Music makes my world go ’round. Lately, I’ve been stuck on XM channel 8, which is all ’80s, all the time. I guess for three minutes or so at a time, I can remember what it was like to not have a care in the world, other than getting a paper in on time, or whether to buy a new dress for the next formal (duh? yes?).
My weekend was, as the trend seems to be going, not much like what I’d planned. It started Friday afternoon, when a call to my aunt to confirm Sunday’s furniture pick-up turned into “let’s do it next week when we can really enjoy the visit.” I walked back in the house to this:
Gretchen (aka: Sissy) was four-footing in the woods and tangled with a bee. It was really rather impressively swollen, but she kept hunting, and trying to learn to walk on fallen trees. By the time I went to the firehouse for dinner, it looked rough. The grape children’s chewable Benedryl didn’t do much for it by bedtime, but when I gave her a second one in the morning, within an hour, it was markedly improved, and by noon when the Knight got home, it looked normal.
I wish I had a cute, current shot of Baby G. Oh my goodness, how she made my WEEK! From the first moment I held her at just a few hours old, that baby has had my heart like no other. She knows it too. She rarely kisses her own father, yet when I shouted her name across the firehouse bays, she threw her arms wide and practically jumped into my arms, immediately pressing against my shoulder with her own little brand of upright spooning. While I was soaking that up, she picked up her head and gave me a kiss, smack on the lips! I got another before dinner, and yet another when they were leaving. It’s the simple things in life…
Saturday, I was up bright and early to head to the River City Knitters meeting with Rosanne. The bit on podcasts was interesting, but I still think I’m a reader. If there’s noise, I’d rather have music than someone I don’t know talking to me. If you go to the Show and Tell page, you can see me with Margaret (blogless) and our socks. She did contrasting toes, but I wasn’t excited about contrasting toes, for some reason. Margaret’s look awesome though!
Yes, yes, I finished the second motif sock, just in time to gift on schedule, but that post will have to wait. After the meeting, a group of us went to lunch together at PF Chang’s. Robin was having something delightful that I couldn’t resist; I don’t know the name of it, but the shrimp with the melon balls and glazed walnuts was outstanding! It was great to see Mary again too. Katie and Alice were there too. (Hurry up and click on Alice’s name to see that INCREDIBLE waffle weave towel she made!)
Rosanne kicked off my birthday celebrations on Saturday with a great tote full of goodies. I’m not about to blog about every gift I receive, or even all of the yarn-related ones, but Rosanne is a gifted giver, and as always, there are a couple of items that if I didn’t share them here, I’d be remiss in my duties as an enabler.
Firstly, there were these beautiful stitch markers from Better Bead It! Designs. They’re truly little works of art, made from glass beads. I need a better system for storing all of my pretty stitch markers; some are in the pouch Mary made for me, but you know, stitch markers comes in different sizes, and now, I have crochet markers too… So many accessories, so little well-designed storage!
This is a coffee table cookbook if ever there was one. SIGH! The Knight has been watching the cupcake craze, and wishes he’d been able to have a cupcake “cake” in lieu of our wedding cake. There are some impressive ideas within, and I might – MIGHT! – just be inspired to create cupcakes galore for his next birthday. The food stager and photographer(s) for this book have my deepest respect, and if you happen to live near Charlottesville, let me know. I might be in need of an outstanding food artist… Oh – and be sure to click on the photo and go visit the website. I haven’t joined the club yet, but you never know…
After a great morning and afternoon with friends, I knitted a bit and then headed to the station for dinner again with the Knight and his duty crew. Bless the captain’s heart… He and the Knight prepared a feast, to celebrate his wife’s birthday (Sunday) and mine. He even made us a cake, and I’m sure you’re sorry the Knight didn’t snap a photo of the two of us blowing out our candles together. She’s quite a bit younger than I am, so her wise husband simply gave us two candles each. The guys muddled through just about the worst rendition of “Happy Birthday” I’ve ever heard, so much so that I began singing to my fellow celebrant too, in an effort to drown them out.
Sunday was lunch and thank you cards at the inlaws’ house, followed by the Knight snoring while I knitted. I’ll do an FO post on the socks soon, and probably before dinner tonight, I’ll finish the hat that’s been languishing for weeks too.
How was your weekend?
Sunday, I think we’re going to stay in town long enough to have lunch with the Knight’s extended family at his parents’ house, but we’ll have to bug out and leave them to start on the Thank You Notes without us. (Yeah. SNOL if you will, those who know the Knight. Like he’d even sign his own name on a TY.) I feel that’s a fair compromise, because I’m sure they won’t finish tomorrow, and I will have at least a few to help with on Monday at work. Even if they do finish without me, frankly, I feel it’s fitting and more socially correct for the TYs to come from Pop’s children, not a granddaughter inlaw, right?
Then, we’ll head to “The Gateway to the Northern Neck” and with a rather bitter twist of fate, close out my grandmother’s estate by picking up my furniture inheritance. They’re calling for storms, but we’ll take tarps and tape, and it will be okay. Hopefully, we’ll be able to have supper with my aunt and uncle before we head home. Dodging storms would be nice too.
I’m also going to finish the motif sock this weekend if I have to pull an all-nighter. I wanted it done for tomorrow’s show and tell at the guild meeting, but that ain’t happenin’. This will be my last non 2 at a time socks for a while, because I do indeed have second sock syndrome. I can’t imagine how painful the stockinette foot will be, but at least I have lots of travel time for mindless knitting. I may have to get Rosanne to stop somewhere tomorrow in the City (Richmond, as opposed to the village I live in) to get me a book light, just in case Sunday evening’s return trip is in the dark. Sure, it’ll drive the Knight up the wall, but he’ll feel sorry for me and just shake his head… He doesn’t need to see anyway. Both of our vehicles can make the trip from the farm home (or vice versa) on auto-pilot. 
Before going to bed last night so my feet could hit the floor and make Satan shudder, I not only finished the first Motif Sock, but I started #2 as well. Yeah, it is too big for my custom-made for ME sock blocker, so maybe that’s a hint for some special someone out there, huh? I love the cool blues against the vivid green of Sissy’s yard, and it does indeed remind me of my beloved Blue Ridge Mountains, meeting the sweet summer sky on a nearly – but not quite – cloudless day. I have that angst one always has when making socks for someone else… I just hope they fit!
It wasn’t so long ago that Mugsy was often too active to pose for a decent photo. It makes me sad to realize he’s aging, and it seems to be happening rather quickly. For all the constant chatter about wild, wonderful Sissy, Mugsy is still my prince, my baby man, and one of the best dogs ever. If anything, Sissy’s antics make Mugsy, even as an active puppy, seem even more like the little piece of heaven that he is.
Also, while the humidity’s down, so it my hair, so here’s a shot of a decent hair day. I assure you, I am not on drugs, no matter how it looks. MJ just doesn’t seem to be able to capture me looking anything other than weird. The idea is that the top and sides are smooth and the bottom flips out. The bottom is always happy to do its thing, but the sides want to flip too, and the top alternates between being too flat and curling like crazy. I think I’m still searching for the perfect style, and I’m going to make another appointment soon. 
Chan Knits 