All I want for Xmas...

So I've thought about it and I realized what I would like in the knitting world. Being a computer programmer, to learn new things I buy computer books. All of these books contain something that my knitting books lack, a DVD. Yep, they contain that DVD with examples, code, and a pdf of the book. And what do we knitters do when we are working on something from a book? We photocopy the pattern from the book. Wouldn't it be easier if we could just pull out that DVD and print out a working copy? You could mark it up however you want. You could take charts and blow them up and print them out. Heck you could even take the pattern and print it out on index cards to tuck into your project bag for on the go.

If it can be done with one set of books, why not knitting books? I mean with the widespread use of technological tools like Ravelry, we should take the next step.

So here I am, lone knitter, demanding digital copy.

Did I mention that the push for movies and shows is to digital copy so you can go from computer, to tv, to iPod? Let's get digital. Let's join centuries of handcraft with modern literacy. Come on people!

Gifties

So I've finished up all my teacher gifts including my second Noro Scarf using Patons SWS. And a nice pair of Fetching for the reading teacher. Those would've been finished the same day they were cast on but I ran out of yarn and had to run off to Bloomin' Yarns.

Speaking of Bloomin, we were out there with Laurie again this weekend. The Celtings even helped to decorate the tree there while I was looking for nice gifties. And all the nice little gifties I've ordered came today too. Well, there are 3 items which I believe are in a seperate package, but I'm pretty sure they'll be here tomorrow.

So I'm now working on my mom's socks and the Celtings' Snowflake Hoodies. Socks on the trolley, hoodies at home. As soon as the mom's socks are done, I'll be working on my Grinchy Grouchy socks for Christmas.

Oh and here's one more picture of the holiday fun we had this weekend. For years the Celtic Consort has been trying to get Ginger to wear these. She's afraid of them, but the Celtings managed to get them on her before she realized. We got our pictures and promptly removed before scarring her for life.

Let Us Give Thanks...

As a knitter, I can appreciate when someone takes the time to make something for you. It occurred to me as I was prepping for tomorrow's feast that I have been extremely fortunate. I have been blessed with a family that while weird, quirky, and sometimes downright annoying, have the knack for pulling together to help in times of need. Regardless of what the problem is, there is always someone with the ability to extend a helping hand. Good example is when I was pregnant with Elder Celting, Laurie took me in and helped with childcare so I could get back to school and support us. Granted she locked me in the attic but I digress. :)

Back to the time it takes. The penultimate giving family member though was my Grandmother. As I popped my pies into the oven, I thought of how my childhood holidays were defined by her baking. Days before she would start baking pies, cookies, and rolls. She took the time to make pie crusts from scratch. She took the time not only to make all these things but teach us how to make them too. Thanksgiving brought pies in all varieties; 4 pumpkin, an apple, an apricot, and maybe another. The trimmings of crusts were made into little cinnamon rolls given to her helpers. Rolls were made that were perfect trefoil rolls, crusty outside and warm and tender inside.

Not to mention the Thanksgiving feast itself. There was always a big turkey but then the sides! Oh how they can make or break a dinner for me. Mounds of mashed potatoes made with butter and milk. Candied yams whose glaze was better than gravy on the turkey. Green beans almandine and peas with pearl onions. Always that childhood favorite of big black olives to put on a thumb. Celery stuffed with cream cheese and peanut butter. Waldorf salad crisp with apples and crunchy walnuts. Jellied cranberry sauce was the least homemade still holding that form of the can.

To set off all these treats, they were served on the china and fancy serving dishes that spent most of the year glimmering in the cabinet in the dining room. We brought out the box with the silverware that was polished the week before. A nice tablecloth was on the table. Somehow the house was always warm and smelled of good things. Even after the feast, yummy leftovers hid in the fridge waiting to be devoured.

Looking back, I see now that she did all of this because that's just what you do. The same as I would give handknit socks. You can't skimp on the dinner, it's just not done! And she shared with me the desire to give of these memories to my kids. Even now, Elder Celting is sneaking a bite of the Waldorf salad I know he thinks Thanksgiving cannot be without. Younger Celting watched anxiously to see the pumpkin pies finishing. I may take a few more shortcuts than she did, but the spirit is the same. For me, I'd be cheating if I bought my pies instead of making them. I'd be denying my roots to not serve green bean almandine.

So thanks, Grandma, you gave of yourself and for that I'm grateful. I can now see how that time was precious.

