We are home from our trip which was sort of a national parks tour in the Colorado area. I think we went to at least 6 different ones. We started off visiting Jason’s sister who lives near Denver and went to see the Body Worlds exhibit at the science museum. We also saw the flying mini cows at Larimer square but unfortunately I accidentally deleted those photos. With a 5 hour layover on the way to Denver I had half a sock knit before we even touched down and hence it was quite easy to complete the first lemon drop sock as we headed out on the start of our driving tour beginning with Colorado Springs.
In Colorado Springs we visited Garden of the Gods and Florissant Fossil Beds and spent the night at the Crescent Lily Inn before heading south the next morning. We stopped at the Royal Gorge bridge on our way down to the Great Sand Dunes National Park where my hiking boots died.
We pulled over briefly at the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad on our way to the Petrified Forest National Park and La Posada Hotel in Winslow, AZ. We made our way past Meteor Crater on our way through the painted desert to the Grand Canyon’s north rim the following day where our car registered 108 F as we passed through the reservation land.
We enjoyed two days in a little cabin on the North Rim and we were treated to a fantastic lightning show at dinner with a fab view right out of the dining room. There had also been recent forest fire activity and the helicopters were actively toting water as we drove in through the Kaibab forest, supposedly the 44 most scenic miles in America.
I did a little extreme knitting at the highest point in the grand canyon. (Too bad I didn’t think of that earlier in the trip- the sock was there but missed some cool photo ops) From there we drove on through Four Corners and picked up some fry bread to taste.
In the Cortez area we visited Mesa Verde National Park and had a fabulous dinner with local Angus beef and local wine from McElmo Canyon. From Cortez we had quite a trek back to Denver but nevertheless we stopped off at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park before slogging through a torrential downpour in the mountains.
Back in Denver we took a day off to recover from the drive and did laundry and cooked dinner for Lori and Micheal. The following day we hit the trail for our longest hike yet, 8 miles through Rocky Mountain National Park. Earlier in the trip we’d bought a second 2 gig memory card and it was put to good use here! On our last full day of vacation we visited Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins, grabbed lunch at the Dushanbe Teahouse and had dinner with Jason’s Aunt Linda and Uncle Ray. Over on the sidebar you can find the complete and weighty album of over 250 photos whittled down from some obnoxiously large number- enjoy!
Last month I posted about trip organization and that seems to have misled some folks who got the idea that I might be organized. Here we have a sound disabusement of that notion. The craft space is always in utter disarray. There have been several attempts to bring some sense of order to this space and it’s better now than it has been in the past. If it’s going to get used though, it can’t be Martha Stewart neat. I haven’t got the funds or the space for a lovely tidy craft room like she’d have.
Occasionally I post pictures of layouts I’ve done for my scrapbooks but I don’t think I’ve ever shown just how many scrapbooks I’ve completed. I started scrapping about 4 years ago with the goal of transferring about 30 years worth of photos from cling albums into photo safe scrapbooks. I don’t spend days on end working on these but I do go to crops once or twice a month and boy does that really add up! Here you can see most of the albums I’ve done to date. There are a few small ones on top of that table as well. I have the contents of about 3 cling albums still to go and then a few years backlog on current pictures. It still amazes me how the tortoise can win with a little persistence.
This is the sock that accompanied me to the airport when we left for the trip. I had a 5 hour layover and I wanted something really cheery to work on in case we didn’t manage to get anything earlier on standby. The yarn is Lemon Drop from Yarntini and the color is really stunning. It’s impossible to look at this yarn and not feel immediately cheerful. It also makes you want to get out the sunglasses and sunscreen! The pattern is Peak Experience by Fiber Trends- seemed like an appropriate thing to work on for a visit to Colorado.
Our kitties are strictly indoor girls both for their own protection and mine as well since I’m allergic to fleas. This means the neighbor cats hang out in our yard to watch the birds at the feeder and the chippys who come to clean up the mess that falls to the ground. Here is Stitchy watching a little chippy who is smart enough to stay out by the rocks. Usually Stitchy hides under the grill and he’s quite often successful at nabbing a chippy or a bird. While I enjoy watching the chippys, I’m also happy that Stitchy keeps them a little nervous because they can dig close to the house and harm the foundation if left unchecked.
