Sock Summit 2011 Day 3: July 30, 2011 – Far Afield

Back to our regularly scheduled Sock Summit Update (warning – picture heavy)….
 
Saturday morning found us a little more leisurely than usual.  That’s not to say we slept in, but Jess didn’t have class at all that day and Troy and I didn’t have class until 1:30 PM so there was no rush to get out the door immediately.  We had decided this would be the perfect morning to do a little exploring and we thought the Farmer’s Market would be the perfect thing to do.  Jess was amazing and pretty much figured out exactly where we needed to go and which TriMet route we’d need to take to get there.  Luckily, we were in the free zone for where we wanted to go, so it was super easy.  All I can say is, kudos to Portland for their public transportation!  If only we had something this nice where I live.  Of course, it’s not hard to get around in my town, but there are times where I’d like to not have to worry about driving or parking.
 

Skidmore Fountain

 
We hopped the Trimet to the Skidmore Fountain stop which was a quick 5 minutes or less from the Convention Center block. At our stop, I was initially put off by the group of scruffy looking loiterers shouting obscenities at each other over their shopping cart, but we just walked the other way and I put it out of my mind.  What caught my eye first was the historic architecture surrounding us; buildings with flourishes, and the historic colonnade housing a portion of the market.  I never cease to be fascinated by old structures and their histories.  The stories are there, buried, waiting for me to discover them.  I wonder about the people who lived and worked here. What was life like for them?  Were they happy, sad, indifferent?  As I soaked it in I snapped a few photos for posterity.
 

Architectural Details of The Colonnade

 

The Saturday Market - Portland, OR

 
We wandered, we looked, we soaked it in.  I found a lot of inspiration at the market, seeing all kinds of items that had been re-created from vintage or cast off things; upcycling being the buzz word I presume.  This has always been an interest of mine and seeing examples of this in the marketplace gave me all sorts of ideas for future projects.  I bought a couple of leather cuffs made from old belts.  Because I needed to “toughen up my image” I told Troy.  Couldn’t hurt.  Before long we were getting hungry and we decided we’d all divide up and get the food that sounded best to each of us.  Troy and Jess convinced me I’d love pierogies, which I had never before tried, so I bought my lunch at a cute little cart just across the street from the Portland Saturday Market sign up above.  Mmmmm…. Potato and cheese filling with onions and bacon on top.  I have to say, my first experience with pierogies was a blissful one!  Troy, who was holding a table for us, had to have the same after I came back with mine.
 

My First Pierogies

 
The picture is a bit blurry you see, because I was salivating so hard I could barely hold the camera straight :)  I told Jess and Troy that I did believe my blog was starting to turn into a food blog as most of the pictures I took over the weekend seemed to be of food!  After eating and looking a bit more, we thought we spotted the mecca of doughnut shops – Voodoo doughnuts – on an adjacent corner, and had to have a look for ourselves.  As we got closer, we asked a few people what the situation was and they told us that the line was at least an hour long.  An hour long!  And it was mid-morning, not even breakfast hour anymore.  Of course, there is no bad time for a doughnut.  But none of us was down with waiting an hour just to say we’d been there.  We satisfied ourselves with snapping a picture of the sign and Jess even got a guy sitting outside at a table, about to bite into a doughnut the size of his head, to agree to having his photo taken.  I’m pretty sure one of his friends had one of those specialty maple doughnuts with bacon on top.  Oy.
 

All Hail Voodoo Doughnuts!

 
After that, we wandered around a little longer to see what we could see.  We thought maybe there’d be a fun little shopping district or some such somewhere near all this other goodness, but no such luck.  We did see this, which explained a lot:
 

Keep Portland Weird!

 
Coming up on Chinatown, we thought perhaps there would be something fun to explore here too, but it was all but dead.  I did find the entrance enchanting though, and thought a rather funny sign deserved preservation on film.  Do you think they realized what they were advertising?  Or did they think it was funny too?
 

Entrance To Chinatown

 

Hung Far Low

 
Perhaps this was old Chinatown and there is a new and bustling Chinatown somewhere else in Portland.  By then in our travels, it was getting close to time to head back.  So we boarded the TriMet and were on our way back to the Convention Center.  I’d had a raging headache all day and it wasn’t getting any better.  I think we got some coffee before our class and maybe poked around the Marketplace again and at 1:30 PM Troy and I headed to our Perfect Rib Class with Cookie A.  I have to admit, I wasn’t feeling 100% by the time we got to class, and there was a lot to cram into this one-hour wonder.  Despite Cookie A. being a friendly, knowledgeable, and all around excellent instructor, my brain was at maximum capacity and most definitely not firing on all cylinders.  So I didn’t get much out of it, unfortunately.  Through no one’s fault but my own, of course.  There were lengthy handouts that I brought home and I imagine I will study them later, the next time I get around to trying to design my own sock.  I loved the idea that you can incorporate ribbing into the pattern itself (the main idea of this class) and I think that is perhaps why Cookie A.’s designs are among the most beautiful of all sock patterns.  Her ribs never look just stuck on, in fact, everything flows seamlessly together into a harmonious design.  I know accomplishing this myself with my own pattern, will make much more sense when I can sit down and study it later with my brain in a more receptive state.
 

Cookie A.!

 
After class, we met up with Jess again and decided it was time for another field trip.  We piled into Troy’s car this time (I think yesterday’s trek had taught us that it would be much more relaxing to drive just in case we got lost again) and headed to the nearest LYS, Portland’s Twisted.  What a sweet little shop!  They had all sorts of yarns my LYS doesn’t carry and a lot of local indie dyed stuff that was really fun to see.  The Twisted booth at the Marketplace at Sock Summit had been handing out 10% off coupons for the brick and mortar shop, so of course we had to take advantage.  I bought some beautiful Madelinetosh Tosh Merino in “Grasshopper” for a slouchy hat.  I love slouch hats, but don’t know if they love me back. I’m thinking this is a bit like shawls.  They look funny on you only if you feel funny in them.  You have to work it and just know you are cool and then, in turn, you will be cool.  It’s my new experiment.
 

Twisted Yarn Shop - Portland, OR

 
Jess asked the gals in the shop for a restaurant recommendation and they gave us a few.  Jess and I were thinking sushi, but after driving back and forth a bunch, with no sushi place materializing, we settled for the one place they recommended that we could actually find: Cha! Cha! Cha! Taqueria.  It was cool inside and inviting.  Most of the clientele were seated outside, so it was nice to have the place to ourselves.  The food was billed to be authentic and locally sourced which is apparently a condition for every restaurant in Portland.  But you know, I do believe it makes a difference!  Our meal was delicious.  Troy and Jess got something called Molcajete that Jess says is served at one of her favorite restaurants back home.  All I know is it arrives in a ginormous sizzling bowl of goodness and smells heavenly!  I got poblano chile and cheese tamales and we all got the requisite frosty adult beverage necessary to complete a summer meal such as this.
 

Jess & Troy

 

Mmmm... Tamales & a Margarita!

 
After dinner was consumed, we headed back to the convention center for a “special kind of baby shower” in honor of Ravelry founders Casey and Jess’ new baby Eloise.  Each of us had knitted a hat to donate to the cause and it was astounding to arrive there and see the sheer number of sweet knitted things that people had made.  There were several gift bags on the tables and I was a little confused as to what that was all about until Tina Newton and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee started looking into one of them and exclaiming over the huge amounts of tiny socks nestled inside.  I guess that one knitter had gone sock wild and knit dozens upon dozens of socks for donation.  Kind of made me feel a little subpar with my one measly hat :(  But I guess every little bit helps!
 

