Bunnies galore

I swear, the neighborhood looks like a rabbit preserve, there are so many rabbits hopping around!  Tink is getting used to them and she doesn't try so hard to chase them.  Not that she wouldn't if she didn't have a tether.

The gym did help with my sleepiness yesterday.  It's a great time of year too because kids are studying for finals and getting ready for graduation and it's much quieter now.  It should be like this for the rest of the spring and summer.  Considering I've been off for more than three weeks, I had a really decent workout and I'm sore today.  I will go again this noontime and then I'll be off Monday and Tuesday because of my doctor's appointment Monday and knitting Tuesday.  Speaking of knitting ..... still haven't heard from MaryEllin.

I'll need to get it together soon for my garden -- herbs and tomatoes for sure and I'd also like to do some arugula and mescaline greens.  Those are going to be hard to keep away from the rabbits unless I put them into containers.  I'll give that some thought this weekend.  It's not supposed to be super nice, but hopefully not pouring rain.

Home a week and I'm still sad.  I want to go back to Paris this fall but I doubt it. I am going to try but it's going to be a hard sell.

A hard lesson

Yesterday my left contact lens was really bothering me.  Something was in my eye and I needed to use some eye drops BUT I had taken them out of my cosmetic bag and put them into the liquids baggie for traveling and I hadn't put them back into my bag!  Oh and it hurt!  I wanted to take it out and just use tap water but them I remembered that sometimes the lens does not go back in easily at that point, especially if the eye is sore.  I stuck it out and found someone who had a bottle of drops and gave the eye a good wash.  I couldn't leave to go buy more eye drops until after that stupid exam!  Ideally I would have taken them out and put on some glasses but I didn't have a spare pair at work.  Well, I do now my friends.  I most certainly do now. 

I was SO tired all day yesterday.  And when I got home I just collapsed.  I did not want to cook or knit or do anything.  I stayed up as late as I possibly could, watching the penultimate episode of Once Upon a Time and falling into bed at 9 pm.  I was asleep at 9:02.  And you know what?  I am still tired today! 

I have no children and I am hardly an expert on them, but I observed something while traveling on trains on this last trip and I can't understand it.  Twice I saw people with toddlers riding and the toddlers getting progressively more out of hand as the trip went on.  One was a couple with a precocious little guy about 3 years old and the other was a woman on her own with a little girl about 3 or 4 and two babies, one she was holding and another in a stroller.  Here's what I don't understand - nobody brought anything for the toddlers to play with!  No books or dolls.  No fruit or juice or anything!  How can you expect a little child to amuse themselves in their heads for two or three hours?  Well you can't.  The poor little things got progressively noisier and disruptive.  The couple would try to talk to the boy and distract him -- all they had was a folded map to distract him with.  The single mother ended up swatting the little girl because she wanted to sit down in a seat in our car rather than squat with the mother and the pram in between the cars.  Unbelievable.  Thank goodness they were not on the same train -- or maybe not.  I guess the little boy and girl could have played together and all would have been fine.

Thursday.  I can go to the gym today.  Maybe that will wake me up finally.  Fingers crossed.

Spoiled

I guess all of that good weather in Europe spoiled me.  I really miss the sunshine!  I hear the weather was good all the time I was gone, but now it's typical gray skies and mist.  Basically it's the same way in Europe I guess, from looking at my weather app, but a little bit warmer.  It's chilly here.  Not chilly enough to turn on the heat or build a fire, but chilly.  It's so difficult to wake up entirely without some sunshine.

Noon knitting was fun, but we missed MaryEllin.  I guess she had some sort of family emergency while I was gone and she's still missing. 

I don't record a lot of TV, but there are a couple of shows I do watch.  Once Upon A Time had four episodes waiting for me and I got through two of them last night and I've got one more regular one and the 2 hour finale.  It has gotten a little fantastic, even considering the fantastical nature of the original premise.  But I'll stick it out and watch the finale.  I am undecided about another season though.

I've got to proctor an exam for two people today and another one on Monday.  But Monday I've got my annual exam appointment and I don't want to move it.  Luckily I got somebody to stand in for me - it's not a big exam.  I really didn't want to try to get into work in the afternoon.  It's next to impossible.  At the very least a huge hassle.  IF I can find parking in the garage.  It's much better to work at home on those days.

Well I'd better have another cup of tea or I'm just going to put my head down on my desk and snooze!

The bus driver's detour

When I went out to wait for my bus last night I noticed that the earlier bus, which my app OneBusAway had said had already passed by, was loading passengers.  So I hurried along and was the last person on the bus.  I settled in with my headphones on and away we went.  I was playing a word in a game of WordFeud when I looked up to find that he had just driven past the entrance to the freeway and was turning right down the next street after the missed entrance.  A residential street.  He obviously did not know what he was doing or, more importantly, where he was going.  If he had gone up to the freeway he could have gotten on and right off and circled around and been fine.  As it was he took a 30 minute detour to get onto the 520 bridge.  Idiot!  And then the rear door got stuck open at one of the freeway stops.  This does happen from time to time and the bus driver just turns the bus off and when he restarts the door closes.  I think it's because the rubber stopper on the bottom of the bus hits the curb.  Anyway .... that was another few minutes lost until a kindly bus driver behind him came up and showed him what to do.  He had tried to turn it off but "helpful" people outside kept trying to force the doors shut.  Actually, truth be told, I finally couldn't keep my mouth shut and told the driver that the guys outside were not helping and that they should leave it alone and he should turn the bus off.  He didn't do that though until the other bus driver told him the same thing.  Yeah.

So I was quite late getting home and Tink was very very happy to see me.  I know she probably slept all day but after three weeks with other dogs to play with I can't help feeling a little guilty that she doesn't have a playmate. 

How was work yesterday?  Busy actually.  I didn't get to go to the gym and I won't be able to until Thursday.  Today is noon knitting and tomorrow I have to proctor an exam.  Thursday is fine.  I'm still fighting jet lag a bit, although last night I had the best night I've had since getting home, sleeping through until at least 5 am.  Plus I took a Benadryl before bed because I've been so stuffed up -- the cottonwoods are drifting.  I well and truly missed my nap yesterday though.  That's one of the awesome things about vacation, the naps. 

Back to the real world

So we're back.  Our trip was really really good.  It got off to a very rocky start though.  The plan was for us to pack on Thursday the 16th, and then I would go to work Friday morning and Ben would take the dog to the boarding place, close up the house and take the shuttle to the airport and I would meet him there, leaving work around 1 and taking the train.  So there we are packing and nearly done and ready to go out to eat when I say "Where's your passport"?  Normally I wouldn't even bother with a question like that, but he had said earlier in the week that I should remind him just so he doesn't forget - a joke like.  So he goes to the safe, opens it up and ... no passport.  He had gotten a new one, since his old one was about to expire.  He took it to work on the 1st to scan it so he'd have a copy for the trip and then it's gone.  Well he looked and looked and started to panic.  I looked too for a while, but it was obvious that it was not going to be found.  And he's really panicking at this point.  So I got on the internet and found a phone number for the passport hotline for when you lose your passport and I give them a call.  There is no way I was going to miss this trip and I know this has to happen now and again.  The woman on the phone was very helpful and told him that he should call and get an appointment and if he can get all of the necessary paperwork, pictures, etc. together the passport office can do a passport in 3 hours.  And that's what happened.  We still drove all the way to his office to make positive sure he hadn't left it there, and there wasn't much sleep Thursday night.  I got up and got the dog to the boarders then his cousin's wife picked us up and got us to the passport office an hour before his appointment.  So before noon we had his passport and we were on our way to the airport.  Needless to say I didn't relax until I had a couple of martinis under my belt.

We used Airbnb for our accommodations the entire trip and with the exception of one place, all went well.  The first place was quite noisy, being right on a main street in Paris.  For all I know Paris, I forgot that rue de Rivoli changes names up near Bastille and I assumed we were just off the main drag when in face our window opened up right onto it.  Good earplugs and jet lag afforded us enough sleep.

After three days we took Ryanair to Venice and had a really cute, albeit moist, little apartment off the beaten track and away from the worst of the tourists.  We loved it!  The crowds were insane though because the weather was awesome.  Hot even.  We walked and walked and walked.  On the day before we left we bought a day pass and just rode the vaporetto all day. 

It was rainy in Florence, but Emma met us there and we had such fun with her.  The apartment was large with a washing machine so we were able to do a couple of loads of clothes and have them dry in the three days we were there.  This is the only place we went to museums and I bought the tickets early so that we wouldn't have to stand in line.  The Academia was great because of the crowd control.  They don't let it get too packed.  After lunch we had a 3 o'clock at the Uffizzi and I swear I could not wait to get out of there.  It was completely nuts.  Too crowded and hot and I was not happy.

After Florence Emma went her way and we went to Monterosso al Mare.  We had a cute little place with a private garden.  That is where we found the best restaurant - Ciak.  We ate there twice.  Incredible seafood.  We didn't do any  hiking - the weather wasn't great but the amount of tourists was staggering.  It rained and it was still packed.

We then made our way by train to Geneva for a little break before going back to Paris.  Geneva was expensive, annoying for not using the Euro and our Airbnb place was disgusting.  We stayed one night and the next morning I found us an hotel near the train station.  It was a cute hotel and quiet, relatively.  We strolled around Geneva a bit and had fondue for dinner.  Ahhhh ... cheese and beer for dinner.

