Let's Play Charades!

One word. Two syllables. Sounds like parades.

Pattern: Charades, from I May Be Knitting a Ranch House.

Cast on: June 17

Finished: July 27

Yarn: Whimzy Pinzy Creations 2 Socks At Once, in Tea Roses. A beautiful combination of pink and lavender, in a wonderfully soft superwash merino.

Needles: Us 2 Addi turbos

Notes: I felt like these took forever, but I think taking a 3 week vacation in the middle of knitting a pair of socks makes it feel like longer.

The Charades pattern is simple, easy, and make a beautiful finished product. I love these socks, and will probably make another Charade at some point, after I get through all the other sock patterns I have on my list!

I finished the first sock while in Europe, and knit the second mostly on the plane on the way home. I forced myself to sit down and work on the other sock last night, and discovered I only really had the toe left! I finished in an hour or so, and did the photo shoot tonight before dinner, in some excellent light.

I love that our mantle makes just about the perfect light box (the first photo was taken there). I'll have to buy some new yarn to take its portrait there!

Europa, Europa, Cont.

When we last left our weary travelers, they were in Florence, admiring the beauty that is Michaeangelo's David.

Next stop... Nice, France! We took the train along the Italian coast to Genoa, paid our respects to Christopher Columbus, and continued along the French coast through Monaco to Nice. Nice is very nice. The water is bright blue and warm, the waves are fun, the antique market is great, and the fountains are pretty. There are better beaches around (Nice's are rocky - smooth rocks, but fist sized rocks nonetheless), and there are less touristy places around, and there is probably better food around (see the "touristy" part), but all in all, a lovely place to spend a couple of days.

We took a day trip to Aix-en-Provence, to see the Provincial countryside and a smaller town in Provence. We missed the flea markets, but did see some lovely fountains.

And then onto Paris!! The train to Paris was wonderful- the French sure know how to run a train system. (President Obama, please take note.) The first thing we did was run straight to the Eiffel Tower. Then, of course, we ate some bread and wine. This cafe looked out at the Seine and the Ile de la Cite.

In Paris, we stayed with a wonderful French family who had been Mike's host family when he studied abroad in high school. Although he hadn't seen them in almost a decade, the family was most welcoming and friendly. We stayed in a guest cottage on their property, and they even took Mike & me up to their vacation home on the North coast on the English Channel. It was very windy and cold the first day (reminded me of the East Coast, Cape Cod area), so we took advantage and flew a kite. A double-stringed stunt kite, even!

On Bastille Day, we took advantage of the Louvre having free entrance, then took a boat ride down the Seine at sunset. We got to see gorgeous light on all the old buildings and bridges. Then, right when the boat got back to its dock, at the base of the Eiffel Tower, the tower light up with sparkles and the fireworks show started! I don't have any photos because my battery was dying and I don't have a tripod, so fireworks photos don't come out very well. But, you'll just have to believe me that it was the most amazing fireworks show I've ever seen!

All in all, it was a magical, wonderful vacation. We took over 1,200 pictures, and I narrowed the show down to 250 over on Shutterfly. Feel free to wander over there if these few photos have whet your appetite for more.

Welcome Home!

What a trip! I had an amazing time, and have many wonderful stories to tell and photos to share. Not so much knitting, though. I finished one Charade and got through the heel of the second.

First things first. We left our camera in Boston in our frantic rush to make our plane, which we realized was taking off much earlier than we thought. Like, five hours earlier. We realized this 45 minutes before it took off. Luckily, the people at Aer Lingus rock and got us on the next flight, 1/2 an hour later. And luckily our friends in Boston also rock and express mailed our camera to us in Tuscany. Which is where these photos were taken.

We stayed at Spannocchia, a family run agritourism farm / bed & breakfast, that is preserving the 700 year old Tuscan farming way of life, and working to be totally sustainable and self-sufficient. And they make the best olive oil I've ever tasted in my life. So amazing.

The photo on the right is a castle we hiked to called The Castle That Only God Knows, and it's where (wait for it)... Mike and I got engaged! I asked him on top of one of the towers. It was beautiful and romantic and wonderful, and we managed to keep it a secret for the whole rest of the trip until we met up with my mom and brother and told our moms and siblings at the same time. Magic.

Then we went to Rome. We saw the Coliseum and the Pantheon. Other things we saw included the Palazzo Venetzia, much art at the Vatican museums, the Sistine Chapel, the Trevia fountain, and delicious wine. I wish I had gone to Rome right after high school, when I knew more about art.

While Rome was beautiful and all the old buildings were amazing, it was also very hot and very crowded. I didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed all the other places we went to.

