Go West Old Woman

We moved to California a few years ago. This still seems like an unlikely sentence, but we actually picked up sticks and moved from Cape Cod, in the extreme eastern edge of the continent to southern California. We discussed it just before Thanksgiving, and left Massachusetts the first week of February.  Including selling a house. Then we moved over the mountains to Palm Springs. We went from the beach to the desert in two hops. Maybe not quite a hop. The picture above is my morning view when I step off of my porch. It looks different every day, depending on the light and the weather. One big plus is that it protects us from the winds and sand that come across the area from the San Gorgonio Pass. One's first clue if that the pass is full of windmills! That wind hits the desert and the blowing sand closes roads and slips into every crevice of every house. I love Palm Springs, but the jury is still out on the desert. So far it looks pretty bare and uninteresting to me but maybe this year some hiking to get a better look. Lots of tourists go hiking here unprepared. I see the rescue helicopters heading up to the Ramp every day all summer. I may fall, but I won't go up there in summer in flip flops, tank tops and no water in the dead of summer, with regular highs over 110. 

We shipped one car, drove the other, and made a pilgrimage across the country, visiting family and friends on the way with our Mitzi crying and griping the whole way. She wanted to hang out of the window.  I actually knew someone who had seen a dog fall out of a car window on the highway. (hello Harold Price) no way. It was something of a bucket list experience for me, and something I may never do again. 

In the past few years I have fallen in and out of love with Twitter. Elon is the last straw. I miss it so much for breaking news and political analysis/gossip/perspective, but maybe it's best to leave before the party is over. I miss the cleverness  and humor of it, and the ease of hopping on in a free minute to see what's up and the fun of live tweeting TV programs with others watching. I heard an interesting take this morning: that people will return to their neglected blogs or start new ones. I am coming back to it, although the interface has changed a bit and it will surely be ugly (more ugly then usual) until i get comfortable again. I'll have to check all of my links because I know for a fact some are defunct, my apologies in the meantime.

 

Are We the Hostages?

As a middle aged person (I might mention that The Little Woman says I am too old to call myself middle aged) I have watched and read a lot of news in my life. I’ve seen a lot said and written about working people. One quality that seems to be much prized is a “work ethic”. I’ve admired and appreciated this quality myself, even as a business owner I prized this quality. As a business owner I loved this quality, especially in someone who valued his work and his employer’s regard above all things as evidenced by showing up on time no matter what the weather and never putting his social or entertainment interests above his job. I loved people who took such pride in their work that they needed little encouragement, not even a living wage. This job was not vital to the health and welfare of the public, did not provide important services to hospitals, the armed forces, or the saving of souls.

These days I am reexamining this position. A work ethic is an important thing. It boosts pride in the worker, and encourages a team spirit among team members that makes workers want to perform with little input from management. My question these days is: how does this WE compare to Stockholm Syndrome? Absent the physical captivity feature, it’s pretty similar. Payment for most workers is inadequate, and even then begrudged by business owners. Complaining, organizing and demonstrating is firmly discouraged, enforced by lower management who is also under compensated.  Right to Work legislation codifies this control. Tax “reform” legislation emphasizes the same “trickle down” effect that we already know does not trickle down. We see how it works, why are we allowing it? Why are labor unions not forming and growing? Why are people not taking their work ethic and putting it to work on their gardens and homes instead of making it possible for corporations to employ fewer and fewer people at lower and lower wages?

This state of affairs is unsustainable. As automation takes over more and more jobs, more people must drop out of the workforce. Should they literally starve? Will we move to a guaranteed income? What will happen? This is coming, no mistake. Can we continue to attack social programs including Social Security and not build a rebellion from the bottom?

The photo it from the lobby of the Mount Washington Hotel in Breton Woods New Hampshire. of course in the modern manner it is now the Omni Mount Washington Hotel, reflecting the new way of frankly and publicly announcing that the ownership matters more than the thing itself. I do recommend the hotel itself.  We went for a few Thanksgiving weekends when we lived on the coast. It's a splurge, but a memorable place.  The lobby alone is a beauty in itself. 

Florida Memories

The Little Woman and I vacationed in Southwest Florida every summer for about 20 years. Marco Island was our paradise. Usually we flew into Fort Myers, which at that time was an adorable little airport, and our preferred start to our trip. Occasionally we had to come in via Miami, driving across the Tamiami Trail.  I can say with confidence that I don’t recommend it at night. Any time we passed that way in daylight we stopped at the Miccosukee Restaurant, which was either the best or the worst restaurant in ever, depending on the trip. For sure it was the only one for miles in any direction. The last time we passed through I enjoyed my stop so much I picked up my favorite mug. I hear these days they have a nice travel plaza which seems to be thriving. I’m glad to hear they are doing well, and think of them every time I pick up my mug, picture to appear in a second post because Blogger. 

Adventure Close to Home

I have the good fortune to live on Beautiful Cape Cod. It's an unusual place to live. As a tourist destination the year round population of 220,000 supports 4-5 million visitors, most arriving in July and August. The fall shoulder season is also becoming much more popular. September used to be our best kept secret - the best time to go to the beaches, shops and restaurants with very few tourists. Sadly, our secret is gradually getting out. Once you get past mid October things start to close for the season, and the winter season is very quiet indeed.

