A Need for Socks

Last week I swore project monogamy to a lace sweater about which I haven't had a chance to tell you.

However, since knitters plan and G-d laughs, that all went out the door Friday morning.

On Friday morning my mom called to tell me she was in the hospital because she might have had a heart attack the day before but they were still waiting for test results to come back. She assured me she felt fine and not to bother coming down.

That was a relief on all counts since it's an 8 hour drive. Of course, by the time I got out of the shower I'd come to my sense so when my older brother called to make sure I was up to speed I was able to assure him I was packing.

The final word is that she did have a mild heart attack and had had a silent one sometime in the past. They determined that she did not need a stent because her heart had grown new veins to bypass the blockage.

Despite these amazing regenerative powers she assures us she is not a Borg.

We were able to take her home Saturday afternoon and informed her that it was a hell of a stunt to get me to come down for Mother's Day.

I ended up staying the weekend and coming home Monday. It was a very nice visit in the end. It would have been a better visit if it hadn't been for a health issue and if I'd been able to bring Hubby and the pups along. (Hubby had school duties and the puppies would have added to the chaos anyway so I left them all behind.)

Road Trip!
About a hour into the eight hour drive I began wishing I'd made Hubby come along, mainly so he could do the driving. Then I began wishing I'd followed his suggestion of taking the train. I thought it would be inconvenient on the other end, but it turns out my brother had the day off and my mom was in a hospital across the river from Philly, so it would have totally made sense.

But I drove.

On the way down I was happy to see that my intense dislike for the Garden State Parkway was both undiminished and still justified.

On the way home I followed the GPS suggestion to take the George Washington Bridge. Famou last thought, "It's mid-day, how bad can it be?" Actually, it wasn't any worse than the Tappen Zee and the Garden State Parkway combination, but the toll on the GW is $8 which I was totally not expecting and I'm pretty sure made it a more expensive option. (Oh! I just checked my EZPass account online and it looks like I got a discount so the GW was only $5.90.)

In the end the drive both ways was fine and I made good time, so I guess I can't complain (much).

What Does This Have To Do With Socks?
Despite the jarring phone call and the rapid pace at which I packed I had the precense of mind to realize that a sweater which was all lace all the time being knit with lace weight yarn held doubled was not an acceptable project for the situation.

I will remind you that she sounded fine and perky when she called so worrying about which project to pack was a legitimate activity. If you don't understand that you are obviously not a knitter or crocheter.

I realized that the situation called for a pair of plain old socks. Small, portable, and mindless.

With that goal in mind I threw open the dining room credenza to fish out some sock yarn.

I was after this blue and purple Seacoast Handpainted Sock Yarn that I bought over Columbus Day weekend in 2010 and never told you about.

But when I opened the cabinet doors the first thing I saw was the brown/yellow/pink Aussi Soxxi yarn pictured at the top of the blog. I bought that yarn at Rhinebeck in 2009. The age and the extreme brightness of it made me decide to go with the Aussi Soxxi instead.

I figured I would need something cheery and obnoxious to knit with to combat the potential gloom of the weekend.
I didn't get much knitting done, but it seems to be moving along quickly.

The first night I was knitting, Saturday, I was a bit nervous because I thought I felt my fingers tingling like they do when I have an allergic reaction to some yarn. But the sensation didn't come back the next night so I think I'll be fine.

The question now is do I abandon the new socks for the lace sweater or try to juggle them?

Because project rotations always work out so well for me. ha!