Days Had

I'm between jobs now, and it is the best feeling.
I have retired from the food biz and never wish to return.
My new job starts August 1, and I'm losing count of days inbetween.

Sunday, we hiked to Glen Lake and were eaten by horseflies. Five mile round trip hike with a 700 foot elevation gain and I'm not proud to say that the uphills killed me. Or that we both were burned by the sun, horrifically.

Most of the hike was through burn forest

So refreshing once we made it to Glen Lake! Water was freezing

Monday, I made an enormous pot of goulash that we're still digging away at.

Tuesday, we drove to Diamond Lake and hiked to Cliff Lake. Though still sore and burnt from Glen Lake, I thoroughly enjoyed this hike. The greenness, the lushness, the lack of horseflies... though I've found at least five mosquito bites today that I hadn't noticed before. I think you can tell how much I enjoyed this hike over Glen Lake hike through the number of photos I took.

Diamond Lake, from mountainside

Most of the trail to Cliff Lake was like this!

Ick!

Cliff Lake

Bookend: The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

via philippagregory.com

From all the hype I've heard about this book (and movie), I knew it must be a good read. And it is.

The Other Boleyn Girl is told from Mary Boleyn's point of view, the sister of Anne Boleyn who becomes Henry VIII's second wife. As a historical fiction piece, I found it very interesting and well written. Gregory certainly seems to have the historical details down, as my research proves (i.e. Wikipedia) and that is important for a story such as this. I'm not sure how much Gregory embellished, though I did hear an argument that she didn't play very close attention to some characterizations of people.

Either way, the characters are very engaging and interesting, the pacing is well managed (except it does drag a little towards the end. Maybe it's just because I was antsy for the beheadings...), and it's a very accessible read.

Now I just need to watch the film!

Yarn as Addiction

Cat Nap

 

Happy Fourth!

Footsie

I love her paws

Pens!

I'm a BIG fan of the Pen Addict and have been following the blog for a few years now. The pen reviews are fantastic and I've gotten some good insight on more than a few pens. Last week Brad held a giveaway for some Sharpie 80s Glam Markers, and guess who won?  =)

It made my day!
Thank you, Brad!

A little bit of sunshine in my life

Farmer's Market this morning! For carrots! and books (none were had) and flowers (a kind gift)! I think lupines might just be my new favorite =)

 
Thanks Tubbee!

FO: Espresso

2011 Knit/ Crochet Challenge: 23 down, 37 to go!

I'm not so sure this one should count towards the challenge because I started it in June. LAST year. But this was the first afghan I started to crochet! Since starting it, though, I've started and completed at least four or five other afghans. I chose this pattern (which I got from Michaels, I think. One of those free project sheets) as my first afghan because I thought it would be easy and simple. But it was very monotonous. And it's not very large either. Comparatively, the Round Ripples were much more interesting and fun to crochet than this one.

Yarn is Caron's One Pound in espresso and cream.

And now it's finished one year later!!

FO: Round Ripple

2011 Knit/ Crochet challenge: 22 down, 38 to go!

I began crocheting this afghan at the start of 2011 I believe. I neglected it for a few months but finally pulled it out of the closet to work on it. Mainly to continue whittling my yarn stash, but also to have a new afghan! In hindsight, the brown rows are entirely out of place, but I do enjoy the other colors.

Also, it clashes awfully with our plaid couch!! But I'm blind to it, unless I look at it through other people's eyes.

There's some Red Heart, Caron's, and Jo Ann's Sensations. I think those are the only brands I used, if you can believe that. Crochet hook is 5.5 mm. And the pattern is Lyn's Round Ripple afghan which I also used when I made Beth's afghan. I absolutely LOVE this pattern!

To give you an idea on how large this one is, it almost fits our queen sized bed. That is, it doesn't quite touch each side or hang over at all. It would work nicely on a twin though!

FO: Flashback

2011 Knit Challenge: 21 Knit, 39 to go!

This is an altered Garter-Ridged hat from 60 Quick Knits, only in different colors, and a slightly different decrease at the top (and I added more purl rows up the hat).

I really like the colors together, but I think I might try a different interaction. Probably Fair Isle. The purple is Patons Classic wool. The blue and orange are Cascade 220 (sorry I don't have the color numbers on hand...if you really want it I can look for them). And the yellow is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes.

I think this is one of the more masculine hats I've ever knit....but I can't think of any men in my life who'd wear it ;)

Big day today:

Farmer's Market
Bridal shower
Post pictures of FOs
Work on current UFO
Try to finish book for Sunday's review (and it's not going so well, because I'm not fond of the book)

Expect more posts today (that have complete sentences)

Oh my

My world has been turned upside down. I'm beside myself. I don't know what to do.

It has recently been brought to my attention that coffee beans should NOT be stored in the refrigerator. Go ahead and Google it if you don't believe me. There are many articles and discussions about this.

I am devastated.

I refrigerate my beans because my parents refrigerate theirs. Apparently coffee beans are porous and can absorb other fridge smells. Also, the moisture is not good for coffee. All the articles you will read about coffee storage say to avoid light, moisture, heat, and air (oxygen), and store in air-tight ceramic containers, not plastic. O bother.

There's more than a pound of Cravens coffee in our fridge, in a plastic container.
Sheesh.

Projects

I know it's silly to want a new project, especially since I already have at least three going right now, but doesn't this Psychedelic Afghan look super neat? It's knit, and I haven't yet knit an afghan.

Hmmm.......