Grads, Grands and a Few Things In-between

I hope your Memorial Day is going well.
We had a busy weekend, full of travel and family and friends. Youngest SD graduated from HS on Friday, so Thursday, we traveled to AL via Atlanta.
There was a lot of family (mostly related to DH’s Ex) around and we tried to spend as much time with the kids as their schedules allowed. I was a good girl and left the knitting in the car (or at the hotel) when we were visiting.
Here’s the proud Grad and Dad:

In addition to the graduation, we were able to see the MI grandkids and I got a chance for a knit meet up with an internet friend while in the GA/AL area.
Boys in a box…
‘Papa’ and granddaughter Alanta (see how much she’s grown!)
One of the nice aspects of the internet knitting community is the removal of that feeling of being a “lone knitter” – a few mouse clicks and a little googling and all of a sudden you can find yourself in the midst of many like-minded knitters. I discovered an even nicer aspect to this connection during this trip. I read a knit-blog by a fellow sock-knitter; Becca who as it turns out is the wife of a soldier stationed at Fort Benning, GA (soon to be Fort Bliss, TX). Normally when we travel DH lets me seek out a LYS in the area we are traveling in to get a little calm-me-down time and to reward me for being a good sport if his ex-laws are involved. The town we visited in AL is basically in Fort Benning’s back yard. From reading Becca’s blog, I knew that the closest yarn shop was probably back in Atlanta (100 or so miles), and we would not have time in the short span of time after we landed or before we went back to the airport to visit a yarn shop. So, in lieu of a yarn shop visit, I got to do the next best or maybe an even better thing. Mini-meet-up! I touched base with Becca to see if she would be available when we were in town and we worked out the details for a little knitting over coffee/diet coke. (L-R, Becca and Me)How fun to meet your internet friends in real life. We had an amiable chat and knit a little. I admired the Fair Isle sock Becca was working on for her son, and she checked out my Aquaphobia. Becca shared her secrets for doing a nice heel flap on a toe-up sock (it's also on her blog) and I probably talked way too much about the “old days” when I was still in the Army. Something about seeing all those uniforms just brings back all the memories! Any way, it was a nice diversion for me during the trip and guaranteed knitting time. To paraphrase something Becca said, this was the first time I deliberately met someone I knew from online. And I can add that it turned out to be fun!

As for knitting, practicality and Airline considerations dictated that I pack light, so after sorting through several possible travel projects; I ended up just bringing two OTN projects and one ready to start (just-in-case). I brought the Aquaphobia socks which I started after finishing up the Monkeys and the Branching Out #2 as an alternate project. I packed yarn and needles for baby projects as my just-in-case option. I got one sock knit thru the foot while traveling and added about 10 repeats to the scarf. Not bad for the amount of time I spent not knitting on this trip.
The Aquaphobia checking out the Kudzu on the road between Atlanta and AL.

So that’s a peek at how I spent my weekend. I hope yours was safe.
On a serious note… Take a moment today to please think about what this country would be like if we didn’t have real life heroes. If you know a service member give them a hug or say thank-you today. If you don’t please say a prayer for all of our men and women in uniform past and present. Having had the privilege to serve with and for these men and women, I can honestly say that they are all heroes in my heart.