Getting the Hang of it

I would be wondering "Why Naomi is having such a hard time grafting her invisible cast-on piece to the main piece?".

I have looked at books, I have watched Lucy Neatby's Finesse Your Knitting DVD (thank you Michale for loaning it to me). This video is very good by the way. I would buy it myself but now that I am on a "fixed income" I know where I can borrow it! :)

My problem isn't doing normal grafting. I can do normal grafting. My problem is half of my material is as you would see in videos and books and the other half(which was knit from a provisional, crochet cast-on) is not. Since the stitches from the provisional are a 1/2 stitch off, this makes it challenging(at least for me).

The photo below shows the little piece I am trying to graft on which began with an invisible cast-on. The white yarn is some smooth waste yarn that shows me now the yarn should be sewn to join the pieces together. This is what I would call the piece that is shown in "normal" grafting examples.



The photo below really shows what I mean by the knitting being a 1/2 stitch off. In Lucy's DVD she has you put smooth waste yarn on each piece you will be graphting together. I can not do this with the piece that is 1/2 stitch off - this is the whole reason for the need to graft these pieces together. If it were as easy as just picking up from the waste yarn, this would eliminate the need for this grafting.



I'm getting the hang of this. I have seen some *issues* with my latest piece of grafting and I may have to rip out and start again. I think this is because I tried doing it late at night. The photo below is the piece I did during the day and I am quite pleased with the results. As long as it took me to do this(lots of sewing, then re-sewing - trying to read the stitches correctly) I was thinking I could have re-knit the whole sleeve. I guess that would go against what I am trying to learn here...plus I am NOT going to re-knit the whole front and back just because of this darn situation. Looks pretty good..or as good as I am going to get since this is really making me very behind in other homework. It took me probably 4-5 hours for just one sleeve. Honestly. I think I will get quicker the more I can really memorize what I should be doing.



I must say that having this time is priceless. Spending all this time practicing, doing and re-doing this graft has been an enjoyable learning experience rather than a frustrating, race against time *chore*. Just by being able to take my time with it is just amazing. I'm enjoying this learning process rather than being frustrated by it.

I am also getting the hang of this NOT WORKING gig. It is so nice! I'm tending to stay up later. I was waking up about 5:30 everyday but today I made it till 7am! (I make it sound like I have been doing it awhile - today is day 3 of freedom!)

It almost seems like a dream not having the performance pressures from work. It is so nice to wake up and look at what my day might be. Go downstairs, wake and feed the boys, have my coffee(G is still making my latte's) and just sit for a bit to figure out what I will do with my day. Pure luxury.

The Manta Ray Video, Finally

As most of you know Greg and I took a vacation to Hawaii in late April through early May.

My most memorable experience on the trip was doing the night snorkel to see the famed Manta Ray's on the Big Island. We did the snorkel/dive on Wednesday April 30. I believe 12-13 manta's showed up.

Big Bertha, the biggest Manta in the area, was there. Her wingspan is 14 feet across. I think the average wingspan of the manta's in that area is about 10 feet. One of the newer baby Manta's was also there. Greg termed this one "gnome sized" because he is only about 5 feet across.

Back in 2003 on my honeymoon in Tahiti I had the experience of seeing the Manta's on a day snorkel and I could just make out the outline of their large bodies far below me.

When I learned about this excursion, I knew I had to get to Kona to see this. They have been drawing the manta's to this area(Kona) for the purpose of tourism for quite some time.

I have no information confirming this in any way but I worry that at some point they will stop doing this for the safety of these beings. I know some of them can get bruised by running into people and their equipment. There are stupid people that try to touch them. Manta's have a protective coating on their bodies and our body products, etc. can be harmful to them. I wanted to see them just in case they stop doing this in the future.

We booked the excursion through Kona Honu Divers.

I took this video with a little waterproof Sanyo video camera. You don't have to be a scuba diver to enjoy and be blown away by this excursion.

These animals are very curious and gentle beings. They are truly remarkable.

Enjoy.

A New Beginning

I made it out of work today with minimal tears!

My co-workers were very generous and contributed $310 to the National Marrow Donor Program in lieu of flowers or gifts for my retirement gift.

The team tricked me and came into the conference room as I was doing my exit meeting with my boss and brought a huge box of Trophy cupcakes (my favorite) to celebrate the beginning of a new chapter in my life.

What is my first trip in retirement?

I am running off to Costco right now! :)

For the Sock Knitter

Dani at Sunshine Yarns has created some self striping yarns for all of the Harry Potter Hogwarts School house colors and I had to have Gryffindor House. I love how these turned out!



The story about getting this yarn is this: I have enjoyed Dani's creations and had longed to get some of the Harry Potter inspired house self-striping sock yarn(I'm a huge sucker for self-striping sock yarn!). She emails when she is going to update the shop(Tomorrow June 10, 11am eastern) and I knew she would be listing some Harry Potter inspired skeins. I was all set to go. I had blocked out my work calendar for about 15 minutes so I could take a break just at the precise moment she was going to list.

