theraineysisters knitting and so much more

I know.  We said we wouldn’t blog much over the summer, but what the heck!  Sally is on an extended road trip and will not be able to write much, so that is one reason for the announced hiatus.  I’ll check in when I can, and we will for sure hit the blog-o-sphere at least weekly (weakly?). 

Check this out:

This is the road to my house .  Now, picture a torrential downpour.  The road was a muddy mess all weekend — you should see our poor cars!  The “high road” to the left is not even really a lane — I have no idea why they built it up like that.  It is supposed to be “in process” until November…bummer!

Re: knitting.  Lorraine mentioned that she is in a bit of a knitting funk.  I can relate.  Is it the summer blahs?  Is it due to the fact that it’s not sweater weather? 

I have been knitting every day but seem to have absolutely nothing to show for it.  Nada!  For me, that is contributing somewhat to my funk.  If I start something new — to feel excited about my knitting again — it will continue the downward spiral of nothing getting finished.  It is a dilemma and one which I have written about before.

On the bright side, the Wrapped in Care Ravelry Group now has almost 60 members.   They have shared some great shawl pattern ideas and one member is ready to mail in two shawls.  I am amazed. 

PS — I realize that not everyone is on Ravelry — but they are the only people I can keep tabs on with regard to the Wrapped in Care Project.  I will track the numbers on our blog (see upper righthand corner).  Thanks to all for supporting this project!

Okay.  So I’m wearing my cute new outfit today (see previous post) and was in the cafeteria getting coffee.  The cashier complimented me on my new dress.  I said, “It has these pants, too.” And she said, “Lose the pants.”  Then someone else walked up to pay for her food — a complete stranger, mind you — and said, “Yeah, you’ve got to lose the pants!” 

So, I took them off — not in the cafeteria line, but…I did lose the pants.  I’m a little bummed that no one liked my cute pants!

The Yarnery is sponsoring its own charity knitting event, called The Promise Blanket.  They are creating a simple, but beautiful blanket that will be auctioned.  The proceeds will benefit Women’s Advocates, Inc.  They have a free pattern available at the Yarnery for a blanket square.  Knitters and non-knitters both can bid at auction time.

Gee, everyone!  Thanks for the birthday greetings!  Surly, I’ll need to get back at you for sharing the photos!

As you may recall, the OH was this weekend — on my birthday!  And on Father’s Day.  So, DH and I had a “relaxing” day of hosting 60-75 people at our house!  It went extremely well, the weather was drop-dead perfect, I had food for 150 people (oops — note to self: buy less food next time!)….it was a success.  Just not relaxing.  Especially at ten minutes to 1:00 when nothing seemed to be ready.

Here is the cake before:

And after:

Friend Mary was right: cut the cake and put pieces on plates so people eat the darned thing!  The cake was humongous, and we did send a HUGE chunk home with John’s dad to share with relatives who could not be there.  I saw many old and dear, dear friends and felt overwhelmed by their love and caring.  So many of them go back to BEFORE the days when Laura was tiny.  One friend I have known since I was twelve!  So it was as special for me as for Laura and well worth all of the effort. 

Sally, your Ode to Joy is absolutely stunning and I keep thinking I should have gone with that colourway — so easy to second guess oneself!

Thanks again for the well wishes!

…a Minnesota thing!  Mostly, anyway.  It was really fun reading about all of the traditions and mores from around the country. 

As you can probably surmise, I have done very little knitting of late.  A lot of running around, a lot of shopping, a lot of “preparation.”  But not a lot of knitting.  I have stolen a few moments here and there to work on the Mystic Waters Shawl and bought some really pretty fabric to make a dress/jumper to wear with it.

As for the party, we are not doing a lot to our house — some people do a full home makeover from roof to basement.  BUT, this was the perfect excuse to buy a new sofa for the downstairs family room.  The old one was 35 YEARS OLD!!!!!    It was a rust-colored loveseat that I slip-covered several years ago.  The joy I felt when that thing was dragged out to the dumpster is beyond belief.    It actually had springs poking out of it like in the cartoons!  It was stained, holey, ripped and lumpy.  OMG!  The new sofa is lovely and no lumps, no springs, no rips. 

Now it’s back to work!

I am talking about the obligatory “Graduation Open House” aka “High School Graduate Fundraising Event.”  In Minnesota, everyone has to host these events for the new graduate.  To not do so means that a) you do not love your little darling and b) your child will start out broke.

There are only so many weekends available, so scheduling your event is tricky (ours is next weekend).  This often means trekking from one open house (OH) to another to pay off congratulate the honoree.  The typical OH consists of tables and chairs set up outside or — in case of rain — in the garage.  Food is simple and served buffet style.

I have been dreading looking forward to this fiasco celebration for 13 years — since Laura started her first day of kindergarten.  I am not one for hosting large parties and avoid entertaining whenever possible. 

So, last weekend I attended my first in a series of open houses and had an epiphany.  The hosts are really good friends of ours and always throw great parties, so I knew it would be nice.  It was nice and not overly lavish — yay!  But here is what Gina said that turned on the light bulb for me: “We decided to have the party indoors.”  I should have realized this as I was standing in her kitchen at the time, but I am a little slow on the uptake.

I realized that what I had been dreading all these years was trying to put on an outdoor party: Our garage is crap, our deck unfinished; what about renting tables and chairs and tents and serving warmers, the weather, etc. etc.  How do you keep the hot food hot, the cold food cold….OMG!  Now that we have decided to have the party inside, it is a much more attainable goal.  I also decided to keep everything very simple and not do any of the cooking: all the food is being prepared elsewhere. 

I think I can do this now!  Laura will feel loved, and Laura will not be broke — though of course, I will be!

PS from Susan: I tried to drop a subtle hint to Laura about “eloping” (i.e., give her the $$ that I would have spent, but not host the gig), but then ALL the criteria would not be met: I would be broke, Laura would not be broke, but Laura would not feel loved.  So, the gig goes on!

PS2: Our school also hosted an all-night party the night of graduation.  It cost $175 — my daughter did not want to attend, so we got off the hook there, though I heard it was fun.  She wanted to spend the evening with friends from a neighboring school who would not be able to attend.