Friday I went to Ypsilanti (1.25 hours away) to see my Brother Eric, and his wife, Diana. Diana loves to cook for me, and I really appreciate her knack for flavor. Never mind my own personal aversion to cooking, which makes food from others taste even better!

She made me Mujaddara (middle-eastern lentil/rice pilaf, though sometimes made with bulgur wheat rather than rice), and fruit/maple-glazed carrots, and roasted brussel sprouts. And much good tea! Three different kinds of tea over the course of many hours, to be exact.

But the company was the focus of the visit, as good as the food was. Diana and I sat and knitted, and chatted a little about crochet which I’m trying once more. Eric listened a lot (he is very good at this) and gave me advice when I solicited it (he’s a very good advice-giver, I make sure to listen well when he speaks).

We talked computers and books and audio books, yarn, cats, dogs, food, family, friends, and just whatever came to mind. The subject matter is not the point. The being there was the whole point. There is nobody who knows me as well as Eric does. No doubt this is why his advice is so good, and why I’m so inclined to take it when others’ advice may not interest me.

There’s nothing like someone who has known you all but 1.5 of the years you’ve been on the earth. And who absolutely has your best interest at heart. I’m a lucky woman, and I know it.

Knitting? I got to try Eric’s Bingo toe-up socks on him, measure his feet in person, and proceed with turning one heel and knitting the second heel flap. I thought I could get by with 2 balls of yarn but he’s got wide feet and I will split a third ball between them to make the cuffs.

I carried along the two pair of socks I’m knitting for me (including the Turkish-Style Toe-Up socks for my Wednesday morning class, which look like I’ll have at least one sock ready for class this week). I also carried the beginning of a Bloom Shawl in Louisa Harding angora. Luxe!

Crochet? After class this morning I played around with a sort of basketweave pattern. Then in Ypsilanti I showed it to Diana who was able to explain a version of it to me, and she even gave me a sample once she’d figured it out. She has done Crochet for years, knitting not as long.

I’m planning to do a single-crocheted felted purse from a Patons beads-and-wool bag booklet. I found several colors of Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride yarn in my stash in various shades of turquoise-to-teal-to-emerald. I bought a few more colors at Threadbear during class… two purples and another softer aqua to add to the blue-green range of colors I’d brought from home.

I want to be sure I can follow a crochet pattern so here I am diving in! I’m not yet at the “too many bags” problem so one more will be quite welcome. If I’m lucky, it will be a good size for my laptop. If not it will be a purse or knitting bag, also good choices.
Off to sleep. I’m hoping on Saturday I’ll put up photos from last Sunday’s Polymer Clay class at Rae’s.

Photo: Eric at Thanksgiving, 2004; Eric and Diana, summer 2004.