Before...

I had five minutes at home between work and physical therapy, just enough time to change. While talking with Eric on the phone before I arrived, he asked what I had recently ordered from Amazon.com. I started racking my brain; there was that gift for Eric's birthday...but that was last month. And I had been stingy since. Nothing. I hadn't ordered a thing. Perhaps Eric was trying to tell me that he had an early birthday gift waiting for me? Nope.

Pleading ignorance, but not being able to deny the fact that my name was indeed prominently typed as the recipient, the box was promptly opened. And a book was found inside -- Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter. I hadn't ordered it, but Rebecca and Dennis had. They saw it in the store and thought instantly of me, so that was that.

For those of you doubting the worth of a book based primarily on the visuals in the movies, I wish you could flip through it. I want to make all of the socks, tackle a couple of the sweaters, maybe try one of the bags, experiment with lace on the invisibility shawl, and the scarves would always be fun to whip out.

It was delightful flipping through it, taking in the eye candy. Thanks so much, you two. It was such a pleasure finding an unexpected gift at our door. You made my evening, and I'm filled with the special thought that I know you went out of your way to spend money and track down our address, all because the idea crossed your mind that this would be something I would enjoy. You were right.

On the home front, Eric has completed his written comprehensives and must now begin the waiting game before he hears results. We'll leave our home and feline in the care of a house-sitter while we celebrate with a long weekend in the Twin Cities. I'm so glad we'll have the opportunity to reunite with good friends and savor the time together.

Since I'll have traveling time, I have discriminately chosen yarn projects to accompany me. While I'd love to break in the Charmed Knits sock patterns, I figure security will only let me take so many sets of double-pointed needles on the plane with me. And then of course there's the tiny pair of scissors, and naturally I'll need a crochet hook to fix any possible problems. So I'm restraining myself and staying with yarn selections that require the same size needles. Fortunately, the security screeners haven't yet batted an eye at me or my tagalongs, so there must be enough of us out there hauling our knitting through the airports of the world. Periodically, an older woman will approach me at the gate, wondering how I got the needle through security, as though it was some slight of hand on my part. Not everyone knows that knitting needles are indeed allowed on planes again (although it always falls to the discretion of the screener).


I have (mostly) finished one sock and have vowed to complete the pair before we leave Minneapolis. And you can see what I have ahead of me for my return travels -- that skein of yarn will become another pair of socks to be gifted at a later time. There won't be a complete pair, but we'll learn how much I can accomplish in a plane.