moonfrog

It’s about time for a Summer Reading Challenge update. Besides listening to audiobooks when I manage to sneak off to the gym, I can sometimes listen while I work. That makes for quite a bit of “reading” lately. I did finish Wuthering Heights and am really glad that was chosen by Knit the Classics. It was a good change of pace, and since it is such a well-known and influential classic, it was about time I knew what it was about.

It took a while to sort out the characters, especially on audio, but Emily Bronte made sure to clarify who they were and how they were all related, and she did it without being intrusive. I liked the story-within-a-story narration and the way Bronte kept the narrator, Lockwood, on the fringe, while teasing us with hints that he might get involved with the younger Catherine. I kept waiting for him to become another character in the bleak history being told by Nelly, the maid, but was actually glad when he didn’t fall into that sad life.
I haven’t had time to check out any of the Wuthering Heights movies, but hope to in the future. All in all, it was another excellent read, and I am looking forward to July’s Passage to India.

I found some good audiobooks on eBay and have been enjoying them in the meantime. The first one is Hearts & Bones by Margaret Lawrence. I highly recommend this historical mystery/romance. Set in post-Revolutionary War America, it has some great twists and is well-written. It also gives some timeless insight into the reality of war and love.
By the way, this audiobook is for sale on eBay here. I’d be happy to accept an offer on it if it doesn’t sell. I’d really like to find it a good home.

The Love Knot by Charlotte Bingham was a Victorian romantic novel. The three women the story followed and brought together were from diverse backgrounds and gave an intriguing picture of the social strata of the time. Only the main character real drew me in, but the story was entertaining and enjoyable.

This next book, another British tale set in Yorkshire, was just plain fun. The settings and cultural differences were interesting, but the story, almost a romantic comedy, was the highlight here. It provided a good break from the darkness of Wuthering Heights. The rather oddly out-of-character ending was the only flaw, but it was short and could be overlooked.
All three of these audiobooks is put out by a British company called Chivers Audio and are really good quality and have great narrators.

Listening to audiobooks has really motivated me to read again. It takes a different kind of concentration, but I have gotten used to it. Usually, I re-read passages often and try to take in every detail. I’m a slow, rather careful reader. With audiobooks I am learning to move ahead faster and not worry about every tidbit, although I do rewind on ocassion.
I have read a real — paper pages and all — book, too. I’ll save that one for later.

Yesterday was one of those days, whether it was hormones or cloudy skies or maybe both. I just didn’t feel the umpf, ya know? Well, let me tell you…my man knew just what to do. Chocolate and Johnny Depp. Now, that’s enough to cheer a girl up!

And then the mailman came. Don’t you just love the mailman? (And the mailwoman, of course!) Mine brought me the package I had been watching for — my Dye-O-Rama swap yarn — and it is beautiful!

Maylin did a wonderful job with all these colors. It is awesome! I really want to start knitting this lovely self-striping yarn right now, but work is waiting. The package came all the way from France and included some pretty stitch markers that fit my fingers, so I’ll never lose them, and some bath crystals for relaxing. Isn’t the froggy card pretty?

And I even finished a project — just a little one, but I like how it turned out. This is what I made for Knit the Classics for Wuthering Heights. Nelly, the maid who tells the story to the narrator, always pulled her sewing out of her big apron pocket before she started speaking. So I made her a scissors case to keep in her pocket with her sewing. It’s from the book Felted Crochet. I chose yarn in colors to remind Nelly of the heather that grows on the moors and brings her such delight in the spring and summer.

Well, off I go to do that work I was talking about!

We had a great weekend at one of our annual events, the Kate Wolf Folk Festival. The picture shows the smallest stage on the Black Oak Ranch aka The Hog Farm. This huge outdoor music festival is one of my favorites because I enjoy the music. This year we heard Arlo Guthrie again and many other wonderful musicians.

We have been coming to this ranch for many years now volunteering at a variety of music events. We camp under huge bay laurel and oak trees with a big group of old friends. While my DH drives musicians to their performances and takes water to thirsty volunteers, I dispatch drivers via walkie-talkie. My unofficial job description is “telling my husband where to go.” Ha! And while I sit in the shade dispatching, I knit. This weekend the Trekking sock grew by about 3 inches. Why so little? Because it was too hot to knit! I never thought I’d say that. The mercury hit 112 degrees! That gives new meaning to the name “sweat socks.” Yeah, I put those poor socks back in the knitting bag at midday.

We enjoyed the sunshine, the music, and the people. Now we are enjoying the cool, coastal climate. Ahhhh! A few hours of sunshine, ocean air and a friendly 66 degrees. I’m glad to be home!

I’m out of town for a long weekend. Going to work and play in the hot sunshine. I hope to get some knitting done, too.

Have a great weekend!

