So Close

I had great intentions of finishing Danielle's Block Blanket this weekend. I knit feverishly late Saturday night - only to get to the end of my last skein with 3 more rows remaining! Gah. I hadn't checked gauge because it's a blanket, I had no idea that I was that I would come that close and actually run out of yarn.

So here it is...waiting for another skein so that it's last 2 borders rows and cast off can be done.

So we'll all have to wait for a picture of it keeping Danielle warm.

Back In The Driver's Seat

I don't know about the rest of you out there in the big world, but I feel like I totally lost control of things in December. And it's almost the end of January and I'm just getting things back in order. I can definitely live with a certain amount of chaos (and do on a regular basis), but it really bordered on the make-me-curl-up-into-a-ball-in-the-corner-of-the-room kind. So I'm very happy that it's behind me. And I won't list my 89 reasons for not blogging as the Yarn Harlot did, suffice it to say that I don't want to relive any of the chaos by listing it here. Now, please don't get me wrong. There were many fun avoidance techniques that I was able to invoke and I greatly enjoyed myself during those. But I'm not going to list those now either. It's onward and upward.

First to knitting...

I'm 3/4 finished with the Block Baby Blanket for Danielle. I hope to be finished by the weekend when I will see her again.


And I'm participating in the Malabrigo Swap "Sisterhood of the Traveling Scarf". The idea here is that I start a scarf in Malabrigo worsted and a pattern of my choosing, knit 5-6" and then send it off to the next person in my group. She will knit another 5-6" in color and pattern of her choosing, and so on and so on until it has traveled through 12 hands and returns to me. It is up to each knitter how free or restricted to allow the scarf creation - mine is very open, inspiring me to call it "The Traveling Scarf of Chaos".

Here's my start which I completed last night.

The colorway is Bobbi Blue and the stitch is the Farrow Rib (k2, p1*). I knit a 3 row garter edge to prevent curling. The color is beautiful! And the pattern is very nice.

A journal (which I still have to write in) will accompany my scarf so that I can read about its journey.

Next, is stitching...

I have done a little stitching on Donner (way less than I wanted). I started him after Christmas but didn't get very far before going back to knitting. I want to get re-inspired on the YSP Stitch Along as I haven't completed our December goal - or maybe it was even November! I also have been working on a belated birthday gift, I'll have pictures as soon as it's done and in the recipient's hands.

What's next? Scrapbooking...

I went to a crop at our local Archiver's this past weekend from 2:30pm to 11:00pm. I couldn't see by the last hour, but I had a very good time and managed to get a good amount of scrapbooking done. Pictures coming soon on that...

That pretty much brings us up to date. I hope that I will have substantial progress to show on something soon!

Scarf Stroke Finish Line & Podium

I did it! I reached the finished line - and in very good time IMHO.

The scarf was finished last night (Wednesday, 8/20) about 11:00pm.





And here's Wisteria who didn't want to be left out of the Olympic and Ravelympic hype:


I was presented my medal at the Scarf Stroke Podium.

An update on the Clapotis - I'm still working on it, but there is no way it can be finished (by me) by Sunday. But stay tuned for periodic updates.

Shawl Relay Scratched, Scarf Stroke Added

Well my friends, all of this knitting caught up with me proving once again that I am human. I really like to deny that fact, but this body won't let me. After a huge surge over the weekend on the clapotis the tendinitis in my elbow flared up, my neck is having muscle spasms, and I've had two horrible days with allergy issues. All of this has led me to withdraw from the shawl relay. I'm very excited about the progress on my clap and I promise that I will continue on at a more normal pace.

Still...I didn't want to be left out of the Ravelympics so once they reopened sign ups, I jumped on the chance to "compete" in the Scarf Stroke.

Here's the yarn (Misti Alpaca Chunky):

I'm going to be doing the Ribs & Ruffles Scarf from the Misti Alpaca website. This is a Christmas gift, so I'll be doing double duty here. I also hope that this is a more reasonable goal - but we'll see....

I started Monday (Aug 18) and as of tonight (Aug 19) I have 23" knit.

It's funny that the name of the event is Scarf Stroke because the yarn is so soft and yummy that I find myself just wanting to stroke it!

Stay tuned for the finals - hopefully a victorious one!

Plan C: Knit a scarf for Barbie, a preemie hat or preemie booties. I can surely finish one of those by Sunday morning!

