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September 04, 2006
What A Racquet!
School's in session. And while some people have clearly got a thing for wood shop (what?! Is the teacher a cute Alan Alda type or something?), I've joined the tennis team.
I've said it a million times on this here blog that my darling boy is an ATHLETE. He was on the tennis team and basketball team in high school and college and once was recruited to play bball in Greece. Sadly, he's given up basketball these last few years and concentrates mainly on tennis - bad hips and all. His hips are back to being really really bad lately so he can't play the tennis he's used to. Want to know how hurt he is? He's begun playing with ME.
Back in the day, a long long long time ago, when G and I were dating, I used to travel out to Jersey (I was living in NYC at the time - still in school) on the weekends to the park where G played tennis. I would lay out in my little bikini while he played (oh my god I was so very young) and then we'd hang out after he was finished. One day, he asked if I wanted to hit a tennis ball with a bat. I said okay because I was madly in love and would've said yes to anything (well, almost anything - nah - really anything.) He got out the bat and the ball (because he has a sporting goods store in the trunk of the car) and started throwing the ball to me. It literally took me 20 MINUTES to make any kind of contact at all. AT ALL. The slightest of foul tips. I think on the next bat I got lucky and hit a nice line drive but by that time the damage was pretty much done. I could see the disappointment on his face growing deeper and deeper. He confessed to me later that he honestly considered whether or not to continue the relationship given my lack of hand eye coordination.
Lucky for him, I'm MUCH better at tennis.
So we've been playing a bunch and every time we go out I get better and better. I'm hitting harder and deeper and yet I'm still in control of the ball. Especially when I keep my eyes on it. Seriously. Who knew that when they tell you to watch the ball it actually works!!?! I think he's been enjoying himself - watching me get better and put his lessons into action. But last night, well last night I've never seen my husband prouder. I was in the zone - working my low to high swing, watching the ball, grunting through the swing (he's been trying to get me to grunt more), hustling to catch that ball no matter where he put it on the court. I chased down a hard forehand, and ripped it cross court landing it way in the back corner pinning G to the baseline. IN! And then I promptly turned my ankle and fell hard on my ass. G was so excited I think he would've jumped the net if it wouldn't have landed him in the hospital afterward. He's cheering at me that was my best shot yet! Way to hustle! The torsion knocked me on my ass! AWESOME!!!
Dude! I so need a pedicure!
Today, as much as I'd like to play, I think I'll stick to more knitterly pursuits.
The Koigu knee high. From the stash! The solid color at the ribbing (which will also be used for the heel and toe) is color 1160 and the first sock yarn I ever bought. I was out with Cassie one day last year and she insisted that I could knit socks, so I bought this rather dark and tame Koigu. I got about this far and gave up. It was the dpns.
The handpainted Koigu in the delicious purple is colorway P214. I don't remember when I bought it but I really like the purply goodness. It's been in the stash for a bit and every now and again I take it out and play with it and wonder what it will become. When I decided I needed another pair of knee highs I remembered the original yarn. I thought, huh. These two might look really good together.
HEJ was here when I started them (actually the second pair I started while she was here - the first pair did NOT work out) and she agreed that the colors worked well, so off I went. I LOVE THEM. LOVE THEM. I added an extra five rows of ribbing because I was a tad concerned as to how much yarn I had with the purple (I have three skeins for two socks - and a bunch of the dark color) but I really shouldn't have been worried. I've got plenty of the first purple skein left and I'm done the decreases. I've got about fifteen rounds to go and then I start the heel. No problem. I'll probably have to just break into the third skein for a bit on the foot. Beautious!!
STASH SALE TOMORROW! 8AM EDT! 1PM EDT!!!!
BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!!!
Posted by Cara at September 4, 2006 12:51 PM
Topics: Knee Highs
Comments
love the socks...can't wait for the sale, but I'll be at work (boo hoo).
Posted by: michele at September 4, 2006 01:04 PM
Knee socks, hm? Okay.......I can dig it. :)
Posted by: Norma at September 4, 2006 01:35 PM
Those knee highs are my favorite so far. Love them.
Poor ankle. Hope you aren't in too much pain.
