Maine – The Way Life Should Be

Ahhhh, Maine how I love you! Yes, it is that time of the year again, Gist and I just returned from our annual Columbus Day mini-vacation to Mount Desert Island (MDI.) We always have such a wonderful time – it is something I look forward to all year long.

This year we left on Friday morning after stopping for a delicious breakfast at Gromley’s here in Lowell. We split the difference between the fast route and the scenic (although both are scenic) routes and took the interstate (I95 & I295) up to Augusta and then took local roads the rest of the way. With stops, the entire trip took about 51/2 hours.

We arrived in Bar Harbor at 4:30ish and immediately checked into our hotel, the Bar Harbor Inn. We love it there! We always book the Autumn Gold package which includes a full breakfast each morning, one dinner in the restaurant, a Maine lobster bake, and a sail on the Margaret Todd or a bus tour of Acadia.

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Wait. What’s this thing here? Oh yeah, it’s a blog.

Okay. So I’ve all but disappeared. Why? Who knows – I was on vacation, then commuting from Newburyport, then overwhelmed with work. Oh yeah, I have also been Raveling (is that what it’s called?) So here’s a lame update…

My vacation was very nice. I read a lot (seven books!), napped a lot, finished my Clapotis (yay!), went to the beach, walked two lovely terriers, biked all over Newburyport,spent time with friends and loved ones (Gist, Jeremy, Eddy, Katy, Yovani), and really just enjoyed not working for two weeks. To sum it all up, an ubiquitous photo montage:

There are a whole lot more pictures in my Newburyport Vacation photo set on Flickr.

Now I’ll try to post more frequently!

Slowest. Knitter. Ever.

Today I sat here:

and worked on my Clapotis. I am on the decrease rows, so close to the end that I can taste it. I just wish I were there already. I am amazed when I read about people who finished this project in a week – how do they do it? I have been knitting it since April (which seems a bit excessive I’ll admit.) Anyway, a not-so-great progress picture:

I hope that I’ll have a FO pic soon!

Vacation!

Yay! I’m on vacation in Newburyport, MA. I took this picture on my bike ride tonight – it’s lovely here. I am very lucky because I am house and dog sitting for Madeline while she and her family are in Ireland so I not only have a free place to stay in a lovely summer vacation spot but I’m also getting paid! Heather is house and cat sitting for me while I’m away – I certainly got the better deal!

My big plans for my vacation? Walking the dogs, riding my bike, going to the beach (probably on my bike!), cooking out, reading, knitting, and relaxing. Oh, and eating ice cream. And fried clams.

What’s that thing up in the sky?

Could it be… the sun? Yes, it looks like it is – yay! After two weeks of rain, rain, rain we’re finally getting to see some sun.

This has been a pretty bust vacation weather-wise, something I should have remembered from April vacations of yore. Gist and I ended up going to Northampton in the pouring rain for part of the week. Other than the weather it was a very nice trip. We drove down in what looked to be a blizzard: there were some serious white-out conditions on Route 2.

Once we got there we had lunch at ABC (yum) and checked in to our hotel. Our room was very nice and we hung out there until it was time to go to dinner at Pizzaria Paradiso (double yum.) Then we went back to our room and called it a night.

Ugh.

Gist and I are not going to Maine next week. Waaaaah. The weather is supposed to be terrible from Sunday to Wednesday: a big nor’easter, flood warnings, snow warnings, high seas warnings, possible power outages, etc. and we decided that with all of the warnings we probably wouldn’t have the best vacation. As Gist said “We don’t want to go, get evacuated and spend our vacation on the floor of a high school gym.” I know it’s the right choice but it is still disappointing. I am really, really, really sick of this year’s weather and the total seasonal delay.

So instead of going to Maine, we’ll be taking day trips and short overnighters. We were going to go to Foxwoods but it’s booked. We are going to go to Western MA and maybe stay in the Hotel Northampton and maybe take another overnight trip. It’s not exactly what we wanted to do but it should be fun anyway.

Maine

Gist and I have booked a trip to Bar Harbor in April. I can’t wait….

Did I meet my challenge?

Nope!

But I sure am impressed with how far I got! I have been a knitting fool for the past four days and I have a lot to show for it. I just hope I can keep the momentum up!

My mini-break has been full of knitting and relaxing. On Tuesday Nance and I went down to Niantic, CT where we saw Word Play and browsed around the town. Word Play was excellent and Niantic was lovely. We also went out for supper at The Courthouse in Putnam and then we went to the *gasp* brand new Price Chopper! The Price Chopper opening was the most exciting thing to hit Putnam in ages. The parking lot was just about full at 9:00 pm on a Tuesday night – amazing.

On Wednesday we explored the Quiet Corner. We had coffee and knit at Victoria Station and then we went to Wool Works where I got some lovely sock yarn and Wonderland Books. Next it was off to Flying Carpet Studio where Nance got some beads. Then we headed over to Thompson and had a lovely lunch at Simple Elegance.

Now I’m just waiting for Gist to arrive. She’s going to stay for supper then we’re going to go to We-Lik-It for dessert and then *sigh* back home to Lowell. I wish vacation lasted forever but Stephanie arrives tomorrow evening which should be fun!

Vacation!

Pomfret Center, CT
Sunny and gorgeous!

I am on a mini-vacation till Wednesday – yay! I decided to come down to Pomfret for some desperately-needed country rejuvenation. Unfortunately I still have to do some work while I am away but at least I am away and not in the office! During my stay, I am going to work on the OU proposal in the morning and then I am going to play in the afternoon.

Here is my temporary “office” and the view from my “desk”:

Nice, huh?

Yosemite Photo Montage

I made this for Gist and what’s the harm in putting it here?

Yosemite Montage