European Adventure

We're back from our trip, which included a Rhine River Cruise.

The Viking Sun was our ship. Crew and staff were outstanding, and we had a great time.

My fears that we would be sleeping in hammocks in the engine room proved to be ungrounded.

We saw some great old castles.

Walking around some really neat towns and cities provided plenty of exercise, but we also climbed all 509 (I think) steps up the steeple of the great cathedral in Köln (Cologne).

The trip was not entirely devoid of fiber fun. In one castle, Marksburg, we saw this great old loom, along with spinning wheels, and carding and combing equipment. 

The visits in various towns yielded some great quilt shops, like this one in Koblenz.

A member of the Viking staff found me this great yarn shop in Cologne. The yarn was much less expensive than for the same brand in the U.S. They seem to be an outlet for Lana Grosse.

In Amsterdam, this yarn-bombed bicycle caught my eye, which then drifted into the store, taking me with it with DH following close behind. 

This place gave me goosebumps! In the middle of old Amsterdam, with real estate at a premium, I was delighted to find a very nice classroom space upstairs and lots more yarn, including some lovely Zauberballs at a good price.

I got less knitting done than I expected, because we were so busy, but the occasional bus ride and sitting with morning coffee aboard ship provided some time for knitting, and sometimes an occasional chat with fellow knitters. My Coral Reef Shawl is coming down the home stretch. I'm now on the last pattern repeat before the border. Whoo-hoo!

The first Fair Isle Flower sock is moving down the foot. This is the last photo I've taken of it, but the foot is further along.

I also CO the Monkey socks in Stroll "Dogwood Heather" because I wanted something entertaining to work on for the plane trip home. I'm about halfway down the ankle.

I get a lot of teasing for being an elderly iPad nerd, but this nice lady aboard our ship is ten years older than I am. She was out on deck during the day we sailed through the valley with all the castles using her iPad to take photos.

We had a nice visit with relatives in Finland before coming home to get ready for visits from the kids and the grands. In Finland we enjoyed some relaxing time at various relatives' summer cottages, which included sauna and lake swimming.

Now our children and grandchildren are visiting. Bedlam.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

Winding Down the Year

Christmas day at our house started out like this:

It execrated from there. In a word: Bedlam!

The day after Christmas is my birthday. Rather than go out to breakfast as we usually do, we ate at home and the ladies went out for pedicures. Miss Daphne got her first pedicure.

She got little flowers on her golden toes.

When we got done there, we walked a few doors down to Wasatch & Wool, where I received a surprise: a gift certificate from DS1 and DDIL1. I already had some spending money from DD and DSIL. I promptly blew my spending money and gift certificate on spinning fiber and yarn for a cardigan. Then we went to lunch across the street.

My birthday haul also included a knitting bag, "take-out lamb" and a book mark from my friend Joanie, and a finger pulse and O2 meter from DH. This last was needed because I never can find my own pulse at Silver Sneakers before the time is up on counting. The reddish yarn is a brick color. I was drawn to it somehow and had to have it.

DS2 and DDIL2 are leaving with Soren and Johan later today. I will miss them! At least we have DD and her family for a few more days.

As I write this, DH is out buying a new microwave for the kitchen. Our old one was great for 11 years, but died on my birthday. Fortunately, we had a small microwave in the utility room downstairs to reheat coffee or tea while busy down there. It's very basic, but made a good spare in this case. The kitchen microwave had a sensor and special settings for cooking potatoes and vegetables in general. It was also a lot bigger. We have had a lot of problems with appliances lately!

What's on my needles: About 4" of the Sandy Beach scarf. Family members are doing this as a teaching KAL led by DDIL2 for her mother and sister. I'm trying very hard not to CO the new cardigan until the scarf is done.

What's on my Featherweight: Put away in its case for now. I hope to finish DD's wedding quilt during 2015. I only started it five years ago.

What's on my loom: Still some warp for another scarf, but folded up to allow space for playing with the bear house.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Didn't get far with Dyeing Wishes by Molly MacRae from Audible because of family fun, but will get back to it soon. Finished Sherwood Smith's Crown Duel, from Book Bub on the iBook app. I haven't started a new book yet.

What's my app of the week: Zoo Train, a great app for preschoolers.

What's in my wine glass: Nathanson Creek Merlot, the big bottle with the frog on it. Frog for knitters who sometimes have to frog.

What's my tip of the week: Keep devices charged up during the winter, in case of a power outage.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

Out With the New, in With the Old?

