ZEKs LITE

Sheep and Wolf

That's what L calls the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival.  We arrived early enough to get good parking and to enjoy the place before it got too crowded.

The Sheep-to-Shawl competition was in full swing.  Everyone had a role -- the carders, spinners, weavers and all.

Folks were wearing their knitted things, and their dyed things, and they dyed themselves as well.

Some very strange new knitting fibers are out these days.  I can't exactly call this yarn, but you can knit it.

Lace and shawls were capturing us this year.  Many glorious stitches!

Many wonderful colors!

Some time with good friends, some funny faces (little E was good as gold for several hours, what a trouper!).

I left with a bag of yarn for knitting a fat cabled sweater.

 

And a lot of other stuff, Prague

There's just way too much.  I give up.  Here's a random assortment of things Prague.

Zip lines.  Oh yes, the parks have several, even for grown-ups.

The metranome installed to take the place of the Stalin monument. 

It's now a youth hangout, with skateboarding, shoe-hanging and street art.

Also it's got a fantastic view.

We hadn't known that the Golem was a Prague story.

It was good times. Thanks so much, B-O-P!

More sights in Prague - town and Park

In Prague one must visit the John Lennon wall, with its ever-evolving patterns of graffiti.

And a trip into the Old Jewish Quarter is important.  It is a lot to take in.

There's a lot to eat.

If you are age 2, none of this matters.  You care more about ants.  O told us not to eat them.

Then there's that elevator that never stops moving, with no doors.  You just hop in.

This is why it is fun to visit locals.  If B and P hadn't had to come here to file their taxes, we'd never have found such a fun thing. 

We feel a little silly for finding such simple differences as fascinating as the wonderful old architecture, but we do.

Castle and Clock

Certain things one expects to see in Prague. 

The castle, with
St. Vitus Cathedral.

The cathedral has some wonderful gargoyles.

We expect to cross the Charles Bridge and take in the view.

We travel to Old Town Square with the astronomical clock (so old the earth is still the center of the universe, sun revolving around).  We watched the hour strike and Death rang his bell while the Apostles toured past the opened windows, giving us their blessing.

We checked out the Easter markets, ate trdelniks (one must!).

Generally, a lot to see in not a lot of time!

Photos from Prague

Oh my, the catch-up week is longer than expected.  But finally I have some photos.

We had a fantastic time in Prague!

We had the best hosts.  B and P greeted us with beer cheese (mash the stinky cheese with onions, paprika, beer and I don't know what else) and took us on wonderful walks, showed us sights. 

Little O, who turned two while we were there, was a very good traveller.  He told us what was safe to eat and what wasn't.  "Don't eat dog poo!!!"

In the neighborhood, we visited the grocery store (where Whip Man presides, apparently) and the local farmer's market, where you can get wonderful pastries, chickens that haven't been bread to absurd proportions, and fantastic salami. 

B can pack a lot in that stroller.  Groceries, extra clothes, a bicycle... everything except little O.

Knitters, pay attention to that bowl of eggs on the left.  Wire mesh knit around the eggs!

More to come, day by day.

Back from Spring Break

Happy Easter! 

We're back from Spring Break in Prague, where we visited Aunt B, Uncle P and little O.  Oh the many photos we have collected and the many good beers we drank.  I'll put up pictures in a few days, perhaps along with an album.  I took over 600 photos...

The eggs above depict a Czech Easter tradition.  Read about Easter Monday here.  This is the short version from the same source:

The origin of the pomlázka tradition (pomlázka meaning both the whip and the tradition itself) dates back to pagan times. Its original purpose and symbolic meaning is to chase away illness and bad spirits and to bring health and youth for the rest of the year to everyone who is whipped with the young pussywillow twigs. Boys would whip girls lightly on the legs and possibly douse them with water, which had a similar symbolic meaning. An Easter carol, usually asking for an egg or two, would be recited by the boy while whipping. The girl would then reward the boy with a painted egg or candy and tie a ribbon around his pomlázka. As the boys progressed through the village, their bags filled up with eggs and their pomlázkas were adorned with more and more colorful ribbons.

