TDFKAL and stuff

I just had the weirdest dream. In it, I was reading Julie's blog at Samuraiknitter when I see a post from her asking what the fuck is going on and when I'm going to update my blog. Thank you for the psychic message, Julie, but stay out of my head.

Anyway, there I was, one day until the riders get to Paris with 25 rows to go. "I can do this," I thought to myself. "That's only a little over 12 rows per day."

Note to self: Remember, you knit SLOWLY and you have a full time job.

Self: I can knit at work.

Note: You can't knit at work.

Self: I can close the door. No one will know. *maniacal laugh*

Note: It's wrong.

Self: I can put up a sign that says "T-con."

Note: It's wrong. You'll be taking the American people's money and not working.

Self: Stupid conscience.

Note: What was that? Did you say something?

As a result, I didn't finish by the end of the Tour. I was a DNF on the scoreboard of knitting life. Here are two photos of the Baby Surprise just after placing the stitch holders.


And that's pretty much how it looked at the end of the race. I am happy to say that I eventually did finish last Friday, the equivalent of walking my bicycle into Paris. Why did it take so long after the Tour? Because I got called for jury duty in a courthouse that does not allow metal needles. I spent a week on a jury for a double homicide first degree murder trial. That's a story unto itself.

Back to lighter stuff.

Unfolded...
And folded. Pretty cute! I added buttons and whisked it off to the fair for judging.
For those of you who have a hard time figuring out how to fold the garment after knitting, position the knitting so that the buttonhole rows go straight up the front. Once you manage that, you'll see the open seam is at the top of the shoulder, not the bottom.

In other news, Gettysburg lost one of the last remaining Battlefield "witness trees." Link to CNN, because the Gettysburg Times doesn't publish on Sunday.

Gettysburg Rocks

No trip to Gettysburg is complete without a little rock climbing. Here we are near the Pennsylvania Monument, discovering battlefield cannons.

My son and I clearly have different definitions of the word "cold."

Off to search out Devil's Den. My father used to bring my brother and me here on weekends to climb rocks and wear ourselves out before driving back home.

Go! Climb!

You can do it!

Hrrrrgh!

Look Mommy! I can see rocks from here! And trees!

I'm king of the world!

Gettysburg report, part 1

Well, we're back from Gettysburg. I got a fabulous deal on a hotel room that allowed us to stay for two days, rather than one. See fabulous view above.

Friday: I worked at home, which enabled me to be finished by 3:00. This meant LB#1 could come home on the bus, rather than going to aftercare. She informed me that I was *not* to pick her up at the bus stop. She was going to walk home.
[mother anxiety kicks in- what if somethinghappenscarsbadpeopleeek!]
Deep breaths.

Me: "Are you sure you want to walk home?"
LB1: "Yes. Next door neighbors 1 and 2 do it all the time. I'll just walk down the street and knock on your door."
Me: "You mean our door?"
LB1: "Yes. Our door. To our house."
Me: "You know, you can come right in to your own house."
LB1: "Oh, yeah."

This exchange is probably my own fault, having trained them not to walk into other people's houses without knocking.

At bus arrival time, I dutifully did not walk up to the stop. I stood in the carport, watching. When I saw her get off, I zipped back inside and pretended to read the paper. She made it home and was beaming, so proud to have done this by herself.

Then, off to pick up LB#2, drive over to my parent's house to water their plants (those crazy cruising seniors), back home, pack, wait for Brewguy to get home, pile in car, drive!

I still cannot believe we used to drive this commute twice a day for 4 years.

We got takeout from Tommy's Pizza for dinner and ate it in the hotel room (a Little Brewer request). Tommy's now has a drive through window but they won't let you buy beer through the window. Brewguy had to pick up the order, park the car, and go inside to buy the beer. Pennsylvania- keeping us safe from drive through beer.

The entire first hour was spent trying to get LB2 to turn down the volume on his voice, because when he's excited he TALKS LIKE THIS. REALLY, REALLY LOUD. I hope this kid finds a use for his projection talents. We finally had to explain that if the other guests complained about how loud we were being, the hotel wouldn't let us stay here anymore. That seemed to make an impression.

LB2, whispering: "Do we have to whisper?"

What a cutie.

Tomorrow: Brewgal has a run-in with porter and finds nirvana.

Moving Forward, Going Back

On a whim I decided to take the little brewers to Gettysburg for the weekend. This is the first time I've stayed overnight in Gettysburg since we lived there. It was an odd, wonderful, disorienting experience. As we drove around I began to understand that life does not stand still, even in a small town. Thank goodness for that. Change and growth is good for the town but begets a whole bunch of "you can't go home again" wailing from traditionalists with a Wolfe fetish.



The little brewers had an absolutely wonderful time. This was Little Brewer #2's first experience in a hotel. Actual transcript:



#2- "Wow, look! Two beds! Do we get to sleep on one?"

Brewgal- "Yes, you two get one bed and I get the other one."

#2- "Look over here! A TV! We can watch TV, just like at home!"

#1- "And the bed is so comfy!"

#2- "Mom! There's even a bathroom! Can I use the bathroom?"



Note the exclamation points. LB#2 likes to speak at FULL VOLUME.



Same and different:

• The now-defunct Gettysburg Brewing Company storefront is still vacant.
• The karate school has new digs.
• There are at least two new coffee houses.
• The yarn store appears to be gone.
• There is now an Adams County Winery store.
• Kennie's Market has a huge new store.
• The Appalachian Brewing Company has a brewery up on Seminary Ridge (beer review coming soon). And they have good pizza!

We spent most of Saturday climbing rocks on the battlefield. We took a picnic lunch out to Spangler's Spring. The best climbing rocks are in Devil's Den, but they are a bit much for little kids. Spangler's Spring has a nice flat spot for sitting and some low-level rocks perfect for the LB's. Added bonus: port-a-potties, a must when traveling with small bladders.

I made good progress on the log cabin blanket.


posted by Brewgal @ 11:15AM

No Casino for Gettysburg

The Pennsylvania Gaming Board has decided not to award a slot license to Crossroads. This means there will NOT be a casino in Gettysburg. You can find a link to the story on the New York Times site here.

*begin soapbox*

I am THRILLED there will not be a casino in Gettysburg. Yes, LeVan et al. said the casino would not have been visible from the battlefield (what, it's invisible?) and yes, there probably would have been a short-term increase in revenue/jobs for Adams County. IMHO, the resulting increase in crime, traffic and loss of ambiance would not have been worth the short term gain.

Honestly, I really could not have imagined a worse place to put a casino- except perhaps Salt Lake City (my apologies to Salt Lake City). A casino right next to Gettysburg, a major civil war battlefield. Imagine- Pickett's Charge Keno! Confederate 21! Union Penny Slots! 55,000 dead!

Ugh.

*end soapbox*