Woven scarf finished.

Done blocking and ready to wrap and give. (Watch after Christmas for photos of the gift items I made other than the rabbits. The kids don't read my blog yet, so I could show those.)

Part of this past week has been spent in organizing my fiber studio again, now that the weaving is finished (for now) and the loom can be folded up and moved against the wall to make room for family visits and space to play with the bear house.

You can see the pups' bed is right in front of the fire. Here's another view:

The pups, however, prefer the couch. That black blob on the couch is Rocky, wearing his new sweater.

Here's another view, showing the cleaned-up quilting area.

My Featherweight has been put away to make room for wrapping packages for the kids.

Speaking of the grandkids, three of whom are still in diapers, we have been concerned about our washer of late. It makes sort of a grinding noise just as the tub is ready to spin. The repairman who came to fix the dryer (just lint build-up inside the works) and the stove, thought the problem with the washer might be the motor. We were concerned about all the laundry we'll have to do, and we don't want the washer to go out when it's needed, so I called Maytag. The technician there thought it might be the pump. He indicated that this 32-yr.-old washer was the one the company was able to build its reputation on. "If you replace it you will be sorry, I promise!" he said. Seriously!

We made an appointment with our local repair company to replace the pump and possibly some belts. If it turns out we still need a new motor, it will still be cheaper than a new washer that would be expected to last at most ten years. The pumps are new, but a motor would have to be ordered from a department at Maytag called "Angel Parts." Presumably from machines that had gone to Heaven. Stay tuned.

Speaking of the pups, Sunny went in on Thursday to have a very large adenoma removed from her left hind leg. When they shaved the area, they found two more. They were all removed without resorting to general anesthesia, and Sunny didn't bat an eye. We hiked the Gorgoza bicycle trail the next day. I'll spare you the photo of the disgusting things (the adenomas are disgusting, not the pups), but the big one was making it impossible to groom her without nicking it, so it had to be done. Our vet takes good care of the pups. Maybe it's the home-baked bread I give him for Christmas every year...hmmm?

Thursday (while Sunny was under the knife) I went to Redstone Shopping Center to make an appointment for pedicures for the "ladies" for my birthday. (Miss Daphne is considered one of the ladies.) While we're getting pedicures and stopping by Park City's only local yarn shop, a few doors away, the dads and granddad will do something manly with the three boys. I made the appointment at California Nails and then stopped in at Wasatch & Wool. I couldn't resist. I had to pick up some goodies:

The yarn from Manos del Uruguay is probably going to be a winter hat. The yummy spinning fiber from Greenwood Fibers is for my spinning enjoyment during the "spin-in" on the Knitting Community from February 27-March 2nd.

Park City Singers will be over after Tuesday night's performance. we had our first performance last night. Tuesday I missed my iPhone when I got home from practice. My music bag had gone flying from the seat when I had to stop suddenly, so I assumed it was on the floor in front of the passenger seat. A search with the flashlight failed to reveal my phone. I was afraid I had left it at the church where we practice, but the "Find My iPhone" app said it was at my address. Since I couldn't find it with the flashlight, I had to wait until daylight to take the car out of the garage, and then call my number with my iPad. The phone, set on "vibrate" made a buzzing sound in the door pocket, not at the bottom of the pocket where I expected it, but in between the pages of a map higher up in the pocket. Whew!

The holiday letters and cards are all in the mail, headed to distant locations. And finally, Soren is as big as a Christmas tree:

And happy birthday to my number one son, Timo, born this day in 1967. What adventures we've had!

What's on my needles: The Johan socks and Mr. F's clothes. Still hand-quilting my Spring Flowers quilt, only a little progress this week. I've been busy, as you can see.

What's on my Featherweight: Put away in its case, so I can use the space for wrapping presents.

What's on my loom: Still some warp for another scarf, but the loom is folded up to make room for Christmastime play.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to Dyeing Wishes by Molly MacRae from Audible. Still reading Sherwood Smith's Crown Duel, from Book Bub on the iBook app.

What's my app of the week: The "Find My iPhone" app. I would probably have driven back to the church the next day if the app hadn't told me it was somewhere at my house.

What's in my wine glass: Charles Shaw Shiraz, one of the best of the "Two-buck Chucks."

What's my tip of the week: This photo says it all:

Thanks to my friend Jean for sharing this with us! She points out you can even keep one of these clips in your knitting bag. Or it can stay on the loose yarn when you're in between bowls. Happy knitting/quilting, everyone!

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.