Then...And Now

I am back from the Keys. What a difference a day (and 1,500 miles) makes!

I left this:

And came home to this:

I could not believe the snowstorm I'd been waiting for all winter happened while I was away. I didn't get my "snow day" off from work to enjoy it happening from home, but I sure was glad I was where I was.

I had a great time, just beaching, relaxing, shopping, dining, and knitting. The weather was sunny most of the time, but cooler on the last two days than I'd have liked. I did not get to go into the ocean because it was a little too windy and the water was kind of chilly and murky from the turtle grass, but I did have my feet in the water. I'm going back in May (hopefully) when the weather will probably be too warm!

I'll try to get more pictures up over the weekend, but I'll leave you with a "Saturday Sky" picture from last week, taken at the Westin Pier at Sunset during Dominique's Cat Show. I love watching those cats preform, and try to get there each time I visit to hear Dominique's immortal words "hurry up, take your time..."

Two in a row?

Two posts today...AND a Saturday Sky 2 weeks in a row. :-) That is a minor record of late, and I did it without the use of steroids (A-Roid reference...I'm not a Yankee fan and he's been in the news too much this month)

Today was really a lovely late winter day...cool, with temps around 40, but the sun made it feel warmer. The forecast calls for some rain and a mix of snow for tonight into tomorrow. Can't tell by this picuture! This is the sky from 3pm.

While I was outside on the deck filling the bird feeders, Reggae came out to make sure I was doing it correctly. I think he's ready for spring. I know I am!

Welcome Back, Blogger?

It was mentioned by one of the few faithful followers of this blog that my Saturday Sky and Beach pictures were missed. Yes, I agree. I miss them too. So here is a post to combine the two.
It was 40 degrees at noon, mostly cloudy with a slight breeze.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mother Nature is Confused.

Tuesday: temps in the 30's with rain and wet snow! (that luckily didn't hit the ground here at the beach) Wednesday: temps didn't get out of the 30's. Thursday's temps reached a high of around 50, yesterday was sunny and warm in the upper 50's. Today, it's November 1. Partly sunny and temps in the 60's! So, what better than to take advantage of Mother Nature's confusion and sit on the beach. I knitted, Kathy read. Since I got the new cane made for beach walking, it's easier to do just that. Not too far, but far enough that I can still look for seaglass and shells. I never thought I could do that on my favorite beach again. That made me very happy.

Here is one of traveling scarves I'm working on. The theme of this particular scarf group is, "purple." The pattern I chose, appropriately enough for beach knitting is "foaming waves".

I also got a few rows done on my February Lady Sweater. I don't think I'll have it done in time for next Saturday, but I can dream. I got some advise to start knitting the sleeves now, to avoid knitting them with the bulk of the body in the way later. I think I will do that since I'm almost ready to start another ball of yarn. I'm using Malabrigo Worsted in the Cognac colorway. I love the color, but hope the lack of a twist in the Malabrigo yarn doesn't hurt my sweater's wear.

In keeping with trying to get back into a semi-regular blogging routine, here is today's sky, from the beach in Bay Head NJ. Even the boating enthusiasts were taking advantage of a warm 1st of November.

Where does the time go?

As I took my Saturday Sky picture yesterday out of the sunroof of my car when I remembered I had to do that, and thought that I don't think I missed a Saturday Sky since I began posting them. Well, apparently that got away from me...it was 1am when I realized I hadn't uploaded the photo or written the post. It was a busy day. Errands, getting the house ready for Kathy's visit this week, knitting sections for traveling scarves, and watching non-stop hurricane Ike coverage.

So here it is, a day late. Mostly sunny, temperatures in the upper 70's and humid.

Saturday Sky Courtesty of Hanna

Tropical Storm Hanna didn't pack much of a punch here at the central NJ coast. I'm kind of disappointed, I was ready for more. We got some much needed rain, but very little wind. Not the storm that was anticipated. I suppose I should be thankful, history says NJ is due for a wallop of a storm soon. I don't think I want that! Temps were in the uppers 70's and it was very humid.

The flag flying at the beach said "no swimming". The ocean concurred.

Where did it go?

Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of Summer, at least here at the beach. It feels as just yesterday it was July 4! Time flies.

Today was a mix of sun and clouds, in the low 80's but very very, humid. Unpleasant. My internal barometer says I'm spending the rest of my Saturday inside, thank you very much.

But according to the calendar and Mother Nature, Autumn will be here before we know it. If you look very closely, toward the bottom of the sky picture, in the center, the leaves are already starting to turn color. Well, take my word for it, there were red and orange leaves on a branch when I took this picture. I don't know if I'm ready for this! I hope you all had a happy summer, and made some memories to take with you as the seasons change. One good thing about seasons, which ever ones are your favorites...they will always come back. If you're ready to put this one behind you and move on, keep smiling. Better days are coming.

