Without any family nearby, we spent the afternoon walking the ocean cliffs and later the beach at one of my favorite places.  The temperatures are still in the low 40’s , rather brisk with a bit of a breeze.  It was the perfect time to show off the Flower (Easter) Basket Shawl.  I finished it with my morning coffee.

  I have absolutely no idea why one picture came up so large and the other one smaller.  I’m not going to tempt fate and try to change a thing.

  click on picture to see patterning better

Just in nick of time (it’s spring after all), the temperature outside has risen to start melting the snow on the north side of the house.  Translated, this means that the snow on the front porch has melted enough to get to the Christmas balls that I had hung on the Alberta Spruce.  If it hadn’t happened yesterday, I’d be faced with digging it out just so I wouldn’t have to tell myself that the red and gold balls were sort of shaped and colored like Easter eggs..  and that the wreath hanging on the door should remain because it was well, still fresh looking and some color is better than no color at all. 

The FBS is now waiting for me to find my crochet hook.  I remember thinking that it was the kind of tool that should be removed from my knitting bag before going through airport security.  I left the F-J’s but the 000 looked somehow more threatening to me.   Guess it got pissed off being left behind as it is in hiding now.  The shawl would have been finished if I hadn’t spent sooo much time searching for the hook.  This morning I’ll do what I already know will most certainly return the hook to my desk or knitting chair or other convenient spot;  I’ll run to the store (that being the exact same store that I ran to yesterday to get the beads for the bottom edge of the FBS) and buy another replacement hook (I have purchased at least 3 of these mini hooks during the past year, all of which are presently in hiding) before driving in the opposite direction to the last Saturday of the month Spin In at Sue’s.  Given the option of canceling due to the holidays, everyone felt that the holidays were precisely the reason that we should have the Spin in.  Yessss!

Last night, as planned, I was able to pick up a copy of Stephanie’s book on the way home from the Thai restaurant.  I spent much of the evening reading, first in order..  the intro is so perfect, then by flipping through and reading whatever page fell open.  I love it.  Here’s the proof, I can’t imagine why I think that proof is needed here, but since I’ve seen other bloggers actually showing their copies with ‘proof of ownership’, I’ll follow along with the thought that this is somehow important to someone. 

 
and just because I think it’s even more important to show the ‘true’ colors of the ‘proof of ownership’  Flower basket shawl…

After seeing the Chai FB that Steph (her again) made SINGLE strand on BIG needles..  I know that I must make another one, mine being far more a winter scarf than a lacy shawl.  I am presently searching out beads to accent the lower edge and hopefully weigh it down, keep it stretched out,  just a little.  This was a perfect travel project.  It kept my attention in all sorts of situations. 

I can not say enough about the value of the knitting community at large.  You girls in Fort Lauderdale saved my sanity, made my day(s), and in general kept me from feeling that ‘hung out to dry’ sort of feeling that you can get when you are in a strange place, ie. a small, rented, dark in a reminiscent of your elementary school hallways, kind of building, with your 88 yr. old semi senile MIL.  I was thinking of ways to explain this when I happened to flip open Steph’s (yep, her again) book to a page that explains it all… (pg. 318, just in case you want to see for yourself) 
Here’s the quote.. 
"It doesn’t matter, for you are a knitter, and to belong completely, no matter how different you appear to be……. all you need to do is find more knitters."

Works for me.