Favorite's

I was trying to figure out what I wanted to put up as a Favorite Thing for this week. After bouncing a couple of different ideas around, I kept coming back to one thing - I wish I could go on the cruise now, instead of a few weeks ago. I could really use it to get away from everything and really put some effort into just enjoying the week away instead of worrying about the issues I would have when I got back. Because, if there is a "favorite" type of vacation for me, it's cruising. I would love to be able to book another one now so that I have something to look forward to!

30 posts for the month - still going strong on 365!

Here is the last one.



Our favorite and shortest stop - Victoria. We'll make it back there someday.

Two posts shy

Here's another one.



Resting in the Observation Lounge and taking in the view of the Columbia River.

Three posts shy for the month

Notebook gremlins really screwed up my posting while we were gone. I'm three shy for the month. I will post three pictures from my trip to make up for it.

Why we called it the Brews Cruise:



Cheers!

Fort George Brewpub, Astoria.

Really need to get back to that town someday.

I finished what was on my needles

Two pairs in two days! Three pair for the month. Not too bad. Two more on the needles and I will probably cast on something else, even though I have no business doing so.

This was my souvenir yarn from Seattle. I cast on 4/16 and finished today. In between sock 1 and 2, I knit all of my Jacobean socks except for the ribbing on sock 1. These were such a fast knit. If I hadn't been so obsessed with making sure I was being a considerate worker bee while on vacation, I probably would have them done while we were on the cruise. Fat lotta good that did me. Yes, I am currently bitter about my worklife. I can't talk about it yet. Let's just say that my life took a 180 between Friday and Monday. Again, I wish I could win the lottery already.

Sorry - let's get back to pleasant. Pleasant is good. I can be pleasant.

The yarn was from Caryn's Creations and is called Mariner's Self Striping. I really liked this yarn. It's soft and squishy. The stripes are not entirely even, but that's totally fine. I can hardly wait to wear them. The weather is starting to warm up, so I won't have as many opportunities. If it's sixty degrees, my feet demand sandals. Little piggies like to get some sun and wiggle in unrestricted freedom.

Changing things up this week seems to be a good thing for me. I will not be posting anything finished tomorrow. I promise.

Not Friday but still an FO

I started these in January!! These were written to be toe up with a short row heel. Yeah, well, that type of sock doesn't fit. Also, I'm not crazy about US 1 needles using the Magic Loop method. Perhaps this is why it took me two months to knit socks.

I decided to knit them cuff down and with a heel flap. They fit as socks should - snug and proper.

This is Jacobean, from the Sock Knitting Pentathlon (skp2008). The yarn is J. Knits in the colorway Los Angeles, my hometown! I love them now that they are done. I made two mistakes, but I'm not saying where.

Worth noting - they traveled with us to Canada. They get to be part of my memories from that trip too.

Any place else but here

Coquille River Light, Oregon

I wish I were here today. I took this picture on a chilly November afternoon. We decided to drive to Idaho Falls via the Oregon Coast. No, we are not directionally challenged. It remains one of my favorite shots of that trip.

On a day like today, I really wish I could be out on the coast, trying to capture with my camera nature's beauty that we take for granted.

I wish I would just win the lottery already so I wouldn't have to deal with a job. More on that later. No reason to depress everyone.

Time to go knit and avoid thinking about things that really annoy me and stress me out.

Sunday Quotes

One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.

Bob Marley (1945 - 1981)

Saturday Night Movie

Our first stop on our cruise was Astoria, Oregon. As the ship was getting ready to leave port, and we were on our way to the observation lounge, we heard the what sounded like a band. Low and behold, the brass section of the Astoria High School Band was seeing us off at dockside. The video isn't great, but I thought it would be fun to share. Honestly, how many times can you say that a band saw you off as your ship sailed away. Very nostalgic.



If you weren't able to make out the audio, they were playing Rock Lobster by the B-52's.

Brews Cruise '08 Slide Show

To view the slide show, with descriptions, please go here.



Brews Cruise ’08

What Was On My Needles Wednesday

Last night I got home too late and I was too tired to even try to blog. Some days are like that. Back to semi normal blogging.

This week, on the needles are...



