Category: Vacation

Home Sweet Home

Marie Haigh5 Comments

I couldn’t bring myself to write a blog yesterday announcing my arrival back home. Harry, the voice of the Phillies, passed away hours before our game against the Nationals. I can’t believe he’s gone. The season never really started for me until his voice came over the TV broadcast or radio.

Harry was unlike any other announced I’ve ever listened to. You could tell how much he loved the game; he had the excitement of a little kid at Christmas every single time. I’m thrilled that he was with us last year as the Phillies finally won the World Series.

On a happier note, London was fantastic. The weather was warm and sunny; we didn’t see rain until the final 2 days of our stay. The football game was fun to watch. The architecture was amazing to look at. Half of my pictures are of the pretty buildings. Hanging out with my friends and family was wonderful; I’m so glad we were lucky enough to travel with people dear to us.

Of course, we really went for the beer and the food. So how was it?
The British cask ales, or as they would say – “real ales”, were as delicious as I had imagined they would be. Though I only had the “fry” (full English breakfast) once, I became a fan instantly. I was surprised to learn that the English could make sausages and bacon that rivaled the tasty reputation of the Germans. I can remember only one meal that I was disappointed with; the rumors about English food being bland and boring are exaggerated.  Their meat pies and lamb kabobs were downright delicious.

A few cons about London:
The London Bridge is ugly. I’m sorry, but it is.
The dryers don’t dry the clothes. We did a lot of air drying whilst in London.
There are no dead bolts on the inside of the doors, requiring a key to lock the door no matter which side you are on.
The toilets in our rented flat had to be hand-pumped, which took some getting used to.
People were nice and cordial, but rarely would they sit and chat up a stranger. I can’t tell you how many people I said Hi to and tried to strike up a conversation with, but was rebuked. Around my small town, I tend to have the opposite problem: sometimes I can’t get the neighbors to shut up and leave me alone. So, it was amusing.

Pictures taken by myself and Dan can be found in my Picasa gallery:

London 2009

As forewarned, we didn’t do the traditional “sight seeing”, only hitting two landmarks: The Tower of London and the Windsor Castle. On the other hand, we managed to hit A LOT of pubs. We had the terrible habit of waking up in the morning, deciding that we didn’t want to do what we had planned the night before, and going straight to a pub instead. The locals informed us that we were starting to think like Brits.

London, Here We Come!

Marie Haigh14 Comments

We leave our house tomorrow morning at o’dark-hundred (4am EST). We’ll arrive in London Heathrow airport at 9:30pm GMT.

A snippet of the conversation I had with my friend yesterday:
V: I plan to take a change of clothes in my carry-on bag just in case the airport loses my luggage. You may want to consider it.
Me: I don’t have room for clothes. My carry-on is stuffed full of knitting needles, yarn, embroidery, books and food. I have my priorities. I’d rather have my knitting needles than clean underwear.
V: That should be a bumper sticker.

Camera is packed in the carry-on as well. I’ll bombard you with pictures upon my return, but don’t expect to see the typical tourist sites. We’ll be staying away from most of them. My goals consist of catching a football (soccer) game, visiting a good tea shop, finding the best pubs in town, chatting with the locals and shopping for yarn/fiber/fabric. One of the yarn shops I located just happens to be in the same neighborhood where we’re staying.

Though we return the day before Easter, don’t expect to hear from me until after the 13th.

Have a wonderful week and a Happy Easter!

London Bound and More! Yarn

Marie Haigh9 Comments

I changed my keychain over to this London bear last night because it is official now. We are going to London!

And we are not going alone. Dan and I are bringing with us a group of 7 from our family and friends.

It all started with an innocent enough conversation Dan and I had my sister-in-law Michelle. (My MIL will not be surprised it’s her daughter’s fault that we are traveling to another country. Michelle has been traveling since she was in high school going to places like China, South America, India, Turkey, etc. She just adores it!) Well, she complemented me on a pin I was wearing. I thanked her and then promptly informed her that I got it in Mexico. When she looked shocked, Dan informed her that I meant Mexico in Epcot, Walt Disney World. (grin) By the end of the conversation, my SIL had volunteered to be our tour guide in either London or Mexico, since I was quite nervous about traveling alone. At first, I refused. I have silly fears about getting lost or offending somebody because I don’t understand something or becoming overwhelmed by everything. It’s silly, I know. But, Dan really loved the idea. I had no desire to keep Dan in a pumpkin shell … and Michelle did promise that she would come with us and make sure we didn’t get lost. So, it was agreed upon.

Then, we told our friends and Dan’s father who were giddy about coming with us, since none of them have been. Even my godson, who is turning 4 next month, is coming!

Perhaps because of the small crowd we are bringing with us, my worries are mostly gone. I’m so excited about going now. Of course, we aren’t leaving for another two months.

In the meantime, let me show you the yarn I got recently.

First, there is the loot I brought home from the Pottstown Knit Out.

