Work has been unbelievably...crazy. For the last several months, I feel like all I've done is work. And my investigations yesterday proved that it's true. It's been nine weeks since I've had an entire weekend off; I worked both days three of those weekends. I've averaged about 52.25 hours per week for the last 11 weeks. Now in the grand scheme of things, that's not too bad. I don't have to work that many hours in order to make a living wage. And there are people who work many more hours than I do. However, I'm at that point in my life where the rewards for working like that just aren't there.
But, I got the biggest part of the project I was working on out the door and am hoping it doesn't come boomeranging back to me for additional revisions. The revisions for the remainder of the design document should be relatively minor, if only because each appendix is well under 100 pages. I have about another week of solid work and everything should be done. It's been a long haul on this...many, many months of writing and revising. The original author did a fantastic job; the bones of the design are solid. It's a shame that the client is extremely particular about language and formatting.
There is light at the end of the tunnel and for once, I don't think it's a train.
As a result of work, I feel like my life is pretty much in a shambles: the dust buffalo herd is totally unmanageable, the cats have scimitars for claws, I've been packing on the pounds because I'm too tired/it's too dark/too cold/too wet to run, and the knitting is languishing. It's hard to believe that just over a year ago, I ran the Boston Marathon. Now I'm lucky if I can eke out an 11-minute mile over six miles. Or that two years ago, I was running ultra marathons. I need to knuckle down and get back to that level of fitness. But I'm tired/it's too dark/too cold/too wet to run. And soon it will be too sunny/too hot/too humid to run.
Another result of work is that I haven't taken any time off and all of my PTO is pretty much at the maximum accrual level (meaning that unless I take time off, I don't accrue any more)(which is so not right...working long hours for the good of the company and I get penalized because I can't take time off?!). But the vacations, they are a-coming (note the use of the plural).
First up is a two-day spinning workshop with Maggie Casey at Maryland Sheep and Wool (MDSW). In my younger days (like about almost 30 years ago(ack!)), I started spinning. I had this sweet little top whorl drop spindle made from a dowel, drawer pull and cup hook, and I spun my little heart out. A year or so later, I saved up my pennies (or most likely went further into debt; this was during those very lean post-college years) and bought an Ashford Traditional. I continued to spin my little heart out. But I was pretty much self-taught and only knew how to produce a rather tightly-spun worsted yarn. And as time passed, the spinning (and weaving; I wasn't knitting then) lapsed.
Over the last couple of years, I've been eyeing Judith MacKenzie-McCuin's class at MDSW, but it always seemed to fall at a bad time. So this year, I jumped at the chance to take the workshop (even though it wasn't Judith's class). It was touch and go for a while because they had too many registrants for the class. But I got in and I'm so excited! I'm hoping to take my spinning to new heights...er...lengths.
A couple of days after Maggie's class, I'll be driving down to North Carolina to spend a week at the beach with Tom's sister-in-law. That little trip will be pure bliss...beach, knitting, spinning, eating, talking. Right after I get back, Tom will run the Massanutten Mountain Trail Run, which is 100 miles of rocky, steep, gnarly trail. I had better be well-rested because I'll be pulling an all-nighter plus to support him during the run.
And if that wasn't enough, right after Memorial Day I'm driving up to New Hampshire to attend the Squam Art Workhops. Two classes by Cat Bordhi should pretty much do me in. In July, we've got a week at the beach with Tom's family. In August we're headed to Seattle for Tom to run another 100-mile race. And then in October we're at the beach again for my nephew's wedding. Whew! It will be busy but so much fun! And best of all, I won't be working.
I'll try to post again this weekend. I've got a couple of knitting projects that are getting started. I'm almost finished with the obligatory swatches (and amazingly enough, seem to have gotten gauge) and hopefully will be able to cast on this weekend.
Hey, I get a weekend...what a novel idea!
Happy knitting!
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Friday, April 22, 2011
Thursday, July 30, 2009
What I Did on My Summer Vacation or A Comedy of Errors
When I first started my week of summer vacation, it did not start well. We left home much later than we thought we would. Even though I worked from home on Friday, I ended up working 11 hours, trying to get everything that needed to be done, done.
So I was up at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday, and after feeding that cats, worked on finishing the running club newsletter. After Tom left around 7:00 for the Saturday morning run, I went into high gear, frantically wrangling dust buffalo so it would be presentable for the person who was staying there to take care of the cats (and her brother, who will be visiting tomorrow and Saturday). Beds were stripped, linens washed, furniture dusted, floors vacuumed, baseboards dusted... And it all seemed to get done extremely slowly. To be sure, some of the dust buffalo were a bit recalcitrant about being wrangled. And the dryer was being extremely persnickety about actually drying clothes, requiring two or three cycles before all was dry. But finally, all was done; I packed in about 30 minutes, and we were on our way (and I only forgot one thing!).
The drive down to my parents' house was relatively uneventful, but we hit traffic around Williamsburg and I started to panic. We had dinner reservations for 6:00 (to celebrate my mother's birthday) in Suffolk and our ETA at my parents' was 5:30, which left exactly the amount of time it would take to get to the restaurant. And we still had to get into our fancy eating clothes.
