pjbknit

Spring Break in Vegas, Baby

DH and I spent a week in Las Vegas at the Flamingo. I still didn't make it to a LYS, oh well. I did remember to take some sky shots, one even on Saturday. Warning: photo heavy post. Speaking of Internet connections, we did not have one this morning. I have talked to Belkin three times, and our ISP once. I have messed with computers all dat. We now have a new network card, new Ethernet cable, and a new wireless router. Whew! I guess I still retain the title of Techno-geek that DH gave me, despite the fact it took three days to change the time on my previous Accord's clock.

Saturday sky. March 15. View from hotel room

Sunday sky with Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas. I had French toast for dinner in Paris.

Another view from our room, with sunshine

Front of the Flamingo at dusk, from the pedestrian bridge to Caesar's Palace

Turn around after taking shot above, and this is what you see.

View from our room at dusk. The pink is Flamingo, the blue is Imperial Palace, and Harrah's, Venetian and a corner of the Wynn are visible. The backs and sides are almost as impressive as the fronts.

One of my artistic shots

We went to see Spamalot at the Wynn. We also got card memberships at the Wynn, and racked up enough points for 4 buffets. OMG. Grilled asparagus, salmon, red snapper, shrimp, raspberry iced tea, creme brulee, carrot cake, key lime pie, caramel eclairs....  DH did not have to explain Monty Python humor to me. We were very close to the stage. King Arthur (John O'Hurley) kept blocking my view.

Breakfast at Margaritaville. This is the view across the street from the third floor balcony. Yes, they have the drink menu at 7 a.m. DH was winning,  and had hit his first Royal Flush on video poker at the Flamingo, He had several hand pays, so he celebrated with Incommunicados (scroll to very end) and pancakes. I had French toast with berries and whipped cream.

We also had dinner at Margaritaville. I had crab and corn chowder, shrimp and crabmeat salad, a peach daiquiri, and a COKE. (What is it with the Pepsi and casinos?) DH had the Cheeseburger in Paradise and more Incommunicados. I had Key Lime pie for dessert. You-know-who had an Incommunicado. We did a lot of walking.
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The Toe Jazz second sock admires the view. I left CPH in Birmingham. I took the entrelac scarf with bamboo needles on the plane, but only worked on the sock at the Flamingo.

I turned the heel, and finished the gussets. See that pedicure?

Travels from Mississippi

My colleague Laurie Charnigo and I went to Starkville for the Mississippi Library 2.0 Summit at Mississippi State University on June 15. It stormed and rained yesterday. We were there for a poster presentation on Facebook, an online social network. We were in sessions all day long yesterday. Today, we had a leisurely drive back. With only one detour through a new previously unseen part of Starkville, and one wrong turn in Columbus. We ate breakfast at the hotel, then went to the bookstore. It was in a neat depot buidling. We had to wait for it to open, so we walked around.

We got on the road after visiting the bookstore, and did not get very far. Columbus, MS is 22 miles or so. We made it to Yarns Downtown. It is a very nice store, with lots of Rowan, Crystal Palace, Artyarns, and many more yarns I have not seen and touched.. Look at all the baskets.

The chesse straws came from a cute gift shop named Occasions, where the cups came from. The yarn on the left is Strapaz Cotton Effekt for socks, and on the right is Taos from Crystal Palace. Laurie got me the sock yarn for my birthday.  We made it to Tuscaloosa, AL (Roll Tide!) for lunch 1.5 hours from Columbus. We ate at McAlister's Deli, nothing exciting. I did not press my luck by suggesting we go to the LYS in T'town.

Wandering in Mobile

The barely visible gold domes in my rainy shot are the spires of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, which is in a neat downtown, artsy area, Cathedral Square. I ate lunch at the Spot of Tea, across from the square. This is the square, looking toward the Cathedral. I also went to the Cathedral Square Gallery, and got some earrings and notecards. The sock has been to the conference several times.

This is the side view of the front.

Last night, we had dinner and a meeting at Wintzell's Oyster House.

This is what you see from the walkway to the Convention Center. Several librarians are ready to leave.

Wisteria Sock

Alabama's roads, between here and Birmingham, are resplendent with redbuds and dazzling with dogwoods. I could not come up with alliterative words for forsythia and cherry and wisteria, both purple and white. The dogwoods really stand out on wooded hillsides. Bear with me, the sock is here somewhere.

