DOT -- Dogs on Vacation

I think it's great if you can take your dog on vacation with you. Or more precisely, if we can take our dog on vacation with us. We're active people and our vacations are usually active, rather than centered around a city. So it's good to have Lucy with us for walks and hikes.

We spent this past weekend in the beach town of Rockport, TX. We found some cute dog-friendly cottages to stay in so of course Lucy went with us.

One activity (but not dog-friendly) that we looked forward to was a whooping crane tour on this boat called Wharf Cat.

I think this is the real wharf cat!

Our tour did not disappoint. We had a great narrator who knew so much about the geography, history, industry, and of course birds of the area. We saw many dolphins on the way to the Aransas National Wildlife Preserve. Once there, we saw lots of whooping cranes. Here is a family of them. The baby still has some brown feathers but he's nearly as big as his parents.

Since blogger lets me put only 5 photos per post, a couple more bird photos will follow.


Our cottage had its own private dock. This is me and Lucy posing in the sunshine and wind. She really is a big girl, isn't she?

We had a great weekend!

Birds

Here are a couple more bird photos.
Roseate spoonbills are big pink birds. Very distinctive and very pink! I love them!

I have never seen so many pelicans as I saw last weekend. Here are a couple white ones.

I'm not quite a bird expert, but I know a whole lot more about them now.

Beret

I've been wanting to make a beret for a long time now. I finally did. I really liked this pattern called Springtime in Philadelphia and it was free! This is knit with fingering weight yarn on size 2 needles, then the ribbing on size 0. Talk about tiny needles! I know, sock knitters use them all the time, but they sure are little.


Here's the hat on my head. A cell phone self-portrait isn't the best photo, but it was the only option as I was on my way to work one day.



Here's a better view, blocking on a 10" dinner plate.
This is a great little beret.

It's a Mystery

Over on Ravelry I joined a group called Mystery 220. Each month there's a mystery project, presented one clue at a time, for a project that uses 220 yards of yarn or less. Here is the January project. And yes, I am way behind posting it.

This little beaded bag is called Exploring Waves. The beads are strung first then moved into position as called for during knitting.

It's a cute bag for evenings out, should I ever have any.
I really like the way the bottom came together.

Books I Read in 2010

Every January I make a list of the books I read the previous year. Last year I posted my list here and I thought I'd do it again.




1. Under the Dome -- Stephen King

I have loved Stephen King for a very, very long time now.



2. Too Much Money -- Dominick Dunne

The world of the wealthy is so different from my world, but fun to visit in a book once in a while. Read an excerpt in Vanity Fair and that inspired me to buy the book.



3. The Politician -- Andrew Young

What a sleazy story, sleazy subject (John Edwards), and sleazy author. I couldn't put it down! I think this was the first political book I'd ever read.



4. Loose Girl -- Kerry Cohen

I'm not really sure why I read it, unless I was continuing the "sleaze" theme.



5. Game Change -- John Heilemann & Mark Halperin

This was sort of a continuation (for me) of The Politician, a broader, less sensational view of the 2008 presidential race. I seemed to have been interested in political books for a short time last year. I haven't read one since.



6. Deluxe -- Dana Thomas

I found this on the bargain book table. I'm inundated with ads for luxury goods in the magazines I read so it was fun to read the stories behind them.

7. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand -- Helen Simonson

Wonderful and delightful!

8. Mrs. Astor Regrets -- Meryl Gordon

I had been reading about Brooke Astor for quite some time in Vanity Fair. So of course I had to read this book.

9. Alice Waters & Chez Panisse -- Thomas McNamee

I read an excerpt of this in Vanity Fair a few years ago. I finally got around to reading the whole book. And this was a return to the "food" books I have enjoyed so much in the past. And yes, Vanity Fair does often influence my book choices.

10. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest -- Stieg Larsson

Fabulous trilogy--sorry to see it end!



11. The Passage -- Justin Cronin

Vampires! Unfortunately I have to wait about two years for the next book in this series.



12. Crazy Heart -- Thomas Cobb

I originally read this book over 20 years ago. The beginning takes place in my hometown of Pueblo, Colorado. After seeing the movie on DVD I wanted to reread it. I could not find my copy so I bought a new one. I read this on vacation, some while listening to the movie soundtrack in a cabin in the mountains. Good memories!



13. Forgotten Garden -- Kate Morton

Started this on vacation too. Enjoyable fiction with women as the main characters.



14. In the Kitchen -- Monica Ali

I really did not like this and felt nothing for the main character. I was disappointed because I loved her first book, Brick Lane.



15. Sweater Quest -- Adrienne Martini

I should not have bothered! A book about knitting a sweater--I thought I'd like it. But I found it to be awful. A knitter who is internet and Ravelry connected would not learn anything new here. And the story would not at all appeal to a non-knitter. At the time I finished this book, I was wrapping up a swap. I had originally thought I'd pass it on to my swap person. But I could not do that to her! Two bad books in a row really had me questioning my book-picking abilities.



16. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- J.K. Rowling

Why did I wait so long to read this? I've had the book since it came out but the release of the movie prompted me to read it. Loved it!



17. The Fall -- Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan

Vampires! This was the second book of the trilogy.



18. The Hero's Walk -- Anita Rau Badami

I was looking for a light (meaning weight, i.e. not a heavy hardback) book for my Christmas trip and I found this on my shelves. I enjoy reading about Indian families, the way generations live together in one house, and both the stresses and good times that come from that.

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I see that last year I read 22 books. This year I read only 18. Did I read thicker books this year than last year? I doubt it. I think I spent more of my free time knitting. There's only so much time to divide up among my hobbies.

I read 11 novels and 7 nonfiction books (italicized titles). Old favorites made the list, like Stephen King and J.K. Rowling. New favorites are Justin Cronin and Helen Simonson.

I got a Kindle for Christmas! I'm loving it! At the end of 2011 it will be interesting to see how many books I read on it vs. how many hard-copy books I read. I have a rather large stack of unread books so I suppose I won't completely be a Kindle reader for a few years.

I wish I had more time to read!

Bronco Scarf Revisited

Remember the Bronco scarf I made in July 2009? Over my Christmas trip home, it got some use at a Denver Broncos vs. Houston Texans game. Here it is in action!
Mom, brother, boyfriend, and I attended this game the day after Christmas. We had so much fun! We all wore matching caps. We drank hot chocolate. We cheered. We saw Tim Tebow play. We saw a rare Broncos win!

The stadium was rocking! I definitely want to go back again!

another year, another collar

Lucy's daddy got her a new collar. It's really wide so it doesn't get lost in the folds of her big thick neck. This is her dress-up collar. It's too nice to wear every day. I can't imagine her rolling in mud at the dog park while wearing this. So mostly she'll wear the orange one and save this for special occasions.

If your dog is in need of a dress-up collar, go look here.