More Yarn

Rob left yesterday morning to head to Moab in Utah for some serious riding on his new mountain bike. He rented a car at a greatly reduced rate to drive down there in order to economize on the fuel charges as well as avoid additional depreciation on his own vehicle. His mother drove him to the airport to pick up the rental car but on the return home, they somehow lost each other on the roads. He arrived back home at 10:30 pm and informed me that his mom didn't follow him and must have inadvertently turned off on a side road somewhere or taken the wrong exit. Unfortuntately, she had forgotten to bring her mobile phone, so there was no way to contact her enroute. He left a message on her home answering machine to call us as soon as she made it back home safe and sound. Ring Ring. Ring Ring. 2:30 am. Home finally. That poor woman was lost for 4 hours a mere 20 miles away from home. I was quite worried about her and didn't sleep much until that call came in. De ja vu of when my son was a teenager! Needless to say, Rob slept quite soundly. I sooooo envy his ability to sleep anywhere, anytime, under any circumstances.

As luck would have it, a package from Webs arrived soon after Rob departed. Whooo Hoooo! Whimsy was happy to greet the UPS driver and safely escort the box of mostly Cascade 220 yarn into the house. I need to find some place to stash this latest addition to the "stash" before Rob returns. My poor home office is already overflowing with yarn. It fills the closet, lurks in baskets, languishes in bins, sits on shelves, lounges in jars, bags and boxes. Rob told me long ago he thought I had too much yarn and announced that I had no more room. As much as I hate to admit it, I have run out of space for yarn. Or anything else for that matter. Truly.
So... that being - the natural course of action for the logical person would be to:
1. cease and desist - simply stop buying yarn
2. use up what I have at a more rapid pace
3. give away, sell, trade or otherwise prune the stash

Granted, I do need to go through patterns, books and yarn that no longer appeal to me and are not on the list of "must have" or "must knit" anymore. I won't have time to do that until I retire and who knows when that will be? So... in the meantime, perhaps those "space bags" that are used to maximize space in luggage and closets can be trotted out and put into service. I can put my yarn in those bags, draw every cubic inch of air out of them and get twice as much yarn in half the space! Now that is an idea whose time has come!





This past weekend I went to Naomi's for her monthly "knitting with friends" get together. It was a wonderful sampling of food and a variety of fiber addicted friends. Jaime made some wonderful turkey burgers and chutney sauce that she had seen on the Oprah show earlier in the week. I also met Amy, who has a remarkable talent for not just knitting but also crafting stitch markers that she makes out of polymer clay. On her web site http://www.goodtobegirl.com/shopblog/ she sells highly sought after knitting project bags that her mother makes out of beautiful fabrics such as Amy Butler prints. I quite impressed with the cottage industry business this enterprising young woman has built. Saturday night I was supposed to go to a graduation party for the daughter of a friend of mine - her daughter had just finished Gonzaga Law school. For some reason I confused the dates and thought the party was Sunday afternoon instead. I called JoAnn's house on Sunday morning to confirm what time the party would be commencing and her daughter told me it had taken place the evening before. I was completely mortified I missed the celebration I had RSVP'd to. I used to be so organized and on top of things. Sigh. On Sunday, Rob's friends Andreas and Myumi came over to watch the Phoenix landing on Mars. My husband is such a geek. He had printed off the entire sequence of Mars landing events and put me "in charge" of the 7 minutes of blackout time (also known as time of terror) in which the spacecraft isn't able to communicate back to earth while entering the Mars atmosphere. Needless to say, the very brilliant rocket scientists in charge of the landing pulled it off perfectly so my services were not called into action. Whew. I crocheted on Project 7 for Nihon Vogue instead. ha ha