Because nearly all the activities: festivals, parades, etc. happen "in season" we do have to venture out occasionally among the tourists and "summer people". Yesterday was one of those days. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution operates year round, doing all kinds of research in concert with all kinds of universities and the U.S. Navy, but it's in August that they have their "Science Stroll". The Science Stroll is comprised of all kinds of exhibits, from films to tours of the ocean research vessel Atlantis.  Due to a generous friend we were able to tour the Atlantis and it was fascinating.

Once off the ship we were able to visit with actual scientists, and see the actual equipment used in oceanic research. These are the instruments and ships that looked for Maylasia 3.0,  map the floor of the ocean, trace ocean currents and temperatures - nearly everything you hear about the ocean comes from here. You should check out the link to their site for even more. The most exciting thing to me is that most research is private for a couple of years so the scientists have time to publish, then it's all available to the public. What a treasure trove of information!

 Aside from all the science fun, Woods Hole is a charming town and worth a visit on its own merits. Just don't expect to have a lot of available parking!

A (Slight) Change of Direction

I think it's pretty clear that I enjoy cruising, but maybe not that I REALLY like it. No, I'm not going to work on a cruise ship, but I CAN now book cruises! I've trained as a travel agent, specializing currently in cruises from Carnival and my personal favorite Royal Caribbean. I'm working from my home with Avoya Travel as my home agency - which means they provide a range of services for me to be able to book cruises with some exclusive discounts with the support of a sophisticated operation. I'm excited about it! August is a low volume month for travel agents, but I'm using that to my advantage while I learn to operate their excellent system at a normal human pace. Feel free to contact me at Two Gals Travel L.L.C. 508.289.1301 any time! The name is kind of funny. The Little Woman is an entrepreneurial sort; her mother owned a travel agency and her first job was working in the agency. Since our first trip together we have joked that we would operate tours under the name Two Gals Travel - now it's a reality.

Other than that, my summer is flying by at a crazy speed. We have enjoyed quite a bit of beach time, but haven't managed to work in any kayaking or camping. The Little Woman thinks my flower gardens are out of control; I like the look of a vegetal shoving match, and neither one of us is pleased with our well breathing its last. After a nice wet spring we are in the middle of summer with no outdoor water. Quite annoying, and of course a First World Problem because we do have indoor plumbing. I'm going to have to get a plumber to connect my town water to an outdoor faucet, which should be super easy because the original plumbing to the faucet is still in place, just one copper pipe is capped off. Or pray for rain - which is what I am mainly doing!


 Pictures today are from San Juan, Puerto Rico, which we visited last February. We were cruising the Eastern Caribbean, and caught our ship in San Juan. We left Boston a day earlier than we intended because of an incoming blizzard that was already canceling flights and spent two days there before our cruise. What a lovely place! It's beautiful. There is a lot of public art, gardens, music, delicious food - everything you want in a vacation. Puerto Rico also has wonderful beaches. American Dollars is the currency, English is spoken (almost) everywhere. Really it has everything a person could want in a tropical vacation and more. So convenient, so close! I plan to come back sometime soon for a longer stay. One more thing - El Moro, the famous fort, is  part of the American National Parks System, so your senior pass can be used for admission.  That's not a big savings - admission is only $5.00, but still, why not save a little if you can?

Not Quite Spring

This month has seen a lot of gorgeous pictures of spring in various (other) places of the world. Here in New England some people are experiencing the beginning of mud season (punishment for wishing for spring) or just continued winter. Our temperatures here on Cape Cod have stayed cold, but in a yoyo sort of way - sometimes up into the 50's and other days high temperatures in the 30's. We have had very little snow, which is nice for me, but maybe not so good for the garden. I need to get out in the yard and get to work, but as the cold weather wimp that I am I cannot make myself do it.

Part of the problem may be that last month I was lucky enough to be cruising in the southern Caribbean on Adventure of the Seas. We spent a few days in beautiful San Juan Puerto Rico, then on to Bonaire, Aruba, St. Kitts and St. Maarten. It's easy to think that this is the kind of scenery and temperatures I deserve! We had so much fun and saw so many beautiful things! Pictures from the trip suggest I would do well to get my bangs drastically trimmed.

Since we got back I have been keeping busy in the house. I completed a crochet afghan and a growing pile of knitted dishcloths.  Nothing in the way of garments, although I always seem to be knitting on the same old pair of socks. I've had trouble getting a stitch count that would stripe properly and not be too big for my foot. I'm on the third knitting so far of the first sock, but since I do have other socks to wear I am not in a hurry.   I drove up to Northampton to visit Webs as a birthday celebration for a friend. That did involve leaving home, but there is so much yarn there I was well insulated from the cold. They have so many beautiful yarns there that I am always overwhelmed by the choice. This time I just bought a few skeins to knit a baby blanket for a coming great granddaughter (buried the lede, didn't I?). She's due in June, and if she knows what's good for her she will make her entrance while I am visiting Atlanta!

One thing that happened while we were gone is the brand new GE range hood we had installed in January failed. Our appliance store sent someone out to look at it right away, but could not repair it without a (back ordered) part. At that time the part was back ordered to March 15, but when I checked on it this week it won't arrive at the manufacturer until April 7. I am pretty bummed about it. The service department at the appliance store is following up on it, and a tweet from me yesterday got an instant response from GE. I'll be emailing them the particulars today to see if we can't shake something loose. I am discouraged - the old ratty hood we replaced at least functioned. It's First World Problems of course.

