What Happened to Spring?

When I left on our Belize trip, the days were gray and rainy and chilly, with the occasional warm, sunny day tossed in as a teaser. I was looking forward to warm, sunny days on the ocean, and after a few cloudy days on land, that's what I got.

The sailing trip was a stunning success. There were quite a few days when all I did was gaze at the water gliding by, mesmerized by the colors shifting from sapphire blue to turquoise to aquamarine. We did a fair amount of snorkeling (or as Tom put it, we "snorked") and saw a large variety of reef fish and corals. We ate and drank continuously, met interesting people, and returned tanned and relaxed. (Note that I didn't try to get a tan; it just happened, even with 30SPF sunscreen.) As we were flying from Placencia to Belize City to catch a plane back to Miami, the ocean merged seamlessly with the sky.

When we arrived at Dulles (at 12:15 this morning), it was raining and in the 50s. Today has been overcast and in the 50s. Shorts and tank tops and bare feet are but a distant memory. I'm back in jeans, polar fleece, and wool socks. In short, I'm feeling pretty miserable right now and jonesing to be back on a sailboat off the coast of Belize. (Yeah, I know...cry me a river.) Re-entry is tough.

Emma thrived under our friend's care, even though she (Emma, not our friend) remained skittish the entire time we were gone. Emma was hiding in the basement when we came home, but after a few minutes, she came upstairs, meowing like her heart would break. She kept walking on me all night long, reassuring herself that we were home. And at 4:30 this morning, she started touching my face with her paws. So much for the hope that she would have gotten out of the early morning feeding habit.

While on the trip, I managed to get a fair amount of knitting done. The first monkey sock is almost complete, with only the toe left to knit. I've knit the toe, foot, heel, and have started the leg on the second Tibetan sock. And I'm working on the second or third lace repeat on the Sterling Lace shawl. This pattern is a pleasure to knit--challenging enough, but not so much so that you need absolute and total concentration. It's a good introduction to lace knitting.

I'll be updating the trip blog over the next couple of days (or weeks) and will post some choice pictures here as well. That assumes, of course, that I figure out how to get the pictures off the new camera.

That's it for now. I hear a mound of laundry calling me!

Happy knitting!

Sailing Away

Well, not quite yet. We'll be flying away (assuming American Airlines doesn't do something nasty with our flight) very early tomorrow morning. And if there are available computers at the Purple Space Monkey Cafe, you might even find me blogging while away. I won't be updating this blog, but I might be updating the trip blog. But if both blogs are silent, don't worry. It means I couldn't access them.

The knitting projects have been pulled together. I'm taking a simple (ha!) lace shawl, and two socks (the remainder of the Tibetan socks and the Monkey socks). I'm a little anxious that I'll run out of knitting, but seriously...with as slow as I knit, do I really think that I'll be able to finish a 16"x70" shawl and three socks? I also have two books if the knitting seems to be going exceptionally well.

Okay...that's it for now. I'll see you in a couple of weeks. And let's hope that I don't run into any UFOs, pirates, or bears*!

*My irrational fears

Metamorphosis

Wow...has it really been almost a month since I last posted a blog entry? How time flies! And right now there seems to not be a lot of time.

So what has kept me away from the blog? Knitting? Spinning? Quilting? Cooking? The opening of my yarn shop? Nope, none of those. Give up?

Running. Running has kept me away from the blog. Remember that goal that I set for myself at the end of January? The goal of running a 50-mile race at the end of November? I've stepped up the training a bit. Kicked it up a notch, as it were. Instead of running just on Saturday and Sunday, I'm also running Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Hoo boy...I'm not running particularly fast; I'm just trying to build a good running base.

And therein comes the metamorphosis (two, to be exact). My running has improved (imagine that). I think I'm running better than I ever have. I feel like I'm running from my core, grounded and focused. I feel like I'm running, not just slogging through a run. I look forward to my 6:00 a.m. runs. A side effect is the change in my body. I'm losing weight, losing body fat, and am finally seeing some muscle definition again. I feel like I have emerged from a cocoon. So of course, that makes me want to run even more. It's all very exciting.

The problem with all this running is that I haven't had any time for blogging, since my prime blogging time was in the morning when Tom was running. And I don't feel like blogging at night because I'm at a computer all day. I'll eventually work it out and start blogging again on a semi-regular basis.

Knitting Progress
Despite the running, I have been knitting. One of Tom's Tibetan socks is finished and the second one is on the needles. I'm pretty much focused on this project until I get it finished, despite the siren call of spiffy new projects and yarn. After Tom's socks are done, I'll finish the Monkey socks for me.

And after that?

I don't know. Maybe I'll pick up Counterpoised again and slog through it. Maybe I'll set aside knitting for a while and focusing on spinning up some of the lovely fiber from the Wooly Wonka Exotic Fibers Club. So much fiber, so little time!

Speaking of time, starting next Saturday, I'll have plenty of time for knitting. We'll be sailing around the Belize islands on a 46-foot catamaran for 10 glorious days. Any suggestions as to what project I should take besides the two pairs of socks currently in progress? Heaven forbid that I run out of knitting!

That's all for now. If I've got a bit of time this weekend, I'll post a picture of the Tibetan sock.

Happy knitting!