My day was interesting. I spent two hours at work, then I went to the doctor's office and picked up several years worth of mammogram films, then I headed for UAB, formally known as the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the Kirklin Clinic, after ending up on the wrong side of B'ham at the Birmingham Public Library-where better to get info, right? I found out there is a big difference between 6th Ave South and 6th Ave North. I drove around the clinic parking deck for a few minutes, parked and walked into the building. I walked right through Kirklin Clinic and had to be directed back. I made it to MRI dept at 12:15, an hour before my appointment. I got the gusset decreases completed on the TOFUTsies sock. After my MRI, including an IV in my hand for contrast dye, I returned to the waiting room and worked on the sock again. I was struggling to get the last stitch over the circ needle's join, when another woman who had been in the waiting room when I arrived, said, "Circular needles...they are wonderful." I looked up, met her eye, and smiled. Anyway, I had an MRI, an ultrasound and a mammogram. The doctor had a good sense of humor and was entertaining, at least. I got there at 12:15, and got out at 3:15. I had no lunch-bless the volunteer Angel Squad for the cookies and water cooler in the waiting room. There was even a radio tuned to the local public radio station. I could have done without NPR's Tony Snow cancer news all day, though. Three breast cancer survivors in the waiting area. were discussing how wonderful UAB is. 

I hope I don't need any treatment, though. I think I am being checked out this thoroughly because both my sisters have had breast cancer. I took a few circuits around several levels of the parking deckupon leaving, then I then had an inadvertent tour of downtown B'ham and UAB, in several circles, before going back to the interstate the way I came in, by the BPL, my landmark. I bought brownies.when I stopped to get some groceries. I have to go back for a needle biospy-doesn't that sound awful?  I went to get gas, and couldn't remember which side the tank was on,. leading to circling several pumps. ARRGGH! I am tired.

I still managed to photograph my knee sock in progress for y'all. See the shaping for the calf? The yarn is a little heavier than fingering, so I am using a 3 needle.The colorway is Wisteria. I braved some large bees in that stuff, (I could feel a breeze when they flew by) and wet nasty pups ambushing the back of my legs for these photos.

Artwork and Socks

DH and I often visit art galleries when we travel. There are a lot in Savannah and we saw a lot of art that we liked. One of the places we went was Gallery 209 on River Street in Savannah. We both spotted pieces from potter Bryan Attaway. Then we had to think about them for a couple days before getting them.  DH said my pick was elegant, while his was "religious art." The One Commandment.  Anyway, here they are. Click for larger.

The last time we were in Savannah, I got a dichroic glass pendant from Davenport Designs on Bull Street. We went back to check the shop out again. While I was shopping, the owner was telling DH about her hectic day. She also told him about Paula Deen getting four parking tickets on the previous day, while sitting on the hood of her Mercedes chatting with passersby.  Paula calls Waynette the Dog Woman.  We still haven't eaten at the Lady & Sons. I found a necklace and earrings. I got compliments when wearing them. I did not even ask what they were-maybe glass. Click for larger.

Speaking of jewelery, I keep forgetting to mention that I won a contest on Aija's blog while I was away! I won a gift certificate to LingGlass on Etsy, which I have already spent on a red and silver dichoic glass pendant and a black cord necklace. I  made a pretty lame addition to the poem at Choka On It.  I still don't think I want to tackle her Space Invaders socks on Knitty.

Somehow, I managed to not get a lot of knitting done on my vacation. Seems as if I was either walking or eating.  I frogged my knee sock attempt another time, after working on it in Jekyll, and took a stab at another pattern. I think I finally have it. I just had to have increases for my large calves. I am taking meticulous notes so I can make another sock the same way.  I do like this yarn and I think the sock fits this time. This is Wisteria colorway.

I managed to finish the legs and heels of two second socks, the Pretty Petals (a Jeanie Townsend design from the Yahoo group) in Sundara's Lenten Rose colorway on the left and the TOFUtsies Tidal Wave sock. Click to enlarge.

Flowers and Food

The azaleas were past their peak in South Georgia, but there were still enough to scent the air in some places. The bushes are often large, what I called azalea trees when I was young. They come in white and every shade of pink to red. There are also native wild types that resemble honeysuckle, such as these found on St. Simons Island, not as flashy as some. White and red ones were also on SSI.  Squares in Savannah had s lot of different types and colors.