Stash sale? I must resist. COME ON, WILLPOWER.
P.S. Consider this my de-lurking for the week. ;)
Posted by: Sarah at September 4, 2006 01:39 PM
that would be 8am east coast time? so if I want to play I gotta get up at Five????
Posted by: Dorothy at September 4, 2006 01:41 PM
Love the sock - the colors are great!
As for the grunting - doesn't he know there are more "pleasurable" ways to get you to grunt more ;-)
Posted by: Julie at September 4, 2006 01:46 PM
This is exactly what I love about marriage. The idea that you'll never stop growing and having fun and discovering new/old things that you enjoy. Go G and C!!
Posted by: Bookish Wendy at September 4, 2006 02:00 PM
That colorway is lovely in the socks. Hope your ankle gets better, at least you had fun doing it eh?
No internet on the subway = no stash sale for me, not a bad thing though ;)
Posted by: schrodinger at September 4, 2006 02:21 PM
You should keep in mind that such photos make purplholics go into spasms. I want to bite your leg.
Posted by: JulieFrick at September 4, 2006 02:59 PM
Dammit . . . I have to work tomorrow. Just as well - the Frequent Flyer might get a bit upset with yet more yarn.
Posted by: Ava at September 4, 2006 03:21 PM
Of course, I love the newest knee highs since purple is my favorite color! Beautious, indeed.
Posted by: Kristina at September 4, 2006 03:53 PM
this koigu addict is drooling over here!! i'm *loving* the knee highs!!
Posted by: allison at September 4, 2006 03:56 PM
De-lurking to say I'm in love with the purple knee-highs. I love watching the progress of the growing socks.
Posted by: Brenda at September 4, 2006 04:00 PM
Love the tennis story. You better take care of that ankle! Did you see Agassi yesterday? he was waterworks!! I'll be at work too during the sale but perhaps i'll take "lunch" about that time. Love the socks, of course!
Posted by: margaux at September 4, 2006 04:05 PM
Love the cute tennis story! I hope you are icing and advil-ing. The knee highs are delish - they remind me of raspberries.
Posted by: Julia at September 4, 2006 04:38 PM
Ah yes Cassie...who has enabled me into spinning silk/silk blends and attempting knitting lace.
Rats...I will be at work when you post your sale. Sniff, sniff...whaaa.
Posted by: Jenny in Jersey at September 4, 2006 05:38 PM
Cara!
You can't give up on tennis now it sounds like you were just getting your game on! You've got to get back on the horse as soon as your ankle recovers! Go Cara Go Cara! Think about it .... La Quinta's tennis facilities are fabulous.
Posted by: Gina L at September 4, 2006 05:49 PM
Oh sure, change the time for the stash sale to when I have to be in the carpool lane to pick up Bean. And here I was all psyched. Poo! ;>
Posted by: liz at September 4, 2006 05:51 PM
Being completely non-athletic (and lacking in any coordination between my brain and my feet), I bow to your growing prowess!
See how this works? Your ankle will heal and you'll have new Koigu socks in which to cover them!
Posted by: Karen B. at September 4, 2006 06:11 PM
Love the new knee socks! Hope your ankle feels better soon!
Posted by: Kelly at September 4, 2006 06:19 PM
De-lurk day Monday: I can completely relate with the 20 minute ball and bat fiasco. Except to say that my attempt would have been... well, we'd STILL be out there... 20 years later. I'm so impressed with your tennis ability! Keep it going! I just started my job (tomorrow is day 2), so I won't be able to participate in your stash sale. Unless I call in sick. Do you think it's too early in my employment to call in sick?
Posted by: Sydney at September 4, 2006 07:24 PM
No hand-eye coordination here. That's ok - the first and only time I ever played tennis... I dislocated my shoulder. Ow. No more tennis for me. I'm a runner - so all I have to worry about is tripping over my own two feet. ;-)
Posted by: DebbieB at September 4, 2006 07:37 PM
OMG I love those socks. I am ready to cast on for some knee highs RIGHT NOW!!
Posted by: Emily at September 4, 2006 08:10 PM
Every five years or so I play tennis, and I quickly improve from rank, fetid, putrid beginner to plain old beginner, where I remain until vacation or whatever is over. Luckily I am married to a man whose favorite pastime is designing Latin t-shirts. I'm not making that up either.