Mariner's Socks! These are the colors of the Seattle Mariners Baseball Team, and I bought the yarn in Seattle at So Much Yarn! (No, I don't follow baseball, but I liked the colors) It's a basic 2x2 rib pattern. I couldn't get too creative, I was vacation. However, I did pack my dpn's just so I could start a pair of socks if I came across something nice! As you can see, I have come a fair distance since a week ago, when I cast them on.



These are the Sock Madness Round 3 socks. You can see how far I got. The lace weight wasn't the issue, really, it was the fact that we were going on a cruise that screwed me up. When I checked the stat list on Monday, and 7 of the alloted 12 were done, I gave up trying to be knitting Wonder Woman. Maybe next year. I do like the way they are turning out though. I'm using Jojoland Harmony and Jaggerspun Zephyr.



Actually, since I took this picture Tuesday night, I have since turned the heel on sock number 1! The yarn is from J. Knits and the colorway is Los Angeles. The pattern was much easier than it looked and I am reversing the pattern. It was supposed to be toe up, but I hate how they fit. I can't stand a short row heel either. I am also doing this using the Magic Loop method - one long circular. It really slows me down. But the pattern isn't conducive to dpn's.



My stash acquisition from Victoria at the Beehive Wool Shop. I have to go back there someday! So much stuff to fondle. Anyway, I purchased some Fleece Artist and some Handmaiden. Husband heard the total and I am surprised that he said nothing. Of course, when we were in Seattle, for the first time in my life I heard "$40 for a skein of yarn and a magazine? Seriously?" Let's just say this bag was 2 1/2 times the Seattle purchase.

I didn't get as much knitting time in last week as I had hoped, but it was better than nothing. Since I am posting this on Thursday - I know there is no way that I will have anything done for tomorrow. Next week, just wait!

By Request

These are the Pubs we visited, in order

Rogue Public House
Tasters included Double Dead Guy Ale and Barleywine Brew, plus two others I failed to write down. One was a red ale. The Kobe Sliders and Kobe Bleu Balls (as in Bleu Cheese) are excellent.

The Wet Dog Cafe
Tasters included Old Red Beard's Amber Ale, Volksweissen Bavaerina Wheat Ale, and Shark's Spit IPA. Beer brats and warm, fresh pretzels are an excellent accompaniment.

Fort George Brewery & Public House
Tasters included Quick Whit, Lovell Lager, Vortex, Cavatica Stout and Mango Wheat. Excellent fresh steak fries.

The Pike Brewery
Tasters included Pike Naughty Nellie, Pike Pale Ale, Pike IPA, Pike Kilt Lifter, Pike XXXXX Stout and Pike Tandem. The chowder was tasty and the Chicken Nachos were a great addition to the experience.

Granville Island Brewery
Tasters included Island Lager, Kitsilano Maple Cream Ale, Robson Street Hefeweizen and Gastown Amber Ale.

Steamworks Brewery
Tasters included Lions Gate Lager, Empress IPA, Signature Pale Ale, Heroica Oatmeal Stout, Nirvana Nut Brown Ale, a seasonal Pilsner, a seasonal Hefeweizen and a seasonal Belgian. The crab and cream cheese stuffed mushrooms were excellent. The beer soup is a must try.

The Swan Inn & Pub
Tasters included Pandora Pale Ale, Old Town Bavarian Lager, Buckerfield Bitter, Arctic Ale, Raspberry Ale, Appleton Brown Ale and Riley's Scotch Ale.

Canoe Brewing Company
Tasters included Siren's Song, Red Canoe Lager, Beaver Brown Ale, River Rock Bitter and Winter Gale Strong Ale (seasonal selection).

In total, we tried 42 beers in 4 days. However, when you consider that an average taster glass in 3 ounces, and the total is split between two people, that's about an average beer bottle per day. See, we're not lushes after all. And we only drank beer before noon once!

The Saga Continues - A Day At Sea

Our dinner companions - James and Emily to the left, Heather and Jacob to the right.

And yes I'm still playing catch-up.

Friday was spent at leisure. One thing that we enjoyed during the cruise was a set of lectures by Brent Nixon. He presented four lectures that were very entertaining and - dare I say it - educational. We went to all the lectures, and learned more about Orca's, Humpbacks, Otters and Dolphins than we could have imagined. I had the opportunity to speak with Brent and his wife during afternoon tea on Friday. Mary Amanda, his wife, was working on a piece of needlepoint and I was just too curious to stay away. I shared my crafting history with her and also let Brent know how much we enjoyed his presentations. I hope that we will run across them again in the future. A lovely couple.

