. . . we built the pyramids, Math, science, history, unravelling the mysteries, that all started with the big bang! Oh wait, that’s the theme song to The Big Bang Theory and all we built was a retaining wall.

Technically there was no “we” because my only contribution to this project was 1) the idea to get rid of the slope and replace it with a wall that provides strong definition to the driveway; 2) ordering the rock. Between Richard, our neighbor M__, and two young men who live next door they knocked this thing out in 2 days!

We even had enough gravel that the horse trailer is now parked on gravel too. Whether I can back it up onto that spot remains to be seen!

Enough about gravel – A Midsummer Night’s Dream is blocking and will be unpinned tonight or tomorrow…

Discovered weak spot in horse trailer ramp. Took ramp apart.

Horse trailer now looking like this until we do repairs. To be honest, I’m just glad I found the weak spot now because after we fix it I will have confidence the ramp is solid. And I went in to this purchase knowing full well at 12 years old this was a likely repair maintenance item we would be doing.

Then a kid backed into me in the parking lot as I was leaving work. I saw him coming, laid on the horn, he. . .well. . .as you can see the horn didn’t slow him down. It doesn’t look like much, but the first estimate was $2200 to repair. Our insurance will be paying because, can you guess? He has no insurance.

I came home to this. As you can see we have some work ahead of us. Truthfully, I probably won’t be doing much of it. That’s 15 tons of washed gravel and almost three hundred 60 pound blocks.

Finally it’s Friday. It was requested that I stop and buy lottery tickets. I did. You can always use more beer, and heck, with the week I had I figured donuts before dinner was justifiable. Or is that donuts FOR dinner?

Now I’m going to sit on the couch and knit!

I am so darn close to having last week’s projects finished. Ever since we moved back from Montana I haven’t had as much knitting time, plus it’s been Summer, and my projects have felt like they drug on a bit long. I’m really ready for something new…

1. SIL: A Midsummer Night’s Dream – the knitting is DONE. I have a few stitches to kitchener together (eta: DONE), a few ends to weave in, and then in the sink it goes. I probably won’t have the time or energy to block it until Saturday.

2. Waving Lace Socks – my new sock project. The yarn is Opal Uni-Solid. My plan is that these will be a Christmas gift for Grandma Glenda.

3. Ulmus Shawl – I’m bound and determined to choose colors for this shawl this week. I’ve mulled the choices over long enough! Sorry about the crappy flash photos. My two faves at this point are the brown w/ orange (colorway is Serengeti) or the Koigu blues with cream. Though I love the purple Koigu, I think I’d rather pair it with a lavender or something else that would enhance it more than cream.

There were a dozen other handpaints and solids that didn’t make the cut of even being considered. However, once I start knitting my first Ulmus I’m hoping it will be easier to see other color combos that will complement each other.

I actually finished knitting Relm on Thursday last week, but it took several days for me to get it washed and then more for it to dry. It’s a quick, fun knit – just what I needed as a diversion between my larger projects.

Pattern: Relm by BrooklynTweed, published in Knit.1, Fall/Winter 2008.
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed in colorway Sigh, 1+ skeins (you could definitely knit 2 hats out of 3 skeins)
Needles: US 6 and US 7 circulars
Notes: I wasn’t certain I could pull off this style, but after trying on the finished hat I think I can. Whether the hat will be wearable all day and non-fussy I’m not sure yet.

Regarding the pattern – it was very easy and fun. I’d definitely knit it again. The color is most accurate in the “in the mirror” photos.

I finished weaving in ends this morning…

Pattern: Riverbed Master Pattern by Cat Bordhi
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in colorway Gold Hill and Opal Uni-Solid in cream.
Needles: 2.5 mm circulars
Notes: This is the first time I’ve done the heels and toes in a different color. I had been wanting to do this for a long time and kept falling into the rut of a single yarn. It’s like how I really like the Cat Bordhi sockitectures and then I fall back in the rut of traditional, top down socks!

This is a week of “almosts”. However, the good thing about a week of almosts is that I’ll have lots of finished projects to reveal and then next week will be all new projects.

1. SIL: A Midsummer Night’s Dream – almost done. I’m sure I’ll be blocking it this weekend and showing you modeled shots sometime in the next week.

2. Kaaren’s Socks – almost done. She tried them on last night and now I feel comfortable that I’m on the right track to finish them. (Same photo as last time, but it does showwhat I have left to knit.)

3. Relm – almost done. The knitting is finished and it’s now in the sink for a soak.

Quick and easy project. Will I be able to pull off this style? Maybe, maybe not. Certainly not the way it’s shown on the model in the magazine, but possibly as the designer’s photos show it.

I’m using Rowan Felted Tweed from my stash.

I have my very own horse trailer!!! I can hardly believe it as I’ve wanted my own trailer since I was a teenager. Back then it was a rather unrealistic desire, but as an adult I’ve had the means to purchase one for some time now and I still kept putting it off. It was never the right time to spend the money, I didn’t need to take my horses anywhere, how much would I really use it, etc. Once I came to the conclusion that buying new made no sense, I started watching the used listings and FINALLY a trailer I *really* wanted showed up.

It’s a 1997 Trail-et New Yorker which is (as you can see) the two horse straight load with a 5 foot dressing room. The horses have lots of head room because there are no mangers, instead you can clip in a feed bag or hang a hay bag.

In terms of condition, it’s in really good shape! The floor and frame are solid. All the window screens are intact and all of the interior padding is in perfect shape except for one missing chest pad. The tires are in okay condition with no visible rotting or cracking. We need to look up the DOT code and see how old they are before we haul any horses in it just to be safe. Outside, you can see where the stick-on striping has peeled off. We’re going to figure out what the best way is to remove it.

With regular care I think this trailer will last me a very long time!

Did you notice how I skipped right over last week? Although I’ve been knitting, my projects seem to be changing rather slowly these days.

1. SIL: A Midsummer Night’s Dream – after the marathon of weekend knitting 2 weekends ago that took me through the first repeat of Flower Trellis, things have slowed down a bit. Thankfully the rows are getting shorter though so I have made decent progress – I’m almost done with the second repeat (of three) of Flower Trellis.

You know you’re getting somewhere when your yarn ball is looking like this…

2. Kaaren’s Socks – it doesn’t look like much, but I did put at least another inch on both socks. At this stage I think it’s time for Kaaren to try them on. Then she can help me decide what length she’d like and whether to do calf increases or not. I thought I was getting better about worrying about fit for other people, but no, I’m just as paranoid as ever.

Check out these old photos…

This is my DH when he was a teenager. I believe he was going hunting with family friends, but I’m not entirely sure. Then again he also says these are Arabian cutting horses and *clearly* this horse is not an Arabian. Do you think he lowered his stirrups before going out to ride? ‘Cause that just looks uncomfortable!

And look at that hackamore clear down on the horse’s nostrils. Poor thing.