Serendipity? Yes!

I don't know what it is about me and fresh cranberries. Either I'm too early or too late. Last weekend the grocery stores I visited hadn't gotten them in yet. This weekend they were all out. Now, I'm not talking about canned cranberries...you know, the kind that makes that satisfying sucking sound as they wriggle out of the can. Nope. I want fresh cranberries. In a bag, raw, fresh, red. Why are these little orbs so elusive? What gives?

Zack and I had to run to the grocery store tonight for supplies for a cooking contest that his scout troop is having tomorrow night. He is responsible for the salad course, so off to the produce section. And there, in a freshly stocked display were bags of cranberries! Search for one thing and find another. I got so excited that I forgot the dang lettuce. Had to go back.

The One About Christmas Knitting, Sisters & Yarn

It seems like all the knitting and spinning projects I have going at the moment are some form of Christmas gift. This stinks because it doesn't give me much to write about. I don't want to spoil anything, but I do have a funny story to share.

Last night I was on the phone with my sister who lives in Michigan. Karen was describing a Christmas knitting project that she's making for her daughter. (Now I have to consider if Amy will read my blog...highly unlikely, but I'm not going to tell you exactly what Karen is making.) As Karen was describing the project, pattern and yarn...Patons SWS, variegated red pink with gray and plum...I opened my knitting bag, pulled out a skein of yarn and started reading the ball band. Hmm...Patons SWS, variegated, reds...so I ask, "Ah Karen? What's the name of the colorway?"

Yep. Same exact yarn. Same exact color.

Luckily, however, it's not the same stinking project, but it's pretty darn close!

It's all in the dioxyribonucleic acid.

Art by Zack

Zack brought his art notebook home the other day. This one knocked my socks off! I had to share.

Bottles with Flowers

Watercolor and Ink

October 2008

You may be wondering why I haven't been freaking out over the Christmas knitting count down clock up in the corner. So far, I'm actually in pretty good shape. I just can't talk about the projects. Now, I may be singing a different tune in a few short weeks, but I don't believe I've bitten off more than I can knit. But you never know how it will go and I may be eating those words (hark! a pun?)

Did you know that knitting needles aren't always sized consistently? Read on. Today I went to the knitting meeting (we meet every 2nd Monday at the downtown library) and put my "travel scarf" on the table kind of folded in half. I noticed that the cast on edge was considerably narrower than the working end. About 7 inches ago I lost one of my size 10 needles. (How does one lose one knitting needle?) I grabbed another set of size 10s and proceeded along without giving it another thought. Much to my horror scarf was at least 3/4" wider with the new size 10s. It took me about 2 minutes to decide to frog back 7 inches and go with a smaller needle size. I just happened to have some size 9s in my bag. I'd like to take credit for being super prepared and having spare needles on hand at all times, but I was just mighty lucky. So far so good. I'm knitting very loosely and it doesn't look like the scarf is shrinking. Better to frog and be pleased with the final project than to carry on and pretend it won't bother the crap out of me. That's just how I'm wired.

Road trip alert: Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we'll go!

My Good Day

Yesterday, my alarm went off at 5:45am. No, I didn't forget to turn it off Friday night before I went to bed. That alarm signaled the start of my good day!

6:30am - Dropped Zack at the rendezvous point for a weekend backpacking trip with his scout troop.

7:00am - Arrived back home and made coffee. Loaded the car with bags of fiber, spinning supplies and spinning wheel.

8:00am - Pedicure! Ahhhh.......

9:00am - Hair cut and style! (about 4-5 inches...yikes!)

10:00am - Monthly spinning meeting at Belmont Presbyterian Church. Four hours of spinning with other spinners. No interruptions, no phone calls, no having to help locate a football/guitar pick/shoe. Just spinning, talking, laughing and some awesome corn chowder for lunch.

2:00pm - Since I was already in the neighborhood, I decided to check out the new Trader Joe's store that opened in Green Hills. Parking was a nightmare, but the store has some pretty good stuff. Prices are reasonable also. It's the getting in and out of Green Hills that will keep me from going there regularly. The dried mangos dipped in dark chocolate and sprinkled with crushed hot peppers are sinful.

3:00pm - Thought about napping, but decided to spin the rest of the wool/angora/angelina blend while watching reruns of "Third Rock from the Sun."

6:00pm - Randy came over for dinner and a movie, but instead of going out we tried the Mohito Salmon that I bought from Trader Joe's. (Very good and very easy.)

7:00pm - I propped my feet up on the ottoman and watched an Antonio Banderas movie on Lifetime while admiring my freshly painted toes. Someone pinch me!