Then back to Paris for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  We had dinner with Eoghan and Deirdre again on Wednesday.  Eoghan was trying his hardest to get us to move our return home a week and go with them to the south of France.  But of course we couldn't do it.  I had to get back to work and my dog.

And here's what I found in the front garden:

They all bloomed and there are more buds.  Lovely.  Maybe next weekend I can do the herbs and tomatoes. 

For now I'd better dig in to the real world.

The cupboard under the stairs

Finally back in Paris for the last few days of the trip. I am looking forward to having a real keyboard so I can make a real post. Italy was great and Geneva was a disaster. The apartment I got from Airbnb was ridiculous so I found a hotel for Monday. Hopefully I can get a refund. The little studio here in Paris is like a cupboard but I do not care. This is home to me. But I keep seeing ghosts.

From Florence

One week in. The WiFi in Venice was not useable. I cannot post in my iPad very well so this is short. No knitting. Yet. The weather has been crazy good. Speaking of crazy, our departure was extra crazy because we had to deal with replacing a passport 23 hours before departure. It is doable bit I don't recommend it. How does a passport escape from a safe? You tell me.

It is pouring in Florence and we are waiting for Emma to show up. Her plane had to return to Frankfurt.

More later.

Temperature swings

This morning is the second morning in a row that I've had to scrape ice off of my windshield before I could drive.  It's been getting that cold at night!  But in the daytime we've had sunshine and nice warm weather.  I sure hope that is what we are going to get on our trip.  Well, I've looked at the forecast and it does look as though we will, at least for the first part.  I hope it holds for the whole time.  What a treat that would be.

I decided against trying to get my toiletries together last night.  I've plenty of time to do it tonight and it makes much more sense.  So I just had a lazy evening doing the last bits of laundry and heating up meatballs for dinner.  The fridge is mostly empty now.  I am SO ready to leave!!  But I've got to hang around for another little while.  I am leaving early again today for my manicure and pedicure.  I've really got nothing to do here.  I've gotten everything all caught up. 

There are a few more trip details to take care of, like calling the credit card companies.  But other than that, I wait.  I brought my knitting in but I can't really sit in my office knitting.  Not that I wouldn't love to, mind you. 

That doesn't smell like breakfast

First thing in the morning, even before I go into my office, I stop in the kitchen to make my cup of tea.  Sometimes it smells of bacon or scones in there, but this morning -- yuk!  I don't know what in the world somebody heated up in the microwave but it just stinks!  It's not fish, thank goodness, but something meaty, like beef stew.  It's not at all pleasant. 

I got my clothes picked out last night and I have plenty of room!  Layering clothes, springtime clothes, are so much easier to pack than winter clothes.  Tonight I'll get all of my toiletries together.  That's going to be a bit more of a challenge since we're carrying on but I think I've got it figured out.

I've got a 3 o'clock appointment so I will be leaving here around 1:30 or so.  And tomorrow I think I'm going to move my 5 o'clock appointment to 4 or 3:30.  We're going to go out to eat and I'd like to have my packing all done before we do that and, if I've got to re-do my hair, that's going to take some time.  Although .... maybe I'll just get up a little earlier on Friday and do it in the morning.  Hmmmm ... that is probably smarter.  We'll see.  It would be nicer if I didn't have to work on Friday, but unfortunately I do.  But not for long.

Hail!

Wow.  It has been getting colder at night and I knew it was pretty cold this morning since the heat came on, and I had it set for 60.  Brrrrr  Yesterday it was pouring rain most of the day and into the night.  This morning I heard it start up again, but when I looked outside it wasn't rain but hail!  The ground was all white.  And now?  Bright sunshine. 

I did correspond with my Paris and Venice hosts yesterday and have that all set up.  In Italy you have to provide them with a copy of your passport, so I did that and now I've only one more place that needs the copies.  I'll do that Friday morning.  I've got my phone package set up and the mail set to stop.  The last thing I need to do is call the credit cards.  And then tonight I'm going to see if the clothes I want to bring are going to fit in my carry-on bag.  That's my only real stumbling block.  Everyone knows I always over pack but there will be so much traveling this trip and no checking the bags on the flights to make sure I don't end up with a suitcase I can't handle in the train stations.  Been there, no fun.  So it's fashion show Tuesday. 

I sure am in a good mood.  That's what vacation does to me.  And sunshine.  I stopped for a coffee on the way in since I didn't have to walk Tinkie this morning.  It felt like Friday!  It'll be here soon enough.

What is going on??

Ever since last week Yahoo Mail has been acting up.  I cannot access my mailbox even though I can see the messages in the preview window on my front page.  I forwarded some pictures to my account and I can't open them!  It is SO frustrating!!!  Maybe I'll try a different browser.  Okay ... now it's working.  Crazy.

It was a busy weekend, as I knew it would be.  Saturday I got up early and had a very light breakfast before starting in on the mac and cheese for the party.  Then I got my grocery shopping done for the week, albeit a short week.  Yay for that.  The party was fun for a while but it got pretty old, since most people had known each other since childhood and I couldn't relate to most of the stories.  After about 4 1/2 hours of this I excused myself and went home to finish up my wrap.  I had finished the knitting on Friday night but I needed to get the ends woven in and get it blocked.  It was nice to escape and have some quiet time for myself.  And Tinkie was happy for the company, since it had been thundering and she's deathly afraid.

It is certainly springtime.  I bought and planted a clematis last year and it has buds on it already. I don't suppose they will be opening this week.  I sure hope I don't miss them altogether!  Three weeks is a long time.  I can't even remember if it's pink or purple!  Oh well.  It is a small price to pay for a 3 week vacation.

Today I've got to confirm the AirBnB reservations for Paris (leg one) and get directions to get into it.  Plus get the Venice accommodations set as well.  There is no address for them so I'll have to set up a meeting.

Work isn't busy so thank goodness I'll have plenty of time to get it all done.

Best laid plans

I SO wanted to finished up that wrap last night but I still have about 10 fields to go.  Yes, it's getting smaller, but each field is 7 to 11 wrapped rows and that is what takes the most time. I brought it in with me today and I'm going to take my lunch and work on it and then hopefully I can finish it up tonight and block it tomorrow.

It's going to be a very busy weekend.  I've got to get up early tomorrow morning and get my side dish made for the family party at noon.  Me and my big mouth - they asked for a side dish and instead of making beans or something super easy I asked if they'd like homemade macaroni and cheese.  It's a simple dish, yes, but very labor intensive.  Ah well, live and learn.

Despite a stop at the Starbucks on the way to the transit station, the traffic was so light that I got there WAY early.  I parked on the second floor and ran out, hoping I could catch the 7:11 bus and get to work early so I could leave early.  But I just missed it.  I needed the coffee.  I had a restless night and I am very groggy this morning.  I guess I can sleep in a little bit tomorrow.  Maybe until 9.  That would be nice.

One more week to go.  Next week is going to crawl by, I just know it. 

The huntress

Everyone knows that I love my dog.  And I spoil my dog.  But she is a dog, hence a killer.  I will never forget the frantic swooping and cheeps from the pair of bird parents when Tinkerbell got into the ground nest and killed all of their babies.  It was terrible!  But instinct.  This spring she has been very interested in a low evergreen shrub in the front garden.  She snuffles under it and digs a bit at the bark surrounding it, which is quite deep since it's less than a year old.  This morning she was not interested in her usual walk up and down the cul-de-sac.  Instead, after a little pee down by the mailbox she wanted to go back up to the garden and investigate the shrub.  So I let her sniff and paw a bit and then I noticed a little creature scuttle out of the opposite of the shrub.  It looked like it was staggering a bit, so maybe it was a baby squirrel or maybe it was a sleepy shrew.  Whatever it was it didn't want to be anywhere near Tinkerbell.  I took her away into the house.  And now I've got to be careful not to let her nose under there unsupervised.

Yesterday was such a busy day that it flew by.  I had a hard workout and the upper floor of that gym is SO hot.  I am going to have to dig out my running skirt to use rather than my longer yoga pants.  I was soaked ten minutes into my 30 minutes of cardio.  Not fun.

After dinner I worked on my wrap and I am thinking if I put my mind to it I can finish it up tonight and block it tomorrow.  That would be ideal.  I think one more field of the Grace Hand beaded near the end will look really great.  I am very happy that the color goes so well with the Noro. 

Mission accomplished

Yesterday was the day.  I finally got all of the reservations organized and put into folders for each leg of the trip.  Seven of them. The purpose of this exercise was to make sure that every part of the trip I had thought I had organized was indeed finished.  Perhaps it seems like overkill, but I know me and I know that I won't be able to sleep for worrying that I forgot some important reservation or never received the confirmation for a certain accommodation.  They are all there.  The most difficult part of this trip will be getting from Paris to Venice.  I booked the flight with Ryanair, which only flies out of Beauvais airport.  So that means an hour or so bus ride to Beauvais to arrive two hours before the one hour flight to Venice.  Then from Treviso airport, another bus ride to Venice and from there a boat to the Biennale stop to be met by the apartment owner.  Whew!  Five days in Venice, then by train to every other place. 

Noon knitting so no gym yesterday.  I got two fields done on the wrap, then last night another three.  At this rate I may get it finished in time to block it this weekend.  It is rather .... colorful.  I am still not sure I'm going to take it, but I want to have the option.