I was working away and got called into a last minute meeting. I returned to my desk about 1.5 hours after her listing time and I just knew all the Gryffindor House colors would be sold out.

I ran to my desk and guess what? There was one skein left of Gryffindor House. I was stunned. Still one more skein out there? I was meant to make these socks!

They look especially cute in my new clear Converse shoes. Have y'all seen these shoes? Perfect for the nerdy sock knitter like me! You can get them here.




Sock Books

Janel Laidman's sock book is out! I did a pre-order and got mine signed. They are now available for sale here.



I own a lot of sock books. I love some, I'm mediocre on others. This one is FAB-O. Go out and buy it.

I love each and every design in this book. Honestly I want to knit each and every one. (Move over Nihon Vogue!)

The night I received this book in the mail I lay in bed gazing over and over(and over and over and over) the pages of this book. Here is a sampling of the designs included in this book.

Rivendell

Of course you probably know this pattern - the Yarn Harlot made this famous. You can get the pattern in the book or you can purchase just the pattern here.



Biological Clock

Don't you love the DNA strands?



Northern Lights

The colorwork folks are not left out in the cold.



Thistle and Fox Socks - Lisa Lloyd

I purchased this booklet through Foxfire Fiber and Designs some time ago.

The designs in the booklet are timeless. I have a hard time finding designs that my man would wear. I found more than one in this book.

The design that prompted me to purchase this booklet is called Snowstar.

Another lovely pattern is Bluegrass.

I am a bit on a non-Nihon Vogue bent right now.

I'm a little frustrated trying to graft that darn v-neck ribbing(still). I am getting better at it. After sewing across almost a half a wrist ribbing I found this little not-quite-right stitch. Most folks won't even notice it but I know Jean will.

I get discouraged because it isn't *perfect*. Damn perfectionism.



The bad thing about perfectionism(there are lots of bad things) is that when something isn't perfect to me then I just want to set it down and never pick it up again. I don't like that I have this impulse but Nihon is really helping me to pick it back up and finish it. It may not be 100% perfect but just finishing it is a huge thing for me. That is probably why I have a multitude of UFO's in my house. Nihon is really, really helping me get beyond this impulse.

The non-knitting content:

Today driving into work, my sister Deb popped up in my head. She pops up at very significant times in my life. I think it is because she was my champion. She was my endless supporter and she is doing that even now. Even though she is no longer living.

I imagined her calling me tonight(which I know she would have) saying "Aren't you excited for your last day of work?". She would be supporting me telling me how excited she is for me. I get tears writing this. No matter what was going on with her, she always found time to show her interest in my life. I miss that love and demonstrativeness.

I didn't fully appreciate her interest in my life and how much she showed her love for me by just by making a quick phone call to say hi.

For most folks dreaming about retirement they could not imagine the transition from work life to retirement being a challenge. It is more challenging than I would have imagined. The future is full of unknowns(I know...full of endless opportunity as well).

I am also anxious leaving some people behind at work. The environment I am leaving is getting harder and harder to work in each week that passes. I care a lot about my friends there and hate to leave them behind. I will miss them a lot.

Today I received a letter in the mail from the National Marrow Donor Program saying that two of my co-worker's had made contributions in my name. I started crying. This gesture means a lot to me. (I told my work that I didn't want a party or gifts but they could make contributions to the NMDP). They went out of their way to really honor me and the time we have spent together in the workplace.

Ready or not tomorrow I graduate from work life!

Wow. It has been awhile!

I've had a lot to write about, just not a lot of time to do it in.

What will get me out of the quiets on the blog? A Meme.

Ellen meme'd me and I think I can do this quickly(I hope).

The rules: Are posted at the beginning. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer. Play nice, children.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? Let's see. 11 years ago I made a career change and was deep into the first year of transition. I was an accountant/CPA turning to software developer. I was working 12-16 hours a day on a Y2K project. I was a newby developer on a project that had many seasoned veterans and I was working many hours to just keep up. I was motivated to be successful in my new career so I spent many hours at the job.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today- not in any particular order? Have breakfast with my friend Jamie, color my hair, get cute wrapping paper for my friend Amy's birthday present, wash the bed linens, get started on a square for Ryan's afghan(see details here. It is the June 6 post.) You all probably know Ryan from Mossy Cottage Knits and Dulaan. She's going through a rough time and folks are contributing squares for an afghan. Go see Janine's post for details. She has done so much for people, it is time we do something for her.

3. Snacks I enjoy: I'm a junk food queen. I love any kind of food. If I eat something sweet, then I need something salty to follow. When I eat something salty then I need something sweet to follow. As you can tell, this can be a dangerous circle that never ends!

4. Places I've lived: I've only lived in two places during my almost 42 years of life. Ellensburg, WA and then Seattle, WA.

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Well. A Billion dollars is a lot of cash. I would give money to my sisters so they could retire. I would give money to my friends so they could retire and we could all play! I would give money to charity and maybe even start my own foundation for starving fiber artists.

6. What are some jobs you've had: My dad owned many rental properties and an apartment building. Early on(starting at age 7) I had to water outdoor plants, weed, paint, etc. As a teenager I worked in a local fast food drive-in as a cashier and I bussed tables at a local restaurant. In college I worked at the UW Huskly Athletic ticket office - in ticket sales. Also while in college I worked at NOAA as a computer hardware installer(changing out mother boards, etc). I have worked as an accountant and software developer.

7. Peeps I want to know more about: Jamie, Melinda(she probably won't do it though!), Michale, Peggy and Rebecca, Joni

Note: I have two more work days. Monday and Tuesday are it. It seems a bit of a letdown of sorts. Not sure why. I think it is because it doesn't feel real yet. Plus I'm fighting a summer cold and it has me feeling a but whimpy. You can bet I'll be posting more regularly very soon!

Another Nihon Vogue Weekend

I love the weekends I attend class for Nihon Vogue year one certification!

I learn so much! It is so cool!

Jean is such a wonderful instructor!

Don't have much time to write but here are some photos giving you a small hint about what we learned.

The next two photos show how Jean is teaching us about tank top fitting. Our crochet project is to crochet a tank top. Many students are crocheting a tank to fit themselves. I am going the smart route. Tank top for a 2 year old!





As part of the design process we must chart out every row, every stitch on the area of the armhole and neckline decreases for this crochet project. A very tedious task for homework. Luckily by doing the 2 year old size, there won't be as much work here for me.



Melinda is the only student done with her crewneck cardigan(I think she is the only one). Jean was telling us how to reinforce the neckline ribbing on a garment like this. This sweater is very heavy which can pull the neckline out of shape. We learned how to not only reinforce this area but how to keep it so it does not get stretched out.



We also learned how to attach a vertical button band onto our v-neck cardigan. There are many calculations that have to be made in order to make this work. Imagine knitting row upon row of a button band that goes from left front ribbing, up the front of the sweater, up and around the neck and back down the right front down to the right front ribbing. That is a lot of rows. It can be very tedious.

As part of the knitting of the vertical button band you need to calculate where the button holes are and hope that when all is said and knit up...that it fits the garment side as well. Of course it sounds like you leave it all to chance but there is a lot to calculate and make sure this all works out correctly.

Once you have done all that figuring and knitting, you have to learn to sew on the vertical button band to the garment. Here is Jean's illustration of how this is done. I'm actually looking forward to seeing how mine works out.



I am so very grateful to be given the opportunity to commit to such an amazing class. I have learned so much. As I discussed with my fellow students we acknowledge that it has been a very challenging year, full of growing pains. As difficult as things have been, I don't believe any of us would trade this experience. We still have to finish off the year but I think there are only two or three students out of the fifteen that are still undecided about committing to year two. The rest of my class has already committed to moving ahead to year 2.

Last night Greg asked me "If you had to decide today whether you were going to take year two, what would you decide?". I told him "I definitely would".

I look forward to trying all the things I learned in the past two days. It is nice to see my fellow students and teacher. I would definitely miss seeing them if I didn't continue with my Nihon education.

The woman that sits behind me was having a hell of a time with the button band calculations and the results over this weekend. She had to re-do it 4 times. I look at her as a seasoned knitter. She knows an awful lot and has years of experience. Not that I want Sarah to struggle but I realize that I am not the only one experiencing those hard earned growing pains.

We will celebrate when we complete year one(One student suggested lots of margaritas). This is definitely something to be proud of.

Still Behind

This coming weekend is a Nihon Vogue Weekend. I am perpetually behind.

The crewneck cardigan is coming out nicely. I am happy with the pattern and yarn but I'm disappointed in the fit of the sleeves. I added more ease with this pattern but It is still too tight. I blocked it to my design measurements. It is still too tight. I am going to try to block the sleeve out more so it is more comfortable to wear.

I think the overall fit of the sweater is going to be a bit tight. Read my prior post. I think I need to take new body measurements to base my designs on!

This is the progress I have made. For the sake of time I decided to do a 1X1 rib. I was going to do something more visually pleasing but I just don't have time. I just have to get this done. Originally I tried doing the ribbing in the same needle size as the pattern/body but it didn't look good. I am not fond of tighter ribbing like what it currently is, but it will have to do for now.



Remember the frogging of the seed stitch on the sides of the body? I took out just that secion to do it in pattern. Here is the sewn side seams. I think it looks pretty darn good. It isn't perfect and I had some issues figuring out where to pick up stitches at the yarn overs.



I still have to sew up one sleeve, attach the sleeves to the body and do the button/neck bands. This I want to finish before class on Saturday.

