Golly.

I haven't made a post in two weeks, but it feels like an eternity. Things are good here. I can't believe how quickly the summer is flying by. I am getting nothing accomplished around my house, but I hope to change that shortly. I am going to start by using my basement for what it was built: to store crap that I don't want upstairs. I'll go through it later, I just want to declutter my upstairs living space and have some breathing room. I never go in my basement anyway except to clean the litter boxes, and boy I tell ya, that is a treat. I really want to begin getting rid of large things - sofas, bookcases, desks, etc. I want to reclaim the breezeway from the Barbies who have taken over. I want to tear up carpeting. I want to paint. I want to turn my house into the house I've always wanted, and I want to stop bitching about it. Sometimes I forget that I need to be proactive about making change happen in my life. I also forget that you don't need to spend a fortune to make changes. My friend Sahfi is good at redoing furniture and making it look cool, and I hope to take some cues from her.

I was exercising a lot for about a week and a half, and I need to get back into that as well. We are going to Ocean City in two weeks, and I want to try and accomplish some sort of exercise on 8 or 9 days before we leave. I also intend to go for a run on the boardwalk every day that we are down there. I can't wait. We'll also be going back to Lake George in mid-August, and this time WT will be coming with us. Yay! I think we'll be staying on the lake, and the place that (I hope) has availability has canoes and kayaks that the guests can use, so we can exercise and have fun all at once! And then it will be back to school. Dag.

My dad seems to be doing pretty well. He is building a spinning wheel. From scratch. 'Cause that's the kind of stuff my dad does. He also bought an autoharp and has been playing it every day since he got it. I am hoping he will inspire me to pick up my dulcimer and guitar and practice them. Banana and I went to visit Dad yesterday and we had a grand old time. We had creamed Spam and peas on biscuits for lunch (trust on this one, it's truly delish) and homemade lasagna and salad for din-din. A good day all around.

On the fiber front, I've been trying to get some old WIPs out of the way. For some reason, my friends find it amusing that I am knitting mohair and wool legwarmers right now. I can't imagine why they would make fun of me whilst I knit with @#$%^&* laceweight mohair. In July. In the Philadelphia suburbs, where an average summer day is about 92 degrees with 80% humidity. Makes sense to me. I am also working on a 2 x 2 rib scarf for the Banana, in pink sparkly yarn, which is just so my thing. I also need to start my Green Gable over, which I began approximately 17 million years ago and frogged because it was way big. And then I can start knitting a whole bunch of other stuff. Oh, and because I wanted a quick FO, I crocheted a fat-ass afghan and used up about 15 skeins of yarn from my stash. Woot. Because again, nothing says summer like a 20-pound afghan. Thank goodness for central air.

On a completely different note, isn't Costco remarkable? The other day, I bought a DVD/VCR player, a raincoat for Banana, socks for WT, and about four pounds of chicken. Where the hell else can you buy all that stuff in one place?? Crazy, I tell ya.

'Kay, that's it for now. If you actually made it to the end of this boring and rambling post, I commend you. Hey Anne Marie - join Ravelry. ;o)

Communing with nature

So as many of you probably know, the Banana and I went to Lake George with our lovely neighbors John and Regina, who were very kind and generous and let us stay with them at their lake house. We had a great time!

We got to go out on the lake three times. The first day we went out on the Mohican, which is one of several larger boats that give tours of the lake. We went on the Morning Discovery cruise, which lasted a good five hours, and showed us pretty much the entire lake. It was gorgeous, and even though the clouds were threatening, we never got rained on while we were on the boat.

We communed with nature. Great blue herons were everywhere! This one landed on the dock at Blackie and Martha's, and we enjoyed watching it walk about before it took off again.

We got to go out with Wes and Charlotte on their boat. That was really, really fun. Wes is John's brother, and Charlotte is Wes' wife, and they are super people. The Banana was pleased to be wearing her Cinderella life vest.

After boating with Wes and Charlotte, we went to the Algonquin for dinner. I have seen this scene painted many a time: on the wall in Regina's classroom, as a pastel, on Regina's cast when she broke her ankle. It was wonderful to actually see it in person, and it is just as gorgeous as one would expect. We ate al fresco and enjoyed the fresh air along with our food and drink.



Here's another lovely view of Lake George. It is about 32 miles long (who knew?), and 3 miles wide at the widest point. It's easy to see when John and Regina go up there every chance they get.

The Banana enjoyed swimming as well. This little beach just opened up in Ticonderoga, and we went there several times. It was quiet, clean, and, as you can see, picturesque. I was happy to just sit on a bench and watch Banana splash and collect snail shells and build sand castles.

This is the Mohican. There are two other steamboats: the Minne-Ha-Ha, which is a bit smaller, and the Lac du Saint Sacrement (the original name of Lake George, by the way [original in that is was the first name given to it by Europeans, but I digress]), which was larger than the Mohican.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

We went for a walk behind Wes and Charlotte's house, and Charlotte showed us this charming little waterfall. The forest floor was covered with ferns and the air was clean and fresh and all was right with the world. The only thing that would have been better is if WT was there and not in Pittsburgh on business.

Upon our return, Banana started camp. I love her little pooky head, but it sure is nice to have some alone time. My dad and I took advantage of this and went to the Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia, which is a stunningly gorgeous public garden.

The trees are beautiful, the flowers are beautiful, everything is just beautiful (sensing a theme?).

It is relaxing and serene, and we had a lovely day to boot.

I even got to visit the Eiffel Tower! In spirit, anyway.

There is a lot of statuary at the Morris Arboretum; Dad and I think this is Jizo.

And of course, the flowers are not to be missed. Actually, you couldn't miss the flowers if you tried.

Like this one...

... and this one.

And quite honestly, what's a lovely outdoor trip to an arboretum without a few of the girls in tow? Here's Hibou admiring the roses.

Poppy felt right at home in the Fernery. Everything was her size!

Hibou found Mercury to be quite charming.

Poppy spent a few quiet moments with Buddha in the grotto at the Fernery.

All in all, this past week and a half has been refreshing, renewing, and relaxing. And I still have seven weeks of summer to go! I'm off to spin and knit and crochet and dye, and and and ...