Let The Countdown Begin!

Okay I know I've been away for a WHILE. I'm busily working up a storm here. Good news is that soccer season is over. Bad news, holiday knit season is on. I think it's going to be a little bit of a challenge but I can do it.

I have FOUR teacher gifts to knit up. I've opted for 3 scarves and 1 pair of Fetching. Here's a pic of the first scarf, the Noro Stripe done with Patons SWS. I'm going to do a second with a different color set. The other scarf with be the brioche scarf from Weekend Knitting.

Then we have a pair of socks for my mom. Excuse the colors as I'm not a fan but she is. The brighter the better for her. I'm working on them on the trolley.

While we're doing those, I'm also finishing up a Babies & Bears for a coworker. I'm hoping to finish tonight or tomorrow.

And of course, the Celtings' Snowflake Sweaters. Mostly done but still work to do.

Wish me luck!

Happy Birthday To Me!

I'm 28..... again. Every year I turn 28 and the Celtings are slow on the uptake. So this year was a little bit different. Thursday night, the Celtic Consort took me to Wicked! It was so good even he liked it. Friday we celebrated as it was one of the few opportunities we had to do so as a family. In keeping up with my love of electronic gadgets, the Celtic Crew gave me a digital picture frame and an MP3 player. I'm making plans for how to load up all my music. My only question was is it bad to load pictures of yarn into the frame? :)


Anyhow, I came home today to a surprise package from Ms Julia. How cool is that? Inside was a skein of Vesper Sock in a color which fits Witchy Woman (teehee) and some yummy chocolate.

So while all this is going on I've been working on this little number. Almost done. I just need to finish the hood. I totally love it. I'm thoroughly pleased with the results. I'm going to have to spin some more stuff to make into projects like this. I've enjoyed the experience. I can't wait to gift this.

Distracted

Okay so I'm behind on posting. (big surprise, huh?) Anyhow, I'm in process with spinning that fiber from the last post. I finished the singles from 2 braids. I'm getting ready to ply them. I also ordered a whole whack of yarn from Knit Picks. Some stuff for holiday sweaters. Part of the yarns for the Autumn Rose, some Gloss Lace for MS4, and my birthday present from my mom. She's getting me Inspired Cable Knits and Inspired Fair Isle Knits by Fiona Ellis. I'm very excited about them.

Tonight I ordered some merino/tencel fiber to spin from Knitterly Things in Prism. I've also come to the conclusion that I'm going to work on using my double drive on my wheel. I have a bad habit of not adjusting my scotch tension as often as I probably should. I think it will help with that.

Spin Me Right Round

Okay so look what came for me today! It's called Meadow Grasses and it's even prettier in person. It's a hand dyed superwash I found on etsy. This is going to go to a very lucky baby. I can't wait to start spinning.

Speaking of spinning, look what I plied up last night! I got the fiber at MDSW. It's so yummy! It's blue face leicster. I loved spinning it. I did the multi color over Labor Day. The gold strand was part Saturday and part Sunday. I think it might be a little underplied, but I like it. So now I'm thinking that I should use it to make a scarf for myself.

I'm also working on my Celtic Tote. I have the back done and I'm doing the front. So now I'm just thinking about my plan for the side pockets. :)

As You Wish...

So I took this quiz and here are my results:

Your result for The Princess Bride trivia Test...

Westley

Inconceivable! You scored ###!

You live it, you love it, you lost track long ago of how many times you have seen it. You have been known to wish someone luck by hollering "have fun storming the castle!" You scoff at people who cannot recite the entire 'battle of wits.' You are a true fan.
Thank you. Its people like you that give me hope for humanity.

Take The Princess Bride trivia Test at HelloQuizzy

Screaming Monkey

Screaming Monkey
Originally uploaded by sjbench@verizon.net

Just wanted to share my Screaming Monkey before bed. :)

Warning Spoilage!

Okay I have Vesper Sock Club Spoilage later in this post so please don't scroll down if you don't want to know.

Alrighty now that that is out of the way....

Here's what I did last night. In anticipation of my new sock club yarn appearing, I plied up my Requiem handspun with the new whorl. I think it may be a little underplied but much better than before. :) I love how the purple plays off the pink and the pink off the green. I'm pretty happy with it. Here's the details: Knitterly Things South African Fine in Requiem, 4oz. I haven't measured wpi, tpi, or yardage yet but I'll let you know when I do. Just yummy.