Shawl Relay - Update 2

I have been heads down knitting on my Clapotis for the Ravelympics. There's a lot of knitting left, but I finally feel like there's a reasonable possibility that I will cross the finish line.

I completed the Increase Rows (Leg 2) late early, early Friday morning. I went back and forth but finally decided to add an increase repeat for a total of 8 in that section. I really want this to be more of a shawl/wrap, so that's what swayed me towards another repeat.
It's Saturday night and I've completed 3 sections of the Straight Rows (Leg 3). It's hard to see the drops in this picture because the fabric has a huge tendency to want to curl and I haven't taken much time in making sure that all of the stitches have been loosened and dropped.


I did manage a short break on Thursday evening when BF Vicki came over to help me with a few tricks in Photoshop. I'm very excited about what she taught me, and I just hope that I can remember it in a week when I actually have time to get back to it!

As for the REAL Olympics, congratulations to Michael Phelps who had an amazing 8 days of competition. It was very exciting to watch it unfold. And I don't expect to see anything like it for a long time.

And a huge shout out for American and Florida State Seminole Walter Dix who won the bronze medal in the 100m dash. The Seminole Nation is extremely proud of him.

Shawl Relay - Update 1

I am way behind World Record pace so far. It's too early to panic, but I recognize that I need to refocus my energy. I crushed the Set Up Rows (Leg 1) and gained false confidence. Now it's Day 5 (of 17) and I've only made it to the middle of the Increase Rows (Leg 2). During the first 4 days of competition there was a lot of energy put towards required tasks - drug testing (sorting through mail and paying bills), podium training (cooking and cleaning), and time at the Olympic Village (scheduled birthday party). The media time (work) in particular is just crazy. I vow to minimize these as much as possible in the remaining 12 days.

On a positive note, I'm loving the way that the Clapotis is looking in this yarn and so far I'm enjoying the pattern.

On Your Mark. Get Set.

The games of the 29th Olympiad have opened! And I'm ready at the needles to begin my Olympic Project - the Clapotis shawl.


I'm representing Team Junkie (of the Malabrigo Junkies) in the Ravelympics on Ravelry. The event I'm "competing" in is the Shawl Relay. I say competing because it's really just about challenging yourself not about competing with others.

A brief description of the rules:

1. Choose a project appropriate for the event
2. Cast on allowed after the Opening Ceremonies start Aug 8 8:00pm Beijing time (approx 8:00am for those of us in EDT)
3. Knit on the project only while watching the Olympics (DF Heather noted for me that there is online coverage throughout the day so if I'm in need of additional time I can use this - don't tell the boss)
4. Complete the project by end of Closing Ceremonies Beijing time (Aug 24 11:59am EDT)
   

At this, the start of the Shawl Relay, I'd like to enumerate the parts of my relay - which I hope to blog about during the event.

1. Set-up
2. Increase Rows
3. Straight Rows
4. Decrease Rows
5. Final Rows
6. Finishing

With the mention of "rows" so many times, I almost wish that it was a rowing event...but that is not for me to decide (thank goodness, or I'd still be changing event names). And yes, that is "Finishing" mentioned in my knitting. Can't get away from it even in knitting... After knitting, there are stitches to drop and unravel and the inevitable weaving in of ends - and then blocking (which I'm hoping won't be necessary).

My yarn is Malabrigo Silky in colorway Arlene's Purples.

This is a marathon, not a sprint. I must remember to pace myself.

I hope that you are enjoying an Olympic event also!

Mmmmmalabrigo Magic Yarn Ball!

Back at the beginning of June, I joined the Malabrigo Junkies MYB Swap. I had no idea what an MYB (Magic Yarn Ball) was, but once I looked at some pictures I was hooked. It sounded so cool. Here's how it works. A ball of yarn is given to the receiver. It's not just any ball, or else it wouldn't be magic. It contains many hidden treasures, hopefully items that the receiver desires. The receiver knits an item with the yarn ball and as they are knitting the treasures are revealed. I admit that I am a delayed gratification person, but even I could not be patient enough to actually finish a project to get to the center!

Mine arrived today! I know that my swapner tried to get it to me on my birthday, but the postman just didn't hang around until 11:30 last night when I arrived home.

