The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania

We spent Columbus Day weekend with friends at a cottage in the Wellsboro area.  The weather could not have been nicer.  The cottage was located near Ansonia, just yards from Pine Creek Trail, a rails-to-trails bike path which paralells Pine Creek in the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.  The photo to the left is the view from the front of our cottage. 

Friday night after dinner at the cottage we had enough daylight for a quick bike ride towards Wellsboro. A rode in the bike seat on the back of Hubby's bike and T on the tag-a-long behind my bike. 

Saturday morning we all had breakfast and then headed to Colton Point - lovely vistas (right) and a one-mile loop hike. Later Saturday we all biked to Turkey Falls.  C is an avid cyclist;  he rode on for several hours.  The rest of us headed back to the cottage.  After a quiet dinner we played some games and called it an early night. 

Sunday we cleaned up and packed up for the drive home.  We had a lovely and very relaxing weekend, one of those let's do this again next year weekends!

Mad Men

Rarely do I find a TV drama series that I can't miss.  Remember Ed  (2001) and Northern Exposure (1990)?  Yep, two shows in 11 years.

Fastforward to 2008, AMC's Mad Men beats them all.  To me it's fun, accurate, sad and sexy.  I've seen every episode.  If you haven't seen it yet, check it out. 

If you can explain this to me please do.  How do the seasons work?  I don't understand it.  AMC's episode list for season 2 list 9 episodes.  I had to search deep into their website to find out if and when there was a 10th episode and when it was going to air.  When does season 3 start?

Roll Of The Die Sweater

My Roll Of The Die Sweater is one of my WIPs - it's a Wonderful Wallaby for afghans for Afghans. I have six different yarns to use in the striping. I've assigned each yarn a number. In order to randomly stripe, I roll. This may be the fastest Wallaby I've ever knit because I can't wait to roll the die! Fast and fun.

In other related news.  When we make it to the main library, I love to walk past the shelf of new books to see if any new knitting books have arrived. Usually I only look at the craft section. However, this week my eye was drawn to another section of the shelf and I found Dice: Deception, Fate & Rotten Luck.  Can't wait to read it.

Tree houses revisited

Yesterday I visited Longwood Gardens with my girls and my niece.  This time I remembered my camera and got this shot from the treehouses.  

One of my childhood favorite books is Andrew Henry's Meadow.   It began my fascination with tree houses.  If you've never read it, go ahead, buy a copy and you'll understand.  It was out of print for many years, but now you're in luck.  In 2005 it was reprinted in celebration of its 40 year anniversary.

Also, I finally replaced the photo in this earlier post with a treehouse photo of my own.

The Cemetery

This is the most beautiful cemetery I've ever seen.  It is a small cemetery on top of a hill in rural Pennsylvania.  To get to the  site you have to drive down a narrow dirt road in the middle of a field.  At this time of year the corn is high and lined the road on both sides creating a tunnel effect.

My grandparents are buried here.

Loss

Today my grandmother died.  She was 97.  I was at home with my girls and watching a friend's daughter when I got the call.  Within minutes of hanging up with my mom, my friend returned from her appointment to pick up her daughter.  Immediately I told her of the call I just received.  Luckily she was there to give me a nice warm hug.  She stay at the house for a few minutes while I walked and I cried.

Gram has been in poor health for a long time.  On most of my visits with her at the nursing home, I don't think she even recognized me.  Some days she'd be quite agitated and some days she'd be calm and quiet.  Last week my Mom reported that Gram was vomiting and in pain.  It was decided that there was not much to do for my Gram except to give her some pain medicine.  She could not handle tests to find out what was causing her discomfort. 

My Mom called me on Monday and said that Gram had asked my uncle "not to leave her alone".  He spent most of the morning by her side there at the nursing home and Mom decided to go up and take his place.  I drove up to join her.  When I saw Gram, I leaned up, kissed her and said "it's Beth".  For some reason I felt like she knew who I was.  Later I learned that earlier that day my uncle held a photo for Gram and she had correctly identified the names of her children on a photograph - all 12 of them!  

While there Gram kept repeating over and over again 'Jesus loves me, Jesus love me' - sort of creepy.  She threw up blood while we were there and then kept saying 'why does this keep happening to me?'  - sort of gross.  But what I'll remember is how I sat by her side and held her hand.  She looked into my eyes and at one point, when I pulled my hand away, she reached out to grab hold of it again.  She wanted me there and you better believe I wanted her there.  I will miss Gram. 

Fun In The Sun

Several weeks ago we got a flyer in our mailbox advertising 'Fun In The Sun Day Camp'.  It was to be held right around the corner at a neighbors' home for 3 to 10-year-olds, Monday - Friday, 1pm to 4pm. The camp is run by neighborhood teenagers.   What a concept!  The price for one week of camp? $40 per child with discounts for multiple children in the same family. What a bargain!

Was this the camp for my oldest? I had no idea, but I wanted to support these local entreupeners and decided to sign her up. I went in with no expectations, figuring I did not really care if my daughter went to camp or not. I was in it to support the neighborhood teenagers.  

As it turned out my daughter had a wonderful time.  She particularly enjoyed the crafts, coming home each day with something she had made.  Things including a decoupage cigar box, a simple wind sock made from paper plates and streamers, a tye-died shirt and a bird feeder made of a milk jug and wooden paint stirrers.  On the last day she greeted me with a big smile and a gold medal around her neck.  The ribbon on the medal was personalized (by the teenagers) with 'Fun In The Sun Camp 2008', her name and 'Best Painter'.  She was so proud and can't wait until next year.  What a week of fun!

As Seen On TV

Back in December we bought a very comfortable sectional for the family/TV room.  I don't even like watching television, but now that we have that comfy seating, you can find me in there quite often with my feet up.   Usually I knit instead of paying much attention to the tube, but it's hard for me to keep my eyes off those As Seen On TV commercials.  They crack me up -  check out the AwesomeAuger.

Big on Bridges

I'm big on bridges.  When I first went to college I studied civil engineering, dreaming of designing bridges.  Pictured above is The Senator William V. Roth Jr. Bridge along Rt. 1 in Delaware.  We crossed over it enroute to Bethany.  It is the most amazing bridge I've ever seen.  Quickly I pulled out my cell phone to take a snapshot.  Not a bad photo for a cell phone huh?

Socks and Scarf

At Bethany Beach I made a lot of progress on knitting projects.  I started a new pair of socks for me with Panda Cotton. I had two socks knit to the heel beginning, but I frogged sock B last night after realizing I had caston four fewer stitches than sock A.  After trying it on, I decided I really needed those four stitches for a comfortable fit.

I made good progress on my landscape scarf as well.  It is fun to work on, but I find that it takes a great deal of concentration for me. Luckily I have the simple socks on needles now for mindless knitting.

I also took a good look at the Mobeius scarf I made awhile back.  It would be nice if it were a bit wider, but I tried a few times and did not like the way it was looking.  I've decided to leave it the way it is and make my next wider.  The scarf drapes fine when it is wrapped twice around my head and I like the way it fits as a gaiter.  If it were wider it would work better when I pull it up over my ears.  Oh, well, next time.

Bethany

We spent the week at Bethany Beach with my parents.  It was very relaxing.  The girls had a great time at the water and it did not take long to get into a daily routine of waking, breakfast, beach, back for lunch, naps, back to the beach, dinner and bed.  We had plenty of time to play cards after the kids were asleep.

Fore! The Golfer In My Life

Pattern: Spiral Rib Putter Cover by Sarah Peasley

Yarn: Knit Picks Andean Silk - Cinnamon #23507, held two strands together

Needles: US 5 dpn

Start Date: 06/03/08

Finish Date: 06/11/08

Notes: Maybe I'll knit Sarah's club covers to match! Row 2 of rib pattern was hard to follow.

Last night I casted off a putter cover for my hubby. This is the third one I've knit for him, so I hope this one is around for awhile. The first one he lost on a green somewhere. Therefore, on the second putter cover I attached a note saying "If found, please call ph # and my wife will knit one just for you. Thanks." That cover fell apart.

Hubby said that the second cover fell apart because it was not heavy enough, it had to be knit more tightly. I tend to knit very loosely so this time I held two strands of worsted weight yarn held together and knit on US #5 dpn. If this does not hold up I'll felt the next one.