But I wasn't shopping!

I had an odd thing happen on Sunday.  I have my account at Macy's set up so that instead of hard copy receipts, I get email receipts.  We were driving back from a quick visit to Triplehorn on Sunday afternoon and I got an email from Macy's Southcenter saying my account had been credited $21 dollars for a returned item.  That got me a little concerned, since I hadn't been shopping that day and I haven't been to Macy's at Southcenter for many many years.  I poured myself a glass of wine and settled on the porch in the sun and called them.  After about 20 minutes of navigating through automated phone hell I got a real person and we started digging into this mystery.  She said the item returned had been purchased in November of 2013 and it was a sleeveless blouse.  Ah ha!  A couple of weekends ago I had cleaned out my closet for spring cleaning and one of the things I finally tossed was a blouse I had purchased that was just the wrong color of green.  I had never even taken the tags off of it.  Ben took the bag to the Goodwill donation center in Tukwila and voila, somebody found it and returned it.  I did not end up with the money however.  They realized the mistake and had the refund voided and redone as a gift card.  So the scavenger got their $21 and I got a good laugh.  Who knew you could take things back after more than a year??

Yesterday my Yahoo mail just quit working, which was a drag because I was going to start putting my trip details together and all of the confirmations, etc. are in a folder in my Yahoo mail account.  After spending a couple of hours troubleshooting I got the Yahoo people onto it and went to the gym for a good workout.  The crowds are thinning a bit, thank goodness.  And all was well with my email by 2 o'clock.  Whew.  So today is the day I put things together.

I was do nothing Monday and I had all good intentions of doing a fair bit of knitting, but I got distracted by sunshine and a martini.  But it's noon knitting today so we know I'll get a good hour done on it and hopefully tonight I won't be so easily distracted.

The excitment is mounting

What an absolutely wonderful weekend I had!  It started off a little weird.  I woke up Saturday morning at 5 and I couldn't get back to sleep.  I just couldn't!  I put my sleep mask on but no go.  But that was okay.  The sun was shining and there was bacon for breakfast.  And then there was shopping (I got a couple of layering tops) and lunch and more shopping (I got a pair of comfy boots with just the right height of heel).  Then I was tired, so a quick stop at the grocery store and then home for a little nap.  What was next?  A walk in the park with Tinkie and then knitting of course.  Knitting and a movie.  I was still sleep deprived from being up so early, nap notwithstanding, so I went to bed pretty early but I managed to sleep in until after 9 Sunday morning!  Glorious.

Even though it was Easter, there were no family parties because there's going to be a large one this coming Saturday.  Grocery shopping was first thing on the list to get done and I wanted to stop at Target but it was closed.  In fact, there were quite a few businesses that were closed, but whether it was just too early (10:30) or they were closed for Easter, I don't know.  Target usually opens quite early, so I guess it was closed for Easter.  The grocery store was not. 

I have been meaning to get into the garden and Sunday was the day.  It wasn't as sunny and warm as Saturday, but it was good enough.  In other words, NOT raining.  I got the hydrangea bushes pruned, the hydrangea trees pruned, and I hacked at a few bushes in front of the house that are simply the wrong types of things for that spot.  They should go.  Maybe this fall.  The laundry got done and the house tidied.  I didn't do any more knitting though, and that means I'm going to have to really get to it seriously these next few nights.  If I don't get it done in time to block it Saturday then I'll have to put it aside and take a different wrap with me.  I have to get the Koigu wound and the socks I'm meaning to take with me started.  Starting toe up socks on two circular needles is a very fiddle-y business.  I can't be doing it on a plane or a train or in an unfamiliar apartment with bad lighting.

This week -- my number one goal is to get each piece of the trip printed out and in separate folders.  Then I can stop worrying and just be excited.

Nightmare or .......

No, not a nightmare.  I woke up moaning but it was sore muscles!  On Wednesday I worked my upper back and shoulders and wow .... am I ever sore!  Obviously, because just turning over in bed and raising my arms woke me up.  I am pretty happy about it though because I am able to get soreness.  It has taken a few weeks of working out to get to the point where I can add enough weight to the machines to enable my muscles to fatigue.  And actually my thighs are a bit sore today too, which is another wonderful thing.  I've been gradually adding resistance to the biking and the Precor and finally I am seeing (and feeling) some results.  I have laid off the running and I think I will resist running for a few more months.  I wore high heels twice this week and my foot is fine.  I am sure the pounding was not doing it any good. 

I did a few more fields on the wrap last night - I'm up to 41, I think.  That's out of a total of 65 and it is getting smaller now.  I need to get it finished up by the end of next week, so I'm going to try to get some good work done on it this weekend.  There are things I need to get done around the house and in preparation for the trip too.  At least there are no parties or dinners or other obligations.  Next weekend is another thing - too busy for a weekend before we're leaving but I'll have to cope. 

Friday.  Hoorah and oh please let me be able to sleep in this weekend!!

The early bird gets the latte

It is a rare morning when I don't have to walk Tink before I go to work.  This was one of them and so I was ready to head out way too early.  What a perfect time to stop for a breakfast treat.  There is a Starbucks inside the Safeway store at Cottage Lake, which is right on my way to Avondale Road.  They open at 5 AM so off I went in search of a tall skinny vanilla latte.  There wasn't even anyone in line ahead of me.  I got in, ordered my coffee, paid with my app and was back on the road right on time.  I am groggy though.  I guess there wasn't enough caffeine in it!

Since I had worked my shoulders and upper back after my cardio yesterday afternoon, I was looking forward to a nice soak in the jacuzzi tub when I got home.  It was great and I'm barely sore this morning but that being said, I'll for sure do leg work today. 

I got one field done on the wrap.  I'll have to do lots better than that if I want to be done in 10 days!  I watched another two episodes of Louis while knitting and then went to bed early.  I slept well but still I could do with another hour or so.

It's going to be a long day.

Already April!

Despite being mostly bored to death at work, time is certainly flying by.  I cannot believe it's April already!  But the weather took a turn last night and it's cold cold cold this morning!  On the way home from the Transit Center yesterday evening there was a magnificent thunder storm.  I had to stop at the store for a couple of ingredients for dinner and by the time I got home the storm had mostly blown over.  Poor little Tink was waiting right at the door when I walked in.  She hates loud noises.  Even the popping of a champagne corks scares her, so thunder is really bad.  She bounced back and we had a nice little walk.  She's rabbit hunting now, since they are back.  I've only seen one a couple of times, but pretty soon they will be all over the neighborhood and she'll be tracking like a bloodhound. 

Sometime ago I came across a packet of lettuce wrap seasoning and I picked it up, thinking it would make a nice different dinner.  That's what I cooked last night and it was delicious!  I used ground turkey instead of chicken or pork.  I got a fresh butter lettuce and made a little rice.  Seriously, it was astonishingly good!  I had fresh cilantro to chop for garnish, which adds a lot to it.  You put peanuts, chopped carrots, onion and water chestnuts in with the sauce and meat.  Oh, it's making my mouth water just to think about it.  That's going to be a staple, for sure!  And just think how nice it'll be when I can use fresh lettuce from the garden. *IF* I get lettuce going this year.  With all of the wildlife around, I suspect it's going to be a challenge.

Last night, as I was catching up with Louie on Netflix in preparation for the new season starting April 9, I got over the half way mark and did another beaded field on my Spring Fusion wrap.  I am hoping I can get some good knitting in this weekend.  I've got to have the wrap done by the weekend of the 10th so I can block it if I want to take it with me on the trip.  I don't have anything much going on this weekend.  I would like to get out in the garden and prune the hydrangea trees and bushes, and I need to clean and wash the truck.  But that's about it.  I know it's Easter but hopefully nobody will decide to have a fancy lunch and I can have Sunday to relax and knit.  That's what I want.

Pet peeve 1 million and counting

Yesterday was the start of upper campus spring quarter and that means that the IMA is full of people.  It's like after winter break when everyone swarms the gym with New Year's resolutions, and it doesn't last long.  But in the meantime it's annoying.  That's not the pet peeve though.  I am bothered by those people who show up, get onto a bike or weight machine and half ass it.  By that I mean, for example, the girl on the stationary bike next to me who, for the entire 30 minutes I was on my bike, peddled away with her legs not even extending fully, and who didn't even break a sweat!  I swear, she was on that bike before I started and I didn't see a bead of sweat on her brow.  Meanwhile I am pouring sweat 10 minutes into my 30.  I wanted to grab her by the shoulders, give her a shake and say, "You're not doing it right!!  Adjust that seat, extend your legs fully and put some work into it."  Hah.  Wouldn't it be nice though to be able to do that?  I must just content myself with bitching into the wind, it seems.

The weather was extraordinary yesterday, sunny and warm.  After Tink's walk I had a quick shower and made myself a drink and sat down on the porch to soak in the last of the rays.  Today it's pouring rain, as predicted, so I'm glad I got that time in the sun.  And while I was sitting there I noticed bees (wasps?) going into the window frame around the bathroom window.  Great. 

I did get the reservations for the airport shuttle made yesterday, and the pass to Academie and Uffizi museums.  Good thing that I did that yesterday, because the advance passes are limited and sold out right up to the day I chose, which is April 28. Emma's birthday is the 27th and I suspect we'll be celebrating so we're going to see David at 11:30 and then the Uffizi at 3.  The last time I was there David was in scaffolding for cleaning and parts of the Uffizi were closed due to water damage.  That was 20 years ago!  Or was it 21?  I just remember that Kurt Cobain died while I was in Europe. 