The box:
At first glance, I see lots of purple (I can already tell that my swapner has done some good stalking) and two wrapped sections:

I opened the boxy one first, to reveal:
Do you see what I do? Chocolate and Peanut Butter! YUM! Two of my very favorite foods!!

The second package was unwrapped and I found my MYB, wrapped in wonderful malabrigo. The color is beautiful, but I didn't know which it was (continuing the surprise). The end of the wrap was tied with a purple stone on a bail - that I believe can be worn on a necklace.
Isn't it gorgeous?

Now the tough part, unwinding, unwinding, unwinding...
I found some memory maker ribbon - in purples, of course. Can't wait to use this in my scrapbook.

Forgive my impatience now, I couldn't stop to take more pictures, the anticipation got the best of me... I found two sets of stitch markers, 3 small cross stitch kits, point protectors, and Soak (3). The center of the MYB was another paper wrapped section containing 3 more skeins of Malabrigo Worsted - 1 in Cuarzo to match the ball
and 2 in Velvet Grapes!
I feel very spoiled and grateful to Kara for sending me such a great package!
Thank you Kara! I hope that I did the great MYB justice, I absolutely love it!

Back Home

I'm back in Atlanta - arrived home safely this afternoon. The trip was fun, but exhausting. I always enjoy seeing everyone but all of the running around is not very relaxing. I now need a vacation to recover. :-)

Thanks again to DF Teresa for putting a roof over my head and a place to come home to sleep for those 6 hours every night. I had a lot of fun staying with her and catching up. It has been too long and I know that I will see her several times over the fall and we won't go 7 months again!

Thursday I drove to Middleburg, FL. That was uneventful - which is the way that I like my drives to be - except that I had an awful allergy attack and spent most of the drive sneezing and irritated. This continued after I arrived until I went to sleep. Fortunately the rest of the weekend was not like that. Friday T and I met my parents who had driven up for lunch and a quick exchange of 4 tiny chairs for my nephew, Nicholas. It was good to see them. Then T and I did a little shopping and T had her makeup session for a wedding she's in this coming weekend. We stopped by Knitwitz for a short visit before meeting a bunch of longtime friends for dinner. It was fun catching up but the mariachi band was competing with our volume. I think that we finally won.

Saturday we started early with a trip to the crack book store. I'm a collector of books as much as anything else. I love to read and I guess that I'm just uncomfortable if I don't have 100 books waiting here for me to read. This had to be the cheapest trip to Chamblin's ever for me, so maybe I'm not as sick as I thought. We went to Riverside to meet some of T's stitching friends - Melody and Carrie. I'm in such a stitching slump that I didn't even take stitching on my trip. I have to do something about that slump quickly. I knit while they stitched. It was hot, hot, hot (yes, Africa hot) that day - I even told T that my eyelids were sweating at 9:30am when we left her house. The "house" that we went to in Riverside is gorgeous and right on the river. Here's a few quick pics:

It was too hot to sit on the porch, but I would very much enjoy that!

The St Johns is very wide here, so the straight on view doesn't show much except water. This is the view to the left.
And this is to the right. You can probably tell that a storm was coming.

A side note for those of you who haven't known me for 10+ years - I grew up on the water in Florida and it is one of the things that I really miss being in Atlanta. So looking out at this view reminded me a lot of home.

We packed up in the early afternoon and headed to Knitwitz for Midnight Knit-Insanity. There are so many parts that could be considered insane - the length of time knitting (9+ hours, longer for me if you count the 2.5 hours at Melody's), the getting home at 1:00am, the amount of makeup that had run into my eyes (re: Africa hot) blurring my vision, the laughter and stories told over knitting, the fact that Jennifer produced a miniature accordion right after Tricia complained about being told she couldn't have one, or the # of projects that I thought I would get to during this long knitting day!

I did manage to accomplish some knitting and here's what I have to show for it.

I finished my 3rd medallion. Let the blocking begin!

I turned the heel on the Jill-Walkers.
Sorry about the turned pics, Blogger is not happy tonight.

I completed one more block on the Herringbone Block Shawl

T got to ring the bell for finishing her bauble socks

I had a fun, fun time Sat night - thanks Knitwitz and Co!!

Sunday (after church), I headed over to the beach area and sat on the wonderful sand and put my feet in the wonderful Atlantic for a couple of hours. I wasn't allowed to go further than the shallow part due to my ankle recovery and it was pure torture to be that close and not swim in the ocean - but at least I got what I did. Sorry Heather - no pics...I forgot my camera! Doh. I visited with my cousins and my aunt, had a nice dinner and got home late again.