I made sure to buy a pomlázka of my own while we were there
(E hasn't whipped me with it though).

Yarnies!

Another year at
the HomeSpun
Yarn Party at Savage Mill. 

There's something festive and friendly about it. 

The converted old mill is a wonderful place, full of artsy shops, a good bakery and a pub with a live band.  The last weekend in March, it's for the yarnies.

Folks from the fiber arts guild and the knitting group came out to see the local products by local dyers, alpaca and sheep farmers, soap makers, etc.

The yarn party is a place to see colorful fibers and colorful people.

It's where everyone wears their shawls. 

In her amazing green and yellow shawl and hat (and matching socks), N was easy to spot in the crowd.

She donated many hats to the charity knitting/crochet group. I knit a few rows on a hat.

It's OK to be brightly colored here.

It's OK to dress like you're at Ren Fest. Or wear stretchy knitted skirts.  Anything goes.

A little more festivity

Before the new year begins, just a little more Christmas.

A little more of a choral performance by friend in a beautiful place...

Where we saw a lovely handknit sweater with an interesting stitch pattern up the sleeve...

A little more hot cocoa in a festive chocolate shop...

A few more tasty treats...

A last look at all the bobbles...

(these last 4 photos by Z)

And one last bit of Christmas knitting.

New York in a Day

I'm over a week late with this one -- I finally got to the pictures on E's camera.  Last weekend (8 days ago) E and Z hopped a bus to New York for the day. 

It made for a very long day, but the price was right.  The trip was booked through E's office, and they ran out of tickets just as my number came up.  So I will have to take the next one. 

They went to Chelsea Market...

walked the high line...

roamed the city, where they saw lots of drunken Santas and one Hanukkah Harry.  I am told he looked like a blue Santa with a dreidel on a long staff.  They were out on a bar crawl and not quite depicting the usual spirit of the season (also not captured on camera, darn it!) so E does not advise bringing small Santa-belivers to New York City during the holidays.

E met some silly puppets and coincidentally he is now committed to performing a puppet show at church for Epiphany (he can't wait)...

and ate many tasties.  E swears this is the best waffle ever.

Ren Fest

We went over to the Maryland Rennaissance Festival on Labor Day.  It runs weekends from late August through October.

More like a Mideval Fest, really.  A little bit Rennaissance, a little bit Mad Max. 

Plenty of wenches.  I was really wishing for a bosom, so I could hike it up and let it spill out of the top of my bodice.  Maybe I'll get a costume that includes that for next year.  At least a third of the folks there were costumed.

Big surprise to me was the artwork; good stuff!  I forgot to photograph a lot of it, especially some excellent pottery. 

I also forgot to photograph all the food on a stick.  Turkey legs were a big deal.  Mac & cheese on a stick too.  Best to just eat the ribbon fries and funnel cakes!

More South, some birthday

Here are a few more pictures of recent events.

It was necessary to stop at South of the Border, with its immense tacky displays.  But once was enough.

As usual, we did our share of eating, including Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah.

Z loved the Rolls Royce at the Dali museum, with the mermaid in the back seat.  We peeked at the home of Flannery O'Connor in Savannah, and her church, St. John the Baptist.

The Dali Museum really needs to be seen from both inside and out.

Our nature hike wasn't all horrible huge bugs; we did see this magic purple mushroom, and some interesting signage.

Z got some tutorials from Me-Mom; how to crochet a worm...

and how to bake a pie.  I finished a pair of socks.

We ate some gelato and Z photographed interesting bicycles.

When we got home, we had a little bit of birthday.  Sweet Z made me a cheesy berry pie-thing, and she painted my toes.  Later we'll have an indoor picnic with friends (the outdoors being too stinking hot).

My gift to myself was the completion of a secret goal:  I'm 41, and I can run.*  Five miles! 

