I’ve been tagged by Squidknits for the Birthday Meme!
The rules: You go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday (day and month). Then share 3 events, two births and one holiday.
August 2
3 Events:
1610 - Henry Hudson sails into what it is now known as Hudson Bay, thinking he had made it through the Northwest Passage and reached the Pacific Ocean.
1776 - Delegates to the Continental Congress begin signing the United States Declaration of Independence.
1870 - Tower Subway, the world's first underground tube railway, opens in London.
2 Births:
1932 - Peter O'Toole, Irish-born actor
1964 - Mary-Louise Parker, American actress
1 Holiday:
Day of Airborne Forces in Russia
If you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged ;-)
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Blogger Meet Up, Yarn Shopping
Saturday we had the second knitting blogger meet up in the Ocean State! We all enjoyed the extensive yarn selection at Sakonnet Purls and worked on our projects in their craft room.
Cindy, Kimberly, Erika, Debby
Erika, Debby, Kristen, Heather
Heather, Greeley, Carol
I purchased yarn for the upcoming Tour de France KAL. It's RYC Wool Silk DK in shade 304/cord. I am really obsessed with the RYC line lately!
This yarn was on sale by the front door. It's Classic Elite Wings in shade 2321 and is so light and soft. It was half price and they had 8 skeins. It's been discontinued, but I hope to find a pattern that I can do with the eight skeins. I have one idea already! If I do need more yarn, I'll just work another color into the pattern somehow. There was a plum that looked really lovely alongside the green!
I also purchased circular Addi needles and transferred the beginnings of my lace shawl onto them.
Believe me, there were at least four other kinds of yarn I 'desperately' wanted for other projects, but I did my best to remain composed and sensible!
Cindy, Kimberly, Erika, Debby
Erika, Debby, Kristen, Heather
Heather, Greeley, Carol
I purchased yarn for the upcoming Tour de France KAL. It's RYC Wool Silk DK in shade 304/cord. I am really obsessed with the RYC line lately!
This yarn was on sale by the front door. It's Classic Elite Wings in shade 2321 and is so light and soft. It was half price and they had 8 skeins. It's been discontinued, but I hope to find a pattern that I can do with the eight skeins. I have one idea already! If I do need more yarn, I'll just work another color into the pattern somehow. There was a plum that looked really lovely alongside the green!
I also purchased circular Addi needles and transferred the beginnings of my lace shawl onto them.
Believe me, there were at least four other kinds of yarn I 'desperately' wanted for other projects, but I did my best to remain composed and sensible!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
The Longest Day!
Yay! It's officially summer now! We celebrated with a bike ride put on by a local cycle shop. It was free and they even gave us nice t-shirts! Here's the logo on the back of the shirt. (The flash photo isn't very good, the shirt is a nice light blue color.)
You can see the route in red on this detail from a Google map.
Distance: 42 miles
Average speed: 18.3 mph
No rest stops.
Here is a graph showing elevation in green and speed in blue.
You can see the Garmin data here, but it didn't record all the cadence.
We had police escorts on motorcycles with sirens ahead and behind which was quite exciting! As we rode through Newport, we got to run all the red lights and people were watching and taking pictures of us! It was great to have safety in numbers on the big roads. When we got back to the finish, there were drinks and pizza!
What a fun way to kick off the summer!
You can see the route in red on this detail from a Google map.
Distance: 42 miles
Average speed: 18.3 mph
No rest stops.
Here is a graph showing elevation in green and speed in blue.
You can see the Garmin data here, but it didn't record all the cadence.
We had police escorts on motorcycles with sirens ahead and behind which was quite exciting! As we rode through Newport, we got to run all the red lights and people were watching and taking pictures of us! It was great to have safety in numbers on the big roads. When we got back to the finish, there were drinks and pizza!
What a fun way to kick off the summer!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
FO: Christmas Stockings
I have 4 stockings ready for holiday gift giving! These are my Project Spectrum projects for red and metallic.