Hubby, here is another putter cover for you and I hope it is strong enough to withstand the rigors on the course and I hope it brings you good luck on Saturday!

New Garden Square

In case you haven't noticed, I've been playing some catch up with posts.  After a bit of a writer's block, I'm back to blogging again. Over the weekend, we started our new garden. Hubby got the 4x4's lined up and in the ground using these nifty anchor joints. (Thanks to Marsha for the suggestion.)

The  girls had  most fun watching us and taking photos.  Especially as the sun went down and the camera flashed with every photo they took.  Now we have plenty of photos of the car, their bikes, the driveway and us (or parts of us) working on the new garden.

I went ahead and filled the bed with this soil, recommended by Mike McGrath of You Bet Your Garden.  Personally, I despise his call-in show, but I have used his suggestions for container gardening with much success.

I know it is way too late to start much from seed, but we'll see how it goes.  My sister has to thin her young spinach so I'll have those plants.  Also, I'm not opposed to buying plants.  

Note:  I planted some Cosmos seed in one of the 1' squares on 8 June 08 and I noticed sprouts already today, 10 June 08.  Is that possible?

"Take Me Out To The Ball Game"

Recently, from one of their magazines, my daughters learned "Take Me Out To The Ball Game".  How can you know that song and never been to a ball game?  So off to the field we went.  We saw the Reading Phillies play the Harriburg Senators.  It was the day of free baseball caps for the first 2500 kids, dollar hotdogs and run the bases after the game - at $9.00 per seat.  

We had no idea how our two-year-old and a four-year-old would do at a game, but it was worth a go.  They did great.  We sat through the first three innings (at one point moving away from an obnoxious heckler)  These seats in yellow section 7 were good, why were they in front of this guy?  There were plenty of empty seats, so we moved above several rows and off to the side a bit.  When the girls were ready for a walk we explored a nice shady outdoor eating area and enjoyed a snowcone.  We went back to our seats until the long awaited seventh-inning stretch and then headed home.  What a way to swing into June!

Note:  ok, so I wrote my post before reading the Wikipedia reference for the song, apparently the guys who wrote the song had never been to a game.  I think that is hilarious.  I guess we did not have to take the girls after all,  but I'm sure we did.

Relay For Life

Today we attended the Relay for Life.  I've been involved at various levels for several years now.  I've been a team captain and a team member, but for the past couple years we've been regular attendees.  We like to support the cause and watch the girls play the games that some teams set up for the youngsters.  This years highlight was to watch them stand in a wading pool of water and see how many marbles they could get out of the water using only their toes.  Or was the highlight that hubby won a round of golf for a foresome at an exclusive private country club?  Bottom line is that money was raised for a worthwhile cause.

A Couple New Dishcloths

I knitted a couple new dishcloths for our hosts during our recent trip to Pittsburgh.

The blue one is the Criminy Jickets Garterlach Dishcloth and the yellow the Sunny Days Dishcloth from Knitting Pattern Central.

Market Bag

Tonight I finished the knitting part of my Everlasting Bagstopper.  Can you believe that all I had to do was cast off and the bag sat there on my needles for over a week?  The bag turned out great and was fun to knit.  I absolutely love the result.  Now I just have to figure out the handles. I'm thinking of using some sort of webbing. 

Great Allegheny Passage: Day 2

On Sunday morning despite the heavy rains, we were ready to roll.  We planned to ride 74 miles from Ohiopyle, PA to Cumberland, MD.  Before we got on our bikes, my brother taught me some back stretches; my sister enjoyed putzing  (see photo on left).  We were riding by 8 am, stopped in Confluence for breakfast at Sister's cafe 11 miles down the trail at about 10:30.  

My bike was covered with dirt my trunk and so much grit in the teeth of the zipper that I could not pull it shut.  I poured clean water out of my new Sigg bottle all over the zipper so I could close the bag.   Sometime in the early afternoon, the skies cleared.  We crossed an impressive 1900' bridge and rode as far as Meyersdale.  At which point we ended our ride.  I was the

one who first said (without a doubt) that I was ready to stop riding for the day.  We all plan to return to complete the 30-mile stretch from Meyersdale to Cumberland sometime in 2008.   

It felt great to be back on my bike.  I had fun hanging out with my siblings, but I was ready to return to my girls and hubby. 

