ProseKnitic – of Words und Wolle

are kind of addicting.

I tackled Mermaid last fall on the Black Sea Cruise. Solo was up next (if you want to look at her whole line – go here). None of them are all that complicated or difficult, even allowing for knitting forever on size 3.00 mm needles. Garter stitch does get boring. But as one woman mentioned in a Ravelry Forum – “You don’t have to worry about running out of knitting while on your trip.”

I started Blues while in Egypt this past Dec, but lost interst in it after I returned home. Some how a summer vest just did not hold a lot of fascination while the inside temperatures were holding just a few degrees above freezing.

Pyramid

Is constructed by knitting from the outside in. Front and back as separate pieces are joined at the shoulders. I have to tack down the neck placket, then knit some i-cord around the neck for a finish.

Stitches are then picked up along the sides and the sleeves are knit down in pattern

leaving the whole thing looking like this at the present.

It doesn’t take that much concentration, but it does take some so that I remember to do the decrease at the far end of the row.
The good thing about this kind of construction is that the rows are longest at the beginning and it does get better.

Pagoda

Which leads me to Pagoda. I bought the kit in Demark, so that must have made it back when Ms Soprano was a toddler. It could have been as late as 1999, but I rather doubt that. In any case, the kit was well aged. So well aged, as it turned out, that the wool was a casualty in the 2003-2004 m*th invasion.
(the one that happened while I was downrange for 15 months and some people in my house didn’t understand some basics about closing up rooms, keeping doors closed and killing off weird flying things. Our house in Germany, like most, does not have screens.

Why am I telling you all of this? Silly me, while I was substituting yarn I looked at the pattern. Danish pattern. I can’t read Danish. But I can look at pictures and I can count rows when looking at other peoples pictures on Ravelry. First off, I finally realized that I don’t have to worry about the sleeve decreases for a while. The second was that I really didn’t have to knit this thing in three pieces and sew them together. Since I was already doing a yarn substitution, I could knit the most of it in one piece. Off I go with hardly a thought. Left front, back, right front. It works until half way up the garment at which point the fronts are finished and I only have the upper portion of the back. Knit from the outside in.

9xx is a freaking lot of stitches on a needle. It takes a long time to knit a row.  Listening to audiobooks is the only way to maintain sanity. (who am I kidding, this jacket is thousands of stitches, each and every flipping one of them a knit stitch. garter.)

Media

finished the new Nora Roberts, couple of hours to go on Callahan’s Key. Now – I can go on to Lois McMaster Bujold (more SciFi) or I can switch over to Simon Winchester and listen to Krakotoa.

OH! If you have not listened to The Takeover (Mur Lafferty) – go directly here at Podiobooks to get it. Unless of course you don’t like fun lyrics, have never dealt with office politics, or had the suspicion that some of the people with whom you work are a bit different.

Thank you for your patience. I have been doing some knitting. Scattering my time across several projects -

taking a couple of balls of handspun (about 100 gm) and the Harlot’s one row pattern

gave me a nice, scarf

Then there is the first of a pair of socks.

Finally, there is this

Audio & Books

Vision in White – Nora Roberts
Callahan’s Key – Spider Robinson
True Detectives – Jonathan Kellerman

When I was a teenager, there were railroad tracks. Since there were only freight trains coming along these tracks, you could walk along them most of the time. Balancing on the rail or hopping from tie to tie, it was cheap entertainment and often a short cut.

Moving to Europe was a shock. You don’t wander along railroad tracks, not in a country where those trains are electric. They simply don’t make a lot of noise and can sneak up on anyone who grew up listening to the loud sound of engines.

Have you noticed that railroad ties are no longer wood? Well, at least in Germany they are no longer wooden slabs. Intellectually I have known this for a long time but really had not paid a whole lot of attention till I was hanging out at the train station on Saturday and staring at the track. With the train late, there was little else to entertain me.

