TdF: Intermediate Sprint #2

The challenge: the ride around your town and share what is special.

[Edited to add: oops, didn't read the instructions carefully enough and missed the deadline!]

The additional challenge: Um ... this is what much of Squid Knits is about. Is my post going to be subject to accusations of doping?

And, yet one more challenge: I am turning this contest entry into a contest itself. Anyone who correctly identifies all of the structures, in photographs labeled with a letter, will be entered into a drawing for some yummy yarn of my choosing and some chocolate that is native to my locale. One caveat, the prize will not be sent out until the cooler weather due to the chocolate content.

Contest closes at midnight, July 31, 2008.



And here we go ...

I live in a small island situated where a fairly famous river meets the Atlantic Ocean.
Over the last several years, my island has become more and more bike friendly and one can ride around the island with roughly half the trip being along, or really close to, the water.Near the southern tip of our island sits a small fort. This fort served as the main immigration intake center until facilities on an island to our west took over.

(A)

My grandfather came through the facilities shown below, which are, alas, not accessible by bicycle.

(B)

Several bridges connect my island with both the mainland

(C)

and another, much larger, island to our east.(D)

At least one of these bridges has been sold by aspiring entrepreneurs the world over. This particular bridge was also the site of my first date with the man who is now my loving husband.

My island was, unfortunately, the target of some horrid attacks almost 7 years ago and the damage is still evident.

But we are also home to the final resting place of a President and his wife.

(E)

This tiny island is home to both very tall and very small structures.

(F)

(G)

Some of them dress up for the holidays.(H)

But my island is home to more than just buildings, we even have areas that are somewhat natural.
And areas that serve to fulfill the most basic needs of my family.
Figured it out yet? Need one more hint? Our local newspaper is published less then a mile from our home.

Chugging up the Mountains: Tour de France Knit Along

I managed to cross the first mountain peek while Mark Cavendish was winning his third stage and started down hill while he was winning his fourth. Hey if he keeps this up, I might just finish the socks!
The second sock is looking much neater then the first. I've taken a different strategy for eliminating the blue/purple from the mix which involves actually cutting the yarn and throwing the shorter pieces in where I only need a short stretch of yarn. I've also taken to hiding some of the ends as I go. Not all, but some. Hey, every little bit counts, right?

Crazy Hair -- 2008

You may remember last year's Crazy Hair day at the Manhattan School of Music. If not, go take a quick peek, I'll wait.

Not bad? It did not, however, win her the competition. So, for this year, poor Mama got up at 5:30 a.m. and created this:
She did place much higher in the standings but lost to someone with a funny green wig with stuff in it.

Yes, it did wash out. Mostly. The color is gone but some of the silver sparklies remain, even after 2 shampooings. Hopefully they mostly shook out in her sleep.

Dremel!

Many, many years ago, when Mike's mom was making stained glass pieces, she expressed her interest in getting a Dremel tool. We poked around a bit and even looked at Dremel-look-a-likes. In the end, however, she decided that she didn't need it.

Since then, Mike has periodically expressed an interest in obtaining a Dremel and has always been frustrated by our lack of need for it. Then he found this project. There it was, the need.

And so, we are now the proud owners of a Dremel rotary tool with the works.

And Mike is one happy guy.

The Inside

One of the colors in my contrast yarn is so close to the main color that it disappears. So, for the top of the sock I took it out.Yes, I have lots of ends to hide.

For those of you who guessed, yes the new graph is of a squid. If I remember, I will reverse the direction on the other foot. I'm now past that and just working the chain pattern for the rest of the foot. Provided that there are no complications in my life, I should make some good progress toward the toe while watching the Tour tonight.

Last summer saw Mike and I watching the Tour as it was broadcast live during the day and catching the highlights during the rebroadcast after dinner. This year, however, Squidette is hooked so we are waiting to watch it during the rebroadcast so that we all get the results together. This has the added benefit of keeping Mike from listening to sports on the car radio should we be in the car in that inbetween time.

Tour Socks

Theoretically, I have been diligently working of my Tour de France socks. In reality, what was supposed to be a sprint has turned into a climb up the mountains. The mountains being real life.

Last night I sat down for a nice spate of knitting and was immediately interrupted by the phone. After 15 minutes or so with the person on the other end, I then set in on some research and studying and there went the evening. I did do a few more rows on the socks as a wind down, much later in the evening but am seriously behind where I need to be to finish both socks by the end of the tour. It's o.k., though. There are actually more important things in life and that phone call was one of them.

Meanwhile, here is what I have done.
Oops, not that! That's my "mindless" car and "waiting-for-the-kids-to-be-released-from-camp" knitting. A sock for my brother. The one who does not yet have a pair of hand knit socks. I've got a long way to go. He has big feet.

