Socks, Mittens, and Carbide

I am finally finished with both of my sister's Christmas mittens!

My husband is sponsoring a foreign officer from Jordan.  We were supposed to show him around the area and introduce him to American culture.  We had him over for dinner 2 weeks ago, and I made the most American dinner that I could think of- Roasted Chicken.  I also made hummus to try to honor his culture (though I'm certain that it was not as good as he is used to!).  In Middle Eastern culture, it is rude not to return an invitation, so even though this gentleman is staying in a hotel and doesn't have a kitchen to cook a meal in, he insisted on taking us out to dinner.  The Jordanian restaurant that we wanted to go to is apparently closed, so we ended up going to a Palestinian restaurant in downtown Washington DC called Mama Aisha's.  It was awesome!  We had hummus, baba ganoush and tabbouleh just to start with!  I had a fantastic beef and eggplant thing for dinner.  We basically forced down some dessert (baklava for them, rice pudding for me).  I was so stuffed that I couldn't even think about food.  The Jordanian officer we were dining with started speaking in arabic to the owner of the restaurant.  I obviously didn't know what they were saying, but they seemed to become fast friends.  When we were about to leave, another tray of desserts appeared on our table!  I understand that in Middle Eastern culture, being a good host/hostess is sacred-but I didn't know that that extended to restaurant owners as well!  I had the tough job of choking down another enormous portion of baklava (I know, feel sorry for me!).  After that, when we dropped him back off at his hotel, he insisted that we come up and try the cookies that his wife baked for him and sent along in his suitcase.  Seriously?!?!  She made two kinds, so he insisted that I try both.  His wife is obviously a fantastic baker, and both were amazing.  I didn't think that I would be able to eat for 3 days, but I was hungry again the next day- at, like, 5:00 PM!  What a feast!  What a fun night!    

I have started trying to use my wheel!  I obviously don't know what I am doing yet, but it is fun to learn something new!

Please excuse my mess!  As you can see, I have yarn, knitting books and knitting needles everywhere!  The hubbs was up all night on Friday and Saturday working on his thesis, so I was up all night (literally all night- until 0600!) playing with fiber.  Tough life.  Really tough.  By next August, he will have a Masters degree, and I will have about 100 handknit socks.  I wonder if I can put that on my resume'?

I have started a new project! 

My dad and I recently got back in touch. I couldn’t be happier. Anyway-Christmas is coming and he makes a lot of money, so he already has bought or can buy anything that he wants. I thought it would be nice for me to make something for him-like I did when I was a kid. (But hopefully a little nicer!)
He lives in Florida and commutes every week to Texas for work. I have always lived in the north and I’m not sure really of what to knit for warmer climates. Also-he was recently diagnosed with Diabetes. When I think of Diabetes, I think of two things. The first is cake, because I would be sad if I couldn’t eat it. The second is feet, because I always hear about bad things that happen to people’s feet who have Diabetes. I decided that he should have some really special socks for his feet.
He wears dress pants and a button up shirt to work, so I decided to stick with a black background for these socks. His favorite color is blue, so I wanted to knit these socks in different shades of blue. I realize that the aqua color is a tad girly-but my dad really loves sailing, and the name of that color is “Caribbean Blue”, so I decided to run with it. The other blue is called “Deep Water” which I thought was also a good choice for a sailing enthusiast.
I researched different kinds of cooler sock yarns (rather than the merino wool that I used to make them for the hubbs). I learned that bamboo is naturally anti-bacterial, which makes it a great choice for socks. Also, these are made of cotton and a little elastic nylon for stretch. Unfortunately, to get the gauge, I have to knit these bad boys with size 0 needles! Wha wha.
I plan to wrap them in blue tissue paper with some gorgeous blue wrapping paper and ribbon. I hope that he likes them.

Also, I was speaking with my mother on the phone yesterday about what she might like to have for Christmas.  She said that she has been looking to buy something for a while, but was hesitant to tell me about it fearing that I might try to MAKE it for her, and she "didn't want to trouble me".  Sure.  I've heard THAT before!  Anyway- she has apparently been searching high and low for the PERFECT white sweater.  She likes v-necks (she doesn't like anything near her neck).  She also gets hot with bulky wool and would like something cotton.  She is "long waisted" (longer torso than legs) so many sweaters are a tad short on her, and she would prefer it a bit on the long side anyway.  I told her that I would design a sweater for her.  Super sweet of me, hey?  Too bad that I really don't know how to knit a sweater!  I went to the library and checked out a book on sweater design called The Sweater Workshop.  I'm not sure about this, now!  Also, we are driving up to see my family for Thanksgiving and celebrating Christmas THEN- so I actually have a month less than I would if I was making this for Christmas!  I sent her some pics of sweaters to see what kinds of things she likes and dislikes.  She picked the MOST BORING SWEATER on the earth!  It is just a (I think) 7x1 or 7x2 ribbed, v neck sweater.  I am trying to sway her to liking this one:

This sweater is knit in a DK weight wool, so it won't be as hot as some sweaters can be.  Also, I could extend the bottom ribbing of the sweater and make it longer for her.  And it is super cute and sexy!  But, my opinion really doesn't matter-she would be the one wearing it. 

And finally, the hubbs and I got some sad news this week.  Our little angel, Carbide, isn't doing so well.  It turns out that he has shoulder and hip dysplasia.  The poor dear needed to be knocked out in order to do the x-rays (this is, apparently the way that it is always done, but I didn't know that).  I know that Newfies are prone to orthopedic troubles, but I wasn't expecting this with Carbide for a few years yet.  He isn't even 3 years old!  Poor thing.  I will be visiting vetinerary orthopedic surgeons this week to see what they can make of our situation and what they think would be best for Carbide.  I love that little dog!  When I first got out of the Air Force and moved to Columbus, I didn't have a job (the Navy had claimed that I would go straight from the Air Force into the Navy-in fact, they jerked me around for a month and a half and I didn't know what was going to happen).  Also, my Meme' had just passed away, which is still the worst thing that has ever happened in my life.  And I didn't know anyone in Columbus- no job, school hadn't started yet.  No friends.  Jaimie was stationed in Germany.  It was a pretty dark time in my life.  But then there was little Carbide.  I had just gotten him.  All 18 pounds of fur that he was back then.  I know that this sounds really dramatic, but he was the reason that I got up in the morning.  As really, really sad as I was, I understood that I was responsible for that little creature.  Things would have been so much worse had it not been for him.  He took care of me.  Now, I will take care of him.  Maybe it is a blessing that I am not working now (since I am waiting on a military medical board).  I can be with him while he goes through this process and help him rehabilitate. 

We don't usually give him McDonald's obviously, but he had such a rough day at the vet's office that we decided to make an exception.  He was such a good boy and still waited for his release command before he inhaled that cheeseburger!  (ONE BITE!  I'm not kidding!)  Then I set up a little nest for him.  He loves to lay on the tile near the fireplace or the front door, or in the kitchen or bathroom since his fur keeps him so hot.  But I think that his joints are really starting to hurt him because he has been laying on the carpet more lately.  I put a fan on the floor and pointed it towards him- and he seemed to like it a lot.  Poor little guy.  He is also, as it turns out, allergic to Maryland, and we have to put this goop in his eyes twice a day for a few weeks.  AND he has had ear trouble since he was a puppy-which has flared back up and he now needs goop in his ears as well!  This poor little dear just can't catch a break!  I can't even imagine what it must be like to have a child-I am so upset over our dog being sick.  Motherhood must be heart wrenching!