Since we didn't have to be anywhere, I slept in. Dragged my lazy ass into the shower at 11 am. I wasn't going to start another morning as a ball of stress, so no battling with the laptop until after lunch and Brent's last lecture. While we sat in the Cafe that afternoon, Kevin reading one of the books we brought, I spent a little over 2 hours on the laptop, mentally preparing myself for what I had to come back too. I scratched the surface of what I needed to review, but at least I had a game plan for Monday.

So, what else on the cruise....the floor show wasn't great. The singers were good, the dancers were not well matched. There was one tall girl who was taller than the partner. It made for interesting lifts and combinations. It was awkward to look at. We went to the first show and didn't return for a repeat. But this is targeted to an older crowd, which I am sure thought was it nicely done. We also had two comedians, one appealed to the over 50 set and other didn't as much. Guess which one we liked? We went to all three comedy nights.

Celebrity jokes that Bingo is the official sport of cruising. I don't agree - it's eating. I had to laugh when I got home because I gained nothing! Nothing!! During the week I sit on my ass all day. The only exercise I get is what I'm doing now - typing. I walked so much last week that the calories didn't stand a chance. I also didn't eat a lot of empty carbs and sugar, which I'm sure also helped. I tried to make sure that I ate complex carbs, good proteins and as many veggie's as I could. Kevin wasn't as fortunate, and he worked out every day.

We had some charming dinner companions - James and Emily for Idaho and Heather and Jacob the Bay Area. Heather works in San Francisco too. This was the first time that we have been the "oldest" couple. Ouch. Emily graduated from the same high school as Kevin - and she was born when he was in college! Double ouch. Same world. Heather and Jacob were great to sit and chat with, and we shared an after dinner cocktail with them one evening. It was the only liquor we bought on the ship. They may sell duty free to take home, but I know of few bars on the mainland that charge those prices! We exchanged email addresses with the promise to get together for dinner in the near future.

And speaking of dinner, oh they were good. Filet Mignon, Prime Rib, Braised Beef, Lamb Shank, and Veal Cutlets perfectly cooked, perfectly paired and happily consumed. The portions were perfect. Kevin had fish five of the seven evenings, with roast turkey and roast chicken for the other two. They served chilled soups, escargot and frog legs. In addition to the sweet treats for desert, they had sugar free offerings and what I have come to love - cheese and fruit plate. I did deviate twice and enjoyed Baked Alaska and Poached Pears. Overall, I think I did well for working with my Diabetes and keeping my blood sugar near normal. I did well with the beer, which was a pleasant surprise. The night we had after dinner cocktails, I had a pretty good spike with the Scotch. Good to know.

It's getting late and I have to get up early. I still have catching up to do. Maybe I can squeeze in a couple of posts tomorrow.

By the way - we took over 700 pictures.

Oh

My

God.

A Day In Victoria

I might as well finish what I started....

This was our shortest time in port. We arrived at 7 am and left at 2 pm. Kevin and I both wished we had more time here. It is a beautiful city and we barely scratched the surface of what there was to experience. We passed a Worldmark resort (our timeshare company) on the way back to the ship. At least we have an inexpensive place to stay when we come back.

We started off at the information center to decide what we needed to do first and plan our strategy for maximum benefit of time. We determined we could squeeze in two breweries while we were here. There are about 7 or so to choose from. Because it was still so early, and we aren't lushes, we did the sight seeing thing first.



Did I mention this was the first day we had that started out sunny? Makes for lovely washed out photos. Anyhoo....we strolled around the Empress and then went in to check it out. Very cool place. It's celebrating it's 100 anniversary this year. I picked up a tea mug with the hotel's signature pattern, a tin of their signature tea and a couple of other souvenirs.

Next we headed across the street to the RC Museum. We didn't go in, because there simply wasn't time to do it justice. This was on the outside, however....



I love Native American crafted works. The Canadians call them First Nations. I think I like that title better. This is a place I have to come back to and spend some time. There was a house totem inside the museum that was representative of Raven- the beak was 30 feet long! It was over 100 years old and absolutely amazing.

