Crossing the Finish Line

I made it...with a few hours to spare, even! Yes, I finished my Teal Summer Olympics Sweater for the Ravelymics Sweater Sprint challenge. I was sewing on the buttons and weaving in the (insert bad word here) yarn tails during the Gold Medal ceremony for the US Women's Relay around 10:30 p.m. CDST Saturday night...heck, I felt like they were playing the National Anthem for me!! Especially after my "crisis of confidence" on Friday night when I wasn't at all sure I could make it to the finish line before 10:59 a.m. Sunday morning (official time of the Closing Ceremonies in Beijing). But, I kept on knitting...and am happy with the results. (Play theme from Rocky here.)

As I posted the photo (above, left) to the Ravelry site, I saw all the fantastic projects that were completed by many, many talented folks. Amazing! Some of them looked like the knitter must have worked night and day, day and night, for the full 17 days. My sweater is a simple garter stitch pattern (well, I wanted to be able to complete my project in the time period), for which I used a yarn with an interesting texture (Pebbles) and some really neat buttons to dress it up. And, as you can see (above, right), I earned my Bobicus Medal for the Sweater Sprint (don't ask...it's a Ravelry thing...:)

Will I do this again in 4 years? Oh yes...I do love a challenge, after all. But, I may take a hint from some of the other FO's that were posted...I may consider using a heavier weight yarn and larger needles, and I'll certainly try to find a way to lessen or eliminate all the weaving in at the end...I do hate that part, that's for sure...:)

So, what's next on the stix? Well, I want to finish Nana's Cornflower Blue Pullover. This one is already off the stix, actually, and in the "finishing" process: all I have to do is seam up the sides and weave in the loose threads (yuck...yet again) and I'll have another FO for '08. Next up: Mr. T's Red Shawl-Collared Cardigan...more on that at another time.

Weekends are Wonderful!

What a fun & busy weekend we had! On Saturday, Mr. T and I went to the Missouri Botanical Garden in STL for the GSLIS Iris Sale...with a lovely day in the garden as an added bonus. At the sale, we found several new irises, including "Titan's Glory, " "Bubbles Galore," "Rare Edition," "Yosemite Star," and "Patricia Claire." And, yes, the new babies are already planted (more on that later).

I would LOVE to show pictures of the pictures (!) of the irises we bought as well as of feeding the koi in the lake in the Japanese Garden and all the fantastical art in the park by Niki, but I forgot to take my camera. Needless to say, right after we went to the sale, we headed straight for the (fabulous) gift shop for a one-use camera. And as soon as I get it developed, I'll post some of our photos of the lovely day we enjoyed. Gee...remember what it was like before digital cameras? S-l-o-w. Oh well...I visited the MOBOT site and snatched this photo (right) of the Serpent Tree fountain by Niki, just so you'd know...

I cannot believe that it has taken us 5 years to discover this jewel-in-plain-sight. Founded in 1859, MOBOT is the nation's oldest botanical garden in continuous operation and a National Historic Landmark, as well as an oasis located in the area of STL known as The Hill. The Garden has 79 acres of beautiful trees, flowers and shrubs, including a rose garden, daylily garden, and iris garden; a (huge) 14-acre Japanese strolling garden with waterfalls, Tea Ceremony Pavilion (closed except for the Labor Day Japanese Festival each year) and a lovely lake, where we fed the (huge, huge!) koi; founder Henry Shaw's original 1850 estate home, where we strolled through the herb garden; and one of the world's largest collections of rare and endangered orchids (we saw some of those for sale in the gift shop, too). We rode the tram for a bit, which offered us a good overall view and gave us a little narration to learn more about the history, but we walked a lot...which allowed us to linger in the various gardens and enjoy things like the jumping fountains. When we have visitors, we will definitely add this stop to our tour: the Arch, a Cardinals Game (in season), Ted Drewe's Concrete Custard on Route 66, St. Charles Main Street and First Capitol Drive...and now MOBOT!

Speaking of visitors, we were fortunate to be on Cousin Wayne and Irene's route recently. They were "on a mission," returning to CA (where they've lived) from TN (where they are moving to) with a trailer for another furniture "run." Their lives have been so hectic lately with the move and with building a new house. Still, they were able to stay with us for a couple of nights, and we were hap-, hap-, happy to have them here. I remember visiting Wayne and his family in CA when I was about 10, and he took us to Disneyland...and "made" me ride on the Spinning Teacups...yikes!

In the photo (left), he is making friends with Gus...who truly believes that he is a lapdog, even though he weighs more than 60 pounds. Of course, before they headed out, we had to get the cameras clickin'. Here (right) are Irene and Wayne with Nana/Momma/Edith and Mr. T on the bridge in our back yard. Say "cheese!"

And, speaking of our back yard...boy, howdy, it sure looks different today! We came back from MOBOT and wanted to get the new irises in the ground (as the instruction were very specific: plant right away...do NOT allow to dry out!). Well, where we wanted to plant them was overgrown with daylilies that needed to be divided. And, we knew we'd have so many divisions of daylilies that we needed some more space to plant, so we decided to move some azaleas on the side of the house (which were struggling to survive in too much mid-day sun). Soooo, up came the azaleas. Where to put them? Oh, I know...let's create a small "contemplative garden space" a la MOBOT's Japanese Garden, under the oak tree in a shady area. And, that's what we did! Then, we started digging and dividing the daylilies...and that job lasted until after dark. Well, to be honest, it's still going on, since...even after replanting the former azalea bed AND the daylily bed with some of the divisions...we STILL have a wagon-load of divisions left! I'm currently bargaining with Mr. T. to till under a grassy area near the vegetable garden space...but he's holding out, saying there won't be any grass left, if I had my way. (Well...:) As soon as we get it all sorted out and cleaned up, I'll take some photos to post.

Got to close for now...get some knitting done. My Ravelympics sweater is coming along just fine, but after working in the yard and pulling those daylily clumps apart all day yesterday, I couldn't even hold the needles last night, much less knit a stitch. Better today. Maybe I can finish the right front...and then I'll just need to do the sleeves. Knit, knit, knit!

Let the Games Begin!

08/08/08 was a very special day all over the world. As we do every 4 years, we became closer to understanding and accepting our differences by joining together for the Summer Olympics. What a spectacular Opening Ceremony! And, is there anyone in the USA who isn't cheering for Michael Phelps in his quest for winning 8 gold medals, the most EVER in one Olympics? He's currently got 5...which means he also has 11 career golds, topping the previous mark of 9 golds, held by Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis and two others.


Of course, I also found myself cheering for the Benjamin Boukpeti as he won Togo's first-ever Olympic medal...a bronze in the individual slalom. I didn't even know where Togo was! Had to look it up on the Atlas. Now, that's what the Olympics are all about! Go, Togo!!

We were fortunate enough to get tickets to the 1996 Olympics which were held in Atlanta. Fabulous! We got to hear the National Anthem played when the USA won gold in Team Archery. Brings tears to my eyes, just thinking about it.


My own personal connection this year, however, is through knitting...what else? I've accepted the Ravelry challenge, having entered the Sweater Sprint for Team STL. We agreed to cast on the selected project during the Opening Ceremonies and complete it by the Closing Ceremonies seventeen days later. I got up on Friday (7:00 a.m. CDST = 8:00 p.m. Beijing time) to get started on my Teal Summer Olympics Sweater, which I am knitting with a textured cotton-blend yarn called Pebbles in a colorway called "Seaglass." As of now, five days into the challenge, I've completed the back and started on the left front. I'll try to keep you posted, but I have to stay off the PC and on the stix. Knit, knit, knit.