A Fun Saturday...For One...

The third Saturday in January...snow on the ground is melting, daffodils are starting to bloom 2 months early...must be time for the Annual Seed Savers Swap in Old Salem!

Sponsored by Slow Foods Piedmont and the NC Extension Master Gardeners of Forsyth County, this is quickly becoming a good draw for area home gardeners...and anyone who is interested in saving and sharing heritage seeds. We went last year and had such a good time that I eagerly noted the date on my 2013 calendar. I even made my Mount Carmel Pasta Salad (with broccoli from our garden...:-) to take as our contribution to the Pot Luck Lunch.

Alas, there would be no "we" this year, as Mr. T is recovering from an odd occurrence on Thursday. Well, getting a tooth pulled isn't all that odd, although at our age it is usually preceded by and followed by a good deal of pain. The odd thing was WHY he had to go through this in the first place.

He's been experiencing increasing pain in/under a crowned molar. It got so bad that he cut his travel workweek short and came home Wednesday evening...scaring me silly when he came through the back door a day earlier than expected.

He started Thursday off at the dentist's office, bright and early at 8:00, with a throbbing tooth and swollen jaw. She sent T to an endodontist in Greensboro, giving T the impression he could give T some relief and fix the problem that day.

The problem? The X-ray his dentist took showed at least 3 metal "filings," (not fillings), the kind endodontists use when performing a root canal, were UNDER the root of that tooth! What?! So many questions...where to begin? My main one was "...and no one has noticed this on an X-ray in all these years?" (It's been so long since T had the root canal and crown, that he doesn't even remember how long...)

Anyway, Mr. T called me as he was headed back to High Point to see an Oral Surgeon, recommended by Dr. Endodontist. And T was not a happy camper about that visit he'd just had...excuse me, that "consultation" he'd had, and paid $100 to hear there wasn't anything Dr. Endodontist could do...and certainly not today.

(Before T had to deal with yet another overly-impressed-with-himself out-of-network provider and pay to hear "come back next week...," I was able to find an in-network Oral Surgeon in Greensboro, one without all that haughty attitude and one who could do what needed to be done...that afternoon. Ah, the power of dental insurance.)

And what needed to be done? The Dr. had to pull that tooth. And, he gave Mr. T a scrip for antibiotics...which the other two should have done, in the very least. He also gave T some pain pills...and said the third day (today) would likely be the worst day. Dr. was right on all counts.

So, today it was just me and my basket of heirloom Nanking Green cotton to contribute to the seed exchange (you may recall that I got my original cotton seeds here last year)...and that bowl of pasta salad to contribute to the pot luck lunch table...that headed West to Winston-Salem.

By the time I arrived at the Single Brothers Workshop in Old Salem, the Swap was well-underway, and the pot-luck table looked like a swarm of locusts had attacked. Before I could get a serving spoon in my pasta salad, there were 2 people at my elbows, wanting to see what I had brought to share.

Since so many had congregated to the lunch side, that left a much smaller crowd to deal with in the seed swap side of the building. I was able to get heirloom seeds of tomatoes, watermelons, beans, peas, herbs, okra, and "soup" celery...whatever that is...many of which are from the Single Brothers Gardens in Old Salem. Hurrah!

And my little basket of cotton? It drew quite an interested crowd, including a reporter from a neighborhood paper who interviewed me and took my picture! Now, she said she'd taken well over 200 pictures that morning, so I have low expectations of seeing anything in print...but you never know...

By the time I gathered up my stuff to leave, I realized how very hungry I was...and that I was just a few blocks from our fav BBQ place in the Piedmont: Bib's Downtown. Called Mr. T to see if he thought he could manage 'cue...and he thought he'd certainly like to give it a try. Next stop: downtown Winston...

Before I could get home with the pig, though, I had to take a little detour...to Knit One Smock Too, a fav yarn shop that also has quilting and smocking supplies...to see about some buttons...and some sheep...and maybe a couple of alpaca. Tee hee.