We next stopped at the Legislature



and actually sat in on a live session for a bit. They were speaking of ethanol and the pro's and con's of production and how it impacted food supply. It was very interesting. I wish I had the opportunity to sit in on a session of Congress when I was in DC all those years ago. Next time.

It was 11 am by this point and we had to get back on the bus at 1 pm to get back to the ship in time. We ran off to find the beer. Our first stop was Swan's Inn and Pub.



We split 7 tasters here. Why do I have a pen in my hand? Because I am taking notes of what we are having - so we'll remember. Finished these off and then headed to Canoe's Brewing Company.



For ambiance, this place was great. We sat at the bar, had 5 more tasters and some peanuts. Of the two, we liked this one better overall and the beer was more to our liking here.

Last stop was Beehive Wool Shop. Now, you wouldn't think that my only yarn purchase would be in Seattle, would you?



This is half of the shop - that I spent maybe 15 minutes in. We had 20 minutes to get to the bus, and we were 14 or so blocks away. I don't walk fast and my feet hurt from days of walking. At least I can say I bought Fleece Artist in Canada. Yes, pictures will be up soon. I didn't take pictures of the swag yet.

We sailed away from Victoria shortly after 2pm. Kevin and I had a nice lunch on board the ship, since we really hadn't had the time to eat in town.

Next post I will cover what we did on the ship and a bit about the evening dining mates and the staff.

A Brief Update

We're at sea and heading home. Supposedly, we're off the Mendocino Coast, so we're not too far away. Still, we get in at 7 am and will be disembarking around 9:30 am.

I'll update when I get home, and post some pictures. My battery is almost dead and I've spent the last couple of hours just getting through email from work.

I had the best of intentions when I started on this trip that it would go smoothly. It has in the past. Trying to balance the responsibilities from my job and trying to insure that it wouldn't overly impact my husband can be a fine line. I managed in the past. The computer problems were not something I could account for. With the help of some great tech staff here on board, it seems we finely got it resolved today. That figures - it's the last day.

The problems I encountered had a very negative impact on a co-worker, and that's what is most troubling. I didn't want this trip to be bad for anyone, and I can't say that anymore. Apologizing doesn't make up for it.

There has been a cloud hanging over me all week. Nervous, agitated and on edge. Even now, Kevin has spent these last 2+ hours sitting across for me in the cafe reading a book. He hasn't said much, but I realize that my less than usual exuberance of being on a trip has impacted his enjoyment as well. I disappointed a lot of people this week, including myself. God, I hate this feeling.

A Day In Vancouver

Technically, I’m writing this the next day. When I tried to boot up the laptop yesterday – immediate BSOD. Got it through recovery and didn’t have time to deal with it any further. Long-suffering husband has been very patient this week, but even he has his limits. I’ve been on the laptop when he’s working out and then getting ready for the day, or when he’s been in the gym in the afternoon. This trip was meant to spend some quality time together after all, and I don’t want to remind him of the 3+ hours he’s home before I get there Monday-Friday. Even trying to get this done today has been a b*&!h. Outlook is failing to send. As one kind person commented on this blog, it isn't Vista, it's Witless.

We had another long day in Port yesterday. We had arranged seats on the Hop-on, Hop-off Trolley that loops around Vancouver’s major points of interest. There is more we would have liked to have seen, but I can’t take as much as I used to. I was pretty exhausted coming into this, and with trying to keep up with what we had pre-arranged, getting some work done outside of the computer issues and 8:30 dinner seating (meaning we’re not in bed before midnight – can’t go to sleep on a full stomach), I’m getting a little less sleep than I was at home. We’re at sea tomorrow, so I will be sleeping in. I have managed to sneak in two naps since we set sail, but that’s not quite enough. But, I digress.

There were some pretty cool things to see around downtown. They’re getting ready for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The tour guide was less than thrilled with the construction – and costs. Stanley Park was quite lovely, but we wanted to spend some time on Granville Island, in Chinatown and then Gastown. Maybe next time.

