How about those apples?

I'll let you in on a little secret: when I travel, I don't want to take the interstate. I prefer to take the back roads...to meander...to wander...to enjoy the journey. Fortunately for me, my parents suggested a route to Independence, MO that had minimal interstate travel and maximum 2 lane highway fun. Rural Missouri, at least the part we drove through, is all farm land and orchards. It is pecan country. In fact, we drove past a giant pecan that proclaimed to be the world's largest pecan. This, of course, made me think of Neil Gaiman's American Gods, which I highly recommend. If you haven't read it, you should move it to the top of your reading pile. (Everyone has a pile of books they are waiting to read, right?) I regret that I didn't pull over and take a picture of the world's largest pecan but I wasn't sure how my parents would feel about it, so I skipped it. Next time, I'm just going to do it.

We did stop at a roadside orchard on the way home from Independence. We got some lovely apples (Cameos for me & Jonathons and Cameos for my parents) and I snapped a photo or two.





Roadside apples for the win! So, the next time you are traveling, try taking the back roads to your destination.

Missing SSK

At the end of June, I was lucky enough to attend SSK (Super Summer Knitogether). This was my first time attending a knitting retreat & I was a bit nervous about going since it involved 150 strangers and staying in a dorm room. Remember dorm rooms?

However, I pulled on my big girls pants and didn't let my apprehension hold me back, and you know what? It was AWESOME!!!!!

I took a colorwork class from Kirsten Kapur that nearly melted by brain. In a three hours class, I learned to: knit continential, do two-handed colorwork, follow a colorwork chart, make a latvian braid and how to catch long floats on the back of the work so they are less apt to snag during use. By the end of the class, I really could have used a massage as my shoulders felt like they were permanently stuck up by my ears. Thankfully, Kirsten Kapur is a very patient teacher. If you get a chance to take a class from her in the future, I would highly recommend it.

I took one hours classes from each of the three wonderful women who organized SSK. Carin taught a class on what it means to pick up stitches versus pick up and knit stitches. It was interesting to hear when I should use one versus the other. Now, I feel ready to conquer one of the Log Cabin blankets that I have been drooling over. Laura taught a class on different cast-ons and bind-offs. I learned quite a bit, including that when doing a long-tail cast-on, it counts as you first row of knitting. No wonder some of my projects have had a weird edge at the bottom, I have basically been adding in an extra knit row. Oops. Leslie taught a class on backwards knitting. It was pretty easy to pick up the skill but I don't see myself using it a whole lot. A few people in the class really noticed a difference in their knitting because the tension between their knit stitches and their purl stitches is really uneven and knitting backwards remedies that. However, I don't seem to have tension issues so this will just be a specialized skill that gets deployed every once in a while. Jessica, a woman in the class who was sitting at my table, mentioned that it would be really useful when a pattern calls for nupps so you don't have to turn your work when you purl back a couple of stitches.

As much as I enjoyed the classes, the best part of SSK was just hanging out with a bunch of people who share a common interest. It was so nice to be knitting in a room full of people who would ask questions about your project or yarn and they were genuinely interested. There were no sideways stares from people who were trying to figure out what you were doing, no whispered conversations about how you could just buy whatever you were making at a store. It was bliss. Thanks to the get to know your fellow SSKers bingo game that was handed out at the opening ceremony, I got to enjoy a little fame as someone who has never knit a pair of socks. Evidently, non-sock knitters were in short supply at SSK so my fail at sock knitting made me popular. In a nice coincidence, a lovely woman that I met has also never knit a pair of socks. Our conversation started at that jumping off point and by the end of the conference, I am happy to report that I have made a new friend. Denise is funny & fun & awesome and I never would have met her if it weren't for SSK!

I also lucked out in the roommate department. My roomie was awesome and a very talented knitter. She let me scope out the beautiful shawls that she brought. If you want to see her in action, she has a video podcast called Traveling Sock Knitter. I think it is Hannah's mission to convert Denise and I into sock knitters. I enjoyed the irony of Hannah and I living in the same town for years & never bumping into each other. Then, after she has moved halfway across the country to take a teaching position, we meet at SSK. When I was sharing my SSK stories with my mom, it turns out that she rode to the Spring Fling with Hannah when Hannah still lived in Illinois. The knitting world is big & small at the same time.

There was a lot of amazing food at SSK but two places really stood out for me. If I got back to Nashville, I will definitely be hitting these places up again.

 

The first place is Rotier's which is a small neighborhood type bar that served possibly the best cheeseburger I have ever eaten. It as served on french bread and I will be forever grateful to the waitress for recommending it. The waitress also happened to be a member of the family that owns the business. It was started by her grandfather and it is still in the family. So, if you are in Nashville, please make this place a priority stop. Not only is the food amazing but you will be supporting a local, family-owned business.

The second place with the amazing food was Noshville. It is a New York style deli that serves amazing food. I had a really good reuben which is impossible to find in my home town. The service was friendly, the portions were large, and I think about that sandwich in my sleep.

