Work In Progress

A New Year

Happy 2012! This is us in our tent New Year's Day morning.

The camera was too cold for the flash to work. I'm glad we were up at midnight so that Rocky's first words to me in the new year weren't, "What a miserable night's sleep. I hardly slept at all." Ha.

I'd have been here sooner, but we were in the mits of a cleaning frenzy here at Chez WIP. A couple years ago, I read about the YarnHarlot's attempts to clean the house each year to usher in good luck.  Of course, I'm too much of a procrastinator or not a good enough planner so housecleaning was even started until yesterday.  I think it will still work. 

I have a good feeling about this year. I think there will be a lot of change this year and I hope to keep up.

I know I'm so far behind on things to post - I know you're all looking forward to wedding pictures.  Don't worry, I have so many different posts planned, I'll cure you of that desire. Kidding!  I hope.

I have the last FOs of 2011 to show you. I was late with a couple Christmas gifts this year, and sadly still have one on the needles. Apparently my will to procrastinate is stronger than the elves desire to deliver gifts on time. 

But for today, I thought I would share with you a picture of my "I will" list for 2012. I've mentioned it before, but basically, I write out action statements for what I want to do this year.

I know it's a lot. It seemed a little overwhelming when I had them all written down. Several are carry overs from last year that I either still need some motivation to keep going or that didn't get very far last year. I hope to talk about each of them more through the year.

The big addition for this year is the second to last one on the bottom.  I'm still hashing it out, and I'll talk more about it later, but here is some idea of where it's going.

And just because it's a knitting blog, the last Christmas gift, on the needles.
Happy 2012.  I hope the year is full of joy and laughter and good health for you all.

Money Matters: Change

The enormous bird is cooking so I'm putting the finishing touches on this post.

I know you're eagerly anticipating wedding details, but I've decided to start with the more mundane part of a wedding. Paying for it.

Kate and I have exchanged several emails about money this past year as we've both been watching our pennies.  I've been a bit remiss as I'd said I'd post about my own thoughts. So, stealing my title from Kate, here we go!

When I was seven I bought a plastic bear bank. Unfortunately, I quickly learned how to get the money back out. The bank sat mostly neglected (or robbed by me) until I was gathering money for my initial college money. I cut open the bank and... 80 dollars!

While I was away at college my mom dropped change in the bear and then it moved with me to Alaska. When I was going on a vacation while up there, money was tight so I opened the bear again and... nearly 400 dollars!

About six years ago, when I was really strapped for cash, I realized just how much money we spend in change and never even think about it. A quarter here, a dime there - it's actually quite a bit of money when you add it up. So, when I was back on my feet, I decided that I would stop using change at the store and just use another dollar. I found that if I thought about an item as costing $4.00 instead of $3.59, I was more thoughtful about whether to purchase something.

At the end of each day, the change would go into the bear. I actually use my credit cards quite a bit so I'd estimate that only 1/3 of my purchases are in cash, if that. Two years ago Partner bought me a machine that counts the money and bear has been a bit neglected. [this is all context for later]

With paying for a wedding on our own, money got a little tight and we were (and still are!) minding our pennies. I also mentioned that we were doing an eclectic wedding. Which means we used a lot of non conventional labor (a digeredoo-playing chef, for example). We paid for a lot of things in cash. Good news: no long term debt. Bad news: no way to spread out the cost. With the wedding around the corner, we've been looking for money around us. Hello Mr. Bear.

A couple weeks before the wedding, Mr. Bear and I got started. Years ago for a "guess-the-amount" challenge, Partner weighed one pound of randomly mixed U.S. change (pennies, dimes, nickels, and quarters) and got an estimate of $13.00/pound. So Mr. Bear and I started with a weigh in.

 

So, we have a tentative value of $611.00.

I decided to invest in a change sorter and bought some coin wrappers. And then Mr. Bear and I sorted and wrapped.

And sorted and wrapped.

And then we were done!

 

I discovered that there were very few pennies. A couple years ago I started segretating pennies and would use those so I only had silver change.  And for some reason had quite a few quarters.

In the picture above, is the change from just a third of my purchases over about 4 years.

Mr. Bear's total: 736.50.

When we added in the change from the counter that Partner bought, we ended up with $819.00. We couldn't be happier as this money that would have been lost one quarter at a time, has ended up paying some important bills.

Change matters.

Randomly, at the end of this post, I also found random foreign coins that snuck into Mr. Bear.  It was fun to see several reminders in one place. 

From the top: 1 euro cent (I haven't actually been to Europe since the change...); 5 kopeks from Russia; an old U.S. one cent coin; CAD 1cent; a Finnish coin; a coin from [Western] Samoa; and one more Canadian cent (I've been there several times).

If you're celebrating Turkey Day, I hope that you have a wonderful day.  I'll be back soon with the more exciting aspects of the wedding!

Mystery Proposal (FO)

Seems things always take longer than I think they will.

For example, this is a blog post about 10 months in the making. I took so long to write it that our computer ate our photos and I lost some pictures I wanted to share. Actually, it just ate some pictures I really want, period.

Last October I took part in Through the Loops mystery sock KAL. I used Karin's lovely yarn from Periwinkle Sheep - plum crumble, the yarn that first took me to her website. The same Karin of Sock Summit indulgence.

I started the socks on the flight back from Australia. I'd finished Partner's Christmas socks that morning on the train to the airport. Now, I was prepared to settle in and crank out a lot of sock on the 16 hour flight. I swatched and swatched after screwing up my KAL socks last year. I tried 64 stitches on size 2s. Too big. 64 stitches on 1s. Too big. 64 stitches on 0s? Too small. Finally, 72 stitches on size 0s? How could that be? I've never used 72 stitches or size 0s. I started but couldn't shake lingering fear that I'd screwed up my swatch and my 72 stitch socks would be far too large. I put the sock away when I was about half way down the leg.

The socks languished. I dreaded putting the sock on waste yarn, pulling it on and discovering that - despite my measuring and remeasuring and measuring again – I had screwed up and would have to tear out hours of work. Finally, before Christmas I mustered the courage and... it was almost too tight? How could that be? But it fit, so I knit. And I was working on my socks when Rocky and I drove up north for Christmas.

Christmas Eve we woke up and Rocky said he'd like to take the coast route. I admit to being slightly annoyed that he thought he would mention he wanted to take the 13 hour route and not the 7 hour route on the day we were leaving. I told him it was impossible. He seemed so disappointed that I jumped up, did some quick figuring on the computer and said if we hustled, we'd make it.

We're on the road and he mentions stopping at Stump Beach. Suggests we go for a talk. A talk? Or a walk? Well, despite our timeline, I can't resist a stop at Stump Beach.

So walk we did. And took fun pictures. And watched the crashing waves. And he asked me what my favorite memory was from the beach. And asked me to check our self portrait on the tripod.

And I turned around after checking the camera and there was a box. A little box. That kind of box.

And I said yes.

{insert beautiful, happy picture of the smiling couple here.}

And we kissed and laughed. I cried like a dumb girl. We walked some more and then walked back to the car to keep driving.

{more happy pictures of the ring, the beach, each other}

Well, here is a picture of us at Stump, but not that day.
Rocky drove and I knit on my mystery socks.

I figured if I was going to share the story here it made sense to show the finished socks too. Of course I thought I'd be done long ago. Rmemeber what I said about things taking longer than I think. You saw the first sock before sock summit.

But good news! I did manage to finish them before the wedding!

I'm getting married in just a 10 days.

 

I think the days may be speeding up! We're doing a very eclectic wedding and that takes a bit more effort. It's one of the reasons I've been quiet around here – there hasn't been a lot of knitting lately!

I wouldn't be a knitter if I wasn't going to knit my wedding shawl.

Remember how I said that it seems things always take longer than I think they will? In it's current state it looks suspiciously like a lace choker.

Sigh.

