So what ELSE are you doing in Hawaii?

If you were just reading my last few posts, then you might think that we moved all the way out here to Hawaii, and then I do nothing but knit.  Well, you'd be wrong ... at least a little :)

Quite honestly, it is WONDERFUL being in a real Place again.  Our last 8+ years have been spent in very hot, very dry places, where you have to drive a good bit to get to almost anything one might want to do.  I mean, in CA, we were 40 miles from the closest town; 73 miles from the closest Target, bookstore, and movie theater; 2 hours from the closest Chick-Fil-A (important landmarks, you know); and a bit over 2 hours from either a lake, beach, or wooded mountain.  In Texas, things were a bit better (Target and bookstores were in town, at least) but we still were looking at several hours of driving to get to decent hiking, museums, or most events or activities we wanted to do.  This is really the first time in almost a decade where we're in a Real City again.  Let's face it, the Army doesn't really send you to cities all that often.  The Navy at least almost has to send you to a port (which will also be a City 95% of the time) but the Army... they like their space to drive tanks around and practice blowing stuff up.  Being in a city doesn't really give you that sort of space.  So, we're in a city for now, and we plan to enjoy it!

 

Being in a real Place again, we are facing the relatively unfamiliar position of having to make choices about what to do on a weekend!  I mean, more than one thing might be going on that we want to go to!  Craziness!!  There are cultural festivals, plays, concerts, independent movie theaters, museums (plural!!), sports events, historical sites... plus tons of hiking and beaches and natural activities too.  And people to do it with!!  It's a really nice feeling to be able to get out of the house and do stuff again, without tons of driving to plan in.

 

Even with driving to plan in, though, it's still not ridiculous (assuming traffic cooperates).  My commute to work is across the island, and it's still only about 25-30 minutes (usually).  I have blocked off that amount of time just to get across town in some of the places I've lived. Some people plan on that time (or more) just to commute within Honolulu, and I know people in TX that commuted up from Austin or its suburbs, and they had a 45-60 minute commute.  But the fact that I work "all the way over" on the Windward side... I think it's the mental distance more than the time.  I had to pick something up from a business over in Kailua (Windward side), and when the lady called to tell me it was ready, she said that it could be mailed to me, if I couldn't pick it up myself.  She didn't actually say it, but that "all the way over there" was certainly in her voice.  Coming from driving-happy Central TX, where driving "just down to Austin" (90 minutes away) is no big deal, it really made me chuckle.

 

In total honesty, yes, Honolulu traffic is a bear.  One accident on the H1 and it will back up for miles.  But, as I remind myself, we have traffic here because we have people here.  People are here because they want to be here, because there are things to do here.  So if I want the one, the other comes with - hard to escape it.  And then I turn on my audiobook or the radio (we get NPR again!) and try to relax a bit.  Traffic is what it is, not much you can do to change it.  Years of driving the HRBT taught me that!

 

And just because this post needed some pictures, here's a shot from a sunset hike I did back in the fall.  Several groups around here head to different trails to go hike at sunset on full moon nights.  This one is the view from the trail to the Makapu'u Lighthouse, looking back toward the sunset over Hawaii Kai.  Very, very pretty.

 

Now this was unexpected

Over the last couple years, I've started getting into Geocaching.  For those who don't know that hobby, it's like an Easter egg hunt for adults, assuming the Easter bunny is rather quirky and (sometimes) sadistic in his hiding spots.  Players use GPS handheld devices to locate the caches (the Easter eggs), and with the advent of smartphones, everyone has a handheld GPS now.  The caches can be big, like an ammo can or lunchbox.  Birdhouses are common too.  Or they can be small, like a film canister.  Or they can be evil, like a bolt that's not really a bolt, but a magnetic hiding spot tucked underneath a bench.  Caches will all have a log for people to sign once they've found the actual cache, and you can record your finds online too.  They can be very involved too.  Some are puzzles that you have to solve in order to find the coordinates to the actual log.  Others can be multiple steps, finding one cache that leads you to the next, which leads you to the actual log.  Like I said, if the Easter bunny was quirky and sadistic.

I've enjoyed it though, because they get you looking at the places around you in a little bit different way, noticing things you might not.  Or making average places (like boring suburban Central Texas) seem a little more interesting.  Caches might be up hiking trails or in the middle of a shopping mall.  Often people will place them near landmarks or points of interest or scenic views.  Pretty fun to do as you're travelling about.

And now all of this has been background leading up to the point of this post: the Berlin Wall. 

No, seriously.

Geocaching does challenges every so often, asking players ("cachers") to find caches with x-many favorites (like Facebook Likes for geocaches), or find one that's a puzzle cache, or whatever.  This time it was finding one that had a certain number of favorites.  Near where I live in Honolulu, this was the closest.  It was also really cool.

Honolulu Community College has a piece of the original Berlin Wall.  The piece of the wall is incorporated into a memorial, the Berlin Wall Freedom Monument.  The wall was erected, protected by glass, with concrete wall sections extending out from either side, to give a greater impression of what it must have once been.  A bit of trivia, they oriented it the way it was in Germany: plain side facing east and the graffiti covered side facing west. When they set up the memorial, this was only the third piece of the wall in North America, so something very unusual.  And it's still there on the HCC campus, tucked away between academic buildings behind the library. 

