FMM - A Knitting Update, Finally!

It's been forever since I've had a knitting update.  Or knitted anything, really.  But in September I finally felt OK enough to try knitting something really basic, so I chose some yarn that I had in my stash and a basic beanie pattern, and got started.  It took me three tries to cast on correctly - and I actually twisted the cast on one of those times, which is something I'm usually really careful about checking because that means you have to start all over again - but I finally was able to get it going and I finished it two months later.  I know, that's a long time for a simple hat, but in between I had back surgery and was recovering from that, and then Karen and Jimmy brought me a skein of yarn from their trip to Vermont and I started a more complicated hat, so as it turned out I ended up completing two hats in the same week, which made me feel extra accomplished about the entire thing.

Here's hat number one - I call it my Return to Knitting hat:

Yarn is Twisted Fiber Art Queen Evolution, colorway is Candy Floss, pattern is super basic - I just cast on 84, did some 2x2 ribbing for the brim, and then decreased at the top and made a pom pom with the leftover yarn.

I got this yarn five years ago when I was in Twisted Fiber Art's yarn club.  Glad I held onto it until this project because it's become my go-to hat this winter.

This is my favorite picture - me wearing a hat I hand knit along with a scarf that Debby hand knit and I'm at Hogsmeade in Universal Studios next to the magical knitting window display.  Knitting, Harry Potter, and Universal Studios, ahhh. 

Next is my Vermont Hiking Hat:

Yarn is a worsted weight from Shelburne Farms in Vermont - colorway is undyed/natural, and pattern is Irish Hiking Hat...hence the name change to Vermont Hiking hat. 

The cables made my brain work harder than it had in a long time but I was really pleased with how the hat turned out.  Oh - the pom pom is faux fur - I thought it made for a fun change from the usual yarn pom poms.

And here's Karen wearing the hat - I gave it to her which felt like I completed the circle of giving.  She is so pretty and I love how nicely the hat looks with her hair color.

Of course after I finished these hats I had a seizure and subsequent concussion, which put knitting on hold once more, but I started knitting a baby hat last week and it went well although I think the colors might be a little bright for a newborn - what do you think:

Yarn is Mindless Knits hat and cowl DK, colorway is rainbow, pattern is Basic Beanie.  I call this hat Rainbow Beanie and I know you're impressed with my originality, LOL.

And now I'm working on another baby hat, although I'm not sure the color yarn I have is any more baby-like.  I really need a trip to a yarn store to fill a specific need - soft speckled colors - in my stash.  Hmmm, I'll have to see if there are any good yarn stores near Allie; that might be my best bet for an out-of-town yarn shopping trip.

Have a great weekend!

2020 Texas 10 Series 5 Mile Race - Spectator's Recap

This year's medal...which is the same as last year.  Weird that they didn't change it up, especially considering their medals are always so impressive.

Here are my medals from 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.  All different.  What's up, 2020?

On Sunday Jeff, Karen, Diane, and Brian ran the five mile race of the Texas 10 Series - it's a race that is run throughout south Texas, with points and prizes awarded to runners who compete in all of the races.  We just do the local one, which starts and finishes at one of the high schools here in town.  The race started at 7:00 am and we didn't even leave our house until 6:15 am; that's how casual of a race it is for us, and it's an especially nice change after the craziness of the Houston half marathon the week before.

Porta-potty backdrop for the win!  Jeff, Diane, Brian, and Karen.

It had rained overnight so the roads were slick, plus it was pretty foggy.  Before it began, the race announcer was making sure that everyone knew to watch out for vehicles at intersections not stopping, or possibly sliding through the intersection - basically telling everyone to be extra careful even though they had a lane blocked off and police officers directing traffic.  So that was a little worrisome, but at least it was early on a Sunday so there wasn't a lot of traffic out in the beginning.

Jimmy and I watched the race began before going to switch out Karen's participant shirt for the correct size.  They gave her a men's XL, which would have fit her like a night shirt!

Blurry shot of Jeff, representing his alma mater Humboldt State University.

Yes that is a man running in a PANDA HEAD.  He ran the entire 10 mile race in it and I don't know how he doesn't overheat and die, but apparently this is his thing and he wears it at every race.  Runners are a crazy bunch, but some bring it to the next level.

Thankfully our runners have been getting faster because it wasn't too long before they started showing back up.  First was Brian:

I love that he wears the bright orange cap - makes it easy to pick him out from a distance and be camera ready at the finish line.

Next up was Karen:

Another fast race for her!

Then Jeff surprised me by coming in right behind Karen:

Jeff credits his speed increase to physical therapy - he says he doesn't hurt when he runs now.  I think he needs to bring Amanda flowers or something...

Then Diane came in - she's been having a great racing season too!

Jeff and Diane both got Age Group awards:

Diane was second in her group, Jeff was third in his.

Jeff was the only person from his AG to come up for their award so he got the full attention of the photographer.

Aiden got to hold the mug prizes.

Logan wore his dad's medal and was so enamored of it - I feel you Logan, I do.  Medals are awesome!