The two skeins in front are 100% alpaca spun in a bulky weight. They are from a local alpaca farm called Walnut Grove.

The skein in the back is hand-dyed mohair from Mountain Colors. I purchased it from a LYS, Olde Peddler Wools.

Then yesterday, Mandy of Sew Spun surprised me with a box filled with her stash that she had cleaned out in the hopes of organizing her new craft room.

What a lovely surprise! Thank you!

Vacation Knitting

Marie Haigh7 Comments

Because I love the “Wouldn’t You Like to be Knitting Here?” series by Knitting Dragonflies, I am borrowing it.

Wouldn’t you like to knit here?

I can testify that it is lovely, since this is the view from Dan’s grandparent’s deck where we spent the long holiday weekend.

We did many wonderful things while we were in Tennessee:
*Visit with family.
*Visit with more family (Hi, Tim!) in Knoxville.
*Take a tour of the lake on a pontoon boat.
*Eat blueberry pancakes.
*Take a walk around the neighborhood after a good rain.
*Watch the men set off fireworks in the backyard.
*Knit.
*Spin.
*Relax.

Yet, my most prized memory is teaching one of Dan’s younger cousin how to knit.

Miss E with her new scarflette.

Miss E is 8 years old and loves to make crafts. She had been wanting to learn how to knit, but did not have anybody to teach her. I was thrilled to able to pass on the gift to one so enthusiastic to learn. Miss E’s mother kept thanking me for taking the time to teach her. Truly, it was I who was thankful to be able to teach Miss E. I even sent her home with her own set of bamboo needles and yarn.

The specs on Miss E’s scarflette:
1 ball of Lion Brand Landscapes
Size 10.5 needles
The instructions: Cast on 10 stitches.
Knit in garter stitch until only a little bit of yarn is remaining.
Bind off all stitches.
Weave in the ends.
Sew one button on. No buttonhole is necessary due to the nature of the large stitches.

Home Sweet Home

Marie Haigh3 Comments
It is good to be back home.

I missed my Jake.
I missed my quilt frame.
I missed my comfy knitting chair.
I missed my bed.
And as good as the food was, I missed being able to cook, especially breakfast.

Was it as bad as I thought it was going to be? No, but it was worse than my husband thought it was going to be.

Yesterday was the first day in 7 days that my feet didn’t hurt.
Yesterday was also the first day in 7 days that husband’s legs weren’t sore.
Tuesday was the only day I got overheated.
Wednesday was the only day I cried.
Saturday was the only day I was sick while at Disney. (I’m still sick today, but at least I can curl up in bed).

Yet, all in all, the good outweighed the bad.

Monday Hubby and I ate our favorite meal.
Wednesday night Hubby and I took the kids out to a character dinner (minus the parents). Then, we brought them back to the hotel for scrapbooking (they had a blast! … and so did I!)

Thursday I met Mulan.

Friday we divided and conquered the kids. Hubby and I got Kail, the youngest.
Friday night Hubby and I escaped to wander around Epcot, still our favorite park, alone. It poured and we came back soaking wet, but it was still fun.

And, of course, it was wonderful to see my sister and her fam.
Plus, I got lots of knitting done on my AWHF shawl. (more pictures later)

My sister is already planning next year’s vacation. I plan to hide in the mountain of dog hair that is still blowing around on the floor despite my attempt to clean yesterday. Maybe she won’t find me.

If you see her, mums the word.

Sneak Peak and Hand Quilting

Marie Haigh4 Comments
Tomorrow I leave for vacation. We are going to Walt Disney World with my sister’s family, which consists of a husband, a 7-year-old daughter, and a 4-year-old son. You might think that I’m excited. You would be wrong. I have been dreading this vacation for months now. My sister has a different idea of a vacation than I do: she plans to drag the children to the park at 9 am (or before), jam as many rides and walking into the day as possible, and carry the kids back around 10 pm. I imagine by the end of each day, both the children and I will be over-tired and cranky. I also envision the husbands abandoning us for a bench and good beer. I plan to bring a bucket with me. Why? Because Mrs. H says it helps to dunk your head into ice water after a long, hard day.

I haven’t started packing yet, unless you count the growing pile of stuff I can’t forget sitting on top of my dresser. I have a dilemma. What should I bring as a knitting project for the plane rides? Should I pack my mystery project or my shawl project?

Mystery project OR

Shawl project

I can’t decide. I might end up packing both.

This morning, since I knew my entire day would be spent packing, I squeezed in a little time for me and did some more hand quilting on Baby Flick’s quilt.

Have a wonderful week without me!

Jersey Shore

Marie Haigh1 Comment

On the 2.5 hour drive down to Seaside Heights, I knit on my Mystery Project, the one that is being submitted for publication. There are some people who can’t knit and drink alcohol at the same time. There are others who don’t recommend knitting while tired. I apparantly can’t knit and talk at the same time. Half of what I knit on the drive to Seaside Heights had to be ripped out because I missed 2 rows in the repeat. It wasn’t a mistake that only a fellow knitter would notice. It was the kind of mistake a child could pick out. Mutter.