We arrived at our destination at 5:22, grabbed our suitcases from the car, and presto change-o, we changed into our dinner garb. My parents had to take my niece back home and my nephew and his girlfriend were going to ride with them. We'd have no problem finding the restaurant, because I had the address and would put it in the spiffy navigation system.
And that's when technology failed me...in a big way.
The street address was not recognized by the navigation system. No problem...I'd get directions from the Internet using my Bberry Storm. I entered the address and then (this was the first of my mistakes), second-guessed the system. It said follow Rt. 17 for n miles, and there you were. But we were going to Suffolk. And that's not the way to Suffolk.
So we followed the signs to Suffolk, went through it, and then were back in the country. No problem; I'd call the restaurant. I couldn't get through, and when I did, a message said they weren't available to take my call. My panic is mounting...it's now 6:00. My nephew was sending me text messages. I looked up the directions again and then got something that seemed to be a little more correct, but very confusing (lots of turns). My dad called wondering where the heck we were. We had gone too far, we needed to get back to Rt. 17 because that's where the restaurant was. I was incredulous since that wasn't the address. So Tom, driving like the wind and probably more than a little annoyed at me, successfully navigated us to the restaurant.
Needless to say, we both had a stiff drink (or two) and fortunately, a most excellent dinner. But we were about 20 minutes late. I can highly recommend the Vintage Tavern. If you're in the area, check it out.
We left my parents' around 2:00 the next day and arrived at the beach house around 4:00. My brother-in-law and his girlfriend provided barbecue for dinner, which was very good. And then the week at the beach was in full swing.
It's been hot down here, in the 90s, with the wind coming off the land. The flies bite in the afternoon, and the water is freezing (probably because we've had a very cool summer up to this point). There's been some knitting (but not as much as I thought there'd be), some work work (yeah, I know), and long hours of sitting on the beach, reading. I've made my way through Anne of Windy Poplars (next vacation P.E.I?), Don't Ask (a Dortmunder novel; delightfully improbable and zany), and The Secret Life of Bees, which I read from start to finish, today.
The family attendance is a bit diminished this year. Larry had to leave early to go back to work; the nieces came late and one left early; Steve arrived last night without his wife, because their son is still in the hospital, fighting off various infections after having undergone a second bone marrow transplant for aplastic anemia. That situation is a little desperate and heart-breaking (you might hear more from me on that later in the year, if he recovers).
So, tomorrow is the last day. Tom's sister and her family will be leaving tomorrow, leaving just three of us here. It's been one of the most discombobulated trips to the beach ever. But even so, a discombobulated vacation is better than a good day at work!
Happy knitting!
So I was up at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday, and after feeding that cats, worked on finishing the running club newsletter. After Tom left around 7:00 for the Saturday morning run, I went into high gear, frantically wrangling dust buffalo so it would be presentable for the person who was staying there to take care of the cats (and her brother, who will be visiting tomorrow and Saturday). Beds were stripped, linens washed, furniture dusted, floors vacuumed, baseboards dusted... And it all seemed to get done extremely slowly. To be sure, some of the dust buffalo were a bit recalcitrant about being wrangled. And the dryer was being extremely persnickety about actually drying clothes, requiring two or three cycles before all was dry. But finally, all was done; I packed in about 30 minutes, and we were on our way (and I only forgot one thing!).
The drive down to my parents' house was relatively uneventful, but we hit traffic around Williamsburg and I started to panic. We had dinner reservations for 6:00 (to celebrate my mother's birthday) in Suffolk and our ETA at my parents' was 5:30, which left exactly the amount of time it would take to get to the restaurant. And we still had to get into our fancy eating clothes.
We arrived at our destination at 5:22, grabbed our suitcases from the car, and presto change-o, we changed into our dinner garb. My parents had to take my niece back home and my nephew and his girlfriend were going to ride with them. We'd have no problem finding the restaurant, because I had the address and would put it in the spiffy navigation system.
And that's when technology failed me...in a big way.
The street address was not recognized by the navigation system. No problem...I'd get directions from the Internet using my Bberry Storm. I entered the address and then (this was the first of my mistakes), second-guessed the system. It said follow Rt. 17 for n miles, and there you were. But we were going to Suffolk. And that's not the way to Suffolk.
So we followed the signs to Suffolk, went through it, and then were back in the country. No problem; I'd call the restaurant. I couldn't get through, and when I did, a message said they weren't available to take my call. My panic is mounting...it's now 6:00. My nephew was sending me text messages. I looked up the directions again and then got something that seemed to be a little more correct, but very confusing (lots of turns). My dad called wondering where the heck we were. We had gone too far, we needed to get back to Rt. 17 because that's where the restaurant was. I was incredulous since that wasn't the address. So Tom, driving like the wind and probably more than a little annoyed at me, successfully navigated us to the restaurant.
Needless to say, we both had a stiff drink (or two) and fortunately, a most excellent dinner. But we were about 20 minutes late. I can highly recommend the Vintage Tavern. If you're in the area, check it out.