Every morning I read the news and get a stomach ache, and I can't watch Rachel at night because it ruins my sleep. Whatever happens will be awful, so I feel hopeless. My elected representatives are pretty liberal Democrats, so I don't even have the pleasure of calling them to nag. I know they will do the right thing. Anyone who is not registered to vote needs to get on the stick and make sure they are ready when the next  elections come around.

I Seem to Have Taken a Year Off

It was not my intention, exactly, but there it is. Because I took all that time off the blog missed a Caribbean cruise, Thanksgiving in New Hampshire, my best friend's wedding, and loads of other things.

Of all the things I hoped to do in 2016, hardly any got done. I did knit a vest for Shana but I am not happy with it and will be ripping the whole thing out to start over. It's both too short AND too wide. I moved the uke out of a closet but that was all. My volunteer gig is going OK, but my church attendance sucks. 

Most of my attention went to politics last year and that was not good. I am assaulted daily by the horrible things that are happening. The only hope is that there won't be too many things ruined beyond saving. 

Oh well. Back from another cruise, intending to pick up the reins of my blog. I am considering changing direction a bit because my weeks are not always interesting even to me - and I am very hard to bore.

Inside the Tunnel

During my working life I thought of that period between New Year's Day and Easter as "the tunnel": that time of year when there were no holidays to break up the time and we all went to work and came home in the dark. Now that I am retired I don't have to come and go in the dark, but the cold grey of winter still feels like a tunnel. For the last few years winter has been hard here and seems longer than ever. I think time has made my feet unable to warm themselves. 

Seed catalogs have started to come to the door, making summer seem just a little bit closer.  I don't have a good place for indoor seed starting at the moment. Sometimes ambition gets the better of good sense and I think I could get some grow lights and set up a table in the basement, but I know I don't (yet) have the devotion to make that happen. Still, the catalogs are here with their alluring pictures and descriptions of things which are irresistible but will fail to thrive under my negligence, or which will be unsuitable for our climate or for the exposure in the place where they must grow. One of my friends is buying a house this winter after several years of renting and we can consider our gardening follies together. 

I was supposed to have a new patio door installed today, but one of the installers called out with a strep throat. Rescheduling will be difficult because I will be out of town for a few days at the end of the month visiting my children in Oklahoma City. The disappointment is considerable, but I imagine the installer is more disappointed in the missing day's work, even though the temperatures are not ideal. We are also adding a railing to our porch. Shana fell down two days running and torqued her knee. little ice patches were the proximate cause, but not having a railing to grab did not help. As with many things about our house, the front porch was added later and is not to code. In order to have a licensed person add the railing he also has to add the proper size barrier around the outside of the porch. You are supposed to have a 36" barrier, and we have a bench that is more like 24" surrounding the porch. Off with the bench, on with a railing in its place. Everything is more complicated than it originally looks so it costs more and takes longer. 

My knitting this week has consisted of fiddling around, mostly. One button wrap in a bulky stockinette, one pair of mittens, and 3/4s of a sock for myself. The Little Woman questioned how much need I had for another pair of mittens. Not only is this the ONLY pair of mittens I have (I have one pair convertible, 5 fingerless and one pair of utility gloves!) but also I just wanted them. So there!

We have our lottery ticket for the current billion dollar Powerball drawing. Hopefully we will not be like the restaurant employees who thought they won only to find out later that they were comparing their numbers to the results of a past drawing (after several of them quit their jobs). What a heartbreaker.

Primaries are coming up - don't forget to vote! I will be voting for Bernie is the Primary, but whoever the Democratic candidate turns out to be, that person will have my vote.

Progress towards 2015 Goals and 2016 Plans

Progress on 2015 goals:

Lobster trap floats on Macmillan Pier

During 2015 I lost 15 pounds and regained 10. Still ahead for the year, but a rather sorry showing. Back on Weight Watchers for me! I have already started that. I did not ride or paddle nearly enough, and Mitzi did not get a daily walk. I did some swimming, which I did not include in my goals but which surely counts as exercise. I not only finished the sweater in progress last January, but also knit another. The lace shawl I wanted to knit has been cast on, but is only about 10 inches square. I did not try entrelac at all. I did try needle felting, and made Vivian a needle felted gift.  I am not satisfied with my reading, although I probably read more than last year. I can't have posted here weekly - I can see less than 52 posts are up. Another goal missed. I did post daily on Twitter and probably at least weekly on Instagram. Better than nothing. Tumblr was a bust. Clearly 365 is not my Tumblr jam. Another theme will be selected. I did volunteer at MSPCA, but will be doing something different this year. The coffee dates I wanted to plan to increase how often I see friends were not weekly but not absent either. More follow up needed here. In the garden some goals were achieved and some not so much. I did get another flower bed well started, but my veggies did not do all that well. 

Goals for 2016: 

Matching Fleece

Improved weight management and fitness is on the menu again. Official numbers: three gym visits per week, one kayaking trip per week all summer, swimming every time I go to the beach, Cycling twice per week.

In knitting I want to finish the lace shawl, Shana's vest, a crochet cactus garden for Shana, a poncho for myself, and at least three pair of mittens. I still want to try entrelac or brioche stitch, and I will include it although I may not actually get to it. I will make at least another needle felted object.

