H is for Houseful

H is for Houseful. And Hospitality. For a couple hours today, our house was very full. Not only was there, well, us (me, Mom, Dad--poor guy, it was raining and he couldn't golf--and Chappy), but there was also Risa with Kat and Alex, Shelley, and Liz. (The oddest thing about this picture? At 5'3", I'm the tallest person here--I don't know that that's ever happened to me before!)

Shelley and Liz (aka Lizzy B) came up yesterday afternoon--fighting traffic most of the way. Liz and Chappy hit it off immediately. She was down on the ground playing almost as soon as she saw him, even before we were in the house! He may have gotten a little (ahem) over-excited, but they definitely had a good time.

Of course, Max and Marley weren't forgotten--there were lots of stories flying around about all the dogs, present or not. (And their cats, too, though of course, I didn't have any cat stories.)

The three of us stayed up until after midnight, knitting, talking, and laughing. (And apparently, after we all went to bed, Liz and Shelley stayed up until 3:00 talking even more!) I got to see Liz's Brambleberry sweater in person. As great as it looked on the blog, it looked even better in person. (Oh, and the scarf in Synchronicity yarn? Yum!) Shelley's Norwegian hat is beautiful, too--don't think it's not just because I didn't gush. (Oh, and ladies, I know this isn't the most flattering photo, but--I tried!)

Then this morning, Risa came with the twins, and chaos erupted. Chappy barked (and barked and barked) hello, which spooked the twins. And once they'd gotten over that and started feeling comfortable, well . . . let's just say that gates that block doorways but which can be slid aside aren't as effective with twins as they are with puppies. In other words, they kept escaping the kitchen and running into rooms they weren't allowed in. And, of course, not listening to their Mom, because where's the fun in that? So poor Risa didn't get to knit with the three of us--her lap and her hands were full (literally and figuratively).

Unfortunately, Shelley and Liz had to leave at noon. (I did wave good-bye, but I'm not sure if you saw me. The departure process got kind of rowdy--more barking, more escaping, more chaos.) The twins settled down again, and had some lunch. (Alex wanted a sandwich like my Dad was having--he sat right next to him at the table, and "chewed" along with each bite . . . the boy was hungry!)

I did mention the knitting, right? Liz and I both cast on for the Celtic Dreams sweater, although she got rather further than I did. (She claims I knit faster, but I don't know about that!) In this case, though, she got further because her gauge was just fine. Mine on the other hand . . . apparently the stockinette stitch swatch wasn't accurate after all, because when I started my first shoulder saddle last night, well . . . it was closer to 5" wide than the 2.5" in the schematic. So this morning, I dropped down to size 3 needles (3.25 mm). Um . . . still, not quite there. (Sheesh.) So . . .size 2 (3 mm) Ebony needles? Definitely closer, but even there . . . the swatch is closer to 3" than 2.5". Should I try size 1s? Lord, that just seems pathetic for Aran weight yarn.... especially compared to the size 7 (4.5mm) the pattern calls for. (Oh, and yes, I know there's an error in the cable. If I stick with this saddle at this gauge, though, it's staying there--who's going to look that closely at my shoulders anyway?

Let's not forget, though, that H is also for Hostess Gifts. Liz and Shelley both brought me gifts!

From Liz--a skein of Opal sock yarn--a brand which I haven't gotten to try yet. A bar of soap that coordinates really nicely with my bathroom and smells lovely. A bar of goat milk soap in the silver box which smells even nicer. A bumblebee tape measure. And two skeins of Koigu in just gorgeous colors . . . (Um, which hat was it again that you had in mind for that yarn, Liz? Interweave Knits Winter issue had more than one hat pattern....)

From Shelley, a very nice Vanilla-Grapefruit candle. Some Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in "Indian" which is just a gorgeous combinations of reds and cinnamons and autumn-y colors. And, oh, a skein of Alchemy Synchronicity all my very own in a beautiful shade of teal. Now I know what Liz was gushing about when Shelley gave her a skein in February. It's just amazing!

Thank you both so much!

And, meanwhile, here's what Chappy's doing right this minute. All this entertaining the guests, being cute and charming (and loud and excited) is just exhausting. It did not take him long to fall asleep at all!

Oh, H is also for Helping. If you haven't heard of the Warming Grace project, do go check out entry from April 5th. I found some pink Calmer in my stash, so I'm ready to go!

And, lastly--an editorial by Zoe Williams about unleashed dogs in parks, from the Guardian. Shelley, Mom and I were talking about dog-friendly public places this morning, and how some people just don't "get" what dog owners want and need (is it really too much to ask that your dog--as long as it is well-behaved--should be allowed out in public with you, when bratty kids can go anywhere?). So, this article was well-timed for me. A quote: "The fact is that fat, self-important parents use them for four days in the summer; dog owners use them all year round. ...This sort of thing happens all the time: people with no notion of dog ownership, with no idea about what's a problem and what's a play, who aren't even anywhere near you, will just come up and start berating you."