Thank you, Z for this fun card!

*On the treadmill.  On the ground it's less.  But it's progress!

Little Road Trip South

So many photos to go through, and we've been back three days, but I still haven't gotten to them.  Today will be the day.  Here are some tidbits.

Walking through Savannah, Georgia in the daytime, we found many little windows to peek through.

We enjoyed the squares, especially Lafayette.
We took a walk at night time through the old historic district.  Took a ghost tour.  Ate some fried foods.

We could have easily spent another one or two days; didn't even get to see Tybee Island and the beach.

In Florida we visited Me-Mom and Pop-Pop.  I deleted all the scary spider photos from the camera, as our nature walk turned into the Hike of Horrors. 

A similar sort of experience was the Salvadore Dali museum in Petersburg, FL.  The museum itself was a wonderful structure.  The paintings and films were mind-bending, disturbing, not the sort of thing you should expose your 13-year-old daughter to. 

More to come, along with the knitting I did or didn't do.

Checking out the arts at Kentlands Mansion

Z and I were in the art supply store when we saw a flyer for an art show.  The artist's name looked familiar -- the mother of one of Z's school friends.  So we went to the Kentlands to check out the show.

I don't know why, but we'd never been out here before.  It was about time.  Lovely house, lovely grounds.  Z took some indoor photos that will probably pop up on her blog soon.

Marie Riccio's paintings were great.  It's inspiring to look in on what local artists are doing.  We'll have to have more field trips this summer.  Art, jogging, berry picking... we have some things to do.

Taking photos is more than half the fun.  Z took this one of me.  I rarely get to be in photos so it's good to have another photographer around.

Sitting in the sun

Black Ankle Winery on a sunny Saturday.  This is a place with water-free landscaping that reminds me of central Oregon, gardens on the rooftops, and a stony picnic area.  We had some wine, bread, cheese, fruit... and a visit from a good friend to take the picture for us.

Z does not drink wine, of course, but we brought some sparkling cranberry juice along, so everyone could have a festive beverage.

Weekend in PA

Thanks to the magic of canned posts, I seemed to be home on Saturday.  But we were actually several hours north. We stayed at the Toots Hotel (Aunt J).

It was the tradtitional Memorial Day Weekend picnic.  We saw a
T-ball game and ate burgers (except cousin R, who only eats potatoes--here they are). 

There were Jello flags, hearts and some other shape that represented Memorial Day.  It made for a colorful plate. 

There were salads that were mainly composed of sour cream, cream cheese and bacon, with some peas and iceberg lettuce thrown in for fiber.  And lots of watermelon. 

Z got worn out with over eight hours of playing with little kidlets.  She has a post about it on her blog.  E got the thrill of reading magazines and newspapers in someone else's house.  He really does like that -- simple pleasures!

I got to relax in the swing a bit.

Maryland Sheep and Wool!

It's what I wait for every year.  Fibers and Critters and people wearing their shawls and socks and pins!

N and I went on Saturday.  That's the busy day and Sunday is better, but we went when we could.

Felting is in.  It's for sculpture, weaving, wearing, everything.

There's a lot of cuteness to behold.

Animals, for example...

The occasional scary thing...

Rooms full of very tempting things...

And people who arrive early to get the best of them.  These are the fleeces.  I resisted.

We checked out the competition entries and the art.  Wonderful.

I always find something to inspire me.
And to eat. This is apple strudel.
There's never enough time to see every bit of it. I'd come back for a second day if I could.

And I'd buy a weaving loom, and that fabulous book of woven scarf patterns I almost bought even though I don't have the tools to use it...

Some day,
some day.

Fun at the Navy Yard

Last weekend we had a day of play at the Navy Yard.  We toured a small ship for fun and E got to explain all its insides to Z.

Check out that big yarn there.  Here's more, with knots.

We visited the Navy Museum.  It's a pretty neat place.  For me, it's neat for a lesser amount of time than it is for E, who I think could stay a lot longer.

