A First?!?!

At my age, it's very rare to have a first and be this excited about it.  First grey hair?  First wrinkle?  Not so much.  But this one?  I'm so tickled.....TA DA......

My first cables!  (Please note the soft, muted light and lovely filter that hides said grey hairs and wrinkles.)  This is the Unoriginal Hat by the one and only Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.  As long as I kept up with my row count, and didn't drop any stitches, it moved along pretty well.  I will say, if you've never done cables before, this is a great patten.  It's done on DPNs, so the pattern is repeated on each needle.  This makes counting stitches and fixing mistakes (ahem) a lot easier. However, I will also say that if you've never knitted on DPNs, don't make this your first project.  It was a little tricky juggling all those needles and the cable needle. I've heard tale of people who can knit cables without an extra needle....I am currently bowing down in awe.  I don't know if that trick will ever be in my repertoire.

So that's one more for the Christmas Gift List to mark off. Just a few more people on the list that are "knit worthy" and then it's down to shopping.  I'm feeling really good about this year...ahead of the game.  It's really quite scary. 

We had a really great weekend.  We spent Saturday evening over at friend's house enjoying great company,  wine, and smores around the fire pit.  Then on Sunday, Car Guy, my Mother In Law and I did a little spin around the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Have I told you lately how much I love these mountains? So beautiful....

 

The leaves are really starting to change color and by next weekend, when we got to SAFF (Yea!!!) they will be gorgeous.  I think my favorite picture from the trip was this warning sign....

 Who knew the DOT had a sense of humor? Sorry, mine's a little warped.  I find that hysterically funny...the sign, not someone actually falling off the mountain.

We really did have a wonderful drive through the mountains...until we were heading home.  We stopped in Boone for dinner and Car Guy asked if I'd drive home.  Since it was a straight shot down the highway and he'd been driving all day, I thought "why not."  We got down the mountains and were about an hour from the house when "clunk."  There went the transmission.  I lost all gears. It was not fun. We coasted off the highway and Car Guy tinkered under the hood....he was able to get us about a half hour from home and then the car "gave up the ghost."  Thank goodness for my Sainted Mother.  She came, picked us up and got us home...at 11:30.  Talk about tired on Monday.

The car has been towed home and is now sitting in the driveway, like a disobedient child, waiting for Car Guy to figure out why the transmission went for no apparent reason. There is nothing worse that driving a man's car and having it take a dive on you. Thank goodness he was right there when it happened. Not an experience I'd like to have again.

So it wasn't the perfect end to a great day, but all in all, we were safe and got home in one piece, so no complaints. I'm just hoping that Car Guy doesn't take a sledge hammer to the car.....hmmm.  I'll try to discreetly take pictures or a video if he does.  Who knows, he could turn into a youtube sensation.