We left my parents' around 2:00 the next day and arrived at the beach house around 4:00. My brother-in-law and his girlfriend provided barbecue for dinner, which was very good. And then the week at the beach was in full swing.
It's been hot down here, in the 90s, with the wind coming off the land. The flies bite in the afternoon, and the water is freezing (probably because we've had a very cool summer up to this point). There's been some knitting (but not as much as I thought there'd be), some work work (yeah, I know), and long hours of sitting on the beach, reading. I've made my way through Anne of Windy Poplars (next vacation P.E.I?), Don't Ask (a Dortmunder novel; delightfully improbable and zany), and The Secret Life of Bees, which I read from start to finish, today.
The family attendance is a bit diminished this year. Larry had to leave early to go back to work; the nieces came late and one left early; Steve arrived last night without his wife, because their son is still in the hospital, fighting off various infections after having undergone a second bone marrow transplant for aplastic anemia. That situation is a little desperate and heart-breaking (you might hear more from me on that later in the year, if he recovers).
So, tomorrow is the last day. Tom's sister and her family will be leaving tomorrow, leaving just three of us here. It's been one of the most discombobulated trips to the beach ever. But even so, a discombobulated vacation is better than a good day at work!
Happy knitting!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Too Long Gone, or Running, Running, Running...
Well, I have been AWOL for a long time. Sorry 'bout that. Everything is fine. In addition to adjusting to my life as a runner, work has gotten quite busy and the last thing I want to do when I get home at night is to log on to a computer again.
I suspect blogging will be hit and miss for the rest of the year. Weekend mornings (formerly prime blogging time) are spent running long distances and the afternoons are dedicated to chores (or recovering from running long distances) and the evenings are dedicated to eating and sleeping (and maybe knitting if I'm still functional). I will, however, try to update the blog whenever possible. We'll see how that goes. Based on my track record after returning from Belize, I'm not optimistic.
So, Belize. For a preview of some of our pictures, go here. I haven't updated the sailing blog either. Bad, bad Libran!
Knitting
Yes, there has been knitting. I finished the Tibetan socks, except for the weaving in of the ends. I've reached the toe on the long-neglected Monkey socks. I'm somewhere in the middle of a simple shawl. Nope, no pictures yet. Yes, there will be pictures at some point.
Running
The training has been going well. I'm increasing my mileage and completed a 23-mile trail run a couple of weeks ago. It was a blast! Then the heat and humidity hit us hard (it felt like we went from April straight to August), making running any distance miserable. Nonetheless, with 23 miles behind me, I think I'm well on my way to being able to complete the JFK 50 in November. Registration opens July 1 and that's when I've said I would commit. I'll be committing to a fall marathon as well, most likely Baltimore. Woo hoo!
Meme
I don't often participate in one of these, but it sounded like fun. I lifted it from Anne. Here goes:
Here are the rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into the mosaic maker (link below).
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.
My results:
1. Road to Shagai, Teri, 2. Mal loves his broccoli, 3. Downy Woodpecker At Bethel, Muskoka, Ontario, 4. Blue ice cave at the Jostedalsbreen glacier, 5. Alton Brown, 6. Cosmopolitan, 7. 20061212-vs-6536, 8. molta cioccolata tapioca, 9. Old and wise, 10. Life, 11. Quiet*, 12. TLHS1
Use Mosaic Maker to make your own.
All for now...have a great weekend!
I suspect blogging will be hit and miss for the rest of the year. Weekend mornings (formerly prime blogging time) are spent running long distances and the afternoons are dedicated to chores (or recovering from running long distances) and the evenings are dedicated to eating and sleeping (and maybe knitting if I'm still functional). I will, however, try to update the blog whenever possible. We'll see how that goes. Based on my track record after returning from Belize, I'm not optimistic.
So, Belize. For a preview of some of our pictures, go here. I haven't updated the sailing blog either. Bad, bad Libran!
Knitting
Yes, there has been knitting. I finished the Tibetan socks, except for the weaving in of the ends. I've reached the toe on the long-neglected Monkey socks. I'm somewhere in the middle of a simple shawl. Nope, no pictures yet. Yes, there will be pictures at some point.
Running
The training has been going well. I'm increasing my mileage and completed a 23-mile trail run a couple of weeks ago. It was a blast! Then the heat and humidity hit us hard (it felt like we went from April straight to August), making running any distance miserable. Nonetheless, with 23 miles behind me, I think I'm well on my way to being able to complete the JFK 50 in November. Registration opens July 1 and that's when I've said I would commit. I'll be committing to a fall marathon as well, most likely Baltimore. Woo hoo!
Meme
I don't often participate in one of these, but it sounded like fun. I lifted it from Anne. Here goes:
Here are the rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into the mosaic maker (link below).
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.
My results:
1. Road to Shagai, Teri, 2. Mal loves his broccoli, 3. Downy Woodpecker At Bethel, Muskoka, Ontario, 4. Blue ice cave at the Jostedalsbreen glacier, 5. Alton Brown, 6. Cosmopolitan, 7. 20061212-vs-6536, 8. molta cioccolata tapioca, 9. Old and wise, 10. Life, 11. Quiet*, 12. TLHS1
Use Mosaic Maker to make your own.
