Update

As you know, I finished the Kimono shawl a few weeks ago. Finally have pics:




































































Don't understand how this works sometimes, but anyway.........

Sara, Sallie and I are gong XC Schooling tomorrow in preparation for the show we are doing on October 31 - Halloween. In that vein, I made a skull/roses jacket that has a semi-tuxedo look to it. Also made a skeleton vest to go with and am using a skull and cross bones saddle pad for Miss Bella.

Sunday a.m. I am running a 5K - gotta keep the exercise and goals going or I'll become a blob. Fortunately, this race is at Long Gate, so I don't have far to drive and it starts fairly late - 9:00! usually these races start at 8:00, but there will be lots of the day to go afterward.

Dave is going to a wedding at the Willard Hotel tomorrow to photograph, and we are hoping that it will be a good experience for him. He is helping out another photographer, and so far some pictures will be taken at the Willard and at a few of the monuments! Dave was told he will be there from noon to midnight so he'll be quite tired on Sunday.

I have so much leave accrued that I am taking Fridays off for the next five weeks so I don't lose any of it. Today is the first day of my Fridays off, and I'm so confused. Last night I kept thinking it was Friday because I'm so used to working a five-day work week. It does feel nice not to have to have gotten up and get dressed, drive to the station, sit on the train for who knows how long, etc.

Baby blanket was completely tossed. I did not like the way it looked, so I changed patterns AND got new yarn. I'm waiting for the yarn to come in so I can start anew.

One mitten is finished for riding instructor; now, on to the task of the second one. I have cast on the second mitten, but have only a few rows of the ribbing done so far. Do you know how difficult it is to cast on, then divide the stitches onto four needles and start knitting while on the train? And someone sitting next to you keeps bumping your arm? Well, I do. It's not easy, but in the name of knitting, I persevered.

Yarn Crawl Tomorrow!

OK. I don't really need any more yarn, but it's an excuse to be with friends and have a nice day together. However.......

As you know, I was commissioned to knit a baby blanket; the pattern was great if I used only two colors as required by the pattern; I wanted to use all "baby" colors, and attempted to do each repeat in a different color. Unfortunately, only the original blue and white looked really pretty. I would have continued in just those colors, but my client wanted all pastel colors in the blanket. Looks as if I'm going to have to go to a varigated yarn that has the pastels in it, and I will have to use another pattern. Drat! But, to paraphrase those Project Runway contestants, I can't send anything to a client that I don't like. I must be true to myself as a knitter!

Riding lesson on Sunday; probably more flat work as I need that just as much as jumping. Next Saturday, the 23rd, we will be going XC schooling in preparation for the show on October 31. Sara, Sallie and I are going together for the show and XC schooling. It will be nice to have other people come with me this time.

Ran on the TM yesterday, and wore myself out! I'm still tired, but since I won't be doing any exercise until Sunday, I'm debating with myself about going to the gym today and at least getting my heart rate up today. Definitely not in the mood.

Status: Finally on the last few rounds of the first mitten for Cathy. Then, I do the thumb and then get to start the second mitten. It's a good thing I started this project back in June; it's October now and the first mitten is not even done!

Another Race Finished

Well, got up early on Saturday; drove to Hains Point in DC (took us bout an hour to get there); got my number, chatted with a few people and it was time to run! The course was the flattest course I have ever run! Apparently, my hill training on the TM has paid off! I was able to run for a quite a long time before I even thought about being tired. I ran and ran and ran; came in at 33:22; still haven't made the 30-minute 5K, but getting closer! To my surprise, I got a second place in my age age group! Dave and I met a really nice lady from OK, who was in DC with her kid's class who was sightseeing in DC. She got up on Saturday, googled if there wee any races going on, took the metro and cab to Hains Point to run while everyone else was still asleep. Kudos to her for getting up and running while on vacation.


Sunday was another early morning as Sara and I had our riding lesson. I struggled with my left bend for most of the lesson. I think I need to tie my left shoulder back so it doesn't keep moving forward! The good news is, my halts are really looking nice.

Spent the rest of the day working on my skull/roses jacket for a Halloween horse show. There is a vest that needs to be finished, but it should not take very long. Then, I'm done. After tht, back to a sweater coat I'm working on and having problems with. Oh, well, never a dull moment.

No MARC trains are running to day, so I took advantage of that and took the day off; beats having to drive to Greenbelt, catch the Green Line, transfer to the Red Line, then coming home and having to drive back up 95 to get home. Why should I pay extra to go to work? My sentiments exactly.

Semper Fi! 5K at Hains Point

Tomorrow is the first annual Semper Fi 5K fundraiser. For a race in its first year, it has done amazingly well. Over $15,000 has been raised and 350 people have signed up to run/walk the course at Hains Point. This means we have to get up early to drive to DC and get my number, etc. Sara is going to PA to run a Road Warrier race through fire! I can't wait to see the pictures from that.

Finished the shawl, blocked the shawl, now have to take a picture of the shawl to post. It is the perfect color for the person for whom it was made.

Back to the baby blanket once my pink yarn comes in. It should arrive any day now! I would like to have that done, and it is a quick knit (well, only if one follows the directions properly!).

The Christmas mitten is looking nice now that I have the right sized needles. I may never finish this one, let alone getting the second one started.