Knitting Musings

Camping, Now With 100% Less Rain!

Last weekend was the July installment of the summer camping odyssey - and the last until we get back from Ireland. And luckily, unlike last time, the weather was perfect - low 80's, nice breeze, clear skies, and NO RAIN. We had a fantastic time...

... Especially Abby the 3-Legged Wonder Dog, who got so excited when we started getting out the camping stuff that she almost couldn't stand it. She wouldn't let us out of her sight - you know, in case we forgot to bring her or something!

Once on the road, she proved that she did, in fact, remember how much fun it was to sniff out the window - this was my view for most of the drive through the park.

And once we set up camp, we headed over to the Big Meadow for some serious sniffing. The tall grasses were perfect - lots of rodents to chase, and those crazy-looking 2-legged dogs that always follow her on the end of the leash could keep up!

The Meadow was full of all sorts of flowers - I particularly liked this one, but I have no idea what it's called.

We occasionally managed to get Abby to sit still and "rest" - but she really couldn't understand why we didn't want to keep chasing everything. I'm fairly certain that if Abby could describe her vision of heaven, it would look exactly like Big Meadows, only with more squirrels, a large bed for snuggles, and plenty of beef jerky trees.

On the way back from camp, we came across these gorgeous butterflies - Phyl-Phyl, these beauties are for you!

Finally, after another trip to the Big Meadow, a yummy dinner of grilled chicken, potatoes, salad, and angel food cake with cherries (we're all about roughing it...), it was time for bed. Unfortunately, as you can tell from this picture, Abby wasn't at ALL tired. Nope - not one bit. She was just having a little problem keeping those dang eyelids open, that's all...

The next day, we hiked a few miles along the Appalachian Trail, vainly attempting to keep up with Abby. On the way out of the park, the Princess got to sit on S' pillow "so she'd be more comfortable."

But yes - there was knitting. A second baby kimono - for a co-worker expecting in August who doesn't know baby's gender. I used about 2 skeins of (old) Mission Falls 1824 Cotton from stash. The 2-color borders were a bit of an intarsia-related pain, but definitely worth it in the end. This weekend I'm planning on making a stop at some fabric-related store to find ribbons or buttons or something for both baby kimonos, which will then get wrapped up and sent off. I can't say enough how much I love this pattern!