Space Oddity

When I woke up this morning, the room was actually chilly as in "Hmmm, I should have worn a pair of socks to bed last night" chilly. Our family is plagued with sleeping problems, but usually I am okay unless the girls keep me awake making hummus at 12:30 AM or the college kids across the street throw yet another kegger. Getting a good night's sleep last night was lovely . . . and hopefully enough to get me through Tuesday. For some unknown reason, I never can sleep more than two hours the night before school starts. Paranoia? No, probably just the fear that I won't wake up with the alarm.

I've been back in school mode since cheerleading started. These girls I actually like; you can have a conversation with them without wondering if they will trip you given half a chance. Here is once such conversation from Wednesday, one that made me nearly fall off the bleachers. To start with, I was wearing my Hollister flip-flops, the only item of anything I own from that dreadful store. If you've never been to a Hollister, stay away. Anyway, here goes:

Cheerleader one (upon noticing said flip-flops): I love your shoes, Coach. Are they your daughters?
Me: No, I needed to buy a pair of shoes when my flats were giving me blisters. We were in Hollister and luckily the shoes fit me. Nothing else would in that shop.
Cheerleader one: You could try to squeeze into a shirt. They are really cool.
Me: Umm, no, that's okay.
Cheerleader two: But you're beautiful, Coach.
Me (wondering if I borrowed a dollar from her yesterday and forgot to pay it back): Thanks, but I still can't wear the clothes.
Cheerleader two: I hate it when people are self-conscious about their weight and think they are fat.
Me (more than a little shocked): Did I ever say I thought I was fat?
Cheerleader two: I shouldn't have said that out loud, should I.

I finished off the first of the socks I was working on. For some reason, I thought I would be all "look at me" and attempt to "design" a sock, but I gave up in record time. However, I am calling this set "Space Oddity "for several reasons: the yarn reminds me of astronaut ice-cream (a true delicacy if you've never tried it), the quartrefoil eyelet pattern looks like stars, and we were talking about David Bowie at the time. Probably should call it "Everything But the Kitchen Sink" since I used Judy's Magic Cast-On for the toe, Wendy's basic toe-up gusset, and EZ's sewn bind-off (which failed me this time . . . I may have to rip it out and redo the bind-off as it is too tight . . . could be I was cranked on Starbucks since it just opened in our little burg).

Yesterday marked the start of the Persuasion Project for Ravelry's Jane Austen group. I chose to knit Ariann in Cascade 220 wool whilst listening to the book on the iPod. When Cara knit this sweater up, I liked it but never gave it a passing glance. After the "let's find wool for Katherine Hepburn" debacle, I settled on a lacy cardigan in red. The theme for the knit-along is British Militia, but it is flexible.  I figure it's red, kind of coat like - really a cardigan (did you know the inventor of the cardi was the earl of Cardigan who wanted his soldiers to have a sweater which was easily removed?), and the lead character's name is Anne. And for those of you who want to correct me about the whole red coat thing since the branch of the military featured in this book is the navy and they wore, well, navy, I know . . . and I alerted the moderator of the group to this and felt like a complete ass.

Enjoy what's left of the weekend. I guess this means summer is coming to a close. For some reason, I suspect that we will get one more heat wave in before the leaves change. Seriously, what would going back to work in an unairconditioned building be without sweating at least five days in front of students. At least I know to wear a pair of socks to bed tonight.

Ava

PS - Did you see this  in Texas? Usually, I am okay with spiders, but this makes me rethink that position. Hopefully Lola was safe in her camp site this weekend!

Comments

[Sarah]

Ugh, astronaut ice cream -- when I was a kid and we went to the Smithsonian I of course begged and begged to get some from the gift shop. I ate it and promptly threw up. Love the socks, though!

[Kirsten]

I think Space Oddity is my favorite Bowie song.
I love your socks. The pattern really works with that yarn.
I'm looking forward to watching the progress on your Ariann. I've owned the pattern for a while and haven't gotten around to knitting it yet.