"It should just work!" and "Where did you say my truck was?"

I'm being petulant.

It should just work.

If I buy a Consumer-Reports super-blessed Security Suite to protect me from the unpleasant aspects of power-tripping jerks on the Internet - it should just work.
If I use the Internet browser at home that is so favored by our company's nifty IT security guys that they expect us to ONLY use that browser at work - it should just work fine at home.

I don't want to have to wait for my PC to get it's first Security Suite update of the day before I can do anything on the computer.
I don't want to have to take breaks or slay the Security Suite because it gets stuck doing an update and sucks up all the CPU. (Yes, the prescribed solution from the Security Suite help-it's-not-working site is "do a hard boot". Nice.).
I don't want to have to un-install and re-install the expensive Security Suite because it has a little bug in the last update so it stopped getting updates and wouldn't let me open the frigging program to run a scan on my PC.

I don't want to have to go through the Security Suite's learning process a 2nd time because I had to reinstall it - and now it doesn't remember on which sites I allow pop ups or that funny program I'm trying to open the Borders coupon link from is my E-MAIL.

I don't want to have to shift to the less blessed and supposedly less secure Internet browser because the latest version of the favored Internet browser did some clever updates so it doesn't play well with Blogger anymore. {grrrr/oy}

I don't want to revamp my blog format because... the nice people who let me blog for free...with all sorts of nifty options..and reporting, and.... yeah, I probably shouldn't be whining about this one.

Minor announcement! I'm revamping my blog format inspired by the latest blog system improvements.

We could use a change! There's a buncha new formats available and so long as I don't used that work-favored Internet browser I can even make some changes to my blog! Wish me luck!

BUT - THE REST OF IT SHOULD JUST WORK! Arrrrrgggghhh.

Ahem.
Ain't technology fun?

~*~

Last night, I was merrily finishing a book and getting started on the 2nd half of my 4th pair of socks, when...

(And yet the 5th pair of socks (made for a friend) was finished a couple of months ago...go figure.)

 

Anyway - I had started on the 2nd sock when the doorbell rang and a gentlemen I'd never seen before asked if I had two white trucks. I cautiously answered yes, wondering if someone wanted to try and buy one again.

(No - not the newer one that's about 5 years old - people ask to buy the 20 year old Isuzu. Again - go figure.)

He asked if that was one of my trucks - pointing down the driveway. I looked 'round the entry way...

And there was my very well-loved little Isuzu sitting sedately in the street, hogging most of the two lanes, with the M&M sun shade keeping out the starlight.

And my intelligent reply to this spectacle?    "Well, that sucks."

I thanked the gentleman for bringing this to my attention mumbling "The emergency break must have let loose." and turned back into the house to get my keys. I heard a slightly disgusted "It's her truck." from behind me and the several cars that had stopped to ponder my sliding parking job began to dissipate.

I grabbed my keys and padded barefoot out to my little truck sitting in the street.

The emergency brake was on. I think it was in 1st gear too. Uh-huh. Lovely.

I re-parked it back up on our sloping driveway, set the Emergency break really hard, turned off the truck and sat in it for a while trying to rock it out of place - it didn't budge.

Inspired by the parking shenanigans, I got up to check a few times through the night to make sure the truck was still in the driveway.

I told the DH about the unsupervised trip the truck took last night and he mentioned something about how maybe the last time he changed out the breaks that he might not have re-tightened the emergency break.

Uh-huh.

(It should Just Work!)

.

The Grand Sweater Resurrection Scheme

I have this great knitted sweater/jacket. LOVE it!
It's from LL Bean, circa 1985 or so. It's made of Shetland Wool.
It was a gift from a very special man who no longer walks this earth - but who had excellent fashion sense.
My first (less than enthusiastic) reaction when I opened it was:
"It's grey.".
I quickly figured out this jacket is comfortable, warm, and goes with pretty much everything.

With learning to knit in the past few years, I developed a grand scheme that I would someday be a good enough knitter to recreate it before it fuzzed apart.