As usual, we hung around for the cash prize drawing - they gave out less this year, only four $50 bills for the five mile racers (when we first started running this race they gave out 10 $50 for the five milers and 10 $100 for the ten milers - they were down to eight this year).  The odds weren't great but look who won $50:

Diane!  This was her first cash win at this race.

Breakfast at Blue Baker followed, of course.  I like this race but now that I've spectated it instead of running it, I might like it a little more.  Jimmymeow is corrupting me toward the spectator life, LOL.

Jeff's loot.

Seashells and Shaming

I grew up in California and went to the beach often enough from my childhood onward that walking and picking up shells was a common thing to do, and something that I've always enjoyed.  I have an old wine bottle (conveniently picked up on the beach as well) that is full of shells that have to be over 40 years old:

The picture frame is made with California beach shells, courtesy of Barbara.

I have little bowls and displays of shells in my office:

Confession:  The sand dollars were all gifts from friends - I cannot find a whole sand dollar, ever!

When I was in California earlier this month, Barbara and I managed to get a quick walk in on a small beach just north of Santa Cruz, and as we've done forever, we both immediately bent our heads down, automatically looking for interesting shells, bits of driftwood, and sea glass:

I left this one there because the seaweed was attached to it, but what a pretty thing to come upon!

Natural art, courtesy of the ocean.

This is what I came home with - not a bad haul for a 10 minute walk.

As we were picking up shells, Barbara asked me if I was going to post about them on the blog; she reminded me of getting "shell shamed" by someone (I'd actually forgotten but yeah, that sounds about right) once before when I wrote about picking up shells.  The thing is, I obviously don't have an issue with picking up sea shells (or pine cones, as you can see some from North Carolina in the top picture).  I like to bring a little bit of nature into my home, and to me, it's perfectly fine to do.  I know some people might say that if everyone picked up shells, there wouldn't be any more shells on the beach but let's face it, that isn't going to happen, so I do my thing and it makes me happy.

But it has me wondering - what is something you do, or have done, that you've been shamed for when you didn't think it was wrong?  I'm sure as a blogger I've shared things that have made some of my readers be aghast at what I've done but thankfully it's rare when someone has commented and shamed me. Feel free to share your shame in the comments - we can absolve each other of our purported wrongdoings!

Friday Mishmash

It feels like forever since I've done a FMM - I'm slowly getting back into the groove of blogging.  Oh and working - I've worked my part-time job for the last two weeks which has been good; I'm enjoying it even when I can't remember or don't quite know how to do some things.  Office work is one thing but adding the medical/insurance component to it makes it a lot more complicated.  The only glitch has been with me not able to drive; Jeff has to drive me there on his way to work and then he takes a later lunch to pick me up and bring me home.  It works but it'll be nice when I can legally drive a car again, which won't be for another month, sheesh.

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First up is Henry and his friend Mr. Rogers.  Actually Henry has two friends - Smokey, an all gray cat, and Mr. Rogers, a calico/white mix.  Mr. Rogers always comes over the fence into our backyard, so obviously he's a neighbor, and Smokey - well, you can probably guess why I named him that.  Yes I name the random cats that come to visit - doesn't everyone?  I've caught all three cats hanging out together on occasion, which always makes me smile - Henry has friends!  I've also seen Smokey come to our front door via our Nest camera, which makes me wonder:  if he could reach the doorbell, would he ring it and ask if Henry could come out and play?

This was from earlier in the week:

Henry was hanging by my window wanting to be let inside.  Mr. Rogers came over and distracted him for a bit.

Thankfully Henry is pretty fastidious and could not be persuaded to go roll in the dirt with Mr. Rogers. I really don't want a Pigpen situation inside the house.

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Next up is Paco.  Because he was enjoying laying outside at Allie's place, I bought him an outdoor dog bed - I guess our grass is not as soft as Allie's because he doesn't do that here.  But it's too cold to be outside right now, so the bed is currently residing in our living room:

Dis bed is sproingy.

Right now we have the bed on the floor near the end of the couch, which Paco uses as a springboard to hop onto the couch.  It's pretty cute to watch him do that, plus I feel better about it because sometimes he's tried to jump onto the couch and failed - I suspect he's got some doggy arthritis going on, poor old pup.

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Speaking of getting older, take a look at this:

Why yes, that's my niece Theresa DRIVING me to go pick up dinner.  DRIVING.

She's also taller than me.  

I swear she was just this little girl like, yesterday.  Paco and Theresa, circa 2009.  

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Finally, when Theresa and I were wandering in Macy's last month, we came across Thor, aka Chris Hemsworth, aka my future third husband, so I had to get a picture with him:

Hey Thor. 

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Have a great weekend!

2020 Aramco Houston Half Marathon Spectator's Recap!

Really pretty medal this year - I love all the bright enamel colors!