Great Allegheny Passage: Day 1

After a delicious breakfast at my sister's friends' "wanna be" B&B in Pittsburgh, we loaded into the van. Truly our hosts in Pittsburgh were lovely; she always dreamed of owning a B&B so to have the four of us (me, E, A and Pop) spend the night was like a dream come true for her.  She even went out and bought four new sets of towels in four different colors (not boring white) so they would not get mixed up!

Our weekend goal was to bike 130 miles on The Great Allegheny Passage.  Pop agreed to drive the van as sag wagon.  We started riding in Boston, PA with information from a local bike shop owner that the trail was closed four miles ahead due to a mudslide. He did not have specific information so we decided to ride on. The photo to the left shows what we found. After waiting a few minutes, the dump truck pulled off and the digger stopped digging to wave us by. It was a bit slow going through the mud, but on through we went.

Day one took us 56 miles from Boston to Ohiopyle.  The air was cool and the sky was clear until the last mile into Ohiopyle when we rode through a downpour to the MacKenzie House. The days' highlights: deer, daisies, waterfalls, meeting up with Pop who rented a bike, pb & j on bagels lunch (note:  it tasted good at the time, but turned out to be too much of  a gut bomb for me, don't eat that for lunch next year).

An Early Mother's Day Celebration

My oldest daughter had a Mother's Day gathering at her school yesterday.  Her teacher compiled a booklet of recipes that the children "wrote".  She asked each child, "What is your favorite meal that your mom makes and how does she make it?"

Here's T's recipe:

"Mommy makes the best mac and cheese!  She takes the mac and cheese out of the box and puts it in a bowl with water.  She puts the bowl in the microwave for 10 minutes.  She takes it out and then we eat it!

Knitting Knews

It's sad to admit that the last time I posted about a completed project was back in February.  I don't have too much to report, here goes.  My recent knits include a couple hats and some felted Christmas ornaments.   

Hat one (left) I worked up for myself in Morehouse 3-strand Merino.  I was hoping for different pooling, not so stripey looking. The yarn was great to knit. So far even though I did not have many cold day opportunities to wear it, I've been able to wear it right against my ears with no itch. I made hat two (right), the Halfdome Hat, for my husband. It was designed specifically for the Bay Area.  However, it woks just as well for us here on the Eastern seaboard and guess what? My husband wears it!

I made felted ornaments for a friend and I'm really happy with how they turned out.  They are knit swatches which are felted then cut to shape.  

Architecture

During our visit to Longwood Gardens today, we explored the most impressive tree houses I've ever seen. In every detail these were not your ordinary backyard treehouses. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so I'll update this post with photos of the place as soon as I can.

At The Lookout Loft, a treehouse overlooking the meadow, we enjoyed a leisurely hike through the woods. At The Birdhouse, a treehouse towering high in the sky, we walked on floor boards reclaimed from an old toothpaste factory.

However, oddly enough, I got to see my favorite architectural feature on the property all because my four-year-old daughter had "to go potty". Of course there was not a toilet in sight. So, we quickly ran to the closest building - the lovely Peirce-du Pont House. At the door an employee, intent on clicking her counter to keep track of the day's visitors, looked up.

Me: Excuse me, can you tell me where the closest restroom is?

Employee (E): For her? (pointing to my daughter)

Me: Yes.

E: Walk in the library to the front left, just push on the corner wall and it will swing open to a bathroom. It is very small, but I think she'll be able to fit in. And don't tell anyone about it.

Me: Thank you.

We quietly made our way into the gorgeous library. It was full of chairs and plenty of people enjoying some sort of film. Sure enough we pushed against the dark wainscoat in the corner of the room and it swung inward to a narrow corridor leading to a commode and sink. This bathroom was just as well-maintained as any garden I've ever seen on said premises. It had a tile floor and a small marble-lined sink area. If you ever visit Longwood Gardens, be sure to visit this bathroom. But, don't tell them I sent you.

Welcome Flat Stanley

Recently a surprise envelope arrived in our mailbox from friends in New Hampshire.  What fun to open it and find that Flat Stanley had made it to our door!