I want to get a weekly post up here on the blog, and at least one weekly post on Tumblr. I think I will post pictures on Mitzi there. I have to have a specific theme for Tumblr for that little side project to work.

My volunteer gig this year will be two shifts in the office of Waquoit Congregational Church. Shana volunteered me, but I am willing to do it, particularly for a better connection with the other church members. I still need to call my other seldom seen friends for coffee dates. I have some free time to do it and I need to broaden and deepen my friend base. This year I will also join the Mashpee Women's Club and sign up for a book club therein. That will also improve progress towards reading goals.

good behavior

This year I will not put in another flower bed. I am going to turn over a portion of my veggie garden to flowers and double down on the veggie crops that do well for me. Collards, herbs and tomatoes for sure, string beans and carrots seem to do OK. I will move some of the plants from my entry bed to areas where their surprising and inappropriate size will be a better fit (I'm looking at YOU, miscanthus chinesis!). This will involve enlarging the bed at the front of the house a little - running it around the corner enough for the miscanthus and one or two substantial shrubs to give a better balance to the northwest corner of the foundation plantings. Even though the bed will be a little bigger I will not be planting anything fussy or expensive. I'll finish my delightful bottle tree, after giving it the winter to be sure it will hold up for me, and install a bird house in the northeast corner bed. I will improve the amount of time spent weeding the beds I already have instead of lounging about watching the Today Show. I'd like to add another bird bath as well. In order to improve my edging performance I need to either improve my wrapping skills or track down one of those aftermarket items that does not need refilling. I hate rewinding the edger string with a white hot passion. One of my friends is buying a house this spring, and I can exorcise any desires for new beds on her place. And maybe pass on some of my more vigorous devils!

On 6A

My out of left field goal for this year is to learn to play the ukulele. There are plenty of tutorials on YouTube to choose from, and with only a few cords I think I would enjoy it. We have an instrument already.

This list of goals seems manageable and a little ambitious, so we'll see how I do. In the meantime here's a video worth seeing. It's in Russian, and the subtitles are a delightful diversion in themselves.

Back From My Break

I went to Colorado for Christmas this year to spend it with my mother and brother. It was good to see them in person instead of online and over the phone (landline - we're old school plus I do so like a good connection!). We had a lot of fun together, and ate everything that could not escape fast enough. On thing - my brother and I went to see Star Wars, which was (my own opinion) just adequate. Clearly it was a set up for future Disney sequels and lacked development and story. A sales vehicle for toys and other associated merchandise. Fun to watch, but ultimately unsatisfying.

I was fortunate enough to have a direct flight both ways and to have missed out on the horrid delays caused by all the bad weather all over the country. With family in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas and Georgia I had plenty to worry about. So far Cape Cod has not seen much in the way of weather. the little bits of snow and freezing rain we have had has been no inconvenience. Our only complaint is that it's been rainy and drizzly much of the time, but since we have been running a rain deficit all year I am happy to see it. There's not much a gardener can do for large trees if the rain does not come.

My Christmas gifts were uniformly delightful. They were thoughtful or amusing and not so extravagant that I felt embarrassed by luxury. I did get a super nice new tablet and case, but as my old one is about 5 years old and just about used to death we would have gone out to buy one soon anyway. Mom gave me cash, which I promptly dragged her into to Denver to spend.

The one thing I wanted to do in the Denver area besides visit with family was to drop in at Fancy Tiger Crafts. I was introduced to their story via the Woolful podcast, and started following them on Instagram. Their house brand yarn, Heirloom, is all romney wool, grown milled and dyed in the United States. I had a chance to try it because In the Loop in Plainville Massachusetts stocks it. It's rustic and sheepy, and knits up beautifully. I was eager enough to see the store in person to annoy my mother with a daily announcement of my plans to go there with her. She was a good enough sport to go in spite of it being in a part of Denver she had never visited before. It's what you might call an up and coming neighborhood: formerly pretty industrial and leaning towards hipster style.

The store itself is pretty and full of color and light. One side is yard goods and patterns including a wonderful color range of beautiful wool felt, the other yarn, with am emphasis on beautiful colors. In the back it's fiber for spinning or needle felting (for which they have the most adorable kits). A big bookshelf with a nice variety of offerings sits next to the cash wrap/fabric measuring area. I didn't buy anything fancy. What I needed was bout 1200 yards of chunky wool, and since Cascade was on sale at 30% off (!) I found what I needed in Cascade Eco in a beautiful auburn heather that should combine well with other knit accessories already in my wardrobe. I got a little packet of brights for my needle felting; what I have at home is all natural colors and I needed a little something for detail. I picked up a book about knitting and a lovely set of hooks in various sizes for fixing my knitting mistakes. I am really happy with my purchases. The staff there is young, peppy and very helpful. If you get a chance drop in.


I am settling in for my selfish knitting part of the year now. I still have the button wrap on the needles not quite half finished. It will be done soon - bulky yarn and mostly stockinette. Probably I will have yarn left over for mittens and maybe even a cozy hat. Next up Shana's vest, then the poncho which will be my Rhinebeck Sweater, a sport weight Hunter Hammerstein, and a big lace weight shawl for me, interspersed with sock knitting. I'm hoping to have enough yarn for some kind of a cowl to go with the poncho. I have about 300 extra yards, so there is a chance. I am not planning a sweater this year. The lace weight shawl will be my "hard" project.