Farmer Girl

My youngest sister Paula lives on 40 acres of prime farmland in the midwest. She has a garden that yields so much produce that her husband Matthew calls it a "U pick" lot rather than the "family" garden. She cultivates corn, beans, potatoes, onions, asparagus, raspberries, blueberries, eggplant, strawberries, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes and many other delectable delights. She has raised 60 baby chicks that have grown the the pullet stage. Her laying hens produce eggs that are white, brown and pale sage green in color respectively. She whipped me up a delicious omelet from the fresh eggs and just picked asparagus - I can easily claim was the best I've ever had! She has a menagerie of animals - 2 German Shepards - Halle and Timber, an Irish Wolfhound named Evan, 3 mature ducks, 3 baby ducks and a bird with no legs. I brought some of the asparagus home in my suitcase - Rob grilled it when our friends Myumi and Andreas came over during the Memorial Day weekend and it was fabulous. It would be wonderful to go visit her again in August when the bounty from her garden is at its peak.

Spay and Neuter

I stopped by to visit my sister Paula's briefly while enroute to a nearby city for a business trip. She is a veterinarian at the local Humane Society shelter in the midwest. She was busy doing spays and neuters and I was able to witness her surgery skills in action. She had 8 puppies, several dogs and many, many cats to spay and neuter. The sheltie-shepard puppies were so darling and I was relieved to find out days later that they had all been adopted immediately. An 8 year Maltese named Lucky had the full make over - teeth cleaned, grooming, nails trimmed, blue bow adornment. I was concerned he might be too old to be readily adopted but his sweet personality shown through and he was quickly chosen by some loving owners. Michelle helped out with the surgeries and recoveries of the dogs and cats that were spayed and neutered that day. She just graduated from college and will soon be departed for 4 years at Iowa State University to work towards her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree.

Nihon Vogue Project Update

We are coming to the final stages of Year 1 Nihon Vogue class. I still have a lot to do but am not stressed or panic stricken (yet). Jean has signed off on the my design notes for the Raglan, Vest, Round Neck Pullover and the V-Neck Pullover. The purple round neck cardigan is almost complete - I still have to pick up and knit an 8 row band with buttonholes distanced throughout, sew on the buttons and backing buttons, and weave in the ends. The sleeves to the V-neck cardigan are in progress with the sleeve caps still remaining. The V-neck incorporates a technique in which the button band is knit in its entirety and then sewn on as one continuous piece. It is a required requirement for Nihon Vogue but it doesn't get high marks from me as an all time favorite technique, that's for sure! 7 stitch wide garter stitch band knit the length of the entire front, back and neck of the V-neck cardigan. That was one of the most boring, unfulfilling stints of knitting I have ever experienced. I am not fond of this method of attaching a button band and seriously doubt I will ever utilize the technique again since my preference is to pick up and knit a button band directly on the sweater fronts. In last weekend's class we learned how to finish everything on the V-neck cardigan with the exception of sewing the button band on the back neck. We also began crocheting which was pretty amusing given those of us who take claim to being jaded knitters. I opted to do an adult size garment and worked on it during my flight from Seattle to Minneapolis. Alas - I spent most of the travel time working on the same 5 inches of the garment - 4 times. In true perfectionist style I had a few minor mistakes which were nagging at me to "rip out" and make PERFECT. Yes, I relented. The yarn for the crocheted tank top is a Classic Elite cotton in a beautiful soft pale turquoise blue.

Mother's Day Love to my precious son Aubrey

This is a photo from Mother's Day 2 years ago so I need to get a more current one of Aubrey and I together. We must have been too busy feasting on the scrumptious meal we prepared at home rather than taking photo's of us together. Aubrey, Rob and I celebrated Mother's Day with Alaskan King Crab legs, bacon wrapped scallops, grilled asparagus, and salad with spinanch leaves, garden mix, fresh strawberries, mandarin oranges and blueberries. Oh yeah, we also indulged in some of Costco's best Coconut Cream pie. I sent some slices home with Aubrey and the next morning Rob threw the remaining two slices in the trash because he didn't want me to be tempted. Sigh. He is supportive of my quest for healthier diet and lifestyle and I am happy for that. Yes I am. Yes I am. Yes I am.

Rob's mother Marilyn has been in Houston, Texas the last two weeks helping Rob's brother Mark get ready for the Day Lily tour of his backyard today thru Sunday. We will have delayed Mother's Day celebration for her when she gets back to the Pacific Northwest.