I do have good news to share about my Mystery Project. My MIL found more yarn for it! What a sigh of relief. I can stop biting my nails now and just relax. I’ll have more than enough yarn to finish now.

As promised, here are some pictures of the trip.

Me playing Bubble Hockey with Hubby (Hubby took pic)

The view from the Sky Ride

A swarm of seagulls picking up tossed pizza crust

Over the weekend, I made some progress on the Big Dipper Scarf. It is now 15 inches long. I only have 45 more inches to knit.

Did I mention how much more slowly it is to double knit? I feel like the Little Engine That Could. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

I also made a sleeve for the Chili Pepper quilt and attached the binding to the front of the quilt. The rest has to be done by hand: the attaching of the binding to the back of the quilt and the attaching of the sleeve to the back of the quilt. As the quilt is “virtually done”, I can move onto the baby quilt. Woo!

Baseball Hall of Fame & Brewery Ommegang

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About an hour into our roap trip to Cooperstown, I announced that I forgot our digital camera at home. Nobody was willing to turn back. Thankfully, there were tons of people at the fest taking pictures. I have already found 2 great collections on Flickr.

Upon arriving in Cooperstown, we visited the Baseball Hall of Fame. As instructed, we started our tour on the 2nd floor and got to see the beginnings of baseball history. Goodness, the original bats must have weighed a ton! Once we stepped into the 1900s – 1930s history section, we got to see 2 of our Phillies boys featured prominently: Connie Mack (Connie Mack stadium) and Baker (Baker Bowl). It was about this time that I started to feel ill. I think they recently cleaned their carpets with a powerful smelling chemical. So, Hubby and I swung by the No-Hitters section (no way was I missing that) before making a mad dash to the exit door and fresh air. After clearing my head, we came back in to read all the plaques in the Hall. We found all of the Hall-of-Fame Phillies along with the infamous players (Cobb, Young, Ruth, Mayes, etc). I tried to venture back into the other sections of the Baseball museum, but I immediately started to feel ill again. So, I grabbed 2 postcards (one of Lefty and one of Schmidty) and ran back out. The postcards went into my photo album. The rest of the collection (broshures & plastic bags) went into my scrapbook.

The next day was The Day Belgium Beer came to Cooperstown.


Brewery Ommegang
Originally uploaded by michaeljames.

Ommegang Brewery hosted the Belgium Beerfest in Cooperstown.

Both local breweries (Victory, Dog Fish Head, Ommegang, etc.) and international breweries (Chimay, The Lost Abbey, etc) attended.


Inside the Pouring Tent
Beerfest 052
Originally uploaded by kschlot1.

I ventured to try every Belguim Dubbel beer that was on draft. Due to my hard work, I came away with some new favorites.

New favorite Dubbels (in order of preference):

  1. St. Vincent’s Dubbel by Captain Lawrence Brewing Co.
  2. Lost and Found by The Lost Abbey
  3. Abbey Dubbel by The Shed

Hubby was less particular and ended up trying a wider variety.

More pictures of the Beerfest:

Michael James Photo Album

kschlot1 Photo Album

Sunday we found the only good food in town at a local bakery and drove home. I came home to a sick but happy pup.

Vase Cozy to Hide the Lack of Flowers

Marie Haigh1 Comment

It took 2 tries, but I finally got it right.

A Vase Cozy
when flowers just aren’t enough

The trick is to make the cozy a little bit longer than you actually want it. The extra length will be used up in the curves of the vase.

Right now, I am working on writing up the accompanying pattern. I have the pattern completed if you wanted to knit it the way I did: on straight needles. But, I’m a rare one and prefer to seam rather than knit on double pointed needles. Most people would sell their pets or significant others or whatever else is nearby and handy before volunteering to seam anything. So, I want to include instructions to knit in the round so they can keep their husbands/wives and pets nearby. The goal is to finish it tonight and post it tomorrow morning. Otherwise, it won’t get posted until Monday because I am going on vacation!

I haven’t taken a vacation since … well … I’m not sure. I just checked my pda. Last year, June 18th through the 24th, my sister and her 2 kids visited. We haven’t been on vacation since. This will be my first time away from Jake (4-year-old golden retriever). Thankfully, we found a wonderful pet sitter in the area. She is going to spoil him rotten; I just know it!

So, where are we going? Cooperstown, NY! Upon arriving, we will stop by the Baseball Hall of Fame. It’s a must-see! On Saturday, we are attending a brewfest. And not just any brewfest, but the premier Belgium-style brewfest hosted by Ommegang. It is the best Belgium-style brewfest in the States. Last year, the ladies were not invited, since the gents attended in honor of a Bachelor party. This year, we’re coming. There will be no running around the campfire with the shirts off this year. Poor boys. I don’t know how they are going to make it through.

I will be away from Friday, July 20th through Sunday, July 22nd. I will return with pictures galore!