This time last year, I was taking this photo of a flower in the Jardin Botanical in Oaxaca, Mexico. My days were filled with studying Spanish and exploring the city. The husband and I walked for miles every day. I took lots of photos everywhere we went. It was a great adventure.

Flash forward to this summer. My greatest joy is having a day that I can just stay in my cozy home and knit or putter around. Today was not that day. Tomorrow won’t be either. We did mix it up a little and rode bicycles to do our errands. The sun was out and a light wind kept us cool. It was a pleasant change in the routine.

The closest thing to knitting today was winding this yarn into balls. The yarn on the right is some Manos I got Mom for Christmas and the huge balls on the left are prize yarn from a contest a few months ago on Lu’s blog. Aren’t they pretty? Mom has plans for both of these yarns.

Speaking of my mom, I got her a new salad spinner today. Have you seen this one? It has a handle and cord that works like a lawnmower crank. It is so smooth and easy to pull. I think it will make washing lettuce lots easier than the crank on the top of her old one. It’s pretty, too.

That’s it for now. I hope to get some knitting in soon.

Come walk with me and my Trekking socks in a Redwood forest. The logs are covered with moss, the forest floor has a carpet of clover-leafed flowers called Redwood Sorrell, with huge ferns hovering here and there. Where the light filters through the trees, there are Thimbleberry and Salmonberry bushes. The berries are mildly sweet and rather bland later in the summer.

I grew up in these forests and the trees are like a robe that wraps around me and keeps me safe. The everyday stresses and worries are not a part of this place. The trees tower above, not overpowering me, but making me feel like a child surrounded by hugs and attention. And as a child, I am awed by the beauty and the authority of these trees. I feel timeless wisdom and a deep peace when I walk here.

I wonder if people who did not grow up with these trees feel the same thing? I have such a deep sense of home connected to the Redwoods, the ocean, and the mountains. Sometimes I feel like I am fortunate beyond deserving to have grown up in this beautiful place.

I stop for a while and bring out my Trekking socks. Sitting on a log alone, they seem tiny in this place, too modest of an occupation for such a place. In the world of people, my knitting brings relaxation in the midst of chaos. In this place, my busy hands feel like a distraction from tranquility.

And where is this awesome Other-World? It is the park right in the middle of my small town. With a population of 25,000, we are the biggest city from San Francisco well into Oregon to the north. Sequoia Park has a zoo and a playground. There is a winding road that leads through the forest down to a a large duck pond. And there are the trails that meander through the forest. When you are walking on the trails, all else disappears. There are no cars, no buildings, no people. It might as well be in another universe.

Up in the zoo, there is a cute house built for the birds. There are flower gardens and a fountain and a place for picnics and concerts near the playground. Around the park is a city full of houses and people and all the cares of the world.
My eyes adjust to the bright light as I leave the park (sunshine again!) and I wonder why I don’t walk here more often.

Back home, my Odessa hat waits for a few more rows to be knit. So far it is going very well. I put in a dental floss lifeline soon after the ribbed band and that worked well. I will place another one before I start the decreases.

A lovely surprise arrived in the mail yesterday. Carrie, who adopted the Red Dress dishcloth (shown on May 24th entry) for her mom, sent me a wonderful, handcrafted frog pin. I must say the thank-you gift was much better than the original gesture. Thank you so much! I really like it and will wear it often.

Today a few of the knitters at Caps for a Cure are starting a knitalong. We are using the Odessa pattern to make hats for chemotherapy patients. This should be fun! To inspire us, I am posting a picture of some hats made by Louise, a member of the Caps group. The Odessa on the table is Rowan Cashsoft, the yarn used in the pattern. The one on the glass head is Wendy Supreme Cotton DK. They are both lovely, and her tags, explaining the content and care, are awesome.

Louise has some great photos of her Odessas on the Caps yahoo site. They have been donated to a treatment center in Maine. For June and July, the group is knitting for Cancer Centers of the Carolinas.

I will be casting on Odessa today with the blue Rowan Cashsoft in this picture.

My Trekking socks are progressing and waiting patiently for their first outing. The weather here has been cold and wet and dreary. But today…ah…sunshine! Today is the day for a nice hike.

The Trekking socks have been promised to the man of the house, so they will be bigger socks and taller socks. They will be on the needles for a while, especially with several projects going at once. I have been trying to get more than one project going at one time and the mix on the needles right now feels very comfortable. My only hesitation is that I will need to steal the needles from my Rose top to knit Odessa. As long as I keep good notes about which ones I’m using — and don’t lose the note, that should work. I will be adding a dishcloth tomorrow for my Monthly Dishcloth KAL.

