Saturday, July 31, 2010

Places Being Seen, Things Being Done

Thank you for all of your kind and welcoming comments!  Returning to blogging after a long absence is kind of like going back to school after having been sick for several days.  It's scary in some weird way.  I appreciate your help in coming back.

How about some pictures of what I've been doing?  Below is The Yellow House Sampler from Sheepish Designs.  I love working on it and looking at it when I'm not working on it.



The fabric is 40-count Iced Cappuccino ... the lightest IC I've ever seen, in fact, and I'm using one DMC thread over two.  It's been such a long time since I've worked with regular old DMC that I'd forgotten how much I like it.  A little voice in my head is telling me to dunk it in come coffee when I finish.  We'll see.

Below is the new pair of socks I'm working on.  As you can see, hopefully, the second sock isn't gonna match up exactly with the first.  I know the idea is to make them look the same, but I couldn't help myself.  I wanted to see how it turns out.
I love the colors so far, but they aren't for me.  They're for a special birthday gift in September.  Someone gave me a pattern for toe-up socks, but it'll take me a little time on the internet to figure out how to start them.  The pattern makes beginning sound extremely complicated, so I'll be searching for a video (the internet is a wonderful thing) to help me.

I've been gone for several days.  We decided to take a little trip to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore (I love it there) again and play some golf.  We had some very exciting weather, so there wasn't much golf, but it was a great getaway.

Earlier this month we took a trip to Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon.  Even though I've lived out west all my life, I'd never been to either place.  Finally, I've seen what "awesome" means.  The Grand Canyon is incredible.  You've seen a million pictures of it, I know, so I won't bore you with mine.  We took two days to visit the South and North Rims, and the drive between is worth your time.  On the way to the North Rim, you can stop at Navajo Bridge, which is 700 feet above the Colorado River.  Here are some rafters who waved and told us to jump (I'm sure they meant it in the nicest way).

First you see them close-up, and now here's a view as we saw them from the bridge.  Pretty cool, huh?  I'm pretty sure I need a raft ride.
  Mesa Verde was also amazing.  I loved it there, so I'm forcing you to look at one picture.
Thinking of how long these dwellings have been there makes looking at them even better.  We got to climb down into a kiva with the other kids (really, there were one or two other adults).  On our way home, we went on a crazy road called the Moki Dugway, which was a blast.  The pictures taken by other people are much better than mine, and you'll get a great idea of what it was like if you click on the link.  If you're ever in that area, do it!

I think that's about it for now.  I have one more full week and a day of summer vacation (gasp! sob!!), which has been reduced by almost three full days because of meetings (yawn) that my new principal and the big bosses think I need to attend.  Meetings aren't my thing, and I'll be doing my best to learn something, but I'll take my knitting just in case my brain needs some help.  I'm naughty, huh?  Make some fun.

27 comments:

Margaret said...

I love both your WIPs. The Yellow House Sampler is one pretty piece. I love A&Es! And the socks are neat too --they'll make a great present.

I went to both Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde when I was younger. Mesa Verde is definitely one of my favorite visits ever. It's so cool, isn't it? And for some reason it's not very famous. Glad you had fun.

Can't believe you're starting up the school year so soon! Can never adjust to those early schedules at some schools across the country. Good luck!

Juels said...

I love going to Mesa Verde. To be inside the area where the cliff dwellings are and look up to ee 3 or 4 story buildings of stone which still stand today is fascinating.

The Yellow House sampler looks fun, and your socks are great!

Katrina said...

Too funny, we went to Mt. Rushmore this summer too. Loved it, it was what I expected and more. I also liked Crazy Horse a lot.

Love the Sheepish piece and the socks. Hope you enjoy your last week of vacation!!!

staci said...

Beautiful stitching on Yellow House. And I love your socks too. Most of mine are mis-matched, which seems at odds with my Type A personality lol, but I kinda like them that way ;)

mainely stitching said...

Knitting during meetings is a whole new reason to learn to knit. ;)

LOVE your travels. I've been to Mesa Verde and to Mt Rushmore, but not for many years.

And your WIP is, of course, gorgeous!

Jennifer said...

