Off for the Weekend

Just a quick post to say I'm off to the Kerrville Music Festival down by San Antonio, TX. Yeah, I'm so excited. Today was my last day at work so the Battle of the Wills is over and I'm on my way. Things ended amicably and I hate to move on but I know I need to.
We fly out tonight (a friend from work and her good friend) and get to stay until late Monday. We are camping out and I really can't wait for a nice relaxing weekend.
Hope everyone else has a great weekend too!

Flower Shots

We had a chance to visit the Japanese Gardens/ Rose Garden in Portland. Most of the roses hadn't bloomed out yet but the ones that had were amazing.



The ferns there were so gorgeous. I won't bore you with the countless fern pictures I took but I just think they are so amazing and tiny and beautiful.
I can't believe the plants they can grow there. We saw numerous rhododendrons that were huge and gorgeous.
These calla lilies were growing in someone's yard in Cannon Beach. There were a ton of them and they were all huge.


These poppies were also in Cannon Beach growing along the sidewalk. They were even prettier in person.

Quick Update and Finger Quiz

Just a quick post to say I don't have much to report...
Things have been pretty boring around here. I went home last weekend for Father's Day and had a great time with my family. I met up with a friend from High School who I haven't seen in about 7 years. It was so great to see her again.
Not getting much knitting done, just mostly trying to catch up on stuff around the house.
Still looking for a job, I don't even have any great prospects but hopefully something will come up.
Hopefully I'll have something fun to report soon!

Oh, I did find a cool site for bookworms: www.librarything.com
You can create a searchable catalog of the books you own, get recommendations based on your tastes, and chat with others who read the same stuff. I've had a lot of fun with it.

Here's a cute quiz I found somewhere - Is there any better finger to be, really?