And on a more somber note, in the 20-odd years since it was set up, the Freedom Monument has expanded.  Right near the wall in the same little lawn, is a memorial to the 9-11 Trade Center attack, with pieces of rubble from the towers and from the Pentagon. 

So, if you're in the area, it's worth the little detour as you drive to Pearl Harbor from Waikiki (or whatever other tourist stops you're hitting).  And I wouldn't have found it if someone hadn't hidden a cache there!

I blinked and Spring happened...

Well, I knew this spring semester was going to be a doozy, but I didn't realize how big until I sat down to write today and saw my last post was from DECEMBER!  Yipes!!

But, lots has happened in the meantime, so for a quick catch-up:

• I am in my final semester of grad school, and almost done with that (only 5 more weeks now!!)
• I finished my End of Project Exam in February.  This is the capstone exam for my degree program - Written Comps/Comprehensives, some might know it as.  Basically a looong week of writing papers, trying to demonstrate in your answers that you are fully synthesizing what you have learned over the past three years.  Pretty draining, with the way I write papers.  But all is good; I've been notified that I've passed.  One more box checked off before graduation!
• I finished a pair of blankets for my niece and nephew.  THE blankets, if you've heard me talk about them.  Quite the project, but finally all done and being enjoyed by the little ones :)
• We had a whirlwind trip to New Mexico with Mom for a marathon.  There are so many pictures from this trip, that it will have its own set of posts.
• And the big news (as if all that wasn't enough): Zach and I have moved!  We are now in a hotel in HAWAII looking for housing as Zach in-processes at his new job. After 5 years in TX and 3.5 in the desert, we are in Hawaii!!  Water!  Mountains!  Trees!  Very very exciting!!!!  But more on that in another post, since the whole move has been a saga unto itself.

So, yes, a few more posts to come over the next few days, with plenty of pictures.   I've time to write again, now that the semester's winding down and I'm not working at the moment.  Just consider this a teaser for now, so stay tuned :)

Oh So Pinteresting Wednesday - More birdseed feeders

Following up on a post waaaaaaay back in November 2011, here is another style of bird feeder I've found on Pinterest - Bird Seed Ornaments.  Some call them Bird Seed Cakes, but since you can make them in cute shapes using tins and trays and cookie cutters to decorate your outside trees, and it is the holiday season after all, I'll stick with calling them Ornaments.  Of course, we don't have too many outside trees ourselves, but I'm sure I'll find places to hang them!

Bird Seed Ornaments

Variation 1:  The first recipe for these that I found was from Critter Comforts, and is as follows.

What you need:

• 3/4 c flour
• 1/2 c water
• 1 pkg unflavored gelatin
• 3 T corn syrup
• Bird seed

Directions

1.     Mix the first four ingredients.  Then mix in bird seed, about 4 cups.

2.     Stir the mixture together.  For extra-messy fun, use your hands.  Beware, though, the corn syrup and the gelatin make it pretty sticky!  Fun for kids, though :)

3.     Scoop the mixture into the shape of your choice. Silicone molds and cookie cutters work beautifully. 

4.     Press the mixture in firmly and layer a loop of twine or ribbon in the middle for hanging.

 

5.     Let the ornaments air dry in a warm, dry spot in your home for at least full day.

 

Variation Two:  Stephanie Lynn at Under the Table and Dreaming has a variation as well.

Compared to the recipe above, this version doesn't use corn syrup or flour - nothing but the unflavored gelatin (and water to prepare it) and birdseed.  And of course, the molds or cookie cutters, and the ribbon or twine to hang them.

Directions:

1. Begin by mixing two envelopes of Knox Gelatin (approximately 4 tablespoons) to 1 cup of water.  If you're making a bigger mold, you made need to double or triple the recipe.  Obviously you need more seed mix to fill bundt pans or cake tins than you do for cookie cutters or muffin-sized molds.
2. Simmer on low until the gelatin has completely dissolved.
3. Add 2 cups of bird seed to the gelatin mixture, stirring until completely mixed.
4. Spray your mold with a coat of non-stick baking spray and scoop in birdseed mixture pressing lightly to pack down. 
5. Chill for at least 2 hrs in the fridge.
6. To remove, turn the mold upside down and apply a little pressure until the bird seed cake is released. For a larger sized mold, you may need to run a butter knife around the edges to help release.
7. Hang with a ribbon or twine and let the birds enjoy! 

I've only made the first version so far, but I want to experiment (i.e. play!) and see which one is easier, less messy, which one the birds prefer, etc.  Maybe after the new year when I've a little more time on my hands again...

IFLA WLIC Final Thoughts - Travel & Cape Town & South Africa

There was a lot I learned this trip outside of librarianship, too.  

