Pssst! Got a Minute?
The results are in! Our vacation to Portland, Oregon (with a mini-trip to Vancouver, BC) is officially a success ... despite my setting the alarm incorrectly for the morning we were to depart. DH said, "Set the alarm for a quarter to 4; our shuttle service will be here at 5:00 am." (we had a 6:30 am flight to Portland) So naturally, I set the alarm to 4:45 am rather than 3:45 and we had an insane 15 minutes to get ready instead of a leisurely hour-and-15. DH maintains I've always been "time-challenged" and have "trouble with clocks." Hmmph. I maintain that it was a test of our agility and everyone passed with honors. DH and RockStar just looked at me when I tried explaining this to them.

Here's my Portland Yarn-Related Haul:


10 skeins of cranberry Wool-Ease (buy 2 get 1 free at Fred Meyer, yee ha!), Debbie Bliss #4, Knitting Pure & Simple zip-up jacket pattern, latest Vogue Knitting with dopey Daryl Hannah and her "celebrity scarf" on the cover, 4 vintage copies of Threads magazine (2 of which have great Alice Starmore articles in them). Visited the Yarn Garden on SE 14th & Hawthorne and Mole Hill Farm in Lake Oswego. Truly, I got off easy on the yarn spending. I could have dropped a bundle in either yarn store ... lots of yummy stuff.

We took a day trip to Cannon Beach and Astoria, Oregon. Of course, it rained. This is Oregon, what do you expect?

Me, peeking into the backseat at RockStar



My sister and her darling daughter, who tagged along on the trip



DH, riding the ancient bumper cars in Seaside, OR



RockStar at my niece's 6th birthday party, which had a very tropical theme ...



While in Portland, one must indulge in the many fine cultural pursuits available. This includes visiting pawnshops with RockStar, to search for even more guitars to fill up his room. Ah, but even a beleaguered stepmother deserves a treat, such as this lovely little intaglio ring for the rock-bottom price of only $29.95!



And now it's off to Vancouver, British Columbia! Here's the border entrance to Canada, at Peace Arch Park in Blaine, Washington



The lake near our friend's house on Bowen Island, a short ferry ride from Vancouver



And when I got home after 2 weeks away, guess what was in the mail? That's right! Yarn from Ram Wools



The package included the Siobhan pattern I'd been lusting after, and Patons Classic Wool in Dusty Blue to knit it up in. A Patons mini-booklet with a hooded sweater I'd been eyeing. Plus, 4 skeins of King Cole Anti-Tickle DK (love that name) to make Fiber Trends Faina Scarf:



The New Directions in Knitting Book is one of those "Try It for 30 Days Free!" dealies from House of White Birches. It showed up in the mail while I was gone. It's an "OK" book. I think I'll keep it. There's at least 2 projects that look promising.

Lest you think no knitting got done whilst I was away, let me disabuse you of that notion, pronto! After all, it's 6-1/2 hours each way from Portland to Vancouver. Whaddya think I was doing the whole time? The proof's in the puddin' ... here's the body and 1 sleeve of Aran Go Round:



Mariko got herself a special keyboard duster yesterday. Admiring her sense of style, I, too have acquired this fine feathered fellow, who sits suctioned atop my monitor. And he's not just a keyboard duster, he's a (pause for effect) PEN, too! True multi-tasking at its finest!



Had enough? I have! It's off to a lovely Lean Cuisine dinner (ate too much and too often on vacation) and fine conversation with my wonderful husband. Have a nice evening, everyone.