I glibly mentioned this plan to a lovely woman at Kiwi Knitting who had generously complimented me on my sweater.
She then asked if I'd looked at my left elbow lately...
There was a hole.
Like a 2 x 2 inches hole!
And I was clueless - you'd think I'd have noticed the draft at my elbow..

The stellar Tracy at Purls of Tucson, in her role as "Knit Doctor" - identified that the sweater had been created in the Brioche Stitch, found a near-perfect grey wool to match, and patched my elbow quite nicely. She was NOT entirely thrilled with her patch (I was) and refused to charge me for her time but accepted a Starbucks Gift Card as a show of my appreciation for the resuscitation of my favorite sweater. (It seems Knit Doctors are largely fueled by coffee...).

With the obvious repair addressed, I began to realize my favorite sweater was showing it's age. (Not unlike myself, come to think of it...).
It's a teeny bit felted. And there are a few stitches on the cuff and elsewhere that no longer connect to each other. 
And there's these little piles of fluff I find collecting around my desk at work that bear a striking resemblance to the shade of grey in my favorite sweater...and they only seem to appear when the sweater has been to work with me a lot.

Being that the recreate-the-sweater-before-the-sweater-sheds-away scheme is becoming less of a some-day project and more of a kinda-soon project...

• I took a class on the Brioche stitch with Janet Szabo. ("Oh - that's what that stitch is...")
• I got a copy of "Knitting Brioche" by Nancy Marchant - quite a spiffy book. (I've already marked 6 wanna-do patterns in this book. Very tempting).
• I figured out that my original sweater is not knitted in worsted weight...it might be 2 strands of fingering weight yarn.
• I've e-mailed LL Bean to see if they might be able to hook me up with the pattern. (Hey - I had to ask. And a question like that will be cheap entertainment to the LL Bean help desk after all the too large/too small questions!)

Hmmm - I think I'm knit-stalling.
Ok - I'm a bit daunted (understatement) at all the counting I'll have to do to recreate the pattern. Woof.

So... the button.

Part of the plot in recreating the sweater was that I would just shift the old, charming, wooden button from the original sweater to the recreated sweater when the time came.

Not gonna happen.

Why? It would appear Gryphon (aka the "Gryphon-ator") applied his puppy-like chewing to the wooden button on my favorite grey sweater/jacket.

It's a good thing he's so frigging cute.

 

("baby" picture from July 2009)

To Play "Catch-up" or not...that is the question.

Where to start? How to start?
(I guess those questions would be the start...)

2009 was amazing and taxing. Blogging, crafting, exploring Ravelry, family loss, taking a lot of pictures and knitting classes, inheriting the little black monster-cat, and even taking an amazing trip to Portland.
I was expanding my comfort zone some. Not always on purpose.

2010 is paradoxical and I'm feeling pretty clueless.

Big Brother.
The unexpected passing of my sister-in-law last August has shifted my reality. I've been spending more time with my big brother. I think I've been of some use and sometime useless.

I am finding the big brother - who was my hero as a child and who was sensitive, perplexing, and devastated at the loss of his first wife to Cancer - is now, after the loss of a 2nd wife to Cancer, a very different person than I had thought.
I admire some aspects of his current personality - how spiritual, intelligent, and generally calm he is. (Actually, he was always pretty calm and intelligent.) However, I have profound issues with some of his political perspectives and the lack of tolerance he has for things that are important to me. Which means he's probably not too tickled with me, either. His perspective of politics, the world, ecology, taxes, and...well most every topic I can come up with...is dire and there is ALWAYS a conspiracy at the core.
I suspect some of it some of it is the influence of a friend of his and maybe a lot of it is the grief and, I think, depression.
It is entirely possible he has always been this way and I just didn't have a frigging clue.

I don't know how to explain it or make a difference. My tolerant political leanings and semi-tree hugging mentality doesn't inspire any respect from himself.
(Dark humor - I just got the irony of referring to my older brother as "Big Brother" considering his opinions. Ha.)

