Tag Archive for 'vacation'

Musical Interlude 21 Nov 07


21 Comments

Oy vey, where does the time go?! It’s already been 11 days since the last post, and Thanksgiving is looming in the foreground like a 30 pound turkey. Also looming is the impending deadline of my final project paper for my Multiuser Detection class, but we won’t discuss that…(shudder).

I’ve been busy knitting, and am almost ready for the big unveiling of my first sweater. I have a few finishing details left this afternoon, but I’m almost there, and I’m happy that I can wear it for Thanksgiving tomorrow! (And that a cold snap just moved in, cause I really don’t want to wear the sweater if it’s still 70 degrees!) It will also come in quite handy for a weekend trip to Chicago this Friday, in a repeat of last year’s trip. I’m going out with both of my brothers, and am actually going to see Over the Rhine play a double header. I’m super excited to see them again, and to have a weekend to explore Chicago with both of my brothers. And yet again, I will completely ignore the fact that finals are in 2 weeks. ;) Now let’s just hope that there’s not massive amounts of snow in the next few days like last year…

And to disguise the fact that I have no actual knitting content until the sweater unveiling, I’ll distract you with a bit of trivia about myself.

Have I ever mentioned that I play the violin?

betcha didn't know

I’ve been playing since I was 8, and it’s something I really love. One day when I was in 2nd grade, a middle school orchestra came to my school, and I was enamored with the violinists. I actually walked around for a few weeks with a ruler and pencil, pretending I was a famous violinist, so my Mom figured she should enroll me in lessons. Now 15 years later, I still love it, and hope that I’ll be playing well into my senior years. Just this week, I joined the Albuquerque Philharmonic Orchestra, a local amateur orchestra that plays just for fun. I’ve been wanting to join this orchestra for a while, but it hasn’t worked out with my schedule before. It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve played with an orchestra, and I really have missed it.

So who else plays an instrument? I’m thinking it’d be awesome to start a traveling group with knitting musicians. ;)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! I’m looking forward to the big gathering at my parent’s house. I made my own pumpkin puree last week, and will be baking some pumpkin pies, pumpkin cheesecake and roasting pumpkin seeds for the big meal. I can’t wait for my big baking session tonight, it’s gonna be loads of fun. There’s so many things I’m thankful for this year, and so many things God has given me, that it’s really hard to pick one thing. So I think I’ll just try to be thankful for all the simple pleasures, such as pumpkin pie, classical music and sweater knitting. Not to mention a great time of hanging out with friends and family.

Ah, Dry Heat, I Love You. 11 Aug 07


18 Comments

So I’ve been home since yesterday morning, just spending the time unpacking, dyeing up and shipping Yarn Nerd orders (thanks guys!) and hugging the dogs. Both Dallas and Emma are super happy that I’m home, and keep following me around like I might leave them again at any second. Needless to say, I’m glad to see them too, I missed waking up to Dallas’ big wet tongue every morning (well, maybe not the tongue so much), and coming home to Emma’s howling chorus every afternoon.

I don’t have too much to say now, except that I had a great time. Can you tell?

going down
sinking sand
something smells fishy.
puget sound

It was a really great trip, and most of the week after the wedding was spent just hanging out, walking around and drinking ridiculous amounts of coffee. My friend Holly kept telling me my heart would explode from all the caffeine ;) Oh and buying yarn too. I actually ended up shipping my yarn back to myself, since it would have been a stretch to cram into my suitcase, and I really didn’t want it smelling like dirty clothes when I got home. I just got the box a few hours ago and am super excited to dive into the stuff. Want to see?

the yarn haul
  • Austermann Step → I loved using this stuff for my Broad Spiral Ribbed Socks, and this color called my name
  • Trekking → Who can resist the Trekking? This stuff is destined to become some fancy evening socks, since I’m tired of wearing lame black socks to formal events.
  • Rowan Calmer → For a Shedir hat. My head will be happy this winter.
  • Hemp for Knitting → I’m doing a soap/yarn swap with Knitting Philistine, and figured a hemp washcloth would go with my soon to be here soaps perfectly.
  • Blue Sky Alpaca’s Dyed Cotton → This stuff is the softest cotton I’ve ever felt. I know exactly what I’m making, but it’s a secret! ;)

I also scored some Yarn Pirate Knitting Needles (thanks Georgia, I love them!), along with a mini-soap from Knitting Philistine/Good Soap Works of Athens that Georgia had leftover from last month’s Yarn Pirate Booty Club. (I packed that w/ the yarn, and now the yarn smells so nice, ah….)

I certainly got spoiled, and spoiled myself in Seattle, eh? It’s not too often that I get such a great vacation, so I just had to take advantage. ;)

I also got to spoil my friend Holly, with a moving away present that I’ve been sitting on for quite a while. You may have seen the finished pictures of this hat back in July on my Flickr page, and now I’m happy to show off pictures of it being worn by it’s happy recipient. (Can you tell that she likes pirates?) Not bad for a first stranded project ever huh? I think it’s pretty swank myself. Hope it keeps your head warm this winter Holly, it’s gonna be cold up there in Seattle!

rockstar pirate oh my!

