A Very Long Post About a Busy Weekend

Wow! What a weekend! It started on Friday, when we met our friends Andy and Lisa for some Blue Jackets action. We were planning on getting last-minute cheap seats, but we ended up with Standing Room Only tickets, which really did mean that we had to stand through the whole thing (and fight to see around tall guys). But it was fun nonetheless (even if they did lose to the Avs 4-1).

The big news of the night, however, was that THE BLUE JACKETS SHRUNK! See how tiny they are?



Aren't they just the cutest things? While they were playing their little intermission game, I announced that our children will be hockey players and that I'll be putting them on skates before I put them in shoes. I also told Paul that he'd better keep an eye on me after I give birth -- because if he turns his back, I might just name our firstborn Sergei. (Did I mention that the Harp stand was just behind the Standing Room Only area?) But I'm not kidding. After seeing those cute little hockey players out there, I've decided that I will, in fact, be a crazy hockey mom. After all, it'll give me a great chance to knit during practice. And someday, it'll pay off, when I'm a crazy old NHL mom, screaming at the refs from my seats next to the glass and appearing in Chunky Soup commercials.

So anyway...on Saturday, we didn't do a whole lot. We got our taxes done, though. I always hate the big Tax Appointment -- but I have to go because I have to sign the papers. Back when we lived in Andover, I used to let Paul go and fight it out with the accountant, and then he'd call me when I needed to come and sign the papers. But now I just go along and bring my knitting. I worked on a dishcloth -- because Mom has been hinting, not-quite-so-subtly, that she wants more dishcloths, and she wants 'em now.

After the tax thing, I sat down to watch the Olympics. I set my Super Secret Mystery Project aside, since I'd temporarily lost interest, and I think I inadvertently joined the Knitting Olympics. I started The Sweater on Saturday, thereby becoming Team Party Crasher. Or, perhaps, since I'm making no promises that I'll stay interested in this thing long enough to finish it in the allotted 16 days, I'll be Team ADD.

I didn't start during the opening ceremonies, since, at the time, I was drowning my sorrows in some strange artichoke-crab dip at Gordon Biersch and commenting on the countries' choice of knitwear. But I did start on Saturday, while I was watching Olympic hockey (which, let's face it, isn't really exciting, since the Canadian and US women's teams keep beating their poor opponents by scores of, for instance, 12-0 -- and that's not even fun to watch).

Actually, I watched a lot of the Olympics this weekend, and it may be sacrilegious to say so, but I'm a little bored with it already. I mean, how many times can you watch the luge without getting bored? I say once. I was, however, excited when my man Sven Kramer (whom Paul and I are claiming as our cousin -- he being Dutch, with the last name of Kramer, just like us) took the silver in the very long speed skating event. Go Team Kramer!

Anyway...I finally emailed about the whole gauge issue on the sweater and learned that I wasn't the only one who was totally confused. I guess I'm a little disappointed that I ended up having to rewrite the pattern myself to fit a normal gauge, but I used to be a math major. I can figure it out, right? I just wish I would have known about the crazy gauge before I bought the pattern. It seems to be working out, though. I've got a pretty good start -- I'm only a few rounds away from the part where I separate for the sleeves. And in this picture, you see my weekend: the sweater, the remote, and the candy hearts. Yea candy hearts! They alone will be able to fuel my sweater-knitting.



Yesterday, we were supposed to spend the day with one of Paul's coworkers, who had flown in from Delft over the weekend. But, thanks to all those snowstorms, he didn't make it on Saturday as planned. He called on Sunday morning, still stranded in Philly. He was trying to get a flight in, but it was all up in the air -- so I spent much of the day watching even more of the Olympics while working on the sweater. Then we ended up driving to Cincinnati (which, for the record is about 130 miles, one way) to pick him up from the airport. More sweater knitting for me (though it was dark when he arrived, so I had to sit quietly on the way back, since I'd forgotten my little night light).

Then we went out to Mongolian BBQ, so it was all good.

Today's already been a busy day, too. You know...all that Monday morning stuff to do. And then Jody Shelley stopped by for coffee, since he's on Olympic Break and all -- and I just couldn't send him away. What a way to start the week!



(Okay...so it's not the real Jody Shelley. It's Jody Shelley Head on a Stick. Paul bought it for me, after much begging on my part -- and it was okay because the $1 went to charity. I think I'm going to make him a scarf. Lisa decided that he's a winter and would look good in blue.)