Our stop on Granville Island allowed me to find some Olympic pins for my on-going Winter Olympic pin collection. I purchased a couple in Salt Lake, but other than that, the bulk of my acquisitions have been via eBay. I love eBay – but not so much now. I’ve gotten better – more discriminating – have less time for such things (No. 1 reason). We walked around and saw some interesting things. It used to be called Industrial Island, the City’s source of building materials and such. There are still some industrial businesses, such as a cement company and a foundry, but it’s now the home of the city’s farmer’s market, similar to Pike’s in Seattle, and Emily Carr Art Institute. There are also breweries. By now, you had to know this was coming.

Granville Island Brewing Company is located in the heart of the district. Unfortunately, there wasn’t room on the tour for us, but we enjoyed some tasters and ran into a brother and sister that were on our Ale Trail excursion the other day. After have our refreshments, we got back on the bus and headed over to Chinatown.

Vancouver’s Chinatown is very different from San Francisco’s, though I think it is bigger in actually land mass. The streets are wider, the businesses have larger spaces and there simply aren’t as many people. There were a number of markets that sold herbs, vegetables and traditional Chinese ingredients. From this aspect, it was really different. It reminded me a little of Oakland’s Chinatown, as far as the fresh food are concerned. We stopped at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden and enjoyed the peaceful surroundings.

Hopping back on the Trolley, we headed over to Gastown and Steamworks Brewery. Very cool place. We’re used to asking for a flight of taster’s and typically this means 4-6 small glasses of beer. The glasses are usually between 2 to 3 ounces. Steamworks gave us 8 glasses and they were probably 3 oz. each. Holy intoxication, Batman. We decided to have some appetizers here, since we hadn’t had any food since early in the morning, so we ordered Tandoori Chicken Skewers, Mushrooms stuffed with cream cheese and snow crab, and Beer Soup. All of it was wonderful! We need to start checking out microbrews around the SF Bay Area and see if we can find a place as cool as this one. In the basement, they had pool tables and the bar had to at least 30 ft. long. Beautiful dark woods and a view of the Harbor. Excellent.

We were just a couple of blocks away from the Cruise Terminal at that point, so we headed back. Once we got on board, Kevin headed off to the gym and I slept for a while. I was done.

We had a comedian for the evenings’ entertainment, and we had to see him before dinner. He was on Home Improvement as an occasional character. His name was Jim Labriola and he was pretty funny. Off to dinner and then off to bed, because we arrive in Victoria at 7am and we leave again at 2pm – not a whole lotta time.

I’ll check in with today’s entry later. I have to get ready for our last formal night of the cruise. I hadn't planned on spending two hours downloading email and re-entering a blog entry.

TTFN.

A Day In Seattle

We are back onboard the ship. It’s cold and rainy. The morning started with some sun, but, it didn’t last.

As my last post revealed, I have had some issues with my laptop. When I start it up now, I fear it just not doing anything. After the lovely Windows icon and associated tune have loaded, the screen is black with a cursor. It stays that way for about 5 minutes. I fear the BSOD. So far, only twice today. Whoopee. My other choice is to log on to the internets in the iCafe, which is not time efficient – or economical. I prepaid for an access package that would give me 240 minutes. I subsequently won an additional 60 minutes. However, that means I’m getting Internet access for $0.38 per minute! If I go over, it’s $0.65 per minute! God, they give it to you for stuff like this onboard. They claim you can use your cell phones at see, but the satellite has been down. This also means no CNN or any type of live news feed. I feel like I’m on a deserted island. Add to that the gremlins also showing their snarky selves in my cell phone (charged it - turned it on - low battery) and SLR (light sensor is whacked, need to reset the defaults and start all over), it's been a perfectly stressed out mess. Tears were eminent as least half a dozen times today. I can be such a girl sometimes. I so hate that.

I am trying to use my Outlook program to take care of emails – and posts – because I can work offline. This will obviously save on connected time. It worked ok this morning. It had a few hiccups, but overall it did ok.

So, for our day in Seattle. Our first stop was So Much Yarn at the corner of First and Bell. Pretty little store. Nothing local, or stuff I haven’t seen. The clerk showed me a few new things in the store that she thought I may not have encountered, but dear husband commented when we left that her claim was more than likely way off the mark. It was. How well he knows me. I have to admit I was good – one skein of sock yarn and the latest issue of Vogue Knitting. The sock yarn will remind me of Seattle.

