Time to Take Action

Today is dedicated to things that are going to make me, in the end, feel better.  This is not an indulgent day of doing nothing but reading and knitting.  It is a day for action, to take steps that I've been long avoiding that will make me more content with the world around me.  I have almost the whole day to myself.  Ed is at a fishing tournament.  This may not sound like a lot of fun but I'm going to do some serious cleaning. And map out a fitness plan for myself. Once done, I'll be able to relax and not stress about the dust bunnies around the house. And I'll have an action plan to make myself feel healthier.

Last weekend was my indulgent weekend.  On Saturday I went to my favorite LYS.  They were having a big sale.  I didn't need anything (I never do!), but a couple skeins were particularly pretty.

This is the March 18 colorway of Baah La Jolla.  Since my birthday is in March, I thought I'd make myself a fun cowl with it.

This beauty will hopefully become Aether someday.  The shop had a sample.  It was absolutely gorgeous!!  I don't have enough green in my wardrobe.  This would be a very nice addition.

On Sunday I was feeling quite odd.  Not ill exactly, just dizzy.  I may have had a little inner ear thing going on because I felt some fluid move when I laid on one side.  Since I was not feeling the greatest, I spent most of the day watching television and knitting.  Weekender was my project of choice.  Easy, mindless knitting.

Next weekend I am going to Stitches Midwest with a couple friends.  I am taking the Fox Paws class and the Fit to be Fabulous class. My friend Cindy is driving so I need to plan a couple car projects for the 6 hour trek to Chicago.  I have three sweaters in progress:  Weekender, Relax and Stonecrop Top.  One of these will be selected.  I also have Quinoa, Hitchhiking Around Ohio and Brioche Scarf in progress.  One of those will be selected as my alternate project.  I need an alternate because all three sweater patterns are mainly miles and miles of stockinette.

Beige on Beige

Hubby started a new job this week.  He doesn't seem too excited about it yet.  The environment is very different than the one he came from.  He also has a lot of learning to do.  Once he starts contributing he'll feel better.  I hope.

When we went to Iceland I packed only one knitting project.  I knew we were going to be doing a lot of driving, but I didn't want my eyes on yarn.  I wanted to watch the landscape.  I was so tired every evening I didn't bother pulling the work out of the bag until the last night.  I cast on Stonecrop Top while my family napped before dinner.

That cast on was later ripped out and redone after we got home.  The problem was the yarn.  Stacy Charles Nina is chain plied.  Somehow a large section became unplied (chain pulled free) on the ball I used to cast on.  That section was too close to the cast on edge to make me comfortable so I put the project aside and reworked it when we got home.  I restarted with another ball and happily found that it didn't have the same issue.  This is cruising along nicely.  I'll have it done in time to pack it away for next summer.  I seem to have a habit of finishing projects just as the weather to wear them in changes.

In a few weeks is Stitches Midwest.  I've not been to this particular Stitches event.  I'm taking a class to learn how to knit Fox Paws and a sewing class to learn how to fit patterns to my body.  I'm very excited!  My friend, Cindy, is driving.  I need to plan my car knitting.  I probably could get most of Stonecrop done.  Or, I could work on a sweater that could be worn this fall/winter.  I'll probably take several projects and see what mood hits me.

Iceland

Once upon a time there was a knitter (Franklin Habit) who blogged about his visit to Iceland.  When I read his blog and viewed his photos, I fell in love with the scenery and decided that someday I would visit.  That someday happened last week.  From July 1-8 my family and I drove around the country, taking in the sights and hiking trails.  We covered so much ground, it is near impossible to write about it all.  I'll just let some of our photos give the highlights.

The iconic Lutheran church in Reykjavik, with the statue of Leif Erikson in front.

Quaint cottages in Pingvellir.

Trail between the tectonic plates in Pingvellir.

Straddling the Atlantic Rift, with my right hand/foot touching the North American plate and my left touching the Eurasian plate.  (bucket list - check!!)

Hiking along the rim of a volcanic crater.

Family posed in front of Grundarfjardarbaer (might be recognized as the Mountain beyond the Wall for Game of Thrones).

Beautiful countryside along the eastern side.

One of the Airbnbs that we stayed in.

Skogafoss waterfall.  One of many that we visited throughout the week.

A cute puffin posing outside his burrow.

An Icelandic sheep ram.  He was a bit suspicious of me when I hoped out of the car to snap his picture.

An Icelandic sheep ewe and her two lambs.  

Fun fact, Iceland has twice as many sheet as residents.  Given how many we saw along the roadside, I totally believe it!

Need I say how excited I was to find this.  Full disclosure, I googled where it was located in Reykjavik and managed to talk my family into strolling by.  Unfortunately, that first evening, we arrived literally just as the shopkeeper turned the lock to close up for the night.

My family indulged me the next morning and allowed me to pay the shop another visit during business hours.

Not sure how it happened but these were stowaways in my luggage.

This trip was a bucket list item for several of us.  It has been 4 years since our big family adventure to Hawaii.  We don't have our next destination selected yet.  Hopefully 4 more years won't pass before we make another epic trip.