Thoughts

Here is one of my favorite views during vacation....looking up from the old towel.
Well, Blogger has decided to cooperate (yay!) and my dh fired up the generator, so now I can record a few thoughts. I love Hawaii very much. It is warm, beautiful, and the people are great. Here are some pictures of the various activities undertaken:

The schedule went roughly something like this: up at seven, lounge 'til eight (watching cooking shows bien sur), hit the beach from eight to one, lunch, then shop. Fabulous!
And of course, knitting on the beach. I actually witnessed two other people knitting on the beach in the ten days we were there. One was an older lady working on some very, very fun fur yarn. (Note to Secret Pal: No Fun Fur.) Another was a youngster, doing something cool on a really BIG pair of needles. In this picture I am attempting to finish socks for my sil, meant to be a Christmas gift. Well we all know the end of that story. I finished one on the plane home...and it takes two rounds to download each of these pictures, he he.
But back to shopping. Contrary to what Harlot claims, there is more wool in Hawaii! After perusing the yellow pages, I spotted my target. With my unsuspecting dh and his sis in tow, we set off on a 15 block sojourn to here. It was, to my chagrin, closed! But hey! I peeked in the window....there was Ursula, hunched over with a student, and she waved me in. Knitters are so friendly! So great! And yes, Harlot, there was LOTS of yarn!....floor to ceiling, to be exact. Here's what I bought:
Yes people, that's all sock yarn goodness. Because hey! I'm Hooked On Socks! And it works for me.....I have not started the next 6sox sock yet, it is shadow knitting and I bought the yarn in Capitola last week. But not to digress! Somewhere in the vacation my dh ran the Honolulu Marathon. He did very well despite the heat, etc. But best of all he raised almost $4000.00 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! GO TEAM! At the expo the day before the race, there were a few cultural activities going on:
This is making a lei from ti leaves. They were very wet and juicy, and it was - you guessed it - just like spinning! You anchor one end with your toe; each hand twists the leaf towards the right, then you let it ply itself to the left at you travel up. Add leaves as you go; the ends stick out attractively. Then you push in some orchids to make it really pretty. The woman who taught me was truly cool. She said it was good "hana" to help me, and that if I blessed it as I made it, it was good "hana" for me, too. I needed that!
I'll leave you now with just one more image...pray for the sock sister, that she may come!
I hope to finish her tonight. I like this yarn and you can definitely say that this sock has been around. More to come OK!

Re-entry

Well, I am back from Hawaii, and the truth is, I have been for awhile. At this point there are some things you need to know about me.
Where I live, there are no power lines. This is know as being "off the grid". Our power is solely wood (for heat), propane (for kitchen and laundry) and the rest is solar, coming from panels and batteries built by dh.
Since it's been raining pretty much every day since we got back, we haven't had an abundance of power. Therefore the computer gets relegated to "not necessary" status. Even though we all know better.
Finally today is sunny, and I am trying to reach out and share the beauty of the islands with you (read: pictures) and yet alas! I can't seem to make this work. Will not go, pictures not budging! Will keep at it.
Meanwhile, Christine's fabulous PRIZE was waiting for me when I returned. Imagine a beautiful lace shawl (Thanks Melanie!) that I made myself. I hope you can. Also, fiberliciousness in a nest of pure white alpaca that is begging to be dyed. Must take pictures first!
But where IS the camera anyway? Dh used it last to take pictures of 4WDer's license plates as they tear up Nisene Marks Forest (our driveway!) These are always young, white males.
OK. It's true, I have another sock to finish for someone....supposed to be a you-know-what (FO by 12/25) so.......

By for now.

PS I did manage to join SP7 with a little help from Christine....so excited!!!

Aloha!

Goodbye everyone, I'm off to Hawaii until December 15. Dh is running the Honolulu Marathon for Team in Training (GO TEAM!!!) Pics to come!!

I am so excited to announce I won Christine's contest!! A beautiful shawl pattern designed by Melanie and some alpaca to dye and spin. I am the luckiest blogger in the world!...

See you later (with a tan). Mele Kaliki Maka!!!