As Heard In Evanston

Me: ... All I'm saying is that I used to be a waitress, too, so I'm really pretty patient. But, you should provide water as soon as possible and acknowledge your customers within 10 minutes. Even if it's just to say, 'I'm slammed, but I'll be right with you.'

Rock Star: Let's get back to what we were just talking about. Smoking things and my birthday.

My apologies...

... for not posting this weekend.

I was involved in assembling what may be the most involved DIY project from IKEA I've ever seen.

Nightmares

I have had these dreams, ever since I sold my first house, that the next owners did terrible things to it like take out the original Art Deco lights - and that they painted the woodwork.

It's so horrible that I dreamed last week that I actually repurchased the house in order to return it to its vintage state.

This is only a scratch on the surface of my insanity.

Monsoon!

My self-portrait sock photos always remind me of the self-conscious, grainy webcam photos on the internets of certain men I've ::cough:: heard about - off center, with the dirty room behind them.





Yarn: Socks That Rock in 'Monsoon.' I had a little ball of yarn left (~1.5" in diameter) from the one skein that came with the shipment.
Pattern: 'Inside Out' (first Rockin' Sock Club pattern for 2007)
Needles: US1 DP aluminums
Recipient: Me. I feel weird asking my family members if I can measure their feet.
Thoughts: I'm not crazy about the pooling. I like the zigzaggy sock as much as the stripey sock. I just wish they weren't mates of the same pair.
Mods: You know I haven't been blogging much this year, so I didn't see ALL the posts that mentioned the inflexibility of the cabling. I didn't find out until I was in the middle of South Dakota on our honeymoon.*



I frogged back to the heel and modified the cabling pattern so that only one cable on the outside of the left sock 'travels' from the middle of the sock to one repeat frontside, back to the middle, then one repeat to the back, etc., ending with a middle cable. I reversed the pattern and cable on the right foot.



They will be perfect for wearing tonight while I wait for the storms to come through.

* I get desparately car sick. I cannot say enough good things about these motion sickness bands making our road trip honeymoon fun and relaxed.

Humpty Dumpty

Just now Rock Star asked me if I'd posted yet today. I said no, I don't know what to write right now.

He said, "How about Humpty-Dumpty?"

Me: "That's a great idea!"

RS: "Yeah, with the Lord of Death. They could have some kind of battle!"

Me: ...


All the king's horses and all the king's men Couldn't put Humpty together again.

I was back in Indiana a few weeks ago. Mom had been cleaning the closets (always a good score for me) and found this Humpty Dumpty toy that my grandmother, Allegra, made when I was wee. I loved that thing, as evidenced by the stains on his face. Best guess is that I tried to share my apple juice with him on at least one occasion.

I must've been four years old when there was a tornado warning on TV. Dad explained what a tornado was and I went upstairs, tied up the huge amount of stuffed animals I had in a blankie, and dragged them to the living room, closer to the basement in case we had to run in to avoid total destruction. I didn't get geography then. We weren't actually in any danger, but Dad could never convince me of that. I think I ended up passed out amid the elephants and the rag dolls and Humpty.

Lately, I have been feeling an urgency to gather up the things made by Allegra, as if this act would stop the cruel replacement of her memories with fear and confusion. She told my mother the other day that she thought her husband was cheating on her. Mom assured her that he wasn't and Grandma said, "well, I can't think of another reason he wouldn't come home last night!"

My step-grandfather has been dead for over 10 years. They had a joyful marriage and I can't imagine that cheating was ever an issue in their relationship. The more she forgets, the more I hoard these old scraps of fabric.

Dusk

Whether I've been working all day - or playing - this is my favorite time of day. I especially love to sit on our porch and knit these days.


There is usually a dog on the floor, next to that bone.

You might have noticed a WIP in that last photo. It's the Heartbreakingly Cute Kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting. I'm using PJ's from Knit One Crochet Too - a polyester fleece-y yarn that is machine-washable and -dryable. I'm tempted to make it out of a very dear, natural yarn, but I want it to be used - and what new parent has the desire to hand wash and flat dry such a dear little frock*?



It's a gender-neutral pool color. It's so squishy that I'm thinking of making a hat out of it for myself. Or a small pillow.

* Besides me?**
** That musing does not mean that I am pregnant.

51 days

Today, Rock Star and I have been married for 51 days.


Photo by our photographer, Jessica Kaminski.

Time has really flown for the past three months - I can't believe it's nearly August already. To celebrate everything that's been happening and to get me back to blogging, I will be posting every day for the next month.

So you may have to, er, wade through some crap to get to the good stuff.