Enough of that bit of emotional baggage. I'll keep trying to be there for him, but I need to separate the little sister blind-trust that is beating the hell out of my self-worth and come up with a healthier perspective. Bleh. Sigh.

Kitties.

CooPurr is still a gentle, sweet giant. He weighed in at 18 pounds today at the Vet. (He recently discovered where we've been feeding Gryphon kitten chow and CooPurr thinks high-calorie kitten chow is quite yummy.)

Gryphon is nearly a year old. He is handsome, rambunctious, ornery, chews like a puppy {ugh}, and makes me laugh pretty much all day.

He and CooPurr play well together and dash all over the house.

Gryphon is determined to be the Alpha-cat.

CooPurr doesn't really care who is Alpha-Cat.

But when Gryphon was being particularly obnoxious and bite-y last week - CooPurr put up with it for a while and then, with great restraint, made his opinion known. Gryphon was a little slow to catch on. CooPurr patiently indicated "NO" (like 7 times) ...and then the claws slowly come out to prickle Gryphon's forehead where CooPurr had been holding him at bay with one big silver-edged paw.

No damage done and Gryphon finally got a clue and went off to attack a kitty condo.

On Easter, I had to let my BobCat go.  He was about 19 or 20 years old and had been having Thyroid/Kidney/weight/intestinal issues since December. The Thyroid thing kicked in coinciding with a change in meds so it took a little over a week to step back to the old dosage, reduce the dosage, take him off the meds to find out the sudden loose BM and weight loss had nothing to do with his Mega-Colon meds.

I would get him stabilized and then he would have another bout of weight loss.

He ate REALLLLLLY well the week of Easter but Saturday and Sunday he was seriously failing, wasn't purring or comfortable, and we took him to the Vet Sunday night to let him go.

CooPurr and Gryphon have been doing their level best to be charming and entertaining at all times, but BobCat had my heart and I miss him terribly.


Such a happy blog today - sorry. Such is life just now.

Internet Community.
During the above, I had been sporadic in my Ravelry visits, blog reading, and obviously absent on my own blog. {understatement}

However, I have gotten somewhat acquainted with iTunes!

I purchased a used iPhone from my Big Brother. The phone part is disabled so I essentially have an iTouch with a Camera. I have purchased just a few applications (Apps) .
I tend to study a lot before I buy.
(Why yes, the first Apps I got were knitting-related. Truly- you're not surprised, are you?)

The iPhone has A LOT more memory than my recently-upgraded MP3 player. And we won't get into the improvements it has over my very ancient Zire PDA.
(The DH was glad to receive the MP3 player as a gently-used bit of fun technology. I cleaned off all the podcasts, audiobooks, Opera, musicals, and most of the Josh Groben to leave him a selection of Vince Guaraldi, classic Jazz, Eric Clapton and Journey to get him started.)

I so GET the iTunes infatuation now.
I think they need to re-vamp their search engine and step in when people don't fix buggy apps in a reasonable time period, but other-wise - pretty darn spiffy.

Probably my favorite thing - it is SOOOOO easy to get Pod Casts. {happy sigh}
I'm sampling a lot and subscribing to the ones that tickle my heart and fancy.
I'm "living in the past" of these pod casts - listening from the beginning up to current day. I'm nearly "back to the future" on a few of these, my favorites:

