Since today is the first time in a week I really enjoyed my morning coffee I have all reason to declare myself healthy again :) Seriously, my throat bothered me to the point of refusing coffee, that sadly aggravated my poor sore throat, especially in the mornings, when it was already dried up. Except for an occasional cough I'm back to my normal self.
After my last blog entry ette came for a visit, but this time she took the direct route to me (or should I say she tried?) instead of going via our parents. So she endet up in the big road works going on under my living room window. To be more precise she was redirected around the construction zone and taking the first sign, that read "University Northern Campus" she ended up in an area completely unknown to her. Unfortunately the redirection took her the long way around the campus area and nearly very road sign will direct you to the Campus (frankly because there isn't anything else there) and instead of taking the first one of those, she would have been perfectly OK, had she taken any other exit :) So now she was parked in the lot of the new Botanical Garden, with no idea how to get to the lot of the Physics Building. So she phoned me and asked be basically "I have no idea where I am. How do I get to you." Even Botanical Garden parking lot is not especially helpful as there are two botanical Gardens there in close proximity each with at least two parking lots. But then there was the helpful bit: "I think I can see your house". Hallelujah. We confirmed that suspicion with frantic waving and holding up a large piece of white paper on my side and a quick description of her clothes on ettes side. Than I picked up my mp3-player and went to her and directed her to the right parking lot, all the while shaking with laughter :)
We sat down on my couch and knit away and discussed our plans. We had a fair bit of knitting and talking about knitting to do, especially on ettes super secret knitting project and wanted to go to the movies to watch Captain America on Monday night.
Now I have to report my knitting progress or the next thing that came over us won't make any sense to you :) I finally finished Blue Beast (hence the title)! It looks really great (even if I say so, but ette confirmed it also) and I sticked with the sewn cast off because it relaxed nicely since my last entry and doesn't flare anymore. "Cuddly and Sweet" is also done and awaits the fun that is to come. "Rainbow" has four and a half seam done. And I really started on "Wraparound" that is as of now more than half way done. Also I cast on a new pair of socks, that kept nagging me to try them since the last knitty-issue came out: double heelix. I chose sock wool in a foggy gray-green and a simple cream to offset the green wool and make it pop in contrast. I'm thinking of adding a spiral toe and cuff, but the jury is still out on that one.
Back to recapping ettes visit we went grocery shopping on Monday morning and since I was sadly projectless (more or less) and also kept thinking about the Aeolian Shawl and my ball of regia lace and how I didn't have exactly the right beads for that I dragged ette to my local yarn source. And than ette discovered that there was sock yarn on sale. That was the beginning of the disaster as it was half or even a third of the original price. After about half an hour of getting high on wool fumes we left both with way to much wool and in my case to new pattern books. I got a happy orange and a pale yellow to set it of. another ball of gorgeous deep green wool (as if I didn't have enough of those). Also I got a nice booklet with patterns to knit acorns, mushrooms, berries, bumblebees and other things you meet in meadows and forests. And a knitting book for women with curves pointed out to me by the really nice clerk. But the zinger was the hand painted sock yarn in a deep coffee and chocolate brown, that apparently no one loved as there were several left. They looked so lonely that I adopted three skeins. I have no idea what they are going to become, but it will be fabulous and I think it will have lots and lots of stockinette so the color way can have the stage.
At that point ette was already a bit miffed because she broke her sock wool rule but I hadn't found the right beads for the regia lace. So I had to go to the arts and crafts store next door where ette pointed out the perfect beads, I quickly picked up those earring wire thingies and ette had a little accident in the aisle with the knitting books and bought two pattern books that I have to steal at the next possible occasion. Than we really went grocery shopping and collapsed on my couch. When I had found my breath again we ate and then ette had me make the decisions on her super secret knitting project because she couldn't muster up the required courage. The details I can't share as they still secret and of course they are ettes to share. But it involved some weird kind of impromtu-steeking which should be enough to make you understand her reluctance.
Finally we decided to skip Captain America because it would be no fun for me sitting in the movie theater, sneezing and coughing in turns, and pissing of every other person there. We will simply watch it next week. We ordered rather bad pizza, watched "The Mentalist", knitted and talked.
We ran knitting project ideas by each other and I have at least three new projects in line. Number one is another version of "Quack", Number two will be a sweater for my niece with an elephant on the front and Number three is super secret and a perfect present for a dear friend. All of them require new yarn, so that ette should get things together on her end. We will order together to save on shipping and because I already have an account.
And now I have to finish this in order to chat with osti who is currently in Argonne, near Chicago :)