52 hrs 12 mins and counting..

That's how long they've been gone. The house is very quiet but my cell phone is not. They've been calling 5 - 6 times a day. Yesterday, I was winding my new skein of blue/green lace weight merino at LYS when it rang. I picked it up to hear Peanut screaming in the background and the Mister sounding like he was nearing the end of his rope. All this over Twizzlers. Seems to have been their worst worry on the trip so far. Much better than I could have asked for.

I signed Peanut up for preschool yesterday. I think I had a harder time with that than her being gone for a week. It was so strange to talk about field trips and curriculum and have it be about my baby. I liked the teacher and it's at a local Lutheran church, so she'll get some exposure to the Bible. Her neighborhood buddies J & M are also in the same class. I think it'll be good for her.

After signing her up, I needed a little pick me up. I headed for The Knitting Den. No better place to be on an overcast, chilly Saturday. They'd moved it around a bit since I was last in there. They have a lot of yarn, but some interesting choices I thought. I wound up buying a my first skein of lace weight. It's a beautiful color. It's color 669, but the color in the photo on their site isn't quite right to what I have. I bought it to make the Fiber Trends Leaf Lace Shawl. It's a potential birthday present. The birthday isn't until October, so I've got some time. I also picked up the Sisters pattern to make Peanut a jumper. I found some purple wool ease that should be perfect for it. I got the Ribbons baby blanket pattern too. I think I've got a thing for Fiber Trends patterns! I got three patterns, the yarn, stitch markers, row counter and a new 32" addi for just over $50. I burned 2 hrs, picked up my spirits and stayed under budget. A total success as far as I'm concerned.

I hit the grocery store and came home. Kroger was having another one of their 10 for $10 sales. Mister's favorite food is Bacon Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper. Not something I'd get excited about, but then again he feels the same way about Chinese food. At the sale price, I saved $1.79 a box. I cleaned them out. I think he's set for a while.

I got home and had good intentions of purging and organizing, but a good friend suggested I take it easy considering it's my first Saturday alone in 2 1/2 years. I did just that. I perched on the couch with a glass of wine and the Lacy Leaf Shawl (LLS). The only lace project I've done is Branching Out (BO). Thank goodness that got me knitting from a chart. BO was basically 25 stitches with a 10 row repeat. LLS has a chart that's a bit bigger. I started it last night. Had to tear it out and start over. I've never done a crochet cast on and had some trouble with it and the fine yarn. I think the pattern is fabulous, but working with such fine yarn is what's proving to be interesting. If I'd opted for the fingering yarn, I think this would go swimmingly. I'm determined to work something out of it, though. I can only work on it in short spurts, though. I find my wrist gets sore and I must be clenching my jaw while working with it. This is supposed to relaxing, right? I'm going to cast on the for Sisters jumper today. Should be an easy knit and a good balance to the shawl.

While watching TV Friday night, I saw this commercial. I had to watch it a few times to realize it wasn't some new extreme nature special. I got a big kick out of it.

Sorry, no photos. The camera is with Mister & Peanut documenting their road trip.