Sunday Doings and Pictures from Mystic Seaport

How is your Sunday going?  Mine has been quiet so far, which is fine.  The Tim is at work, so the kitties and I are having a lazy Sunday.  This morning I got the Boston Baked Beans going in the crockpot, and I am really hoping they will end up tasting as good as they smell!  And of course, there's the usual laundry, bill-paying, and cleaning up that will happen, but on my own schedule rather than on someone else's and that is one of the best things about Sundays on your own.

I'm also going to be finishing the second sock of a pair I started during our vacation.   Which is surprising, even to me.  Never before have I knit a pair of socks so quickly.  A show-and-tell post is in the near future.  I'll likely work on them while I watch the Pittsburgh Steelers-Philadelphia Eagles football game later.  Or, as they say in their respective towns, the Stillers vs. the Iggles ...

I finally have some vacation pictures to share.  I realized as I was getting things organized, that The Tim took a whole lot more pics on his camera.  I'll see if I can swipe some of those, but these will at least give you a good idea of things.

Our very first stop was Mystic Seaport, in Connecticut.  The Tim had gone on his own for a long weekend a few years back, and wanted to go again.  I have wanted to go since I saw a couple of pictures in my 4th grade geography textbook!  Fortunately, it did not disappoint.

Though the drive up was overcast, and somewhat warm and humid, shortly after we arrived, a storm front moved through, and within half an hour, the temperature was down, the humidity gone, and the sky was perfect.  We spent the better part of the day at Mystic Seaport, but we also had a great time walking around the little town, crossing the drawbridge and getting to see it raised and lowered, and walking through a food festival.  The Tim spotted Mystic River Yarns - YAY!!  That will be part of its own post, but I can say it was a lovely shop.

So here are a few pictures.

I adore lighthouses.  They had a really cool little movie screen inside this one, with a 15-minute film about the history of lighthouses and lighthouse lights.  

The harbor.

We toured  a couple of historic ships.

 A modern sailboat passing by.

 I am always amazed that humans climbed up on the masts to adjust sails, check to see what might be ahead, etc.  Fascinating and dangerous.

On board - the little "house" there leads down to the quarters for the captain and the crew.

They also had an exhibit showing how the the rope cables on the ships were made, which I thought was crazy interesting.

 It all starts on bobbins ...

 then each bobbin has to be threaded through one of these holes ...

 which then go through this ...

and then go through these dividers and get twisted into rope cables before ...

they are finally twisted into HUGE rope cables for the ships.  These truly were huge and I really liked this exhibit because frankly I'd never appreciated a) what was involved in making even basic rope, and b) the way it was able to be "automated" in the sense that machines could help with a lot of the backbreaking stuff.

After we left there we stopped at a lovely little restaurant for lunch, which was a seafood BLT and a local beer.  Both were wonderful, and our waiter didn't even flinch or make a face when we asked for our sandwiches without the bacon.  :-)

Then we walked around the food festival, over the bridge and to the little downtown area. Where we saw this.

The Tim was astounded that it was a real place! (I was just glad Julia Roberts wasn't there, since I can't stand her ...)

We agreed that we both want to go back to Mystic Seaport, and the little town sometime.  It's such a nice place, and since we were there in mid-September, there weren't crowds of people.  I'm not so sure I would enjoy being there in the summer!

I would not, however, mind being there again right now ... ;-)

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and hopefully this week will be good to all of us.

July and August Harry's Hundred Update

First of all, thanks to all of you for your supportive comments on the previous post.  I feel better knowing that I was not just being oversensitive.  Granted, it's not like I can do anything much about the way I feel, but sometimes you just want others to weigh in, you know?

Anyway, on to other things of a more positive nature.  :-)

I completely flaked out and forgot to do a Harry's Hundred update for both July and August.  And when I did think of it, I would be at work, or on vacation, or ready to fall asleep - times when I did not have easy access to either my computer or the pictures.  So let's do it now, while everything is ready to go!

I don't have pictures, because she forgot to take any before sending them off, but Dee knitted two hats for Harry's Hundred, and they have likely been received by now, and will happily warm heads once the cold weather actually hits.

During July, I knit this pair of fingerless mitts (Ravelry link here).

These were fast and easy to knit, and you end up with a really nice pair of mitts.  The pattern is very straightforward, and I can see many of these in the future, both for this project as well as for gifts, etc.

August brought these items into the overall count:

First up, this hat made by frogstitch, which looks so cozy, I wouldn't mind having it for myself!

Then, the ever-reliable GringaTurista made these mittens, which she calls "Mitten Pox Are Contagious," which completely cracks me up!

Finally, another effort of mine, which I call the Seedy Stockinette Hat (Ravelry link here).  When I made this, I made it so that the brim is extra warm around the ears, by knitting an extra long brim that is then folded inside.  I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

Thanks to every single person who has been nice enough to work on projects and let me know about them.  We are getting a nice variety of things, and it makes me happy to think of how many people will have something nice and/or warm this winter as a result.