The magenta ones were at the Midway Museum site. They coordinated  well with the sock. This is a knitting blog.

There are also orange trees at Ft. Frederica as they were in the original settlement.

Of course, I had to have Barbara Jean's She Crab Soup.

When in Savannah, we also have to go to Mellow Mushroom. Although this is a chain, each store has its own quirky personality. I always get the pesto and artichoke heart toppings. It had a very nice presentation here.

On the way to South GA, I had a habit of stopping in Weston, GA at the Merritt Pecan Company for gas and/or bathroom breaks. They sell divinity, pecans, etc. and brown sugar pound cake with pecan icing. One slice even made it to Jekyll.

 

Savannah, with Sock

One of the routes from Brunswick to Savannah is U.S. 17, the Coastal Highway. We crossed over the Sidney Lanier Bridge as we headed for Darien. DH had photography duties on the bridge.

The azaleas were in bloom everywhere in South GA, but just a bit past their peak. A lot of Colonial history took place in this area. We stopped at the Midway Museum on the way and went in the Midway Church. The pulpit view is shot from the 2nd floor Slave Gallery

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.We stayed at the Inn at Ellis Square in the Historic District in Savannah. It is between the City Market and River Street. Parking is a major issue in Savannah, but the parking meters take VISA and Mastercard. We also walked a lot in Savannah, to Forsythe Park to see the fountain;

to try several times to have tea at the Gryphon Tea Room, housed in the bottom of this building. It was always closed, oh well. It is run by the Savannah College of Art and Design, aka SCAD. We did manage to get in The Tea Room before closing, where I bought a Tea Shop mystery by Laura Childs, Dragonwell Dead, some Oglethorpe teabags in Peach and Raspberry, and some Savannah Breakfast tea.

We also shopped in City Market and on River Street, where we found pralines and divinity and lots of other things. A loaded container vessel went by on our last day, coming from the nearby Georgia Ports Authority terminal. I had an internship at the port while I was attending Georgia Southern University down the road a piece..

The clouds went away after we ate lunch at the famous Johnny Harris restaurant, (located near the Red Needle yarn shop.) I had to come back and edit to add that I forgot to mention my dessert. We had barbecue, of course, and I had crab stew. We had a leisurely lunch, as we decided not to drive out to Tybee, as it was raining. DH had egg custard pie. I had Chocolate Chambord Trifle, which would have been perfect in half the size it was. It had chocolate cake soaked in raspberry liquer, chocolate pudding, chocolate ganache, raspberry sauce, with whipped cream and a cherry on top. We had perused the menu beforehand. After lunch, since the sun did come out, and stay out, we drove out to Tybee Island to see Tybee Light. There is a lot more development out there than when I last visited.

At the end of River Street is found the statue of the Waving Girl, Florence Martus. The legend goes that she waved at ships for over 40 years, hoping to see her lost love, a sailor.

Wait, what is that in her dog's mouth? This was DH's idea, isn't he clever? Once again we amused another tourist.

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Travels in the Golden Isles with Sockie

DH and I just returned from a trip to the Georgia coast, where we stayed at the Buccaneer on Jekyll Island from Saturday-Tuesday, and the rest of the week in Savannah at the (Days) Inn at Ellis Square, on Bay Street, between City Market and River Street. The beach at Jekyll, and the Buccaneer were rather deserted, which was great. We noticed  a lot of problems such as threadbare areas in the carpet, and a missing door knob on the outside of the balcony door, causing DH to be locked on the balcony in shorts and bare feet, with his cigar,  in 40-degree temps. Another guest told us the hotel would be torn down in the fall. My family has stayed there for decades. We will miss the place, as it reminds us of our childhoods, staying in old-time beach motels.  I have a March 17 Saturday sky picture from our hotel room balcony. I walked in, dropped my luggage and picked up my camera. Everyone who wasn't here was probably in Savannah for the St. Patrick's Day festivities.

We had a huge room, however, at a great price. It had a microwave and fridge,  sink, dishes, etc. and a full size coffeemaker, to DH's delight. We had breakfast in the room each day. And we went for long walks on the beach. which at times was rather chilly to me. But it was still beautiful, and we walked four miles on the beach and saw four people. It was so nice and peaceful. Our legs are still sore. We didn't make it to the Millionaire's Village or historic district, since we have been so often. My first library job was 60 miles from here or so.

