So much to show and tell

I promised ya'll pictures when we got back from Albuquerque and I always keep my promises. (well most of the time) So I have finally uploaded my camera to my computer and here are a few lovely things for you to look at.

Here is a lovely pair of socks I made for my DIL. The first pair I made for her looked like they could be worn by coneheads. The heel was so pointy, but being the great sport she is, she has been wearing them anyway. So I decided to grace her with another, better made pair. This is only the second pair I have ever done and was all excited about doing the "lace" top on them. Ribbing is highly over rated and is boring. This yarn is called Berroco Sock yarn. I don't remember which book I got the pattern from as I did them over a month ago.

This pair is for my Mom. She loves to wear socks to bed so, I made her a pair just for that purpose. I bought all this wool blend yarn when our Ben Franklin store was going out of buisness and my Mom is the only one I know who can wear wool. So she will be the lucky person to be getting LOTS of wool socks in the near future. This is the 3rd pair of socks I have made. They are getting easier with each pair. I am using the magic loop method. This yarn is called Swizzle and the pattern is from my "Knitting on the Road" book.

Here is the pair of socks I am currently working on. They are for my DD. While we were in NM I measured her foot so I could make them to order. I am using the magic loop method as you can see, and all of the socks have been made according to the Crazy Toe and Heels book. I make all of my socks toe up now and it goes so quickly. I started this pair on Sunday and am already almost ready to start the gusset on them. And of course, since I am doing them 2 at a time, I don't have the orphaned sock syndrome in my house. I am hoping to get these socks done in the next week as I promised her 2 pair of socks. She even picked out her yarn that I had with me. (You know I have to carry all my sock yarn and patterns where ever I go!) I gave her a choice of all the patterns and she gave me the honor of picking out whatever I wanted to do! So this pattern is from my book called "Favorite socks 25 timeless Designs from Interweave". Of course I have to convert most of the patterns from double point to magic loop but it is pretty easy (so far).

On the way back my DH and I decided to go thru the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. He had been a very long time ago and I had not been there since I was about 4. (also a VERY long time ago) This was a wonderful blooming cactus right at the point where you pay to go in. Everyone thinks the desert is such an awful place and just nothing but dirt, sand, tumbleweed, tarantulas, gila monsters and coyotes. Well as you can see there is much more to our desert than that. Of course we have all those other things but when the desert is in bloom it is one of God's greatest masterpieces.

I had to show you that my DH and I truly were at the painted desert. A very nice gentleman asked my DH to take his picture with his wife and then he was kind enough to ASK us if we would like to have our picture taken together. We so seldom get that priviledge. We were lucky that the day was so nice. As we were leaving the park about 2 hours later the storms were moving in. If you have never experienced a desert thunderstorm then you can not imagine how fierce and horrible they can be. There is no place outside to take any type of shelter. The rains and winds come from all sides of you. It comes in unannounced and leaves as abruptly as it starts. Now I have lived thru tornados and midwest winters and rains. But nothing could have prepared me for what happens in the desert when the storms come thru. But after all the years I have lived here I absolutely love it when it rains here. Everything is washed all nice an clean and the air smells lovely. Of course I don't enjoy any destruction that could come with the storms and believe me we have experienced that first hand a couple of years ago. Our 60 plus foot palm trees in our front yard were directly hit by lightning and it went thru the ground and took out our computer. Luckily it stopped there. Thank goodness no one was hurt as my DH was working on the computer when it happened. Anyway..................I still love the storms here. And the monsoon season has just started so I am waiting for the storms to begin.

I guess I have rambled on long enough. I must get back to those socks for my DD so I can get a few more rows done before we get ready to go to Mass tonight and then out to dinner. (normal Wednesday night activities for us)

I go back to work tomorrow as does my DH. I am sure my desk will be piled high with work but it will make the day go by fast.

Have a great day and leave me a comment sometime. (I get so lonely.)