Lastly, on Saturday there was a vendor market. Was there yarn to be had at the vendor market? Did I come home with seven skeins of yarn from Another Crafty Girl? Maybe. I'll never tell.

I could go on and on and on about SSK. There are more amazing women that I got to meet, more fun stories to tell, and I can't wait to do something like this again. However, this blog post if officially a novella so I am out!

Frolicking with Friends

I spent the weekend with my college roommate and her family having a wonderful time chatting, adventuring and eating. What more could you ask for?

On Saturday, we went looking for Indy food trucks. Although twitter promised a gaggle of food trucks would be in downtown Indy, twitter lied. All downtown had to offer was an unwashed mass of people dressed in green who had just finished a shamrock themed walk/run. Fortunately being the wise women that we are, we had fortified ourselves with caffeine before starting our quest.


We stopped at Mo'Joe Coffeehouse in downtown Indy for some yummy beverages. It was an honest to goodness independent coffee house with lovely pierced and tattooed baristas slinging some delicious concoctions. We probably would have lingered a bit longer but we had a toddler with us and he got a bit bored of the coffee house scene. He probably would have enjoyed his time more if we would have let him play in the storage room with its tempting food treats but alas, we did not.

Since twitter can't always be wrong, Holly tried one more time and we were rewarded with an actual food truck.

The Scratch food truck, which advertises itself as modern comfort food, was in Carmel so we zipped over there to grab a bite to eat. Holly got the Spicy Chicken Cone sandwich, Liam got the Grilled Cheese (sans braised short ribs) and Mitzi & I got the Scratch burger. I would go back for the burger for one reason: bacon marmalade. Bacon marmalade is delicious and it the perfect accent for a burger. However, I would skip the fries which were a tad greasy. Holly got the ginger lemonade which she said was delicious, or it least it was delicious before Liam plunged his hand into it to get some ice. (The joys of parenting a toddler.)

To top the meal off, we needed dessert.

We ended up at a chain cupcake place called Gigi's Cupcakes in Fishers which was tasty. I will say that all three adults had to forgo some of the icing on the cupcakes because there is just a little bit too much icing but that would not stop me from going there again. Their cupcakes are superior to the cupcakes that are available at my local cupcake place. However, when I am in Indy again, I will most likely forgo the chain place and drive a little out of my way to get cupcakes from the delightful local business, The Flying Cupcake.

After all that sugar, we called it a day. I spent the rest of the weekend with Holly, Derrik & Liam just relaxing and getting stuffed full of Holly's cooking. I have repeatedly threatened to move into the closet under the stairs in order to have access to the many delightful things that are created in their kitchen. I didn't take pictures of most of the food (I was too busy shoving it in my gob) but I did capture the Irish stew in bread bowls that we had on Sunday night.


Are you drooling? You should be. The stew was delicious!!!

In short, if you are want a wonderful weekend: gather friends, add lots of conversation, a fair amount of delicious food, a sprinkling of caffeine & sugar, stir & enjoy!!

Playing Catch Up

I have composed so many witty and delightful blog entries in my head since I last posted. However, since I wasn't anywhere near a computer while they were being written in my head, you will have to suffer through this blog post which will just be a random mishmash of the stuff floating around in my head. I warn you, it won't be for the faint of heart. It will be disconnected and rambling, but that is just how my mind works.

First up, I do have a finished object for Stash Dash. I completed a mitered dish towel which is retro and fabulous. See?

It makes me think of the dish towels my mom had hanging in the kitchen when I was growing up. Of course those towels were actual towels with a crochet topper but it is the same general idea. I had always assumed that my mom made them but I just found out this weekend that she bought them at a craft sale when I was little. Of course, that was in the 70s so I'm guessing it was a church bazaar and not a full on, modern, Renegade Craft Fair style craft show.  Anyway, the towel was super easy to make and it took practically no time at all which is good because I am seriously slacking in the Stash Dash arena. The hardest part of the towel was picking out which button to use on it. My button stash is mostly buttons for shirts or pants and those are a lot smaller than I needed for the towel so I went on a button quest. I didn't take the towel with me because I wasn't thinking clearly so I brought home several options.

I went with the round gray stone-esque button and I'll just use the rest up when I make more towels. And I will be making more towels. I love a project quick project and a functional project and this was both.

In other knitting news, I am still working on the Pogona. It is nearing the end which means that I want to stab myself every time I work on it. The rows get longer and longer and my knitting boredom kicks in and I want to just stick it in a corner and forget about it. However, I need the yardage for Stash Dash and I know that I will love it once it is done so I just have to suck it up and soldier through the last bits. My next shawl project needs to be worked sideways so I don't have the super long rows to contend with at the end. Hopefully the next time I blog, it will be finished.

Now for my guilty summer pleasure: Ice Loves Coco. That's right, the reality show on E!. (Do you need the period after the exclamation point? I'm just gonna go with it.) It is entertaining and their dog is a total rock star.