Now...when is my next vacation? I'm ready....

Jill-Walker Progress

I've made some good progress on my Jill-Walker socks. The pattern is very easy and going much faster now. I did end up doing some additional decreases with the help of DF Heather. I'm excited about turning the heel.
The ruffle is great, but the 224 stitch cast on was painful.

A significant amount of the progress was made while watching FSU baseball over the weekend. Two of the three games played were on TV here in Atlanta, thankfully! It helped calm my nerves to keep my hands busy. The Seminoles are on their way to Omaha for the College World Series. Go 'Noles!!

On Sunday I went to the Fox Theater to see Horton Hears a Who. It was Riley and Melia's first trip to the Fox and they were mesmerized by it, and who wouldn't be? They had a lot of curious questions - how does the man play the organ with his hands and his feet? How are the keys moving on the piano when the man is playing the organ (way over there)? Why is everything gold? They especially enjoyed the "Jasmine" themed surroundings and attempted to count all 96 stars. I can't wait until they are older to take them to a live show. Riley was having difficulty picturing the orchestra pit - why would the musicians sit down there where no one could see them? We all enjoyed the movie as well. Thank goodness we don't have to go to the movies to get news - although that would make the media more discriminating in what they present.

3 Day Weekend

I spent my 3 Day Weekend in a very relaxed fashion. Of course I had things that I wanted to get done and things that I needed to get done, but I didn't make myself crazy with expectations and commitments. The sleep was great!

Knitting-wise, I finished the 2nd preemie baby hat for my office manager's grandsons. I decided at the last minute (of course) to knit these for the shower but didn't quite make the deadline of last Thursday. Taylor and Mason are going to look fab sporting these:
Taylor and Mason come from a mixed-marriage - that's right a Seminole married a gator. Taylor is the Seminole, I made sure to clear that up right away...

I did knit a little on my Jill-Walkers but unfortunately there isn't much to show yet...so I'll hope (or maybe you will?) for an interesting picture in the near future.

Stitching-wise, I managed to work on my Just Cross Stitch ornament. It's over one on 32 count and it is just taking a long time. I'm under the 2 month mark til the deadline now - so I'll be giving it a full-on effort very soon.

Scrapbooking-wise, I did some organization - one of those forced organizations that the Yarn Harlot spoke of - when I was looking for my Xyron. Now I didn't need the Xyron, but I knew that I had one and I couldn't rest until it was located. I don't know why these things/moments/obsessions happen. I worked on one page for about 4 hours on Monday (after locating the Xyron). It's still not complete, yes - after 4 hours!! Sigh. Scrapbooking is not one of the more organized, neat and tidy hobbies either. Even with the forced organization, my office looks like a scrapbook store exploded. There's just no getting around that - so as long as I'm feeling creative I'm going to live with the explosion.

Monday night - Memorial Day (thanks to all of those who gave their lives protecting the rights that I enjoy today) - DF Andy and I went to the new Verizon Ampitheater in Alpharetta to see Joe Cocker and The Steve Miller Band. It was a great show, both acts, and the venue is incredibly nice. But I was not prepared for the late hour(s). We got into the car at 11:55pm - we couldn't leave before Steve Miller played The Joker (c'mon!). It was 12:55am by the time I got home. I'm still recovering, but I did enjoy.

Purple Rules!

My favorite color is purple. I know, I know...some of you long time friends are saying "Duh" but there are a few newer readers who may not know that yet. I found the Purple Rules group on Ravelry and participated in a recent swap.

The swap was set up as a secret, so we didn't know who our "swapner" was until the surprise package showed up. I was assigned DF Jean. This explains why I haven't been able to blog about it thus far. At first I thought that it was very cool to have Jean, but then reality set in and I realized that Jean does a lot of stash enhancement on her own and I had no way of knowing what she might already have! After some fretting, I did pick out a few yarns for her that I believe were not repeats. I delivered her package in person last Friday before Annie Modesitt's class - literally RIGHT before class started.