We then headed for Pioneer square, and the Underground Tour. Very cool. I would highly recommend it to anyone coming to town. Don’t have much time to go into detail, besides you can always Google it. Found a few cool souvenirs and then decided to head back to the ship.

I had to do the goofy thing – I bought a Carmel Macchiato at Starbucks. I also got some money at the ATM at WAMU. I bought a book about Seattle. I smooshed a souvenir penny. Ok – all tourist type things done.

On the way back, we stopped at The Pike Brewing Company for a snack and some tasters. It’s official, this has become the brew cruise, I picked up a book called the Pacific Northwest Passport to Beer. At least that way will we know where to drink in Vancouver and Victoria. This was discussed over tasters today – Pike’s Double Ale was the winner (malty with a tobacco and molasses finish). We must try beer in BC, eh.

After walking through Pike Place we got back on the ship. Kevin is up at the gym doing God knows what and working up a sweat. I am working away at the computer, occasionally asking it to be nice and not screw with me again. At lease the keyboard hasn’t stopped working – that happened this morning too.

I regret that my knitting has suffered. I remember all the time we had on the Alaskan Cruise, so I packed a bunch of stuff (socks, Mystic Light Shawl, etc.) and I haven’t even turned the heel on the sock I started on Saturday. I’m out of Sock Madness, that’s for sure.

Keep your fingers crossed that the gremlins find a new home. The Ale Trail continues tomorrow!

A Day In Astoria

We spent Monday in Astoria – it was cold and rainy when we started and it was cold and sunny when we left.

 

I’ll have to elaborate later, because yesterday and this morning my Compaq Presario V6000 Vista Enhanced piece of electronic crap crashed on me again, and again and again. Just what I wanted to do on my vacation – deal with the blue screen of death and recovery. Argh. I had planned on spending a couple of hours working, just to make sure certain things were handled, but that didn’t happen as I had planned on Monday. We’ll see if today is any better.

 

We did the Astoria Ale Trail, which meant we had beer! Our stops included Roque Ale, which is best known for Dead Guy’s Ale. We had three tasters and a free pint there, along with Kobe beef Sliders and Kobe Blue Cheese Balls. Mmm, mmm, good. Kevin had the artichoke dip, which he said was good.

 

Next stop was the Wet Dog Café, where we met the brew master, got free swag, and enjoyed 3 tasters and beer brats and warm pretzels. We liked this place a lot!

 

Last stop was Fort George Ale House, where we had 4 tasters and we liked these tasters a little bit better than Rogue. Not the Rogue is bad, they’re just more hoppy, and we like a higher malt ratio. The higher hop ratio causes some more bitterness, which is what we don’t like.

 

Well, I’m going to try to send emails again, which is what started this whole mess yesterday. I’ve been working on the laptop for about an hour getting the settings back to something Vista will work with. I do so hate the BSOD.

 

If this morning ends like yesterday, then we may have to find ourselves another Ale Trail.

 

Cheers!

 

 

Day 1 - At Sea

Greetings dear blog readers!

Yesterday, we sailed out of San Francisco on a 7-day cruise to the ports of Astoria, Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria British Columbia. The first full day on the ship is being spent at sea. We arrive in Astoria early Monday morning, where we have the morning to ourselves before joining a Microbrew tour of the town. Yes, we’re going pub hopping!

I thought I would give a quick update as we are enjoying afternoon snacks. Kevin is enjoying a sampling of European pastries while I had some finger sandwiches, including the all-time standard cucumber and watercress.

Tonight is formal night and we’re ready for it. Though not crazy about the stodgy formality on this type of cruise, we’ll play along. Of course, since our first cruise was with NCL, and their amazing freestyle cruising program spoiled us terribly, we are trying our best to follow the rules.

Our dinner companions are a couple from Redwood City (south of San Francisco) and one from Boise, ID. The wife of the Boise couple is originally from Pocatello, and had the choir teacher as Kevin. However, we had our “senior moment” in that she was born after Kevin had graduated from high school. Ouch. They spoke briefly of “choir tour” and that brought back some memories.

I leave you with a picture from our departure yesterday. Other than the ship, and endless ocean with grey cloudy skies, there isn’t all that much to share. Tomorrow will be different, however.

Greetings from San Francisco