a moment to fill in the gaps

We went to the water park on base with my dad Friday around noon. We were there until 4. We had a blast! The kids were awesome. N took a nap in the pool and then on her Beebah. C finally cracked during adult swim at 3:45, so we packed up and left. Went to Nitnee's house and had dinner. We got back to our house around 8:15ish. We saw some signs of the storm on our way: minor flooding and branches down. P laughed and said, "I wonder if we have a tree!" Pulling up to the front of the house, things didn't look too bad. As we peered around the side, all we could see were branches. The large limb that went out and then straight up (like an "L") had fallen down, taking at least one other large limb with it. We are guessing that the "L" branch landed on the kitchen roof, punched a hole in it, and then sort of slid to the ground, leaving a little pit just outside our kitchen door. The sink was full of water and there is a decent hole in the ceiling. The restoration company has three fans and a dehumidifier going in the kitchen. They are checking each day to make sure it's drying. State Farm is sending someone out tomorrow to estimate the damage and decide how much to give us. A contractor is coming tomorrow evening to see what needs to be done. In the meantime, we are not supposed to use the kitchen much, not that we could with the fans and dehumidifier. State Farm is going to reimburse us for meals, above our typical grocery budget. We were without internet or phone until this afternoon, and then we got it back by asking the passing Cox man if he could help! Cox wasn't coming out until Thursday to fix it.
Fun stuff.

If a tree falls on your house,

and nobody's home, does it still make a sound? A large limb from our tulip poplar fell on the kitchen. We're okay, but we cannot use the kitchen. It also took out our internet and phone, so I'm incommunocado (sp?) right now. I'm getting the shakes from internet withdrawal... Hooray for the library and its timed internet policy!

blue blue blue

Someday I will get pictures to a place where I can add them to the blog... if only for myself!

I have four repeats on my first monkey sock and I think I want to keep them short. I have Yarn for Supper tonight, so I'll take them in and ask for advice. I'm on row 59 on MS3. I want to put in another lifeline before I move on. I've learned I really do have to tune EVERYTHING out in order to properly knit lace. If hokiehubby talks while I'm working on a right side row, I forget yarnovers or decreases. I'm counting at the end of every row. It just feels safer. But at least I'm done with chart A. I need to get some yarn for my Hogwarts Sock Swap. Interestingly, before I signed up for this, I bought some "Hufflepuff" yarn because it happens to be Steelers colors. I'm Hufflepuff but my partner is Ravenclaw. So, I'll get to use my yarn to make something in Steelers colors. I'm thinking about mittens and maybe a hat to match, since football is in the fall/winter. I don't want to make a scarf with this yarn. I've made plenty of those in the past.

We had to go to Pittsburgh to help deal with the fire, and we got back Monday night. I'm not quite normal right now. A little blue. I'm hoping Yarn for Supper tonight will cheer me up. I get to leave the hokiekids home with their daddy, so that's good. Our "garden" looks pretty good. The cucumbers are getting along very well. We only have a couple of green tomatoes (beefmasters), but the romas all still have blossom end rot. I'm going to feed them some milk and see if that helps. To my knowledge, my parents never tried romas. They only ever grew easy stuff, the kind that didn't need special care. Anyway, the romas have lots of little babies, but their bottoms are gross. I tried feeding them some Tums thinking the calcium would help. Oh well.

Hogwarts Sock Swap

WooHoo! It's my first swap! I am a first year at Hogwarts!

What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into? Hufflepuff
Shoe size? 8 1/2
Foot length? 9 1/2
Foot Circumference? 9
List your three favorite double point needle brands:
a. Takumi
b. Brittany
c. (I need to branch out a little!)
Would you like to try a new brand needle? (brand, size, length) Anything, always up for experimentation!
Do you have any allergies? Will your knitting be exposed to smoke or animals? I have no allergies; my household is smoke-free, but I have a dog and a cat.
Are you an international participant? Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal? I am in the US of A but I'm certainly willing to have an international pal!

Check it out at: http://hogwarts-sock-swap-two.blogspot.com/

non-knitting post: fire at the office

I am in Pittsburgh yet again. We were just here for the 4th of July. There was a fire at my FIL's business, so we are here to help out with cleanup and mental support. The business was not a total loss, but the building might be. It's pretty bad. My FIL is a Taurus, so he can be rather bull-headed. He's stressed out about this (understandably) and he's taking it out on my MIL. If you are a praying person, please pray for strength and wisdom for all of us up here.

Ooo. Knitting stuff afterall: monkey sock 1 has three repeats of pattern, and MS3 is up to line 33. Also, I've joined the Hogwarts Sock Swap: questionaire post to follow soon!

I think I said too much.

My mother in law thinks I'm nuts. I tried to explain a little bit about the obsession of knitting. It all started when I asked her if she ever knit. She said a little a long time ago. She went on to say that she would like to get back into cross-stitching. How did she get from knitting to that? Anyway, I told her a little bit about the knitting lifestyle aids that are out there: blogs, books, webmagazines. I even read her a little bit from Yarn Harlot's Knitting Rules! She chuckled politely. POLITELY! I told her about the Yarn Harlot's squirrel. She gave me a look. She thinks I'm nuts. Of course, my husband goes on to tell her that I am addicted to this stuff. He tells her I'm always online laughing to myself. He tells her I'm always muttering things like, "knit one, purl two," like the Granny on Sylvester and Tweety cartoons. They all think I'm nuts. If they knew how much time I've spent today trying to decide whether or not to join in on MS3 (which I signed up for a long time ago) and what kind of yarn I would use, they would actually say outloud that I am nuts.

Speaking of MS3, I want to do it. I signed up for it, but it's a little intimidating. I've never knit lace before. I'm also in the six-sock-knitalong and the monthly dishcloth KAL. Now, my Yarn For Breakfast group wants to do a KAL. Guess I need more yarn. And needles. And more nuts.