My Little Hat for Eloise's Charity Baby Shower

 
We kind of thought that, since it was a baby shower and all, there should have been some cake or something.  But no cake.  We settled for milkshakes from Burgerville (yum!) and some knitting in Troy’s room instead.  I’d all but convinced Troy and Jess to take on the Westknits Mystery Shawl KAL 2011: Earth & Sky with me so we purchased the pattern and discussed color choices while sipping our cool frosty treats.  After a while Jess and I bid Troy goodnight and headed back to our room for some shuteye.  A thoroughly wonderful, totally exhausting day.  And one of the best ever in recent memory! And tomorrow would mean goodbye :(

 

Sock Summit 2011 Day 2: July 29, 2011 – Class & Consumption

Poor Jess.  She was still on her “home time” (2 hours ahead) and I kept her up late talking about yarn and life and me me me.  For a shy person I can sure talk about myself too much.  Sheesh.  She still got up before me and I expected to hear her getting ready for her 9AM class, but instead she left the room.  Gulp.  Was I so annoying that she had to leave?  Did I snore all night?  I worry about this stuff.  But no, apparently she was up early due to that time difference thing and, polite as she is, she actually did some work (that’s a four letter word, yo!) in the lobby before coming back to get ready for class so as not to disturb me.  Too sweet.  I was up by then working on my homework for my Saturday afternoon Cookie A. class and it was still only about 7:30 AM.  I thought I’d find the time to sleep in once or twice while away, but apparently I’ve got my internal alarm clock set to Knittymunchkin time and it doesn’t reset no matter how many miles away I get.
 
Jess and I met Troy in the lobby and it was just a mere half hour before Jess’ first class.  We’d talked about walking to Voodoo Doughnuts which we thought had to be fairly close due to the frequent passing by of that most glorious of pink boxes containing warm frosted doughnutty deliciousness (or so we presumed, but we’d be schooled later).  But with Jess’ class imminent, we just decided to go to Burgerville again.  As if it wasn’t enough to have an eco-conscious burger joint nearby, it had to be one that served breakfast too.  I have to say, I’m impressed with the place!
 
Jess headed for class and Troy and I headed for the marketplace.  “Let’s just look around” turned into “Whoopee! Let’s go nuts and buy some YARN!”  At least for me.  We were very curious about the big fuss over Goth Socks.  Word on the street was that her stuff was one of the major draws for the massive line snaking around the convention center the night before.  Turns out, I think those rumors were right.  We headed to her booth first and I asked her about her stock.  Apparently they sold out between the night before and this morning.  As in everything that she brought was gone except for two measly little hanks of self-striping sock yarn.  Wowzers.  I ended up buying a super cute project bag there with bees on it (Oh how I ♥ bumblebees!) mainly because, after engaging her in conversation and then planning on walking away empty-handed, I felt kinda bad about wasting her time and figured the least I could do would be to buy something.  I am such a sucker.  But hey, I’ll use it.  It’s already holding my little sock yarn scraps and all my tools to make The Beekeeper’s Quilt.  So appropriate :)  I heard a lot of talk about The Sanguine Gryphon and The Plucky Knitter being big draws too, and if you gauged that by the sheer amount of people pressed into each booth, not to mention the rapidly disappearing stock, then I’d say it was true.  It’s kind of fun wondering who or what the next best thing will be.  Personally, I was really interested in Stricken Smitten and Sophie’s Toes and expect to hear more of a fuss about these dyers soon.
 

Ms. Newton And Her Friend

 
My first class of the summit was today at 11AM.  It was a one-hour lecture about dyeing yarn with Blue Moon Fiber Arts’ Tina Newton (also one of the co-creators of Sock Summit along with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee a.k.a Yarn Harlot).  It was entertaining and enlightening, though without prior dyeing experience, I don’t think I came away with much useful information.  I did feel inspired but also a little dejected.  That part of me that thought it might be a wonderful idea to start dyeing yarn and maybe someday doing something with the yarn I dye, like, oh maybe getting paid for it, has apparently been high on yarn fumes all this time.  Dyeing is hard work.  And it’s time consuming, and you have to love it.  Not to mention, you have to be good at it or people won’t buy it.  It’s o.k. to have dreams, but I suppose they have to be achievable.  Maybe we’ll just sleep on this one for a while.
 
After the lecture I didn’t have enough time to go back to the hotel so I went on a huge shopping binge in the marketplace.  With no witnesses to stay my hand I powered my way through the booths in a shocking flurry of cash and credit.  And I won’t lie.  It felt good.  It takes a lot of energy to blow through so much money at once, so I needed to refuel before my 1:30 PM class and bought a sandwich at the little lunch counter inside the convention center.  It took forever so I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are in dire need like I was.  Sandwich finally in hand, I headed for my next 3 hour class: Judy’s Magic Heels.
 
This class was a revelation. Seriously, I shit you not.  A flap heel without picking up any stitches or working any short rows.  Sheer genius!  Well sheer magic, really.  Judy was an excellent teacher. Friendly, knowledgeable, approachable and patient.  I highly recommend her class should you ever have the chance at another Sock Summit.  I, for one, will be most definitely trying these heels on the next pair of socks I start.
 
Troy met me in the conference room as class ended. He’d had a class himself during the same time frame, in a room just adjacent. We went back to the marketplace and texted Jess back and forth until we caught up with her.  We all had tickets to the Sock Hop which would be later in the evening, and decided that maybe we needed to have a little dinner first and that perhaps it was time to explore a bit further afield.  What would follow would be an epic struggle to find sustenance in a mysterious concrete labyrinth filled with sketchy-looking locals, firearms dealers, and forlorn shopfronts.
 
O.K.  I’m kidding.  Well, a little.  I believe Jess actually referred to it as “The Death March”.  We were most certainly not prepared for the trek we ended up having to take.  Guess we took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and got ourselves all turned around somehow.  I don’t know about Jess but personally, as a woman, I get nervous walking around places I’m not familiar with.  Especially as the more populated areas drop away and you find yourself in something industrial or when you see a sign that is clearly advertising pawn items and firearms.  Not to mention, when you are clearly not dressed for hoofing it, are carrying a knitting bag the size of Texas, and look really scared.  Which I was trying not to do.  Thanks to Jess’ map function on her smartphone, we finally managed to get turned around and happened onto the restaurant she had enjoyed the night before we arrived: The Farm Cafe.  It couldn’t have materialized at a better time.  We were hot, tired, and ready to end our journey.  I felt badly that Jess would be eating here a second time, but she seemed enthusiastic about the food and probably more than ready to eat too.  We all had pretty much the same thing.  Green Salad (two orders were enough to share between the three of us) and Goat Cheese Ravioli.  It was well worth the journey and the wait.  This was one of the most delicious meals I have ever had in my life.  And from the “mmm’s” and general hush at the table, I think Troy and Jess concurred.
 

The Farm Cafe's Goat Cheese Ravioli

 
Perhaps it was the company, or all the energy I burned learning, knitting, shopping, and walking today, but I actually suggested ordering dessert.  I never do this.  But it felt good to linger in Troy and Jess’ company and having something sweet is almost always one of life’s biggest priorities (in my book).  So we each ordered something different and then shared tastes around the table.  Jess ordered the Sunken Chocolate Souffle, Troy ordered the Marscapone Cheesecake with Pecans and Dulce De Leche Sauce, and I ordered a seasonal Rhubarb Crisp.  Heavenly.  All of it!  I savored each bite and the simple joy of being among friends sharing a meal and conversation.
 
Tonight’s final event was the Sock Hop.  It was already in full swing when we dropped in after the much shorter walk (going the correct direction this time) back from the restaurant.  None of us had costumes, though to give Troy and Jess credit, I believe they had each brought something.  Yet again we realized we’d paid for hors d’ oeuvres included in the price of our tickets.  But I don’t think a single one of us would take back our meal at The Farm Cafe to eat deli meats and crackers and cheese, no matter how nice those snacks probably were.  After a few minutes we decided to ditch the party and go back to the lobby of our hotel for some knitting and drinks.  None of us had spent much time knitting yet and it sounded much more appealing at the moment than checking out everyone else’s costumes at the hop, no matter how fun and nostalgic the music was.
 