You Are the Middle Finger

A bit fragile and dependent on your friends, you're not nearly as hostile as you seem. You are balanced, easy to get along with, and quite serious. However, you can get angry and fed up with those around you. And you aren't afraid to show it! You get along well with: The Index Finger Socks and Trip Goods I got some quality knitting time on the trip and thought I'd finally start Knit Pick's Almost Argyle Socks. I'm using Knit Picks Gloss - 70% Merino, 30% Silk and it is amazing. I love working with it. And the fit of the socks is spot on. I'm almost finished with the first one. And there was even time on the Oregon trip for a little yarn shopping. We stopped at Yarn Garden in Portland - a really cool yarn store about 3 store fronts wide in an old downtown section of Portland. And there's the cutest little tea bar/ snack place connected to it. This is the first time I have seen Koigu in real life and I thought I'd indulge. When we were in Cannon Beach on Saturday, we stopped at Coastal Yarns and I got a skein of Socks that Rock. That was my first time to see that stuff in real life too. It's so soft and squishy! They also had some really great pieces made up and I found this great lace scarf pattern made with Kidsilk. If I make it through the current lace pattern I might give it a shot. And the shot of the other goods: We found this cool winery, Nehalam Bay, on the way up the Orgeon Coast. They had mostly fruit wines and I was sure they would be dreadful and syrupy sweet but they were all really great. The mug and soap we got at this awesome Farmer's Market in Astoria. It was about three blocks wide and there were all kinds of artists and food booths. We had a ton of fresh seafood and other delicious goodness. We also squeezed in a trip to Trader Joe's in Portland but the pics of those goods weren't too interesting. I got a bunch of snap pea crisps and some cool bathroom stuff. Oh, and Mexican Hot Chocolate. It's definitely the best grocery store ever. I really hope our state will change it's stupid liquor laws soon (we don't allow wine in our grocery stores) so we can get cool stores like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Thursday, May 24, 2007 Trip to the Mountains Here are the pictures from our recent camping trip to the Wichita Mountains in Southern OK. It is so beautiful there. We really enjoyed the time away. The wildflowers were blooming and gorgeous: And there was some great wildlife. We saw all kinds of stuff. We don't have many lizards like this around here, we usually just see the tiny skinny ones. We did see (kind of, it was at night at the campground) a tarantula. This rattlesnake was sunning on a rock almost right on the trail. He was extremely docile, didn't even rattle. So cool! I haven't seen one outside of the zoo before. It was a great trip. They have Longhorns, Buffalo, a little Prarie Dog town (those things freak me out, they carry Monkey Pox you know) and lots of deer. It was so great to get away and spend time in nature. Yes, There is Knitting Just a little bit though... After organizing all my yarn and realizing I own more acrylic yarn that one girl should ever have, I embarked on a stash busting mission. The random stripy blanket. Not my best work ever but I'm getting rid of a lot of stash. And it's kinda growing on me. And I've been trying my hand at lace but not having the greatest results. It's the Lace Leaf Shawl from Fiber Trends (love this pattern!). Bad picture, the yarn is a deep cranberry. I think I just need to rip it out and start over with a bigger needle. I can't hardly see the lace pattern at all. I don't do much lace work but I'm assuming you should be able to see the holes a little bit before blocking? Have a trip coming up this weekend and I really hope to get some knitting time in. Haven't had much time lately what with all the drama at work and all. It's not getting much better and I'm about to give up. I'm in this field to help people and make a difference and I refuse to have to fight a coworker to do so. End of soapbox. Everyone in authority knows how I feel so it will resolve soon one way or the other. Monday, May 07, 2007 Quick Update So sorry for the Shiraz-induced, grammatically horrific blabbering about my former life. Seriously, it was bad. I had to at least edit it up a bit. On a happier note, things have been going well. Last week at work was incredibly stressful and my boss and I got into it (and I gave her huge benefit of the doubt due to the heart attack and all- I can't believe she was even back at work.) It was bad and I seriously considered leaving the agency. Terrible things were said (not on my part) that can't be taken back but I love the agency and I'm all about the mission and I will do whatever I can, within reason, to make it work. Things were aired that have needed to be aired for a while and things seem much better this week. I also took off Thursday and Friday to just chill. I got a massage Thursday from this great massage therapist my friend found (which happens to be right next door to a yarn shop!) and then Friday we left to go camping and hiking in the Wichita Mountains down by Lawton. The weather was beautiful and the hiking was great. We also saw all kinds of wildlife. Pics to come! After hiking Saturday, we went to the quirky and fabulous Meers Restaurant and ate a rediculously disgusting amount of delicious burgers, assorted fried appetizers, and topped it off with a huge bowl of cherry cobbler and homemade ice cream. On the knitting front, I've finally decided to brave true lace work! I bought the Fiber Trends Lace Leaf Shawl pattern months ago and often look at it in admiration but thought it was still above my skill. And attention level. But it's going - I just finished my first pattern repeat and, although I had to rip out more rows than I knitted to get the count right, I'm finally in a good rythym. I've just learned if it doesn't come naturally I can't force it and just have to put it down and come back later. Pics of that soon too, promise... Oh, and my grandma turned 80 a week ago last Saturday. Most of the extended family got together and got a clubhouse at Remington Park to celebrate. My grandma loves the races and has really fond memories of going to horse races all over when my grandpa was still with her. We had a great time. My grandma is 80 but she is spunky as ever. I'm so glad we could all enjoy it with her. She also let me know recently that she was supposed to go on a cruise with a friend (it's a group thing and my parents are going too) up through Boston and Portland, Maine and Newfoundland. Her friend backed out and she asked me to be her roomate. I'm really excited. I feel really blessed to have this opportunity to take this trip with her. Previous Posts Mysterious Disappearances Portland Pics 7 Random Things On the Versatility of Sheep... Off for the Weekend Flower Shots Quick Update and Finger Quiz Socks and Trip Goods Trip to the Mountains Yes, There is Knitting Archives September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 About Me Name: Tandi View my complete profile Subscribe to Posts [Atom]