We’re HOME!

There truly is no place like home! We’re so glad to be back – although we had a great time, we were anxious to be back in our own little beds. The trip back was pretty uneventful, minimal bickering between the kids, the doggie was a dream and our overnight stay in Knoxville was pleasant (we drove from Dallas to Knoxville on Thursday, Knoxville to South Orange on Friday. DEFINITELY a trip to remember! ) With the exception of three hours outside of Knoxville, Gerry drove the entire trip and he is my hero!

I think the kids will most fondly recall making the truckers blow their horns every time we passed them on the highway – a tradition has been passed down… We noticed that there seem to be a LOT more trucks on the road in the South than in the North – I wonder why this is? Are there more shipping train lines up north?

We arrived home to find our happy home and happy cat just waiting for us! I cannot thank Deb, Nicole and Holly enough for all of their help in taking care of our little kitty, Butkis. He looks fat, happy and I think he really liked the break from Atticus.

We had a happy surprise when we returned the car – the rental was actually less than we had anticipated! We returned the van a day early, so the total damage was a little over $350/week including taxes, refuling fee, etc. Qute a bargain for a 7 seater minivan! I highly reccommend a Ford Windstar for anyone who’s looking – we were SO happy with our choice throughout the entire trip, it really was our ‘home away from home.’

I also urge any parent contemplating a trip of more than 4 hours with a few kids to get one of the small TV/VCR combos that can be plugged into a cigarette lighter in a car. Ours was about $100 at Odd Lot and increased the pleasure of the trip amazingly! The kids didn’t watch TV all the time, as a matter of fact they watched much less than I figured they would, but it was nice to have it as a tension and boredom breaker!

During my break I got so LITTLE knitting done that I am snowed under now! I have sketches to finish for some submissions, several sweaters to knit, another heavily intarsia cardigan to pattern out and chart – plus I need to put together a few articles that I’ve promised to several publications. As I’ve always said, I’d rather be busy than bored! I have come down with a pretty bad cold, but this is good news as I’m able to knit and sit and (hopefully) be left alone to my own knitting devices this week.

I also need to prepare for my new knitting class that’s starting on 1/6 at the Baird Center in South Orange. I’m really excited about this one as it will include begining AND intermediate knitters – I intend to lead it more as a workshop where everyone can progress at their own pace on their own projects. I’m not a big fan of synchronized knitting.