Lazin' on a Sunny Afternoon...

Today was a mix of sun and clouds, more sun than clouds for the most part. It was only in the upper 70's, but it felt much warmer as it was a little humid. Nice though. Spent some of the day at the LYS, (yes, there IS knitting going on, as well as stashing...but that's for another post.) If you're on Ravelry, you've seen my stuff. But I will post it all here, promise, soon!

The rest of the afternoon was spent on the deck knitting with Reggae doing his outdoor thing.

This is the sky from around 5pm, a lovely summer afternoon.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

What Do You See?

I took this sky picture for the pretty blue and some clouds. Didn't realize until I uploaded that it looks like a momma doggie and some pups running. I swear I've only had one glass of wine tonight. :-)

What do you see? Anything?

It was another lovely Saturday, temps in the low to mid 80's with a little breeze. I'll take everyday like this.

Almost perfect.

The weather today was about as far from the "dog days of August" as it could get. Temps were in the mid-70's, sunny, a breeze that almost felt cool, and low humidity. Pure bliss. This sky is from the marshes along the edge of the Barnegat Bay.
Enjoy the weekend!

Saturday Sky: Storm that never was.

The forecast was for scattered thunderstorms on and off, some severe. Although the sky looked like it for a while, it never happened. At least here, anyway. The temperature was 85, and it was humid. I thought I'd be bothered by the weather today, but not so much really. I went to the natural food store this week and got some glucosamine, chondroitin MSM liquid (tastes kind of icky but....) and Zyflamend tablets. I wanted to see if there was something that would help the arthritis in my toes (my crunchy toes I call them) and general stiffness in my ankle, as well as the inflamation in my ankle. You know what? I've only been taking them for 5 days, but I definitely feel a difference. It's not only in my head, either. 2 of my toes joints don't feel as stiff when I press on them. I'll keep taking the stuff. Nothing to lose, right?
Today was a day for the post office. I packed up and mailed some gifts for exchanges, the prizes for the 3 winners from my 2nd blogiversary contest, and finally, the last of my PIF gifts. Which, considering I had a year to do them, it's about damn time. The gifts have been finished for a very long time I just never got my shit together to get them out. Hopefully the recipients will be happlily surprised.

Speaking of surprises, this week brought one for me. My BFF Kathy is swallowing her fear of flying and told me she's coming up from the FL Keys to visit me in September. Yay! I'm excited.

Have a wonderful Sunday. It's the Haskell Invitational, and Big Brown is racing. It's local, but really crowded, so I'm staying away. But all I will say is GO BB!!

Another Sunny Saturday

My friend Dianne and I had wanted to go on a "yarn crawl" for a while now. So today, there was a sidewalk sale in Red Bank and it seemed a good day to combine that with our yarn shopping. So, we took a ride up; she'd never been to any of the yarn stores in that area, and I'd never been to Yarn-It in Deal. We decided that would be our first stop, but were surprised to find it closed. After a few wrong turns we finally found it, and it was locked up tight. Not good...if your posted hours are 12-4 and your voice mail message says the same...we won't bother to go back. so, we headed up to Wooly Monmouth knowing that would for sure be open. All the shops had something going on for sale on the side walk, it was fun. Dori at Wooly Monmouth was wonderful as always, and I aquired some Noro silk garden sock yarn, because I couldn't resist the colors...some Rowan Cotton for the cutest beach hat ever I just have to make, and some yarn for an exchange. Of course none of my choices were part of the sale. :-D

After shopping, it was lunch at a Mexican restaurant, then headed south for home.

It was a really nice day...the temps were in the upper 80's, with mostly sunny skies. The humidity was high, but a breeze kept us cool.

This is the sky at around 3:30 pm, in Red Bank.

There has been knitting happening here, but nothing worth pictures yet. I'm working on a cotton market bag for a swap, a swallowtail shawl for me, and another Montego Bay for a friend. The market bag will be finished probably tomorrow, so at least I can get that package out!

I hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Full Moon Saturday Sky

Busy Saturday: I had a lot of errands to run and then spend too much time getting ready to go to a really fun dinner party with some good friends...but I had to post the Sky. It was 96 degrees: oven-like hot and sunny. Well, it was earlier in the day...this was the night Saturday sky.

