Fishes, flowers and trinkets Oh My ! Shopping at Pikes Place Market

Thursday  March 31  2011

Spring is wildly vivid in the market

daffodils galore:

tulips  showing off their warm colors

veggies for sale

flying fish  tossed by vendors:

belts waiting for a new home:

We walked for hours and then found a delicious lunch at the  Pear deli across the street
we stopped for a couple of photos

Kris in front of the  pike's place market sign.

view of the harbor from inside the market.

Ryan is unable to meet us tonight  but he might get tomorrow off.  Yay!  

Tomorrow  we are planning to see Little Knits ( they were closed today.  Grrr)  We may get our Geek on and go to the Science Fiction  hall of fame.   

cool and rainy today     but hey it's Seattle.  

Flying north by North west.

 Wednesday   March  30

Took off in  the rain, landed in the rain.   Soon we were off to find lunch and a Museaum
Tacoma  has a beautiful  museaum of Glass.  

artists working in the Hot Shop

Chuhily's Wall of Glass.   It is truly breathtaking. 

These tower over  hwy  705   

The cone

met Ryan at Gerties for supper.  

I was asleep by  10 p.m. Seattle time.    It was 1 a.m.  EST.   We are planning on sleeping in late tomorrow.
Yeah  like that is going to happen...

Good bye Charleston, hello Altanta

Tuesday  March 29,2011

Got up to sunny skies.   Drove to Atlanta.  Arrived about  2:30 p.m.   Visited Stone Mountain.

spring has sprung in the South  trees are in bloom

early bedtime.  We have an 8 a.m. flight to Seattle.

Rainy Day on sullivan's island

Monday,  March 28

We headed out  and found a huge traffic Jam on I 26.  Knit 8 rounds on the tiffany sweater.

Crossed the cooper bridge and went to Fort Moultrie.  We took advantage of a brief pause in the rain
and viewed some of the fort   We were in the niddle of the fort when the skies opened up.  We got soaked.  Stopped at Vickery's  for lunch  and had to photograph the entryway

met Glenn after his day of studies and duty at the Dive

he looks very handsome in his navy camos.   We had to  Goodbye.   sniff sniff

Charleston

Sunday  March 27  2011

Warm and Rainy day.   We visited  South Carolina's Aquarium.  

Here's Glenn inside the mountain section of the
trail.   sorry about the goofy orientation of the photo
I'll fix it later.

Glenn found a friend  on the harbor side of the building.

We went iin search of a nice lunch  and we found it.  here's  choice from Hyman's Menu:

a shrimp po'boy.   Yumo.     Impossible to finish.   

We saw lots of carriages.  

We passed the Daughters of the confederacy building at meeting and market streets

Then it started to drizzle again.   We went to the Visitor's Center and Took a Grey  Line Tour of Historic Charleston

a house on the Battery

Glenn had some studying to take care of.  Kris and I had supper and went back to the hotel.

Forts and Submarines

Saturday  March 26 2011

Picked up a sailor this morning.  he was so cute  we think we'll keep him

Kris and Glenn  at Patriot point in front of the USS  Yorktown

We took a Ferry to Fort Sumter

the Cooper Bridge

Kris and Glenn toured the Yorktown.   I watched  the cub/boy scouts disembarked from an overnight adventure on the ship.     watched a woman make  sweetgrass baskets.   They were beautiful.



The Hunley submarine  replica  this is a larger than life size  model

we also visited  Cupcake  Bakery.

breakfast:  perkins   lunch:  sticky fingers   dinner at Gilligan's  grilled shrimp.  Yum! 

Leaving on a jet plane

 Friday  March 25, 2011

The long awaited day is here!

Here we go...

Kris read the paper while we waited for the  Northstar train

cold sunrise   in Minnesota.

then we took the light rail to the   airport  and flew to Atlanta.   My new sweater was the perfect travel garment  part sweater/ part blanket.   I slept most of the flight.  Long drive to  Charleston.   had supper at a
Chick a Filet  it was pretty good.  In bed by midnight  slept like a  log.

Sunshine and Suitcases

Thursday  March 24, 2011  4 p.m.

Slept in late and woke to a brilliantly bright day.   Sunny day  with a snow covered yard  has a very special light.  Snow is  melting  leaving black patches on the driveway. 

packing  is going really well and  I have almost everything I need clean.  My bag is packed and Kris' laundry is clean. 

knitting projects:  The Tardis socks,  the tiffany sweater, and  yarn for a new pair of socks for Kris.
Books:   The Postmistress by Sarah Blake  and The Light of Evening by Edna O'Brien.

the only thing left  to go in the  carry on bag is my  medication.


Joy:   leaving for vacation    Challenge:  staying on task with my packing.   I'm so giddy about leaving.

Mother Nature -- Are you kidding me????

Wednesday,  March 23

What joy and what fun.  (full sarcasm here).   We heard the ice pellets against the wind in the night   We woke up to four inches of snow.   Wet sloppy snow.   We went to the Anoka train station and I drove home  in really awful conditions  with a moron in an SUV  tail gating me  all the way up   hwy 47.   What is up with people who tailgate  in bad weather?   Came home got ready for my doctor's appt.