Fortunately I have two knitterly friends attending and both are bringing green shawls “just in case.” They know me so well!

These are special socks, forever linked to the day we became engaged. We've known each other for nearly 10 years. It's been a journey and I can't wait for the next step.

Pattern: Through the Loops, Mystery Sock 2010
Final measurements: 72 stitches on size 0s
Yarn: Periwinkle Sheep, the Old Watercolors, Plum Crumble, 399 yards
Modifications: An extra repeat on the leg
Knitting yardage total 2011: 1924

She's not even a kitten!

"She's not even a kitten!"

 These were the words Partner spoke to me upon seeing what Sasha and I were up to on the floor.

 She is the most loving, cuddly kitten!  She just laid on her back and purred and purred while I scratched her neck.  I love her to bits.

 To continue with random items, I finished another trail half marathon this past weekend. It was a huge improvement on my time on the same course earlier this year, but I still have not been able to break the three hour mark.

Overall, it was still a good run, considering my ankle was taped because I'd sprained it during a training run the week before. I'm on a small break as I do a personal Bikram boot camp. My goal is to do 10 days straight. I've done 3 classes so far and am happy I woke up this morning without the all-over body fatigue of the past couple days.

Dirty Feet 

There has been knitting.  I should be back later today with an FO from several months ago.  And maybe by this weekend, another FO post!

Wall

So, where have you been?

Ha. 

Sorry, I really didn't intend to take six weeks off from blogging.  I actually have tons of things to blog about but I just sort of hit a wall.  I thought about blogging a lot, but everytime I sat down to actually blog, I felt an absence of energy.  It just seemed like too much effort to blog.  There is a lot going on around here.  Nothing terrible.  Some of it very good indeed, but finding the energy to blog seemed like too much.

I just started back to work yesterday after a two-week vacation.  During which, quite frankly, I thought I would become a blogging machine, catching y'all up on the various and sundry goings on.  But, alas, it didn't happen. I figured out just before I went on vacation that it's my first two-week vacation since 2003.  It was good for my mental health to turn inwards for awhile, I think.

We did a ton of cleaning and other to-do list items that needed done.  Not exciting, but overdue.  It was, amazingly good for me mentally to get rid of the clutter.

And, I let my head take a vacation - no serious anything occurred. Knitting has been a bit boring.  My knitting mojo has been overcome by the same fatigue that affected my blogging. I should be working on my Mountain View cardigan - now officially in year two of production - or some of my other WIPs. But it seemed like too much and finding a new pattern to start also felt like too much. Anything that required counting, preparation, patterns, or thinking were dismissed.  Not surprisely, I seem to have mostly managed dishclothes since I finished the baby blanket.  Utilitarian, but a bit boring as blog fodder since they aren't even very exciting.

Fortunately, what little else I've done will allow me the illusion of a flurry of FOs to post about in the coming weeks! Ha!

So, anyway, I think I may have gotten over my knitting/blogging mojo funk. I'm back... and, because I fear you may need the equivalent of a knitting upper after all that above, here are some random dishcloth shots. This is the one of a set I knit while at my parents in April; I let my Mom pick the one she preferred.

And another double bump set of clothes.  I also took an idea from Melissa and turned the remnants of the ball band into a coaster. I completely freestyled this, ripping out the last row a few times to decrease the number of double crochets and get all the way around.

Speaking of Melissa, she has an etsy store that she's using to raise money for her 3 Day walk for Breast Cancer. You can read about her training here and either buy or make some Boobsters of your own.  Here are the cool things she made that I picked up - I have boobsters around the living room and the retro coasters have been gifted to a friend.

why yes, I did indeed carefully arrange the Boobsters on the left!

Knitting in public.  We were working an aid station for a 50K run.

Fortunately, there we didn't encounter any of these:

Oh, and the last of the baby hats! I'd forgotten about these, it's been so long...

I hope to be back later this week with a parade of WIPs.  And I'll get some more details on these FOs up at some point!