I'll have to check out last year's goals and compare them to what I have actually been able to do. I think I will have fallen short on a few things. As always!

At Last.

Holy Cow, it's been a long time since I posted. I kept seeing the title of my last post show up in comments and thought there was surely something wrong because I never go that long without posting. Shows what I know.

I've been knitting heavily since my last post, and nearly all I made were Christmas gifts. I think I made nineteen this year, including one crochet project and one needle felted item. nearly all were small in terms of yardage used, but many were fiddly knits that took time. I did finish on time, with plenty of time for shipping, but next year I should really rethink the gross number of knitted gifts! This is pretty much as many as I can manage, and I had to take off a couple of days near the end because of sore hands. I don't like to start earlier than July for gifts, but maybe... For wrapping I had a fair amount of ribbon but no fancy prefab bows, so I used my extra time making pom poms and origami package decorations, plus embellishments cut out from Christmas cards I received last year. Because there is no such thing as too much to do. Because I have lost my mind.


I thought my first project after the holiday portion of the knitting was done might be a vest I promised Shana, but because I am going out of town next week I have decided to start that after I get home from Denver. I want to be sure of a good fit, and that will be more likely if I have the recipient close by. I have had a few more custom requests from a certain family member, but they are pretty small items (boot toppers, neck warmers) which I can squeeze in before or during the vest.  I probably have yarn for boot toppers in my stash right now, and maybe even something suitable for a neck warmer. Right now I am concentrating on a few little items for myself, especially things I want for the coming winter. I have done a super bulky hat and cowl for myself with yarn I bought at Rhinebeck - each took one evening including winding the yarn into balls. Just a palate cleanser to prepare for my winter selfish knitting. Next up are four projects, three of which are already on the needles: A sport weight rectangular shawl from Hunter Hammerstein's new book (not cast on yet, but may be tonight), a plain sock with yarn Sami gave me for my birthday two years ago, a square lace shawl, and a button wrap of a rather improvised design using yarn of uncertain provenance. That yarn is from sheep owned by an erstwhile neighbor of a lady in my Monday knitting group. She likes a soft and elegant yarn; this yarn is quite rustic. It's a lot like Fancy Tiger's Heritage, but a little tighter spun and bulky weight, with a little variation in the dye. Very sheepy, scratchy in the ball but not bad after washing. I did a proper swatch including washing for this one, and weighed it out to see what kind of yardage I have. It will make a cozy and rustic shawl.

Of projects for which I have purchased yarn - three, plus a pattern for which I need 1300 yards of bulky yarn in a single color, and which is destined to be my Rhinebeck "sweater" . It's really a poncho. The new year has not started yet and I may have already bit off more than I can chew.

Anyway, some Holiday Cheer:

My Rhinebeck Weekend

After years of planning (and even more years of wishing) I finally got to go to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, usually referred to by knitters as "Rhinebeck" because the Dutchess County Fairgrounds that hosts the festival is in Rhinebeck New York. I generally describe it to non-knitters as Woodstock for Knitters, which makes people think it must be really niche, but their average attendance over the two day run is 30,000 people, mainly women, and mainly knitters and crocheters. The festival features all sorts of fiber animals, from llamas to angora rabbits, and every use of fiber animals from lace shawls to lamb sausages. It doesn't hurt a bit that the festival takes place in the stunning Hudson River Valley where fall color is peaking and the weather is generally crisp and cool. There was actually a bit of snow there during the weekend.

Mohair Goats

Sea Colors Yarn

The raw numbers of attendees are impressive of course, but Rhinebeck's importance in knit culture is not just in the numbers. I don't think the importance of this and other regional festivals in the rising interest in single breed yarns can be overstated. The concentration of enthusiasts makes it possible for farms specializing in rare breeds, organic dyes, natural colored fibers, and other specialty products to find a ready market for their wares. Local farms sell raw fleeces, and yarns that may be spun and processed at the farm or at small regional mills. There are mule spun yarns, something that a very few mills can produce, and handspun yarns, yarns dyed in seawater or unusual fiber combinations. These are not yarns produced in commercial quantities. Some are otherwise available only online, or at one or two local yarn shops. Some of the hand dyed yarns really require selection in person as the variation from skein to skein is substantial. Without the regional festivals no one would know enough about the products to seek them out. Vendors of fiber tools find a ready market there as well. Buttons, spinning tools and processing tools are sold there. There are also classes, book signings; sheep dog and shearing demonstrations draw crowds. Vendors of buttons and project bags who generally sell mainly on Etsy have the opportunity to get their wares in front of a large group of buyers who will be able to order with confidence online after getting a hands on introduction to the products. Some yarn stores had booths. Although the stores were selling some commercially made yarns there was a big demand for their products too - not every yarn is sold at every store and this is a great opportunity to take advantage of a selection of yarns and tools not available in your area. This year there were over 260 vendors. The fact that sales were brisk can be judged by the fact that there were long lines at nearly every booth all day.