My package traveled a long way - all the way from Norway! My swapner is Ingvild and it was a huge delight to get yarn (and chocolate) from out of the country.
Two of the yarns are alpaca and the large skein in the bottom right is Merino Wool - it looks a little bluish-grayish but it is actually purple with a thread of blue/green running through it. Now I have to pick out some new projects to work on! Nothing for winter now - may have to save those til fall comes back (shhhh, it's not welcome yet).

And I can't wait to try the chocolate!

Annie Modesitt Comes to Town

Sorry for the tardy post, but my internet was down until late Sunday. Isn't it amazing how cut off you feel when you can't get to that instant news and information?

Friday I went to The Whole Nine Yarns in Woodstock for a class with Annie Modesitt. The class was for the Universal Mitered Bag. I really enjoyed the class. This may have been the first formal knitting class that I've taken.

In order to learn the techniques, we worked on a small swatch version of the bag - maybe American Girl Doll size. Here's what I was able to accomplish:
Although I haven't done much on my Herringbone Block Shawl/Scarf, learning that technique was similar and really helped me in comprehending the pieces that go together to make this bag. Annie's final version of the bag looks like:
Isn't it wonderful? My colors are drastically different from Annie's, but I'm very excited to see how they come together.
On the drive home from class, I was planning/designing my bag in my head. I'm thinking about using the Tan Heather for the base. With the pink as the accent. And then making most of the diamonds from the Noro. The colors in the Noro are very soft, I really think that it's going to make a beautiful bag.

I've been patiently waiting to start the bag in an attempt to reach at least one April goal. I'm happy to show that I finished my 2nd Medallion for the Medallion Capelet tonight!
I'm waiting to block all 3 together. I hope to cast on the 3rd medallion sometime this week...after I make some progress on another April goal - my Hands To Work ornament.

Yarn Spree

On Friday, DF Heather and I went to LKS Knitch to end my stash enhancement drought suffering self-imposed diet for Lent. I took the day off as a comp day for extra time that I put into my latest project at work.

Actually, before we arrived at Knitch we lunched at

American Roadhouse in the Virginia-Highlands area.

Heather had pancakes, a huge slab of ham and I had a monte cristo sandwich with sweet potato "straws". PLUS - we shared a veggie plate with sweet potato souffle, squash casserole, glazed carrots and mashed cauliflower. The squash casserole was my fav!

We then proceeded to put Amex back in the black...well, I did at least. Heather was very good and only used birthday credit for her stash enhancement. I actually brought a list, with purposeful purchases in mind. That didn't work out like I planned.




These are "Heather's fault"! On the left is Malabrigo Lace - in a beautiful orchid purple, a little on the pink side. And Claudia's Handpainted Yarn in Midnight beside the ML on the right. They are both very lovely. She forced them on me - right into my hands...what was I supposed to do???!


I also purchased an Araucania Ranco because this
yarn spoke to me. It was actually causing a scene
so I had to pick it up before strange looks occurred. After purchase, I looked over at Nell winding yarn and saw her with a yarn that made my heart stop while I thought "whose yarn is that?!" and then I realized that it was mine!!! Such a good feeling!

BTW - does anyone have a pronunciation guide for Araucania?!

I also bought some sale Artyarns Ultramerino to make 1 or 2 Chemo Caps for the Yarn Harlot - who visits Knitch next Sunday, April 6. Something for a chemo cap was on my list...and this is a very nice aqua variegated that I think anyone would love. I have to get right on to making these!!!

Also on my list was something to make the Fishnet Scarf - from Interweave Knits Summer 2007. I found this, and fell in love with the pinks. It's very springlike.

It's Manos silk blend - by Manos del Uruguay, 30% silk and 70% Merino Extrafine Wool.

I also purchased 4 skeins or Noro Silk Garden for an Entrelac Scarf.
Entrelac is one technique that I want to learn this year. Of course, it could be argued that by the time I made it to the 2nd floor where the "wall of Noro" is, I had enough purchases but no one made that argument.

And so, I found more Noro Silk Garden for my Herringbone Block Shawl (pictures coming soon).

These don't match on purpose. Each block on the shawl can be its own color combo, it's a great effect that I didn't understand until I saw it. Heather's is far along, you can see hers here if you'd like to get an idea.

Sum Total (of yarn, not money!!!):




Heather was loving the Malabrigo Lace she found.


"Mmmmmm, soft......"





We did have time for some knitting after the shopping. Heather was working on her Errant Lace Sock and I on the Herringbone Block Shawl.


