Summer Time Saturday Sky

It's summer, and my honeysuckle are in their second bloom already. Which means, hummingbirds! I don't see them usually until August, but Reggae alerted me to look up while I was having coffee on the deck this morning. I did, thinking it was one of our resident finches he wanted me to see, but to my surprise, a hummingbird darted from the honeysuckle to the butterfly bush and zoomed off. It was a glorious day today, unlike last weekend. A sunny sky, temps in the upper 80's with a light breeze.

Weekend Washout?

Some years the weather for the 4th of July weekend is firey hot and sunny or oppresively hot and humid, some years, not so much. This would be one of the latter. It's more like Memorial day weather! Right now, it's 73 degrees and pouring rain. I feel for the folks who planned an outdoor party today. There is a front stalled over us, and tomorrow isn't looking any better. Yesterday rain held off here until around 10pm, but yeah...for the most part, it's been cloudy and rainy. This is the sky before the clouds started crying....

...probably for the merchants up at the beach and boardwalk who didn't make the green they hoped to on a holiday weekend. Shame, in this economy :-(

So, for some cheery color...here are my hydrangeas putting on quite the show for me this summer :-)

I hope you all had a fun 4th, if you celebrated. Nothing much here, plans were cancelled due to the weather, but I was able to get some knitting in, with more of that to be done still...there's still another weekend day left tomorrow!

Quick! Look! A Bunny!

Today is the first full day of "Summer 2008". It didn't get nearly as hot and humid as it was supposed to, temps at home were in the upper 70's to low 80's. Very comfortable with a nice breeze. I was able to finally knit out on the deck and enjoy my new chair. Reggae enjoyed the shade it provided. He behaved remarkably well outside today, and spent 4 hours exploring and napping, and trying to catch the unsuspecting birds and squirrels. He didn't succeed, but not for lack of trying.

I've been "practicing" walking without a cane this week, and I am happy to say it's going well. One of the goals the Dr. I saw at Canyon Ranch wanted me to work towards is to stop relying on it. I'm still very unsteady and I limp, but I'm getting better each time I try. Now I just have to get busy and find a gym that has the equipment I need to use...and go there. I seriously considered putting in an ingound pool in my back yard. A pool is crucial for my therapy and I don't care for most indoor pools at the gyms I've been to. But decided against it. For one, my yard is so oddly shaped I'd have to give up a tree, and most of my deck, and for two, the money is something that I don't think I want to part with: the way work is going, who knows what I'll need. But on the flip side, my backyard neighbors practically BEG me to use their pool, and last night dropped off a key to their gates. I've promised I'll take them up on their offer. :-) Then, in the cold months, I will try to find and indoor pool that is pleasant to use. So, it's all good.

Tomorrow will bring a knit with beads class at Wooly Monmouth in Red Bank, which will be followed by a shopping trip at Whole Foods.

Weekends go by too fast....

Happy WWKIP Day!

If you read my blog, WWKIP Day probably doesn't need an explanation. If you're unaware, go here for info. The previous two years, there really wasn't any local events planned, so I knit solitary in my back yard. That's public, right? ;-) This year, there were many. I kind of think Ravelry had a lot to do with spreading the world. I chose to spend my WWKIP day at What's Needling You? in Toms River. I got there around 12ish, and stayed until it was over, at 2. I didn't get an early enough start, so not nearly enough KIPing for me. I didn't sleep last night so by the time I got moving it was late. But anyway. It was VERY hot today, 92. There was a canopy tent set up in front of the shop for shade, and also we were able to go into the shop to cool off in the A/C if neccessary. Luckily, there was a breeze which helped. Deb, the LYS owner had snacks, sandwiches desserts and beverages set up inside for us. There wasn't a huge crowd KIPing but as people left, a couple more people would come by to shop and KIP. It was fun. I brought along a few projects, the lace ribbon scarf, koolhaas hat I just started, and my almost done montego bay scarf. Montego bay was most admired, as it's the first time any of the knitters their ever felt the luciousness of seasilk in person. One of the ladies has been trying to talk Deb into ordering some for the shop. I hope she does, because there isn't a LYS in my area that carries it. Amanda's "Bunch of Celery" yarn was fawned over too, which I am using for Lace Ribbon.
I really love the way the shop is decorated for each season. When I was there last, it was transitioning from winter to spring, and now, it's nearly summer. I thought this was too cute, beings that we're at the beach and all..."We knit summer shells down by the seashore"

You know that I couldn't leave the shop empty handed, right? I saw this pretty sample tank top, and just had to buy the pattern and the yarn for it. (yeah, yeah...more yarn) It's the Flirty Tank from Y2Knit. I like the sample knit better than the picture the pattern provides. The yarn I bought is Cottonwood from Fibra Natura, an organic cotton that's really soft and smooth. The color is a very very pale purple. This photo doesn't showthe color well, take my word, it's lovely. To be knit....sometime.

