bocce-bocci-boccie

So, last weekend Mr. Sophanne said "let's get groceries at the new W@Lm@rt." I find that place to be overwhelming and sinisterly predatory. Some people love it- that's fine by me.

In an attempt to discourage this behavior, I picked up some not so random but definitely unnecessary things as we perused the aisles. Sonic and the Secret Rings for the Wii. And a Bocce game set. My plan is that if he thinks I spend obsessively whenever I go there, we won't have to go anymore.


If you click here you'll find the rules to bocce that we mostly followed. Except we only used three balls each (I'm not sure why) and we tied the dog leash to the tree so she wouldn't chase the jack (the little white ball that you aim at with the other balls.) Mr. Sophanne won 11-5.

If you really want some fun, you play Liza Bocci which involves removing the dog from the leash and letting her chase and keep the jack. It sort of randomizes any skills because once she has too many bocce balls tossed her way, she gets up and takes the jack with her. I won that round 11-7. No animals were injured in the playing of this version.

In additional updates-

The kindergarten flowers have been confirmed as impatiens and are still alive and well.

Central Park Hoodie the Rabbit version (angorish) has a right front, left front, and back. The sleeves (worked 2 at a time) are on the needles.

There are five more days of school with kids left- each day has something going on where multiple classes will not be there for one reason or another. Sometimes I try to pre-schedule my free time so I don't fritter it away. I have not done this as of yet. There will be some flute-playing, some dinner making and a trip to my favorite bookstore for some escapical fiction. Also plenty of dog walks and knitting but that's a given.

Quite frankly, the second to last Friday before the last Friday before school is the most dreaded in my mind. It's like a practice run for the last day only there are many more kids there.

The Weather Creators that be smiled upon me this last Friday before the Last Friday today. Giant thunderstorms. Massive power outage. No students. I've just discovered something better than a snow day.

Teachers were required to report. My room has no windows. There was nothing for me to do. I took a personal day. I am thrilled.

Given that Cynthia has had a pile of sad in her life, I am volunteering my temporary exclamation point services.

IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's a little premature Alice Cooper.

a little drizzly

It's been a little drizzly here at House of Sophanne.

So much so that I was weary of rainy travel and stayed home instead of venturing to knit night.

Sometimes I like to believe that we have the perfect home for faeries if they want to live here.

What I've learned about lace knitting

Don't do it during PMS or the last 3 weeks of school. Start a nice Central Park Hoodie in Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed Denim instead. Even if you won't get to wear it for another six months. Then there's no hurry to finish. Which means that you will finish it quickly.



I'd like to pretend I knit things more than once to fix the mistakes in the last one. Really I knit them more than once because I can be relatively sure that I'll be able to do it. So much for fearless knitting. I like the occasional safety of a pattern repeated.

I know no one will be able to see the tweedy cable but I like the yarn, it's my sweater and I'll knit what I want.

Meanwhile I just heard the tipple tipple of little mice feet in the ceiling tiles and don't know whether to inform Mr. Sophanne or not-recalling the spastic response the last time.

A short story for my teacher friends who follow:

I was invited to serve on a board of education committee to determine how to spend stimulus money. Sometimes these committees are for show- sometimes you feel as though you've got a voice. I like this superintendent so I decided it's worth a try. To attend the first meeting on time I would need to leave my far away school about 15 minutes before my actual finish time- thus shorting a classroom teacher of her full planning time. When I made what I thought would be the quick phone call to confirm this common courtesy, I got the cold shoulder. I emailed the principal to determine whether this really would be a problem. She told me she would instead pay for a 1/2 day sub to cover for me. FOR FIFTEEN FLIPPIN' MINUTES. I can recommend one way not to spend the stimulus money. I hate this time of year.

Out in the World

Thanks to camnesia, you won't be seeing the sign that said "spaghetti dinner enter here" at the only door to the firehouse we ate at last night. You also won't see a picture of the WV Barbershop singers "The Mountainaires" in their bright WV gold golf shirts. I'm not a big fan of the whole barbershop scene but do love to watch people singing together because they love to. The added bonus of sounding good helped as well.

This morning, knit night friends came to the 'burg for the Waynesburg Sheep and Fiber Festival. It was lovely to see them and now they know where I walk my dog. This fiber gathering is relatively underwhelming, which for me is a good thing. I purchased a little fiber-nothing to write home about- and a squeaky duck toy for the dog.

After seeing the border collies at MDS&W, the Waynesburg version seemed a little like a keystone cop episode- a cute adorable keystone cop episode where the dog pauses for water at the duck swimming pool and then later a sheep does also. I think they were "mailing it in."

But fear not- I had my camera and was able to capture the BEST PART OF THE SHOW. Border Collie Puppies!!!!!!!!!!