It was a great day! We tapped it off with dinner at Spoon. Then I rolled myself home and fell into bed completely exhausted!

Fat Tuesday of Stash Enhancing

Most of you know that I have given up stash enhancement for Lent. Earlier I posted that I would give it up from Feb 1 - Mar 31, but I slightly ammended those dates to be Feb 6 - March 24.

On Fat Tuesday, I made a "final" purchase and it arrived this weekend.


This is 6 skeins of Noro Aurora to eventually knit this. There is actually a metallic thread that runs through the entire skein, around the colored yarn. It's much easier to see the metallic thread in the garment picture - for some reason the camera just doesn't capture the sparkle of the yarn on the skein. It is Beautiful, though!!! I am looking forward to casting this on...someday. I did not purchase the Cash Iroha needed. Now that I have this yarn in my hand, I can try to find a good color match. I'm thinking of something in the teal/blue family. And then maybe when I can purchase it, I might have finished something else. What a thought!

My ankles are healing, still yellow/green/black/blue but the swelling is going down. I should have a ton of knitting to show for my time off my feet, but you'll have to wait for that. And I have a huge itch to stitch (ha, didn't mean to rhyme) but it is difficult to stitch while keeping your ankles higher than your heart. If you don't believe me, try it. Considering that I usually use a lapstand to hold my frame, it is even harder for me! But soon, soon....I hope. My JCS ornament is hollering at me.

Successful Retreat!

The knitting retreat and getaway weekend was a huge success, IMO. The Lodge was very nice and relaxing to say the least. My room suite was incredible. As a matter of fact, as soon as I checked in I informed everyone that I was never leaving. Thanks to DF Heather for the snaps, since I forgot my camera!
The bathroom was almost as large as the bedroom! I took advantage of the jacuzzi tub Friday night! I took advantage of the chocolate on the pillows every night!!


Friday night we had a wine and cheese get-together and the hostesses handed out many door prizes. Heather won a beautiful purse, I won a large candle:
The candle is not as nice as the purse, but I consider it a win over the bird clock (which I felt sure to win).

Saturday morning was our Herringbone Block class with Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton. I didn't completely get the 1st block done, but I did make some progress:
Here are Heather and I with our pieces and the teacher's piece:

Now that I have seen it, I have decided to save my Cherry Tree Hill for another project, the color changes are too often in my CTH. So much for trying to use yarn out of my stash, what was I thinking?!

During our lunch break, we ran out and did some shopping. I found this beautiful shawl pin for the Nicky Epstein Medallion Capelet (guess that I have to finish it now!):
We ran out of shopping time and were even late to the 1st afternoon class. We decided that next year we really need to come early or stay late and enjoy the quaint town of Highlands, NC more. Intarsia was the next class and this class disappointed me in some ways. First, the description had stated that we were going to learn intarsia on a purse pattern. So, I immediately got this color idea in my head (of teal and winter white) and was very excited. But....we did not get a purse pattern - or any other pattern. And by being late, Heather and I were separated from the class at another table.

The last class on Saturday was the Nicky Epstein Medallion Capelet. I started this one 3 times - the first two times were on the DPNs as the pattern instructed and the last time was on the circulars using the Magic Loop (thanks Heather!). All of my knitting on this over the weekend was ripped, but here is what the first medallion looks like today:
That's about halfway through the pattern.

There was just enough time before dinner to run over to the shop and peruse some yarn. What would a knitting retreat be without some stash enhancement anyway?

I found some Noro to start the Herringbone Block scarf (more will be required later, but the beauty of this piece is that you can use different color combinations). This Noro is Silk Garden.
And some yarn for a new shrug - Debbie Bliss Bolero Jacket:
Saturday dinner was fabulous - Heather did a great job blogging about the food, so please visit her site for in depth descriptions and pics. It was all yummy. So yummy, in fact, that I had no room for the free Dove bar Saturday night.

Sunday morning we had a short talk by Cornelia and I was inspired by several of her designs (IOW had to order yarn to make one of her designs, coming soon). She gave us a purse pattern and I stitched several rows, but haven't made a lot of progress.

I wish that I could say that the weekend was uneventful other than the above, but several of you know that I chased after Matthew McConaughey demonstrated my clumsiness and fell down the stairs and sprained both of my ankles. So, it's back to laying on the couch for me!