And Now, A Word From Tech Support

We have been told many times by friends that we are a little scary. Well, it's true. Even scarier is that we have already inducted our youngest member into the family tech support business. Both Mr. Engineer and I have provided countless hours of assistance to co-workers, family, friends, and friends who are like family. Last night, Young Man joined the fun.

Young Man and his buddies play an Internet game called Runescape. Anyone with a child too young for WoW is undoubtedly familiar with this game. One of Young Man's friends was feeling left out because he hadn't set up an account. After getting his mother's permission, the friend and Young Man arranged for telephone support after camp. We were so proud of how professionally Young Man handled all the questions and carefully walked his friend through the steps. Yep, he's one of us now.

Monday Socks

You know that you are really back when you have to put on real shoes again. I couldn't quite face dressing up, but I did manage to put on socks and shoes. It wasn't fun.

Far more fun was photographing my latest finished socks. I have completely reconciled myself with the concept that I am never going to even be in the running for most socks this Summer of Socks. Life has interrupted. Now I'm just in it for the fun.

Pattern: Merino Lace from Interweave Knits Favorite Socks

Yarn: Trekking Pro Natura

Needles: US 1 dpns

Notes: Great socks! I had some difficulties maintaining the pattern and seemed to do far more ripping out than I normally do. I am positive that this has nothing to do with the designer or with the pattern. The charts are actually very easy to follow. The problem lay entirely with the knitter. These are wonderful socks, but the lace does need some attention. It is good to be relaxed, but I was perhaps a bit too relaxed. Shall we say that these are probably not the socks to be knitting if one is consuming a variety of vacation beverages. No, lace and Leinenkugel do not mix!

Is It Sunday Already?

Oh, bother, I nearly didn't post tonight, but I probably could have claimed a justifiable excuse. I had planned to have another plane pic, but forgot to take one. Then I was going to post a picture of the newly-completed Merino Lace Socks, but didn't take one when there was enough light. Mostly, we spent the day traveling and the afternoon/evening very happy that the traveling went better than it might have.

We had a quite a scare when Young Man woke from a nap on the plane and headed for the restroom only to faint instead! We now think that it was a case of low blood sugar. After we were all more level headed, we realized that he had consumed only a normal human-sized breakfast (instead of his usual growing-boy portion) and then barely ate any of the snack that Grandma had packed for us. He scared everyone on the plane, but seems absolutely fine now. We are profoundly grateful to the wonderful staff of Northwest Airlines and everyone on flight 803 today. Most were a tad grumpy to be coming in to LAX a bit late (we were stuck in the takeoff line for some time in Minneapolis), but all were very considerate and allowed a scared family off first without any problems. After spending time with fabulous EMTs, we had many concerned staff and passengers inquire about Young Man. He became rather embarrassed by the attention, but his parents appreciated the concern. Everyone will be happy to know that he now seems completely normal and was up playing video games after we returned home and now shows no ill effects after his ordeal. Thank you all!

Saturday Sky With A Gasp

The week at the lake is over, but the memories are strong. We had another wonderful week and are all hard-pressed to figure out what could have possibly made it better. One of the boys was quizzed as to how he would rate the week on a scale of 1-to-10 (with 10 being best). He gave it a 9, presumably because he wanted to leave some room for improvement. I was thinking 11. Mr. Engineer gave it a 9 1/2; again, he is unwilling to commit to determining that anything is perfect.

We are now at Mr. Engineer's parents' home and that means it is time for the annual trip to their nearest park. Young Man was delighted to learn that he is now tall enough to reach the top of the pole in the middle of the climbing ropes. I was somewhat less thrilled, but I do understand the feeling of accomplishment. Yes, I have made the trek to the top. Young Man was quite amused to realize that he was wearing his most appropriate shirt for this task: "I do all my own stunts." He certainly does!

Last Cone At The Lake