Flat Stanley started out in a 3rd-grade classroom in CA. The instructions asked us to mail back a postcard from our area of the country.  The classroom will be plotting Flat Stanley's visits as he makes his way around the USA.  Thus far Flat Stanley had been in Hawaii, Michigan, Missouri and Colorado.

Flat Stanley stayed on as a visitor in our home a little longer than I had planned, I wanted to make sure he got a chance to visit local historic sites:  Independence Hall and Valley Forge.  He enjoyed our Easter celebration with traditional ham dinner and a family favorite at the table - dandelion salad and of course the egg hunt.

At one point I could not find him.  After a diligent search, I found Flat Stanley stuck between the CVS and Genuardi's circulars in our recycling bin!  

Good Bye, Flat Stanley, have fun on the rest of your journey!

Leap Year

For all you knitter's out there. I suggest you celebrate Leap Year by frogging a project that you've had sitting around for more than ten years that is less than half complete.

Happy Valentine's Day

This morning my older daughter ran over to our bedroom and wished me a Happy Valentine's Day. My husband had already left for work. I had been out knitting the night before and purchased helium-filled balloons for the girls. T. had found hers at the foot of her bed and was delighted with it.

Later that day we had lunch at my folks' house and Dad showed me his favorite comic from their morning paper. It showed a man and a woman at a rack of cards, each chose a card for the other, they exchanged cards right there, placed the cards back on the rack and declared they'd put the 5 dollars they just saved on seeing a movie. Somewhere the comic was labled The Long-term Relationship. Dad and I shared a good laugh over that.

The valentine I received that morning, however, was way more funny than that comic strip. I found it on the kitchen counter:
"Beth, I took $20 from your purse. Happy Valentine's Day. Love, B"

Truly, it is the most favorite valentine I've ever received. It made me smile a big smile when I read it. I think it does exemplify a healthy long-term relationship and that's right where I want to be right now.

Cardigan Complete

I've been working on this jacket from Baby Knits for Beginners by Debbie Bliss for six months and it is finally done. It feels great that it fits my little one and bettter yet, she likes it. I absolutely love the way it turned out and what a joy to work with the baby cashmerino yarn!

Pattern: Debbie Bliss Jacket

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino - Periwinkle #605

Needles: US 2 and US 3

Buttons: from Kaleidoscope Yarns inVermont

Start date: 8/10/07

Finish date: 2/9/08

Notes: I used just over 4 skeins, for size 24-36 months.

Happy Groundhog Day

Part of the tradition in my home is to make groundhog cutout cookies. This morning I was lucky enough to watch a live broadcast of Punxsutawney Phil's prediction - "As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me. Six more weeks of winter it will be."

Finally Blocked

Way back in September, I mentioned that progress was slow on the Debbie Bliss jacket. On Friday I finished the sleeves and on Saturday I blocked it. I hope to seam it soon and furthermore, I hope it will fit my 2-year-old for whom it is intended!

New Year

A friend in my knitting group suggested this and I like the idea - cast on a new project every January 1st. My 08-Jan-01 cast-on is a strip for an afghan. The group is knitting strips to be pieced together for afghans for Afghans.

I'm knitting on US 6 needles, co 35 stitches and using KnitPicks Wool of the Andes along with some yarn donated to me for the project.

Also, my knitting new year resolution is to knit something (anything) for myself in 2008.

Thank you, SP10

A surprise package arrived just in time for Christmas from my SP10. She sent magazines and chocolate (yum!) for the girls and I all the way from the UK. Thank you so much! I enjoy receiving items that are not familiar to us here in the US.

Just Enough Sugar

Sugar cookie baking gets better and better every year. "This one is almost ready, Mommy. It needs some more 'ellow' on it" Have you ever baked cut-outs with a toddler or two? Oh, how sweet it is.

And just when you're wondering if you've had enough sugar, you find that recipe for the tree Mom made every Christmas morning.

It is made of a yeast-risen sweet dough. Use butter and green sugar on the limbs, form a tree shape, use butter, cinnamon and nuts for the trunk and top it off with a maraschino cherry. I can't remember a Christmas without one of these! Of course there was enough sweet dough to make sticky buns as well. And did I mention Aunt Ruth's toffee?

Beyond Thanksgiving

Since our table of twenty for Thanksgiving, my girls have come to the conclusion that three toddler chairs are not enough at their table. Today I walked into the living room and found seating for nine. Cute, huh?

