The rain it raineth
After four halcyon weeks of September sun, the Oregon rain arrived last night. Yesterday I did my research outside on the lawn, basking in the warmth we know will never last, and managed one more evening lounging in a friend’s backyard as our bookclub met to discuss Cry, the Beloved Country. (Next up: Madame Bovary. We are the geek squad of bookclubs, and we like it that way.)Â Granted, we did our lounging fortified with hot toddies of whiskey and spiced cider and had a merry fire in the outdoor fireplace Eliza and her husband built themselves, but the night air was pleasant and dry. During the small hours of the morning, the first big drops spattered the skylight and spooked the cat, and he scuttled up to curl himself under my chin and purr us both back to sleep.
It was almost comical, the feeling I had when I awoke to the steady drizzle and the zliss of car tires on the wet pavement: “Oh, this is real life again.” As if the whole sun-dazzled summer had been nothing but a fever dream, and here we were waking to the wet reality of Oregon again. It wasn’t a depressing thought; we children of the northwest have a broad streak of puddleduck in our natures. Rainy days are cozy days, and the ancestral climate of knitters besides. Wool between the fingers never feels better than on the wet days when we can stay in our nests, perhaps beside the fire with a good radio program or an audio book or an old movie and a warm lap cat for company.
Of course, this is a workday, but a girl can fantasize. There are a few projects to wrap up, and a wealth of new ones to begin. I have a sweater’s worth of Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed and a fresh design crooning to me, and I just received the wool for my next ShibuiKnits project, which must be finished by November. (It’s a sweater, using Merino Kid and Sock in the beautiful blue called Rapids. Can’t tell you too much more, although you’ll see a few teaser pictures next month.) Then there’s my brother. I love him, in the unforgettable words of Anne Lamott’s small son in her excellent writing book Bird by Bird, “like 20 tyrannosauruses on 20 mountaintops.” But you’d never know it from the state of the kid’s handknit collection. He has only this measley Fishtrap swatchcap (modelled by me – we look alike, but not that much alike):
The dude needs a sweater in the worst way. It’ll be like my contribution to his hope chest before he gets married next May. I have yarn (pumpkin orange Morehouse Merino 2-Ply), I have pattern (Teva Durham’s Irregular Rib Raglan with Toggle) — all I need is time and volition. Is it too much to think I could finish three sweaters before Christmas? Let’s hope for lots of rainy days. Meantime, I’ll leave you with my favorite anonymous rain poem:
The rain it raineth all around
Upon the just and unjust fella
But mostly on the just because
The unjust stole the just’s umbrella.
Any other favorite rain poems out there?
Posted: September 28th, 2007 at 10:59 am
Hmm, the only rain poem I can think of is Itsy Bitsy Spider.
Neither of my brothers have any handknits from me, but their kids make up for it and then some! Once the niblings grow up, maybe I’ll make something for my bros.
I really like that cap! (And your photography is always nice!)
Posted: September 28th, 2007 at 10:59 am
Oh, I love that Teva Durham sweater!
So sad to hear that your weather has turned to Fall… Still sunny and hot here in NYC, but we’re chomping at the bit for Fall 🙂
Posted: September 28th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Hmm, I love the thought of curling up to knit on a rainy day. I am so ready for fall!!
Posted: September 28th, 2007 at 11:46 am
That’s a great hat for your brother! Whenever it rains, I hear my kids singing Winnie-The-Pooh’s song:
The rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down
In rushing, rising, rivlets
‘Til the river crept out of it’s bed
And crept right into Piglet’s
And it goes on and on and on!
Posted: September 28th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
I loved hearing the rain start up last night. It meant I’m really, truly here.
PS: I’m here. Thinking of trying on a LYS knit night for size. You go to Knit/Purl, yes?
Posted: September 28th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
That’s a cute watchcap! And: yes. YOU CAN DO IT!!!
PS It rained here in the Bay Area (CA) last weekend. What the…?!?! It’s only SEPTEMBER…
Posted: September 28th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
i’m a sun-lover, but i do enjoy the occasional day where i can hear the tires on teh wet pavement, and i don’t have to go out, and can knit while cozily tucked under a blanket, with a warm cup of cocoa, and hubbie watching a football game (on mute, lol).
i love the poem, that’s cute!
Posted: September 28th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
william carlos williams
rainy falls are wonderful.
so is Ann Lamott
Posted: September 29th, 2007 at 3:50 am
O I loved reading this post. It is poetic and true so much that I wished to be there too. 😉
Mme Bovary is a wonderful book although it is sad. Emma would have better lived today than she would have a chance to be happy and fulfill her dreams.
O gosh, my English is crappy but I am sure you’ll work out what I try to say.
Hip hip Hurrah for the rainy knitting days!
Posted: September 29th, 2007 at 6:30 am
You may not be the geek-iest book club, but the most ambitious! How do get any reading done with all of that knitting go on? That’s a balance I’ve yet to find.
I have two younger brothers and they only have one hand-knit scarf between them. Don’t feel guilty. Oh, but now maybe I do….
Posted: September 29th, 2007 at 8:20 am
your description of the arrival of the rains makes me think back to my year experience of portland…how i wish i had knit back then. i love your words, lady, you bring such vivid images to my head. i know you can finish three sweaters by xmas, look at what you did with brigtte.
Posted: September 29th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Believe that poem is by Ogden Nash, I learnt it as
The rain it raineth every day,
Upon the just and unjust fella,
But mostly on the just because
The unjust’s stolen his umbrella
Posted: September 30th, 2007 at 9:21 am
i love rain.. much more than snow 🙂 the fishtrap hat is great. such nice cables.
Posted: September 30th, 2007 at 9:37 am
Oh, Oregon girls, wet Oregon girls,
With laughing eyes and soggy curls;
They’ll sing and dance both night and day
‘Til some webfooter come their way:
They’ll meet him at the kitchen door,
Saying, “Wipe your feet or come no more.”
– ?
Yay for the rain!
Posted: September 30th, 2007 at 11:51 am
Here in Seattle, the gray skies started a couple weeks ago and it seems that the rain has started in earnest today. Your words are so accurate; as much as I want to run out to the farmer’s market, the weather really just makes me want to curl up and start something wooly that I know will keep me cozy the whole season long.
As long as your sweaters are made in those aran weights, you should be good to go for Xmas.
Posted: September 30th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
(Lovely hat!)
When that I was and a little tiny boy
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
A foolish thing was but a toy,
For the rain it raineth every day.
But when I came to man’s estate,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
‘Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate,
For the rain it raineth every day.
But when I came, alas, to wive,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
By swaggering could I never thrive,
For the rain it raineth every day.
But when I came unto my beds,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
With toss-pots still ‘had drunken heads,
For the rain it raineth every day.
A great while ago the world began,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
But that’s all one, our play is done,
And we’ll strive to please you every day.
— William Shakespeare
Posted: October 1st, 2007 at 3:52 am
[…] The rain it raineth […]
Posted: October 2nd, 2007 at 9:00 am
I love it when you write posts such as these! Your warm lap cats and puddleduckery almost (almost!) make me eager for the fall. If only freezing my arse off were so poetic. The hat, it reeks of winter. In a good way, I mean.
Posted: October 6th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
Holy cow, you’re old enough to have a son who’s getting married next spring? I thought you were about the same age as my daughters.
Hat’s great, and it reminds me that I need to clear off enough carpet so that I can block the pieces for LittleBit’s cabled hoodie so she can wear it when it cools off next month.