Mountain Life

Arghhh matey! Who's the leader of my club? Love the Disney ears - no? Yes - we do get a bit silly in our old age. Can't resist the ears when you go to Disney land. These are one of my sons' hat - I did not get one for me, although in hind sight perhaps I should have. However - our school has a "No Hat" policy for students AND staff, so wearing the ears while I'm teaching would not only make it more difficult for my students to pay attention, but it would also be a big "no-no" according to school policy. Party poopers..

We just returned from our three day trip to the family cabin on Palomar mountain. Great relaxing time. The temperatures cooperated for once - very pleasant. Now if only the biting flies would just buzz off. I can't decide if I'd rather have Alaska mosquitoes, or California biting flies. I'm thinking mosquitoes on this one - their bites don't last nor itch as long. Also, the mosquitoes are slow - they don't stand a chance against our Ninja-like reflexes. These CA biting flies are quick buggers.

When up at Palomar, you have the opportunity to do lots of things, such as:

Baseball: Orion & Iain were thrilled w/new gloves from their Uncle Ryan. Orion predicts he'll be a pitcher w/the Padres when he grows up. How is he going to balance that w/a career in the EPL (English Premiere League) or the MLS (Major League Soccer)? I love his ambition! Can't you tell from the photo that he already has a wicked fast ball? Just ask him how many times he struck me out.

Enjoying a good beverage. I know it's hard to believe - but this last birthday just tipped me past the legal drinking age. I know, I know - hard to believe. Hush Margaret, that's enough out of you. Cheers!

Reading a good novel. I think Orion here is finishing up The Box Car Children #2. The Box Car Children series was a favorite of mine when I was a youngster (not that many years ago...). I finished The Friday Night Knitting Club. This book is as much about knitting as the movie "Bend It Like Beckham" was about soccer. Good read - great story of how wonderful friendships can develop from knitting. Friends & I would like to start a weekly or monthly knitting group - Alaska knitters/bloggers, I'll keep you posted.

Here's my father-in-law, Ron, falling under the reading spell.

Of course - quiet relaxing time = KNITTING! I finished Monkey sock #1. I used Lorna's Laces sock yarn in the Somerset colorway. The way the colors popped out reminded me of a sunset - appropriately named yarn & perfect for this pattern. For the pattern, go here. Again, my needle & method of choice is Addi Turbo #2 & Magic Loop. I changed the pattern ever so slightly by using a star toe as found w/the Embossed Leave sock in Interweaves Favorite Socks book. I really like the fact that I don't have to graft the stitches together at the end & think the star pattern is pretty cool.

Here's another peek of the sock. You can kind of see the star pattern.

Photography. My husband is quite the shutter bug. I rib him a little about it, however, when you take over 300 photos, certainly one is bound to come out. See below - a beautiful sunset over Palomar. Great view from the cabin. I told Wade it was certainly "blog worthy" (as are several other photos) & he'd get full credit.

Photo by Wade J. Roach, July 2007, All Rights Reserved.

I need to upload the other photos & make a slide show. Too many to put on one blog.

Oh yes, I almost forgot - the day prior to departing for Palomar was my birthday (as well as Jessica Simpson's & Bella Fleck) - the one that tipped me past the legal drinking age. Fun Day - Started off w/a little knitting and coffee and then:

The Beach - Can't go to So. Cal w/out visiting the beach. As my birthday was on Tuesday, we didn't have to fight the typical beach crowds & were able to find a parking spot. I can easily explain the lack of a tan: I'm from Alaska & of course wear SPF 50 sunscreen to protect the skin. It couldn't possibly be because my melanocytes don't produce much melanin. :-)
The boys were happy as clams to build sand castles in the surf & catch sand crabs. They don't go to the beach to swim - you can do that in a pool. They are all about the sand & shovels.
Later that evening Wade & I met up w/my college roommate & matron of honor, Hilarey. She & her S.O., George live in a very cool Loft apt. w/a view of Petco Park. Now you can't see a baseball game from their place, but it's in a pretty neat location downtown. I love how we can get together & chat & laugh as if we had just seen each other yesterday. She was also my adult companion on my first trip to Europe w/students back in 1997.

After a great dinner at a local Thai restaurant (I love Thai food - Thai Kitchen, back in Anchorage is our fave), we had dessert at "Extraordinary Desserts". OMG - You name it, they've got it. Almost too many choices, it's overwhelming. I finally decided on something akin to death by chocolate. Ahhh - heaven. Death by chocolate is not an exaggeration - I literally fell out of my chair as we were leaving. Never underestimate the power of chocolate. A bit embarrassing as I wasn't even drinking. I blame the chocolate. Never underestimate the power of chocolate.


As you can see here - another year definitely added to my maturity.
Fun times..

Tonight we're off to see the new HP movie. Can't wait for the book. Knitting & blogging might have to be put on hold after next Saturday until I've finished the book. Would hate to run into any spoilers.

Ciao