So that didn't happen

Y'all, I think I might have over promised and under delivered.  I had every intention of doing a travelogue about our trip to Ireland, but as you can see, I didn't get past Days 1 and 2.  It's not for lack of trying--I have sat down at my computer multiple times since I got back last Monday, but then there's this funny thing called "work" which enables me to take these trips.  Then there's "back to school" and those pesky kids who need things like "clothes" and "school supplies" and "attention."  Geesh, don't they know that I'm creating here??

And then there are my other creative ventures...like sewing and knitting.  I was inspired in Ireland to knit and sew and create.  Maybe it was the Cliffs of Moher and the natural beauty, maybe it was all the gorgeous aran-knit sweaters for sale in the shops on the west coast (right by the Aran Islands, no doubt), but sitting down and writing about it seems far less enticing to me than actually living the experience and inspiration I felt! 

So I made pajamas last weekend...lovely cherry print pajamas that I just absolutely love, and if my computer would behave I could post a picture...but alas, I think my computer is also on strike and refusing to cooperate.  So just imagine if you will a cute retro cherry print, made into short sleeved shirt and pajama shorts.  Got it?  Great. 

Then there's the knitting...I finally finished a gorgeous blanket that is a wedding gift for someone who got married a year ago...yes, a year ago.  Hey, it's been a year of transition for our whole family.  I'm sure she will appreciate it now as a 1 year anniversary gift.  No one ever remembers you on your wedding anniversary so this will be a treat, right?

Long story short, I've been busy.  I wish I could get enough time to sit down and write about my experiences in Ireland, but as it turns out, "you had to be there." 

Dublin Days 1 and 2

So we finally got to Dublin---the oldest daughter and I are taking a “dream trip” to Ireland for a few days.  She’s never been overseas and I haven’t for a while-plus, I felt like we both survived middle school after the last two years…anyway let me tell you about traveling with my daughter.

The first thing you need to know is that my daughter has inattentive type ADHD and thrives in situations where she has been appropriately apprised of the outcome.  Which is why our trip got off to a somewhat rocky start…due to storms on the east coast, our original flights to Dublin were cancelled and rebooked for the following day. You can only imagine what the news did to her.  She not only panicked and acted disappointed but was having a full-blown panic attack as I attempted to negotiate a new flight and air carrier.  I was in full on frequent flier mode, using every possible trick I had in the book to assure that we would get to Ireland within the original 24 hour period.  And it worked.  But for a while there it was me on the phone, using all my cell phone battery life, negotiating with an airline whose customer service is awful (this is the third time this airline has messed with me, they are dead to me now), then an airline which quite honestly never gets the credit they deserve (Delta).  Meanwhile my oldest was quietly in a corner of a gate area, chewing on her hair and breathing deeply. 

But this post isn’t about my daughter’s medical diagnosis, it’s about our trip!  So after three hours of some fancy footwork, we are headed to Paris. Paris!   Our original flight plans didn’t include France, so this was an extra treat for us.  I majored in French in college, and it’s been a few decades since I was able to use it so I was kind of excited, even if I’d only use very simple phrases….so after an 8 hour flight we landed at CDG.  The air was extremely hazy, and I now see why the entire country takes the month of August off if it’s this gross and sticky in the city.  Or, just for a chance to fly out of this terminal….

With this lounge area….

 Needless to say we enjoyed the few hours we had in France, even if we never left the airport. And a couple of the men reminded me why I abandoned my high school fantasy of marrying a man named Pierre who made wine—as one body-checked me getting on the plane and another cut me off as he was getting off the flight. Talk about a Jacques-ass. 

Finally to Dublin, where we got off the plane and were first in line to Immigration.  I’m really proud to be a ‘merican most all the time, but especially when there’s a plane load of Europeans and we get priority status going into the speedy line.  And for anyone following politics, which is I guess the entire world, it didn’t take me thirty seconds on Irish soil to be asked about Donald Trump…so much for leaving the states to get away from politics!!  Our driver, Michael, was so great and chatty and what you’d expect in an irish cab driver.  He gave us a mini tour as we speeded into Dublin, which only took about 20 minutes from the airport to our hotel at St. Stephens Green….

