With this ring. . .

Two years ago today my husband and I were married. Since then, we've been through the good times and bad, the sickness and health, and the richer or poorer the minister talked about at our wedding, and then some! We have laughed together, cried together and shouted together; we have definitely not been lacking in emotional experiences. The good times have been really really good, and the bad times equally intense. Having been through it all, I can truly say that I love my husband and would rather be with him than any other man I can possibly imagine! (Hey, I'm a newlywed; if you don't like the gushiness, go read someone else's blog.) In celebration of the day, I'm posting gratuitous wedding photos:



Crafting 'til the last minute!



I snuck a "W" in there!



Check out that fabulous handmade bouquet!



Here's my dress, looking all innocent. . .little did we know. . .



it would try to EAT THE BRIDESMAIDS!




I still love you, baby!


Till next time,
Sarah

Anchors Aweigh!

One last post before Jonathan and I head off for vacation; we leave for our cruise tomorrow! Looks like we'll be taking almost the same cruise as Jennifer of pieknits, as we stop in Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We've booked the Atlantis Submarine excursion for Grand Cayman, and I'm hoping to talk Jonathan into Dunns River Falls in Jamaica. Unfortunately for me, the hubby really detests knitting in public, so I'll likely not be taking any knitting with me. (Maybe a small project for the car?) I'm going to try to get some shots of my Knitty contribution while we're on the trip. . .sleeves are resest!

In other knitting news, I've joined the Hurricane Sock Party 2006, a cool site brainstormed by Christy and Becky. Personally I think this was a really brilliant idea; make partners, complete 1 sock each, and ship that sock and the remaining yarn, along with some other goodies, to knitsters in the hurricane zone. Awesome! Not only do you then have to make only 1 sock, thus defeating the dreaded SSS, but you also get something to do while your power is out and make a new friend along the way! Thanks guys for organizing this!

I suppose I should complete the official questionnaire for my buddy:


1. Repeat after me: "No hurricanes, no hurricanes, no hurricanes." Okay, we just had to get that one out of the way first. We needed to created a bit of "Good weather karma!" GRIN


2. If your pet(s) wrote a paragraph about you to describe you to us what would they say? (If you have no pets then just pretend you husband or best friend wrote it! This is a 3rd person writing exercise that is always fun.)

My owner is a very forgetful person, who frequently forgets to feed us two or three days in a row. We are fearful for our lives this week while she is gone because there will be no food! (Fishies 1, 2, & 3)


3. What is your favorite hurricane supplies snack?

PB&J!


4. Do sock patterns normally fit you "as written" or do you usually modify them for size in any way? (other than foot length)

They generally do fit "as written." I have only attempted two pairs of socks to date; the first was intended to be for me but I wound up selling to someone else. They fit my foot by knitting to pattern.


4a. What are your foot measurements, not just shoe size? (Measure the length of your foot from heel to toe, then the ball of your foot. )

9" long, 11 1/2" around ankle (from ball of heel to top of ankle)


5. What one city abroad would you visit and why if money was no object? (and terrorism was non-existent)

Whatever city the pyramids are in. . .definitely want to see those before I die. Or Rome, to see the Colosseum. : )


6. Do you wear socks all year round or just during the winter? Do you prefer them tall or short or regular height?

Winter? What's that? The only place I ever wear socks is to work, either at the office, because it is cold, or at the restaurant, because I have to. : ) I prefer regular to tall height.


7. The last time the power was out during hurricane season (or bad weather of any kind) did you knit by lantern or were you lucky enough to knit to the humm of a generator? Or did you knit at all?

Actually last year's Hurricane Wilma was my first hurricane ever. It was awesome! I was off work for a week (paid), the weather was amazing, and the only inconvenience was having no electricity! The hubby and I lit lots of candles and played cards together every night. During the day I went shopping (our stores were open surprisingly soon afterwards), painted the guest room, and killed time. Unfortunately I don't remember any knitting, but there must have been some!


8. Make a wish for your favorite sock yarn that you've already used once. What would it be? Don't be shy about listing an exact colorway or two if you'd like.

Well, as I said above I've only knit two pairs of socks. One was of Lion Brand's Magic Stripes yarn, and the current pair is of Caron's Simply Soft. (Nice thick socks for the hubby!)


9. What is it about sock knitting that keeps you wanting to knit more and more socks?

Actually, I'm not an avid sock knitter as a lot of people are. I enjoy knitting socks because of the change of pace provided with the dpn's and watching the socks take shape under the unusual construction method.


10. Make a wish for a sock yarn that you are dying to try but haven't bought for yourself yet. (be specific,even colorway if you'd like)

I hear Lorna's Laces is just fabulous, they have a lot of nice colorways. Anything hand-made is nice, too. . .I've seen a lot of lovely Kool-Aid dyed sock yarn floating around the blogosphere.


