I'm Back

Didja miss me?

I sure missed stitching with my friends these last couple of Saturdays. For those of you who didn't know where I was it was because I couldn't tell you I was going anyplace. So fortunately for you, you missed the whole discussion of which projects to bring, the debate of check the bag or carry it on, etc. With the new restrictions it was a little harder to pack, since I hate checking baggage. No liquids, gels, or aerosols. What a pain.

I managed to bring the following projects: (clockwise from dragonfly socks)blue and green dragonfly socks, a ball of yarn for a helmet liner, the Pi shawl, a green mobieus with beads, some roving and my drop spindle, and in case I got bored, another ball of Trekking for socks. This really sounds excessive since I was only gone for 5 DAYS, but it made perfect sense while I was shoving it all into my bags.

I flew to Chicago on Friday the 15th to surprise my sister Margie for her birthday. My flight left DIA at 6:15AM. Yes, that's really early. Ask Matt if you don't believe me, he was the lucky guy who got to drive me there. Did you know the security folks don't start until 4:30am and if you get there early you have to wait for them? And did you know the coffee and foods shops aren't open that early? Imagine a sleep deprived knitter waiting for her plane with no food or coffee. It wasn't pretty. I did have my new I-Pod with me, and I did download all of the Cast-On podcasts, so I had knitterly company anyway.

After I got to Chicago, I took the L out to a place my sister Karen could more easily pick me up. We drove to her farmhouse in southern Wisconsin in her cool new Z3 with the top down. That was a lot of fun. She has 3 Newfoundland dogs and a Great Pyrenees. Please don't check that spelling, I know it doesn't look right, but I'll fix it later. I'm guessing you could spin dog hair at that house from now until forever, if you wanted to. I did finish sock number two that afternoon, and it fit just fine. Then I did what I swore I wasn't going to do....I ripped out sock one to the start of the heel gusset and re-knit the stupid thing all over again. Now I have a pair of socks that fit and it doesn't take a lot of time and cursing to get them on. I have learned several things with this pair of socks, but I'm way to tired to go over the list. Here's proof, for those who may doubt...socks on my feet this morning before work.

We had a great time Saturday. My nephew Cody made me wonderful scrambled eggs for breakfast. I had fun surprising not only my sister but also my Mom on Saturday. I picked her up from the nursing home to take her to dinner. She was glad to see me, but more glad I think to be "sprung" from the place.

We all had a lot of fun at the Gale Street Inn on Diamond Lake road, and my sister was totally shocked to see me. Lots of good food, yummy drinks, and the very best part of all, time spent with family. You just can't beat that.

I'll post more of the trip notes later. I'll update links, correct spelling, and add pictures. I promise, but I've had a real Monday here, so I'm going to bed.

*updated 10-10-06