This makes me confident that I can order some fiber to spin up and then knit for a special gift. I've been checking out Spunky Eclectic's custom colorways. I'm kind of liking the off beat coloring of Boogie Woogie.

Okay so I came home today and found this:

Ms. Julia is so good with coordinating her packages with the goodies inside. Peeling back the tissue I found this delight inside which sent my heart a fluttering.

Imagine what I felt when I pulled it out of the gifty bag to find not only beautiful colors but merino/tencel to boot! YAY!

Mmmmm Blueberry

Laurie has recently been kind enough to pick me up some blueberries from Trax Farm. Every fall I would see the blueberry patch on the hay ride and think I needed some the following year. This year I got some. We made pancakes with them and had them for dinner.

Now having said this, I also received my slow and extra slow whorls for my wheel. Since I have a tendency to overply, I thought these would help. I took a picture of them with the blueberry pancakes for scale. Pretty big huh?

Oh and Tulip was welcomed by my niece with a big "OHHHH Pretty!" and many compliments from those gathered as she whipped it out of the gift bag. Now I'm just down to Rainbow Bright and the last 5 rows. I am considering a final slip stitch row of pink for trim but we'll see.

Look I found my pictures!

So in downloading my pics, I found this one I snapped at the PPG Aquarium. I love these guys everytime I see them.
And here were the most dangerous and scary animals I saw at the zoo that day.

However, being a softee, I let them back out into the wild where they were spotted this past weekend searching for large felted mittens.

I even caught the behind the scenes of this shot with my own kind of blurry shot. :)
But on to the knitting! I've got pictures of Indecisive Socks Redux. I wanted to post something that really showed the colors glowing, so I waited until I could get a shot from the backyard. I also got a shot of my Apres Surf in progress. I'm liking the yarn enough that I might even do a simple twinset with it. We'll see.


I've also opted to do a Celtic Tote for my new commute on the trolley. I'm hoping to talk to Heather to see what I should do to line it. I'm going to do a bright cheery color to chase away the gray winter. But the tote will have to wait until I finish off Rainbow Bright and Tulip. Well... Tulip will be receiving the collar trim/ties as soon as I post this. So I guess that must means Rainbow Bright.

I also ordered my larger whorls so that I can ply up my stuff from Julia and then look for something for another baby gift. If the ply goes well with Julia's stuff, I want to do some handspin for another Babies and Bears.

Oh and I see that Heather swiped my idea for July's Vesper Sock Club yarn to do Monkeys. But at least I can see that it is working out well. Kind of like test knitting without having to frog if I don't like it. :)

Trivia Time!

Okay so I found a favorite movie from the '80s last night while I worked on the Tulip. Let see if you can guess where you can find the five following characters opening up to one another:

• Andy Clark


• Brian Johnson


• John Bender


• Claire Standish


• Allison Reynolds

Bonus if you can name all five actors.

Double Bonus if you can give me Brian Johnson's middle name.

What will you win? I haven't decided yet. Just remember, no cheating you actually have know the answer, not find it online.

No Pics But Some News

Okay so rather than be a bad blogger YET AGAIN, I decided to post without pics. Forgive me, I'll add some new ones later.

Firsts, I did find a new job. I'm the newest Web Developer at a benefits billing company downtown. I started on Wednesday and it's all that new person stuff. You know, making sure you have all the right access, loading your software, and learning the ropes. I did make sure I stopped into Ewe Can Knit on Friday to knit during lunch. They were all impressed with the Apres Surf Hoodie. I'm just before the division of front and back.

I'm also finishing the second Indecisive Sock for testing my written pattern. They are turning out beautifully. I'm also working the biasing into the pattern. This is my trolley knitting. Since I now work downtown, I get to take the trolley to work. Even better with the gas prices.

The Rainbow Bright is still chugging away. I ripped it back all the way to the pink star and reworked to have 6 rows of each color instead of 4. The previous version just wasn't going to work out large enough. I'm now on the 3rd row of blue. So pretty much where I left off in my previous post.

I've put both Rainbow Bright and Apres Surf on hold though. I'm focusing on finishing the second Indecisive and my second Tulip,for my niece. Her birthday is on the 12th and I'm close enough that it's silly for me not to finish it. I've got the left front border, I cord bind-off of the body, and partial sleeves. I think I should finish it either tomorrow or Wednesday. Then I'm going to focus on Rainbow Bright as my "at home" project. Travel will be Indecisive Sock.

