Home for a rest

Ahh, it's rainy, dreary and cold here in CT. Welcome home after a week in Virgin Gorda, BVI - where it was sunny and warm and even a little humid all the time! We went down for a wedding and extended our stay for a vacation - it was fantastic!

since I've got more than 500 photos loading into snapfish, I'll share just a few with you here and give the quick run-down of the week.

Monday, we flew down - Hartford to Puerto Rico to Virgin Gorda, and began our stay at Cool Runnings our own villa! We shared the place with a married couple we have known since we were all dating in college. Lorelai stayed at home with the grandparents - she was greatly missed, but it was nice to have a vacation that was just "us". We swam in the ocean (so warm!), watched the sunset at went out to the Rock Cafe for drinks and apps.
This was the nightly view from our porch:


Tuesday we relaxed and went snorkeling (cross that off my 101 list!) - we spotted a sea turtle and 2 squids in with all the fish and coral! Amazing! That night there was a "welcome" gathering - the food was so delicious - fresh coconut shrimp, jerk chicken, pork - yummy! The bride's family hosted at their villa and they had an even better view:


Wednesday we relaxed again. Hit the beach (the Baths are incredible!), napped, drank, read, I knit. Good times!

I started a sock on the plane ride down - "Tidal Wave" sock pattern, Tofutsies yarn. So nice to just do a little each day. And have rum. Painkillers. Bushwackers. Rum & Coke. It's all good. I didn't knit too many mistakes :) On wednesday night we went to the Mine Shaft Cafe for sunset (it was cloudy) and dinner - we had the drink of the house "The Cave-In" - they don't tell you what's in it (the menu description is all wingdings font!) but it was smooth going down!


Thursday, more of the same - relaxing, going to the beach, knitting, napping, drinking. Oh yeah, and the reason we were there - the wedding. This was my first time at a beach wedding - aren't the bride and groom cute?


Friday even more relaxing, beaching, knitting, napping, drinking. We went over to Leverick Bay for a pig roast on the beach - delicious! And apparently we missed any information about the dancers because we were surprised to see Moka Jumbies - there were 6 dancing all about and were quite talented!

(Dan is 5'10, I'm 5'8"!)

Saturday to continue the relaxation, we had spa treatments! A sea salt scrub (OMG, so good, bye bye dead new england dry skin!) followed by an aloe wrap and massage! Excellent! We also went to the Bitter End which was just ok in the grand scheme of the week, and Saba Rock which was better than the Bitter End, but still just ok. We still "the captain in us" to quote a rum company -


Sunday we took it easy (big surprise) - just like all the other days - and ended with tapas (yummy) at Chez Bamboo

Monday we returned - It's good to be home - Really good to see the baby especially. Photos of the knitting will have to be at another time. For now, I'll leave you with a few of my favorite photos of the trip - this grasshopper who was just hanging out poolside on one of the lounge chairs, my reflection in dan's sunglasses and another grasshopper on the glass sliding doors. I'm thinking to enter the grasshopper photos in the country fairs this fall.

Big or Small, Leash your dog!

This story strikes close to home because it happened in CT and happened to a dachshund :(
Woman, Dog Attacked by Rottweiler

I'm a dog person. Love dogs. All breeds, even though there are some I would not keep as a pet, that's my own opinion. It's so sad when something like this happens.

Playtime (Dogs on Thursday)

Jackson is a very playful dog - part of that clown-around-dachshund personality. We've always had toys for him, and ever since he was a puppy we've had our own version of "fetch". We throw the toy. He runs after it. He picks it up, brings it back and doesn't let go! We're working on it - sometimes he'll drop it, sometimes he'll tug when you hold the other end / side. The current favorite toy is "Heave a Beaver" from FatCat - they are sturdy and last quite a long time. They have enough space for his little snout and the rope is a good chew surface. We've enjoyed "Hurl a Squirrel", "Chuck a Duck", "Fling a Frog", "Toss a Possum" as well - and now they have new farm ones! Lorelai is more interactive and sometimes Jackson tries to play with her:
(I love that he's eyeing her in this photo)



He's a very good sport!

Brrr.

Woke up this morning and noticed it was cold. Not too surprising for New England in April, but to look at the thermostat and see it reading "56" instead of "64" was a surprise! Something is wrong with the furnace, again. Luckily, our local company is great - when we called them at 7:45am they said someone would be here after 9:30 or 10 - no big deal, I'm here, the sun's out, we can all put on an extra layer. The guy was here at 8:45! Hopefully it won't be too expensive of a fix. In the meantime, I am drinking a whole lot of coffee (it's hot)

I finished another "Baby Genius" burp cloth, this time in a lemon-lime colorway, I like this one a lot more:

(This photo is from a few days ago, not today, she's been taking her socks off and trying to eat them lately. Today she's in a fleece footie outfit to keep warm.)

