Finally, a sock!

Well, it's still got some ends I need to weave in, but it is the right length and it fits. I have until January 5 to finish the second one (that's when my parents are flying back to Mexico). The pooch says it's OK to stay here, but he'd rather have a larger blanket:



I wish I could get started with the second sock, but this sightseeing thing keeps me quite busy:



I hope everyone had a nice holiday, and may next year bring peace to the whole world.

One more year

For the first time in many years, my birthday does not include traveling or preparing to travel abroad for Christmas. Today my family is here with me and we spent the day visiting the shoreline marshes. Sadly, dogs are not allowed, in order to protect the wildlife. But it was a cold and foggy day, so the pooch wouldn't have enjoyed it anyway. Even the wildlife seemed lethargic:



We're going tonight to a Japanese restaurant. I called in this morning to make a reservation and all I got was a slot at 9:30. I'm glad we're all hispanics and that we're used to having late dinners.

So let's see, was this a good year? I think so. I had to quit a job I liked and leave behind my friends and co-workers. That was sad. But I moved to a lovely place where the weather is much nicer and the spouse is happier with a better paying job. We don't even have to worry about me being unemployed. And I've been knitting and reading lots of books - about thirty five books this year. And the best news? My pooch is staying! We reached an agreement: He'll be here until March or April. If things don't work out, my mom will take him back. He's been a good boy so far and I hope he remains so.

Family time

My parents and the dog are here, and I'm spending so much time with them that I have had no time to blog at all. The people at customs were not interested in the dog's paperwork. His food and vitamins, however, were confiscated. Can you believe that? It was a regular can of dog food and some doggy treats with vitamins. You'd think there's riskier things than that.

I was a little worried that my parents would get bored, since I have no TV and most of my books are still in boxes, but my mother bought a needlework kit and is happily cross-stitching right now. My Father is installing a doggy door on the kitchen. See? They know how to keep themselves busy. The pooch remembers me and is happy to have me feed him and walk him, but he still prefers my mother's company. There isn't much progress regarding knitting, but I'm having a great time.

Excuse me, is that sock shrinking?

I keep knitting, but the sock doesn't seem to be growing much. What's worse, when I wear it, it appears to have shrunk:



It's just the effect of those ribs, they're stretchy and they make the sock appear longer than it really is until you wear it.

About those ads, why is it that a guys get a girl removing her panties, while we get a lame guy with a surfboard? See what I mean?

My parents are coming tomorrow. They will be spending Christmas and New Year with us. All in all, they will be here for three weeks! Think our marriage can take it? To make things more interesting, they're bringing this little guy with them:



Maybe he's the real danger to our marriage. He might stay with us or not, depending on how he likes it here. He used to belong to me, but I don't think he does anymore. Actually, if he could talk, he'd say my mother belongs to him! My husband has never had a dog and I confess a 13 year old spoiled pooch is not the best choice for a first doggy, but I miss him too much and I'm willing to give it a try. I hope the guys at customs don't quarantine him. He's had all his vaccines and to my knowledge he is quite healthy, but you never know.

Undecided

I have not decided whether or not I want to stay at blogdrive. Inertia makes me want to stay, but some ads are sort of repellent. The ads within the text entry have disappeared (for now). The blogdrive help people, who usually respond fairly quickly, have yet to answer whether or not those ads will come back. Their new editor works fine, but some acute accents have disappeared from their symbol list, which is a bummer when you write in Spanish.

The husband spent two hours proving to me that my template could be transferred to blogspot. He even made some improvements. You'd think he sold his soul to the blogspot people. I do thank him for spending that much time in this, but like I said, it's too soon to decide. I also appreciate all the opinions I received regarding the ads and hosting options.

Here's my two doilies, I'm not sure I liked them better before blocking:



I also have a picture of the blue sock:



It's taking more time than I anticipated. Bear in mind that I've been staining boards to make a bookcase and that I have also put together a table, six chairs and a futon.

Fancy blocking board needed

All I have is a piece of styrofoam. If I also had a protractor and a pair of compasses I might do better than this:



I keep telling myself that I don't really need a proper blocking board with a grid and a set of concentric circles on it, but I guess it's denial.

Here's how the sock is progressing. These socks are not for me, but if they fit me they will fit my mother. I wonder if it's just the flash or if the sock really looks that thin.



Lately, blogdrive has been adding ads to my entries. These ads come and go and I'm not very happy with them, as I got no warning and they kind of look like part of the text in the entry. The husband insists I should switch to blogger. I almost did when they started adding ads to the comments. In general I don't mind the comment ads, though I sometimes wish I didn't have to see people in their underwear while reading comments. So what do you think, should I move to a better home?

Past the heel...

Going past the heel gives me a sense of relief. I usually encounter problems there, but not this time. Or maybe I haven't taken a close look, but other than a twisted stitch it looks OK to me. I can now keep going round and round until I run out of yarn:

Sock progress

Here's the toe of the sock just before unzipping the crochet chain that I used as a foundation. I actually had to do this twice, because on my first attempt the thread I used for the crochet chain was too thin. As a result, that side of the sock had a noticeably tight row right right after the toe.






The crochet thread I used instead might look like it's too bulky, but it actually produced the right gauge. Here's the sock so far:






Soon I'll be turning the heel. Right now I'm doing ribs just on the upper side, but once I turn the heel it will have ribbing all around.

It works!

I was finally able to upload pictures. Most of the hard work was carried out by my husband, but I installed some of the software too, including the camera stuff. So here they are, the two doilies I have completed that I still have to block:





I'm casting on for a pair of socks. I'm using a provisional cast-on, since these will be knitted from the toes to the cuff.

Two doilies down

I wish I could post a picture, but on the other hand, it is better to wait until I've woven in all ends and the doilies are blocked. The new hard disk for the computer has arrived, my husband has installed it and is currently filling it up with the old software. I see the light now.



Now that I'm (almost) done with the doilies, I should get to work on my mother's socks. Oh, I know I have to finish the linen top too, but I think I'll wait until my mother arrives. She'll have a better idea on which fiber I could use to put it together. Finding 100% linen was hard enough to begin with and I'm thinking of using cotton instead.



I have other things to keep me busy. We keep buying furniture, but the kind that you have to assemble yourself. There's even a bookcase that I have to stain before putting it together. I prefer to carry out such tasks myself and let my spouse be in charge of bringing the computer back to life.

Doilies

I set the linen top aside to crochet a pair of doilies. That will give me some time to think what I want to do regarding edging and seams for the top. In addition to those doilies, I have to knit a pair of socks for my mother. I should at least get started on those socks, but the doilies are more appealing. I was able to post a picture using a borrowed computer: