The View

Work-Job is great - especially since I get to look at this most of the day - whoo hoo!!

Finished these this weekend - I think I've got enough left to do a semi matching hat.

Bird update: The little visitor (Think it's a Swallow) left when The Geek told him he only had peanuts for food....good choice!

Bird in the Geek's House

Put back together.

I actually finished last night - Doesn't it look cozy! i just love the color. I've just realized that my house is full of various shades of red-orange-terra cotta....luckily they all seem to fit!!
First day back on the job was great - over and over I heard how appreciated I was - oh that feels so good!!

Not much time for knitting now - College girl is coming home tomorrow and I've got to plan meals, go to the grocery store, do laundry, etc., etc.....Oh - act like a mom for a change? But I will have time for knitting tonight - Grey's Anatomy is back on tonight - bliss!
TTFN!!

A BIG DAY!

I got up early this morning and decided to paint my office - which means moving all this....

I didn't even get dressed first - painting in my PJs! I couldn't finish because I have to move my heavy L-shaped desk away from the wall....so because I couldn't find the right color combo or weight out of this mess....
I decided to go into town for my knitting group a little early to break the rules. "Do not knit wrist warmers if you have to buy yarn." I did manage to start these the night before without breaking the rules.....
But then I got the call! THE JOB IS MINE!!!! The job I've patiently waited for for 5 years, the job I worked at earlier this winter while the previous person was on vacation....it all worked out - she retired! I cannot tell you how excited I am - this will be my last job - I will work here til I can't work anymore...I'm SOOOOO looking forward to peace of mind, work that I enjoy, work that makes a difference, work that is appreciated (and pays pretty good too), work that I've waited a long time for. WHOO HOO!! I start tomorrow.

So before knitting group I did go stash enhancing - just a few colors of Lambs Pride for mitten and hat gifts. I totally deserve it and didn't feel guilty one little bit. OMG I can go the Black Sheep Gathering now!!! Amazing how your whole attitude changes when you have an income that you can count on!

Knitting group was fun as always - there is such an impressive array of knitting going on. It is fun to have a new knitter share her first finished pair of socks and enthusiastically start another. We had a little refreshment and sustenance too of course.
And showed off socks too - I'm in the middle with my Sockapalooza socks - everyone admired the totally cool heel.

Now I'm waiting for the paint to dry to I can do the final coat (A neighbor graciously moved the desk for me) I've got to get this finished because there won't be time this weekend - College Girl is coming home and it will be too busy around here to paint etc.

Knit Peace!!

Is this some kind of joke?

It's April! You've got to be kidding! No gardening for me today - darn I'll have to knit!

Re-creation

Well that was an interesting adventure....Somehow when I was trying to add the new link for the Fiber Arts Ring to my sidebar - I erased my entire blog template - down to the insertion point. Away went all my favorite places, buttons, the works - all gone from my custom blog template. This required that I recreate - using the latest Blogger updates etc....supposed to be easier to customize now. We will see. It has some advantages - but if I really want it like the old one I still have to tweak the html code and I'm not sure I remember how to do all that.

I'm sure I'm missing some important links on my "Inspiration" list - I'll keep adding as I remember where I've been (I tried looking in my history but it I think I emptied it last week - of course)!

I had planned to finish these today - sitting in front of the TV with a good fire going as it was snowing outside...it's April! I am tired of this for sure. I did get them finished and they will go into the future gift stash.

Please bare (or is it Bear) with Me

I was updating my blog - inserting new control for the Fiber Arts Ring - and lost it all.....all my links, buttons, lists, etc.....so am spending my Sunday trying to recreate - this sucks!!!

No Work - Lots of Knitting

My chair side - all the essentials; coffee, knitting projects and the remote - what a way to spend the day! Opps - coffee is out of range!

Starting at the top - Plain Jane Pink socks and my wonderful Pirates Bag. These are my carry- with-me essentials. Next clockwise, is another Forest Canopy Shawl - Anne in the Mediterranean Sunset colorway - picture doesn't do it justice. Maybe this is better....This is just one of my favorite all time patterns. Wish I had more guts to branch out to other lace - but this just always fits the bill. I have to confess that I did do some stash enhancement awhile back (See below for "Why in the &$! did I do this) - but it was on sale at Little Knits - and it was just right. It will go into the future gift stash.

Next is the Hearty Strippy socks from a Ravelry free pattern. Gosh it was easy to get hooked on Ravelry!

The last project no longer exists....I was trying to do the Lace Ribbon Scarf with Knit Picks Andean Silk - but although I didn't cast on the full amount - I didn't like the way it was progressing. I really want to knit a gift scarf with this yarn - it is so soft - but just can't come up with the right combination! I do have plenty of sock weight stash to do this pattern so there is no problem there!

