Knitting in the Rain

Today was the playoff for Max's undefeated football team. We won 38-0. I thought it was 50-0, but it turns out that the falling rain caused some sort of electrical issue with the scoreboard the last time I looked and it was racking up points for the home team faster than we could actually score them. Max got to play about 15 plays and I saw a lot of growth on his part from the last game I got to watch, which was almost two months ago.

I almost froze to death watching though. It was cold and it poured rain on and off through the game. I'd forgotten to bring a chair because today was the Primary Program--we'd decided to basically do both activities--so we went to the Primary Program (where all three boys really did a great job saying their lines) and then when it was over fled home to get Max changed into his uniform. We arrived at the game about 10 minutes after it had started. Accuweather claims it was 50 degrees during the game, but it felt 45. I kept going back to the truck and getting another layer to put on. Nothing really helped though. Sitting on a fedex box in the grass in the rain in 50 degree weather with a mild, but real, wind blowing is COLD.

So I did what any certifiable lunatic would do and praised God I'd had the sense to bring the UAB to work on. Here is the UAB drying by the fire.

And here is the section I got done today during the football game.

I know, it's not very much, but it was POURING, and frankly, even acrylic sticks to your fingers when it's wet. It's very slow going, no matter how loosely you hold the yarn, and no matter how you try to shorten the distance between the knitting bag (where it is mostly protected from the rain) and the needles, it's going to get wet in that kind of rain.

Hours later, it's still really wet.

After the game there was a pizza party, which I had no desire to go to, but what can you do? So we went and Max had a blast and I was mostly lucky in that I ended up at a table with two very chatty Dad's, so I could mostly listen and be entertained. Still, after the Primary Program and the cold and the rain--I was one burned-out introvert. I left there feeling completely fried an hour and a half later.

This is the Orenburg Shawl I knit on while at the pizza parlor. (YES, I KNOW. It's only 17.5 teeth and the finished right BORDER will need 33 teeth and there is still a left border, two smaller green border sections that will be picked up along the inside edge of each and then the whole MAIN BODY section and THEN 52 teeth for the top edge still to go . . . but I still harbor hope I can finish this by Christmas.)

This is the progress I made at the pizza parlor (meaning, I found a mistake and spent the entire hour and a half tinking back row after row until I got to the mistake, fixed it, and could go forward again. Try doing THAT while attempting to make conversation with strangers.)


We get a mix of rain and snow here in the morning. I don't expect it to stick--it's not technically freezing. I also have Max's first parent-teacher conference of the year. I figure the chances of Max's fifth-grade teacher bursting into tears this year are very, very, very slim, so it can only be an improvement over the first-grade conference that gave me post-traumatic parent-teacher conference disorder. The one that gives me facial tics when I think about going.

It is also our morning to bring snack to preschool again. I'm very concerned that my PTPTCD is going to cause me to forget the snack. It's times like this that I wish I were an extremely wealthy celebrity with a nanny to follow me around whose job it would be to remember the snack.

Completely as an aside--you know how I know that our Primary President's position was truly Inspired? She caught a Twin Switch today. Ben saw me as he was walking up to the podium and paused to consider whether he could maybe make a run for it and get to me before any other adult caught him. In that time, Milo (who knows he is destined for stardom--or at least for a star on the walk of fame as a director) walked ahead of him. Ben glanced at the mike and decided to try to make a break for Mom on the way back, after his 15-seconds of fame. He followed Milo up.
But the Primary Program is made possible by having the entire thing written down in a binder, and whenever anyone younger than seven or so goes up the podium to speak into the mike, there is a Sunday School teacher there to whisper the words in his or her respective ear. (Okay, the ones that I personally think are the funniest are the kids who then repeat what they hear ALSO in a whisper, rendering the whole thing inaudible--but not pointless! The kid's contribution will still be remembered.)

So anyway, having a kid out of order means that the wrong line is going to be whispered in the wrong kid's ear. This might not be an issue with a more, um, flexible kid. But *my* kid would have turned and scolded the poor Sunday School teacher with an imperious, "THAT's not MY line, I'm [insert correct twin name here]!!! THAT is [my brother's] line!" So I actually started to get up myself to return the kids to the proper position (because it was obvious that the Sunday School teacher who was getting ready to do the prompting, hadn't noticed the switch) when the Primary President ran up there and switched the boys herself. Congratulations Primary President. That brings us up to like five or six adults on the planet who can tell them apart at a glance. (There must have been some confusion at Ben and Milo's recent picture day as the preschool teacher felt compelled to tell Chris that the boys were VERY identical that day. I'll take some blame. I had Chris send them in the green knit sweaters, which are the same.)

It's a big week coming up with lots and lots and lots of work and more football practice (will it NEVER end?) and more piano (recital next Saturday, also emergency preparedness presentation for which I'm completely unprepared) and another trip to the barber (for Max) and a picture day (for Max) and I swear--I'm starting to look forward to the holiday season like it'll be some sort of RELAXING period just because I know for a FACT that it won't involve any football practice.

Oh yeah, I gotta call around this week to find a place for the twins' birthday party, too. I agreed to let them have a "big" party this year, so now I need a place (I'm thinking the bowling alley) and probably a body part to sell to raise the money.