I think they might just be sturdier. Each and every one had an individual numbers which I am assuming relates to date of placement. Given an reasonable record keeping, it should be easier to manage replacement time.

Now, I know that you would rather look at a nice tree

or the fact that I have finally put together the second sleeve – and am still facing the issue of cuffs…..

I boarded a plane at Frankfurt Airport changing in Cairo to land in Kuwait. A difficult day long journey for what later became an easy six hour trip home by commercial air 15 months later.

A different time, a different war, different political leadership. I can only pray that there are fewer deaths in the next six years than in the last.

Oh, and that I can continue to avoid lead poisoning. Getting shot at was never fun.

I thought long and hard about it, then decided to do the Mole a favor and not show you a picture of his room. Or the kitchen. I do not think he would be able to maintain a sense of humor.

Mine was sorely strained.

He was not here when I got home last night, having headed back to school early. The thought of studying all of today with a group and getting some assistance on his chemistry was an excellent idea. The part about leaving a mess, the back door open for the dog (not warm here folks) and an over flowing food dish I did not find particularly appealing.

Besides the dog, I had mail come in while I was gone. A few bills (ick) and a box or so of books.

Making myself a nice thermos of tea, I read and kept stumbling over the dog who was thrilled to have me home. Really, I did nothing useful all day.

Well, except for cleaning up the kitchen, taking out the trash, closing the door and desperately searching for my old laptop.

About the time you see this, I will be on a plane headed back to the UK. With Worms just up the road, it seems kind of logical that there have been Jews in Heidelberg for a significant number of years. I can’t tell how old the cemetery is; the oldest markers are impossible to read. Then there is the fact that many families buried here no longer have surviving relatives to tend their graves leaving some areas gradually falling steadily into disrepair. However, it is obvious that some families still have a presence here, as well as others who have settled in the area since the Wall came down.

The Jewish Portion of the Alten Friedhof (Old City Cemetery) is gated with a plaque on the wall commemorating all those who were deported through 1943 (after which there weren’t any acknowledged Jews in this area of Germany), wherever they might be buried. As you will see, that was not enough for several families who have added to their family graves the acknowledgment of those missing.

Since I was not interested in contacting the local Gemeinde for entrance, I simply walked around the gated area and walked up the hill. Scattered grouping of tomb stones grace the side of the hill, sheltered by tree, grass, ground cover, and moss undisturbed. It is quiet and cold with the sunshine just starting warm the earth as I was leaving.

From old graves to new ones awaiting the first Yahrzeit for placement of a stone, there is a variety of styles, ages, complexity spanning more than 200 years. The wording is simple, usually no more than name and dates with the occasional notation only if someone was born or died else where. The names are also changing from strictly “traditional found in Germany” to Russian, Eastern European. Unusual, there are flowers in some areas, and only pebbles on those graves from the last decade.

Two graves marked those who gave their lives fighting for Germany in the first World War.

The last plaque I noticed on my way out; honoring those who gave their lives for the Resistance.

High on the hillside over looking the Neckar sits the Heidelberg Castle. One of these days, I will wander across the river and increase my photo collection.

Meanwhile, here is the castle and the view from the Castle quite early in the morning (avoiding the herds of travelers by tour bus).

You can see age, time frame and the multiple periods of construction by looking at the stones, walls, and multiple layers.

Knitting

Messing around with the Sock cotton – I have no idea what it will look like when completed.

and the front is now done. On to sewing together the shoulders.

Arches

hello? look above (grin)

Looking again at the conference schedule, I realized that the actual presentations finished up at 1230. Then there was lunch (2.4€) followed by a ride to the U-Bahn. My train was scheduled for 1900 since I thought it was a full day.

Does this sound reasonable? Hanging out and waiting for a later train? Since I have both a bag and a backpack, it is not like I am completely light on my feet able to whip around town and cruise through museums. And I really, really should stay out of yarn stores. Seriously, I need nothing. Except a long 2.00 circ. And some yarn needles, could use extras since they seems to vanish all the time.