Here is my progress on the v-neck. As I was knitting the front neck decreases I checked the pattern against the 15 shoulder stitches on the back to make sure the pattern was going to match up. I checked it how many times and re-knit it once already. I was confident the end result as good. I blocked the pieces and went to sew the shoulder seams. No. Pattern is wrong. I have to undo the fronts down to the first yarn marker(see photo) and re knit.





I still have to knit a swatch for my vertical button band for the v-neck cardigan. Still have the sleeves to knit. Based on how my sleeves for the round neck cardigan fit, I am going to re-calculate the increases on the sleeves. Leave the sleeve cap the same width(don't want to have to re-knit the body armholes) and make the wrist width wider. I can leave the sleeve to knit after this upcoming class...

I want the v-neck cardigan in such a state that I can follow the vertical button band lessons in class.

I have abaondoned the grafting of the ribbing to be done on the v-neck pullover for now.

I don't know what it is with me and Nihon. I check my notes, I check my knitting, I check out how patterns are going to line up and I still have issues. I do believe it is my need to get knitting done and I just miss things because I am rushing to get it all done.

I know I will feel differently when I have more time. I know I will enjoy Nihon much more. Let's see, how many more work days? I work 4 days a week. I am requesting to take a vacation day this coming week to work on my homework, I have Memorial Day off...so that makes it Sweet 16!

Crochet? Yes. We have to do a crochet project. My swatches look like crap. I see mistakes but I just don't crochet and don't know how to read the stitches. I have never crocheted a garment. This is going to be interesting!

My swatches are in Knit Picks Gloss - fingering weight in Woodland Sage. The right swatch is done in a larger hook size. I want the most bang for my time! I bought this from a fellow Raveler. I didn't want to spend much on this project. I got 10 skeins for $25. I'm following Melinda's lead - child sized garment only.



I have been thinking about my final project. It is a design your own - which really is what we have been doing all along so it really isn't all that much different than our other projects.

I am going to knit my final project in Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk - creamy white. It will be an empire waist deep round neck cardigan sweater with a lace pattern on the top, down to the bustline, then stockinette from the bust-line down. The sleeves will have the lace pattern down to near the elbows, then stockinette with a flared sleeve. There will only be a few buttons from the neckline down to the bust and no buttons below.

I have a concept drawing done but nothing ready to show yet.

I know it is a long post but I must comment about Nihon Vogue. It is a rigorous and demanding course. I think the few of us with blogs may highlight our frustrations and our stress for time.

I have taken some time to really ponder whether I will take year 2. Before my vacation I was 95% sure I would continue. Now it is about 60%. I know I will have a better sense once I'm done working. I will have a month and a half from the time I retire and when we have our last class(which is when I have to know if I am taking year 2).

The reason for the decrease in likelihood is not a reflection on Jean or the course. There is just so much OTHER knitting I would like to do, not to mention spinning, too!

I have learned so much this past year. I KNOW I will use all of the techniques I have learned. It has taken my knitting to a whole new level. It has also given me a boost in confidence in my knitting. I know it may not sound like it from my nihon blog entries but I am much more confident in my abilities.

I must also comment that Jean is an incredible teacher. She is so kind and patient with all of us and our stresses, our impatience. She expects the best from herself and she expects that from us as well.

You know how you take classes and you get all jazzed and you may or may not use what you learn? I will walk away from year one with a sense of accomplishment and with many, many new tools in my knitting tool box! Who can say they knit 8 garments in 13 months?

Extra Baggage

Now isn't that a loaded title!

I've had a post in the wings for all of you regarding my trip to see the Manta Ray's. It was such a memorable night. I'm waiting for hubby to get my video up on Utube to share. As soon as he does, I will post that entry. In the meantime...I have a more serious post.

I have been pondering about a weighty subject, literally.

When Greg and I travel we have to be very conscious of how much our check-in luggage weighs in order to prevent having to pay for overweight luggage. We take so much diving and camera equipment. We have to be smart so we pack, weigh, re-pack and re-weigh, re-pack, etc.

I got to thinking...How much does my carry-on bag weigh? I packed of my laptop, various battery chargers, my priceless Nihon Vogue notes and minimum clothes I might need in case my checked in luggage gets lost or is delayed by a couple days(it does happen). My carry on weighed somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-22 pounds.

Well, when we arrived in Kona, we had to carry our carry-on luggage down the stairs to the tarmac. When we got home, I also had to carry this bag from the ground floor of our house up to the master bedroom(3 flights of stairs). It gets heavy and annoying if you can't just roll it around!

I have gained about that much weight since meeting Greg 8 years ago.

I had a light bulb moment.

The weight of my carry-on is what I carry around with me now, everywhere I go. I carry it up and down the stairs everyday at home, I carry it with me to the grocery store, I carry it EVERY-WHERE.

No wonder I feel more tired. No wonder why I feel more winded going up stairs. No wonder why I feel out of shape.

It has woken me up a bit about the reality of my weight gain and how much energy it takes to cart it around.

I have gained it slowly so I have not noticed how my body, bones and muscles have accommodated to deal with this additional load. When I had to lift and carry the bag I definitely noticed how much it made me work.

I don't want to carry that carry-on bag with me everywhere anymore. I wish getting rid of it was as easy as checking it in at the airport and sending it to some other destination!

It is true. I AM spoiled

I didn't post about it earlier. I'm somewhat embarassed.

It is true. I admit it. I am spoiled.

Greg bought me a new Louis Vuitton while we were on Maui. It is his gift to me to celebrate my retirement(as if getting to retire wasn't enough!).

He really liked this new style that just came out - Galliera PM.

Greg is really a thoughtful husband. After I chose which bag I wanted he was nice enough to ask if there was anything else I wanted!

A Happy Wife is a Happy Life. :)



We have our 5 year anniversary coming up in June. I told him that since we both got such a late start in life, marriage-wise, that for every year we are married it really counts as two. I think you earn it too because the longer it takes for a person to get married for the first time, the harder it is to learn to compromise...hence the credit for two years for every year of marriage. Sounds reasonable, no?

That really is just ego justification logic for better anniversary gifts. HA!

Actually this bag is a retirement, anniversary, birthday gift! See I can be reasonable! :)

On a completely different note:

I DID get to see a turtle today! It was absolutely thrilling. She was just swimming around and she let me swim alongside her. Then after following her for awhile, so close I could almost touch her, she came to to surface for air. I could see her open her mouth and get some air, saw a few bubbles in the water as she went back under and followed her for a bit more before the surge took me too close to the rocks. Oh it was so cool!

I am glad Greg got some video of it. I am going back there tomorrow!

I hope this is a good omen for seeing the Manta's tonight! We went into the dive shop this past Saturday to sign up for the Manta trip and the night before the Manta's did not show up. Now that would be very disappointing!

Wish us luck!

The Good, Bad and the Ugly

We went to a shave ice place in Kailua-Kona...close to a really, really good hole-in-the-wall restaurant. This little corner of Kailua-Kona is my favorite!

Now this is authentic Shave Ice. When you look at this photo - this is the size SMALL shave ice.




This brought back memories. When I was a child, my dad bought us a shave ice machine. It was all manual but I can still see it in my mind. You would freeze water in this specific shaped mold that would fit into this machine, turn the hand crank to get the ice shaved and add this sugary syrup to it. I can still see me and Trish fighting over who was going to turn the crank! [Trish, do you remember that?]

Having this "real" shave ice made me very happy!

What didn't make me happy is my NihonV homework. I have been playing with the V-neck cardigan back. I was trying to figure out how to fix my mistake on the provisional cast-on. After futzing with it I just decided to tear the whole thing out.

What happened? I had done a provisional cast-on but rather then stockinette the first 3 rows, I started immediately in pattern. This was my mistake. I won't ever do that again. See? The more you make mistakes the more you learn!

In the last class I learned how to do an invisible cast-on specifically for seed stitch which is what I was planning on doing for the ribbing. I wish I had learned this Before I started my project but I didn't. So yesterday I tore out the back. I was done up to the armhole.

Yes. I tore out the back. I will have to do this with the front also because...I want them to look consistent, especially at the side seams.

I was sad but I just could not figure out how to *fix* my boo boo at the beginning of the back.

Here is the before:



Here is the after with ribbing:


I am still struggling with the V-neck pullover..trying to graft on the "ribbing", invisible cast-on piece (same as my pattern stitch)to the main piece. Since we had not learned the invisible cast-on when I started this project I did the provisional cast-on. With my pattern stitch the 1/2 stitch off between provisional cast-on and ribbing would be very apparent. This is another example of: If I stayed really behind in my homework I would learned the cast-on before I got started and save myself this challenge. I guess it requires me to learn more than other students in my class.

In fact one student has only done stockinette stitch in all her projects. I could have done that to save myself all this headache but I wouldn't have learned nearly as much either.

Here is the pre-grafting materials. The bottom part of the photo - the purple is what I am trying to graft on the main part of the knitting, the white is the material that is my guide to graft with the real yarn - this is the graft row, the pink is just a placeholder which will go away as I graft the bottom("ribbing") to the body.



I am learning a lot about reading stitches and how the stitches are made and what loop goes with this and what loop makes up that. I still can't get the grafting to look right and I really wanted to finish up this project before next class.

With all the time I have taken to try to figure this out, I may just wait until I see Jean and have her help me with it. I just don't have the time to spend on all this fixing right now. I don't like feeling stressed on my vacation!

I am just beginning to get the hang of the grafting but the yarn is very fuzzy, making it hard to easily see the stitches. When I graft it, the front look passable but there are some stitches that are not right on the back side. I am sure Jean could just go *zip, zip, zip* (my attempt at sound in words) and have it all stitched up in no time.