We stayed up late, knitting, drinking and just hanging out.  It was a wonderful end to a jam packed day!

 

Sock Summit 2011 Day 1: July 28, 2011 – Goodbye & Hello

July 28, 2011 was probably just another Thursday for most people.  Instead I awoke exhausted, to find myself both excited and anxious.  This would not be just any day for me.   At 8 AM my super knitty pal Troy would be picking me up to attend that most glorious of knitterly events:  Sock Summit 2011.  Today would mark the beginning of four days of intense yarnophoria (yarn + euphoria = yarnophoria!).  But it would also mean leaving my nearly 18 month old son for the very first time since he was born.  I felt more than a little guilty as I showered, ran around packing last minute things, and remembered final tidbits to tell R. Darling about household stuff.

Before I knew it the doorbell was ringing and it was time to say goodbye.  There were no waterworks, but there were lots of hugs and kisses and “just one mores” as we headed out into the cool summer morning.  One stop for caffeinated beverages (mine chock full of sugar of course!) and we were on our way.  I didn’t knit on the drive down, though I sat with knitting at my feet most of the way.  Ever since I was pregnant I get car sick very easily, most especially when I knit.  How sad is that?  5 hours in the car and I could have accomplished so much.  But getting to know more about Troy and keeping him company was just as important as knitting a few more rows on whatever I’d brought to work on.  Not to mention keeping his car a barf-free zone.  But Troy is a gentleman and a professional driver, so I’m quite sure he would have gotten me to the side of the road safely, and in time, to blow my chunks somewhere more appropriate should the need have arisen :)

Mid-way, lunch was consumed at the Red Lobster in Kelso, WA and the fuel tank refilled.  I was afraid that Troy would be disappointed with his first visit to a Red Lobster (I’d never eaten lunch there before and the menu was different from the dinner one that I am always slobbering over) but at least the biscuits were good and the place was clean enough to impress him thoroughly.  We arrived at the Convention Center in Portland, OR sometime around 2PM – 2:30PM, made our way past the construction and into the parking garage.  We were to meet Jess for the first time in person at 3PM near the statue outside the convention center.

We, of course, parked about as far as humanly possible from the check-in area for Sock Summit 2011.   However, this afforded us the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the attendees of the other major convention being hosted by the Convention Center that weekend: OSCon.  Everywhere we were greeted by hordes of computer nerds and signs featuring wildlife (is this a reference to the Safari brower?).  Most prominently featured was a little lemur of some sort with big eyes that I kept insisting was slightly creepy, which Troy kindly said he thought was cute.  What surprised me most was the complex demographic of the OSCon group.  Not just scrawny twenty-somethings in t-shirts with programming jokes, we saw a man in a kilt, a grandma or two, stuffy-looking gents, and regular schmoes.  I pretty sure I even saw a hoochie or two.  What made us laugh most was the fact that we considered ourselves nerds too, just of a different caliber, and figured we were probably just as mystifying to the computer hackers as they were to us.

The Goji Concourse inside the Oregon Convention Center

After coffee was procured, we headed outside to meet Jess.  I suddenly felt afraid I wouldn’t recognize her were I to see her from afar.  Even after all these years, seeing pictures of each other on our blogs, I wasn’t sure I would know her.  But then I saw a blonde walking up the steps towards us and I knew it was her without hesitation.  I couldn’t help myself – I gave her a hug.  Not everyone appreciates a hug I know, and I’m not always a hugger myself, but after all this time a handshake just didn’t seem appropriate :)

Space Age Mushroom Lights Outside The Oregon Convention Center

After introductions, we headed back to the car and off to The Crowne Plaza to check in.  Jess had stayed there the night before (she had classes on Thursday as we were driving down) and mentioned that one of the indie dyers (The Grinning Gargoyle) had made a point of leaving samples for Sock Summiters at the main desk, and could we please have a few?  I loved mine; a beautiful silvery color which will be added to my most current obsession (The Beekeeper’s Quilt – more on that later!).  The lobby was classy and the room was stylish and modern.  I felt spoiled!  Troy was quite satisfied too, though he’s had the opportunity for much more opulence than I and didn’t swoon quite as hard as I did :)

We packed a few things into our knitting bags and headed back for the early, students-only, opening of the marketplace at 4:30PM.  We’d seen people lining up even as we were checking in a couple hours before.  By the time we returned, the line had grown out into the convention center, circling into a meeting room and still more were adding themselves to the growing string of slavering shoppers.  We chuckled and plunked ourselves at a table to wait our turns.  There wasn’t much we could think of that would warrant needing to be first in the doors.  So we chatted and knit and soon enough the line was moving.  As we entered the marketplace, a warm miasma of sheepy wool smell with a hint of vinegar enveloped us.  Only a smell a knitter or fiber-lover would welcome as if it was the finest perfume.  I was dying to get to the Sanguine Gryphon booth first thing and Jess and Troy were kind enough to humor my mania.

The Saguine Gryphon Booth at Sock Summit 2011

Oh joy!  A giant bin of one-offs and overweight specialty colors!  I dove in headfirst and only came up for air after I was satisfied I’d done my best to blow my wad ‘o cash in nearly one swipe.  I felt dizzy with the ability to spend freely for once, in a veritable fiber paradise.  After all, R. Darling had told me to spend it all!  We went from one booth to the next, intent on the ones that interested us most for our first trip through the maze.  There was so much to see and not enough time to do it all.  It was overwhelming and astonishing and simply fantastic.

After our 2 hour preview was over and the marketplace was closing, we had just enough time to get something to eat and then Troy and I would be attending the opening ceremonies.  Jess would head back to our room where I’d meet up with her later.  We took the short walk up the street to Burgerville and had a surprisingly delicious fast food meal.  Leave it to Oregon to have a fast food place that recycles, composts, and serves up local produce and free-range eggs and meats.  A little overboard, even for someone from my crunchy little town, but the positive effect on the flavor of our meals was truly eye-opening.

If we had known that hors d’oeuvres were included in the price of our opening night ceremony tickets, then perhaps we wouldn’t have eaten beforehand, but that’s o.k.  Now we know for next time.  There were some speeches and some antics, and a lot of it was funny.  But I frankly wasn’t really paying attention.  I wanted to pet my yarn and call my son and husband and finally fall asleep after a long, fun day.  There would be so much more to explore the next few days and I, for one, couldn’t wait!

 

Whales Before My Window

As much as I deride myself for my self-proclaimed reigning status as Queen of Unfinished Objects, when I pick up an old project that has lingered too long in limbo, there is so much more to that act for me than simply returning to a forgotten piece of knitting.  Though I may initially feel the burden of finishing what I have pushed aside, in time I feel myself returning to the scent and sensation of memories buried deep within the fibers of my work.  My fingers gently tease out the strands of time and weaves them into a subtle mantle of remembrance, transporting me to another time and place.  What begins as work becomes a reminder of a sliver of time I have forgotten.  Cherry Fizz has been such a project.
 

Sunset on Bullman Bay - October 2009

 
It is October 2009 and I am about 4 months pregnant as we make our way to the coast.  We ride a ferry I’ve never been on, something not difficult to do here in the Pacific Northwest, where water travel is the norm.  We pass miles of lonely coastline, all jagged boulders and slate-grey froth beneath a sky that perpetually hints of rain.  Scattered clusters of dilapidated homes sprout from the earth like mushrooms, moldering under lush carpets of poison green moss, a gift of the damp twilight that is their birthright.  As always, I wonder what people so far from urban life do for a living.  Are they lonesome in this isolation or have they desperately sought it?  I watch them pass and I mourn for those who don’t belong here but must stay, with a sadness that overwhelms me, despite not being mine to claim.  We are driving to Bullman Bay, where my husband will be taking a three day intensive kayaking class and I will relax, walk the beach, and generally rest myself and incubate our baby.
 
