Home again

I was on the road for 18 days, getting home late on May 29th!  I drove 4,989 miles.  I was tired ... 

In May, I stopped in two places in New Mexico, plus Phoenix, San Diego, Arroyo Grande, Carlsbad, St. George, Grand Junction, Windsor, Fort Collins, Omaha, Kansas City, and Joplin.

As I came home from Kansas City/Joplin, I could see the storm to the west of me, and it finally caught me on the north edge of DFW Airport.  Talk about a deluge and slow traffic -- rush hour, too, and a construction zone.  All we needed was a pileup, but fortunately, everyone was driving very slowly and carefully.  It took me an hour and a half to get from DFW Airport to my place, a drive that normally would have been about 30 minutes. 

Good news is that my order of Grenadine sock yarn from MadTosh had arrived, so I picked it up.  A good friend will get the benefit of these socks.  Pattern:  Catherine.  It was hard to let these go!  But friends be friends . . .

Things to do when you finally get an unscheduled day

While I rarely seem to have a day without something that must be done right then or which has an appointment to be there or there, today is different.  My only definitive plan for today was canceled due to illness -- not me, her.

So ... I have time to update my blog, drool over new patterns, etc.  I looked through my stash of patterns and saw something that I have wanted to make for a very long time, but kept getting sidetracked.  So today, I am going to go to MadTosh retail and get some Earl Grey bulky to make the Bandana Cowl to go with my Earl Grey socks.  I have been so busy with work, etc., since Christmas that I have finished my last FO and have not started another.  Gotta fix that shortcoming! 

I shall also go to the gym - yes I will - no skipping out!

Having trouble with that New Year's resolution?  Who isn't!  I did find a dandy little app to help me, and since Thanksgiving, I have lost 8 pounds.  It is a very motivating little tool that tracks calories in and calories out (aka exercise).  It is called My Fitness Pal.

I have also noticed (Yeah!!!) that it is time to pull out the smaller swimsuit to do my laps.  Ten more pounds to go. 

Leaflets

I have Cecily Glowick MacDonald's Leaflet cardigan in my mental to-do list.  I decided to try out her leaflet pattern on socks, and the idea worked out rather well.   They are knit in Tosh Merino Light, colorway Earl Grey.  Now, I must go to the MadTosh store and pick up some chunky in Earl Grey for the cardigan -- but I am in no rush.  Fall is a long way off. 

We received some good news this past week.  I will also be making a newborn set for a little someone due at Christmas.

I also have five pairs of socks in the pipeline, two of which will need to take priority. 

Will all of these be enough to keep me knitting until the end of the year?  Probably not, but it will be close.  The bad thing about these projects is that I have no other excuse to shop for yarn except for the chunky Tosh and the baby yarn.  Withdrawal!!!