FO: Makoto

Pattern: Makoto
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock
Needles: US 1 (I think)

Fortune Cookie Socks

Have I mentioned that I’m part of the Cookie A Sock Club? Oh I have? 73,428 times, you say? Well, now it’s 73,429!

The sock club (73,430)  sends yarn, 2 sock patterns (1 easy, 1 hard), and 2 cookie recipes every other month. In February, we received our first shipment and Makoto was the easy pattern.

I wasn’t in love with Makoto the first time I saw it, but I did like the idea of fortune cookies all over my feet. I decided to use some Socks that Rock I had in my stash that, while variegated, didn’t have too much contrast.

I should state right up front that I have the WORST luck with socks. I usually have to rip out an entire sock, reknit a section 20 times, or salt and burn their bones to prevent them from killing again.

Wait. That last one is ghosts. Sorry, my bad.

Side View

Anyway, I have problems with socks, so I was pleasantly surprised when the sock club (73,431) pattern wasn’t too bad! I did knit the first sock too short, but that was such an easy frog and re-knit that it only took about a day to fix. Otherwise, nothing. The heel went smoothly, the leg was a dream, and the rest was good. I’m probably going to be bitch slapped by knitting Karma soon and have a project nightmare, but for now, I’ll take it.

Overall, I’m really happy with the pattern. I’m happy with the color I chose. To be fair, I cheated and watched as other sock club (73,432) members posted their starts so I could see how different color combinations worked with the pattern. (I love Ravelry.)

The only complaint I do have is that it’s a very bulky sock. So bulky that I have cankles when I wear them. People, I have many, many flaws, but cankels are not one of them. I don’t know if the bulky sock is attributed to the pattern itself or the yarn. It’s possible that it’s a combination of both. It’s also possible that I knit the socks a bit too big which accounts for the bulk. I think they fit well, but maybe I should have gone down a needle size or something. Of course, considering I will be wearing these with pants, the cankles will most likely not be an issue.

Hmmmmm, that’s almost the same as the first picture. Talk about lack of photographic vision.

Buh-bye Moss!

There are changes going on outside house. Back in 2001 (I’m not that old!!!), we bought our house. One of the things we loved about it was the wooded backyard. It was full of trees and felt very secluded, but with neighbors close enough to hear you scream. That was a must for me. You never know when a rogue mouse will come out to attack with their chainsaw and you must always be able to run to a neighbor so they can be killed first.

Over the years, however, everything just become overgrown. The grass became moss. Especially after I became pregnant because I didn’t want to poison the unborn Autobot in my uterus and then I was afraid she’d end up eating or bathing in the chemicals.

I bet you are so jealous of my moss.

While we still loved the enclosed privacy afforded by the trees and even the feeling of living in the woods, we started to realize, we needed to do something.

Love this.

Part of the problem is OP. She needs a safe place to play, away from the street and not on a hill that she can easily careen down to be hit by a car. She also LOVES playgrounds. Let me rephrase that. If she could run away to a place that sold playground sets, she would think her all-spark had transported her to little OP heaven.

The other problem is the bugs. The mosquitoes and gnats that love the dark, watery forest and the fact that there is this lovely little take out place that serves people only a few feet away. I don’t go out much because it gets pretty bad.

(Check out all the pictures from before…)

So after some thought, we decided to clear out the backyard a bit. This would mean cutting down trees, but we needed a clean up around the house of the dead and crooked trees that would take out our house or a neighbors.

So some trees went away out front.

You can see a few missing trees.

And quite a few disappeared out back.

So different!

It’s quite empty.

My house looks naked.

It still retains some of the trees and we’re going to have bushes put up at the back for privacy.

I’m not sure of the change yet. Of course we have a lot more to go–the bushes, grass, patio, plantings, etc. I’m saddened by the change because we destroyed some homes for animals and yes, I am just that sappy. I’m also very excited by all this because we’re going to have so much more space for OP to play and even us. The backyard is HUGE! I never really imagined it to be this big before because it was just space I think I had been in about 10 times before.

Once it’s done, we’re going to have a big BBQ to celebrate the space. If we’re lucky maybe we’ll have a few thousand less bugs from the millions we seem to have now. Otherwise, they will be having a BBQ themselves.

(Check out all the phase 1 pictures…)

One Class Down, a Bazillion to Go

I finished my exercise science class almost two weeks ago with a final. The last couple months of that class was crazy busy. How do full-time college students do well with 3 more classes on their plate? How did I do it? Oh right, I didn’t have a toddler or a full time job and I half-assed some assignments just to stay above water. With just one class, I was able to really focus on every little thing, which wasn’t necessarily good as my work load tripled, but it did get me an A. I LOVED the class, though, and I’m so happy I had the chance to take it. I’m taking some per-requisites for a local nutrition program that I hope to enter full-time. Unfortunately, I’ll spend a couple years working full time while taking one class which does not make for a stress-free life. Hopefully I have the stamina for it.

After the class was over, I did nothing for two days and then picked up the Hunger Games trilogy. In 8 days I read all 3 books, which is insane for me. Now Diablo 3 is out and I finally got to play last night, seconds after I had finished Mocking Jay. Of course, my online statistics class starts on Monday. Can you not feel the love for this?

Right now I have a little girl trying very hard to nap but talking up a storm and going everywhere, so I will cut this short. I have a few posts planned for the coming weeks that should get me back into the habit of writing.

No, YOU take a nap, Mommy!