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Departure Countdown Part Deux

August 31, 2019 mud&stringLeave a comment

Remember yesterday’s post, Departure Countdown? Well, it’s ongoing. Yep, 11:40 p.m., DFW, August 31, still not home. In a nutshell, due to an apparently horrific storm that closed down DFW, my flight from Hong Kong to Dallas was rerouted to Houston. Only problem was that since it was an international flight, no one and nothing could get off the plane. US Customs law. After a couple of hours, we were able to go on to DFW, where the unimaginably cumbersome customs procedure threw another curve ball, with flights cancelled, postponed and just overall screwed up. Throw in a hurricane that cancelled flights from the Florida region and there you’ve got it. No way, no how am I getting out of here until tomorrow morning, when I can check in to the new flight to LR at 4 a.m. and drop off my bags. Good thing I tend to pack everything including the kitchen sink for just these situations. I charged up everything that was chargeable last night, including my two power banks, I have my knitting and reading and listening materials coming out of my ears. I even put two pairs of clean unmentionables in my carry on – just in case! Got snacks too. 😁😁😁

Departure Countdown

August 28, 2019 mud&stringLeave a comment

I leave for home the day after tomorrow, always a bittersweet anticipation. A bit sad to be leaving, knowing that I won’t see my Bangkok babies until December, leaving part of my heart in Thailand but at the same time, looking forward to being home and reconnecting with the other part of my heart that I left at home when I left for Bangkok. I pray that someday we’ll all at least be on the same continent, if not the same state or town. Until that happens, I’ll use all that airplane time (16+ hours!) to get in some serious knitting time on whatever project I have going at that time.

This extra knitting time is a good thing this trip, a really good thing…….

I finally took a look at the Leksak Lady pattern, rows and rows of stockinette as a general rule don’t require much in the way of pattern watching. Talk about a Debbie Downer moment! I’d had it in my head that the pattern read “continue working in stockinette until the garment from the shoulder measures approximately 20 inches”. instead, it reads “continue working……………………….measures approximately 28.5 inches”. My Leksak Lady measures about 18 inches from the shoulder at the moment. I don’t think I can fudge 10 inches of stockinette. 😫😫😫

Instead of a project photo, something to make you smile –

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People seldom notice old clothes if you wear a big smile. Lee Mildon

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Monday in Bangkok

August 26, 2019August 28, 2019 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON MY NEEDLES

Ariel Socks

So far, the Ariel socks are playing nice, but they’ve been slow going. Things are looking up since I purchased a nice, bright headlamp at Decathlon, a store similar to Academy Sports. I actually was at Decathlon to get a new water bottle, which I did, but apparently the placement of impulse items is universal – right next to the cash register. That bit of extra light has made a big difference, I got through the first pattern repeat last night without problems.

I’m also working on a Leksak sweater, though I find the rows and rows of stockinette boring. It makes for great plane knitting, I’ll give it that.

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Leksak

ON THE WHEEL

Not a thing. While I’m in Bangkok, I have to be satisfied with surfing Pinterest and making endless lists in my head of glazes and techniques to try. That reminds me, I need to order clay. I’m thinking that if I order now, it will arrive in Little Rock about the same time I do.

FIELD TRIP

Here are a few photos of Iconsiam, a new mall here in Bangkok that has a replica of a floating market on the bottom floor, with traditional Thai food and crafts vendors, most wearing traditional Thai clothing. Really, the photos don’t do it justice………..

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FYI – This is an escalator!

Action is the foundational key to all success. Pablo Picasso

Knitting

It’s A New Start

August 23, 2019August 23, 2019 mud&stringLeave a comment

Ever have a skein of yarn that you fell hard for, but got over it in a hurry when it just couldn’t seem to decide what it wanted to be? Yes, I tend to assign human characteristics to inanimate objects, even putting projects into time out for not cooperating. Well, this particular yarn has been in and out of time out several times. I’ve even toyed with the idea of relegating it to the back of what I call the Not In My Lifetime UFO box. I decided to give it one more chance, sticking it into my carry-on bag for my trip to Bangkok. So far, it’s playing nice and I’m beginning to feel optimistic. 🤞🤞🤞

At some point, the ball band became history, but I think it came from Knitpicks.