It has been a while since I have updated this blog as I have been so busy with work and knitting for Nihon Vogue classes in the very little bit of spare time I have. My father had surgery for prostate cancer last week - thankfully he is doing well and seems to be in fine spirits. This week I went to a hand surgeon for consultation on the bilateral carpal tunnel I have in my wrists. I have been wearing splinted wrist braces while sleeping at night for the past 4 years. That and some stretching exercises have helped to slow down the progression quite a bit but certainly isn't a "cure". My hands are numb and tingling more frequently now and I decided to see what the "recovery time" would be if I elected to go forward with the surgery in the near future. (Like between the end of Year 1 Nihon Vogue and the beginning of Year 2 Nihon Vogue in early October). Alas, I have to take a nerve conduction test again to get an accurate assessment of any nerve damage. I had gone through that memorable experience several years ago. It was pure torture with intermittant shocks to my hands. I think the agonizing anticipation was worse than the actual shock. I hated it and have avoided going back for more of the same testing recently. The doctor is the father of a co-worker that Rob worked with at Amazon.com. Of course he came highly recommended by his son so I was a bit skeptical but figured I could always look for another doctor if I didn't feel comfortable with Dr. K during the first visit. He was extremely nice, competent, professional and did I say quite handsome? I would be very comfortable with him slicing my wrists open. I was over the moon when he told me that knitting wasn't "bad" for my wrists. Yahoo!

Knitting Woes

Last night I spent time blocking the ribbed edges of my round neck cardigan as they seemed to be pulled in more than I was comfortable with. I feared I may have used needles smaller than necessary but the ribbing only pulled in on that location and not anywhere else on the sweater so the wet blocking did the trick. I seamed the sleeves and crocheted one into the sweater armhole but I wasn't keen on the end result. I want to re-do the insertion top of the sleeve and have the cables pull in a bit more. And... the sleeves are too long. I suspect it is because of the extra ease that had been calculated for the sides.
The only solution is to cut off 2-3 inches of each sleeve and then knit down the garter stitch edge and 1x1 ribbing. I had to do something similar to the red pullover sweater but I don't have the heart to ponder the mechanics of such an act right now. I put the sweater in a drawer in the media room and I plan to leave it there until my disappointment subsides. I still have to do the button band which I have barely spent any time contemplating yet. Sigh.

March of Dimes - Walk for Babies

We headed downtown to Qwest Field this morning for an organized 5K walk. Qwest Field is where my favorite NFL team the Seattle Seahawks play. Today was the "Walk for Babies" which used to be called "March of Dimes" for babies with difficult birth situations. My brother, myself and my two younger sisters were all born prematurely so I felt it was one of the walks I wanted to formally support this year. Rob and Whimsy joined me even though Rob expressed preference to spend more time in nature and walk the Coal Creek trail today. I saw several "Walking in Memory" tributes to tiny babies who didn't make it after birth. I'm thankful, so many years ago, life saving experimental drugs to develop our lungs were given to my siblings and I. One 4 year old girl (who obviously had cerebral palsy) was walking with the aid of a yellow walker on wheels. She had such determination to keep up with her father and older sister during the event - She was absolutely darling. I admired her spirit. It was a beautiful day and the Alaskan Way viaduct was closed to traffic so Rob, Whimsy and I enjoyed some beautiful views of the Seattle skyline and Puget Sound while walking. For the first time ever I saw the fireboats that were stationed in the water behind the Fire Station on Alaskan Way - they are not viewable from street level.

After returning to Qwest Field we had a lunch of hot dogs and juice at the picnic tables outside the stadium. There is a plethora of relevant literature and give aways at events like this and Rob walked away with 3 loaves of healthy whole grain with flax seed bread. Afterwards we went to our little condo in Belltown to clean the oven and caulk around the window sills and tub. Our renter moved out last week and Rob had already done a little cleaning and will go back to do some touch up painting. Actually Rob did all the work and I took a wonderful nap. Whimsy got in a few good howls when the sirens of firetrucks and police cars were sounded on a nearby street. In 8 years she has never really been comfortable during any of our visits to the condo. I don't know if it is lack of trees, strange noises or smaller space that bothers her. She doesn't like the nearby off leash dog park and doesn't seem to pay much attention to the magnificent view of the water out the living area window either. Silly girl.

