A whole lotta water...

Yep, that's Niagara Falls! Two weeks ago (told ya I was behind), I headed out on a 5-hr trip across the state (in the rain the whole way, of course), ending up in Buffalo where a friend is working right now. We'd been planning this since we found out we were both headed to NY. =) We hit Niagara Falls on Saturday. Neither of us had ever been and I'd never really had a huge urge to go... but I gotta tell ya, it's incredible! Completely worth 10-hr car ride there and back It's like the Grand Canyon. You see pictures and think, yeah, that's pretty (and pretty huge), but you just don't realize how incredible it is... until you see it in person.That one (above) will take you to a video I shot of the Falls. I'm betting felting would be really quick there... if the water was warmer. =)

If you haven't been, go! Put it on the list. Amazing.

If you do go... get the Discovery Pass. You buy a booklet for $33 (for adults, not sure on the kid's price) and it covers admission to the observation deck, Maid of the Mist (boat), Cave of the Winds (the decks below the American Falls), the discovery center, the adventure theatre and the Aquarium of Niagara. Oh, and a one-day pass for the trolley that takes you to each spot. FYI - Park at the aquarium (free!) and take the trolley from there to avoid the $10 parking fee. They were letting people on without trolley passes and letting them purchase the passes at the stops next to the stands. Wish we'd known that! heh Also wish I had a passport (yeah, yeah, I know, I should have one by now... but I don't... yet).
We did the Cave of the Winds (awesome)

and the Maid of the Mist (awesome!) and went back on Sunday to see the aquarium (meh, the animals look bored out of their minds and are in too-small enclosures, I think). They do seem to take in some special needs animals though. All of the seals and some of the sea lions are vision-impaired either due to injury or cataracts so that's good. A lot of the fish were pets that outgrew either their tanks or their ownerss interest. I'm hoping the penguins are being rehabilitated too since so many of them looked pretty peaked. They just stood around staring at the rocks. =(

There were a few interesting characters in the mix. The camo crabs:Yeah, there is a crab under there!

I'm a turtle fan and this guy did not disappoint:Don't you just love that face? And he posed nicely for me too. =)

And always a favorite, the sea anemones:

Gotta love that!

Hand cozies... a couple new WIPs

So.far.behind. heh Yeah, I need to post more often... but I've been busy. =) Knitting, having fun, traveling (yeah, big shock there). So the knitting's first...

I finished my fingerless gloves. LOVE them! I made a couple alterations to the pattern (Ravelry link). I moved the cables down to the wrist so I'd have the stretch where it was needed and I left 6 (12 really) live stitches: so I could go back and add a real thumb:

And absolutely LOVE the results!

These have even come in handy already! I worked an office Monday that was super cold and ended up wearing my jacket and these gloves in the office! SO cozy...

I also started a couple new projects this week. There's my new capelet:

Wasn't completely sure I'd love the boucle, but I actually really like how this is knitting up. Love the color. Nice and cushy feel and seems like it'll be really toasty. Knitting on US sz10s, this should be a fairly quick knit... ya know, if I hadn't gotten distracted by these:

A friend has been hinting (well, more than hinting heh) that she'd like a pair of fingerless gloves too... and loves purple. haha What else could I do?! Found this great self-striping sock yarn in shades of purple and grey and off I went. I'm halfway through the second after an office cancellation in the middle of my day yesterday. Whew! Thank goodness I had these in my handbag or I'd have been really annoyed at the forced 2-hr lunch. Beautiful day to sit and knit for a couple hours. =) And I stumbled across a really nice little yarn shop just down the street from my next office. Anne's Yarn Shop. Nice surprise after the last place I checked out in the area. Friendly owner and a good selection on mid-priced yarns along with some free classes and a knit night open to all. So, if you're in the area, check her out! We have to keep the good shops around! (Yeah, I helped. heh Picked up a couple skeins of some alpaca/cotton blend in yummy colors.)

I know. Like I needed more yarn? Whatever. I have a very specific plan for those two!

Next up... catching up on non-yarny fun! Later! =)

I don't recommend it

Knitting with dark sport weight yarn on smallish (also kinda dark) needles on a less than well-lit plane, that is. heh Oh, and metal dpns on a plane - not good. Way too slick for comfort. I think it's time to go in search of a full set of (affordable) bamboo dpns...

I'm using the Swirling Gauntlets (Ravelry link) pattern with a couple mods. I'm making mine a bit longer, moving the cabling down to the wrist where I don't need as much stretch since cabling pulls in and adding on a thumb. I finished most of the first on my trip home Friday and cast-off at the airport - Indy, I think. haha It all just starts mushing together after awhile. Cast-on #2 on the tarmac - again, Indy... or possibly Cleveland. =) Loving how these are coming out!