I have so much time because I am again temporarily out of work, that will change in a few weeks I think - but nothing is for sure of course. I wasn't very prepared this time and am really stretching the cash to get by day to day...why does this keep happening to me! (It's what I get for being in business for myself) It is always a matter of circumstances (including doing my job to well!) and beyond my control. There is lots of unavoidable drama going on at work due to budget cuts - but when it's all said and done I am confident I will be working my dream job full time and then some! Keep your fingers crossed. In the meantime I knit and while the weather transitions to Spring I get my garden ready for summer! Life is interesting and good!

It’s not what you think….

Oregon that is. Most people immediately think of beautiful old growth Douglas Fir forests when they think of Oregon. But in reality – 2/3rds of the state is high desert. East of the Cascade Mountain range is high plateau sagebrush flats dotted with ancient Junipers. (Click on the pictures so you can see them better if you'd like!) Driving north from Central Oregon to the Columbia River Gorge is a beautiful route through this area. It is 120 miles from Redmond to the Columbia River (I went this way to avoid the snow over the pass on Mt.Hood) and in my estimate it is one of the prettiest drives in the state. I think because I love the ‘big sky’ and the vistas. On a clear day the Cascades frame the route on the west; and the east is a never ending horizon of sage brush.

The highway roams through a few very small farming communities – including historic Shaniko – home of the Imperial Ranch. (They have great yarn!!) The fields are just now being plowed for spring planting – although as you get closer to the Columbia some are lawn like in their lush spring sprouts. I tried to imagine what life in an earlier time would be like on this windswept landscape. What bounties did the Northern Paiute find here, why did the settlers pick the places they did.

Even The journals of Lewis and Clark briefly note the Columbia Plateau. On Sept. 18, 1805, Clark wrote: “...from the top of a high part of the mountains…I had a view of an emence Plain and leavel country to the SW. & West.” After their difficult crossing of the Bitterroot Mountains, the sight of the plain “greatly relieved the spirits of the party,”

Now there is a different kind of ‘farming’ activity – totally cool!

The mighty Columbia Gorge – carved by the Montana floods, celebrated by Lewis and Clark, the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest. Interstate 84 is right at river level so all kinds of activities are observed. Incredible waterfalls, barges full of Northwest bounty travel up and down the river – as well as busy train tracks (Eskimo Pie!) on both sides. What was the river like before the dams at The Dalles and Bonneville. What a shame for the Native American’s to lose their cultural fishing sites and how did Lewis and Clark feel when they exclaimed " Ocian in view! !! The joy." (This is another 40 miles beyond Portland, where I was headed)

The trip is a little longer this way, but the extra time is well spent enjoying the scenery and imagining a different time. Each time I go this way – I say “who am I kidding…move to Portland and be hemmed in and not see this every day? No way!”

On the way home a few days later – same route – I made a little stop here. I did not buy anything!! I am proud of myself – but will definitely stop again! I really wanted this - it had my name written all over it. Maybe next time.

My Notebook

I have been keeping a knitting journal since since 1991 - about the time I really got into knitting again. There is very little noted between 1995 and 2000. I've written the basic info about each project; the pattern, the yarn, the gauge (sometimes), the recipient, and stuck in the ball band most of the time. Today I decided to tally it all up....

• 35 pairs of socks (All since 2002)
  
• 16 scarves
• 29 sweaters (lots of childrens sizes)
• 20 hats
• 8 mittens
• 3 shawls

It's been fun to look back and see how the journey has progressed and where my life was going. I can tell by what kinds of things I knit - early on lots of children's sweaters, now socks! With Raverly and this blog I find I don't keep as good a set of notes - must do that!!

Now I have two more things to add...Synesthesia Socks - a Ravelry find. The yarn is Some Assembly Required - Kiwi.

And a camera cozy for my sister. This is STR Fairgrounds - left over from a pair of socks last year and a few Preemie Beanies....and I've still got some left over.
Both these yarns arrived in my stash via the Sisterhood of the Traveling Stash. I've made good use of my finds there.

Had a great breakfast this morning with the big kids at a place called Chow - great name and really wonderful food! I have a few days (I hope it's only a few) off of work this week - so am heading over the mountains to the big city to help get my Dad's house cleaned up before he comes home from the Desert next month. Will visit with College Girl too. REI Girl will be house/dog/cat sitting while I'm gone - how come is it that now that the kids are all gone - I'm the one tied down with the family pets!! Not that I don't love them because I sure do - especially since they don't talk back!