Regularaly scheduled programming

I'm taking a break from the vacation engagement story to bring you some regularly scheduled knitting programming. I can't guarantee that this won't be interrupted by wedding mishegas.

Well, it already has. I was sort of having a bride "moment" (okay, it was a day) the other day. It wasn't a bad one. Mostly, it had to do with not having any idea what we're doing about a wedding yet. I'll feel better once some things are actually nailed down. You know, little things like when.

In my "moment" I got a hold of Tzurriz. Her solution, of course, was yarn shopping. For therapeutic purposes only. She took me to Nana's Knitting Shop in Oak Lawn. And she is an enabler. Oh, and did you know that this yarn store is in the middle of all the wedding vendors in the southwest suburbs? Yeah.

I bought yarn. I was powerless before the yarn in that condition, but I only bought sock yarn. And now I have to go on a yarn diet. (Stop it. I can hear you sniggering now.)It's Gypsy Girl in Winter Solstice. Sigh. You know, I think I know my problem. I'm not knitting enough. I'm sure I'd be more relaxed if I went back to knitting more.

Day four: feral chickens attack

Sorry it took so long to continue here. Wedding planning, jetlag, and work have stolen my brain.

Could day four really have been half way through the trip? We were having soooo much fun. Especially considering the engagement, it felt like an early honeymoon.

Like I said, we spent the night at an inn near the Volcanoes National Park. Going to that park was one of our priorities, so we stayed nearby and planned to spend the whole day there. However, our huge plans for day four were foiled. But we had fun anyway.

Most of the park is fairly high up in altitude and has very few water or other facilities. Additionally, we were planning a day hike across the lava field to see if lava could be seen entering the ocean. I've done this hike before, and it's a serious one. So I packed for serious hiking and we got in the car and headed over there.

Dun dun dun.

It was not to be. We got up near the park entrance and E turned green. I suppose we'll never know why. Perhaps it was the sudden change of altitude, or the jetlag catching up, or both. Anyway, we made a planned stop for breakfast to see if that would help him. He ordered some bacon and eggs and stuff, but had to pack it up and take it with him. And back down to sea level we went.

Poor guy. He needed to rest, but it was two early for checking into the next place and couldn't go back to last night's accommodations. So I took him to Lava Tree State Park, a nice quiet spot were he could nap on a park bench while I walked around.

The interesting thing about this place is that (guess what?) lava flowed here once. If flowed through the forest and hit trees. When that happened, a pillar of lava formed on the side of the tree facing upstream, with a mold of the burning tree forming on the other side. It's kind of a neat thing to see.
The Amazing E took a nap on a picnic table while I walked around. When I returned, he as being stalked by a half dozen wild chickens. Really. Stray chickens were surrounding my future husband. They looked pretty serious, too.I guess he felt like he had to placate them somehow, so he fed them some of his breakfast bacon. And eggs. Somehow I think that idea is wrong on many levels.

After that, we took a drive to the Puna coast and did some snorkeling. The trees were lovely there, so I'll show you.
By mid-afternoon, we were both beat. So we headed into Hilo, ate early dinner, and went to the hotel and stayed in all night.

Day three: Jeep tricks

There was a reason for renting the Jeep Wrangler. It's an uncomfortable tin can of a vehicle, but it beats all shit off road.

We started off early and went to Pu'uhonaunau National Historical Park, the Place of Refuge. Not only is it an interesting historical site, but IMHO it has the best snorkeling on the island.
E apparently likes to take pictures of flowers. Here is an artistic flower picture he took at the park.

We also went snorkeling, of course, and had a great time. The reef there is deeper and hard to access (you got to just from a ledge into the waves), but it was worth it.

Next we went to the beach. Possibly the remotest beach on the island. To get there, you have to drive over a lava field for several miles until the "road" becomes too rough even for the Jeep, and then hoof it the last 1/3 mile. This is where we left the Jeep at the end of the road. I think the 4 or 5 mile drive took an hour each way.Then we climbed to the top of a hill and saw this:
It might be the prettiest beach I've ever seen. And almost no one goes there. That might be why it's so pretty. In fact, it's so remote and unused that green sea turtles nest there. And do you see what else is interesting about it? Look at the sand near the bottom of the picture. It looks green. That's because it is green. There is a large olivine deposit there that is eroding into sand. Awesome!

After spending some time gawking, we drove back on that some road. And Dude, people stay along that road in Tee Pees.
Lastly, we went to the southernmost point in the United States. It's windy there. That night we stayed near Volcano National Park.

