Tri Training, Knitting & One Less Car On The Road

In an effort to get in some triathlon training where ever I can, and to keep up with my goal of using my car less, I decided to ride my bike up to the Fiber Gallery after work to pick up my new sock book. I figured it'd be about 3 miles each way. Easy-peasy, right? Well, as you savvy Seattle knitters know, the Fiber Gallery is on Phinney Ridge. That's ridge as in big fat freakin' steep hill.

Not to be deterred, but rather challenged, I figured, why not. So I rode from my place up Fremont Ave to the zoo, then cut across to the main drag along Phinney Ridge. At about 39th and Fremont, I'm sucking wind big time. Muscles in my legs (and ass) were aching that I didn't know ever existed. So, having no shame what-so-ever, I got off and walked my bike up and even steeper part of the road. Now the thing about this road is, it's not as crazy steep as many hills in Seattle, it's a slight incline that just goes on and on (OK, maybe it's 2.1 miles, but it seemed like eternity.)

About halfway up the hill, I did get back on and power through. It was worth it. It was a beautiful afternoon and Jessica was working and greeted me with a smile. She didn't even mind that I was totally sweaty, panting, and slightly ditzy. I even couldn't remember if I needed a skein of Manos or Malibrego for a scarf I want to make.

Here's a view of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains! You don't always see that when you're whizzing by in a car!

Christmas in July

This is the year that I actually start my Christmas gifts early! And I even whittled down the list of who gets knitted gifts. This year's first project goes to my dad. He's getting knitted socks. I'm very excited about this project because I'm learning how to do socks on two circular needles and I have to say, I'm totally loving this and wondering why the heck it took me so long to get here? It's a pretty simple sock pattern (more on that when I actually buy the book - look for post to come later this week.)

But here's the reason for the socks for dad (aside from the fact that he's the best dad and deserves handknit socks from his kid). My sister and I have a running joke about who's the favorite daughter. It can be for either parent. At any time and for any reason. For example, I was talking to my dad the other day when he got a call on the other line. He went to answer it, came back and said it was Lindsay (the sister). I said, "Did you tell her you'd call her back later because you were talking to your favorite daughter on the other line?" That type of stuff.

When I was visiting the family over the Fourth of July at our place in Cascade, my dad proudly displayed his new favorite toy. It was a gift from Lindsay for Fathers Day. And I can honestly say, I've been dethroned as favorite kid. This gift freakin' blew everything out of the water. No comparison.

My dad now owns a bright orange Boise State University beer bottle opener that plays the Paul J. Schnider final call of the famed Fiesta Bowl game where the BSU Broncos came from behind in the final seconds to win the game. (I hate to do this, but to get an idea of how great this play was - in the minds of Broncos - here's a link to a crappy YouTube clip where the BSU fan actually spelled Boise wrong in the title. It's just classic.)

And the best part, she found it for 99 cents. (Editor's note: personally, I believe that's because no one would want that reminder of a game, but whatever.) So needless to say, he went around all weekend offering to open all of our beer bottles. The rest of the guests were all Idaho Vandals (for those readers not from Idaho, this is the big, massive football rival. It's messy. It's personal. It ain't pretty.) But it made my dad happy. Especially as we all squirmed when the damn thing would go off.

Now, to give my non-Idaho readers another perspective of how beloved this damn game is, it was played about two years ago and if you go into any big store that sells T.V.'s in Boise, they still replay that game on all of their T.V.'s and people still stop and watch it. Plu-eezeee, get over it for crying out loud. Move on. That's what I'm hoping these socks will do for my dad, help him move on past that damn game. And put me back in the favorite daughter throne that I so rightfully deserve.

(Pictures of these fabulous-favorite-daughter-winning socks to come later, my camera battery is recharging.)

Mystery Project Revealed

(Editor's note: This photo was totally stolen from Pike Schemes. Photo credit: Shawn)

It has finally arrived at Sara's place in D.C. A very late graduation present for finishing her masters! It's the Easy Lace Scarf pattern made from Tess' Designer Yarns Cascade Silk Worsted in blue. I know it's not scarf wearing season just yet, but I think it looks great on her! Congrats Sara!

Vacation Pics!

