Thursday, March 27, 2008

It's Easter...Right?

Check out the photo to the left. What do you see?

Well, what looks a little like something on the lens is actually SNOW falling on Easter Sunday. And, in the lower left, is our very first daffodil blossom of 2008.

Yes, it snowed on Easter here. And then the sun came out and melted the inch or so of accumulation off the deck and bridge. Then, later in the afternoon, the sun went away...and it started to sleet. Then, to hail. And, finally, to snow yet again. Almost an inch of accumulation of "stuff" on the deck...for the second time in the same day. What else can I say? Turn the fire on, please.

At least the wintry weather-mix, along with the NCAA Tournament action, gave me an excellent excuse (like I need one, right?) to spend the weekend knitting. I finished my Sassy Stripes socks (see photo, right) and the Ripple Wave Afghan (which is knit in 8 strips, then joined together) I made for a cousin's wedding ("ah, shouldn't ha' told you tha'"...to quote Hagrid of Harry Potter fame...since it's a gift that hasn't been given yet...so, I won't post a photo of it just yet). I really like these socks, which were a simple rib pattern, followed by stockinette stitch (SS).

Simple is all I can manage while watching the Tigers play...because they create way too much action on the screen to allow me the luxury of following any pattern stitch. They gave us a bit of a scare in their victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs...but they are nonetheless in the Sweet Sixteen. It should be another exciting weekend!

Monday, March 17, 2008

On March 17th, Everyone is Irish!


We're back...! Yes, we had a wonderful week in Ireland, returning last Wednesday...exhausted after the l-o-n-g flight from Dublin to Chicago and then the 5-hour+ drive home to STL...but ever-so-glad that we'd made the trip. I spent most of yesterday and today printing photos and creating our Photo Book on Photoworks.com. If you'd like to see it, follow this link to My Page at: www.photoworks.com/members/Adsit2. BTW, we really like the way that PhotoWorks does the Photo Books...we've had 3 or 4 made there and always liked the results.

The photo of the green beam (above) is from the Guinness Storehouse self-guided tour. Thought it was appropriate for a post on St. Patrick's day. Here's a shot of St. Patrick's Cathedral (right).

Of course, we felt like we had found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow when we returned to NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday...and heard that the Memphis Tigers were the Number 1 seed in the South Region! Go Tigers Go! The games begin on Thursday of this week...so I'd better find a no-brainer project to let me knit through the inevitable tense moments that tournament games bring. How about that Harry Potter Third & Fourth Year scarf I'm knitting for Missy M? It's just knit, knit, knit in the round...the only thing I have to count is number of rounds in each color (19), then change color (gold to burgundy, then vice-versa). Sounds like it might be a perfect project for tournament time!

I worked on a couple of small projects on my trip: the Irish Hiking Scarf (more on that in a later post) and my Sassy Stripes socks. Most of our days were jam-packed with sightseeing, leaving us exhausted in the evenings...with little energy to pick up the pointy stix.

I did finish one of the Sassy Stripes socks, but I can't seem to make it from the heel to the toe on the other. This is the first time I've had a problem getting my hours straight when coming home (flying East to West). I can barely make it to 10:00 p.m. before falling asleep in my chair, knitting needles and project resting in my lap...but I seem to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 3:00 a.m. when getting up with one of the dogs. Reverse jet-lag? Oh well...this, too, shall pass.

On a positive note, we were amazed to find Ireland awash in buttercup-yellow, with daffodils blooming nearly everywhere we went. Coming home to the tiny shoots finally awakening from our own Spring bulbs fills me with hope: Winter will soon be just a memory! Meanwhile, here's a photo of a hillside near Thomastown in County Kilkenny, Ireland.

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