What's Been Going On?

Apologies to Amos Lee.  I do love your music, so hopefully you'll forgive me for borrowing your song title.

Nope, not much of a blogger anymore.   Can't say I really ever was.  I did it to join knitting/yarn swaps back in the day.  I am fairly sure I have only one reader (hi, Ariel!) so I don't think I am missed.  At this point I am posting mainly to document events only for myself.

So what's been going on since I last posted?  

I finally donated my Project Linus quilt!  I finished this over my Christmas trip home.  But immediately afterwards I started a new job.  This was physically closer to the donation location, Quilt N Sew in Katy, but I was so busy during my lunch hours that I kept putting it off.  Finally, about a month ago, I was able to go and donate it.  I received a really nice call from Houston's Project Linus lady.  She assured me the quilt would be loved by someone, probably a little boy.  She told me that last year, 2012, Project Linus donated 8227 blankets to children in need.  That is both amazing and sad.  I had no idea the Houston area required so many blankets for sick or abused children, but felt so glad to know my quilt would comfort someone in need.  It also inspired me to make another one in the future though that's certainly not underway just yet.

On to a lighter subject:  a coworker got a group of us dog parents together to visit the dog bar/dog park.  I had been here when it first opened.  It was fun to go back again.  (In case you are wondering, I don't spend much time in bars unless I'm there waiting for a table in the restaurant.)

Yesterday I was busy on a trip to the oil field.

And today our group celebrated our achievements with a crawfish boil!

And there is no knitting to document as of now.  Maybe later?

Boston

I'm not going to lie, the Boston Marathon bombing hit me really hard.

The Boston Marathon was first run in1897.  That's amazing right there.

I have run that race four times:  1990, 1996, 2000, 2004.  I've been a runner almost as long as I can remember, a marathoner since 1990.  I won't go into the personal reasons for running those years, but I can tell you how welcome Boston has made me feel each and every time I have run there.

If you haven't run Boston, I don't think you will feel the same way I do.

First of all, to those of us who are just average recreational runners, running in Boston is the highlight of our athletic careers.  One must run a marathon in a certain time frame previously in a fast-enough time to qualify to run in Boston.  Not just anybody who wants to can run; you must qualify.  For many of us, that's a huge goal to achieve and we are happy with that.  To actually go, wow!

The energy in Boston that weekend is incredible!  There are so many people who come from around the world to run, who are so excited, and the city of Boston embraces us!  There is never a rude word about the people who show up and crowd the city.  Everyone is so welcoming.  The hotels, the restaurants, the cab drivers, everyone!  This is Patriots Day, a holiday in Massachusetts.  People are off work, out of school, and in high spirits.  The Red Sox are playing at home.  (Off topic, but one year we went to the Sunday game vs. the Yankees.  How fun, how many fights broke out in the stands--like nothing I've ever seen--such a rivalry!)

Yeah, the hotels, restaurants, cab drivers welcome the extra income.  We understand that.  But then it's Monday and the marathon.  That's when you really see the true Boston citizens.  They line every inch of the marathon route from Hopkinton to Boston.  Runners pass biker bars and the bikers raise their beers to us.  We pass little kids who are so exited to high-five us, while the whole time I am thinking that I am just an ordinary person.  At the halfway point we run the gauntlet of Wellesley women.  You can hear their ear-piercing screams long before you reach them.  The sound sends a chill down my spine, makes me run faster and taller, and truly makes me feel like an Olympian.  During the Newton Hills, the hardest point for those of us who live in the flatlands, fans are cheering and encouraging.  Eventually we persevere and arrive in Boston proper, where the end is so near yet so far.  It's tough but the crowds are out there cheering.  There comes a time when a runner ceases to see or hear anything but that finish line.  And we cross it.  Hallelujiah!  This is the highlight of an ordinary runner's career.

And someone tried to mess with it.  At first I thought of the runners.  But then I realized the people who were the victims were our supporters, the people who make the running of a marathon so much fun.  We runners really appreciate them for everything they do.  They cheer, they give us something to look at and ponder,  they take our minds off the pain.  They are the ones who hold up the signs with the current score of the Red Sox game.  They are incredible people who cheer for RANDOM STRANGERS as I saw in a photo gallery on the Runners World website.

What happened was so wrong.  The criminals will get their due. And the marathoners and their supporters will be out in record numbers next year.   We will not let them win.

Update

This is a knitting blog (primarily) and I haven't posted anything since the beginning of January.  Does that mean I have not been knitting?  Yup.  So what happened?  I switched jobs at the beginning of the year.  I am very happy, very busy, very excited!  I work longer days Monday through Thursday and get off by noon on Friday.  I love this schedule!  But by the time I do all my other weekday stuff, there isn't much knitting time left.  Oh well.  I have been very good at not gaining stash.  

I'm not NOT knitting (I do a bit when I can) but there isn't anything finished to report.

So what am I doing during my free time?  Various things that are important to me (which I never post about here), laying on the couch, and having my usual adventures.  At this time of year, in this part of the world, that includes crawfish boils.  Here's a photo from a few weeks ago when my boyfriend and I went for crawfish on a nice sunny day.

As I learn to balance my life in its current state, I will add knitting back into the mix.  So posts will be coming, eventually, as I finish the in-progress stuff.

Another One

I am totally in love with infinity scarves this winter.  Here is my latest.  It's the (free) Honey Cowl from Madelinetosh.  I used about 400 yards (instead of the suggested 525) so mine is not quite as wide as the official Madelinetosh version.  The yarn, Sublime Lustrous Extra Fine Merino DK, has a bit of a sheen to it.  So this is my blingy cowl.

Colorado Crafting

I had a bit of time for crafts on my Christmas trip.  I am completely in love with infinity scarves!  I worked on one called September Circle.

Remember this, the Project Linus quilt?

I finished binding it.  Now it's waiting to be delivered to the quilt store that accepts these blankets.  I will have a full report and more pictures when that is done.

My plane back was delayed (by several hours).  I spent a bit of that time knitting on the latest project.

I also enjoyed a nice view of Pikes Peak.

Repeat

I liked that last cowl/loop/infinity scarf I made so much, I made another one!  I used the same yarn but a different colorway, dark purples called Tidewater.

Though I am modeling it, it's actually a Christmas or birthday gift for my mom.  (Those events are only three days apart.)

Once again I found this to be a really quick project.  Or at least quick by my not-so-speedy standards.

This last photo has absolutely nothing to do with what's above.  This is Lucy's giant neck and her new Christmas collar.  It has mistletoe!  How festive!  Lucy's dad buys her collars quite often from 2 Hounds Design.  He surprised us with this one.

Throwing Balls for the Beast

Here's a recent photo at the lake.  Doesn't she look happy?

Sometimes I do get a good action shot on my phone!