When we arrive at the Bullman Beach Inn I am amused.  I don’t know what I thought I was expecting, but this isn’t quite it.  Our room will be at the far end of what looks like an outbuilding.  We have paid for the “Waterfront Full View” room, which is a song in October – only $75 per night – and we find that the view is fantastic.  Stepping through the sliding glass door into our room, we find what is really more like a furnished apartment.  There is a living room with a recliner and small love seat, which leads straight into a small kitchen with a dining table and two chairs, both rooms flanked on one side by that stunning ocean view.  Down the short hall to the left is our bedroom, complete with two twin beds, and a bathroom to our right across from the bedroom.  All this is furnished in an eclectic mix of 60′s surfer chic and 70′s basement, complete with dark wood paneling.  I’m instantly charmed and imagine the distant day when we might bring our child here and tell him or her about the time we visited before their arrival.  The only hitch is the twin beds.  We are snugglers. Yes, I’ll admit it.  But my belly has started to swell a bit and my back, hips and knees often hurt even though I’m early in my pregnancy.  So it’s really not so bad if we have our own space at night, and it’s just for a couple days anyway.
 
I get up early with R. Darling in the mornings before his class.  We have coffee or cocoa or tea and a little something to eat.  Then he prepares to battle wind, surf, frustration and exhaustion, from his kayak on the turbulent waves off the coast of Cape Flattery.  Sometimes I go back to bed after he leaves, but mostly I curl up in the recliner and read, looking up periodically to savor the panoramic view of sky and sea through my front window.  I have brought 4 books and Cherry Fizz.  I end up reading all 4 books in the 3 days of our visit and I work on Cherry Fizz half-heartedly in between.  Yet, it is this trip that I associate Cherry Fizz with the most.  For the first trimester of my pregnancy I was so exhausted and so ill all the time that I had to quit knitting.  For some reason the activity made my nausea unbearable and I resorted to spending most of my time that I wasn’t asleep, reading books.  But by October, I was feeling better and I had missed my knitting.
 
Each day I would walk the beach once or twice, buffeted by cold winds that whipped my hair into a dark froth.  I had to remind myself to look up at the sea and savor its swirling kinetic force, because my eyes were continually searching the sand.  Sea glass, pitted stones in gloriously misshapen forms, and the rare agate, made their way into my pockets, reminders that I was indeed here and it wasn’t just a dream.
 
What I remember most is the morning R. Darling and I saw a whale from the kitchen window.  The sky had pinkened from pre-dawn grey to early morning lavender.  We were eating breakfast and chatting before R.Darling had to leave for the day, watching the light change across the open ocean before our window.  R. Darling saw it first; a plume of water bursting free in the cold morning air.  He pointed when it happened again, and I squinted but couldn’t see.  The whale moved back into deeper water and I was disheartened I did not get to see it.  Later, after R. Darling had left, I scanned the sea again, hoping I might catch a glimpse of something, anything, and I was rewarded with a momentary eruption of air and water to the left of my field of vision.  I watched the whale spouting for a while and felt a connection to this gentle creature and the rhythms of nature.  I touched my stomach and thought of my baby and wondered about our future.
 
Now, Cherry Fizz is finished and whenever I look at it, I’m transported back to that long weekend at the beach.  What a wonderful gift I have given myself.  This scarf will always evoke happy memories for me and I will remember forever the whales before my window.
 

 

• Pattern: Cherry Fizz by Kate Gilbert  (Ravelry link here; Twist Collective Spring 2009 link here; My Ravelry project link here)
• Yarn:  Approximately 1.39 hanks of Dream In Color Classy in “Absolute Magenta”
• Needles:  Size 8 bamboo straights
• Mods:  None

 

 
I love this scarf!  It was worth the nearly 2 year wait (I started it in June of 2009, let it idle until October 2009, and then dropped it again until January 2011).  The charts were complicated and I actually really enjoyed that aspect of it.  Watching the medallion shapes grow and change was really thrilling, especially when I picked it up again after my long hiatus and really dedicated myself to finishing it.  I had a little trouble with the double increase (dinc) in the pattern and realized I was most probably doing it wrong until January when I started it again.  I think there is a video now that explains how to do it, but I figured no one will probably notice except for me and I wasn’t about to rip out all of a 2/3 completed scarf just to suit my OCD tendencies.  Blocking was a pain because I didn’t have enough pins and nowhere to lay it out (Knittymunchkin’s room used to be the blocking zone) but I made do and it doesn’t look too bad.  I think I’ll get lots of use out of this and even if I don’t, it will always remind me of a special trip and a wonderful time in my life, waiting for the arrival of Little Mister.

 

Hey Homeskillet

Well my list of 101 things in 1001 days that I mentioned the other day is up and ready (check the tab up top for a static link).  I decided I’d make my start date January 1, 2010 just for convenience, though I’m not officially posting it until today.  Though not particularly self-edifying or inspiring (no summiting of Everest, or winning an Oscar, on the list here), my list does encompass quite a lot of things I’ve been meaning to do for quite some time.  There’s a mix of things easily accomplished and things somewhat more difficult to achieve.  And though you’ll notice “Grow a munchkin” is on there and I quite technically started that process last year, I don’t count that one as fully completed until Knittymunchkin is here safe and sound :)  Have fun looking it over and laughing (yes, some of it will likely strike you as goofy) and rest assured I’ll be reporting to you on my progress as I work my way towards completing everything.
 
First stop – “Try 10 new recipes”.  I should probably have made it more challenging and said 100 recipes or something, but we’ll shoot for 10 and see what happens.  I mean, pretty soon I’ll be feeding a baby every 2 hours and cooking will seem like a distant memory. Hear that honey?
 

Frango no leite

 
There’s a lovely little restaurant in Victoria, B.C. that we discovered purely by accident on our first visit to the city.  Hungry and on foot, we stumbled across Santiago’s as we walked from our hotel across the street toward the waterfront.  Boasting a South American menu, brilliantly colored surroundings, and strings of twinkling white lights inside, we could almost envision ourselves sitting in an outdoor cafe in Brazil with city life and scrumptious smells swirling around us.  That first time we ate there twice in 2 days, and every time we go back we make sure to stop in for at least one meal.  On our last visit (for our 5th anniversary this past September) we spotted a cookbook as we were walking in and asked the waitress about it.  It was a bit pricey, but the food was just so amazing that we had to have the recipes to make it for ourselves when we returned home.  I believe I mentioned that was in September?
 
Fast forward to Sunday night (January 17).  What better way to kick off my 101 things in 1001 days journey than with a new recipe from one of our favorite places?  I chose the Frango No Leite (this is most definitely not Spanish that I recognize; perhaps Portuguese?) because that’s the dish I usually order when we dine there, and then made Santiago’s Rice to go with it.  The rice is made with coconut milk and it was definitely interesting to go back to the old school way of making it in a saucepan rather than a rice cooker.  I had visions of burnt caked on rice having to be scrubbed off the bottom of the saucepan afterwards, but no such thing.  It came out perfect and the house smelled divine (who doesn’t love the smell of coconut?).  For the Frango No Leite, as the recipe is Canadian (and therefore metric), I had to do some mini-calculations.  As well, the spicing combination is made for a huge batch of chicken, while the cooking portion of the recipe is made for a one-dish preparation.  So there were some conversions to be worked out there too.  Overall though, I think it came out nearly exactly like the dish at the restaurant if only a tad spicy (too much cayenne pepper; next time I’ll half it).  A perfect blend of lemon, cream, tomato & chicken.  Yum!  Not bad for coming from the homeskillet ;) And the best part? R. Darling gave it a 10 before he remembered that nothing in our house gets a 10 unless it’s served sans clothing. So I guess this one’s a winner!
 
And now we’re officially on our way!

 

Christmas Is Coming & It’s Time To Celebrate!