Pearl Harbor - Battleship Missouri BB-63

This was a morning of nostalgia for Rob. We went to Pearl Harbor to visit the Battleship Missouri BB-63. When Rob was in the Navy (seems like an an eternity ago) he was on the same class ship - New Jersey BB-62. He was a Surface Weapons Officer on Turret 3 for part of the time on the ship. He didn't need the tour guide to show us around the ship as he knew the way on his own! From the teak deck, ladders, officer's quarters, ward room, mess hall, bridge, bathroom and showers - everything was the SAME as what he remembered from his time on the New Jersey17 years ago. I was taken back by the very retro bright blue linoleum tile lining the floors on the Missouri but he said it was the same as on the New Jersey too. Rob's friend, USN Capt. Paul V. gave us a tour of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis CVN74 when it was stationed in Bremerton about two years ago. I recalled quite a contrast between the two ships. The battleships are definitely vintage. The New Jersey was commissioned in 1943 and the Stennis in 1995. The battleships seemed old and ancient by comparison to the modern options and technology on today's fleet. They may be old but the 16 inch guns and the historic past of the battleships at Pearl Harbor and afterwards are impressive. We ended our time on the Missouri by going to the ships bridge and sitting in the Captain's chair on the starboard side of the ship and then going to the site where the the signing of documents proclaiming the end of WW II were signed. We quickly toured a memorial for submarines on eternal patrol. From my days long ago working at Sub Base Bangor and around submariners, I had heard about the USS Scorpion and USS Thresher but I didn't know numerous others, including the USS Cisco never returned from a voyage under the sea.

Waikiki

We left Maui for a stint of less than 24 hours to be spent in Honolulu before heading home. We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village at the far end of Waikiki beach. I was a bit suspicious of a "28 acre resort" site unseen but since I was using Hilton points rather than being a full paying customer I wasn't in a position to be too particular. It turned out to be a beautiful resort and we truly enjoyed our brief stay there. The grounds were lush and full of tropical plants and animals such as swans, penguins, turtles and birds. Rob found a great source for affordable food at the Army compound adjacent to the hotel. He liked it so much we ate both dinner and breakfast there. Never let it be said that I am not a cheap date! That evening we viewed an energetic hula and fire dancing show and were treated to a short but spectacular fireworks extravaganza on the beach behind the hotel.

Last morning in Maui

Yesterday was a relaxing day for me. Rob continued his trek around the volcano and I did a yoga class, a water aerobics class and then lunch at a beachside restaurant. I found the small birds to be fairly aggressive - at one point 4 of them had landed on the table trying to pull morsels of food from an abandoned plate. Not quite as bad as Alfred Hitchcock's drama "The Birds" but the images did cross my mind. Last night we ate at Kahuna Kabobs in Lahaina. It was a yummy, casual meal in proximity to boutique vendors of arts and crafts, jewelry, tour packages and beachwear. We ambled down Front Street, window shopping and watching the people who have come from near and far to enjoy this beautiful island.

This is our last morning in Maui - we are leaving in the afternoon to head to Honolulu for one night and then back to Seattle on Saturday. Even though it has been a fabulous vacation, it will be good to get back home and see Whimsy dog and our families. Rob went to the gym this morning and then we took a walk along the beach for an hour. It was fun to watch the surfing lessons being conducted offshore and to enjoy the sculpture and beautiful flowers along the pathway of our walk. He went snorkeling and I am gathering up the various bits and pieces of my knitting projects. Rob and I quite often have divergent goals when it comes to "vacation time". He wants mini adventures and every days is packed from dawn to dusk with activities. I want a measured amount of activities but am more interested in relaxing, resting, reflecting. Even though I had the best of intentions otherwise, I managed to fit in very little reading or actual knitting. Despite that, this trip has to be recognized as one of the most restful vacations I've had since my honeymoon 15 years ago. Thanks to the very capable Sara (who is doing a yeoman's job in handling all items related to work!) and has provided me real opportunity to take a break from work. For a change. A welcome change.