Last go at this yarn

I’m hoping that the Ariel Socks from Ravelry will suit us both. 😋

I’ve been missing my pottery wheel a lot the last few days. This is the longest I’ve gone without throwing anything. I’m glad I worked as hard as I did, mopping and scrubbing my workspace. It will be so nice to come back to clean tools and a clean wheel!

A QUICK WORD REGARDING BLOG CHANGES

Wondering about all the blog flipping and flopping? Yeah, me too. 😳 Here’s the deal…..

I let my long time knitting blog slide after getting my very own pottery wheel and spending the time I usually set aside for blogging playing in the mud and getting a feel for my new equipment. I fully intended to get back to my knitting blog, but it was always going to be “tomorrow”.

I missed blogging much more than I thought I would and so decided to add another blog to the mix. What was I thinking?? I’m having issues with keeping iknead2knit going and I convinced myself that adding another blog was the perfect solution?? All I can say is this – DON’Y TRY THIS AT HOME!

Long story short – Condensed the two blogs into one and renamed the whole nine yards, starting fresh. So….,Welcome to new blog, Mud&String. I hope you like it!

A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.

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Conclusion and Homecoming – mud&string

August 21, 2019August 21, 2019 mud&stringLeave a comment

Bare Bones Recap – First leg to Dallas delayed an hour, turning a tight layover into a stranglehold of irritation which eventually gave way to panic and anger as we missed our connection to Hong Kong, stranding the five of us at DFW with literally the clothes we stood up in AND still short the…
— Read on iknead2knit.wordpress.com/

Knitting

More On Our DFW Adventure

August 19, 2019August 21, 2019 mud&stringLeave a comment

Recap – The five us – Big Mommy, the Papoose, the Sprout, the Peach and I – are stranded at the Dallas-Ft.Worth airport after missing our connecting flight to Hong Kong. I might add that we range in age from 62 to 2 years.

Now, on with the story…..

The first hitch in our getalong was due to weather – storms in the DFW area – putting us an hour late on an already tight layover. Tight, but doable, so no panic. As Big Mommy had brought along an umbrella stroller for the Peach, she had it tagged and handed it off to the people who handle such things, i.e. wheelchairs, strollers, and miscellaneous assistive devices, to be handed over to their owners at the end of the jetway, right outside the airplane door. Got to DFW, deplaned and, you guessed it, no stroller. Asked attendants and were reassured that it was coming, no worries, it was coming. After five minutes or so, a tiny bit of panic starts to tickle. Explained to agent (again) about our tight and getting tighter layover time schedule.

Five more minutes and the baggage attendants leave the jetway, with no sign of the stroller. Now true panic sets in. If you are thinking “c’mon, it’s just a stroller” you’ve never had to negotiate a mega airport with an already cranky two year old, with two more kids and Grandma in tow. Did I mention that between the five of us we had eight carry-on bags? At least we didn’t have to mess with a stroller, right?? 🤨😡🤯

Stay tuned……….

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. Anthony J. D’Angelo

Family · Knitting · pottery

Betcha Thought I Forgot About This Old Blog….

August 16, 2019August 18, 2019 mud&stringLeave a comment

OK, at 63 (!) I’ve been been trying on a few different personas, just one more sign of my decision to never grow up, but here I am once more, an amalgamation of several whos and whats, as reflected in my new title, Mud and String.

As I type this, I’m en route to Bangkok, Thailand again, accompanying Big Mommy and the three grands, the Papoose, the Sprout and the Peach. All growing up so so fast and leaving me in the dust regarding what’s cool and what’s not. Anyhow……..

This trip has been very crazy, beginning with the first leg of the 30 hour trip being delayed an hour in Little Rock due to weather in Dallas, setting off a chain of situations like dominos falling. First, we missed our connecting flight to Hong Kong and so were stranded in Dallas for 24 hours, waiting for the next plane to Hong Kong. An adventure unto itself…More on that later.

So here we are, 32000 feet in the air, five hours into a 16 hour flight, with the outside time showing as -43.6F, wearing clothes that were fresh yesterday – Wednesday morning around 5 a.m. – closing in on 48 hours. The time is 4:49 pm on Thursday, according to my ipad. I pity our seatmates! 🤭🤭🤭🤢🤢🤢

We made it to Hong Kong! Here’s the view from our gate waiting area-