Eastburn Adventures

I am proud to be a native Springfieldian and am blessed beyond measure to be married to my wonderful husband, Robert.  We are the parents of twin girls, Samantha Jean and Wally Susannah, and will probably be adopting a little boy (Shih Tzu) sometime in future.  I have a wonderful career and enjoy singing in the choir at Ridgecrest Baptist Church.  In May 2005, during a trip to Alaska to visit one of my best friends, I learned how to knit! I thought there was something wrong with me as I immediately became a yarn snob, started acquiring a stash, and began searching out the local yarn shops whenever we traveled. But then I discovered the abundance of websites and blogs of people just like me. “ I was not alone!  I am not crazy!  I am a knitter!

My other hobbies include rubber stamping, scrapbooking, and organizing closets just for fun!  (Okay, so I'm a little crazy!)  I also love to travel and am a little bit of a geek when it comes to electronics and money.

Thanks for visiting my blog.  You can e-mail me at tkeastburn at gmail dot com.

Welcome to my blog!  My name is Tammy, and you can learn more about me on my "About" page.  I'm one of those people who seem to be a little behind the fads and trends, but I've been thinking about blogging for a while now.  Thank you to Amy of Amy's Garden who provided some great advice and assistance while I was setting this up.  Silly me, I thought I was pretty technical for a layperson - how hard could this be?  It's taken me most of last night and all day today just to get the layout the way I wanted it - and I'm still not completely satisfied.

Hence, my title for today's post, which goes right along with theme of my blog as well as my life.  "All my Roads" is the name of a song by Collin Raye which was played at my wedding and I hope this blog will act as a map of sorts to my life - all the wrong turns, detours, and the wonderful journey along the way to amazing destinations.  I hope you'll join me on the journey - I look forward to reading your comments!

My intention is that this will primarily be a knitting blog, but knitting and travel go hand in hand (local yarn shops, anyone?) so I'll share photos of my adventures as well as my finished projects.  So let me leave you for now with a photo from my recent trip to Alaska to visit Michelle (my knitting guru friend) - this is the Little Susitna River, and the fall colors were glorious!

I received the following in the mail earlier this week, and just love it!  Here's a gift idea for all you Cardinals fans out there! 

So, does the fact that I gorged on shoe shopping this weekend (TEN - that's 10 pairs of awesome shoes - even a sort of pointy toed heel that would make Stacy proud) make up for the fact that I accomplished very little knitting this weekend?

I had good intentions, but we all know what they say about that.  I brought along the socks (still not to the toe, and I think Trish has made like 27 pairs since I started this one), the Irish Hiking Scarf (still in the knitting bag, and no, Kate, I haven't tried cabling without the needle yet), the MDK book and the Euroflax linen to begin the Moss Grid Hand Towel that Zarah's probably got finished by now (but be very jealous, Zarah - I found a varigated Euroflax in Tulsa - oooh), and just in case I finished everything and got bored, I brought along 2 balls of Noro to make Lizard Ridge squares.  What did I accomplish - knitting-wise?  About 8 rounds on the sock.  Singular.  So much for Second Sock Syndrome - I have First Sock Avoidance.

I had moderate success clothes shopping yesterday, and I am done.  It may surprise people, but I don't like shopping.  Which is why I am usually dressed (poorly) in baggy jeans and an untucked t-shirt unless I'm at work, where I'm dressed in the same black pants three days a week with an untucked blouse (yes, there's a reason for the untucking - I'm on more than a yarn diet at this point).  I have decided, based on this weekend, that I love Dillards.  More than that, I love Dillards Outlet.  I don't like Macy's, unless it's the original in Manhattan (plus, they have a good parade).  But I'm done shopping now, except for the few remaining items on my list.  (Thank you, again, my dearest Robert, for participating in this indulgence!)

My favorite Tulsa yarn shop?  By far - Loops!  The ladies were very friendly, and they had some interesting yarns we can't get back home (that I didn't buy) like Buffalo.  I touched it though.  When I checked out, Ingrid asked it I wanted my yarn wound, and I said, "No thanks, I've got a swift and winder at home."  Shelly, the owner, looked up and said - "Oh!  A "REAL" Knitter!"  I was both proud and ashamed.  If only she'd known my lack of productivity this weekend. 

So - am I allowed this little diversion - or am I reduced back to a lower-case "knitter" status?

Just asking.

Michelle made it safely in to Springfield Friday morning, and after having lunch with Robert, we headed up to Kansas City for the Games. No problem. Found hotel - no problem. Spent a few minutes here (want to go back when I have more time). Tried to find the Plaza so we could eat here - yum. Exit closed. Tried another exit. Not where we're supposed to be. Finally made our reservation 15 minutes late. Once we were at the Plaza, I knew where to park, so that wasn't a problem. Dinner was great - yes, we had the chicken lettuce wraps. :-) And we saw one of KC's many fountains.