Fiber Enthusiasts

The best part for the attendees is enjoying a weekend of knit culture. There is the tradition of the "Rhinebeck Sweater" - a garment knit to debut at the festival. Because patterns go in and out of style there is usually a particular sweater that appears in many iterations and versions in any given year. There are also many one of a kind sweaters to enjoy. Knitters stop each other to compliment the wearers' lovely garments and accessories, discuss the quality and oddities of the patterns and yarn used, and make friends. I noticed a large number of shawls on display, many more than there were scarves. Cables and other textured stitches adorned many hats. There are some hats whose patterns will soon be in my library based on how great they looked "on the hoof". Knitters of all ages interact as equals over the shared obsession that will bring thousands to a fiber festival. Many make it a girls' weekend and share hotel rooms for a weekend yarn party.

I've wanted to go for years. I had not lived near enough before to make the trip feasible (although I visited with a knitter from the UK in the coffee line!), but as soon as I started planning to move to the East Coast it became a possibility to consider. A local friend and I made plans a bit over a year ago to make it happen. I did not want to try staying in the area for my first trip (hotel costs are huge), but several local yarn stores in the region sponsor bus day trips and that's what we chose to do. We took the bus from Webs, a wonderful yarn store in western Massachusetts. We drove in the day before, shopped at Webs, and down the street at Northampton Wools, a lovely shop just down the street from our chosen lunch spot. We stayed the night a few blocks away and the next day we were on the bus at 7:00 am & on the road to Rhinebeck.

My haul. That's a tote bag made of a chicken chow bag, not a bag of chicken chow!

Wanda and I had separately pored over the vendor list, visited the vendor websites, and made our list of booths to visit. Our lists were oddly similar, so we shopped in roughly the same buildings most of the time, although we did not make the same purchases. We were both mainly interested in  purchasing yarns from smaller farms and spinneries that are not widely available, and investigating commercial yarns that are not sold in our area. Once you have seen and felt a brand of yarn you have a better idea what to expect if you order on line. My purchases mostly reflected what I had intended for the weekend, including some for gifts and a sweater vest I promised to knit for Shana. Good thing I had a budget and a plan firmly in mind! I've been buying very little yarn for more than a year with an eye to buying something special at Rhinebeck.

Mohair goat - the goat obsession continues unabated

The number of booths and yarns was a bit overwhelming for a first time visitor, and Sunday I spent hours looking over pictures posted by others who attended. While the fairgrounds is not large, the booths are numerous and filled with loads of diverse products. Going back to others' pictures reinforces what I saw and extended the experience. I'll be going back to some of the pictures again for sure. My initial review - well worth the trip. We had a blast!

Feel the Bern

It's long, but if you can't get to a rally maybe you'll want to hear the whole thing. He's not getting as much media coverage as Hilary Clinton's emails, but supporters are turning out in droves.

Notes From Flyover Country

Ann's Chicken Fry House

I currently live on Cape Cod, but I was born in Ohio, moved around the south and southern plains for a while, then lived in Oklahoma City for thirty-four years. I was not my ideal place for me to live; its politics are miles from my liberal Democratic roots, and my marriage was not recognized there until the issue was forced by a Supreme Court decision. Still, there is much to love out there in the southern plains, and I miss some things a lot. I still have family there, for one thing.

I was listening today to a podcast by some people I like and respect - chefs and friends of chefs who live in Los Angeles. People who might go to (really) a special event consisting of an entire tasting menu of Okonomiyaki (Japanese cabbage pancakes) because they are interested in the chef. I'm not mentioning the podcast because I like it and the authors. I will listen again, and it's my own fault because the theme song gives away the hipness of their tastes: a drum solo like the one prominently featured in "Birdman" last year. So hip they can't see over their own pelvises (Thank you Douglas Adams). The topic today was chain restaurants, and a remark was made that it was a revelation when traveling across America that there was nothing they could eat. That went all over me, to use the vernacular of flyover country. Granted the middle of the country is not as screamingly chic as either coast, but there is no excuse for that attitude. For one (small) thing, since moving to Massachusetts I find that it's hard to come up with some of the (food) necessities of life: decent tortillas, biscuits and gravy, fried chicken, soul food, Mexican pastries, south Asian groceries, breakfast cut pork chops, grits, properly cooked hash browns or fried potatoes, chilis, properly cooked barbecue,  you get the picture. I have also dined at many fine restaurants and smaller places in the middle of the country where the food was perfectly cooked with skill and love. If the only place they went to eat was Denny's it's not the fault of the towns they passed through; it was their own fault.

I don't live there anymore, but it offended me to think that one could cut down a whole part of the country based on whether or not they were able to provide for the taste buds of a spoiled and lazy picky eater.

Proper biscuits & gravy

Now We've Got the Place to Ourselves

Yesterday was not only Labor Day,  but also the day the tourists go home. Our little secret that September is the best month on Cape Cod has been leaked, but most tourists and summer people do leave by Labor Day. The weekend itself tends to be busy, and the traffic intense, but it's really the last of the inundation. I may have mentioned that with 220,000 year round residents, we play host to 4-5 million tourists who are here mostly in July and August. They get here via two four lane bridges, and once they are here they find only one limited access highway going north-south, and one east-west which turns to a two lane halfway down the Cape. Everything else happens on mostly two lane roads. What that means for traffic is that you don't turn left in the summer if you can avoid it, and Cape residents have developed their own traffic rules.  If you are turning right and there is someone waiting to turn left at the same road you pause to stop traffic and let them turn before you. If you are turning left or right you let the person exiting the street you are turning onto turn out in either direction. Locals turn out in front of any car no matter who has the right of way. People tend to pass left signalling cars on the shoulder. This is why I do not ride my bike on any road.