Noon knitting today and I brought my Spring Fusion in to work on.  I didn't get that last increase field done last night and I think I'd like to take this with me on the trip.  It's going to block out amazingly.  But I've got to finish it first!

Monday and I feel fine!

Oh how wonderful it was to wake up this morning and not feel sick!  I realized I'd been sick for sometime when I started heading out with Tink for her morning walk and I hadn't put my contacts in!  Out of the habit.  She got her walk, I put them in while my coffee was making and headed out and still I was early at the Transit Center.  The traffic was very light.

I made it through Friday all right but I was exhausted when I got home.  I did get to sleep in until 9 o'clock on Saturday, which was great.  I had a manicure appointment for 11 and I made it in plenty of time.  Then a trip to Trader Joe's for a few staples (wine) and that was it for chores.  We had plans Saturday evening for dinner and games out and it was such a fun night!  We didn't take Tink, since she's been rather needy lately.  It's hard when you're at someone's house, because I have to take her out on the leash when she needs to go and invariably it's at an inconvenient time.  So, she stayed home and we stayed out WAY late playing table shuffle board and spades.

Again on Sunday I got to sleep in, which I am sure helped with my complete recovery from this latest cold.  The mall doesn't open until 11 and we got there right spot on.  There are always so many last minute things to buy when you're going away for a long trip.  And especially since I'm going to carry on, which means all my liquids have to be in 100ml or smaller containers AND all fit in one quart sized zip lock.  It won't be easy, but I think I'm almost there.  And it's only the flight to Paris and then a few days later the flight to Venice that I've got to worry about.  After that it's trains all the way and it doesn't matter.  If I have to check my bag on the way home, that'll be okay.

So this week - today I hope - I've got to book the shuttle to Beauvais Airport and get the advance museum tickets for the three of us for Florence.  Then I've got to figure out how to get from the airport in Venice to the train station and into Venice proper.  And from there to our apartment.  Details and more details.

I am just one field away from the half way point on my latest shawl.  I think I'll bring it in for noon knitting until I get it done.  It's quite a quick knit, but there's lots of counting.  

It lives

Holy cow.  Monday went from bad to worse.  I had such a terrible cough and by lunchtime I was really hacking and feeling terrible.  I went home, went straight to bed and stayed there for three days.  I tried to get in yesterday, but half way through my morning teeth brushing, face washing I knew it was a lost cause and back to bed I went.  Tink was not such a good doggie, since it was sunny most of those days and she was always wanting to go outside, then she'd bark.  Oh well, I'm nearly 100% and back in the saddle today.  Friday.  Good heavens. 

And now we're only three weeks away from leaving and I've got a full plate here at work plus the last minute things I've still not done - getting Tinkerbell's boarding sorted, the shuttle to Beauvais, the museum tickets for Florence .....  I suspect I'll be able to carve out some time this afternoon.  I won't be going to the gym at lunchtime.

So I am thinking -- I've been sick how many times since July?  July, September, at least once more in November or December and now this?  What's different this year?  I'll tell you, it's the flu shot. I thought I was being so smart and it ends up I've been sick more times this year than last, when I didn't have a flu shot.  Crazy.

Now I'd better dig in.

Fun in the wind and rain

What a fun weekend we had in Port Townsend.  I got out of here a little earlier than expected and we made the 1:40 ferry.  The hotel I had booked was not that great, but there were few choices that were dog friendly and I thought this one looked the best out of the bunch - except for the $300 a night place.  I wanted to be right on the water, which we were.  And as luck would have it, right across the street from the BEST Mexican restaurant, and right next door to a pub that had live music Saturday night. 

The wind was really whipping up on Friday night, and while walking Tink I nearly got blown over!  I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food, but since the restaurant was right across the street, that's where we ended up rather than fighting the wind into town.  It turns out it is owned and run by a cousin of another really good restaurant we have been to a few times in Union.  I ordered a carnitos taco and a chile rellano and I swear, it was the very best chile rellano I have eaten.  We learned to make them on the trip to Mexico last year and this one was that authentic.  Just fabulous!  Unfortunately I couldn't finish it because I got too full (don't you hate that?), but what I did eat of it was wonderful.

Saturday morning we decided to go up to the fort, not remembering that it is a national park and you need your park pass (which we have, but not in the fancy car), so we only got to drive around through it, not walk on the beach.  But we did run into a massive garage sale at a fair ground on the way up there.  Tons and tons and tons of junk.  But it was fun wandering through, and the weather held up.  In fact, when we got back into town and walked it was quite nice, and the sun was coming out.  There were quite a few people in fancy dress, being that it was the Victorian Festival.  Odd dress, not many in actual Victorian dress.  But still, it was fun. 

We got out fairly early on Sunday and had decided to stop in Port Gamble for breakfast, since we had stopped there last year and found the most wonderful cafe with excellent food.  We were half way through our meal when I realized I had left my earrings and a sapphire ring in the hotel room!!!  I have never EVER left my jewelery behind.  I couldn't believe it.  I of course called them right away and they had them, so we had to turn back around and drive all the way back to fetch them.  It was still early enough that we only had to wait for one ferry and after stopping for groceries and asthma medicine, we were still home before 3. 

And now we just have to wait ....25 days, 8 hours and 4 minutes until the real trip. 

It's spring!

Happy first day of spring!  I saw the first bunny of the season today as I was walking up to the bus.   I had to take the bus to the Transit Center today because we're going to Port Townsend right from work.  Yes yes, I know that in four short weeks we'll be heading to our 3 week European vacation, but somebody got antsy and had to get out of town.  Tink is coming with us this time.  The weather isn't going to be great, but we've got lots to look at since the Victorial Festival will be going on. 

I only did one field on my newest project last night.  I was so busy getting everything tidied away, my hair dried, etc.  And I'm not bringing it with me.  I do have a great book to read, so if I've got down time this weekend, that's what I'll do.

I was so busy this week that I didn't get around to calling the boarding place to see about what kind of deal we can set up for Tinkerbell for three weeks.  Nor did I get the bus tickets to Beauvais airport purchased.  Hopefully I'll have a little more time next week.  This morning I'm giving an exam, and grading it, as well as getting the last minute details done for the HuBio 532 class.  Then one o'clock and I'm out the door.  Yay weekend!

New project

I came home to find four packages on the porch!  And one of them was the yarn I have been waiting for, the five skeins of Noro Ayatori. Isn't that just springtime in a skein?  I couldn't wait to start my new project using this yarn.  I got the kitchen cleaned up, a load of laundry going and then wound up two balls of Noro Cash Iroha in a light pink to use as the "furrow" yarn, and one ball of the silver Artyarns Silk and Sequins light from a Yarnbox to use for one sparkly "field", and I cast on for the Swing Knits Autumn Fusion although obviously mine will be a Spring Fusion.  I got to field 9, which was a good start.  But it was getting late and I wanted to read, so I headed to bed. 

And then what happened?  I read, and read and still didn't feel like I could fall asleep, but by then is was getting really late, so I put the iPad away and tossed and turned for what seemed like hours.  Needless to say, I was NOT ready for the alarm go to off this morning.  The only good thing about this is that I will for sure sleep the sleep of the dead tonight!

Still waiting

I was so disappointed yesterday when my yarn was not in the mailbox.  I really want to start that new project.  So I didn't do any knitting last night but instead caught up on some TV programs I had recorded.  The two programs I watch on Showtime are finished up now, so I'm going to change to HBO.  I like HBO much better, but it doesn't have Inside the NFL, so I switch to Showtime when that's on.

My stomach is SO upset today.  I sure hope I'm not getting sick.  I have lots to do this week and that's not been the case these past few weeks.  So I'll just ignore it, shall I?

Friday is the first day of spring.  I have had to use a flashlight in the mornings when walking Tink but I think by the end of this week that I won't have to do that any more.  Nice.  I still have to wake up in the pitch black though and I hate that.  I can't wake up properly.  I'm still groggy now.  And grumpy.  Might as well work.

The perils of procrastination

There are two ways to enter and leave the house.  The garage and the front door.  The vehicles have door openers and there is also a keypad outside of the garage door.  However, that hasn't worked for a couple of weeks and we just haven't taken the time to fix it.  It's not really an issue for me because I typically go in and out of the front door, using my key to lock it and the garage door opener when I get home.  And we had also spoken of leaving a key outside so when we're gone for three weeks there is a key for whoever comes to check on the house.  But we didn't do that this last weekend either.  Do you see where this is going?  I got home last night just a bit early, there not being so much traffic since it's spring break.  The house cleaners were just finishing up so I dropped my stuff in my office, got the dog and her leash, my phone and headphones and out we went for a walk.  Imagine my surprise then when I walked past the house less than five minutes later and they were gone.  My heart sank.  Did they lock the door?  Oh of course they did!  Thankfully it wasn't raining.  I walked Tinkerbell for as long as she wanted to walk, then we sat in the front and waited for Ben to get home.   I'll tell you what, there is a key hidden out there now.  But that really put a damper on my evening.  I was SO mad at myself.

