Ike Shmike

I really am thankful that my family is all fine and healthy. And I really am happy that we didn't sustain any real damage from Hurricane Ike. Just a ton of landscaping debris and one small tree lost. Otherwise, not so much destruction to my property or that of any family. All of that being said, I am completely exhausted from trying to exist for 10 days without power. In Houston. With 90 degree heat. And two kids. And no ice. We initally thought our power would be back up today or tomorrow, but now Centerpoint is saying that we will be restored "after Thursday". Holy shit wads, Batman.


The saving grace is that my office has power. 911 has operations in my building. Power was out in the neighborhood for all of 20 minutes. Then it came back on. Our neighbors must love my building! Well, 911 at least! So here I sit for the first time in 10 days, enjoying the modern conveniences of ice, a/c, internet and lights! I have never been so happy to see them all in one place.


Things are on the rebound. We can find gas easily again. Our tap water is usable again. Some street lights are coming back on. Our yard has been cleaned up. The trees, power lines, debris and trash are being cleared from streets. And our local grocery store has power, so we can buy most things... they have even been restocked with perishables as of yesterday. Now if we could just get that elusive power back!


So, what to do during a hurricane? Knit, of course! With little else to do for the past 10 days, I did manage to get a lot of knitting done. I finished a scarf and matching hat for my niece. I did my "Hurricane Ike" scarf out of Rowan Summer Tweed... it was a fun knit from a pattern that I bought in Portland. It is lacy and very pretty. I also got about 4 feet knit on my STR Chevron Scarf. And did some work on a vest that I am doing with Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn... it's a pattern from Knits So Fine... my favorite knitting book EVER. I stuck to pretty simple stuff because I knew that I would screw up anything that required too much patience or brain power!!!


In the midst of it all, I got the latest Seven Deadly Spins package last week. It is one of the prettiest things I have seen in my time knitting. It is also one of the most intimidating patterns I have ever seen! I am bound and determined to do it though. I plan to work it with Purl, and I am hopeful that we can get through it together. I am really bad at suspense, and I always look at spoilers. This time around, being in the dark, not only did I not see any spoilers, but I didn't even know the package was on its way. It was the best surprise, and it made my day!!

Finally, I have to say that I have met the sweetest, dearest woman through swapping on Ravelry. It is neat to find someone that wants to trade a skein of yarn with you, but it's pretty amazing when a friendship strikes up in the process! Thank you knittingleftie!