A Mixed Bag of a Weekend

How is it already Monday again? And why do weekends always go by so quickly, even when you're not doing much? (And why don't dogs understand that weekends are for sleeping in?)

My weekend started early -- at 4:50 a.m. on Saturday. Ruthie is still having some occasional tummy trouble, and I guess that's when she needed to go. (She's now getting daily probiotics and some pureed pumpkin with her meals. Things seem to be getting better.) It was a much earlier start to the day than I'd hope for, but there is something kind of fun about being the only one awake and having a slow start to the day, particularly if there's a puppy curled up next to you while you nurse your coffee. Because that first trip outside was so early and because Molly and I were going out to lunch with my mother, we got an extra walk in during the day, and I don't think Ruthie minded one bit!

Before I passed out early for the night on Saturday, I managed to finish up my mother-in-law's socks:

I used my usual sock recipe for these, worked over 68 stitches with a US 0/2.0 mm needle, but I worked the entire sole in 2x2 rib after picking up stitches for the gusset. Years ago I knit a sock pattern that had ribbing on the sole, and those socks always felt like a bit of a foot massage. My MIL has neuropathy in her feet, so I thought these might feel good. The yarn (Lorna's Laces Solemate) also uses an engineered fiber that's supposed to regulate temperature. It's exciting enough to have finished the socks, but do you know what's extra exciting? This skein was the last one from the stash enhancements that came home with me from SSK last summer. (We'll ignore the fact that I still have some yarn in my stash from my very first SSK in 2017, right?)

Now that I've got finished pairs of socks for both my mother and my mother-in-law and it's only mid-March, I though I'd knit two more pairs for my sisters-in-law so that all the moms in my family can have a new pair for Mother's Day. I've already cast on the next pair, using a skein of Fibernymph Dye Works that only recently came into the stash, as it was the "reward" skein for completing the FDW component of Lisa's make-along last year. The colorway is called Wishes for the Journey, and as you can see, it has an unusual stripe pattern.

These are such happy colors that feel so appropriate for the first days of official spring, just as flowers are starting to bloom and green is appearing on trees.

I've got a busy week ahead: It's the start of commencement season! I still plan to keep my usual blogging schedule, but I will likely spend much of this week reading lists of names rather than reading books. The upside is that Molly is on spring break this week and next, so I'll get a longer stretch of quiet time in the afternoon (while Ruthie naps) because I won't have to leave to pick her up at school. She's also promised to bake some cookies this week, so I can have a treat for finishing all that tedious work.

This weirdo hopes you have an easy start to your week!