My train ticket has no restrictions; there is a nice easy connection in Stuttgart if I catch the 1340. Reservations from the ticket machine just in case.

The train is late. No sweat, says the announcer – 10 minutes late arriving due to issues at the border and 10 minutes late leaving here. The other choices are worse, by the time I figure them out, the last option is pulling away from the station two tracks over.

We arrive in Stuttgart with 2 minutes to go on my connection. Arriving on track 9, it is leaving on track 8. But that is not the same platform, other side. It is down, under and up. Dodging people with trundling suitcases, strollers and groups greeting I get to this insurmountable mountain of a staircase to platform 8. I am tired, carrying suitcase and backpack. I hear the “door closing announcement and force myself up the stairs at a dead run. As I top the rise, I can see the conductors. Stumbling I head for the nearest door, motioning at the other track. I don’t care that it is the wrong car, I just collapse in the entry and pant for a couple of minutes.

Suddenly I feel old. I should just not be this tired, heart thumping after a dash of only a few hundred meters.

I am glad to find I am only a car off and fall gracelessly into my seat. I can hardly hold my knitting needles and just listen to more Callahan on my way to Heidelberg. By the time I get there, the Straßenbahn seems like a perfectly reasonable way to get home.

It is only a small mountain side to climb to the house.

Pyramid

Packing up just before I headed to the train station, I have less than 10 rows to go. Nice thing about steadily decreasing garter stitch – each row gets easier and easier and shorter.

All right, I will admit to stopping at Karstadt yesterday on my way to the SanAk.

I got some clown colored yarn……

I am also making progress on

as this is the front (back is just out of sight above)….

Listening to various Callahan’s Stories (collection downloaded from iTunes).

The day’s worth of lectures were not too bad and my mind is not completely numb.

I have to catch a train today to München (and sorry to those who get weird symbols instead of the actual umlaut. The link is for those who are interested the history and how the letters are managed in various computer languages.) I am wondering if this would work better if I went ahead and used the html Ä instead of Ä.

I can’t see the difference on my browser or computer, but then it is Swiss and I have it set to render properly.

I have purchased a few audio books from the Callahan series (go here if you want Spider Robinsons complete list in chronological order) and to Spider on the Web if you like music, stories and readings. A most quality broadcast).

Other than a change of clothes, my camer and some knitting – I have little I am taking along. No computer (no access while I am there) and hopefully no need to recharge the iPod. Suppose I pack a paperback just in case – Hostile Takeover by Swann (an omnibus). Or I could pull a couple of Tanya Huff’s Blood series off the shelf…..hummm.

Oh, this is the Bundeswehrs Chemical Medical Defense meeting. Troop kitchen, free room, nice people and an interesting agenda. What more could I want (and no, not bothering with a uniform since the normal requirement is Class A’s).  I will update on Thurs evening when I get back.

Nothing like a medical appointment first thing on Monday morning to set the tone of the day. Managing to get a couple of positive things done before blowing Landstuhl to head out to a knit meet, I had almost recovered.

Then my buddy and I found the yarn store in Weinheim closes for lunch (1300-1430) negating any chance I had for a shop and a sit down.

List as long as a mile buzzing in my head, I get home to find I have been invaded. There are men (several of them) tearing up my landscaping.

Now to truly understand, you need to picture what was there before. According to this lovely guy, it once was nice and has over grown to the point it is a jungle, completely obscuring the house from the street.

Nothing wrong with that; my preference as a matter of fact. I don’t want people to see in, to see the house. Problem is no one asked me or I would have told them to just leave it alone. The DHs idea.

Ok. I take a deep breath and head up to the terrace. There is someone reading in a chair, there is someone painting. I feel like a small child whose balloon just popped. I had counted on peace and quiet, a few minutes alone and here there are people at my house. I know this is totally unreasonable. I am an adult. I should be flexible and accustomed to the fact that I really don’t exist by myself in the world (hah!)

