Teaching Knitting

Tonight I proposed a dorm S 'n' B as an alternative to the football game under the lights (and, more importantly, in the torrentially pouring rain). It was just fascinating to observe the different ways the girls approached the yarn and needles. Some had knit before and needed only a little push. One lefty couldn't manage to learn right-handed and sequestered herself in the corner with my laptop & a YouTube video on casting on and knitting left-handed. Some of the smartest but spaciest kids couldn't figure out the sequencing of tasks involved in the knit stitch, and one ninth grade perfectionist ripped her work out 4 times and finally threw in the towel, vowing to try another day. But two of the first time knitters took to it like ducks to water (one ninth grader working on a hat and one sophomore creating a very fuzzy scarf), and they really rocked. I can't wait to see how they progress and if they continue to like it. They were all surprised how fast the time went; most stuck to it for over 2 hours.

(I had actually worried that I wouldn't get any takers for this activity but I had eight girls knitting at one time or another and I count that a success. If I were still doing Lime & Violet's Chore Wars I'd definitely get to move up a level as a result).

I'm tired of the rain. Oh, and there could be a new installment in the puppy story. I'll keep you posted.

Champagne Supernova

I'm sorry -- but for those of us who suffered with this team for years upon years, this just doesn't get old. All photos courtesy of boston.com.

There's still a smidge of pear cake left, in case you were wondering.

More Bounty from Friends

This here beauty is pear & caramel cake, recipe courtesy of one Knitting Linguist.
Photos by D#1.
Yum....

Friends of my Heart

At 4:15 this morning the Falling Water scarf and I were standing on a street in Northwest DC waiting for the Washington Flyer Super Shuttle to convey me to Dulles Airport for my trip home.

I arrived in northern VA at 5:20 p.m. on Friday, rendezvoused with a former colleague at the Avis counter, and headed off to a retirement party for a woman I can only describe in the words of another former colleague: a math teaching deity. She has incredible skills as a teacher, but is truly gifted in her ability to take a disparate group of people and turn them into a close, cohesive, effective department. She mentored more teachers than I can even begin to imagine; she made a tremendous difference to my own career and continues to be a great role model and positive influence in my life. I can't even begin to tell you how much it meant to me to be able to go --and seeing her face when my other colleague (who'd flown in from Chicago) and I walked in was just priceless. Not only that, there were so many other close friends there--of the sort I do not have in my current institution(s). One of them hugged me and said "it means so much just to know you are real," and I know just what she meant by that. I felt very at home with my former colleagues, and was delighted to have the chance to meet the boy wizards who've become a big part of the department in its current incarnation. There were wedding and baby and child pictures to admire, and there was wonderful conversation. It was a lovely evening.

I arrived at Logan at 8:30 a.m. and headed off to meet the rest of my family at D#1's soccer game. We had to turn around and go back to the pool for the season's suit fitting (those Hydra suits are something) and the mandatory beginning-of-season parent meeting with the head coach. Now it's ten minutes to 8 and I am ready to go to bed.

A Truly Excellent Package

Today I came home and found this wonderful package on my front step. It's from my amazing Twilight Swap partner, Angelique Devereaux, and I was happy to see it just for the mere fact of its being here. Then I opened it.

Inside there was Misti Alpaca yarn in a colorway that's right up my alley --how did she know? -- and a copy of the Tiger Eye lace scarf pattern I've had in my Ravelry queue for a while ...

There was a mini sock blocker key chain kit


Look! There's my bag peeking out ...

Here it is, unpacked and unfolded, with a Breaking Dawn button resting on it:


Although I put the bag in the sun to try to photograph the sparkles, that didn't work so well. Trust me, the bag is sparkly.

There was a lovely card with wolves on it (I am a member of the Wolf Pack and my pal is a member of the Coven). I always love getting cards in my swap packages and I often forget to include them myself --well, I remember when I've already sealed the package and by then --

There was a mysterious little buckskin-colored bag and in it were these beautiful stitch markers (made, I suspect, by Lavender Diggory?):



In fact, there were so mnay goodies I gave up taking individual photos and arranged them in an artful display:
There was a cute notebook with a leaf cut-out on the front, leaf notes and a magnetic-back leaf patterned pad, a Twilight calendar (I know right where that's going, my advisees will love it too), an extra little crocheted drawstring bag, and a sheet of Breaking Dawn stickers. And can you see the Team Jacob t-shirt? Yes.

