My Goodness, Are Those Socks???

Project: Hedera, by Cookie A

Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton Stretch in 8005

Needles: US 1 dpns, like always

Notes: Don't everyone faint, but I finally finished a project! This was an easy to memorize pattern that knit up quickly when I actually picked up the needles. The yarn was a new experience. The stretchiness makes it a little tricky to work with, but the finished result is very nice. These are comfy and the color in the photo is pretty close. I knit the pattern pretty much as written except that I added one or two repeats on the leg. That wasn't really necessary, but I do like my socks fairly long.

I actually finished a pair of summer socks while it is still summer! Any goals that I had for the Summer of Socks are well and truly left by the wayside. Life has been far more important than knitting and that is fine by me.

Just a Softy

I know that I can't be the only one who teared up while watching Senator Teddy Kennedy speaking at the Dem convention tonight. Maria Shriver definitely had the waterworks going even though she tried her best to stay strong. It really is a passing of an era.

Don't get me wrong, just because I am one of those liberals (c'mon, you all knew that already) doesn't mean that I have unconditional love for the Kennedys. I never did get that whole fascination with the family thing. Still, Teddy has been on the national stage for as long as I can remember and I am going to miss him. It was really hard to think that this is likely his last convention and he might not even make it to 20 January 2009 (no matter what he pledged). I really hope that he gets to see President Obama sworn in. Okay, I really hope that I get to see President Obama. Hope is starting to creep in...

Sunday Socks?

Nope, no sock pictures. I finished the first sock of Hedera, but I only knit 8 rows (!) while on vacation in New York. I did another 20 in the last week, but the knitting mojo is still on vacation. I suspect that this situation will not change in the near future. Yesterday we brought home a new toy. I no longer have the slowest computer. I nice, shiny, new HP Pavilion with a Quad-core Intel processor and piles of RAM and a fabulous graphics card is all mine! Young Man and I may have to set up a schedule because he now knows that Lego Star Wars screams on this machine. I'm still searching through the house for my discs to install all my software. The unintended consequence of this purchase may be a cleaner house and garage!

Saturday Sky

How about another gorgeous New York sky shot?

Extreme Friday



Granted, this is last Friday's extreme activity, but it is still impressive. These are a few of the views of Young Man navigating the Adirondack Extreme course near Bolton Landing, NY.

Booking Through Thursday - Gold Medal Reading

You, um, may have noticed that the Olympics are going on right now, so that’s the genesis of this week’s question, in two parts:
First:
- Do you or have you ever read books about the Olympics? About sports in general?
- Fictional ones? Or non-fiction? Or both?
And, Second:
- Do you consider yourself a sports fan? Because, of course, if you’re a rabid fan and read about sports constantly, there’s a logic there; if you hate sports and never read anything sports-related, that, too … but you don’t have to love sports to enjoy a good sports story.
(Or a good sports movie, for that matter. Feel free to expand this into a discussion about “Friday Night Lights” or “The Natural” or whatever…)

I'm not really big on reading sports books. I have read a couple of books on lacrosse. This season I picked up a book on coaching boys lacrosse. Neither Mr. Engineer or I have any desire to become coaches, we just want to know more about the game. Fictional sports books don't interest me at all. The only other sports-related books that I can think of in my library are two Lance Armstrong biographies. I have read It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life, but have yet to open Every Second Counts. I originally read the first book as a selection from my book club and it was a very good read. I'm not sure that I would like Lance Armstrong if I met him, but I am very impressed by his drive and determination.

I do consider myself a sports fan. I love watching Young Man play lacrosse and soccer and I really enjoy a good baseball game. The Olympics are fun as well when I can wrest the remote away from Mr. Engineer. Since I am a sports watcher and not a sports participator, I think that I find viewing sports more enjoyable than reading about them. I much prefer sports movies to books. Give me Bull Durham any day. Of course, there is a bit more than baseball going on there!