Once home, we both devoured our sandwiches...closest thing to Memphis-style pulled pork barbecue we have found in this vast ocean of BBQ soup...which is what NC-style chopped pork, drowning in sauce tastes like to us. And don't get me started on Lexington-style red slaw...gross! Bib's gives you a choice between white slaw and red...but only because they feel they have to, being in NC. Dogs got the hush puppies. What's up with that? Where I'm from, hush puppies go with fish...not 'cue. Oh well, different strokes, right?

Inspired by looking through my bag of seed packets, Mr. T and I...accompanied by Duche$$ and Elmo...took a tour of the Kitchen Garden, which still has pockets of snow from Thursday night's fall. Believe it or not, the broccoli is still standing...still green...and still producing!

I love gardening, don't you?

Aloha! Part 2

nem·e·sis (nm-ss)  [From the online Free Dictionary]

n. pl. nem·e·ses (-sz)

1. A source of harm or ruin: Uncritical trust is my nemesis.
2. Retributive justice in its execution or outcome: To follow the proposed course of action is to invite nemesis.

3. An opponent that cannot be beaten or overcome.

4. One that inflicts retribution or vengeance.
5. Nemesis in Greek Mythology The goddess of retributive justice or vengeance.

[Pardon the interruption.  Had to take a longer break from posting than anticipated.  My nemesis caught up with me.  Vertigo...BPPV.  Cannot beat it or overcome it...must just take my medicine and let it run its course. Lost 4 days.  Better now, thank you.]

Now, where on earth was I?  Oh yes...I left you waiting for the rest of the story in Maui, didn't I?  Not a bad place to be!

Let's see...it was sunset on Monday, Labor Day, our third day on Maui.  And the whole world and its favorite aunt had been at the beach or in the pools, it seemed.  Or, auntie...as they say.  There was a luau going on down on the hotel's lawn, and we were enjoying the music (and a cold Hawaiian beer) on our lanai.  Since we "did" a luau on our first trip to the Islands in '79 (when we stayed on Oahu), and the host was Don Ho, we figured we'd already seen the best.  We'd also gone to the Polynesian Village on our second trip in '91 and learned the story of the arrival of the first people to the Islands...so all we'd really be going for was the music.  We had that...no charge!

Day Four started out a little...eh, differently, shall we say?  For one thing, there was no race for the best beach chairs at 7:00 a.m., as we'd noticed on the previous mornings.  And, instead of other guests, our first sight (right) was the landscaper...climbing the palm tree for some maintenance with a machete, next to our lanai where we were enjoying our breakfast!  Ah, summer season must be well and truly over.  We'd wondered when they did all the jobs that needed doing to keep this resort in tip-top order.  We learned that the hotel had far fewer guests, starting today...but that was just fine with those of us still there.  Mo' bettah, as they say.

We headed to the Beach Walkway to check out the south end...another nice little morning walk, about 25 minutes out, 25 minutes back.  More beautiful views, this time of Molokini (the islet that's really the rim of a partially sunken volcano crater...and a top snorkeling destination) and Kaho'olawe (the now-uninhabited island that was used by the U.S. Navy for bombing practice), one in front of the other off to the west, southwest of our part of Maui.  Once again, we spotted birds we don't see in NC...and took lots of photos of each of them.  That's a Western Cardinal (left)...close kin to the all-over bright red Northern (or as the Hawaiian Bird Book calls it the "Kentucky") Cardinal we have at our feeders.


A little beach time, then off to see some sights!  We headed to Lahaina, about an hour away on the West side of the island, to do a little shopping and gallery-hopping...and finish a fine day with some fine dining.  And, can you believe it?  We just happened to turn onto Dickenson Street when we headed into town off the main highway...and what should be right there but The Needlework Shop...the only yarn store on the island.  What luck!  Actually, they are really a quilt shop...and I would love to have taken a class in the art of Hawaiian quilting...but they do carry some locally-dyed yarns, two skeins of which came home with me.  Tee hee.

Oh, don't feel too sorry for Mr. T.  Right next door was the Maui Vintage clothing shop...home of the Hawaiian shirts like Thomas Magnum (be still my beating heart...:) wore.  He had a tough time deciding on which one he would wear out of the store (!), but he finally went with the Paradise Found Star Orchid in Black.  Good choice!  Doesn't he look fabulous in his new purchase, over there on the right?

