Ripples in the backwater and Virgin sock knitter

Well, I've just started my first pair of socks for this socky virgin. Not that socks scared me ... I just got put off by known obsolescence. (I have the first baby wrap I knitted; I have a sweater that morphed 3 incarnations - but never have I darned socks). The knitting is lovely, the yarn sublime - I just don't know how I will cope when the first hole appears - I may lose it entirely! However, DH has been remarkably likeable of late (not least because he has been working his conkers off [translation conkers = horsechestnuts = nuts] painting the house) and has been deserving of some knitting. He has ooed and ahhed at the Double Trouble jacket, and (honestly) made some insightful comments like "wow how did you get that cable to move from the middle to the outside?". Now, for me, that is almost a declaration of passion ... ok maybe travelling cables don't get you every time, nor me, but a non knitter chap noticing - well that's GOOD.
So back to the main theme ... I decided I would knit him a pair of socks - in the softest most tactile yarn I could discover, in the most vibrant of colours (hang in there if I had knitted them in black or navy they would get worn too often and worn out even quicker!). In the product placement world this is where I declare my eternal love for a brand and get squillions of skeins of yarn ... however in my world if you want to know the sock yarn I fell for go look at the project details on Ravelry.
As for the sock (well I am still on the first) so far so lovely.

Meanwhile I thought I would touch on ripples in the backwater and say that on another site ... in a galaxy far far away, there were downing of needles and abandoning of forums after one member was summarily banned for expressing displeasure that out of 11 issues of the magazine 17 patterns had required later correction. The banning was later lifted and attributed to "typing in capitals" as aggressive and intimidating behaviour. WELL HELL CALL ME A RIPPLE. I know that squillions of us quiet/loud, famous/infamous knitters would be casting aspersions on the checking department and perhaps even in CAPITALS. After a day of protests and virtual banner waving the capital typer became reinstated. Small beer in a day, but honestly freedom of speech says nothing about "well say what you want and I will defend your right to say it, unless of course you put it in capitals".

Back to the first part of my name .. .. I do like to cook - really, from scratch, without packets or tins, and sometimes without anything except a spoon, a knife and ingredients. When I was an ultra stretched banker I would come home feeling my life, whilst well paid(ish), sucked as I had contributed little to anything of meaning. So my creative outlet, between loading the washing machine/dishwasher, reading bedtime stories and going to sleep myself (sometimes I even made it to bed, ... so my creative outlet was cooking. The more stressed I was, the more I would chop, slice, stir, season, taste and arrange. Back to now and I still love to cook, but for enjoyment and the production of great food ... for creativity and stress reduction I now have the time to knit.

At the beginning of August I asked hubby if there was anything he fancied to eat as I was off to the shops. He replied that he should start a spreadsheet (ex accountant - gets his fix from Excel) then whenever I asked him that (as I do once or twice a year) he could suggest something we hadn't eaten for a while. So, I said, "ok, go create the spreadsheet".

So here I am, bragging/boasting/smiling, because in two full months, more than 63 evening meals, there have been no repeats! (There were three days, at the beginning of September when I went to stay with twins and look after them before school resumed, that he ate preprepared oven ready meals ... but even those meals have not been repeated).

So, feeling proud of the first and middle part of my name, I think I deserve the last syllable ... and I think tonight I'll drink red ... (but keep it well away from the socks!)

Sending hugs
xxx

ps These are the rabbit and tiger who are the "double trouble" duo .... cute aren't they?