Since a trip to Utah to care for my recuperating MnotIL will use up every drop of my leave time for the summer, I am going to have to rely on the power of the imaginary vacation for some R&R.

So in my mind, I am going to plan a late May jaunt to the south of France. It’s about time I put all those years of French classes to use. (This is not entirely true, since I have already put them to use when I visited Quebec eight years ago. I was complimented in Montreal for the accent I used when saying, “Bonjour!” Luckily, the tour guide at the stadium didn’t ask me to say anything else in French, since my reading comprehension is far superior to my speaking abilities!)

On my pretend vacation, I hope to swim and sunbathe on the Côte d’Azur. I plan to pedal past fields of lavender. I want to hike the Luberon. I expect to breakfast on crusty bread and chocolat chaud and sit at roadside cafés in the afternoon with Rudi. We may even take a few days and travel to Paris.

Since this vacation isn’t bound by the pedestrian technicalities that make real-life travel difficult, I will not worry about finding someone to water my garden or paying someone to look after our cats. I won’t stress about returning jet-lagged to work on the day after I fly home. I will not be concerned by the price of the hotel that is priced quite nicely for someone who normally traffics in Euros instead of the ever-declining dollar. I will merely smile at the enchanting hôtelier, wave my hand, and tell him to charge it to my credit card. There will be no repercussions.

Since I do not have to budget my vacation days, let’s make this trip last three weeks. That will really give me time to shake off all the winter doldrums and to recharge my batteries.

The only risk we run? That reality is that much duller because of the imaginary.

Ah well. Some chances must be taken.

So how about you? Where would you vacation this year if reality didn’t get in your way?

I am too tired to take a photo tonight, but I am making good progress on my Bloomin’ Socks. The first sock is down to the toe, and the second is halfway through the leg repeats.

All in all, the socks are going well. The pattern really does suit the yarn and I think I finally did find the right combination of gauge by using three (!) different needle sizes — 2.25, 2.75, and 3 mm — over the course of the sock depending on what part I was working on. The only thing I wish were different would be that the yarn be less splitty. Usually this brand of handspun does me very well, so I’m not sure if it’s that my needles aren’t pointy enough for the lacework or if the tencel somehow contributes to the yarn plies not binding to themselves as well as normal. Probably a combination of the two…

I’m really excited about finishing them and shipping them off this weekend, although I do still have fears that they might not fit my pal. They just fit around my foot when stretched all the way, and her foot measurements are slightly smaller than mine. My fingers are crossed. I suppose the worst thing that happens is that I have to knit her a replacement pair, right?