After a few more shops and galleries, we found a cute cafe on Front Street that opened across the back to the beach...where they were having $2.00 margaritas until 6:00.  Best deal we found the whole week!  We both had been rather unimpressed with the mai tais (not like we remembered on our last trip...too many "specialities" or fancy additions to suit our tastes), so we decided to Go Mexican on Maui!  Tasty.

We topped off the evening with reservations at Pacific'O restaurant.  That's where that shot of us enjoying another sunset was taken (above), with the island of Lanai'i in the background.  Yes, that's real; that's not a fake back-drop behind us.  We were seated on the patio, practically on the beach where the luau (yes, another one...:) participants assembled before heading to their destination just down the beach.   Again we got to enjoy the music.  This evening, Mr. T got the mahimahi dish and I tried the ono (also known as the wahoo), prepared with macadamia nuts and goat cheese (again from the Surfing Goat dairy).  We split that beautiful salad over there on the left...I just had to take a shot of it before devouring.  Fantastic!

It was a lovely day, but we were happy to head the car back to Wailea.  Tomorrow would be a full day, with the Road to Hana on our itinerary.  What's that, you say?  Do return to learn all about it!

I'll have to pause my tale for another bit (hopefully not as long as the last...:), since it's time for the Fall Premiere of NCIS.  Gotta get my Gibbs fix!  I've had to make do with reruns all summer...and I'm ready.

See you soon!

Let's Begin Twenty-Ten

It's the first full week of the New Year.  As is most of the country, we are experiencing a Cold Snap here in the Piedmont of NC.  As I write this post, the Magnificent Seven Squirrels are having a fab time in the feeders (yes, there are 7 of them at once in the backyard...:), storing up for the predicted evening snow that is currently making its way across the mountains.  That photo to the left is from Missy M, who writes that she still had to go to work this morning anyway.  B-r-r-r-r-r.

I think this is one of my favorite times of the year.  The Holidays are behind us...along with severely hectic schedules.  Spring, with all its wonder and work, is far ahead of us.  This lull before Lent is just right for catching my breath and doing a little catching up.  So, let me get started already!  (I can't even do s-l-o-w slowly...:)

Before I get going with what's happenin' now, I should close the files on the Finished Objects for 2009.  As I said in an earlier post, my needles were clicking on several gifts (pictured to the right).  I knitted up yards and yards of 4-stitch I-cords for 8 Knitted Necklaces.  The knitting was really easy (almost boring) and could be done mindlessly while the football games were on TV.  I purchased pretty metal, wood, and glass pendants and got silver clasps and charms for accents.  The hardest part was attaching the findings, which I didn't have to do, but which I wanted to add for a little more pizazz. No fingernails left after that.

I also knitted a belt for SIL J, using tee-niney US 1 needles (think:  tooth picks) on sock yarn, then attached D-rings and a brass-toned charm, following a pattern from a box of To Go knitting patterns she had given me last Christmas.  Turn about is fair play, right.

And, then, the "fun" stuff.  I made these neat Ice Scraper mitts for the Men in My Life (T, J, and T) + one for Missy M and one for moi.  The Encore yarn (75/25 blend and in "school colors") is a much better choice than the recommended all-wool yarn, because...hey, news flash:  Ice Scrapers get wet!  The hardest part of this gift?  Finding enough ice scrapers; I bought all that the local Ace Hardware had.  Cornered the market.  Good thing too, since the Weather Channel says we're gonna need'em.

And, last but not least.  Missy M's Ripple Waves Afghan in her new furniture colors of cream, olives, and teal (the red is from the afghan draped on the chair)...and the Duck, Duck, Goose Socks.  That's a shot of her and Ella Rae (right) enjoying the new fu (our family name for an afghan...don't know where it came from, altho N/M/E says that's what I called my blanket when I was a tot) when they were still here at Christmas. She's gonna need that blankie and those socks (left) tonight, too, as she just called to say that she now has about 3" of snow, more or less, and still falling.

OK...that's about it for the FO Round-up.  As for what's on the needles now, I just finished the second sleeve on Mr. T's Shawl Collar Sweater.  It was the last piece left...and I'd lost it in the move...yikes!  Found it the other day...whew!!  Now, it's all about the blocking and assembling.  So, I guess you can still call it an Unfinished Object (UFO)...technically.