I hope I haven't missed anything--I was well and truly spoiled this time by a friendly, thoughtful swap pal. Thank you so much!

(And since I gave but didn't receive in the Gryffindor swap this summer it's especially nice to feel so well-taken-care-of this time around.)

A Little Fiber Content

All three of the photos above are the Falling Water scarf --the top one shows you how the variegation in the yarn is playing itself out, and possibly gives you a sense of the lace pattern (though pre-blocking, it just looks like a big blob to me), while the lower two are closer to the actual color. I'm really enjoying this -- it's a quick and pretty knit. I've done about 11 pattern repeats thus far and will be interested to see whether I can actually get two scarves out of one skein of this yarn (Neighborhood Fiber Co Studio Sock, from last winter's sock club experience.

Below ... behold! From this morning, D#2 biking to school for the first time.

More on Remembering 9/11

From the hiking 'diary' of Computer Genius Brother:

"Yesterday (Sept 13) was Flags on the 48, when hikers fly the American flag on each
of the 48 NH 4,000 footers in memory of September 11th. I climbed South Twin
(via North Twin) to participate in the memorial. South Twin has been a
difficult peak for me, I was glad to finally reach it. The morning weather
was uncooperative - I was climbing in fog and cloud, very damp and chilly,
with no views whatsoever. But the skies cleared as I made my way from North
Twin over to South Twin, and there were lovely - if limited - views from
South Twin. I could see the flags on North Twin, Garfield, Lafayette,
Lincoln, Bond, and West Bond, as well as funny shapes that were probably
flags on Willey and Eisenhower. I could also see the peaks of Tom, Field,
Owls Head, and Carrigain, all of which - except Garfield - I've climbed.
South Twin was #39 of 48.

There were lots of people hanging around because of the flags. It was
interesting how many of them had no idea the memorial was taking place, but
wanted to stay nearby, and were already planning to hike Flags on the 48
next year. There was also a lot of talk about the meaning of the memorial
itself, more so than I remember 2 years ago (the last time I joined)."

Thanks for sharing, bro, and for allowing me to post not only the picture but your words as well.

Flummoxed by the Music Meme from Knitnana

via Music Outfitters. All I can say is -- well, no, never mind, I'll say that part in a minute.

Here's the official deal --
A) Go to Music Outfitters
B) Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function and get the list of 100 most popular songs of that year
C) Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate and underline and/or italicize your favorite. Do nothing to the ones you don’t remember (or don’t care about).

I absolutely fell apart on this step. I do remember liking a number of these songs when I was in high school. Okay, more than "a number". I'm just not sure I want to say which ones. I still like a few of these songs even now, and I bet I'd even sing if one of those came on the radio in the car (if I was alone, don't worry) -- no humiliating my children with tuneless warbling of late 70s disco era hits ... at least, not in this phase of my relationship with them). But I look at this list and it fills me with horror. (And I guess "Freebird" was earlier?) So I've done the best I could with it, bolding the ones I still want to say that I like, but you'll just have to accept that the whole process really shook me up. Yes, it may have something to do with the fact that the first "save the date" card for my 30th high school reunion arrived in the mailbox yesterday, but I don't want to talk about that.