And that's not all. There is always a 50% sale bin, and although I could have got a couple more things, I chose the 2 single Malabrigos. For 1/2 price, they needed to come home with me. There is compassion knitting and a blog contest coming up soon, you know!

I also picked up some yarn for my pal in the Ravelry 9-5 multi-tasking Swap. And since I had a full discount card from the last time I was there, I got everything for 20% off, and filled more of the next card. ;-) So, it's justified. I said so.

2pm came too soon, WWKIP here was over. I would have liked to head north to another WWKIP in Red Bank, but the skys were darkening and T-storms were called for, so I headed home. Those storms didn't come 'til around 5, and even before the rain came, there was thunder and lightening and the power went out for a while. Came back on, and then the rain came down in buckets. We really needed it.

This is the steamy Saturday Sky before the storm...

I swear, there has been knitting going on. Just not pictured. I am almost finished with Montego Bay, I have to put the fringe on one end. I heart that scarf and seasilk yarn. I did finish my lace panel tank, but not in time for Tucson, but I was able to wear it to work this week when it was near 100 degrees. I started a koolhass hat for Sublynnminal Healing for June's project (fingers crossed to finish). I'm just past the ribbing and 1/2 of the lattice, but I do see the pattern emerging. But damn...switching to the larger needles from the ribbing to the lattice? ouch my hands still hurt. That's about it. But oh, yes, Tucson still needs to be blogged about, but I have to choose from 174 pics and resize them before that happens. It is still fresh in my mind, so it will be as if it was right after. Promise.

I hope you all had a wonderful week, and have a great weekend. I was incredibly busy at work this week, not getting finished until after 8 some nights, not before 7 any night. Crazy involved projects that took way longer than I imagined needed to be done "yesterday'. They really weren't that bad, but time consuming. I did not get a chance to meet up with Grace, hopefully she had a good vacation down here, and was able to beat the heat by the beach. Maybe next time she's down my work schedule will be lighter and we'll get together.

If you are fortunate to still have your Dad with you, enjoy tomorrow. For me, it's just another day. I do miss my Dad.

It's a Heat Wave...

A heat wave is in the forecast for the next few days with temps in the 90's and humid... and it's not even summer yet. Damn, it was hot in Tuscon when I was there last week, in the 90's. It was hot, but here with this humidity, blech. I spent the late morning and early afternoon outside spray painting one of the new all weather wicker look chairs and tending to my flowers until it got too hot. The chair was one of 3 I bought a few weekends ago. The other 2 are on my front porch (that I never use) and they are fine as they are, white. The white chair on my deck just didn't go, so I used that Krylon Fusion spray paint for plastics and now it's "honeydew". I'm looking forward to sitting in it (it's got a comfy cushion not shown) and knitting when it's not so freakin' hot. This is the Saturday sky, at around 3pm, 95 degrees.

Saturday Sky from the Sky

Since I was up there anyway and it looked so cool just after sunrise, with the break in the storm clouds. I thought it appropriate that today's sky from 30,000 feet in the air would be a unique opportunity. I didn't have to look up today, I was in it. This is the view from the plane around 6am.

Saturday Sky for Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend is called "the unofficial start of summer." And by the traffic today, people are gearing up for a good one. The weather forecast is pretty decent for this year, there have been some gloomy cold ones, and unbearably humid ones as well. Today, it was partly sunny and a little cool, with temps around 70. This is the sky from this afternoon.

It looks like my trip to Tucson is going to happen on Monday after all, and I am really looking forward to seeing the landscape out there again. I spoke with Tamar this afternoon, she's home and ready to go back already. It's her escape from reality, and I am more than happy to escape with her. And perhaps at Canyon Ranch, I can talk to someone about my feelings towards my old life vs. this new one. Get a different perspective, maybe. Ah, but I have lots to do before Monday! It is funny...since I started knitting, when I am planning a trip the first thing I think of right away is not what clothes I will take, but what knitting projects will come along. I am still working on the tank top, it's not even in the home stretch, but I still am going to persevere. My neighbors are having a party tomorrow, and I accepted the invite even before I knew I was going away. I really have a lot to do, besides knit, (like pack!) I think they'd think I was nuts if I said I can't come over, I have to finish knitting this tank top...and then pack ;-) But, they are busily readying their place right now for the party (our back yards face each other) and I can see them being worker-bees through the fence. So, I will do the neighborly thing and go over for a little while and be sociable. Then scoot home and get ready for Arizona. This might be the last post until after I get back. I hope you all enjoy your weekend, and have a great next week. XOXO