It's all about Me.

Lisa of knitnzu posted an interview and asked me the following five questions:

1. How long have you been knitting and who taught you? I taught myself to knit from a Spinnerin learn-to-knit pamphlet when I was 16.

My first projects were a square of royal blue worsted on which I learned to knit and purl and (mostly) not to drop stitches. Then I knit a headband and a pair of not-very-warm mittens for myself, and then I tackled a real sweater, a cardigan for my mom. It was a Chanel-style, if any of you young whippersnappers know what that is -- collarless and no buttons. I made it from pale red-brown worsted wool that I ordered from Sears, and miraculously it fit her. She embroidered crewel flowers on it, and she wore it for years. I have no idea where it is now.

2. How did you meet your DH and what did you think of him the first time you saw him?   I answered an ad. No, really, that was how we met. We were both students at the time, although not at the same school. He was sharing a large house with five other people in south Minneapolis. After about six months half of the people got mad at the other half and all but two, Smokey and one other, moved out. Those two liked the spaciouness of the house and the extreme cheapness of the rent and decided to get replacement roommates by advertising through the University of Minnesota housing service. I answered the ad. The first time I met him was when I went to look at the house. My focus was on the house itself, was there access to a bus line that could get me to the U, and the rent. He was nice enough, obviously, since I didn't decide against moving in based on my prospective housemate, but I really wasn't paying a lot of attention to him. (He has since told me he was interested from the get-go. Yay!)

(This is not the actual house, but it  is the same vintage and a similar architectural style. You can see why we liked it there.)

We ended up with eight people, mostly University students, four male and four female. Everyone had their own room, although clearly some of us became extremely friendly ;-) We got married not quite a year later and lived in that house with a variety of housemates for another four years. Cheap rent, student budgets, lots of space.

3. What would be your spirit/totem/animal creature? A cat. Doh :-)

4. If you could go anywhere/do anything for a vacation, what/where would it be? If I am not bound by the physical laws of this universe, I would teleport myself and my family (no long annoying plane rides, no schlepping luggage through airports) to various places around the globe where we would spend a week or two in each place: Tahiti because I loved Adventures in Paradise when I was a kid, Hong Kong to shop, Greece to see the ruins, Tuscany and Provence because I want to eat and drink good stuff in a relaxed atmosphere, London just because, Paris and Florence and Rome because I have an undergrad degree in art history and would like to see in person the things I studied, Kruger National Park in South Africa to see the lions and other animals, Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia and Winterthur Garden in Delaware and Hidcote and Sissinghurst in England because I love flowers, the Sedona Desert Museum near Tucson because we went there once 20+ years ago and I still remember it fondly. Oh, and if we are suspending physical laws? Smokey and I would both have the stamina we had at 30.

If I have to choose just one vacation I would take the family camping in the Florida Keys at John Pennekamp and Bahia Honda and Long Key state parks. We'd float on our air mattresses and we'd snorkel and we'd eat at the Mexican Cantina in Marathon and El Cacique in Key West and the boys would probably go scuba diving and we'd hunt for interesting critters in the tide pools and we'd eat grouper sandwiches and I'd sit in the shade and read and knit and drink coffee and margaritas and beer and snack on yummy stuff. And we'd be able to bring the dogs. And our campsite would be right next to the least-used bathhouse and it would be February but the Gulf water would feel like September and we'd have electricity and running water at our campsite and no one in the sites on either side of us and my bed in the camping trailer would be as comfortable as the one at home.

(pictures shamelessly stolen from the parks' websites)

5. What was your favorite thing that you ever knit? This is a tough one. Frankly, I don't think I have knit it yet. Right now I'd have to say the first pair of socks I knit.

It was such fun seeing what the yarn did next, and I impressed the heck out of myself that I actually created a pair of (gasp!) socks that (wow!) fit me. I think of them as my Power Socks; whenever I get dressed on a day that I know will bring some massive challenge -- which usually involves getting up in front of people in some manner -- I wear those socks. But ::sob:: one of them disappeared in the wash. I'm hoping it will reappear when I finally shovel out my house in the next six months while I'm not working. It has to, right? It couldn't walk out of the house on its own, could it? No one broke into the house and stole it, did they? Tell me I'll find it again. Please.

* * * * *

Want to play? Here's the scoop:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me." (and give me your e-mail address if you can to make this easier on me.)
2. I will respond by e-mailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Comments

[Chris]

Those were your first socks?! They are seriously cool.

[Susan]

Love your answers! I like how you met your hubby. That's sweet.

[Teyani]

How fun to read more about you! thanks for sharing.
What a great house era that was that you lived in -
I'd say interview me.. but I'm not sure that I would publish the answers on my blog (hah hah hah)

[Cathy]

What a fun interview. I especially like how you met your DH. And your first socks are beautiful. Surely the sock will reappear. Soon, I hope.

[elizabeth]

Okay, okay, I'll bite. Interview me, if you dare! Haha! And - I LOVE your whole camping scenario!

[Ruth]

What fantastic answers! What great socks! If you don't find the match, fill this one with feed corn and lavender, tie/sew the top shut and you have a great heat bag you can use! Microwave it, put it on your sore spots!

[lisa]

What fun! Great pics! Love the idea of trancending space and time and vitality for a vacation. And, maybe one of your dogs ate the sock?? Have you been watching what comes out the other end?

[miss ewe]

Those are some great stories! Okay... I'll bite... Interview me. :)

[colleen]

Great interview!
Guess what! I live near (15 mins) Longwood Gardens and about 30 mins from Winterthur Garden.
Come visit! We have room and all kids and pets are welcome.

[Melinda]

Your sock will turn up. It may, however, take awhile. One of my first hand knit socks (in a similarly primary Fortissima colorway), went AWOL while we lived in an apartment and used the building coin-op laundry. I assumed it was lost and gone forever. After we moved, I finally got around to unpacking the giant tangle of socks, undies, and t-shirts I had tossed in a box, and found my lost sock, wrapped up in an unloved pair of panties. The evil undies must have grabbed the sock in the laundry.