Buddy of the Grand Canyon II

Someone else besides Annie came with us to the Canyon, as well. You remember Buddy the Hiker Dog. Buddy came with us the last time we camped at the canyon a couple years back. Even though it was a while ago, I'm positive that he remembered where he was, just by the excitement level he had once we got there and the fact that he remembered which way to go to get to the rim.

Buddy is the all around hiker dog. He's ready to go no matter the day or the time, or even if he's just finished his second three-mile hike of the day. No matter how tired he is, he's never too tired for another walk.

Is it time to go yet??

Hey, Annie, did you see that trail way over there? Let's go!!

Come on, Dad, hurry up and get off the phone already.

I know I'm full of dust and dirt, but do I have to have a bath on vacation? Sheesh!

I so tired!!!

Knitting and Newport

Yes, I guess it has been a while since I've posted.

My foot is basically all healed up. I'm fully back at work and seldom even think about the foot anymore unless I've been on my feet a lot or I accidentally bump the one sore spot still left. Buddy is doing well, thanks to a lot of rather pricey pills. We're not quite sure what made him sick in the first place -- perhaps a bad infection? -- but he is his usual bouncy hungry self and so I guess we will keep him on the pills for the next couple months like the vet wants. Joe has also been under the weather and I was running him to doctors and the hospital for a few weeks (with the bandaged foot, of course), but we are both pleased that he's doing much better now.

He did well enough that I felt okay taking a week's trip to visit various relatives and attend a couple family celebrations. I also visited a couple yarn shops and behaved very badly in them. The fact that my mom had a 20% off coupon for one of them didn't help, either. And Mom bought herself a scarf kit as well, in addition to using the coupon for my benefit. I also got a scarf kit and am busy working away on it; I took two projects with me and ended up casting on two more while on the trip. Maplewing has taken a back seat, at least for now.

Joe joined me for a few days in RI. We took a trip to Newport to see the mansions and have a seafood dinner. The weather was lovely and all the sailboats were out. We took walks along the water and the cliff walk in Newport.

The cliff roses were blooming and the air was full of their scent.



We took a picnic lunch and after eating I took out some of my new knitting, another Noro striped scarf with some of my new yarn. Almost immediately two of the kids jumped up, grabbed my camera, and took pictures of me knitting. It's getting pretty bad when the family takes your blog pictures without even being asked.

One of these days I will get around to posting pictures of the new acquisitions and the current projects. I'm spending time getting a lot of housecleaning done for company coming soon. We are going to have a wedding!

Missing in Action

It's been a rough couple weeks. The cars have been sick, one right after the other. However, the outlook on all of them is for a complete cure. The new porch has been sick. The painters came and the idiots didn't bother to put a drop cloth on the new cement slab. They then attempted to wash the paint stains off with a power washer. We came home to find green paint stains still there and the finish on the new slab pitted and generally ruined. It has yet to be seen what the contractor will do about it. (The painters were sub-contracted.) We had been overjoyed with the quality of work up to this point.

Buddy has been quite suddenly and seriously sick. We thought we were going to lose him there for a few days. Several hundred dollars and numerous medications later he is doing better, at least for now.

I've been off work and recuperating from foot surgery. It's been good for the knitting but not so good for everything else. I hate not being able to walk and exercise; shoot, I hate not being able to get around the house and just do my chores. I did get some spinning in, though.

Last week Annie graduated from college. The weather was wonderful, if rather hot; we went out for Greek afterwards. Good to have a bright spot in the midst of a run of bad luck.



Knitting progress photos soon.

WWMW - French Joe Canyon

On Sunday afternoon, the weather was just too perfect to stay home. The temperature was nearly 80 and there was a good breeze blowing about. In fact, had there been no wind, it would have been too warm to hike comfortably.

We took a hike we had not known of previously, but having seen it mentioned in the local paper piqued our hiker's curiosity. French Joe Canyon is in the Whetstone Mountains of southeast Arizona. If you do an advanced search on Google you can find several interesting sites with historical and natural information. Apparently this is quite a site for birdwatching.


We didn't want to drive the car all the way in on a poor road, so we parked by the highway and walked in. The sky was perfect and clear and wonderfully blue. It's been very dry here so it was pretty dusty. We weren't sure where we were going and there really weren't any signs to guide us. We wandered part way up a dry riverbed. The water has cut quite a gully into the earth and one can see how the ground under the few inches of soil is nothing but rocks. No wonder hardly any thing can be cultivated out here, at least not without a lot of excavating.

