Guess who's coming to town?

C'mon, you know it's not an actor or musician, although I do wax poetic on muscly men from time to time.

No, it's not my first science crush, since Carl died long ago.

It's Dr. Zahi Hawass! He'll be here as part of the Tut exhibit. I don't know how many National Geographic and PBS shows I've watched him on. It's very exciting to be able to see him in person.

Anyway, there is knitting, with photos to be added later.

I finished my Lady Eleanor stole last night. I ended with about 2 yards of yarn left. Phew! I was sweating those last rows and furiously wondering what I might have in stash in case I ran out just before the end. Thank goodness there was enough to finish.

It was a gorgeous, warm, dry day here yesterday. It was the kind of day we actually don't get here in the South too often because it's usually much more humid. It will be much the same today, which is good as I need to get outside and prune the roses and butterfly bushes. I'm looking forward to having all the windows opened wide again and letting fresh air flow through the house. I must now go to take that picture for the blog, make the coffee, and get ready to run buy some catfood before they realize their breakfast was shorted. Later today I'll get my grocery list together to start cooking for the little menaces. Speaking of menaces, last night I woke up at some point because something didn't feel quite right. Lily and Chubby were both sleeping between me and Keith, and I was sleeping on my side. At some point, Scooter had come in and was trying to figure out how to sleep comfortably balanced on my side. He was partially hunched up, but some how holding on with all 4 feet. I guess I'll need to sleep flat on my back so the ancient kitty has a nice soft surface for snoozing.

Only 2 more to go

Amelia Peabody books, that is.

Of course, after reading these, I've spent some time on the interwebs looking for something like this:

Theban Mapping Project - an interactive map to the Valley of the Kings.

I've been interested in Egyptian things for a very long time. I've always loved natural history museums, and one of the places we used to go when I was a child was a very small one in Anniston, Alabama. It had a mummy in a glass case near all the taxidermied animals.

You also have to remember I grew up in the 70's. Chariots of the Gods, UFO scares, all sorts of looniness, and The King Tut Exhibit. We had tickets, stood for hours, then were able to go inside. It was amazing. Absolutely amazing.

To get back on track, after reading the AP books, I felt I needed to see exactly where some of the tombs the Emersons investigated really were, and the Theban Mapping Project is amazing. It has aerials, photos, maps, drawings and videos. When you have some time to spend, go take a look. Especially at this one.

I want to go to Egypt now. I've done a bit of travelling in my time, and was pretty much ok with not doing it, especially with Scooter being so ancient, but now I'm ready to book a trip and head on over to Egypt. Why haven't I won the lottery yet?

In the meantime, I'll be perusing the Theban Mapping Project and comparing it to the Amelia Peabody series. This series has reminded me how much I enjoy historical fiction.

Friday night pictures

Now, I know these aren't the most exciting pictures. A cookbook and a partially done sock. Especially, at this stage, the sock looks a little obscene.

The book was suggested by the vet, and as I have pets with special dietary needs, it seemed like in the long run it will be less expensive to cook for them. I haven't started cooking for them yet as the book just arrived yesterday. I've got to get my grocery list and get better organized.

As for the sock, yesterday was the first time I've knitted since Monday, I think. It's those darn Amelia Peabody books. Have I mentioned that I've read 15 of them in 1 month's time?

In other news, a friend asked me to teach her how to knit socks on two circulars. I'm a Magic Looper myself, but it's really almost the same thing. I agreed as I'm always looking to bring people over to sock knitting. She mentioned this to one of her friends, whom I've met a couple of times, and they decided I needed to teach them both to knit socks, and to accept payment for it. I'll admit that I feel funny taking money from friends, especially for something that I don't mind doing, but she talked me into it. So I'll be teaching a sock class for 2, possibly more, at a location to be determined. Toe up, and I haven't decided which heel to use yet. Part of that depends on what sock books everyone already has. Grocery money is always good.

The most amazing thing just happened!

The birds have been emptying out the small birdfeeder daily, so I was outside filling it up when a nuthatch came and landed on the pole to watch me. This bird was about 12" away from me! It landed, cocked its head from side to side as I hung the feeder back up, and chirped at me!

Of course, I got out of the way as quickly as I could before the rest of the resident birds landed. I've got a bunch of regulars who hang around and fuss at me when the feeders get low/empty.

I just saw we've got Carolina bluebirds today. They come and go, but their coloring is so amazing. I love to see them.

Yarny goodness

This came in today by UPS.
If you renew your Rowan International membership, then basically forget about it, you get a nice surprise when it shows up at your door. It's complete with the renewal gift of 6 balls of Denim yarn and a purse pattern I would actually think about knitting. Very fun.



I also took a quick picture of the Bearfoot basic sock I'm knitting so I've always got something

easy on which to work. As you can see, I have an assistant who insisted on helping with the photo. That's why it's blurry. I don't encourage you to enlarge it.

Lately I feel like

all I've done is scoop kitty litter.

I know that's an exaggeration, but that's how I feel. With the cold or rainy weather, the kitties haven't been able to go outside to use the garden facilities. Also, I don't think Keith is helping with it at all. I have no real proof of that other than it seems like I'm the only one scooping.

I broke down and cast on another sock on Sunday night. I need a "car sock", something to knit on while sitting in traffic. I'll post a picture of it later.

Anyway, I'm just taking a quick break. Laundry is going with nothing to fold at the moment. I've cooked up some pasta for dinner, and I'm letting it cool off. I should be mopping, but it looks like rain, and I hate mopping just in time to get more muddy pawprints on the floor. Maybe I'll mop tomorrow. I do have more laundry and food prep to do today. I'm also planning to start cleaning out closets and see what can go onto ebay and what just needs to go to charity. It's just already been a long day with errands this morning and being on my feet this afternoon. I'd really rather nap.

Picture time

Let me first show you Lady Eleanor. Once again none of my models volunteered to help, so I put it on the bench give you an idea of scale. It's at least 5 feet long now. I can't remember if it's taller than I am or not.


Next is Keith's Wollmeise sock. I have to play around with the settings on the camera as it's really much more blue than it shows here. Maybe next time I'll stand outside in the cold and adjust the settings more. (It was in the upper 30's-upper 40's while I was taking these, and I wasn't going to dawdle.)
Next is my next project. Maybe you remember this from my blog from 2007?

It's Basil, knitted from Rowan's Summer Tweed. While I love the yarn, I don't quite love the sweater. The body's too short. The sleeves are longer than I like. I don't like the way the edges roll. Yes, I plan several changes. I'm thinking a seed stitch edging. 4" added to the length of the body and shortening the sleeves to elbow length. As soon as Lady E is finished, I'm starting on a new, modified Basil in this color of Summer Tweed: