Lots of Rhinebeck Goodness

Right, before I forget it all, time to report in on Rhinebeck. I wanted to title this post "The Rhinebeck, the Whole Rhinebeck, and Nothing But the Rhinebeck" but that isn't true: this is more like "what can I get done in an hour or less" so I'll expect to leave some things for another night. License plates and bumper stickers; old cars seen around; all the yarn I brought home!


I took off pretty early Saturday morning, had decent weather for driving with only a few spots of sprinkles, and arrived shortly after 11.

I'm here!

It was mostly cloudy on Saturday, though not actually rainy, but the trees did their best to shine.

The booths had the usual amazing things on display. I loved the stained-glass effect up the side of this one:

And if you were making socks for a wine lover, here's your pattern.

I stepped out of one barn to catch my breath (the crowds can be a bit much), and look what was there: color.

Everywhere, really.

Even without sun, just lovely.

The outfit in yellow surprised me. That's all I'm saying.

Sheep!

"What, you didn't expect to see sheep at a sheep and wool festival, lady?"

I stayed for about 4 hours, happily walking and pausing and buying and snacking and resting and looking and petting, before I started to feel done in, so I left and drove a dozen miles south to eat at the classic and wonderful Everready Diner. Totally out of my way to the hotel, totally worth it. I had chicken and biscuits and read, while listening to the hard-of-hearing couple at the next table, who were so bad that times four (which is how often he said everything), it was funny.

Then I took a slice of cheesecake to go and drove back the way I'd come and beyond, to the hotel. Settled in, listened to the Bruins game on the radio over the internet via the wifi on the iPad (isn't technology something?), was happy that they won, and more or less went right to bed. Worn out from all the fun!

This was the view from my room in the morning. Not bad!

A sunnier day, although also windier, unfortunately.

One note on the hotel that I had not noticed the night before: not the conventional spelling of entrance, is it?

Never mind, it was fine for what it was. Next I indulged myself by going back to the Everready for breakfast, and on a side note: this was the first year that I made this trip alone, and though I missed some on the aspects of going with friends, and will happily go as part of a group again in future, I will say that it was nice to be able to do exactly what I wanted to, when I decided to. No consultation, consideration, compromise. Just me.

Anyway, silver dollar pancakes and bacon and fresh-squeezed oj, and back to the fairgrounds. On the way, I got a text from a knitting friend who had decided to come out for the day, which was a lovely surprise. We would have arranged to meet up, but as it happened, I turned around in a booth that morning and there she was! Really pretty funny. We shopped together a bit, then met up for lunch before splitting again. It was nice to see her, and eat with her and her (patient) husband.

It was a beautiful day.

More animals to be seen, including rabbits

sheep

aspiring houdini sheep

too-busy-eating-to-say-hi guys

sheep chillin'

"What? Do I have a straw on me? I do, don't I?"

More noshing.

Alpaca parade! Or is it a llama parade?

Camelid parade, anyway.

I didn't see the Leapin' Llamas event, but apparently this woman jumped alongside her goat, to much acclaim. Have fun with it, right?

Only a few camelids were in their barn at that point, obviously.

On with the shopping. Lookit the little sweater in Bruins colors!

A really beautiful day.

I think I've taken a picture of this display every year.

Just love the colors!

In the awards area. What people can (and do) do with yarn...

And back outside...

You can lead a camelid, kind of. He chose his own path, though.

The rest of them were back in the barn so I went through again.

 "Hi!"

 "Whassup?"

 "Underbite? What's that?"

 "Ha! You're funny."

Coming and going.

Assuming you can see where you're going.

 "Hey, I can see!"

Some of them are much bigger than others.

These two were VERY interested in what the young woman on the rail was eating.

 "You planning to share that?"

 "This is my best side!"

Shy sheep

 Sleepy sheep

Hanging onto the green

Letting it go, with abandon.

I think it was around 2 when I decided that I'd had about all the fun I could manage, facing the drive home. Traffic was heavier than it had been coming, but I was home and collapsing at a decent hour (giving thanks that the bad accident on the Pike was in the other direction: I don't know how many miles that backup was, but I was so glad not to have been in it). It was a great trip, and worth how exhausted it leaves me, but next year maybe I'll be able to take Monday off for recovery. I think that would help.

Random Bits at the End of a Productive Day

I got quite a lot done today, though the result of how much I got done, including lots of stairs for laundry (last night and today, in fact), as well as 19 minutes on the bike and a bit of shopping, is that I have achy hips and a sore butt. Exercise is good for me, riiiight. That's why I feel so good. (My arthritis has also been bad on and off this week, for no reason I can tell, which is adding to the general feelings of decrepitude.)

*****
Boston drivers are notoriously bad, but I saw two incidents yesterday that were so stupid that I could scarcely believe my eyes.

On the way to work, I was coming up to a red light on a road that was widening from one lane to two; I would be getting into the left lane, to turn left just down the road. There were 3 or 4 cars in the right line, waiting at the light, and none in the left; the car in front of me seemed at first like he was going to get behind the ones in the right lane, before he moved into the left lane instead.

He then drove to the front of the left lane, put his right blinker on, and turned right, crossing in front of the other lane, on the red light. Agh!

Right on red is actually legal in MA (unless there's a sign prohibiting it), but I'm pretty sure that right on red from the left lane is never legal. Plus, the light turned green about one second after he turned, meaning that he had cut it awfully close and could easily have been hit by the first car in line, who would (understandably) not have been expecting a car to cross in front of him. Unbelievable.

Then, on the way home, I was driving down a one-lane-each-way street with fairly heavy traffic, more than usual anyway (Fridays are so weird, quieter in the morning, busier in the afternoon). As we were getting to a turn to a side road, the car in front of me seemed to be pulling into it, except that what he actually did was use the wider spot in the road to pull around the car in front of him, who was apparently not going as fast as he wanted! Crazy stupid.

Mind you, that car was driving slowly, leaving a good ten car lengths between him and the next cars, but the point is, there were cars ahead! Mr Idiot passed Mr Slow and then was behind other cars, and when Mr Slow and I got to the next light, there was Mr Idiot, waiting for it to turn green.

I suppose that, after the morning's incident, I should be glad he was waiting for it.

*****
I went to the ASPCA website today, as I had read that they will send one free pet-rescue window stickers for in-case-of-emergency, which is something I haven't gotten around to doing. I was much amused to see the following below the name-and-address section:

Dogs and cats, no surprise. I also wouldn't have been surprised to see some sort of general small animal category, to cover rodents and bunnies and the like. But horses? I mean, I have no idea how many people have horses in the first place, but specifically in the context of the window stickers? Maybe you put the sticker in your barn window for the horses? Actually, I looked at it again, and there isn't a place on the sticker to check off horses (unless you used the "other" spot). So why are they asking? Any ideas?

Rationally Irrational

The title comes from an exchange Mary Ellen and I had today on the subject of the Bruins and superstition.

The Bruins who, as training camp wrapped up, had 8 healthy defensemen, which is one more than they usually want to carry on the roster. So they traded one (Boychuck) only to have first one defenseman and then another go down to injury in the last week. And no offense to Kevan Miller, but it's the loss of Zdeno Chara that's the bigger deal.

So I mentioned to Mary Ellen that, although I don't actually believe it will make a difference, it makes me want to cast on a sweater (if you don't remember my mentioning it, the last time I knit one, the Bruins won the Cup), and, between loads of laundry tonight, I pulled out the pattern I want to make, and yarn and needles to maybe look at starting.

Look, it can't hurt!

TBT Time Again

When my mother was here, she pointed out that one of the photos I have on the wall would make a good entry for a throwback Thursday, and I had to agree with her. It's not your usual family photo.

That is, unless your family also found themselves, while at the airport in Trinidad, having the baby's picture taken with a beauty pageant contestant?

My dad's handwriting is a little hard to read, but I believe the back says that the tall lady in the boots is "Miss Carifta contestant Miss Van Sluytman"--whatever that means. I found a page stating that Umblita Van Sluytman was Miss Guyana World in 1966, and who knows if they are the same, but it could be, right? Anyway, a fun look back.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a hockey game to go watch. Go, Bruins!

Of Books and Busyness

As an update to yesterday's post on my friend's daughter, I wanted to share what I got for her:

She had asked for The Phantom Tollbooth, and her mother said she had liked A Wrinkle in Time, so I got her the next in that series. The others were ones I liked. I got her one more, but it arrived late, so I suppose I will give her Jane of Lantern Hill for Christmas.

It's a wild and blustery night out there, which I think is adding to my current feeling of being greatly scattered. I think I've handled my challenging October travels pretty well, but the reentry is going to be rough no matter what I do. Everywhere I look, there are things that need doing or tending or dealing with, and while only two of those things meow at me (and meow, and meow, and meow), the others need attention too. All the  ... everything. I won't even try to list it all. And of course, writing about my trips is on that list! But for now, let me just show you this.

Pretty...

Still Tired, All Right

I was in bed, lights out, by 9 last night. The first time the cats woke me was almost an hour later. (Him: Mrrp? Mrrp? Her: Hisss!) It was good sleep, and long sleep, but disturbed, is what I'm saying.

Today wasn't bad in the grand scheme of things, not quite as zonked as yesterday, but a fairly large number of quite small annoyances left me rather grumpy coming home. Here's what helped, though: getting a thank-you note from my friend's ten-year-old daughter, who celebrated her birthday recently. It read:

Dear C_____,

Thank you for coming to my party. Thank you for all those books! I love BOOKS!

And that makes me smile.

Home. Tired. Happy. Tired!

Really, for tonight, that is all.

A Game For You While I'm Away

Right, since I need to (a) get packing, and (b) get some sleep, here's a game for you to play while I do that, and then frolic off to the sheepy weekend.

IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHO THIS MAN IS, then please comment with your guess as to what he does for a living.

If you know who he is, please don't give it away! You can still guess if you want to, you can even say that you know, just don't say who he is.

What do you think? What's his job?

Holding On, Hanging In

I will admit that I did not ride the bike last night after all, no matter my stated intention. When the cramps moved in, my good intentions died away, as sometimes happens.

And as I expected, I didn't quite make it to the end of last night's Bruins game (a pox on 8 PM starts; tonight's is 7:30, which isn't much better). I took the radio to bed for the third period, read along with it for a bit, then turned the light out and listened, inevitably falling asleep. When I woke to hear them saying that the Bruins had gotten the result they wanted from the shootout, I turned the radio off with satisfaction, both for the result and for my not trying to stay up for it. I didn't hear the end of the 3rd period, OT, or the shootout, and given how tired I already was this morning (So. Tired.), I needed the sleep I did get, much more than any enjoyment the game would have given me.

I was in a really bad mood much of today, and I'm not sure why. Hormones? Rain? Tired? Just stressing out over stupid things for no good reason? A little of all? Anyway, I'm going to eat some dinner now, and hope that will help. And give me strength to not be driven insane by Carlos and his mrrrping neediness. I know, buddy, I know, you missed me. You want my company. I missed you, too, and I love to hang with you, but, you know, not 24/7.

I did not hear you say that.

Back, Briefly

Oh, hey there. How you doing?

I'm good, myself. It was a great weekend, a great visit with my mother and other family, a great birthday, lots of great food. And now I'm back and pooped and gearing up for Rhinebeck this weekend (or trying to), and hoping that the Bruins break out of their rut tonight (they won the first game of the season, then lost the next three). The game doesn't start until 8*, and I'd place money against my being awake at the end of the game, but we'll see.
*It's in Detroit, and it's on NBCSN again. Just give me NESN, people, I like my homer announcers more than the ones who try to "explain" hockey to me. I've been watching for 40 years, somehow I picked up what a line change is.

It's Wednesday night, isn't it? Today was a funny day, it took forever and ever to get through, and I had to look at a presentation with the most disgusting photos* on the slides, and there's PMS, and bigwigs in the office, and just all sorts of strangeness. Just epically strange all over.
*Ankle fracture surgeries, yuck

I'm tired, is what I'm saying. And I've got tonight, and tomorrow night, and then Friday night I'll be packing to leave early Saturday. And it's worth it (Rhinebeck!), but I'm tired just thinking about it. I actually looked at the calendar today, and I think in 2017, looks like there will be a weekend between Apple Festival and Rhinebeck that year. Woo.

Okay. I think eat, bike, watch hockey, go to bed. Here, for your amusement, look at what the Google Street View camera looks like in Abu Dhabi:

Carlos is calling, got to go...

Diving Into October

My busy month really gets going now.

Tonight I'm trying to get ready for my mother's arrival tomorrow and our departure for NY Friday morning, while simultaneously watching the Bruins play their season opener (yay, hockey's back! hockey new year! hockey hockey hockey). I will also be dealing with one cat who wants me to sit down and pet her already, and another who made his first request that I come to bed at around 7 this morning.

Then my mother will arrive, and we will depart, and odds are I won't be posting over the weekend.

We'll get back, she'll leave, and I'll be unpacking from that trip and packing for Rhinebeck at about the same time, wheee (I loved that year when there was a weekend in between).

Then I will be off to Rhinebeck*, and then I will be back and completely whacked out by it all.
*Fun fact: I first went in 2009, making this my sixth trip already.

So! That's what I came to say. And now I have to go, you know, do all that. Happy birthday eve to me. See you when I see you!

(And there's Carlos, meowing for me. This is going to be a long evening.)

Distraction

I'm going to another funeral tomorrow*, for a friend's husband. It wasn't unexpected--he'd been in hospice for a few weeks--but 54 is just way too young. Way, way too young. Let's talk about something else.
*Fourth this year

Like this monstroisty, which I saw in a catalog recently. What's with the extra fabric around the hips? Saddlebags?

