I'm here physically...

... but mentally I'm still on vacation. We were in Ocean City, NJ last week, and next week we're going back up to Lake George, where the picture above was taken. That's Banana walking down the dock. Then it's back to work and school. Yuck. But I hope to post more come September. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

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 ...

Fab Ravatar

I'll see you guys next week - the Banana and I are off to Lake George...

I Heart New Mexico, or a Study in Superlatives

Wow, I really and truly do love New Mexico. The license plates call it the "Land of Enchantment", and as corny as that sounds, it's absolutely true. So now you must suffer throught my photos. If you really want to suffer, go to my Flickr site and check out the other 50 gajillion pictures that I didn't post here.

As you can see in this photo, WT is just as excited as I was to see the colorful rock formations! The scenery is absolutely magnificent pretty much all the time.

This sign tells you all about the different colored rocks and how they got there and how old they are and stuff. Carson National Forest varies greatly in its landscape; up near Taos, where the elevation is higher, there are forest meadows and whispering pines and it is lovely and peaceful.

This is a naturally occuring depression in the cliff near Abiquiu. You can hear your echo!

This here is Tent Rock National Monument. These wacky rock formations were all over the place. We hiked to the top of a large hill/small mountain, which was no easy feat considering we were already at an elevation of approximately 7500 feet above sea level. But I came, I hiked, I conquered, and damn it, I took pictures.

My cousin Amanda commented as we passed by here, "This boulder wasn't here the last time I made this hike." Yikes.

It's monsoon season in northern New Mexico right now, and every afternoon you could see a thunderstorm somewhere off in the distance. It was quite lovely and refreshing.

We got to go to Ghost Ranch, up near Abiquiu, and I tread on the very same earth that Georgia O'Keeffe tread upon, and laid eyes upon the very cliffs and sky and landscapes that inspired her magnificent paintings. Wow. A dream come true.

Mother Nature at her best, n'est-ce pas?

Why yes, I would like to live in this cabin overlooking Abiquiu Lake. Thank you very much.

Here's me! In front of the very cliffs that Georgia O'Keeffe painted! Holy crap!

Downtown Santa Fe is a great town. Here is a market on the steps of the Governor's Palace. Only Native Americans can display and sell their wares here. WT got me the most gorgeous turquoise and silver ring for our 7th wedding anniversary here. Thank you honey!!

Here's the Rio Grande on the way to Taos. There were many kayakers and rafters on the river this day.

WT got to go up in a glider, and he said it was absolutely exhilirating! I'll go next time.

We had a home-cooked authentic Mexican meal while staying with my aunt and uncle. These are chiles rellanos, but they kept falling apart, so my cousin solved the problem with toothpicks. Henceforth, they were referred to as Frankenpeppers. (And mighty tasty too, I might add.)

Look! I'm dwelling in a cliff at Bandelier National Monument!

Here's most of us at Tent Rocks: from left, Jessica (my cousin's daughter), my cousin Amanda, my Uncle Bob hiding in the back, WT, et moi. Missing: Aunt Donna, Giovanni (Amanda's son), and the Banana. They were home.

Yay! Happy family portrait in the aunt and uncle's backyard.
How could I go to Taos and not stop in here? I mean, honestly.
Behold, great beautiful hanks of luscious yarn.
Can you say 'heaven'? Alas, I did not purchase even one luscious skein, as I really couldn't justify the cost. It's pricy stuff, ya know?

Back home to reality. Here's a Baby B.A.G.S. I'm making for a friend of mine who's pregnant. It's much bigger now.
Here's Joey trying to eat the Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono. So far, so good. Just need to finish this.
Why you lookin' at me like that? I wasn't doin' nothin'. Fo' real, yo.
And now for your moment of Zen: a dark phase swallowtail that emerged from its chrysalis right outside my front door. Thank you Mother Nature!

Vacation knitting

Since we are flying from Philadelphia to Houston and Houston to Alburquerque on Thursday, I know I need to bring some knitting or crocheting with me. But what? It needs to be pretty small, and also pretty mindless as I'll be entertaining the Banana on the plane. I'm currently working on both the baby sweater and baby blanket, however I need my Mason-Dixon book with me for directions for the sweater, and the blanket is getting too big. I thought about the Green Gable, but again, decreases and transfers of stitches and whatnot makes it too complicated. So I've decided to cast on for the Summertime Tunic, and that will be travelling with me to Santa Fe and back. One set of needles. One page of instructions. Seven small balls of lightweight yarn. Perfect.

Wow, could it be a little friggin' hotter around here? Sheesh. Today it's supposed to go up to 97 degrees with about 80% humidity. I'm trying to get work done around the house so I don't feel guilty when we go to spend 4 hours at the pool. We were there for several hours yesterday, and it was nice. Thank God for swim clubs. And central air.

Not much else going on. I'll talk to you when I get back. Later alligators!

A stellar start to my holiday weekend

Yesterday, after work, I got my hair done, and it looks pretty cute. So that makes me happy, because my hair has been the bane of my existence since the age of about 12 or so. I then went to pick up Banana, and the minute I walked into her school, I knew something was amiss. She was white as a ghost, and I just knew she didn't feel well. We went home, took the temp, and yep, she has a fever, so so much for our plans for Saturday. Thankfully, there has not yet been a need for the Big Red Barf Bucket. Whew. However, she has been awake since 3 a.m. She has to crash at some point. Right? I need a nap.

This need for a nap became more apparent when I went to empty the dishwasher and I skewered my index finger on a steak knife. Three hours at the hospital and three stitches later, I sit here typing to you. It doesn't hurt so bad, in fact the tetanus shot hurts worse right now! Thank God for our neighbors John and Regina - John drove me to the hospital, and Regina stayed with Banana. I can't thank them enough!!

So right now the only thing I am wrestling with is this - I type for a living. I am a professional notetaker for a deaf high schooler. This should be interesting. I'm going to be typing waaayyy slow for a while. Yippee.

And of course, it puts a damper on the fiber arts for the weekend. Damn.

So I will wait for Frankenfinger to heal, and I will take it easy, and I will be grateful for my health and Banana's ability to heal quickly from illness (Hear that? That's me knocking on wood.) and I will be grateful for health insurance and I will be grateful for my friends.

Until next time my friends. And let's not forget, on this Memorial Day weekend, the men and women who have and continue to sacrifice their lives for us. Damn President Bush. But that's another post. :o)