Then I needed to figure out how to get back to the hotel. (Disclaimer: I have only been in KC 5 times before in my life, and the only time I was driving was when I was with someone who lived there.) When we came up for the Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit, Ginger and I made fun of Robert and Steve who got us lost in downtown. They kept seeing highways "up" above us and knew if they made it onto a highway we'd be fine. So they drove "up." If there was an uphill road, they took it, knowing that eventually they'd find an on ramp. Friday night was payback time for my mockery. I followed suit, and drove "up" and got us back to the hotel. Here's a thought - maps don't work if you can't figure out where you are to start with.

Saturday morning was absolutely beautiful. We tried to head back downtown to eat breakfast at this cool diner, Cascone's. Missed the exit. Exit closed. Entered Kansas. Turned around. There was no exit that Google Maps said there was. Got on wrong highway. Didn't matter. As long as I'm on a highway and can see tall buildings, I can get there. Saw tall buildings. The tall buildings were behind me. Took an exit. Couldn't get back on highway from that exit. Turned around. Got back on another highway. Wrong direction. Turned around. Finally made it downtown to the River Market. Another really cool place I'd liked to have spent more time at. No time. Breakfast was good, and we got good easy directions to Riverfront Park where the Games were held. Five minutes, easy. Found Riverfront Park. No Games. No - nothing. Just the river, and a park. Kept driving. Now we're in a very industrial part of KC - not where I want to be. Called OnStar Robert to have him get on the internet and tell us how to get to the Games. This is our conversation.

R: Where are you? T: Don't know. This is the street I'm on; this is a cross street. R: Go back to this street and turn north. T: I don't know which way north is. R: Which way are you going? T: I don't know. R: Do you see this street? T: I just passed it. R: Turn around. T: Okay, now what? R: Turn west. T: Which way is west? R: What street did you just pass? T: "street name" R: Okay, Babe, you're going the wrong way. T: No kidding. R: I'm trying to help. T: I know. R: Wait a minute. I found you. You're in completely wrong part of town. T: Yeah, I KNOW THAT! R: Turn around. T: AGAIN? R: Yes.

Finally - with Robert's navigation, we made it to the Games. They were at E.H. Young Riverfront Park - NOT Richard L. Berkeley Riverfront Park. WHAT CITY NAMES TWO PARKS THE SAME NAME?

We were stressed, but we were there. Michelle danced (#797).

This is her hand knit Kilt sock (she didn't knit it; her friend Carin did. Carin said Michelle has to knit her next pair.).

We watched Border Collies herd sheep.

This Clydesdale liked Michelle a lot.

Left the Games. Ate dinner. Got back on the highway to come home. Wrong direction. I turned around. By that time, I was very good at it.

Last Friday I got up at 4:15 a.m. in order to get Michelle to the airport by 5:00 a.m. Is it me, or should those times only occur once a day? Yawn. After I got home, I was too awake to go back to sleep, and fully intended to go back to work. However, only after slowing down from vacation did I realize that I was sick. Really sick. I stayed home and slept most of Friday and Saturday, and it's only now that I feel like sitting up at the computer for more than a couple of minutes. I don't know if this was just a cold or sinus infection or flu, but it knocked me for a loop, so I haven't accomplished much of anything. I didn't even feel like getting in the pool for first warm, sunny days we've had this summer!

Anyway, hopefully next week I'll be back in the knitting groove. For now, I'll just leave you with number 11 (Noro Kureyon #188).

So here I am, in my room, minding my own business and knitting, when, BOOM!

That's a bad way to start a weekend.

Judyth Elaine Wilson-Hart

Judy, you touched so many lives and you will be missed. But because you knew Jesus, we have the peace of knowing we'll meet again. We love you.

Can you believe it? My blog will be one-year old on November 17. It hardly seems possible that so much has happened in a year. I started this blog because Amy had been talking about hers and the geek within me was interested in having my own website, even though I didn't have any experience with web design, javascript, or html (and I still don't!). However, I managed to find a hosting service, register my domain name, and through trial and error set up this site using WordPress.

I'm really proud of all the things I've learned from entering the blogosphere, and more than that, I'm grateful for the blessings of new friends I've made through this blog - those I've met in person , Sarah, Brianne, and Kate - and those I only know via the web, Trish, Sue, Jaime, and Sonja - and for everyone who has commented on my posts. Blogging really has opened up a whole new world I never knew existed.