Knitting from my Pattern Stash

So I'll just start this off by admitting that I'm typing it during the Royal wedding.  Yeah, I got up at 3 a.m. to watch; total girl move. But at least I'm also knitting (or writing about it).

One of my goals for this year is to knit from patterns I have instead of buying new ones. It may have become easier in recent weeks for me to meet that goal.

Most unfortunately, our preferred chain book vendor, Borders, isn't doing well and has closed quite a few stores around us with ever increasing discounts.  I refrained from buying until discounts hit 40%.  Originally, I had a list of 6-7 books which I was interested in purchasing, if available.  Then discounts grew... and some of the final books were 70% off.  I may have ended up with more than seven books.

In fact, if it weren't for all the squirrels that I find while looking at your blogs, I could likely knit for years from the books I bought... what do you think?

Sasha might be excited about all the new wooly possibilities

that's better...there was a bit of a theme in the books I bought...

Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarns - because indie dyers are my weakness
Favorite Socks - because you all make beautiful socks
Around the World in Knitted Socks (on the original list)
Knitting the Perfect Pair
Socks from the Toe Up - for that goal of toe up socks, also on the original list
The Big Book of Socks - with a recipe for baby socks!

Some other knitting books... I tried to get some technique books

The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques - not in Ravelry??
                        maybe I can avoid the armpit holes next time
Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac, commemorative edition - my first EZ book!
Knitting 24/7

Magazines went fast and were the first things I purchased

Knit Scene
Knitting Traditions - 45 Projects from Around the World
Knit Style - April 2011
Interweave Knits - Weekend Knitting
The Knitter - Ideas for Creative Knitting

And lest you think I only bought knitting books, there were many other books purchased too, including the 14th and 15th book in a mystery series I love (don't read too far, just get the first book!). Yeah, Partner and I may be a bit book-crazy by nature.  As in, going to bookstores is a date night for us.

Gotta go!  They'll be kissing soon! [shrugs and runs away like a little girl]

Katoomba - Ruined Castle

The last place I went in Australia was Katoomba.  Katoomba is a wonderful little town, hidden in the Blue Mountains.  I found out about Katoomba from my friend Chrys's mom (Chrys, who I visited in Canberra) last year.  This year, it was my ultimate destination - where i wanted to spend nearly a full week.  My goal was to relax, hike, and knit.  It's not the iconic Australia of tourism advertising, but if you ever get a chance to go to Katoomba, do it.

I've wanted to tell you guys about this lovely place but I've always been a bit overwhelmed by it all.  I literally have hundreds of pictures and so much I would say.  But, rather than risk never telling you, I'm going to take Melissa's advice - a post with a lot of pictures, and not that many words.

Last time I was there, I discovered youth hostels (a wonderful, cheap way to travel).  I love the staff at Katoomba YHA.  It's an old hotel - popular in the early 1900's when Katoomba was the place for the Sydney set to 'relax in the country.'  I met some great folks while there.  It's a quieter hostel, popular with hikers.  Though, I fear some young boy is serving detention in a French school somewhere after I turned him in for running through the halls wearing only a towel as a cape to the encouragement of his fellow students.  Not a normal occurance, I assure you.

Like quaint towns everywhere, there is a main street and then quieter residential streets.  On the main street was a lovely tea shop with a few teas to choose from and divine desserts...

a great place to knit... and eat on dark chocolate filled coconut nests (more on that knitting in another post).

And there is also the Blue Mountain Chocolate Company that makes lovely Belgium chocolates.

While I did a fair bit of eating and shopping, my daily goal was to hike.

My first hike was to Ruined Castle, a destination promising a 360 view of the canyon.  A 15 km hike described as strenuous and requiring 7 hours.  I didn't do it in 2009 because it was raining and they said at the hostel it wasn't worth the effort because I wouldn't get the views.  This time, i was determined and went the first day when the weather was forecasted to be best.

Perhaps I should have known as I broke off from the main road...
But I had been told the mist would lift...

I love the blunt warnings of Australian trails.

And down the Golden Stairs we go...

