Happy Trails

GiddeeeeeUP!

Recently I made a new friend at work, and she happens to own two horses. Two beautiful, well mannered horses. Here's A. with Dakota, the two year old.

The other is a seven year old named Nevada. I've been out riding with A. twice this past month, and it's been really fun. Nevada and I have developed a good relationship, and we're starting to trust one another.

Ever since I was young, I wanted to learn to ride. I grew up very close to the Virginia Horse Center, but never got the opportunity. I'm literally GIDDY to be able to do this now. I'm learning to ride Western, and got a feel for Nevada in a small pasture by the stables. (And, just as an aside, because I KNOW you're in panic mode right now, Mom, when we leave the pasture I always wear a helmet. A. Is actually right out of frame here, she was walking Nevada around while I learned how to use the reins. Yes--yes, I PROMISE). 

A few days ago we went on our first trail ride. We saw lots of wildlife, and I loved navigating Nevada along the narrow path. I even got to ride her bareback, which I actually like a ton more than Western. I feel more secure riding this way--nothing between her muscles and mine. I think you're able to get a better feel for the horse, and can adjust your body to every move she makes. It's beautifully natural. Next go round we'll do a ride bareback, and I'm really looking forward to it! 

Along with riding, there has still been plenty of knitting going on, including an FO: Funky Monkey. 

This was a mindless garter project that finally came to completion last week. I used superwash merino hand dyed by Unplanned Peacock Studios--a skein that I bought at the Sedalia Fiber Festival. The colorway is Columbine. There's something funky and carefree about the garter bumps of color--nearly every stitch transitions to a color different from the one preceding it. It will be gifted very soon. 

As it's rainy cats and dogs outside, I'm organizing my WIPs (there are more than I realized) to bring with me to the beach. We're leaving this weekend, and we're both very ready for it. I'm looking forward to taking some time to relax, reflect, and hopefully, have a few FO's to share by the time we return. I am determined to knit while sunning on the beach--sunblock and sand, be damned! 

Happy Friday!

You Will Be Missed...

A Light full of positivity and joy went to a better place today. While we will miss the generous heart, hilarious wit, and uniquely memorable laugh that was always contagious, the World is a better place because he was here. He never met a stranger, and anyone who could call him Friend was given a very special gift that will never be forgotten.

You will be missed, CC. Our prayers are with your friends and family. 

Surprises

There have been a lot of them these past few weeks, and while I fancy myself someone who is becoming a bit jaded and therefore not often surprised, I have recently really enjoyed the unexpected, which includes but is not limited to the following laundry list of both little and big things.

I had a tooth extraction and bone graph this past week. Long story short, a root canal I had a couple of years ago didn't do the job, so the tooth had to come out and my jaw bone had to be prepared to take an implant. As my dentist so gleefully explained (as I became more and more nauseous), a titanium post substitutes as the "root" of the fake tooth--and titanium is the only metal that actually binds with bone--this was discovered during numerous tests on rats when scientists discovered they couldn't remove a bunch of rods they had stuck through those poor test animals. *Gag*--totally gross. Although, thanks to my unfortunate friend, Ratatouille, in about nine months I get a nice shiny fake tooth that will hopefully last me for the rest of my life. That's way cooler than a rodent that can make a vegan gourmet peasant dish, yeah? Anyways, the nice surprise was that it wasn't nearly as horrible as I had feared (I was seriously terrified) and hopefully pretty soon the pain I've become quite used to will become a distant memory. Oh yeah, and Valium before dental procedures? Definitely my new friend.

Salmaan and I finally took the plunge and committed to a vacation in Portland at the end of April to visit my best buddy, Mandy. It was a little scary to commit to such a big trip amidst budget cuts, but once the tickets were booked, we each got incredibly excited, and I think that feeling of anticipation hasn't subsided, despite it having been a few weeks since we committed. PDX, here we come!

On a related note, a wonderful surprise came along the day I had my surgery--through pain-killer haze I received a call from Mandy (yes, Portland Mandy) asking if she could crash at our place THAT NIGHT!!!!!! She had come into town just for a few days, and we were lucky enough to see her, which was really awesome. It was July since we saw her last, and while the visit was short, it just reaffirmed that she's one of the most strong, beautiful, intelligent, and courageous people I know, and we're lucky to know her.