 And not that I’m a hotel expert or anything, but I did score with the hotel we are at: The Fitzwilliam Hotel.  This place is wonderful and has all the benefits of a nice hotel with a boutique feel.  The room is spacious by European standards and the bathtub….oh wow, the bathtub is something else!  We are bathers and this one is perfect.  A fully grown adult male can lay prone in the tub.  And it’s as deep as it is long.  I actually struggled to get out of it after a shower, it’s that tall.

While I’m going on about recommendations, I’d strongly recommend Irish Rail Tours for day trips out of Dublin. Today we took one to County Wicklow…we were one of six, so it was intimate enough that we could ask a ton of questions but not so stifling that we couldn’t go off and do our own thing.  Plenty of time for sightseeing and shopping!

This is where Bono has a residence….nice view.  Glad my consumption of your music helped fund this oasis for your family!

We proceeded via train south towards County Wicklow, home to Avoca (because yarn), the Meeting of the Waters (because why not?) and Glendalough (which is the Valley of the Two Lakes). 

Wonderful little day trip up and down winding and gorgeous mountains.  We wandered through an ancient cemetary in Glendalough, which my daughter claimed was haunted and she could feel the ghosts around her (I think it was just the European tourists with boundary issues).  She still swears it was haunted…and it may have been.   Check it out…

All in all a nice day to kick off our journeys around the country.  Our partner in this voyage was a family from South Africa, and I had a nice conversation with the mom.  Because when two moms get in a room it’s likely they will talk, and this was no different.  She was a career mom trying to raise two boys around my daughters’ age.  She struggled with work-life balance and sexism in the workplace, and we talked about that for a while.  So moms in America, even in those countries that appear to be “better” with socialized this or that, the problems of being a mom don’t go away, and as two upper middle class people, that maternity leave still sucked and the health care system was mediocre at best.  Not that I want to get political, but I just have to say that.  Also, they asked me about Trump…because I just can’t get away from that either.

We are relaxing now as we have another big day ahead of us.  Looking forward to hitting the hay.

Tonsil Recovery Knitting

I had my tonsils out yesterday--boo hoo!  About a week or two leading up to this, I went on a stash-busting binge, to free myself of some Lion Brand Homespun I had bought to make two blankets for two friends..And of course I didn't take pictures of either blankets.  I'm hoping that my friends will when they get them.  It's what I call my "loopy blanket"--this is what it looks like:

These are so easy, fast and fun to make!  I made one for my dear friend Stacey and another for my dear friend Patty.

I have the next two weeks off to recover--and I will need them.  Right now I'm blogging but I won't remember doing it tonight because I'm on so much Lortab....but that's fine.  What I'm really sad about is two weeks of no karate--I got everything signed off for the yellow belt test, which takes place on Sunday.  I was extremely bummed, but at the end of the day, everything happens for a reason.  I have one more month to perfect everything, to remember everything, and I will also help Lulu on her purple belt test.

So while I'm recovering I'm working on the Jacket, Deconstructed by Lion Brand.  It will be for me--I have to go to Seattle at the end of the month, and am very eager to wear this with some Calvin Klein suit separates.    I'm also planning on making a doll or two, as they are very easy..

That's all for now...back to sleep.

hat is done, hat is done!

I finished the Olympic hat and it is sooooo cute!!

Oh, and I got my yellow stripe belt, too....and spent all last week in Washington DC for work.  I had a goal of finishing a pair of socks just for me, but that never happened.  I was so exhausted by the time I was done with work every night that I fell into the Westin "heavenly bed", never to be heard from until 7:30 the following morning.

I'll write more later.  We have house guests and I need to make dinner (tortilla soup with cornbread...)..

Still waiting.....