I found this picture

This is me right before I became the future Mrs. E.

The rest of day two: the snorkel challenge

Okay. After the proposal we had a whole day ahead of us, so we drove down to Kona town. The city wraps around a bay and most of the restaurants seem to have balconies with views of the water (and the sunset at the right part of the day). We headed down there for breakfast at one of those restaurants. Basically, we ate and mooned at each other for an hour before carrying on with the day.

The next item of business was getting snorkeling gear and going in the water. E had never been out for snorkeling, so this was going to be an adventure. We got the gear (I had to rent a prescription mask) and headed to a shallow reef that is easy for beginners. He was a little nervous, which is very understandable. Sticking your face in the water and breathing at the same time is an unnatural act. But he was a champ, and in no time we were having fun. Afterward, he declared it his favorite past time.

The rest of the day had a lot to do with dealing with jet lag and tiredness. We lay about a lot, ate dinner, and got to bed early.

Day two: what you've been waiting to hear

Let me start the description of this day off by saying that the Amazing E talked about going to the Cloud Forest for three weeks before we left on the trip. He wanted to go to the cloud forest, and he wanted to go the first morning. It was the only thing we wanted to do at a specific time. And it was really cool. And he really, really wanted to go.

OK, E. I get you.

The "Cloud Forest" is most of the way up the Hualalai Volcano, Hawaii's third active volcano. It makes up the western point of the island, and last erupted in 1801. It rises about 8,000 feet above the nearby coast. We went, what, 4,000 or 5,000 feet up. E told me that he's read about the place, that there was a nice winding road up there with forests and views of the sea below. Also, it's an interesting place because being a big old mountain jutting out into the sea, it creates its own weather and is often covered in mist. When we went, the view was clear at the elevation where we were but the mist was hanging a bit above us. Another interesting thing I heard about it was that the Marines who stormed Iwo Jima (you know, that famous battle WWII battle with the tear jerking picture of men raising the American flag on top of a mountain) practiced the operation here because the size and shape of the two volcanoes is very similar.

So we drove up there and got our first views of the island. Here's what you see.
Where we were is a lava field with these interesting dead looking trees all about. It seems like these trees live primarily on recent lava flows. So the area is rocky, like rocky with sharp rocks. We walked around there for a while. I kinda had a suspicion that himself had some plan for up there, but he was walking around and talking and acting tired and nervous. So I thought that I must be wrong about my suspicion, and decided that he wasn't going to do anything interesting except look at the view. So I sat down on a rock and started telling E about the trees.
That's a blossom from the trees. There's a romantic story about them, so I thought I'd tell it. The flowers represent one of the volcano goddess's, Pele's, lovers. While I was telling the story, E started walking around in little circles sort of behind me with his hands in his pockets and sighing. So I ask, "Dude, what's up?"

So he walks around next to me and tries to kneel next to where I'm sitting. Now, this is crunchy lava and he was wearing shorts, so I ask again, "Dude, what are you doing? That's sharp." Or something to that effect.

Next, he looks at me with the cutest face and says something like that he was trying to get comfortable. And then he goes "and ask you to marry me." Then he said something like, "I have this ring," and showed it to me.

I dissolved into a blubbering mass of jelly. I believe I took the ring and clutched it in my hand while I collapsed into his arms and laughed with tears shooting out of my eyes for several minutes. I suppose he was dying for an actual answer and what was going through his head while I was out of mine. After letting me bawl and laugh for a while, he says that he'd need an answer soon. Of course I said "Yes."

After that I pulled back and asked if I still had the ring and I showed him that it was still in my hand. He's so cute. E took it and said that he wanted to tell me about it. The diamond is a family heirloom that has been in his family for about 130 years. The ring is in a simple solitaire setting now, but he wants to reset it for me. To make it mine. We'll do that soon.

I'm so happy that I'm going to be Mrs. E. I'm also honored that his family has welcomed me in such a touching way. Thank you.

Hawai'i: Day One

Here I'm gonna tell you about my trip, day by day. There will even be pictures on most of the posts. I'm 100% exhausted right now, so this will come over the next day or so as I recover. I'm sorry I can't come to knitting this week to tell everything in person. Tonight I am dead, and Wednesday I have Shakespeare tickets. Some of you will hear the stories in person on Yom Kippur this weekend. The rest of you have to wait!