After heading to the computer and working for several hours, I took paperbacks, crawled into bed.

Whining. No excuse.

The sun was shining, clouds floating in the sky

while a nice cool breeze rustled the trees

and swirling one of my bright colored toys.

Here is where I spent the day reading paperbacks since knitting while lying down is not one of my stronger points.

as for the military’s rec center/hotel complex: it is set in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Nestled in a valley with moutains on both sides. It is not bad if you just look at it, but there are “murals on walls, both inside and out….”

Taking photos this morning was the highlight of the day, even if my camera now seems to be growing more and more blue. The bus trip back took and age and forever once we hit rain on the A7 and the electrical system shorted on the coach a couple of times.

Arriving in Heidelberg after 1930, I had to beg the use of a handi in order to call for a ride. Appreciating the kindness of others, I will “pass it along.”

in typical Bayern fashion there are wooden struts, framing and balconies.

Breakfast would be wonderful if it wasn’t Pesach (still whining here, matzah is not my favorite thing.

would that I had time for the spa, rather than preparing for my lecture tomorrow……

There are a lot of things that I can accomplish on a USAREUR library computer: email on most accounts, paying bills, doing searchs. But what I can’t do is a bit longer and includes uploading pictures or getting a regular post page (WordPress) to open on the screen.

So I will just tell you that I finished the back on the Hanne Falkenberg Pyramid between the bus ride to Garmisch and a quiet evening of audio book listening and cast on for the front.

382 is really a lot of stitches, even on a 3.00mm needle.

Otherwise I am attending lectures and wondering why I was insane enough to agree to be here.

I will add photos whenever I can.

Road a bus from Heidelberg to here. Hours of knitting and listening to audiobooks. Now, with mountains looming over me…….

I agreed to contribute some old photos to a project and then had to dig through our photo cupboard in an attempt to locate anything appropriate.

I found pictures of the kids -

and finally

the last two were taken the day after Ms Copper joined the family as far as I can tell.

I found no early pictures of me in uniform (which was the original request). In fact, the earliest I can find dates from about 1982-83

In fact, I have few pictures of me from anytime. Mostly there are pictures of the kids, scenery and the occasional shot of a house where we lived.

And knitting, one can not ignore the knitting and weaving. I might post a few old pictures of those over the next few days.

Meanwhile, I am making progress on this project.

Believe it or not, the dark heavy stripes are three ridges (6 rows) wide and the white ones only two ridges (4 rows) wide. Up close, it didn’t quite look like the illustration, but the photo matches really well.

Audio

Listened to Mercedes Lackey – Valdemar Foundation then moved on to Kelley Armstrong – Women of the Otherworld (book 9)- Living with the Dead.

This week is the annual Medical Service Corps Officers conference in Garmisch. I am an “invited speaker.”  The bus leaves at 0730 in the morning and I return on Friday.  I know that there is Internet at the Library but probably limited opportunity to upload photos.  Hopefully I won’t be completely email and blogless for the week.

Ms Copper and ran errands. The compute toys we found were fine, but these were cheap (under $8) and are just for fun.

Weighing close to nothing, the soles are not at all padded. For something to show off socks, they will work quite well.

Have also started a new sweater for mindless knitting.

Garter stitch with the advantage that when you start with 382 stitches and work in; each succeeding row gets a bit easier. (double decreases at each corner every other row).

Any guesses as to the designer or pattern?

iTunes current put a number of the Hugo past winners and nominees on the audio book page. I downloaded the collection of Connie Willis short stories. Knowledge of quantum physics a help, but not necessary to enjoy the confusion.

I am not speaking about the amazing amount of errands that I managed to run today. Everything from canceling and making appointments, through starting my bonus paperwork to getting my new ID card into the system.

No, I am referring to the Phoenix Cardigan. Arriving safely in spite of traveling in the baggage compartment of a Lufthansa flight it suffered through the steeks last night.