This was a very quick project and fun too. After the first one, I did not need to consult the pattern, so I could carry my work around. I even knit in bed at night, holding it over me while resting on my back!! That was a nice break for my neck and shoulders.
Here is a detail of the heel flap construction. For fun, I put an interesting Christmas figurine into the shot.
I found this Santa and sled dogs in the unfinished basement when we moved into our house. It was in some floor sweepings and trash in a corner. I'm glad it hadn't yet been tossed in a bin as I think it's cute! Judging by the weight, it must be lead and it says 'Germany' on the bottom of the sled.
Once again, I am taking pictures on a rainy day, so the lighting isn't the best! The pattern and yarn details are listed on the sidebar.
This was a very quick project and fun too. After the first one, I did not need to consult the pattern, so I could carry my work around. I even knit in bed at night, holding it over me while resting on my back!! That was a nice break for my neck and shoulders.
Here is a detail of the heel flap construction. For fun, I put an interesting Christmas figurine into the shot.
I found this Santa and sled dogs in the unfinished basement when we moved into our house. It was in some floor sweepings and trash in a corner. I'm glad it hadn't yet been tossed in a bin as I think it's cute! Judging by the weight, it must be lead and it says 'Germany' on the bottom of the sled.
Once again, I am taking pictures on a rainy day, so the lighting isn't the best! The pattern and yarn details are listed on the sidebar.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Blooms, Buds and Butterflies
While many of the flowers in my garden are diminutive and look best planted in masses, the peonies are impressive individually. Each bloom is larger than my hand!
A tiny pink rosebud on a plant my grandmother gave me.
I was able to take some pictures of this butterfly today. Usually they are much more timid and flit away when I get close to take a picture, but this one didn't mind my presence. It was really enjoying the Knautia blooms. Isn't it a beautiful coppery color?
Here is another view showing the flower a little better.
A tiny pink rosebud on a plant my grandmother gave me.
I was able to take some pictures of this butterfly today. Usually they are much more timid and flit away when I get close to take a picture, but this one didn't mind my presence. It was really enjoying the Knautia blooms. Isn't it a beautiful coppery color?
Here is another view showing the flower a little better.
Weekend Biking
It was another biking filled weekend for us! Saturday, Jeff and I rode around Newport on the freshly paved Ocean Drive. Part of that route is so close to the Atlantic Ocean, that we could feel the sea spray misting us as we pedaled past the crashing waves!
Sunday, we had a club ride. There was a big turnout and we biked along some of the most scenic lanes of southern New England in the towns of Little Compton and Tiverton. There are many old buildings, farms and ocean views.
It was another strong ride for us:
Distance: 50.58 miles
Average Speed: 18.2 mph
No rest stops. We only had to stop once, at a road crossing for a total of 45 seconds before the light turned green!
You can see the map and data here.
We had sundae’s at Gray’s Ice Cream as a treat afterwards. I think the calories just vaporize after a workout like that, right? Hee hee!
It was the second time Jeff and I have ridden this route and it is fun to compare the stats from both rides and see the changes. Last time, in April, we did 51.45 miles at an average speed of 16.7 mph. We did stop a few times to take pictures, so we had 17 minutes of rest during the ride.
I know the difference between 16.7 mph and 18.2 mph doesn’t seem like much to read about, but believe me, it really feels like a big jump!
While just pedaling lots of miles results in better speeds, another thing that helps me is riding with experienced, fast cyclists. When I ride with these stronger cyclists, I unconsciously find myself matching their pedaling cadence. I end up going the speed they are going, to a point, without feeling the strain because it is exciting to be part of the pack. I find that these rides sort of ‘recalibrate’ me, keep me from settling into a pattern and show me what I'm capable of. My rides that follow, even if they are solos, are faster and stronger.