On Sunday I got to spectate the Chevron Houston Marathon/Aramco Half Marathon once again.  We had a small group of Renegades running the half marathon this year thanks to babies being born and other stuff going on - it was just Jeff, Karen, Diane, and Andi.  Except for the strong north wind, the weather was perfect for running a long race and everyone ended up doing really well, which was nice to see. But I'm getting ahead of myself - you know it wouldn't be a recap written by me if it didn't contain tons of sidetracks.

The race expo started on Friday at 10:00 am, so Jeff, Diane, and I drove to Houston and arrived shortly before the expo opened.  Karen and Jimmy met up with us and we went through the line quickly - they simplified the packet and participant shirt pick up process which was wonderful after several years of organized chaos.  This year there was organization but no chaos.  And you got to get the t-shirt right as you entered the expo instead of having to walk allllll the way to the back of the building - I'm sure the runners appreciated that. 

The participant's shirt was technical fabric instead of the usual cotton t-shirt.  I think it's a nice color and design.  The finisher's shirt was white technical fabric, which...ehh.  It's sheer and just not as good as it could have been.

There were some different items for purchase at the expo which made it fun - Jeff got a cool hat:

Astros colors - I would have loved this on a shirt.

We both tried to win big at the Kendra Scott booth:

I ended up with nail polish and he got a canvas tote bag.  Nice prizes, but no jewelry, which they were giving away as well; Karen won a necklace, that lucky duck!

Photo ops were everywhere - this one was cool.

We didn't stay too long - it got loud and crowded and overwhelming.  We drove home, only to repeat the drive the next day.  But on Saturday, there was invisible construction on the highway, which made the drive pretty miserable - they'd bring the lanes down from five lanes to two for miles, and then open it back up again - with zero construction happening.  This went on a couple of times and by the time we made it back to downtown, we were over it.  We parked, grabbed our luggage, and walked into the Marriott to check in, only to discover that we were actually registered at the JW Marriott, not the Marriott Marquis, which are both downtown and within half a mile from each other.  Ugh.  When you register for a hotel for the race you go through the Chevron Houston Marathon website, and while I swear I clicked on the Marriott with the picture of the Texas-shaped swimming pool (as does Diane), somehow we ended up at the other hotel.  So we schlepped our luggage the half mile to the other hotel because taking the car out of the parking garage would have probably cost us $20 (no joke, it was $24 for the few hours the day before at the expo) and we didn't want to then park at the other hotel for even more money.

Needless to say I was in a bad mood.  Actually I had been crabby the day before because it was really irritating to be at the expo and not be a runner.  I had been having such a good running season last Jan - March, and I was going to sign up for this race, but then my back blew up and of course later on my brain did as well so this was just more of a reminder of what didn't happen.  When I made the reservation last June I was in massive pain and also on Gabapentin, which made my brain extra stupid, so I'm sure that contributed to the mistake.  But in the last couple of weeks I'd also discovered that I'd paid my gas bill twice for January, and as well as registering Jeff twice - once in July and once in September after my back surgery - for the same damn race that is coming up this weekend.  I used to not make so many stupid mistakes; who knows what else I'll discover I've made...it's like lately I'm on an unpleasant Easter egg hunt.  So while I was trying to not be pissy around our group, it wasn't easy and of course that just made me feel worse.  Definitely an I hate everything moment.  Or hour.  Or day.  Diane did make me laugh when she showed me the giant beam in her room:

The hotel is in an old 1930s skyscraper building and these beams are original to the building.  Not every room has one but she got lucky.

She also let me steal her Nespresso pods because she doesn't drink coffee.

The next morning we got up early and made the trek in the cold and wind to the other Marriott, where we were meeting up with Karen, Jimmy, and Andi.  At least I remembered to bring my knee-length down coat this year, along with the knitted hat and scarf that I've been wearing together all winter, so I wasn't freezing. 

Jeff, Diane, Karen, and Andi - Renegades, ready to run!

Jeff and Karen toasted with their UCAN drink, and then they were off to their corrals.

After we left Jeff and Karen, Jimmy and I headed to the start line, were we got a great spot.  This was just before the race began - the starting gun went off and the pace vehicles took off fast, which was good because the first group of runners - the elites - were a blur, they were so fast:

Here they come...

And there they go!

Next corral was Karen's:

We saw her, yay!

Selfie time while we waited for Jeff's corral to start.

He's in there somewhere...

Right in the middle, just beyond flag guy.

After Jeff ran by, Jimmy and I got to experience the best part of not running the race:

A leisurely hot breakfast in a nice restaurant!

We watched the race on TV and got to see the finishers of the half marathon cross the line - everyone cheered!

Eventually Jimmy left to go to the finish line for Karen; I'd already told Jeff that I did my duty last year standing in the cold at the finish line for hours (short people problems - when you get a spot in front, you can't give it up), so I headed up to our room where I got to watch more of the race on TV while drinking coffee:

And that's why I needed all of Diane's Nespresso pods, haha.

One by one they all finished - even with the wind that never seemed to be at their backs no matter which direction the course turned, everyone had a great race and they all were happy with their finish times.  Karen had already left by the time they took this picture:

Jeff, Andi, and Diane - happy Houston half marathon finishers!