Eye Candy Friday

Fall foliage at Jockey Hollow, Morristown, New Jersey

Yes, I'm a bad, bad blogger. But I'm looking to fix that. More posts to come...

By the way--as of October 26th I'm no longer unemployed... :-)

Eye Candy Friday -- Snow in April?

E.T.A. OK, I must admit that I thought today was Friday. I guess the layoff this has affected my sense of time. So go ahead and tease me. Time for me to get a new schedule--and stick to it!

You know, though, this "snow in April" thing is good for a WTF Wednesday...

Driving along Route 344, through Bash Bish Falls State Park.
Snow. At 1,600 feet (yikes!).

On my way to meet JessaLu for dinner... :-)

It's not the SS Minnow, and this ain't no 3-hour tour

Oh, this is soooo not the Minnow...

I'm on the road with Jim, playing the bus tour version of Julie, you cruise director, for our annual 12-day, 8-state (10 + Washington DC if you count the ones we only drive through) Elderhostel program, Tracing the Routes of the American Revolution, and I'm assisting him with the tour. Jim does the lecturing, and I keep track of the meal orders, confirm site guide info, call ahead to hotels with anticipated arrival times, etc. You know--just your average vacation.

We're about at the half-way point of the tour and I would have blogged soon, but unfortunately my efforts to have coverage for my projects in the office while I'm out have not worked out as well as I had hoped, and I've been spending a significant portion of my days trying to prevent disaster coordinate things in the office--that is, when I'm not performing my guide duties on this trip.

Let's just say it has not been much of a vacation for me.

Anyway, it's the weekend now, so I can show you some highlights of our trip.

Our group visiting Lexington Green, MA

On our first day in Boston I dressed in period attire along with Jim. (He dresses in period attire for the first 5 days of the trip.) This turned me into a tourist picture magnet. I'm sorry I didn't ask the Italian girls that accosted let me to take their picture, but I did get these tourists to let me pose with them.

Our group took a cruise on Lake Champlain Tuesday morning. Always a treat.


We also visited Fort Ticonderoga. On our way back to the Brandon Inn we drove through Middlebury, Vermont and right past here.


Yeah, that's the reflection of our bus in the window there. I was sad...

Oh--I neglected to mention that out of the 16 participants on this trip we've got four or five knitters. And they spotted this shop without me even telling them that we were going to pass it. I'll tell ya--we fiber people have some kind of woolly radar in us.

Next we visited the Hubbardton Battlefield, Saratoga Battlefield, overnighted in Albany, and stopped at West Point for a guided tour.

Jim's sock listening to tour guide

I really wanted to ask one of the cadets to pose with a sock, but I didn't want to get anyone in trouble. However, Jim spotted these willing cadets in the visitor's center.

What a guy, that Jim is!


And that bring us to the midway point in the trip--Philadelphia. More on that in my next post...

Ten on Tuesday -- Favorite Vacation Moments

Even though I'm always traveling around the northeast, I really can't say that I vacation much, so I'm not so sure I can come up with 10 vacation moments. But I guess you can turn any time away from home into a vacation, however short it may be. So, in no particular order, here goes...