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a - say that 3 times fast! It is the name of the restaurant Rob and I went to at the Grand Wailea Resort when we met my manager Thomas, and his wife Denise for a delicious dinner. The humuhumunukunukiuapua'a is also unofficially recognized as Hawaii's state fish - a colorful, pig shaped animal. Pronounced as "who-moo-who-moo-new-coo-new-coo-ah-poo-ah-ah" but shortened to humu by those in the know! We got back quite late last night so I faltered in my plan to meet Naomi for breakfast and sleepily told Rob to "just take the car" when he attempted to rouse me to drop him off for a hike near the Haleakala volcano. I had a great chat with her this morning and look forward to seeing her when we return to the mainland. Lucky lady - her and Greg are going to the Big Island on Friday and will have the pleasure of a few more days in paradise. For the day, I ended up staying close to the hotel and having a fairly productive day. I went for my usual stroll along the boardwalk, ventured into the pool, listened to an audio book, and worked on Nihon Vogue calculations for V-neck decreases and sleeve increases. Getting past the Nihon Vogue math hurdle was a real break through! Now all I have to do is knit, knit, knit. When Rob returned back to the hotel we walked over to Whaler's Village and watched a delightful hulu dancing show by 3 different groups of students. We feasted on fruit salad and outstanding fish tacos at Leilani's On The Beach. We laughed when recollecting the prime view properties livestock on the island enjoy. So far I have been especially attentive to the sounds of the tropical birds and the magnificent flora. Hard to believe the Maui vacation hourglass is quickly running out of time.

Yarn in Maui

After I went for an hourlong morning walk along the water this morning, I drove to Lahaina to check out the waterfront shops. There were many art gallerys, jewelry stores, shops selling tourist clothing and trinkets. It is big business on the islands to sell tour actitives such as helicopter experiences, whale watching, diving adventures, Lu'au's and more. As one might imagine, there are a dearth of yarn stores in the Hawaiian Islands. I stumbled upon one with a focus on knitting, crocheting, needlework and sewing. It was a very small store and not surprisingly, predominantly carried cotton and novelty yarns. In this small store, I saw something that is definitely intrinsic to the Hawaiian Islands. They had crocheted, spiraled rope like lei's that had smooth crocheted "knots" interspersed with fuzzy yarn. I was quite intriqued by them. I strive to support LYS and this tiny store seemed to cry out for support (or at least that was my reasoning to Rob when I returned back to the hotel with a bag of yarn). The color is a rich tropical blue-green and is tactile reminder of this beautiful , wonderful location. I built a cairn of yarn and took a photo from the hotel room lanai . As luck would have it, one of the yarn balls fell off the balcony to the roof 4 stories below. I sheepishly had to call Westin security to conduct a rescue operation to retrieve my yarn. Needless to say, Rob found my plight quite amusing!

Countryside in Maui

We continued our "Road to Hana" journey towards Kipahulu. We stopped at 7 Falls and Rob went for a hike. On the southeast side of the island, we stopped at a little church that had a tiny graveyard in the back garden facing the ocean. Charles Lindbergh lived his last days on the coast of Maui and is buried behind the Palapala Ho'omau Church. It was a serene and extremely peaceful location. The road from Kaupo back to the Eastern side of the island was damaged in an earthquake two years ago so we were unable to continue on the route we had planned earlier. We turned around and drove back to Lahaina along the same winding road that we had traveled earlier. Because we returned back to the hotel a few hours later than originally anticipated.