• Knitmore Girls Podcast - Charming, fun, educational, and the mother-daughter relationship of these two special ladies is heart-ful! They make me smile and are inspiring some seriously adventurous start-itis.
• Sticks and String - "A podcast by an Australian bloke who knits" - interesting, excellent taste in music, and a lovely resonant voice - yes with a nifty accent. He also makes me smile with a genial humor.
• CogKNITive - I was referred to Dr. Gemma by the Knitmore Girls and she is funny, intelligent, and very interesting. It's kind of like hanging out with a comfortable, good friend who is really well-adjusted. {wry grin}
• Craftlit - the ever-spiffy and way-more-famous-than-I-had-a-clue, Heather Ordover, presenting crafting and life insights as well as a really cool Literary Professor intro/interpretation of some excellent reads. I started over from the beginning and re-listened to "Pride and Prejudice". {Excellent book - love the humor!}
  (I have to wonder if Heather and David Reidy of Sticks and String have ever interviewed each other. Two such lovely voices in one podcast would be a treat!)
• Gives Good Knit - We first met Tika on the Knitmore Girls podcast and she's gone and started her own podcast. This girl READS voraciously! I really like the goals she sets - inspiring. I do like her book reviews as well and she might be somewhat responsible for my recent reading binge.
• Here's to Ewe - these two ladies have so much fun pod casting. Both have great laughs. I'm still in the early casts but their fibre focus is on our end of the country (West). I'm also becoming quite intrigued about the Knitting Guild Association Master's Program. (Being pursued by one of these pod casters and also by Tika from Gives Good Knit.) Hmmmmm.
• Weavecast - feeding my starving Weaving aspirations. So much to learn. Most especially - how can I dress/use the loom without Gryphon eating my warp and ending up at the Vet. {oy}.

I'm going to stop here or this post will overdose on Pod Casts.
(Which wouldn't be such a bad thing, really...)
Anyway - lov'n iTunes and ... (don't tell my PC) I'm definitely leaning towards an Apple in my future.

Knitting. (You KNEW this topic would be in here somewhere...)

• I got to take two classes with Gwen Bortner at Purls - she does excellent documentation for her classes.
• I purchased my sister-in-law's sock club membership at Purls. They provide a sock pattern (sometimes a published pattern, or a new, custom pattern, or a pattern from Knitty) to compliment the new sock yarn before it is available to the general public. We get first yarn-dibs and a discount on the sock yarn, and yes, some stash enhancement has occurred.
• I ALSO joined the Blue Moon Fiber Arts 2010 Rockin' Sock Club. I've received 2 of my 6 sock club packets. Each has two patterns (amazing patterns thus far, I must say) and a skein of lovely Socks that Rock Yarn in a special/new colorway. I am a teeny bit disappointed to find there is a definite leaning toward the pink end of the color spectrum featured in the first two skeins. Ok, the first one is more like a fuchsia and I'm rather fond of it. The 2nd one - is definitely pink and... leaf green - and the hackles of my pink-aversion are up. However, my mother-in-law and an good work friend LOVE those colors and I could make some serious points knitting socks for one of those more fond of pink than myself. I am hoping the next delivery will not be pink-oriented. We shall see...
  (Disclaimer - I am aware that my pink-aversion is peculiar to me {and a few other ladies of stellar good taste ;-) } and that it is in direct contrast to one of the most beloved female stereotypes. Just think of it as "more pink for you". )
• I participated in the 2010 Winter Ravelympics AND I received 6 medals for finishing 2 "WIPs" - Works in Progress, and for starting and finishing 2 projects from scratch:
1.  WIPS Dancing Event - finishing the Seamingly Simple Vest (I'm really tickled with it!)
and a knitted beaded bracelet!

2. Felting Event and Bag Jump Event - Knit and Felted this Bucket Bag (love the colors)
3. Felting Event and Bobsled Event (knit for pets) - knit and felted this Moebius Cat bed for CooPurr  (yes, but Gryphon helped me take the before-felting pictures).  

I think that's about enough blathering for now. If you made it this far down, you are a brave, intrepid soul! Blessings be on you and yours.

I'm alive...I just fell off the work-a-holic wagon

Work has been very busy...ok, it's always busy. But it has been a bit more challenging than usual. Hence - I did fall off the work-a-holic wagon and I spent A LOT of time at work in the past few months.
Added to that, I've been rather diligent about spending time with my big brother since my sister-in-law passed away in late August. It's been nice to get to know him some again and maybe it helps him some to have me around.

