Feeling socky and wacky

I'm confused.. What is this? Summer, autumn, winter?

Move the mouse over the dying sunflower to see how
it looked like two hours after I took the first picture!

But whatever season - it's Socktober!
You don't expect me to show of socks outside. No, in weather like this I rather treat myself with a warm, tasty smelling handbath. Oh and yes, I bathed some socks too. Some socks? The fabulous sockapal2za socks I got from Alison. I think they deserve some Socktober spotlight.

There is also a new project on the needles. The sock swap yarn from knitfreak Dorothee will slowly turn into socks. That's the plan. However, I'm not even through with the first pattern repeat and there are already some stitches missing. Or on the wrong spot. Am I too stupid to read a pattern? Apparently, I am a chart person. Fortunatley, I have an idea by now how the pattern is supposed to look like. Iit will be now problem to draw up a chart, I guess.



Last but not least I owe you the news about my mysterious parcel from yesterday. It was a 0,001% chance and it was not the scrap yarn. [I should so play lotto this weekend!]
It was a t-shirt I ordered 'back in summer' from the artist Natalie Dee and had totally forgotten about (probably because it is not for me ;-))
Anyone who is only interested in knitting stuff should stop here. Well, I probably lost you already.. Who is still with me - you have been warned!
The Icelandic post sucks! Very much! They suspected this parcel to contain 'purchased goods' rather than real, honest gifts. Well, they were kind of right. But how come - there's no invoice in it! What did they do? Ask me to produce an invoice. And they are SO prepared. They actually installed a PC-terminal with printer in their office. (with ebay as startpage, which was only slightly helpful for the guy waiting with me because he couldn't find the right invoice among his 150 orders on bycilcle spare parts!). You are not allowed to see you parcel before you do what they want. And they want your money.. Against better knowledge I didn't insist that it was a gift. Well I tried at first, but there was first the threat they would send it back, and after this final statement nobody seemed to understand my Icelandic anymore and at the same time mysteriously nobody spoke English either - they are so clever! And they had a plan B anyway: if I wouldn't tell them what I paid (Hey - it's a gift) then they would estimate the price. Okay, I produced the invoice and it said $15 for the t-shirt. And it also said $23 in all because of $7 shipping costs. The bitch mean woman behind the counter however refused to understand the difference between an actual "thing" I'm trying to import and which justifies customs and a service that was carried out outside the country and should not be taxed. She didn't get it. The whole amount was taken into calculation and even more mysteriously - my customs duties turned out to be... tatata! $20!! Explain that to me. Because she wouldn't. Well, I guess, just out of anger, principle, justice, a long sleeping but now re-awakened feeling of revolting against the establishment.... I will sacrifice some knitting time and send out a complaint letter. Those idiots!