We did a little picnic in the park nearby.  We were with friends, and Z and her friend E made little foil boats to put on the pool, and watched how the waterfall propelled them to the other side.

 

 

Our man at Cambridge

Two weeks ago E went to Cambridge, England.  That's when there was a looming government shut-down and we didn't know if he'd have to come home halfway through.  Thankfully, he got to stay.

Usually E doesn't take a lot of pictures when he travels, but this time he filled up the camera.  It took a long time to get through them all.  Here are just a few choice photos of his very fun work trip.

E toured many exciting things in both Cambridge and London, and the pictures are lovely.  I think there are a disproportionate number of pictures of candy, cakes and biscuits!

So Tired

The Rummage Sale is over.  I still have a roomful of pretty things to take to a consignment shop, but the big Thing is over and the crazy shoppers are at home with their new stuff.

I'm exhausted.  I didn't even put in half the hours that most of the workers in their 70s did.  As usual, they outlast me in every way.  I feel like Gus here, who spent all his time snuggling with the pillows and blankets.

E is in England.  We thought he was coming home early, with the government shut-down looming for so long.  But he stays another week to eat his pub food and cheese sampler plate.  He says this is a typical dinner offering at Cambridge.  The wine is free too.  We'll have lots of photos of London and Cambridge when he gets back.

This is where we walked, this is what we ate

We live in the DC metro, and most folks who come to visit want to see historical sites, museums, monuments and so forth.  Mom has seen all that.  She wants to play Scrabble (she got at least two bingos this week) and talk, walk, eat, sew, cook and maybe go out once or twice but mostly talk.  Ellicott City, with its cute shops and lovely alleys on the hillside, was as far as we ventured while she was here.

The brewery in Ellicott City had some of the best beers we've had out here.  Back home we had pizza and black bean soup and a fabulous pork loin with apples in a wine sauce, roasted peppers and potatoes and asparagus (much more appetizing than this picture).  Also we ate up a casserole dish of cheesy pasta and leftover chicken noodle soup.  And there was a large bowl of fresh guacamole that got consumed in I think 15 minutes.  Plus four pounds of strawberries, half a bag of apples, four quarts of yogurt, two bunches of bananas and two bottles of wine.  So we did well.

Oh, and fudge.  I ate lots of Mom's fudge.

Indie Dyer sale

Road trip!  If half an hour drive counts as a road trip.  Cramming all our hams into a single vehicle does make the trip seem long.

Some knit group gals and I went to Frederick, MD, to see the Indie Dyer sale.  I stocked up on Wild Hare yarn and fiber.  I've never spun one of these funky batts before, so I will give it a try.  It has sparkles!

And we ate well.  I neglected to photograph the fancy chocoates in the pretty box with the ribbon bow on top.  Too late now!

Happy New Year!

Where did the last week go?  I actually had a few days where my fingers didn't hit the computer keys.  They hit the camera button a lot and I can barely face the photo editing.  Bit by bit I shall, but here are just a few.

We got our fill of museums.  When I asked Z if she'd ever been to the Museum of the American Indian, she said, "YES.  Lots of times."  Oh. 

So then why not hop over to the Botanical Gardens, where it is WARM and not 25 degrees outside...

Where the wait to see the train and all the cute little elves is really really long.  So we will instead look at all the lovely greenery.

And while Aunt K spent three hours sobbing in the Holocaust museum, we checked out the pop-up books in the American History museum. 

On New Year's Eve we put together puzzles and watched Times Square.  In the nooks and crannies of our busy fun week, Aunt K sewed up a larger-than-life version of one of Cousin S's monster drawings.

Z was in love.

Today I will hop over to the pottery shop, to see what has become of another fun day we had.  Mess-making is our favorite way to be together. 

We don't get to be together enough.  It wasn't our plan to have family spread all over the globe, so such times are treasures.

Holidays

If you've been watching Z's blog, you've seen some of what we've been up to lately. 

