Saturday Sky - 31 March 2007

The sky wasn't much to look at this afternoon, but there were leaves! New, pretty green leaves all over our oak trees.

I almost had a lovely going-on-toward sunset sky for you. I was at the grocery buying copious amounts of spring water for my first batch of home-brewed beer when I saw the sun doing its thing behind some clouds. The backlit pinks and oranges against the dusky blue of the clouds were quite striking. "Ah, well," I thought, "the camera is at home."

When I returned home, hubby sent me directly back out for some honey. Great! I grabbed the camera and headed back to the grocery. The clouds were a little different and the sun a little lower, but it was still a nice shot. I framed it up, managed to get the electric wires out of the way, and hit the shutter. Nothing. Hmmm. I did it again. Still nothing. That's when I remembered taking out the memory card and putting it by my keyboard this afternoon as a reminder to post tonight. Oops. But, trust me, it was lovely.

Monday's Saturday Sky - 24 Mar 2007

We're back and slowly acclimating to life at home. Now, if I could find the energy to buy some milk for the fridge and groceries for dinner, we'd really be on our way. So, in the name of procrastination, I'm writing my Saturday Sky entry instead of doing what I should be doing.

We had a lovely time in Huntsville, though I am glad not to be living in a hotel. We spent most of our adventure time at the US Space and Rocket Center, though we did get out to Sci-Quest (a children's science museum) and a few playgrounds. On the way home, we stopped by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I love this place; it's lovely out of season as well as in. We spent Saturday at a kid-friendly B&B with lovely views. Here are some of my Saturday Sky photos from last Saturday:

The morning:




Mid-day, on the way over to Cades Cove:


Sunset, shortly before we had a nice little campfire:


I'm glad to be back! The second sock is almost done, so expect photos later in the week.

Saturday Sky - 17 March 2007

Happy St. Paddy's Day! This was the view during our weekly Saturday Drive.



This gorgeous stuff is on my needles now. Just the thing for the winter blahs. It's Jitterbug 100% superwash wool in the Mardi Gras colorway.



Last week we were up in Ohio, and my sock came along (as always.) This week, I'll make its mate on the way to Alabama. Life lately has been a lot of laundry and packing with homeschooling stuck in between. I'm pretty bummed that I'm going to miss the Harlot's event in New York this week. But, my hotel in Huntsville is only three minutes from a yarn store. The fact that I know this before leaving home amuses my hubby.

So - we'll be hitting the space and rocket center, the local science museum, and the yarn store. Is there anything else in Huntsville that we really must see?

Monday Sky

Sunrise from my mom's front yard. Happy Birthday, Mom!

In unrelated news, this sock is no more:



I could have gotten away with the 60% cotton / 40% acrylic black yarn. What I didn't count on was stepping on mercerized cotton all down the bottom of the sock foot. With my newfound ability to knit machine washable wool, there was just no need to torture myself. Bye bye, sock. I shall meet you again with more suitable materials.

Saturday Sky - 3 March

If I take the photo on Friday, and post it on Sunday, is it still a Saturday Sky?

Friday's sunset from my front yard.

Saturday Sky - 24 February

This afternoon's sky, Photoshopped for fun (the real one was a more uniform blue.)

Panda Update

An update from sunny Florida...

Much to my surprise, Crystal Palace yarns came by the blog to visit. Thanks for stopping by! I also received a rather prompt reply to my inquiry there. You see, I'm still quite excited about their Panda Cotton and Panda Wool - especially the wool. To date, I have found one store online that stocks the wool: Little Knits. I also found a nice little shop across the country from me that said they'd order it and ship it to me. Isn't that nice?

To be fair, it is really new, so I'm sure it will be easier to find in a few months.

In the meantime, I shall continue to play with this...



That's my very first ever toe-up sock in the Blossom colorway from Dave's Place. I've just turned the heel and am ready to start the cuff. I might be making it a smidge too loose, but I'm really not sure how much (or if) wool shrinks*, as this is my first woolen sock. I have no idea how well it will fit, but it sure is fun to knit.

Tonight, the family and I had quite a treat. We were at an uncle's house, and he took us on a guided tour of the property - including the cypress trees, dry lake and creek bed, and a bald eagle's nest. There were a few trees down where the lake ought to be that are amazing. I am assuming they are live oaks. Huge, and majestic. Unfortunately, the light was failing so my photos aren't that great.



I'm standing on the dry lake bed here, looking back up the hill.



This is the walk down towards the lake bed. No eagle sightings today; I'd stay in my nest, too. Brrrr!

* Yes, I know I CAN make it shrink. I just don't know if it'll shrink if I manage to treat it nicely. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?