May 7, 2008

A Dork in Washington, DC

Maryland Sheep & Wool was fun, it's true, but the thing I was most excited about doing on this trip was seeing the nation's capital for the first time. Yes indeed, I have never been to DC and I've wanted to go since I was a little girl. Let me say right up front: I was not disappointed! I saw everything I wanted to see in the short amount of time we had and it was just enough to wet my appetite for a return trip.

Hillary is an excellent hostess and tour guide. She arranged tickets for us on a Tourmobile that allowed us to hit all the hot spots in just one day.

The Capital. Apparently I am more patriotic than I ever realized because I got goosebumps when we pulled up in front. Either that or I'm just a dork. The senate was in session while we were there (you can tell because there's an American flag flying over the senate building) and we saw a cat on a leash - how funny is that?

We toured the Botanical Gardens. I took lots and lots of pictures there. Lots.

The Lincoln Memorial is truly impressive. The view of the reflecting pool with the Washington Monument is gorgeous. And the statue of Lincoln is truly awe inspiring. I actually had tears in my eyes when I looked up at him. I told you I was a dork.

We also saw:

The Vietnam Wall, the Korean War Memorial, and The White House. That was just Friday!

On Sunday we went back and visited the Jefferson Memorial.

While not as moving as the Lincoln Memorial it's still pretty impressive in its own right.

We also visited the FDR Memorial. This one wasn't on my list but Hillary kept telling me I'd love it and she was right. It really tells his story and it's very well done.

I took loads and loads of photos - I've got enough Eye Candy Friday content for a long time to come. If you're interested you can see them all on my flickr page.

All too soon it was time for me to head home. It was a whirlwind tour, it's true, but it was really beautiful and I'm so glad I went. Thanks again, Hillary and family for hosting me. In the words of The Terminator, I'll be back.

Posted by Carole at 6:30 AM | Comments (50)

January 24, 2008

Travelogue

A 4 day trip is such a whirlwind that it seemed like we said goodbye almost immediately after we said hello. Nevertheless, we managed to cram in a lot of fun, a lot of visiting and even some sightseeing. I'll give you the highlights here and if you want to see all the pictures I took be sure to visit my flickr page.

On Sunday we went to a nature preserve near Brant and Heather's house. It was pretty chilly but I shot some great bird photos and also this picture of Ambrynn. It's my favorite of all the pictures I took.

Monday was warm and sunny and we headed to Venice Beach. We spent the afternoon playing on the beach.

Walking on the beach.

And watching the pelicans.

When we got hungry we headed to Sharky's for dinner. I tell you something I really like about this restaurant. When you can't decide which frozen concoction you want to try they bring you a sample of all five of them. Great idea!

We only had a limited of time on Tuesday but we managed to squeeze in a visit to a yarn shop in Punta Gorda. It happened to be very close to one of Ambrynn's favorite playgrounds so we went there and watched her play for a while.

All too soon it was time to head to the airport and come home. We've got great memories, though, and it's nice to be able to have actually seen where the kids are living, you know? I'd be lying if I said we weren't still concerned about them but we're parents so we're always going to be concerned.

Bottom line? I'm already plotting and planning for our next trip.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (50)

January 23, 2008

And We're Back

We got home late last night from our trip. The weather was mostly beautiful and it was great to hang out with the kids for a few days. I'll have a more detailed post for you tomorrow but for now, how's this?

Yeah. It wasn't too hard to take.

Posted by Carole at 11:33 AM | Comments (29)

September 20, 2007

Returning Home

I am home. And it was a wonderful trip. I know you're all anxious to hear about it (because you have nothing better to do, right?) but I need some time to process it all before I post. So, tomorrow I will have an Eye Candy Friday photo and Monday I will tell you all about the trip. 'Kay?

In the meantime, I am missing this:

Margene. And the mountains.

Posted by Carole at 10:25 AM | Comments (28)

August 20, 2007

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

Our vacation on Cape Cod was wonderful. We spent our days at the beach and our nights on the deck of our rental house. We relaxed and laughed and truly enjoyed being together as a family. It was just what I needed.

Please indulge me as a share a few of my favorite photos of our week.

The beach. I love the surf and the sand and the sun. I love packing a lunch and spending the day just hanging out, swimming, body surfing, and soaking up the rays.