The Bellagio Casino Christmas Display in Vegas - December 2009

 
I love going to the Bellagio Hotel in Vegas whenever we visit.  They always have a seasonal or holiday display of some kind inside the lobby and I make sure I drag R. Darling there whenever I get the chance.  Last time we were there it was autumn and there were gorgeous displays of apples and pumpkins to put us in the harvest mood.  Imagine my excitement this time to realize that we would be there in time for the Christmas display!  Oh how I love Christmas and love all the decorations and good feelings involved.  It was quite the kick-off to our holidays to be able to stroll through the conservatory and catch a glimpse of polar bears made entirely of white carnations, reindeer made of pecans, and the biggest Christmas tree I’ve ever seen in my life (only because I’ve never been to Rockefeller!).  I just wanted to share with all of you who couldn’t be there and hope that your holidays are off to a great start too!
 
Besides Christmas, there’s something else I’m celebrating here at the bloggy.  This is my 300th post!  And I also missed commemorating my 3rd Bloggyversary in October.  I guess it’s all about the 3′s today :)  Because I have so much to celebrate and because it’s the season of giving, I’m going to have a little contest.  If you have a blog, leave a comment telling me how long you’ve been blogging, what you love most about it, and what you do to recuperate if you have a little bloggy slump (I could use the advice!).  If you’re not a blogger, tell me what you like about reading blogs and what keeps you coming back to the ones you like best.  Comment with your answer(s) by Midnight (PST) Friday night, December 18, 2009 and you will be entered to win a fabulous prize!  The prize?  I knew you’d ask, since it’s really all about the prize, isn’t it? :)  Ravelry has just announced a new pattern gifting feature and I can’t wait to try it out.  If you’re my winner, I will purchase a pattern of your choosing (up to $7) and gift it to you on Ravelry.  I’ll announce the winner on Saturday, December 19, 2009. Hooray for gifting!
 
I’m so looking forward to all your answers and thank you so very much for all your support over the last 3 years and 300 posts!  It really does mean so much to me and I’m so very grateful for each and every one of you.  Happy Holidays!

 

Babymoon

The view from our porch

 
Why hello!
 
Yes, sadly, we are back to normal life once again.  Our 6 days in Maui almost seem like a distant memory already, though it was only a mere few weeks ago when we set foot on that sun-kissed isle.  Every time I arrive on Maui, or any of the Hawaiian islands (and yes – I know I’m incredibly lucky to be able to say “every time”) I am instantly transported by the tropical sun, palm trees, white sand, and bronze-skinned locals, to a timeline that could have been.  Once there was a girl who dreamed of a carefree life not her own; if only she had the guts to make the leap, the confidence to turn wishful thinking into reality.  I entertain these thoughts quietly upon each visit, wondering if we could make it work even now.  I could get a job at a luau shakin’ it for the tourists and R. Darling could spend his days at the beach spearing fish for supper and pretending not to look at the local hotties while working on his tan.  But under the mystique of island life and the glossy tourist facade, lies a place rife with poverty and an astronomical cost of living.  So we settle instead for an exotic sampling every few years or so and then make our way back home with happy memories, gaudy beach towels, and smatterings of sand packed in our bags to remind us of time well spent and much enjoyed.
 

An unusual rainbow

 
Given that I was just over 5 1/2 months pregnant during our trip, and that it was our second time in Maui, we didn’t plan anything too strenuous for ourselves.  We had chosen to stay in a condo this time instead of a hotel and were instantly pleased to have made the decision as it was quite like staying in an apartment but with many of the wonderful amenities that come with staying in a hotel.  Because our digs were so cozy, we found it easy to laze away our mornings and even our afternoons just dozing, sitting on our ocean-view porch (so glad we paid extra for that!), or reading inside when it got too hot outdoors.  The weather was somewhat uncooperative when it came to swimming as the winds were rather high while we were there, but the intermittent rain didn’t bother us at all.  With temperatures in the mid to upper 70′s and low 80′s, the rain was actually kind of a nice contrast to the heat.  We were rewarded with rainbows the first 3 days of our visit due to the showers and the one pictured above especially fascinated me.  It was situated directly over the surface of the ocean, quite close to the shore, and I can say I have never in my entire life seen anything like it.  Truly spectacular!
 

Giving the palm trees a haircut

 
One lazy mid-morning after breakfast on our balcony, there seemed to be a quite a lot of commotion going on down below on the grounds of the building.  Peering curiously, and vertiginously, over the edge we spotted several workers beginning their ascent of the assorted palm trees surrounding the pool area.  We watched them climb fearlessly up these palms, swaying in the somewhat stiff breeze, with nothing to keep them safe save the spikes on their boots and a single chain attached to their waists.  I watched, both fascinated and increasingly queasy, as each man swung his giant machete lopping off huge limbs and tossing them down to the velvety grass below.  Over and over they climbed up, chopped and hacked, then made the trip back down. And on each return trip I sighed with relief knowing that they would be safe on solid ground and their families would be able to welcome them home that night with laughter and a warm meal.  Until, there was one remaining palm.  The palm directly in front of our balcony, 9 stories up.  It swayed more heavily than the others, its rubbery trunk set in motion by the winds that picked up throughout the day.  The picture above shows the poor man whose job it was to trim this beast of a tree.  Did they draw straws to choose who would have to wrestle with this leviathan?  I could see him almost directly in front of us as he casually went to work sweating in the sunshine.  And once he made his trip back down I remembered how to breathe.
 

Can you see my baby belly?

 
As I mentioned, we spent a lot of our time lazing, but we did make it to the beach several days for some swimming and snorkeling.  Maybe you can tell by the face I’m making in my photo up there, but I was absolutely miserable this day.  It was the first day we went swimming and I was wearing a new maternity swimsuit that we purchased in Maui seeing as it wasn’t exactly the best time to find a swimsuit here on the mainland.  Without going into any TMI gross-me-out kinda detail, let’s just say my skin is uber-sensitive these days.  And what doesn’t feel so bad to the fingertips can be excruciating in other places.  I thought I could live with an itchy swimsuit, but it turns out, I really can’t.  I tried everything and frustrated, finally resorted to cutting out the lining on my tankini top.  Ah, so much better.  Who woulda thunk it?
 

Say "Howzit!"

 
Our best day of snorkeling came with an early morning and some crappy weather. This pretty much guarantees the tourists will stay home.  But not us – we love adventure!  By just before 9 AM we had found ourselves a nice parking spot in one of ten public parking spots near the Sheraton (where we stayed on our honeymoon). Black Rock in front of the hotel is one of the best snorkeling spots on the West side of Maui, or so we’ve been told, and we’re inclined to agree.  The wind made it difficult to spread out our mats and towels, and the lack of sun wasn’t exactly picturesque, but the water felt just fine and the fish rewarded us with plentiful attention.
 

A Pufferfish!

 

Unicornfish

 
The most wonderful part of the day was being able to swim with a turtle.  It made the whole $36 snorkel gear rental completely and totally worth it.  We had the good fortune to swim with one for quite a while when we were in Kona a few years back, and we felt incredibly lucky to get to do it again here on Maui.  Later in the day he apparently made his way back, quite close to shore, and the resultant swarming horde of snorkeling tourists made us feel rather sorry for Mr. Turtle.  We were glad to have had a more private glimpse of him earlier on.
 

Mr. Honu

 
On our last day we treated ourselves to a lovely dinner and show at the Hyatt called Cirque Polynesia.  We decided to splurge a little and pay for the show package that included dinner and, honestly, I almost enjoyed the dinner more than the show.  Though the show was quite spectacular, it really wasn’t nearly as glamorous and big-budget as the Vegas productions we’ve seen.  Perhaps if we hadn’t been spoiled with the “real” thing, it would have been a wee bit more exciting.  But having dinner on the veranda in front of the Hyatt with my sweetheart, while watching the sun sink into the ocean, was possibly one of the most romantic things we’ve done in a long time.  A fitting end to our Babymoon.
 