This evening I sewed together the first sleeve, then hit a snag. I have neither the pattern book nor my graph sheets. I haven’t a single clue as to how I was planning on knitting the cuffs. Now, I could go on to do the neck finishing first, but that is not how I planned it. I could also chart out the cuffs based on the sweater. But that does not sound really thrilling.

Dumb to forget the graphs. This obviously explains the lack of pictures. No progress, absolutely none.

Tomorrow I need to return to Scheherazade which should keep me busy for the weekend plus this coming week.

And I had been planning on wearing my Phoenix on the return trip to the UK. I settled for listening to the rest of Dragon Wytch by Yasmin Galenorn.

April 10 1998

( Jane let me know that 9 April was also a significant date in 1982, since that was the day I was able to coax her daughter Karin into being born. Scary long time ago that: most of the babies I delivered have long since grown up).

Road to Bosnia – 10 April 1998

Day Two -

Taszar, Hungary, a small town south of Budapest. If you want the nearest town, you might be able to find on the map, look for Kapsovar.

The last two medical units arrived last night—late, like 01:30; consisting of the ambulance personnel staying in Hungary and logistics team accompanying us

Everyone else got up for PT at 6:30. Took the whole formation out for a 3 mile run, my pace, so everyone finished. gate guards were totally amazed – heard them saying “that’s the medical unit?”

The rest of day looks like it will be part work and part down time. Conducting a number of classes; letting everyone go to the beer tent as long as they keep it together.

I am headed, with the chaplain, to Budapest to join the community there for the Seder. I don’t know what is going to be more interesting – trying to survive an orthodox service in Hebrew and Hungarian or trying to keep the chaplain quiet in the right places. He has never been to a Seder before and is really excited. We are driving back tonight – so should be back late.

The weather is beautiful – sunshine and warm winds.

It was 11 years ago that I boarded a bus bound for the Balkans to spend 6 months heading a medical task force.

Think back. The Serbians, Bosnians and Croatians had pretty much finished blowing each other up, leaving the countryside full of burned out houses and the fields littered with mines. The initial NATO action had lasted over a year and we were now into the Stabilization Force.

Passover was just a few days ahead and I would be spending it in Taszar, Hungary with a detour to Budapest for the Seder.

I started an email list to family and friends in that time period after FidoNet, but before Yahoo groups, or the WWW being widespread. When LISTSERV was considered really good software and no one had been hit with VISTA.

For the next six months, I will inflict the occasional entry on you. Partly for the contrast and a bit because the world has changed so much in the last 11 years.  For those of you who read these the first time around – please feel free to move on to the knitting portion.

On the Road to Bosnia – 9 April 1998

Update -

Had everyone at the departure location by 1330 yesterday; spent the afternoon doing briefings, drawing weapons, and doing last minute running around on post.

We loaded up the buses right after supper and rolled at 1900. This is a lonnggggg drive—trust me.

At 22:30 received the word that Bus number 5 of six broke down. It and Bus 6 were to wait for a new bus, and would be about 1 1/2 hours behind us. Rest stop at 22:30, rest stop at 03:10—nothing like being woken up to go back to sleep. We got in at 7:30. Unloaded all of our gear, set up in tents, got some breakfast, and the last two buses pulled in at 10:00.

So here we are, 124 people sitting, in tents, in the rain, in Hungary. All ok, everyone accounted for. Now to be briefed on the rules of the base and the schedule for the next couple of days while we make plans for the trip south.

More later—but will keep you all posted. You know that I am doing ok and not overworked when I have time to write.

-=Holly=-

Phoenix

The body, as you saw a couple of days ago is complete. This evening

I sewed steeks,

cut those in the front of the cardigan

and moved on to the sleeves -

and made the second cut.