11. What size needles do you knit socks for YOURSELF with the most? Are they circular or bamboo needles? What brand?

I have only one pair of dpn's, size 3 Boye Aluminums. (Love the aluminums!)


12. If you could only take 3 yarn related books and one previously knitted project that you love with you when you evacuated what would they be?

Hmm. . .Debbie Stoller's Stitch N' Bitch, Debbie Stoller's Stitch N' Bitch Nation, a knitting magazine of some sort, and my just-completed, self-designed kimono.


13. What knitting notion do you wish you had that you just keep putting off getting for yourself?

Stitch markers, absolutely. Right now I'm using hair elastics. Ugh!


14. What is your favorite tv show?

Well, the ones I would always watch if I saw them on would be:

1. Sex & The City
2. That 70's Show
3. I Love Lucy
4. Campus Ladies
5. Gilmore Girls
6. The Dick Van Dyke Show

15. Do you want a lacey sock or a "solid fabric" sock from your hurricane sister?

Solid fabric, please! : )

16. It's midnight, the power has been off for two days, its hot, and you have a craving for something sweet! What would it be? (This is a FOOD related question ladies! LOL)

Hmm. . .Little Debbies' Oatmeal Cream Pies? Yummy!


17. Tell us a story about any of your hurricane weather related experiences.

Hmm. . . see #7 above!


18. What was the one thing you wish you had remembered to get last year for hurricane supplies that you swore you wouldn't forget this year?

We did okay. . .this year I would buy more batteries since most of ours died on day 5. I would also probably buy some sort of butane gas burner, too. Last year we tried cooking scrambled eggs with a blowtorch. . .a little runny and gas-flavored for my taste.


19. What color sock would you like to recieve from your sock sister? (if you don't have a pref just say so otherwise give us a hint!)

I hate to be boring and practical, but the ones I would probably wear the most would be black or brown. : ) If that's too boring to stomach, maybe a nice blue or pink colorway!


Well, that's all the questions for now, unless my not-so-secret-anymore swap partner has more for me. . .Laura?

In other news, I finished a sock! And, just to prove I'm not suffering from too much SSS, I am posting a picture of the second sock as well.

Looky looky!

And the second one is in progress already!

Well, the house is in order, my nails are done, my jewelry is clean, and I'm all set to leave for vacation! Oh, wait. . .gotta go pack the bags!

Till next time,
Sarah

Quilts for Campers Update

I've just finished creating a unique site for Quilts for Campers. Find information, pictures (soon), and updates over there. If anyone is feeling generous, links to that site would be appreciated. Thanks guys!

Oh and coming soon - an open blog for those wanting to sell or swap leftover craft supplies! (Becky, thanks for your help!)

These boots were made for walkin'. . .

Why is it that every time my husband picks me up from work for a date, we forget to stop for my car on the way home? One wouldn't think it would be necessary to put that in the "Stuff That's Too Hard To Remember To Do" category, but apparently it is. At least, if you're me. Or my husband. Last night was the third (yep, that read THIRD) such occasion. We were having such a merry time bodyboarding and supping on the beach at Singer Island, that we drove straight home without even thinking about my car, parked in the garage at the firm. Soooooooooo naturally, this morning when I walked out to to the parking lot to drive to work, it was nowhere to be found. Oh, s---, not again! After frantically trying to reach my husband for about an hour, I was finally able to get a nurse to ring the phone in the operating room at the hospital. Turns out he was scrubbing into a surgery, and wouldn't be able to take me to work for several hours. I couldn't get in touch with anyone from work before the office opened (meaning someone would have had to leave work to come and get me), my three friends in this state are all out of town, and the local taxi company wanted $20+ for the trip! Lucky for me, there's a bus stop right outside my condo community, so I decided to brave the masses and try it out. Or so I thought. Because as it turns out, that particular bus route goes north instead of south. Perfect. Okay, so there's got to be a bus stop on the opposite side of the road for the southbound bus, right? Wrong. There's so much construction happening on the main road that I could not even find a bus stop sign for the southbound route. Soooooooo, after walking down the road about a half mile looking for said sign, I decided, "I'm not really that far away, I'll just walk the rest of the way."

Now, I have to break in here and tell you that it is six miles to my office building. And I am not an outdoorsy-girl. I like being inside. In the air conditioning. And I'm a big fan of sunglasses, and hats, because being in the sun gives me migraines.