We made apple pie for the first time ever. It was good.

 

We also made incredible Coq au vin, a new chili recipe, and there are more new recipes in the works, including some type of granola to be featured sometime soon.

My sister, brother-in-law, and Little Niece came for a visit this past weekend. In a word, it was awesome, and just seeing Avery so much bigger, and more developed in her speech and motor skills was incredible. Not to mention the fact that she's absolute PERFECTand beautiful. She seriously redefines the word Precious. I made her a new hat for her first visit to Auntie Lala and Uncle Sully's, and thank goodness it fit! (Baby Thorpe was quite the failed experience over Christmas, although Amy very sweetly stuffed it onto her head so that they could have a Mommy/Daughter Thorpe picture to share with me):

 

This is much improved, and quite adorable if I do say so myself:

 

We had a great visit, and it was really fun to share the new house with them, and of course, cousin Mardi (their boxer, who gets along really well with River). Here are some more shots from the visit.

 

Btw, this is a sneak peek at the kitchen, which is really pretty much finished. Salmaan and I spent about three days in HGTV HELL painting that room, as we discovered that the pale yellow we chose to cover up our initial choice of Eastern State (a mental hospital Salmaan worked in) grey, would take not two, not three, but FIVE FRIGGIN' coats to cover. Ouch. More pictures to come of that, and a couple of other rooms that are nearing completion!

 

 

Some sweetly surprising things about that visit were when Gary looked at Amy and tenderly said, "Avery looks like you today." and kissed her head. And when Avery laid her head down on Amy's shoulder, needing comfort as she was sleepy and it was time for her nap, and watching Amy melt as Gary dove for the camera to capture the moment. Parenthood suits them, really well.

And lastly, the most recent surprise was a Snow Day on Monday. We got 8-10 inches, and I got the day off! I haven't had a snow day since HIGH SCHOOL, so it was a pretty big deal. AND, I got some more knitting done, which will be posted just as soon as it is blocked....Adios--hope you've had some pleasant surprises lately as well!

The Little Kimono That Could

This little project took me forever to complete, and so, it is with great pride (and a sense of relief) that I share with you my latest FO:

Baby Phillips' Birth Day Kimono:

 

This project began in May, and  languished through many weeks of one row here, one row there knitting. In the last few weeks I began to concentrate in earnest on getting it done, and late this past Friday night, standing over our dryer in the laundry room where I had blocked it, I finally finished. Clumsily sewing in that last ribbon felt so darn good, although it did sort of dash my hopes of being a handsewer that would make Gran proud. Good thing I can sew quilts with a machine, eh?

As I held up my tiny creation for all to see (i.e. Mea, who was greatly perturbed that I was suddenly spending so much time in her "bathroom" (her litter box is in the laundry room), and River, who I quickly discovered just wanted to be let out to pee), I felt a great sense of accomplishment. I also wondered whether tiny arms would fit through those long, narrowly tapering sleeves, and if green would be her color.

I think it will. The proud mommy is Julia. She's a good friend from college, and was my matron of honor. We were introduced by another incredible friend who I mention often, Mandy. My formative college years were greatly enhanced by my relationship with these two friends, and I'm quite excited to get to know Baby Phillips as she lives her life, and becomes who she is meant to be.

Tom and Julia live in North Carolina, so while I don't get to see them much, we always seem to pick up where we left off. When I saw Julia a few weeks ago at her baby shower, it had been almost two years since we had met face-to-face, and besides the basketball-sized baby baking under her T-shirt, not much had changed. I really love that, and don't think it's something that comes around too often.

This kimono was knit out of Lion Brand Cotton Ease, in Lime. The pattern is the one piece baby kimono out of Mason Dixon Knitting. I used #7 needles, and barely had enough yarn left to sew up the edges. This was my first time sewing up seams, and I think I could use some more practice....but hey, it's the first go! So long as it doesn't unravel, I'm happy.