Florence was our next stop. We saw the Duomo, which has many more amazing things about it than just its dome, and the David, which is incredibly impressive. We ate some amazing paninis in Florence, and also saw some recreations of Leonardo's inventions (a bicycle and a drawbridge) and a page out of one of his sketchbooks. I loved Florence and would definitely go again.

Stay tuned for more...

My bags are packed...

Well, no they're not. But we are leaving on a jet plane in 5 hours. We're off to San Francisco, then Boston, then Dublin, then Paris, Bologna, Siena, Rome, Nice, and back to Paris, Dublin, Boston, Star Island, San Francisco, and finally, home on July 20.

Needless to say, I will not be blogging while I'm gone.

I will however, be knitting!
Charade, in Tea Roses by Whimzy Pimzy Creations, and some Shibui in Dragonfly (I think - I didn't check the label). The Charades should get me through at least one international flight and overnight train ride. Hopefully the Shibui will get me through the rest of our travelling!

Have a wonderful July- I'll see you on the flip side.

Magic Loop 4-Eva!

My knitting has slowed to the speed of molasses in January since finals time and the move. I don't know what's wrong with me- I don't have anything to do after work, so theoretically, I should just sit in my backyard and knit all evening, but I don't.

Since I'm uninspired by the Boot Socks (and my substitute yarn is too cottony and not wooly / acrylicy enough, so I have to find a different yarn with which to finish off the foot of Sock #2) and I can't bring myself to figure out the sleeve-cap shaping on the Elizabeth Bennett cardigan, I cast on for some more socks last night.

Except I had left my Addi circulars at my office, attached to the Boot Socks, so I cast on with dpns. I used to love dpns. I swore by dpns. I scoffed at magic looping.

No more.

Five needles, ten needle tips. No thank you.

It's all magic loop, all the time for me now.

I may have to skip over to the yarn shop on my lunch break - it's one block away and I haven't gone even once yet! How's that for self control? - and use my gift certificate to stock up on Addis. (The G.C. is from helping out with inventory back in March. $40 for four hours of yarn fondling? Yes, please.)

Me! Me!

I may or may not have posted a rule at the beginning of this blog, stating I would never answer a silly questionnaire just to fill up a blog post. Well, consider that rule amended. I was tagged by lupinbunny for this one. That makes me quite excited, because I love her blog and aspire to her gardening and sewing greatness!

"The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer."

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was a sophomore in high school, 14 years old. School probably hadn't let out yet, so I was probably reading my yearbook, thinking of creative things to write in other people's yearbooks and trying to figure out how to get a cute boy to sign mine. I was also scheming how to meet these guys. Don't judge me.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
Figure out the shoulder shaping on Elizabeth Bennett, go to the farmer's market, vacuum the carpets, have some friends over for board games.

3) Snacks I enjoy:
Chocolate chips; honey dijon Kettle chips; stove-top popcorn with nutritional yeast, parmesean cheese, oregano, cayenne, and garlic; apples; Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Pay off my house, get another bike for cruising around town, travel (Australia, Central and South America, Eastern Europe, and a return trip to Mali are on my short list), pay for law school without any more loans and pay off my existing loans, donate & invest.

5) Places I have lived:
Ann Arbor, Michigan; small town New Hampshire; small college town Massachusetts; Senegal; Berkeley, California (and some in the north bay); small rural town California; Portland, Oregon.

6) Jobs I have had:
Working at a homemade candy shop, drive-through bagel shop, TJ Maxx, receptionist, payroll assistant, administrative assistant, Pelican (waitress, hostess, garbage hauler / compost expert / landscaper, front desk supervisor at a hotel), baker, and law clerk.

7) Bloggers I am tagging who I will enjoy getting to know better:
Jenne and George, Claudia, Molly, Feministy, Neither Hip Nor Funky

Presenting... my home!

We finally have internet in the new house, so I can share some pictures!

These are just snippets- I haven't gotten the house in a clean enough state for long enough that I can take pictures to share with you! But, we do have furniture in all the rooms and can stop trawling Craig's List constantly.

The view - The mantel (wood burning fireplaces! Two!) - Our bedroom


Banana muffins (new gas stove!) - Reading chair - Flowers on the table


The bathroom and cat - Baker's cart - Dream stove

All in all, we absolutely love this house. We couldn't have asked for a better home. As someone who hasn't lived anywhere for more than six months since my first year of college, I am very excited to nest and be here for many years.

I've also been knitting, although not as much as I imagined. I thought once finals ended, I'd have the Elizabeth Bennett cardigan finished in no time. But you'd be surprised (or probably not surprised!) at how much time moving and starting work takes up!

I had the cardigan out blocking a few days ago (back and two fronts), and took pictures, but apparently I deleted them before uploading. Ooops! Photos soon, I promise.

Now that I have internet, nothing can get in my way!