A Childhood Memory

So many things come flooding to my mind when I visit the town that was my home when I was in elementary school. There is a pretty good chance if you’re an American you’ve seen this statue before, probably way back in some history class. It’s the Minuteman statue that stands on the corner of the Lexington Common. See the huge “bowl” at the base of the statue filled with red flowers. When I was young the bowl was often just filled with rain water and one summer someone dumped a bunch of goldfish into the bowl. I don’t remember a lot of details but I do remember how it was the talk of the summer.

Bittersweet

Knit One Crochet Too Crock-O-Dye in color 757

Yesterday I went to the store closing sale of my most favorite LYS. They opened earlier than I could get there so things were in full swing when I arrived. The store was humming with activity. There wasn’t an inch of space to stand in and moving through the store was difficult. I went with a plan: buy one skein of yarn as a remembrance but it must be something I’d never knit with before. The path to the sock yarn was packed tight with shoppers but I did finally make my way there and looked at what was available. I spotted a pretty skien, pick it up and when I turned I realized that I was now standing in the checkout line. Yes, the line stretched through the store. I talked with the women in line. We were all saddened and shocked to hear that the store was closing. The wait was about 30-45 minutes. While waiting I was able to speak with the owner and employees I’ve known for many years. When my turn at the cash register arrived I paid and walked out the door. I am very pleased to see that the shop is going out with a bang and not a whimper.

Soon, Very Soon

I feel like I am running in quicksand trying to get caught up on everything. We have had a late to arrive spring and then the plague descended and set us back even further. I finally got out and bought some plants for the garden. There will be cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and cantaloupe. We already have some garlic growing out there and I think we’ve got some seeds around here to fill whatever space we have left. The Husband wants to try potatoes in a trash bag again. When the cooler weather arrives in the fall I hope to put in some peas.

When I was walking though the yard to see how things are doing I found this. I can’t wait for them to open.

WIP Wednesday: A Few More Rows

If you don’t want to hear about the same two projects again feel free to move along to the next blog in your feed reader.

I have knit another few rows on both Celestarium and the Vanilla Latte Socks. I am still only knitting the sock at Knit Night and when I am out and about. There hasn’t been much time for knitting when out and about though. I have taken so many photos of these two projects that I’m having a hard time telling which is the most current photo. Yeah, I’ve gotten that little done. I know I’m spending hours knitting Celestarium but with nearly 600 stitches per row it’s taking nearly an hour to get all the way around with bead and YO placement. Maybe next week there will be visible progress.

If you’d like to see real project progress be sure to visit Tami’s Amis blog.

A Random Assortment Of Random

• I am so tired. Getting out of bed is a serious struggle. The Husband has been oversleeping, regularly. It’s really hard to sleep when he gets up late and curses the entire time he’s getting dressed. Even N is hanging in bed until he’s called. That is so not him. I don’t know why we’re all so tired.
• There is another month of school. I have been in denial. The last day is June 25. That seems so. far. away. Between now and then there are a bunch of things that require my attention. It’s a struggle. See above.
• We’ve moved our Knit Night to a local bakery. That is both good and bad. The atmosphere is lovely. Very pretty with the added bonus of beautiful pastries and cakes to look at. Of course I’ve been eating those pastries. They are super tasty but not so good for my girlish figure.
• At Knit Night last night we sat outside. It was heavenly. Like being at a Paris cafe or something cool like that. I felt like I was in a movie.
• I have decided to do a minimum of 5 rows on Celestarium every day until it is finished. This will take a chunk of each day but I’ll figure it out. I am so pleased with the way it is coming out. I want it done already.
• Yesterday was my mother’s birthday so today I am taking her to lunch. We won’t go anywhere fancy but it will be nice to sit and enjoy a meal.
• My favorite LYS has announced that they are closing. It makes me so sad when things change, particularly things I love. They are where I bought the yarn for my most favorite now worn out cardigan. They are the place where I walk though the door and they say “Hi. There is new sock yarn!” They are in the town that I lived in as a small child and the shop has always been my reason to return for a visit. Walking down the sidewalk makes me feel like I never left.
• This is the third LYS that is closing or has closed. I thought they said the economy was getting better.

A Lovely Weekend

H was away all weekend at a LARPing thing. The Husband took N to a lacrosse tournament on Saturday. They played 3 games, winning one, tying one and losing one. Then Sunday N had a lacrosse game which they won. I spent much of my time cleaning and baking. I make some yummy cookies but neglected to take photos. They came out kind of ugly though they taste really good.  My real obsession on the weekend was Celestarium.

Remember there is no blue. The shawl is black with a bit of gray.

On Saturday evening I completed the last rows of chart E. I then moved the shawl to a larger needle and added more stitch markers in preparation of the final increase and the start of the final chart. There are now well over 500 stitches on the needle so knitting a row takes a while. I was able to do 5 rows yesterday which doesn’t sound like a lot but is. I’ve also learned a few things. It is way easier to knit a black/gray yarn on a silver needle than on a darker blue needle. A needle with a super smooth join makes sliding the stitches along effortless. I can’t believe how much of a difference this has made. I didn’t even know how much extra work I was doing with the other needle. I wish I had switched sooner. My larger needle is only 24 inches so I could have switches ages ago. Today I have grocery shopping to do but I hope once that is done and put away I can steal an hour or two to knit this afternoon. See, I’m obsessed.

New Additions

N got an ant farm for Christmas and we have been waiting patiently/procrastinating about ordering the ants. I thought for sure they would take the full 4-6 weeks to arrive but shockingly they arrived quite quickly. I think it was less than 3 weeks! We got the habitat all set up and I dumped the ants in. They seemed somewhat sleepy and bored in the test tube but once they got into the habitat I realized they must have been hungry/thirsty since they all seemed to dive into the gel and start eating/drinking. I’m sure they’ll be a lot of fun to watch and we have set up some really specific rules about not opening the container and such so things should be fine. But honestly they give me the creeps!