Catch-up in 7 Parts

1. First off, thank you to everyone who commented, sent emails, called, visited, shared gestures of support and sent good vibes, thoughts, prayers and love to us after the miscarriage. I never doubted for a second that it was the right thing to do to share our early pregnancy news, because I had an inkling that this incredible safety net would be there to catch us, should anything go astray. You were. Thank you.

2. Thank you also for your good vibes and love for our entire city after last week's tragic bridge collapse. It's still pretty awful to think about how many people didn't make it home for dinner last Wednesday night. I've since learned of some close calls of friends of ours - what causes one person to be running five minutes ahead and another person to take a different route home on a day like that? Unbelievable.

3. Vacation was a-w-e-s-o-m-e. We went to the Adirondacks with Dan's family and stayed in a rustic cabin for a week smack in the middle of the mountains. Gorgeous doesn't even begin to describe it, but a few photos should do the job.

[the cabin where we stayed (photo from my sister-in-law Maria!)]

[the family up on Blue Mountain, I stayed home to knit, read, rest and recover that day]

[what they saw from Blue Mountain...makes me wish I had gone along! almost...]

[nightswimming for Jackson became too cold, so he wore his Daddy's t-shirt]

[we saw these every night...absolutely incredible]

[on the scenic railroad tour, Jackson's a little apprehensive about the "train robbers" who just boarded]

{There are many, many more vacation photos and I'll have them up just as soon as I can remember my Shutterfly password...}

4. Yarn? Did I find any yarn on vacation, you ask? Of course. I can sniff out yarn from at least 100 miles away, and if that fails me, I just rely on my blogger friends to hook me up. Thanks to Susan in New York (whose blog link just came up "not found," hmm...), I didn't miss the Old Forge General Store which - in addition to kitchenwares, food, hardware, clothing, toys, trinkets, books and everything else you can think of - has an amazing little yarn store tucked in the back. Dan's family was a bit skeptical about this "yarn in the mountains" myth, but I persevered and found the fiber goodness. I brought these home:

[Austermann Aloe Vera/Jojoba Oil sock yarn; Schafer Esperanza lambwool/alpaca]

Of course, one visit to this LYS wasn't going to be enough, so I tucked the invitation to join the Friday Knitting Group in the back of my mind and hoped that I'd be able to sneak away to go knit with the locals. Come Friday afternoon, the family was engaged in a rainy day game of Monopoly while Jackson napped...perfect! I had fun meeting the local knitters and even one of the co-owners of the General Store who lives in Guatemala but spends her summers in New York. (Everyone's got their story!) The power went out at the yarn store due to the rain and the knitters wouldn't let me leave to make the half-hour drive back to the cabin, so it became sort of an adventurous afternoon. Thank goodness the homemade butter cookies held out...

5. Yes, yes, I thoroughly devoured Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on the first part of the trip. No spoiling here, but let's just say that I loved it. (And felt right at home reading non-stop for a few days since reading is one of the number one pastimes for Dan's family...right down to his son!)
But once HP was done, I was craving some...er...vacation reading. How could I not pick up a knitting mystery at the LYS? And then another and another. Wow. I've never been a mystery fan before, and I'm not about to go to bat for these silly little books, but these are some fun reads.
Where else are you going to get a murderer using a knitting needle to stab her victim in the back at the local wool festival? Great [predictable] laugh. Just what I needed. I promise to read more intellectually challenging books in the fall, but for now, I've got to find out who the latest victim is and follow my lovely knitting heroines as they help to solve the crimes!

6. WIP report. I did knit - a lot - on vacation:

[Fleece Artist socks for me, basic toe-up with a 2x2 rib cuff]

[Claudia Hand-paints socks for Jackson (leftover!)]

[Claudia Hand-paints "Eat Your Veggies" sweater vest for Jackson (with a ripped out pile already because I forgot to read the pattern for the armholes...)]

[Schafer Esperanza "Greenjeans" shawl for me, lambswool/alpaca blend, in a simple increasing quaker ridge pattern (knit two rows, purl two rows, increase every other row)...love it...so soft...]

7. My blogiversary contest is coming, so check back this week. Just waiting for the yarn to arrive. In the meantime, get thinking about your favorite misty mornings and yummy breakfasts. Until then,

good night.

p.s. I got in to Ravelry! More on that later...