Hannah loves it, too. So long as she has her cell phone and her iPod.

Of course, getting to the beach with 5 people, 2 boogie boards, 4 beach chairs, 3 beach bags, and a float - all in a Jeep - can be tricky. But we managed.

When we weren't at the beach we were hanging out on the deck. Doing a little drinking. That's my martini that Jessica is holding. It's the closest I got to any photo. Heh.

And for Dale, a little pipe smoking.

Truly, it was a really wonderful week. Even the traffic on the ride home was okay. Yes, my friends, that's okay traffic. You don't want to know what bad Cape Cod traffic looks like!

Come back tomorrow and I'll show you my vacation knitting.

Posted by Carole at 10:51 AM | Comments (39)

Buried

Eight days of vacation means coming home to 775 emails and 615 unread blogs. Oy.

I'll be back later today or tomorrow with a real entry, I promise.

Posted by Carole at 7:19 AM

August 8, 2007

Camp Sweet Camp

Our mini camping trip was really a lot of fun. And it amazes me how quickly we can turn a little patch of dirt and pine needles into Home Sweet Home.

Or is that Tent Sweet Tent?

Despite the work of setting up and packing up the in between time of camping is pure relaxation. It allows for enjoying the finer things in life.

Like reading.

And corn on the cob.

Knitting on the beach.

A wet dog.

And a campfire.

The outdoors can't get much better than that, I tell you.

Posted by Carole at 7:32 AM | Comments (38)

August 5, 2007

Camping?

I'm on vacation for the next two weeks - woot! This first week will be spent mostly at home since Dale is still working and then next week we will be at the Cape. While I have a very generous amount of vacation time, this is the only time of year that I take two consecutive weeks. It's wonderful, I tell you.

But perhaps it has gone to my head because I don't know what came over me on Friday morning but I called Dale at work and suggested a mini-camping trip for Sunday/Monday. We haven't camped in years and needed to update our equipment a bit. After scouring the garage and making a trip to the store for a new tent and stove, and stocking up on groceries and packing the knitting and the dog, I think we've got everything we need.

Did I mention we're only going for one night? Go ahead, you can laugh now.

I'll be back on Tuesday. If I survive, that is.

Posted by Carole at 10:00 AM | Comments (39)

June 25, 2007

The Rest of the Story

Here's what I did for the rest of my vacation last week:

The back of Ambrynn's shirt says "My Grampa Rocks". How cool is that?

Went to a Dale and the Duds show. This one is in my town and it's a great chance to catch up with friends and hang out with family.

Picked up our first share from our CSA. We ate the strawberries plain - mmm. And I've cooked the peas and made lentil & beet green soup and a wonderful salad and also rhubarb sauce. This is going to be a lot of fun and a great way to try some new recipes, too.

Went to the beach. I've written about this place before. It has special meaning for me for lots of reasons but one of them is that it's where I learned to knit.

Went to a parade. The nearby town of Plympton celebrated their 300th anniversary this weekend and the parade was loads of fun. Dale dropped me off on the parade route while they went to set up the band equipment on their float. I sat alone and watched the crowd and knitted for a glorious hour and a half. The parade was pretty good, too.

Other things I did for which I have no pictures:
~walked on a beach on Cape Cod
~had fish tacos - yumm
~had lunch on the waterfront in Plymouth
~sat on my deck A LOT
~watched movies

It was a fabulous week!

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (36)

June 21, 2007

Gone Fishin'

I neglected to mention that I'm on vacation this week. See, as a public servant, my vacation time goes July 1 to June 30, and I can only carry over one week, so I had a few extra days to use up this June. Librarians don't make a lot of money but there are some decent perks - like 5 weeks vacation per year. Anyway, this vacation is a little different than the last one because Dale is also off and Hannah is done with school as of Tuesday. We've tried to do something fun every day and Tuesday's fun was fishing.

I've loved fishing since the first time Dale took me out in a canoe and handed me a fishing rod. I didn't know what I was doing back then but I've learned a lot in the last 10 years. Not that all my time and effort did me any good this time.

We went here.

And here.

And one other spot where I neglected to take a photo. Sadly, I got nothing. My companion was more successful than I, however.

A lovely pickerel - which was promptly put back in the pond and sent on his merry fishy way. Catch and release, that's how we do it.