Other UFO's:   I did a few rows on my Woven Stitch Scarf (which I also "found" recently).  That one required more thinking than I was able to muster, as I was recovering from a particularly nasty bout with an intestinal virus.  Virus 1 - Patricia 0.  I was fine when I got up last Friday morning...queasy by noon...and KO'ed by three.  Took a day to get the fever down...and several more for me to be able to face solid food again.  But, right as rain now, thank goodness.

After yarn crawls to High Point, Greensboro (see photo, left, of Stitch Point), and Charlotte with Missy M over the Holidays, my stash is bulging with new and intriguing yarns and patterns.  Which to choose?  I decided on a rayon-with-copper-thread yarn called Water Hyacynth and a shawl pattern called Entwined Shoulder Shawl that I got at Charlotte Yarn.  I really fell in love with that shop, located in the Dilworth historic neighborhood, and will return...if I can borrow the GPS to help me find my way there again. And, I think this will be the perfect shawl for N/M/E to wear at her 90th birthday party...more on that later.

OK...gotta run to the store.  Bread and milk, you know.  Snow's a'coming!

Busy Week

Whew! I need to catch my breath. While the washer and dryer are doing their Monday morning thing(s), I’m enjoying a few minutes of relaxation…cup of coffee in hand, here in front of our fireplace. Thought I’d share my view with you, too. Ahhhhh….

Last week was a super busy one for us, starting with our first-ever Carolina Panthers game on Sunday. I had fried some chicken the night before, so we packed up a cooler and the picnic hamper for some tasty tail-gating, then headed off to join the crowd at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. As #34 DeAngelo Williams (formerly of the University of Memphis) is now a Panther, our interest in the team is more than just sharing the same state with them. (Update: DeAngelo scored the winning touchdown in yesterday's game vs. Tampa Bay!) Our seats are in the nose-bleed section AKA Section 520, and we had some interesting (shall we say?) Redskins fans as seat-mates (one of whom caused quite a “stir” near the end of the first quarter)…but they’d left by the half, the stadium staff cleaned up his mess, it did NOT rain as predicted, and we won the game…so, hooray!

Monday was a little more hectic than usual, with a follow-up doctor visit for N/M/E. Her foot problem is getting better (and certainly not keeping her from bridge…:), so we’re encouraged. Still, if you have the choice, you really don’t want to have had an allergic reaction to the generic medication and have to use the newer, more costly Brand-name version. Trust me on this.

Tuesday, I headed back to ATL for a couple of days. Work. Rain. Dentist. Rain. Back home. About covers it. Oh yeah…I’d downloaded the unabridged edition of Dan Brown’s newest book, The Lost Symbol, from Audible.com before I left…all 17.5 hours of it! So, I popped in my iPod connection, and Lillie Pearl PTC and I had a most enjoyable ride. Meanwhile, I’d put my name on the reserve list at the High Point Library for this book; they called on Monday to say they were holding the book for me, so I swung by the DRIVE THROUGH window (oh boy, howdy...do I ever love a library with online reserving and drive through windows!) on the way out of town…needless to say, I think I’ve found The Lost Symbol!

While in GA, I discovered a new (at least to me) yarn shop in Duluth, called Rare Purls (right). It’s located inside the Knox House, one of the oldest houses in town…one that’s been restored and also houses a restaurant/tea room. Nice break in the work day. No yarn came home with me this time, but I sure was interested in that one that includes camel…! I petted it several times.

Returned home late Thursday to catch up on laundry and email…and have a little time with Mr. T, who had rearranged his work/travel schedule to be able to be close-to-home with N/M/E while I was out-of-town. Bless him and his loving heart!

