Answers to burning questions

So waaay back when, I posted a teaser which led some to wonder, what the heck does that mean? God has a backhoe? What in the world is a backhoe? Well, it appears that unless you have worked in construction or possess a Y chromosome, it's likely that you don't know what a backhoe is. Or at least by name. If you type "backhoe" into yahoo, this is one of the first hits you'll get:I dunno. I guess it's possible that this is could be an excavator, but I'll leave it to the heavy machinery people to argue this one out. I mean it to be that oversized shovel that's digging and clanging away at 6:00 am across the street and severely depriving me of good REM sleep.

I digress. Anyway, DF and I make the drive up 395 fairly frequently and 9 times out of 10, car coma hits and I pass out about 30 minutes into the 4.5 hour drive. But for some reason, right around Olancha, I wake up just in time to see this:

A giant pile of red dirt. We are convinced that this must be evidence that God exists, and that he has a backhoe. Cuz, c'mon people, who else can make a perfectly shaped pile of dirt of THAT ENORMITY?

I digress. The point of this story though (for a knitting blog anyway) is that much knitting was accomplished this weekend. I had cast on for the Embossed Leaves Socks in the last issue of IK while flying cross country (again) last Sunday. I tell you, sock knitting is SO great for taking on the plane with you. And, it's also the perfect car knitting companion. I think DF likes it because it keeps the both of us awake. I knit instead of pass out so I can keep him company while he drives. Although I think he'd propose that it's not my scintillating conversation that's keeping him awake, but rather the aroma from my feet as I try my socks on:
I am pretty pleased with the results so far. This is my first attempt at a heel flap and gusset for socks, and I think it went okay. The designer specified garter stitch edges for the heel flap and I have a hell of a time picking up stitches in garter stitch. I think I'll omit the garter stitch next time and/or add a slip stitch edge on the heel flap to make picking up stitches a bit easier. But look, no holes at the heels! I tried to take a picture to show the decreases on the bottom to turn the heel because I think they look a bit wonky, but my camera skills in a moving car are pretty lame.


Next up: look, it's a stuffed sausage toy!