MUST...HAVE...NOW...

How did I miss these socks?? With all my time on Ravelry and Knitty, how did I not see these before? I'm overwhelmed by the cuteness of the colors and clever tricksy pattern. I must buy the yarn immediately, excuse me. . . . . . . . .

It's a Canadian indie dyer, and I went through the entire website in French and CAD, figuring that with yarn this important it didn't matter if I could read a single word on the page. I trusted I'd just know what and where to click. Then I noticed a small box that lets you select the English and USD webpage. Ah, much easier! Of course now I have to wait for my yarn to arrive from Canada. No idea on how long that'll take. If only Zappos could be in charge of yarn delivery too!

Another sign just how insanely I was overtaken by this pattern? This is the FIRST TIME EVER that I've bought a kit for a knitting project. I always change the yarn or something, but in this case the only thing that might be cuter than Finding Nemo socks would be if they looked like Grover from Sesame Street. And I just don't see that being as instantly recognizable. Speaking of Grover and instantly recognizable things, check him out in this great commercial.

Focus, Daniel-san

Today was the kind of day where I had an overwhelming urge to set the house to rights and get nagging errands done. Unearth the dining room table that's been covered since new year's? Drive to that shop across town to return an item that's been sitting in plain view for a month? Change the bedclothes to the cozy winter blankets? I could spend all day very busy and be quite pleased with things come evening. But no. It's a workday, so I have to turn my back on all the chores just begging to be done and accept that not only will they not get done today, but when I do have to face them they will be MUCH less enjoyable than my current mood would have them.

 And this is made all the more difficult by the two dogs luxuriously snoozing under and beside my desk. Long slow breaths amplified through their muzzles, an occasional groan of satisfaction. Their bodies seem to put off additional heat, creating a sphere of cozy snooze waves that make my eyes roll back with the desire to tumble onto the floor and sleep with them. Do I nudge them awake to make it easier on myself? Seems unkind to do when they're both so happy. Maybe I'll quietly get up and see if they follow on their own. If I open the pantry door they're sure to come... especially if I rattle their food bin.

I'm back! I think...

The past year leapt away from me and I never was able to grab hold of it again. I think the last post I made almost a year ago followed by 10 months of silence pretty much says it all. But lately I've been having random thoughts about blog posts, things that need more than a facebook status update to delve into. I may or may not stick with it, but the first step is doing it. So far it feels pretty good :)

One of my problems blogging is that the ones I enjoy always have tons of pictures to make the stories more interesting, and I tended to fall down on that front. Or else I'd be looking for meaningful or interesting topics to blog about, rather than the random ramblings that really make up who I am. I'm not sure where this will go, if I'll get overwhelmed by work again and retreat into doing nothing, or what. Here's your invitation to join me on this trip, however long it lasts.

 And to start us off, here's the super cool year-long knitting project I'm working on.

It's a scarf that records the daily temperature. Each color spans 5 degrees, and every day I check the recorded high and knit a row in the corresponding color.

I've decided to use the local temp. wherever I am, but if I'm traveling I'll work the first couple stitches of the row differently so there's a subtle mark that tells me it wasn't just an unseasonable day. Today is my first row of dark grey, which is a 30 degree jump from the spring green line last week. I've always liked the weather, but this scarf it turning me into a weather nerd.