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favorite things knitting life texas

Yeehaw and Darn Tootin’: End of an Era

When we moved to San Antonio 8 years ago, it felt like a forever decision. It felt like we were putting down forever roots. We had a house built! I had even thought out how we’d turn the top floor into an apartment for our live-in caregiver. You know, for when we got old and couldn’t handle the stairs anymore.

Funny thing about life, though: you can’t always predict where it will take you.

When we arrived in Texas, we owned two cars. But at some point along the way, with the husband working from home, we decided maybe we’d be a one car household. And so we sold a car.

And after living in our home for several years, we realized: we aren’t the kind of people who enjoy owning a home. There’s so much to take care of on a daily basis – and then when anything breaks, you gotta figure out how to fix it. And: we aren’t the kind of people who enjoy doing our own yard work … or our own house cleaning …. or our own handyman work. Houses get A LOT more expensive when you outsource all the not-so-fun parts.

And so we got rid of half our stuff and moved into an apartment.

You know what comes with apartments?? Free pools and gyms. And a handyman who stops by whenever you put in a work order. I highly recommend it.

But, I digress: Texas. I was talking about Texas.

You guys: this place is hot. Every May, it hits 90 degrees. And doesn’t let up till October. And even well into November, it’s not exactly fall weather. (November 9: it was 84 degrees today. Which is wayyyy better than 94, so I’ll take it, but … eighty four degrees, y’all.)

You can take the girl out of Washington, but you can’t take the Washington out of the girl. I melt, every summer. I get out into that heat, and just turn into a sad puddle.

The winter months are fantastic, though! That is the trade off for the brutal summers, a wonderfully mild winter.

When I arrived in Texas, it was a pretty big culture shock, not gonna lie. Texans take friendly to a whole ‘nother level. I have never talked to so many strangers in my life! At the grocery store. In waiting rooms. In elevators. Standing in line at the movie theater. And neighbors! There’s this thing here, actually meeting your neighbors. Cul de sac parties with the neighbors. It’s pretty wild.

And everybody at church wanted to be my friend! And in the knitting groups I joined, they just all loved me and invited me to stuff! It was … weird. I spent way too long trying to figure out what their end-game could possibly be …. before it dawned on me that it was probably friendship. Probably they, uh, wanted to be my friend.

And the driving! I drove for 10 years in the DC area, so I thought I knew how to drive in traffic. But: I didn’t know how to do it all at 70 miles an hour. Or how to change lanes 4 at a time. (My family all came out to visit one fine March, I rented a mini-van and played tour guide all week. They all thought I WAS NUTS with my driving. B2 swore he’d never move here because of the insane traffic. Where does he live now you ask? Oh, pretty darn close to here …)

I have lived in a few regions in this fine country: the PNW, Utah, DC, and now Texas. And they are all so incredibly different. I know it’s all the same country, with mostly the same language, but there are new things to learn everywhere you go.

In Texas? I learned how to talk to strangers. Me! Talking to strangers! I was the girl in college who talked to no one. In any of my classes. Like ev-er. Unless they spoke to me first. Or we were doing a project together.

In Texas? I learned to drive like a madman. Ok, well, maybe I didn’t quite master it – but I am way less timid on the road than I used to be. And my parents find it terrifying. (It’s fine. My driving. is. fine. I’m perfectly safe out there on those roads.)

In Texas? I learned to let people in. I learned to let friendships grow. I learned what it is to be loved by so many, so easily.

I am going to miss this place. I am excited for the new adventures that await (and for so very few 90 degree days), but I am sad to leave Texas behind. I am so glad for everything I learned. I cherish the friendships I have made here, and I am glad for technology that will enable us to keep in touch. And I am so forever grateful I learned this new ‘friendship’ skill that I can take with me wherever I may find myself.

You can take the girl out of Texas: but you’ll never be able to take the Texas out of the girl.

Categories
favorite things food knitting travel

Onward to Okinawa!

We took a bus with part of our group to the Osaka airport, where they all promptly went to the international wing, but the husband and I were flying domestically to Okinawa.

The flight was fine, the husband fit on the plane (always dicey on non-Amurrican flights, we were especially worried for an Asian domestic flight), and we started our adventures in Okinawa!

If you are an American looking for a place to stay in Naha, I recommend the Double Tree Hilton in Naha. American mattresses! (Japanese futon mattresses are fine by me, but hard on the husband.) Also the best hair dryer I had all trip. It was right across the street from the monorail. Walking distance to Kokusai Dori street. Quick taxi ride from the airport.

We got all checked in, and walked down to Kokusai Dori street for some dinner. A&W burgers. I kid you not. They are everywhere in Okinawa!

Kokusai Dori is full of (much better) restaurants and shopping. Even has a Don Quijote!

I had been working on a hat for the sister, and finished it up that night!

Perfect match for my hair and glasses! But, alas, twas not for me.
Categories
food knitting shopping travel

Osaka with Gate 1

Bullet train!

We woke bright and early in Tokyo, and headed for the train station to ride the bullet train to Osaka.

On October 11, 2019.

Typhoon Hagibis made landfall on the eastern side of Japan – in the Tokyo area – on October 12.

I know it was a pre-planned guided tour, but we got really, really lucky with the timing of everything. (Had we been in Tokyo during the typhoon, we would have been safe and fed in our hotel: we just would not have been able to go do or see anything.)

So the bullet train!! Super fast, super smooth. Comfy, American-sized seats. Clean bathrooms. Would do again.

Traveling to Osaka on the bullet train!

Made it to Osaka, and had a quick stop at Kuromon market for lunch. Famous for takoyaki, deep-fried balls of dough with octopus. Probably like hushpuppies? But with more octopus? Do not know, did not try.

Instead we ate at Wendy’s first kitchen! A fusion of Wendy’s and … fast food Italian pasta?

Very sweet. Too much, even for me!

On a whim, I asked the husband to look up yarn stores nearby. Jackpot! The google tells me Masuzakiya is now permanently closed? Which is a shame, this place had gorgeous Japanese yarns. Like this beauty, made of linen, flax, and something that translates as “Japan paper.” No idea what I’m going to make with it, even still, but I had to have it! Still waiting for more of this stuff to show on up Ravelry so I can be inspired by others, but, no such luck. One day, this will be the perfect … something.

Next up: Osaka Castle, which is now a history museum. Take the elevator to top and work your way down. Great views of the city from the top of the castle.

Dinner stop was Dotonbori street, probably got some conbini food? More importantly, we stopped in Bic Camera for an umbrella. (In Japan, “camera” means … department store? As far as I can tell?) We had our eye on one umbrella, but after asking a helpful saleslady about what would be best for a typhoon, she redirected us to something a little sturdier.

Spoiler alert: It was not sturdy enough.

Last stop before the hotel was the Umeda Sky Building. Just a 5 minute photo stop, as the light was on its way out.

Our hotel was right next to the Shin-Osaka train station, the Courtyard by Marriott. Nice room in a good location, for our adventures the following day.

Somewhere along the way, it dawned on me that the husband was not jet-lagged. He was not eating enough! Not being an adventurous eater, we had stuck to McDonald’s (chicken nuggets taste the same everywhere, y’all) and conbini food. Which had consisted of very carb-heavy snacks, mostly.

I run on carbs. Give me a western breakfast of bacon and fruit, PLUS a bowl (or two?) of butter-sugar rice and I am good to go until I get some lunch onigiri (ahem, more rice) and gummy candies, followed by dinner onigiri and chocolate.

This is Not Husband Food. From here on out, we made sure McDonald’s or Wendy’s was on the menu. And conbini purchases started including jerky. And cashews. And … fried chicken patties in a paper sleeve? Japan, man. Something for everyone.

Categories
favorite things food knitting travel

Mt. Fuji with Gate 1

Mt Fuji from our lunch-stop parking lot

One does not go to Japan and skip Mt. Fuji if one has the chance to see Mt. Fuji! And so we booked the optional day tour with Gate 1, and got on the bus early in the morning.

So we went to Mt. Fuji! Fun fact: In October, there is no snow on the mountain. In all the photos I recall seeing, it is a snow-capped beauty! But: not in October. Because, ya know, it’s right after summer? When all the snow has melted? As happens in the summer.

The bus took us as far up the mountain as it could, to station 5. There are 10 stations, but vehicles only go up to the 5th: you take the rest of the path on foot. But only during July and August.

The view from the 5th station? Seriously underwhelming.

If you want to see Mt. Fuji, but do not want to hike it, skip the Mt. Fuji stations. It’s a long drive for minimal payoff.

After driving half-way up the mountain, we headed back down again and ate lunch. I wish I could remember the name of the hotel we ate at, because it was an amazing buffet. It had stations from around the world, and it was awesome. I ate some French thing that involved cheese and poached eggs, I think? The husband loaded up on pizza and german potatoes. Then of course I had miso soup and two bowls of steamed rice. And the dessert spread! Even tried matcha ice cream, which I had been curious about, but not enough to actually buy a whole cone. Tasted like … ice cream? Some people really, really like it though, so don’t be afraid to give it a try.