Despite my lack of success with the fish, well, you know what they say, right? A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.

Posted by Carole at 7:30 AM | Comments (36)

June 3, 2007

Where Have All the Good Times Gone?

The vacation is over and I'm back at work. Ugh. At least it's raining. Last week was a seriously wonderful week. Dale was at work, Hannah was at school and I was . . . at home. By myself. Let's take a look at my previously stated vacation goals and see how I did.

~weed garden
~plant annuals

Check. Hannah helped with the weeding and Dale helped with the flower selections and planting.

~get haircut & color
Check. It looks good, too but you'll just have to trust me on that one.

~spin every day

Check. I have a bobbin and a half full to prove it.

~practice spindle spinning
Check. I put that basket of spindles on the hutch in the dining room. Sitting right there it's so easy to grab one and spindle for a few moments a few times a day.

~go to YMCA 3 times
Whoops. I never even made it once.

~dye some yarn and/or roving

Check. I'll have more on this tomorrow.

~fix the everyday cardigan
Whoops. I thought about it and read about how to do it. But it was pretty warm last week and the idea of sitting with a wool sweater in my lap was less than appealing. I'll tackle this one soon, though, because I really want that sweater to be wearable.

~knit a pair of bootees

Check. They are my first pair of baby bootees ever and they were quick and fun to knit. The pattern is Herringbone Bootees from 50 Baby Bootees to Knit. Size 2 needles with Rowan 4 Ply Cotton. These are a gift for a friend and they're getting mailed off today.

I also did several other things that weren't on my list like have breakfast with a new friend and go shoe shopping and have lunch at Panera and watch my soap every day. It was a fabulous vacation. What a shame it had to end.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (55)

August 17, 2006

Vacation Touring

As my final entry about our vacation on the Cape I'm going to tell you about a little touring that we did. Then I'll move on, I promise!

We visited Falmouth one day and shopped and walked around a bit. We also visited Hyannis one evening. It was okay but Hyannis isn't as fun as I remembered. My favorite day of touring, though, was the day we went to Provincetown. I haven't been to P-town in the summer since I was a kid and, unlike Hyannis, it was even better than I remembered.

We did some shopping and walking around, of course. The stores are fun and full of unique and funky stuff. We didn't buy too much but we did all manage to find cool sunglasses.

The beaches and beach houses are beautiful!

We had a terrific lunch at Waydowntown. The beach was literally on the other side of our table. And the Mojitos were the best I've ever had.

It's sad to say farewell to such a wonderful vacation. At least I got to bring one of these two home with me. The other is spending the rest of her summer on Martha's Vineyard. The little brat.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (27)

August 16, 2006

Vacation Relaxing

Knitting was the only thing I did on vacation that even remotely resembled work. And we all know that knitting is not work so I think you can safely surmise that I relaxed a lot while at the Cape. Here are some photos of the things we all did to relax.

Ahhh. The beach again. You're probably sick of beach photos by now but I can't help myself. The beach that was closest to the house we stayed at was private and relatively deserted most days. I love a beach without people and so does Dale so this was the beach we chose most days.

There was reading. Hannah finished To Kill a Mockingbird and Dale almost finished Mayflower and I made some good progress through Under the Banner of Heaven.

We walked around our neighborhood a few times with the dog. We let her swim once or twice and one night witnessed a really pretty sunset.

We collected shells to bring home to remind us of our week at the beach. This was my idea and, while Dale and Hannah resisted at first, they finally got on board and started picking up shells with me.

We relaxed on the deck with martinis. It's pretty rare for Dale to drink a martini so I had to take this photo. I, on the other hand, had a martini every day. Ahem.

Of course we went out to eat. This lobster roll is absolutely HUGE and it's from a legendary place called The Raw Bar. This restaurant was 10 minutes from the house. TEN minutes. It's a true testimony to my incredible will power (and frugality) that we only went there twice and not every day.

So, for those of you concerned that I relaxed enough on my vacation, I hope your fears at put to rest now. My family and I relaxed very very well.

Posted by Carole at 7:30 AM | Comments (40)

August 13, 2006

Home Again

Hi there, everybody! I'm home. It's good to be home, too. In fact, I was ready to come home. I mean, how much sunning, knitting and beaching can one girl take?