I finished my last project, a Wingspan out of the last Yarnbox classic yarns.  I am awaiting a package from DBNY of some lovely Noro Ayadori in a beautiful pastel colorway.  I'm going to make the SwingKnits Autumn Fusion Shawl.  I think it's going to be awesome.  I'll also use up some Artyarns Sequin Light to give one of the panels a little bit of sparkle.  I sure hope I get that yarn tonight.  I am really anxious to start it.  And every week I do a couple of rows on the Jo's Pride.  I just keep it at work.

Work is busy this week and I am looking forward to leaving a bit early on Friday and heading out to Port Townsend.  I hear there is a Victorian Festival this coming weekend.  Kind of sounds like a contradiction in terms, doesn't it?  Were the Victorians festive?

Tinkerbell's busy weekend

Poor Tink.  There are two things she really doesn't like and she had to do both of them this weekend.  First thing Saturday morning she was up at the Doggie Care Resort for a grooming.  While she was getting groomed, I did too.  Thankfully I was able to move my hair appointment to Saturday, having found a hotel in Port Townsend for this coming weekend.  I had to run a quick errant at Macy's, then lunch and back to pick her up. 

I stayed up WAY too late Saturday night.  It was poker night.  I came out ahead, but not by much.  Then I wasn't sleepy after everyone left, so we watched a movie.  But Sunday morning .... I was a bit sleepy then, but Tink had her annual medical exam and Bordatella shot.  She was shaking like a leaf as soon as we got into the vet's waiting room.  She HATES it.  The shots hurt I suppose.  It was pouring rain, but we had a reservation at Serafina's for brunch.  What a lovely treat!  I only wish I had thought to bring an umbrella.  We arrived too early for our reservation and had to sit in the car, since the rain was coming down in buckets.

The rest of Sunday was knitting and snoozing and watching a spring training baseball game.  Thankfully I've got a busy week ahead, so I'd better get on with it!

And the total is .....

133 messages in my spam folder this morning.  My spam folder doesn't show up on my iPhone or iPad.  Imagine how many there are going to be when I'm gone for 3 weeks.  I suppose Yahoo empties it now and again automatically.  We'll see.

I finished up my stash posting yesterday evening.  And the two shawls I had pinned out on Monday were finally dry, so I wore the Brown Eyed Susan today.  It blocked out so well.  Lovely drape.  I didn't feel like cooking last night either.  Thank goodness for Trader Joe's.  We made a meal of hors oeuvres.  Tonight I'll be better and cook up some Italian chicken sausages and peppers.  Yum

Tink has finally come to terms with the time change and we all slept well last night.  I was so tired.  I worked my legs hard at the gym yesterday but I'm not very sore today at all, thankfully.  Today I'll do the bike and upper body.  And then tomorrow -- run!  Yay!

Despite having a wonderful 3 week vacation to look forward to in 36 days, I am charged with finding a hotel for next weekend, just for a little get away time.  That's going to be fun, although I'm going to have to move my hair appointment to this weekend (I hope!).  Someplace not too far away that accepts pets.  It shouldn't be too hard to find.

You know the problem with having snacks for dinner?  I wake up starving!! 

Spam, spam and more spam

I cannot believe how much mail goes into my spam folder!  Today I'm not going to clean it out, as I usually do first thing in the morning and then periodically throughout the day.  I'm going to leave it and see how much is there tomorrow morning.  Right now there are 50 messages.  Garbage.  Thank goodness for spam filters.

Noon knitting was fun yesterday, and that was about it for my day.  Pretty quiet.  I had an urge when I got home to get back to cataloging my yarn on Ravelry.  I've been so bad for so long.  I never post my stash or my projects on there anymore and I actually use it a lot for searching for patterns.  So I sat down after my chores and a bath (I was really sore) and started going through my yarn, inputting the information into my Ravelry stash.  I took pictures and today I'm going to put the pictures with the yarns.  I got about half way done.  And I have a lot of yarn!!  Especially since I've been getting Yarnbox.  A lot of that was already used up.

I really wasn't interested in making dinner.  I was so wrapped up in my project.  Finally I made myself a ham sandwich.  That's a fine dinner.  But I'm hungry this morning!  I had heard that there was a fun original series on Netflix, so I watched a few episodes, then headed to bed to read.  I'm trying to stay awake until 10 before turning out the light.  The time change is taking its toll.  Tink has been having a hard time with it and again woke me to get water in the middle of the night.  I am going to take her out late tonight and hopefully she will sleep through the night.  I am so groggy.

My chest and arms are still very sore.  I'll only work my legs today.  Let me see if I can get soreness there!

Euro vs US Dollar

I cannot remember how long it's been since the dollar has been so strong against the Euro.  Today $1 = .93 Euro.  I sure hope it stays like this.  That would be a nice little bonus for our trip.

Since my Husky card wasn't scanning at the IMA I had to get a new one, so I took off a little earlier than usual to walk up to the Husky Card office on upper campus.  Since I hadn't taken the time to change my card after the divorce, I got a free card because name changes are free.  And then I strolled in the sunshine down to the gym and had the new card activated, so I was there a little earlier than usual.  It doesn't really matter, because the upstairs isn't all that busy anyway.  I did the bike again and then some upper body machines, putting a little more weight on them.  I am just a little sore this morning, but I can still move around.  Perfect.  Today is noon knitting, so a day off.  Then tomorrow I'll do the Precor and lower body machines.

The clouds have moved in and we're supposed to get some rain tonight.  I am hating the darkness in the morning.  I had just gotten used to walking Tink with some light and this morning I forgot the flashlight.  Which is kind of unsafe since there are only a couple of streetlights for the entire neighborhood so you're pretty much invisible without a light.  There are a few people who take off for work around that time and I like to stay visible for them.  Tink actually walked today rather spend the entire time with her nose to the ground.  I wonder what had been in the yard yesterday morning.  She didn't even want to go to the road.  She wanted to stay in the garden, sniffing.

Ouch!  I just tried to stretch.  My chest is more sore than I thought! 

More sun

What a crazy gorgeous weekend we had!  All sorts of plans on getting cracking on some early yard work and finally finishing sorting the office/game room went by the wayside, replaced by other outdoor activities involving driving around with the top down and strolling neighborhoods looking for places to sit in the sun and have a drink.  Well, it wasn't all fun and games, but a lot of it was.

Saturday morning I got the manicure and pedicure out of the way early, after a trip to Costco where I stood in line for 30 minutes(!) to order new contact lenses.  At this time there is no other way to order them than in person.  Not on the phone and certainly not on line.  But the woman at the counter said that it coming soon.  On the plus side, when they do arrive I don't have to take a number and wait, I can just pick them up.  I had hoped to get the Costco run done, get the grocery store out of the way, and then head to the salon for an 11:30 appointment, but after taking so long at Costco I had to head straight to the salon.  After I was done we headed to the 192nd St. Brewery, which has a most charming outside area with mismatched chairs and tables, right on the trail.  Well, about a bazillion other people had the same idea and the line was well outside the door with people standing in line for beer and to order food.  The proprietors are still a bit taken aback by how popular their place is.  But it's the location!  It's right off the Burke Gilman trail, there's plenty of seating outdoors, the food is good and the beer is awesome and not only can you bring your dog but your children as well.  It was fairly swarming with kids.

Sunday was a bit more leisurely in the morning but out we went in mid-morning to stroll around Redmond and stop at Trader Joe's to stock up on wine, among other things.  But I did have things that really needed to get done, so back home for some work.  I got the laundry going and finally blocked two shawls.  The most recent one, Incentive, and one I had done months ago, the Brown Eyed Susan. Both of these are done using Yarnbox yarns.

This is an detail of Incentive.  I did some mods, making it symmetrical so I could use all of the yarn.

 And here a detail of the BrownEyed Susan.  Done in blues and greens, obviously.  Usually I don't like the mottled yarns but I thought since it was Seahawks colors I could use it.  It's whimsical.  The lace edging it really quite cute.

Hopefully they will be dry tonight.

Changing it up

What a wonderful surprise to find my Luxe Yarnbox in the mail when I got home.  And is it ever gorgeous!!  I am very glad I changed my preferences to purple on the Luxe box.  I would actually call this almost pink, but if I had pink as my preference I would have ended up with a magenta and reds and pinks in the cashmere blend yarn.  I am most pleased.  So I will keep the Luxe subscription for a little longer.

We had been planning to visit a little brewery on Friday, but switched it up to last night.  It was fun.  Tink came along and she was a very very good dog.  Of course, she was the only dog and that makes a big difference to her.  The beer was good.  The ambiance could be a bit better but being able to bring the dog in counts for a lot.

I had seen on the television at the IMA yesterday that the Safeway stores were changing into Haggen and I was well pleased, since there is a Safeway one mile from my place and I have to go over 5 miles to a Haggen.  But when I asked the girl at the deli counter, where we stopped on the way home, if they were going to be changing to Haggen tomorrow, she said no!  Oh poo!  She said that Safeway is changing into an Albertson's.  I never shop at Albertson's.  I didn't have my headphones plugged into the TV at the gym, so I was just reading on the screen as the news went by.  Obviously not every Safeway is turning into Haggen.  Too bad.

What is up for this weekend?  Not too much.  Hopefully some sleeping in.  And don't forget to turn your clocks forward!  More sunshine.