On Friday, a friend and I enjoyed the French Horn Spectacular program in the Friday Favorites Series with the North Carolina Symphony in Raleigh. Lovely music…lovely day. JS then treated me to a tasty luncheon at the Posta Tuscan Grille on Fayetteville Street near the Meymandi Concert Hall…such a pleasant, relaxing, unhurried meal…a great way to renew a NC friendship. I had the Insalata di Pollo, following some tempting bruschetta appetizers. Yummy! We even worked in a stop at a yarn shop on the way out of town called Great Yarns. No yarn came home with either of us…we are both extremely mindful of just how much yarn we already own (me, because I’m still trying to find a place for all of it in all of these moving boxes; she, because she just organized her stash into neat containers at home). Good little girls were we.

And this past weekend? Well, I had wanted to attend the Harvest Days at Old Salem (in Winston-Salem), but the cloudy, rain-threatening weather continued to hang around…so, we decided to devote some time to the projects on our list.

Did I tell you that my pantry shelving was beginning to pull away from the wall…just like the master closet shelving did not too long ago? As we have future-plans (2010-11) to re-do the kitchen, including reworking and enlarging the pantry, our solution to the present pantry problem needed to be quick, relatively easy, and relatively inexpensive. Enter J. C. Penney! I ordered free-standing pantry shelving from their Cooks.com website…and after a couple of days of emptying the pantry, removing the old wire shelves, and patching and painting the holes/wall, we (mostly Mr. T) got the new shelves up and operational. Yeah!

Mr. T also got to check a few more projects off his list. He (and Gus...always the Supervisor on all projects...see the photo, left...:) installed 3 pull-out stainless steel trays in the false cabinet fronts of the kitchen sink and the two bathroom sinks in the master, and 2 valet rods in the master closet…all ordered online from Rev-a-Shelf of Jeffersontown, KY. Sweet!

Finally, since the recent rains had ushered in cooler weather, and frost was predicted for last night, I harvested the ripe peppers, tomatoes, and beans in the garden, and he moved the tender potted plants inside from their Summer homes on the porches. [Check out the photo (left) to see the amount of growth on our largest corn plant…wow!] I’m not sure that we got frost, but we were pretty close. It's only 48 now.

Football and frost? Yes, Fall has arrived! And, we have earned our nap-time, haven't we, Mr. G (right)?

Hitching a Ride

Last Friday, I was scheduled for a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Workshop (for continuing education credits) at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Since this is in Mr. T's NC territory, between a couple of dealerships in Raleigh and Durham, I hitched a ride with him on Thursday...and we made a three-day trip out of the ride. He had to work on Thursday, so he dropped me off in downtown Cary, NC, to let me wander...which I do quite well, if I do say so myself.


I had looked up yarn shops in the area and found one called Shuttles, Needles, and Hooks, in Cary. Although the reviews were a mixed bag, I thought I'd try it out anyway. Hmmmm. We entered the address on Chatham Street in Maggie (the name we've given his Magellan GPS) and, when she finally announced "you have arrived," we were a bit suspicious that she'd goofed. That house that appeared to be being devoured by some kudzu (photo on the left) couldn't possibly be a yarn shop...could it? The sign out front was faded and in need of a fresh coat of paint...indeed, the entire place hasn't seen a paint brush in quite a while...but, what the heck? What harm could come to me if I just went up on the front porch to check it out? Such a risk-taker, I am (NOT!).

While grimacing at the rather partisan "GOP" notice on the exterior bulletin board (uh, does this owner not realize that we Dems knit...and spend money in her shop...too?!), I ventured inside...and felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. There were cupboards and bookshelves everywhere...and boxes and crates and bags, to boot...filled, not with empty jars of Orange Marmalade, as Alice experienced, but with more yarn than I've ever seen in one place in my life. Several rooms of yarn. Front door-to-back door yarn, and some more on the enclosed back porch, where the outside vines were growing through the window appearing to be trying to join the eyelash yarns inside. Floor-to-ceiling yarn, and some more in the finished (?) attic space up the tiny, narrow stairs. Skeins of yarn...cones of yarn...balls of yarn. All sizes, textures, and colors of yarn. I'm not sure exactly how it was all organized, but does a drunk care how the bartender organizes the liquor? I was inside for at least an hour, ignoring the heat (the only cool air was provided by a couple of rather anemic window units...and it was a hot, sticky day outside)...and trying to make sense of the fibre-overload I was experiencing.

