After the ball is over . . .

After my race on Saturday, Mr. Daisy took me out for dinner at the Happy Gnome in Saint Paul. Taking a page from Annie Modesitt's blog, I took a photo of our delicious drinks - a little something for posterity.



Knitting wise, I am still working on that endless baby blanket. I tend to get caught up in the knitting and then - time to visit the frog pond. Luckily, it is due at the MKG meeting next week so I've been eyeing some new sock patterns to make with that trekking sock yarn.

Just a word about color in my photos. My last digital camera was pretty old so when Oldest Daughter dropped it, I didn't feel so bad. In fact, I got a lovely new camera as a Mother's Day present - complete with battery charger. Well, that charger has disappeared and I've been forced to use my cell phone for photos. Although I'd like to take nice pictures, sometimes a poor photo is better than no photo at all. The actual baby blanket is very green - brilliant.

Just a little something - something

So, today I finally finished the stem on my Giant Felted Mistake of a Pumpkin. The sad part was that I had to beg Good Friend Melissa to give me her left-over bits of green yarn as I didn't have any. She (Also known as "Muy Great Stasher of Cascade 220") had the tab/butt ends of three different green yarns on hand and I used Knit Picks Yarn of the Andes in Evergreen. Now, I just need to knit the leaves and twirly vine (I need to get out some different needles) and I'll be done.

Unfortuntely, I don't have a top loading washing machine any more so I'll have to visit my local laundremat to get it felted.

Tonight, I took the Lousy Pink Sock to the MN Knitters' Guild meeting. It got a little air before I was lost in the Maggie Jackson designs shown in the fall fashion show. My sister (the one with the baggy 1824 seater) has expressed interest in "a little something" for her cold shoulders and I think the Maggi Knits might just have the answer.



And I bought "Romantic Knits" by Annie Modesitt. I think they might be a little too young for me but I expect to change my mind after some bedtime reading.

Oh and Sunday's results?

Bib number: 509
age: 42
gender: F
location: Saint Paul, MN
overall place: 350 out of 400
division place: 20 out of 25
gender place: 161 out of 197
time: 1:43:40
swim: 17:33
trn1: 3:42
bike: 46:15
trn2: 2:16
run: 33:56

So I ran faster but biked slower. Hopefully, I beat the 80 yr. old man. He's the Twin Cities triathlon standby - anouncers like to mention him when he's racing. Unfortunately, once, I came in right behind him. Now, we are in waves and I probably started after him BUT . . . I can only hope he doesn't knit socks.

Five for not exercising!

It's a beautiful day here in Minnesota and I should be out biking or running before it gets too hot but, instead, I am a slave to my keyboard. I am trying to sign a daughter up for volleyball camp, get my youngest child's immunization records for school, report some nasty Pay Pal phishing (I think there is a new circle in Hell for those guys!) and, now, all my spare time is used up. Definitely no cookie for me!

Those five Rockin' Girl Bloggers? Here's my take:

Annie Modesitt, the Knitting Heretic. Her take on life is very funny, she doesn't spare us the truth about illness and love and bad teaching experiences, and she is very balanced. Despite all that is going on in her life, she gives it to us straight. And, I discovered that I am a modified combination knitter, thanks to her books and classes.

Alison Hansel of The Blue Blog. Once again, she has a great take on life. Her posts about family, work and knitting resonate with me. AND I liked her Harry Potter knits even before the Charmed Knits book.

Charlaine Harris is the author of several mystery series and my only complaint about her blog is that it's too brief! She discusses what book she's been reading (a great resource - I've liked almost all of them) and what she's been up too.

Kevyn Burger, the Twin Cites based broadcaster and host of the Kevyn Burger Show on FM107.1. She has always been a favorite radio and television person of mine and her new blog, www.Kevynbaby.blogspot.com, is a funny and thoughtful glimpse into what she is looking at as she undergoes treatment for breast cancer.

And, finally, Marie Irshad, the podcaster from Knit Cast. She is on a (well-deserved, I'm sure but way too extended for my tastes) vacation right now but, when she's back on - SHE ROCKS!

I think these are the top five I would recommend to others but - anyone on the right side links are also great. I don't read what doesn't make me laugh (even if there is some crying as well.)

Who do we love?

My husband can tell you (and so will I - but no one ever believes me) but I don't like to talk to people. He claims that I just keep him around so he can do all the talking. Today? He called the lawn care company. BUT it was a draw because I had to call the piano teacher. It's not that I am anti-social but there is only so much time left in my life and I don't want to use it up talking to strangers. Give me a couple of newspapers, knitting magazines, my knitting and an internet connection and I am A-OK. I generally rate things as "worth losing knitting time over" and talking to telemarketers, door to door people, school administrators, sales people and "chatty people who I don't know" do not make the list.

However, family and friends do make the list. And, while I am not "Hail fellow, well met" with Annie Modesitt, I have taken classes from her, read her blog and loved her patterns. Now, some of her friends have created a great We love Annie blog to help with the non-medical monetary needs that have arisen from her husband's recent diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma, a blood cancer that manifests itself in the bone marrow and is quite painful.

Visit this website and consider donating. Visit Annie's pattern website , the Red Carpet Convertible, and consider purchasing one. This is a really nice family facing some serious times and I would have no trouble talking to you about them. And that IS saying something!

As for my own shawl knitting - I am visiting the frog pond. I have only three skeins of Cascade 220 superwash and I am using Eveyln A. Clark's "Edged with Lace" pattern as a baby blanket.



The official photo is much more "shawl" like. My green blankie is going to be very warm!

I was a bit worried that I'll be short yarn for the edging so I am making the shawl a few inches shorter than the pattern called for. But, the knitting was so mindless that I went too far. Time to rip and it's the worst kind of ripping - the counting kind. I need just the right stitch numbers to start the lace edging.

Note to Andy: Don't be silly, honey. I keep you around to get the unblemished fruit from the back of the produce display.

Socks, socks and socks . . . and cookies!

I finally got my laptop back from repair (yea!) but I don't have all my data reloaded and this is definitely putting a crimp in my blogging. I've been hoarding my photos on my digital camera until I finally got I Photo up and running and now they're not quite where I want things.

In the meantime, however, I have been moving ahead on the sock marathon front. I really did not like the twin rib sock in Twisted Sisters "Avarice" sock yarn when I started. It just seemed so "bumpy" and not like the picture in the book. I had picked it because I thought it was easy. I was on the point of ripping it out. Now, at the decrease for the toe, I have to say it really is an easy pattern.



The sock yarn is just a little fuzzier than what I've knitted with in the past and I think it that when I block it, the pattern will be more distinct.

So, now that I have photos, I think that today will be heavy on "What's on my Camera?"




GFM making a date with the Lion Brand's Lion at Knit Out 2007 at the Mall of America. She told me she whispered, "Don't worry, you only have five more minutes until you can stop wearing that suit!" but I think she said, "Meet me the California Cafe in five minutes and break out the red wine!"



One of the most famous sweaters of my childhood, Mr. Rodgers' sweater. I heard his mother knitted them for him! Truly, a really nice guy.

And, finally, another really nice person - Annie Modesitt. She had a little meet and greet at my local yarn store, The Yarnery, on Friday night. She showed off some great designs, her new flip books and how to make dreadlocks out of yarn.



And about those cookies? My Saturday Seven. Our family bought two cases of Girl Scout cookies and we are sending them to some soldiers serving in Iraq. Unfortunately, we couldn't send the really great Samoas and Thin Mints (chocolate melts in the mail!) but we are sending some almost as good Little Brownie Bites and Cafe Cookies. Yum!