Adirondacks

Whoa, what just happened?

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First of all, Christmas has already come and gone in my house. Kids live afar, families are complicated, so we celebrated with the whole famn damily thus weekend. It was a blast.

But, how did this weekend pop up so fast? I look forward to it all year long and suddenly it was here. It arrived in the middle of an ice storm, during which our county was in a state of emergency and travel was strongly discouraged due to iced roads and fallen trees and power lines.

As a result, we stayed inside for 36 hours before we broke out and went skeet shooting and sledding, wearing microspikes and snowshoes. And a good time was had by all.

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To keep things simple we had our first white elephant gift exchange. I supplemented it with a white elephant knitting exchange. I included four hats, two woven scarves and a rope trivet. Gifts were stolen, trades were made, everyone was happy and it warmed my heart.
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We spent three nights (short for me since I went to bed after 2) in the cabin to make room in the house and I slept like a baby. The wood stove kept us warm in the loft, while I heard trees cracking outside and coyotes howling in the woods.
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And now they’ve headed off to other family gatherings, the house is quiet and only the ice remains.

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I’m happy I received a digital photo frame, which already has this year’s pictures to make me smile.

Big sweater, little sweater

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And a hike in between.
I finished the front piece of daughter’s Irish Moss Sweater. It’s a beautiful pattern, still not quite memorized.

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Yesterday, I took most of the day off. I took a six mile walk with hiking buddies, spread 400 pounds of topsoil in my new raised bed and planted 110 daffodil bulbs.

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Today, I completed my Ob/gyn AND menopause certifications. Another interesting fact: menopausal women tend to lose hearing in their left ear first. What’s that you say?

I’m working on a sweet baby kimono sweater. I bought the pattern because I loved the textured band and couldn’t figure it out when I saw a sample. Now I know.

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Now, I’m off to another swimming (umhmm) session. My mantra is: BREATHE! Farewell.

Overdoing it?

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Physically and craftily.

We joined a Master Swim Program and had our first session this week and I nearly drowned. Not really but I am not in swimming shape. I have never been a competitive swimmer. And I don’t swim freestyle. It was pathetic. My goggles flooded, my legs cramped up. Despite being given an easier program than everyone else.

Which leads me to my next issue: lots of projects. Including a new one. I may try to sew a bathing suit. I went to a fabric sale today and the woman had an old bathing suit pattern which is perfect for swimming and bathing suit material. I’ll be the only one there that made my own bathing suit. In red! Easier to spot on the bottom of the pool.

I also discovered a new ( to me) local (less than 50 miles away) yarn store, Plattsburgh Yarn and Gifts. Sweet little shop, which carried the Malabrigo yarn I wanted for a baby Kimono and the Plymouth Encore for a colorful blanket. Plus their business card had instructions for the kitchener stitch on the back!

My new sewing machine was able to churn out this little gem of a bowl. It has cloth wrapped around clothesline then zig zagged together.

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I’ve almost finished the front of my Irish Moss sweater. I haven’t used a cable needle at all and have tons of cables, including four over three.

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My friend gave me a wool coat, which had washed funny. First I checked out whether it fit me but since it didn’t, it became strips for a braided rug.

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I received another request for an amorous deer hat. The deer heart is pickling away and very tasty. It looks like I’ll be enjoying it on my own.

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Geraniums look great.

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The christmas cactus I bought a year ago is getting ready to bloom for the first time and I bought at least a hundred bulbs and 350 pounds of top soil to spread in the new raised bed Tim built.

And there’s fiber to spin, quilts to sew and a Board recertification exam to complete. Where does the time go?

Adirondack fall

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Adirondack fall is a brief lovely season. With six weeks until winter, we had our first light snowfall this weekend and the temperature dropped to 17 degrees f.

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My Irish Moss sweater is well underway. There’s a tiny chance I may memorize the pattern, but not yet. I love the alpaca-merino, soft, light and warm. So does Shirley.

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I got around to pickling the venison heart today. I boiled it for several hours with a carrot, onion and celery, then poured a brine over it and let it sit under a weighted plate all day. Next it’s to the fridge. Tasted yummy.

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We’ve received a bounty of winter squash from our farm share and I baked my first pumpkin pie of the season. My Oxo good mill did the hard work. Funny how the pie came out though.

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We’ve had a few picnic dinners in the cabin but haven’t screwed up the courage to sleep in it yet. Lots of excuses- have to get up for work, too cold, forgot my sleeping bag, etc. one day. Tim writes about it here.

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Tucked away

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We spent at least five hours yesterday tucking in the boat for the winter. It had been hauled out of the water and perched, just a little wobbly, in its cradle.

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It takes a full size ladder to reach the deck because it has a five foot, fin keel. Our mission was to cover the boat with an oiled canvas tarp, which seemed to weigh just under a ton!

We had to try to drape it just right so the snow slides off it and doesn’t build up on the deck. We should visit it often during the winter to make sure this doesn’t happen — but we don’t.

Lucky for me, I got to spend most of the time under the cozy tent we created while Tim tied lines under the boat and was very busy.

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I managed to enjoy the view and take some pictures, in between sewing the canvas with an awl and stabbing myself in the thumb.

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It’s a good thing I was under the tent because it started raining and I got to make sure it kept me dry, while Tim did his thing out in the elements. I even caught a faint rainbow.

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And we did it just in the nick of time because last night it snowed in the mountains. We could see it as we looked back from the ferry to Vermont.

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Northern lights?

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I may have seen Northern Lights. I definitely saw lights in the north. No photos to prove it but the sky was clear, I saw continuous flashes of green through a mountain pass to the north and even the sky overhead had circular bursts of light. No reports of increased activity on September 10 but…

Tim surprised me by renting a cabin at Elk Lake Lodge, in North Hudson, NY for our anniversary. It was sweeeeet!

First day was cloudy and cool so we hiked around the west side of the lake where I nearly got sucked up to my calves in mud.

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The mountain view was obscured by fog our first day. That night I was awakened by something skittering around and the noticed the flashing lights outside and went out and sat by the lake for an hour. Even if it was lightening, it was awesome.

The next day was clear, we kayaked, sat by the lake, enjoyed the views and swam.

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Here’s a panorama taken from the kayak in the middle of the lake.

But, alas, there’s no such thing as paradise. A yellow jacket stung me multiple times on my foot as I danced to the car. Ouch!

Balanced rocks and pickles

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Yesterday was bracketed by bread and butter pickles. I salted the cukes, peppers and onions before heading out for a hike with friends.

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The day was perfect and we walked to Balanced Rocks, which offered beautiful views of the High Peaks and the slide on Cascade Mountain. The wind was whipping around the top and I’m surprised those rocks (or we) didn’t blow away.

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Here’s a link to my 360 app panorama.
When I got back home, I made bread and butter pickles. Why are they called that?

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