How much...

How much knitting can one do on an 8-hour car ride to and from Cleveland, OH?

One hat's worth.

And a couple more inches on a sweater that will be wonderful when finished, but is sort of a slog right now...

Project: Notre Dame de Grace by Veronik Avery

Yarn: Spud & Chloe Sweater

Needle: 4.5mm

Started: September 21, 2010

Of course, the next obvious question is: why would one want to drive for 8 hours to and from Cleveland OH?

To visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, naturally...

Unfortunately one cannot take pictures in the Hall of Fame, so one has to rely on one's not-always-reliable memory (yeah, even after only 2 days, I'm fuzzy on a few things). However, pictures of the Hall of Fame are permitted.

We took Tanner and Ben, as part of Tanner's 16th birthday gift, and it was AMAZING. 6 floors of artifacts and information: hand-written notes for songs by the Beatles and Bruce Springsteen, musical instruments (Jerry Lee Lewis' piano, Eric Clapton's guitar), clothes (Freddy Mercury, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon's Sgt. Pepper uniform). Some of my favourites were the utterly outlandish outfits worn by Hendrix, according to the plaque, "both on stage and in every day life". Seriously, if you saw someone coming towards you in the grocery store in some of these things, you'd be calling for back-up.

There were some things I didn't understand, like, how did Rod Stewart get inducted 5 years before Paul McCartney? And where was Stevie Ray Vaughan? Or Chicago? Come on, people - Iggy Pop and the Stooges are there, but Stevie Ray is not?

All in all, though, a great weekend trip - we stayed in downtown Cleveland, within walking distance of restaurants, the Hall of Fame and lots of other things we were too tired to see; perfect weather; no delays at the border; and I got to knit there and back... all very civilized.

And now we're heavy into autumn, the leaves are falling (which translates to: must start raking soon), and temperatures are dropping faster than I'd like. You'd think, me being a knitter, that I'd love a little extra crispness in the air so I could wear sweaters, but in fact, I am happiest with the hot, humid weather we had so much of this summer. I'm kind of surprised that it's so fall-like already, but I think I've lost about 6 weeks, and am slowly reacquainting myself with what's around me.

So, we move on into "the new normal", which really is anything but, and just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Coping...

France, 1991

or a reasonable facsimile thereof...

Life is moving on, although slowly and sadly. My brothers and I are stunned by how difficult this is, particularly in light of the fact that we are all middle-aged (and then some), and Dad was 75. I think the suddenness and unexpectedness of it all, along with the realization of loss and change and impermanence, has clobbered us hard. And if it's this hard for us, I really can't imagine how hard it is for Mom.

So we plod along as best we can, with days that seem okay, and days that are unbearably painful. My parents' 51st anniversary was on Friday - not a good day. We are celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, and I think that will be an okay day. The days in between are hard to predict, but I am always grateful for a non-crying day; these are happening more and more frequently.

So I am knitting, but not with any enthusiasm. What I have done is FINALLY figured out my rigid heddle loom, which I find completely weird. I have been stumped for the past couple of years, having so much difficulty just warping the damn thing. Now, unable to concentrate on much of anything, I am suddenly able to figure this out.

So I made this for Kelly's birthday: 1 and a bit more skeins of Sanguine Gryphon "Bugga".

One thing that I am finding very comforting, or rather, one person, is Elizabeth Zimmermann. I read and re-read her books as a matter of course, but for some reason, I am turning to her almost exclusively right now.

Which leads me to thoughts of a new project for the new year... I think I'm going to work my way through Knitters' Almanac beginning in January 2011. I will follow the projects faithfully, except for those things that I know I'll never wear, or be able to persuade anyone else to wear (nether garments, anyone?). In those cases, I'll substitute another Zimmermann project.

So, does anyone want to play with me?