I finally decided that the tiny skein of rainbow-colored silk yarn from Colinette in Wales (Tao, colorway "Mardi Gras") which I found hiding in a bowl of Colinette, but with no price tag (didn't seem to be anything priced in the whole place) was going home with me (photo, right). I could see it as a Skinny Scarf. I hadn't brought any size US6 needles with me (the recommended size on the yarn wrapper), so I got a pair of those, too. The owner, who was helping another customer with her project when I walked in, was very pleasant and readily agreed to wind my yarn for me...and even suggested using a dropped garter stitch for the scarf. (I'll write more about creating this scarf in another post.) I would definitely recommend this shop, but I think it should come with a warning label: get ready for a wild and woolly yarn trip!

Down the street was a quilt and NC pottery shop, which provided me with another hour of visual and tactile oohing and ahhing. I stand in awe of quilters, who can stitch such intricate patterns in cloth. I keep saying that there is at least ONE quilt in me, but I haven't been moved to make it happen yet.

After a morning of feeding my fibre-soul, I was in need of sustenance for my stomach. Both shop owners had recommended a sandwich shop called the Food Factory across the street, so that was my next stop. Had a tasty Pastrami Reuben with pasta salad. Then, as storm clouds appeared to be gathering, I began the "one-block up, two-block over" walk to the library where I knew I could wait out the weather in cool, quiet comfort...and possibly do a little knitting, too. Along the way, I strolled through a couple of art shops and popped into the Once in a Blue Moon Bakery, where I bought two yummy-looking Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese icing to share with Mr. T later. He picked me up after he finished his work, and we headed to check into our home-away-from-home, the Homewood Suites in Cary (photos, below). The one with the covered bridge on property. All-in-all, a lovely day indeed.

Friday started early, when Mr T dropped me off on Raleigh Street in Chapel Hill on his way to work. My day was spent at UNC in the Great Hall of the Student Union building with about 30 other coaches and counselors who are interested in new ways of using the MBTI in their practices or offices...and in getting CEU credits to maintain their certification status. My instructor was an acquaintance from my days at Scientific Atlanta (11 years ago, this month, when I got my original MBTI certification), so I felt right at home in the workshop. She always does a fantastic job! I loaded up on new publications (at a nice discount), so now I have quite a long reading list to work through.

Mr. T picked me up just as the rush hour on 15/501 was getting started, so we opted for an early dinner while the traffic cleared. We found a neat Irish pub called Hibernian, in Cary...where we both enjoyed some mighty fine fish and chips with our Sam's Summer Ale. Then, back to our comfortable suite. Those cupcakes were calling!

As we headed out the covered bridge (left) and toward home on Saturday morning, we tried to take in a day lily farm in Moncure (Holly Hill Farm), only to find that they were "closed for the season." Too bad. We obviously haven't found a replacement for our favorite YEAR 'ROUND day lily farm in Missouri yet. Oh well, must keep looking, right? Sounds like another good reason to hitch a ride with Mr. T another day!

Where in the World is...?

Did you ever play that game, Where in the World is Waldo? He's my hero!!

So, here I am, in a most unlikely spot, at the Grand Canyon! I went to AZ last weekend for the wedding of my first-cousin-once-removed...and since I was in the same state with one of the "wonders of the world"...and since I had my camera with me...well, it was only natural to change my plans a wee bit and GO!

I was inspired by a friend, who was visiting with us recently as she and her husband were making a move across the country from one coast to the other. She was driving their car and left our house, intent upon driving to the Canyon. I thought..."how exciting!" Then I thought..."you nut, you're going to AZ later on this month...you too could see the Canyon, with just a couple of changes in your plans." And, that's exactly what happened.

