Too Frazelled to Knit!!

Making a mistake in real life is much more difficult to repair than a knitting mistake. No "frogging" in real life!! No ability to simply rewind, and love the moment over, doing the right thing on the second go around.
We (husband, 14-year-old and I) were supposed to leave for Barcelona Spain last Saturday. Friday night we were copying our passports and discovered that our daughter's passport had expired!! Last month!! Take note, all of you international travellers. Children's passports are issued for only FIVE years, not ten years like adult passports. What to do?? Besides feel incredibly, incredibly stupid!! Daughter held up well; no weeping or carrying on. Husband was the one carrying on, anxiety ridden, etc., swearing, wondering whether the trip was doomed, etc. etc.
Unfortunately, nothing could be done until Monday. I did the best thing possible--convinced Husband that he should take the scheduled flight to Barcelona and I would sort things out on the home front.
So, husband took the Sat. a.m. flight . On Sunday I called the passport agency's hotline for making appointments to get emergency passports. I got an appointment for July 3. Not good. Not at all good. But, I kept my cool and my daughter and I went to the zoo!
On Monday morning I called our U.S. senator's office. By 9:00 they had arranged an appointment for me at the passport office in Chicago--a three hour drive away--at 12:30. By 9:15 I had awoken the 14 year old and we were in the car heading for the Windy City. By 4:00 p.m. we had her passport in hand. Also by 2:30 we had new reservations for tomorrow at no extra cost and with no penalty!! We couldn't believe it.
The trip home from Chicago was at a modest and relaxed 65 m.p.h., unlike the mad dash down there.

Normally, in times of crisis I knit. I was too upset to knit much this weekend. I couldn't even concentrate on garter stitch. Nevertheless, I made two more squares for my full body sock blanket--it now has 56 squares!! When finished, it should have 108 squares. I need to find more knitters with left over sock yarn to share!!

I am now running last minute errands, packing yarn for the trip and getting ready to start my new Violets by the River shawl.

I will provide a travelblog here along with Violets by the River progress at various European sites. I figured a sock in the photos would not have enough "class' for Barcelona and Paris. (Sorry, Stephanie!). Rather, a lovely lace shawl would be just the right thing....

Oh, about the cow--The Cow Parade has come to our town. We saw Cows on Parade in Barcelona in spring 2005. Here in Wisconsin, the cows are decorated more on a cow theme--since this is the Dairy State!! The Barcelona cows were very artistic. These cows are, well, cows!