The demise of the scratch baked scone

I don't often get baked goods in the morning, preferring my fruit and oatmeal or lately, a Special K flat bread egg sandwich.  However, I wanted a raisin scone today so I stopped in at the Rotunda on my way upstairs only to find that the usual homemade scones have been replaced by bakery scones.  Those are not scones.  They're too sweet.  And iced!  I liked the other ones.  Some days they would have savory ones with bacon, other times they would put seasonal berries in them.  Ah well - you can't turn back time.  Pity, that. 

Is it because I'll be going soon or something else?  I don't know, but this time of year does always seem to bring back strong memories of my time in Paris.  I suppose because it was such an intense time.  Those memories are really and truly burnt in. 

My workout was wonderful yesterday.  I am rather disappointed in myself that I let it go this long rather than just accepting the fact that the road to running again would be a long one.  I feel just SO much better for having some good, hard exercise.  Yesterday I did the recumbent bike and then some leg machines.  Today I think it will be the Precor and more upper body work.  I think I can expand my machines to a few more exercises.  I am not getting as sore as I expected to get.  That's good news.  So I can go a little harder.

I was tired when I got home.  But good tired.  Tink got walked, I got cleaned up and got the soup on the stove.  While it was cooking I ripped back the two triangles I had done on the Wingspan and started it again.  I watched a little bit of TV and re-started it, going just a little beyond where I had gotten the first time.  It's much better without the glaring mistake.  I wonder when the Luxe Yarnbox is supposed to arrive.  I wonder if I can get those other projects blocked this weekend.  We're losing an hour after all. 

44 days and counting

This morning is really hit me.  Maybe it was the sunshine.  Anyway .... 44 days until vacation!  44 days until I get on a plane for Paris and then on to Italy.  It is finally feeling real and I'm getting excited.  Now comes the hard part - well, besides waiting.  I've got to read up on where we'll be and familiarize myself with the options of things to see.  I know a couple places I want to go, but I'll have to pick and choose.  And I would like to find a day trip around Venice.  So much to do.  So much fun to have.  Adventures.

I didn't get as sore as I thought I would, although as I said I took it pretty easy on myself.  My chest is sore but tolerable.  Today I'll work out the legs after 30 minutes of cardio.  I think I'll do the bike today.  It's beautiful outside and there are some bikes facing the windows.  But first a meeting.  And some work.  

I decided to make a Wingspan with my latest Yarnbox yarn rather than wait for the Luxe box.  I wound the yarn before dinner last night and got started.  But I was watching some of my silly recorded stuff and got distracted and made a mistake.  I thought I could fix it but it looks stupid and ugly, so I'm going to take it out tonight and start over again.  It's a quick knit and perfect TV knitting IF one can resist getting distracted.  It's easy but you do have to pay attention to which row you're knitting.  I am loving the yarn - Knitted Wit Polwarth Shimmer and Sincere Sheep Luminous, which is a wool and silk blend in DK weight.  Lovely and soft.

Automatic

Good news for me -- the exam was over by 11:30 and I got to the gym early enough to beat the rush.  I got my basket and towel and changed and walked up to the top floor.  Ah, it was the same as it was when I was there before.  The basement has locker rooms and studios for classes plus a big free weight area, the main floor has mostly machines with a couple of small areas with mats for stretching and floor exercises.  The second floor is access to the climbing wall and the top floor is a glass enclosed track with two areas inside the track divided by an elevator.  One side is a small group of machines - treadmills, Precors and bicycles.  The other side has the older weight machines and stretching mats.  This part is used by fewer people, and mostly more mature people - except for those running.  I like it up there.  And I wasn't the oldest person nor the fattest.  Bonus.  I did 30 minutes on the Precor and then a few sets on a couple of upper body machines.  I didn't want to overdo it and I did well -- I'm just a little bit sore in my chest and arms.  Perfect.  Today is noon knitting so I get a rest and then Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I can hit it again.  Wednesday I'll probably bike and do a few leg machines.  Then we'll take it from there.  Perhaps on Friday I can have a little run.  We'll see.

It is cold and clear.  Really cold.  I like all of the sunshine though.  I am looking forward to turning the clocks forward this coming weekend.  It will be nice to have a little more light at the end of the day, although darker mornings for a while longer.

My hand is a little sore still from all the knitting I did over the past few weeks so I gave it a rest last night.  I know what I'm getting in my Luxe Yarnbox so now I can plan my next project.  Not to say that Jo's Pride is done, but I'm leaving it here at work and only working on it Tuesdays for now.  I need less intense projects for home.

Complete

One of my goals for the weekend was to finish up the Incentive wrap.  I did finally get it done on Sunday.  Those last few inches took a longer time than I had anticipated.  I do have just enough yarn for tassels too, which is awesome.  I was going to block it but then realized I couldn't do it because the cleaners come today and I can't have it laying around on the floor.  It'll be on my list for this coming weekend.  I wanted to wind the pretty yarn I got in my classic YarnBox but thought I'd rather wait and see what the Luxe box has in store.  I might want to work with that yarn first.  Big reveal today on Ravelry but I won't be getting mine for at least a week.

So the weekend was nice.  On Saturday after an early appointment at the Volvo dealer we went back to get Tinkerbell and then for a walk at the Tolt McDonald park and campground in Carnation.  She really like it and I did too.  What a pretty park!  The only bad part was the bridge over from the parking lot to the campground.  It was a high bridge, suspended and it moved when you walked on it!  Very scary.  Not comfortable at all for someone with height issues.  Me.  And Tink was having a hard time as well because there is only a narrow strip where the wood is solid.  Otherwise it has slats and her little feet went through.  She got it right away.

Monika and Andre came over for an evening of Rummikub.  I believe we've created a monster.  They just love the game.  And I must say it's more fun with four than two.

I have to give an exam today, which I was not planning on.  It got sprung on me this weekend.  I wish I had been asked my preference for the timing.  Now I've got to sit with a woman from 11 am.  She has an hour and she'll probably use every minute of it.  That's going to put me right in the middle of the busy time at my first day at the gym.  I've still got to get a locker.  Oh well.  I managed to get two sets of workout clothes this weekend and all of the little things together - shower shoes and toiletries.  This is going to be very different for me.  I seriously can't remember how long it's been except I do remember rehabbing that ankle.  How much longer after that I went I cannot remember.  Ah well.  It'll come back to me for sure.

Plan B

Okay, well I've got to face the facts.  I'm not going to be able to just get running again without working up to it.  Too much time has gone by and I am going to have to do what I did when I tore up my ankle ten years ago.  I've got to build up to it gradually.  The thing is that I'm so concerned about hurting myself again that I can't get going enough to build up my muscles.  So to that end I walked over to the IMA, the gym, and got my membership started up again.  This weekend I'm going to get myself some new gym clothes (no I cannot use my running clothes) and gather all of the other little things that one needs to shower in the afternoon and starting Monday I'll start going at lunchtime.  The nice thing about the IMA is that there's an indoor track and tons and tons of machines.  So I can, for example, use the Precor one day, the bike another, and use machines to build up my quads and hamstrings, do upper body work.  I can start out running ONE day a week for 30 minutes.  And inside, so the pollen won't be as bothersome.  And this way at least I'm doing something! 

Today it's going to be a long walk up to get Tink some food and maybe get a nice salad from TJ's.  It's raining hard today but we're supposed to have a nice sunny weekend.  I might get out in the yard and clean up the vegetable bed.  I won't be able to plant until I get back from my trip in May, but I can clean up.

I did get all of the last train reservations made yesterday.  Now to fill in the itinerary.  That's going to take some study.  And no I'm not going to fill up every day with things to do.  I like to have plenty of lazing around time.  Here's hoping we get decent weather.

A little blip

I did go home Tuesday, stopped at the store for some soup and headed home to a hot bath and bed.  I spent yesterday sleeping and paying attention to the dog and by evening I was feeling okay again.  I suspect it's my sinuses that cause this.  It was much like what happened in January and as I think more on it, it happened after a few days of cold, clear weather.  The headaches though!  Oh my.  It woke me in the night and that, my friends, is a bad headache.  All's well today.  It's cloudy and misting. 

I am still listening my way through the Outlander series.  I'm on the sixth book in the series.  I love the stories but I have to fast forward through the sex scenes.  It's SO creepy to listen to that.  I've always had a problem listening to sex scenes in these audiobooks and there are more than enough in the Outlander series.  If you can get over the melodrama and romance-ish (is that a word?) prose though, it's well worth it.  A wonderful historical group of novels.  I think it would be much easier to flip past the pages than fast forward through the narration.

I've been reading the earlier works of Sarah Dunant.  I much prefer her historical fiction, but the early works are readable.  Not nearly so engrossing through.  I'm reading Fatland now.  I think there's one more in this Hannah Wolfe series.  I almost finished it yesterday but the headaches ... it's hard to read on an iPad when you've got a headache.

Okay - for sure today I'm going finish up my train reservations.  Really.

Good intentions and all that

I didn't run after all yesterday.  It was a gorgeous day and I had every intention of doing it, but then my ankle twinged a bit and I thought it might be better to just walk.  And so I did.  I took the exams to upper campus and then continued on through to Red Square and down around the statue then back to my office.  Not quite three miles but quite nice.  Sunny and cold so that I was glad to be back inside. 

