane, they offered me a warm beverage. There is nothing so refreshing as a warm can of ginger ale. The socks are made from Ruby Sapphire Reece sock yarn. The pattern is pretty basic – just a couple of X’s down the leg.

 

 

Okay, the picture looks a bit wonky. The feet are of normal proportion. These are my uncle’s birthday socks. His birthday was at the end of June. Oops. Well, one doesn’t really need wool socks in the heat of summer, right? They are made with Louet Gems (color: Caribou) and the pattern is Jaywalkers .

 

 

I finally felted this bowl. I made it months ago. I really like how it turned out. The pattern is from Knitpicks: Knock Your Socks Off Felted Bowls; I know that it’s Knitpicks Memories yarn, but, I’m sorry, I don’t know the color name (bad knitter…).

 

 

I started this coiling project last fall, I think. I finished it up this week. I used to do a lot of coiling when I was in middle school (thank you to my Fiber Arts teacher), but I hadn’t done any since then. I can’t believe that I remembered how to start it out. Truth be told, I finished the project because I was frustrated with the red yarn – it kept breaking on me. I am satisfied with it. I haven’t decided where it’s going to end up.

 

Well, tomorrow is road trip day. My folks are picking me up at 8am and we’re heading down to Hilton Head Island for a week. We’ll pick up my sister’s family in Charlotte on the way down and then we’ll pick up my brother and his wife at the airport in Savannah. Sun, family, and alligators – oh my. Here is what I will be taking with me to knit:

 

 

It’s my Harry Potter knitting for this season o’ Potter. I am loving this pattern. It’s Fawkes from Socktopia. I’m knitting it with Ruby Sapphire’s Julie that I received from my Lime n’ Violet Swap partner.

I love it!! Fun knitting for the road.

Where Has Sheldon been? July 11, 2007

I’m back from my trip to Quebec. Despite a hiccup of 4 hours sitting on the tarmac at the Montreal airport waiting for clearance to fly home, it was a great trip. See what Sheldon saw…

 

That is the view from the top of Mont Royale. It actually took a while to get an opportunity to take this picture – it was quite cloudy and rainy while I was in Montreal.

 

 

Here is Sheldon eating poutine – the classic comfort food in Quebec. Actually, I had an adulterated version… the classic version is fries slathered in gravy and topped with cheese curds (visible in the background). My vegetarian version had fries topped with cheese curds, tomatoes, onions, and peppers. Quite tasty.

 

 

Here is Sheldon enjoying a nice glass of Canadian wine…

I also lost myself in the Montreal Botanical Garden (Jardin Botanique) for many hours. The setting is very large and includes several different types of gardens: English, vegetable, First Nations, Arctic, Chinese, Japanese, an arboretum. I felt like I rushed through the gardens and I was there for five or six hours. I thought the old city in Quebec City was quaint, charming, and swarming with tourists. A ferry ride across the St. Lawrence River in Quebec City at night was a treat. People watching was great. Okay, complaint time… I found the Quebecois French very difficult to understand. I took several years of French and, at one point, I was quite competent in my French speaking skills, but the French I was hearing was completely different. Imagine being a native French speaker taking years of American English, and then going to Scotland (now, nothing against Scotland here… just using you as an example…). Now we both speak English, but it doesn’t exactly sound the same, now does it? Fortunately for me, everybody in Quebec also appears to speak English to a reasonable degree. Much easier than trying to do laundry in Paranagua, Brasil!

Pretty Monday July 3, 2007

Yesterday I took my friend to the Japanese Garden in town. So pretty…

Note to self: Next time you go, don’t wear sandals. Pea Gravel is annoying and you should avoid spending time having to kick it out of your shoes. You don’t like it. Remember that.

 

Beautiful, right? Looks like it’s been there for hundreds of years, no? It’s man made – you can turn it on and off. Huh.

 

 

Sock monkeys are from my town. Apparently now they’re having an annual sock monkey event. Chicago had their cows; we have sock monkeys. We have a number of sock monkey statues around town. This is the one at Midway Village.

And here is the beauty we get…

 

 

I love Black-Eyed Susans. State flower of Maryland. I’m not in Maryland.

I leave today for Montreal and Quebec City. Yeah.