After Indecisive though, I'm debating patterns to use to exploit my July shipment of Vesper Yarn. ABSOLUTELY beautiful. Heather's right, every time I open the package, this is what I hope for when I get any club shipment. I think the only one from Blue Moon that has come close is the most recent colorway of Goody,Goody. Beautiful rainbow pastel, perfect for babies.

Okay so this week's assignment(should I wish to accept it): Pictures. This blog will self destruct in 10 seconds....

Rainstorms and Rainbows

Well I went on another face to face interview today. It seemed to go well. I'm also supposed to be hearing about my last face to face this week sometime. So, if I'm lucky, I may have TWO offers this week.

This one for today was downtown and I took the trolley. This worked out great, until I was headed home. We got stuck for a while when a nasty storm blew not one but two seperate tree limbs onto the tracks. Luckily, we had some handy guys on the trolley who got out in the downpour and moved them both times. I'm not sure how long we would've had to wait otherwise.

Anyhow, I got home and spent some time working on my latest baby gift. This one is for Kelly. I just love how the colors are playing. Don't you just love it? I call it Rainbow Bright because that's what it makes me think of. I'm going to have to see how big the last few rounds are going to be with the last of the blue and the purple I have. If it's not big enough, I may have to get the purply pink color and finish with a final round of pink. We'll see.

Oh and on the knitting front, I'm working out the heel on Indecisive Sock. I'm close and once I have the heel, it's home sailing from there. For the bind off, I'm going to look for something super stretchy and using both colors. Suggestions welcome.

Mother of a Phenom

Have you heard? Elder Celting is a volleyball phenom. Apparently he made quite the impression with Laurie's in-laws at the graduation party this weekend. He's never played before and was holding his own. I guess I shouldn't be surprised as he introduces himself as "Iron Goalie". So why shouldn't he take that same drive and apply to a second sport. As a matter of fact, today he showed me the nice knock on the head he got playing basketball at daycare and diving for the ball.... on concrete. Yep he's that cute jock guy in high school I secretly wanted until they opened their mouths and were then just annoying.

So anyhow, since Laurie was so enamoured with her own purchases (which I remember what SHE bought!) I'm posting about my own. I've been wanting to do the Apres Surf Hoodie and found something to do it in. I knew I wanted to use a cotton/hemp/bamboo/soy yarn. I love my animal fibers but I'm trying to be Fearless and step outside the box. I ended up choosing

Sublime's Soya Cotton DK. The question was that Michelle had two colors I loved: Nettle (81) and Cucumber (89).

I lurved them both. So hard to decide. One so bright and cheery, the other so rich in color and tones I love. How to decide. Laurie said she liked them both equally. Michelle said they both looked good but Nettle really matched my eyes. That was enough for me. I bought almost all of Bloomin' Yarns supply of the Nettle.

Right now I'm secretly stashing this behind 2 boxes of stash until I finish some almost done projects. I just need to get it started before the Celtic Consort picks up on even MORE yarn entering our abode.

On the spinning front, I'm holding off on plying my Requiem until I get a Slow and Extra Slow Whorl for my Matchless. I have a tendency to overply in trying to keep momentum going with the wheel in counterclockwise direction. So I think adjusting to a larger whorl will help.

On the job front, I should be hearing back soon on the face to face. Send good ju-ju.

Happy Solstice!

Today's the Summer Solstice and so we are enjoying the time. May you enjoy yours.

This is for Carly

Carly rightly pointed out at Friday Knit Knite that I was being lax on the updating of my blog. So this is for her. :)

















What's been keeping me away? LOTS. First there was Maryland, which I enjoyed thoroughly. I bought lots but not nearly as much as I could have. There was the EcoSpun Cotton for 99 cents a skein (I got a ton). And the Sari Silk for spinning. Oh and the buffalo for spinning with some bronze Angelina fibers to make it sparkly. Some already sparkly fiber to spin for a hexagon yoke sweater. I found the perfect green to do my Triinu shawl in. Not quite gray not quite green soft soft soft color. 2 skeins... $20.

I even saw this adorable happy child who I could've easily snuck home with the rest of the stash if only her family wouldn't have missed her. She looks much as I did at that age (so I'm told.) I showed some great restraint and bought those items I really had plans for. That includes the big bag to lug it all around in. I even bypassed this temptingly titled fiber for spinning.





















