Yopping Update #28 - More things I can't show you

 

This past week I mostly spent researching different gansey motifs for the next twelve squares.  I settled on  Hearts, Diamond, Tree of Life and Scottish Flags:

I finished another testknit sock which was quite enjoyable.  I am just making one of each sock, but creating fraternal pairs by using the same yarn for two different socks.  I will be quite the fashion forward I think. 

My husband's suitcase is still lost somewhere between Croatia and Vancouver.  It has been twelve days so there isn't much hope that it will surface.  Upsetting to say the least and now he has to go through the hassle of a) making a claim, and b) replacing the missing contents.  So annoying, and of course now I am fretting about when I fly in a week because most of my luggage are things I have knit while I have been overseas.  Luckily my husband and I swapped carry-on bags before he left and I plan to stuff mine with knitted things plus wear both sweaters and the shawl and maybe two pairs of socks.  I will look like the Pillsbury Doughgirl, or the Michelon (wo)man - suffice to say I will be warm.  The gnomes (all 27 of them) are already packed in the carry-on.  I have my priorities straight!

I did manage three more cold water swims this past week, but not today because it is very stormy at sea and there are warnings about thunderstorms so I am staying in safe and dry for the time being. (Well, I do have to go out to get some milk and tea, but I am hoping the rain will stop shortly so I can dash out and back without becoming the proverbial drowned rat.) 

After I finish this post I am going to cast on another sock - actually a match to one I made last week - I can't just have fraternals in my carry-on. 

I fly home in eight days.  The time has gone by too fast and I am still trying to get my overstayed visa issue worked out.  The woman I originally talked to doesn't seem to be working this past week so tomorrow I have another name and number to call.  Fingers crossed I won't be thrown out of the country and become persona non grata. 

I have entered all my blanket squares into the Harry Potter House Cup Challenge and the toque and mitts I want to make as part of a KAL with a dear friend are not to be started until January 21st at which time I will be home (and hopefully so will my suitcase).  

I hope the new year is treating you gently.  We have all been fighting (and mostly winning) against the cold that arrived at the end of 2022.  Not the funnest way to start a new year I can tell you.  

(I know funnest isn't a word - but this cold doesn't deserve proper vocabulary!)

Yopping Update #27 - A sock I can actually show you

 

I finished a testknit sock this past week, but it is top secret so no picture.  But...I did finally get around to knitting my second Wetlands Gansey sock and I finished them on New Year's Eve and they have been on my feet ever since. 

It is almost time to put away the Advent gnomes and Saint Gnicholas until next year, but I couldn't resist one more picture. 

My dh flew home on Friday.  He and I both have a cold and I know for him flying while feeling rotten is just, well, rotten.  He is home now, safe and sound (although he is still waiting for his suitcase).  

Otis is glad to have someone home with him once more:

I have started another testknit sock and the next term of the Harry Potter Knitting/Crochet House Cup has begun so I am plotting more gansey blanket squares and I think a toque to match my Birdsong. 

After seeing my husband off at the airport early, early Friday morning I got to witness this amazing sunrise on the way home. 

I did get into the sea for my polar bear dip today, New Year's Day.  The sea temp was about 9.5C and I managed two minutes before coming to my senses and heading home for a warm bath!  It was Ccccold.

It will be a few months before we are all together again, so I am glad my husband had us all pose for a selfie the night before he left. 

Happy New Year to all my dear readers.  May 2023 bring us some peace and kindness, health and most of all Love.