Week in review

Well, the hockey news continues to be good. Team members are being respectful and Hockeyman is actually playing more shifts in games. Although we lost badly to Eden Prairie last night (no surprise there - they are very good), and HM got a Unsportsmanlike penalty (his first EVER) at the very end of the game, HM actually played a great game.

As for the unsportsmanlike call (usually reserved for bad language and/or taunting and inciting the opposing player to fight, among other things), the whole situation was very humorous. The refs were calling things tight because (a) there was a major brawl early in the first period and (b) there is a history of fights between these two rival teams, both on and off the ice. The rivalry is so serious that several squad cars and multiple peace officers are in the building during games like this. So needless to say, the referees were working hard to keep things under control on the ice.

After a major collision in front of our net, in which HM was involved, there was a little pushing and shoving going on. HM stepped in and told an E.P. player not to touch the goalie and to back off - repeatedly while standing chest-to-chest and nose-to-nose with the player who was roughing up the goalie. The Ref hurried over to break it up, without hearing the actual conversation, and sent both boys to the box.

Everyone was laughing about the call because everyone on the team, including the parents, knows that HM does NOT swear or trash talk. HM was laughing & waving to us from the box in the final seconds. Frankly, it was the funniest ending to a game I've seen in a long time. A great ice-breaker for the team, which has been pretty subdued since the Great Locker Room Brouhaha.

I think we're going to have a decent end of the season after all.

Dancing Diva continues to improve after her bout with the flu this week. She has some lingering lung congestion, so we'll probably take her in for a quick check tomorrow morning. It will be nice to return to a normal school schedule, after days of sick kids and way too much television viewing.

In sewing machine news, hubby dismantled my precious baby and thinks he can fix it himself. We need to order a couple parts but the part I was most worried about (motherboard) is not damaged and doesn't need to be replaced. Whew! Huge sigh of relief!

As for Stupid Finger Part Deux, it has healed over nicely, although there is still significant bone tenderness. It only hurts when I bump the scar but as there is no swelling, I think the Stupid Finger will soon be a thing of the past.

In knitting news, I cast on and promptly frogged the first version (picture #2 above) of the baby blanket for BFF's 6th baby. The yarn in the first picture just jumped out of the clearance bin and into my shopping basket at Coldwater Collaborative on Wednesday. BFF, having had so many babies, confided in me several years ago that she was heartily sick of pastels. So when this bright, sunny Lana Grossa New Cotton followed me home, I knew it would be perfect for the August arrival of BFF baby version 6.0.

My first thought was to do an entrelac blanket. I cast on the base squares, loving the hand and drape of the fabric. However, as soon as I started the next set of entrelac squares in blue, I didn't like the size of the squares or the colors together in such large blocks.

Not being one to shy away from frogging, I promptly ripped the whole thing apart and went searching for another idea. I found the Joyous Stripes pattern in the Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns, I knew I had a winner. While the colors of the two pictures of the blanket in progress are not true (photographing red is horrible!), it does show the intricate look this very simple slip stitch pattern creates. I am totally loving how this blanket looks, feels and drapes. And the "wrong side", while not identical to the right side, is pretty enough to be the "right side", if I wanted it to.

I am feeling some guilt over this latest bout of startitis. I promised myself that I'd finish some UFO's after the Hat Trick 2009 KAL. However, with the stress issues this past week, I've given myself permission to be a bit selfish and go for any knitting that brings me joy.

And a gift for a new baby is the most joyous knitting project I can think of. How 'bout you?