At the end of the first turn we took we came across several old corrals and a tumbledown stable or shelter of sorts. I wouldn't say that this site was abandoned; I can imagine it still being used for cattle or horses. This particular trail went no further than this, so we turned around and went back to the last intersection in the road. It seems that this turn was the one we should have taken in the first place; we found ourselves heading up into the main portion of the canyon. The wind was quite strong coming down the canyons and over the top of the mountain range. The cloud formations were really unusual.

About an hour later we finally found ourselves up on the trail itself. The trail was taking a gradual upward incline and we found ourselves up in the trees, a very pleasant shady route. There were several dry creekbeds that we crossed and we found a concrete trough used for collecting spring water. Containers like this one were often built to collect the spring water for the use of both man and beast.

Unfortunately it was starting to get too late in the day to go much further up the trail into the canyon. We had lost too much time on the wrong road. However, we did not regret the wrong turn. We enjoyed the exercise, the sun, the fresh air, and the serendipity of exploring the area. I'm sure we will soon return better prepared to explore further up the canyon.

B is for...

Buddy, our rescue dog. He's been with us now since Thanksgiving, 2006. For those of you not familiar with his story, Buddy was dumped in the desert where county animal control found him. I saw him in the holding kennel near my old work office and that, as they say, was that. He was skinny, malnourished, suffering from tapeworm and foot infections, and scared to death to get in a car. Now he is as healthy as can be, grown up and filled out, very protective of the house and of me, and loves to go ride in the car.

That's my baby, and my walking companion.

WWMW - Goal!

When I started with Runagogo in January, it was with the goal of walking one hundred miles by April 1. I measured out some walking routes, grabbed my trusty walking companion Buddy and started out with great determination. I made that goal and then, along with the rest of the GoGo crowd, set further goals as the year went on. Although I walked some of those miles while on vacation at the Grand Canyon and other places, Buddy was my steady companion for the vast majority of those miles. And on Monday night, we made our final goal for the year -- four hundred miles. Good Buddy! Go ahead and take a nap now; you deserve it!

While Buddy and I will certainly keep walking, I won't be keeping track of miles anymore, at least not on the blog. One of the great pleasures I have is being able to walk three mornings a week, as normally I only work four days a week. There is no better way, I think, to start the day than to do so with a walk that takes in some beautiful scenery. And since there are mountains in every direction, the scenery is never lacking. Even out in the backyard, the rosemary is still blooming and pine cones are heavy on my pine tree.

It seems like more than just a few knitbloggers are attempting to knit up all their WIPs before the end of the year. While that would be impossible for me to do, I am working up a real desire to finish my projects off. I've been working on the Moderne Baby Blanket, and tonight I am turning the heel on the second Mystery sock. These socks are the only thing this year that I am knitting on a deadline. It doesn't seem to have been as good of a year for getting knitting time in as last year was; at least that's how it seems to me. Sometimes I get frustrated at not having more FOs to show you all, but believe me, I am enjoying the knitting process thoroughly when I do sit down with needles in hand. And whenever I find myself getting discouraged at not getting more done, quantity wise, I remind myself that it is quality, not quantity, that counts. If I am enjoying the process, and it is giving me a measure of calmness and peacefulness and pleasure, then it doesn't matter how many pairs of socks or how many scarves or shawls I finish. The knitting is doing what it is meant to do.

But I still do want to finish things, and I wish I could show you the Mystery socks. But I can show you the new pair of gauntlets I have cast on. I figure it's not to early to start knitting for next Christmas, since I'm not going to make it with anything for this one. The pattern is Natalya by Jody Pirrello and the yarn is Brown Sheep Prairie Silk in Jewelled Moss. I had an urge to do some cables and this will fill the need quite nicely. And this is the first piece I am doing cables without a cable needle. Who would have thought it would be so simple?

Random Ramblings and a Recipe

I may be a few days late, but hey! Thanksgiving went very well chez Pumpkinknitter. The turkey master cooked up two turkeys, one in the traditional oven format and the other in the deep fryer in the backyard. All the local kids showed up to stuff themselves and Nana was allowed a four hour pass from the care center. I was up at 4:30 to go to work for eight hours, then I came home and helped with dinner and the massive clean-up. I also finished the first of the Mystery socks while I was boiling up turkey carcasses for stock that is now in three big containers in the freezer. Buddy enjoyed the day as well, since it was the first year anniversary since he came to stay with us.