I got there the afternoon before (Sunday) and scoped out Mather Point (not too far from the South Rim entrance, where the above pic was taken), which was supposed to be a great place to view the sunrise over the Canyon. I checked the sunrise time (on the Park's excellent website) and left a 5:00 a.m. wake-up call (which didn't come until 5:10). Fortunately, I had trouble sleeping, so I got up even earlier...got dressed in the warmest clothes that I'd brought...grabbed my clapotis shawl that Missy M had knitted for me, and that I had worn to the wedding...and headed to the Point to catch the sunrise...without that first cup of coffee, I might add. Here's the photo I took as the sun peeked into the Canyon:

And here I am, freezing my ears off...swathed in the shawl that I was thanking heaven for at that moment, taking a self-snapped pic, just to prove I was there at sunrise (over my right ear). Oh my goodness, it was cold! In the twenties, someone said. Snow was still visible in spots. Brrr! Then, I hopped in the car to dash back to the hotel for that coffee and breakfast, a hot shower, pack my bag, and hot-foot it back to the Phoenix airport. Made it...with "plenty" of time to spare! It was a fun weekend, all the way around.

I hadn't been to AZ in a long, long time, and I remembered very little other than the high number of cactii...and the low number of big trees (like oaks). That much hasn't changed, except there were fewer cactii...and they were further out from the "city." And, there certainly is a lot more "city" than in 1965!

I had mapped out a before-the-wedding, Saturday morning yarn shop crawl, but instead of visiting 3 shops, I made it to two...and an Indian reservation. Blame it on Google Maps...I did! Still, I found the most bea-u-ti-ful baby alpaca-blend yarn called Highlander from Alpaca With a Twist, in a rich red tweed called Tartan Red for Mr. T's Shawl-collared Sweater. Found this yarn at Arizona Knitting and Needlepoint in Scottsdale (photo to left). I went all the way to AZ to buy a yarn that is from Georgetown, IN! I've already swatched it and love, love, love the way it is knitting up. I also bought some lovely sunshine-yellow lace-weight yarn at Fiber Factory in Mesa.

Still, I have to say that the most fun was had at the wedding reception, and then the brunch on Sunday. I enjoyed a wonderful time with cousins that I so rarely get to see. [It certainly helped at the reception that I was receiving text messages from home on the score of the Final Four games (Memphis beat UCLA...oh happy day!)] I wish the bride and groom all the very best...and I am glad that I got the opportunity to share in their joy.

How Many Projects are Too Many Projects?

Whatcha think? I finished M's "Ampersand Socks" a couple of weeks back when she was here for the Labor Day weekend. Of course, I made a change or two in the pattern (well, it wouldn't be really 'mine' if I didn't do it a little differently than the designer, would it?), like discontinuing the pattern stitch on the Instep and Foot portion of the sock. Silliest thing to have a pattern that (a) is rarely seen when the sock is inside a shoe and (b) just serves to increase the "bulk" of the said sock in the said shoe. And, I used Crystal Palace's Panda Cotton instead of the recommended yarn. But other than that...! Anyway, M says she loves 'em, and that's really what matters.


She and I had such fun doing a yarn crawl around the Gateway; we "hit" 3 yarn shops before we had to stop the madness for sustenance...and headed straight to M's favorite: PF Chang's. Before yielding to Hot 'n Sour soup and Crispy Honey Chicken (yumms!), we both got some of Berroco's new yarn called 'Comfort' in a deep, rich Cherry red color for our Red Scarf projects.


For mine, I cast on 30 stitches on US 10.5's, working a simple 2x2 rib, using a free pattern from Plymouth Yarn. But she decided on a pattern for a "Twin Rib" scarf, casting on 36 stitches on US8's:

• Row 1: K3, P3


• Row 2: K1, P1
  

We've both finished our scarves now and need to get them in the mail soon. M's already got a restaurant gift card to include with hers...good thinking, since the scarf will be going to a college student. I haven't gotten a picture of mine yet, as my camera is on loan to Mr. T. for the week.


I was in ATL the last week on business, but had some spare time to enjoy a class in Entrelac at The Yarn Garden in Lawrenceville, GA. What fun! Great yarn shop, with a great staff. (They were not there when I lived just down the road a piece in Duluth and in Dacula...if they had been I surely would have thought twice about leaving the area 5 years ago!)