All for now...have a great weekend!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
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!
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!
Friday, April 11, 2008
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
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
Friday, April 04, 2008
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!
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!
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Lean Horse Recap
Warning! Long, detailed (potentially boring), and somewhat picture-heavy post ahead!
Last weekend (and the week) turned out to have less blogging time than I thought. A couple of runs and two days of housecleaning, plus friends visiting from Baltimore (hence the housecleaning) conspired against me. It was a great weekend, despite the housecleaning.
Here's a South Dakota recap. We arrived in Rapid City (after a lengthy delay in Chicago), picked up the car, then headed out to Custer State Park to find our campsite. It took longer than we thought, because of the twisty roads on the Needles Highway. The views, however, were worth it:
We finally arrived at Sylvan Lake Campground and found our site (#13). After we set up the tent, Tom inflated the air mattresses (no more sleeping on tiny backkpacking sleeping pads!). I put the first mattress in the tent and quickly realized that we had made a major logistical error. We didn't check to see if both mattresses would fit inside the tent (they didn't). After trying various things to try to get both mattresses in the tent and close the tent door, we gave up in defeat and headed into Custer to try to find a place for dinner. We met up with Mike and had dinner at the Sage Creek Grille, which had excellent food and service. Then we bagged the camping idea (at least for the first night) and checked in at the Rock Crest Lodge. The rooms were funky but clean and relatively comfortable. It was definitely more comfortable than sleeping in a tent with the door open and all manner of bugs and critters coming to visit!
The next morning, after eating a huge breakfast at the Cattleman Steakhouse and Fish Market, we headed back up to Custer State Park to do some hiking and to further think about our little camping dilemma. Our first stop was the Eye of the Needle formation:
There were rocks there, so we just had to play. What's this?
Hmmm...it's my husband in climbing mode!
We also hiked the Cathedral Spires Trail, which made us realize that the elevation in South Dakota is much higher than it is in Virginia. The hike was beautiful and we saw a mule deer which didn't seem to be at all phased by hikers. After the hike, we had lunch at the Sylvan Lake Lodge, which was a bit of a disappointment. We headed back to the campground and debated once again whether we should stay or go. Given that there was a very good chance of rain in the evening, we decided to pack it up. This was a big disappointment because the air was so fresh and scented with pine and the wind moving through the branches was soothing. Oh, well...that's what we get for not testing our equipment before leaving. Farewell, sweet site...we hardly knew ye.
Thursday dawned cool and rainy. The rest of our running friends arrived Wednesday and we met them for breakfast, except that it was a non-breakfast. Mini-muffins and overcooked hard-boiled eggs. Phil and Marcia headed off to see the Crazy Horse Memorial, Mike headed out to look for some land, and we opted to hike part of the Mickelson Trail. The scenery leaving Custer wasn't so pretty, but about a mile out of town, the vistas changed dramatically. Imagine having this in (or as) your backyard:
Or these fine critters for neighbors:
We hiked five miles south, a little ways past The Mountain trailhead, to get a view of the Crazy Horse Memorial:
Then, because it was cold and windy (and Tom was wearing shorts and a t-shirts), we headed back. The Sage Creek Grille serves up a lunch that is just as good a dinner and alas, I overate. This was not a wise thing to do, because our evening activity was the much-vaunted Chuckwagon, complete with cowboy hats and bandanas!
The Chuckwagon starts at Bluebell Lodge. After getting our cowboys hats and bandanas, theyherded loaded us into the wagons and off we went into the hills.
We went by way of the Wildlife Route, so we saw prairie dogs, flocks of wild turkeys,
buffalo,
as well as pronghorn antelope and deer. We were entertained in grand style, singing all sorts of old-timey songs, with each person having the chance to accompany the performer with tambourine or coconuts. Even though it was a bit campy, it was a lot of fun. The food was good and even though my steak was closer to medium well than medium rare, it was surprisingly tender. After dinner, to get our blood moving and warm up our bodies (it was cold!), the organizers herded us all outside to particpate in a circle dance. Yet another chance for me to embarrass myself...
Mike and Phil saw that this would be an opportunity for blackmail pictures so they quickly exited the circle and whipped out their cameras. Tom wasn't so quick, so they've got pictures of him doing the Hokey Pokey and the Chicken Dance. I must admit that it was a lot of fun being silly. I should do it more often.
The drive back to Custer that evening was exciting. There are lots of deer in South Dakota and like the deer back east, they like to randomly dash across the road. One randomly dashed into our car, breaking the passenger side view mirror and putting two small dents in the side. We don't know what happened to the deer. A few minutes later, Mike narrowly missed colliding with a deer. After my run-in with a deer last summer, in which my car was almost totaled (the deer definitely was totaled), I'm very wary about driving at night in deer territory. It's almost to the point where I want to say "Sorry, can't go out at night. The deer are out."