Please do not construe this to mean that I am also ready to go back to work. Because I am so not ready for that. And yet, that's where I'm headed tomorrow morning. Blech.

I promise real posts about our vacation adventures in the days ahead. In the meantime, this photo will have to hold you over.

Because, right now, I have 367 emails and 343 blog posts to read.

Posted by Carole at 6:09 PM | Comments (26)

July 11, 2006

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

I've been knitting and spinning and relaxing. But Dale? Poor Dale.

No rest for the weary.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (30)

June 27, 2006

Reentry

Here's something you may not know about me. I have a hard time with reentry. It doesn't matter if I've been gone overnight or for several days, I tend to flame on reentry. Just ask Dale. It doesn't matter that I've missed my family and can't wait to see them again. If the counters aren't wiped and the floors aren't swept, I'm going to bitch about it. And if the mail has been left to pile up for 5 days? And the dishwasher is full of dirty dishes because no one ran it
while I was gone? And the laundry's piled up and the lawn needs to be mowed (and these aren't even my jobs anyway), I'm really going to bitch about it. Let's just say that the first night home was a little rough.

Granted, I was feeling the let down of a wonderful trip coming to an end, but things improved as the week went on. It helped matters that Dale and I spent a few days together focusing on the things that make it nice to live in Massachusetts.

Like lobster rolls.

And streams I can stick my feet in without having cramps because the water is too cold.

And a husband who is sweet enough to bring me flowers when he picks me up at the airport. And wear the t-shirt I brought him from Utah the very next day. And not complain when I don't write him a birthday post on his birthday because I had to finish telling everyone about my trip. (It would be cool if you all actually wished Dale a happy 55th birthday today, even though yesterday was his birthday. Thanks, gang.)

Things like seeing the roof of my library and the sky from my topless Jeep.

And enjoying a granddaughter's first birthday party.

I guess it's not so bad to live in Massachusetts. Not to go all Dorothy on you, but there really is no place like home.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (59)

June 26, 2006

Salt Lake City: Day 5

Are you tired of my western adventures yet? I hope not! But if you are, take heart, this is the last post about my trip. Waaaah.

We arrived back at Margene's on Sunday evening about 5 to find Smith waiting for us. He prepared a delicious meal with Anaheim peppers to start, followed by grilled salmon, Yukon gold potatoes, and a medley of broccoli and asparagus. I know you guys all think Dale is a keeper, and I agree. But Smith? He's pretty okay, too. After all our traveling it felt good to be "home" and just chat and relax over dinner and wine. It was a wonderful evening on their patio!

In the morning we headed to the infamous Silver Fork Lodge for breakfast. I already showed you a picture of my delicious meal but you didn't see this one of the three of us on the deck. With our Trekking socks, of course. And there were violet green swallows and a couple of prairie dogs, too.

After fortifying ourselves we headed up the mountain to Silver Lake, the site of so many of Margene's gorgeous photos. It was like stepping into the computer and having Margene's blog come alive!

Even after seeing it myself, I find it hard to believe it was real. It's just too beautiful! There were birds and ducks and wildflowers everywhere! And of course, mountains! Margene is right when she says that back East we don't have mountains, we have bumps.

And, while I didn't see a moose, I did see moose tracks.

All too soon it was time to bring Birdsong to the airport. But that still left Margene and I with a few hours to kill before my flight. So, I was given the grand tour of Salt Lake City, including a yarn shop, the library and Temple Square.

Just as we were driving back to the airport, Smith called and said that terminal one had been closed down due to a suspicious package. When Margene and I arrived at the terminal there were lines and weary travelers and cancelled flights. For a brief moment it looked as though my stay in Salt Lake City might be prolonged. But things turned around quickly and I made it through security and on my flight with time to spare.

Before I knew it I was being greeted at the airport by Dale. I'm pretty sure he missed me. And that's not a bad thing to come home to.

This concludes the recap of my trip. It was a fabulous, wonderful time. I had loads of fun and made some new friends to boot.

Thanks for everything, Margene! I still believe in the magic of Estes Park.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (36)

June 22, 2006

Wyoming/Colorado: Day 2

So Margene would have made a great drill sergeant. The woman can get a wack of knitters moving like nobody's business and she had Birdsong and I out the door on Friday morning by 6:00 AM. Which, considering real time for me, wasn't all that bad. We picked up Ann and swapped some luggage around with Utah bloggers and were on our way.