The history of the country was such a learning experience, first of all.  US schools are focused on Western countries (and US history specifically) that I honestly never had any course on African history or politics.  I think we brushed over a little bit of colonization in one of my European history courses, and a brief intro when we read Heart of Darkness in 10th grade English.  But anything I know now, I've really learned from reading on my own (often to make sense of events in current news).  I read Long Walk to Freedom for one of my courses this summer, and have already recommended it to Zach to read too.  Very eye-opening.  The history in South Africa is so intense, and to my mild little personality, so hard to understand.  The apartheid system is just mind-boggling for me; beyond the human rights issues, even - economically, practically, it's incredibly short-sighted.  How do you bring your country to compete on an international stage if over 80% of your population can't even get a decent education?  How do you think so little of an entire group of people, that this is considered a normal system?  I know all of these issues came to the fore about 20 years ago, but I am just learning these things, so my mind is still trying to wrap around some of the issues apartheid brings up.  Besides, the system was in place for nearly 50 years, and we're only about 20 years past it.  There are still many lingering issues - education and illiteracy to start with (we discussed these in some of my sessions, since libraries do play a bit of a role).  And unemployment, which can top 50% in some areas of South Africa.  Being able to learn about this, and see some of these lingering effects, made this a very educational trip.

Cape Town and South Africa in general have a very unique dichotomy.  The poorer areas are so very poor, while the richer areas are rich even by US standards.  Cape Town has beach front resort properties and skyscraper hotels and wineries and hosts international conferences, but also has township areas which don't appear to even have proper utilities throughout.  Bustling urban life, dramatic natural beauty, and severe poverty all less than twenty minutes apart.  It was just so different from any place else I've ever visited.  Even my trip to Oaxaca, Mexico after college didn't have quite this disparity.  In South Africa, the two ends of the scale are just so far apart!

The Cape is absolutely beautiful, though.  Table Mountain is such a memorable feature for the city skyline, while the drive down to Cape Point reminded me of Highway 1 and the Pacific coast - very rocky coastline, winding roads, very raw and dramatic and breathtaking.

On a general travel note, isn't the Internet incredible.  Ever step back to stop and think that?  The conference center and the hotel both had wi-fi, so I just used that on my phone throughout the whole trip.  Wi-fi doesn't hit my data plan, and I was able to message the family semi-regularly (I was pretty busy, after all!).  Zach and I were even able to talk in the middle of the week, using a free app.  Free calls from Africa to the States!  Amazing the potential in technology today.  Does this make me sound old?  ;)

Thinking international connections, it was very interesting seeing everyone's reactions to where I'm from.  My standard answer to where I am from/am living (as a military spouse, there is a definite difference), was "Currently, in Texas."  Most didn't pick up on the subtlety there.  The only ones who did notice my qualifier were a pair of retirees who had also lived in Texas at one point.  We all laughed that there are two types of people in Texas: Texans, and People Who Live in Texas.  They had also been People Who Live in Texas.  From South Africans and international travelers (mostly other IFLA delegates), it was interesting to see what people connected in their minds with Texas.  I heard several answers: "Everything's bigger in Texas!", "hot!", "George W. Bush", and from one music-loving Finn, "ZZ Top."  

I honestly loved being surrounded by so many languages, both at the conference and on the streets.  For the past almost 10 years, I've heard English or Spanish, and that's pretty much it.  Maybe a little bit of Vietnamese or Chinese or something while at a restaurant, but few and far between.  So much international chatter was an audible reminder of how big the world is (and how much there is left to see!).  I'd never heard Finnish or Swedish or even English in a Portuguese accent, let alone Afrikaans or any of the local dialects chattered on the streets in town - Zulu or Xhosa being the most common in Cape Town.  (Check out the Cape Town Tourism page - translations and slang!)

I also loved listening to the music here.  Like I said earlier this week, it just permeates life here.  It was nice not hearing just the top 40 songs played on loop like back home (we don't have a lot of radio options where we are).

In short, visiting South Africa was an incredible experience - from a cultural perspective, from a human one, from a tourist perspective, from an educational one.  I don't know if this trip will be "life changing" but who knows?  I might find an opportunity for one of the interests sparked at the conference, or I might meet someone through connections made here which open doors professionally.  At any rate, I am truly glad I had the opportunity to attend.

A Falltime Recipe

Thankful for the changing of the seasons!  Here in TX, we don't have "seasons," per se, but we do have signs of the times.  The season of omnipresent pumpkins is winding to an end, and the season of omnipresent peppermint is upon us!

Here's a quick'n'easy little dessert which a coworker of my mom's provided at a breakfast meeting.  She was kind enough to share the recipe.  Thanks, Sue!  Looks like it's a variation on Paula Deen's recipe.  It's a recommended recipe that is "easy, yummy, and feeds a crowd"!  What more could you ask for as we enter the season of holiday hosting?  Besides, it gives me a chance to use my trifle dish - even better!

I adapted it again, and it's my own variation that I've posted below.  It makes a little smaller batch (there's only 2 of us, after all) and it's not quite as sweet as the original recipe.  If you want the Paula Dean version, it's linked above.

PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD TRIFLE

Ingredients:

• 9x9 pan of gingerbread, your favorite recipe
• 1 (1.5 oz) box of instant vanilla pudding mix 
• 3 c. milk (for pudding)
• 1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom or cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1 T. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 (12 oz.) container of frozen whipped topping
• 1/2 cup crushed gingersnaps, optional

Directions:

1. Bake gingerbread; cool completely.
2. Meanwhile, prepare pudding and set aside to chill.
3. Stir the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and spices together.
4. Stir pumpkin mix into pudding.
5. Crumble gingerbread into bottom of a large, trifle type bowl.
6. Pour 1/2 of pudding mix over gingerbread, then add a layer of whipped topping. Repeat with remaining gingerbread, pudding, and whipped topping.
7. Sprinkle with crushed gingersnaps, if desired.
8. Refrigerate overnight.

Notes:

• Sugar and spices (and everything nice) can be adjusted to your taste.  Using pumpkin pie filling instead (like in the original recipe) can yield a very sweet dessert, so sugar can be reduced if dessert is too sweet.  Likewise the spices can be increased or adjusted to your taste.  I ended up using the original 1/2 c. packed brown sugar, but used plain puree.  Also, I like using pumpkin pie spice instead of just cinnamon.  But then, I like the mix of the Pumpkin Pie Spice blend :)
• The gingerbread recipe I used was the WeightWatchers Gingerbread Cake from the WW Comfort Classics cookbook, p.194.

Bon Appétit and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everybody! The weather has finally cooled off, it's Friday, and we've finished some larger projects at work, so I'm in a pretty festive mood right now.  Festive tidings to all! Or... BOO!  Or whatever one says on Halloween :) 

Right now, Zach is unfortunately working an evening duty, so I'm chattering away here and watching the trick-or-treaters come 'round. 

We've had some fun this year too - our first Jack-o-lantern!  Between one thing and another (mostly crazy work schedules) we've really only started celebrating Halloween since we got to Texas.  Was a harder holiday to make work in California (like I said, work schedules).  But since being in Texas, we've been able to have trick-or-treaters each year, and this year, a Jack-o-lantern too!  

 

To quote Calvin and Hobbes, "Ok, Jack, time for your lobotomy!"

   

And all done and lit!  Fun fun!!

 

And of course, with pumpkin carving, comes toasted pumpkin seeds.  My first time in years making them, so here's the recipes I found.  And my notes, so I don't forget next year :)

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Recipe from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

• Pumpkins seeds
• Water
• Salt
• Olive oil

Directions

1. Scoop out the innards of your pumpkin.  It's easiest to do this if you cut the top off, to get access.  If you're making a Jack-o-lantern, as we were, you're doing this already, so just set the goopy pumpkin insides to the side until you are ready to shift from pumpkin-carving to pumpkin-toasting.  I suppose if you're multitasking, you could start the seed prep-work as you carve, but we were both focused on the carving.  Seeds had to come later.  :)
2. Wash the seeds.  You'll need to do this by hand, in order to separate the seeds from the stringy bits.  Use the colander; it will help.   And yes, your hands will be pretty messy.
3. Measure the pumpkin seeds in a cup measure before you place them in a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to the pan for every 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds. Add more salt if you prefer your seeds on the saltier side.  According to Simply Recipes, boiling the seeds in salt water before you toast them lets the salt permeate the seeds, instead of just sitting on top of the shell (like it would if you simply tossed the seeds in oil and salt before toasting).  
4. Bring the salted water and pumpkin seeds to a boil.  Simmer for 10 minutes. 
5. Remove from heat and drain well.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F. 
6. Spread some olive oil on the bottom of a roasting pan or thick baking sheet (I used a cookie sheet with a lip around the edge).  I say spread "some" because I just drizzled the oil, but Simply Recipes recommends about a teaspoon or so. 
7. Spread the seeds out over the sheet in a single layer.  
8. Toss them a bit to coat them with the oil on the pan. I used our silicone basting brush to spread the oil around and cover the seeds.  Worked well, and I didn't have to risk literally tossing my seeds across the kitchen (which is probably what would have happened!).
9. Place sheet on the top rack of your oven and bake until the seeds begin to brown.  This is the tricky part, because it could be anywhere from 5-20 minutes, depending on how big your seeds are.  Smaller  seeds may be done in 5 minutes or so, but large pumpkin seeds may take up to 20 minutes. SO!  Keep an eye on your pumpkin seeds!   I set my timer for 5 minutes at a time, and checked regularly. 
10. When lightly browned, remove the sheet from the oven and let the seeds cool. You don't have to let them cool ALL the way down before eating, but you do want them cool enough you don't burn your tongue.
11. Enjoy!

Notes, References, etc.

