It's a little crooked, and you mostly see carpet, but I did it! I
Kinneared!
Can anyone tell who that is? Of course not, but I'll get to that. Ever since the
Yarn Harlot first came up with Kinnearing, I've thought it would be great if I could get close enough to a celebrity to have a shot (no pun intended) at Kinnearing. However, since I rarely go outside a 25 mile radius of my home in the middle of the Back of Beyond, chances are not good. Hey, don't knock the Back of Beyond. I like it in the Back of Beyond, which is why I rarely leave. That, and the fact that there are three residents of BritKnitterville (the capital of B of B) who appreciate frequent potty breaks.
But I digress. My point is that a celebrity would have to practically drop into my lap (so to speak), and I just don't see that happening. Until yesterday. I've known that the
Antiques Roadshow would be coming to the museum where I work to tape a segment for their show. I
didn't know that the host,
Mark Walberg, would be coming along. Yep, that crooked picture at the top of this post is Mark Walberg talking on the telephone. Woo Hoo! I kinneared!
He's a really, really nice guy, too. Not to mention really, truly,
incredibly good looking. It turns out that a reporter from a
local paper wanted to interview him, so they used the museum's library. Fine, but that's where my desk is, and if you recall, I have six baby chicks at work with me this week. If I had known they were going to use the library, I would have moved the chicks to the workroom or something, but the peep-peep-peeping didn't bother him at all. Way to roll with the punches, right?
Anyway, they were in the museum for quite a while taping a segment on paperweights as a filler for the show, so I had a great thought - why not ask him to pose for a picture with my current sock in progress? How cool would that be? VERY cool, right? But it turns out that I'm a loser and a dork and this is as close as I could get to asking him to pose with the sock.
Yep, that's me holding the sock, and one of those people way off in the next room is Mark Walberg. Great, huh? I just couldn't do it. I felt like a slimy stalker papparazzi type taking that picture, but it's the best I could do.
Anyway, the aforementioned residents of BritKnitterville were due for a potty break, so I had to leave work and run home to let the dogs out. It's probably for the best, because if I attempted to approach him and say "Hey, could you hold my sock while I take your picture?" I'd probably choke on my own spit, my face would turn purple, and then I'd pass out from a coughing fit. So, all's well that ends well, right?
Wrong!
While I was gone, my coworkers told my former boss (the one who
abandoned us retired, but comes back to help out with special projects in the absence of a replacement curator) about the whole picture with the sock thing, and look what was on my camera when I got back to work!
Can you believe it? She asked Mark Walberg to pose for pictures with my sock! It almost makes be want to forgive her for abandoning us...almost. (Just kidding!)
And get this...while holding my sock, Mark said "Hey, I know how to knit." Yes, fellow knitters, Mark Walberg is a knitter! Well, later that afternoon when I screwed up the courage to thank him for holding my sock, he told me that he can knit, but he doesn't know how to cast on. Who cares, though? How cool is it that he even knew the term "cast on"? It's his wife that is a knitter, really, but he has apparently looped some yarn around some needles at some point. That's good enough for me!
See how white her whole head is in that picture? Compare it to the next photo, which is one of my favorite pictures of Scarlett.
I joined the SFTTU KAL (Socks From The Toe Up Knit Along) on Ravelry, and each month you have a choice of two of Wendy's patterns to knit, one from her book, and one free pattern from her website. If you get the socks finished within the given time frame, you are entered into a prize drawing, and who can resist a prize drawing? Lacy Ribs is the June pattern from Wendy's book, and the June pattern from Wendy's website is Sprucey Lucy.
I wasn't sure if I would get these finished by the end of the month, but it helped that I had them with me this past week while mom was having MOHS surgery for a large area of cancer on her face. Fortunately they got it all, but not until they did five excisions. We were there for ten hours, so I got a lot of knitting done! Mom is doing great...a little swollen, actually a lot swollen...but we are all so happy that the cancer is gone.
They were hilarious together! Rolling around, clunking heads, biting feet. Typical little boys... After a while Cole needed a nap so he curled up in the back...
...and Toby decided to ride in the front passenger seat so my sister could scratch him with one hand while navigating traffic with the other. Toby was also able to replenish his fluids from my sister's cup of Vitamin Water. Wrestling and playing is thirsty work!
The little girl in the group, Bria, picked out her spot in the back seat and curled up and never moved!
Cole says "Anybody want to adopt me? I'm a good boy!"
That's my dad when he was only 20 years old. Does he look old enough to be a father? I don't think so. He barely looks old enough to shave, but he had already been married for almost two years when this picture was taken. Notice the dog in the picture - that was Kip. I don't know what kind of dog he was but he looks a lot like a terrier, maybe a JRT?
Here he is a few years later. That's me leaning on his shoulder. Can't you just feel the love?
Here we are the day I graduated from High School. Notice the dog - that was Sam, really Samantha. She was a Border Collie mix, and she was the smartest dog I have ever known, by far. Dad put a lot of time into training her, and she knew dozens of tricks.
Here is dad from a few years ago displaying his burger-building skills. This man is serious about his burger. There is an order to all of the fixin's, and it's not done until it's too big to fit into his mouth.
There are a million and one reasons why I love this man, but right at the top of the list is illustrated in this picture:
My sister Donna got an Easy Bake Oven (can you believe they still make these things?), and here she is with her first cake. If anyone has never tried one of these cakes, they have the consistency of Play-Doh, and taste like it, too. At least that's what they were like when we were kids. Dad knew this at the time, but just look at the anticipation on his face. You know he's thinking "How and I going to get out of eating this lump of clay" but he would never show it. Sure, now and then he would tell us that he would take it to work and have it as a special snack during the day. We would lovingly wrap up the 
Pretending to be so innocent!
Very, very naughty!
But he is quite the dashing gentleman.
And such a snuggler!
Since it has been a whole year, Mr. Cooper got to go in the C-A-R for an R-I-D-E to the V-E-T. Actually, there is no need to spell in front of Cooper. Unlike Emma and Tara, Cooper has no clue what his crazy humans are talking about most of the time. Anyway, it was time for ten-year-old Cooper's first-year check up and he thoroughly enjoyed his car ride.
Here is Sosi now. She had just spent her second night out in the pasture with the rest of the farm animals instead of in the house.
I think his name is Timothy, or Teddy, or something with a "T", and he is one of those horses like the ones on the beer commercials, but I don't remember what they are called right now. He came to live with the Nanny several weeks ago after his previous owner could no longer afford to care for him. See his hip bones sticking out? That's after he has already put on about 300 pounds. Our vet says Timothy could use another couple of hundred pounds. Poor sweet boy, but he has found himself a wonderful home now!
Yes, the brits are behind a firmly closed gate. If not for that gate, I'm afraid that little chickie would have gone to the great chicken coop in the sky.
She felt left out because she didn't have a teeny tiny blue bandanna, so I tied a bit of blue ribbon around her neck. She thinks she looks very pretty!
Yes, sadly Bab's new chickie friends went back to their family. It's very lonely at work without their little "peep-peep-peep"-ing in the background.
"Mommy, I found you!!!"
...and scratching of heads.... 
He made a good choice - Knit Picks' Felici!
I already cast on, too. I've joined a Knit Along on Ravelry for Wendy Johnson's new book Socks from the Toe Up, and decided to use Felici for this month's assigned pattern, Lacy Ribs Socks (Ravelry link).
I've never been fond of knitting socks starting from the toe, but I'm loving this book. It's clear, concise, well written, and gives several options for toes, heels and bind offs. I used the Judy's Magic Cast On and it's great. It's really magic! I'm sure this book is one that I'll be going back to again and again.
