Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Working It..

This week I'm in *drumroll please*....Ohio. O-HI-O.



It's not as bad as I expected it to be. The weather's been pleasant and while the city I'm working in is a little *ahem* urban, I'm in a nice hotel and have a nice view of the river (see above) :)

So here's a look at what I am:

Reading:


The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton

Knitting:

(Photo by KristenKnits)

Bee Cloth by Kris Knits knit out of Lion Brand Cotton Ease (in Maize) for a charity blanket the Betties are making for the Library. This pattern will represent The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.


And since I'm not really listening to anything new (iPod is on shuffle this week!)

Watching:


How I Met Your Mother Season 3 (gearing up for season 5 starting on !!!

Playing:


Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box for Nintendo DS - a must for puzzle fans!! This keeps me well occupied during long flights :)

Monday, August 17, 2009

This Week...



This week I'm (back) in lovely Ft. Myers, FL. I grew up not too far from here so in a way it's like being back home (high school home, not *home* home - although that's not far away either).

Reviving my 'What am I reading/listening/knitting to posts'...

Reading: Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Ok, so I haven't started it yet, but I'm going to tonight! I'm a big fan of Sophie Kinsella's lite easy/breezy books - I think they're great fun to read and I'm hoping this keeps in that style.

In my ears: Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter) by Laurell K. Hamilton

I had brought along another audio book (cds) to listen to in car but apparently my cd player is BROKEN *ugh*. Thankfully my iPod is chock full o' audio books for just such an occasion. Oddly enough I swiped this off of my manager's (read: male) iPod. I think I'm only up to chaper 9, but so far so good! I've been wanting to sink my teeth into another vampire series and this one has been recommended on several occasions.

Knitting: DW cloths in Peaches n' Creme cotton (Sea Breeze & Northwoods) for charity.

That may be all that I have time to knit since I have a lot of work to do this week. I also brought along my ongoing Clapotis which travels in my work bag (mostly for in flight knitting) just in case I run out of things to knit. ;)

Off to work now..

Bella's Mittens

Yes, it's only about a billion degrees outside and yes I knit WOOL mittens. No, it doesn't usually drop below 50 degress during winter, why do you ask? ;)

Pattern: Bella's Mittens by Subliminalrabbit

Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky in Paris Night (less than 2 skeins used)

Needles: Size 9 DPN's (pattern calls for size 8 but I am a super tight knitter - mittens came out perfectly sized)

Started : August 01, 2009
Finished: August 11, 2009








This is a great pattern - well written, easy to follow and quick to knit up. I'm going to cast on another pair for my niece and possibly a pair for a Christmas present. I absolutely love them and had no idea how AWESOME Malabrigo was!! ZOMG! Can't wait to wear them to the premier of New Moon in November! :D

Sunday, August 09, 2009

July '09 Vacation (Picture Heavy)

It's *only* been a month since we went on vacation and I'm just now finally getting up our vacation shots! Oops!

Each year D and I choose at least 1 National Park to vacation in. This year we decided to spend our last (big) vacation in Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park. We chose Yellowstone for all of it's amazing natural wonders and Glacier for it's beautiful mountains/glaciers and the hiking.

We flew into Salt Lake City, UT (WAAAYYY cheaper than flying directly into Montana) and drove up to Yellowstone (West Entrance is located at the very top of Wyoming). We spent our first few days of vacation day hiking and site seeing. Yellowstone is beautiful beyond words...


Inspiration Point


Crazy Bison everywhere!


Artist's Point - Lower Falls


Day hike to Sublime Point (Lower Falls)


Old Faithful


Grizzly Bear


Mount Washburn


45th Parallel

There is so much than this! Every day was packed full of geysers, hot springs, mountain hiking, waterfalls, canyons, lakes, SNOW (first time seeing it for me!), etc. We were only there for 4 days - not nearly long enough to see everything.

Next we drove up to Glacier National Park which is at the top of Montana. The 1st night we stayed outside of the park and drove in early the next morning heading over to our trailhead. We drove along the Going-to-the-Sun Road which is both breath taking and terrifying at the same time - especially for someone who is used to only driving (or riding) on FLAT land.

