Sunday, July 27, 2008

I did finish the "Gentleman's Plain Winter Socks"

(Standard disclaimer - I guess gentlemen had smaller feet years ago. I made these basically the same size - just a 1/2 or so shorter in the foot - and they fit me fine)

finished plain socks

The yarn is a grey and turquoise yarn, not quite variegated, it's almost what's called a flammegarn (like a tie-dye).

This is a good pattern for variegated yarn because it's so simple, but it's not just 6" of plain ribbing or plain stockinette.

Of course, the temperature here will have to drop some 35 degrees from what it is now before I can even consider actually WEARING them....

****

And I'm packed to go. I'm not as excited for this trip as I am for some, I think because I'm so emotionally drained from this past week and from the heat and from the horribly falsely-entitled person I'm dealing with.

I'll be glad, though, to be in my compartment on the train tomorrow night, with my books and my socks and to go down to the dining car and have someone hand me a menu and ask me what I want to eat and then bring it to me and then take the plates away when I am done.

Taking care of oneself is important and it's a big part of being an adult, but I have to admit there are times when I want nothing more than to be taken care of - to have my food prepared for me and not to have to drive myself places and not to have any battles to fight.

I suppose this is why some people go to those "all inclusive" resorts. As a single woman who is not particularly "looking" (or at least not "looking" for the kind of short-term, physical-rather-than-intellectual relationship that seems to be a hallmark of a lot of those resorts), they're kind of not an option for me.

I suppose in some respects the various religious retreats offer something similar - while you may have to take a share in the cooking and cleaning, at least the major decisions about what to eat and when are lifted from you. You do what you are supposed to; it is already planned out. I find it is the planning of my own little life that gets me down sometimes. (And if it were a place where everyone was required to spend part of the day in silence, all the better).

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have a good trip, getting away from it all. Hope things will be better when you get back.

-- Grace in MA

Anonymous said...

Have a good trip. Here's hoping for a great reception of your presentation!

Suggestion for a vacation, rather than go to an all-inclusive resort, you might want to look at a bus tour to an area which interests you. If you go as a single, you usually have to pay a single supplement but having done that, I can say that the people on the tour are usually friendlier to someone traveling alone than they are to someone paired off. A lot of the planning part of the trip has been done for you. Usually at least breakfast and some of the dinners are included so you just have to make decisions about lunch. A tour is designed to take you to specific places so you don't have to make decisions about that. Optional attractions are offered (at additional cost, of course) so you do have to decide whether or not to buy them. I have mostly done bus tours overseas and found it a great way to travel to an area where I didn't know the language. Basically, all I had to do was get my suitcase outside my room door at the proper time and show up at the bus at the proper time. This can be a really relaxing way to vacation.