Comments

[Patty]

Sounds like you all had a wonderful, yet exhausting, time. I can't wait to hear all about it - after my two walks tomorrow (I have a lot of making up to do!)

And, Debbie, you do have one cat - or rather, kitten - story. Remember in Rockaway with the school crossing guard and a box of newborn kittens?

Love you... Sleep tight to you all...Patty

[Cynthia]

Deb,

Thanks for volunteering to knit a square for Grace. Can you email me so I can email you with my snail mail address? Thanks so much!

[Beth]

I'm completely envious! And Chappy, dude, would it kill you to look at the camera??

[Chris]

Wow, sounds like you had a fabulous time! And you must be the very first person to do H... ;) I had an idea for H while I was walking today, but now it's gone. Drat.

Do you have any off-leash dog parks there?
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/animal-control/Off-LeashParks.asp

The one at Minnehaha Park (which looks pathetic on the map), is massive - acres and acres of woods and trails along the Mississippi. Lots of happy dogs there!

[Carole]

I can imagine the chaos but it sounds like a great time. And don't knitters bring the best hostess gifts?

[Risa]

Chaos is the natural companion when my two go anywhere. You should see the chaos in my living room and they've only been in here for 45 minutes!

Thank you for having us. We had a blast, as always! Beautiful hostess gifts!

[Anna]

What a wonderful time you had!! And lovely gifts! Thank you for the link to the article. Leo comes pretty much everywhere w/ me, except to school & restaurants. Yesterday I stopped at a Starbucks, which I rarely do but was driving and wanted to grab a cup of coffee for the car. We were standing in line (he was actually sitting on my feet) & an employee came up & asked me to leave. "Can I just grab a quick cup of coffee to go?" No, apparently not. State code, I get that...all right. But it was a drag nonetheless. There were a bunch of little children in there & they certainly are much more contagious than my little pup! I was sort of irritable already, granted, but I was annoyed!

[Shelley]

Hey there girlie! We had such a fun and wonderful time. Thank you and your family so much for taking us in and being such gracious hosts! Hope we didn't scare you too much with all our squealing and giggling! Chappy of course is adorable as ever! All the food was delicious and the opportunity to meet Risa and the twins was a cherry on top! We can't wait for you to come and visit us too so the animals can have just as much fun meeting up! I might actually get a post out tonigh...How long as it been!

How ironic about the editorial. Yes, I am so glad about my Old Town being so dog-friendly. Here's some links to some of the articles I spoke about how our city is one of the top dog-friendly town in the US! Our dogs surely have it made compared some pooches else where!:
http://www.travel-watch.com/alexandria.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/03/AR2005120301045.html
http://www.atlanticblog.com/archives/001493.html

Thanks again and I can't wait to have you come visit us soon!

[JessaLu]

It looks like you had great fun! Awesome hostess gifts ;o)

[Li_B]

I'm 5'4" and towered over the Puerto Rican side of my family. I always wanted to be taller, though.
Li

[jess]

Just read the editorial -- the only thing that bothers me more are the dog owners who have no notion of what is play and what is not. I'm not sure what it is, but I seem to run into the most idiotic people at the dog park near my house. So much so that I don't go there very much anymore and instead socialize the dogs with friends/relatives dogs instead.

That said, I live pretty close to Shelley (I'm a few miles away in Arlington) and Arlington is also very dog-friendly. Back in Seattle/Redmond, everything was also dog-friendly, too. So I haven't seen too much anti-dog sentiment while I've had a dog other than while traveling with them (Boris has been cross country now twice back and forth; Ging hasn't traveled much yet).

Looks like you guys had a fantastic time! And I just want to snuggle the sleepy sleepy Chappy! :)

[Lizzy B]

Ah, Shelley eloquently took the words right from my mouth! On the way home all we talked about was how much fun Max and Marley and Chappy will have!

Thank you so much for your hospitality, great cooking, wonderful companionship and ability to withstand the force of nature that is Shelley and I together! :)

Thank you so much for inviting Risa over so we could meet her, and thank you especially for letting me rile Chappy up so much. And thank you Chappy for not having happy bladder no matter how excited I made you! :)

Thank you for reminding me how much I enjoyed my time in Martha's Vineyard and how eager I am to get back there, for reminding me how wonderful and warm the knit blogging community is, and for giving us a book from your library!

I think I might try some clicker training with Max!

I can't wait for Chappy to meet Max and Marley! Those 3 will have so much fun together! :)

Ok, so, when are you coming for a visit? :)