Next up was the best part of the day: Lake Ashi and Mt. Hakone. If you want beautiful views of Mt. Fuji, then Lake Ashi is the way to go. Well, Lake Ashi and hope for clear weather? Which we had, but I understand it’s pretty hit or miss.

There was some snafu that day, where some of the group was late to the bus at one point, which meant we didn’t get to the lake cruise on time, which meant we missed our original cable car time slot, which meant we didn’t get as much time at the top of the mountain as we would have liked. That’s the downside of guided tours, you can be at the mercy of the other tourists.

But it was gorgeous!! A quick ride on the lake took us to the cable car station (with a zoo?? I think we passed signs for a zoo?), where we rode up to the top of the mountain. It was incredibly windy, but breathtakingly beautiful. There was a small shrine at the very top, but we didn’t hike up to it because we didn’t have time. We needed to get back in line for the next cable car back down the mountain to get to the bus in time.

Oh, and here are some gems from the gift shop while we were waiting for our cruise:

Then it was back on the bus for the drive back to our hotel. I had started a hat at the commencement of our trip, and finished it on the bus:

Hats. It’s what I do. Love how this one matches my glasses and perfectly contrasts the purple hair!

Then it was back to the hotel, dinner from Lawson, and the husband promptly crashed again. I thought it odd that jet lag was hitting him so hard this many days later, I’m usually the jetlaggy one. But, eh, I supposed it was his turn.

Categories
favorite things food knitting nerdly shopping technogeeky travel

Tokyo on Our Own

Prince Hotel PJs

The hotels in Japan all seem to come with Pajamas! Yukata, I suppose, but these are like extra long, button-up sleep shirts with 3/4 length sleeves. (Maybe they are full-length sleeves on a non-monkey armed person? Unsure.)

I of course had to try them out! And also there are slippers! They fit size 8 lady feet! They do not fit size 13 man feet.

Also: bidets. I had to work up the courage to try it, but, you guys? I think they are really on to something. They don’t understand how to sell a ticket online because they have been perfecting the bathroom experience.

Also: the hair dryer was incredibly underwhelming. I thought I had come to the land of my hair people (I have twice as much hair as your average human … and each strand is twice as thick … drying my hair is exhausting …) and so I was super excited about the hair dryer sitch. Alas, hotel hair dryers in Japan leave just as much to be desired as the ones in the US.

Breakfast at the Tokyo Prince Hotel? Awesome spread. Western food! Eastern food! Something for everyone at the buffet. So I did what any Asianish-American lady would do: served myself up a bowl of piping hot steamed rice, snagged some butter from the Western toast station, and added some sugar (meant for coffee, I’m sure) from our table. Breakfast butter-sugar rice! (Ok, so probably that has an actual name? I just know it as ‘how I like to eat rice at breakfast.’) Also I loaded up on bacon and fresh fruit. (Tip: fruit is really expensive in Japan. If you have a hotel breakfast buffet, take advantage!)

Y’all, I ate butter-sugar rice every morning we had a breakfast buffet. So good. Also a complete abomination? But so good.

Probably we stopped in the hotel basement Lawson (I LOVED that the hotel had its own Lawson!!) for some bottled water and snacks.

Before we headed out, we swapped out the husband’s sim card for a Japanese one. We had ordered it beforehand and had it shipped to us, just to make things easier. So we had internet and maps and access to google translate everywhere we went! Pretty awesome! And a world of difference from our 5th anniversary trip to Italy where we rented a blackberry so we’d have access to email. EMAIL. No internet. JUST OUR EMAIL. 10 years ago. The world is such a different place, in just 10 years!

Our hotel was a bit of a walk (15 minutes?) to the Hamamatsucho train station, but we had our maps, the weather was perfect, so off we went!

At the station, we struggled with the ticket machine for a bit. From his research, the husband knew we wanted Suica cards, and that we’d start out with $20 on them and add more as we needed it. The menus weren’t super intuitive, but we eventually figured it out and got our cards. (We later learned from another couple on our trip that you can order Suica cards ahead of time and have them shipped to you in the US. Probably for a nice up-charge, but, no fighting with machines!)

So we found the right train, hopped on board, and a few stops later we were in Akihabara. Nerd capital of the world, so, yeah, of course that’s where we started.

First stop was the Mandarake Complex, 8 floors of anime collectibles. Each floor was small, but crowded with … so much. Some of it I recognized, some of it I didn’t. Totoro, that fried egg with a butt, vintage video games, comics, just all completely unnecessary but oh-so-fun stuff! We stopped at a wall of capsule vending machines and found the perfect souvenir. Seriously, this little guy still goes with me everywhere I go.