So there I am, walking 6-miles-is-not-that-far to work at 10:00 in the morning, feeling proud of myself for not having to inconvenience anyone to come and rescue me for my own stupid mistake. An hour and fifteen minutes later (not bad time, eh?) and one block away from the office building, the CEO drives by in his SUV, looks at me like I am the craziest employee he's ever had, and goes, "I've been looking for you. . .get in the car!" Actually I think he was kind of amused that I would walk that far to work. . .on the other hand, I know I looked more than a bit disheveled, curly hair all frizzy and sticking this way and that, and my spaghetti-strap tank covered in sweat. (The nice shirt was in my bag, so it wouldn't get sweaty/dirty - I wonder if my boss thought that's all I intended to wear to work?) After freshening up in the ladies' room, I have to say I don't think I looked that bad, but my coworkers all greatly enjoyed teasing me for what they all think was a ridiculous idea. Like walking six miles down a sidewalk is a life-threatening endeavor. Hmmph.

But I think I'll not forget my car again.

Oh, and random side note: I ran into one of my restaurant coworkers while I was walking down the street! I guess it is a small world, after all. . .

In knitting news, my parents called to see if I wanted the NeedleMaster set they bought me today at Tuesday Morning. Apparently they made a special trip just to get it. My mother told me, "We saw an ad for knitting needles and wasn't sure if you could use any more. . .it's called a *rifling through bag to find the product* Boye. . .NeedleMas-" That was as far as she got before I broke in with, "Yes! Yes! YES YES YES YES YES!" What can I say? It's not a set of Denise Interchangeables, but for a pair of non-knitters to recognize the NeedleMaster's value was a feat in and of itself. So I'm happy. : )

Yesterday I received my prize from Saun; my first ball of Rowan and I am in love! Such softness! Such texture! Such richness of color! Also, the book is amazing and I can't wait to make some of the projects, like:



or:



or:



Thanks again, Saun!


The Hubby Surprise now has a heel! (Okay, you all know it's a sock, why try and hide it?)



I'm still waiting to take pictures of my kimono for Knitty. I had to reset the sleeves and revamp the pattern a bit; not a big deal, but a pain nonetheless.

Knitting class #3 this week! I think one newbie will join us. . .I'll get them all in the end, mwuhahaha!

Till next time,
Sarah

One year today

It's hard to believe that today marks the one year anniversary of our moving to Florida. It seems like just yesterday we were maneuvering our 17-foot U-Haul through the busy streets of Orlando, trying to find our hotel. A bit of a detour off the path from Fort Worth, Texas, to West Palm Beach, but the call of Planet Hollywood was too much to resist. Little did we know then how often we'd be making the three-hour drive to the beckoning theme parks in the coming months!



As I reflect on the last year, I thought I'd share some random observations about our life in West Palm Beach:

• We live less than 5 miles from the beach
• When the wind is strong, we can smell the ocean from our house
• Our roof is frequently covered in seagulls
• The average length of a woman's hair here is elbow-length
• Our next-door neighbor smokes like a chimney, and the smell wafts into our home through the vents (I'm extremely allergic)
• "Soccer Moms" are rare - those wealthy enough to stay at home are socialites (think Donald Trump and Serena Williams)
• We can DRIVE to Orlando! (Need I say more? We have already made a dozen separate trips and are proud season passholders to the Disney theme parks and DisneyQuest)
• While looking for a church, we attended 4 different Churches of Christ. At each one, the sermon was about being baptized in order to avoid going to hell. We now attend a Church of God.
• We miss Fort Worth, but we miss our family, friends & home church more
• West Palm Beach was voted the #3 beach in Florida on the Travel Channel's Top 10
• I know only 4 people in this state who I do not work with
• On moving here, I worked first as a waitress, then as a receptionist; now I do both

Sorry, I know some of those were downers. We really do love living here and look forward to becoming accomplished surfers in the next four years, among other things. It's great to live somewhere people want to visit; we have not been lacking for company from back home!

In other news, our Memorial Day Orlando Bash was a great success. Our team sucked at volleyball, but getting repeatedly thrown off a giant inner tube is surprisingly fun! Also the food was delicious (if you ever get a chance to have King Crab legs, DO!) and we relaxed by seeing X-Men III and going to Typhoon Lagoon and DisneyQuest. Highlight of the weekend was a midnight airboat tour on Lake Jessup! Our 30+ years' experienced tourguide told us he thought we'd seen several thousand gators. By the way; my very own boss here at the firm holds the record for the largest gator caught in this state.

Knitting class #2 tonight! I'll let you know how it goes. Speaking of knitting, Below are some pics of my latest WIP. The blue is a light shawl I'm designing for submission to the 2008 Knitting-Pattern-A-Day Calendar. The other is the surprise for hubby. WHO PASSED HIS BOARDS! YIPPEEEE!

Till next time,
Sarah