The Sticks Are Still For Lacrosse

I haven't completely abandoned knitting, but I seem to be taking a break. Given how stressful work has been since I returned, I will probably take up my pointy sticks again soon. For now, my blogging has been going on at the team lacrosse site, Crush Lacrosse. So, for anyone keeping count, I have easily maintained my Blog 365 compulsion. Now that the trip is over, it's time to return here. Stay tuned.

Booking Through Thursday - Other Worlds

Are there any particular worlds in books where you’d like to live?
Or where you certainly would NOT want to live?
What about authors? If you were a character, who would you trust to write your life?
(This came to me when reviewing a Jonathan Carroll book - I’m not sure I’d like to live in the worlds of his books.)

Hmmmmm. I always wanted to visit J.R.R. Tolkein's world (Hobbit, LOTR), but I'm not sure that I would want to live there. Okay, I could probably manage without the internet, but I'm rather fond of the whole electricity thing. I would love to be a friendly muggle that the wizards trust enough to take me in occasionally to JK Rowlings' world (after Voldemort was gone, of course). I really can't imagine any author writing about my life. Any good ones would be bored to death and then he/she wouldn't be around any more. I guess I'll just have to write about my own life some day!

I'm rather enjoying the "other world" that I'm visiting this week and kind of sad that we will be leaving tomorrow. I am very much looking forward to going home, but all this greenery and clean air is fabulous.

Still More Thrills!

Young Man had another wonderful day here in New York. He rode roller coasters at Six Flags (including his first loop!). Next, he got yummy barbecue thanks to two generous parents who wanted to treat the team. Then there was lacrosse. What more could a boy want? Here he is taking a breakaway after stealing the ball (it was rolling under a pack and he just poked in his stick and came out with the ball) and is looking for someone to whom he can pass.

Well, for starters, how about a team photo and official camp tournament ring?

You want more? Okay, Young Man's team was awarded the trophy for most wins during the week's games. They didn't win the championship, but they absolutely played their hearts out.

There were also way cool fireworks. Several people wondered what the cows in the area think of all this. I'm pretty much guessing that the cows think its just another thunderstorm. I haven't met too many contemplative cows.

Still Too Busy Having Fun

Don't bother me, I'm watching lacrosse (and dodgeball).

Young Man had a rough night last night thanks to some typical camp pranks, but he recovered by the afternoon. The team had a great session with a college coach and a pro. The boys then got to use their new skills playing two games in the evening against Albany teams. I know that I am biased, but I think that Young Man played some of his best lacrosse yet tonight. One of the cool memories for the night was listening to the 8th grade team cheer him on by name. He got several great play comments and, yes, he heard them. It was a great evening!

Siteseeing

The Adirondack region is beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous.

Feeling Good, Feeling Free

It is still a great week! Young Man continues on his quest for independence and occasionally brushed teeth and I am a woman without responsibilities. It is a very strange feeling. This is something that I have not experienced in more years than I can remember. Young Man really doesn't need me this week. He needs to know that I am just a phone call away, but he doesn't need (or really want) me on site except for games. Work is fully covered by others and I don't even have my work laptop with me. Mr. Engineer is doing extremely well without us (even if he is a bit lonely). I'm told that there are 13 pints of salsa from our garden that have been canned and that Young Man's bathroom is spotless. Maybe we should take more trips!

Today, Young Man played two scrimmage games and the teams went on what was to be just a hike, but which turned into a mud hike. One of the other parents was around when the boys returned and he reported that the boys and their clothing came back much worse for wear. I understand that some laundry may be in order. Still, I'm not being asked to do it! I have heard mention of frogs and am interested in that story. I understand that one was caught, but the boys decided that it was a better idea to let it go than to bring it back to camp. Why do I have the feeling that Young Man may have been involved with that adventure?

So, just what does someone on vacation, really on vacation, do with herself? Some of the parents are going to Cooperstown tomorrow. Others are thinking water park and/or Six Flags. I'm still playing it by ear.

