Road Trip!

Okay, I didn't go anywhere near as cool as Diana did this past weekend, but I can guarantee that the bathrooms were cleaner on my trip!

Rich and I went to Michigan to visit his parents with Rachel, Maddy and Kim, and it was very pleasant and low-key, in that we hardly left the house and we all just sat around admiring Maddy. My sister Inger came over to join in on the baby-worship, too.

It was just a quick trip - we got there late Friday night and left again on Sunday morning, but I did have time to drop off three boxes of yarn for a friend who makes lap blankets and slippers for charity. Don't panic, it was three boxes of yarn I would never use, just some skeins of yarn that people have given me. In ugly colors.

When we got home again, it took Maddy a few days to recover from the trip and we thought that maybe she was traumatized by all the strangers around, but today when she was at my house for a couple of hours while Rachel went to a meeting, Rich reminded me that she doesn't need to be entertained all the time, it's okay to let her play by herself for a while. That's when I realized that Maddy wasn't traumatized by all the attention, she was just a bit spoiled by it. She got used to people playing with her and talking to her every minute, and maybe had a hard time getting used to being home again, without so many of her loyal subjects around.

What I am knitting today:

Starting another Baby Surprise Sweater, because they are fun to make, and Maddy looked so cute in the one she wore on the Michigan trip. I have had the pattern for years, but I misunderstood the pattern the first time I made it, so it didn't look right when it was done, and also the sleeves are too short.

When Karin was talking about how much fun she was having, making these little sweaters, I got a copy of the pattern from her, since mine is lost somewhere in the Yarn Room, and I made it again, but when it was almost done, I ripped it out, because the sleeves? Were still too short.

However. I made another one, for a friend's grandchild who is a little younger than Maddy, because Karin said they were fun! And it's true, the making of them is fun, but the sleeve length was still bothering me. Until I tried the finished sweater on Maddy, just to see how it looked, and oh my goodness, it was darling!

The sleeves are still short, and I have seen versions on the internet with instructions for longer sleeves, but after seeing Maddy wear that sweater all weekend (it was cooler over the weekend, not sweltering like it is now), I can see that the shorter sleeve length is perfect for the babies! It's about a three-quarter length sleeve, and it stays out of the way of their little hands while they are chewing on them, or while they are twisting their hands together or whatever they do. I didn't even put buttons on Maddy's sweater because Rachel grabbed it as soon as it was done and said she never buttons sweaters anyway, and nothing makes a sweater better, in my opinion, than not needing to sew on buttons. And it was darling without them.

I have made another one since we got home and I'm casting on for one tonight. Baby Surprise Sweaters for everyone!

What I'm cooking today:

Kim and I worked together on dinner, and we made a recipe I got from the internet that had chicken, mushrooms and spinach over bow-tie pasta. It was very good and garlicky.

What I'm reading today:

Tuesday Tells it Slant by Holly Christine. It's a book I got for 99 cents to read on my Kindle, and it is pretty good. I recently discovered a Kindle discussion forum where people are mentioning books for the Kindle that cost less than two dollars, and I have bought a few of them, and not been disappointed in them. Anyone can write a book and publish it for the Kindle, and we are encouraging Kim to finish one of her novels so she can sell it this way.

What I'm whining about today:

Since Kim came home from school for the summer, she has been happy to take the two-mile walk with me, and if Sando is around, he is always willing to go, too. Today Kim and I walked the walk with Rachel and Maddy (in her stroller), and it was 85 degrees out and the humidity was about 100%, so it was one of the sweatiest walks I have ever been on. Luckily for all of us, I got a phone call from a friend I haven't talked to in a long time just as we were leaving the house, and talking on the phone kept me entertained for the whole time we were walking, so Rachel and Kim didn't have to listen to me whining about the miserable weather conditions!

That's the news for now - I have to go cast on for a baby sweater!