Sites Along Going-to-the-Sun Road


Glaciers in the mist ;)


Heaven's Peak


Big Horn Sheep


More SNOW at Logan's Pass


Jackson Glacier (A site that might not be seen in years to come)

We were excited and nervous when we reached the trailhead. This is the longest hike we've done to date (10 miles) and the first where we were completely dependent on everything that we carried on our backs (come on, we camp RV style now!). I wish I would've taken pictures of our packs and their contents - D put A LOT of effort into planning this hike (about 6 months worth) and I have to commend him - it was AMAZING!!! Everything went off without a hitch.


Atlantic Creek Trailhead (that's D loaded down with his pack - probably about 50lbs - mine was only about 30-35lbs)


Awesome view of Glacier National Park


Further along the trail you can see the river


The entire trail was lined with flowers and large beautiful meadows

I didn't take many photos going in or out of the camp - the camera ended up being strapped onto my bag because it was too heavy to carry around my neck and I needed both hands for my hiking sticks. I should have stopped more often, but really once you get in a groove - you just want to keep moving and get there ASAP.


Home Sweet Home


Hanging our food - aka bear proofing


Food prep area - no food or scented items can be at your campsite - the last thing you want is a wake-up call from a grizzly!


Our food - lovingly prepared (dried and vacuum sealed) by D. It was actually quite tasty for rehydrated camp food!


Our water source (we only carried what we would need during our hike - we brought a filtration system for water we would need during our stay). We set up camp very close to this river who's rushing waters sang me to sleep at night.

*sparing you from the photo of the community outhouse aka "Pit Toilet" which you are required to use when camping there (one word of advice for any women hikers: FRESHETTE - there was no way I was sitting down in that thing!)*


Wildlife - thankfully this rabbit (and some eleventy million mosquitos/flies) was the only wildlife we encountered during our hike. Campers a couple miles up the trail had a lovely encounter with a cub and mama grizzly - thankful that they didn't make their way near us.

While it was an amazing hike we were grateful to spend the remainder of our trip in Glacier at Many Glacier Hotel. Nothing quite like a hot shower after days of hiking!!


Many Glacier Hotel - Originally Built in 1915!


Swiftcurrent Lake

We carried a SPOT Satellite Tracker with us during our entire trip - I'm thankful we did since we didn't have cell service AT ALL. The SPOT transmitted our locations for our families to view and would act as an emergency contact system if we got into trouble. I thought the tracks of our vacation from the SPOT were still online, but I guess not. Eventually we'll get our GPS track uploaded and correspond our pictures and videos.

Overall it was a very rewarding and enjoyable vacation. I can't wait until next year when we hopefully do Alaska!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Saturday Fun

This morning a couple of the Betties and I packed up our knitting and headed up to Vero Beach to see the Yarn Harlot! She spoke for awhile (had us all rolling), signed our books and beared with us through all our photo requests. She is absolutely hilarious and totally made of awesome.

My sock amongst the crowd


The Yarn Harlot taking a picture of her sock


Having my books signed


She's holding my sock! (That has to be good for my knitting mojo!!)


The Betties group shot(L to R: Me, Michelle, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Debbie, Torii and Katie)


After the book signing we popped over to Toojay's eat and chit chat. Good food, great company - wonderful day :)

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Key West Mini Vacation

Ever since Don and I got the new RV we've been itching to take it somewhere, so we planned a little mini vacation down in the Keys!

On our way down we got to watch the sunset in the Gulf


We stayed at the KOA on Sugarloaf Key (MM20)


Home Sweet RV!



We took the bus down to Key West ($3 each!) and rented an electrical car to cruise around Key West in - it was a riot!


Some sites around Key West


We watched an amazing sunset


On our final day we planned a day of snorkeling in Looe Key - it was AMAZING!! If you ever have the chance to play in the Keys I highly recommend doing this. I cannot say enough about how much fun this was and just how beautiful it was.


Don tracked our entire trip via GPS, once we get that uploaded I'll post a link to it. We enjoyed our selves so much we've already planned another trip down there for September - I can't wait!!

PS.. I can't believe it, but I actually didn't get ANY knitting done while I was there - I guess I was just having too much fun!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Happy Earth Hour 2009!


Lights OFF!!



Candles, lit! (House smells good!!)

Find out more about Earth Hour 2009 HERE.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Recycle!

These people are taking 'green' to a whole new level! Need a couch? Have a love of coffins? For a mere $3,500, you too can have your very own Coffin Couch!



Creepy, yet intriguing!