Who needs that? What IS it?

Ohh, I see. "Funky charm," of course. Right.

Also seen recently:

A nice zombie take on the Subway slogan, "eat fresh"!

Next, here's a hint: if I can't make out the name of your company due to the font you use in an ad, the ad isn't worth much.

Really, what does it say?

Finally, courtesy of Dave Barry:

Um, ouch? It's amazing no one was seriously hurt.

P.S. Post number 2222!

So tired I forgot to put in a title

I am so tired.

It's actually been a really good weekend, and I've gotten so much done, too much to even list, it's great, but wow, I stopped moving and I'm not sure I can move again.

Here, go watch the paper-clip-making-machine. Do you also find it strangely mesmerizing? (I'm so tired, I almost forgot to put in the link. That really is a sign I should get off the machine now.)

Fighting Startitis

It's a knitting term for when you want to start one new project after another, startitis, and I have a bad case lately. I have two shawls in progress and neglected already, a blanket for myself barely started and another for my friend getting married next year, a scarf in progress for another friend, a pair of socks done magic loop that have been sitting since April, the 2-in-1 socks moving slowly along, a baby present that stumped me and got put aside, and I recently started a scarf with the cashmere yarn I bought in the spring, and I want to start more and more and more.

Basically, this year all I've finished are socks and presents, but nothing bigger for myself. And I probably should, if "should" is a word to use for something I do only to please myself so what does it matter, finish one of the things hanging about, but instead I want to start a sweater pattern I liked, and a shawl with yummy yarn from Rhinebeck last year, and who knows what else besides. And if I start them all, I'll never finish any of them!

Now is probably not the time to start a lace pattern that requires much tracking, so I'll save the Echo Flowers shawl pattern to my computer for later, planning to using the Briar Rose Wistful yarn. (The pattern is intended for thinner yarn, but someone else made it with Wistful, and it looks so nice.)

I could maybe start the Hitch pullover; I have a copy of the pattern, and plan to use stash yarn for that, too. Of course, I should swatch for that, and I don't have time to.... yeah, I know. I know.

Well, I'm not starting anything tonight; it's time to get ready for bed, as Carlos is reminding me. We'll see what tomorrow looks like.

Some Random Car Thoughts

I've gotten the sense from some people that they expect me to be excited by the Kia, and I'm not. It's fine, truly, and having a reliable car is a great relief, but excited, no. The Boat, as we called my first car, is unbeatable in that regard, as you might imagine. I don't usually post pictures of myself here, but I can't resist this one. For throwback Thursday, here I am in June 1985, with the best car ever: a 1969 Cadillac convertible.

(The photo is a Polaroid, by the way.)

I went up to the car dealership at lunchtime today, and got the registration and inspection taken care of, so the car is officially All Set. Whew! That too is a relief.

Buying a car is such a big purchase, such a big deal. Second only to buying a home, right? And you pretty much have to live with your decision for years. Yet I came home from the dealership last Tuesday, kissed Carlos, and realized he's more important to me than the car. I need the car for logistic reasons, but I don't need it to fill a place in my heart. The cat does that.

A benefit to buying a used car versus a new one: I called the insurance company to switch my coverage over, and the rate was a little higher, yes. Before the policy cycles in November, I owe them another $2.47. I think I can scrape that together, somehow...

Thinking About Exercise

Actually, I'm not just thinking about it, I am doing it: I had a doctor's appointment last week, and I was glad to be able to tell him that, truthfully. He asked how much, and I said 10-15 minutes on the bike at a time. He said he'd rather it was 30 minutes, and I said, "Sure, but my legs don't agree." His suggestion was to try adjusting the bike to lower resistance, so that I could go longer, and I have since made it to 15 minutes much more easily (if easily is the way to put it, which it isn't really), so that's something to keep working at. Meanwhile, however, I find that even with the bike seat cushion, it's hard on my rear end! How sad, with all that cushioning I have, built in, that it isn't where I need it.

It makes me wonder if I should try a treadmill or something else that doesn't require sitting. Gail Carriger recently mentioned her exercise thing, a stepper, but of course I need my hands free to knit (whatever keeps me exercising, right?). I don't really want to spend the money on a treadmill, and I don't have much room for one, but maybe there's something else... Any suggestions?

Meanwhile, I'm off to get on the bike before my evaporating energy dissipates completely. Good evening.


*****
Speaking of Gail Carriger, if you missed it, I'm giving away a copy of her fun book Soulless, and so far no one has put their name in for it! Don't you want it? On its fifth birthday and all?