Rose, my Amazing Lace knit, is back on the needles. After a total frogging, I have made it through one and half of the three lace repeats of the body. It is slow going. For every six rows, I have to frog one or two. I have a lifeline in place, so there won’t be another total re-do. **fingers crossed** The second challenge for the Amazing Lace KAL is to post something Extreme. So far my knitting is just extremely slow on this one.

Well, the sun and the Odessa are calling out to me. Have a wonderful day!

Rose, has stalled for a bit. The sleeve, which doubled as a swatch, has ladders.The front isn’t too bad… but the back is really loose. Yikes! (Please excuse the poor photos.)

I will try the sleeve one more time with the Denise needles , being more mindful of tightening up between the needles. Otherwise, I will buy a set of double-points. In the meantime, I cast on the body and was nearing the end of the first lace pattern. Oops…one stitch went awry, then the whole thing lay in a pile of curly froggings. I will cast it on again today. I will be using lifelines, but was waiting to finish that first pattern section to put in the first one.

The start of the Trekking socks for the Trek Along with Me KAL is progressing much better. I am using Trekking Sport in a tweedy brown and cream. The pattern is from the Six Sox KAL : Color Blox Socks. It is for using up scrap sock yarn. I haven’t made enough socks to have enough scraps, so I am using two colors. The detailed directions explain the toe up method that can be found in the Queen Kahuna book.
I have owned the book for a year, but couldn’t get the hang of the toe-up method the first time I tried it. This time it went very smoothly. These socks will be for The Man in the LazyBoy so I made the toe long to cover his pointy toes. This toe actually fits him well, while I prefer a more rounded one for my pudgy feet.

The focus of the Trek with Me KAL is to share hikes you take with your socks. I hope to take these socks on their first outing now that the “fussy” part is done — and just as soon as it stops raining.

The rain will be nice for a couple days of knitting, though. And here’s a little something I knit recently that might help with my desire to knit in peace for a while. I tried my first intarsia, intending it as part of one of my swaps. It didn’t turn out good enough. I even tried stitching the letters on, but it still wasn’t good enough for a gift. I will have to keep working on this technique. For now, I’m off to cast Rose on the needles, again.

They are finally done! I used the Sixth Sense pattern, which was the April/May pattern for the Six Sox KAL. The yarn is STR Club’s Jasper Rainforest. I used Addi size 1 circulars and made two at once.

The heel is a short row in garter stitch. I like the short rows, but not so much the garter stitch. The toe is one where you tighten the last few stitches closed. Is that a star toe or something? It is not as comfortable as the other toes I’ve done. I like trying all the different types, though. It’s a good way to find out which ones are my favorites.

I put these socks in the laundry with the last pair I made and they brought a smile to my face. Two pairs of socks just for me! Now it’s time to start my Trekking socks.

Today is my last day of work for the summer. I am really looking forward to more knitting and some hiking. And the sun is shining again after a long spell of clouds and gloom.

Here’s a little quiz to celebrate the start of my summer vacation.

You Are Rowlf the Dog

Mellow and serious, you enjoy time alone cultivating your talents.You’re a cool dog, and you always present a relaxed vibe. A talented pianist, you can play almost anything – especially songs by Beethoven. “My bark is worse than my bite, and my piano playing beats ‘em both.”

I was hoping to have some finished socks to share, but my toes are still sticking out, so … almost! What I do have is so much cuter.
My friend promised to take a picture of the first spring peepers at her summer place. Is this one not the cutest?! See how he’s smiling? She named him Mint Chip.

And I found more frogs on my porch, left by the postman.
Adrienne, a friend from Caps for a Cure, sent me this cute frog dishtowel.

I have been eyeing this for years, but never bought one. How nice! The pen she sent is too much fun. It’s a wobbly gel frog, kinda creepy feeling but very fun. And there’s a pretty spring notepad, for writing all those things to do that I never get around to doing, because I’d rather be knitting.

Another postal delight came in the form of yarn. I bought this Raggio di Sole from Destash – Cash for Your Stash, a blog for buying and selling yarn from the personal stash. I’ve sold a couple books and bought some yarn through this handy outlet.
I’m not real sure about the bright pink, but it is a color I wear. I am cursed — or blessed — with a red complexion that looks great with pink, at least pink tends to make me look less red than I am. I resist the color due to its “girly” reputation, but really can’t deny that it is the best color I can wear, as well as a nice pastel blue. What’s a girl to do?

Anyway, the Raggio is cotton with a bit of elastic and should work very nicely for Tempting II , which is the next KAL for the Sexy Knitters Club. My only concern is whether 6 balls will be enough for the size I need.

To help on that end, I continue to go to the gym daily. Listening to Wuthering Heights for the Knit the Classics KAL keeps me going. The beginning of the story was so gloomy and dark, which is what our weather has been, that I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to bear it. Today, I would have gladly trotted along on the treadmill for another half hour just to hear what happened next. I can’t wait to work out tomorrow and find out!