Playing Catch Up

I don't think I've ever blogged about my Tree Jacket, which was started it in October 2007. I didn't get very far before setting it aside to work on Forecast for NaNiSweMo (I haven't finished Forecast either, but that is another post!).

Don't ask me why I didn't just knit the Tree Jacket for that! I finally picked it up again a couple months ago, and have been working on it off and on since. My progress so far...


I still have a way to go on the body, but I'm getting there. I'm using Malabrigo and it's very soft. This is the first of several WIPs I hope to finish before moving on to bigger and better things (or just other sweaters). I truly admire knitters who can focus on one project. My own attention span is not that great--something I hope to improve upon this year!

I'm a little behind here, but I thought I'd share some pictures from our Thanksgiving road trip. The destination on our first day was Mt. Shasta--the town and the mountain. The only snow was on the peak, but it was very cold. I really regretted not putting on my winter coat before taking this picture!


Unfortunately, we couldn't go too far up, because the road was closed for winter. Mt. Shasta looms over the landscape for miles though, so I don't feel like we missed too much. The next shot was taken on our way down Mt. Shasta.


We saw a totem pole in Weed, a small town located near Mt. Shasta. It was located in a grocery store parking lot though, so I'm not sure how authentic it was!


The next day we got up early and headed toward Ashland, Oregon with some stops along the way. The weather was strangely foggy. It was a little eerie.

The weather cleared up as we headed into the mountains again, but there was a strange haze hanging over Ashland, as well. We checked out downtown Ashland, and then stopped at Morning Glory for breakfast. I am not a breakfast person at all, but this was one of the best meals of our trip and definitely one of the best breakfasts I've ever eaten. So good that I even attempted to recreate a few recipes. If you are ever in Ashland, I would recommend stopping by.

Cheery decor at Morning Glory.

That day we also stopped at a couple wineries and then headed to Crescent City, California to spend the night. We made an error in judgement and ended up driving over a very twisty mountain road in the dark to get there. It was scary! Next time we'll be sure to plan that stretch of road for earlier in the day.

We eventually made it to our destination though: Curly Redwood Lodge. This place was very cool and retro. It was built from one curly redwood tree that produced 57,000 board feet of lumber.

Joel doing his best Don Draper pose.

As you can see, the decor has not been updated in some time--perhaps since it was built. But it was very clean, fun and cheap. Not to be missed, if you enjoy that kind of thing.


This is getting long, so I will do another post with photos from our next two days. One last highlight though: all the cool vintage signs along the way (most shot from the passenger side window!). Unfortunately, the mosaic maker clipped a lot of the photos. If you're interested, click the links below for the full photos.

1. Hi-Lo Motel Weed, 2. Townhouse Motel Weed, 3. Yreka Motel, 4. Rex Club Yreka, 5. Shamrock Dinners, 6. Motel Ashland, 7. Omar's Ashland, 8. Roy's Italian Dinners Eureka, 9. Bob's Fine Cars Eureka

I hope everyone's New Year is off to a great start!

Happy New Year!

I can't believe that another year has passed. It is amazing how fast time goes by the older you get! I thought I would do a little wrap-up of what I've been up to this year (knitting-wise)...

I think it was the year of the fingerless mitts for me. I really love those, and I think the pair on the top row may be my favorite project of the year. It's definitely the one I wear the most! Actually, I'm happy with everything, and it's nice to think back to when I was working on these projects.

It has been kind of a slow year for knitting. Looking at the above, I feel like something is missing. If I counted all my WIPs, I think I'd need double the space! I'm hoping next year will be a little more balanced (work-wise especially) and that I will have more time to knit. My main knitting goal is to finish the sweaters (especially the one for my husband, which he doesn't think I will ever finish!) and other projects that have been lingering too long.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. We froze in the Midwest--I'd show you pictures, but it was too cold to take any. It's now official: I can't take the cold and snow anymore. Hopefully, we will be able to spend next Christmas somewhere warm and sunny (which also leaves out San Francisco!). Happy New Year!