A little Lacey (&) Aran, you say?

I love 3 day weekends. So you get 3 days off. But then that means you have a shorter work week. Bonus. YAY!!! Okay, okay, so it's just a little mind game I play with myself, but it works for me.

I got a fair amount of knitting done this weekend. Birch is moving along nicely. I've gotten 3 repeats done. I'll be glad when the rows get shorter and it goes quicker. Because now it takes FOREVER to get through a couple of rows. Maybe I'm just slow, though. Here's how she looks so far

I think I've actually done a couple more rows, but you get the basic idea.

And I'm happy to announce, the sheep have names. Thank you all for your suggestions. I had a hard time choosing. But now I have lots of ideas for the next sheep, whenever that may be. And so, without further ado, the lucky winner is (drumroll): Lisa with "Lacey and Aran". The white one will be Lacey, and the brown one Aran. Although G is going to call the brown one "Clarice". Can you believe I've never seen that movie? So, Lisa, if you're out there, email me with your address and a prezzie is on its way.

The sock is moving along. I basically ripped it all and started over, so now it's back to what it looked like prior to the frogging. And I've been poring over Mason-Dixon Knitting. I've never been so intrigued by dishcloths. My house needs more knitted stuff, and the sooner the better. I'm trying to finish something before I move on, though. It's hard, because I've got some pretty dishcloth cotton just sitting here looking at me. Who knew cotton could be so persuasive?

She's gonna hate me for this someday

Long time, no post. And to make up for that, here comes a long post. It's been a busy week at work. Several nights of working late. Which means that, for the past few days, there's not much time for anything besides checking email and brushing my teeth before I fall asleep at night. But here we have a 3 day weekend. Oh, the joy. Too bad it rained most of the afternoon, but I found ways to compensate.

The sheep are settling in nicely. They're getting used to their new pasture and are becoming more curious and courageous as well. They're actually coming up to us and sniffing us as we try and feed them. Thank you to all who have written to suggest names. We're pondering (and even bickering a bit) over which ones are the best names. So check back Monday, because that's when I plan to announce the lucky winners.

So, how did I spend my Saturday? Well, I had grand plans of sleeping in. I might as well give up on those forever. I wake up at 7, regardless, and have a hard time falling back to sleep. So after snuggling in bed with G and Catie, we got up to start the day. I had planned to meet a friend for lunch, so eventually Catie and I headed into Boise. The restaurant we were meeting at was downtown, in the same block as the Farmers' Market. I was blown away by the number of booths. I'll definitely have to check this out again. I'm becoming entralled with farmers' markets. Could be because I'm on this kick where I just want to be an organic farmer/shepherd/cattle rancher. Just a dream.

Lunch was at a Greek/Mediterranean restuarant. Yummy. Then all three of us walked through the rain to the yarn store downtown. Didn't buy anything there, but enjoyed looking. Then we went for a cup of coffee, where Catie fell asleep while nursing. It's been FOREVER since she's done that. It was so nice just to hold her while she slept. Then we went our separate ways, and I headed to Borders. I've had a hankering for a new book. I hadn't actually LOOKED inside this book, but I loved it. Those Mason-Dixon ladies sure have lots of projects I'd like to try. And god forbid, I leave a bookstore with only one book. I also got Big Girl Knits. We met G and his old roomie, Jason for dinner. Where Catie ate an amazing amount of food. I have no idea where it all went. I don't think I've ever seen her eat that much. Maybe she's getting ready to grow another inch or two. Here's a picture of her last weekend at the rodeo.

So now here comes the embarassing part (the part she might hate me for someday). My sister, her hubby, and baby came for the weekend too. Catie and Danny got to hang out and play. Here we have them together...please pardon the look on C's face. Not the most attractive one ever.

And here's just one of the many pictures that show just how much they enjoyed each others' company:

I never thought "kissing cousins" could be so cute.

I need your help!

Forgive me for not posting for a few days, but trust me, this is a good one. Think beyond knitting.

This weekend marks the annual Jordan Valley Big Loop Rodeo, the rodeo in the town where I grew up. So off Catie and I went, while George stayed home with the stomach virus from hell. At any rate, this is what the pasture looked like when we got home.

Look a little closer now...
And just a little closer yet...
Yes folks, today was sheep delivery day. I've mentioned on here in the past that we were planning on getting a couple of lambs. They're from Cleo, at The Sheep Shed, the same place I bought my wheel. Here's a couple of close ups:















The white one is a Merino-Cormo cross, and the brown one is Border Leiscter-Merino cross. Both ewe lams. Both about two and a half to three months old.

SOOO...here's where you all come in. We haven't come up with good names for these little girls. So I'm holding a bit of a contest. Let me know your ideas. G and I will choose from among the options, and the lucky winner(s) will get a little gift from me. Some lovely STR, perhaps?? Maybe a bit of handspun as well??

He can't complain anymore

Ladies and gentlemen (though I suspect it's mostly ladies that read this)...I'm proud to present...G's Trekking XXL socks. I've been working on these for about a month. In fact, I think exactly a month. Done, except for the weaving in, but pretty close. They're not an exact match. I did more decreases on one toe than the other, but if you won't tell, I won't. I think he'll be happy to finally have a pair done.

