Vacation Recap!

Ok, this might be a bit of a long post... but I do have a lot of photos to get your through all the blah-blahing keep your attention! ;-)

Overall, vacation was good. Great weather - first time we saw no rain in a long time, and the temps were cooler than usual which was nice, though it was still hot! Only complaint, just much too short and we ran out of time to see everyone & everything! We spent time with friends, ate lots of yummy (read: fattening!) food, got depressed when some clothing wouldn't fit, shopped, visited a winery (sadly its a friggin' pain in the backside not so easy to lug it home anymore now that you can't carry it on the plane), visited some race shops, and oh yea, saw some racing (and Casey's first win!)...

We met up with Jada & Natalie (my first blog post was quite boring, huh?) and the boys for lunch on Wednesday (thanks again for lunch JJ!). Always great spending time with them - and my how the kids grow so quickly! Also got to see Jerry when he came to pick up Nat.

Teri (one of my dearest and bestest friends who sadly lives all the way in PA and really needs to consider the next big campus opening in New England!) & Brenda, who are both blogless, though I bet they could each write some entertaining blogs, came in late on Wednesday. Our first adventure out this year was The Penguin for lunch on Thursday. Both Teri & I had somehow happened upon catching the episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on Food Network that had featured The Penguin just a few days before we headed to Charlotte... I text Teri, "Must go to this place The Penguin" - she texts back, "Yup, saw that too, already told Brenda! - call it fate??? It became a must find, after all their fried pickles were supposed to be the best in town. Once just a bar, some biker dudes bought it out and have been serving up unique & amazing diner food ever since. Here are the famous fried pickles and us out front (notice the old time sign in the background?)...

Can you say YUM-O??!! These fried pickles were delicious in all their gressy yumminess! All of the food was yummy and the place was packed... on a Thursday at 1:45! We had to wait about 20 minutes before getting a table, but had some great entertainment between the Harley hostess and the locals who wanted to chat about old-time racing, and... well... the signs posted in the window...

Anyone know what a shnouzer is (a Benji looking one at that)?? :) And describe the sweet dog who was found... um, 4 legs, a tail, and sweet?

We headed off to catch qualifying Thursday night... Kenny "Herman" Wallace was doing a mighty fine job of hawking his new book in the lobby when we went in to the track gift shop.... "c'mon now... $23.95... get my book... over here, to the left... line is over here, to the left... why you staring at me - get in line, over here... to the left ... just $23.95! oh look... a dale jr fan... Jr wrote an introduction in my book, here let me read some of it to you..." (Kenny could sell rain coats in the desert!) Anyone who knows NASCAR knows what a riot Kenny is... we've met him a few times before and I must say, he's never disappointed...

With all the paparazzi in the news lately, have you ever wondered who might have it worse than Paris, Nicole and Lindsay? How about NASCAR drivers after just breaking a track record and putting themselves on the provisional pole (the pole was captured later in the evening by Ryan Newman)? (to save space I put together this collage of photos I took instead of posting multiple photos - if you want a copy, let me know!)

To all those untalented wastes of tv time "misguided" girls..., stop your whining and start doing something legal to warrant the press coverage you do get.

More time was spent with friends, including lunch (didn't I say we ate well in Charlotte?) with my long time friend Melanie (thanks again for the great tour of the new shop!), at a yummy BBQ place, Sonny's.

Oh yes, and there was a 600 mile race ... not exactly the most appropriate for first timers like Brenda's brother & his wife, but they were troopers throughout the long day & night! Here's "the girls" (Teri, Brenda, me) with our annual "Budget Sun Shade" photo...

I wasn't really thrilled with the photos from this year's trip and don't really have one of Matt & I that I like, but just to prove I did take him with me...

Oh yea, and the shopping... we actually did pretty well (read: no overuse of the credit cards) this year. We both got some new race-related shirts on sales & markdowns. I passed up the cute top in the Harley store because it was $60 and I didn't need it (and no, we don't own a harley or a bike for that matter, but its fun to poke in the big shops and some of their clothing & shoes are actually pretty cool). I even - gasp! - passed on the really cute sandals in the same Harley store because, again, I didn't need them... this whole "what do I really need" budgeting thing kinda stinks, but I'm learning even if really slowly.