Posted by: Lucia at September 4, 2006 09:13 PM
De-lurk day for me! Beautiful knee-highs, I just started some myself, thanks, of course, to you!
Posted by: tara at September 4, 2006 09:13 PM
Sorry to hear about the ankle, but it's going to look stunning in that sock . . .
Posted by: --Deb at September 4, 2006 09:50 PM
Love the new banner pic.
And how cute is Alan Alda? I had a huge crush on him when he was on MASH. How cute would Alan Alda be knitting? Answer: v. cute.
Posted by: colleen at September 4, 2006 11:00 PM
OOH! You HAVE gotten far! It's your skinny calves, I say. ;-)
If I hadn't had to rip back 5 inches of the new sweater I started, I'd be further on mine too. Oh well. I love those colors we picked!
Posted by: Jenny at September 5, 2006 12:19 AM
Those are some of the prettiest knee socks I've ever seen! The colors work very well together.
Hope your ankle feels better soon.
Posted by: Rachel at September 5, 2006 07:50 AM
I love those socks. The two colors are nicely put together!! I'm fairly new to knitting socks so every time I see your knee high socks I think of knitting myself a pair!!
As one who's twisted my ankle so badly that I was in a cast for 2 weeks, I can totally relate. I haven't tried playing tennis in many years but watched Andre over the weekend which made me want to play again. I hope your ankle feels better soon so you can get back to tennis!
Posted by: Betsy M at September 5, 2006 09:42 AM
Delurking here. Speedy ankle recovery and good luck with the tennis. I've always had trouble with sports that require me to swing at moving objects, so I'm particularly amazed by people who are good at them!
Posted by: Anna F. at September 5, 2006 09:45 AM
Love the colors on the new knee highs. So what about this yarn sale? Is this something I have to fly to NJ for? Or is this an online thing? Poor ankle! You'll just to finish your kneehighs (sit down, legs up, no housework), to ensure faster healing of your ankle.
Posted by: Carol at September 5, 2006 10:03 AM
Hi - I'm a long time follower of the blog and have not commented until now - I saw your ankle in that brace and boy can I relate - tore my calf muscle on July 7 and have been in a giant aircast since.....Only one good thing about these injuries...lots of knitting time! Your knee socks are beautiful!
Posted by: Pat at September 5, 2006 11:21 AM
Well, I was right, wasn't I? You've gone above and beyond in the sock department in the intervening year or so. Love the knee highs!
Posted by: Cassie at September 5, 2006 12:05 PM
Delurking here, too. Way to go, Cara -- both on the tennis and on the socks. Purple is a long way from my favorite color (well, not really, it is actually right between my two favorite colors on the color wheel) but those knee socks are great!
I have a question, though. I keep seeing socks and socks and more socks on various knitting blogs -- beautiful, gorgeous socks, like peacocks running through a tropical sunset whilst being chased by a herd of multicolored emu -- and, while I love their colorfulness, occasionally I ask myself the teeny-tiny question, "When do they wear them? And with what?" Not that I want to spoil the fun, you understand, I'm just wondering.
So, is there any possibility of photos of your socks -- any of your socks, really, they are ALL beautiful! -- in situ, so to speak? Photos where we get to see the complete outfit?
Posted by: kmkatt at September 5, 2006 12:13 PM
Great story and I love the socks. I think I used that multi-colored purple for my very first pair of socks. I think I need some more Koigu.
Posted by: Stephanie at September 5, 2006 01:23 PM
Your poor ankle! Does it feel better today? Best to keep it up and baby it. That means knitting all day;-)
LOVE the new knee high!
Posted by: margene at September 5, 2006 01:34 PM
You're right! That is going tobe a beautiful pair of knee highs!
Posted by: Scribbles & Bits at September 5, 2006 03:00 PM
Ouch! Watch that tennis! It'll hurt you if you're not careful! But I've got to agree with you, there is nothing like ripping a great forehand, deep on the line, in the corner! Must've been a beauty!
Nice socks too!
Posted by: Kirsten at September 5, 2006 11:57 PM