And on G's size 15 feet:


The vital stats:

Pattern: No specific pattern, just a larger version of my basic, generic sock pattern
Yarn: Trekking XXL, Color 122
Needles: Crystal Palace dpns, size 1
Started: April 15, 2006
Finished: May 15, 2006

So what's next, you ask? Lace, baby. I'm going to work more on Birch, and for portability, yet another pair of socks. STR this time. Maybe I'll go back to this:

Happy Mother's Day (or why I should ask for French toast more often)

Well, Happy Mother's Day to all. It's my first as a mom. It's been a great day. I had grand plans of sleeping in late, but I woke up at 6:30 or 7:00 just the same. As you may have read yesterday, my only request was that G make me French toast. Which he did. But beyond that, apparently he and Catie picked out of a pair of these for me too:



Then when Catie went down for her morning nap, I broke out Birch. Last night I was quite frustrated with this project. I wasn't sure I didn't screw up on the first row or two. I went on to knit Row 3, and I did a little happy dance when it worked out right. I'm right on track. Finally. And here's the little halo of silk and mohair to prove it.

Later in the afternoon we went to Barnes and Noble. Site of our first date. AAAWWW. I bought the new Interweave Knits and The Shop on Blossom Street. Yes it's fluff. But right now I need a little fluff in my life. Sometimes a mindless read is just what the doctor ordered.

GRRRRR

I should have known. I've read about others' struggles with the first few rows of Birch. I thought to myself, "I won't have those problems" How arrogant of me. I have cast on 3 separate times. And have screwed up on the first row twice. I'm not even convinced that the 3rd time is a charm, either. I think this one might be messed up too. Row counters. No row counters. Counting the cast on row 5 or 6 times each. None of these work. I keep screwing the damn thing up. Now it's midnight and my head is spinning. The KSH is beautiful and soft...and a FREAKIN' NIGHTMARE. I'm sure I'll grow to love it, but now, not so much. It gets easier, I've read. But I don't think I"ll ever get to the point where it can get easier.

So now I'm just gonna go to bed. I'll wake up with a whole new outlook on life. French Toast in bed. (That was my Mother's Day request). And my good buddy Birch will be fine. I'll have the right number of stitches after row 2. Because if I have to restart again, something bad might happen.

That'll teach him.

Yes, folks. Yet again, my secret pal takes the cake. I got these goodies to the left last week. 660 yards of alpaca yarn. 2 skeins of Sundara sock yarn, Knit Lit the Third (signed, no less) and some hand salve that made everything in the package smell like yummy lavendar. And now I know what she looks like. Just not her name. This is most fun.

However, I'm getting so incredibly bored with G's second sock. Tedious gusset decreases are making me want to scream or pull my hair out or something. I'm really wanting to start my Amazing Lace project(s). Tonight I showed G a picture of what I wanted to start on next (after the Birch I haven't really started). He rolled his eyes. Can you believe that crap? I believe he said something along the lines of, "Don't you have a different shawl that you haven't finished in forever?" He just doesn't get it, does he? Maybe I won't finish that sock after all. Ha.

Shoshone Falls

Friday was my "day off". I had been on call on Thursday night. Not too bad. Home by 10 or so, then slept all night. So Friday, my "day off", I had a meeting and assisted on a C-section on one of my patients. So after that, I finally got to do "day off" type stuff.

I checked out the newest LYS in town. Ewephoria. (Cute name, huh?). It's in downtown Nampa. Everything is still not totally set up, and she doesn't have everything on display yet, but overall, I'm impressed. Plus it's closer to home. And Nampa is working to revitalize it's downtown, a cause I'm always into supporting. AND there's a cool new coffee shop around the corner. So many reasons to go back for more. I bought a couple of skeins of Cascade Fixation in an ivory color. I think it'll be good for summer socks. Besides, I've never knit socks except with wool, so I think I need to at least try some cotton. I also bought the newest Spin-Off magazine. It has an article about Navajo plying, which I've been wanting to learn how to do.

Then my mom, dad, G, Catie and I loaded up and drove to Twin Falls. It was a bit of a crowded car ride, but worth it. Shoshone Falls is just outside of Twin Falls. It's on the Snake River. Apparently they're higher than Niagra Falls. I've never been to Niagra Falls, and I think there's more water there, but for Idaho, especially southern (i.e. desert) Idaho, this is pretty damn impressive.

That last picture shows me (in the red shirt) out on the lookout deck. What you can't see is how I'm holding desperately onto the railing and trying not to throw up as I look down. I'm a little afraid of heights. Add to that the water pouring over the falls, and it was almost more than my stomach could handle. But I'm glad we went. This was a good year as far as snow, so there's more water than there has been the past few years. It certainly made for an impressive sight.

Not much as far as knitting news. The second of G's red socks is moving along. I'm willing myself to finish it before I start something else. Lace is calling my name.

Lace and Catie Grace

Summertime is coming. And we all know that means lace knitting. I'll have to pry myself away from the socks. And move on to airy, pretty, girly lace. Along those lines, I've joined this:



A little competition with Birch and me as a team. I'm hoping to finish Birch and maybe move on to the Violets by the River shawl. Probably a little overambitious, but a girl can dream.

There's been two big developmental milestones at our house in the past week. Catie has now mastered the art of the sippy cup. For months she's been chewing on the little spout and not sucking. After watching another kid yesterday, it clicked. She's now incredibly excited about apple juice. And she's FINALLY learned to say "mamama". Only problem is, she's said it about 2 or 3 times and no more. Why, oh why, does it have to be "dadadadada" to everything? "I-da" "Oooh-da" "Ee-da" I'm well aware of the fact that the "D" sound is easier to make than the "M" sound, but come on, girl. I'm feeling a little left behind on the vocabulary train.

So here she is, with the parent she loves the most. At least she must, by as much as she says his name. Note the yarn in her hands. You can never start too early.