Here you go. It's a little bit further along now and I have started incorporating this graph where the moose should be.
O.k., so creating this graph also took a lot of time away from the knitting of the sock so hopefully the second one will go faster.

Getting to Know Me

This post is because I'm all about trying to win some yummy sock yarn from KnittyOtter!

Getting to Know you Contest Questionnaire:

1.) How long have you been knitting?

At least since junior year in high school, maybe longer. I really can't remember. I've been actively knitting (as in, a project always in progress) for about 9 years.

2.) How long have you been knitting socks?

About 6 years. My aunt steered me toward a toe up pattern and I've been hooked ever since.

3.) What do you do with a problem like Maria?

Marry her to Luis. (anyone get the reference?)

4.) What is your all time favorite sock yarn?

Cabin Cove. Partly because I love his colors, partly because the base yarn is so soft and partly because Dave is such a great guy!

5.) Toe Up or Cuff Down?

These days, cuff down, I've decided I prefer the fit of a flap heel and haven't found a toe up one that I like. It used to be all about the toe up around here, however. Like for the longest time I resisted cuff down.

6.) What's your favorite color (this week or for all time)? Do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

This week it's all about pink. I think I am channeling my inner Cookie. Just bought a watch with a pink strap. Wear a pink bike helmet ... you get the idea. I like just about anything in the right combination but tend to steer clear of olivey colors.

7.) Do you have a pet(s)?

Yes, three turtles who are plotting to take over the world. One of them is a "boarder" turtle whose owner has been in Sweden for the last 3 years. Yea, like I'm returning him after all this time!

8.) Babies: Oven Roasted or Barbecued?

Braised.

9.) Besides socks what is your favorite type of thing to knit?

Hats. I love to get creative with them.

10.) What's your favorite scent?

The smell you get rising from the ground just after the rain. Real ground, not sidewalk!

11.) What music are you really loving right now? Like a song or a band?

Nothing in particular. Yea, I'm boring that way.

12.) How many pairs of socks have you hand knit?

Too many to accurately count. My husband has at least a dozen.

13.) What's your favorite treat? Salty or Sweet?

Depends. I can totally go to town on salty chips and salsa or savor a single truffle.

14.) What was the most interesting thing you smelled yesterday. Not good or bad necessarily, just the thing that stuck out most so that you actually took notice of it.

Indian spices. We went to a party at my sister-in-law's and I must have spilled something on myself. When I came home I had a distinct Indian spice smell about me.

15.) Needles - DPN's: Wooden, metal or plastic?

Addi Turbos! The lace ones if I can get my hands on them. Bamboo dpns if necessary. I really like the rhythm of moving from one dpn to another but circular needles and magic loop are more practical for my needs. Not as easy to lose a needle.

16.) What is your favorite sock pattern that you've knit? What do you recommend?

Don't have one. I've made a couple of patterns twice but rarely more than that except for your basic ribbed sock -- of which I've made at least a dozen.


17.) The last Question: If you were stuck on a deserted island who would you want with you, what knitting would you want with you and would you ever want to leave?

I'd want my husband with me, a light weight wool shawl -- it can double as a blanket, and yes, probably after a few days. I need action around me, even if I don't partake.

Tour de France -- Intermediate Sprint

The officials over at the Tour de France Knit Along headquarters have declared a sprint. We cyclists / knitters are supposed to make our case for either: why our project qualifies as related, our cycling history or, our love of France.

My knitting choice is actually obvious. I am knitting short socks for cycling with a bicycle motif on them. And, after my redo, I am definitely sprinting to get them done by the end of the Tour.

As for France ... well, my memories of it are not the greatest so I'll go for the second option and focus on cycling.

Long time readers of this blog might remember when we first became "Squid of Wheels" two years ago. Squidette had just moved from a mountain type kids bike to a small road bike. Little Squid was now riding Squidette's hand-me-down (gee, sounds a lot like this post).

It was then that our kids decided that they like riding, and liked riding distances. I liked seeing my kids challenge themselves and gain pride in their physical accomplishments. We are all over the mental feats around here, but the physical is often left a little on the side.

That first year each mile stone was cause for celebration. The first organized tour, the first trip across the Brooklyn Bridge, and the first loop of Central Park.

That year we rode almost 500 miles, including a season ending finale of 44 in the New York Century.

The next year we rode almost 750 miles, including a season ending 66 with rides in several states, including Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana.

This year? We are already up to 314 ...

We've ridden across the Hudson River as well as the Ohio. We've ridden in Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, West Virginia and, of course, New York.