I want to learn how to do this correctly. I don't want her to do it for me.

Now I am off to do some relaxation. I am on the hunt to see some turtles. I've been dying to see turtles! Tonight we are doing a night snorkel(kind of scares me!) to hopefully see the big Manta Rays. Last time Greg was here he saw 10 and they were all swimming around the divers and snorkelers. See the site of the outfit we are going with HERE.

I hear Seattle is cold and rainy. Sorry guys! I will try to bring the sunshine home with me!

Miss Dem Boyz

You all know I am just *slightly* attached to my boys. I have been away from them for 11 days now.

Here are some photos I had on my phone.









My sister Trish is taking good care of them. I call her just about every third day to find out how they are doing. I would call her everyday but I'm sure she would get sick of me calling just to see if they are doing ok.

She did tell me her son Connor had some friends over one night for a pizza dinner and Chase was wrestling with some kid for a piece of pizza. The kid yelled out to Trish "Chase is attacking me". Imagine seeing Chase, a 10 pound Yorkie(yes, he is a giant Yorkie), duking it out with some 80-90 pound kid? Trish said Chase got a good couple bites out of the pizza before she could get it from him. No wonder he likes staying with Auntie Trish!

The only stories I get about Beanie are that he is so easy and he just loves to sit and cuddle on the couch. Maltese were bred for that and he is true to his breed.

One downside of our travels is being away from "the boys". Even Greg admits he is missing them. He mentioned we needed to find a place where we could take them and stay for a few months(we could do this in Bonaire - one of Greg's favorite diving places. He has friends that have a house there and they always bring their dog)!

I never thought I would ever hear him say such a thing because initially he didn't want to meet me because I had two dogs.

Those boys have a way of worming their way into a person's heart. They sure have worked their magic on Greg. Boy am I glad they did!

Our Daily Bread

I had issues getting this posted yesterday. First, blogger was having problems uploading photos. Then when we arrived at our new home away from home, the internet service was not working.

Thank goodness for the iPhone! Since we are "renting" this condo, the don't provide a contact number, just an e-mail. Kind of hard to e-mail if you can't get on the internet, huh? So I just emailed them from my iPhone. Gotta love this phone.

Here is the original post:

This is our last morning at Two Mermaids. I have enjoyed our stay here very much. Being away from the hustle and bustle of the crowds has done wonders for my soul. I had have some much needed rest and I am on the road back to feeling like Naomi again.

Every morning, Juddee brings us a wonderful plate of goodies for breakfast. Here is a sample of what we got in our basket set outside our door.



I also have some random photos of me and my food on the trip.

I had this really yummy french onion soup at a restaurant on Maui called Cafe O' Lei. The soup was delicious and much more than an appetizer size! This could have been my whole meal. The angle at which the photo was taken does not give you true perspective on the size, but it was quite large!



Here I am at the Tommy Bahama Cafe at the Shops at Wailea enjoying a mango martini!



Finally some photos of us at Spago. I'm enjoying the Poke inspired Wolfgang Puck appetizer while Greg sits back and enjoys the awesome view.




We went to the local Farmer's Market this morning after our morning coffee. It is just like the ones at home. We stopped off at this beautiful orchid stand...can't believe how cheap the prices are for cut orchids.





Of course I'm at the Farmer's Market and I go to the booth's with food. Here I am with homemade yummy's in the background.



I'll leave you with a photo of the view from our new place. We want to go out and explore now. I really want to go next door to the beach...this is where Greg saw lots of turtles last time. Have a great day!

Deb, did you see us?

Last night Greg and I dined at Spago at the Four Seasons Hotel in Wailea.

The hotel is absolutely gorgeous! It is so luxurious and the service impeccable.

The reason why I titled my post "Deb, did you see us?" is because my sister Deb, the one that died of pancreatic cancer, would vacation at the Four Seasons Maui every year with her husband. When they had their daughter, then the three of them would enjoy vacations there. I heard stories of seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger with Maria and their kids there as well as how she and Morgan Fairchild became friends while staying there.

Deb would have been in her element there! As I looked from the balcony table we sat at dinner last night, I could only think of Deb and replaying some of the memories she shared with me about her visits there. She loved the Four Season's Maui and looked forward to their annual vacations there. I felt especially close to her knowing how many vacations she spent there.

More about our dinner experience.

The staff was perfect.

Our "bread girl", which is what I called her(I know, it is not the most respectful - sorry!) because she came to each table offering bread - there were 5 types and all freshly made. So delicious. She was from Ballard! We chatted it up with her throughout the night which was very fun.

We had a very extravagent dinner last night - Greg loves these kinds of outings. Honestly this is not my kind of place(I like the more low-key places) but Greg loves this kind of experience. I call this kind of place - "where the beautiful people are!".

The view was beautiful and we booked our reservation early enough so we could see the sunset.