Here's what I learned on my trip through Wyoming and Colorado:

~Wyoming is very, very brown. Occasionally there is green but it's mostly brownish green. Oh, and there are antelope.

~There are no decent road signs in Colorado. Kristi suggested that the locals were the ones who removed the signs just to screw with the tourists. It worked and we got lost. One thing, though, that's helpful. In Colorado, when you're driving on a paved road? And it turns to a dirt road? They have a sign that reads "Pavement Ends." Here in Massachusetts, we just sort of let you figure that one out on your own.

~Margene is an excellent driver. She only occasionally drives through someone's back yard, between a fence and a telephone pole, over some dirt and a sidewalk, to get to the road she wants to be on. Really, this only happened once in an 8 hour drive.

~Bloggers are the same wherever you go! I met long time virtual friends Snow, Stephanie and Miriam as well as newer friends and it was all good. Just warm and accepting and comfortable. I'm sure the candy I brought from home had nothing to do with how nice everyone was to me.

~Beer in Colorado looks different than beer in Massachusetts. I'd love to see what they do with an ice cream cone.

~Stephanie is very generous with her wheel. Not only did she set it up for me to spin but she even brought me fiber. I think Lennie and Lucy would get along famously should they ever have the chance to meet.

~Margene is a great planner. She pored over the detailed map and schedule of the wool market while other people only looked on. Perhaps this is why she was the first one through the door of the wool building on Saturday morning.

And I'll tell you all about that and the rest of the Estes Wool Market details tomorrow!

Posted by Carole at 7:20 AM | Comments (28)

June 21, 2006

Utah: Day One

I've had blog posts floating around in my head for days, trying to organize my thoughts and stories from my trip west. But, honestly, how do you get all of that into a post or two? I know I can't. Please be patient as I work my way through my memories and photographs of this wonderful trip.

So, to start. I flew from Providence to Chicago. I looked for Oprah during my brief layover but I didn't see her. Damn. I left Chicago behind and flew to Salt Lake City. I had a window seat and was able to snap a sky photo for Sandy.

See that? It's the sky from above the sky. Pretty slick, eh?

Once in the airport I spotted Margene. Everything good thing you've ever imagined about Margene? All true. And then some. Really. After less than 5 minutes I felt like I'd known her my whole life. And our friendship just grew from that point. So cool. Anyway, enough gushing about Ms. SL, UT. We hung around the airport for a bit and before long Birdsong arrived. Again, instant friend. This blogging thing sure is cool.

Can you guess where we stopped first? Ummm. Yeah, it was a yarn shop. Forget Temple Square or Salt Lake or any tourist destinations. We were bloggers on a mission because Birdsong needed Trekking. I might have slipped and bought a skein or two of sock yarn myself.

From the yarn shop we headed to Margene and Smith's warm and welcoming condo.

I met Moxie and Murphy and we chatted until Smith came home and then all went to dinner. At dinner we met up with Susan and Camille, a friend of Margene and Smith's. Great food and possibly great conversation. I'm not sure because the folk guitars were too loud for me to hear much of what was said. I did figure out that Susan is charming and smart and funny. And that was enough for me.

Friday morning, up at the butt-crack of dawn to drive to Colorado.

To be continued . . .

Posted by Carole at 7:20 AM | Comments (28)

June 13, 2006

Estes Park: The First Time

As you know by now, on Thursday I'm heading to Colorado for Estes Wool Market. Well, Estes Wool Market via Salt Lake City and Margene. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! New sites! New bloggers! New vendors! But you know what's not new to me? Estes Park itself. I've been there before. Yes, indeed, world traveler that I am, I'm going back to one of the few places out west that I've already visited. There will be a few differences on this trip, though. Please indulge me as I share a photographic essay of my trip to Estes Park in 1980.

Back in 1980 I went with my church youth group to join up with other church youth groups from around the country to attend a camp called CHIC or Covenant High Congress. There were 2500 campers in Estes Park that week! And, this is an event held only every four years and you have to be a high school student to go - hence, you only get to experience this once. There were huge get togethers with singing and praying and mattress races. I kind of doubt we'll have mattress races this time but that's me up there, riding the mattress with a mountain backdrop.