The Brooklyn Bridge is an old friend.

Our favorite stop is for Jaques Torres chocolate though the Brooklyn Fairway's for breakfast and Brooklyn's new Ikea for lunch are in close contention.

I tend to ride at the back of the pack, the Mama Duck position as I like to think of it. From there I get to watch the kids' legs and am the first to realize when it is time to raise a seat. I get to secretly smile with pride at how well they do and revel in the simple joy of being a family doing something we all enjoy. I get to think about how lucky I am ... and then I realize that in all of my wool gathering, they've gotten three blocks ahead of me. And I sprint to catch up.

And so, for my Intermediate Sprint, I remind you all, that we are Squid on Wheels. Tune in again to see where we go!

The Squid Knits Guide to the Homemade Egg Cream

The following guide is not to be taken as gospel. Everyone swears by their method of making the humble egg cream. This is how we do it.

You start with chocolate syrup. U-Bets is traditional but anything will do in a pinch.


Take a large glass, about 14 ounces and this is the shape that really works best.Squirt in about 1/4 inch (a little less then a centimeter) of chocolate syrup.
Add an inch or two (this looks like 2) of milk. Skim is fine but purists will probably insist on whole milk.


Now we come to the controversial part. May say to not stir until later -- we squid, however, like to mix our milk and chocolate together before adding the final ingredient.Add seltzer while stirring. My seltzer was a little flat -- the head should be much bigger and overflow the glass for the perfect egg cream.
Drink quickly. Egg Creams do not hold well and are to be drunk up, not sipped.

***

About a week ago I accidentally invented the Ginger Egg Cream when I mistook weak homemade ginger ale for seltzer. It was surprisingly good and the kids now occassionally add a squirt of ginger syrup along with the chocolate.

Little Squid also tried it with lingonberry syrup (thank you Ikea) and it was a likable addition. Not quite as refreshing as ginger, but still nice.

Enjoy!

R i i i p p p

It was while watching today's time trials that I finally came out of a Tour induced stupor and realized that if getting the sock over my heel was a struggle, then I probably was not going to wear the socks. I knit a few more rows after switching to a larger needle and then finally caved in and ripped it back. Time to start over.

Mike and Squidette are at a "all about the Performing Arts High Schools" seminar and Little Squid and I are home enjoying a quiet evening. After I finish this post, I will put on my audiobook and get down to some sprint knitting.

***

No knit finishing today. Instead, we finally managed to get a maintenance worker up to repair our broken towel rod and toilet paper holder. Not their fault. The towel rod has been broken for over a year ... we just never got around to calling to have it fixed. The toilet paper holder fell off the wall last week and broke in two. That was a problem.

Mike and I did take a short walk and spotted this sign. This place apparently makes the best tuna fish sandwiches in the city.

***

KnittyOtter asked when I was going to show off our summer egg creams ... well, they are tricky to photograph since they disappear so fast ... but maybe Thursday. I'll even share the sacrilege of our newest invention, the Ginger enhanced Egg Cream.

***

Lastly ... we passed the 300 mile mark today for family biking. We are putting on 11.5 miles every time the kids agree to ride to camp and have done 3 camp rides so far. Technically, Little Squid does 10.5 and Squidette does 11.5 if he decides to go straight home and not while away the hour between their ending times. However ... Squidette owes the family 22 miles for a couple of rides that we did without her and did not put in the over all totals. So ... we are crediting Little Squid with Squidette's extra mile per day -- which he does sometimes ride. All in all, we figure that it will even out in the long run.

And on the Seventh Day, She Vested

Elizabeth Zimmerman's Rib Warmer. Finished knitting long ago, sewn up on the 7th of July.

After dropping the kids at camp, yesterday, we continued riding past home to "stalk" two invitees. We know where they live but did not have the actual addresses written down. So we stalked them and got the building addresses. Then we realized that neither of them uses their husband's last name and we are back, essentially, to square one. Oops!

Today to stalk a friend of my mother-in-law. I know where she lives, I even get her mail for her when she is away. I just don't know the building address. At least she isn't married ...

We have now mailed most of the invitations save the few we are waiting on for addresses.

Scarf of the Sixth

And on the sixth day of vacation, I finished a gift scarf.Once again it was an icky sort of day here so we mostly stayed inside. Squidette and I took a walk to get some trendy teen-type clothing (for her) but then returned to the less humid environment of our apartment.

Back at home we were greeted with this sight.And this one. Pretty much how they looked all day as they played with electronics. Little Squid is working his way through an introductory book and managed to light up an LED. He also managed to blow up two LEDs, much to his delight.We ended the day watching the end of the Tour de France rebroadcast and I made some progress on my TdF Knit along project.

