The three of us went to the movies tonight–actually the first movie I’ve been to since, what, June?

We went to these brand-new theaters which just opened near our home last week. First, the theater was huge. It’s a 16-screen multiplex and, well, it’s just huge. And very grand with its entrance, too. It’s not just a big box with a glass door. They obviously wanted to make a statement. The theaters have stadium seating, which I love, because it means I don’t have to worry about tall people in front of me. The only real drawback was in the bathrooms–the air-dryers for your hands were so loud, you could hear them roaring out in the hallway as you walked by, and they really bothered Mom’s ears (which are sensitive with tinnitus. But, really, the theater was impressive–and I love when things are new and clean, don’t you?

The movie we went to see was Stranger Than Fiction. Have you heard of this? With Will Ferrell, Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson? Will’s character starts hearing narration to his dull life . . . but when he hears The Voice state that he was facing imminent death, he takes action. He consults with Dustin Hoffman’s character, a professor of literature, who helps him narrow down the options, just in case he IS really a character in a book. Mom and Dad both thought the whole thing was weird. Mom thought it was going to be funnier. I rather enjoyed it. I liked the interesting real/fiction overlap, and loved the idea of a fictional character going around the real world, not realizing . . .

I wasn’t idle while watching, though. When we got to the theater, my sock was right about where my thumb is (give or take), and all that you see above it, I did in the theater–mostly in the dark. (Hey, this is about as “dangerous” as I go, but sometimes it’s fun to take risks–even little ones.)

Unlike June, when I turned the heel in the dark and had a little trouble, this went quite smoothly . . . except that I overshot the whole thing by about an inch and went past where I should have started the heel. I compared this (sock #2) to sock #1 when we got home and, um, oops!

What you see here in the picture is the sock just before I frogged that extra inch. I inserted the needle into the row I SHOULD have stopped at, and then–after taking the picture–ripped everything back to the needle. (This is my favorite way to frog when I need to stop someplace specific–no messy picking up of loose stitches at the end. The needle itself keeps things from going too far, and you’re instantly ready to start knitting the second you’ve unraveled that last row.

Here’s my square for Comforting Jenn. I thought about doing a luxury kind of yarn from my stash, but decided that I liked the idea of using my own handspun better. There was just something about making this with yarn I’d spun myself that made me feel it would be more meaningful. In fact, you should recognize the yarn–it’s the background to my “Chappysmom” header at the top of the page. I finished spinning this over a year and a half ago, and never had found a project I wanted to make with it. But my sister and niece agreed that this seemed the best choice for this square–warm, with soothing colors

I also knitted it on Thanksgiving, surrounded by family and good food, and I tried to focus on that warm, fuzzy feeling the whole time I knitted. It’s not a fancy square–just basic garter stitch with a diagonal stripe of YOs through the center, but I tried to make it as personally comforting as I could.

Hope everyone’s enjoying their “Digestion Day!” I’m going to go read my new “Spin Off” now…

Tags: Family, General, Knitting/Spinning // 7 Comments »