Tuesday, May 31, 2005
I'm Back!
I really haven't fallen off the face of the earth or disappeared amongst the coral! I was just completely swamped before we left for vacation so I didn't have a chance to say bye! I have tons of blogs to catch up on, so you might be hearing from me soon.We had a lovely time in the Turks and Caicos. The rest was well deserved, as we have had just the busiest semester in memory. We stayed at Beaches during our week of fun.
We were at this resort about 2 years ago and had a good time, so a return trip seemed appropriate. Beaches is great if you have kids who are active and if you dive. We fit both categories. The daycare is included and nobody seems to blink an eye if your kid throws food on the floor. The scuba diving is amazing--one of the best places in the world. If you use the daycare and dive, then the cost makes more sense.
I do love all inclusive places, as well. It is really nice to never have to get your wallet out or to think about tipping. Drinks, food, daycare, diving, boats--you get the idea.
This time around we decided to stay in the French Village, which is the newest section of the resort. This section was closest to the pool that we used the most (swim up bar too!) as well as our favorite place to get coffee in the morning (and mimosas!).
The place is pretty big--lots of rooms, 9 restaurants, 5 pools, a great beach, a spa, boats, diving, snorkeling... We were able to have one meal alone--they have babysitters that you can hire--to celebrate our (gulp) 5th year anniversary. Wow. Hard to believe that much time has gone by! We were married on a beach in St. Croix, so an anniversary in the Caribbean is really appropriate.
We spent lots of time just hanging out in the pool. Now remember--we are very fair skinned people with red hair. All of us. So sun protection is key if we want to survive the beach. Don't laugh, ok?
Anna became officially know as the pink girl who eats sushi.
I spent most of my time trying to do this:
Of course this is what I actually was doing the entire time--hopping up and down.
Anna spent most of her time jumping in the pool or watering Mommy.
And we ate at all of the different restaurants. The food is good, but not gourmet. The best part is the fresh fruit, smoked fish, cheese, baguettes, crepes, and sushi. Roy (Mr. Sushi man to Anna) was great about preparing huge plates of tuna rolls for Anna and sashimi for the parentals. This was a typical scene:
Oh. Did I mention that Beaches is having Sesame Street year? Yup. Lots of furry muppets were running around. Anna wasn't particular comfortable with being too close to the characters. Bert... well hard to say...
Elmo, on the other hand, was a big favorite:
And who could resist Zoe?
We really needed this vacation! It was great to sleep late and have our biggest worries involving which pool, which restaurant, which drink...
Friday, May 13, 2005
Vacation Countdown
Geesh. I can't wait until next week--we head to a nice vacation in the Caribbean. Can I tell you how much I need this vacation? Of course, I will take lots of pictures, in between the swim up pool bars, the scuba diving, the food, the boats, the spa...I want to take some knitting with me... but what is knitting for the beach? I think maybe a sock or two would be good. And maybe a small tank top? Maybe the baby sweater and booties? I'm at a loss. It needs to be small and lightweight, or it doesn't stand a chance of fitting in the suitcase.... Thoughts?
Thursday, May 12, 2005
A New Book
I have really been trying not to buy a whole bunch of yarn and knitting books, since I have so much that I would like to work with.
But I took a look at the new Teva Durham book Loop-d-Loop and was absolutely blown away. If you click on the link you can see a bunch of the designs from the book--including the one that is featured in the Summer Interweave Knits and the curly corkscrew scarf from Scarf Style. The designs are clever and fun, and all of the designs are knit in chunky knits for fast finished products. While I am not hip enough to wear some of them (the cowl collar, say), some of them are ones that I want now. I love this summer T top:
The book uses some more expensive yarns, but there are a lot of reasonable priced yarns, including the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece for the T top.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Miss D
I wore my cute black top the other day and just loved it! It is nice to do something for summer--without sleeves. Thanks for your kind comments!Of course I am not particularly thrilled with just heading back to my second sock--the sock muse has left the building.
I decided to start working on Miss Dashwood for my niece--the first of three items on the knitting agenda for our soon to arrive newbie. Here's the outline of the hat:
So far so good. I did rip out the pichot edging once since the gauge looked strange. Turned out I didn't do the knit cast on correctly. I think things are underway now!
Monday, May 09, 2005
I'm Finished!
Project Specs:
Pattern: Blue Sky Alpaca Swing Top
Yarn: 4 skeins Blue Sky Alpaca Sportweight in Natural Dk Gray
Needle Size: US 5
After a bit of a snaffu with the crochet elements of this top, I am pleased to report that this is finished! It turns out that the crochet was not nearly as difficult as I made it out to be... Go figure.
It is warm, without being hot, and super soft. What a fun summer top!
Friday, May 06, 2005
Progress...
My camera battery died, the charger is at home, so no pictures, but trust me... there is progress! I stitched up the sides and managed to put some decent crochet around the neck and arms. Whoopee!Now I have to finish the bottom decorative crochet, which will be the most difficult section. Think happy crocheting thoughts for the weekend!
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Crochet is not my Friend
I finished the front of my swing top yesterday and did a proper three needle bind off on each of the seams. At this point, I loved the project and was very happy with the way things were progressing. Of course, that was before the crochet edging. I just absolutely hate crochet. I don't know why, but I can never quite get the gauge down. I was blithely moving along on the neck edging (5 rows of Single Crochet) and decided to ignore the puckers and tightening until, of course, I was about three rows in. Dumb.When I got to the ripping part, the twisted little stitches were not quite loosening up... So, they knotted... So, I have to reconstruct some of the binding. Argh.
Blah. That isn't the best picture, but I am annoyed with the mistake. I'll try to plunge right back in this evening, if all goes well. Must be the end of the semester exhaustion--I don't think it should be this hard! Either that or the knitting goddess is really mad at me ....
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Loving the Secret Pal!
Even though I found out the identity of my Secret Pal this weekend--Tami ofZip-A-Dee-Doo Dah Day--I didn't get my last package until yesterday. And, what a great package!
There were so many great goodies, I don't want to miss any. Clockwise around the picture are two yummy smelling bath soaps, a fund little beaded knitted fish kit, bubbles, a nice card, Knitticisms, Tahki Cotton and a pattern from South West Trading Company for an Estonian Scarf.
What a great final package! The beaded fish will be a fun pattern to try, and I'm almost ready to start something harder--the lace scarf will be just right.
Wasn't it sweet that Tami included the bubbles? They smelled like oranges. Anna immediately wanted to play with them:
Thanks once more Tami!
Monday, May 02, 2005
Secret Pals Revealed!
It is hard to believe that Secret Pals are over, but April has ended.I am pleased to report that my Secret Pal was, officially, awesome! Tami of Zip-A-Dee-Doo Dah Day is my Secret Pal! Apparently she mailed a pacakge that I should receive shortly, so there are even more surprises in store. I love everything that she so kindly mailed and appreciate all of the attention! THANKS!!! (Have I overdone the !?)
And who was I gifting? Hmm. Though my final package is making the long trip from Texas to Massachusetts as I write, I suppose that I can reveal that my giftee is Jessica from KnitFit. I hope that she enjoys her latest round of giftees.
Can I tell you a fun story about Jessica? About a month ago I received a gift from her! I didn't know that Secret Pals were gifting their gift givers, but Jessica is so nice that she did. She was in Key West and sent some yummy Key Lime jelly beans and cookies. While she didn't know my name or blog, she used the return address that our local post people made me include on her packages. Awww.
Secret Pals 4 is officially a way fun success on all ends!