I'm planning to take yarn to work on these while we're away - simple, easy, but yet you end up with a great item. Dan's aunt was over this past weekend and she's a crocheter, and was really taken with them :) I am going to use up the variegated yarns and then make several striped (black / white).

I started to make a Seamless Baby Kimono, but I have to frog or tink several rows - I skipped a whole section of the directions - whoops. Groan.

Here's another one of the wee one:

The onesie says "I (heart) my great aunt anne", made at the baby shower by guess who? Aunt Anne. Simply adorable.

Neon in a blender

I was digging into my stash and found a ball of Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn - in pinks, orange, green and yellow. I decided to make a "Baby Genius Burp Cloth" from the Mason-Dixon gals. As I was knitting it up I absolutely hated the colors! It's all neon mushed up, and I really can't remember why I bought the yarn to begin with - probably I was hoping it would stripe, what did I know? Anyway, it was a quick knit (a few days), fairly mindless knitting and I ended up with a practical item that I won't mind if it is covered in spit-up or drool. I put it to use right away yesterday. It looks better next to a cute baby. By the way, the baby is a ham. Seconds before I took this photo she was fussing. Once the camera was out she was all smiles:


I found another ball of Sugar 'n Cream - lemon lime I think is the colorway - neon green, yellow and white. It's less repulsive to my eyes.

Other things going on - we're trying to get Lorelai to take formula to supplement while I'm away on vacation. Rather foolishly, I tried to give her a bottle of straight formula and she wasn't having it. We're starting slow 90/10 milk/formula mix, today hopefully we'll do 80/20 mix and hopefully get up to 25/75 or even 0/100 by the time we leave. I'm pumping to the best of my ability, but there's only so much!

Evaluation

I'm in a knitting limbo. I don't feel like giving attention to any of my projects on the needles, can't decide what new project to start and then there's the consideration that I'm travelling in 2 weeks for 10 days and what will I bring then? I'm surrounded by my knitting projects in progress and it is time to figure out what needs to be done.

1) Amelie Dress - needs ends woven in, buttons on the shoulder, and seaming at the bottom (which I think I will leave undone, so it can be more tunic like as Lorelai grows)

2) Nutkin socks - started, but I feel like the cuff is huge. I think I'm sending this to the frog pond and will start over (perhaps with to try 2-at-a-time socks)

3) Mingus socks - started, but not loving it and not addicted to it yet. Another candidate for the frog pond and starting over (2-at-a-time socks or Cat Bordhi's book)

4) Mystic Light shawl - I do like working on this project, but it requires attention.

5) Glee - Need to wind up more yarn, I'm in the st-st part of the body for the next 6 inches or so. I really want this to be done in time for my trip. May or may not happen

6) Central Park Hoodie - swatched, and I have to use 9's and 7's. Need to locate my 7s and I think I need to buy a US9 circular - maybe not, I want to use bamboo, only have straights in the 9 size...

7) Baby genius burp cloth - started one for simple car knitting, also trying to use stash. OMGWTFBBQ?! It's the most hideous colors! I liked them in the ball - bright pink, orange, green, yellow - kind of neon-ish, but the way it's working up looks like tye-dye gone bad. Going to finish it either for a car cloth or burp cloth - certainly won't feel bad when it gets spit on.

8) Baby gift that is in pieces - need to get the stuffing and get to work and put it together.

9) Other baby gifts - assortment of hats, burp cloths, kimonos? Need to wind the yarn. And just get started.

10) Brigid socks - on the toe of the first sock. The weather is getting warmer, so I'm not in need of these house socks, that's really the only reason they have gone to the back burner.

11) Hope & Donald Chevron scarf (upstairs, not near me but it's lingering) Just takes a while.

Considerations for the trip:
On the plane: burp cloths / hats - bamboo circulars or dpns, straightforward patterns
Vacation destination: Mystic Light, maybe - looks impressive. Socks? Easy to transport. Hope & Donald? good chance to add more length.

I need to get to work on these...

Please Vote!

I've posted many many photos here of Jackson and Lorelai - if you've enjoyed them please go vote for the photos I've submitted to snapfish!