Our weekend has been busy - Shana's birthday is Wednesday so we have extended the festivities over the weekend and into the week. Yesterday Shana, Dea and I took a ride from Falmouth Harbor to Martha's Vineyard on a schooner: The Liberte. It's a beautiful ship and we went out on a beautiful day, if a windy one. Labor Day is the last day they do tours from Falmouth Harbor.
They Sail down to Annapolis after that and sail until mid October.  It was crazy rough going out because of the wind and the direction of the tides, but we loved it. Fortunately none of us are much given to seasickness. We left at 2:00, and by the time we came back the excellent clam shack at the dock which was packed with diners when we left had closed for the season. As fall wears on more and more businesses will shut down until next summer.

After our sail we picked up a pizza at Steve's Pizzeria (and more!) to take to Chappaquoit Beach for the sunset. I can recommend the pizza - not too thick on toppings and sauce, with a really good crust made with olive oil. We were hoping they might deliver, but we picked it up on our way out.  The plan was to eat it sitting on the beach and maybe even go in for a dip. Intense wind and big waves changed out minds. We sat behind my car sheltering from the wind, then I went for a walk down the beach. I was glad I had a sweatshirt with me. I always bring one no matter how warm the day is, because the sea breeze is usually quite cool. The winds had dropped a little and the waves were a tiny bit smaller after we finished out meal. Other locals gathered for the sunset and we all applauded when the sun went down.

We got home in time to watch Ohio State dominate Virginia Tech in a game that turned very one sided after Virginia Tech's game but tiny quarterback was injured. Ohio State looks good this year, and their quarterback is the size of a UPS truck.

Labor Day 2015

I my yearly Labor Day post, to remind everyone that Labor Day is not just the day the tourists leave Cape Cod and the end of summer vacation, but the day set aside to honor the American working man, in particular the American Union member. Unions are in grave danger these days, with many forces arrayed against them. Scott Walker has made a career out of union busting, as has every Republican since and including Ronald Reagan. If you like your weekend, your 40 hour week, overtime pay, labor protections for children, OSHA, NLRB protection (however ineffectual) against wage theft and other legal protections you owe it to the union movement. Don't let those gains go by the wayside.





If you want more musical inspiration, The Nation is featuring it's choice of top ten union songs here.

And a little seaside inspiration from the Head of the Meadow Beach. This is one of the Cape Cod National Seashore beaches, a national park created under John F Kennedy to preserve a beautiful part of our national heritage. I probably don't need to remind you that some people would like to see our priceless national parks sold off to private interests (but of course I WILL remind you).

Just Thursday

My Holiday Knitathon has started. Actually I already have a few items in my gift inventory but I am getting more serious about it. Last weekend I spent two hours of car time working on a sock only to decide I hated it. This sock has now turned back into a yarn ball. No matter how fast you knit or how many hours you have put in, you can't improve a project you hate. If I hated the finished object I would not feel right giving it to someone else, so I would then own a pair of hated (but hand knit) socks. Just wouldn't do. Incidentally, this reluctance to give away imperfect or hated items leads to me wrapping up all my knitted gifts, which are nearly perfect and appealing, with deep regret.

I'm still not finished with my Must Have Cardi, but it will be done in time for Rhinebeck. I did block my Croeso Shawlette, which was knit with a gift of beautiful blue alpaca from my eldest daughter. The knitting had been finished for months, but I put off the blocking as long as possible. On the subject of this pattern: it is a free pattern, and not from a professional designer. I have read that the stitch count as printed differed from the garment in progress. I really can't say, because I mainly followed the repeats by section. The instructions for the center portion were initially confusing - the section it says to knit twice does not mean twice in a row. Once I twigged to that it went smoothly.  If you read the entire pattern before beginning and keep the picture of how the shawl is to look firmly in mind there should be no trouble. If you like free patterns you have to keep in mind that those patterns were probably not test knit or tech edited. You are the one doing that.

Mitzi is taking over more and more of the doggy responsibilities since Roxy is gone. I showered today after mowing my lawn, and as I was squeegeeing the door I was startled to see her laying on the rug outside the shower door. She's never done that before, but Roxy always did.

Still at War With Windows 10

Architectural detail, Fairhaven (I think)

If you have not already done so, be careful about "upgrading" to Windows 10. I think in the long run I will like it, but at this point in the process I am ready to throw my PC into the road and watch cars run over it. It seems that the default setting for your files is read only, if you have any access at all. I suspect that this is because of its improved function with cloud storage, but in the meantime I am suffering through trying to figure out how to get my photos from my camera and phone to the PC. My start menu disappeared altogether, my access to the Edge browser, which replaces the no longer supported Windows Explorer, was gone. The suggested fix for this was to open the start menu and do a long series of things. Hello? Lack of start menu was one of my problems! I finally was reduced to shutting it down by turning it off and getting it to reboot. The first time it just went to sleep and did not reboot. On the plus side, I did restore communication with my wireless printer, so if I could find it I can print it! Every time I try to do something (anything) a nice little chime sounds and a cute little sign appears that says "something went wrong". I have finally figured how to give Windows 10 access to my iPhone photos online, but getting them moved over is a slow process. I can't get access to any pictures after fall of 2014 so far. Fortunately I have lots you may not have already seen, or some pretty enough to see twice.