Tink and I had a nice quiet evening.  I had gotten a spinach and kale pie from Trader Joe's and that was my dinner, with some really nice chardonnay.  Now that is a girlie meal right there.   Plenty of knitting and some silly TV rounded out the night.  A little after 7 she wanted to go outside, as usual.  But she wanted a real walk so I bundled up and got the flashlight and out we went.  The sky was so clear and the stars were beautiful.  She didn't want to stay out long though, that's for sure.  Same with this morning.  Got out, got her business done and then back inside.  It's going to cloud up and it will be warmer later this week.

I was not sure about coming in to work today, but it's knitting Tuesday!  I woke with a sore throat but I just figured it was allergies or something.  It seems to be lingering.  I may have to go home.  Let's see how the morning progresses.  Maybe once I get a cup of tea in me and a bite to eat .....

That golf ball!

Ever since I started driving to the Transit Center I have been plagued by a golf ball in the truck.  Every time I would turn or stop I could hear it.  It was driving me crazy.  So of course I looked for it and got it.  I thought.  But even after capturing the ball I could still hear it.  Unbeknownst to me, there is a little storage place under the front seat.  A drawer.  And that's where the ball was!  It is gone now and I am SO happy! 

My run on Friday was a real tough one.  On the plus side, I did the first mile non-stop (except for the crossing light I had to wait for).  That's a first.  But after that ... not so good.  My thighs and knees started really hurting at 1.5 miles and by 2 miles I simply had to stop running and I walked the rest of the way back.  I wasn't worried about it though.  It makes perfect sense that my muscles would be tired and my knees sore.  The good news is that the aching in my knees didn't continue and by the time I was back and changed it had stopped.  So I am looking forward to a really great run today.

I have an exam to proctor from 10:30 to 11:30 so I think I'll put on my running clothes and walk the exams up to be scored and then run from there.  It'll be nice to have a different route for a change.  And the first part will be downhill, which is always a bonus.

Friday night we met a couple of people at the 192 Brewery to drink some good beer and listen to music.  The duo was okay, but a little folk-y for my taste.  But it was something different.  Saturday was a quick trip to the mall in the morning and then Tink got a bath before I went for my manicure.  I did her in the sink and it was better than trying to do her in the shower.  Much easier on my back.

On Sunday I finally got my area rugs out and cleaned them.  I've got a new bed set and the floral rug will look good in there.  And then - finally - I got some time to sit and knit and it was lovely.  Saturday was so nice and warm and sunny but Sunday got cloudy and it wasn't sunny until late in the afternoon.  And then it got SO cold.  When I got up it was 28 degrees!  It's because it's clear and sunny.  I don't mind.  I still want a bit of winter.

Cue the theme from Rocky

I did it!  I ran yesterday and my foot was fine!  I wasn't fast but that's to be expected.  And my legs were getting tired.  But the most important thing is that my foot didn't hurt.  My ankle didn't hurt.  My toe didn't hurt.  All awesome things.  Barring a rain storm, I'll be out again today.  Three in a row?  Fingers crossed.

This has been a long week and I'm glad it's done.  I know ... it was only a four day week, but having most everyone gone was a little hard.  I got a lot done despite that.  I don't have anything really on for the weekend except going out tonight after work.  I've got chores -- to the mall to bra shop (oh how I hate bra shopping) and I really should clean the refrigerator this weekend as well.  Okay -- two nasty chores so I'd really better find something fun in there.  See when there's football on there's not so much time for awful chores.   Maybe I'll get around to blocking those projects. 

I think we're seeing some progress

Yesterday was beautiful and I went out for my run at noon.  Because it's been so wonderful the trees are blooming and the pollen count is very high.  I have been a bit sniffy but not too bad.  I did have to stop at half a mile to have a little puff on my inhaler, but otherwise had a pretty solid run.  The very wonderful part about it is that my foot and ankle were just fine!  At about 2 and 1/4 miles the ankle started to feel a bit sore, but not so bad that I was limping.  Now the big test will be how it feels today when I go out.  There is just minor soreness so I have high hopes that I'll be able to run the entire 3 miles.  That is SUCH good news!

Yesterday was another day at work with only myself and the IT guy manning the office.  Thank goodness he knows how to do the mail and check in packages.  Well at least it's very quiet here without the normal arguing and calling back and forth that goes on.  And yes, that's why I have a door and I do use it.  Still ....

I finished up with the Saturday Night Live special last night and nearly finished with the first skein of Entropy yarn.  I am glad I revised this pattern because now I know I'll use every last bit of the yarn on the scarf.  I would like to save a bit back for some tassels.  However, I can surely find something that will compliment the colors if I don't.  And I want to finish up this project because a new YarnBox is on its way plus March is the Luxe box so I'll be getting two boxes next month.  I am almost to the point of putting the classic box on hold for a while.  I have a bit of yarn, yeah?  Yeah.

I'm wondering if I'll take a project with me on my trip in April and I'm thinking that I probably will.  We'll have a couple of long train trips, most notably the one from Monterroso to Geneva.  One hour between Monterossa to Genoa, and then seven hours from Genoa to Geneva.  That's a good bit of time and I can't imagine I'm going to want to be looking out of the windows the entire seven hours.   Perfect for some sock knitting, because socks really are the only portable project that's small enough.  I am going to take one carry on sized bag so there's no room for extra stuff.

Wednesday already

I love the short weeks.  It's Wednesday already!  I'm going to run today.  I had to cancel Noon Knitting yesterday because so many people were out and we still have lots of people out again.  Funny how people seem to disappear and have unexpected "emergency" trips when the administrator is on vacation.   But at least the chairman's secretary is in today so I can go out at noon.

The weather is cold cold cold in the morning and getting fairly warm in the afternoon.  I feel kind of bad about it considering that there is so much snow in the northeast.  And they're getting hit again today, according to the weather report I saw last night.  We basically had no winter at all to speak of.  Those few weeks in November was it - and that's not even technically winter.

I worked on the Incentive shawl last night while watching part of the SNL 40 (!) year anniversary special that I had recorded.  It's quite long so I only watched about half of it before I threw in the towel and headed for bed.  And Tink, even though she went out before bed, got up at 1:30 and after drinking water and eating, insisted on going outside.  She had to go, but she was quite distracted by the fresh scent of some critter or other.  She was sniffing and running back and forth.  I am glad the long line is solid.  If I had let her go she would have been long gone.  I wonder what she would do if she came up against a deer - assuming a deer would let her get that close at all.  Or it could just be a mouse.  We have caught seven - yes, *7* - mice in the last week.  Not inside the house mind, but in the garage.  That's a lot!  But it has been cold at night so I suppose they come in looking for warmth.  There's no food in there - except in the traps!  Aha!

A nice long weekend

Well mine was a bit longer even, because I woke up on Friday with a very sore eye.  I couldn't get my contacts in and it wasn't looking great, so I stayed home, off the computer and all was well by the end of the day.

The unseasonable weather continued all weekend.  Tinkie got lots of nice walks in the park.  I frogged the Incentive wrap and started over.  I could see that I wasn't going to nearly use up all the yarn and it wasn't big enough.  So I'm modifying the pattern a bit and doing it like the Venomous Tentacula - working increases until I've used one skein and working decreases with the other skein.  Plus I'd made too many mistakes in the edging.  It was driving me crazy.

It was Valentine's weekend.  I allowed myself a few minutes to remember - fifteen years ago.  Fifteen!  Amazing.  I had a somewhat busy day with dinner guests coming and a hair appointment.  But the dinner was cooked in the slow cooker so that was pretty easy.  I found a video to fold napkins in the shape of a heart, which was so cute.   We ate lamb shanks and had homemade ginger snaps for dessert and drank SO much wine!  But that's what Sundays are for - a nice long sleep in.

Lots of knitting on the wrap during my day off and more long doggie walks.  It was a pretty quiet day otherwise.  My hands are sore from the amount of knitting I've done in the past three days.  Today is noon knitting, so no running although it's a shame because it's going to be a gorgeous afternoon.  Still, I suspect it'll be nice all this week, so plenty of chances left for this week.

Arrangements for Tink

What are my options?  House sitter would be best, but we live SO far out that it's unlikely.  At least the one I know and used before is not an option.  Option #2 is a kennel.  And that's not ideal.  First of all it's expensive and secondly I don't like to think of her being in a kennel for three whole weeks.  Ah well then, what's left?  Send her to stay with a friend!  I have a friend who has two Westies because she fell in love with my Westie that she took care of while I was in Paris for those six months.  They have two, older than Tink.  Hopefully they can take her.  I suggested we do a trial run, since the older of her dogs has been sick.  I hope it works out.

I ran yesterday and had a pretty good run!  I took an entire minute off my first mile, which is awesome.  I did get a twinge in my ankle at 1.25 miles, but walked it off and was able to finish up.  Today I'll walk for an hour - up and back to get Tink some food.  And tomorrow run again.  This is slow going, but I am feeling more confident that I'll get back to it sooner rather than later.

I wasn't in the mood to knit last night.  I watched a silly movie and went to bed early to read.  I didn't last long.  I am sure I can finish up that Incentive scarf this weekend.  I would like to take advantage of the extra day off to get all of those things blocked.  I must make it happen.

Coming around

Okay ... what is this?  Week three or four that we've had noon knitting on Tuesday?  So today it actually feels like Wednesday.  I think I can run this afternoon, which would be awesome.  I swear, if I can't get a routine going pretty soon I'm going to have to join the IMA again and work out there.  I'd much much MUCH rather run outside than go to the gym .....