My hair was a LOT longer then than it is now.

In 1980, I wore a pink cowboy hat. Sad, but true. I promise to leave the pink cowboy hat safely in Massachusetts this time. I think I'll bring a finished Everyday Cardigan instead.

In 1980 I also wore yellow pants. Thankfully, I don't have any yellow pants to wear on this trip. You want to know the saddest part about this picture? Everyone else is wearing jeans, right? My mother wouldn't let me wear jeans on the plane. She told me I had to be dressed appropriately and jeans were inappropriate. Hence, yellow pants. It's a good thing these were church kids or I would have been eaten alive.

Honestly, though, the best part about my previous visit to Estes was hanging out with my girlfriends. One of my roommates at this camp was my best friend from first grade until sixth grade, when she moved to Alaska. Seeing her at Estes Park was the highlight of my week. I made new friends, too. I left thinking that Estes Park is a magical place where friendships blossom.

Somehow, I think, I'm going to believe that after this visit, too.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (47)

November 21, 2005

Another Postcard

For those of you asking, here's a photo of me in my Civil War clothing.

Yes, I'm wearing a corset. It's custom made so it's not too horrible. Just don't ask me to run up a flight of stairs or I might get the vapors. And, yes, that's the Kiri shawl. Dale and I both thought it looked pretty good with my new dress.

Here's a list of what a woman in the 1860s put on, from first to last: pantaloons (mine were flannel this weekend, thank goodness), chemise, corset, corset cover, under-the-hoop petticoat, hoop, over-the-hoop petticoat, dress. If you're smart you remember to put your shoes on first because it's difficult to bend over once the corset is on. It's a lot of clothing to wear and it takes a bit of time to get dressed!

And, for all you readers who want to show the men in your life the uniform, here's Dale, dressed in his finest and ready to participate in the luminary on Saturday night. My friend Kathy and I walked through the National Cemetery to view this while our men were in the Honor Guard and it was really moving. Every Civil War soldier's grave had a luminary candle on it. Thousands of them glowing in the night made for a beautiful, but sad, sight. I didn't take pictures because I didn't want to spoil the reverence and solemnity of the moment so you'll just have to use your imagination.

On the way out yesterday we briefly stopped at the Visitor's Center because Dale wanted me to see this spinning wheel.

It was in the home where Jennie Wade was shot and killed. Jennie was the only civilian to be killed in the Battle of Gettysburg, which is pretty remarkable when you realize that the fighting completely engulfed the town.

I was in awe of this wheel and its beauty. I took a close up of the flyer to show you how small the hooks are! Neat, huh?

So, we are home, safe and sound. I'll tell you all about The Mannings tomorrow!

Posted by Carole at 8:15 AM | Comments (18)

November 19, 2005

A Postcard

Greetings from Gettysburg! Dale and I are here in sunny, but cold, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate Remembrance Day. I thought I'd give you all a quick update with some photos of what we've been doing so far.

Dale is, of course, wearing his new socks.

The parade overflows with flags and soldiers. It's a spectacular sight and the music is really rousing.


Dale and Matt both bought new "period correct" pipes. Here they are enjoying their first smoke.

Our dear friends, Prussian Ambassador and Mrs. Wilhelm Runk. Oh, and their dog, Buford.

So far we've shopped here and here and here and here. We've eaten here and here. And tonight we're eating here. And we've had lots of this to drink.

More rousing adventures in my next post!

Posted by Carole at 4:51 PM | Comments (10)

September 6, 2005

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

In honor of the first day of school , I present a picture essay of the highlights of my summer.

Ah, yes. There's nothing quite like a lunch made by a stay-at-home (in the summer, at least) husband. This was just one of many lunches that Dale and I enjoyed together. I especially, enjoyed it since he prepared, served, and cleaned up. I ate and knit.

I went to a local baseball game. Nothing fancy but the tickets are cheap, the beer is cheap and the food is cheap. Are you picking up on the theme? Cheap baseball=good time.

Striper fishing didn't occur until Labor Day and, alas, I still haven't caught a keeper. This is Dale's keeper and it measured 30" long. The closest I came was 26" (they have to be 28" to keep 'em) so once again, always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

And what would a picture essay be without Ambrynn? I spent a good part of the summer hanging out with the cutest baby ever!