At the club rides, the racers ride fast out front. Sunday, we managed to ride at the back of the pack of racers for 8 miles, averaging over 20 mph, before settling back to a pace we knew we could sustain for the entire ride. It was pretty exciting to be able to do that much! One of our friends rides with the racers and told us that was how he started out, so maybe one day we will be able to do an entire ride with them.
Sunday, we had a club ride. There was a big turnout and we biked along some of the most scenic lanes of southern New England in the towns of Little Compton and Tiverton. There are many old buildings, farms and ocean views.
It was another strong ride for us:
Distance: 50.58 miles
Average Speed: 18.2 mph
No rest stops. We only had to stop once, at a road crossing for a total of 45 seconds before the light turned green!
You can see the map and data here.
We had sundae’s at Gray’s Ice Cream as a treat afterwards. I think the calories just vaporize after a workout like that, right? Hee hee!
It was the second time Jeff and I have ridden this route and it is fun to compare the stats from both rides and see the changes. Last time, in April, we did 51.45 miles at an average speed of 16.7 mph. We did stop a few times to take pictures, so we had 17 minutes of rest during the ride.
I know the difference between 16.7 mph and 18.2 mph doesn’t seem like much to read about, but believe me, it really feels like a big jump!
While just pedaling lots of miles results in better speeds, another thing that helps me is riding with experienced, fast cyclists. When I ride with these stronger cyclists, I unconsciously find myself matching their pedaling cadence. I end up going the speed they are going, to a point, without feeling the strain because it is exciting to be part of the pack. I find that these rides sort of ‘recalibrate’ me, keep me from settling into a pattern and show me what I'm capable of. My rides that follow, even if they are solos, are faster and stronger.
At the club rides, the racers ride fast out front. Sunday, we managed to ride at the back of the pack of racers for 8 miles, averaging over 20 mph, before settling back to a pace we knew we could sustain for the entire ride. It was pretty exciting to be able to do that much! One of our friends rides with the racers and told us that was how he started out, so maybe one day we will be able to do an entire ride with them.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
More Garden Blooms
I just have to post lots of flower pics this time of year. The gardens are growing so fast and changing everyday.
Here is the Rocky Mtn Penstemon. I love the blend of blue and purple in the blooms. I'd like to get a couple of skeins of yarn in this colorway! The pink color in the background is a type of Salvia.
Here's another shot of the Penstemon and you can see a little bit of my house and barn in the background. There is a little pink and white Centranthus in this view as well.
This is such a petite flower, but abundant. I think it's a Dianthus called Sonata (I lose track of some of the names of things!).
Mother Nature has been getting creative and altering my original layout, but I don't mind the mish-mash of plants as long as things are thriving! Here are some foxgloves, lupines, and knautia. I wish you could smell the green leaves in the foreground. They are Anise hyssop and smell like lemons and mint when you brush past them. They will have purple flowers soon that the bees will love.
Here's the arbor bed. I like the way it is an 'island' in the lawn. The dogs love to orbit it at high speed!
The dogs had a long session of tug-o-war with the rope while I took pics. They move so fast it's hard to capture a pic, but here's a snapshot.
Here is the Rocky Mtn Penstemon. I love the blend of blue and purple in the blooms. I'd like to get a couple of skeins of yarn in this colorway! The pink color in the background is a type of Salvia.
Here's another shot of the Penstemon and you can see a little bit of my house and barn in the background. There is a little pink and white Centranthus in this view as well.
This is such a petite flower, but abundant. I think it's a Dianthus called Sonata (I lose track of some of the names of things!).
Mother Nature has been getting creative and altering my original layout, but I don't mind the mish-mash of plants as long as things are thriving! Here are some foxgloves, lupines, and knautia. I wish you could smell the green leaves in the foreground. They are Anise hyssop and smell like lemons and mint when you brush past them. They will have purple flowers soon that the bees will love.
Here's the arbor bed. I like the way it is an 'island' in the lawn. The dogs love to orbit it at high speed!
The dogs had a long session of tug-o-war with the rope while I took pics. They move so fast it's hard to capture a pic, but here's a snapshot.
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