1. My first (and so far only) trip to Disney World with Jim (2002). It was for a conference that my company was sending me too, and they offered reduced hotel rates for additional night, so he came along. I absolutely loved the Electical Water Pageant on the lake behind the Contemporary Resort. I was running around squealing like a little girl. (Jim was very amused with me.) I also had a blast--and one of the best frozen margarita's ever--in Epcot.
2. Seeing Don Henley in concert at SPAC with Punkin, then leaving work early so that we could drive down to Giant Stadium the next day to see Bruce Springsteen, then driving back up to Saratoga that same night (1985).
3. Watching the Palace Illumination (not the fireworks filled Grand Illumination) at Colonial Williamsburg, with the Williamsburg Fifes and Drums marching up and down the green (Christmas vacation at Colonial Williamsburg, 2000).
4. Hanging out with my high school friends who drove up to Saratoga to visit me. We had a little party on the screened in porch of the trailer I rented on Saratoga Lake (early 80's). Another night we went to Mangino's for dinner. Punkin forgot to take her fork off her salad plate before our waiter cleared it. She didn't realize that her fork was missing when her entree arrived. When she finally did realize it was missing, our waiter disappeared--for a long time. When he finally reaappeared and asked how our meals were, she told him "I wouldn't know. I don't have a fork." Thus began the story of the legendary "Saratoga Fork Quota." (You know, they only have so many forks for the whole town...)
5. Deciding to fly down to Miami--having never been there before and not having a hotel reservation--all by myself on the spur of the moment just so that I could see turf racing at Hialeah (winter 1982).
6. A weekend trip to a bed and breakfast in Kennebunkport with Jim. We had Dinner at an amazing restaurant near the inn. I had the most wonderful salad with pecans and a Gorgonzola vinaigrette dressing that was to die for! (2002)
7. Watching meteor showers at reenactment events held at Hogback Mountain (1995-1997).
8. Seeing Niagara Falls for the first time--illuminated, on a crisp cold winter night, without tons of tourists around (1988).
9. Taking the cable ferry across Lake Champlain (every year).
10. Every time I go up to the Hubbardton Battlefield and look out over the mountains.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles... Part Deux

Greetings From 34,000 Feet!


I'm on my way to Chicago and best I can figure we're somewhere over Ohio or Indiana. I do know that we're starting our descent (my ears are starting to pop) and we're 45 minutes from our scheduled arrival at Midway. I'll be spending 2 days out here--a bunch of meetings tomorrow, finishing up Friday morning. Then it looks like I'll have some time in the afternoon before my evening flight back.


Guess what I'm going to do with my free time...

A Stash Enhancement eXpedition to Nana's Knitting Shop in Oak Lawn! AND it's only 5 miles due south of Midway! Just 5 freakin' miles! How come I never knew this? Beats me. But I do know there's some Smooshy in my future.

Oh well, the captain just put the seat belt sign on and announced our descent into Chicago. Better go finish another row...
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Eye Candy Friday -- Rainbow Edition

Interesting drive up to Vermont yesterday afternoon.
Sunny, cloudy, spritzy--sometimes all at the same time!

Along the I-95 in Connecticut the skys were like this...

But then as I headed up I-91, I saw this double rainbow!

I know it's hard to see, but look dead center under the clouds

Then as I was driving near Easthampton, Massachusetts, I saw this!

Breathtaking!!!

I'm a geek because...

...I brought--and used--my GPS on the train. But you know what really makes me a geek? Monitoring the following stats while on the train:

Overall avg. speed: 61.5
Moving avg. speed: 64.7
Maximum speed: 110 (holy crap!)
Total time: 2 hrs 6 mins.
Moving time: 2 hrs
Stopped time: 6 mins. 30 secs.

Also, I didn't spend a lot of time checking the elevation because most of the trip was right along the water's edge, but it was generally under 50 feet.

Is that geeky enough for you?

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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Riding on the Hudson Line

Warning: this is picture heavy...

This is the third weekend in a row I've been travelling (after my classes, of course). This weekend's journey has taken me on an overnight trip to the exotic land of Albany, New York. (Yes, I'm such a globetrotter, ain't I?) We're having a unit meeting tomorrow morning at the arsenal. Instead of driving, I opted for taking Amtrak.

Unfortunately, it was a bit overcast, so I lost light earlier than I would have liked, but there was still some wonderful riverfront scenery to be shot.

The George Washington Bridge...

...up close.

West Point Military Academy

Pretty sky when the sun tries to peek out.

Bannerman's Castle (A castle in the Hudson River. Who knew?)

Yes, I brought my GPS (and the suction cup window thingy for it) with me. I'm such a geek!

But even the sock enjoyed knowing exactly where it was...

Fortunately, this breathtaking sunset came out of that drab overcast sky.

I hope the sky was beautiful wherever you were today!

Another new toy

The GPS is here! The GPS is here!

As Punkin might say, the game show doesn't end around here. Yesterday my newest toy--a Garmin Nuvi 200--arrived on my doorstep. Now, I've always had a great sense of direction, something that I inherited from my father, and I've always thought that GPS systems were similar to spell check programs--both cause people to check their brains at the door before using. And besides, they were sooooooo expensive. Just learn to read a freakin' map, why don't ya!