Gryphon is mostly grown now - it looks like he'll be BobCat sized (my BobCat cat, not a real Bobcat) - which is still larger than average. He is a fearless jumper, profoundly curious, very funny, and stubborn. And - with all the time I was gone in August/Sept for trips and family stuff - he has bonded to DH. I'm a little sad that I'm not the person he purrs for regularly, but I'm also glad that DH has a cat that looks to him. BobCat and CooPurr view me as their person. Gryphon views me as an excellent toy and source of constant entertainment. But he loves DH best. I'm rather fond of DH myself, so I can understand Gryphon's affection.
Ah well. Gryphon is a happy, rambunctious, silly, sweet, busy cat and I love him.

General News...well...

• I got some accolades at work and a bonus day off for being an employee of the quarter. Two folks I respect and admire felt I was worthy of some very kind write-ups that inspired the main office to select me for an award and the gift of a credit card gift card. My plan is to visit all my local Yarn Shops and invest in some knitterly goodness!
  (2 shop excursions down, 2 to go...)
• The Ithilien Jacket is done!! Well, no, I certainly had nothing to do with it's design or creation, but I've been following it's progress on Prairie Spinner's blog for a bit.
  It is lovely and amazing and it won Best of Show! You should go look!
  
• I have become rather infatuated with the TV show "Fringe" due to the influences of my big brother and his daughter. I am pursuing catching up on this fascinating and clever show...but I'm a season behind. {rats!}
• I received these knitterly gifts over the holidays from a friend:
  A Knitter's Bible kit (contains yarn, needles and book) and she also gifted me with this fun knitterly ornament:
  

(the sweater is flocked!)

• My housekeeping has been near non-existent for the past few months (not unlike my blogging) due to the trips, family stuff, and work-bingeing. I'm trying to get a grip before more plants keel over and the dust bunnies stage a coup.
  {But I'd reallllly rather be knitting!}
• I finished the 2nd Dr. Who Scarf - this one for my little brother:

Gryphon approves (and he only chewed on the fringe just a little bit...)

• I finished Joyce's socks that traveled with me to the Sock Summit.
  Unfortunately, Joyce has broken one of her legs (the x-rays display a very impressive grouping of broken bones just above the ankle) so she won't be wearing both socks for a little while yet.
  

My feet are a poor model of the socks for a person so much taller...

• I joined the Tucson Hand Weavers and Spinner's guild. The meetings have been fascinating and inspiring. They are a very active and wholly impressive group of crafters who have been very kind to me. I'm hoping this will inspire me to pay more attention to the weaving craft at which I have been meaning to invest more time.
• In October, I got to take two classes with Janet Szabo of Big Sky Knitting designs! The Tucson Hand Weavers and Spinner's Guild and Grandma's Spinning wheel hosted her for several days. I found her to be very intelligent and personable.
  

I truly enjoyed the two classes I had with her: "Cables and Beyond" (on Cables) and "Let them Eat Cake!" (on the Brioche stitch).
And she signed her "Cables Vol. I" book for me as well!








I can't remember what-all-else has been occupying my time.
Life is very busy and I feel profoundly blessed with the loved ones, friends, crafts and zany cats that enhance my life.
But...I have to go vacuum now...

Random finds - Bookmarks and Snail-mail

A couple of these I found as a "Blog of Note" on Blogger. One was a recommendation from the owner of my favorite bookstore when we were discussing such things.

Letters of Note - amazing bits of history, interest, kindness, charm in a medium that is vanishing. It makes me a little sad that letters as personal correspondence are becoming a thing only in the past.
Granted, I'm not a great letter-writer (I'm not referring to my sloppy penmanship), but I've written a fair number of letters in my day.
I'm also fascinated by historical letters and I've always been tickled to receive letters (hmmm - that probably relates a bit to why it so fun to receive blog-comments).
It was fun to decipher my late uncle's letters (that penmanship issue must run in the family) and see what was of interest to him and what was happening down south.
Anyway...Letters of Note - quite rightly a Blog of Note, I think.