I missed karate on Tuesday night because I had to travel for work.  I'm going through withdrawls!  I keep doing roundhouse kicks and posing in front of the bathroom mirror like I'm freaking John Travolta on Saturday Night Fever.  I should find out this tuesday if I passed my test.  My class partner passed (yay!) and reassured me that I did, too.  We shall see!  I'm so hard on myself; I want to get a perfect "grade" on the belt test, even though I know that there's a few things I could have done better.  I guess this explains why I just found the most perfect sport for me--something that plays on my inner perfectionist, that one that makes lists and is super organized (the one that virtually disappeared after I got married and had kids).

On the knitting front, I continue to be a knitting demon.  I have made 3 hats this week.  I met my friend in Minneapolis while I was there, and in honor of meeting her I made her a "raspberry beret".  I mean, because, well, you know. Prince.  I also got a request to make a cloche-type hat with a flower for my other friend, which I whipped up last night.  And I just started on the Olympic hat...whee!

I hope to have this done no later than tomorrow night.  I have to go to DC for work Wed-Sunday, so I want to bring a sock project with me.  Socks are so easy and fun...and portable.  I'm hoping to make a few pairs in my quiet evenings post-work.  Yes, I'm a wild woman.

Current projects

January-March is peak knitting season for me.  The air is chilly, the fire is lit, and the needles they are a clicking.  Since I've learned the art of two-strand knitting, I seem to want to make every project with two different colors of yarn.  Here are some examples.

1.  The pirate fish hat for Lulu.  Lulu is a Pisces, and it's reflected in her love of sea life and swimming.  Her feet are also getting so big they are resembling fins!  In honor of her love of water life (and pirates) I made her this hat, based on a pattern I got from ravelry (do I get patterns anywhere else?).

2.  The next is the Pay it Forward project I've been working on for a friend forever--it's actually kind of embarrassing how long this is taking me, but I have no other excuse than I have to do the pattern 14 times over something like 30 rows per pattern sequence.  So if I can knit 30 rows in the span of a work week and one over a weekend I think I'm doing okay.  And I also have to add in time off to make pirate fish hats, work on socks, find more patterns, buy yarn, kick and punch things...

Close up shot of the yarn; they grey is that lovely mohair from colourmart, and the purple is Naturally Caron wool from Michaels.  I'm a conflicted yarn snob; I love nice yarn but I also love the feeling I get turning a $4 ball of yarn into something soft and cozy that someone else will love.

Okay, my last post of the day, and this is for my yarnie friends--I found these 9" CIRCULAR NEEDLES!!!! At Joann Fabrics!  Who knew they made circs this small?  I have now found a solution to my hatred of making socks with DPNs.

And with that I will close out the evening...Wednesday night is good TV night.  Adios..

The Pay it Forward Project

So I don’t normally get into the spammy chain status deals on Facebook.  You know what I’m talking about, the ones that remind you that there’s x% of people in the world who haven’t been able to hug a unicorn and only 2% of people will have the courage to copy this status and post this on their status for 24 hours.  I’m far too interested in talking about myself to post something someone else made up.  But after the new year, I saw one that caught my eye.  It was the “Pay it Forward” project, where you posted the “rules” on your status, and then the first five people to respond would receive something hand made from you if the poster agrees to make something hand made for five people in the next year.

The little knitting angel that sits on my shoulder and encourages me to perform random acts of kindness perked up.  So I broke my personal rule of not repeating chain Facebook statuses and decided to do this.  And it gave me a reason to try out some super cute patterns I had recently downloaded from ravelry.  Here’s my favorite of all five projects (so far, I still have 2 to go):

1.        Norwegian Star Hat for Whitney: Whitney is this extremely gorgeous blonde who used to babysit Lulu.  She was the perfect match for this design…

                                                                                                                                                 

 Anyway, I had to share.  I'm working on another one, a much larger project for a friend who I've been meaning to knit for but get sidetracked from her project with cute hat patterns.  I'll post pics on this one later.