Friday evening it began to rain and turned quite cold. The next day we could see snow in the mountains which has lasted so far through today. I can't recall having snow in the mountains this early. Perhaps we will have a colder, wetter winter than we've had for a while now. Saturday night we had the first fire in the fireplace. This, too, is an early first. Usually this cold weather doesn't start until after the first of the year.


One thing good about being laid up with a bad back -- and the ONLY good thing -- is that I'm halfway down the leg of the second Mystery sock. Too bad I can't show it to you until January.



Tonight I made fried rice and bulgogi, a Korean barbecued meat. I meant to take a picture of the bulgogi, but I forgot until nothing was left on the plates except bones. But I did take a picture of the fried rice, and I will tell you how to make it here. I learned many years ago from Barbara's godmother, who is from Thailand and taught me how to make a number of Oriental dishes.


I take three cups of uncooked medium grain rice and cook it in the rice cooker. I then heat up the electric wok to 350 degrees. I dice up 12-16 ounces of bacon and toss this in the wok. As it cooks, I toss in any leftover pork I have around. (I will dice up and freeze leftover pork chops or pork roast just to add to fried rice. No pork gets wasted in this house.) When the bacon is cooked, I toss in about a half tablespoon of minced garlic. I then clear a space in the bottom of the wok and add three or four beaten eggs. (The bacon grease is NOT drained. It makes very flavorful fried rice.) When the eggs are about halfway cooked, I toss in some of the cooked rice and stir everything up together. Once the eggs are all stirred into the rice, I add the rest of the rice as well as frozen corn, peas, and carrots or any other vegetables I want to add. (Edamame, diced green beans, etc.) This is all frequently stirred and cooked for another 5-10 minutes until everything is hot. Depending on what you toss in here, it can be a complete meal all by itself. We will be eating this during the week with sweet and sour meatballs. Yumm!!

Random Tuesday

There really isn't anything to show, knit-wise. The River Rocks Sock #2 continues when I have a chance to work on it. And it looks the same as the first one did with four leg repeats done. It is so hot and humid now that I can't imagine working on anything but socks. So Random Tuesday it is.



1. Humidity in the desert is really nasty. Bodies that are used to no humidity the other ten months of the year do not suddenly adapt well to humidity in the 90's. The storms come and nothing dries out from day to day. Everything and everyone is morbidly soggy.



2. We have had big storms each day this week. There is a lot of standing water in between, but during the storms the water rushes away in flood stage and there is nowhere to escape. All the grasshoppers from the last few weeks have disappeared. The ones the birds didn't eat have probably been washed away. There isn't a grasshopper to be seen now.



3. One of the good things about the rain is that every growing thing turns amazingly lush and green. However, it's hard to photograph during a downpour.



4. Buddy is a wuss about rain. He doesn't mind walking through puddles, but he hates the feel of raindrops hitting his head. He keeps going from the front door to the back door, probably hoping that the rain in the front yard isn't falling in the back yard. His disgust at the whole situation is patently obvious.



5. We spent the last two days car shopping/buying. We usually run our cars into the ground. One of the oldest ones was nearly in the grave and it was beyond time to replace it. After several hours we were finally successful. But it was exhausting, as everyone who has shopped for a decent used vehicle knows.



6. I really dislike car shopping.



7. I am fortunate to have a family who, on the whole, is willing to try new recipes for dinner. Tonight for the first time I made polenta. It was eaten and a number of suggestions (reasonable ones!) made for tweaking it to suit the preferences of the diners. It will certainly be tried again.



8. Work is improving. Suggestions for improved safety and convenience have been listened to and acted upon. However, the air conditioning still doesn't work and the roof still leaks. Last Friday afternoon there was a lightning strike somewhere very close and the result was the loss of all computers, office phones, and other functions. It took nearly 24 hours to be repaired. For 24 hours very little got accomplished. Total reliance on computers for all office functions can really backfire.



9. I've been told I'm getting a raise in August. This should be interesting.



10. All the recent family health issues are either resolved or are getting there. Contrary to some earlier opinions, no one's health has been permanently affected.



11. My good knitblogging friend Kathy has nominated me to be a Rockin' Girl Blogger. Pretty cool to be a grandmother AND a Rockin' Girl Blogger. (No, I don't think Kathy was refering to a rocking chair, either! ;-) ) So I know I'm supposed to nominate five other bloggers for the honor. Julie, Annie, Roxie, Dipsy, and Laura all get my vote, even if they've already been nominated by others. Honestly, every blogger I read is a Rockin Blogger! So if no one's nominated you yet, consider yourself tagged by me! And thank you, Kathy, for making my day!



