A Blast from the Past

I decided to finish the year with an F.O., so here it is:



Deborah is the only person who would remember this, because it dates from our days of sharing knitting and a LYS in Huntersville, NC. This vest has been languishing, waiting for it's I-cord.

I like the yarn - it's Noro and I think it's Kureyon and not Silk Garden. The process was fun. But the shape (or lack thereof) just doesn't work well for me. Perhaps I could have sized it better by making smaller squares. But I'm not inclined to try again.

Deborah gave me some beautiful buttons to use for this, but now that it's done, I feel the buttons are too "elegant" for such a casual, colorful garment. And I'm only going to apply one, even though the I-cord has 3 buttonholes in it. So that would be a waste of Deborah's beautiful buttons. I'll have to make something else for those buttons.

But at least that's an FO done and out of the stash! I also cut and ripped, re-wound, washed, and tossed some yarn with regard to a previously made vest (the Artisan Vest from Green Mountain Mohair). It just didn't fit right, and I couldn't figure out how to make it work without looking like a do-over hatchet job. So I just decided to bag it. I salvaged some of the yarn and I'll make an Aran style hat with it.

New Year's Eve finds me knitting - Socks for Soldiers. I'll be asleep when 2007 arrives. And tomorrow I might spend some time on a river. I will definitely spend some time packing, as we're leaving on Tuesday to visit David's family in Oklahoma. Gillian, the oldest granddaughter, will be six years old on Jan 4!

Happy new year to all. Please add your hopes or prayers to mine that it will bring peace.

Merry Christmas, 2006

Christmas Eve at our house; BC and Terry are helping me knit Socks for Soldiers.


Looks like Santa brought Werner Player paddles for David and me. They are, of course, the correct color!

Christmas Day here on the Cumberland Plateau is cloudy, rainy, a bit cool. So I'll take you instead back to Costa Rica.




Sunset from my cabana motel near the Arenal Volcano.










There's a volcano in these clouds, honest. But this is what it looked like MOST of the time.


But I got lucky and saw this view, too. And that's not all clouds at the top - some of that is being vented from the volcano. If I used my binoculars, I could see the fiery rocks bouncing down the slope. And one could hear it, too. Very impressive.




I hope everyone is enjoying your holiday in the way that most suits you. I wish you a happy holiday and a peaceful new year!

Costa Rica, Christmas Socks, and More

I'm back! I had a great time. I'm going to show you some pictures. But first, the Christmas socks. As in, I promised them for Christmas, which made my procrastination gene kick in. Yes, I worked on them during the Costa Rica trip, but not enough. I was down to the wire and had to Express mail them today. I hereby promise myself I will do no more "deadline" knitting - I can't fight the procrastination gene!















Hers are Opal Petticoat. His are KnitPicks Landscape (now Memories) in the Cape Cod colorway.

And Terry fared just fine while I was gone, post surgery and all. David took good care of the girls. Here he is with Terry and Baby Kitty(the black and white kitty) (this is a big deal - Baby Kitty is very skittish about sitting in the chair with anyone!).















And now, for your armchair traveling, Costa Rica in December:















This is my good friend, Nancy (I have 3 paddling friends named Nancy) at Jaco Beach, on the Pacific coast. We're on our way to view the sunset after we spent some of the afternoon surfing here.














Luxury accomodations at the Occidental Hotel, El Toucan. It's raining, but expected. This is the rainforest, after all. We got to relax here in the pool and hot tub after a day on the Rio Balsa.
















Well, I think I must be maxed out on the photos or something; I can't seem to add any more. So next time....

Happy solstice, and happy holidays to everyone! David and I will be spending a quiet one at home this year, and heading to Oklahoma after the first for Gillian's 6th birthday!