When watching them at MDSW, I believed that Liza Jane had some border collie in her but figured that I was just projecting or whatever it's called when you see something and believe it somehow relates to you. Now that I've seen border collies as puppies, I'm pretty well convinced of it.

Liza as a puppy

Sometimes when you're sad, it's hard to post but you feel like you must.

This young man was the grandson of the woman who first put knitting needles in my hands.

He was named after the family that his grandma lost in the Holocaust

I remember the phone calls from Israel when he used to call his Grandpa - the alleged intermediary- to negotiate a good price for his teeth from the tooth fairy.

I remember when he left the states one summer in his teens with boxes of candy not available in Israel to be a small-time entrepreneur.

I remember his Grandma and Grandpa's 40th wedding anniversary. His siblings were always very kind to me-a sort of surrogate daughter to their Grandma- but always a little wary of why a grown woman not related would befriend her. He, on the other hand saw a kindred spirit and hung out with Mr. Sophanne and I throughout the evening.

I know that he was to turn 21 next month, was to be out of the army in 3 months and had a visit to his grandma scheduled to paint the porch shortly after. I know that he used his skills as a medic to save the life of a Palestinian man the week prior.

There is just so much suffering on the planet. Sometimes I wish it weren't so.

Did I mean Petunia?

O.k. I got no clue when it comes to flowers- I called this a pansy the other day but I'm guessing visual confirmation and flower-smart bloggers might tell me that it's a petunia-or something that doesn't even begin with the letter P. (but I hope it does)



At any rate, it survived the weekend in complete dry blackness- didn't even look worse for the wear until I dumped it slightly in my car as I was getting out. Will this thing get bigger if I let it or is it one of those daffydil-like things that says hey I'm blooming-hey I'm done?

I've Got The Bug

Not the H1N1- The Lace bug.

First on deck- Forest Canopy The Two in Stichjones' (mymommadethis on etsy) daffodil- or as I like to call it daffydil. I am understanding the pattern and the errant yo's that are missed are easily caught and fixed. Can you believe it- this is my "easy no brainer knit!" I've only got 400 some yard of this stuff so I'll go until it stops. I may dedicate the walls of the knit/book room to hanging lace if nothing else- it's just so magical.




Next at bat- Icarus. The beginning is so not very hard as long as one pays attention. I will definitely put in a lifeline before the edging commences but that my be a few years from now. This is Helen's Lace made by Lorna's Lace in the color Sherbert. I think it has the hint of "going too near the sun" in color.



Long-time readers may notice that I've stepped out of my color comfort zone. I'm usually an earth tone kind of knitter but that daffydil was so beautiful and it opened the door to much more. Plus both Cookie and Shameka like pink and I like their knitting. Don't you just love influential bloggers. Also in the interest of full disclosure, I've got some Merrell clogs coming my way thanks to kmkat's posting and love of them. I'm such a follower- or maybe I just know who to listen to!

Waynesburg Sheep and Fiber Festival is at the Greene County Fair Grounds this weekend. It's a great place not to be overwhelmed and to acquire beautiful handspun fiber.

Pansy

Today in a pile of sweetness 18 kindergarten students entered my room, presented me with a pansy in a plastic cup with musical stickers on it and announced "Happy Mother's Day." They (and their teachers) know that I don't have any children and declared that I could be the mother of the kindergarten class. Dixie presented the gift and Kate informed me that I was to water it every day. In a pile of continued sweetness I said "I'll be the mother of that flower."

And at the end of the day, I promptly forgot to bring it home with me.

G.

It's puzzling to me that guacamole and glaucoma are so similar in sound and appearance and so different in really life.

Happy Birthday Mr. Sophanne

We had a monkey theme this year. He had some smiles. I love that.

yess-eet eez blocking

Forest Canopy the First is blocking. There are plenty of errors that I won't bother pointing out. Even this smallish low quality picture will likely reveal them. I do not mind them. I understand the pattern and I understand that one must look at lace while working on it because it will make sense. Errant shoes in photo are women's size 10 for scale.

Forest Canopy the Two is on the needles in some beautiful Daffodil from Stitchjones. I love the way lace makes my brain work. I will continue to do it even if there are lots of mistakes.

Unfortunately...

Janna at knittingrelaxesme did this meme and it's one that made me laugh so I'm copying her.

The directions are-You google the phrase "Unfortunately, {name}," with your name inserted, then post the first 15 hits. I'm just posting the first three that made me laugh.


1. unfortunately Becky suffers from surprise nose bleeding disease

2. Unfortunately Becky's compulsive shopping and growing debt threaten to destroy her love life and disrupt her career

3. Unfortunately Becky is now gone