What else have I been up to? Yoga. Yep, still doing yoga and still enjoying it. I bought my own yoga mat, mostly because feet gross me out and even though we wipe down the yoga mats the gym provides, strangers have had their feet on them. So, now I have my own mat. I tried to be all analytical about it when I was trying to choose one on Amazon but I realized that I really have no frame of reference for good versus bad when it comes to yoga mats so I just got one of the thicker ones that was available in a color that I enjoyed. So, I got this one. I had to ignore the "Yogi Tips" because that was a little over the top for me. The mat is squishy so I'll see how I like it when I use it later today. I'm going to the Gentle Yoga class that Linda is teaching for the first time today and it will be the first time I use the mat. I have been to Linda's Yin Yoga class twice and I've really enjoyed it so I'm hoping that I enjoy the Gentle Yoga as well. The Gentle Yoga class isn't at a time that I would normally be able to go to but I thought I would try it while on vacation and if I love it, I will try to find a way to flex my sleep schedule so I can make it.

Lastly, family bonding. This summer I made it to family reunions for both sides of my family.  It is such a rare occurrence that my dad joked to my uncle that "the kids must think we are dying because they are going to the reunion this year." He was referring to the reunion for my mom's side of the family which I haven't been to since the late 80s. So, consider me officially bonded with the extended family. I do go to the reunion for my dad's side of the family almost every summer. I don't know what exactly the difference is and I don't know if it bugs my mom but that is just how I do things.

The biggest family bonding news of the summer was delivered by my brother via text. My niece is pregnant and due in February so our family is growing. My mom is busily planning all of the things that she can knit and she has already offered her babysitting services. I'm excited to have a new baby in the family as well but my response is a bit more subdued. I just offered my congrats and I'm planning on stockpiling diapers and wipes. So, exciting times ahead for our family.

Until next time, I hope the summer brings you adventures, a sense of freedom and maybe a few nights watching fireflies in the back yard.

Vacation Wrap-up...The Roadtrip

Many adventures were had with my friend K on an epic roadtrip to New York City. We saw a lot of the Pennsylvania back country on the way out so she could stop by and see a friend in Altoona and we learned that in Pennsylvania, the signs lie. Where was that Wendy's again? Um...we never found the Wendy's and ended up eating at a Burger King that evidently specializes in after-dinner dug consumption in the bathroom. So...I would recommend skipping Mt. Pocono unless you are looking for a very specific type of dining adventure. We did see some fun road dots that seem to be specific to the state...white dots in the road to help you remember the 2 second rule while driving...Pennsylvania is definitely anti-tailgating. Also, they would like you to know that bridges may be icy.

After a detour through an area that looked pretty sketchy in the dark (thanks for the bogus directions Mapquest) we managed to make it to the hotel in Jersey City that served as home base for New York City adventure. The next day we headed into the city and did some people watching and Statue of Liberty gazing. It was unseasonably warm in the city and the wait for a ferry off of Ellis Island in the blazing sun made for a bit of a grind but all was forgiven once we made it to John's on 12th Street. The best lasagna and dessert that I have had in a while. I highly recommend it if you are in the city and I can get you there like a real New Yorker thanks to K's excellent cabbie instruction. Just say "I need 12th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue" and you will be whisked away to delicious food.

Overall, great ending to my vacation. I would highly recommend the roadtrip with a friend especially a friend that you haven't seen in far too long. And thanks to K's indulgence, I managed to get three states that I had never visited crossed off my list of 50 states. So goodbye Pennsylviana, New Jersey, and West Virginia. Yep, thanks to a Wendy's Kids Meal in Triadelphia...West Virginia is off the list. Not to mention, Wisconsin was crossed off during the unblogged about trip to Madision...so four states during this two week vacation!

So tell me, are you a roadtrip fan? Do you care about seeing all 50 states? Is there a method to your vacation madness?

Vacation part one

On Wednesday I went on the first part of my three-part vacation. Yes, three parts may be a bit of an overkill but I figure that it makes up for all the times that I take a vacation and don't do anything other than sit at home. I headed over to Indy for a few days and got to spend a little time with some friends. I also got a little shopping done since there is no local Sephora or Aveda. I was going to head to the Indianapolis Museum of Art on Friday but I wasn't feeling well when I woke up so I just headed home instead. I was pretty disappointed since I was really looking forward to seeing the special exhibition on European design that is at the museum right now.
Obviously, the highlight of my trip was spending time with Brett & Denisa and their fabulous kids. It always amazes me how much kids change in a few months. The boys have gotten so big and their personalities are out in full force. Jesse is quite the little performer and I was very fortunate to be on the receiving end of a goodnight hug and kiss. Jesse is very verbal and even though I had some trouble understanding everything he said...I can tell you that he is one smart cookie. No...I'm not being biased...well, maybe a little but I'm telling you he is smart! Jonah is much more serious and reserved so when he smiled or laughed it was great...I felt like I really earned it. He is still fairly young so I wonder how much he will change or if he will remain a little more reserved than his brother.Tomorrow I leave for the second part of my vacation...Madision, WI...so if anyone has any vacation ideas for Madision, feel free to post them in the comments.