On Friday we packed up and headed down to Hot Springs, picked up the race packet, and attended the race briefing. We made a run to the grocery store to get some last minute race items. I made a bee-line to the vegetable section and pounced on a bag of carrots and a bag of sugar snaps, I was definitely craving veggies after almost a week of eating nothing but meat and potatoes. Later that evening we attended the pre-race dinner at the Flatiron andpigged out dined on buffalo burgers, spaghetti, lasagna, soup, and cookies. A good time was had by all,
including our intrepid crew:
Then it was off to bed, since the race started at some ungodly early hour.
Race day dawned dark, chilly, and foggy. Fortunately, the start (and finish) line was right next door to our hotel. After roll-call, the runners lined up
and off they went!
Throughout the day they ran, and ran, and ran some more. They ran through prairie:
They ran on the Mickelson Trail:
They ran into the wee hours:
And into the dawn:
Of the five Loudoun Road Runners who ran, three finished. There was a 50K finisher (7:25:00):
A 50-mile finisher (10:46:00):
And a 100-mile finisher (25:02:00):
The winner of the 50-mile race completed the run in under 7 hours and the winner of the 100-mile run finished in 17 hours and change. Congratulations to all the runners!
The rest of Sunday was sort of anti-climactic. To spice things up a bit, we visited Wind Cave and took the Fairgrounds Cave tour. Wind Cave is known for the prevalence of boxwork formations. The cave is beautiful and if you ever visit the Black Hills region of South Dakota, you should put Wind Cave on your must-see list.
So, there you have it. I hope the wait (and the reading) was worth it. We had a great time in South Dakota. I'd like to go back and do more exploring. But next time, I'll be sure to bring some vegetables.
Last weekend (and the week) turned out to have less blogging time than I thought. A couple of runs and two days of housecleaning, plus friends visiting from Baltimore (hence the housecleaning) conspired against me. It was a great weekend, despite the housecleaning.
Here's a South Dakota recap. We arrived in Rapid City (after a lengthy delay in Chicago), picked up the car, then headed out to Custer State Park to find our campsite. It took longer than we thought, because of the twisty roads on the Needles Highway. The views, however, were worth it:
We finally arrived at Sylvan Lake Campground and found our site (#13). After we set up the tent, Tom inflated the air mattresses (no more sleeping on tiny backkpacking sleeping pads!). I put the first mattress in the tent and quickly realized that we had made a major logistical error. We didn't check to see if both mattresses would fit inside the tent (they didn't). After trying various things to try to get both mattresses in the tent and close the tent door, we gave up in defeat and headed into Custer to try to find a place for dinner. We met up with Mike and had dinner at the Sage Creek Grille, which had excellent food and service. Then we bagged the camping idea (at least for the first night) and checked in at the Rock Crest Lodge. The rooms were funky but clean and relatively comfortable. It was definitely more comfortable than sleeping in a tent with the door open and all manner of bugs and critters coming to visit!
The next morning, after eating a huge breakfast at the Cattleman Steakhouse and Fish Market, we headed back up to Custer State Park to do some hiking and to further think about our little camping dilemma. Our first stop was the Eye of the Needle formation:
There were rocks there, so we just had to play. What's this?
Hmmm...it's my husband in climbing mode!
We also hiked the Cathedral Spires Trail, which made us realize that the elevation in South Dakota is much higher than it is in Virginia. The hike was beautiful and we saw a mule deer which didn't seem to be at all phased by hikers. After the hike, we had lunch at the Sylvan Lake Lodge, which was a bit of a disappointment. We headed back to the campground and debated once again whether we should stay or go. Given that there was a very good chance of rain in the evening, we decided to pack it up. This was a big disappointment because the air was so fresh and scented with pine and the wind moving through the branches was soothing. Oh, well...that's what we get for not testing our equipment before leaving. Farewell, sweet site...we hardly knew ye.
Thursday dawned cool and rainy. The rest of our running friends arrived Wednesday and we met them for breakfast, except that it was a non-breakfast. Mini-muffins and overcooked hard-boiled eggs. Phil and Marcia headed off to see the Crazy Horse Memorial, Mike headed out to look for some land, and we opted to hike part of the Mickelson Trail. The scenery leaving Custer wasn't so pretty, but about a mile out of town, the vistas changed dramatically. Imagine having this in (or as) your backyard:
Or these fine critters for neighbors:
We hiked five miles south, a little ways past The Mountain trailhead, to get a view of the Crazy Horse Memorial:
Then, because it was cold and windy (and Tom was wearing shorts and a t-shirts), we headed back. The Sage Creek Grille serves up a lunch that is just as good a dinner and alas, I overate. This was not a wise thing to do, because our evening activity was the much-vaunted Chuckwagon, complete with cowboy hats and bandanas!
The Chuckwagon starts at Bluebell Lodge. After getting our cowboys hats and bandanas, they
We went by way of the Wildlife Route, so we saw prairie dogs, flocks of wild turkeys,
buffalo,
as well as pronghorn antelope and deer. We were entertained in grand style, singing all sorts of old-timey songs, with each person having the chance to accompany the performer with tambourine or coconuts. Even though it was a bit campy, it was a lot of fun. The food was good and even though my steak was closer to medium well than medium rare, it was surprisingly tender. After dinner, to get our blood moving and warm up our bodies (it was cold!), the organizers herded us all outside to particpate in a circle dance. Yet another chance for me to embarrass myself...