Next up was Yodobashi Camera. So spacious! Floors and floors of department store goods, not just cameras. Also books, stationery, beauty products, refrigerators, phones, watches … if you want it, they have it.

Lunch at McDonald’s, nothing to write home about there …

And an owl cafe! Not sure why it’s called a ‘cafe’ (they do have a vending machine for drinks?) but they delivered on the owl front!

We rounded out Akihabara with a stop at Don Quijote. If Yodobashi Camera is spacious and classy, Don Quijote is … brash and cluttered? But you have to stop in, it’s like nothing else. The aisles are mazes, the store is floor after floor stacked on top of each other, you never know what you’ll find. It is claustrophobic, but also amazing! Snacks, toiletries, clothes, halloween costumes, toys, they got it!

We snagged some adorable toothbrush covers, they are open-mouthed cats that eat your toothbrush head when it’s packed away in your bag. But also, they eat the bottom of your toothbrush and stand it straight up on the hotel bathroom counter to dry. They are adorable and genius.

My fitbit history tells me that took us over 10 thousand steps, so we likely called it a day and headed back to the hotel to meet our tour group and for our Gate 1 welcome dinner!

We tried everything! Even liked some of it!
Categories
knitting

Happy Day!

Finished!!

I’m a pretty speedy knitter and crocheter. Combine that with the normally small projects that I tackle, and I’m used to producing things in a matter of days. Weeks, tops.

And so I was ill-prepared for what awaited me when I decided to make a blanket for the husband with yarn he picked out at The Tinsmith’s Wife.

Years ago, I made him a blanket – a cowabunga masterpiece, no less – but it’s apparently a very warm blanket. Suitable to winter time. Which, in Texas, only lasts about 12 minutes.

And so, he asked, could I make him a … summer blanket? Something a little less warm? And seeing how summer in San Antonio is an 8 month affair, it seemed a reasonable request.

And the yarn he found! Stunningly beautiful. A purple to grey to black gradient, who could resist! And it was even lightweight, cotton and acrylic. The perfect thing when you want to make something that’s not, you know, warm.

I didn’t have a pattern in mind, so I purchased 3 of the Whirlette mega-skeins in grape squish. And because Scheepjes apparently thinks of everything, I picked up some coordinating solid Whirls, one ball of Frosted and one of Licorice.

I tried out a lot of patterns, showed the results to the husband, and he picked his favorite. And – he asked – would it be possible to have the entire blanket do one fade? Instead of a striped effect of purple-gray-black-purple-gray-black-purple-gray-black, could it just be a single purple-gray-black?

I held my breath and counted to ten, and agreed that yes, I could make it do that.

But, you guys! The good folks at Scheepjes went to A LOT of work putting their balls of yarn together. Like a lot. And getting the blanket to do a single fade … that meant I had to cut apart each ball of yarn at every color shift.

And the ends that made!! So many ends to weave in. I saved them just so I could show them to the husband, so he could appreciate that instead of having 10 ends to weave in, I had … I don’t even know for sure. 30? 50? Let’s go with 68, that sounds more dramatic.*

So I took the granny rectangle pattern, and did a bunch of math to convert it from the regular-weight yarn to something more suitable for the light-weight yarn. This should have been a clue that I might be in over my head, but I was still young and hopeful.

Granny squares (and rectangles) are awesome when you first start out. They are so tiny! Each round is so fast! Time just zooms on by while you make easy-to-see progress!

But then, you get past the purples into the grays, and you realize you’ve been crocheting for-ev-er, and you’re only halfway done. Or … maybe not even quite halfway …

So I finished up with the Whirls, (with just a touch of the frosted whirlette in the gray section), did some math and realized that with the single licorice whirl, it wasn’t going to be big enough.

Ensue shock and pouting.

Math revealed I’d need 3 or 4 more whirlette’s to finish the job. In addition to the one I already had.

My sanity declared that wasn’t going to happen. Additionally, the internet told me that the Tinsmith’s Wife had no more licorice whirlettes in stock. Dropping into Yarnivore yielded no better results. Jimmy Beans Wool online – out of black.

Amazon to the rescue! An Amazon seller had a few balls left! For twice the price that I paid originally, of course.

So I purchased two more.

And then I crocheted. And crocheted. And … you guessed it … crocheted. There are 4,792 yards of yarn in this bad boy. That’s 2 point 7 miles of yarn. 4 months and 4 days from start to finish. (I did make a hat in that same time frame. And half a baby blanket …)

I may, at some point in the distant future, if licorice whirlettes find their way back into existence, add another ball or two. But for now – happy day – I am done!

