Ten on Tuesday, one day late

Carole had a great idea for Ten on Tuesday -- 10 dream vacations. I can't resist making a list of ideas:

1. Spain -- have wanted to go there for years. I took a couple of Spanish cooking classes. I love flamenco. Barcelona, Madrid, Santiago de Compostela.

2. Ireland -- Have been meaning to go back (was last there 20+ years ago) and bring my husband and family to see where my dad grew up and visit relatives.

3. Israel -- Have a friend in Tel Aviv who keeps saying come visit!

4. Alaska.

5. More of Canada -- I love Canada. I need to visit areas I haven't been to yet -- British Columbia, Manitoba, Alberta. Would love to see those polar bears in Churchill sometime.

6. St. Petersburg Russia -- I need to see the Neva River, the Winter Palace and those other amazing places from the days of Catherine the Great.

7. Yosemite National Park -- Haven't been there yet. So beautiful, must go.

8. Hawaii -- I didn't think I would put this down but it would be so nice to see some lush tropical place with great beaches.

9. Pacific Northwest -- Want to visit Seattle, Puget Sound, Oregon.

10. Brazil -- the music is great so there must be some fun things to do in Brazil!


There -- that's a good list. Jeez, I'd better get cracking on some of them. Time is passing.

Ten on Tuesday

10 Things to Bring on a Camping Trip:

1. Bug spray
2. Wine
3. Dustpan and brush for the inside of the tent
4. Kadima ball
5. Peanut butter, jelly and bread
6. Camp stove
7. Flashlights -- several!
8. Knitting
9. Beach chairs and swimsuits
10. Marshmallows

We haven't done tent camping in a couple of years but used to do it regularly. It's a ton of fun and the boys love it. It's the packing and setting up that is such a pain!

Ten on Tuesday

After not having blogged for over 6 months, I finally took Carole's bait and am adding my list of 10 Things I Like About Where I Live. So here we go:

1. I like living in the city and meeting people of all types of backgrounds.
2. I am a 10 minute ride from Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox!
3. I can walk to the center of my neighborhood to do errands and go to the library.
4. My sons know how to get along with diverse groups of kids.
5. I can walk my dog in the beautiful Arnold Arboretum!
6. Beaches and country are not far away.
7. So much music and culture in the city, and much of it is free!
8. There are a great variety of restaurants in the city.
9. Best coffee and ice cream so close by!
10. I don't have to travel big distances because things are very close together.

There ya go.

I'm Still Here and I Still Knit

Thanks to Claudia L-J, I'm updating the blog. I guess blogs have become so....yesterday. Everybody's tweeting, facebooking (myself included) and commenting on each other's Flickr photo sets. But no one sits down and actually writes a blog post anymore, except the diehards whom I faithfully read. I need to honor that. I would really miss it so much if any of them stopped blogging.



And knitting -- yes I still knit. This is a hat made for my large and handsome nephew who is at college in chilly Michigan. He said it came just in time for the cooler weather. It's raveled but is made out of some Noro Kureyon and some worsted from the now-defunct Marino Lookout Farm in Natick MA (it's a different farm now but they don't do yarn).



And this little baby sweater/hat number is something I actually finished at the end of the summer but got all bummed out because the red color bled into the green when I blocked it! Wah! So unfair! The sweater is called Watermelon (no surprise there) and I knitted it out of Brown Sheep Serendipity Tweed, which is lovely yarn. But not colorfast, as I discovered! After all that, I finally gifted it to its intended owner. The parents are thrilled and don't seem to care about the bleeding color but you know what it's like. As a knitter, you don't want these things to show and "ruin" your hard work!! The parents of the little baby are artists so they appreciate handmade things. That's so nice when it means a lot.

I'm knitting a red scarf of Elann Sierra Aran (80% wool, 20% alpaca)for the Red Scarf Project. It's just hard to resist. Students who are from the foster system trying to get through college?!? Like college years aren't hard enough and somehow, you have to go it on your own? You've got to admire that. So a little warm scarf around the neck might help a bit.

I'm not getting much knitting done for me or the family. But after the scarf, I'll do some more. I started a totally cute sweater for my younger son that I found in the Twist Collective online magazine. I'll post when I can find the name of it. It's a top down pullover in Lorna's Laces Worsted.

Been cooking a lot. I just made a Spanish tortilla for a party later on today and it's one of my better efforts. The eggs and potatoes stuck together into one well formed pie and I'm sure it'll taste good. But cooking those things is an oily mess -- I know of no quick or clean way to do it. I have oil on my and all over the kitchen. It smells good, though! Been baking lots of banana bread and soups (curried pumpkin soup).

Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving and I'll post again before 6 months have passed.

Badass lace knitter!

I am so proud of completing my first lace project -- the pattern is Tilting Ladders and I found it via Knitswreck's Ravelry page. It's from the Barbara Walker Treasury of knitting patterns. Details are on my ravelry page, but it's knit in Rowan Wool/Cotton on Size 7 needles. It took me a while to get the pattern working correctly (mistakes and ripping out) but once I did, I was cruising. This scarf will be used for a Silent Auction at my son's school and I hope someone takes a liking to it! Given my propensity for starting things and giving up when they get difficult, I am very pleased that I stuck with this. It's inspiring me to consider more lace knitting.

I haven't been posting much. My knitting output is not very high although I am always knitting (or buying yarn)! I just bought a kit to knit the Blooming Cotton Scarf in teal and am looking forward to that. I also plan to knit myself a good looking and good fitting cardigan that will flatter my figure. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

Some knitting and a new family member!

I found some Noro Silk Garden Chunky on closeout at Webs and decided to knit myself up one of those cool, colorful Noro striped scarves! While some of the colors in the two different colorways blend together in spots, I am still very fond of the outcome. Here's a closeup:



And, introducing our latest addition to the family, Mia.



Mia is a 14 week old lab/shepherd puppy. We got her from a rescue group in Massachusetts that "imports" stray dogs from down south. Mia is from Tennessee and I think she is in complete and total shock going to pee and poop outside in the ice and snow. Not only that, she has been through a lot of transport and unfamiliar places in the past week, so we are giving her time and space to get used to us. She is very sweet and loves to lick hands. We think once she feels more comfortable, she will want to play more. So, hi Mia and welcome to Massachusetts!

Holiday knitting

Here's a Fair Isle Christmas ornament I knitted for my brother and s-i-l, from Moth Heaven's pattern. I used worsted instead of DK weight yarn, so I got a ball that fit the width of the styrofoam ball you wrap it around, but there sure was some extra height at the top! I stuffed that with a plastic bag or two. It's a bit lumpy but attractive. I'd say that it's a success, only it should probably go on a big branch not a flimsy one!

Also made some more Calorimetry head wraps for various members of my family. They were a big hit. Some people like them for neckwarmers instead, which is fine with me. I'm still working on the the So-Called Scarf (the one that looks woven). I couldn't resist some Noro Silk Garden Chunky that was on sale at Webs to work up a quick scarf. The colors are luscious. As usual, my plans exceed my capacity to turn it out. I was telling DH that if Armageddon comes or some big storm, I'll have enough yarn to live out my life knitting. Of course, there may not be enough food or coffee or other essentials. But, damn it, I'll have yarn!

Vacation time = fun. Lots of food, wine, seeing friends. It's been so nice to slow down and not have to rush places. Of course, preparing for Christmas was exhausting, between the last minute shopping trips thanks to bad weather, the wrapping (got up at 5 AM on the 24th to start it) and the getting it all ready. It all turned out well and turned out to be fun, well worth it. And no whining about presents.



Happy 2009 to all!