The sun came up so late that I was able to get a shot of the sunrise on Jekyll from our hotel room balcony. I have about 20 shots of this, from two cameras.

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My finished TOFUtsies sock wanted to see all the sights, too. So we took it to St. Simons on the next day, Sunday. There were more people over there. DH is holding the sock on the rail of a pavilion while it admires the view of Jekyll from SSI. It was rather breezy and cool.
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On the opposite side of the pavilion, a boat-tailed grackle was watching us. DH and I joke about the noisy grackles,  which are all over the GA coast. They are iridescent, and I think they sound like rusty gates creaking. Other people probably thought we were nuts, saying "Hey grackle," to get him to look at the camera. That is the SSI pier behind him.

We took Sockie to Barbara Jean's for lunch, but the crabcake and she crab soup and chicken fried steak disappeared too fast to get a shot. There are some here.

DH and I wandered around St. Simons for a while. There was an arts and craft show going on. We strolled on the beach, looked at the lighthouse, and talked to a woman watching her dog play in the surf. She was highly amused by our activities, too. DH was embarrassed.

After that, we drove out to show Sockie Christ Church Frederica and Fort Frederica. I can't show properly all the afternoon light coming through the live oaks and spanish moss. The weather was lovely, but if you go in the summer, take lots of insect repellent. We once ran through Ft. Frederica trying to escape blackflies, and watched the video inside. They have a newer video now, which is much better than the 1969 version we saw a few years ago.

Rows of live oaks frame the magazine at the Fort.

Sockie enjoyed the view of the Marshes of Glynn

Drive Time

OK, I am in my mid-forties and drive a Honda Accord. The radio is usually on NPR for my morning and afternoon commute. Yes, I am boring-XM is likely to be on 73, Frank's Place (as in Sinatra...) This morning I think the horses were feeling their oats. If you could see my drive to work, you would know why Birmingham and Atlanta drive me crazy. There was no one ahead of me, and no one behind me for miles. I was cruising along, and the faster Ella Fitzgerald's tempo got, the faster I went. Until the van pulled out in front of me, and went up a hill at 40. It sped up, and I didn't get behind it again until it got in front of me in time for a left turn. I am not tall, and where I turn, the weeds get so tall, they block my view, and Accord coupes are low. Combined with this, I can't judge distance. That is why I left rubber there. (That's my story, and I am sticking to it.)  The car behind me seemed to drop back.

When we reached the four-lane, I passed evreryone, and set the cruise control to put a rein on those horses. However, the car from behind me passed me. My Accord said, "Hey, not only is that Accord at least 10 years old. it's got 4 cylinders. We can catch it!" By this time, I got tired of Michael Buble/Dean Martin/Frank Sinatra, and XM 70s was blasting Aerosmith/Run D.M.C. (I am inventing the XMRadio Defense) To the guitars of "Walk this Way, " I turned the cruise control off. That Accord might have been old. but it was going over 80. I slowed down for the sign that says speeding fines are doubled when workers are present. It's DH's fault, the Accord has heard him say many times how we have more horsepower than anything around, and I drive a V-6 Accord the way I drove my Toyota Tercel, and I could have turned left 17 times before that car got here.. Darlene, I found that  picture.

On other topics, I see blogs with music lists on them. Here is DH's review of my birthday CD, Michael Bublé, Michael Bublé  "Frank Sinatra? Uh uh, maybe a young Harry Connick, Jr. Oh, that's Frank's song, and that one's definitely Dino's, not Bublé's."

I inspected DN's Pirates Happy Meal container to see if it had Johnny Depp's picture on it. Nope. No need to get one.

Oh yeah, knitting. I have finished one repeat on the SECOND P-sock, and shifted the stitches around. I even did a couple inches on the Trekking sock. I have been comtemplating my next socks. I am thinking clog socks with my LynnH "Wild Women Don't Get the Blues" yarn. I also started on the second sleeve of my Purple Plum Shrug. Not sure I like Elann's Luna. It is really splitty.

Images of New Orleans trip

1. ALA exhibits, 2. Jackson Square, 3. Skyline, 4. ALA Sign, 5. Mississippi River, 6. ALA Poster Session, 7. Mississippi, 8. Exhibits, 9. Flaming Fountain, 10. Cannon, 11. Cafe du Monde, 12. Bridge