Wild and Crazy

I stayed out until midnight last night. I'm way too old to do that. I had to lie around on the couch all morning to recover. While the house fell apart around me.

So, what made me act so stupidly? Crazy neighborhood party? Or a concert, complete with mosh pit and screaming audience? Perhaps a wild night on the town, bar hopping with girlfriends? Nope, nope, and nope. It was a book signing for the latest book by the rising star of the knitting world. I have seen the future of knitting, and its name is Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. That's right - I drove for almost an hour to reach a bookstore where I would have the privilege of seeing in person the woman who gave me the courage to try and knit a pair of socks. Understand, that I had barely knitted anything before that. Oh, there was a lumpy-looking baby hat or two, and some blanket squares which never really got their act together enough to coalesce into an actual blanket. But I lacked the confidence to try a "real" project. Stephanie fixed all that. She told me there were no knitting police and I believed her. She told me to go for it and I did. In fact, now I can't stop. I've turned into a sock-knitting savant. I don't do sweaters, I don't do scarves, I'll never figure out lace; but, hey, I've got your socks.

Ms. Pearl-McPhee is even funnier and more interesting in person than she is in print. She spoke for over an hour and then stayed at that bookstore (which was mobbed, by the way - I had to stand on a windowsill to see her speak) until almost midnight, signing books for all us besotted fans. By the time I got to the head of the line, I of course forgot any of the witty comments I had waited 2 and a half hours to say and gushed instead about how wonderful her books were and how they had changed my life. I am such an idiot sometimes. I kicked myself all the way home (which is very hard to do when you are driving).

So I need to go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow I can tell you all about why my teenage daughter hates me again, and where Theo has escaped to for the weekend, and why one of David's friends may never come back to our house to play. But not now. I'm too tired.