The Road to Hana

We decided that Monday would be the best day to embark on our adventure to Hana. The road to Hana is a notorious road on the North-East part of Maui - the scenary is beautiful and there are stops along the way that makes the time commitment all worthwhile. Since I easily succumb to motion sickness I took two dramamine. The pills helped a bit but there was a good portion of the drive that I was slumped in the front seat trying not to heed the rapidly changing trajectory of the road. Rob did a masterful job of handling the car - despite frequent yielding o oncoming traffic at single lane bridges, avoidance of oncoming cars that seemed to pay no attention to the center line and a winding road that seemed to go on for miles and miles. Our first stop was at the only Black Sand Beach on Maui. We had thoroughly enjoyed our first Black Sand Beach encounter on the Big Island 15 years ago. We had a picnic on the beach and Rob waded in the water. The undercurrents were too strong to swim so we admired the waves from the beach. It was a spectacular location.

Here Today, Gone to Maui

On the morning of our departure I ran out to the driveway in sandals and capri pants to rescue the Sunday paper from 2 inches of snow. We departed the Northwest under snowy conditions that have made it into the record books! We stopped at the Alaska Board Room for some morning snacks of toast and yogurt and then headed to board our direct flight to Honolulu. We had an exit row and lots of leg room for the 5 hour flight. We landed in Honolulu and waited for the Wiki Wiki shuttle to take us to the inter-Island terminal. Wiki is supposed to mean "fast" but it certainly wasn't very fast! We were quickly growing accustomed to Island time and the slow pace was an invitation to relax. I had a carry on bag filled with knitting projects and books. Thankfully, Rob helped me carry the bag for most of the trip. Who would have guessed yarn weighed so much? We picked up the rental car and made a quick stop at Costco to purchase snorkeling gear and some food essentials. Costco has $1.5o hot dogs EVERYWHERE - not just Issaquah! I met a women in the Costco food court who lost her husband 3 years ago and decided 8 months ago to move to Maui with her 10 year old daughter to get a "fresh start" and seemed to be quite happy. She gave us recomendations of places to eat breakfast or lunch that are favorites of the locals. We arrived at the Westin Maui on Kaanapali Beach with warm welcome of lei's and a spacious room overlooking the resort property and the beautiful ocean beyond. The people are warm and friendly and the trip is off to a fantastic start!

Hail storm!

Hard to believe it is almost the end of April and we just had a hail storm. The weather forecasters have been predicting some snow - Everett already has a few inches on the ground. I had taken the day off as we had planned to take an trip up to Skagit Valley to see the tulips but decided against it once we heard the weather report. I took the day off and ran errands but didn't feel as though it was a very productive day. Probably because I took a nap for 2 hours in the late afternoon! I bet I'll be awake half the night now

I'm making a list of what to pack and bring with me on the trip - books, IPOD, DVD player, knitting, knitting, knitting. I'm obsessed.

Oatmeal, Blueberry and Orange Muffins

Here's another recipe that I got out of a soppy but mindlessly entertaining book called "Friday Night Knitting Club". I made these on a Sunday morning using a mini-muffin pan. They were yummy, healthy and all eaten by noon!

Dakota's Oatmeal, Blueberry and Orange Muffins

Ingredients:

1 C plain rolled oats
1 C whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 Cups flaked sweet coconut - note: I used unsweetened and the muffins were fine
Grated rind of one large orange
1 egg
1/2 C liquid pasteurized honey
3 T canola or extralight olive oil
1 T vinegar
Juice 1 orange and add water to make one Cup of liquid
1 to 1 1/4 Cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Line a muffin tin with paper cups Note - I didn't have paper cups for my mini-muffin pan so I sprayed non stick on it

Combine the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl: oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the coconut and orange rind to the dry ingredients.
Get a separate bowl and beat the egg. Then incorporate the wet ingredients: honey, oil, vinegar, juice and water.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry mix and stir until just moist.
Fold in the blueberries.
Pour batter into muffin cups, about 2/3 to 3/4 full
Bake in a pre-heated oven 20-25 minutes.
Remove muffins from pan and cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Recent convert to Brussels Sprouts!