Though our traveling days aren’t over forever, the time with just the two of us is fast coming to an end.  It’s bittersweet because, as much as I cherish the trips we’ve taken and the time we’ve had as a couple, the arrival of our little one is going to be a journey that will outstrip everything else we’ve ever seen and done in our lifetimes.  And it will be wonderful!  But best of all, it’s a journey will be taking together, one step at a time.

 

A Churchmouse, A Hilltop and One Bad Woman

I have to apologize in advance for what will most certainly be a boring post.  The subject matter, though far from boring, will most likely not be elevated by my current lukewarm attitude towards writing and blogging.  Which is sad, really, because I had such a lovely day last Saturday with Troy on our own personal LYS mini-tour.  He deserves a much better account of our day shopping together down south and I think that’s why I have hesitated to blog about it yet, hoping that I would find some inspiration to write something deserving of the amount of fun I had on our trip.  But I will do my best and I’ll just tell you and Troy in advance that I had one of the best days ever hanging out with him last Saturday, whether or not you can tell from what I post.  Right up there with kissing alpacas ;)
 
Our day dawned bright and early.  Troy picked me up around 7:15 AM and while R. Darling was out working hard for his money, I was just getting prepared to spend some of mine.  After a quick stop for coffee crack and pastries at the local Starbucks, we hit the highway headed for the Bainbridge Island Ferry.  Our first stop was going to be Churchmouse Yarns & Teas on the island and I was supremely excited.  Troy had amped me up by showing me this blog post he’d found and ever since then, we’d both been trying to figure out the soonest we could possibly go visit.  On the ferry we chatted & knit, me on my mystery sweater for Warm Woolies, and Troy on his scarf from our Luxury Yarn Retreat back in the spring.  Before we knew it, we were there and looking for a parking spot.  The shop isn’t too far from the ferry dock, but finding parking takes a bit on a sunny Saturday.  But we scored a great spot right in front of Churchmouse and made our way inside. (Just a note – I think I’ve finally figured out the clickable photo thing, so all of today’s photos can be viewed larger except for the yarn pics.)
 

Troy entering the tour's first stop

 
I was stunned at the visual beauty and sheer amount of yarn in this place.  Yet, with the huge variety of yarn present, you never got the feeling that it was crowded in there.  And it wasn’t as if this was a gigantic shop or anything, they just have a very keen sense of space and aesthetic.  We were sort of dazed at first, not knowing where to start but wanting to look at everything all at once.  So we split up.  I only took one measly photo because I always feel weird taking photos in yarn shops, as if someone will come sprinting from the back room and tackle me the instant I point my camera at something.  Why do I feel that shops are off limits to photography?  I wish I could get rid of that feeling.  But I did look around surreptitiously about four times to make sure someone wasn’t giving me the eye, and managed to sneakily shoot this photo so you could see just how lovely the displays were inside the shop.  (Psst – go to that blog post I mentioned up above for better photos.  He’s obviously not afraid to take them!)
 

Gorgeous Churchmouse displays

 
I think we spent perhaps an hour petting yarn, looking at patterns, admiring the sensibility of the place.  There was a lovely gentleman there who was quite friendly and extra solicitous.  I am not used to that much personal attention in a yarn shop, but he was kind and really interesting to chat with.  I wondered if we were getting some special attention because he’d seen me snap my photo and thought perhaps we were important yarn folk of some kind.  Either way, it was a lovely shop and I’m so glad we made the trip over to see it!  Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed will be there teaching at some point towards the end of summer and I’m betting Troy will find his way back there since he enjoys Jared’s blog so much :)  So here’s what I bought at Churchmouse….
 

2 Hanks of Curious Creek Omo in "Birches in Norway"

 

1 Hank of Malabrigo Sock in "Rayon Vert"

 
Lovely new yarn in hand, my stomach started to grumble.  We decided that rather than eat in Bainbridge Island, we’d try to catch the next ferry back to Seattle and find some place to eat closer to our next stop which would be Hilltop Yarns.  I think we missed the ferry we’d hoped to catch, but stayed in line for the next sailing so as to be sure we wouldn’t miss the next one.  Ferries can be hard to catch on sunny Saturdays in the PNW.
 

The New Hilltop Yarns

 
Back on the ferry, we knit on our projects again and then disembarked and drove around quite a bit (no, not lost!) looking for the way to Queen Anne.  Troy, not being your typical guy, finally stopped and asked for directions and it turns out we were quite close to the shop after all.  Spotting it on the corner of the block, we drove around until we found a parking spot about a block behind it and then made our way up to the shop.  It was much smaller than we’d expected from all the hype, but still nice inside.  To their credit, they were moving the week before we arrived and I’m sure things felt very up in the air for them.  We browsed a little and though I had hoped to find some Hazel Knits Rogues, I was disappointed.  Perhaps at Hilltop East in Bellevue I might have found what I was looking for.  But I did find one color that she hasn’t had in her Etsy shop until the big update on Friday June 26 (at which I scored 3 new colors: Strawberry Lemonade, Stick o Butter & Blacklight).
 

Meet "Lipstick 1984"

 
By the time we finished browsing Hilltop, we were starving.  I don’t know if any of you familiar with the Queen Anne area of Seattle have ever noticed this, but I swear that you could throw a rock, blindfolded, any direction in this area and hit an Asian eatery of some kind.  There are sushi places next to Thai places, next to Asian bistros, next to Japanese places, next to more sushi places.  It was crazy.  I could totally dig it.  We ended up choosing Thai food and boy am I glad that we stopped there.  Orrapin was perhaps the best Thai restaurant I’ve ever been to. Sorry On Rice, but I believe there’s a new standard for you to live up to.  They first served us with a delicious cabbage and broth soup with just a hint of spice, and then our entrees came quickly after.  I had ginger chicken and Troy had yellow curry.  Everything tasted so good I ate until I thought I might burst, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to take it home with me as I normally would.  But still, there was room for coffee afterwards of course!  We filled our caffeine tanks at Caffe Ladro and then began our way home.
 
Commenting on the exorbitant traffic which we assumed was just a normal Saturday in Seattle, we came across a charming old building on the side of the street.  As traffic had slowed to a standstill (which we later found out was due to the Solstice Fair in Fremont) we had the chance to look more closely at what turned out to be one of the best stops of our day.  I desperately wanted to stop but didn’t want to make Troy go if he wasn’t interested.  He said, I kinda want to go in.  And I answered with, It does look cool.  And then, We’re kind of passing it. Then he said, I think we should go in.  So we turned into Wallingford Center, parked and headed inside where we were greeted by one of the most glorious sights I have ever seen – CUPCAKES!
 

Simply Sweet Trophy Cupcakes

 
We decided we would most definitely have to come back for those because I had noticed on the shop directory that we were in the presence of yarn!  With a wistful backward glance at Trophy Cupcakes, we made a beeline for Bad Woman Yarn.  Which, incidentally, was the yarn shop I’d expected to see when I went on my trip to Manzanita, Oregon last summer, but which had been replaced by the T-spot Yarn shop instead.  I found out today that it’s the exact same shop, just moved north!
 

Bad Woman Yarn - Not So Bad At All!

 
The shop owner asked, as we stepped into the shop, “Did you get a good picture?”  I said I hoped so, but it turns out I didn’t take too many great photos that day.  But you get the idea.  I felt guilty carrying my iced coffee in there, but he didn’t seem to mind, just whistled along to the bluegrass playing in the background.  This shop had quite a selection of yarns I’d never seen before and some I’d heard of but had never seen in person, much as Churchmouse had.  We amused ourselves walking through the extensive sale section and up and down the many aisles of cubbies filled with yarn. I could have easily spent much more than I did, but I was trying to be good that day (and there were still cupcakes to buy!) so I limited myself to 4 hanks of Malabrigo Chunky in Pollen and a Norah Gaughan booklet.  Both the owner and the gal in line behind me wanted to know what I was going to make.  I said I didn’t know – maybe a scarf, or a hat and a cowl, or a hat and some mitts (any of you Malabrigo Junkies have some good ideas for something more exciting?).  All I knew was, whatever I ended up making, it was going to be something that would cheer me up on a cloudy day!  Somehow I still ended up spending more than Troy in this shop though (How is that possible, Troy?).
 