Finis on the Fifth

Rainy day here in New York City so no riding for the Squid. Instead, a trip to Costco for new glasses for the squidlings; to Ikea for lunch; to Fairway for more groceries and then home for the day.

Once home, we tuned into to the Tour de France and I got busy on my Green Jersey project. During the last two kilometers I had to pause to concentrate on the finish line, but returned to my project during a viewing of The Inspector General.

Not forgetting my promise to finish stuff, I cut the yarn ends off of these socks (yup, that was all that was needed)and worked with Mike and Squidette on this project. Most of this one is done and ready for the mail. Just need a few more addresses and a final check with my folks.

Which brings me to this question: If you invite someone, who you know will probably not come, to an occasion, is it interpreted as "hey, I'd really love to have you there," or as "send a gift?"

Please chirp in here because there are a number of people with whom I am on the fence because I do not want to seem to be gift fishing.

Finishing on the Fourth

I thought about making the day all about finishing but decided against it. Instead, I finished one knitting project and one spinning project and made progress on one of each.

Finished, one pair of gift socks. Recipient yet unknown.Finished, twisting up washed skeins of what was supposed to be Mike's next sweater. Since I do not think I have enough, I bought a whole lot of shetland roving to start over. No idea what this stuff will become but there is about 1500 yards of it. (Not all pictured here.)
Made progress on a project involving a whole lot of these and then went and bought more. I hope to mostly finish this project today.Did a lot of spinning and finished listening to the latest Janet Evanovich novel, Fearless Fourteen. It was the first time I listened to one of her books instead of reading it and I have to say, the characters are even clearer in my mind now. I really have a good feel for what Ranger is supposed to look like. Whew! Hot!!!

Basically, it was a stay at home day, except for Squidette who went and had waterballon fights with her friends. When she returned, we all went to services and then to see the fireworks.It was the first time seeing them fairly up close for the kids. Our view was somewhat obstructed but it beat the occasional burst that we usually see from our windows. Yes, it was raining.

Now I am the only human awake in this apartment (Mike is out running). The kids are getting some well earned sleep after which we will go order new glasses frames for them. Another quiet day planned here at Chez Squid.

Third Day of Vacation

You know, this is a really easy way to title posts ...

Really, nothing exciting to report. But, continuing in my finishing endeavors, I present this "gift" scarf. I have a recipient in mind but all of that hinges on the outcome of some work related stuff.

Second Day of Vacation

Today was a little different then yesterday, mainly because we wanted to get out of the apartment while Maria cleaned.

So, after taking the kids to camp (via automobile, not bicycle) we came home and, after dropping the car off for service, took to the streets on foot. Walking toward the Bowery, in search of soda syrup, we passed many historical places -- but I only took this photo.The Amato Opera Company on the left and the former CBGBs on the right.

We did not find soda syrup but did stop at the greenmarket on our way home and got lots of yummy vegetables for dinner. Lunch at the diner and some quiet time at home brought us to the end of our afternoon. Mike went to get the kids and I went to get the car.

As I walked uptown, I noticed this view. On the left, the New York Times building with it's ladder like facade and on the right, the Empire State Building. I'm sure that the Empire State Building is taller but at this angle, it actually looks puny.

KnittyOtter asked what my knitting plans were for the summer. To answer simply, finishing.

I have several projects that just need binding off or end hiding or assembly. So, I am going to attempt to finish a project a day for a few days. Today's project: Girly Girl Cycling Socks (not their real name, I can't find the pattern right now).
I also intend to knit these socks as my Tour de France Knit-along project. I figure that since the Tour is all about finishing then these combined with my "finishing" projects should suffice for a Green Jersey. Also in the planning stage, but slated to be finished before the end of the summer, a shrug for Squidette to wear over her too revealing dress on her special day in September.

Yes, Squidette's blanket is in the finishing queue, but only when the weather cools off or I get too cold from the air conditioning.

First Day of Vacation

It was a lovely day. I slept late woke at 5:30 when Mike's alarm went off. Rode to camp with Mike and Little Squid. Rode home with Mike. Spent some quality time with my husband. Rode to camp with Mike. Rode home with Mike and Little Squid (who made awesome time on the trip uptown and battled the headwinds manfully on the trip home). Set up a wick watering system for one of my tomato plants and basically had a lovely day.

Then Mom called and told me about this. Yup, kid bro' has a new job! Time to check out the biking in Pittsburgh. Any bloggers out there with housing, eating, general suggestions for that area?

On the to do list for day two: bring car in for oil change, take kids (after camp) to opthomologist and go combing the city looking for diet soda syrup for our Soda Club system.