Mike and Phil saw that this would be an opportunity for blackmail pictures so they quickly exited the circle and whipped out their cameras. Tom wasn't so quick, so they've got pictures of him doing the Hokey Pokey and the Chicken Dance. I must admit that it was a lot of fun being silly. I should do it more often.
The drive back to Custer that evening was exciting. There are lots of deer in South Dakota and like the deer back east, they like to randomly dash across the road. One randomly dashed into our car, breaking the passenger side view mirror and putting two small dents in the side. We don't know what happened to the deer. A few minutes later, Mike narrowly missed colliding with a deer. After my run-in with a deer last summer, in which my car was almost totaled (the deer definitely was totaled), I'm very wary about driving at night in deer territory. It's almost to the point where I want to say "Sorry, can't go out at night. The deer are out."
On Friday we packed up and headed down to Hot Springs, picked up the race packet, and attended the race briefing. We made a run to the grocery store to get some last minute race items. I made a bee-line to the vegetable section and pounced on a bag of carrots and a bag of sugar snaps, I was definitely craving veggies after almost a week of eating nothing but meat and potatoes. Later that evening we attended the pre-race dinner at the Flatiron and
including our intrepid crew:
Then it was off to bed, since the race started at some ungodly early hour.
Race day dawned dark, chilly, and foggy. Fortunately, the start (and finish) line was right next door to our hotel. After roll-call, the runners lined up
and off they went!
Throughout the day they ran, and ran, and ran some more. They ran through prairie:
They ran on the Mickelson Trail:
They ran into the wee hours:
And into the dawn:
Of the five Loudoun Road Runners who ran, three finished. There was a 50K finisher (7:25:00):
A 50-mile finisher (10:46:00):
And a 100-mile finisher (25:02:00):
The winner of the 50-mile race completed the run in under 7 hours and the winner of the 100-mile run finished in 17 hours and change. Congratulations to all the runners!
The rest of Sunday was sort of anti-climactic. To spice things up a bit, we visited Wind Cave and took the Fairgrounds Cave tour. Wind Cave is known for the prevalence of boxwork formations. The cave is beautiful and if you ever visit the Black Hills region of South Dakota, you should put Wind Cave on your must-see list.
So, there you have it. I hope the wait (and the reading) was worth it. We had a great time in South Dakota. I'd like to go back and do more exploring. But next time, I'll be sure to bring some vegetables.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Quick Update
This post will be quick, dashed off before I get ready for work. The trip was great--there was a variety of weather (ranging from distinctly autumnal to broiling hot), lots of interesting things to do, plenty of knitting (I love Clapotis and Monkey!), and a great ultra marathon. I even met a knitter in the wild!
Ultra
Tom finished the 50-mile distance in 10:46:00, 16 minutes off his JFK 50 time. He was disappointed (he wanted to beat his JFK time) but the first and last 16 miles were very hilly. Add to that an elevation significantly above the 400 feet here and the heat. I think he did really well. Marcia completed her first 50K race in 7:25:00. Out of the running club's three 100-mile contenders, only Diane finished, completing the distance in 25:02:00. Phil decided to drop just after mile 50; Mike made it to about mile 60, but decided to drop because of extreme nausea.
After Tom finished, he swore that he'd never, ever run 100 miles. However, he's now looking for his next 50-mile and 100K race and is starting to contemplate running the 100-mile. I think the 100-milers inspired him.
Knitting
Lots of knitting was accomplished. I finished four repeats on the Monkey socks before deciding that I might not be able to get them on my feet. I started the second sock on larger needles, so we'll see how that goes. However, I don't like the way the colors are arranging themselves. On the smaller needles, the colors striped nicely. On the larger needles, the colors are pooling, so one half the sock will be one color and the other half another color.
Clapotis is a great knit. Easy enough to memorize, but with enough stuff going on to keep it interesting. I finished the increase rows and one repeat of the straight rows. The Brooks Farm Duet is a dream to knit...so soft and smooth. I'm using Addi Turbos, but the yarn would work well on bamboo; it's slippery enough to easily slide off the needles.
South Dakota
South Dakota is gorgeous. I was very impressed with how friendly everyone was. Even teenagers on skateboards (known around here for being churlish and rude) said "hi" as they careened past. We need to make another trip and explore more. Depending on what winters are like, this state might be high on the list for our next move. The only drawback is the lack of yarn shops (but that could an opportunity for my own shop) and the lack of vegetables, at least served in restaurants. The restaurants we went to were heavy on beef and potatoes. By the time Friday rolled around, I was craving fresh vegetables.
Okay, I'm running out of time. Once again, not as quick a post as I intended. Full details and pictures to follow this weekend.
Happy knitting!
Ultra
Tom finished the 50-mile distance in 10:46:00, 16 minutes off his JFK 50 time. He was disappointed (he wanted to beat his JFK time) but the first and last 16 miles were very hilly. Add to that an elevation significantly above the 400 feet here and the heat. I think he did really well. Marcia completed her first 50K race in 7:25:00. Out of the running club's three 100-mile contenders, only Diane finished, completing the distance in 25:02:00. Phil decided to drop just after mile 50; Mike made it to about mile 60, but decided to drop because of extreme nausea.
