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August 01, 2006
some vacation pitchers + hurt cyclist update
At last! For your viewing pleasure!
Not necessarily in any particular order!
The house in Bethany.
This is the first half of the back of the Ballet Wrap Cardigan from Interweave Knits, which I am making in Manos. Yes, its too hot to think, and I am knitting with wool. You have got to plan ahead for Bike Winter. Which is what I was thinking of this afternoon in my un-airconditioned blast furnace. Oh! The snow rides! Did I complain about it??
The weather will break. This is what everyone keeps chanting.
The Ballet Wrap Cardigan lounges by the pool. The thing on top is a seashell, and sticking out, a seagull feather. Because! It was the beach!
Left to right~ holding bags of yarn~ the little girls are Tessy, 3 and three-quarters years old, (who didn't want her picture taken at all, but we're so glad she indulged us!) Caroline, 3 and a half, and Cleo, 6. In the middle is Tessy and Cleo's Dad, and kind sponsor of our girls' yarn-shopping trip to Sea Needles,(The Largest Needlework Store on Delmarva!) Eric.
One day the tide came waaaay in! All the small people loved splashing in the tide pools under the boardwalk. Joey thought wading was almost as fun as eating sand.
Rob and Joey Helpy-Chalk being their cute selves on the back porch.
No, Joey doesn't have a mohawk. And fyi, Joey is living proof that crayons really are non-toxic. Believe it.
Eric found a poor little dead turtle, squished flat by a car in the health club parking lot. He brought it home and Cleo and I examined it
through a protective plastic bag. Poor little squashed guy.
I couldn't do the turtle much justice with the disposable camera. It had beautiful swirling markings on its underside.
After a couple of days I was compelled to pedal!! There was a garage full of rather hopelessly broken bikes, but I managed to resuscitate this old Ross road bike by pumping up the tires. I christened her Ol'Suicide, as she had no back brake (a limp cable ran from the brake lever to the back of the frame where it was tied in a knot somewhat near to the back brake to keep it from flapping) no functional rear derailleur, (again, a funny non-functional flappy cable, anchored to the frame) and only 1 and a half brake pads on the front. Plus, I discovered in the middle of a ride, the seat was also rather dubious. Not exactly attached to anything in particular, but mostly hovering. When things heated up (Yes, my dear, mostly adult readers, between my thighs! You know you were thinking it) it was liable to twist sideways unless one concentrated on making oneself heavy.
In any event, Bethany is a vacation town, and traffic moves s l o w, and cars go waaay around bikes, if such a thing can be imagined.
Its very disconcerting! But nice.
I so wanted to bring Suicide home with me.
Oh, and plus, did you know? Its true! God watches over children and drunks (or do you say idiots and drunks?). It was rumored the young man who face-planted at Friday's ride had quite some blood alcohol level, according to paramedics on the scene. Which is not especially surprising, and may just have been the thing that saved his bacon, in a way! There is word he suffered a serious gash, an eyefull of blood, a broken tooth, and road rash on his cheek, neck, and shoulder. But is out of the hospital and recovering.
Here is a photo of the thing that swallowed his wheel.
Posted by at August 1, 2006 06:56 PM
Comments
are those your charming toes with the red paint in the turtle picture?
Posted by: rob helpy-chalk at August 1, 2006 09:57 PM
Those toes are indeed my very own stubby ones! With immaculate pedicure courtesy of Caroline!
Posted by: Pippypippy at August 2, 2006 10:22 AM
That is the best picture of Joey ever. Please send me a copy. Also, if you get a chance, can you send the knitting for children book that you mentioned? I have been trying to figure out how you did that thing in the washcloth you sent us, where you switch from knit to perl then back in the same row. It looks obvious, but whenever I try it (count ten knits, then count ten purls, flip the thing around, count ten knits, then ten more purls, repeat a few times, look at the mess I've made, start over) it doesn't look obvious anymore. I must be missing something.
Posted by: Molly at August 8, 2006 10:07 AM
I really wish I could have joined you guys up there this year! Knitting, spunky kids and dangerous bicycles - sounds like a lovely time.
Oh, the lovely Manos - that's going to be a very toasty cardigan.
Posted by: David at August 9, 2006 05:28 AM