Sandy Neck

We are still enjoying summer temperatures here on the Cape, and since for many students the school year has started, tourism has slowed down and traffic is much improved. Water temperatures are the warmest they've been or will be, all year.  Abundant sharks provide news headlines every day, making a nice change from "deflategate" and Donald Trump. September is my favorite month. "R" returns to the calendar, so if you are superstitious about oysters you can put them back on the menu. On Cape we eat them year round. This weekend college football returns to keep me company while I knit.

We have another skunk under the shed (Shana saw it). The skunk guy did not credit my being able to tell skunks apart, so he thought he must have caught the only one, although I told him it did not look exactly like the one I had seen. Clearly I was right and he was wrong. I had paid him already though, so the joke is on me. Something else substantial is also hanging around, because one of my few remaining squirrels was run over and laying at the end of my driveway one night. I told Shana if it was still there in the morning I would take care of it (hoping something would carry it away before I had to commit to having a dead animal in my trash can). It was gone before we got up. I'm guessing fox, but that's far from the only option in the neighborhood. Maybe it will develop an appetite for skunk, which it should satisfy next door, where my neighbor seems to have a family member camping in the yard off and on, cooks dinner on a panini press under a spotlight outside and keeps an open compost heap. My neighbor has also moved all the unattractive things from the front and side yards into the back corner which is fully visible from my deck. *sigh*

Chatham Light

I'm nearly done with my Must Have Cardigan. All major parts are done, which means all of the cables are finished. The back and fronts are blocked. Now I have to sew up the shoulders and pick up the button band. The sleeves are both done, but not blocked yet.  The way the pattern suggests, you put on the button band, then the sleeves, then the side seams. I will have to get buttons, but I hope that will not be hard. After weeks of stalling,  I have a shawlette (Croeso) and a knit from last year's Christmas yarn, and a scarf downstairs blocking right now. Yarn for Christmas gifts has been purchased and a little shopping has been done. The less money I have available the sooner I start! Also when a craft show is in town I do try to pick up a few things for gifts while I browse around meeting the makers. I'd rather put my money directly in the hands of the makers than chain retailers. We had Wicked Etsy here for the Falmouth Food Truck Festival and I met some wonderful vendors. There were one or two I "know" from our online interactions who I hoped might attend but no such luck this time.

Provincetown Harbor

I watched the VMA's Sunday night. The main thing that stood out to me was how different the commercials and the sets are from more "adult" award shows. Brightly colored to the point of garish, and ads for "lifestyle" items quite different from those on the old people's shows. I guess "ED" is not a big issue for the MTV crowd. I was rewarded for my persistence by having witnessed several of the things blowing up Twitter the next morning, and an illusory sense of being in the know concerning the young entertainers of today. I would like to point out, however, that Kanye West seems to me to be too long in the tooth to be behaving like such a punk. His speech (as his speeches so often do) makes me wonder about his sanity and anchor to the real world. I can't fault his creativity, and think at times he plays the part of "Holy Fool", but I prefer very small doses, and maybe even second hand.

Things are quiet, and life is good.

Fun on the Water

Summer continues in full swing, and the weather is hot and humid. In weather like this we like to be on the water, either on the beach or kayaking. Saturday was our beach day. We had not been out on our boats yet this summer, so Sunday we joined up with our friend Sue for a paddle on Bass River. We left the job of checking the tides to Sue, since she can be trusted not to make a hash of it. Because we wanted to paddle into the marshes we wanted to be sure to get there while the tide was still high enough for us to be able to paddle in and out. Shana and I already had our work cut out for us reassembling our rooftop kayak racks and remembering how to get the boats loaded up. Once again it was only a matter of extreme luck that we did not forget to bring our paddles along.

We put in at Wilbur Park in Yarmouth, which I liked very much. There was adequate parking (a rarity in season) and the area where we put in did not have heavy boat traffic. Once on the water we really enjoyed being out & about. In my opinion, Kayaking is a lot like cycling. You are outside where you can see, hear and smell everything, moving along at a human pace. My boat is so comfortable and convenient. Every time I get underway I wonder why we are not out on the water every weekend. If you stay out of the areas where most of the motorized boats go on Bass River you can have a lovely and serene experience, even on a hot day in high summer. We ran across a couple of motorized boats which were either rentals or owned by extreme novices who did not know how to use channel markers (Keep the red buoys on the right, green on the left) but since they did not actually run us down they were not much of a threat.

Shana and Sue went for a swim once we were finished with our paddle and pulled the kayaks out of the water. Once we were loaded back up we hit Original Seafood for fish & chips - paddling for hours is hungry work. Sue recommended Original, and a good suggestion it was. Fresh, delicious and in generous portions. I had my leftovers for dinner the next day and still did not finish the serving.

When I went to load up my pictures from the day I ran into my first major problem with Windows 10. It refused to read my SD card. I though perhaps I might try hooking my camera up via the USB port, but of course the battery was out of juice and I could not find my charger. Of course the charger was in the suitcase I took with me when we hid from a blizzard in Falmouth last winter. I thought that once the battery was charged I could import the pictures with no problem. Imagine my surprise when that would not work either. Apparently Windows 10 defaults to "You Shall Not Pass". No one has file permissions. Once that issue was addressed, and I rebooted four or five times success was mine. I do like the photo editing module on Windows 10, but some things leave a bit to be desired,