I got two solid rows done on the Jo's Pride yesterday at noon and then at home I got some good work done on the Incentive wrap.  I'd like to get that finished up and then this weekend get a bunch of stuff blocked.  I have two others sitting in my room that need to be blocked.  I have Monday off so it would be nice to get it done on Sunday.

I am trying to get Tink set up for our trip.  I really don't want to have to put her in a kennel for three whole weeks.  I have a friend who has two other Westies so I'm hoping they can take her.  She needs to talk to her husband.  Fingers crossed.

Frustrating

For some reason my ankle was very sore yesterday and twinge-y.  I wonder if I twisted it when I was running with Tink on the weekend?  Whatever, I couldn't run since I was limping around the office.  I did go out for a walk at least.  Now today it's not hurting so hopefully tomorrow I can go out at lunchtime.  Today is noon knitting.

The unseasonable weather persists, warm and wet.  If it's not raining it's misty.  The ground is soggy and the gutters are running high.  The deer must be out in force too because Tink just goes nuts when we are outside, nose to the ground.  At least I don't need the flashlight in the evenings any more so it's easier to handle her. 

I downloaded an app yesterday called UntilAgo -- it's a countdown timer.  So now I know that it's 66 days, 7 hours and 12 minutes until we take off for Paris.  Fun.  My goal is to get the rest of the rail reservations done this week.  We'll see how I do.  I have been having trouble with goals lately.

The birds

They're back.  I heard birds singing this morning when I was walking out the door.  We'd better get some real winter weather here pretty shortly or spring is just going to be here before we are ready.  I already noticed pink trees and leaves budding on the smaller shrubs.  I am not ready for spring.  I still want evenings with a fire going. 

It actually didn't rain all through the weekend and Sunday was quite nice, so we took a long long walk along the Samammish river from Woodinville park south.  There were tons of people walking their dogs and lots of bikes too.  If you continue on that path it goes to Marymoore park.  Tink was having a ball.  She really loved all of the new smells. 

I got all of my running around done on Saturday with the exception of a little food shopping.  That was taken care of on Sunday and then .... no football.  So I did laundry and knit and just relaxed.  It was quite nice although I wish I'd been a little more productive.  Well, there's plenty of time for that now, isn't there?

Friday I got the last of the accommodations taken care of and now this week I need to get the last few rail reservations nailed down.  And then I'll start reading up in depth about each place so I can start figuring out what exactly we'll be doing with all that time. 

It was too wet and stormy to run on Friday and it looks like I'll have a good day for it today.  I want to do at least three times this week.  Fingers crossed.

Keeping the illusion alive

I have definitely been having trouble with my weekdays since we've moved knitting to Tuesday.  I know it's such a little thing, but after having that to look forward to in the middle of the week .... it keeps throwing me off.  So yesterday was feeling definitely like Friday to me, and then we went to have dinner at Ben's cousin's house last night, which is usually a Friday night activity.  But here we are finally - it's Friday.

I had lots of work to do so I didn't do much more on the itinerary except find a place in Geneva on AirBnB.  But the woman hasn't gotten back with me to confirm so ... I guess I give her 24 hours and if she doesn't respond I've got to find another place.  Not a big deal.

Rain.  Rain rain rain rain rain.  Lots and lots of rain.  It keeps the air smelling great but it's such a mess.  Walking Tink in the pouring rain in the pitch black at 6:30 am -- not fun.  Not fun at all.  Ah well.  It's not snow.

What's up for the first weekend without football since August?  Hmmmm .... manicure and pedicure on Saturday morning.  Meeting up with friends at Redhook Brewery on Saturday afternoon.  I've got to get to Macy's at some point either Saturday or Sunday.  Movie night?  Maybe a nice long afternoon knitting on Jo's Pride?  I do think we're going to be rained in so there probably won't be any long walks with Tink.  Although ..... it's not cold.  Maybe a little trip to the river park in Duval would be nice.  We'll see.

Does it get any better than this?

I was a little nervous about running yesterday but it was a GREAT run!  My breath was almost back to normal and I didn't need any extra puffs.  I ran at least 80% of the time and maybe more.  And, most importantly, no pain.  I have a teensie twinge this morning in my toe, but otherwise I feel great.  I'm going to skip the run today and just walk instead and then run again tomorrow.  Then next week I should be able to do consecutive days, with of course a skip on knitting Tuesday.

So -- great run.  And then I finished up with my itinerary!  I am not done booking hotels or trains, but I have finally finally figured out the last week.  That was a huge load off my shoulders and now I can just enjoy the anticipation of seeing old and new things in 11 weeks (but who's counting)?  Here's what I finally decided -- after Florence we'll do three days in Monterossa, then on Sunday we'll get up early and take a train to Genoa and from there catch a train to Geneva and have a beautiful trip through the Alps.  It should be absolutely stunning.  We'll get to Geneva Sunday evening, spend 2 nights -- I think one day in Geneva is quite enough.  Tuesday morning we'll head back to Paris and spend three nights there, taking off Friday morning for home.  That's a lot of traveling when you think about it -- 3 flights and 5 train rides.  Fly to Paris, fly to Venice, train to Florence, train to Monterrosa, train(s) to Geneva, train to Paris, fly back home. 

I was in a terrific mood when I got home, rain notwithstanding.  To cap the day off there was a new knitting magazine in the mailbox.  AND I didn't have to cook dinner.  Nice.  I got my hair done and knit on my TV knitting project for a while.  Then after dinner I downloaded a new book and read to the soothing sound of rain.  I brought my knitting today because it's pouring rain and I'm only going to walk for a bit, so I can get some knitting done on the Jo's Pride at lunchtime. 

Speaking of knitting -- my schedule is still off because of the move from Wednesday to Tuesday.  I kept thinking it was Thursday yesterday.  Quite annoying to realize there's one more day to go.

I'm done pouting

Okay!  Enough is enough!  Football is done and I'm over it.  We'll look forward to the draft in April and I've got six months of weekends with lots and lots of free time!  And I'm ready to finish up my Europe itinerary and start day dreaming about my trip in .... 11 weeks and two days!!  I am nearly done.  I've decided on Cinque Terra to today I'll book the lodgings and decide how to get back to Paris.  Make reservations for air travel, and buy advance tickets to the Uffizi gallery and to see David.  There's still lots to do, isn't there?

Do you have that one person in your office who complains if anyone comes in to work sick?  Or with a cold?  Do you?  We do too!  And guess who's here today coughing and sniffing and blowing her nose?  Yup.  Grrrrrrrr

I'm looking forward to running today.  No pain in my ankle or foot.  The last couple of days I've been awakened by pain in that area.  I am wondering if I should stop running for a while and join up at the IMA and use the elliptical for a while.  That's what I had to do ... was it really 10 years ago? ... when I tore up my ankle.  We'll see how I feel after today's run.

Noon knitting was good yesterday and I got two solid rows done on the Jo's Pride.  We had a good turn out as well.  And last night I got some good work done on my TV knitting shawl while I watched a stupid movie.  Perfect.  I guess the only thing to make it better would have been a fire, but it's been so darned mild lately.  It seems a waste. 

Six more weeks

According to the groundhog we're in for six more weeks of winter.  Considering that we have only had a couple of weeks of cold weather, and that in November mostly, I say bring it on!  There are already daffodils blooming near my bus stop here on campus.  I saw some cherry trees with blossoms on them.  I heard frogs a couple of nights ago!  I'd like a little more winter before spring pops up.  I don't feel like getting out into the garden quite yet.

It was do nothing Monday so all I did was shower and cook and knit.  I was expecting a clean house but they never showed up!  Never called either which is very strange and unprofessional as well.  Hopefully they'll get there today.  If not I am going to look for someone else. 

Noon knitting today and hopefully I'll get another couple of rows done on the Jo's Pride.  If I only work on that thing here at work it'll take me a year to finish it.  I've been busy on my TV knitting project plus I got a couple skeins of Koigu for a new pair of socks.  Socks are also TV knitting and I really need a new pair of hand knitted socks.

What else .... still needing to finish my itinerary and get some other reservations made but I can't find the mojo.  Maybe later this week.

Sad sad sad sad sad sad

In as few words as possible -- The Seahawks lost the Super Bowl in the last seconds.  I terrible play was called.  I can't even think about it.  Awful.  Tragedy really.  Now football is over for a few months.  Oh my ...

Other than the game the weekend was pretty nice.  Doggie walks, and chores and a nice dinner out at Purple, although they had no record of my reservation.  Luckily they were able to fit us in.  Otherwise I would have been very unhappy.  It was awfully crowded though. 

From running last week my ankle was quite sore so I took some Ibuprofen and iced it Saturday and Sunday while I worked on my TV knitting project.  I've finished up with the increase section and have now started on the decrease section which is twice as long as the first section giving it an off center look.  I think it's going to be very cool and a good accessory for the spring.

I have gone back to my original plan of Cinque Terre after Florence, so now that I've finally decided I've got to put the puzzle together.  That's on my plate for this week.

Knitting tomorrow and, if the weather cooperates, running today, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  I know . . it seems like a lot and perhaps I should take Thursday off.  We'll see how the foot/ankle/toe feels.

The traffic was quite light this morning and the bus was not full again.  I think more than a few people took today off, or are coming in late after being at football parties.  It's dark and pouring rain.  An accurate reflection of people's feelings this morning I am thinking.