Instead of going to West Virginia for Christmas eve, snowy West Virginia came to us.  On Christmas day, we headed north for Christmas with the Cousins.  Aunt Toots (Mimi on Z's blog) put us up with cozy beds and morning tasty waffles.

At the Cousins' home, we did what we all love to do: eat, talk, play games, open presents, eat, talk some more.  It was a jolly holiday.

I get a kick out of the festive decor and the personalized gingerbread placemarkers.

There's always strung popcorn on the tree and gingerbread houses on the table. 

Look how they glob it on!

I also enjoy Toot's "Fluff thing."

Once home, we headed to the airport, to greet our west coast cousins.  They are with us now for some winter break in the district. 

We spent a good chunk of an afternoon in the Museum of Natural History, where we examined crystalization and neanderthalization.

Last night we hovered about Union Station before our night-time trolley tour. 

These gals are doing well at not requiring a time conversion -- we are all living on west coast time!

  
The tour was chilly but excellent, thanks to a really great tour guide.  I only knit on the trolley a little bit.

Strings and things for sale

The Potomac Fiberarts Guild held their every-two-years auction on Saturday.  Two years ago I was lucky to spend only five dollars.  This time, I did some bidding.

Some of the donated items calling to bidders to support the guild.  I won this second one, made by Creative Crocheter.

These candle holders were made from folded wire.  Lots of bids for these.  The food table was a hit too.

Naturally, the dessert section (this is Part I) was placed at the beginning of the food line.  And if you forgot to get some, there was Part II at the end.

Here's my haul.  Six dollars worth of yarn, as well as some felt and fabric.

 

A reception for the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef

Several friends in the fiber guild now have their work on exhibit in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.  It's the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef project, and I was N's lucky guest at the reception.  

It was amazing.  It made me want furniture like this, to live in Muppet land, to feel furry curly things about all the time.

Some of the things were not so furry.  There were multiple reefs.

The healthy reef.

The bleached reef.

The toxic reef.

And many other cases of hyperbolic crochet...

...some of which were made from things such as soda bottles, a VCR tape of Blazing Saddles, and plastic bags.  Some were beaded, some hung from the ceiling.

I took nearly 100 pictures, and there just isn't room for all of them.

Visit from Uncle A

This week we were happy to have a visit from an old friend, affectionately known to Z as Uncle A, and to me as good-friend-I've-known-since-I-was-14 and to E as a fellow converser on the topics of urban planning, history, and various isms, such as neoclassicalism, new urbanism, post-modernism... I hear a lot of isms when they are talking.

We visited some familiar places.  DC of course, and Frederick, and Alexandria.  It's been a good, relaxing time.

We have fun because A likes what we like: walking, looking, eating.  He likes shapes and patterns and the history and structures of buildings. 

So no one complains when we notice things like this, which A described as Chaos Imposed Upon Order or something to that effect.

It's OK to notice all the interesting colors, lines and shapes in the environment...

And it's OK to peek into people's gardens...
And to stand in the middle of the street if necessary for the desired photographic angle.

And what do you know -- someone besides me is taking the pictures, so I get to be in them! And honestly, I thought I was smiling. I need practice.

Back from the Big Apple

E and Z have returned from their adventure in New York!  Z is posting about it on her blog, She Came from Planet Z.  They had a great time rather affordably.

While they were eating pizza and running around Central Park, I was working the rummage sale.  I got home just a few minutes before they did, with a few groceries and the house still in the same mess it was when they left.

They were good to me.  They brought goodies.

Gallbladder must go

E had an unexpected two-night stay in the hospital this week.  He has gallstones.  Until we learned that, it was a lot of pain and a lot of tests.  What a relief to get the results: Good heart, good pancreas, good intestines.  Bad gallbladder. 

It will have to come out.  But not before E and Z take off for three nights in New York City.  We are so glad they get to go! 

And me, I get to help run the church rummage sale, wheee!  Friday we are open from 9 am to 8 pm.  Hoo boy.