That copper and pewter microfiber ribbon in the swag picture is from Tess and will soon be a work tank.



Speaking of work, my favorite boss resigned a few weeks back and things have gotten more dismal since. I'm told I'm "mean" and a "bully." Okay.... not exactly words that your boss is supposed to use with you. But then again, he looks like a guy who was probably picked on a lot in high school so I have to consider that. I too was pretty low on the food chain in high school but would never expect that. Anywho, being proactive, I prepped my resume and have posted. I've found a .NET programmer is pretty popular around here. Things are looking up. Think good thoughts as I have a face to face on Thursday.


In the meantime, my life was totally taken over by soccer. Yes I'm a soccer mom. Yes I'm aware of how it works. It just got more involved this season. Between travel practice two nights a week, a soccer camp on Friday, flight soccer for both boys on Saturdays, and a travel game on Sunday, I had zero free time. Soccer ended last week and I've been recovering. ;)


















Recovering includes spending a sweltering day at Kennywood enjoying rides and food that is bad for you. I even made sure I got the Celtings on the merry-go-round. Elder Celting rode it for the first time when he was about 3 months old and I've been taking him ever since. For those not from the 'Burgh, Kennywood is TRADITION. (hear Tevye singing in the background?) School picnics abound and that's where we were. Why Younger Celting looks possessed I'm still not sure but I'm chalking it up to sugar.


So I've also been working on my Rivendell socks. They are almost done with just the second toe needing grafting. I found a colorway at Tess's booth in Maryland that just screamed elvish Lord of the Ring sock. After that, I'm working on writing out the Indecisive Socks. I have an idea for it but I'm waiting to share. Oh and I'm also totally distracted by a yummy yarn package received from Miss Julia. Since she doesn't have to ship to me, I received my Vesper Sock Club package a little early. Per her request, I'm not posting pictures yet. I'm totally loving the colors though and I'm amazed at how much work the girl puts into this stuff. She even coordinated the packaging to the yarn! You go, girl!

















Alright, so I'll try to get back to at least once a week around here. If only for Carly's sake. :)

Pretty Spring Tulip

I'm close, so very close. The Tulip has only the Icord edging and ties to do. I should finish tonight. I snapped a shot while there was still some sunshine. I lurve it!!! I can't wait to wear it. I'm so happy with the colors and the shape is simple. I think I might expand into another one but use a little shaping in the waist. And I'm turning the heel on the second Lenore. Woohoo!

Potpourri Anyone?

So Tulip is pretty close to being done. I have to do the front borders and the I-Cord and it's almost done. All my shots tonight looked crappy so sorry no pics. Lenores are also clocking along now that soccer season is in full swing. I'm on the heel flap and will soon be turning.

I'd probably be done with Tulip but I've been dealing with my tree. I managed to get a shot this weekend before the rain of it in full bloom. Kathy, the neighbor across the street, wondered why I was taking pictures of a tree. Try explaining a blog to someone who doesn't own a computer.

So once the rain and wind came through, this is what I had even after an initial sweep on Saturday.

The drive. The flowerbed.

The walkway.

And the yard with Ginger for perspective. For new people, Ginger is an 85lb half Lab, half Rhodesian Ridgeback. I had to sweep today because I couldn't get the van up the drive the petals were so slippery. I ended up with two (yes two!) lawn bags of petals.... just from the drive. I'm not sure I want to tackle anything else. It's almost as bad as the fall when all the leaves fall.

Happy Birthday, Elder Celting!

We join our program already in progress...

Whew! I just finished baking, frosting, sprinkling, and packing 4 dozen (yes 48!) cupcakes to celebrate EC's 10th birthday. There's 2 dozen yellow and 2 dozen chocolate. This is to accommodate both his regular class and his extra help class plus teachers. We should get back about 6 but I'm not holding my breath.

EC turned 10 yesterday and I was so wrapped up in the celebration Saturday that I totally forgot to do the cupcakes for today. So I had to do them tonight. He seemed pretty good about it.