Here's our latest tally:

Goal:  100 items
Tally so far:  42

Almost halfway there - and even if we don't hit our goal, at this point there will be 42 warmer, cozier, and hopefully somewhat happier wearers of our work!

On My Mind

So that you know from the get-go, this post has nothing to do with knitting, reading, or our vacation, and mentions belief systems.  So you have been warned.  It's just something that has been on my mind for a few days, and I want some opinions if you care to share.

We have a neighbor who lives down the street who is truly a nice and lovely person.  I mean, genuine.  Not someone who grates on you.  She is kind to every person and creature in the neighborhood, and truly caring.

This past Monday, I ran into her on my way home from work.  I hadn't seen her for most of the summer, and she expressed sorrow at hearing that our Doodle Dog had died.  She said how he always seemed so happy, and was so friendly, and that she missed seeing him.  I said that we were heartbroken and still missed him terribly.

Then she said, "I'd like to tell you that there is something to believe in, and that you will see him again.  But there isn't, so he is just gone."

WHY WOULD YOU SAY THIS TO SOMEONE?  Even if I agreed with her (and frankly, I don't, but that is neither here nor there), I still found this extremely insensitive and rude.  I felt like I'd been slapped in the face.  I think I murmured something about having to get home and walked away, but I have been feeling so hurt since then.

Whether or not you believe in God, Goddess, gods, clouds, flowers, or nothing at all, I don't think it would ever be appropriate to say something like she did.  If I had asked her, maybe that would be different, but I didn't and I had said nothing beyond what I already mentioned here.

Then I also wondered, would she say the same thing to someone who had lost a human family member?  I hope not.  I do know that a few years back, her husband died, and perhaps she got tired of people telling her they would see each other again.  That is her business not mine.

The whole thing still upsets me.  Do you think I'm being oversensitive?  If I am, I can't really help it, it's how I am feeling, but I am curious to know if anyone else would feel hurt by this kind of comment.

I promise not to keep harping on this, but I just wanted to throw it out there for your consideration, if you are still reading this post.

Thanks.

Five Plus Five

While I wait for the photo editor to start working again so I can share vacation pictures (The Tim is on it), I decided to participate in this week's Ten on Tuesday.  Carole wants us to list two sets of five things:

The 5 Best Things You Did This Summer

and 

The 5 Things I You Are Looking Forward to Doing This Fall

This summer sucked big time, for a number of reasons. But  I need to make myself  remember some highlights and here they are.

1. Spent the day in Annapolis.  It's one of our fave places, and we had a great time.

2. Went to the Barnes Foundation for the first time.  Amazing.

3. Had a great visit with friends from WV, who we hadn't had a chance to spend time with for a while. 

4. Fixed up the garden, though the horrible heat and humidity kept us from enjoying it very much.  We got to sit out there once!  But still, I'd been wanting to get it fixed up, and I did.

5. Our New England trip last week.  I have to tell you, it saved the summer for us.  

Looking towards the fall, here are things I'm hoping will happen and be fun.

1. Enjoying being out in the garden!  Cooler weather should mean we can enjoy sitting out there and relaxing.

2. Going to Rehoboth Beach for a weekend in October and staying with my niece Amanda and her husband Pat at his family's wonderful little beach house.

3. Trying baked beans from scratch in the crockpot.

4. Being able to enjoy taking walks and riding my bicycle.  

5. The weather!  Nice enough to cuddle with the kitties, drink tea, wear and make knits, and overall be cozy.

I for one cannot wait until it's not only officially fall, but for when it *feels* like fall!  :-)

Halfway Point

Hello all ~ Just a quick check-in, at the halfway point of our vacation.  I can't tell you how great it's been, and if I thought I loved New England before, I love it even more now.

I am writing to you at the moment from our room in the B&B we found in Bar Harbor, Maine.  We are in a lovely room just a short drive (and only slightly longer walk) from the main part of town.  The place we are staying (The Cleftstone Manor) is on the National Register of Historic Places - how cool is that?  In a little bit we will be heading to breakfast, and then off to Acadia National Park for a hike.

The weather has been perfect (high today is expected to be 65 degrees!), and our adventures have been fun.  I can reassure you that fall is on the way - the leaves are starting to change up here, and it's been pleasantly cool and crisp.  The people we've run into have said it's taken a little longer for the leaves to start changing, and apparently the summer was hot enough and without as much rain, so many towns have water bans in place (however, everyone's garden's still look lovely - what is the secret!?).

We have eaten delicious food, had amazing local beers, and easily walked 8-10 miles every day.  (Which is good, considering the first part of that sentence.)

I've taken LOTS of photos, and will share them when I'm home and can get organized.  But suffice it to say, this trip is a huge success.  I mean, how could it not be, when you see things like this every single day?

Have a good rest of the week!