May I mention something for those of you who do not do this often. No, not a glass of wine, but a knitting hint. Most references will tell you to alternate colors in the steek resulting in a checkerboard effect. I keep the colors lined up. This gives me these nice stripes. It also makes it extremely easy to follow columns for both sewing and cutting (see photo above)….. My eyes are not as young as they were and tracing grey all the way down a sleeve is not easy. But following red/orange when in contrasts to grey? Hey, i can do that! In the same way, I use a contrasting thread on the bottom so I can see the stitches.

History

Yesterday, as I was changing trains at Frankfurt-Niederrad I notice these

The colors are still ugly even with an attempt at designs painted on the end. One more former US Military housing area in use until about 1993 when V Corps moved from Frankfurt. As with most of the housing areas turned back to the Germans, they were promptly used as much needed housing.

0349 blinked back at me as I peered blearily at my clock. Closing my eyes, I rolled over and went back to sleep for the hour budgeted.

Light filtered through my closed lids.

Light?

Panicked look at my phone confirmed it was 0600. My train from Blackwater left at 0551. A quick check confirmed that I screwed up the alarm setting last night, leaving it at 0630 rather than the 0500 I had planned.

Three taxi services later, the lovely man on the other end asked me which train station. Farnborough?

Oh duh. Camberley to Waterloo is > than an hour and usually needs a change in Ascot.

Farnborough -> Waterloo is 39 minutes and the train leaves a minute soon than the 0647 (first direct train from Camberley).

Taxi Man shows up at 0612. We are at Farnborough 18 minutes later and I am 18 L poorer.

0646 to London Waterloo. Run to the other end of the earth pulling suitcase, weighted down with backpack and camera case I get to the Juliblee Line just as the doors are about to close. People have stepped back, but there is a tiny bit of room that I rudely jam into complete with wheeled suitcase ignoring all the dirty looks.

Jubilee to Canning Town. Change to DLR to the airport. Rush to the Lufthansa/Star Alliance Counter.

Lovely woman doesn’t even blink at my 15kg suitcase and validates my boarding card.

Three trips through security later (changing line because of the woman in the wheel chair. She was not an issue, it was her three traveling companions who did not have enough sense to realize they also had to clear security. Then there was the pocket torch. And finally my shoes.)

There is free WiFi in the lounge. Head pounding, I badly need caffeine but am so wired that I will never be able to sit still for the flight should I indulge.

Germany in my sights, I might just get there today.

 just finished packing and need to get a couple hours sleep before heading to the train station/tube/DLR. All I need to do now with the sleeves is to cut the steeks, sew together, knit down for the cuff and inset. Phoenix sweater in case you had not guessed.

going with garter stitch for the flight. It seems safest!

Every week – The Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine puts together a nice summary of the important preventive medicine issues of the week. Plus what ever other interesting articles they find. This weeks HIO-Update

Partway down the first batch of stories – I found this:

IG cites reasons medically unfit are deployed

31 March – Conflicting policies, inaccurate records, and uninformed commanders and medical providers all could play a role in the Army’s deployment of soldiers medically unfit to serve, according to an Army inspector general’s report. It was obtained Monday by Army Times through a Freedom of Information Act request. The report is a response to “numerous Congressional inquiries, media releases and complaints from soldiers and veteran organizations regarding the growing perception that the Army is deploying soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan who are medically unfit,” the executive summary states. Army Times

Now, why does this not surprise me? My song since 2003.

Phoenix

and finished the body

and a close-up of the Phoenix Head

Now, on to the steeks…

Nothing to do with any knitting. I almost wish it had to do with knitting.

It was late last night; I should know better than to do anything when I am tired.  The update software family pack finally arrived in the mail on Friday from Ms Soprano.  The start of computer updates was not auspicious. Leopard did not want to install on The Moles computer. It installed on mine just fine. So did iWork which gives me programs. The issue came with iLife. It happily started, deleted the old programs, then informed me that there was no software on the DvD to install. This happened several tries. It was at this point that I realized what had happened. iPhoto was gone. totally and completely gone. The icon sits in the dock, but no software and no photos.