So Saturday, we had the whole clan over to celebrate the double digits. Here's the cake (minus EC's name) and as you can see, we went Tony Hawk this year. The whole day, Elder Celting was trying to niggle out of me what exactly it was that we got him. I kept saying "Socks and underwear." Imagine his surprise when opening a large box to find.... socks. The second box he was trying to keep up a brave face and instead of underwear he got this:

Yep we finally got him the Nintendo DS he's been wanting. This will make my trips to Bloomin' Yarns that much easier as each boy will have a handheld to entertain themselves with while I puruse to my heart's content. I think my mom hit it big as well with these:

Laurie had noted that it seemed as though the whole family had matched their wrapping.

It was pretty wild. All in all, EC received many wonderful gifts especially games and a carrying case for his DS. I think I may have to start playing the game Laurie got him: BrainAge. Helps hone your mental skills. I need that.

So before I get to the knitting, I wanted to comment on my tree. While Laurie and Heather are watching daffodils and the lovely yellow in the yard, I watch my magnolia tree. Every year, it blooms and I hope to get a good picture. I usually end up with it starting to bloom so all the flowers are still buds just starting to poke out and a cold snap hits. This kills the blossoms and turns them all brown and I have crap all over the yard and drive.

As you can see the tree is in full bloom which is wonderful as the tree is huge. I often call it the Charlie Brown tree as it looks like it's going to eat the house. So when I step out my door in the morning it looks like this:

And this is what I see out the front window:

Quite refreshing and a great way to see that spring has sprung.

So on to the knitting. Saturday while the family was over, I was doing a little work on the Toddler Tulip. As it was sitting out, my SIL who had always seemed resistant to the knitterly gifts was admiring it. My MIL asked what it was and I said it was a cardi for my niece (SIL's daughter). At which point the SIL was thrilled. She said she had been admiring the colors and was hoping that it was for her. So maybe she's coming around.

And in all my running about Saturday, I DID manage to pick up my November Muse. So here's where I took the last picture on Sunday.I've since used the last color (Cloud Jungle) and I'm going to do the sleeves before the border. I'm going to see what I have left of November Muse to debate doing the attached Icord in that with the border in Chinatown Apple. We'll see. Hopefully, I'll have it done or almost done by Friday Knit Knite.

It's Here!

Michele called and left word that my November Muse came in today! YAY! That means between morning soccer (which I'm hoping they cancel due to rain) and cleaning the house and afternoon soccer, I MUST go to Bloomin' Yarns to pick it up. I think if I make it, I should have the Tulip finished by next Saturday. Wooohooo!

Return of the Iron Goalie

I finally have some time to sit and write! YAY! This weekend was the start of soccer season. I managed to fit in knitting and soccer to make one long day. Friday night was, of course, Knit Knite. A smaller turn out but we had a nice time, none the less. I even got to work on both my toddler Tulip and my own Tulip. I even made enough progress on both this past weekend to be on hold until I pick up a skein for one or the other. That means I'm working on my Lenores. I have one done and I'm starting the leg of the second.

So Saturday, I had flights which is the skill building portion of soccer. See here Elder Celting using some fancy footwork to get the job done. That was at 8:30 am (groan). We went straight from there to Bethel Bakery to order his birthday cake. He'll be 10 on Sunday. From there I managed to make it out to Bloomin Yarns to meet Carol Martin. I admired her wheel and despite trying not to buy anything before MD, I picked up some sock yarn in a beautiful colorway called Berries and Carmel. I found a version with lots of rich color. I was also tempted by the Indian Corn colorway with some of the worsted but couldn't justify the strain on the budget. I'll have to order in later. I like Laurie's idea with the sweater and I see she picked that color. Carol Martin complemented me on how well behaved and interesting the Celtings were. They spent their entire time there talking to her about her sheep and soccer. (whew!)

After our visit there, we headed off to lunch and to Younger Celtings soccer. At his level there are a TON of teams and kids. You basically have to find your field by the color shirts they wear. Makes me wish we were on this team:

As it is, we're team USA which is this lovely soft yellow which blends with all the other light colors picking up dirt and hard to distinguish. Younger Celting was the only boy on the team in the fall but is now one of two.

Then Sunday came and the legend returned. Elder Celting: Iron Goalie. That's his name for himself. He walks up to the coach and just introduces himself as "Iron Goalie." Since the fall team split and our goalie went to the second team, Elder Celting has another chance to be goalie this season. He seems to be into it and is doing pretty well. The game ended in a tie and most of the parents agreed that it was a nail biter the whole time. EC has no problem diving onto the ball and getting into the thick of things. I'm thinking we need to invest in a mouthguard.