Best Laid Plans

I had my morning all planned out.

Yesterday I made bread. This morning I was going to get up before the kids and make French Toast (with the homemade bread). The get the girl to school, get the car to the service appointment, etc. all in a calm, orderly fashion.

Then the boy woke at 5, and by the time I got him settled and myself back in bed I was tired enough to sleep through the alarm. Woke up almost an hour and a half late, had to dash around to get the girl to school (late), got the car in (late), ate granola at 10:00 and had to shelve the French Toast until tomorrow. (That's okay, it's better with slightly stale bread anyway).

So now at 10:30 I am attempting to get on with what I wanted to be doing hours ago. I'm trying to take it in stride and just move on, roll with it you know?

Lately I've been feeling that way about my life: where I am now is good, but it's way different than where I thought I would be. Most of the time I roll with that (my MIL is fond of saying that Life is What Happens When You're Busy Making Other Plans) but sometimes I fret.

The upcoming trip back East for a memorial service probably has as much to do with the fretting as anything else.

So, I think instead of fretting I shall think about what knitting to take - there are so many possibilities, so many projects in progress.

Does anybody have any post-Christmas flying experience with knitting and TSA? I'm trying to take only carry-on baggage but I don't want to have my knitting needles confiscated, so if anyone has recent info on how stringent security is at the airports I would appreciate it.

ETA - on re-reading this post I decided there were way too many exclamation points, so I have removed them. That is all.

Stealth Deadline Knitting

A while back I agreed to be part of a project that Kathy had cooked up.

Of course it promptly slipped my mind for some time, until I checked in and discovered that the deadline was approaching, and fast.

So last Saturday I sat down with several Barbara Walker books and looked for a stitch pattern that was interesting and not too challenging, and then I got to work.

I have been working on no other projects for the past 8 days, and I'm happy to report that I have finished my part of the project with several days to spare.





Project: Stealth Orange Strip
Yarn: Red Heart Soft
5 oz/140g 256 yds/ball

Amt yarn used: 7.125 oz (can you tell I got a new kitchen scale for the Italian for Christmas?!)

Needles: size 8 Boye interchangeable

Dimensions: approx 6" wide (it was supposed to be 7" but I didn't allow enough extra for the intake of the rib" by 50" long

Stitch: Crenellated Pattern, pg 184 of one of Barbara Walker's books (I think volume 3)

Of course, when Punkin saw it she asked if I would make her a scarf in this stitch! I can't blame her - the fabric is amazing - it's so squishy, and it moves so much!

I have been knitting one orange project or another since August of 2009 and I'm not done yet - it's back to the Italian's orange sweater now, trying to get it done this winter!

WTF? The Air Travel Edition

So I have a question for any and all of you that travel on planes:

When you board an airplane where you stow your carryon baggage? Do you proceed to your row and stow your baggage in the overhead bin directly above your seat (assuming there is room)? Or do you stick your bags in any old overhead bin, regardless of where your seat is?

Before you answer, let me tell you that I have a strong opinion on The Right Way this should be done. I think your bags should go over your seat, or as close as you can get to it.

We traveled during the holidays. Normally I don't like to travel at the holidays - we used to do it every year but there's a reason I put my foot down about four years ago and said "I'm done". I like to be with my immediate family in my own house, with our rules, our food, our pajamas, etc. on Christmas day. Traveling in and out of the Northeast in the winter is a crap shoot and doing it with small children can be awful.

But things are complicated at "home", and I told my father we would come. So we went East on the 27th for a week.

Travel wasn't too bad on the way there: sure the line to get through security was long, but our plane wasn't full (when was the last time that happened) and we had six seats for the four of us - it was great.

The way home was another story. We had a 6:17 am departure so we left the house at 4:00. It was snowing, and had been for days, but the plows were out so it wasn't too bad. We got to the terminal and found a long line in front of the Air Tran terminal, but we were taking United so we kept on walking past the line. And walking, until we found that the line in front of the Air Tran counter was the United line which went across the terminal and had already doubled back on itself (the fact that it was 12 degrees Fahrenheit outside was the only reason the line wasn't going out the door.)

One thing we noticed on all parts of our journey was the increasingly strident tone the airline staff was taking in regards to carryon baggage. We were "advised" over and over that we could only take two bags, that any wheeled bag had to go in the overhead, that purses and coats were not allowed in the overhead, etc. etc.

On our flight out of Boston we were among the first in our seating area to board. We were about halfway down the plane, and we stowed one bag for each of us in the overhead, and put our other belongings under the seat in front of us. Safely seated, we were free to watch other passengers and how they dealt with their baggage.

The Italian and I both watched one group of four people stop at our row and enthusiastically stow all of their carryon baggage in the overhead compartment, filling two bins with their bags, purses, wheelies, coats, etc. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, they then proceeded to the last row of the plane, ten rows farther back, and took their seats.

Come on, that's just rude. I can understand if the compartments in the neighborhood of your seats are full needing to put your things somewhere else, but to just randomly stop and fill up a bin? Of course, when the other people who were sitting in our row, and the rows in front and behind, came to take their seats there was no place for their bags and they had to scramble to find space for it all.

The Italian and I were both amused and incensed, and it was a poor way to start the trip.

And I'm flying back at the end of the month. Let's see what travel conditions are like then!