Given all the fabulous meals that I've been having, I'm thinking some walking is in order. If you are ever in the Lake George/Glens Falls area, I highly recommend Luisa's Italian Bistro. It's a little hard to find (several different GPS units failed us completely), but well worth the effort. We had received several recommendations for restaurants and one very nice person pointed out that most of those were really geared for tourists and not repeat customers. This is the restaurant that she recommends to people who want to come back.

Who Has Time to Knit?


If you are looking for knitting content, I think you will be disappointed this week. I haven't picked up needles since Wednesday! It's all lacrosse this week. I watched three games today and that was only because the other seven were cancelled! It's a good thing that I like this game. During the games I can't even sit down. Even if I weren't taking pictures, there is no way that I could be still enough to knit. I remember the first season that Young Man played and I actually did knit when he wasn't in the game. Now he gets more game time and I know the boys so I want to watch every minute.

Young Man played some great defense today. Okay, I'm biased, but even I can tell who is in the game and who isn't when goals are scored.

He was determined and aware. He was also fast. Really fast. Played two games and could still fly fast.

These two games were only scrimmages. The tournament doesn't start for real until Monday. I'm writing and posting more pictures on the brand new Crush Fan Blog. Pop over there if you want the whole story. I am so glad that I came to see this. I am even happier that Young Man doesn't really need me here. He is glad that I'm nearby, but he hasn't needed my help for anything so far!

If It's Friday, It Must Be New York

If I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out what day it is, I think I should be cut a little slack. You see, I sort of missed Thursday night and Friday has been a very large blur.

On Thursday, Mr. Engineer dropped off his family at the Long Beach Airport and Young Man and I headed off for adventures. After a fun time in the airport (if getting 45 young men under the age of 15 onto a plane can be called fun), we went on a five-hour flight to Boston. Young Man sat back with his teammates and actually slept! I sat with people completely unassociated with our group and also slept. Young Man and his team then went on a four-hour bus trip to New York. I got a rental car and drove the four hours. Caffeine and reasonable breaks are wonderful things!

The team is having a great time. They moved into two cabins (one for the 5/6 team and one for the 7/8 team). I tried to stay out of the way and provide a bit of help where I could. After making sure that they got some food, the other parents on the first part of the trip left the team with the coaches and got some rest. It feels kind of strange to be on vacation without my engineers. We are such a good team that splitting us up (even for a week) is disconcerting. I'll be back to the camp to watch the first games tomorrow. This is going to be a great week!

Booking Through Thursday(?) - Endings

What are your favourite final sentences from books? Is there a book that you liked specially because of its last sentence? Or a book, perhaps that you didn’t like but still remember simply because of the last line?

(Yes, I know that today isn't Thursday. As you will see from my next post, I was a little busy yesterday.)

Oh, dear. This one is as difficult as the last! I am no better at remembering last lines than I am at remembering first lines. As with the first lines, my favorites are those that capture my imagination. I find that I don't actually like endings that wrap things up nicely. Life doesn't end in a neat bundle, so why should a book? Oh, I do whine if a book leave too many loose endings and I do like to have the major plot lines completed. Still, I like a book that leaves room for either a sequel or just a drifting of the imagination. The author doesn't have to produce an actual sequel. It's enough if the author leaves a few clues that let my own (over)active imagination roam.

One of the best at this was, of course, Douglas Adams. I always loved how he ended his books just enough to leave me satisfied, but not so much as to shut off interesting avenues for the future. This would be how the Hitchhikers Guide Trilogy expanded to five books.

Near the end of his life, Robert Heinlein took this concept to the extreme. His books became longer and longer and left more and more unsaid. The concept he was exploring was that the characters when invented formed alternate universes. If the character wasn't fully developed, his "real" life character was rather one-dimensional. Also, if the plot lines were too cleanly tied off, the character would be left with nothing interesting to do. While I enjoyed the theoretical exercise, his last books proved extremely frustrating.

The other endings that I particularly detest are those that seem to sacrifice the character for the sake of ending the book. I felt that the main character in The Gathering suffered from this treatment. I didn't believe for a minute that she was going to pull herself together and come back to her family (or to sanity). She had far too many unresolved demons in her mind to go back to her old life.