Buckwheat cakes, West Virginia water

We spent the weekend in West Virginia with Granddad.  The annual Preston County Buckwheat Festival was as fun as ever.

We ate our cakes at the Kingwood firehall this year.  I dumped apple sauce on mine.  Z went for the syrup.

We looked at all the goods on display.

We felt compelled to purchase a sock monkey for our Halloween decorations.

 

The mini-cucumbers were our favorite oddity.

The whiskey and hot sauce bottles turned into lamps with sports teams and Elvis were interesting too.  

I always enjoy the weird art at the midway.  We topped off the day with peach moonshine.  Where Granddad gets it, we will never know, but he says he has his sources.  It comes in a mason jar, just like it should.  Yum.

All in all, a lovely fall getaway! 
  

Visiting Frank and Nellie

Yesterday we did some house tours, because the weather was lovely and the weekend is quiet. 

We toured the Woodlawn Plantation in Virginia (just down the road from Mount Vernon) and the  Frank Lloyd Wright Pope-Leighy house, which has been moved to the plantation property.

Frank was an odd duck, he was.  Those vertical windows were not what he wanted -- the owner put them in 90 degrees differently from the way they were planned.  Frank found out of course, because he came back to visit his houses.  He checked up on the owners and any changes they made.  He made sure the slit in flathead screws was aligned horizontally for horizontal wood, and vertically for vertical wood.  If your screws weren't in right, he'd notice.  What a nutter.  But such lovely designs and beautiful wood.

This is us...

... at Ocean City this weekend.

Z rode the waves, we swam a bit, and her friends tried to make her into a mermaid.

I discovered I can knit on the beach.

We consumed good seafood and colorful beverages.

At the Funcade we dropped quarters into machines that didn't always add up the score correctly, but which still spewed out enough tickets to satisfy four happy girls.
The boardwalk fed us greasy food and tacky humor.  For this second reason we may try Rehoboth beach next year.

We gave the midway a brief whirl.  The ferris wheel.  And by then we were really tired.

Too long in the sun, for sure!  Z actually burned the whites of her eyeballs.

After very hot days, a cool evening breeze makes for good kite flying.

Plus the moonlight is romantic.

Boardwalk and Sand

We're on our way home, hopefully having enjoyed funnel cakes, waves, kite flying, and relaxation.  Hopefully I swam enough to burn off all the calories.  

Maybe I even managed to knit on the beach.  It must be possible.

This image is not from the beach.  It's from the county fair midway.  I am fascinated with the sort of art that appears on carnival facades.  It's freaky and garish.  What dementoids is this stuff designed to appeal to?  What did the artist look like, live like? 

Behind the lurid airbrushing and the adolescent boob fetish there lurks a longing to make a true impact.  I like to think that good graphic novelists or career comic artists started out here.  Or it could be that someone projected some clip art onto the wall of this thing and put eight tired carnies to work.  That would explain the mismatching styles.  In any case, it looks like fun and I'd have liked to do some of the painting myself.  I'll also line up for the job of painting holiday scenes on retailer windows.  Aim high...

Flying at the fair

It's time for the Agricultural Fair.  And you know what that means:  Toilet Bowl Decoration!  Fried Dough!

 

So we aren't very close to nature out here.  But we did find some farm life, some furry things.

Angora rabbit, ready for spinning (says I).

Hardworking chickie.

Weird looking chickie, and a blue ribbon for Z's collages.

We watched the pigs, goats, and ducks race for cheese puffs.  Not sure whether that counts as animal cruelty (the cheese puffs, I mean).

But best of all were the flying swings.  Z unfortunately flew herself right into a whopper of a sunshine headache, but for a while, she was soaring.

 

The Ride and the camerea that died

I'm in mourning.  My camera suffered too much abuse, and replacement was likely cheaper than to repair.  On its final assignment, it got only this far before completely giving out. 

Z was attending a birthday at Hershey Park.  She is not accustomed to Rides of the Large Variety.  So we started her out on this little log ride.  She was nervous.

