Traveling By Train . . . sometimes the only way to fly

Morning rain today and the promise of thunder boomers during the day. Temperatures are forecast to rise to near records in the next few days with appropriate hair-wrecking humidity. Yuk! I need to be on Olde Cape Cod.

Yesterday I had a break in the humdrum and took a train Washington, DC, to meet my BFF from high school for our annual mini high school reunion which includes just the two of us. We went to the Kennedy Center to see The Color Purple (again). This time starring Fantasia (winner of American Idol a few seasons ago). She was fantastic. I've seen the show three times now and BFF has seen it four or five times. She's lost count. The music still gets to us.

I decided to take the train instead of driving which was a brilliant idea--except for the price of parking at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. Thirty-two dollars!!! Yes, $32 for short term parking over four hours. It cost as much as my train ticket to Washington, DC! I'm still glad I took the train instead of driving. I got special summer pricing on the roundtrip tickets ($66) by purchasing in advance online. But next time I might not even drive to the station. I'll take the commuter train to the station. It will allow me more knitting time. I knitted and listened to a book on my iPod and I was in DC in no time. The plain vanilla vanilla socks have really taken shape . . . at long last.

BFF picked me up at the station and off we went to the Kennedy Center. I was pleased to stick a little shopping in before curtain time. There was a vendor stand in the lobby selling marvelous wooden figures by Cheryl Olney trading as Louise's Daughter. I bought a pin to remind me of the day. It's me in my best color, dancing in "Miss Celie's Pants."

After the show we had a marvelous, leisurely dinner at McCormick and Schmicks. Green Apple Martinis and fried calamari with three dipping sauces to start.

Then it was back to Union Station for my train ride home. More knitting and more audio book. It was a great day. Lots of catching up and laughter, knitting and reading (listening?), and a tiny hint of shopping. Yes, a perfect day.

Bona Fide Knitter

Missing Sweetwater

I've been back from Cape Cod for a week now and I'm missing it already. I didn't do anything exciting up there. It's just that 'same stuff/different day' is more palatable in a forest.

Today is a good day to remind myself of how it looks coming up the road at the end of an afternoon walk.

When we get this close I let the LWDs lead the way untethered.

Snowball squeezes out one last pee-pee to mark his territory and Icecream heads for the steps.

I can feel the air and hear the pines sough in the slight breeze. I wanna go baaaaaaack!

Oh, wait a minute. I just remembered that we will be going back in another week or two. Aaaahhhh, I feel much better now.

Bona Fide Knitter

Knitting Short List

It's Saturday. Do you know where your knitting is? Ha! A better question is, do I know where my knitting is.

Okay, I'm forced to make a mental note. I needed a small tote bag the other day and dumped the contents of the one closest at hand. Out came the "perpetual shawl." You might remember it by some other names I've called it: "never ending" "shawl of shawls" "shawl of a lifetime" and even its official name,"Rings of Supersock." Ack! I had forgotten all about it. Yes, it's time for a mental inventory, just a short list of works in progress, current works in progress, not to be confused with unfinished objects.

Right now I am waaaaay into my summer sweater project which, if you remember, is the shrug from the summer issue of Knitter's Magazine, the Seaside Shrug. I got a lot accomplished (for me) while I was away. I even worked through the odd phenomenon of my KnitPicks nickle plated needles becoming tacky, loosing their shine and no longer knitting slick and fast. I think the weather was so damp they started to mold or something. Once the weather dried they returned to normal, but are still a little discolored. I wonder what's up with that. I need to pose the question to the KnitPicks Community. Anyway, I completed the whole body and one sleeve of the shrug. I was almost at the end of the ribbed cuff of the second sleeve before we came home.

I referred to the picture of the Seaside Shrug in the magazine as "butt ugly." Now karma has come around to bite me I need not tell you where. My rendition might be joining the Butt Ugly Club. I'm not too pleased with how the colors compliment each other. Buying yarn online without a color card does not always pan out. The golden mustard and hot coral/orange combination I loved in a knit suit I had many years ago did not meet expectations in the yarn color choices I made for my shrug. Ugly or not here it comes.

The plain vanilla socks knit in plain vanilla yarn are still languishing away in my GoKnit Pouch. I haven't had that much waiting room or nursing home visiting time recently. I think I might just go ahead and push through that heel flat here at home and hurry those socks off the needles.

Okay, that's my short list: (1) Seaside Shrug (2) plain vanilla socks (3) Beach Socks 2009. I will have all three finished before summer is over. You heard it here first, folks.

Bona Fide Knitter

PS--I'll get back to the shawl of shawls come fall.