Of course I did need some yarn because after all, its impoliet to browse thru a yarn shop and not buy anything, right? After a failed attempt at trying to find a little yarn shop in Matthews and finally realizing it had closed "some time ago," I learned. I called the 2nd (and closer to the hotel - only about 8 minutes away!) shop I had directions for before visiting... and they were alive & kicking! Charlotte Yarn, as mentioned in my last post, was a great little shop with lots of nice yarns. Nothing local or really different, but I did walk out with this...

A lacey scarf pattern (which is from a woman in MA who's patterns I've never happened upon up this way - go figure!) and some gorgeous Blue Sky Alpca & Silk to make it. I also grabbed 2 skeins of Malabrigo in the Velvet Grapes colorway (this picture does not do it justice - its really vibrant!).

A trip to Charlotte is also not complete without a visit to Canine Cafe and a goody bag to bring home for the kids!

Some of the wonderful treats from Barbara's Catering, including peanut butter mega-bones, apple cinnamon duzin' donuts and pumpkin cinnamon (Zeus' favorite!) cookies.

I did get some knitting done on my ankle sock, but forgot to photo it. There wasn't a lot of progress, I knit on the plane on the way down and a little bit here and there, but for the most part there was too much going on to knit. I spent last night working on my homework swatches for tomorrow's Granite State Knit In. I need to finish 2 more, along with my hat for the donation/contest tonight...

See some of you tomorrow! Time to get back to work (argh...)......

Vacation... much too short as always!

Just a quick post... back from vacation, which was definitely much too short! I will have photos to post later in the week as I sort through the piles and piles of stuff - both at work and at home. The piles are endless, esp at work. Laundry is a must. Though ahead of almost everything on the list would be to finish my hat and get my "homework" done for my class at the Granite State Knit-In this Saturday. I can't wait and am really looking forward to it! I'll be driving up with Joanne and Marlene and meeting some familiar faces there, including the wonderful Lisa (who - gasp! - almost forgot that the Knit In was this Saturday... but I can't speak too much on that because she reminded me about the hat thing when I mentioned having to do my homework... oops, almost forgot about finishing that!).

As I said, will have photos later in the week... including my small haul from Charlotte Yarn. Not too much, as they did not really have anything local (same thing I ran in to last fall in VA ... I'm thinking we New England Knitters are a spoiled bunch with all the yummy local wools, hand dyed yarns and knitting notions we have readily available in our LYS).

On the racing front, one of my bestest friends Teri is thrilled that one of her men, Casey Mears, won his first race thanks to a gamble on gas mileage! She got to see his first win though - which is very cool! Even cooler? Jimmie Johnson did NOT win in Charlotte again this year and we happened upon these folks on the way in to the race Sunday...

Gotta love race fans and their signs! Just wait until you see the doggy related signs I found at a hole-in-the-wall dinner we lunched at... (to come later in the week)

Even though the trip was too short, I did have something to put a smile on my face in my inbox upon my return (and of course, the big smile from seeing my own 4-legged children when we picked them up last night!)...

Yup, that's "Little Man" Dustee! His Mom sent me a few new photos over the weekend and I just loved these two... the smile and the yawn, how perfectly Dustee! I also had a short update on Miss Trixie and hear that they'll be sending me some new pictures soon! It sounds like she's settling right in with her new family, being the cat-dog little princess and went for a grooming over the weekend. I hadn't heard about her since I had to drop her for the Massachusettes mandated quarantine, so it was extra nice to hear she's doing well!

Our 3 kids were more than happy to have Mommy & Daddy come pick them up from boarding last night and after a joyful ride home, promptly passed out. Guess all their 4-legged neighbors were barking a bit too much for their liking and took away some of their beauty rest for the past week!

Not sure if I'll make knitting guild tonight or not, but will see some of you at the Knit In on Saturday!

Taking a break from packing...

