Greece!

The question of the week? Where would I like to go on vacation. Well, after seeing this movie on Friday, the answer is Greece. It's a ridiculous film - contrived and silly. The audience laughed when we weren't supposed to. (Pierce Brosnan singing? Hilarious!) Yet, it was a rollicking good time. And the scenery was so enticing. The sun. The islands. The blue water. Ahh...

Random Grace

Remember "The Post". Well the post, as such, never happened but the intention, the momentum of the intention, has remained with me all these months. I've kept in mind that horoscope's advice:

"...heal the pain so that you no longer have to numb it. The astrological omens say that if you establish that as your intention, you will attract into your life the helpers and inspiration you need to make it happen. More than that: You'll be likely to generate the kind of good fortune that will render at least some of the pain obsolete."

Things that I have learned: If you ask for help, people will help you! This has been a huge one for me. I've been a control freak for so long. I've had to learn to let that go and accept help. My heart has been filled to overflowing lately with the generosity and just plain niceness of some folks.

If you put out good energy and believe in the bounty of the universe, good things can come back to you. My miracle apartment for example. My current temp position that came to me through someone else's thoughtfulness, and that may lead to something more permanent. The internet friends I've made through Secret Pal and blogging.

What brought all this rambling on? Chairs. One week to my move date and I was slightly stressed over lack of chairs.. I have a beautiful old kitchen table that was my Grandma's. The matching chairs disintegrated long ago and I was concerned about having no place to place my bottom. Then, yesterday, arriving home from work, what do I see? The man across the street has placed out, as garbage, four perfectly decent kitchen chairs. The seat cushions just need re-covering. Otherwise, they're perfect for the new place.

See? Good fortune. Weird.

Secret Pal Question #6

Tell about a time you were stranded without knitting? Well, I had my knitting but got stuck anyway. A few years back, I spent three hours knitting away on a train only to have to rip it all out at the end. The project was icky and the yarn inappropriate. The problem? I had four days ahead of me and only this yarn, one pair of needles and no other patterns. My first stop in town was to a yarn store to buy a pattern book. Seriously, I looked up the address in the phone book at the train station and then took a cab straight there. Hardcore.

I know this is a couple of years old but I am somewhat obsessed with the awesomeness of this song. It is on pretty much constant repeat on my mp3 player.

Cabled and Done

Pattern: Modified from a vintage knitting book. My first short row heel is pictured above. The book called it the "auto heel", an interesting name. I like the way it feels on the foot. I also appreciate the significantly smaller number of picked-up stitches in this method.

Yarn: Elann.com Esprit - Cotton with a touch of elastic (basically a Cascade Fixation knock-off). I wanted to try knitting a longer sock that would stay up so this seemed like a good use for some of the discontinued colours clearance yarn I bought a while back.

Needles: Kinki Amibari bamboo circulars, 2.25mm. LOVE these. I'm not usually passionate about needles but these, I LOVE! They're extremely strong, yet elegant and smooth. They have a swivel join which makes magic looping trouble free. I bought them from a vendor at The Frolic and am now wishing I bought several more sizes.

Oh Pal O' Mine!

A temptingly compact parcel awaited my arrival home today. It fit snugly in the mailbox and screamed to be opened. What could all the pretty silver paper contain?

Clever Pal! She obviously likes organizing by theme which appeals greatly to my brain. It's an entirely fair trade gift! Chocolate and coffee and then coffee beans covered in chocolate. I've tried one of these already and they are delicious. I love the tiny clay pot. It shall be used for hiding a tiny, magic object of some sort.
And the yarn!! Of course there is yarn! It's my new pet! Lush and soft alpaca, slightly more pink than the photo shows. Don't you just love the label graphic? It makes me so glad that I keep a yarn label book.

This reminds me that I've always meant to blog that book. My lovely scrapbook contains a label from every yarn I've used with a sample snip of the yarn itself taped beside. Thus I know the details and care instructions of every project. I take a knitting stroll down memory lane each time I open the pages.

Now, about those Secret Pal 12 weekly questions. I feel somewhat like a rebellious child in not answering them promptly. Ack! Pressure! Forgive me if I don't get to them all but I never did my homework in school either. So, where would I like to go on vacation? I don't know about my "dream" trip, but I do hope to get away with The Daughter for a few days in August. We're considering Stratford for a play or two. Yes, I have a kid who actually likes Shakespeare. Yay! Me too!

Another Chair Gone

The deck chair was a bit damp after a rain recently, so I put a towel on it.

I'll never get to sit in this chair again.