*I actually really love the way this turned out, way better than if it had been striped. Sssssshhhhh, don’t tell the husband.

Categories
favorite things knitting

Found it!

The Find Your Fade craze took the knitting world by storm, and I was not immune. I loved it the moment I saw it, and even though I live in Texas, I needed one.

But … you live in Texas! I hear you exclaim, in shock. Yes, I do live in Texas, so I don’t need an enormous scarf, a blanket to wrap around my neck to endure a long winter. But what I do need is a blanket I can wear to endure the AC. The AC that is always just a few degrees cooler than I’d prefer.

It took months to find the perfect yarn, and then months to find the knitting time to start, and then months to finish the thing, but it is finally done. My very own Fade. It has been found.

Categories
knitting life texas travel

5 years?!

I meant to just take a little break to get settled into the new Texas life … but, uh, then 5 years went by.

So what happened?

Facebook. Facebook happened. Well, really, Facebook + Smart Phones. It’s just so easy to post my inane thoughts to the computer in my pocket! And I get instant likes! From my captive audience of 300 friends!

(Well, not my captive audience. But a captive audience. Because they are all checking their like counts on their … slightly less inane posts.)

So, quick 5-year recap:

  • I look like a legit grown up now! Many of my earlier posts are so whiny about how people never take me seriously because they don’t think I’m an adult, but my face has finally arrived at adulthood! I had suspected it would happen around 40, and that’s about right. I’m not quite there, but … almost. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m almost there.
  • We had a house built! In Texas, where land is abundant and materials and labor are cheap. So there’s acres of wood floors! And the largest granite island known to mankind. Like you can see it from space big. Except for we do have a roof, so you can’t really.
  • I’m obsessed with knitting now. Beyond obsessed, really, if that’s a thing. I’m in a real live knitting guild. And then like 2 other local San Antonio groups. And then … I started my own group. And I go to knitting retreats. And knitting conferences! Like comic cons, but for knitting.
  • The husband launched his writing career! He’ll be a famous writer any day now, I just know it. Or, perhaps, any day after he finishes his novel. Which has 7 really awesome chapters! And a whole bunch of chapters that are still rattling around in his head. That are probably also awesome, I just can’t vouch for them yet.
  • We’ve travelled to a billion awesome places!
  • B2, B3 and the sister are all married! B2 even has some babies!

I know that’s not it (5 years is kind of a long time), but that’s all the things that popped into my head just now. Hopefully the next update won’t take 5 years, but, uh, no promises. 🙂

Categories
knitting technogeeky

my ravelry machine

This iPad thing is pretty nice, I have to admit. The only reason I ever turn my laptop on now is when I need microsoft office. Or to print something. But the printing thing will someday turn into a thing of the past, when the husband lets me buy an iPad-friendly-color-network-laser printer. 🙂

But the thing I love the mostest about my iPad? It takes me to ravelry! Which is the best social networking site to be found on the innerwebz.

Now I can take (poor quality) pictures of yarn and projects with ease from my iPad and upload them to ravelry! And when I want to upload better pictures, I can take real pictures and plop the sd card into the handy-dandy card reader I bought.

I know laptops are portable, but the iPad is super duper portable. I don’t even think twice before taking it to my yarn room for a stash-recording session. Or to the neighborhood stitch night so I have access to my patterns. Or to the basement to organize my queue while we watch tv.

There are a few features that can’t be handled on the iPad, so I’m crossing my fingers for an iPad app. None of the drag and drop works, and scrolling in a pop-up window is cumbersome, to say the least. (Keep my thumb in contact with the screen and perfectly still while scrolling with my index finger … Once my thumb moves, I’m zooming in and out on the whole screen …)

So, just for ravelry, the iPad has totally been worth it. :-). Who needs Facebook when there’s so much fun to be had on ravelry?

Categories
knitting life travel

still breathing

Since the dad is worried about whether or not I’m still alive, I just thought I’d post to say Oklahoma was better than I expected, Berkeley Springs was great, and I’ve been knitting like crazy.  I think I’m seriously addicted …. Anybody want some women’s size medium wool socks?

(To the sister:  I’ve got some fun socks that are shaping up to be a women’s small, I think, after I get them washed.  So those will likely be heading your way.)

Depending on my mood in the coming days, I may or may not expound on the trips mentioned above.  I feel like I should give Berkeley Springs a proper review, as google analytics tells me that no less than 8 people have found my site by googling for ‘Berkeley Springs’.  That almost overtakes ‘cowgirl pants’ as the all-time search-term winner.