First let me say that things started off sucky. I worked 12 hours on Friday and was pissed off as all hell by the time I was done. I was so crazed that I forgot it was Shabbat (!) and went to bed. Go up Saturday morning and delivered the kitties to my Grandpa's for cat sitting (thanks, Grandpa!) and called the taxi for the airport.

The first flight was to Dallas. The Amazing E got in just after me, and after a short layover we left for LAX, and then Kona. We got into Kona at around 9:30 local time, both of us exhausted. After a small meltdown, we got our luggage and Jeep and left for the hotel, 20 miles to the south.

End day one, tired but in two pieces.

It's a little too big

Here's a picture of me still knitting that Green Tea Raglan. See?

It's a little big. Probably more than expected. I'll have to find a way to make it smaller so I can wear it properly on my tiny little self.

A few pictures

Here are a few pictures for now. I'll post a long and boring day by day journal of the trip when I get home.

This one is the Waipi'o Valley. We drove down there. All the way down to that beach.

This is us at the volcano. E needed a nap and someone thought we were really cute.

Romantic sunrise over Mauna Kea, complete with rainbow.

This is were we had to leave the Jeep behind on the way to a green sand beach. Not even the 4x4 could make the rest of the way.

I'll tell you about this flower later.

Crispy critter

The Amazing E and I have been fairly far off the map for the last several days, and time back in the world is short now.

Suffice it to day that we're having a great time in the sun and sea. It's utterly awesome here. The computer I'm using doesn't allow me to upload my photos, so I'll have to post them when we return.

See you soon.

Lost!

Sorry for the scare. Somehow this got published before I was ready.

I can't find my other Panda Cotton sock! They're my favorite socks, and I wanted to wear them on the plane. I'm worried about its well being. See, I went shopping the other day for the trip and was sitting in the middle of my living room floor taking tags off things and packing them. One thing I wanted to do was to try on my new store bought socks. So I pulled off one of the Panda Cotton socks to try it on. Then I walked around the house with one sock off for about an hour. I don't know where I took the second one off. It is entirely possible that I took if off in the middle of my floor. And that one of the socks got scooped up with the trash. I hope not.

I get in the taxi to O'Hare in 24 hours. Yeeee!

Plotz!

38 hours from now, I am scheduled to be on the airplane. However, what is likely to be in my seat is some shredded bits of myself because I believe I will plotz before then.

I have come here at this time to bitch.

Mind you, this is not the pre-plotz state that I used to get into while I worked at the very stupid government job. That is the good news here. This is induced merely by having too much to do, and not by crisis. I'm just exhausted; I am earning that vacation this week. Yeah, there isn't enough time in the day lately. But that's what vacation is for.

I haven't had time to knit, so I'll not be able to wear the Green Tea Raglan on the plane. Boo. I guess I'll see if I can finish it on the plane.

In other Hawaii related knitting news, I have located a yarn store in Hilo. I will go there and check it out when I need a break from my travelling company.

Since you asked, I will try to update the blog at least once or twice while I'm there. And I'll try to put pictures up.

Almost ready...

The time has almost come. I've been there twice before, you know. The Big Island of Hawaii is my favorite place in the whole world, and I'm going there with the love of my life. So excited. Right now I feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

The trip will be 10 hours of flying time in each direction. This is plus the layovers. What can I say, I bought the tickets on my frequent flyer account, so direct flights were out. Fortunately, the Amazing E will be in the seat next to me for all but the first and last couple of hours. Despite all his amazingness, I expect to need something to do on the planes. I'm not the greatest flyer. Not that I get scared (have tons of trans-oceanic flying experience). I'm just uncomfortable and bored in that small flying tin can. And I can't sleep.

Of course, knitting will be on the in-flight agenda. I'll bring the Green Tea Raglan, if it's not done. Also, I'm thinking of the Oriel Lace Blouse. With that much knitting time on my hands, I feel like working on larger sized, flexible needles is in the interest of my hands. Also, I will bring E's second Bribery Sock.

The front of the Green Tea Raglan is done up to the raglan decreases. Take a look. Check out where the current needle line is compare to the back. After the front is done, only one sleeve will remain. If my PM doesn't kill me with crazy work, I might still get it done before the plane.
I've also finished packing, for the most part:Does Scott TC want to come with in that bag because he'll miss me, or because he likes to sleep in the sun?

SNBWB@night.com

No, not really. Don't try to go there.

But we did get together last Friday night at Nadia's lovely new home in Carol Stream (whilst her husband was out with the dudes). A gracious host, she fed us cheese pizza and a super yummy artichoke dip. My sister, Cheeez, who taught me how to knit, was also in attendance. She was in town on a visit from her super secret job. It was a fun evening of knitting and being women. Much like SnB, but with way more comfortable chairs and better food.

