Motherhood in the Making

The shawl is growing every day. I am working on it every minute I can, and it is now about 3/4 of the way there. The mistakes don't show and I am just keeping on keeping on.

My trip is one week away now and time is running short. We have all the travel documents, cashed in my mad money coin jug to a tune of $185!! I was shocked how much was stashed there. Maybe that means I can go yarn shopping if I find any shops. I called the credit card companys to let them know I would be overseas and not to shut me off. Did laundry and all that is left is to start the packing. Wooohooo........vacations get me charged up.

Outside my bedroom window I have a great view of motherhood in the making. How appropriate a few days before Mother's Day. In the pine tree, a robin has been building a nest about 6 feet from my window. Daily she has been adding fiber and wiggling around to smooth and round out the bottom. No eggs have been laid yet, but I am watching daily. Hope they are laid before I leave next week.

Today, some finches approached while the robin was away gathering and they began to steal some fiber from the nest. The robin came back and stood guard and then continued her shaping of the inside.

The photos a a little blurry because it is a gray day and I am photographing through a screen. More to come as nature takes it course outside my window.

Spring comes and goes and comes again!

This week we had 80 degrees and we had snow- again. I certainly hope it is for the last time because I have had enough. It seems that every time it is warm enough to put the top down on my little Miata, it snows the next day... ggggrrrrr. At least I fertilized the lawn just before the snow.

Anyway, my garden is springing to life. My bulbs this year are pretty scarce and I better plant some more this fall. Blooming this week was a single daffodil,

some tulips

and some grape hyacinths.

This week I finally plyed my first bit of hand spun. The photo on the left is single ply and my first efforts. On the right is two ply, still a bit thick and thin, but getting better. It was all I could do not to go find some more roving to keep going. I know I will be in big trouble financially when I go to the Estes Park Wool festival in June.

Have about 40 inches done on the shawl now and not quite sure how long it should be in the end. Any ideas?

A special day today as I took Mom out for a birthday lunch at Le Central. She turns 81 and looks great and feels great. We are both getting excited about our trip coming up in 10 more days. Unbelievable, the time is near!

And there was a little knitting too!

I just got back from California and a good time was had by all. This was the third reunion trip with friends from college. We met 40 years ago this fall at UCONN as freshmen: Candy and I were roomates and Donna and Cathy were friends in their dorm. We all pledged ADPi as freshmen and when we moved into the house the following year we were inseparable as a foursome. As things turn out, through the years we went our separate ways, but an internet search brought us all in contact again (actually, I had maintained a casual contact with all) and we decided to get together for a reunion in 2006 for the first time. Struggling to come up with dates is the only hard part. The rest has been pure fun. Donna is now in Santa Barbara, Cathy in the Napa Valley (St Helena), Candy is in Broomfield CO and I am in Centennial CO. One would think, with Candy and I in the same region, it would be easier to meet more regularly, but life seems to get in the way.

This year we went to Carmel California and stayed in a rustic cabin up a canyon about 11 miles south of the city of Carmel. I had been to California several times, but this is the first time I experienced the magnificence of Big Sur.

We drove quite a bit up and down Hwy 1 savoring each vista and view.

We saw the Monterey Aquarium and my favorite part was the Jellyfish exhibits.

We saw nature in the wild: sea otters and sealions and lizards.

The wildflowers were in bloom, especially the sedum, ice plants, and Calla Lilies.

And we had tons of fun, laughing, reminiscing, and drinking good wine. Cathy's husband is in the wine industry and can be counted on for supplying wonderful bottles of wine, far better than I can afford for everyday. It makes our gatherings pretty special!