Got a Secret you just gotta tell? Write it on a postcard and mail it to these folks: PostSecret.
This site is also fascinating. Charming, funny creepy; sometimes viewing it is fueled by morbid curiosity. It could be considered a guilty pleasure...reading other people's secrets - that they actually intended you to read!

This one was inspired by a book the owner of my favorite book store showed me.
Milk, Eggs, Vodka is the book. Being a master list-maker, I bought a copy from her - irresistible. Grocery List Collection is the website.
It's found grocery lists. The list that blew away or was left in the cart...these folks found it or someone sent it to them and they posted it online. No, really, take a look. It's interesting the notes folks make to themselves, or the things the kids add on - recipes - a peek into someone's grocery world and eating habits. There's interesting grocery facts, astoundingly poor spelling, familiar, "that could be me" spelling, and stuff that makes you go "Huh?!?", "Hmmmm", "WTH?", or "Oh, I need to add that to my list". The DH and I take the book with us sometimes when we go out for breakfast to read/puzzle at/laugh through a chapter of Found Grocery lists and the commentary.

Forgotten Bookmarks - This website was another Blog of Note, I think. I told the owner of my favorite bookstore about this website. She promptly showed me a "forgotten bookmark" she'd found earlier that day in used books someone had dropped off - The wrapper for a Pregnancy test. I kid you not.
Here's a forgotten bookmark I found in a used book I recently purchased:


Yep, a Hippo PostCard left behind in a Barbara Walker Book.
(I went on a bit of a Barbara Walker book-finding trek after the Sock Summit.)











The comments on the postcard are a bit ironic when you consider the book it was left within.

Flowers, Flowers & Moths, & a "Helper"

A few moments of interest from the past week or so...

The lilies in the bouquet gifted to me from the young lady at Trader Joes bloomed:











I found huge, lovely hovering Moths feeding in the Lantana near my office the other evening.






I think they're White-Lined Sphinx Moths.

























I had help unpacking the groceries and the grocery bag was invaded as soon as it was near empty:

Sock Summit 2009 - Part 4 of 4 - Barbara Walker, VooDoo Donuts and Home

(Confessional Note - created 8/12/2009 - finished and posted 5/5/2011)

Ah - my last day at the 2009 Sock Summit - Saturday. Yes, Saturday.
Yes, I know the Sock Summit went through Sunday.
Why wasn't I still there through Sunday?
'Cause I'm a ninny, that's why. {sigh}
During the near last-minute trip setup, I'd scheduled the plane trip home the day after the last class I'd gotten via the lottery. I didn't know more options would become available...or what I'd be missing. {SIGH}
However, I'm trainable and it was my first major Knitterly event. I'll do better next time.

A Really Big Sock and a Really Amazing Woman: 
I tried again to track down the World's Largest Sock in the Marketplace. I did find the sock (it took up a fairly large round table). No one was manning the table just then and I was feeling bashful and short on time so I didn't take the opportunity to knit upon it. But I did drop off the yarn donation I'd brought for that specific purpose.
(It just may be...the secret to having room in your suitcase for yarn you bought at the marketplace is to take as much or more yarn to the event and leave it there for charitable endeavors. Worked for me!)

The highlight of my last day at the Sock Summit was a lecture. I had belatedly purchased a ticket to Barbara Walker's lecture, "How I became a Knitter", from a very nice woman who was unable to attend the Sock Summit. She was a bit heartbroken at not being able to attend this specific lecture; Barbara Walker having been an admired person of note in her knitting life. As previously confessed, I had been mostly clueless regarding Barbara Walker's affect on knitting and the world at large.

I truly enjoyed Barbara Walker's lecture. More than I can say.
(Yes, knit-geekiness abounds on this topic.)
She was a charming and interesting speaker. Clever and fun.
I'm totally impressed and will be looking for some of her books.
What a woman! (I am a bit smitten.)

