Monday, September 8, 2008

Weekend Update

Soooo tempted to add, "Sarah, you ignorant slut." Hmmm, guess I just did ;)

Well, Hanna blew in and blew out. We didn't lose power and the basement stayed dry. No bailing. That's a great weekend here Chez T. Saturday was a complete washout, weather-wise, but it was actually kind of nice. Usually, Mr. T is out on training rides first thing weekend mornings, therefore, we don't get to have family breakfasts. I miss those. Because of the storm on Saturday, he was home, so I made some yummy Belgian waffles as a treat.

I didn't do much actual knitting, but I did work on the pattern for my new vest (thanks for the input, everyone). Here's a look at the work in progress:



That isn't the final draft. What you see is about one half of the pattern. Since it's symmetrical across the vertical axis, I don't need to chart out the whole thing. I'll just knit across until the end of the main pattern, then follow the chart in reverse (reversing cables where appropriate) until I get to the end of the side. I'm knitting it in the round until the armholes, to minimize finishing. I started it yesterday, but all I've done so far is the bottom ribbing. No pictures until I have something more interesting to show you. I think I'll call this my "Back to School" vest, partially because it's back to school time, but partially because cabled V-neck vests seem very academic to me.

I also used the rainy weekend as an excuse to catch up on some baking. After the Great Power Loss of '08, I lost a lot of baked goods that I had in the freezer. I love having things in the freezer that I can pull out if people come over, or if I get a craving for a scone. So I whipped up a batch of Loren T's regionally-famous cinnamon scones:


Mmmmmmm.

Sharon -- great tip about encyclopedias and atlases. We have some gorgeous atlases from Sr. Jr.'s geography bee phase that Jr. Jr. may like. After all, Jr. Jr. did manage to secretly memorize all the state capitals during circle time in kindergarten. Atlases might be right up his alley. The boys do have a lot of encylopedic books. I guess I need to move away from my own preconceptions that reading = fiction. Thanks for the prod on that. We did end up at Barnes & Noble Friday night, after a vain search for a small, not-too-expensive generator at Home Depot. Lots of books for all were purchased.

I also got a new Vogue Knitting Debbie Bliss magazine. I'm interested to see how this one is (haven't opened it yet). I generally like her designs, and it's put out by the folks at Vogue, so it's a high-quality magazine. It seems like a lot of work for one designer!

Now I must return to the laundry and the cleaning that occupy my Monday mornings...

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Loren:

I'm first and foremost a fiction reader too. I just finished "The Little Book" by Selden Edwards. It was great fun.

Those scones look heavenly. I'm looking forward to colder weather and some serious baking too. Although it would be nice if I could first lose the 5 pounds I seem to have gained in the past year!

Loren T said...

Sharon,

Did you like that book? I read the review in the Post and thought it sounded interesting (with a few caveats), but the reviews on Amazon were more mixed.

Loren

Anonymous said...

I did like it. Just before I left for the beach, Maureen Corrigan (Fresh Air) reviewed it, and she loved it. She firmly described it as a "fun" book. I lean toward serious fiction, but I decided to take the risk. It was weak in parts, but overall it was great fun. I love time travel books (it did not surpass Jack Finney's "Time and Again" and its sequel). You had to do some serious suspension of disbelief, but it was an enjoyable romp. I was sorry to see it end.

Loren T said...

Thanks for the input, Sharon. I definitely like "fun" fiction as well as serious fiction (Terry Pratchett is a hero in our house). Since you like time travel books, have you read "Time Traveller's Wife"? That book just blew me away. I'll have to check out "Time and Again," too.

Loren

Anonymous said...

Loren: The "Time Traveler's Wife" is in my bedside "stack" of must reads, so with your endorsement, I will pull it up to the top of the pile. I'm now reading Colm Toibin's "Mothers and Sons," a collection of sort of linked short stories. Toibin definitely falls into the "serious" fiction realm. I've read him many times before, but this one is tough going--very dark.

I'm still waiting for your rant (oh, I mean thoughts) on Palin. And the Republicans can't understand why NOW won't claim her as one of their own? Don't get me started . . ..

Loren T said...

Sharon -- I pm'd you on ravelry :)

Loren