Knitting in Transit

I am utterly exhausted after this weekend. It was all about food and fitness. The fitness was needed to counteract the food. For those of you who only read my blog for the knitting content, I will tell you that I finished the body of Flair last night. Now it's just sleeves, collar, and buttoning. By the time I finished, it was too dark to take a photo without the flash, so I don't have a visual to share. Soon though, I promise. Now that that is out of the way, you don't need to read about my other adventures unless you are interested. Well, you may want to continue to see some sheep pictures. Saturday morning, David and I biked up to St. Thomas where we met Kym and Kyle bright and early for a run. We ran about 2.5 miles with them, and then the two of them continued on (they are training for the Twin Cities Marathon) while David and I hopped back on our bikes and to the Mill City Farmer's Market . We had breakfast there (goat cheese omelets with cucumber and som...

My mom took the day off today and since it was my usual day off, I headed to the 'burbs to dye yarn with her. She had purchased some dye and cheap yarn and considered this a "test" run for when she gets the yarn from the yarn crop share she is a part of. The yarn soaked in her very deep sink for part of the morning. Looks like noodles. It was then was added to the dye on the stove top. The color is cantaloupe. After simmering for about 30 minutes, the yarn was ready to be rinsed and hung up to dry. At this point, the house was filled with the smell of wet wool. Delightful. I'm not really sure if that should be read with a slightly sarcastic tone or not...I don't think wet wool smells great, but there is something sort of comforting about it. The only complaint I have about this process is that the instructions say to constantly stir the yarn in the pot, so that the color distributes evenly. Granted, we stirred gently, but I think we all know what happens when you...

(the post immediately below shows the map of our bike ride...if you are feeling so inclined, you could open it in another browser window and follow along as I describe our day) A Monday off in August is a wonderful thing. My office is crazy this time of year, even more so on Monday, so if I can avoid just a little of the crazy, I'm happy. David and I had originally intended to go camping this weekend, but the triathlon got in the way of that plan. Instead, we decided to go for a bike ride around The Cities (as Mpls/St. Paul are affectionately known in these parts). David was at his place, so he got an extra four miles of biking in in order to meet me at the synagogue about a 1/2 mile from my place. From there, we zipped down Mississippi River Blvd, across the river, and then up Minnehaha Parkway to Mel-o-Glaze Bakery donuts for some coffee and carbs. My donut was a bit too much - glazed, then glazed again with chocolate. A bit too sweet, but the coffee helped. We enjoyed our...

View Michelle's Bike Ride in a larger map Pictures and details of our ride coming soon!

Today was the big day we've been waiting for all summer! No, nobody got married or had a baby. David and some friends competed as a team in the St. Paul Triathlon at Lake Phalen. You may remember that Gigi and I did a 5K there in May . Fortunately, the weather was much better today. Sunny, warm, a slight breeze. Overall, a great day for a team of three guys to try to beat their solo triathlete friend! David was part of a team called the Tri Cowboys. David swam a 1/2 mile, Michael biked 12 miles, and Owen ran the 5K. The goal: beat Kyle. Even Kyle's mom wore a Tri Cowboy t-shirt, although I can say she was cheering for Kyle. The guys did great, finishing in 1:19. Kyle finished in 1:25. There was also a third team made up of Alan, Max, and Kevin finishing in about 1:30something. The amazing thing is, all three teams had arm problems this summer. Both Kyle and David broke their arms this summer, and Max got a staph infection in his elbow (beware the mats at the gym!)....

Five years ago, when I renewed my driver's license, I was prepared. I went early in the day, immediately after I had showered, styled my hair, and put on makeup (even lipstick!). I carefully chose my clothes. I kept the AC in the car on so my hair would not get messed up. I smiled pretty for the camera. The upshot of all this was a driver's license photo that everyone looked at and said, "Wow! That's a really nice picture of you". Well, I got the renewal notice about a month ago, and I've been putting it off because I wanted another nice photo. I need a haircut and who knows when that will happen. Never mind that this photo looks nothing like me anymore or that the expiration is fast approaching. I was going to wait until my hair looked good! This morning, David and I went to County Bike to get his packet of stuff for the triathlon tomorrow, and wouldn't you know...the DMV was right across the street. There I was: no shower, no makeup, wearing my...

Behold, the progress so far on Flair! This is not the most flattering photo of me without a head, but you get the general idea of the sweater. I will be buttoning it in the center, as demonstrated with safety pins here. I had a great weekend! Gigi and the Little Guy came over Saturday morning. He wanted to ride the bus and the train. He was so cute waiting for the bus. He brought along his tools in his backpack in case the bus broke down. When we saw the bus approaching, he started to wiggle with excitement. He thought the bus was too bumpy and the train loud when it went through the tunnel, but I think he enjoyed the ride overall. Later that night we all played Wash and Dry Bingo . Oh my gosh, the Little Guy was just so incredibly cute! I'll be sending video to family members soon. Gigi would pull out the "stripey tights" and the Little Guy would yell, "I'VE GOT THE STRIPEY TIGHTS! I HAVE THEM! I HAVE THEM!" Same with the underwear, the pink d...

I've been remiss in not writing about Summer Cabin Weekend 2009! A great time was had by all! The weekend included all the ingredients for a great cabin weekend: Farkle, naps, beer, summer sausage, eggs, reading, knitting, kayaking, running, biking, and rain. I know...I know...maybe most people wouldn't include rain, but I think it takes off the pressure to be outside for a bit and allows guilt-free knitting and reading. Thanks Andy and Lindsey for opening up your cabin to us! We had a great time. The rest of the week has been, ya know, a week in August. It's been hot and sticky. I tried on what I have of Flair so far and realized mine will not be a double-breasted cardigan. I went a size down because my gauge was off, but now there is no way that thing is fitting over my chest. It will button up the middle like a regular cardigan. It still looks nice though, and I'm loving the Malabrigo I am using. So soft. So pretty. Yum. I cleaned out my refrigerator yest...

I know there is a book out there with that title, or something similar. I just didn't think it would ever apply to me. Why, just the other day I filled in one of those ubiquitous Facebook questionnaires and when it asked me if the glass was half-full or half-empty, I enthusiastically responded, "It's full!" None of that half-way for me. Well, yesterday made me doubt this, although as the shock wears off, I'm leaning towards a full-glass again...preferably filled with vodka. What on earth caused such consternation on my part? I backed in to a woman's car in a parking lot. I know...big deal right? Sure, if you are in your own car and have your own precious cargo inside. For me, it was Gigi's car and the Little Guy, and the anxiety the event caused made me wish I took valium or something on a regular basis. Yesterday was supposed to be a fun day. I spent all day with the Little Guy What could be more fun? We should have romped out in the sunshine, l...

My grandpa was in town for the weekend which meant there was much playing of Hand and Foot , eating of apple pie that he baked (SO GOOD!), and general good family times. The Little Guy and I went "mountain biking". If you've never played Hand and Foot, you should learn how. It requires 4 or 5 decks of cards. My grandpa has made these helpful card holders specifically for Hand and Foot. I think everyone in our family has one of these. The rest of the weekend has been suitably lazy. I've finished the raglan shaping on Flair and am ready to put the sleeve stitches on waste yarn and continue with the body. I did realize one big mistake. You are actually supposed to do buttonholes on each edge. I completely missed that while reading the directions. I got to three buttonholes and THEN saw the directions about button holes on each edge. Why the heck do I need button holes on each edge? Then I remember it is double breasted, so...yeah, that makes sense. I think I wi...