Our Trip to Massachusetts -- The Scenic Part

We had a lovely visit up on Amherst. Mr. Pointy Sticks and I had a good bit of time on our own. Rachel is more and more independent and busy and we didn't want to disrupt her time (or Andrew's) any more than we had, too. So we spent some time exploring the area a little more than we usually do. Unfortunately, the weather was not terribly cooperative...it drizzled, poured, or misted all the time.

On one of our days we went to the Holyoke Range State Park and took a .8 mile walk along the Laurel Loop trail.

It's hard to see here but this is a very up and down spot that is full of laurel bushes. I wish they had been in bloom...it will be lovely, I bet.

There was a lovely little pool.

It was a nice and well-maintained path, though it was mighty wet. I was hoping for some birds or wild-flowers but it was just pretty woods.

There were some interesting things to see...look at these neat roots.


On another day we went to Skinner State Park in which Mt. Holyoke is located. We drove to the top of the park...rather tense making, as the road was very steep with lots of tight switchbacks. It was a very misty day so the view from the top looked like this:

We'll have to go back when the weather is clearer. I'd like to see what one can see from the top. Have to take some binoculars, too.

There was some impressive lichen.


Some pretty bleeding hearts.


And along the road, some wild columbine, growing among the ferns and moss.


We also saw some beautiful rhododendrons in South Hadley.

Looking at the map, there are lots of parks and things we can explore when we are back up there.

What else did we do while we were there? Well, we ate well. Had some tasty dinners at Osaka and Paul and Elizabeth's. Went to some used bookstores. Hit Webs, as mentioned in the previous post. And played with Rachel and Andrew's cats.

Sophie and Harley (Andrew's cats) -- somewhat deceptive picture as Harley is only a couple of months old and is smaller than Sophie. Here she looks larger.


Sophie trying out her soulful look...I think she's imitating an anime character here.

And ole Cooper, who is looking so good after having been on the raw food diet for a couple of months.


So it was a lovely trip (certainly better than being at work!), though the bad weather followed us home.

Note that the top of the George Washington Bridge is in the clouds.

And it's good to be home, too.

But I'm already looking forward to our next visit.

Our Trip To Massachusetts -- The Yarn Edition

I squeezed in two (count 'em, two!) trips to Webs this time. They were having their tent sale Saturday and Sunday and we made a quick stop there on Saturday when we drove into town. I wasn't really planning to get anything at the tent sale...I had other ideas. But we'll see how that plan held up.

What I made a beeline for was the Kureyon that was included in the May Sale, which was also going on. There were about 8 shelves of both full bags and loose skeins of Kureyon and I knew it was going to take some time to pick the color I wanted. Another woman and I had a little conversation about the colors as we both held up skeins and bags full of skeins. Finally she said, "You know, you keep picking up different skeins of this one colorway." And she was right. Oh, there were other skeins I picked up and look at, but this is the one that I kept coming back to...and that came home with me. Enough for a sweater from the Knit Noro book.

But I couldn't leave without at least looking at the Tent Sale, could I? And I came away with another sweater's worth (though I have no idea what sweater it'll be) of Elsbeth Lavold's Baby Llama.

Here's a better picture of the color.

Wish you could feel how soft this is!

Also on that day I grabbed two skeins of sock yarn that were on sale...the top one and middle one in this picture.

The second time we stopped at Webs was on Tuesday. We were in Northampton for the afternoon and we driving out about 5:00 when I asked Mr. Pointy Sticks if we could stop just one more time. They were closing at 5:30, so I couldn't take a lot of time. But I got the sock yarn at the bottom of the picture above. Don't know how I missed it on Saturday...actually, yes I do. There was another woman at the shelf at the same time and I couldn't see around her.

Look at the close-up. It's like an all-day sucker!

I also grabbed two skeins of Silk Garden (on sale) and a skein of the Kangaroo Dyer yarn I had been fondling on Saturday.

So I guess I'd better get knitting. And I have been doing just that.

I finished my Jellybean socks when I was up there.

Why, yes, I do have pajamas with sock monkeys on them.

And I started another pair of socks I am calling my Fiesta socks.

I couldn't decide what to do on the cuff (I am a big fan of stockinette feet on socks...they go fast...but I do like a little interest on the cuffs) but finally decided to do a very simple lace rib. You can just see the start of the cuff here. As well as some delicious carrot cake that Mr. Pointy Sticks and I shared at La Fiorentina Pastry Shop in Northampton.

Somewhere in Connecticut (I think it was) I finished the first sock.

And immediately started the second.

I love the braided look of the toe, which I first did, by accident, on the Jellybean socks. One is supposed to do one's little magic cast-on and then knit the stitches on the first needle, then knit-through-the-back-loop on the second needle. Well, I reversed that and did the through-the-back-loop on the first needle and then knit the stitches on the second needle. And got this neat looking braided effect. I liked it well enough that I did it again here.

Later (or tomorrow)...scenery! cats! fog!

We Are Back...With Wool!

Mr. Pointy Sticks and I are back from a visit with the Daughter and her various side-kicks. There will be a longer post about our trip later but for now...

You may remember that I was excited to take the fiber up to Morgan. What I didn't know was that there was excitement in Amherst, too, because Morgan had a present for me! So on Saturday, when we went into Rachel and Andrew's house, Morgan was there and I gave her her fiber and a magazine that I had bought but realized was really more for a spinner. And she gave me this:


Handspun Blue-faced Leicester in such beautiful colors. And I have long coveted yarn with this sort of peppermint-stick striping. I just love it and need to find a pattern worthy of its drool-worthy qualities. Or I may just unwrap the skein and wear it around my neck like a necklace. It's more than soft enough to do that.

I really do sort of hate to think of using it up.

Later (or tomorrow) -- Views from Mt. Holyoke! Cats! Yarn! Cats! Socks! Pretty flowers! Bridges! And cats!