Why I Love Tennessee, Round 2

I left work early yesterday (sorry Alicia!) to head out with some friends for a tiny weekend getaway to Monteagle (A sleepy little mountaintop retreat with amazing views, as you can see). Sometimes all you need is to drive for an hour and a half and feel (mentally) halfway around the world. It was a beautiful mini-vacation!


Today we went on a hike in Fiery Gizzard (great name!) I went there with my family many many years ago, and remember the sheer cliffs, up and down trail, intense rocky overhangs and water everywhere. So today we brought swimsuits and were expecting to hear the powerful waterfalls, but there was hardly any water. Tennessee (and much of the south) has been dealing with a tough drought for what seems like forever, and it was so sad to see a rushing creek turn into a standstill. One member of our group trekked around a slick waterfall and jumped in where the water was deeper, but after putting my feet in, I decided to stay dry. It was cold!


I snapped some great pictures, wish I could show them all. Below is an enormous old hemlock tree that must have been 12 feet in diameter.


I did bring knitting, of course, and wanted to knit on the porch last night after dinner, but there was too much wine around and it's hard to knit while looking at the stars - there were a bunch of shooting stars. Sometimes you have to get out of the city to see just how much light pollution effects the starlight.


Here is a current sock while driving down the highway. I got a lot done, but didn't count my stitches until about a half inch past where this picture was taken, and I have 28 sts on one side (how it should be) and 30 on the other (whoops). I have no idea when or how this happened, and am too tired to figure it out tonight. It's late, I just now ate dinner, and my legs are killing me. It's time to settle down with a certain project (felted clogs) for a certain good friend (who took me to Monteagle).

And I almost forgot - the Titans played the Falcons today, and it took all of the patience I could muster to wait until the hike was over to call friends in Nashville and find out that WE WON 20-13! Haven't found out the details yet, but apparently our offense was off but our defense saved the day. We're 3-1!

Why I Love Tennessee, and Other Random Fun

This is why I love Tennessee. It's just plain beautiful. It's a gorgeous sunny Sunday, not a cloud in the sky, and there's always a nice view. (Pretend that there is no glare)

Now that the camera has batteries again, here is my sparkling shower:

I tried to get better pictures by standing on the toilet but I bumped my head on the ceiling and gave up.

And I've gotten a lot of work done on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I've finished the front/back up to the armhole and one sleeve. This picture doesn't quite show the beautiful green celery color.


I'm taking a slight break from this to work on presents. There are 3 birthday gifts to be completed in the next month - one on October 16, one October 19, and one October 24th. Before I show pictures, I need to figure out if these people read my blog or not. My wonderful and amazing sister-in-law Jaime might read it, not sure. One is for baby Buddha's first birthday (he's my younger nephew. Did you know that he and his big brother hung the moon? Fun fact. They are also perfect in every way. Isn't that amazing?). I haven't started his gift yet but I'm thinking cashmere sweater out of either Cascade's Cash Vero or Rowan's Cashsoft DK. Cash Vero is softer, but Cashsoft is washable. We'll see. I get to see both nephews tomorrow so I'm bringing my measuring tape because while he might be almost 1, I think he wears a size 2 or 3.

The third gift is for by "brotha from anotha motha", Benji. Soon after I started to really get into knitting, Benji and I were roommates. He put up with yarn stuffed under the couch, and I put up with loud late-night poker games and lots of Steely Dan. He asked me to make him a fair isle Nordic snowflake hat, with earflaps. I tried and tried and my tension was all over the place. I finally gave up and bought him a polarfleece hat. To this day, he still reminds me that the hat I bought him sucks, and I'm sick of hearing about it. I've been swatching and found a great pattern, and am ready to cast on. I finally figured out how to make the tension even - holding both yarns in my left hand using a yarn guide. Pictures to come.

Time to knit and watch football. The Titans have a well deserved bye week, and we play the Atlanta Falcons next week here in NashVegas.

A Surprise for the Queen and some Good Tea

The Baby Surprise Jacket is complete! The ends are woven in, it's lightly blocked (I ran out of time) and I went to my FAVORITE fabric store today and picked out some buttons. The way this pattern is written is awe-inspiring. Elizabeth Zimmerman is my hero. Here's a detail of some of the cool shaping:


And this is the back:


What makes this project so much fun is the recipient, the Queen. She is the now 1-year-old daughter of my best friend, a.k.a. my "niece", and I couldn't love her more. She is the best disco dancer I know (next to her mom) and has a great appreciation for rock hits of the 80's. She's also going to be the best cowgirl since Dale Evans. Tomorrow night is the party of the century, where half of Tennessee will celebrate her first birthday. Because babies don't necessarily appreciate the goodness and love that is hand-knits, I also bought her a toy cowgirl and horse.

The best part about knitting gifts is the meditation on the recipient. As I was knitting this jacket, I was thinking about the Queen and how much I love her, how much she has grown, how she looks so much like her dad but has her mom's spirit, and how I can't wait to be her biggest fan as she grows up. That's why I don't knit for myself so much. I also LOVE being an aunt, if you couldn't tell already.

My contribution to the party of the century is 5 gallons of Good Tea (it's a big party). Because of a small fridge and no time this week, I talked my mom into making 2 gallons for me, so I have one in the fridge, one steeping, and one to go. If you were raised in the south, you know that we have a slightly obsessive love of iced tea, and we only drink it sweet. You can get it anywhere, but it's appalling how many restaurants can butcher it - either too sickly sweet, too minty, too weak, or just plain funky tasting. Southerners also love fruit tea, and everyone has a different recipe for it - some add apple juice, others add lemonade, but the best has a little citrus blend. People always ask me why it's called Good Tea, but it's simple. You take a sip and immediately say "That's Good Tea!" I'm sippin' on it right now. If you come to my house between May and September, there's always a gallon in the fridge. I've tried it with several types of alcohol, but it's best with a shot of spiced rum. Yum. And I'm not sharing the recipe.