Okay, I'll start packing... NOW!

I am a last-minute packer, I'll admit it. I have packed a few things already: Chocolate Mariah, trench coat, every scarf I own (I'm knitting another one out of black Caron acrylic and red fun fur, but I don't think it will be ready on time), my e-ticket, hotel reservation, two knitting murder mysteries (I am such a nerd), my fully-loaded mp3 player, all my work slacks, and a few skirts. Hey, it's a start; every time I go out to my grandmother's in Hawaii I pack the night before. Like, three hours before I go to the airport.

I am still worried about Stinker. The pigeon from heck is still torturing us with his ceaseless squawking, which is already stressing her out. She also sees me packing and knows that something is up. Since my last trip to Maui she gets nervous and unhappy whenever it looks like I'm going somewhere. I'm not sure what this two weeks away is going to do to her, but at least she won't be alone; Boy and Stinker will keep each other from withering away and dying without the sunshine of my love. Will you all do me a favor and think good thoughts for them while I'm away?

I have tons to do; I need to dye my hair, get my eyebrows done, PACK, cook pizza for the girls and maybe Mikey (dude who crashed his truck last week), get some sunglasses, PACK, and get gauge for the ribble socks. I'm up to my size 4 needles and I'm still not getting 6.5 stitches per inch. I've decided to say "Screw this!" to the gauge and just buckle down and do some math. Let's hope I can successfully convert 6.5 to 8.3 per inch. I'm loving the yarn though, the colorway is very rainbow sherbert. It's not something I would have picked up for myself, but I'm enjoying the experimentation.

Ooooh, look what I'm getting in Syracuse: Hawaiian Chocolate! Jill from Bean's Stock is going to hook me up while I'm out there. I am really excited; I've wanted a needle case for so long! Everyone go over there and check out her goodies! I'll also be hitting The Knitting Connection if I get a chance to while they are open. Their website has a coupon for 10% off, so I'll definitely be making the effort to get there between 10 am and 5 pm, hopefully Saturday.

SO MUCH FOR THE CONTEST
The contest, such as it was, is now over. The winner is the intrepid Trek, who was the only respondent. Unfortunately, she is also far too wrapped up in socks to care for my dinky prize, so it will be added to the pot if I try this again.