These were probably the slippery steps the sign mentioned...

Rain running through lichen on a tree...

Left or right?  Right first and then back past this sign on the way out...

This walk was ethereal at times....

There were no elves around the corner... I wasn't sure at this point...

 

Again, I love the signage... not "don't go here," just, "if you go here, don't be stupid."

though it was off putting to find this sign lying in the bushes beside the trail...

this was the path that led up to Ruined Castle (looking down, here).  After covering 3.4 km in 30 minutes, it took 40 minutes to go 600 meters.

But Beeyore and I reached the top in the "mist." I'd call it rain, but, whatever.

I climbed to the top of Ruined Castle, ready for 360 view of the canyon...

What do you think?  Stunning and worth the 3 hour walk, huh?

I found out later that behind all the mist, was this.

Beeyore and I climbed to the top... well nearly...common sense prevailed on climbing slick rocks with nobody else around.

Beeyore was very proud of our climb.

And then back down we went... one of the coolest things?  I didn't see another person for the first 4 hours I was hiking... and then only 4 Germans heading up to ruined castle... proving Partner's theory once again that if you walk 1/2 mile down a trail you have it to yourself... especially if it's raining.

The last part was to cross a rock slide from the 1920's.  I thought this was pretty simple when I started.  I didn't quite understand why they said this part was strenuous.

here's the trail... can you tell?  fortunately there were yellow poles to tell you which rocks to climb over.

there was a beautiful view of the cliffs from whence the rocks had tumbled.

but then the mist rolled back in.  I bagged it a little ways after that... I took the steepest train in the world - 52 degrees - instead of hiking the 45 minutes out of the valley.

(as a brief aside, it really did take me 6.5 hours to walk 15 km... an hour longer than it had taken to finish a marathon the week before.  if the views had been clear, it would have taken me 7 hours, stopping to take pictures and all.  I thought, being reasonably fit, I would move faster, but it wasn't the case at all).

I still didn't get those views of the canyon, but this was probably my favorite day of the entire trip....

Happy New Year's 2011!

Hi there! I'm a few days late in posting. I keep thinking I'll sit down for a proper post, but as the days slip by, I'm going to implement one of my knitting goals which is to post more, even if it isn't perfect.

Here we are, welcoming the new year

ahhh, isn't she cute when she looks drunk...

or stoned...

Partner looks a bit baffled... maybe he's wondering who the drunk, stoned girl is...

Okay, now we're looking a bit less peculiar!

In our defense, it's a self-portrait, the flash was bright and it was pretty dark outside.  I wasn't actually drunk or stoned, though confused might still apply.

The problem is that we were at Crissy Field in San Francisco.  I got the bright idea - and Partner loves me enough to go along - that we ought to welcome the new year in by running. 

Our friends were running a 24 hour race that started at 9:00 a.m. on December 31st and ended on January 1st at 9:00.  Originally, we were just going to cheer them on and watch the fireworks at midnight.  But then when I found out that there was a 6 hour run that ended at midnight.  As Rachel wondered many months ago in a comment or email, would I keep running when the marathon ended?  The answer is I really haven't.  Flying to Australia and then being sick, I'd taken a month off.  And the marathon?  It was hard.  And I really don't like running.  Never have.  So after a month to stew on it, I really found it hard to get back into it. 

But I thought that perhaps literally running in a new year would set a new intention for 2011.  An intention of fitness, of being active, of getting - and staying - in shape.  So, that is why we ran on New Year's Eve.  While we had delusions of doing another marathon (we had 30 more minutes than we ran Nike, after all), we finished well short.  Two months of really not running had already taken its toll on our condition (damn this getting older) and there was a fair bit of walking. 

Partner managed a 20K (12.7 miles) before a toe blister sidelined him.  And I just eeked out a 30 K (20 miles) with five minutes to spare.  The top finisher ended up running 116 miles in 24 hours.

