Cautiously Optimistic

We  received word from the Subaru dealer in Valdosta this morning that the engine has arrived from Alabama. The replacement will be quite extensive and will take a couple of days provided not many of their regular service customers don't require the skills of the technician. It is suspected that there may also have been a problem with the radiator so that will be checked and remedied as well if required. We hope that the servicing will be completed by Monday and by Tuesday at the latest we'll be able to make the 4.5 hour drive back up to Valdosta to get the car and drop off the rental car which is costing us $50/day.

I have already accepted that this will have cost us the equivalent of a Baltic cruise, but am cautiously optimistic that the car will be able to get us around Florida for the rest of our holiday and safely get us home. That trip home will be a bit of a nail-biter.

On the other hand, we are thrilled to not be having to deal with Winter Storm Nemo up north and hope everyone at home is getting ready to hunker down and dig their way out. I just 'googled' the recent naming of winter storms by The Weather Channel and found this article. Anyway, it's about 80F today (26.6C) and sunny. Skip went to the driving range while I did some knitting and housework and after lunch, I went for a nice walk around the neighbourhood.

It is supposed to rain a bit tomorrow. Generally when it rains, we go to the movies. There are still a couple of Oscar nominated movies I`d like to see.

I finished the `therapeutic` (for me) ballband dishcloth that I started yesterday.
The colours are `bright aqua` and `bright lime`.  One of my cotton yarn choices at the store was a variegated lime-coloured yarn that was scented like lemon-lime.  I`m not sure how long the scent would last and it was 1/2 oz. less yarn for the same price as the solid colours. I didn't buy it but it is an interesting concept.

I have more than enough yarn to knit a couple more but I'm going to see if I find a pattern that interests me. If not I'll just knit another ballband dishcloth reversing the colours.

I have started another project, one I've had for a while in my stash, Mags Kandis' 'Simple Cowl' from one of the Mission Falls books. In the spirit of stashbusting, I thought I'd whip this up while I'm down here. I've had the pattern copied and the pattern and yarn in a Ziploc bag for a couple of years, ready to grab and start knitting. I'm in a real cable-y mood these days so this fits right in.

I probably should have knit this in the round as the even numbered rows are basically knit the knits and purl the purls as they are presented. The only exception is the bobbles that would be easily knit and turned. I do love the colours of the Mission Falls yarns but always felt they were overpriced. I only ever bought the yarn when I found it on sale. And now it is no longer in production.

A few years back I knit a baby sweater and hat as a store sample using the 1824 cotton yarn. I found it rather heavy but liked the final result.

 

I've knit with the 1824 Wool and felt it was lovely and soft but it really pills a lot because there is a bit of a halo. But hey, what worsted weight yarn nowadays doesn't pill?