I hab a code in by nose

Second day back to work and I woke up with a sore throat and headache. I tried to convince myself that it was allergies but by mid day I was pretty miserable. Dh went to the store and had Zicam waiting for me when I got home. I took 3000 mg of vitamin C and Zicam and went to bed. Idon't think that it actually makes the cold get better faster, despite what the label says, but the symptoms seem to be less when I take it, so I do. It's Thursday and I still don't feel well, but I was just gone for a few weeks so I am being dedicated and going in each day, trying to get caught up with the backlog that was waiting for me  when I returned to work.

So, back to vaction. Thursday was predicted to be a windy afternoon. We decided to go out in the morning (I actually got up at 5:45 AM while on vacation to go  fishing!!!!!!!!) and hope we got to fish for a few hours before the winds drove us in. I was so glad, since that was our big fish catching day. In addition, the weather was beautiful until evening, so we had a very nice day on the water.

The next day was rainy and windy as promised. I did some laundry and some shopping. (The fishing clothes were getting a bit ripe.) DH had a credit with one of the fishing boats and so decided to go out with them for night striped bass fishing. I posted those pictures previously. No fish for him on that trip, though.

Saturday was another stay on shore day, but on Sunday we got one more trip out on the boat, caught another bass.  It was a bit sloppy but not too bad. It was getting pretty chilly at night at this point, so I was glad to come in at a decent hour.

Monday was pack up day, boat and clothes. We should have gotten packed the night before so we could go boating on Monday, but we didn't. It turned out to be a nice, sunny day on Monday which made it hard to get going. To be honest, it was still quite windy around the light house and on the water, but it looked and felt like a nice day to us, our last day of vaction. sigh. We finally headed west towards Mom's house after dinner.

Tuesday we spent just hanging out, spending time with Mom. She and I went to a fabric outlet place (they only have upholstery and curtain fabrics, not clothes making stuff) and rummaged through the remnants bins. I have some pillows that need refreshing. I got some really awesome fabric for pillow recovering for very little money. I can't wait to get to the sewing!

Wednesday was the trip home from NY. It rained off and on, so Bob and I traded off driving, depending on where we were, rain and light levels. It went pretty well over all.

Vacation pics part 1

 We started vacation by spotting these and other hot air balloons drifting by as we packed. I love to
watch hot air balloons. The colors of the balloons themselves, the thoughts and dreams of where one might go and what one might see while up there are powerful ..... Then I remember that I don't like heights, and the gas blower on those things is noisy - we could hear them on the ground - so it's not quite the peaceful trip it appears at first. Good daydreaming material, though. ; )  



I have already posted the pictures of the first beach we went to  on Long Island. It's a place called Shinnecock Inlet. It is very popular with fisherman and, during certain times, surfers. Our visit was during the time that hurricane Irene was off the coast and that was the cause of the waves that the  surfers were enjoying.
We visited with Mom for 3 days before leaving for our actual vacation.  We spent one day around Shinnecock. Mom got some moccasins for herself and I bought a pair for a baby gift. We spent one day just relaxing and catching up.

I was thrilled to find out that we could watch the Ravens season opener while there. We had planned to go to a sports bar to watch but didn't have to. What a spectacular win that was!

The next morning we drove out to Montauk, dropped the boat off, unloaded at the hotel and went back to put the boat in the water. We had picked up sandwiches to eat on the boat and headed out to fish the full moon. We each caught one striper that day, which was more than we had caught the entire week during last years vacation! We have pictures of those fish on a camera that actually has film and therefore has to be developed. That's a change! (I had forgotten my digital camera and the other one was in the boating bag. ) We came into the dock at about 1AM, got to bad about 3AM. Ugh.

The next day we went out again, in the late afternoon and into the evening and I caught another striper! It was great fun, and we had sunshine all of this time. At home in MD it was mostly grey and rainy so we appreciated the sun very much. We caught 2 bluefish as well, and brought one home, thinking we could catch more. We didn't. : (

Wednesday we went to visit with one of my brothers (I have 3) and his son at their campsite. Bob had a headache so we went back to the room so he could sleep for a while. I really enjoyed my knitting time. His headache persisted and I got a mild one also, so we stayed on shore that day.

More  news and photos tomorrow (I hope. It's very busy at work trying to catch up on things that happened while I was away)

Home again

We are home from vacation. I am sad. We had such a great time that I hated to leave. I'll be posting pics over the next few days.

We left in the rain and came home in the rain. Thank goodness NY had sunshine! We got back Wednesday night after dropping the boat at the marina and putting it back in the slip. The salt water has been washed out of the motor but we still have scrubbing to do elsewhere. Old fish and bait stink after a while. phew!

Pictures!

Knitting first. This is the project that has gotten most of my attention lately. The sweater I am designing for eldest son is stockinette on the back and will have two cables on the front. Sleeves will most likely have a simple cable running down each one but that is still to be decided.

This is DH on our boat, about 2 miles from Montauk Point lighthouse with one of the striped bass he caught.

