ProseKnitic – of Words und Wolle

provide yet another interesting example of the divergence of American and British customs and language.

The US Army side has a tendency to do farewell luncheons, providing us the opportunity to take someone out for a midday meal and embarrass them in public. Or dinner, when you are senior enough or there is a sense of obligation, a farewell dinner can turn into a rather prolonged and complex affair. There is a pattern of “gift” from the unit/workplace which is subsidized by the people remaining, cards, and words said by chain of command.

At 1100, everyone packed into the PAs’ office (= personal assistant. In this case, three of them share an office). There were sweets, a couple of cakes, strawberries and assorted crunchy snacks. After some time spent socializing, the Vet Brigadier did the thanks, presentations and good-byes.

It was much different from what I expected. There was humor, honesty and quite a bit of bite on everyone’s part. Might have been the personality of the person leaving: she was well liked, opinionated and could poke fun at herself as part of the process. Solemn it was not and rather chaotic.

Oh, she was leaving because her husband just retired from the military and they were heading back to the York area.  Somethings just are too similar to even question.

Yes, I know that the calendar reads August. There may be summer weather and sunshine elsewhere. But here in Camberley it is cool (16C), raining and school is back in session.

It is that last fact most of all that makes it fall for me. School starting has always signaled the end of vacation, the end of time off, the end of summer.

Gazing out my window, the first tinges of red are visible on one tree while another shows glints of orange and gold. Green grass still predominates with the ever present dandelions getting in yet another crop of yellow heads to insure their survival.

The first day of school for the youngest two teens, sending them off by train early this morning gave me that final click. The old year is ending, the new is beginning. Never mind that it is a month till Rosh Hashannah, my internal calender has declared this fall.

Books

My reading binge continues. Probably the best explanation for why I am not providing you with nice pictures of knitting, progress on sweater, vests, and shawls.

I am rotating between novels, genre quick reads and professional “stuff.” Since I have finished the nine books I picked up at the library last week (exactly what do you think started me off anyway?)

The final book on the pile was Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. Suggested by a reading group, I was rather disappointed. I don’t mind anyone using connections to get their manuscripts read. But this trend of off-spring riding on parents’ coat tails with less than great writing…… It is a quick read, horror if anything genre. Plot moves along properly, secondary characters are pretty flat and some fact checking would have been nice.

When you only get to the mail room every few weeks, it is like a birthday.

The last time I picked up mail was prior to leaving for Garmisch. Then follow with Denver and ABQ. One of my mail run mates made a pick up on the 12th.

Today I took the crew, and they hauled the boxes. I have mail for everyone in the group besides picking up books at the library and enough groceries to last the horde for maybe a week.

The only way I would be happier is if the yarn for the eldests shawl had arrived. Perhaps I messed up the order?

of a gnat sometimes.

I am back at work and perhaps today will be able to stay awake long enough to make it worth being here.

A pile of business cards is sitting on my desk; my notebook is open along side the computer. A long list of tasks is staring me in the face. I start the first and hit a distraction which leads me to research a question which takes me down another hole.

Since this one is not going well, I try something else.

The whole morning goes like this with the knowledge in the back of my mind that I have left not only the teens but my husband unsupervised at the house. I think I forgot to mention that he arrived yesterday.

Knitting

Heartland Shawl – just needing to be blocked. Knit of Silky STR from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.

Heartland Shawl - Evelyn Clark Pattern

Knit on my knit-picks circs (3.5 mm?) with only 3 meters left at the end.

Actually, not at all sure why I am on this shawl kick. Ms Blonde (currently back to her original hair colour) is happy for any that I will make her and it is turning out to be a great way to use up a skein of sock yarn. Seems to be taking me less time that the other option of socks.

It is warm here, this city located quite south in the US. Not as hot this week as apparently in the past, but warm enough that it is making the teens rather uncomfortable.

Me? I can stroll along in the dry sunshine thinking of warm August afternoons in the Mideast while shaking off the chill of the Convention Center’s overly enthusiastic air conditioning.

We got in late Sunday night from Denver.

The hotel at which we are staying turns out not to be in walking distance of the city center.

The meeting is fine, however my PC has decided that it has no intentions of communicating by WiFi with any one, any system or any where. That might explain the last days of silence. Hard to post when you don’t have a connection.

This is not a knitting meeting, and I was too busy most days at Denvention to spend much time with needles in the hands. I have finished up another small shawl, knit a pair of socks and have the first of the next pair just about to the cuff (toe up obviously).

As soon as I do multiple transfers with memory stick and picture downloads I will actually post some pix.

Back to the next session…..

-Holly

Ducking out of the Kaffee Klatches – I skittered up stairs to the Ravelry meet up. Socks seemed to be the main portable knitting, but there were crocheters there as well as the odd scarf here and there. After lspeaking with  David Levine in a Kaffee Klatsch, I sat there listening to one woman talk about going to Germany this fall for the Christmas Markets. It was not too hard to figure out that this must be Kate Yule. Now I owe them the market list as soon as it is published. (and go read Bento, it is fun).

It was a fairly long day. Attempting to get to several of the parties – it turns out that the hotel has the lovely kind of elevators that require a key card to get to floor 22 necessitating the formation of a really long queue in the lobby. Once upstairs, it was so packed as to be not worth it.

Denvention Day 2 – Thursday: Hall costumes, Bids for 2010 and working the Kaffee Klatsches. And then there are the costumes on display

we scattered to different areas to help out, taking time at the end of the day to go to the opening ceremonies. Wil McCarthy did not look at ease while the representative of last years World Con in Japan was so decked out that you could hardly see him for the clothing.

Heidelberg -> Frankurt -> Philadelphia -> Denver
traveling with three teens, my MP3 player and knitting.