However, I've gotten to see these puppies in action on the Elderhostel bus trips. They're kinda neat. AND when used as a tool to supplement navigation, they're very helpful. (Please note I said tool, not brain replacement.)

So, when I saw Wal-Mart's website offering a basic unit for $168, I thought about how useful it could be in my travels through New England. Especially when I take those detours off the interstate in search of gas or a retail outlet. Or yarn store. (There are still a few of them between here and Vermont that I haven't stopped at yet.) And I thought, what the hell! Let's go for it!

So last night I put her through her paces. Entered a few destinations to see how she'd tell me to get there. Some of the routes were dead on, others a little off, but all in all very accurate. And this morning I let her take me to the train station. I made a few turns to force her to recalcluate. She rose to the occasion like a true navigator.

Just for fun, I took her on the train with me this morning. Plugged in my office's address just to see what she'd do. She's had to recalculate her ass off, but she did it!

She even accepted the fact that we were "driving" on the train tracks!

I'm looking forward to taking her on the open road. It will be fun. And Jim no longer has to play navigator when we go on trips. He can sleep instead. ;-)

So, I have to give her a name. What do you think? Purl, maybe? After all, she will help me to find more yarn shops. (Another fiber fetish enabler in my life...)

Just plain crazy

A quickie post here...

If you happen to be Malden, Massachusetts tomorrow morning, I'll be there marching in their annual Thanksgiving parade as part of the Living History Association's Time Line contingent. I'll be the frozen civil war babe in the red cape. (Tomorrow's high down there is supposed to be 35 degrees. We're marching at 10 am.)

I am so glad that my Forester has heated seats. I'll need it to thaw out my butt when we're done.

Am I crazy or what???

Chicagoland yarn crawl... circa 2006

This time last year I had a business trip to Chicago for an all-day meeting on a Monday. Since it was so conveniently scheduled next to a weekend, I decided to combine it with an all-weekend yarn crawl. But the schedule changed and I wound up staying out there so that I could be told about the restructuring. I never did post about the yarn crawl.

So here we are, a year later. The yarn crawl post has been sitting around in draft form for a year. It's time to share, so here goes Part 1 of my yarn crawl....

My goal--visit three, maybe four yarn shops west of Midway on my way to the hotel, and try to only buy yarn that I can't easily get back east. (I should say that the office is in the northern 'burbs, not the Chicago proper.) I plotted everything out with Mapquest, printed out all my directions, and after picking up my rental car and a PotBelly Sandwich (mmmmmm...), proceeded to my first stop...

Chix With Stix in Forest Park.

Sorry, but that's the only picture I took of the shop. (I got camera shy once I stepped inside, being a new blogger at the time.) Very nice shop, well organized, carrying all the basics plus a really nice selection of Malabrigo. (There was lots of Malabrigo in Chicagoland. You guys are sooooo lucky!) I stuck to my purchase plan and picked up this:

Three balls of Karabella Aurora 8 that were marked down, and a skein of hand dyed sock yarn from The Knitting Nimrod in these gorgeous spring colors.

I had no idea who the Knitting Nimrod was, so I did a little internet research that night. Turns out the woman had recently passed away about six months before that and that she had a yarn shop in Belleville, Ontario. So sad. I'll have to knit something special with this yarn.

My next stop was Knitche in Downers Grove. It was good size shop with a coffee bar, a separate area for classes (cool!) and a nice selection of yarns, but there was nothing that I couldn't find anywhere else. I didn't take any pictures there either, but if you look here you can see the shop for yourself.

My third and final stop for the day was Fringe in Aurora. Wow! What a shop! They arrange their yarns by color, not weight. A total feast for the eyes!

Again, tons of Malabrigo (I'm so jealous of you guys!), but I didn't buy any of it. Instead, I agonized over what I would buy. I wound up focusing on these skeins of Fleece Artist sock yarn...

...but eventually got my focus back and decided that I could probably find these in New York, so ultimately these weren't part of the stash enhancement plan. But this did...