This is me, back at the dock at about midnight, with my bass hanging from the scale. Being out on the water always makes for a bad hair day but I was so happy that I caught a bass, I didn't care. Catching striped bass is no easy chore. Whenever I have hooked one, Iswear that I got caught on the bottom at first. It feels so solid and unmoving. You really have to fight and work to get a fish like that in the boat. As far as I am concerned, a limit of one per day is just fine. That's too much work for me to go through twice in a day. ; )

I haven't forgotten top spin. This is the yak that I am spinning on my akha spindle. It's sooo soft.

This bass is the biggest one I have ever caught! It's 40 inches long and I had trouble lifting it, as you can see. Besides, I hate to put my hand in the gills to hold it the way you are supposed to. ; )

Tonight DH is out on this boat fishing.

See? There he is in the green shirt furthest from the stern (back of the boat). He'll be back at midnight..

More tomorrow. I took lots of pictures tonight and some turned out great. I have to wait until I get home to post those. Data usage adds up fast when you are posting photos and despite advertising to the contrary, this hotel does not have free wifi. Drat.

So glad I got up early

We had an awesome day on the water! We had great luck fishing. We brought home a 35 inch, a 38 inch and a 40 inch bass plus one bluefish just right for baking whole. Yum! Bob has a great recipe for baking bluefish!

The weather earlier today was beautiful. We enjoyed sun and the wind wasn't too bad. We came in after Bob noticed the sky in the direction of "home" was getting dark. We got rained on just before coming into the dock, but it let up shortly and we were able to clean and unload the boat and load the car in nice weather.

Since then things have deteriorated a lot. The winds are now 20 mph with gusts to 30 and it is raining with that. Ugh. The hotel room was freezing when we returned, but the heat is working now and though I am snuggled in bed with pjs and a sweatshirt on, it's warming up nicely. Eldest son, who was not able to join us here, sent a text saying that it was 45 degrees in MD! Brrrrrrrr.

I am making great progress on eldest sons sweater, though not as good on the afghan. I am busy fishing when on the boat. ; )

Pictures tomorrow - the camera is in the car and it's too nasty out there to go get it.

6AM

It's 6AM, I am on vacation but I am up and dressed. What a good wife I am. ;) DH wanted to go fishing early since the winds (and therefore the waves) are supposed to pick up significantly later today. Off we go to try to catch more fish. Knitting and spinning update later.

Vacation!!!

We are in NY at my mother's house. We saw the ocean yesterday so I feel like I am on vacation. We took Mom out all day, had both lunch and dinner out and enjoyed good food and good company. ; )

The dog in the picture above was a well behaved dog who wandered the beach but within sight of his owner, visited everyone and was just so friendly. We asked -  he's a labradoodle and I want one.  The surf was about 6-8 ft. and the  surfers were loving it.

Rob's sweater is growing by leaps and bounds. I have had a good amount of car and chat knitting time, and since this is stockinette, it's perfect for this kind of situation. I am taking a picture daily with my cell phone and sending it to Rob to see. He was hoping to join us for a few days in Montauk but didn't get days off.

Almost there

Vacation is close! I have one more day to work. I could have taken this whole week, but it will be good to get in the office and take care of a few last minute details that came up over the holiday weekend.

I have been loving spinning my Grafton batt into a nice deep blue (mostly) laceweight yarn (above) and I started spinning one of the September study group fibers. Yak is a lovely, soft, you just want to curl up in a nest of it fiber that is not as easy to spin as it is to fondle. ; ) The staple length is short, about 1 inch on my fiber, and that makes it a challenge for me to spin. I am using my akha spindle (finally cleared of the lumpy, bumpy but it's my first handspun  cotton I spun for my TdF challenge) and I think it is working well. The spindle is feather light and I can use it as a drop spindle or spin horizontally, holding and twisting the spindle in my hand until I have some twist in the fiber. Then I can use the drop spindle method to add more twist. I have been using both methods, trying to see which works better for me. It's a fun challenge and the yak and spindle will be joining me in Montauk for vacation spinning.

The Leaf and Picot Cardigan is nearing completion. I know I've said that before, but really! I have sewn in one sleeve and sewn the sleeve closed. I have just started to sew in the other sleeve. The sleeve that is sewn in actually fits! I have one sleeve to insert, then both sweater side seams and one more sleeve seam to go. I can see the finish line .....

I really don't have enough projects on the needles. I am sure I don't. That is why I swatched for a new sweater. This one will be for eldest son and I am trying my own design. Hopefully it will work. (gulp) I have chosen ( with eldest sons input) two cables, to be placed on the left side of the chest and towards the center. The rest of the sweater, a pullover, will be stockinette. We plan on an inch or so of ribbing at the bottom and sleeves and a roll collar neckline. The yarn is Louet Riverstone worsted in Champagne. I think it will be a good vacation knit, being worsted weight and mostly stockinette. We eat in a lot of dim places and spend a lot of time in the expedition (named Elvira) in less than ideal lighting. I have a lace project for when concentration and good lighting is desirable and available.

It is a rainy day here in Maryland, but I am thankful that it is not worse, and that the liklihood of Katia visiting Montauk is lessening. Not gone, but lessening. ; )