Here are some of the bits I remember:
(Disclaimer...the following is my interpretation of some of what I heard at the Barbara Walker Lecture. It should not be perceived as "gospel" or direct quotes. It's just me - relating parts of what I heard in a very nifty lecture at a ground breaking Knitterly event. Thanks.)

She spoke of her life as being a series of "obsessions". She would become focused on a topic/subject/pursuit and invest time and energy in learning all about it.
(I would say "mastering" it. i.e. going beyond apprenticeship.)

In her teenage years the obsession was horses.
In her 20s, it was Modern Dance.
Her 30's - Motherhood.
Also in her 30's she began to assign herself courses of study during the winter months: Archeology, Geology, History, Paleontology, etc.
I believe she indicated her first attempts at knitting occurred in her 30s. However, those first attempts were more accidental lace than knit fabric. She said, at that time, sewing went much better for her than knitting.

Luckily for us, she revisited knitting later in her 40's and her next obsession was collecting knitting patterns.

She obtained special permission and visited the Library of Congress for this latest obsession.
They had knit pattern books back to 1830. However, they had no desks in the Library of Congress so for 3 days Barbara Walker sat on the floor under a 25 Watt bulb and copied knit patterns by hand.

This became the First Pattern Book - "A Treasury of Knitting Patterns".

And she kept on collecting patterns. About this time, she was contacted by Elizabeth Zimmerman.
EZ sent knit patterns she had been collecting along with a few original patterns she'd created to Barbara Walker who combined them with more of her own collection to create "A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns".
After the 2nd Treasury of Knitting Patterns Book was created, BW created her knitting pattern charts because she got tired of writing out the patterns long-hand/by-row.

Some of her current obsessions are:

• She is the Secretary of the West Coast Mineral Club (which inspired the "Book of Sacred Stones").
• Her Tarot Card Collection (She has 188 different Tarot decks (which inspired "The Secrets of the Tarot" Book)).
• Jigsaw puzzles - collecting and redoing them. 

She told us of her religious epiphany as a child, how much you can accomplish when the TV is broken {wry grin}, and that she had only just gotten a computer a couple of years ago (a gift from/setup by her son). (No, she isn't a member of Raverly.)
I got the impression she was generally surprised, a little perplexed, and a bit pleased at the interest, respect, and...well, reverence she was experiencing from pretty much all of us (ST1 included per their own "Calling Barbara Walker" comments (See - nearly everyone has moments of being knit-geeky!)).

I think the lecture was redirected a fair amount by questions from the audience. I found it to be fascinating and very inspiring. As previously stated, I'm smitten.

She gifted us with these closing words:

Thank you knitters.   Thank you feminists.   

Thank you for your attention. 

Thank you for reading.   Thank you for being here. 

Donuts Attempted:
So...before heading back to Tucson, I made a concerted effort to....
Go to Voodoo Donuts to get the DH a Voodoo Doll Donut as we'd seen featured on Man vs Food.
(Scroll down the menu webpage - I dare you not to salivate!)
Unfortunately, I came to realize that Saturday is a big donut shopping day in Portland:

  

  Yes, the line stretched AROUND the corner.



And I had a plane to catch. So I owe the DH a Voodoo Donut (or 3) on the next Portland Trip.

Home again, Home again...
I travelled home and was warmly received by the various furry gents with whom I live.
For some reason, the DH was not quite as fascinated by the suitcase unpacking as the other furry gents were.

Gryphon was particularly pleased that I had purchased this mug from Jennie the Potter:

Because he Realllly enjoyed the paper in which it had been wrapped:

Reality quickly asserted itself, but didn't quite dim the glow of the experiences I'd had at the Sock Summit. I had been gifted with camaraderie, kindness, inspiration, and knowledge that there were a lot of open-hearted people who shared my crafting passion. Pret-ty darn cool.

So ends the very drawn-out blog-tale of my first Knitterly Event.
May there be many more such events and explorations.