The view from our deck across from hole 1 of the golf course and Lake Cascade.

It was a fabulous fun time in Cascade, Idaho! It felt like I had never left. One of the many things I love about Cascade is how relaxing it can be. I did a lot of reading, hanging out with friends and family, and oh, out fishing my dad! Not to brag, but within 10 minutes of throwing the first cast I had landed two Rainbow Trout. Then it did get a little slow, then Matt caught a fish, then we headed in. Our second day out on the water, I once again, out fished dad. What can I say, I learned from the best!

Here are my two favorite fisherman....too bad I caught all the fish!
I love a good small town parade and their floats! But the crowd had gotten much larger over the years. I don't remember that many people along the street when I was a kid.


And another treat for my trip, was visits with friends who were in the area to celebrate the 4th! Like cute little Kellan, who makes a silly face on command for pics!

Summer Vacation

We're hitting the open road to take in some fresh mountain air for the 4th of July! We're heading to Cascade, Idaho to spend a long weekend with family and friends. We're going to be staying at my family's place, and while, it's not fancy by any stretch of the imagination, it's perfect to me. I have lots of happy memories of us staying there as kids, riding our bikes into town to buy ice cream, climbing on the rocks along the lake (which in hindsight may not have been the safest activity, but hey, we were young), and family visits. Then as I got older, more great memories of fun girls weekend get-a-ways with margaritas, gin and tonics, and relaxing. And in one case, a very fun game of mini golf in the front yard while we were all still in our p.j.'s. You had to be there.

I don't have a picture of our place along the lake, I'll have many to share when I get back. But for now, as we in Seattle deal with a lot of heat right now, I'll leave you with shot my dad sent this past winter. They had record snow in the area and he had to park on the street and snow shoe into our place to shovel all of the snow off of the deck and roof. He did that a couple of times.

(Yes, that is snow up to the roof in some places!)

First Crop

It seems the only ones enjoying the heat at our house is the tomatoes. I've discovered my first little ones of the season and I have to admit, I'm pretty excited to see them! Hopefully, by they time we get back from our vacation, they'll be ready to eat, along with our second round of lettuce! I do love a good container garden!

Mystery Project: an FO

The Mystery Project is finally finished! It's wrapped and ready to be given to the person it was meant for! Once it's been opened, I'll post pictures of the mystery project for all to see! I have to admit, it turned out pretty darn good!

My first local side dish

I've been inspired by Heather (and Jen's yummy dishes too!) to try her get local challenge. But I'll confess, I don't think I'm really good at eating local all the time. I try to be, but sometimes, life just doesn't lend to eating local (i.e. running late for work, grab a Lean Cuisine and a Diet Coke - although I'm secretly hoping there's a Coke factory around Seattle somewhere so that would, technically make it local. I think.) But I digress. Tonight, I was able to pull something together. While BBQing our dinner (that was somewhat local), the hubby said:

"So, do we have a salad with dinner?"

I said, "No, we're out of spinach."

He said, "Well, whats that?"

That was my lettuce in the container garden. I guess I was waiting for it to get a little bigger. I guess he was really hungry. Without any veggies to add to the salad (tomorrow is my weekly trip to the Farmers Market), I tossed in dried cranberries and feta and he scarfed it down.

It's been a year...

Since the hubby and I tied the knot! We celebrated with a fabulous dinner at Canlis. I wanted to bring the camera, but the hubby protested, so I figured, I wouldn't be that person taking pictures of her food this one time. But the food was fabulous! And the wine - fabulous! And the uber chocolaty dessert - fabulous! And for the "paper anniversary," the hubby got me a pretty leather bound journal! I love it!

Now, for those of you, ehem, Cousin Mike, who keep telling us to check the mail, this is for you.

Just like Popeye

I am officially a sailor man. I finished my SailNOW! course at the Center for Wooden Boats today under a slightly sunny Seattle sky. The winds were calm, but we did find some good patches of strong wind to set our sails! Now I can check out boats from the Center and take them around Lake Union for a spin.

But unlike Popeye, I like my spinach fresh. Not that canned crap.