The class project is a scarf using Noro's Silk Garden yarn and size US8's. I will definitely finish this project because I think the technique is so different and interesting, and I can't wait to see what blocking does for the bumpy rectangles and triangles that are created by the entrelac technique, but I doubt I will ever, ever, ever purchase anymore of the Noro for anything...ever. First of all it is expensive (although the 3 skeins I now own were included in the price of the class). Secondly, it is so inconsistent: here, the yarn is so thick that it is difficult to knit with it; there, the yarn is so thin that I worry it will snap and need to be "healed." And, finally, it has "inappropriate" knots/joins: a knot, in the middle of a skein, joining two drastically different colors is just wrong, wrong, wrong for a yarn that supposedly has as a selling point that the owner ("Mr. Noro?") personally inspects each ball of yarn??? Yeah, right. I was not familiar with Noro (I guess I've been living under a rock), but I saw it in 3 of the 4 yarn shops I visited in the ATL area. I just don't get it. I guess people are buying this stuff for the beautiful colors and could care less about the quality of the product? Who knows...


And, since I had plenty of knitting time available to me in ATL (as I was relieved of the duties of domestic goddess and slave to the dogs for a whole week...woohoo!), and a great suite-style room complete with comfy chair and ottoman, I found 3 more yarns to start my "pashmina" shawl (is that redundant?). I've had this absolutely gorgeous handpainted yarn in teals, purples, greens, and blues in 3 textures (a ribbon and mohair mix; a boucle; and a smooth), just waiting to be knitted up into something special. I bought a couple of skeins of alpaca, one in black and one in purple, which I combined with a purple sparkly thread (all from Cast On Cottage in Roswell, GA), and to round it out, I found a beautiful mohair and metallic thread combo called Dune, from Trendsetter, found at Stitches n Strands, ATL. Then, I cast on 277 stitches on size US13, 60" Addi Turbo's. I'm adapting a Paton scarf pattern (5 row repeat of YO's and K2tog's) in one yarn, alternating with 4 rows of garter stitch with another yarn. I think it will make a fabulous wrap for the holidays, dressing up my black slacks. Can't wait until I can show you a picture of that!


Meanwhile, I finished Sock #1 of a pair for moi, using an adaptation of Mary Snyder's "Padded Footlets," found on pages 59-63 in the Favorite Socks book from Interweave (a recent purchase for my growing knitting library). I loved the instep pattern stitch, but thought the concept of wasting all that work on "footlets," well, a waste. So, I made the socks with 6" legs, incorporating a version of the Instep pattern stitch, combined with a K3, P1 rib for the back of the leg, and then for the top of the foot. I found that this made for a super portable project for the flying time to/from ATL, and thoroughly enjoyed knitting my sock and listening to my *new* IPod Nano that M gave me for an early Christmas present. I had downloaded 10 Cast On Podcasts, along with 3 Audiobooks I'd purchased from the iTunes store (oh my, it's just way too easy to spend money there!), and I do believe that I knitted faster than I normally do. Anyway, can't wait to post a pic of this project, either!


So, how many does that make? An Entrelac scarf of *!$&^ yarn, a pashmina shawl of beautiful colors, and a sock-to-go. Of course, that's not counting the two or three crochet baby blankets that have been pushed aside while the needles dominate over the hooks, or the afghan strips that are perpetually present in the bottom of the knitting bag, a ball of beige yarn and a pair of US10.5 needles. Oh, and I almost forgot the humongous blue wool mitten(s) that I am knitting to teach myself the *proper* way to felt (since my felting heretofore has been limited to the accidental variety). And, this list fails to enumerate the 4 or 5 finished-but-not-completed (FBNC = I've finished knitting them but I've yet to complete the joining, grafting, sewing, whatever that it takes to actually complete the project) projects (a sweater of Rowan silk, two baby sweaters, and a couple of purses made of knitted fabric strips) that I'm ready to tackle now that I've completed my class on Finishing Techniques (great class, BTW, held recently at the Knit 'n Caboodle LYS). Ooh, ooh...I forgot about the green sweater (photo in left column, mistakenly called "Finished Projects"); I want to re-do the side-seam joins and I need to shorten the sleeves some....froggit, froggit. Whew! If I live to be 120, I may never finish them all!! (But, isn't that really the goal...?)


Speaking of projects, M finished a neat one recently (photo below). She made a leash for Charley Dog (right), using some beautiful

Encore yarn. Next up: a matching mat!

Doesn't Charley look thrilled?