12. Maria went to the Grand Canyon a week ago. She took this picture in mid afternoon with the storm clouds rolling in. There is nowhere to escape!!!



Especially if you're a grasshopper.

River Rocks Monkey Socks

It's not been as hot here as it had been a couple weeks ago, but the humidity has gone up into the 80 percentiles and that's very humid for out in the desert. It means that the swamp cooler isn't good for much except to put on the blower and let it blow air around the house. Not much cooling, but at least it moves the air a bit. It also means that I break out in total drenching sweats at minimal provocation. Therefore knitting of only the most minimal is taking place.

Socks are perfect for this. I had a couple hanks of Koigu color P 137 that were marinating in the stash for quite a while, and I decided that I simply couldn't wait any longer. The colors are wonderful; very muted but very detailed. They make me think of rocks in the bottom of a riverbed. Blues and grays, as well as the sandy browns and touches of green weeds amidst the blues of the water. There is nothing like an ice-cold mountain stream to dunk one's feet in after hiking. Many times I have stripped off hiking shoes and heavy hiking socks to bath my swollen, sweaty feet in a stream in Grand Canyon or Zion. The cold water cools the blood and the body, as well as reducing any swelling or puffyness.

But what pattern to use to best utilize the yarn? Obviously I chose the very popular Monkey socks pattern, but not until I had combed the Ravelry files and decided that this pattern would suit the Koigu to a T. Ravelry, I've decided, is really wonderful for this sort of thing. By grouping pictures all together, one can see very easily and with no internet searching how other knitters have worked a particular pattern and all the different yarns they have used. It made my decision very simple, and I am madly in love with the results.

However, Ravelry did get me off on a bit of a wrong foot. Pun intended. I noticed that many knitters of this pattern used Size 1 needles with the Koigu. So I merrily began knitting with my US1's, only to find out about half way down the leg that this was really coming out too small. So I frogged the thing and started over again with US2's. The thing is spot on now and I have turned the heel on the first sock and am heading madly down the foot. I only hope that I don't run out of yarn before I finish the toe. If that happens, I'll just have to frog back and make the leg a bit shorter. I hope not; I'm really anxious to wear these socks. And maybe one of these days I'll actually get back to the poor hibernating Welsh Country Stockings.

Buddy says, "Is it time to go for a walk yet, Mom?"

Hiking With Buddy on Wednesday

Last Saturday, Mike took Buddy for a hike up in the mountains. Buddy loved it. They saw lots of lady bugs and ate wild berries.

Mike and Buddy also took along another of Mike's friends. One of the female persuasion.

That Buddy. What a chick magnet!

Buddy of the Grand Canyon

Hey, everybody, this is Buddy. Buddy of the Grand Canyon. My Mom is pretty busy today, what with going to the grocery and doing lots of stuff she calls "laundry". She's also doing a lot of muttering about vacuuming up cat hair and how much can one dog shed, anyways. (Ooops.) And between you and me, I don't think she's real happy about going back to work tomorrow. She did mention something to Dad about probably having her job inteview sometime next week. But anyways, since she's so busy, she told me that I could write the "Walk With Me Wednesday" post this week. So I'm going to tell you all about my adventures at the place Mom and Dad called the Grand Canyon.


I got to go with Mom and Dad when they went camping two weeks ago. I was pretty nervous in the car; after all, somebody did dump me in the desert once, last year. But then we got to the campground and it was really cool. I got to sleep in the camper and there were lots of other dogs there too. I never went on vacation before but now I like it a lot. I would like to go camping again sometime.

We went walking and saw a really big hole in the ground. Boy, would I like to meet the dog that dug this one!

Mom and Dad took me for lots of walks on the rim trail. I wanted to go on the Bright Angel trail, but dogs aren't allowed to do that. Funny, though, they let mules go on the trail. And they poop a lot more than I do!

We went for some walks that were three or four miles long. Mom said it was to make me get tired so that I would't keep pestering her all the time to take me for another walk. She said she wanted to read her book and to do some more of that knitting thing. A total waste of time, if you ask me.