Another Guardian Angel

Today Jen M. was laid to rest. She lost her very long and courageous battle with cancer last Thursday. We were friends at the University of Idaho. She was roommates with Sara and April and I was lucky enough to become her friend through them. We had many good times together. She was a beautiful and kind person. We were all very lucky to have someone like her come into our lives. She will be missed.

Family Visit + New York Heat Wave

I don't think I've ever been so happy to pull out my fleece in June as I was when I returned from NYC today! The hubby and I spent the past few days visiting family in NYC! It was quite the fun trip, however, weatherchannel.com failed to mention the HEAT WAVE that hit while we were there! I've never been so hot and miserable in my life! I truly do appreciate how wonderful/beautiful the weather is here in the West!

We got to see and do lots of fun things, but the thing I loved most about this trip was that it turns out one of my dearest friends Sara was in town at the same time! We hooked up and spent Saturday walking around Soho, the Village and Times Square! Despite the heat, we had a fabulous day! She went with me to Purl and Purl Patchwork! Here are some pics of the trip!

Outside of Purl

Me with my new yarn two skeins of Organik in Coral Reef. It's so soft and pretty.

Hmm...is Sara thinking of coming over to the way of the wool?A wall decoration at Purl Patchwork - a very cute fabric shop!

View from a hiking trail in the Hudson Valley...can't remember where, but it was really hot that day!We were able to take in a Yankees game in Yankee Stadium. This is the last year for this stadium so it was fun to catch the game. However, this was on Monday, one of the most miserable days of the heat wave! I can't even begin to describe the agony that was the heat and humidity....and really, I'm trying to block that portion of the trip out of my head!

BAT/KAT project & NYC trip

I saw this on Rebecca's blog* and it is so funny because we just decided to start doing something like this. Claudia is starting the BAT/KAT project: "Bicycling as Transportation/Knitters Alternatively Transporting Project. The goal of which is to substitute at least one bicycling/walking/alternatively transporting trip for one car trip every week."



Just on Saturday, Rebecca and I rode to University Village to run some errands. We figured it took about the same amount of time to ride there as it does to drive and deal with all the traffic. It was a fabulous ride, we did our shopping, loaded our goodies in our backpacks and headed home. The funny thing was, as we were walking around, and it was obvious we had biked to the stores, sales people kept commenting about how great it was that we rode our bikes here. It was funny. It was the best sales service I've had there in a long time!


*She has some semi-cute biking pics of us on her blog if you need a little laugh. We had a little fun at the bike shop while they installed my new bike seat.

In other news, two knitting projects are packed and ready for tomorrow's trip to NYC! It'll be a fun quick visit with the hubby's family! I've already downloaded the map to get to Purl in SOHO and Purl Patchwork! Pics and adventure stories in a few days! I'm also hoping the mold will magically clear up while I'm gone.

WTF??!!!!

We have mold. Black Mold. A lot of it. It was discovered when the dishwasher guy was pulling out the old one to install our new one. It's not only behind where the dishwasher goes, but it's also under the sink, only someone, at one time, painted over it. Yes, you read that right. Someone painted over the black mold. Again, I say WTF???!!!! I can't wait to see how the powers that be will fix this one. Until then, I have no dishwasher and a really ugly hole in my kitchen that makes me queasy just to look at it.

Cute Baby Quilt Causes Guilt

I haven't worked on my friends baby quilt in a really long, long time. I used to think it was adorable and it made me happy to look at it. Now, it makes me feel guilty. Really, really guilty. The kid is going to be heading off to junior high before I get him his quilt at the rate I'm going. So this weekend, I took matters into my own hands. I set up my sewing machine (again) and got to work. Some serious headway was made and it's looking pretty cute once again if I do say so!

Bad Knittng vs. No Knitting

Every night this week I was really proud of myself because no matter how tired I was, I still managed to get some knitting done. Just a few rows here and a few rows there. I had been so tired that no knitting was getting done at all for a while. The other night, I thought, this row looks a little off, but I was too tired to figure it out so I put it away and quickly fell into a TV coma. Then this afternoon, while waiting for a rainstorm to pass before a bike ride, I pulled out my knitting to get a few rows done. However I quickly realized that something was amiss. Instead of the 22 stitches that should have been on the needles, there were 46! Yes, more than double the amount for the pattern. How that happened is beyond me. Obviously, my few tired nights of a few rows there and few row here took a turn for the horribly worse. So I ripped back several, several rows and am now knitting with some nicely caffeinated Diet Coke.