The food was excellent. I had Wolfgang's version of Poke for an appetizer and it was absolutely memorable. No wonder it is a signature appetizer. Greg enjoyed seafood risotto which was incredible as well. I thought about Michale when he ordered it...Michale is crazy about risotto.

We enjoyed a bottle of Cab from a Washington winery called Amavi. It was very good wine.

For the main course, Greg had Seared Ahi Tuna while enjoyed a Macadamia Nut crusted Mahi Mahi. I wouldn't order the Mahi Mahi again. It was ok but the Ahi was delicious!

I did not indulge in dessert because I was just too full. Greg had a nice glass of port to top off the evening.

It was a memorable experience and I wish I would have brought my camera!

Sorry for the lack of photos! I just have not been taking many photos at all!

Tomorrow we are off to the Big Island to enjoy another 8 days of sunshine! I will take more photos, I promise!

More Maui Ramblings

First off, a big round of applause and Thank You to Melinda.

She saved my bacon(which is getting bigger and bigger here - such yummy food!) For one, she transcribed Jean's DVD for the 2X2 invisible cast-on for me. Then she also realized/researched/told me that on Jean's website, that one of Jean's DVD samples is on the 2X2 invisible cast-on! Thank goodness! I've been saved!

Go HERE and you can sample Jean's DVD as well. As I said in my last post, I would highly recommend this DVD!

Yesterday we headed up to Lahaina for lunch. Greg wanted to eat at a place with a view so we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. We sat at a table that was open to the street and had a view of the water. It was very pleasant. Here is a not so good photo from our table.



Here is a photo Greg took...

Honestly I was not fond of Lahaina. It is too tourist-y for my taste. I don't know what I expected.

We walked up Front Street. I HAD to go into the CROC's store(the only store I ventured into). Admittedly I *used* to think Croc's were ugly. Then I got a pair and became a convert. They are SO comfortable! Now I own several colors/styles.

Here I am in the Croc store, looking like I got caught with my hand in the cookie jar:



Greg and I got in a little tiff ("How many of these do you need?" he asks. It is kind of like asking "how much yarn do you need?". This did not go over very well with me as you can imagine! He should know better than to say that to me!) He should be careful. Why? We went into the Louis Vuitton store at the Wailea shops a couple days ago. I threated him yesterday as we were walking up Front Street that today while he was off diving I was going to buy this cute new LV style I had my eye on for a retirement gift from him to me!

Which collection of things would he prefer I add to? Croc's or Louis Vuitton?

Back to the Croc's. I just thought this style was so cute. If you aren't a Croc's fan you won't be able to relate to why I thought these were cute. I'm really a granola/earthy type deep down. Really I am - my sister's always laugh at this. I know...Naomi wearing her Croc's carrying her Louis Vuitton's. Ok, I'm only part earthy.

I stormed down Front Street, totally forgetting to check out the knit shop that I told Joni about. She went there and I didn't. Go check out her blog and read about her yarn. Funny story!

It didn't take us long to be done with walking around Lahaina. We got Shave Ice(like a snow cone but much better!) on the way to the car to head back "home".

On Maui we are staying at a Bed and Breakfast called the Two Mermaids.
Their site does not do the place justice. We are in the poolside suite. Last time Greg was here he stayed in this same room/place but it was just the studio. This time he booked the full suite so we have a full separate bedroom and the studio, combined.

I love it here because it feels like we are just visiting relatives. We are away from the commercialized Hawaii, which is what I prefer.

Here is our view from our chaise lounges. It is so nice to go out our door and lay in the sun/shade, reading.



Here is the entrance to our home away from home. You can see Greg going in at left.



This morning we were up at 4:30 am. Both of us couldn't sleep. We would have to get up at 5am anyway.

Our daily routine is to head over to Piilani Village Shopping Center...



to get our morning Coffee.



Greg has already made acquantances with another man he sees at 5:20 am. Today I met an adorable and friendly dog that let me pet him all I wanted. Made me really miss my boys.

I had to call my sister right then and there to get the latest on Chase and Beanie. (Don't worry-5:20 our time was 8:20 Seattle time) As usual she describes Chase as a character, and Beanie as such a cutie. She also relates how easy they are to take care of. Yep. Sounds about right.

I drop Greg off at the boat at 6am and head back *home* which is less than 5 minutes from the boat launch.

Well enough for now. I'm off to do may daily routine. Sit out at the pool in the afternoon and just read and nap! I'm starting to look more like a local rather than a Haole.

Oh. Funny quick story. Last night we did take out because I didn't want to get dressed up to go out. So we are waiting at the Hawaiian take out place. There were some locals in front of us and when they packaged up their order they asked if they wanted "Shoyu". I grew up calling soy sauce Shoyu.

When our order is ready they ask "do you want soy sauce?". It must have been Greg that made them think we were Haole! :)

Jean, Help!