BestFriends Category


Baby Pets


and
Funny Pets

Knits

I called it quits on finished a scarf. The pattern is a "drop stitch" scarf that I bought from CT Yarn and Wool. I used Bo Peep's Sock yarn in a purple. Jackson was kind enough to model:


Did you notice? There's no dropped stitches! I dropped as instructed when binding off, but they did not fall! Oh well. I like it as it is.

I'm late in posting this, but I received my "Wee Sock Swap" this week from Sarah - Thank you so much! I love the blues!

This time I remembered to include things for scale - my dachshund pepper shaker and a nickel!

Special Delivery

I ordered a gift for my cousin's fiancee's bridal shower. It's a fragile gift, but I was still surprised when the HUGE box arrived on our porch. And of course, it was full of styrofoam peanuts. First thought? Annoyance. Second thought? Great photo op!

Movie Meme Updated!

Nice Work! 7 out of 10 were correctly identified - don't you just love movie quotes?
Here are the stumpers -
2. You're tearing me apart! Rebel without a Cause

8. As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. Goodfellas

10. We grow copious amounts of ganja here, and you're carrying a wasted girl and a bag of fertilizer. You don't look like your average horti-fucking-culturalist.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

1. I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that.
Say Anything Correctly id'd by kate! Violet knew this one too!

3. They all have husbands and wives and children and houses and dogs, and, you know, they've all made themselves a part of something and they can talk about what they do. What am I gonna say? "I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork. How've you been?"
Grosse Pointe Blank Correctly id'd by TheatreKnitter!

4. What's wrong with the way I talk? What's the big idea? Am I dumb or something?
Singin' in the Rain Correctly id'd by Alcariel and Ina!

5. Snookums prefers the rubber Wall Street Journal to the rubber Washington Post.
Muppets Take Manhattan Correctly id'd by TheatreKniter!

6. Leave it to you to use big words when you're smashed.
10 Things I Hate About You Correctly id'd by Alcariel!

7. Kiki? Kiki-kins? Who's smoking? I smell smoke. Is someone smoking within a six mile radius of where I'm standing! Stop them Kiki, stop them!
America's Sweethearts Correctly id'd by Alcariel! Violet knew this one too!

9. You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fucking khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world
Fight Club Correctly id'd by Amanda

Movie Meme

Saw this on
Couldn't resist!

The rules:
1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them on your blog for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. Looking them up is cheating, please don’t.


1. I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that.

2. You're tearing me apart!

3. They all have husbands and wives and children and houses and dogs, and, you know, they've all made themselves a part of something and they can talk about what they do. What am I gonna say? "I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork. How've you been?"

4. What's wrong with the way I talk? What's the big idea? Am I dumb or something?

5. Snookums prefers the rubber Wall Street Journal to the rubber Washington Post.

6. Leave it to you to use big words when you're smashed.

7. Kiki? Kiki-kins? Who's smoking? I smell smoke. Is someone smoking within a six mile radius of where I'm standing! Stop them Kiki, stop them!

8. As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.

9. not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fucking khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world

10. We grow copious amounts of ganja here, and you're carrying a wasted girl and a bag of fertilizer. You don't look like your average horti-fucking-culturalist.

Spring Knits

I've finished some things and made progress on others:


From Itty-Bitty Hats, the Upside-Down Daisy hat. It's the 0-6 month size, and it fits, but is just a little bit snug. It's a cute hat though and gets lots of attention when we're out. A good hat for spring I think. Jackson is still a good model, even if he's out of practice.

I finished clue #1 last night for the Mystic Light KAL! I'm quite impressed with myself - in the past I have joined KALs but never follow through with them. So far, so good. Four more clues to go.

Not the best picture, a little blurry, I didn't want to use the flash so the color would show better, and I haven't bothered to pin it out to show the lace / cables. The yarn is "Dream in Color (Smooshy) - Dusky Aurora" grey-blues-purples, very much me.

And I participated in a very quick swap, the "Wee Sock Swap". I actually made two socks and loved the second one (it has a nicer toe) and popped it into the mail before I remembered about taking a picture! Whoops.

I should have put something next to the sock for scale... the sock is under 3 inches!

While all that is good, I'm bored with my current projects! I think I'll be taking things off the needles and starting over (bye bye Nutkins!) I really should get going on the baby gifting - need to wind up the yarns. I'm in the endless section of stockinette on Glee, so that's good tv knitting. I want to swatch (?! want to swatch? amazing!) for the Central Park Hoodie.