Mystery Project....

I've started working on a new project. It's fun, it's pretty and it's a surprise for someone dear! That's all I'm saying now....

How does your garden grow?

Hopefully pretty damn well! I finally got around to planting my container garden this weekend. I have to say, I'm pretty excited for this years crop! We'll have lettuce, cherry tomatoes, rosemary, oregano, basil, parsley and zucchini. Oh, and I planted lavender because I just love it!

Hopefully Mother Nature will give me a little help with this! I'll keep you updated throughout the growing season...

A great combo!

I came across this - OK, I get a newsletter from the Jane Austen Centre in Bath and this was in it - but it's worth sharing. As a fan of the band Keane and Jane Austen movies, it's just brilliant! Enjoy!

Ahoy Matey!

We had our first sailing lesson this weekend! It's something we've talked about doing since we moved to Seattle, so for a first year anniversary gift to ourselves, we said why not! We are taking the lessons at the Center for Wooden Boats in South Lake Union. If you've never been there, I highly suggest checking it out! It's a pretty interesting place to visit and there is always someone there working on a boat or two. Like knitters, when asked about their project, they are always glad to chat about their obsession - I mean hobby.

Our first class was "shore school." Just stayed on dry land and learned a few sailing terms like keel, line, boom. Next week, we head out onto Lake Union for our first of seven hands on sailing lessons! I'll keep you updated.

The spring crud

It's going around and I'm the latest victim. Actually I've been sick for several days now. And I'm sick of being sick. Luckily I've had my clapotis to keep me company. I'm almost finished with the first skein and ready to move onto the second one - so exciting!

I also realized it's been nearly three months since I've bought yarn. I think I deserve a little treat this weekend. I'm sure the doctor would agree.

Ah....public transportation

On a recent sunny and beautiful afternoon, I was waiting at my bus stop for my ride home. I wasn't on the phone, Ipod or reading my book. I was just simply soaking up the sun, waiting for my bus. So when it came, I hopped on at the back door (it was one of those long articulated buses) and found a seat. I pulled out the Ipod and book and quickly became engrossed in finishing my book. Soon I realized that the bus was going pretty fast for a neighborhood street. I looked up to figure out when my stop was coming along only too see a building address with "Aurora" in the name. Then, we were crossing the Aurora bridge. I was on the wrong damn bus. I had gotten on the express instead of the local. I could have sworn there wasn't an express sign, but apparently the sunlight was rather distracting.

So I calmly put away my Ipod and book, got my bus pass and decided to act cool. I hoped off at the first possible stop, trying to figure out just where the hell I was and how I was going to get home. But as I was trying to figure out my own situation, as couple came up to me who also got off the bus. The woman had a map and a very thick accent. They were foreign tourists who had made the same mistake I had. She was pointing to her map and to the roads. I basically told them to get back on another bus and head downtown and start over. Then I called Rebecca. She - luckily had taken the day off because she had just ran the Vancouver Half - she answered and I said:

Me: "You can totally make fun of me, but I need your help."
Her: "Ah.......yes?"
Me: "I got on the wrong bus and I need you to pick me."
Her: Hysterical laughter.

So once we figured out where I was (turned out, not that too far away from her place), she came and picked me up- still laughing. But then she confessed that she's done this too. I guess I am now a true bus commuter.

Catching my breath

For some reason, it's been another couple of busy weeks around here. Too much working, not enough working out, and even sadder, very little knitting. In fact, the hubby even noticed my lack of knitting the other night and wondered if everything was alright. That's not good. The most action my knitting has seen in recent weeks is this: I pull it out and put it on the coffee table next to the recliner. Then I get all comfy, and realize, I'm really freakin' tired. So I veg out in front of the TV. The next night, I move the knitting bag from the table next to the recliner on to the couch, where I proceed to get all comfy, and realize, I'm really freakin' tired. You get the picture right. In fact, the quickest I've moved all week (because the workouts haven't been happening either) is when I came in to the t.v. room and found the hubby laying on the couch, on top of my knitting bag! I grabbed it while yelling "My knitting!" Luckily, it was just the clapotis and not the socks with the small, sharp pointy needles, although, that would have taught him a good lesson!