Love your 'The yellow house sampler' Doris! So glad you got away on an adventure. Mesa Verde sounds like a great place to go. love the socks and their colour! All the best at school with the new principal. Look forward to hearing how it is going and seeing more pics of cute keagan!

Barb said...

My son lives in Durango so we visited Mesa Verde on a trip out west a couple of years ago. Would love to see more of the cliff dwellings. Have you ever been on rt. 550 between Durango and Silverton? Yikes, what a hairy ride. I did not like it one bit! The Moki Dugway might be similar. And if you've never been to Canyonlands, that is an awesome place. DH wants to go mountain biking there someday.

Brigitte said...

The Yellow House Sampler is such a lovely piece. I can understand that you look at it even when you don't stitch on it, lol. Very nice socks.
Seeing Mesa Verde and particularly the Grand Canyon was one of the absolute highlights during my US trip a couple of years ago. I'll never forget the moments when we were sitting at the rim of the Grand Canyon watching the sun go down. An incredible beauty.
Good luck with starting school again. I know about meetings - the best thing is when they come to an end, lol.

Loraine said...

So glad to see you back. I've barely been blogging lately too. I've lost the motivation, and it's just been way to busy to worry about it!
Love the vacation pictures. I've wanted to take the kids to Mesa Verde. Your pictures are so cool! What a neat place.
Love the sampler too!

Karen said...

Your WIPs are looking good! I do like the socks -- I envy anyone who can knit socks. I can do dishcloths and that's about it :-)

Your trips sound great. My guy and I were watching something on the telly the other evening and there was a segment on Peter Fonda and some of his bike-riding buddies visiting the Crazy Horse monument. We just looked at each other and I said "Road trip!"

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

The YH sampler is so pretty! I love that one and will do it one of these days (maybe). Those socks are fabulous - whomever they're for will love them.

Great trip! I remember goint to the GC as a kid and wish we had taken our boys. Still may do that.

Enjoy your last week of break!

Sally said...

Your Yellow House Smapler is looking gorgeous and I love those socks!

Beautiful photos from your trip.

Jennifer Ann Fox said...

So glad to see you back. I was really worried about you, Doris. Didn't know what happened. But I can fully relate to taking a big break. Has been tempting for myself as well.
You have had alot of changes in the past year and that is stressful for sure but hope you enjoy your new job. I'm sure you are excellent at whatever you do!

Jennifer
Feathers in the Nest

Siobhán said...

I just looked at the Dugway pics and OMG!! I don't think my nerves could handle it. My family still taunts me over my reaction to Trail Ridge Road. ;) I loved seeing your vacation pics, and had my son come over to look at them, too. We went to Colorado for my brother's wedding in 2000 and did a bit of sight seeing, but beyond that, I haven't been further west than Illinois. I'd LOVE to go to Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon sometime.

Your Yellow House sampler looks great! Love the socks, too. We were in the US (Delaware) for about a month and everytime my daughter went into a knitting shop, I'd go over and squeeze the sock yarn.

Good luck with another new school year!

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forever said...

I'm appreciate your writing skill.Please keep on working hard.^^

omashee aka Barb said...

Doris, Where have you gone? I miss the posts of your adventures, knitting & stitching. Hope all is well and you'll begin blogging again.
Hugs, Barb

Maggie said...

Welcome back!

Love the socks, i've been thinking about trying a pair for myself, even picked out the yarn in the shop the other day, just got to find the courage, lol.

Please, please bore us with some photos of the Grand Canyon, i would love to see them :-)

DL3 said...
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Mark de Zabaleta said...

Excellent Blog !

markdezabaleta.blogspot.com
(madrid/spain)

mj said...

Your journey look great. The Mesa Verde and to Mt Rushmore are great..


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mj said...

Your journey look great. The Mesa Verde and to Mt Rushmore are great..


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JENS THOMASON said...

Your journey looks great. I wish I will go there & see all the things. Last summer we went to Kenai River. I think Kenai river fishing is one of the best places for fishing & vacation. I enjoyed a lot & I was able to catch salmon & trout. It was a great experience for me.

MICAH said...
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