Zoom - Whishhh....What Was That Noise?

That was the days f l y i n g by.

Three whole weeks and not a single post. Shame on me. What the hell is my problem? Where does the time go? Crazy, crazy, crazy. I have been thinking about ya'll. Really I have. And I have been reading blogs but haven't taken the time to leave comments. (And I thought my blog stalking days were over.) I've been thinking about blogging...I've twice maxed out my memory card (roughly 160 pictures) taking pictures with every intention of writing some profound something about every single picture....Not gonna happen.

If I try to tell you everything at length, I'll never get this posted so instead I'll try to give you the high points and a few pictures.


Section I: Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. It didn't snow while we were in Oregon but it was very cold and that made me happy. If I pretended real hard, I could imagine the heavy morning frost was snow. (I'm easily contended.) By all accounts, the sweaters were a huge success, both at the Oregon Thanksgiving and at the festivities at my parents' house here. Mama says these were the best ornaments yet and I was so glad to hear it. Hopefully the tiny socks will be equally successful next year. (See? I'm already planning ahead.)

While we were at my MIL's, I took a ton of pictures. My mother-in-law lives down a rural road and the scenery around her place is beautiful. There is a small creek that runs under the road on the way up to her house and it is such a pretty area. Every time we visit her, I tell myself I am going to walk down to the creek and take some pictures but I never do. This time I finally did. I took nearly 100 pictures on that walk. It has been a relatively dry year so the creek is low but that just serves to show off the rocks. It was cloudy and gray and cold that afternoon and it was really just perfect for a picture taking walk. Here are a few.

Section II: Knitting

I've been working on a secret project. Not secret because it is a surprise for anyone - it's actually something for me - but secret because I am thinking about submitting the pattern for something. Anita at the LYS has agreed to test knit the pattern for me (as soon as I get the pattern worked up to a point that someone other than me can read it...) Anyone else interested? It is a felted something, uses a single skein of Cascade 220 or similar feltable wool. If you'd be interested in doing a little test knitting, leave me a comment or send me an email. (crickitleigh at hotmail dot com) No hurry...it can wait until after Christmas, even after the first of the year.

I've also been working on socks for Lori. Once I've got it all figured out, I'll share the pattern with you. I am very happy with them so far and (hurray) after turning the heel, it fit Lori. I'm still fiddling with the leg pattern. The always fabulous RC is helping me work out the pattern. Here's the sock so far, relaxing in my as-yet-undecorated Christmas tree. (I've only had the tree since Saturday. I'll decorate it soon. Really, I will.)Sunday night I made these stitch markers for Deb. Now I just hope she shows up at knitting tomorrow night...I also made stitch makers and earrings for Trixie but, in my enthusiasm to get them in the mail, I didn't take any pictures. Maybe she'll take pictures once they arrive on her end.

Section III: My BIL Jeff

I've talked frequently about my SIL Lori and my sister Katy but I've never talked much about my BIL, Jeff. Jeff is more like a brother than a brother-in-law. My oldest sister, Carrie, to whom Jeff is married, is 10.5 years older than me. I first met Jeff when I was 5. When we were little, we thought for sure Carrie would marry her friend Sam (when you're little, sometimes it is hard to distinguish friends from "friends") but we have always been glad she married Jeff. Jeff and Carrie are the parents of Whitney and Tegan.



So during the last few years, Jeff has been working on getting his private pilot's license. Friday I had the distinction of being the first adult in the family to fly with Jeff. And we had such a good time. Thankfully I remembered to take along my camera. I took tons of pictures, most of which are nearly indistinguishable if you don't know what you are look at. Here are a few that are easily identifiable.



Jeff after completing his pre-flight check.

My neighborhood is so peaceful from up there.

Here we are at 2500 feet ASL.
This is my first go at using the video feature on my camera and my first go at uploading video in a post...Here's take off.

As Jeff is fond of saying: take off is optional, landing is mandatory. Sadly, I was distracted during landing and didn't get a picture or video then. I am happy to report, however, that we did indeed land safely. And it was a very smooth landing at that.



Thanks Jeff!

Section IV: The Crazy

Things have been crazy here and that can be largely attributed to Tuesday's upcoming ankle surgery. Between trying to get everything at work all caught up and on auto-pilot as much as is possible, and trying to get all of the laundry and Christmas shopping finished at home, I feel just the tiniest bit overwhelmed. I'm sure it will be pretty steadily hectic until next Tuesday morning. Hopefully I'll have a chance to post before then....time will tell.

Today's Quote

"An idealist is one who, on noticing that roses smell better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup. -H.L. Mencken