I’m gonna go have an Arrested Development marathon now and see if I and finish up a pair of socks that’s been languishing on the needles for a bit. I finished one pair in Seattle and am hoping to get this one cranked out before casting on some new stuff. I’ll let you know how that goes…

Caffeination Nation 06 Aug 07


23 Comments

Ah, nothing like a good vacation! Especially when it’s filled with lots of relaxation, friends, knitting and tasty coffee. I may not even come back. Anyone know of any engineering jobs up here? ;) (Don’t worry Mom, I’ll come back for Emma and Dallas!)

The wedding was really beautiful, as it was right outside near the shore of the Puget Sound. Nothing like a beautiful lodge, a dynamite view and a nice sea breeze for a great wedding. Oh, and waking up to this nearby view helps too. ;)

a room w/ a view

The flowers at the wedding lodge didn’t hurt either.

WA has so many flowers!

I’m also getting quite my caffeine fill these days too. Nothing like some perfectly extracted espresso and smooth microfoamed milk to start out the morning with. Or an hour after morning. Or an hour before lunch. Or after lunch. Or…ok, I think you get the picture.

caffeination nation

Then I met up with Georgia and Sarah for an afternoon yarn crawl. Those gals sure know how to get a guy to buy lots of yarn! They were both super fun, and I’m so glad to finally meet them! Sarah took a picture of Georgia and I, and it wasn’t until later I realized that we never got a picture of her! Sorry Sarah!

arrr, it's yarn pirate!

We hit up both Hilltop Yarns (the clerk had a blog and was super nice, but I don’t remember her blog name! trash!) and Fiber Gallery (where we saw Jessica who works there!) I’ve never met anyone I’ve only known online before, so 2 people in one day was lots of fun! Thanks so much to both Georgia and Sarah, I had a really awesome time, and got some awesome yarns.

I’m looking forward to the rest of the week, hanging out with my awesome friend Holly and just relaxing. Check out the view from her apartment’s roof!

look, tall buildings!

It’s gonna be awesome. ;)

Adios Amigos! 03 Aug 07


19 Comments

Whew, it’s vacation time! I’m sitting here in the airport, waiting to hop on that jet plane and fly off into the Seattle sunset. I can’t wait! I’ll be attending a wedding near Bremerton this weekend, and then spending next week bumming around Seattle. The extent of my plans include meeting some groovy knit bloggers, drinking ridiculous amounts of coffee, and knitting until my fingers fall off. It’s going to be magnificent.

all packed FUTAB
sorry Mom, it’s another feet picture!

And I’m super glad this week is over, since it’s been a doozy. Between work, new dog schedules and packing up Yarn Nerd orders (thanks guys!), I’ve been swamped. Definitely ready for a nice vacation. I also took up a new hobby this week…one that I think I’m already addicted to. Thanks to Adrian for being my enabler!

beginner's luck
I <3 Spinning.

I think that will suffice for eye candy, even if it is a bit slubby. ;)

Have a great week everyone, I know I will! Even if my fingers do fall off.

Buried Alive 30 Dec 06


14 Comments

I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to write this post, seeing as I’ve been sitting at home all day, but here goes.

We’re trapped!!! Someone come help us!!! Ok, it’s really not that bad, but there’s definitely a lot of snow here in New Mexico. So much in fact, this storm has set a new record for the most snow Albuquerque has ever received. I think it’s 14.8″ at the airport and counting. I have around 18″ at my house and it finally stopped snowing a bit ago.

I woke up this morning to find that a big branch from my front tree actually snapped off. This poor tree has been cracked and broken for a while now, and all the snow hasn’t been too kind to it. Luckily the fallen branch missed my neighbor’s car, but only by a few inches. He ventured out into the weather before I took this picture, but man was that branch close. There’s also another branch on the tree that’s very close to breaking. I’m not entirely sure this poor tree will live to see the spring.

snowiest day ever - 8 snowiest day ever - 7

The dogs usually love the snow, but they’re not too keen on the fact that it’s taller than they are. Poor Emma couldn’t even go into the yard until I dug out a path for her. She kept getting completely buried!

snowiest day ever - 11 snowiest day ever - 1

I’ve done a lot of knitting (almost to the heel flap on my Yarn Pirate sock) and yarn winding today, but I’m starting to get restless. It doesn’t help that I’ve been home from work all week (Sandia Labs closes the week after Christmas); and that all my family is on the westside doing puzzles and eating good food, while I’m stuck here. My roommate is here, but he never leaves his room and doesn’t talk to me much, so that’s not much in the way of human interaction. So send me some cherry comments ok? It’d help to know that there’s still people out there in the world :)

making progress

This is Adam, your Mount Everest Albuquerque knitting correspondent, signing off.