Buttery Malabrigo in "Pollen"

 
After Bad Woman, we made our way to one of the coolest pharmacies I’ve ever been to called Pharmaca, and an all handmade shop called Amita.  I would have loved to buy so many things in the handmade shop but honestly, $100 for a skirt?  I really can’t afford that, no matter how cute it is and how much I’d love to support someone making things with their hands.  After much browsing, we finally went back upstairs to get in line for our cupcakes. Would you believe that there were now at least 15 people waiting in line for cupcakes?  At least there were still Red Velvet cupcakes on the available list.  That was all I really cared about. I have never tried one and everyone is always raving about the Red Velvet, so I figured here was my perfect chance.  Halfway through our wait, I felt my chances of tasting this cupcake wonder slip away as Red Velvet was removed from the list.  No!!  It can’t be!  But faith was restored moments later as a new batch of Red Velvet arrived.  I bought 2, one for me and one for R. Darling who I was hoping, wouldn’t want his so I could have two all for myself.  Turns out, he wanted his after all, but that’s o.k. :)  I’m afraid my picture of it turned out terrible, so no Red Velvet goodness for you, but you can see what it looks like on the Trophy Cupcakes site.  Mine is long gone.  It was good, but I don’t get the hype really.  Still, I can say I’ve had one and I might enjoy learning how to make them myself someday.
 
Well what do you know? I guess I had a lot more in my verbiage tank than I’d expected! Hope you enjoyed the small glimpse of our lovely mini-tour of Seattle area LYS’s. And many special thanks to Troy for such a lovely day last Saturday! I had a truly wonderful time with you :)

 

I Think An Alpaca Slipped Me The Tongue

And it might have been a girl alpaca too.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Last Thursday I mentioned that R. Darling was taking me away for a much needed surprise weekend getaway.  It was so nice to have that prospect to look forward to at the end of the week!  So when Friday morning rolled around, we put on our workout clothes and loaded up R.Darling’s kayak on the truck to take to Sterling’s shop.  R. Darling needed a few repairs done on it in time for his next kayaking foray (which happens to be tomorrow) and the shop is close enough that we could take it in quickly on our way to our workout.  Fridays are “long run” days on R. Darling’s marathon workout training schedule so after dropping off the kayak we headed for one of the amazing trails scattered around our town and put in a 6 mile run (I rode my bike).  After cleaning up, packing an overnight bag (and some knitting of course!), we left the house and made a beeline for our favorite coffee stand.

Cool, overpriced, tasty coffee drink in hand, we hit the highway.  All I knew about the day’s activities was that there were creatures involved, it didn’t cost much, and R. Darling had “no idea there was anything like this here”.  My first thought was a whale-watching tour, but since those aren’t cheap and there are tons of them around here, that was sort of out of the question.  Imagine my surprise when I found out we were going to The Outback!  The Outback Christmas Tree & Kangaroo Farm, that is, not the restaurant.  Creatures!  Hooray!  We arrived just in time for the 2 PM tour, paid our $8 each, and wandered around seeing what we could see before the tour started.
 

Awww.... what's more precious than baby duckies?

 
There were several peacocks in the yard, as well as these adorable little ducklings, and it was all I could do to resist snagging one and kidnapping it.  But cute little baby ducks grow into big ducks and we all know what that means – big poops and a lot of biting.  Nobody wants that.
 
The tour started with a cute little introduction and feeding of the resident lemur family, and then we headed back to the wallaby homes.  After everyone received a piece of bread to feed the wallabies with, we were led inside the enclosure and introduced to each wallaby in turn.  I wanted to tuck one of these little guys into my bag too, they were so adorable.  When you feed them they take the bread so gingerly and snuffle your fingers for more afterwards, sitting still for pets and cooing.  It was so amazing to be able to get so close to such an exotic creature!
 

A sweet boy wallaby

 
Next, our tour guide tried to wake up “Kangaroo Jack” a young male kangaroo that had been born at the farm.  After poking, prodding, and even good-naturedly wiggling his appendages (gently of course), he finally stood up for us and allowed us to come over and feed and pet him.  Amazingly, kangaroo fur is even softer than wallaby fur and dense and downy like a rabbit’s.  I expected it to be more coarse than that, and was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn’t a bit like I’d imagined.  We also learned that kanagroos have developed a permanent squint due to the bright glare in their natural environment.  What I mistook for a sleepy roo was actually how he protects himself from the sun.  I learn something new every day!
 

Not sleepy, just squinting

 
Next, we were introduced to their Patagonian Cavy (or Mara) which is a large relative of the guinea pig.  This creature was a bit more shy and would come close for bread, but wouldn’t tolerate any petting or too much closeness.  It had the skinniest legs I’ve ever seen on a creature of this size.  No idea how it supports itself on those!
 

Meet the Patagonian Cavy

 
After the exotic creatures we met some more pedestrian creatures, though they were no less fun to feed than the exotic ones.  There were miniature donkeys, pygmy goats, regular goats, emus (too mean to feed!), and a variety of other farm animals.
 

Hey, does that shirt look familiar Ravelry fans?

 
Last but not least, me met Fuzzy Butt and Mr. T, the farm’s friendliest alpacas.  We were told to take a food pellet, place it between our lips, and kiss the alpacas!  I missed one critical part of the instructions though – pick a long pellet.  Needless to say, mine was rather short and Fuzzy Butt got a little familiar.
 

Aren't you going to buy me dinner first?

 
Not one to be outdone, Mr. T decided he needed a kiss too.  The tour guide assured me that Mr. T would be much more gentle to me than Fuzzy Butt, and he was right.  I barely felt him take the pellet from my lips.
 

Aw, Mr. T., you're so sweet!

 
And with that last alpaca kiss, we said goodbye to the creatures and made our way to our final stop for the night.  I still hadn’t guessed where we were going to stay the night, but once we reached the off ramp I had a good idea where me might be headed.  In sleepy Anacortes, WA we checked into the historic Majestic Inn & Spa.
 

The Historic Majestic Inn & Spa

 
R. Darling had booked us a package which included 1 night’s stay, champagne and chocolates in our room (which we ended up just bringing home with us – I know – we’re lame), dinner at the hotel, and a massage the following morning.  Truly maximum spoilage!  We checked in, took a peek at our room, then went to the dining room for dinner.  We were hesitant to eat in the dining room, feeling underdressed as we were, but we were assured that we were dressed appropriately enough and ushered to a well appointed table.  Dinner was served by our blonde Miley Cyrus look-alike waitress and we both felt completed sated after an appetizer course of fresh steamed clams, salads, and a main course of prime rib for R. Darling and razor clams strips and chips for me.  Afterwards, we got our things from the car and settled into our room for the night.
 
What a stunning room!  How I wish it was mine!  It reminded me of a summer cottage with shuttered windows and a cheery yellow and white color scheme.  I would love a yellow and white bedroom, or just a yellow and white room in general; it looks so crisp, clean and cheerful.  But I’ve been told that yellow’s not restful so I always shy away from it.
 

Our bright and lovely room

 
We curled up for the evening with books and knitting, pausing briefly to make some coffee and take a glance at the sunset.  Then we turned in for a wonderfully peaceful night’s sleep and the next morning woke up ready for our massages.  The spa in the hotel is a sister spa to one we’re familiar with up here where we live called The Chrysalis, so we knew we were in for a relaxing visit.  We each had a one hour swedish massage which was lovely, though I found out later that R. Darling got some special heated stone action thrown into his that I didn’t get.  Bummer, since I’ve always wanted to try that. Maybe next time.
 