On Sunday, the four of us walked about a mile to the start of the 10.6 walk of the Big Sur Marathon at the Rocky Point Restaurant. For a bunch of old broads, we are in good shape and each of us excercise regulary. Candy and Donna are really fit, I am ok, and Candy was my prime worry. She has had some problems with her feet and ankles and only felt like she could make it halfway. When she started aching, she stopped at one of the first aid stations and inquired about a lift to the finish line. After being told it may be a few hours, she said, "Hell, I can finish in a few hours by walking!" So we trudged on, slowly, but steady. Donna and Cathy were far ahead of us, but waited for us to catch up every mile or so. I stayed with Candy and it was exciting for the four of us to cross the finish line together. We didn't break any speed records, as our finish time was nearly 4 hours and 3 minutes with over a 22 minute per mile pace, but we all finished....even Candy. Of course, stupid me forgot the camera (I left it by our knitting and forgot to put it back into my fanny pack!) so I will add photos once I get some from Donna, whose camera came along for the walk.

We celebrated by going to the Monterey Plaza Hotel Spa to relax on the penthouse patio, eat lunch, sit in the hot tub and treat ourselves to spa benefits. I had the best massage ever! and was so relaxed, I felt like jelly when done.

And yes, there was some knitting too! I brought some needles and cotton yarn and cast on for a dish cloth. I managed to teach Candy and Donna and they humored me by learning! I believe that they will continue to complete this project and whether they pick it up again in the future is yet to be seen. Cathy wanted nothing to do with this activity at all so I made a cloth for her and forgot to photograph it before handing it over.

Making good progress on the shawl. Making mistakes still, but plodding along.

California, Here I come!

I have been so excited about my upcoming trip with Mom to Europe, that I haven't even mentioned my trip to Carmel/Monterey California. This is a reunion Girls trip with my friends from college. The 4 of us graduated from U-CONN in 1972 and this is our 3rd annual reunion. The internet is a wonderful thing for reuniting with old friends. A long weekend, actually, it will be 4 days of silliness and wine. Aging as we are, I am bringing knitting needles and Sugar and Cream cotton yarn to teach all how to knit. I figure if I cast on for each, teach garter stitch and monitor their progress, by the end we will each have a wash cloth! :-)

This is us in 2006 in Santa Barbara- our first reunion. L to R: Cathy, Me, Candy, Donna

In 2007, we gathered in Colorado, except for Cathy (in photo) who threw her back out a couple of weeks before. Photo taken after bike ride from Frisco to Breckenridge.

Working diligently on the shawl, but I seem to be doing as much unknitting as I am knitting, which is ridiculous for such a simple pattern. There are only 4 rows to the feather and fan pattern and only one with anything to count! I am ready to scream as I unknit 2 rows here and 3 rows there. It sure is putting a damper on my forward progress. I will have lots of airport and flight time tomorrow and hopefully, I can concentrate enough to get a lot done this weekend.

I am very excited that I have a partner-in-crime so to speak for the Estes Park Wool Festival on June 14. I have taken a few classes with Stacy and she has agreed to drive up with me. I am holding off on any purchases before then so I can spend freely. Some year I hope to go up for a few days and take some workshops. From the Ravelry boards, there may be opportunities to meet lots of new friends who will also be there.

Talk to you all when I return.

Almost Time to Get Excited

Next month my Mom and I are taking a break-the-bank trip to Europe. Mom is turning 81 on May 4 and since my husband doesn't like to travel and my Dad passed away last year, we thought a fun thing to do would be to take a major vacation together. We began planning this last August and decided on a Viking River Cruise/tour which starts in Prague- 2 nights, then a 7 night cruise though southern Germany from Nuremberg to Trier, then ending with 2 nights in Paris. It is now less than a month away and today we received our vouchers and a travel kit with luggage tags and lots of info.

Better get back to knitting my shawl which I want to take with me. I have about 10 inches knit and I think I will need 60" at least! Glad to report, it is looking beautiful as it develops some weight and the pattern is showing up some more.

I also strung beads on yarn for another Odessa hat, this time for Amanda's friend Mary. If I make a lot of progress on the scarf, I will begin this before I leave on my trip. Otherwise, it can wait since spring is certainly arriving in NYC and as the days warm up, there is less need for this hat. Again the yarn is Rowan Cashsoft DK, this time in a soft pretty shade of pale grey. The beads are a variegated bronze color and the effect together should be nice.