Grey Day Blues

Symptoms:

• A sky full of blarg that occasionally spits rain (pictured below)
• A massive to-do list
• Urges to stay in bed all day

I didn't learn to truly appreciate sunlight until it wasn't there anymore, just like the 5th needle in my 2.5 mm dp set.

Cure for the lunch hour:

• 1 bowl of potato leek soup (or soup of your choice)
• 1 blood red rain coat
• Crust of bread to dip in soup (or starch of your choice, goldfish crackers are also great)
• 1 yarn shop owner who lets you eat in his shop and tells you interesting factoids (Today I learned you can eat a deer heart either fried or pickled!)
• 1 1/2 socks socks on the needles

Suggested ingredients: other knitters who might be in the yarn shop

Can't do that thing, that keepin' still

I have discovered that my default response to someone's tragedy or distress is to knit them something.

Having grown up with the conviction that if I put my mind to a task I can do it, it's frustrating that for all the opposable thumbs and large brain case of my species I am so impotent to fix people's problems. I can't make the library find the second disc of Terminator. I can't make cats or family or the economy or stomach rats behave. I can't induce sleep. I can't provide the perfect careers for my graduating friends. I can't keep the servers from crashing. I can't add more hours to the day to help with the homework load. I can't make differential equations or physics homework make sense. I don't have a green thumb for growing money trees. I definitely can't cure terminal diseases. Hell, I can't even make the sniffles less sniffly.

It is totally, completely, and utterly mind-boggingly frustrating that I am not omnipotent. I must have been asleep in line when they handed that power out.

So what can I do with my opposable thumbs and brain? Procure sticks and yarn for slow magic. Call me voo-doo, but I do believe there is power in handknits. I believe there's some good mojo going on.

Exhibit A:

I fully realized my mojo theory several months ago when Mountain Man nearly bled to death from a stomach ulcer. I immediately acquired yarn and made an owl hat.

I even made a doofy post about it.

I only knit on it when I was feeling peaceful. I frogged the first try, afraid of the bad mojo from miscounting and refused to pull my usual compromise of sneaking in k2togs or m1s. I knit with yarn that was not only a manly color that matched Mountain Man's wardrobe, but was also environmentally friendly, like Mountain Man himself.

I thought if I could knit my protection, affection, and (admittedly limited) healing powers into the stitches. There is a Head Guard Owl equipped with amber eyes, staring down fate or karma or God or the swine flu or whatever is out there.

Right now he is staring down the camera as it tries to steal his soul.

The Head Guard Owl has a circle of minions at his beck and call. Between them, the Head Guard Owl and his minions fill 360 degress full of watchfullness.

Then I had enough yarn left over to make a cowl of 3x2 ribby goodness, because I firmly believe one can't have enough ribbing in life.

Exhibit A with Exhibit B: Mmm, ribby.

So far it's a system that works okay (except I haven't fully figured out to do when fellow knitters are in distress, since changes are most of them can knit things for themselves that are prettier and better fitting than mine). Mostly I find that I just need to knit faster.

Do that crazy hand jive

I was doing research on nursing schools for after graduation, and somehow I ended up on Ravelry looking at my friends' blogs. (No idea how that happened. Honestly.) I thought:

1. Wow, that looks fun!

2. I should knit blog sometime.

3. Wait, I HAVE a knit blog.

4. Do I remember the login and password for this blog?

5. More importantly, how can I incorporate George Thoroghgood and the Destroyers lyrics into a post?

At which point my blog answered:

The sky is crying

Look at the tears roll down the street

I'm feeling sad and lonely

My baby's left me

Understanding and a little lovin'

A little lovin' is all I need.

Look mad.

I spent some time luxuriating at the beachknitting away my Madison Blues. I had a full view of the ocean and sucessfully did not get sand all up in my yarn.

Move it on over.

While there, I (almost) completely knit a pair Tofutsies Gentleman Fancy swamp socks:

Socks for some Madison Shoes.

I also saw large bugs that look like window decorations if you don't look too closely:

Hey Angela, do you get bugs this size in TX?

And what is a vacation at the beach without souvinere yarn from the lovely Dale?

Alpaca with a Twist in Cory pink: I broke a thousand hearts before I met you. I'll break a thousand more, baby, before I am through.

It is becoming the Shoulder Shawl in Syrian pattern from Victorian Lace Today:

A super simple pattern I can knit in class. Could possibly can be knit after one bourbon, one scotch, and one beer.

Now I have to work on getting a haircut and getting a real job so I can have money to buy yarn AND pay off my student loans after graduation.