1. My Sharona, The Knack
2. Bad Girls, Donna Summer
3. Le Freak, Chic
4. Da Ya Think I'm Sexy, Rod Stewart
5. Reunited, Peaches and Herb
6. I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor
7. Hot Stuff, Donna Summer
8. Y.M.C.A., Village People
9. Ring My Bell, Anita Ward
10. Sad Eyes, Robert John
11. Too Much Heaven, Bee Gees
12. MacArthur Park, Donna Summer
13. When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman, Dr. Hook
14. Makin' It, David Naughton
15. Fire, Pointer Sisters
16. Tragedy, Bee Gees
17. A Little More Love, Olivia Newton-John
18. Heart Of Glass, Blondie
19. What A Fool Believes, Doobie Brothers
20. Good Times, Chic
21. You Don't Bring Me Flowers, Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond
22. Knock On Wood, Amii Stewart
23. Stumblin' In, Suzi Quatro and Chris Norman
24. Lead Me On, Maxine Nightingale
25. Shake Your Body, Jacksons
26. Don't Cry Out Loud, Melissa Manchester
27. The Logical Song, Supertramp
28. My Life, Billy Joel
29. Just When I Needed You Most, Randy Vanwarmer
30. You Can't Change That, Raydio
31. Shake Your Groove Thing, Peaches and Herb
32. I'll Never Love This Way Again, Dionne Warwick
33. Love You Inside Out, Bee Gees
34. I Want You To Want Me, Cheap Trick
35. The Main Event (Fight), Barbra Streisand
36. Mama Can't Buy You Love, Elton John
37. I Was Made For Dancin', Leif Garrett
38. After The Love Has Gone, Earth, Wind and Fire
39. Heaven Knows, Donna Summer and Brooklyn Dreams
40. The Gambler, Kenny Rogers
41. Lotta Love, Nicolette Larson
42. Lady, Little River Band
43. Heaven Must Have Sent You, Bonnie Pointer
44. Hold The Line, Toto
45. He's The Greatest Dancer, Sister Sledge
46. Sharing The Night Together, Dr. Hook
47. She Believes In Me, Kenny Rogers
48. In The Navy, Village People
49. Music Box Dancer, Frank Mills
50. The Devil Went Down To Georgia, Charlie Daniels Band
51. Gold, John Stewart
52. Goodnight Tonight, Wings
53. We Are Family, Sister Sledge
54. Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy, Bad Company
55. Every 1's A Winner, Hot Chocolate
56. Take Me Home, Cher
57. Boogie Wonderland, Earth, Wind and Fire
58. (Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away, Andy Gibb
59. What You Won't Do For Love, Bobby Caldwell
60. New York Groove, Ace Frehley
61. Sultans Of Swing, Dire Straits
62. I Want Your Love, Chic
63. Chuck E's In Love, Rickie Lee Jones
64. I Love The Night Life, Alicia Bridges
65. Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now, McFadden and Whitehead
66. Lonesome Loser, Little River Band
67. Renegade, Styx
68. Love Is The Answer, England Dan and John Ford Coley
69. Got To Be Real, Cheryl Lynn
70. Born To Be Alive, Patrick Hernandez
71. Shine A Little Love, Electric Light Orchestra
72. I Just Fall In Love Again, Anne Murray
73. Shake It, Ian Matthews
74. I Was Made For Lovin' You, Kiss
75. I Just Wanna Stop, Gino Vannelli
76. Disco Nights, G.Q.
77. Ooh Baby Baby, Linda Ronstadt
78. September, Earth, Wind and Fire
79. Time Passages, Al Stewart
80. Rise, Herb Alpert
81. Don't Bring Me Down, Electric Light Orchestra
82. Promises, Eric Clapton
83. Get Used To It, Roger Voudouris
84. How Much I Feel, Ambrosia
85. Suspicions, Eddie Rabbitt
86. You Take My Breath Away, Rex Smith
87. How You Gonna See Me Now, Alice Cooper
88. Double Vision, Foreigner
89. Every Time I Think Of You, Babys
90. I Got My Mind Made Up, Instant Funk
91. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, Michael Jackson
92. Bad Case Of Lovin' You, Robert Palmer
93. Somewhere In The Night, Barry Manilow
94. We've Got Tonite, Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band
95. Dance The Night Away, Van Halen
96. Dancing Shoes, Nigel Olsson
97. The Boss, Diana Ross
98. Sail On, Commodores
99. I Do Love You, G.Q.
100. Strange Way, Firefall

See what I mean? So what am I knitting, you ask, desperately trying to change the subject?

Right. I'm working on Bonnie Sennott's Falling Water scarf, using Neighborhood Fiber Co Studio Sock in "hypercolor", which is a yummy range of purples. I was a little worried about using a variegated yarn as many, if not most, of the project photos on Ravelry are in solid colorways, but after 4 pattern repeats I like how it's looking and plan to forge ahead.