In knitting news, progress continues on the Christmas stocking for my youngest. All other knitting projects have been set aside in hopes of finishing this by Dec 25. I've abandoned the idea of adding a beaded snowflake to the brim of the hat. I had completed it and frogged it - looked nothing like a snowflake. I will probably end up adding the girl's names in duplicate stitch in order to distinguish between the two socks. But, I'd be happy to entertain more creative ideas.

Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving by eating a huge feast at Mom and Dad's with a table of twenty guests. The meal was great. The turkey was tasty - of the fresh, grain-fed variety. I contributed mashed red-curry sweet potatoes - a recipe Mom found in Martha Stewart Living Nov 2007. They've got coconut milk and Thai red-curry paste in them. Believe me, these sweet potatoes are absolutely incredible! Try them sometime. Find the recipe within this article.

I can't talk about Thanksgiving without mentioning Uncle Bob. I see him about once a year - at Thanksgiving. Uncle Bob is a loud, obnoxious sort of guy, but this year he did not get on my nerves as much as he usually does. I could more easily shrug off his comments. One of our conversations went something like this:
Bob: Do you have a job now?
Me: Yes, I work all day long.
Bob: Oh, you're home with the kids. What, you can't get a baby sitter!?

I just left it at that and next thing I know he's asking about the marital status of my parents' minister and shouting about how all divorced clergy ought to be kicked out of the church.

By the way, I took this photo in my folk's yard. I really like the way it shows the fall color.

My Oldest WIP

My Oldest WIP (work in progress) got a facelift. If you remember from a previous post, I knit this sweater back in October 1988 for my niece (now 21 years old!) My sister-in-law kindly found it and sent it to me for my girls to enjoy. I tried the sweater on my youngest the other day and realized I better get to work if I have any hope of her wearing it. She is growing so fast!

Fairly immediately (that's as immediately as a mother of two preschoolers can get), I set to work on salvaging as much yarn as possible from the neck placket. When I frogged the stitches I had picked up for the placket, I discovered that the neckline was still beautifully intact. Believe it or not, I still had the instructions for the sweater, so I was thinking I'd reknit the inset.

While I was working on the sweater yesterday, Marsha was with me and suggested a more up-to-date ribbed v-neck instead of the placket. That sounds easier, will use less yarn and ought to look great I thought. Let me tell you, it's a good thing I hang out with such brilliant people.

I ran with the idea, adding two rows of contrasting color at the border and cranked out the updated sweater last night. What do you think?

A New Tree

This past weekend we planted our new tree - a Bloodgood Japanese Maple. We also put in a couple perennials: a Spirea and a Nandina Domestica. I had tons of fun getting my hands in the dirt and I was reminded just how good that outdoor work feels. I enjoyed the dirt up under my fingernails, the smell of the soil and the cool autumn air under which we worked.

Our landscape plan around our new porch and walkway is finally taking shape. There are alot of plants I want to put in, but we'll take our time and do bit by bit.

Welcome To The World, Little One

I just found out that my friend became a grandmother (for the first time!) earlier this week. He was born on Monday, prematurely weighing in at 4 lbs 10 ozs. Mother and son are doing well, though still in the hospital. I forgot to ask his name.

It's time to knit a baby hat!

Children's Indoor Garden

Saturday we went to Longwood Gardens for the grand opening of the children's indoor garden. The garden was lovely with a childsized seashell-lined passageway and a childsized winding staircase. The children were intriqued by a fountain which was fed by bronze animal mouths from above. That fountain also spewed upward with small blurbs of water which little hands and teenaged-hands found fastinating in their attemt to catch. Occasionally, a child would lean out and look downward, getting gently splashed in the face.

The grand opening of this amazing addition to the world famous Longwood Gardens included a fun-filled schedule: juggler's performance, bubble show, dancing rainforest creatures (by Annie Hickman) and kitemaking. We had a great time! My girls say they liked the insects (rainforest creatures) best!

It is Majestic

My knitting buddies sure like the color of this yarn. Gina, remember when we looked at the ball band for this yarn and it had a name of #589? Your remark was something like "Oooh, aaah, that name does it justice, yes, # 589, drool." Whatever you said had me rolling on the floor with laughter. I've just learned now, that according to Rowan's site, this lovely color #589 does have a name - Majestic.