Julia's official due date was September 16th, but the kimono recipient has chosen to sit tight for just a little while longer. Maybe she's waiting to snuggle into a freshly washed handknit kimono? I'm digging this kid already! I'm off to the post office to mail off her first birthday gift from auntie Lala...

My New Toys, and a Postal Experience

I met my friend Sangeeta through knitting. One day she saw a scarf that I had made for my co-worker, Susan, while they were in the elevator. Sangy commented on the scarf, asking if Susan had made it. Susan explained that I had given it to her as a birthday present. I think Sangy was excited to have another knitter in the building. She didn't know at the time that I only knew how to make scarves--or that I hadn't knit in quite a while. I wasn't passionate about it. She invited me over to her house, and I remember seeing a ball-winder and swift, attached to her dining room table.

"Whoa. That's...pretty intense." I said, referring to the two tools.

"Huh?" She didn't get that I thought she was a little crazy. A crazy knitter.

And now, I am the crazy knitter.

Mom recently gifted me with a ball-winder and swift. USPS tried to deliver the package a week ago, and supposedly left a notice on our door (on the Saturday that tornadoes ripped through Virginia--even if they did leave one (and I doubt they did), why the frick wouldn't they slip it under the two inch crack of our front door?!?! In your experience, does the cheap adhesive of a sticky note usually stand up to gale-force winds?) *sigh*. I've been in a ranting mood this week. And when I called Knitpicks to see where the package was, and found out it had been sitting at our crappy post office for a week, I was more than a little incensed.

You see, we live in the ghetto--or at least, at the edge of the ghetto. We've lived here for 2 years...and...it's starting to wear on me. Our local post office has incredible employee turn-over, and when we do get a regular delivery person for more than two weeks, the concept of "Upstairs Apartment" seems way too difficult to grasp or remember. Last summer there was the girl that was always yelling (and I do mean yelling) into her cell phone whenever she dropped off our mail. One day I was studying for the bar, and from my office window, I watched her accidentally drop 5 pieces of mail on her way up our sidewalk, stop, look at the dropped mail, and keep walking whilst yelling into the mouthpiece. *Bristles* I went and picked them up. They were all ours. Another time I was gardening in the back yard, and found Hubster's car tax envelope--still containing the check he had written 3 weeks prior, soggy and dirt-encrusted in the middle of one of our tomato plants. So, we haven't had great experiences with our local post office. In fact, I'll say it. LPO? I loath thee.

Yesterday I got off of work early so that I could get to the post office in time to pick up the package. I had the tracking number. I was tired--it had been a tough day, and the line was loooong. I studied people in line, and listened to their conversations while dreaming of winding all the Malabrigo I had recently purchased online. Two girls, covered in tattoos, gossiped about how their friend stupidly lets her boyfriend beat her. One of them was drinking a homemade mimosa. She was kind enough to douse her huge brown cigarella before coming in the building, but she still held it, poised artfully in the hand that held her glass. An old man with thick, square glasses and a grey wispy beard mumbled to himself while rocking back and forth. Single mothers with young daughters waited patiently to purchase stamps. An elderly woman with bright green eye shadow walked in with her adult son, who was incredibly tall, and obviously suffering from some sort of mental incapacitation. I thought about this odd amalgamation of people, and wondered where I fit in. And then, I had it,

"I'm the crazy white girl that is probably more likely than any of these people to go postal."

And I almost did. Because, when after 30 minutes of waiting in line, trying to ignore the smell of musty urine on the Mumbling Rocker, the three-toothed teller explained that she couldn't issue my package to me without a photo I.D., I had pretty much reached The End. But, thankfully she was kind enough to let me cut to the front of the line when I had retrieved my I.D. from the car, and gave me the package with a huge, three-toothed smile.

It's so silly, I know. I KNOW! It's a stupid ball-winder, and a stupid swift. But you must remember, I am now a crazy knitter, I'm tired of living in the ghetto, I did divorces and other unpleasant crap-work all week, and I'm the token postal skinny white girl.......... *deep breath*........who wound up all of her luscious Malabrigo merino last night, with her new ball-winder and swift. *smiles* My new toys.