As I said above, I used the recipe on Simply Recipes, but there are lots of other variations on toasted pumpkin seeds, as it turns out.  Do you boil them, do you just toast them, do you use olive oil or melted butter, do you toast them on high for less time, or longer at a lower temp... lots of variations.  What I particularly liked were the flavor variations people mentioned!  Here's a sampling:

• 101 Cookbooks - Toasted Pumpkin Seeds: 3 Ways.  The variations there are Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Seeds, Black Tea & Butter Pumpkin Seeds, and Curried Pumpkin Seeds.
• 101 Cookbooks also has a Thai-spiced pumpkin soup recipe, and Simply Recipes has several pumpkin recipes, too - if you're cooking pumpkin anyway...  ;)
• All Recipes is always a good stop.  A basic recipe, but lots of helpful comments. 
• Michael Chiarello's recipe on Food Network.com.  Again a basic recipe, but there are some good tips in the comment section (I think food websites are the only ones where I read the comments anymore!)
• Food Network Kitchens, also on Food Network.com, has a bunch of variations - Italian, barbeque, Indian... definitely a few I want to try next time!
• Food.com lists some good optional seasonings too.  Chili powder, garlic powder, cajun seasonings...

My last comment is a reminder to WATCH YOUR TOASTING!  Mine did end up a little burnt :(  Probably should have stopped at 10 minutes, instead of 12.  It's like popcorn.  Light and salty and delicious if done right, but go just a little too long when cooking, and you end up with that burnt aftertaste, like you're eating charcoal. 

So, definitely worth a repeat, and some yummy looking variations I want to try, but also learned a lesson on toasting them.  Just wait til next year!  :D

Oh So Pinteresting Wednesday: I have joined the ranks of the tutu-ed runners!

There was a Halloween-themed race in our area on Saturday last, with a separate costume contest for the Little Monsters, of course.  The bigger monsters were also encouraged to come in costume - so I did!  I've done other runs in costume, but hadn't done a tutu yet.  But they are getting really popular, so I thought, why not?

The tutu itself is incredibly simple and offers a lot of variation for costumes, theme runs, and similar silliness.  The craziest part?  People will charge $30 or more to make them, when they are SO simple to make yourself!!  So (being the cheap, crafty type that I am) I set about doing some research (Pinterest, of course) and buying some tulle :)

What you will need:

• Tulle - you'll need 2-8 yds of tulle.  Comes in tons of colors, as well as shiny and glittered varieties.  I used 2yds each of 3 colors (black, purple, shiny orange).

• It's an inexact science to figure out how much you need, but rule of thumb: More tulle = Fluffier tutu.
• You probably want the finer mesh tulle - less scratching as you're running.  But, personal preferences and all that.
• ALTERNATIVE: tulle ribbon.  These are found in the wedding/floral sections of the craft stores.  Probably need about 4 spools, judging from other instructions I found out on the Internet.  I just used tulle off the bolt - required more cutting, but cheaper and had the colors I wanted.

•  Ribbon - long enough to go around your waist and tie securely.

• ALTERNATIVE: elastic.  1/2 to 1 inch wide elastic works just fine.  Don't really want to go narrower than that - you are running in it after all, and want it to be at least a little sturdy. If you're using elastic, you'll also need needle and thread.

• Scissors 

What you do next:

1.          Cut your tulle into strips about 4 inches wide.  The strips are attached to the skirt band doubled over, so you'll want the strip lengths to be twice what you want the skirt length to be (i.e., if you want a tutu 9 inches long from the waist, cut 18 inch long strips). 

• If you are using tulle-on-a-spool, that's easy - it's already at the width you want, so you'll just cut it to the length you want.  Remember - 2x the length of the skirt.
• If you are using tulle from the bolt, fold the piece of fabric so that it is length you want, and then cut into strips.  

2.          I cut all my strips, and kept them grouped into piles by color.  I held one strip of each color in each bundle that I attached to the ribbon.  Other variations I saw made their skirts striped, so each bundle is one color only, alternating colors around the band.  All in your preference.

3.          To attach the bundles of tulle, you tie it on using your choice of knots.  Some instructions just tied on the tulle with an overhand knot, but most used the Lark's Head knot (even if they didn't know what it was called).  The Lark's Head is the 'up, over, and pull-through' knot, about as simple a knot as you can get.  Yay for learning this stuff in Girl Scouts!  I'm not going to explain it any more, because there are tons of clearer directions out there with videos and diagrams and all (including in one set of the instructions below), so I'm sure you can find one that is clear to you. 

4.          Since I was doing a no-sew version, I was attaching my tulle to a length of ribbon, long enough to go around my hips and tie.  I started attaching my tulle in the middle of the ribbon and worked out from there, adding bundles on each side.  The more tightly squeezed in your knots are, the more tulle your skirt will have, and the puffier it will be. 

5.         Keep adding tulle until you run out of space or of tulle.  I had ended up not cutting my strips evenly, so I had more orange and black than purple.  I added a few bundles of black and orange (and even just a few orange-only), but they blend right in.  There's so much color and movement in the skirt anyway, that a little unevenness like that won't show :)

6.         Ta-da!  You're done!  Go tie it on and have some fun :)

Other references I used (there are 1,000,001 different instructions for tutus out there; these are a few I looked at for research, in no particular order):

• Idiot Runner Girl 
• Sparkling Fashion 
• The Hair Bow Company
• Hyvaa Paivaa Textiles (don't worry, it's in English)
• My Happiness Redefined
• Cut Out and Keep
• Healthful MD - very good description of the Lark's Head knot too, if you're unfamiliar with it.