Yes, I am procrastinating taking a break from packing. I hate packing. I am pretty much done with clothing though, which is the big part, and wanted to get a post up before we head South!

I have to show you the absolutely fantastic package I received from my Secret Pal 10 spoilee today! I heart my secret pal - she is truly amazing and continues to show that she really is getting to know me and what I like. Check out these fantastic goods... all about sock knitting!

She sent me the Favorite Socks book from my Amazon wish list, 2 skeins of Claudia Hand Painted fingering weight in Passion Fruit (a most amazing colorway that I love!), Crystal Palace DPNs, some great little DPN size stitch markers that I believe she made, a handy, retractable tape measure (guess she read my post about the sheep who bit the dust!), a set of very helpful cards to record my favorite sock recipients info, favorite sock yarns & a sock yarn weight reference card (love them!) and something that I think is creative & wonderful - a mini-sock yarn stash for knitting mini-socks for my sock blocker keychain! Super little bundles of 4 different hand dyed sock yarns from Hello Yarn, Blue Moon Fiber, Sunshine Yarns and my secret pal's very own hand dyed yumminess! Feast your eyes...

I am a very happy camper with my package! She sent it in a great zippered tote from The Loopy Ewe ... which is doubly good because I can always use a perfect knitting-on-the-go size tote and because it introduced me to this fantastic online source for sock knitting (read: check them out!)! Thank you secret pal - you rock!

In other happy news, Princess Trixie found her forever home with a wonderful retired couple in Massachusetts! However, due to the stupid, stupid, stupid MA Dept of Agriculture rules on dogs coming in to the state of Masstaxachusetts, I had to bring the little girl down to the quarantine facility on Saturday morning for the mandated 48 hours (thank you Tanya for making the trek with me!). Yes, the dogs from the rescue receive a vet check & interstate health certificate before traveling North and yes, she did live just 15 minutes from the MA border for the past 3 weeks, but we still had to leave her there ... in a cage. I truly felt as though she thought she was being abandonded once again... her cries were painful to hear as we left, but I do know that she will be going to a wonderful home this week where she will be The Princess, and center of attention, for this wonderful couple! Here are a few photos from last week...

Trix had really begun to come out of her shell in the past week & a half, really showing her playful side... rolling around on her back for scratchies, chasing her tail and engaging in play with our dogs!

"Laughing" up a storm with Teutul!

I'm not sure which one of them is going to miss their walks more!

Proud foster Mom with another love bug, who we will miss dearly and hope her new family will send us some updates & photos!

I can't resist posting "the look" pic, she had it down pact!

This was the only picture I could get of the 4 of them... that's Zeus in the background, staring out the little window at the top of the front door (a resourceful dog he is...).

On that note, we are off to Charlotte for the Coca Cola 600 and quality time with friends, including eating way too much wonderful food, shopping & site seeing! I'll leave you with a quick pic of a couple WIP's... my children's hat for the Granite State Knit In donation / contest (can you guess what it'll "be"?) and my Amanda headband, which won't be finished in time for Gina's May 31 contest, but that's ok... I will have a great summer accessory and am loving how the Sereknity Lilacs in Bloom yarn is knitting up (it's perfect for Gina's great lace pattern)! See you in a week... back to packing... I. Hate. Packing.

Tagged by a Pixie Fart!

I got tagged by a stranger... a Pixie Fart! She found me through the Dishcloth Swap...

So, this is how it works:
Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write on their own blog those 7 facts as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

Here are my facts:
1. I love peanut butter.
2. My first job was at Musician Magazine, which was owned by Billboard.
3. I lack patience... greatly!
4. I love to organize things.
5. One of my biggest fears is fire.
6. I was born & raised on Cape Ann... Gloucester, MA, which is actually an island... and I don't swim!
7. I did PR work for local (and some national) bands from when I was about 18 - 21 or so... it got me in to clubs & bars before I was old enough (shhh!). I always had it in me to do public relations/marketing work... it was fun and had quite a few perks (and anyone who ever uttered the term "groupie" was promptly smacked in the face)!