So this weekend is all about catching up on life, knitting and me. I did get some knitting done on both the sock and the clapotis. In fact, I'm at the first point to drop the stitches! It's very exciting and scary as dropping stitches is always something I've tried not to do. So far, so good.

Oh, and I snapped this pretty picture the other day. I though you all might like it. It truly represents springtime here in Seattle: raining on one street, sunny on the next.

Interweave Knits Preview

It's out. And there are several fabulous projects, but so far, I'm so loving this. And I want to make it. Now. Said the knitter who's already up to her elbows in knitting the clapotis.

Sock Knitting with the Yarn Harlot

The Yarn Harlot came to town again with more funny knitting stories and adventures to share with us! A group of Purly Girls met up there for a little knitting and laughing. Since the Yarn Harlot does love her sock knitting, I thought it would be the ideal time to start my second sock.

Mara was able to join us. She brought her sock knitting too and she finished it. And yes, that is all the yarn she had left when she finished. Nice knitting.

Happy Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day. A day we stop and take stock at how we've managed to pillage, plow and pollute a good chunk or our air, water and land. But now, we realize the damage we've done and hopefully (for some of us) realize there are small steps we can take to start fixing the damage we've done.
Whether it's recycling, busing, composting or what, every little bit helps. I enjoy living in a city that is very eco-friendly and offers lots of tips and resources to help folks be a little kinder to this little ol' world we live in.

Tip-Toe-Through-The-Tulips!

My folks came to town this weekend and we headed north to the Tulip Festival. Thanks to our really cold and wet winter not all of the tulips were in bloom, but most of them were beginning to pop out. We were treated not only to the tulips, but to this freakishly warm and sunny day for springtime in Seattle! It was a perfect weekend!

Time for a knitalong!

Tonight I decided to join Supergirl and head over to the book reading/sign for Larissa Brown's book knitalong: Celebration the Tradition of Knitting Together. It was really interesting to hear why she and her husband decided to write a knitting book together. (Her hubby Martin is a writer and said he'd learn to knit during this process. He knit a bookmark and called it good.) They chronicled the history of why people knit together. It used to be out of necessity at times of war, but now it's more of a social gathering or for charity. I know what she's talking about. When I first was knitting, I knit with my friend Shannon. We were the only ones knitting in public. Every single time. But then I moved to Seattle, and discovered Shannon and I weren't such oddities the folks of Boise made us feel like as we knitted in public. It's true what Larissa said about being around other knitters: they make you want to challenge yourself and try something new. That has been my experience with the Purly Girls as I always feel so inspired by all their talent and creativity!

To the jackass who did this:

I'd just like to say we've got you on video tape. Yes sir, that's right, you. The one who smashed about 8-10 car windows in our parking lot Monday morning, and stole a bunch of stuff, your mug is on our video tape surveillance for the condos. And we're pissed. Pissed because, sadly, you're not the first jackass to do this to us. But now that this has happened again, we're all ready to use our new fancy-schmancy video stuff to track your lazy-law-breaking-stupid-ass down and haul you to jail. Where I have no doubt your new "roommie" will find your scrawny ass sexy and make you his new bitch. It's called karma. And you have official screwed yours over.

*I would have had a better car break in picture but our maintenance man clean up all the glass.

Ready to quilt

After making some readjustments to the quilt top (couldn't make the triangles and diamonds meet up) I've got the top pieced together. Now I'm ready to start machine quilting! We'll see how this new crafting adventure works!

*Several people wanted to know about the cute flannel fabric I got for the backing. It's by Michael Miller Fabrics LLC. called the Retro Rocket Rascals. I got it at Nancy's Sew Basket in Queen Anne. However, I bought the last of it! Sorry about that....

Project Update

The ribbed side

I've got one sock finished. So far I haven't had the time or brain power to cast on for the second one.

The cabled side

But as long as I've matching toe nail polish, I think I'll be set!

The Clapotis is also growing. I'm almost finished with the increases, then I knit a little more, then comes the decreases and dropping! Everyone says that's the fun part so I'm ready to be at the fun part!