I managed to get the van through the snowdrift at the end of the drive.   All was well until I came home and thought I was invincible.     Got the van stuck at the bottom of the driveway.    it just couldn't get through  the snow. 

Thanks to my friend Kathy,  Kris got a ride back from the train station.  Then he had a van to dig out and a driveway to clear.   I know  we really should have a snow blower.    We got spoiled by our snow removal team aka  Glenn and Ryan.     honestly   the snow blower would not have made one bit of difference.     The neighbor was kind enough to offer the use of his.     But the snow was too slushy to   "blow" . 

Lesson learned next time  either park in the street or  cancel the appt  rather than drive in awful weather.

Net flix selection:   The Hangover.     1 1/2 stars out of five.    Guys doing dumb stuff when drunk.   a liberal dose of   low brow humor.    only one laugh out loud.   four or five chuckles and  a lot of head shaking.

Joy:  long afternoon nap         Challenge:  trying to dig out the van  after I got it stuck.   I couldn't beat that challenge.

a Blustery Dayk

Tuesday  March 22,  2011

I bought a new raincoat  today.    Amazing how  a vacation increases one's wardrobe.   I'm getting ready for vacation.   

It's Knit Wits at Culver's day.   We had two new ladies join us for chit chat and  knitting.  

Joy:  finding a raincoat that I like and looks nice on me.   You'll see  it on the blog in a couple of days  when we show photos of leaving for our trip.  

Challenge:  walking in the wind  and no that is not a mime thing.   It was unbelievably  windy today.

Murky Monday

March 21, 2011

Gloomy day  cloudy and grey.Spring is just around the corner Every day the snow piles get smaller and smaller  Chillier today.   Still warm enough for polar fleece.   Could this mean  I can put away the winter coats and snowflake sweaters?
On the nightstand:   The Book Borrower
Netflix selection:  The Light Keepers   three stars out of five. 

Castle was excellent tonight
Milo got to spend the  night outside.   What a pest!

Joy:  finishing off the last details for the vacation  Challenge:  motivating myself to walk 

Sunday with 'Paul'

Spent Sunday working on  a camera case and an eyeglasses case using the leftovers from the Charleston Bag

Eye glasses case, new glasses for driving and camera case.

After breakfast Kris worked out  and did a Costco run.   We had a quick lunch and went to see "Paul".   It's a clever little spin on an alien from outer space movie.  we both  enjoyed it a lot.  Then we hurried home to catch the Amazing Race.                                                                                                          

Joy:  snuggling with Milo while I was knitting  Challenge:   getting to sleep.

Couples Bowling League

March 19, 2011

Bowling night.     Every other saturday night we bowl with our friends and neighbors
Deb and Miles.    It's a really friendly group  we bowl with and we have a good time.
all four of us were prettty excited about our upcoming vacations.   Nothing like good times with good friends on late  winter Saturday night.

joy: fun times with good friends  challenge:  sticking to my diet.

Friday with us Geezers

March 18,2011

Quiet day putzing around the house  Met Kim and her Mom Bonnie  to go to the Knittervention at the
Double Ewe.   Found a perfect button for the Charleston Bag. Met some nice people  and knit on Tardis socks

 and a new sweater for  Bundles of Love from the 60 Quick Baby Knits Book.  

Joy:   Going to knittervention  Challenge: not spending too much on sock yarn  :)

St. Patrick's Day

March 17, 2011

Happy Birthday to my youngest son , Ryan, who turns 22 today.  

how did this happen  seems like it was just yesterday  when he was a little one who thought   all the St. Patrick's Day  hoopla was in his honor.  This year  he celebrated one the coast of one ocean while his brother wished him a happy birthday from the shore of another ocean.   Hubby and I sent our regards and love from over a thousand miles away.   It's years away from green pancakes at breakfast and green mashed potatoes at supper.   Ryan is celebrating with  a mug of green beer in his hand. 

Joy: finishing the Charleston Bag   Challenge:  posting pictures of the bag in this post.

Pirates and Hookers

Arrggghhh,   hand me my eye patch  and  pass me a parrot.  

Pirate Radio was our netflix selection.    I love films that are more about the era than a plot.   I really enjoyed this movie   the soundtrack was fantastic.  

I want to be a Radio Pirate  and broadcast  Radio Rock....   but I was 2 years old in 1966   so it wasn't meant to be.

Hookers group night at the Library.    I am always fascinated with the range of projects.   Baby blankets,  Dr. Who inspired  Dalek in fillet crochet,   blaze orange  hunters neck gaiters,  Worked on my Charleston Bag.   only  14 rows to go.  

Joy:  Fun chat time with the "hookers' at the library    Challenge:  working the pattern on the Tardis socks

Here Comes the Sun

Tuesday, March 15

Why is it that you don't realize how much you need new glasses until  you get them?   I  picked up two pairs of glasses.   I know  it seems silly not to get bifocals  but bear in mind that  I use glasses for driving and knitting  only .  Since I am not planning to do both those activities at the same, bifocals seem like overkill.  Add in the financial aspect that  bifocals would have cost me twice what two pairs of glasses  cost me.   What is up with that?