After Tom finished, he swore that he'd never, ever run 100 miles. However, he's now looking for his next 50-mile and 100K race and is starting to contemplate running the 100-mile. I think the 100-milers inspired him.
Knitting
Lots of knitting was accomplished. I finished four repeats on the Monkey socks before deciding that I might not be able to get them on my feet. I started the second sock on larger needles, so we'll see how that goes. However, I don't like the way the colors are arranging themselves. On the smaller needles, the colors striped nicely. On the larger needles, the colors are pooling, so one half the sock will be one color and the other half another color.
Clapotis is a great knit. Easy enough to memorize, but with enough stuff going on to keep it interesting. I finished the increase rows and one repeat of the straight rows. The Brooks Farm Duet is a dream to knit...so soft and smooth. I'm using Addi Turbos, but the yarn would work well on bamboo; it's slippery enough to easily slide off the needles.
South Dakota
South Dakota is gorgeous. I was very impressed with how friendly everyone was. Even teenagers on skateboards (known around here for being churlish and rude) said "hi" as they careened past. We need to make another trip and explore more. Depending on what winters are like, this state might be high on the list for our next move. The only drawback is the lack of yarn shops (but that could an opportunity for my own shop) and the lack of vegetables, at least served in restaurants. The restaurants we went to were heavy on beef and potatoes. By the time Friday rolled around, I was craving fresh vegetables.
Okay, I'm running out of time. Once again, not as quick a post as I intended. Full details and pictures to follow this weekend.
Happy knitting!
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Accomplishments
One doesn't often associate vacation with getting a lot of things accomplished, unless it's sightseeing or eating. However, the Simonds Family Beach Week offered the perfect venue for getting things done. Without further ado, here's what I did on my summer vacation:
All in all, it was a good vacation. The family group was smaller this year. The three nephews weren't there and one sister-in-law had to leave early to go to back to work. The youngest niece brought her boyfriend, which was a trip. He's a nice enough young man. Watching them together brought back memories of what it was like to be sixteen and in "love."
One of the books I read was Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously. It was written by a woman who was approaching her 30th birthday and decided to cook all 524 recipes (except variations) in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 365 days. I was so inspired that I pulled out my copy to leaf through as my bedtime reading last night, trying to find something to make for dinner tonight. (Although after stepping on the scale this morning, I quickly nixed that idea. I did more damage than I thought.) While I don't want to cook all of the recipes in the book in one year (brains, sweetbreads, kidneys...no thank you!), I would like to use the book more than I have.
Knitting Progress
While I can claim success on the Blue Danube socks and relative success with the simple stockinette stitch socks, the other knitting is not going well at all.
The swatch? I didn't get gauge and I don't have the next needle size up.
The Too-Many-Choices top? Even though it looks good, it's an unmitigated disaster. I realized (even though I read the instructions several times) that I started the neck shaping in the wrong place, which could account for the fact that the v-neck was way longer than the round neck. However, what makes it a disaster is that when I knit the second half of the top, I spaced the button holes based on the measurements of the first (wrong) half. Yup, it gets ripped back to the first buttonhole. Sigh.
After I realized the error of my ways, I decided to see if the v-neck on the first half would work out as written. I ripped back to 3.5 inches about the armhole bind-off and started decreasing. The pattern instructs you to decrease until there are11 16 stitches left (that was another mistake), then knit following the stitch pattern until you are 6.5" about the armhole bind-off. At that point, you can start the should shaping. I was more than 6.5 inches above the bind-off after I completed the decreases (and my row gauge is pretty close). So it's back to the Basket of Unfinished Objects drawing board again. Here's a picture of the stitch detail to distract you from the pain of having to frog almost an entire half of a sweater:
And here's the stitch detail from the Blue Danube socks:
I don't think I'll get much knitting in today. I discovered an infestation of Indian meal moths in the corner cabinet in the kitchen. The suspected source of infestation is the bird seed. Fortunately, the moths don't eat fabric or wool so the stash is safe. However, getting rid of insects was not my idea of how to spend the afternoon.
Happy knitting!
PS: If I don't visit your blog, it's because I suspect that you are reading or have read the final Harry Potter book and that you will talk about the ending. I don't want to know.
- Swatched for the stealth project (completed on the drive down)
- Finished the Blue Danube socks (except for weaving in the ends)
- Almost completed the other half of the Too-Many-Choices top
- Helped my mother-in-law with her knitting
- Read three books, none of which was the final Harry Potter book (Tom is taking a very long time to read it)
- Sat on the beach and managed to get a tan despite wearing SPF 30 and sitting underneath an umbrella the entire time
- Practiced yoga a couple of times
- Did a little bit of stealth spinning and still produced crappy yarn
- Ate and drank way too much
- Turned the heel on the second stockinette sock
All in all, it was a good vacation. The family group was smaller this year. The three nephews weren't there and one sister-in-law had to leave early to go to back to work. The youngest niece brought her boyfriend, which was a trip. He's a nice enough young man. Watching them together brought back memories of what it was like to be sixteen and in "love."
