"Europe" or "Buying The Kid's Love"

Here are few of the 400 photos taken by The Daughter on her school trip.  It was a ten day package that included, among others, Paris, Versailles, Monaco, Florence and Rome.  The brochure came home with her last year and my first reaction was to say, 
"No.  It's too expensive."  
Then, second thoughts prevailed.  Why shouldn't she have this experience?  I certainly will never be able to afford to take her.  So, the money was withdrawn from the savings and off she went for March Break 2010.  We called it a sixteenth birthday present.  
She had a wonderful time, despite weird toilets, radiator leaks in Rome hotels and horrible "vegetarian" meal plans.  I received emails from internet cafes in Paris and Nice which thrilled me to bits, as well as an Eiffel Tower key chain upon her return  It gives me almost unreasonable pleasure to have been able to do this for her.

A Dilemma

Cabled cardi progress?  Excellent.  Both sleeves are done as is the back.  I'm very near completion of the the left front as well.

Here's the problem.  There is a very deep v-neck that requires gradual decreasing beginning at about the half way point of the length.  This decrease is now at the point where it is cutting into the cable pattern. Having never done this before, I'm a bit confused.  At what point do I abandon the rope cable?  If, say, one stitch is missing from an eight stitch cable, do I just knit the seven stitches or do I cable with just the seven and give it up the next time around?  Which would look better?  The cables repeat every eight rows.
Just thinking out loud here.

A Vogue Spring

Walking about the shops by my apartment yesterday, I noticed theses crocuses for sale.  A sure sign of spring.

Another sign of spring's promise is the Vogue Knitting Spring issue.  It's a stunning issue and of course, I bought it.  Is it just me or is Vogue hit and miss to the tune of every other issue?  The last one was full of fug and this one is page after page of things I want to knit.

 

Don't you just wish you lived in this elegantly styled world?  Ah to lounge about gorgeous surroundings wearing lace effortlessly...

...or linen?  Yes.  Definitely linen.

Reading

OK.  Sharing the crazy with you today.  And why not?  It's my blog and I'll be crazy if I want to.  Besides, I think I may be on to something.

I've been having trouble reading for several years now.  You see, I've suffered a few major depressions in my life, the most recent being throughout a good part of 2006 and well into 2007.  One of the effects I experience in these depressed times is the inability to read.  It's not that I lose interest but rather I lose the actual skill somehow.   My eyes can't focus on the page for more than a sentence or so.  The letters don't make sense and my mind wanders.
Now I consider my self to be a "reader".  Homer, Tolstoy, Dickens.  Not light stuff, but I've devoured them all.  Modern stuff too.  I adore Margaret Atwood, John Irving, and Timothy Findlay.  I idolize Robertson Davies.  Imagine my dismay when after the fog of the recent depressive episodes lifted, the ability to read easily did not return.  You all know I love poetry and reading it continued to work for me.  The short bytes and the visual imagery contained therein were understandable (as well as comforting) to me, but fictional narratives were still way beyond my comprehension.  It was a little frightening.

Then, about a year ago, I came upon the idea, quite by accident, of reading children's books.  My niece was cleaning out some old things so I took home two of her Charlie Bone books.  They delighted me so much that I borrowed the rest of the series from the neighbourhood library.  I've picked my way through The Daughter's shelf (enjoyed The Lightning Thief very much) and have now moved on to some of the more complex books I enjoyed myself when I was younger.  Currently I'm re-visiting Madeleine L'Engle's wonderful A Wrinkle In Time and its companion pieces.

OK, a woman my age reading kid's books can be considered to be slightly quirky, right?  Here comes the full-on crazy part.  Sometimes, when I'm struggling, I read out loud to myself.  Reading aloud is nothing new to me.  The Daughter and I have spent many, many happy hours reading "Chapter Books" out loud together.  It's something I enjoy and, do well.  And it works.  Somehow, it slows down my eye to brain function enough, that I actually get the story.  My mind doesn't wander as I'm forming the words and listening to them at the same time.  I spent several hours this past weekend sitting in my rocker, reading the adventures of Meg and Charles Wallace out loud to no one but myself.  Well, perhaps the cats enjoyed it?

So.  Not crazy.  Using crazy means to come back from crazy?

Stash Bound

Oops.  Bought yarn.
Actually, I did have a specific project in mind when I ordered this from Elann.com.  A full bag sale even!   The fibre content and colour are perfect.  However, in my excitement, I mis-read the weight.  This is much too fine for the intended project.  Held double, it would be about right but then I'd need twice as much.
Ah well. To the stash it goes.  Pretty colour though.  It brings to mind Nescafe with lots of cream.  Mmmm...