She watched the Down while doing the Up.

The camera died when I tried to get a photo of her big grin after the ride was over.  She loved it. 

Somehow, I did manage to get this photo of my friend's backpack.  Not everybody has a backpack with an HIV virus embroidered on it.

A new camera is on order, with a protective case this time, and a tripod, to make me feel better.  The whole deal is two thirds the cost of the first camera (which has already been repaired once).  That's how technology goes...

Saying all the goodbyes (end of the vacation)

And then it was time to go.  We had to say goodbye to Oscar, and his parents and grandfolks.

Goodbye to cute little toes...

Getting creative together in the kitchen and at the table...

Farewell to the orchard and the canal...

And the certainty of good coffee even when we're miles from civilization. 

It's back to cloud world, and then the humidty of the east coast.

And back to knitting.  The knot-tying was very fun, but I have projects to get on with.

  

Let's have some beer! (Day 2 of 3)

Aunt B did a fun thing for us.  She organized a beer tasting the evening we arrived, with some local and other good microbrews.

Besides beer, we were enjoying beautiful summer in central Washington. The pear orchards...the Applets and Cotlets factory tour...

Walks in the sun, and dips in the frigid irrigation canal...

A day in Leavenworth, with cute shops and more good beer...

Delicious home-cooked meals...

A surprise birthday cupcake treat (heavy-duty fudge-filled with Baileys and Jack D in them, oh yummmm... and occasional 4-wheeler rides for Z.)

Let's meet Oscar Gus! (Day 1 of 3)

After visiting JIKES we headed east, into the land of Applets and Cotlets, to finally meet baby O.

Baby O received his Secret Project gift we've been working on.  Here it is.

And here is Aunt B discovering it. 

I have to admit that quilting when one's child is older is much easier than doing so with a tot running about!  I could afford to be extravagant.  Also every piece of material in the quilt was gifted to us, so it was a no-expense project.  

Vacation continued: snakes, lakes, and guinea pigs

I had to put the eye-catching pictures first.  This is Striker. 

He only once bit someone in the forehead, leaving a fang embedded.  To me, he was pleasant.  I nearly lost him once though, as you can see.

When Uncle E introduced him to Z, she was delighted.  He really is a pretty thing. 

Don't worry -- he's not a constrictor.

But we had more to do than play with snakes.

At the lake, cousin S was a boat motor for J and Z.  They lounged, he kicked, and the day was spent in what must have been cold water.  I didn't stick my toe in this year.

Also, with JIKES there will always be living things, such as guinea pigs and gardens.

  

 

July 4 and Northwest Trek

After camping we dipped into Oregon to scoop up Grammie.  We saw the July 4 General Canby Days Parade, which inextricably included multiple Santas.

Then we were on the road to Washington.

Our goal was to meet JIKES (cousins) at Northwest Trek.  Heading out, we partook of Nature's Bounty.  Also here's a random lupine photo, from Washinton state.

At Northwest Trek we saw all the animals JIKES had just seen on their recent trip to Yellowstone, plus a couple more.  It gave us a reason to hang out together and be outdoors.  It was colder than we expected.

Plucking huckleberries and admiring the vertical lines of trees... ahh.

After that, it was time to rest up and get ready for day two with JIKES.  We regreat that the "I" in JIKES was missing; cousin I was at a week-long event.   

Vacation in the West continued... Camping, celebrating, tying knots

  We started with a road trip.  Over the Bridge of the Gods, into camping land along the Columbia River Gorge, Washington side. 

We borrowed tents from A & J.  Z got to share hers with "cousin" AM.  Our beds were cozy and comfy, and thankfully the night was warm but not too warm.
That afternoon the origami came out so we could celebrate A's parents' 50th wedding anniversary.  We enjoyed catered food, roasts and toasts.

Here's the happy couple. 

We did two things by campfire; s'mores and friendship bracelets.

We had enough friends age 12-14 for some colorful knot-tying.

