Go see Claudia’s post on Repetition. I turned the heel on the second Sock Pal Sock last night. Just the foot to go. BOR-ing.

Holey Moley those wheels are expensive! Geez. What have you guys gotten me into?

Cate has a wonderful post on perfection. Remember the google search string that landed someone here: debilitating perfectionism? Yup. That’s me. Made me think of my favorite IMperfection story. When we got married, I got two rings – one’s a plain platinum band that I was married in, the other’s a gorgeous, beyond beautiful platinum band in a flower design punctuated with diamonds and small blue sapphires. I found the model for it while helping my brother-in-law look for rings for my sister, and knew it was the one for me. It looks JUST like my grandmothers platinum and diamond band that I’ve always loved. So I had we had it made and I wore it for a little bit before we were actually married, so I think of it as my pseudo engagement ring. Anyway, it didn’t take me long after I bought it to realize that there was an imperfection in it. One of the stems on a leaf is a bit bent and out of shape. This about KILLED me for a bit and I almost took it back, but then I realized that it was a fantastic symbol for my marriage. That no matter how wonderful and beautiful and precious our relationship is – it’s not and will never be PERFECT.

I left the imperfection in the ring and now, of course, it’s one of the things I love about it. Whenever I’ve misplaced it and fear I’ve lost it (more frequently than I’d like to admit) Georgie always says not to worry – we can get a new one – and my first thought is that it won’t be the same. The new one WON’T have the imperfection that I’ve come to love.

Okay. Off to a fabulous lunch today – hopefully I’ll have more to report tomorrow! Have a great day!

PS – Hope things in London are settled down and it was all nothing serious. I (reluctantly) watched some of Farenheit 911 last night and if even a 1/4 of its true – the US is seriously fucked and I pray that our friends around the world don’t bear the brunt of the repercussions. That’s not to say I don’t pray that WE don’t bear the brunt of it either, but you all know what I mean. The world is a very scary place.

Where do you find yours?

I got a healthy dose yesterday from MamaCate’s Zen entry. I, too, have monkey brain – or gorilla brain – whichever one never gives you a moment’s peace – EVER. I’ve tried the whole stare at the flickering candle meditation route and my brain thinks it’s a license to go absolutely berserk. I need something PHYSICAL. It used to be pottery – throwing pots on a wheel. You MUST concentrate or else it won’t work. Then running. Trying not to die is a sure way to turn off the thoughts in your brain. (I NEED TO DO THIS MORE.) And, of course, my zen of choice these days, knitting. This one is the most successful of my endeavors to be sure. I can get a mindless knit for when I’m feeling okay. I can tackle something more difficult for when I need to concentrate – and always – it’s a physical endeavor that keeps me busy. Idle hands are the devil’s tools. I am THE poster child for this idiom.

I’m one of those white coat anxiety people – you know the ones who get nervous before they go to the doctor because they’re sure it’s bad news (honestly though – when am I NOT anxious?). Not too long ago I was sitting in the GYNs waiting room (never a fun time) and I was knitting. Forty-five minutes later I’m naked in the examining room, still knitting (got to keep warm somehow). When the nurse took my blood pressure, it was the lowest it’s ever been. That good healthy low. She was impressed, and I told her – it’s the knitting. Calms me down. Only Xanax does a better job. 😉

Most important about Cate’s post is that I’ve FINALLY gotten FBS! I have one more freaking repeat to go, but last night was the most enjoyable repeat yet. I finally SEE the pattern. (I know, I’m a little late to the game.) I understand the purpose of each stitch, each YO. I wish I had paid more attention earlier, because it would’ve saved me a lot of time. I barely made a mistake in all ten rows, and when I did, it only took me a couple of stitches to realize it. NO FROGGING ENTIRE ROWS! I’m looking forward to finishing the final repeat today – and hopefully the entire shawl tomorrow. It’s got to be blocked and packed by Sunday night.

Anyway, Cate was much more elegant about it than I was (she doesn’t mention anyone getting naked) so head over there and check out her post.

While there wasn’t any knitting going on this weekend, there were a few moments of inspiration.

We bought my nephew a big box of 1000 LEGO Bricks (apparently you’re not allowed to say LEGOS.) They were so tiny they barely filled the giant lego box they came in. What impressed me about the toys were the colors – they were muted and pleasing and my nephew and I spent a great deal of time getting the colors in just the right order. He insisted the red HAD to be at the top. He used to be all about blue, but lately it’s been red. He built the same, but completely different, red robot about ten times this weekend. LEGO bricks are a good thing. I’m thinking of a cardigan – solid sleeves, solid back, striped LEGO fronts for him. What do you think?

I was also flipping through the Anthropologie catalog. Gotta say – been to the store, get the catalog and I’d be hard pressed to ever actually WEAR anything they sell. I’m a khaki/jeans/t-shirt kind of girl myself. BUT, I do love to look at their sweaters – they have a lot of sweaters that don’t seem like they would be that hard to make. And looky here what I found on p. 19 in the “fall in love again and again” catalog:

Of course, they’re not selling this sweater – they’re selling the frilly ridiculous pink thing (straight out of Rowan by the way) on the mannequin/model standing to his right. I cropped her out. But, let’s look at the sweater on this guy. Is this not PERFECT for the sweater I’ve been wanting to make for my dad? Picture it in a grayish brown tweedy Jo Sharp with a V-Neck. Now my dad’s not so tall and he does have a decent gut – but I think it will work! I especially like the ribbing around the sides. I may have to incorporate that into my Bohemia cardigan. These cables are super easy to find in my cable books for sure – they all look familiar – and I think the middle panel will split into a v-neck quite easily. Inspiration! Yay!

Someone in the apartment upstairs is drilling away like freaking Marathon Man (don’t worry Jen – we WON’T be watching that one) and now my teeth are killing me.

Go! Away with you! Find some inspiration!