And then the race itself!  

The skirt was the final piece in my costume which also included striped knee-high Halloween socks and a hairband with a tiny witch's hat.  So cute, and only $1 at Target!

 

If anyone asks, I chose the ribbon with the apples because witches and poison apples and the whole deal.  But really, it was the first one I grabbed out of my stash that didn't clash completely :)

Thoughts?

• Fun, ridiculously silly, ridiculously easy - win win win!
• There are tons of ways to customize these suckers.  As I said above, you can make them striped or color-blocked, depending on how you arrange the colors.  You can add ribbon to add some contrasting color, or use strips of fabric or wide ribbon instead of the tulle to make a different kind of skirt altogether (swishy, rather than poofy).  And just playing with the colors of tulle, there are tons of options: I've seen ones with different holiday color schemes, ones for each of the Disney princesses, red ones with large white spots as part of a Minnie Mouse costume, blue ones with large stars as part of a Wonder Woman costume, lots of pink and purple ones for fairies, green ones for Tinkerbell... the list goes on and on.
• I don't know if I'd be able to run longer than a 5K in the costume I used on Saturday.  I was pretty pleased with my race time and I like the skirt, but the tulle can get bunched between your legs as you run.  I did have to walk a few moments during the last mile to rearrange my skirt.  In the future, I'd either need to make it shorter, so that it sticks out more than it drapes, or wear running tights - which it was definitely too warm for on Saturday... yay Texas :(
• All in all, though, a fun project and a fun race!

Crazy Colorful Fun!

I have now done a Color Run!

I've been wanting to do one of these for a couple years now, really since they first started getting popular.  With one thing and another, I just couldn't make one.  There are actually a bunch in the area, too.  Austin and Dallas both have them, if I don't mind driving.  Temple and Killeen both have them too, which was more surprising.  But between schedules and having people to run with, it just wasn't working out for me.  Normally having buddies on a race isn't a big deal for me, but with this one, it just seemed like a More-The-Merrier sort of thing.

So, we were planning on doing the one in Killeen this fall (November).  We still might, come to think of it!  But then we lucked out.  MWR on post puts on races regularly through the year, and the 4th of July race is one of their standards.  This year, they decided to make it a color run!  Couldn't pass that up!  So here we are, nice and clean white shirts, all ready to go. 

If you're going to do one of these, the pre-race picture is important - lets you see how very dusted you actually became!

The race itself was fun, but crowded.  It was by far one of the biggest turn-outs I've ever seen at an MWR event, let alone a race!  Everyone was taking advantage of it!!  There were so many people there, I wouldn't call it a race at all.  It was still a 5K (they just used the post's usual 5K course) but with all the people, and especially with so many kids and first time runners, it made quite a crowd to maneuver through, in spite of the wave start.  Even with the crowd, I'd say it's worth doing.  Especially if you can talk someone into trying a 5K for the first time.  All the colored powder and no timing definitely makes it a less intimidating introduction to running.  Anything to encourage people to be more active, right?

Despite what you might think looking at Zach's shirt above, the majority of the color doesn't come from the race itself (unless you make a special effort) but from the Color Party afterwards.  Zach got so very blue by being at the front of the first wave.  The volunteer color teams (those who throw the powder at the runners) were still VERY excited as he was running through.  The kids especially were having a blast trying to get the adults with the color.  Living in Texas, we don't actually get snow to speak of, so this is the closest we can come to a snowball fight and being able to legitimately throw stuff at one another.

 

As you can see below, the Color Party  leaves significantly more color on a person!  People got little bags of color as they finished (I think it comes in the race packets in an average Color Run).  And then at the party, the volunteers spray powder over the crowds (in the pictures above) and people toss their powder up (or at each other).  Everyone gets very colored!

Surprisingly (I suppose) for a crafty-type person, I did not try to set the color on my shirt.  Zach and I talked about it, but ultimately, I just washed it back to the basic white.  I took pictures, though!  You can probably see why I chose not to - the funny green stripe from Zach hugging me, and the sports bra-shaped void on the back are just kinda funny.  So, would rather have my basic black and white running shirt back.  Zach's shirt we didn't even try to salvage!  

 

The powder does wash out, eventually. My hat is back to black, and after a few washes, my shirt is white again too.  Maybe at the November race, I'll try and get a better "design" on my shirt and try and set it then.  We'll see!  :)

Fun with Scissors and Spray Paint!

When we first moved out here, Zach had some pretty long days, busy with all sorts of trainings and new duties and whatever.  Which meant I was left home alone to be crafty! That was 3 years ago now, so as kinda an anniversary post, here are some projects that I did soon after we moved here.  Yup, another 'finally writing it up' sort of project :)  I don't really have instructions for these, or step-by-step pictures, though, just a lot of chatter about what I did.  

First up, I finally got around to recovering my pin boards.  I've collected pins for years, as swaps at conferences, or as souvenirs from places I've traveled or events I've participated in.  I've got them from all over, and display them on fabric-covered cork boards.  I started with just one, but have expanded my original single board into a whole wall-full! 