After checking out, we walked down to Ana Cross Stitch where, if you can believe it, I didn’t buy a single thing.  Then to the Island Cafe for a greasy spoon breakfast, and off to our final activity of the weekend which turned out to be a jet boat tour of Deception Pass.  It was a beautiful day to be out on the water and R. Darling was so pleased for me to be able to see what he sees when he goes kayaking there.  Though we didn’t see as many creatures as I’d hoped, we did get an amazing view of the area in the pass and learned something about some of the history of the islands and pass area nearby.
 
Driving home after our lovely getaway, I couldn’t stop thinking about how lucky I am to have such a wonderful husband who does such unexpectd and thoughtful things for me.  Thank you honey, for everything!  You’re the best :)
 

Because I can never resist hamming it up for the camera....

 

Friday Fill-In #128

 
A couple weekends ago Miami and I took a day trip to Seattle.  We had “noods” (Miami’s name for noodles) at Uwajimaya’s, poked around the Kinokuniya Bookstore for a long time, and goggled at all the asian produce.  I also tasted my very first bubble tea as evidenced by the photo above.  Can you tell that I just threw up a little?  Sorry all you bubble tea lovers out there, but I have to say, this is just about the grossest thing I’ve tasted in a long time.  Those “pearls” are just so wrong on so many levels.  Imagine not-so-delicious gummy bears that taste like absolutely nothing, but yet somehow find a way to be vile flavored, being sucked up into your unsuspecting mouth while you are casually sipping a tasty pineapple slushy.  Quite the nasty surprise.  But now I finally know what all the fuss is about.
 
It’s been quiet here at the bloggy because I’ve been doing 2-a-days with the workout program.  I run a couple miles on the treadmill in the morning and then ride my bike with R. Darling while he runs in the evenings.  It’s not every day, but it does take a lot out of me and I never seem to have enough time during the day to do everything that I usually do.  So, the blog languishes.  But this weekend R. Darling is taking me on a secrety squirrel surprise getaway so I will hopefully have some fun things to share when we get back.  I know there is a massage and creatures involved (but not at the same time, cause that’s not how we roll).  I’m SO looking forward to this.  I sorely need a vacation but we just won’t be able to go on one until much later this year.  This will be a nice substitute.  Thanks honey!
 
And since I’ll be gone, I’ll leave this for you before I head out of town tomorrow:
 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Friday Fill-In #128
(get yours here)
 

1. I grew up thinking I would never live in my hometown.  Just look at me now!

2. Ravelry was the last website I was at before coming here.

3. Why don’t you be good to yourself today?

4. Massages helps me relax.

5. Thanks for the support here at the bloggy!  All of your kind comments really keep me going :)

6. Rudeness is very off-putting.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight (Thursday)I’m looking forward to going to bed early, tomorrow (Friday) my plans include riding my bike with R. Darling for about 8 miles while he runs, and getting out of town for our secrety squirrel trip, Saturday I want to enjoy my massage and Sunday, I want to spend some more time with my hubby!
 

Have a wonderful weekend bloggy peeps! I’ll be back with knitting news soon ;)

 

West Beach Weekend

Welcome to West Beach - Orcas Island, WA

 
There’s something to be said for getting out of town for a few days.  Those things that cause you turmoil and ambush your peace of mind are left far behind you.  Go worry someone else. No stacks of mail to sort through, no sink that needs scrubbing, no cloud of remember-whens to stifle your ability to live your own happy life.  Instead there is salt air and sunshine, the hiss of waves on sand, and sunwarmed pebbles to sweep your hands through, searching for that one perfect treasure to take home.
 
A sunlit ferry ride carried us to Orcas Island, WA (home of Cat Bordhi!) and miles away from things we didn’t want to worry about.  Mom was there, and R. Darling and his kayaking friend.  The first day was travel, grocery store food for lunch, a walk on the beach while the guys firmed up details for their 2 day kayaking class with Body Boat Blade, and later, dinner at the Tavern in Eastsound.  Apparently it’s quite easy to say you have the “best burgers in town” if you have the only burgers in town.  But the food was deservedly amazing.  Back at Cabin #4, West Beach Resort, for the night – replete with circa 1938 dark wood paneling, vintage door hardware, creaking floors, arctic bathroom and munchkin sized shower – we caught the last breath of sun as it sank into the ocean.  While the sky continued to drip mauve and persimmon, we filled our lungs with one last breath of campfire and salt breeze and turned in for the night.
 

Our rustic abode: Cabin #4 at West Beach Resort

 
Saturday dawned cold and cloudy, though it would warm to a pleasant afternoon. R. Darling and I had coffee together before his class and later, when he had gone, Mom and I drove to Beach Haven.  In the late 197o’s she and Dad had stayed on the island for a weekend and she couldn’t quite remember where, but thought Beach Haven might have been the place.  They had dug  clams right on the beach, cleaned them with cornmeal, and eaten their fill in front of a roaring fire.  After stuffing themselves, Mom had strung the remaining clams on thread and smoked them over the fire.  She tells me staying here with Dad was one of the happiest memories of her life.  I wish he could have been there that day as we stood on the beach and looked at the horizon, remembering happier times.
 

West Beach Resort viewed from the pier

 
After Beach Haven, it was off to explore some of Eastsound.  With the pastry shop closed, we instead made Poppies Fine Yarns our first stop.  Though the selection was not as bountiful as what I’ve become used to, I did find the perfect yarn for Mom’s long requested Fake Isle Hat with Earflaps (am going to have to improvise this on my 0wn) and best of all, she okayed the choices herself so there will be no danger of, “It’s too itchy!  I don’t like the color!”.  This makes me happy.  A few galleries, and a long search for the “perfect” espresso (Mom, not me) behind us, we bought a couple sandwiches and headed back to the cabin for the afternoon.  I started a pair of Berry Hill fingerless mittens in some Mirasol Hacho I received recently but decided they just seemed too small (I suspect I have manhands) and quit working after separating the thumb stitches.
 

These Berry Hill Mitts seem much too small.....

 
We went for a walk instead and continued our search for non-existent agates, while heartily resisting the urge to take a nap.  R. Darling finished class much sooner than expected and after he cleaned up we all went for pizza and arrived back in time to see a spectacular sunset.
 

 
I heard a quote not long ago and it has been turning over in my mind, like a gentle wave worrying a piece of polished glass, smoothing away the sharp edges that draw blood when you are least expecting it:
 

“The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears, or the sea.”
~Isak Dinesen

 
I’ve had the tears, I’ve tried the sea and the only balm that is left is sweat.

 

Valentimes

This year there were no flowers, no chocolates, no expensive dinners, no jewelry, no dressing up, no gifts & not even a single card.  But I don’t need all that tradtional stuff when I get to spend the whole day with my sweetheart, celebrating the day of love in our very own special way.
 
Instead, there was some cuddling, a couple coffees & some breakfast burritos, about 80 miles of pavement and some knitting, $7 for parking and a two block walk to this………
 

Seattle's Iconic Space Needle

 

……..then there was some waiting in line, admission, sitting in a giant chair, a smooshed penny, a visit to the treasures of Ethiopia and a glimpse of our ancient grandmother Lucy – majestic under glass, the butterfly house……

 

Inside The Butterfly House

 

……where multi-colored beauties fluttered in the sunshine, then fish & chips, more coffees and this……

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

…….back to the car, breathing in the sunshine, finding the gigantic REI and a darling sculpture on the way…..

 

If Only Pacific Northwest Rain Was This Lovely!

 

……an hour in the REI playground for R. Darling, then back to the highway, killing time in the Sephora and Borders, 2 tickets for admission to Coraline, 1 large popcorn & 1 large (real) coke, then shivering in darkness, the car ride home, curling up in bed, cuddling and blissful sleep.

 

Thanks for a beautiful day together sweetheart!