Hope you enjoyed the show!

Posted by Carole at 7:42 AM | Comments (7)

August 6, 2005

Vacation Update

On Monday we went to Newport, RI and toured a couple of the mansions. We went here and I once attended a formal ball here but this is my hands-down favorite. I could have taken some great photos of the sock "living large" if only I had remembered the camera. We had a great dinner at the Brick Alley Pub and Restaurant. It was pricey but it was the best cheese steak sub I have ever had!

On Tuesday we hung around at home for a bit and then headed for Plymouth in the afternoon. We did some shopping and had dinner at a new restaurant, Carmen's Cafe Nicole. Hannah had her first chimichanga and she was impressed!

On Wednesday we went to our "private" beach - the one I wrote about in this entry. I started the felted flamingo since it seemed appropriate to knit a flamingo while at the beach. I have pictures, but not of knitting. Guess who came to visit?

Yup, Ambrynn went to the beach for the first time at 5 weeks old. She took it all in stride and did what we all do at the beach -- she ate, she napped and she just hung out.

On Thursday we made our way over to Martha's Vineyard to visit our niece and her family. I knit on the ferry ride over and met some very friendly (and funny!) women up from Black Mountain, NC on a bus tour. There was a group of sisters who had just learned to knit and they were quite enthralled with the sock in progress. I was so busy talking and knitting that I never even thought to bring out the camera!

While visiting Beth she took us to West Chop Lighthouse. You may notice that the web site says the lighthouse is not open to the public. Well, when your niece's husband is in the Coast Guard and your niece is the caretaker for the house on the lighthouse property . . . let's just say you get some special privileges. We climbed our way to the top and it was beautiful. What a view! While we were up there we snapped some photos for my Extreme Knitting entry. You guys all know about this contest, don't you? Margene was one of the the first entries but I know we can all come up with something to submit! I think knitting at the top of a lighthouse is pretty extreme! Or at least it's as extreme as I'm likely to get.

Today we're back home, having left Hannah on the island with Beth, Stuart and the kids. (Hannah, I know you're reading this. I miss you! Really! Now stop hanging around on the computer and go help Beth!)

More adventures to come - probably of this variety!

Posted by Carole at 12:38 PM | Comments (5)

April 19, 2005

Hotel Sox

Those of you that know me well (and probably even those that don't know but are clever) will giggle at the title to this post. I would explain but can't since this blog is rated G (hi Hannah!)
Here's what I can tell you: Dale and I took off on a mini-break on Friday and headed for Cape Cod with really only one goal in mind. Yeah, that one. So we found the Bayside Resort - a lovely place (yes, we took the room with the jacuzzi) and spent the night there. It was really quite nice so we decided not to go out for dinner but rather found a pizza place nearby and brought it back to the room. I've never eaten pizza in a jacuzzi before but have to report that it was pretty cool. I've also never even pizza with champagne before, being more of a pizza and beer kinda gal, but frankly, it was not a bad combination!
As for knitting, well, knitting in a jacuzzi would be great if it weren't for the fear of getting hot water all over the knitting and thereby felting the knitting. So, while I really wanted a picture of me knitting in the jacuzzi for the blog, it just wasn't meant to be. I did, however, finish the first of the regia sock set while on our mini-break. It's quite lovely. See?
Sunday, I had two goals in mind - start the second sock and start the Rosebud Cardigan baby sweater from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies. And I am quite pleased to report that I accomplished both of those knitting-related tasks. It was a beautiful afternoon and I sat on the deck and (mostly) knitted. There was a break or two for gardening and cooking dinner but I managed to meet my goals for the day. Truly an amazing feat.
Monday we marched in the Lexington Patriot's Day parade with the 25th MVI, our Civil War reenacting group. Along came the sock and I now have a new meaning for KIP - not knitting in public but rather knitting in parade. I sat on the side of the parade route while we waited to get going and happily knitted away. It was a gorgeous day and the cuff of the sock was finished by the time we got home.
I worked on the baby sweater for a bit last night but was pretty beat from the day's festivities! Too pooped to knit on!

Posted by Carole at 12:11 PM | Comments (1)