But now - now it's time for a change. There were lots of ideas I had for the site that I just didn't know how to do, and I really wanted a customized blog that was styled to my own tastes, was was just more - me. Thanks to the technical genius of Kate, on November 17th I'll be launching my new, improved, and redesigned blog. I'm giving you a heads up, because I'm pretty sure you'll need to update your feeds in your reader of choice - Google Reader, Bloglines, etc. The web address will remain www.eastburnadventures.com.

I can't wait to hear what you think of the new site (shameless plea for comments - especially from lurkers). And, if you've been considering revamping your existing blog or starting a new one, I'll be the first to recommend Angelo Studios (shameless promotional commercial for Kate).

See you on the flip side!

So about two months ago, Kate and I were talking, and she mentioned that my website needed to be updated because it was soooo sloooow loading (partly because I tend to use a lot of photos in my posts, and partly because I didn't realize that I was uploading a huge sized file for the photos). She immediately set me straight on that and I started using Flickr as my photo-hosting site and made the pics much easier to insert in my posts.

I also mentioned that my blog anniversary was coming up, and that I was not opposed to suggestions for improvements to my site. That led to a discussion about the need for completely overhauling my blog, which Kate could do (for a very reasonable fee - that also included 2 Starbucks beverages). I agreed, and thus began the almost endless exchange of e-mails and phone calls that went something like this:

Kate: How do you like the color?

Me: It needs to be more of a burnt orange. Or a brick red. You know, fall colors.

Kate: (changes colors) What about this?

Me: No, that's too red. Too orange. Too - too.

(This conversation went back and forth for several e-mails until I was happy. I hope your monitor shows how pretty the color scheme is!)

Then we had this conversation:

Me: Can you make a thingy like on this [insert web address of choice] blog?

Kate: What are you talking about?

Me: The thingy. At the top (or on the side, or on the bottom).

Kate: Yes, I just have to [insert technical jargon/babble/foreign language].

Me: Thanks! What about doing a whatchamacallit? Or a thingamajig? Oooh! Can you make a whoozit?

Kate: [inaudible sigh - wondering how I function in life] Of course! That's so easy. There, it's done!

Me: I can't see it. Where is it?

Kate: It's there - it looks great! Wait - what browser are you using?

Me: Right now? IE.

Kate: Stupid IE.

(Thus, we know we still have some bugs to work out if your browser of choice is Internet Explorer. Please e-mail me at tammyATeastburnadventuresDOTcom (a new e-mail address!) and let me know if you see anything weird so we can fix them. But if you switch to Firefox, everything should be fine.)

Anyway, I'm very excited to launch year two of Eastburn Adventures. I hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to gaining lots of new readers!

Thanks for all your hard work, Kate! (And tell Jer that we're still friends!)

Oops - something isn't working with the comments feature - I know a couple of folks have left comments today, but I'm not receiving them. Please stand by. :-)

So, it's 10 days till Christmas, and I'm trying very hard to check things off my list. All the shopping is done, all the gifts are wrapped, and I just need to keep knitting away and trim the tree.

I did finish Dad's Christmas scarf this morning. I'd hoped to finish it by last night, when Zarah, Brianne, and I got together for some extra knit time at Starbucks. The problem arose when I felt like I was knitting for hours and not getting anywhere. When I left Knit Together Thursday night, Kate and I measured the scarf at 31 inches. By stretching it, we were able to get it to 40 inches - whoo hoo - only 8 more inches to go. But I realized that I was only getting about 9 rows to an inch - and it was taking forever! Zarah and Brianne suggested I wet block it to see how much length I'd gain, which I did, and which is why it didn't get finished until this morning.

And, oh, I'm a dork. Did you read in my first paragraph that I'd finished wrapping all the Christmas presents? Well, I wrapped Dad's scarf - before I'd taken photos! Fortunately, it was in a gift bag, so it was an easy fix.

Next up, The Harlot's Earl Grey Socks for Robert. (Or at least a pair of socks that sort of resemble those socks since I'm doing them toe-up Magic Loop.) My personal best time for knitting a pair of socks is 9 days, so I'm hoping I can at least repeat that feat (ha! get it! feat - feet - socks!) Sometimes I crack myself up! Speaking of which, I've really been enjoying listening to all of Marly's podcast Yarn Thing - she seems to amuse herself a lot - and she has the cutest giggle! I'm sure if we ever met we'd be the best of friends! I've still got another pair of socks to knit as a Christmas gift, but I've already resigned myself that it's not happening this Christmas. Fortunately, I've got another gift for Angie all wrapped up!

I was hoping for the predicted snow of 8-10" to happen today, but drat it, it went north of us. We barely got an inch. I love snow; I love snow days; and I love flannel pants days. Even without a winter wonderland, today was a great day to curl up on the couch and knit. And I'm headed back there now!