Small steps

After finishing my Sugar Maple socks last week,  I jumped back into sock knitting with a pair of Classic Socks from 2-at-a-time Socks. I've just finished the ribbing at the top of the socks and now I'm moving into the central pattern. I think I will try the Gentleman Socks again some time but time is short. I need to finish these socks by Christmas as well as one or two other holiday projects.

The Saturday Seven this week was more like a Saturday Nine. And I'm not sure how I feel about this. My book group reads a play every December and this was nine copies of "You can't take it with you." This lot is going off to another book group for their use. I feel a little conflicted because it's probably no longer covered under personal use copyright ( I bought the play book) - but it was quite expensively copied and I hate to waste the  work. Hmm. Maybe I should give then the original copy as well.

Now, it's off to the showers for me. We're going to the opera for Oldest Daughter's birthday treat. Never fear - I'll bring my knitting!

Friday, friday - time for a cup of tea!

One of my favorite websites is Fleur de Guerre's Diary of a Vintage Girl. She hasthe most amazing social life. She also has a great sense of humor to go with herdress sense! 

She led me to this:

Which led me to this:

Finished!

Still wet and a bit lumpy looking but these socks are actually the exact same size and length! This has always been a problem for me and I really enjoyed Kitchener stitching them together at the toe last night while watching "Howl's Moving Castle" yet again.


And just a shout out to Oldest Daughter - her birthday is tomorrow and I always remember holding her and watching CNN about the fall of the Berlin Wall. A great memory.

Happy Birthday Kate!

A Saturday on horseback. Or,

those Swedes really know how to throw a party!

Today was the first  Julmarknad, or Christmas Fair, at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis. 

The event, which will be repeated on November 21, is a combination of family activities, music, food, Christmas decorations, and shopping. GFMelissa and I and our respective children enjoyed the nationality rooms as well as the gift shop. 

Youngest Child especially loved the mechanical "ride on" Dala Horse.  GFMelissa says those are the rides outside the Walmarts in Sweden - I think (hope?) she was joking!

Earlier in the week, the GF and I dropped by Amazing Threads  in Maple Grove. They are collecting donations for the troops overseas again this year. It was really easy to drop something off, knowing they are working with Paradyszmatera to ship needed personal items to troops stationed overseas. And it probably didn't hurt that there was a shoppers' discount involved . . .

I think I'm almost ready to start another pair of "2 at a time socks" so I picked up as skein of lovely Pagewood Farm Yukon sock yarn in the Prism colorway. Soft and lovely! And right nearby was 

a lovely skein of Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the Berry color way. Hmm, maybe this will be the next pair of socks?

Sadly, the Saturday Seven this week appears to be two items short. Pants, turtleneck, boots, hat, tee shirt - ah, but wait. I already dropped off the two pairs of jeans. 

Somehow, they got stuffed in with last weeks S7 and were dropped off at the Saint John the Evangelist Sale already. I don't think I could ever go to that sale again. I think I may be involved with at least 25% of the items. And thank goodness they collect items all year long . . .

More Friday bites

Graveyard Book Cake - Top
Originally uploaded by twokingsconfections

It if tastes half as good as it looks - we're in trouble. This is the grand prize winner of the The Graveyard Book Dessert Challenge over at needcoffee.com. I didn't make this and (in fact) I didn't know anything about this contest but every prize winning entry looks delicious.

In honor of the contest, take a look at this:

Happy Halloween!

We hooked up the spooky music tape and the fogger tonight for the first time. Very atmospheric and pretty - the only problem is every time the fogger sends out a burst of fog, I think the porch is on fire!



There has been plenty of knitting going on this week - I've turned the heel on my Sugar Maple's On Fire socks and now I'm on the home stretch - yea!!




Youngest Boy went out trick or treating with Mr. Daisy. He's Harry Potter and Mr. Daisy is Hagrid. I, on the other hand, am paying homage to another Halloween pantheon. I'm a medical school researcher at Miskatonic University's Orne Library. I do believe the library stays open past midnight . . .

(As for the pumpkins - they are all vampire pumpkins in honor of "Twilight." In fact, the sign says, "This is the rind of a killer." I guess this is a Vampire Weekend - tee hee!)



You would think that I weeded all these tee shirts out of my wardrobe when the seasons changed and I pulled out all the turtlenecks. Alas, I simply found all these in my ironing pile. They've been there since the summer time. And with three black tee shirts, two brown tee shirts, a cream colored one and a blue tee - I generally wear a limited color palette.

Time to go back to my knitting and enjoying the left over "Good and Plenty"s. Good thing I like licorice!

Countdown to Halloween!

A short film from Katy Towell's Childrin R Skary

The Little Girl Who Was Forgotten By Absolutely Everyone (Even the Postman) from Katy Towell on Vimeo.

Enjoy - or perhaps, "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!'