It seems my time in New York is dwindling. I'm loving watching the seasons change here, but I've been in Albany since sometime mid-July (I think) and I'd love to be out before the snow hits! And the amount of work for us here has been, well, less than stellar. Way less. Excited to see what's next!

Fall has arrived!

Okay, so technically Fall started last week, but it's finally made its way to my knitting. After breaking up the short fling I had with some way too bright pink yarn, I re-cast-on for a pair of fingerless gloves in a more autumnal colorway.

I'm just starting the cable pattern and I have to say, I LOVE this yarn! Love the colorway. Love the feel of the yarn. Love the way it's knitting up. These should be nice and toasty for the chilly mornings to come. Sometimes, a yarn and pattern just do not mesh. This is not one of those times. Stay tuned for finished pics...

I have a problem

I love finding awesome deals on yarn. Yarn I don't really need. But it's just so irresistably pretty, dontcha think? Six skeins of this yummy mohair, wool, silk blend now reside in my stash. Well, my hotel room for now. heh It's not fattening... or illegal... so it's all good, right? ;-) And under $20 for the lot of it! How can that be bad? Heck, if the heat goes out, I can always just bury myself in my stash to survive, right?

I do believe the company I got this from is covering up the fact that they've perfected that method of transport used in Star Trek movies and beamed this to me. I placed my order late, late Wednesday night... and it was waiting at the hotel for me Friday afternoon! Wow. Okay, so it was only coming from Vermont and I'm in western upstate New York, but still. Now, what to do with it? I think this needs to be some sort of shawl or wrap. Any suggestions? I have 1200 yds and it's 8 sts/24 rows to 4" on US7 and a boucle (Wool In The Woods Harmony) - not looking to use all 1200 yds, obviously. heh =)

I started my fingerless gloves... and then frogged them. I'd started them on US6 dpns and realized quickly they were too big. I also realized... I didn't like this yarn as fingerless gloves. I loved that yarn in the ball. Still do. And it'll be perfect for something... just not fingerless gloves. ;-) At least, not for me. So I left that yarn at home last weekend and brought back some purple/blue/green variegated wool to restart my gloves. This colorway seems much more fall-like anyway. Pics to come...

BTW - Reilly is doing much, much better this weekend. Though it took longer than anyone (including two vets) expected and racked up a couple more vet bills along the way, he's apparently back to his old, bouncy self. =D Woo!

Hmm, any techies reading this? I know next to nothing about html. Is there an easy fix to make this section wider? So it doesn't cut off the edge of my pics? Just curious. It bugs me. =)

It's times like this I hate my job

Poor little guy. He's had a rough month. First, it was cysts that had to be removed, followed by him puling out stitches requireing a trip to the emergency vet's almost an hour away on a Sunday (of course) the last weekend I was home. Now, just as the time neared to get his staples removed, I come home and find this pitiful sight. Not exactly what I was hoping for when I got home at nearly 11:30 Friday night! He'd apparently been sick (not eating... this dog never refuses food!) since the afternoon though my mother decided to ignore this huge warning sign and even went to bed, leaving him in my bedroom where he'd thrown up multiple times. Yes, I'm beyond PO'd. So... half an hour after walking in the door, we were in the car heading to the emergency vet's again with a very sick little dog. Finally got back home just after 3a and spent the rest of the night mostly awake - Reilly and me anyway. Morning finally came around and things hadn't improved so off we headed to the local vet to see if there was any more to be done to help him feel better and to be sure it wasn't something more serious. X-rays thankfully came back clear so no blockage (which would have required surgery). Turns out it's gastroenteritis triggered by who knows what and the little guy has to take three different meds twice a day for the next week. He got fluids today to counteract dehydration and some special food (which he still won't touch). I'm just hoping I can get him to eat in the morning before I head back to the airport and back to NY. I really wish I could stay home until the pup is better. Times like this are when this job really sucks.

Fun-guy!

The hotel was repainting the parking lot today (yes, on a Sunday morning) so I had to be out and about by 10 this morning. Wasn't sure where I was headed when I left, but decided to just pick somewhere that popped up on my GPS and see what I'd find. I picked a nature park about 20 miles away and headed off. There was a nice little trail from the parking area to Shaver Pond, offering lots of opportunity to use my too-often-of-late neglected camera. When I don't shoot for awhile, I forget how much fun it is!

It was a beautiful walk...

and I found a few interesting fun-guys along the way. =)

Even found someone ready for his (or her) close-up!

There are definite signs of autumn...

I can't wait for autumn to fully show its colors. There is one good thing about being stuck here for a few months - New England Autumn!