Sheep Shots

We woke this morning to the sound of silence. The rains have stopped (at least for the momement). After breakfast we ventured out to see how bad the damage was. The morning paper said that there was as much as 10" of rain in some places and that streets near the food bank had been seriously flooded, stranded motorists (too dumb to not drive through standing water) were rescued, kids were plucked from raging streams, you know the drill.

So at about the time that the barricades had either been removed or made permanent, we drove through areas of excessively high High Water Marks and pulled into the food bank driveway. Water was still flowing across the entrance, but was no longer gushing at a speed guaranteed to sweep away small animals and cars. We drove in.

WTF? all of yesterday's hay bales were gone, swept away in the rising waters. There was a bright blue pallet wedged in the underbrush. Somebody's dinnerware (plates and saucers) was strewn across the parking lot. The van (moved to our ramp) was safely above the water line. Its usual parking spot was not. The high water mark is clearly as high as last fall's encounter with Ivan. I told you that Tammy was no lady!

I could hear the alarm through the locked door, so I grabbed my keys and went inside only to have another WTF moment. No power! (Alarm operates with a battery backup.) So I reset the alarm, called the alarm company, and later in the day, called the food bank to make sure that the power was back on (main phone line depends on electricity). Another bullet dodged!

So, in all this, where's the silver lining? We-llll, this is the weekend that the American Association of University Women (AAUW, of which I was once a member in another state, another life) is having its annual Book Sale! Of course, we stopped on the way home. I got:















Best $4.50 I've spent in a while. The Playtime sweaters booklet has a 50 cent price tag. It's (c) 1948. The Dale (left photo, pictured on the left) is from 1974 and has great illustrations for steeking (they call it "cutting the armholes"--how quaint). The other three (right photo) are only the tip of the iceberg. I got some old Fashion Knitting and some Patons Back to Basics. The shaping and sizing is very different than what we're used to seeing today, but the motifs and cables are classic. I will definitely get my money's worth. And the kid's booklet (center of right picture) is all garter stitch sweaters for 1-4 made from double stranded worsted weight yarn. Perfect for cozy sweaters for the reservation!

I left behind a pile of vinatge Anny Blatt. I may stop on Tuesday (bag sale day) and get them if they are still there.

And the other silver lining:

Since I didn't have to drive, I made some nice progress on the Lopi. That's sleeve #1, almost long enough to join. Work with me here, folks. If I make both sleeves, then set aside enough of the natural to work the front bands, I'll be able to use the rest of the natural to lengthen the sweater body so that it hits me below the hip, right? The model in the pattern photo clearly is less than 5' tall if the sweater fits her like a minidress. Which begs the question, is that Icelandic guy standing next to her a dwarf? Because he's not a whole lot taller than she. Nevermind.

Tomorrow, I'll post my progress on the Lopi and the first part of the bed socks as promised.

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