What I know

about knitting Juno Regina is that I can go for about one chart before my concentration wanes.

I also know that I regularly knit one chart and try another row of the next chart only to tink it out in the morning.

I've become a skilled tinker.





Some of you may notice a slight shift in the pattern between chart 2 and chart 3. This happened before I decided to get all perfectionist on my a$$.

Those of you with really keen lace vision will notice that my stitch count on the needles is off. I can't really tell you if it's by 1, 2 or 3 stitches. I haven't been able to get the same count yet this morning.

I set myself up for this crazy-making adventure by only bringing lace to knit. Isolation from easy knitting is the only way I'll ever actually focus my attention enough to attend to errors. Like I said, I can really outsmart myself. And Mr. Sophanne thought it was the rainy weather that was making me cranky.

If I can find my way out of this latest bungle, I'll begin chart 5A, go to chart 6 and have 200+ rows of relatively mindless knitting to go.

What I've learned is that in desperation I can find a way out of bungles. That's a decent lesson.

The other thing I realized (which was also coincidentally a little message in TNT's "The Closer" last night for anyone who watched it) was that wherever you go, you're still you. The clean and dirty clothes strewn in the extra bedroom, the corner of knitting, the dog bones on the floor, the spaghetti plate of computer cords. The ocean makes some of those quirks a little more palatable, but they travel with you. That may be something I'll look into when home for Christmas break. There's only so much one can learn in a week at the ocean.

Nature is Amazing

Liza and the frisbee

This is LJ chasing a frisbee at the ocean. She is particularly proud of herself for going so close to the ocean to save the frisbee. True to form, she bypasses Mr. Sophanne and pretends to give it to me- which she inevitably does not.

A Road Trip

We went about 50 miles north to New Bern, NC. It's a cozy little place celebrating it's 300 year anniversary next year. There are painted bear statues throughout the city. Cute shops, a cupcake store, but this was my favorite part.

Good News

I found the camera cord in the "video bag" where I put it. I'm so clever I can trick myself.

Ready to go at 4:00 am



Mr. Sophanne making sure she's comfortable.



Cotton in the fields.





Doggie at the Ocean.

Today, the ocean.

I am at the ocean today. The waves come in and the waves go out. They do not stop. I think that is amazing.

It was a 12 hour journey from home to here. LizaJane is a traveling dog. She is also a beach dog. Neither pictures nor words can accurately reveal the joy she expressed when she figured out it was the ocean and the beach.

Many birds are bigger than her and she leaves them alone. The ocean is bigger than her and she leaves it alone.

She is content to follow the many dog tracks in the sand. She is baffled by the vast number of times Mr. Sophanne or I say "wanna go for a walk?" I think the grand total yesterday was seven. happy dog.

There is a yarn store about 10 miles away called The Salty Sheep. I might feel like going there around Wednesday or so. For now I am happy to read, write, and knit.

Reading- KnitNightRuth gave me a book to read but I've yet to start it. Instead I am immersed in Russian Literature and rereading Crime and Punishment on the kindle. There is a newly published book of Russian short stories/fables/allegories called There once was a woman who tried to kill her neighbor's baby that I've been reading as well.

Writing- I also brought the book Writing Down The Bones and have, for at least the first beachday "freed the writer within."

Knitting- at the last minute I threw in an almost finished Noro BrooklynTweed scarf but other than that I brought only 2 lace knitting projects. Both are in Lorna's Helen's Lace. One is a cotton candy forest canopy shawl that is easily done without a pattern on size 2 needles.

The other is one that Margene at Zeneedle blogged about last week. The Juno Regina wrap. While the pattern for this can be found for free on knitty.com, I am glad to have purchased the version that includes written directions- these directions mean I can go back and forth from the chart to the written directions and do not have to count the number of little knit boxes between the juicier bits.

Why yes, I did bring the camera and I have taken a few pictures- the coolest one so far (other than the happy dog photo) being of cotton on cotton plants. I hope believe however that the camera cord is on the dining room table at home. So much attention to detail nipped in the bud.

What I am not doing is- worrying about what's for dinner on Thursday, wondering how my elementary school holiday program will work itself out when I return, feeling guilty about everything I'm not doing in my home.

Chain Gang

There's a crack me up knit night post coming sooner (or later) but until then, my blog reading led me to this etsy site. I'm going to post the picture and hope that celapiu from Etsy will consider it free advertising.

I was reading a cookbook in bed last night

... and when I woke up I was a little chili. Bwah hah hah hah.

Actually- Sophanne The Delusional Cook had some success with white chili (chicken, Great White Northern Beans in a chicken broth base) in the crock pot yesterday.

I also attempted Chocolate Revel Bars (for those of you literate in actual recipe names). These were made with a store bought refrigerated cookie dough on the bottom, a middle layer of melted semisweet chocolate and sweetened condensed milk in the and another layer (but not complete covering) of cookie dough on top. They sort of tasted like chocolate chip cookie brownies. They have some potential as soon as I can get it so that the bottom layer cooks at the same speed as the top layer.

Mr. Sophanne declared success for both which is all a delusional cook needs to try again.

There is some errant knitting to show.

The glow in this picture is as much "cashmere glow" as it is poor lighting. I finally busted out the cashmere and having nothing I wanted to risk with it am doing a scarf like something.



Here we've got another attempt at a bear and some malabrigo mittens. The bear seemed easier to do than the last ones. I still need work on the embroidered face and the ear placement.



And a gratuitous Liza picture from my birthday last week.

updates on chicken and cookery

After a little consulting I was informed that chickens, even when they get really good at laying eggs, cackle afterwards as if to say "Look! Idid it again!"

With all of that egg production/release it makes me wonder if chickens are in a constant state of PM$.

I purchased this book at our school book fair (Fast Fix One Dish Meals : More Than 350 Comforting Casseroles and One Pan Recipes in case you don't feel like looking at the link)

Bloggers will be excited to know that Sophanne, the Delusional Cook (sounds like a superhoero a little bit)is making a reappearance. When I told Mr. Sophanne that I would be going to the grocery store today after school his only words of advice were "Be Careful."

On the other hand, short of getting friends and colleagues to bless the book with sacred karma, I'm having them autograph it so I won't be so alone in the kitchen when I try things. Just a little something to crack them up during the day.