Not Quite Vintage

for my life list

Last night I visited my Pops for dinner (an extra yummy dinner actually - he is a great cook) and afterward we watched episode one of The National Parks: America's Best Idea on PBS. Honestly, I wasn't actually that excited to watch it but I was willing to because I knew Pops would really enjoy it (and heck, at least it wasn't more sports since he had previously been channel surfing between golf, baseball, football and NASCAR - I am a sports girl, but one at a time is enough for me).

Within moments of the show starting, we were looking for a list of all the National Parks on my iPhone. Pops told me about all the parks he had visited and I realized I haven't been much of anywhere. I have two official visits on my list - Rocky Mountain National Park and Redwoods National Park. Both visits were when I was quite young and I really don't remember much of either of them. I have driven through the Smokey Mountains and the Everglades, but never actually stopped to officially check them out.

So as a result "Visit more National Parks" goes on my life list. I am longing for a little exploration and adventure (of course with some modern conveniences mixed in) and would love to visit with a journal and camera in hand. Hopefully someday. I need to stop saying "hopefully someday" and actually start doing... but that is a post for another day.

If you like history, check out the remaining episodes of the documentary this week on your local PBS channel or online. The documentary isn't just all pretty pictures, it talks about the explorers, how the National Park systems came to be and how it has changed. It is really well done.

lacey scarf complete

After a week of fitting in a bit of crocheting here and there, my lacey scarf is finished! With just one skein of yarn and a few hours invested, I have a great skinny scarf in my favorite color.

It was quite an easy pattern - by the time I had completed a handful of motifs, I had the pattern memorized. I really love a crochet project that doesn't require me to carry around and keep checking my pattern. That requires too much thinking - I rather prefer the relaxing repetition of it all.

I have a feeling I will be making a couple more of these this season for gifts, but this one is all mine : ) How could it not, its my favorite color - green.

surprise in the sky

When I left the house this morning, I thought my drive to work would be ho hum as usual, but I was wrong. As I turned right off my street, I was greeted by three hot air balloons hovering in the sky. What a nice surprise. Instead of just keeping right on driving because I was already running a couple minutes behind schedule, I decided to pull over to take pictures. Why not document this surprise? I have been thinking about how I need to take more pictures and this was a great opportunity... even if I did do it hurriedly.

First I grabbed my phone to take the picture of all three balloons together. I did it through my windshield - I think that is why the sky is so blue. Then I realized that I had my "real" camera with me, so I took it out of its case and shot a few pictures of the individual balloons hovering over the trees. The balloons were traveling must faster than I expected, so I had to work quickly.

I am so glad I stopped to enjoy and to document the moment. My day feels brighter because of it. My friend Renee just told me that when she walked from her house to her car this morning she heard people talking and some rushing noises that she couldn't figure out... until she looked up. Turns out the Mayflower balloon was right above her house and she could hear them chatting and adding air to the balloon. This was probably just a few moments before they came into my view - we live just about a mile away from each other.

The balloons are in the St. Louis City skyline this weekend for The Great Forest Park Balloon Race. Tonight they kick it off with a balloon glow in the park. It is an amazing spectacle. I had totally forgot it was this weekend, glad I had the reminder this morning to keep an eye on the sky.

lacey WIP

After all my crochet talk yesterday I was inspired to start a project last night. A quick and easy Queen Anne's lace scarf that I found on Ravelry. No new yarn necessary, I just picked a skein of Lion Brand Wool Ease I had in my stash. After an hour or so in front of the tv I ended up with this.

I did have to pull out my crochet book a couple times to make sure I was doing things right and my stitches definitely improved as I practiced. I forgot how much I love crochet and how relaxing it is.

Anyone watch the premier of Glee last night? It is oh so quirky. I can't tell if I really like it or if its novelty will wear off soon.

time for crochet again

Last night while driving home, the sun was shining, New Order was on the radio (Alt Nation on Sirius is like my college soundtrack relived) and even though the temp was in the low-eighties I could feel Fall approaching. Then my mind flicked to crochet. Something about Fall and Winter make me think of yarn crafts again. Not sure why, maybe it is the cozy factor. So when I got home and checked the mail I was quite happy to find the September/October issue of Crochet Today. I know it is really a big advertisement for Red Heart, but sometimes there are some good patterns. The cute alarm clock on the cover drew me in.

As I kept turning pages I kept saying to myself "that is so cute," "I should make that" and "I need to save that pattern for later." So what did I find?

An upcycled tee with a very cute crochet neckline. On my crafty to do list for sure.

I could really use some new cotton dish clothes to replenish my stock.

An earth-friendly grocery tote. This could make a great holiday gift.

For the person who has everything - a lacy river rock. I have seen some amazing crocheted rocks on Flickr here. This pattern is by Resurrection Fern.

A cute beret... not sure I would make it in raspberry : )

There are a few more patterns I have bookmarked, but I will end with this one for Halloween crafty disguises. I like the superhero mask.

So, does the coming of Fall change your crafty to do list? What are you working on?

time flies...

Wow, it has already been a week since I last posted. I had the best of intentions, I even put “blog at least 2 times” on this weeks to do list. Honestly there just hasn’t been much to blog about.

Over the past two weeks, I have been trying to figure out what is going on with my stomach. It has been really unhappy lately and I have tried a bunch of things – eliminated foods, eaten simply, added probiotics etc. I haven’t been able to find a common thread. As a result, I haven’t felt all that creative and have been pretty darn lazy. The past couple days have been better (knock on wood) so things are looking up, but one things for sure ginger tea and a hot water bottle have become my two best friends.

I am loving the Yogi tea. The tag on each tea bag has an inspirational quote – today’s quotes include “oneness is achieved by recognizing your self” and “your infinity in you is the reality in you.”

Yesterday I was able to take off a half day from work and attend the “businessman’s special” Cardinals game at the Busch Stadium. It was a positively gorgeous day (80, sunny and breezy). A perfect day to sit in the bleachers with good friends, be entertained by a beer-buying group of strangers and just relax. Too bad we couldn’t bring home a winner.

When I got home, I took a few minutes to fit in a little bit of creativity. I pulled out some summer-themed papers I bought from the dollar spot at Target a few weeks back with everything was half off. I have a few notes I need to send out this weekend, so I threw together a few simple cards. I was too lazy to go to the other room to get my good camera so please forgive me for the fuzzy iPhone pictures or to find a better back drop than the wood floor.

Afterwords, I relaxed in bed and watched Project Runway with my trusty hot water bottle and went to sleep early. It was a pretty good day.

Have a great Holiday weekend!