After the run, we "rested" in our tent until the morning, thereby avoiding any drunk drivers.  In a knitting note, I discovered, upon waking the next morning and knitting while it rained and Partner slept, that it is not a good idea to hand a WIP to someone in the dark and say, "Here, grab this and put it in the tent.  There is a ball of yarn in there." 

On New Year's day, we took a decidedly different path, enjoying a leisurely drive to Point Reyes National Seashore.

The blustery, rainy day continued, our idea of a perfect day.  And in the brighter light of day, we were able to snap a better picture. 
Happy New Year!

I hope the new year brings you all a life full of joy and laughter.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

My love affair with cranberries started years ago when Trader Joe's was an upstart company and I'd buy dried cranberries every chance my minimum wage job (and poor savings skills) allowed.  Around that time, a friend gave me a recipe from a magazine for pumpkin cranberry bread.  I think I've modified it enough to call it my own.  This is my go-to gift item for friends and collegues at Christmas.  One year I made 18 mini loaves.  I've scaled it back since then.

I've made two double batches this year, the last batch last night, during the Winter Solstice.  We spent the evening with all the lights off and the tv off.  We listened to music and just relaxed in a candle lit house.

This recipe is pretty fast and loose.  The ingredient list is what you need to make two 9x5 inch loaves or four mini loaves.  I've also made a couple notes to help if you want to double it.  My pictures are all of a double batch.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 a small jar of pumpkin spice
    * I think this is about 2 TB but I just dump an entire 1.12 oz (31g) jar into my double
       batch
    * I use McCormick spice
2 tsp double acting baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
    * the three eggs makes it a more moist bread
2 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups (15 oz can) of Libby's Pure pumpkin
        * When I double it, I just use the jumbo 29 oz can... I figure that it's close enough
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 - 2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened, natural cranberries
    * I do not used dried cranberries, as the bread is more moist with frozen/fresh berries
    * I do not use sweetened cranberries as this will make it saccharin-sweet
    * I totally eyeball the amount.  For a double batch, I used about 1.5 bags of cranberries. I
      covered the mix in a layer of cranberries in the bowl you see above.

Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt in  large bowl.
    * I add half the flour, then the pumpkin spice.  I don't know if this matters, but I imagine
      that this ensures it's mixed better in the final product.

Combine eggs, sugar, pumpkin and vegetable oil in a samll mixer bowl.  Beat just until blended.
    * I use a hand mixer.

Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. (I used the hand mixer again)

Fold in cranberries.

Spoon batter into greased and floured pans.
    * When I need it, I used the baking spray from Trader Joes that has both combined.
    * If you're gluten intolerant, I recommend stoneware.  I don't grease the stoneware
      and the loaves pop right out.

Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on the top.  It really does taste better to do this before you bake the bread.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven.  Bake 55 - 65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
    * In my mini loaf pan, it takes 55 minutes, in the 9x5 pans, it takes 65 minutes.

Let cool 5 minutes, remove and place on wire racks... you know the drill ;~)

I haven't been able to eat the bread because I've been doing a gluten free diet.  Partner claims that this batch was my "best yet."

I'm thinking after we are back from Christmas festivals, I may try to make a single batch with gluten free flour.  I'll let you know how it goes.

I hope you had the chance to enjoy the Winter Solstice.  We missed the full moon and eclipse.  I think it was cloudy and rainy.  I say I think because I thought the eclipse was on the night of the full moon, not realizing it was at 3 a.m. on the 21st.  Oh well, I'll catch the next one in 400 years...

From our solstice living room... I hope you're ready for the holidays!

Kangaroos, Penguins, and giveaways, oh my!

My last day in Melbourne, I had to choose between going to SunSpun and going on a daytrip to Phillip Island.

 I'll admit that all the Collinete I saw around the SnB Melbourne girls made it a tough choice, but when would I ever get the chance to see a penguin in the wild again?  My love of nature overcame my love of knitting.

 
sorry for the blurry picture... the best you can do when you aren't the driver... those dots are sheep.

So, it was a pay tour that stopped many places for various wildlife.

We stopped in Touradin Village and ate really awful sandwiches the tour company brought. 