FO!

This is the Apres Surf Hoodie, from IK Summer 2008, in Rowan Cashsoft 4 ply (colorway: bark). Modified to be knit in the round, and unblocked in this photo, as its designated recipient was eager to put it on, be photographed, and appear on the blog!

She is off to the Red Sox/Blue Jays game tonight with friends (and 1 parent). Bartolo Colon vs. Jesse Litsch. It's an important game, made even more so by the pasting the Sox took in the 1st game of this day/night doubleheader.

Her sister, meanwhile, with grim and determined mien, put in 2 hours of bicycling practice this afternoon and is close to being cleared to ride to school (again, with a parent).

We are again puppysitting this weekend. Raeford's paw to body ratio appears to be shifting and we all now think she's going to be a bigger dog than originally predicted. She is still a princess, yet fun to have around, and she has gotten very attached to R. She hates it when he goes out without her (as he has just done, to drop D#1 off for this baseball event).

Tomatoes are still ripening ...

Remember

Tribute of Light, in Boston


The new memorial at Logan Airport


Tribute of Light in NYC

photos courtesy of boston.com

A Message from My Daughter

This sign appeared on our refrigerator just before dinner. Words fail me.

Tampa Bay Tuesday

For all Red Sox fans, this is an exciting time of year. The boys have fought back from a big deficit in the standings and enter tonight's game just a 1/2 game back from the AL-East-leading Tampa Bay Rays. It's been raining since early afternoon, on and off, so I hope they'll get the game in. Dice-K has not pitched well tonight, and we're lucky the Sox are only down 1 run in the bottom of the 5th. There's a lot of bad blood between these teams. The Boston Globe gathered up some fun pictures to document the trajectory of bad feeling.

I've spent a lot of time in the dorm the past few days and consequently the endless i-cord bindoff of the Apres Surf hoodie isn't done. I am trying to resist casting on for several other projects; I've been invited to put some items into a craft fair in early December and really want to be able to say I'll do it... but that hoodie really needs to be DONE. On the other hand, I have made some progress -- the box for my Twilight Swap pal is sealed up and ready to go. I think I must not be a bag maker, or at least a knitted bag maker, as my last few attempts at this task have not pleased me. This time around, I liked the yarn, enjoyed the pattern and and had fun doing the knitting, but I just don't love the finished product. Oh, well. The rest of the box was full of good stuff so I hope my pal will like it.

If other teaching pals can make room in their lives for a meme, who am I to whine about how much work I have to do? I picked this up from Jocelyn, who was gracious enough NOT to tag people at this mad mad time of year but instead allowed for self-tagging:

What are the last three things you purchased?
caramel frappucino
butter croissant
no-fat pumpkin spice latte

What are the last three songs you downloaded?

"check yes Juliet" We the Kings
"Breathe in, breathe out," Mat Kearney
"


What are the three best places you visited?
Phnom Penh
London
Paris

What are your three favorite movies? These are three of my favorite movies. I don't think I have a Top 3.

The Big Lebowski
Moonstruck
Bend it like Beckham


What three things can you not live without?
My husband
My daughters
Books


What would be your three wishes?
Environmental awareness/action
More than adequate education for every child in this world
common sense in all branches of government (yeah, I know)



What are three things you haven't done yet?
get a tattoo
sky dive
swim an open water race

Name three things that freak you out?
big crowds in enclosed spaces
screeching styrofoam
runny eggs

What are your three favorite dishes?
My mother's chocolate cream puffs
My mother's brioche
chicken enchiladas with salsa verde and sour cream
(oh, and lobster rolls. Can't I list more than 3?)

Name three things you are good at?
organizing
being a friend
being a mom (most of the time)

What are three things you are currently coveting?
Someone to clean my house
A massage
Spinning wheel (& lessons, I know)

Stylin' Sunday

Well, it was really stylin' Saturday --quite a transformation, don't you think? Her hair looks so happy to be freed of all that weight -- and although I'm not showing you her face, trust me when I say that this cut is extremely flattering (our hair stylist refers to himself as 'a framer of pictures' ...).

