Sometimes you just need a nap

Okay *most* of the time I need a nap, but I'm thinking specifically of that sleepy part of the afternoon where you've got a ton of stuff done, and a ton of stuff still to do, and you've had something to eat, and stopping to do that reminded you what rest feels like. Just typing that, I am craving a look at the beautiful pink mohair socks I knit myself for a present once. Wearing them was always restful no matter what I was taking on.

Took me ages to find this pic. I still love the fabric of these so much. You can even tell from the photo how thick and floppy they were, can't you?  Tragically, they have shrunk over their many, many gentle cold water washes, and don't really fit any more. I really need to knit another pair like them. 

But getting back to the whole nap thing, one more element of that sleepy time of day, at this time of year, is cold toes. At least for me. And thinking of that reminded me of the house in its older version - pre-renovation, pre-insulation. Back when we still had water-filled cast iron radiators on the wall instead of water-filled plastic tubes under the floor. If I wanted a nap in the winter in those years, it wasn't just warm socks I had to put on, but also a hat and a pair of mittens, because midafternoon was when our furnace took its own nap. I'd freeze in here.

Now it's all warm all the time (especially in summer, ha!) and I have to keep the thermostat on pretty low, and I also open the bedroom window for a few minutes before lights out so I can justify even one blanket. Sometimes I wish I was sleeping outside, all bundled up with just my nose to get chilly.

Recently I read about a young man who started sleeping outside every night for fun when he was emphatically pre-teen, and never stopped. He could go for a record at this point only there's another slightly older young man in England who's had a head start. This brave lad doesn't even go for a tent all the time. Sometimes it's just a hammock. Apparently when he and his family go on holiday, they have to choose a destination with a campground in the area for him and his dad while his mom and sister stay in a hotel.

All I can say is, that guy needs somebody to knit him some mohair socks. He'd be in heaven!

And also, how early must he wake up in the morning, so close to sunrise and birdsong? 

While I was hunting for the photograph of my gorgeous rose-pink socks, I found one of my old bubblegum socks, now also a bit too small:

These ones were really thick - I could only fit them into boots and wore them on very cold days. They were extremely welcome.

I really need to finish more socks. I mean I have five pairs still waiting for their ends to be run in so they can have a bath and get to work. I haven't felt very motivated to do that, since I have other socks to wear, and frankly my hands are just really tired from typing at the end of the day. If I take a break to curl up in a chair and stare mindlessly at a screen, or just listen to an audio book, I want it to be a break for them, too. 

This can't go on. I put my heel through another pair of mohair socks the other day. If I'm not going to knit new, I really need to darn old! And with some pace. I'm actually wearing darned socks as I type this, so it's not like they're any less comfortable, and actually, I think the patch makes them look extra interesting.

[note the lack of picture here, thereby avoiding the risk of disagreement.]

So: my goal for this week is to knuckle down to the darning. And I have made progress by putting all the socks with holes into two big Pyrex mixing bowls, with a third bowl of yarns I can use to fill in the gaps. Pix next week. 

Meanwhile, I hope you've got some fun things on your needles, or even the dream of them, like me.

 

Whew! after all this chat I am going to have to take that nap or find something to perk me up again. Thanks so much for dropping by - have a wonderful week and I'll see you next Saturday!