Finally over "not smarter than the camera" blues

At last posting you saw day 1 of Ben and the Babybabies. What you will not see here (though I was so disheartened at accidentally deleting the pictures that I considered drawing stick figures and taking pictures) is a picture of both babies falling asleep in Mr. Sophanne's arms. You will also not see Ben covered from head to toe in flour after playing with the tonka trucks in the flour. And, you will not see the thrill of sucking up said flour with the shopvac. Really, it's taken a week and then some for me to face posting on the blog without those pictures. They were that adorable.

In the knitting from stash news:

This Noro was originally purchased for a second Jared Flood scarf. I never made it and the idea of knitting one row at a time and changing colors every other row didn't do much for me. Instead I've started this Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf, a short row scarf pattern free on Ravelry.


Pictured is one skein and a little bit more- I've got the remainder of the second skein left so it will be a short scarf. Given the the muted colorings, I think, after a heavy bath in Eucalan, I'll be able to convince Mr. Sophanne that he wants this.

In clothes shopping insights:

If you buy clothes that fit well and are comfortable, they will probably look o.k. This is as opposed to buying clothes that you think will look good and hoping that they will be comfortable.

Sock knitting news:

Thanks to Wendy Johnson's toe-up sock book (which I've now just found a free pattern that would have done just as well), I've knit my first toe-up sock. Direction follower that I am, the sock is 64 stitches and roomier than my usual 56 stitches. There was great joy in my heart as I knit the leg with abandon, not fretting about when I should start the heel so I wouldn't run out of yarn. I don't remember the name of the yarn.



In holiday festivities news:

Mr. Sophanne and I don't really "do" Christmas. We believe in things, we cherish every day, we celebrate the magic that is life but unless we have the good fortune to have family and or kids at our house, it goes by relatively unnoticed. People sometimes feel sorry for us and invite us for dinner. We don't really feel sorry for ourselves but this year we accepted an invitation from one of his co-workers. I do not have the writing skills necessary to convey the Seinfeldesque nature of the evening.

The evening began with the host's adult son greeting us with a handshake in a reclining position while never taking his eyes off the tv watching Shrek with 3-D glasses. He did get up and say hello again after the burping and farting section passed.

At the start of the meal, as she put food on the table, the wife proclaimed, "We are so glad to have everyone here- especially people who don't have anywhere else to go." I almost felt homeless for a second.

Somewhere in the middle of the evening, Great Grandma, who was ignored by all (except Mr. Sophanne and myself of course) managed to eat several fried smelts and leave the tiny bones intact. Later, her countless pleas of "Can I hold the baby?" fell upon deaf ears.

Neighbors arrived and the hostess came to the table (where we were working hard at some kind of after dinner table talk) and said, "I'm going downstairs (to the finished basement) the neighbors are here and they might want some of these periogies. You're finished aren't you? We'll be downstairs."

Downstairs was a finished bar (and the 3-D tv). When we finally took the hint and joined everyone, we watched in mild discomfort as the host endlessly tempted a non-drinker into having a little taste of wine/hard cider/beer/apple pie schnapps. Finally the guy said to the host "Look- I made a deal with God- I drank all I could for one lifetime and he let me live. I don't drink now."

The night ended with the host's wife exclaiming to Mr. Sophanne, "YOU HELD THE BABY???? Now she'll never sleep tonight." Not sure what that meant but insert any line from "We have to go see the BABY" episode and you'll get the idea.

Mr. Sophanne had high hopes of these two being our first "couples friends." I've always known otherwise. On occasions past, I'd prepare myself with a little anti-anxiety medication. This time it wasn't necessary. I went pretending it was a tv show and it was one of the funniest episodes I ever watched. We came home grateful for the meal, for the hospitality that was intended (if not exactly delivered) and just a little bit more appreciation of who we are on the planet.

News from The Claw:

Here's a picture of what I received from The Claw in exchange for my unused Kindle. He is having great success at his Etsy shop and I'm pretty sure we've got some of you to thank for that.




And finally (in the most non-sequitur post I believe I have ever written): There is NOTHING better than a Sunday night when you don't have to go to work on Monday morning.