Fanatics

It's no secret that my husband is a cruise fanatic. We took a two week Caribbean Cruise when we got married 31 years ago. We didn't cruise again until spring last year. Since then, we have gone twice this year, and tomorrow we are heading out for the third time this year. We are taking a seven day "Mexican Riviera" cruise, down to Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. There is something very appealing about going away where no cell phones can reach us. And of course it's not like he's the only one in the family who enjoys it. Barbara is coming with us and she is so excited that she can hardly stand it. And I'm pretty darn excited too. A whole week of sightseeing, shopping in exotic ports (!), marvelous meals and first-rate entertainment.

So what did I do today to get ready? Well of course I had to pack trip projects. Isn't that the first thing you pack? I've got the STR socks, which I hope to finish; I've got MDK ballband warshcloths in my carry-on. I thought long and hard about packing the Icarus shawl, but I finally decided against it. I've restarted once, and I've had to tink a couple rows this time, and tinking the mohair is very frustrating. And frustration is not what I'm looking for this next week. So I'm taking the Log Cabin Blankie for the perfect no-stress no-counting knitting. I'm not taking all the yarn, only about half of it. That'll be enough to put at least eight more logs on it.

I'm so looking forward to this. Besides knitting, I'm looking forward to long walks on the promenade deck and several sessions in the gym. I've been very bad about exercising lately with all the bathroom work going on. And of course, the excellent meals. There are so many "healthy" choices at each meal and all of them are delicious, of course; on our little weekend in August I ate off the light menu every meal but one, and didn't gain even an ounce.

So what did I do today? I had to wash clothes, iron, pack, water all the plants, make a quick stop at work to sign everyone's time sheets, and then dust, vacuum, and get out the clean bed linens for the lady who will be staying here with Nana while we are gone. I had to decide on the yarn, of course; it was easier deciding what clothes to take. So, what did I do when I first got up this morning? I spent over an hour knitting, of course, like I had all the time in the world.

I turned the heel this morning on the STR sock. This is the Lichen Ribbed Sock from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. The Welsh heel was interesting to work, and I picked up the gusset stitches using the pretty way that Grumperina just recently blogged about. And I think it's a very attractive way to pick up the stitches. I will definitely use this again.

So it's off we are again. I'll be back in a week with lots of pictures and hopefully lots of knitting done, and I'm sure with lots of Bloglines to catch up on. And may all of you who are travelling to Rhinebeck have a safe trip!