 
But the scenery was nice.

From there we went to a wildlife refuge that takes in orphaned and injured animals of all sorts.

I adore koalas, but didn't (pay to) pet one since I had the chance to do that in Newcastle last year.  I need to get the video of that up here some time.  Two years ago I went to the Sydney zoo and spent about two hours staring at koalas, contemplating how to get my favorite - Norman - home.

We could buy little containers to feed the various animals.  I was enamored of this little lady because she was off by herself, enjoying the sunshine.  She wasn't in the pack of kangaroos vying for the attention and food of visitors.

 
I approached her slowly in case she didn't want company.  Her nails would make you do that. 

I spent most of my time at the refuge with her, chatting and feeding her.

There was an albino kangaroo.

And emus.

And wombats.
The center also had wallabies, peacocks, rabbits, dingoes, a shetland pony, donkeys and turtles.  It was a really neat experience to be so close to the animals.

From the refuge, we headed to Woolami beach.  It was quite windy that day but beautiful. 

Beeyore loves the ocean, so he and I took a walk in the water and watched the seagulls enjoy the leftovers of a fisherman's labor.

 
This fun pair of sisters from Kansas were on vacation and they were nice enough to take my picture.

This is one of favorite pictures from the trip.  I was surprised and happy when I saw it; on a sunny day it's hard to see how the pictures truly look.

 
From the beach, we headed out to The Nobbies, a massive nesting ground for silver gulls.  I won't lie, I wondered how many people had been pooped on. Beeyore wasn't sure what he thought of it but was interested in making friends.

 
I took so many pictures, but was particularly enamored of the chicks.

 

The scenery was pretty stunning as well.  Not a bad place to grow up.

On the way back to the van, I spotted two Little Penguin chicks in a burrow.  I didn't realize at the time that this was the only penguin picture I'd get.  These chicks were maybe 2-3 inches tall.

 
Then a stop at Cowes, a beach town, for pizza that rivaled the sandwiches.  Beeyore and I decided to wash the palate with some blood orange and passionfruit gelato and check out the sunset.

Two more of my favorite shots from the trip.

 

When we were done, we met up with the group for a very nice tea and biscuits.  I think the guy driving brought the stuff along, which may explain why it was the best meal that was provided that day!

Finally it was sufficiently dark enough to head to Penguin Parade.  Each evening, thousands of Little Penguins - adults are between nine and 12 inches high - wait until dusk and then come ashore from a day of hunting to feed their chicks and bed down for the night.  Flashes cause the penguins to regurgitate their food and lead to the death of chicks and adults.  So these were my pictures from penguin parade.

 

Why yes, that is my cowl... I started to see the value of a small, compressible knit that you don't have to worry about losing.  And I really really valued it when the wind was blowing!

I thought this sign was hilarious, though I did get a little sad thinking why it was necessary.  If I'd found one, I probably would have scooped him up and brought him home.

 
It was an amazing experience!  They make a chirping type of noise and as more and more penguins came ashore, the air filled with the sound of penguins chatting.  Some penguins kept on the edge of the circles of light cast from the lighting, scurrying to get past the humans.  Other penguins were far more curious, walking right up to the ropes that corralled people.  Their feathers are gunmetal blue.  And so dense!  I have no idea what they feel like, but they look like a steel coat, they are so dense.

When the penguin parade trickled, I wandered back up to the van.  A lot of people didn't stick around through the cold.  Apparently the Little Penguins didn't get the memo about walkways being for people.  With fewer people around, the penguins wandered where ever they wanted, often crossing over the wooden walkway. If a guide was around, they would stop people until the penguin decided which way he was going to go.  But other times, it was just a few people and a penguin, hanging out.

I'm so glad I decided to do the tour, it was truly unforgettable!

And, in other news, the random number generator (my friend with a hat full of paper) picked: 5.  So Bubblesknits, send me your info at bigblueice(at)yahoo(dot)com.  Hopefully this week, I'll get a post up to tell you where your new yarn came from.