Maria came to join us on the weekend and she went for some of the walks, too. She and Dad went for a walk below the rim that I couldn't go on. Boy, I was glad I didn't go on that walk! They saw a skunk and a rattlesnake! A BIG one!! It was on the trail and it rattled at Dad and Dad heard it and he jumped and then stopped to see where the snake was. The snake was on the trail but then it went away and didn't come back. I think the snake just did not want Dad to step on him so it gave him plenty of warning.

I guess you have to be really careful under the rim.

But I did try to meet some new friends on my walks by the campground. I wanted to make friends with this elk, but then I got scared and went back to the camper. Mom went walking on the rim near the Village (without me!!) just before eight a.m. and saw a mountain lion walking a little ways off the trail in the forest. She went to the ranger station to report it because that is what you are supposed to do. The rangers said that they were going to go look for it and try to chase it away from the Village area if it was still there.

I had so many walks and so many adventures that I could hardly keep my eyes open. Do you think Dad will notice if I go to sleep in his bed?

I hope Mom and Dad take me again next year. So tune in then for another exciting adventure of Buddy of the Grand Canyon!

Strawberries, Chili Powder, and Trudy's Romance

This blog entry is brought to you by the color RED.

The local grocery has been selling strawberries at a dollar a pound. When this happens, I get overcome by the urge to load up the cart with berries. I love berries. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries. I will even pay exorbitant amounts to have them in my cereal, with my cottage cheese, in my muffins. Many years ago, while living in Germany, I nearly cried when I saw cartons of Michigan blueberries prominently displayed in the German grocery. I bake some heavenly berry muffins and quick breads, but strawberries are for pies. Except that I can't make pie crust to save my life. Now, my mother is the champion pie crust (and pie) maker of all time, and she can't understand why I haven't inherited the pie crust gene. It just doesn't work. I have a bitter and totally unsuccessful relationship with flour and shortening. I can't even get a pre-made frozen crust to work. The ones I used this time were a very well known name brand, and they still fell apart when baked. However, my strawberry filling is to die for.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Buddy has been digging up the flower beds I planted in the back yard. Seems he wanted to help Mom out, or else the soft, well manured soil was simply irresistable. Today Joe was talking to a friend of ours who has had dogs, and she suggested sprinkling the soil with chili powder. So I bought a big jar and sprinkled a tiny bit on my hand, just to see how Buddy would react. He licked every bit off my hand and sat wagging his tail as he eyed the jar. He's a good dog, but obviously a little deficient in the intellectual department. I sprinkled it in the flower beds, anyways. The patio smelled like an explosion in a chili fireworks factory. Will it stop him from digging in the beds? Apparently he tried to dig a bit in the afternoon and gave up pretty quickly. Time will tell, I suppose.




Seems like everyone in spindom has a name for their wheel. Mine has become Trudy, the Ashford Traditional. Trudy was very happy last night, and so was I. We are enjoying the start of a wonderful romance with Laura's "Romance" roving. This is what I spun last night. More spinning will occur this evening. The roving is very easy to spin, and the colors? See for yourself.

Pupsicles

Last night, Barbara and Buddy shared a popsicle. Or a pupsicle, if you will. Actually, Buddy just wanted the stick.

And today the postman brought me an eagerly awaited package from Sugar Bunny Boulevard. Laura's first dyed roving! Yes indeed, I am the SOMEONE who unhesitatingly snatched it up when I got my sneak preview of it. So I cheated. Did anyone say that scoring roving was fair??

Now I get to start spinning again. I just hope I can do justice to this beautiful roving.

Finishings

Knitting has been going on at an almost every day pace, but I haven't seem to have been accomplishing much. Maybe it's the end of winter blahs, maybe it's the tax time funk, maybe it's just because there was too much stuff to do when we were vacationing, but I haven't finished near as much as I've wanted to. Or maybe my expectations have been a bit unrealistic. Anyways, it's time to celebrate several finishings!

I've made my 100 miles for Runagogo!! Buddy and I walked the last mile on Friday night. Now the next goal is to walk another 100 by July 4. I might need some new shoes, though.




Several weeks ago I finished my Fetching Mitts. I love the Malabrigo and I want to knit a hat to match these for autumn.




I finally finished some hats for 40 Days for Others. I used up several leftover bits of yarn and I'm very pleased at being able to put those bits to good use. They will shortly be in the mail and now I am finishing out Lent by knitting preemie hats-- more about that next time.

I just wish I could get my knitting mojo back into gear. I just know it's that tax time funk. My knitting's just been going to the dogs.