Last Hurrah

I couldn't help it, I cast on for this during nap time today on my last official day of summer.

Marigold Socks by Pamela Wynne

I am using my latest dye job - this photo is a better representation of the color. I think it will be a nice fit with the pattern. This is my first attempt at anything lacy. I have heard a lace sock defined as having more than one intentional hole, so this counts as lace, right?

I changed the pattern to top down instead of toe up, and will probably do a heel flap rather than a short row heel, but the spirit of it is the same.

It's almost 8:00 on the eve of summer's end, and I am still in denial... the Bud's in bed and I think I will knit for a bit. :)

Congratulations, Dr. E!

This weekend I was able to spend time with my good friend E who was in town to "defend" for her PhD.

It felt so much like old times, it's hard to believe she moved away more than a year ago. *Sigh*

Like Sands Through the Hour Glass...

I am in major avoidance/denial mode. I am down to only hours of summer left. If I seem like I have dropped off the face of the electronic earth, that's why.

There has been quite a bit happening despite my attempts to stop time.

We hosted a rainy day BB-Q that Shelly mentioned on her blog.

The Bud and I went on a Sippers trip to K's cabin in Wisconsin.
It was a drizzly and gray, but we had a good time anyhow.

The Bud took his first boat ride on a paddle boat.

He seemed paralyzed during the ride (perhaps because we told him he had to be still on the boat). But after he was back on dry land he kept talking about the "boat" and "water", so I think he had a good time.
We didn't take the speed boat out (the water was too low), but the Bud did enjoy pretending to drive it.

(There are more "Sippers at the Cabin" photos on my flickr page.)


I also dyed another skein of yarn. I have had a tough time getting the colors right on my photos - they all turned out a little electric looking.

I played with this photo a bit, and it's closer to actual now. I layered reds with copper colors for a semi-solid look. I am thinking Marigold, but I am still trying to finish the Road Trip socks first. They are at about 70% right now.


Movie Night Update:
We the chose the date for "Movie Night" a while ago, but never officially announced it...
The 7th annual Back Yard, Big Screen Movie Night is on Saturday, September 29th.
If you have not been to one of the previous shindigs, we set up a 10X15 foot screen in our back yard for a double feature. Last year was rainy and ended up in the garage... we have booked better weather this year. Movie Night is constantly evolving, and this year the first feature will be a family friendly movie, so bring the kids.
Movies start at dusk, but arrive early for good conversation and a chance to stake out some seats. I'm sure Davin will be giving tours of the new deck progress as well.
The invite is open to anyone you would like to bring along, please let me know if you need directions.

Thank you, Auntie Sara

For some reason I am reminded of a commercial from long ago with a kid saying "Thank you, Easter Bunny" in a very cute voice. I don't even remember what the commercial was for, but that's how I hear "Thank you, Auntie Sara" in my head.

Here is a little movie for Sara (non-saras feel free to watch).


I can't believe that this shirt and his new San Fran shirt are both 4T - and they fit! My Bud is getting so big, it's like he's on steroids or something... oh wait... ;)


Speaking of that, I forgot to mention anything about our visit last week to Children's Hospital. Whatever it was in his lungs that was causing problems since the beginning of May has cleared up - finally. I think we finally got started on the right course of action and have been on it for long enough. He has been a healthy Bud since the last little flare up at the beginning of July. Because of the hospital stay over Memorial Day weekend, we are continuing on a low dose of neb-ed 'roids for awhile yet, but everything looks good. We also have a plan in place now for any future flare ups, which is reassuring.

*sigh* It's August

I haven't been intentionally hiding away from blogland this week. I think it is the fact that it is August and my days of freedom are numbered.
I actually have to work a few days this coming week. Argh.
Summer is slipping away. The school supplies have been out in stores since early July, but now it's starting to feel real. *sigh*

I forgot to mention an exciting part of my trip to Tucson...
our score for the license plate game:
39 states
plus 3 from Canada and 2 from Mexico
and the best part... we saw both Hawaii and Alaska! I don't think I have ever achieved that on a trip before. There are no pictures to back this up (it seemed a bit creepy to take photos of license plates), so you will just have to trust us.
Sara said she liked to imagine that our MN plates down south were helping other people with their own license plate games. :)

I didn't get as far on the Road trip socks as I had hoped. I am justifying it with the fact that I used US 0s instead of 1s, and I am doing both at the same time - which always feels like slower progress. They are both in the heel at this point.



I used my new Light box I made from the Strobist tutorial to take that photo of my Road Trip socks (yes, that is an old library card catalog - what can I say, I'm a library geek). The box works better for larger items. My Stretch Markers for my shop are so small, I feel like I still can't get enough light, but I do like how it makes the light very even with no shadows.


Grandma and Grandpa were in San Francisco while I was on my road trip. The Bud was pretty excited about wearing his souvenir.


I did experiment with dyeing one skein of yarn this week. I recently learned you could dye yarn with coffee, so I used that for the base color and added flecks of purple and orange to fit with the Aug/Sept Project Spectrum triad. I am very curious to see how it will knit up. Brown, purple and orange are some of my favorite colors.

We made it....

We woke up very early today. Since AZ doesn't participate in DST - it is 2 hours earlier than it feels for our bodies. That means we are up early with not a whole lot that can be done since nothing is open.

We tried to find a place with free wi-fi.... dumb *bucks wanted us to pay for it, and sitting in a hotel parking lot seemed a little creepy. It's late enough now that the public library is open. You gotta love the public library!

Since we were up so early with not a lot to do, we drove around a bit to get our bearings for later, and then walked around campus.

Sara's a wildcat!


On campus we also saw my favorite cactus so far.



I even took some Project Spectrum photos.


I have made progress on the road trip socks, but I forgot to take photos.
I hope to have more to show after the flight home tomorrow.

Sad and Shocking News

We had lunch at a great little truck-stop in Iowa - in between stops at "modern" rest areas.



The plan was to make it to Wichita, and have time to relax and catch a movie. However Davin called just as we were pulling into Wichita with the news about the 35W bridge collapse.
After that it seemed difficult to think about anything else. We got to a hotel and watched some CNN footage in shock for a bit before checking in and getting some dinner. It was strange to be away from home and see the footage of such a familiar place.
I only have snippets of news from the last 3 hours, but I am continuing to hope for as few casualties as possible. My thoughts are with all those involved and their families.

Tomorrow we head through the Oklahoma panhandle, a corner of Texas and into New Mexico.

Iowa Rocks!

I just had to post....
We have stopped in a "modern rest area" in Iowa.

When I saw the sign, I thought flush vs. pit toilet.... but no! It's modern!
It has wireless internet!
Rock on, Iowa!