While some of you were reading my blog post for last week, DH, the pups and I were exploring the Oregon coast from Seaside to Florence.
We camped near the ocean at Nehalem Bay, Newport and Florence, one night each. It was great to see the ocean again, and Rocky and Sunny enjoyed being outdoors, even on the end of a leash. From Florence, we went inland to Suttle Lake and stayed in the Blue Bay Campground, where we camped last year. Our AC in the truck had gone out, so we were a little warm while driving.
Once we hiked away from the campground on the trail that goes around the lake, it was possible to let the pups run along the trail and swim after sticks in the water. Rocky demonstrates his one-ended technique for carrying the retrieved stick.
Alpha-dog Sunny, not to be outdone, demonstrates her (superior) technique.
From there, we headed across Central Oregon with plans to stay a little further East of where we actually ended up. Our progress was delayed by a blowout on US Hwy 20, between Bend and Burns. It was a little tricky maneuvering over the shoulder and down into the ditch to get out of the road, but we made it safely. Fortunately, our dumb phones had a roaming signal, and we were able to reach AAA to get help, because our truck's jack wasn't strong enough to lift the truck with the trailer attached, and our attempts to lift the trailer off it were unsuccessful.
It took about two hours to get the tire changed and get back on the road. We were fortunate to have the trailer to stay in, which, while warm, at least kept us out of the hot sun. We spent that night in Burns at a small RV campground with full hookups and AC in the trailer.
The next day was even hotter. I sat in the back with the pups, so I could fan them and spray them with water to keep cool. I enjoyed the spray bottle myself, too. We stopped at Glenns Ferry, where we stopped on our way through Idaho at the beginning of our trip. We had full hookups there, too, and were allowed to park on the grass because we were only going to stay the night. We enjoyed dinner at the Carmela Vinyard and Winery, while the pups relaxed in our cool trailer.
Before leaving Glenns Ferry, we discovered that the driver's-side window wouldn't stay up without a little duct tape. Time for the truck to visit the shop!
During the trip, I attempted to participate in Ravelry's Tour de Fleece, a spinning activity that coincides with the Tour de France each year. My goal was to finish spinning 8 oz of Targhee from Mountain Colors in the colorway "Crazy Woman." I set a fairly easy goal, knowing the arrival of our second grandson and the associated trip would be a distraction. I had really hoped to spin every day, but I missed out on that goal during the few days surrounding Soren's birth.
I finished two bobbins of singles during the Tour de Fleece, though, and was able to ply them yesterday, the last day of the event.
The yarn still needs to be washed. It will be fun to figure out what to do with it.
My Kromski Sonata, Stanzi, is too big to fit in the truck, so it wasn't possible to spin while we were actually traveling. During that time I worked on the Fiji socks and the Dogwood Blossoms cardigan except when it was too hot to hold the yarn in my hands. Here's a Fiji sock:
Here's progress on the body of the sweater:
We're missing our new grandson Soren a lot, but he is thriving, and we're grateful for that. As you can see, both of our new grandsons know how to relax. Here's Soren:
And here's Zachary:
They will be coming to our house along with Zachary's sister, Daphne, and their parents for the Christmas holidays. It should be interesting!
In quilting news, I hope to put the binding on the Sparkling Gemstones quilt this week. Stay tuned!
What's on my needles: Dogwood Blossoms, Fiji Socks.
What's on my wheel: Empty, now that the Targhee is done, but next will probably be Full Circle Roving, color as yet undetermined.
What's on my iPad: We finished Dean Koontz's Watchers from Audible after arriving home. Also listening to The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer from Audible, and reading El Dorado by Baroness Emmuska Orczy in iBooks, continuing the Scarlet Pimpernel series.
What's my app of the week: Colorful Aquarium Lite. We enjoyed the Fireplace app during our time on the cool, rainy coast of Oregon, but when we moved inland, an aquarium full of tropical fish was delightful.
What's in my wine glass: Finishing off the Charles Shaw (Two-buck Chuck) Merlot from Trader Joe's. The best-valued line of wines we know of.
Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the MacBook with assistance from the iPad. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.
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