Earlier this spring Linda, Scottie and myself joined Arlene at her beautiful waterfront home on Camano Island. We had a magical weekend of knitting, laughter and cooking together. The shared company, beautiful scenery and food was wonderful. I have life long aversion to brussels sprouts but this recipe made me a convert! My mother would be in disbelief if she heard this since I absolutely detested the small cabbage-like morsels when I was growing up. I have made this quick and easyrecipe a few times since that memorable weekend trip - the final result is delicious and best of all - healthy!

Sauteed Brussel Sprouts

3 Tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 Tablespoon minced shallot
12 large brussels sprout (about 1.5 lbs)
3/4 Cup shelled unsalted natural pistachios
2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Trim and separate brussels sprout leaves from cores (about 8 cups). Discard cores
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and stir 20 seconds. Add brussels sprouts leaves and pistachios and saute until leaves begin to soften but are still bright green - about 3 minutes. Drizzle lemon juice over. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve. Serves 4-6

Cyclist alert!

Rob was out cycling when I got home from work tonight. He was on Team Zoka last year which had brown and blue colored jerseys. This year the sponsorship of the cycling team changed to Cucina Fresca. Red, Green and Black Jerseys. Yes - can you believe it? He has artistic images of tomatoes on his jersey! He is in great shape and is committed to health and fitness in a way that I truly envy. We live midway up Cougar Mountain so depending on which route he rides home he encounters 6-10% grade incline for 1-2 miles straight. He has been especially supportive of my knitting indulgences and I am soooo appreciative! I have literally taken over the media room with my projects . There are knitting projects, assessories, patterns, and books strung from one end of the house to the other.

Anticipation!

Today is the 12th anniversary of my employment at Cisco. Rob asked me if I wanted to go out and celebrate but I declined. Twelve years at a high tech company could be considered a milestone of sorts but certainly doesn't merit a celebration like a birthday or wedding anniversary would. After leaving the office I stopped by Dahlia Lounge bakery and picked up panini sandwiches for dinner and rhubarb tarts for dessert. Even though it is pouring down rain and gloomy outside, it will be fun to reflect back on the changes I have witnessed in this industry as well as lament today being the deadline for filing Income Taxes. Rob was hard at work finishing up our returns this afternoon and then went for a ride on his bike before dinner. I am in the midst of finishing up two immediate Nihon Vogue projects - both cardigans. The round neck cardigan needs sleeves and button bands. The V neck cardigan needs quite a bit more than that as I have to finish a few inches on the back, the last half of the fronts and two complete sleeves. The V neck will definitely be on the docket to travel to Hawaii with me when we leave on Sunday morning. Amusing how I spend more time figuring out what knitting projects to take with me on a trip than I do in determining what clothes to bring! Thankfully, this trip will be easy from a wardrobe perspective since it is a vacation in the tropics - swimsuit, shorts, Tshirts, sundress. Whoo hoooo!
I am planning to make a baby sweater for a dear friend who is due in the fall. It is from Dale of Norway and is called "Marihone". I had to source the yarn from three different stores in order to find the exact or approximate colors I needed. SpinBlessing in Oregon provided most of the colors and the darling lady bug buttons, Cultured Purl had the purple and So Much Yarn had the black skein. I have made small fair isle bags but haven't tackled a fair isle garment, so I am looking forward to learning some new skills and techniques. The size 2 needles will be a first for me as well as I like working with worsted weight the best. Another project I have to spend time thinking at length about is the Project 8 for Nihon Vogue which is "Design My Own". I don't know that I will be up for another cardigan so soon after projects 5 and 6. I am extremely fond of texture and aran style sweaters and am attracted to the cables in this sweater that I discovered in a Japanese book I purchased at Kinokuniya Bookstore in Seattle. I have several stitch pattern books I'll be studying over the next few weeks as Jean wants us to review our Project 8 plan with her in the next class which will be the end of May. I am finding great enjoyment in the planning and design process. Sad to say, harder to admit - I have a staggering amount of yarn and purchased patterns that do not hold the same appeal for me today as when I initially purchased them.