I finally knit a Moebius I like, color name - Majestic!

Pattern: Cat Bordhi, Simple Moebius from A First Treasury Of Magical Knitting

Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze, #589 Majestic, .75 skein

Needles: US 2, 26" circular

Start Date: 9/09/07

Finish Date: 10/24/07

Notes: MCO 360 sts, it is more narrow than I'd like; next time knit the whole skein.

It is the correct length for twisting and coming up over the ears - just as I intended!

I may add an edge to make it a bit wider.

Next time I'll knit, then purl so the scarf does not do the center switch from knit stitches to purl stitches. My knitting buddies think that may make the loose centerline less obvious.

Ta Da!

Finally, at the sewing machine, I made the mate to match the first. I'm happy with the result and what a sense of completion!

Morning Glories

For the past couple years, I've planted morning glories in the corner of the yard. This year the plant did particularly well; the opposite side of this fence looks just as lush. Against the fence hangs a rusty old bike frame that I pulled out of the creek (drainage ditch) that runs by our home. I'm an avid bicyclist in my past life and was intruiqued with the piece. My MIL and husband did not share my enthusiasm for the find and as a joke, nailed it prominently to the corner of the fence. "That looks great - perfect!", I said. Now the joke's on them. The bike frame has been hanging there ever since; you just can't see it this year due to the prolific morning glories.

See those ugly white lamp posts behind the beautiful morning glories in the photo to your right? You can't? Good! I hate those posts and I've hated them for the past four years. Thanks to another great idea from Marsha (Marsha has great ideas), this year I planted morning glories to hide the post. Why didn't I ever think of that? I thought to put morning glories in by the fence which now cover my beautiful bike frame.

The first time I planted them from 4" pots, I put them right into the ground at the base of the post. Little bunnies had a feast overnight, next morning, no plants! So, I bought new plants and put them in large pots thinking that maybe having the delicious plants up off the ground would deter the rabbits. I don't know if that's what did it or not. But, it worked.

Astrogeology

Today's commemorative link on Google's home page celebrates the 50th anniversary of Sputnik. It reminded me of my work as a cartographer for the USGS in Flagstaff, AZ from 1986- 1992. I worked in astrogeology mapping Mars using imagery from Viking missions. NASA's Viking Project found a place in history when it became the first U.S. mission to land a spacecraft safely on the surface of Mars and return images of the surface.


Our team was working on a control point atlas of Mars. I have no idea if that atlas has ever been published. Someday I should contact some of my colleagues there and find out the status of that project.

Checking out USGS's Flagstaff website allowed me to reminisce about the folks I used to work with there. Many of the people are still there. My closest friend at the USGS works with planetary nomenclature. She names new stuff being discovered out there: planets' moons, other small bodies orbitting the sun in our solar system (yep, small bodies is the technical term for stuff such as astroids and comets) and beyond (nebulea and stars) How cool is that?


I worked with an amazing group of people there including Carolyn and Gene Shoemaker - a very kind and lovely couple. Carolyn is the most successful "comet hunter" to date.

Holiday Knits

Here's progress so far on the Christmas stocking I'm knitting for my youngest daughter. There are about 120 charted rows and I've completed 20 rows. It makes the greatest snowman stocking. This post shows the same stocking I made for my older daughter. I want to incorporate some sort of change in the second stocking. I'm thinking a colorful stripe in the hat or a beaded snowflake added to hat brim.
I've got several gifts I'd like to finish in time for Christmas (in order of priority):
This Christmas stocking
Hat for my husband
Miniature stocking ornaments (3 of them!)

Celebrate Socktoberfest 2007

I found Socktoberfest 2007 and count me in. It sounds like fun, huh? Besides it is just the excuse I need to buy yet another skein of sock yarn. I visited BunkyBoBo's shop on Etsy. The seller is new to Etsy and I met her through blogging. She is a great correspondent, fellow knitter and now new found friend. Her handdyed yarns look luscious; I'm eyeing up Pumpkin Patch and Basilisk. For socktoberfest it has gotta be Pumpkin Patch. don't you think?