The picture above (with the blue fabric) is from our place in CA.  After 3 and a half years in a VERY sunny area, even with blinds on the window, the fabric had faded a good bit, especially on the largest board.  So they were due for a rework.  Also, the colors in the room the boards hang in now did NOT match the pastel blue that worked so well before.  Definitely reasons to rework these.

So, first up, I undid the old blue fabric.  The fabric tucks under the frame around the cork, so just needed to be pulled away.  Once the frames were bare, I repainted them a nice satin-finish black.

I used white-on-white patterned fabric to cover the boards.  I have 3 sizes of boards, the small and medium size ones shown with my pins, and the large one with my necklaces shown further down the post here.  All the board frames were repainted with the same black paint, but each size has a different fabric on them.  Not really noticeable in a picture like this, but I like it in person.  I was hoping to find a black-on-white fabric, but the only ones I could find were cow splotches and large damask prints (too busy and too much black for what I want to display) or tiny polka dots (the right size, but if I didn't get the rows lined up just so, I'd have driven myself batty looking at it - yes I am that nit-picky).  So, white-on-white it was!

Yes, I realize that several of the boards have only a handful of pins on them, but they are also divided up by category, to a mild extent.  So, international pins are on one board, academic pins are on another, military pins are a third, Hard Rock Cafe guitars are another, and sports pins are a fifth.  The two bigger ones are the general pins from US travel (also knitting and Scouts, since those also included US places).  They're much more full now than when this picture was taken. We've been out and about!  :) So yes, there is a method to the madness!

The necklace organizer below was recovered at the same time and in the same way as the pin boards - new black paint and new white fabric.  I used it while we were in CA, but had never covered it, just left it as a giant cork board.  It was hanging in the closet after all.  Now that it's in the room instead of closet, I definitely wanted it to look nicer, so paint and fabric it was!  Even covered, though, mine's still pretty basic.  You can see all sorts of pretty ones on Pinterest, though.  Tons of variation!  The lace-covered ones for hanging earrings are really pretty, but as I don't have earrings... 

The accent L on my necklace board is just a little extra I added.  The letter is one of the 99 cent ones from the craft store (Hobby Lobby, I think), with 3 thumbtacks attached to the back.  This lets the letter act as one giant push-pin and I can position it wherever I wanted on the board.  Then the whole letter-pin was painted black to match the frame.  I just use clear push pins to hang my necklaces on the board.  So much neater than necklaces forming tangles in my jewelry box!

 

So, yeah, not too much in this post, just me being proud of my painting skills and (tiny) organizing efforts. And hey, 3 years in TX now - less than 3 to go!

Colorado Trip: Garden of the Gods

First stop in Colorado Springs was shopping, actually.  So nice being in a town that has shops for our hobbies again!!  For example, both Zach and I needed to be fitted for new running shoes, but our closest running store at home is in Austin, about an hour away.  So we made sure to stop by one of the (4!!) running stores in Colorado Springs.  Still can't believe that we don't have a running store, with the base right there and so many people running regularly for PT.  But no, all we've got are big-box sports stores.  The type of place where "Well, the more expensive pair is supposed to be pretty good."  Yeah, need a little more than that when training for half and full marathons...

Funnily enough, we ended up being fitted for the same shoe!  Of course, my shoe size is almost half as small as his, so our identical shoe boxes looked more like a full-size and a mini-sized pair of something.  Was pretty funny, sitting there on the counter for checkout, actually.

For the first touristing bit, we hit up the Garden of the Gods.  It's a National Natural Landmark centered about some very scenic red rock outcrops.  There's about 15 miles of trails through the park, and it's a pretty popular place for hikers and trail runners and, on the easier trails, families with their kids.

It's a really lovely little hiking spot.  Not strenuous trails, but absolutely gorgeous, and right in town.  I mean, it was only about 20 minutes from our friends' place, from downtown, etc.  That's one of the great things about Colorado Springs - within 20-30 minutes, you go from shopping and restaurants and museums to absolutely stunning mountains and parks and trails.  Everything you could want, so convenient!

The photos below are from a spot in the park not to be missed.  The rock columns behind me are the Siamese Twins.  According to the park website, "SIAMESE TWINS TRAIL is an easy 1 mile roundtrip, with less than a 150 foot rise. There is a unique view of Pikes Peak through the natural window of the twins."  It is a very pretty view.  The reddish rocks, the bright blue sky, and the snow on Pike's Peak make for a really lovely photo.  Definitely worth the walk up there, if you're ever in the area.

 

And for a bit of fun, did you know Garden of the Gods has been a pretty, scenic little tourist spot since the late 1800s?  At Balanced Rock, another one of the landmarks in the park, a photographer and his son would take pictures for the tourists coming through, at $0.25 a person.  Those same photos would probably be $25 a person nowadays!  So, we got pictures in front the same rock as a hundred years of hikers before us, though of course we took ours ourselves :)

 

And a little bit of venting to wrap up this post - Murphy's Law is alive and well.  First real trip in months, first day touristing on the first real trip, and my camera dies.  We were hiking, and I was taking pictures.  We stop, I take pictures, camera goes back in its case, we keep walking, and the next time I pull it out to take pictures, it's dead.  The screen looks like a washed out red watercolor, or one of the stylized drug trip/hallucination/dream sequence sort of special effects from a cheap movie.  Not the screen itself broken, since I could scroll back and see the pictures from earlier that morning nice and clearly.  But anything from there on out...  red and blurred.  Bah!!  This camera is only 6 months old!!!  Thankfully it's still under warranty, so as soon as we got back, it got mailed in, and I'm hoping it can be fixed.  But, dangit Murphy, why must your law be so freakin' effective??

