It's Crunch Time

I leave for my Europe trip in a few days and I have barely started to pack. I have a laundry basket with items I took to California a couple of weeks ago, and have done most of my laundry, but I am so confused about what weather to pack for. Definitely a raincoat, but temps have been varying from the 40's to the high 70's. So I need to pack for all possibilities. The river cruise ship is casual as are the touring outings, but what the heck does "evening casual" mean???? That is what the literature says for dining aboard the cruise ship and I have no idea. On the other hand, I will probably be the youngest person aboard the ship (there are only 120 passengers possible) so how bad can I look with my wardrobe??? I am working tomorrow, but will pack furiously on Wednesday.

I still have not finished the shawl..........arggghhhhh. Instead of posting here, I should be knitting on it. I certainly will not have time to wet block it, so I think by Thursday morning (flight is at 2:05 pm) I should be able to steam press/block it into shape. Where ever I am on it by Wed night, I will add the six rows of garter stitch and call it done.

Tragedy has struck my nest outside the bedroom window. After several days of rain, the robin has abandoned the nest. The austrian pine must not have provided enough cover to keep it dry, and I am glad mother robin found that out before she laid her eggs! I had another bout with aviary nature today. I was outside and heard major squawking nearby. I looked up and saw a hawk in the cottonwood next to our driveway. She (or he) was working hard at breaking off a small branch of the tree, and once successful, she flew off across the street into another cottonwood at a neighbor's house to her nest there. I could not photograph it as it was too far for that, but I got an old pair of binoculars and watched for quite a while as it tended that nest.

Another tulip variety

Forget me nots

Snow on the Mountain

A few more flowers are blooming in my front garden. Some are bold and some are quite subtle. I will miss the burst of growth that will happen in the next few weeks, but here are a few more shots.

Tomorrow night, I will also start to sort through yarn to see what I want to take with me on the trip. The flight from Denver to Munich is about 10 hours, plus the wait time in the airport. I have my Ipod with a couple of books, lots of Podcasts, music and a real book. I should have plenty to keep me busy. I will definitely bring the booby socks, and maybe the ball of Noro Sock yarn for basic socks.

I need to run now and get another few rows in on my shawl.