This is a snap of the SNBWB group. Nobody seems to have thought to take any at Nadia's.
BTW, keep voting! I find it amusing that so far you all want to see me as a burrito.

Is it noodle kugel?

No, it's yarn. Back when , you remember that day when we ransacked The Fold? Well, that day I bought 8 ounces of single ply undyed Icelandic wool. It's a bulky weight, and will be used to make myself a lovely winter ensemble. Hat, mitten, etc. I dyed it today.

It started with three colors of acid dyes. There was some idea in my brain of doing a hand painting thing with a plastic bottle and the dyes. I wanted a rich, purple-y blue with flashes of yellow. It came out like this:
In other words, crappy. Where were my rich colors? Where was my beautiful yarn?

So I mixed up some double strength dye, poured it over the yarn, and popped it in the oven for a half hour. Now my yarn is dyed with TRIPLE STRENGTH! And has the richness of a noodle kugel without the calories.
You'll know me this winter because I'll be the one looking like a Smurf after the first sleet storm.

Winter projects

September. Could it be here already? I guess it is. I will be finishing up my two spring/autumn garmet projects, the Green Tea Raglan and the Oriel Lace Blouse, soon enough. I mean, I have 20 hours of airplane time coming up shortly.

So, I'm thinking. What winter projects should I do? One has to be easy; it will be the black and sari silk jacket I tried to do last year. It's frogged. The pattern was crappy, so I need a new one. But I also want a hard project. After looking at Knitterary's books over the last year, I've determined that the hard project has to be an Alice Starmore creation.

Which one? There are so many that are just so stunning that I'm having a hard time picking. So I'm putting it up for a vote. (Not that the voting results will be binding.) Here are the candidates from Herself's website.

LUSKENTYRE

ALBA

AMPHORA

Rheingold Wrap

I bought the crap!

Well, I did despite your advice on the matter. Keep looking here for the Cherry Tree Hill yarn Pr0n. You know, even bad pr0n is still Pr0n.

Oh, and hello New York.

Yarn Pr0n!

If I haven't finished anything lately, and I'm too tired to say anything witty, then I bring you an evening of yarn Pr0n. I've been saving this one.This is my skien of yarn from Zen Strings. It's their Bambewe fingering weight yarn in the Strawberry Fields Forever colorway. Of course, it has some bamboo content. (I know, I know. It's bloody rayon. But it's a rayon that makes my feet happy, dry, and smelling like pansies.) It's also shiny. OOOOH. You know, women and shiny things.

I could not resist - Semetic and cat humor

ROSIE

You decide to become a Jew when you see Satan Claws come down the chimney.

Link for this page: http://www.mycathatesyou.com/cats/20

SALOME

'Heeere's SALOME!'

Changing focus

I've knitted a lot of socks lately, and I have purchased a great deal of sock yarn. I do indeed love hand knitted socks, now that I've made them. I have small, narrow feet with monkey toes (as you've seen). Most store bought socks bunch, twist, and otherwise misbehave on my feet. Furthermore, my feet are cold and clammy most of the time. (yes, I know you always wanted to know that). Knitting my own socks out of carefully selected fibers is solving those problems, and I am learning the joy that socks can bring for the first time in my life. If you're a knitter and haven't tried it, I think you should.

I didn't take part in the Summer of Socks, as some of my knitting buddies have. But I'm getting burned out on them. So I picked up my Green Tree Raglan the other day. It's coming along.

I'm changing career focus lately as well. My job as grant writer was a very satisfying one, but if you know Chicago politics, working for the town I did was nuts. But I did some good. I got at least $250,000 for the town and its residents in less than one year. One very stressful year. It really was like working as a director of development at another organization for at least twice as long. Unfortunately, the long hours and chaos wrecked my health. I'm recovering now.

Work at the gigantic corporate entity is wrapping up shortly. Technically, I am not even an employee there, so I don't know if I can get unemployment when the work is done. However, I'm buoyed by the fact that I've made a lot of money, that the work is low stress, and that headhunters are hunting my head right now. Aggressively. I have decided to return to corporate work in the short term. I will go back to nonprofit work soon enough. After all, that is what my master's degree will be in.

Ok, all of you. You've been found out. You know who you are, and you are all "Gentleman." This post is for you, because I know that all of you are reading this to find out what I'm up to. Keep it up, if you want. Especially if you want to knit.