Simply Simplistic Shawl: Test Knit

As I start another test knit tonight, I figure I should write up one of my "outstanding" finished projects first :)

Simply Simplistic Shawl

The Yarn:

Cherry Tree Hill Possum Lace Semi-Solid.  No, not American 'possum (opossum).  There's a critter in Australia and New Zealand also called the possum.  It's a pest creature too, funnily enough, accidentally introduced to New Zealand.  Does incredible amounts of damage, too, being there with no natural predators. During the control and conservation efforts, they found that the fur can be harvested and spun, blended with merino or another fiber, to make a warm, light yarn.  Interesting fiber, so why not give it a try?

 

Oh, and this yarn did indeed start as a semi-solid.  Then it fell victim to Sarah's and my adventures in dying yarn.  I was trying to make a yellow and green (Green & Gold!) yarn, but in trying to even out the color changes, the yellow bled a bit more than I expected and it became a mottled spring green.  Very bright green, really, but as my environment doesn't have all that much bright green in it, go for it!

Raveled here.

The Pattern:

The Simply Simplistic Shawl by Jennifer B. Law.  It's available as a Ravelry download, if you're interested.

It is indeed a very basic shawl, making it perfect for those yarns which you want to show off, but have colorways which are too busy for some patterns.  It’s one of those patterns that you can keep going until it’s as big as you want, so good for small amounts, or for larger skeins.  I only used about 30g of yarn (270 yds) and have a little scarf/shawlette sized piece.  As you're playing with the size, you'll see it's pretty customizable; just add more stockinette or more lace at the border as you please.

It is LOTS of lace-weight stockinette, though I'm sure you can use any weight yarn.  If you’re watching movies or kids’ swim meets (or other sporting events), this is probably perfect for you. It's very easy to put down and pick up, and doesn’t take tons of concentration.  Everyone needs those projects in their queues too. :)

Notes, Alternations, Etc.:

I just did the instructions as written. As I mentioned above, it's a very customizable pattern, so feel free to have just playing with it to show off your yarn.

Caleta Tortuga Shawlette: Another Test Knit

Yup, another test knit shawl.  Maybe Zach's right.  Still, cowls and shawls are pretty flexible with gauge, so that's always a plus for me.  Gauge is for wusses!  Or for people who want garments that actually fit...

 

The yarn

South West Trading Company TOFUtsies.  This was leftover from another project.  I had to order a batch of at least 5 skeins to get the colorway I wanted, and this was one of the leftover skeins. 

TOFUtsies can be a little splitty to work with.  Well, it can be REALLY splitty if you're not being careful.  But, I've definitely worked with more frustrating yarns (for example, using sugar yarn, as soft as it is, is like working with embroidery floss).  And TOFUtsies's on the lighter end of fingering, so if you're looking for a fast knitting yarn, this probably isn't it.  Still, it comes in tons of great colorways, I personally love working with the stuff, and it's great in hot climates like what I've been living in the last few years.  So many sock yarns are warm yarns - wool, wool blends, alpaca, etc.  With TOFUtsies being only 50% wool, it's a much nicer yarn to work with when Texas summers pick up.

The pattern

This was a test knit for Caleta Tortuga Shawlette by Miranda Jollie.  It's available as a Ravelry download, if you're interested.

It's a relatively basic lace shawl, with the body being nice and repetitive.  Pretty good for someone still wetting their feet with lace knitting.  Good for experienced knitters too, who want something for TV knitting or for knit group (I can never take anything too complex to Knit Night - conversation is too distracting!).  Oh, and like most lace, it does need to be well blocked to open up.  It's pretty unimpressive unblocked (see above) but opens up gorgeously.

 

It's a nice pattern to adapt, if you want.  If you need something a little warmer, this works well with heavier yarns too, not just fingering.  And it's an easy enough one to make larger - add more repeats of Chart A before beginning the border.

Notes, Alternations, Etc.

No alterations, actually.  I did everything as written.  A few notes on the border, though:

• Keep close watch on your stitch count as you shift between the body and the border.  There are a lot of stitches on the needles at that point, so tinking or frogging to correct mistakes is pretty tedious.  Don't ask how many times I was off by 1 before I paid close enough attention to guarantee an accurate set-up row...
• Pay plenty of attention on the final row, too.  There are tons of stitches on the needles at this point, with all those YOs.  And the CCDs go across a pattern repeat (i.e., you’ll have to remove your stitch marker to make the decrease).  So pay attention to your decreases and try not to let any stitches fall off or get twisted, and you'll be fine.