My panic subsided a bit when I noticed that the “library” was still there at a few gigs – I just don’t have any software with which to open it.

The Mole was home, we tried moving a copy of iPhoto from his computer to mine via the server. No dice. I now have the program, but it tells me that the library is “associated with a more recent software” and can’t be opened.

This may explain to you why there is only a whining post today and no pictures.

in Guildford there is quite a view.

[caption id="attachment_4124" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="on the hill"][/caption]
 
The occasion was lunch at a friends. I am not English. It is Saturday afternoon, I am wearing jeans, sandals with socks and the Viking Ship Sweater. Others are in hose, skirts and pearls. How was I to know that I was to get dressed up to watch The Grand National on the telly and have lunch?

Phoenix

[caption id="attachment_4122" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="and the Phoenix Head"][/caption]

This was not an exciting day; spent behind the wheel of the car or in the post office. Way too much time in the post office.

Mailing off the four (other one I am hand delivering) packages to Texas, Florida and California in the US and Switzerland was the easy part. Let me just slide over the part where I sealed up the packages before putting on address labels. Random draw, random color sock kit, not done on purpose.

It was the other packages that just about killed me. The first US Army cadet to attend Sandhurst is graduating this week. As you all know, it is really hard to live somewhere for a year and not accumulate stuff. Postal Unit, of course, is only open on week days. Shippers require you to be there for half a day just waiting for them to arrive. His schedule does not let him off on a weekday. Kindly foolishly, I had offered to mail out a couple of packages for him. I had in mind a few boxes.  Tuesday I managed the two duffel bags with only a twinge from the back. The box, however was an issue.

If you are not familiar with US postal regs, let me refresh you. 70#  and 120″ are the limits with a surcharge for anything over 106″. Obviously the reason I am telling you is that the third item was a box. A large and heavy box. It squeaked under the size limit but weighed 76#.

My weight varies between 110-120. Lifting a 76# box is beyond me. I quit lifting my offspring well before they made that weight. Borrowing the cart from the local postal unit I slid it from the trunk onto the cart and wheeled up the ramp. The guys weighed it for me and put it back on the cart. You don’t want to know about getting it back in the car. I can almost stand up straight three days later which is why I didn’t bother to make a postal run on Thursday.

This morning I attacked the box with my bayonet (doesn’t everyone have one from OIF as a souvenir?) slicing open dozens of layers of tape. I extracted enough books from the bottom of the box to make up four additional boxes then repacked the clothing around the picture frames (I will be really surprised if any of these make it intact, even had the previous packing job stayed intact.

$68.xx later (and the champ at 48#), those five boxes were posted in time to make the Alconbury pickup and seven boxes were in my trunk for the return journey to Camberley. two book boxes for Ms Copper, my MAC software, STR kit and the new Cookie A book.

Given all this joy, I might even consider knitting a sock again. It has been months.

Doors

From Harrogate, Yorkshire

and the early blooming flowers are now gone.

It was nice enough that I could sit outside late afternoon and knit for a while.

Calypso

is drying (and I think I will break down and buy blocking wires. I don’t have enough pins to get a smooth edge.

Phoenix

rather large sitting in the lap

the phoenix head is becoming apparent

which means I have about 30 rows to go, including the neck shaping. The sleeves are 2/3 complete and waiting on the body to be completed, blocked and steeked before adding the cuffs.

Thinking ahead to my next major project – a version of Katherine from Tudor Roses – I have settled on this

to contrast with the blues which I think will make it a bit more feminine rather than loud.

Viking

One of the discussion threads on Ravelry in Stranded was about the inside of fairisle and scandinavian sweaters.

a bit blurry there, but definitely still a Viking Ship.

The Yorkshire Countryside has wonderful contrasts between old and new. Stone for fences keeping wobbly creatures safe and building that look to have endured.