I worked on the Tardis socks while at knit  wits  and I am happy to report that I'm done with the fair isle part of the sock and working on the patterned part.   These socks are a lot of fun to knit and  they look like Dr. Who's  time machine.   I just hope Kris likes them.

the joy;: new glasses   the challenge : picking out  the frames.

 

Monday, Monday

Monday  March 14,2011

Early morning  taxi run to the train  was chilly and   I worked for a bit on the Charleston bag 

Kris and I went to the Ole Piper Inn for Live Trivia and 99 cent burgers.   It was  fun night and I took the Tardis socks along and got the ribbing finished.

Joy:  having a date night with my sweetie on a 'school night"    challenge: staying awake this morning so I wouldn't sleep through an appointment. 

Sunday

Woke up this morning with achy hands.   The  Charleston bag is a tough knit.   It's knit very tightly  using  double strands of mercantilized cotton  on a small needle.   Now I remember why I made only one...

Yesterday was the Costco Run.   Kris is waiting for the Macadamia nut cereal from Kirkland to show up on the shelves    meanwhile back in chicago my Dad is hoping Costco will bring back the Blueberry Cereal.  
Kris consoled himself with strawberries,  chocolate milk and oranges.   A box of  Skinny cows stowed away in our cart.  

Spent the afternoon in the frog pond ( for non knitters this means  I had to rip back my knitting).  I got a little cocky yesterday and tried to knit ribbing  on a sock without my glasses.   Not a good plan.   I'm now back to where I was on Friday.  

Good supper tonight.   Roast beef, baked potatoes, salad  and strawberry shortcake for dessert. 

Sunshine and Socks

The sun fought its way out of the clouds this afternoon.  I stood on the sidewalk  with my face to the sun and felt so happy.  Amazing the power the sun has on  us.  

Sock mating is an odd household chore.  one would think that after keeping house  for  26 years  I should have a better system for keeping  a pair together.      For a long time  I bought large packs of socks.   I thought this would make the sock mating so much easier, not really  because I suspect they are reproducing  on their own.    When socks are left to mate on their own  they do not reproduce in pairs of equal size.  this leads to many lonely or orphaned socks and often we have runaways. 

I knit some of our socks  so we have a sock hierarchy  in our sock drawers.   the handknitted socks don't linger long in the drawer  in fact most of Kris' never make it there  he just grabs them from their drying spot and puts them on.  

Hoping all of you are having a pleasant weekend.  Don't forget to  set  your clock  forward tonight.

chicken, rice, vegetable medly and  salad for dinner.      

March 11 Tsanami

  I am praying for the victims and their families.   Hoping our military stationed in Japan  are safe and sound.


.  

New Sweater Joy and the Joys of Technology

March 10, 2011  

my springbrook cardigan is done .    it fits really well  and I'm so happy I have a soft warm sweater for spring.    
After supper, we went outside to look at the night sky and use an app on the droid  for sky gazing.
it was amazing to  point the droid towards the sky and see  the constellations name show up on the screen. 
Technology amazes me daily and almost as often as it frustrates me.   I can find the temperature in four cities at the flick of a finger  but   I am still struggling with load photos on this blog.    the computer is fine, the website is fine  the problem lies between the screen and the chair. 

Pretty great day .  Sunshine in the afternoon,  a new sweater by suppertime and pizza aupper out with friends.    I think we are starting to work this empty nester thing.

March 9 Waiting for Spring

Lent begins today  and  with daylight savings time arriving on Sunday.     My spring sweater is almost done.
I'm putting the snowmen away and ready to drag out the box of spring/Easter decorations.     we still  have  piles of snow   in the yard.   Not whining just saying  for heaven's sake   Spring  get a move on.   We are all ready to see our lawns again.

my joy today is finishing the  second sleeve of my sweater.    Milo was kind enough to keep me company while I knit.   

The challenge was  to keep from eating the chocolate chips in the cupboard.   Denial is good for me.   ( yeah right  i might actually believe this one day)

Fat Tuesday

March 7  Beer and Binding Off

my morning began with a beer fountain caused  by the fall of a Killian's beer botttle from the top shelf of the refrigerator.   Wonderful.  

I bound off the sleeve of my springbrook cardigan.  the best thing about knitting is you can make it fit you perfectly  ( or at least try)    I added an inch on the length of the sleeve    I'm quite smug about this.  

March 8  Walleye and  Vision Exam

Challenge:   Vision Exam    not really a challenge  but simply something I have to do this month.   The eye doctor has threatened me with bifocals  which is totally ridiculous.    I need glasses to  drive and knit.   I'm fine otherwise.   The good thing is I can  pick some cool new  glasses.  

Joy:  Culver's Knit Wits meets to day.   I see from the t.v. ads  the walleye sandwich is back.  I'm eager to show  off my recently finished project   the Wonderful Wallaby Sweater.   They  appreciate the work.