One of the books I read was Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously. It was written by a woman who was approaching her 30th birthday and decided to cook all 524 recipes (except variations) in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 365 days. I was so inspired that I pulled out my copy to leaf through as my bedtime reading last night, trying to find something to make for dinner tonight. (Although after stepping on the scale this morning, I quickly nixed that idea. I did more damage than I thought.) While I don't want to cook all of the recipes in the book in one year (brains, sweetbreads, kidneys...no thank you!), I would like to use the book more than I have.
Knitting Progress
While I can claim success on the Blue Danube socks and relative success with the simple stockinette stitch socks, the other knitting is not going well at all.
The swatch? I didn't get gauge and I don't have the next needle size up.
The Too-Many-Choices top? Even though it looks good, it's an unmitigated disaster. I realized (even though I read the instructions several times) that I started the neck shaping in the wrong place, which could account for the fact that the v-neck was way longer than the round neck. However, what makes it a disaster is that when I knit the second half of the top, I spaced the button holes based on the measurements of the first (wrong) half. Yup, it gets ripped back to the first buttonhole. Sigh.
After I realized the error of my ways, I decided to see if the v-neck on the first half would work out as written. I ripped back to 3.5 inches about the armhole bind-off and started decreasing. The pattern instructs you to decrease until there are
And here's the stitch detail from the Blue Danube socks:
I don't think I'll get much knitting in today. I discovered an infestation of Indian meal moths in the corner cabinet in the kitchen. The suspected source of infestation is the bird seed. Fortunately, the moths don't eat fabric or wool so the stash is safe. However, getting rid of insects was not my idea of how to spend the afternoon.
Happy knitting!
PS: If I don't visit your blog, it's because I suspect that you are reading or have read the final Harry Potter book and that you will talk about the ending. I don't want to know.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Bear Meets Cat
As promised, I present to you a guest blogger, albeit a day late. That's better than being a dollar short, eh? So without further ado, I turn the blog over to Keith (who is, alas, neither blogger nor knitter).
This occurred... in our front yard.
I had spotted the bear in our back yard and went to get the camera. By the time I got back to the rear deck, he was nowhere to be seen. Thinking maybe he had wandered out front, I opened the front door and found him on the front porch.
He did not care for this up close and personal meeting and scooted off the porch. Then he discovered one of our two cats (NoName), who had been sitting on the swing but, seeing the bear, had opted to attempt invisiblity under the swing.
Young Mr. Bear decided to see who was under there, and rather hesitantly tried putting his paw under the swing.
By then, both Barbara and I were on the front porch, and all of this seemed too much for Mr. Bear who decided to beat a hasty retreat.
Keith lives about an hour west of where I live and lives on a mountain. It's not unusual for all manner of wildlife to be found on his property. Last year (or maybe year before last), they would occasionally see a mother bear with two cubs wander through. Keith thinks that this bear is one of cubs. Rumor has it that a bobcat has also been spotted on the mountain. Fortunately, Keith and Barbara (and their cats) have not had an up-close and personal meeting with it.
It's Beachin', Baby!
Today's the day we head down to the beach. The house sitters are all lined up and the supply of cat food has been replenished. All that's left to do is to pack and leave. Tom is out on a 20+ mile run and I've got yoga class in a couple of hours. We'll be getting a late start, in the hopes that we'll miss most of the traffic.
One of the more important tasks is to decide what and how many projects to take. Definitely a sock or two, an unfinished project, maybe a new project, and some spinning. Do you think I'm overpacking?
Happy knitting!
This occurred... in our front yard.
I had spotted the bear in our back yard and went to get the camera. By the time I got back to the rear deck, he was nowhere to be seen. Thinking maybe he had wandered out front, I opened the front door and found him on the front porch.
He did not care for this up close and personal meeting and scooted off the porch. Then he discovered one of our two cats (NoName), who had been sitting on the swing but, seeing the bear, had opted to attempt invisiblity under the swing.
Young Mr. Bear decided to see who was under there, and rather hesitantly tried putting his paw under the swing.
By then, both Barbara and I were on the front porch, and all of this seemed too much for Mr. Bear who decided to beat a hasty retreat.
Keith lives about an hour west of where I live and lives on a mountain. It's not unusual for all manner of wildlife to be found on his property. Last year (or maybe year before last), they would occasionally see a mother bear with two cubs wander through. Keith thinks that this bear is one of cubs. Rumor has it that a bobcat has also been spotted on the mountain. Fortunately, Keith and Barbara (and their cats) have not had an up-close and personal meeting with it.
It's Beachin', Baby!
Today's the day we head down to the beach. The house sitters are all lined up and the supply of cat food has been replenished. All that's left to do is to pack and leave. Tom is out on a 20+ mile run and I've got yoga class in a couple of hours. We'll be getting a late start, in the hopes that we'll miss most of the traffic.
One of the more important tasks is to decide what and how many projects to take. Definitely a sock or two, an unfinished project, maybe a new project, and some spinning. Do you think I'm overpacking?
Happy knitting!
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