How I spent my vacation
My father and I felled the 30′ mimosa tree in my back garden. Thanks to a combination of good fortune, my weight on the end of some well-placed dropes, and Dad’s mad skills with a chainsaw and a come-along, we did this without damaging the cars, the fence, the garage, the house, my mother, or ourselves. RIP, mimosa. Its pink blossoms were a sheer delight, but it split down the bole during the wind storms and couldn’t survive.
I acquired a fabulous little oil painting from Yves, a French art dealer with whom I’ve become chummy.
I took my parents to the Portland Art Museum.
We watched The Queen (for me, a second time). Helen Mirren rocks my socks, but the Corgis steal the show whenever they’re on screen. My parents liked the movie almost as much as they liked the novelty of $3 movies + microbrew, a staple of Portland entertainment.
We hung my grandmother’s beautiful needlework tapestry in my entry way.
We went up to the island and picnicked on my parents’ property, from which you can see Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier, and the Olympic range. We also saw some of the first hummingbirds of the season.
I forked horse manure.
I helped my friend Eliza’s delightful five-year-old collect half a sheep skeleton for her “bone museum.” If only I’d had my camera to help you visualize this wee elfling tramping down the hillside with a hock joint, a skull, part of a rib cage, three vertebrae, and a pelvis cradled in her short little arms.
I dug into a juicy treat: Nancy Milford’s Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay. It was recommended by Rebecca, and I mentioned it to my book club as a possibility for our May read. I’m finding it hard to put down.
I listened to the Capitol Steps perform on NPR. They sang my favorite number, “God Bless My SUV,” and a ditty about the attorney scandal to the tune of “The Lonely Goatherd,” complete with yodeling. Awesome.
I carpooled home to Portland with my cousins. I was the Dispenser of Peanuts, Sandwiches, and Stroopwafels (if you do not know the manna that is the stroopwafel, you haven’t lived) and the Changer of Discs of The Trumpet of the Swan, as read by E.B. White himself (be still my heart).
I knit a lot on Glee (pictures of that soon: I’m working in the round and inventing waist shaping now).
I met my girl Katrin for coffee and more knitting. Katrin is making this, so we scratched our heads over Kim Hargreaves’s utterly baffling directions for picot cast-on. Following them precisely, I produced a bizarre spinal column of stitches on two needles that looked nothing like a picot edge.
I caught up on past episodes of Dancing with the Stars and cast on a Chevron Scarf ala Domesticat. I try not to stick my thumb out for too many bandwagons, but since I began this project more than two years ago, I’m forgiving myself the lapse. Cat’s zaggy version was so much cooler than the Old Shale start I’d made that I tore out my sad ten inches of abandoned scarflet. It should be the perfect birthday present for my mother-in-law’s 60th in May. Unfortunately, although I’m using the same Koigu and size 3 needles, my scarf isn’t lying as obediently flat as Cat’s. It wants to fold up along the increases and decreases. I’m hoping a vigorous blocking will persuade it of the errors of its stubborn ways. Has anybody else had this problem?
Posted: April 3rd, 2007 at 7:24 pm
It must say something about me that the thing that stood out most for me in your post was the Stroopwafels!
Where did you get them? If it was locally, inquiring minds want to know!
I’m glad you had a good vacation otherwise, too :).
Posted: April 3rd, 2007 at 8:17 pm
What a great vacation!
You’ve inspired me to consider a chevron scarf of my own… I don’t know about the troubles you’re having with it, but I’ll let you know if mine (if I do it) has the same issues.
Posted: April 3rd, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Your posts are so much fun to read. What a perfect vacation! I want to taste stroopwafels. Right now. 🙂 And where do you see $3 movies in PDX? Kennedy School?
Posted: April 4th, 2007 at 3:02 am
Gah – how dreadfully have I misspent my life, my miserable stroopwafelless life? I only hope that I can track them down somewhere in New York and sample their deliciousness.
Posted: April 4th, 2007 at 4:28 am
that sounds like one action packed, but really enjoyable vacation! I love the image of the sheep skeleton – a very strange and yet happy image comes to mind when I read what you wrote…
Posted: April 4th, 2007 at 5:12 am
oh mine wanted to fold too, esplly along the double decrease. don’t think that’s avoidable but i did a wetblock and it flattened it out nicely.
Posted: April 4th, 2007 at 7:03 am
What a wonderfully zany weekend!! Can’t help on the chevron scarf, but I can’t wait to see where you are with glee!! And i totally got sucked into Dancing with the Stars this season – I’m rooting for Ian and Cheryl!
Posted: April 4th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Your vacation sounds wonderful! I’m intrigued by the little painting you bought from the art dealer. How wonderful to have real art to enjoy…I’m kicking myself for not buying the tiny print when we visited the art festival at St. Tropez. Lessons learned! It sounds like you really enjoyed your time with your family too.
Posted: April 4th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Have dutifully added the Millay book and Capitol Steps to my wishlist. I used to look forward to the Mark Russell specials on PBS, years and years and years ago. I loved how he was an equal opportunity zinger. Sounds like these kids are bipartisan bashers as well.
Posted: April 4th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
Wow, you sound like you got much more done on your break than I did on mine. I can’t even remember how I spent all the time.
Posted: April 5th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
You had a very productive vacation, and it sounds like you had a good time. I love the painting!
As for your chevron scarf, I am using a similar stitch pattern. I have a one stitch garter edge and then a decrease stitch (I start and end with a half-point, with two chevron points in between). Anyway, the garter stitch folds itself under and the rest is laying flat (I had no idea what would happen with only 1 stitch in garter, but I like it). I’m using Fleece Artist merino on size 4 needles.
Posted: April 7th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
sounds like a very fun (and productive) vacation!
i am considering a chevron scarf as well (though i seem to be jumping on an alarming number of bandwagons these days…)! Yours looks great!
Posted: April 10th, 2007 at 7:17 am
ahhhh, the sainted stroopwafel…my pop is dutch-indo and i was raised anticipating xmas packages of the delightful discs. my oma and opa came armed with the packages sometimes, feeding their multitudes of grandkids must have been daunting. now i have found mini ones at the local trader joe’s….hmmmm, i think i must call the husband and request a package or two (finally, a craving, thank you, sarah 🙂
Posted: May 11th, 2007 at 7:30 am
Thanks for the book recommendation, I just requested it from the library!