Yesterday morning I got intent and serious about doing homework. I was all set to frog back my V-Neck Pullover. After talking with my fellow Nihon student Sarah, she had me convinced I could just undo the provisional cast-on and frog up and undo the front, back and sleeves to my preferred length.

No. This doesn't work. You have to cut. Which took me much longer than I had anticipated. {WHINE}

I go to start my invisible Cast-On so that I can do the ribbing and eventually sew it on to the body. I thought I had written instructions on how to do the 2X2 invisible cast-on. This is why I DID NOT bring my Knitting with Jean DVD. NO, I DO NOT HAVE THE WRITTEN NOTES EITHER. So I cannot finish the project. I brought it all the way to Hawaii and...I have the pieces but cannot completely finish this. {BIGGER, LOUDER WHINE. ALMOST A SCREAM}

I love Jean's DVD. If you don't own this, I would highly recommend it. Maybe I could get Jean to overnight me a new copy(not really, Jean). Actually I'm hoping Joni brought hers! Maybe I could borrow hers for a night and watch/take notes.

I worked a little bit on my homework last night. I was working on finishing up a sleeve for the Crewneck Cardigan.

We have been tooling around the island a bit. It is so beautiful. Many of the South Pacific islands Greg and I have traveled to are much less populated and very much less developed. This feels like being at home. You don't need a passport, you don't need foreign currency and you don't need to take multiple flights. I'm liking Hawaii.

Most of you probably don't know this but my dad was born and raised on Oahu. His siblings still live there. I don't know my cousins from that side of the family very well at all. I feel connected to the Hawaiian islands but I have always chosen to travel to further, more foreign destinations. That may change now. I love that it is only a 6 hour flight. That is nice!

I would post photos but I haven't taken many. The ones Greg has taken of me are mostly food related. You would think all I am doing here is eating!

Yesterday was a gorgeous day. Lots of sun! I saw the amazing Lava Fields(too lazy to load the photos). I promise photos soon.

I hit a milestone on this trip. The first full day I was here, I felt relaxed. I don't know how to convey it. I felt an inner relaxation that I have not felt in about 2 years, honestly. I told Greg and he could see it.

The last big trip we took was about a year ago to Bonaire. I thought I would get that relaxed feeling then but I had the skin cancer scare and Chase was admitted to the hospital while we were gone-I was pretty stressed out. I just haven't had any down-time. The work project I was on has been a big stress. It is so nice to feel that peace and relaxation again.

Fast forward to last night. I had this stress dream. After not having what I need to finish one of my Nihon projects I started stressing out about getting all my course work done!

I had a crochet stress dream. You know I don't crochet and yet I have to complete a Nihon Vogue crocheted garment.

I dreamt I was at this bookstore and I was perusing all these really cool vintage crochet books. I had my eye on a couple of them thinking, "I could use these for my class project". Then I was thumbing through one and went to go pick out the other ones and the whole bookshelf was GONE. I was thinking "where did that whole bookshelf go? That can.not be! A whole bookshelf gone?". I looked around and was just confounded. Inthe dream I was stressed out, thinking "those books would help me do my homework! What will I do now?". I looked around the bookstore and could not find that one bookshelf.

Maybe I am getting anxious about the crochet project?

Getting Used to my New Job

Here I am getting used to my new "job". I'm looking at this two week trip like intensive training for my next job.....relaxation!!!! Hee hee.

I have been a heavy caffeine addict lately(work stress combined with not sleeping = extra caffeine consumption). I woke up with a headache.

The bed and breakfast we are staying at provides us the most yummy fruit platter delivered to our door every morning. We chowed down on that and quickly ran out for my caffeine fix. This is me this morning enjoying my much needed Starbucks. (Don't look too closely on what I am knitting....it isn't homework. It is my BMFA sock club socks!) Also don't look at my pasty looking skin! That will surely change of the course of the next couple weeks!



We just arrived last night on Maui. The weather a welcome change from Seattle! I just looked at the weather report for Seattle and it got down to 34 last night at home. Almost hit the record. BBBBRRRRRRRRR

I must report that 1/2 of my luggage space was taken up by my Nihon homework stuff. There were pieces of projects, yarn, tools, and my very voluminous notes.

I am planning on meeting up with Joni this week. She is a fellow Nihon Vogue student. She arrives tomorrow.

Greg and I are off now to venture about the island. More of Maui(and homework progress, hopefully) soon.

26 Days

I'm feeling especially good today. Monday, we discovered there was a problem with a process in the budget system. I had to do a re-design and re-coding of a somewhat complex process for the production budget system because it needs to run very soon in production and I believe I solved the problem today. Coded, tested and ready to migrate to the user acceptance testing environment in the morning.

I felt triumphant leaving the office today.

This morning I received a very annoying email from someone that breathes purified air(how we describe the folks in charge) so I took a few minutes to look at the calendar and count the actual number of WORK days left before I leave, retire, look freedom in the eye.

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