A gorgeous subtle plummy-burgundy subtle solid dyed exclusively for Fringe. But I have to ask--was this the predecessor to Dream In Color???

Next time... a pilgrimage to Marengo!

Hello...

My name is Edith Ann...

Me in a giant rocking chair outside the Brandon Inn.

One of the participants our the Elderhostel program sent me this picture. It was taken after we arrived in Brandon--while we were waiting to see where we (the guides) would be sleeping. (You see, the inn was full of Elderhostelers from two programs, so they had to make other arrangements for the guides and bus drivers.) Ultimately Jim and I stayed at a small bed and breakfast a few doors down, but for a while there I thought we'd be sleeping in the park!

Saturday sky

...and autumn colors...

I'm baaaaack

Of course, I didn't return directly to New York from the final hotel. It was more like Baltimore to New York by way of... Boston!

I'm home now. Have been for a little over a week. Started classes last Sunday, and I've been plodding through my reading assignments for my Litigation class. (Not light stuff!) Managed to stop at knit night for a bit Thursday night and then Saturday afternoon (to use my coupon), but that's about it. It's been all about work and school. No knitting, no blogging, not even reading blogs. Certainly no Rhinebeck this weekend. Once I get a better handle on the class workload, I'll be able to get back to a little knitting and blogging.

This coming week is going to be really hectic. We've got a meeting in Deerfield, Mass. On Saturday, which just so happens to be around the corner from the marketplace for the Franklin County Fiber Twist! And--even better--our meeting will be over by 2pm, so I can go play!!! Unfortunately I have to head back to L.I. right after that because I've got class the next morning, but still--I get to go to my first fiber festival!

Time for me to make nappys, so I'll leave you with some random photos from the tail end of my 12-day Elderhostel trip.

Here's Jim in front of my favorite ice cream shop in North America!

They even have penguins!

And finally, here's proof of my vacation knitting--a whole ball of Valley Yarns Northampton knitted up!

I really do love this yarn. A worthy substitute for Cascade 220 in any project!

I finished up the last few stitches as we arrived back at the original hotel. How's that for timing?

This is a vacation?

I'm trying not to ask myself that question because this trip has been tiring--for both of us. Jim has been falling asleep pretty much the minute he lays down at night. I've been up until around midnight getting paperwork organized, downloading pictures off the camera, checking my work e-mail, etc. Not so much the elements of a vacation, eh?

Regardless, I'm going to try and focus on the fun aspects of this time off. After all, I am out of the office and nobody's called me with any emergencies (yet)!

This morning we left Philly and are now heading down to Mount Vernon. We had two good days in Philly, although the weather was more like July than October. On our free afternoon we went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

We just had to do the obligatory Rocky picture.

Didn't see the Renoir exhibit, but instead concentrated on early American art. (This is a Revolutionary War tour, after all.) Look at these sculptures of a spinner and knitter!

And speaking of knitting, I'm making progress on the Wallaby. Bus time allows for good chunks of knitting time.

Geez, from that look on his face you'd think it had cooties!

Bottom ribbing is almost done. Yesterday I was wondering around the Brandywine Battlefield visitor's center with the ball of yarn in my bag while knitting. It really feels good to do some mindless knitting. I can't wait to get to the endless stockinette!

Oh well, time to get back to knitting. Later...

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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

On the road again

I've been on the road with Jim since Tuesday and man, am I tired. We've got 33 Elderhostelers. Trying to keep them on schedule has been like wrangling cats, but after 4 of them were 15 minutes late out of the hotel and onto the bus this morning, and Jim gave them all a little talking to and they seemed to have straightened up. We'll see how long that lasts.

Tonight we're in Albany. Tomorrow morning we leave bright and early for West Point, and then onto Philly. I barely have the energy to blog, so I'll post a few pictures.

Early morning at Hubbardton Battlefield.

My handpainted sock over Lake Champlain.

The Wallaby looking at Fort Ticonderoga from the lake.

By the way, you know how I said I would finish the Wallaby this during the trip? Yeah, well, I must have been tripping. No way is that happening! But that's OK.

OK, off to sleep for me now. Maybe some blogging tomorrow?