Usually it’s Gabby who’s perched upon a princess pillow but last week Gwen decided to have a go. Gabby will sit anywhere on anything and the less comfortable it seems the more likely she’ll sit on it. Gwen and Winnie, however, prefer cushy comfy things to sit upon.
One of the things I’ve taken with me on the trip is some Cherry Tree hill sock yarn and a pair of Addi size 0 circular needles. I’m intending to give the two circs method a go. I’m quite happy knitting my socks on DPNs but the 0’s are very bendy and I do occaisonally break them. I thought if I could tolerate the two circs just for socks needing eensy weensy needles that it might be nice. I have never knitted with the Cherry Tree hill and so far I really love the yarn but I’m not liking this two circs thing. I just may return with socks on DPNs!
Wow, I had no idea I’d meet my summer spinning goal before our trip! At the beginning of the week when I realized how little I had left to do, I determined to finish it up so that I wouldn’t forget how thick to make the singles and preserve what little consistency I’d achieved with these skeins. I’ll have to attack some of my stash fiber now and I think first up with be some of the lovely roving sent by my fab secret pal.
Before I knit this I want to finish up the Arrows sweater. It’s been patiently waiting in the wings while I’ve been busy with other things. I also have some yarn and a pattern waiting for a sweater for Jason as well. When those two are all set then I’ll revisit my blue yarn for swatching and sweater making. I have a vague idea of perhaps a raglan top down pullover.
With a trip coming up we’ve been letting the fridge empty out as much as possible so it’s required a little creativity to cook dinner without normal staples I tend to keep around. This meal seemed to be a big hit.
Polenta with sausage in tomato sauce
1 cup polenta, uncooked
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup grated cheese (I used asagio and a bit of leftover cheddar)
1 package chicken sausage, sliced
28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 sweet onion, vertically sliced
salt and pepper to taste
Cook the polenta in chicken stock and water seasoned with salt and pepper following package directions. (I used a mixture of coarsely ground whole grain polenta and plain old yellow cornmeal- something like 3:1) Stir in the butter and cheese and pour into a loaf pan. Let sit until it firms up and comes to room temperature. Cut into 8 slices.
Saute the onion in a little olive oil until it begins to soften. Add the sausage and bell pepper and cook a few minutes more until the sausage and veggies are just a bit colored. Add the tomato sauce and season to taste. Simmer until heated through.
In a nonstick pan, saute the polenta slices in a bit of olive oil over medium heat 2 or 3 minutes a side or until crispy and browned. Serve topped with sausage mixture.
Early in the week banana bread was requested for breakfast and as we had some bananas a bit past their prime it was easy to comply. I also had some cinnamon chips I wanted to use up so this tweak on the usual style was born.
Cinnamon Banana Bread
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3 ripe bananas
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cinnamon chips
1 cup walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9-round baking pan.
Cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Peel the bananas and break them into chunks, adding them to the mixer as you go. Add the vanilla and milk and mix on medium speed until nearly smooth. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix just until combined. Fold in cinnamon chips and walnuts. Transfer to baking pan and bake at 350 F. 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
We are home from our trip which was sort of a national parks tour in the Colorado area. I think we went to at least 6 different ones. We started off visiting Jason’s sister who lives near Denver and went to see the Body Worlds exhibit at the science museum. We also saw the flying mini cows at Larimer square but unfortunately I accidentally deleted those photos. With a 5 hour layover on the way to Denver I had half a sock knit before we even touched down and hence it was quite easy to complete the first lemon drop sock as we headed out on the start of our driving tour beginning with Colorado Springs.
I did a little extreme knitting at the highest point in the grand canyon. (Too bad I didn’t think of that earlier in the trip- the sock was there but missed some cool photo ops) From there we drove on through Four Corners and picked up some fry bread to taste. 