The end of last week was just as wild as the beginning. It just got too exhausting to write about it. Suffice it to say that there were many errands undertaken and accomplished, many 'firsts', and it was a very long short week. Tomorrow we have one more bizarrely-scheduled school day, with Convocation in the morning and special class meetings at the end of the day, and a veritable bizzard of paper being handed out to students in between. Then, perhaps, things will settle into some sort of routine.

Yes.

Day #2

No shots of reviving libations tonight. This shortened week at the beginning of the school year always has me going many directions at once, and shifting gears among my various roles multiple times during the day (often at light speed).

Here's what that looks like: today Mom drove an early run to school, Teacher went to a meeting, Mom went back to retrieve the elder child, Professor worked on her syllabus and class blog, Mom picked up the younger child early from school and took both girls to elder daughter's doctor's appointment, Teacher/Mom took both girls and went to a dorm meeting, Mom brought everyone home and supervised homework and made dinner, Professor tried to finish the opening lecture before Teacher goes back to the dorm...

Why am I risking paralyzing you with boredom by listing all of those activities? Well, it was in interesting counterpart to content of my morning meeting, for one. The theme of our faculty meeting this morning (today's is always reserved for some kind of professional development work, either a speaker, or workshops, or the like) was the culture of distraction, and focused on the ways burgeoning technological advances impinge on our time and ability to focus. The point is not just that we adults are multi-tasking within an inch of our lives, but that our children have actually been brought up NOT to pay attention in a singular, focused way. As teachers, then, we need to find ways to help them learn this skill. Our speaker talked about creating quiet spaces in our daily lives, noticing the layers of distractions in our daily routines, and being more thoughtful about our curriculum planning. This sounds like a great goal for the year, in fact. I had already said to R that I needed to find a way to head off the serious stress before the stomach ache arrives; finding them quiet spaces sounds to me like a part of the process.

(Another reason to write out that mind-numbing list above is exorcism, frankly. If I tell my day, maybe I won't continue to gnash my teeth about it.)

Despite all this running about, I am mid-three-needle-bind-off on the hood of the Apres Surf Hoodie, and after that, it's a small matter of sewing in the sleeves and applying the neckband and i-cord bindoffs. I am glad to see that the end of this project is finally in sight, though I have enjoyed working on it. It's been OTN a long time. The French Market bag is also as close to done as THAT --it needs its handles kitchenered and then a serious felting. After that I'll see whether I think it needs a fabric lining...

Day #1

End of August Miscellany

Here is our canine visitor. Remember when she was just a tiny puppy? We've had a lovely weekend with her while her parent was out-of-town with the older dog.

Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester--this was our expedition last week while D#2 was enjoying her first day of school. It is a lovely little beach and we had a great time. D#1 managed to get around fairly well while we were there, though she paid for it later that night. (Note: after 4 days of doing literally nothing, the pain in her legs is much diminished, leaving me hopeful that she will be able to start school, and possibly even swimming, on time).

The contractors who came to repair the stairs on Thursday had to cut a hole in the living room wall. The cats were very curious but luckily none of the the three were walled up inside at the end of the job. We'll see how long it takes our facilities folks to come and paint ....

Summer version of a fry-up! All produce in the skillet courtesy of our garden. These veggies made a lovely penne topping, wilted in a little olive oil and white wine.

The hummingbird loves this plant. And below, a very interesting tomato.

The turkeys are back, in greater numbers. We think this flock must be 2 separate families, as there seem to be 2 adult females and 11 babies. The cats are still making up their minds (are we horrified? terrified? eager to pounce?) and the visiting puppy was absolutely speechless when the birds came up on the porch.'

This is my very ugly Ravelympics bag. It is either going to be frogged or tossed. Pattern: Elisa's Nest Tote (the pattern was fine), yarn: Panda Cotton in Faded Jeans, held double. I was making it for a swap, but there's no way I'm inflicting this on anyone. I'm well into the knitting of bag #2, using the French Market Bag pattern from Knitty instead, and I like it much better.

Well, it's back to the salt mines tomorrow. The best thing about faculty meetings is the knitting time, I keep telling myself. And yes, I am resolutely resisting political commentary today ...