Now its my turn to tag:
Heather
Kare
Gina
Joanne
Katie
Cyndi
Scout

(Manch Vegas girls... I tried to leave a lot of you "open" for others to tag!) :)

Trixie Says Woof

So, Miss Trixie the Princess... As I mentioned earlier, she started showing us the "tricks" she knows, such as giving this adorable little yip (note the head tilted up as if to bark at the moon!) answer to "Who's a good girl?" or "Trixie wants to go out?"

My first experience with uploading video clips from the cell phone... don't mind the mess!

And yes, she is still in need of a forever home!!!

Dishcloth Swap Contest Answers

OK, here are my answers for my Summer Dishcloth Swap Contest, as part of Anne's group...

If you were going to be whisked from your home and taken to a desert island to live out a year of your life....

What one CD of music would you take?
That's a tough one, but I think I'd lean towards John Mellencamp's Words & Music Greatest Hits.

What one book?
That's a little easier, I think it might be At Knit's End by The Yarn Harlot... I can read those pages over and over again and still laugh out loud. Something that would keep my laughing is a must.

What one hobby-related item?
Knitting needles & yarn of course - and since it says "one item" technically, that would have to be something sold as a kit to include the needles, yarn & pattern, right??? ;-)

What one person?
That's easy - my honey.

What one food? (no, you couldn't survive on a single food, I'm just SAYING)
Pizza!!!!!

Apple Blossoms, Princesses & FO's... not for Mom!

First off, if you are my Mother, STOP reading here until after you get your Mother's Day package!

Mom, I said STOP...

Did you stop? Well, in case she's still reading, I'll start off with a picture of one thing I love about spring... and about the only time I can say I love having a friggin' apple orchard a dozen apple trees in the back yard...

Aren't apple blossoms beautiful? The other thing I love about spring is the robin's nest under our back porch (which gets renovated & used every year) and the 4 beautiful blue eggs. I saw the eggs 2 weeks ago, but am very sad to report that when I went to take a looksie at the beginning of the week, all of the eggs were gone. :( We're thinking that pesky cat that has been invading our yard and driving the dogs nuts stocking the birds at the feeders may have gotten at them. This is the first year since being in the house we won't have baby robins. Zeus has been doing a good job playing guard dog to the birdies out front, but sadly he couldn't keep the critters away from the eggs out back...

So mom did you stop reading? I hope so because I want to show off my latest FO, in time for Gina's FO Friday! I present to you, a Booga Bag which I've been knitting in "secret" since it is her Mother's Day gift and she reads my blog often (well, at least I hope she reads it often). I wasn't going to post it until next week, but anyone who knows me, knows I lack patience well, it is FO Friday, right?

Before the felting...

After felting and ready to use...

This was a fun and easy knit, which turned out a great little bag! I already have the Noro yarn ready to cast on for my own bag, and can see myself making more of these for gifts in the future (feel free to send me your 'hint' that you might like one, as knitting things for friends that they will actually use / want is always a plus!). Mom had actually requested the pattern and then had questions about where to buy the yarn several times before I had to tell her to sit tight and see what happens... lol)

Princess Trixie update... tomorrow marks 2 weeks with us and she is still in need of a forever home. She's settling in a little more and showing her personality. I'm starting to think that she may enjoy a doggy sibbling after all, but maybe one that's more her size. She's starting to play and bond a little with our dogs, though there are still "instances" - example, if a piece of food falls to the floor, she doesn't quite have the manners of a princess and doesn't understand the "first to get it" rule, but instead tries to bully with growls and snaps. Other than that, things have been a gazillion times better. She is completley housetrained... and fully understands NO. In fact, after a no or doing something bad (like a growl at our dogs), she even finds a way to appologize! I'm just hoping she finds a home before we leave for vacation...

Here are some cute pictures from this morning before I left for work...

Hanging out on the old picnic table while Foster Mom takes pics of the apple blossoms

Isn't life grand???

Eeww... he's kissing me!

Does my butt look big?

On that note, have a good weekend... and I'll leave you with a photo from Matt's first win of the season last Sunday... race & knit on!

(Mom, did you ever stop reading this or is your surprised officially spoiled?)