Vay-Kay-She-Own

As of 4:00 today I will be on VAY-KAY-SHE-OWN until September 2nd - whoo hoo! So excited!

We're planning on heading to LBI (Jersey Shore) to see my parents for a few days which should be tones of fun. When we went last year I don't think Casey enjoyed it as much because she was still kind of learning to get herself around. This year - fuggetabou-it...she's gonna be all over the beach with sand in places you didn't even know sand could go! But isn't that whats so great about childhood??? It may be a little cool so we're loading up with jeans and sweatshirts - I love cozy time at the beach! I also love nap time and reading time at the beach too! What's not to love? This trip will only really lack one thing - Jack's sticky buns! Jack's was an AWESOME bakery that had been around for decades. Jack sold his bakery about 5 - 10 years ago and sold the recipes to the new owner...but they didn't make them quite the same way. About a year ago, the bakery went out of business...and became a craft store. Not a YARN store...just a craft store. I remember being a kid - maybe in my tweens - and I would get up early and ride my bike the whole 1.5 miles to the bakery (which was quite far for me at the time) and carefully take the box of warm raisin molasses covered dough home in my backpack to surprise my parents. I'm sure it was no surprise - parents know every single time their kids come and go at their house - but they always let me pretend it was a surprise. I would also get my dad some powder donuts and he would eat them with the powder all over his face/hands/plate/table. It is a nice memory of the shore. But now, no Jack's...so we're bringing bagels from home which will work out just fine.

The rest of vacation goes something like this...

Return home on Tuesday

Mom gets a 1.5 hour massage on Wednesday afternoon - ah, heaven!

Family heads to Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos around lunchtime on Thursday. If you have not heard about this fabulous place (from what folks have told me) you should check into it for a mini-family escape. It's a hotel with an indoor waterpark (and arcade, and cool rooms with bunkbeds, etc). The Pocono resort also has an outdoor park which is only open at certain times of year - and I think it's still open when we go. It's not cheap by any stretch - but it's a unique, special thing and since we're not going anywhere for a true get-away vacation we convinced ourselves it was ok. I do have to give cudos to Lou (THANK LOU) for helping make sure our reservation was in place - we hit a snag after we booked and weren't sure we really had the reservation. Good thing Lou looked into it or we might be looking at some disappointed faces upon arrival! Lou - you're the bestest in the westest! Thanks man.

Return home on Friday and start doing laundry - ha ha ha

Saturday is my 20th high school reunion - if you can believe it - which I can not. I am still NOT convinced to go. I guess there are some people I would like to see after all this time - but some live on the west coast so I'm not sure they'll trek all the way back East for it. There are others that I fairly regularly saw up until 2000 so not seeing them isn't a big loss. I think if I did go it would be just fine - and I would have fun. I would much rather wait for my 20th college reunion and have a BLAST with those friends! Besides - I think the dinner costs about $80/person - I can think of 10 things off the top of my head that I would rather spend $80 or $160 on (even if it's not yarn!)

Hubby and I will celebrate our 4th Anniversary right after Labor Day and we have no plans...except to take Miss Princess to see Disney Playhouse at the Prudential Center on Sept 5th. We're actually, if you can believe it, excited to see how excited she is about it!

On to knitting news:

I started Shelly's So Kool (Haas) Hat last night in Berroco Comfort - medium pink. It's working up quite nicely and while I wasn't sure about the color for Shelly, it is super soft and I think she'll get a lot of use out of it...or one of her daughter's will snatch it and I'll make her a second one :o)

I also am getting to the point on Miss Dora's socks to determine how I want to work the cuff...Dora, if you're reading this...any preference? I'm thinking a nice picot edge - and I know I have a pattern for one that you don't have to fold - I just need to remember where it is. Picot would look just right.

Well, that's it for me - I am THRILLED it's Friday and that I'll get some time to recoup and relax over the next 10 days - Whoo Hoo!

until next time...

Thoughts about blogging

I often have these great ideas that I want to get down on paper (or web) when I'm doing something where there is no opportunity to do so. Sometimes I remember to write down a brief description of the idea - but then I never find the time to expand on it. Having been a writer most of my life it's kind of frustrating in a way. It's something I enjoy, and something I just plain forget to do.

Last week I thought "well why don't I start a list of things that pop into my brain and then I can write about them one at a time and that will become routine and I'll get back into it". Hasn't happened.

Then I think "what if the things that pop into my brain aren't what pops into other people's brain and then I've just wasted their time by writing about it here"...or "if it's not "knitting" related, should I blog about it? I guess blogs are all encompassing and knitting and my life are intertwined so blogging about both makes sense...right?

Here are some knitting updates...

• Dora's socks - There are lots of great facets to this story. The first being that Dora and I met through Sock Wars 3 and became fast email pals. She is absolutely a lovely person and I can't wait to meet her in person some day. After the war ended, I had planned on surprising her with a pair of socks. While trying to figure out the perfect yarn - not just any yarn would do - she emailed me and suggested we knit a pair for each other. You know what they say about great minds! So I found my yarn and am currently on the leg section of the first sock. I frogged the first two attempts - one had too many stitches; the pattern and the colorway on the second pair was just looking miserable! I wanted these socks to be just right...and now they are! I love how they are turning out this time and I hope Dora does too! Lastly, when my daughter asks me who the socks are for and I tell her "Mommy's friend Dora" she gets SO excited because she knows Dora - Dora the Explorer. It's REALLY cute!
• Finished Strawberry Hill sweater for Jill almost 2 weeks ago. I am so proud of the finished product. Here's a bit of the email she sent me: "the sweater arrived this morning and it ROCKS! You did a superb job! So my feedback is nothing but awesome." Here is a photo of her wearing it...
• Trying to figure out who I will make holiday gifts for this year - and who will get what - it's quite a task. I REALLY want to make something for Miss Shelly, Mom, Liz, Alexa, Ken, Maryann, Brian, Charlie, Abby, Chuck, and so on and so forth. Those of you who knit know this list could go on forever! A couple of those folks have birthdays between now and then so I'll see what I can accomplish so they don't all pile up at once. Top of the list has to be Miss Shelly - one of our daycare providers. She is just the Cat's Meow, and I'm really not all that fond of cats! I'm thinking I will make a Koolhaas hat for her - and a matching one for one of her daughters. I know she'll love it - and she's just SUPER deserving!!!
• Have joined some new groups on Ravelryrecently...and am thrilled to find more inspiration and friends each day!

Guess that's enough for now - hope everyone is enjoying the remainder of the summer (where did the time go?!?!).