birthday shopping

Well... I made a big decision this morning. I went out and bought myself a present using the birthday money that I collected. My destination - Lee Valley Tools (not just a tool place, they sell all sorts of neat stuff). I came home with this:

Inside the box is the sexiest watering can in the world.


British racing green, handles like a dream, 8.8 litre tank (sounds like I'm describing a sports car). Sigh... Everything that a gardener could possibly want. I am in heaven. I've been lusting after one of these babies ever since we installed a rain barrel a few years ago. I've always wanted a good watering can to water my hanging baskets, planters, and seedlings. And now I've got one. Yipee!

There has been some knitting progress on my pink and purple Trekking sock.


We've been watching Memoirs of a Geisha the last 2 nights (it's a loooong movie) so I had to put down my Monkey sock in favour of a plain sock.

I am getting ready for the Tour de France KAL. I made 4 provisional cast-on crochet chains. I picked up the required stitches onto 2 long circs (yes, I plan on knitting 4 socks at a time). I made a cheat sheet detailing # of rows for the picot cuff, leg length, foot length, how many short rows for the heel, how many sts to decrease for the wedge toe, etc. I originally planned to knit all the socks toe-up but the idea of tacking down the picot cuff was just too time consuming (24 socks x 56 sts per sock = a lot of work). So instead, I'll knit them top-down and I just need to kitchener 28 sts together for each toe. I also went out and bought $100 in wine/ciders/beer to keep myself hydrated during the race.

I have a knitting "pannier" containing all my supplies so that it's easy for me to take the socks with me wherever I go. I am still waiting for the yarn to arrive. Trish said she'd ship it either Sat or Mon but the post office was closed on Mon so it's possible that she didn't post it til Tues. I don't know how many colours/skeins she's sending me and because I'm knitting 2 pairs at a time, I want to get all the yarn weighed and wound before Sat. I still haven't decided if I'll take the socks camping. Our young nieces will be there, too and it's hard to tell how much knitting time I'll have. On the other hand, I don't want to lose an entire week...

And hubby has been warned to stay out of my way this weekend. He has his list of chores to work on. We'll probably be ordering in so that I don't have to cook. And hopefully, the weather won't be too hot for knitting (like it is today). I can't wait for the race to start!