Here's a sample of just one wristful of bracelets. The girls made good use of all the string I brought.

Funny thing--I did ZERO knitting on this trip. It was all about knots instead. Somehow I think the break was good for my brain.

There will be food pictures

The important thing about vacation is eating.  Also people.  So mostly there will be food and people pictures.  Here are some.

Northwest food is just really different from where we live now.  We sure miss this sort of eating.

Also fields of daisies are nice.

And Moonstruck chocolates.

Back from Cloud World

We're back from the west.  Our plane touched down after 9:30 pm last night, and we were up very late.  We are still groggy.  We're hungry too -- I did a good job of making sure we ate all the food in the house before we left.  I'm baking bread today.  Tomorrow I shop.

It was a good trip and I took so many photos I had to ask Uncle E to load the camera onto a disk so I could keep shooting.  I'll be loading them to the blog little by little.

Photos from the road?

We're going to be mobile for a bit.  I've got my camera and we'll see some scenery.  With a little luck, I'll have the means to post.  Until then, canned posts for all.

People to People

Our Oregon friends J & E were lucky chosen ones this week.  They came to DC for the People to People program.  We hosted them and E's pop for a couple nights.

The Old Post Office building was a must to visit.  We went up the glass elevator and to the top for the view.

We also checked out the Reynolds Center.  A little exposure to modern art, only a few incidents of setting off motion detectors.

The Washington Post Hunt

They were there!  They solved many of the challenging puzzles, and they dodged the thunderstorms. 

Schleptomanicas have found a clue--the man with the red umbrella and Dodgers shirt.

Here's E in front of a large piece of the puzzle.  It's a number.  Can you see it? 

Dave Barry, an inventor of this grand event, appeared on stage competing with a giant dancing pizza.

Some other teams and their fun shirts:

Settin' for some schleppin'

It's on.  The Washington Post Hunt.  It's a big crazy scavenger hunt where seekers have to solve weird puzzles and work their legs and their brains as they schlep all over the DC Mall and vicinity in search of clues and answers. 

E and B are determined to win, or at least get a photo of their cool
T-shirts. 

Yesterday, we had an artfest where they emblazoned their team name on matching shirts.

Friend E and Z also got artsy with their shirts.

More bits from Memorial Day weekend

On Granddad's farm this weekend, the peonies were in bloom.  It was grand.

The boys sat on the porch and Z threw the ball for Foxy, who washed it in her water bowl and asked for more.

It's always incredibly relaxing here.  The nights are so quiet I sleep hard, on an old feather pillow with a funny family smell to it.  It's part of the experience.

Later there was dinner in Morgantown with Aunt M and Uncle J, cousins about and a chance to be a little crafty.   

This was followed by a trip to the cousins in PA, where once again Z entertained the many little ones.  She taught them games that involved rolling down hills and counting toes. 

Roly Poly weekend

It was worth it to see all these cousins, but oh, what a long drive home!  Returning to the metro at the end of a holiday weekend is an exercise in GPS acrobatics.  We found the back roads, avoided most of the jams, but still turned a four hour drive into seven.

More photos tomorrow of our weekend wanderings.

Further hightlights from Florida

Z has some events to record.  There was the Past Date Muffin:

 

And there was the time when
Me-Mom tried to get Pumpkin kitty to come out to say Hello.

We never did get to see Pumpkin come out and say hello willingly.  We saw her eyes glow in the dark. 

Disney and dinosaur land

What can you do with one day in Disneyworld?  Not much, which means you can't possibly stress about getting to see everything.

Something you may not have noticed last time you were there: the lake near the castle has what appear to be six cryogenic chambers. 

As always, I tried in vain to photograph the interior of Small World.

This Magic Kingdom has nothing on Disneyland.  But the weather was pleasant and the lines were short. 

Most of the time we enjoyed our visit with Me-Mom and Pop-Pop, whose dwelling is surrounded by vegetation from the age of the dinosaurs.  Plants I usually see in a green house grow in their back yard.