Today I had the privilege of seeing the Son Of Aran sweater knit by Jerry at When Knitting Was A Manly Art. All I can say is that pictures do not do it justice. The yarn is a much darker, yummier green for one thing. And the workmanship that went into it is simply amazing. Kudos to Jerry!

After lunch today I ran down to Oregon City for the 18th Annual Spring Fiber Sale at Abernethy Grange because I really wanted to see that sweater! The Grange has two floors, and both were loaded with vendors selling all kinds of wonderful fibers, fleeces, yarns, spinning supplies, etc. I had promised myself that I would only look for yarn for #1 Son’s socks. He wants seafoam green. There wasn’t a lot of seafoam there. But I did buy a skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts’ luscious “Soft Rock” handpainted yarn in the “Mermaid” colorway. It’s a blend of soft greens and purples. Yes it has some seafoam green in it. No, it’s not going in #1 Son’s socks.

Jerry turned me on to a great book by Mary Ann Beattie at Queen Kahuna Creations. This is a good-sized, substantial book with lots of color pictures — good for knitters like myself who need to see something to get it. The book is full of all kinds of cool techniques like a long-tail cast-on for toe-up socks that Beattie calls the Aloha Cast On. I ordered the book as soon as I got home, and I can’t wait to get it!

I also saw a pair of blueberry waffle stich socks and I really like the way that pattern knitted up. I’m not that happy with the way the Wildfoote socks are coming out. At the gauge I’m knitting, they are turning out too big for my skinny feet. And the pattern doesn’t show against the multiple bright colors. I’m thinking I’m going to rip it all out and try the Aloha Cast On and the blueberry waffle stitch. Yep… I think that’s what I’ll do.

When I set up the delivery for the new water heater for this morning, I was assured that the plumber could be here by 8:00 AM. I explained that I had a very important appointment at 11:30, and the installation must be complete by that time. No problem, I was told.

My 11:30 AM appointment was lunch with M. We’ve gotten together for a Saturday or Sunday lunch at least every other week for more than 25 years. We’ve missed weeks only for incidentals like marriages, the birth of my son, the birth of her son and funerals. We’ve been known to plan vacations around our lunches. We missed last week, and I didn’t want to miss again.

At 9:50 AM, the plumber called. He was picking up the stuff and he should be there about 10:30. I started twitching a little. Mr. Plumber Man said:

8:00 AM? ha ha ha… That’s about the time I usually roll out of bed on Saturday. No… I don’t know how long it will take. Could be anything between 45 minutes and 2 hours.

I’d been up since 6:00 AM, so I found that less than amusing. I called M but couldn’t reach her. I left her a message asking for a later time in the day and crossed my fingers.

When Mr. Plumber Man arrived at 10:30 AM, I told him if he could be finished by 11:20 he would have my undying gratitude.

Fortunately the new water heater turned out to be exactly the same size as the old water heater. All that had to be done was to pull the old one and install the new one with new fittings. With me lending a hand on the earthquake straps — the only non-technical thing I was qualified to help with — Mr. Plumber Man finished at 11:15 AM sharp!

As I ran back inside to get ready to go, the phone rang and it was M. I told her I was on my way, and she said that she was, too, and we both arrived at about 11:40. Whew.

And the rest of the day was much more fun, but deserving of it’s own entry because it shouldn’t be mixed in with water heaters and plumbers.