Beach Day

Hey Everyone!

A few weeks ago I had put in to take PTO this weekend to make sure I got my storage unit moved. With some help I got it done a couple weeks ago.

This was all before this weekends weather forecast was even a thing. It turns out that Friday was almost 90° here in the valley.

Beings that I already had requested the weekend off (Thursday – Saturday shifts) to use rain or shine, I got paid for the days I was off and did not accrue any corrective action steps for going to the Beach on Friday. And yes, I was laughing at my coworkers who were stuck at work, the whole way to the beach and back.

It was 63° and perfect right on the beach, and about 67° on the highway, which was a few hundred yards up from actual beach. It was a perfect summer (in spring) day at the beach.

Thursday I had worked on my first sock from the passprt Mediterranean mystery kit I had ordered from Forbidden Fiber Co, part of the time while watching Mamma Mia. The colorway of yarn from this kit seriously gives me Mamma Mia and & Santorini vibes.

I always seem to have a hard time coming back from the beach, even if I go for a day. I don’t know why leaving the beach affects me so much, but it does.

My beach day, and going through the towns I lived in while I went to college on my way to and from the beach have definitely made me think about my life and the direction I am going. I never would have thought I would be where I am today, and each day I want to be a better person and to make a difference. I am still trying to figure out how.

Vintage Santa

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Today, I finally finished up the pair of “Vintage Santa” socks I have been working on for a couple of months.

The yarn is the “Vintage Santa” colorway from Forbidden Fiber Co, and the yarn base is the Pride base. This yarn is from a previous Christmas / holiday palette the company had put out.

While working on the second sock, I have had the Friends of Big Bear Valley eagle cam running in the background on my computer. It’s kinda cool to watch Jackie and Shadow when they come to the nest as I am working on my knitting.

Knitting has unfortunately taken a backseat lately as life and work have been keeping all too busy, and tired. Since life has hopefully calmed down a little bit now, and I put in for a few days off from work this week, I will hopefully be getting some more Knitting done and possibly go to the beach. Summer Weather is supposed to hit later this week, just in time for my anticipated beach trip. I am so not ready for summer.

How are you all doing? What projects are you working on? Reading any good books? Watching any good shows? I am wating for the copy of season 7 of Shetland that I ordered to arrive.

What Book could you read over and over?

What book could you read over and over again?

Gone With the Wind, Memoirs of a Geisha and The Samurai’s Garden.

I read all three of these books multiple times. I read Gone with the Wind and Memoirs of a Geisha several times each in college. I had to read The Samurai’s Garden in English class one year in High School, so eventually I bought my own copy and have read it a few more times since.

Life has been so busy that I haven’t spent much time reading over the past few years, unfortunately.

Sunsets over the Pacific Ocean

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What a weekend it has been so far (my weekend days are Sunday and Monday). Yesterday, I had gone for a drive to get out of the house. I also had made a blueberry crumble, that had gotten dumped all over the bottom of the oven by accident upon trying to get it out of the oven. The oven had to be cleaned and it was a mess.

I made another blueberry crumble this morning. It came out just fine.

While my blueberry crumble was baking this morning, I wound the yarn that came in my spring mystery box from Forbidden Fiber Co.

While I don’t know what this colorway is called, it reminds me of a sunset at the Oregon Coast this time of year.

Weekends always seem to go by so fast, don’t they? I like to try to get as much knitting in on my weekends, since I don’t typically feel like knitting when I get home from work during the week. This is especially true when what I do for work is literally to earn a paycheck and have health insurance, and it’s not something I am passionate about or even see staying at more than a couple of years. There is no career there for me. In the position I am in, I will cap out pay wise in less than 3 years, and it’s not an income I will ever be able to support myself on my own with. I also have no desire to go into management in this company. Being a freight lead was as much management as I will ever do, and I came back down a pay grade and responsibility wise after 10 months in that role. So my weekends are super important to me, to pursue my interests and what I am passionate about.

Kodiak: The Conclusion

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I finished up the second Kodiak sock this morning!

The yarn is from Deep Dyed Yarns, and it this colorway is on the Figment yarn base.

This pair of socks took about a month to knit up, as life has been busy with work, Dr’s appointments (I am on the road to recovery, it’s just a long road), and just life happening.

It’s been a hard month, with a lot of life changes, and feeling overwhelmed, so knitting has been the one thing that has helped me refocus and destress with all the changes that have been happening.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions, unknowns and uncertainties. Hopefully over the next few months, as more appointments happen, I will get some answers and things figured out.

While I keep pushing forward to find the answers to my health issues, I will keep knitting and getting back to other healthy coping mechanisms as well. Things that have taken a back seat over the last year like walking and Journaling as well.

Kodiak: The Beginnings

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Before I had even finished my last pair of socks, I had cast on this sock.

This is the Kodiak Colorway, on the Figment yarn base from Deep Dyed Yarns.

I had this company and yarn base recommended to me by one of you, my readers, I am am glad you did. I have been enjoying working with this yarn.

I am also loving this colorway. It kind of makes me think of the Northern Lights, which I would love to see in person.

I have been glad to have something to work on while I have been off recovering from being in the Hospital last week. I am doing better now, but still trying to figure out the why it happened and what is going on / source of my symptoms. Having knitting helps keep me sane and calm amid the craziness and and insanity that is life sometimes.

I have definitely been looking at where I am at and what I am doing. I am trying to get healthy now, and I am taking it seriously now. Knitting will continue and always be a part of my life, and part of me getting healthy.

With getting healthy, I want to spend more time outdoors, and work my way back up to hiking. That is part of where my socks come in, warm cozy socks are important for year round hiking in this part of the country.

What Weekends are for

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This weekend has been a productive weekend for knitting.

Once I finished the fury socks, I cast on another sock using “Strawberry Fields” which is on the coquette yarn base from Bumblebee Acres fiber farm.

The name of this colorway always makes me think of “Strawberry Fields Forever” by the Beatles.

The colors themselves together makes me think of something out of the 1970’s.

I had pulled out this colorway because I was wanting to work with one of the spring colored yarns I have in my stash.

The coquette yarn base has become one of my favorite yarn bases to knit with. It is a thicker sock yarn that is sturdy to work with, yet washes up very well. It makes the perfect winter sock.

This weekend is what I needed to relax and get in the frame of mind for my last week at my current job and starting my new job without missing a beat.

While where I am at, and what I am doing is not necessarily what I want to do forever, the income is a means to cover bills and help me get where I want to go.

There are some yarn stores here in the Portland Metro area I have been meaning to get to over the past few years, and now I will make a point to go visit them and buy more yarn. Yarn shopping, and knitting in general is definitely an expensive hobby. I wouldn’t trade it for a less expensive hobby though. It’s what I love doing and is worth the money.

Organizing my Sock Yarn

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Now that moving is actually going to be a reality, I have been cleaning my room.

Today was the day that I finally found where I have stashed all my sock yarn, and got it into as few containers as possible. All my sock yarn is fit into two containers. I am definitely surprised at how little sock yarn I actually have left. That is a good thing though, I seriously thought I had way more than I do. Considering that socks are kind of my thing at the moment, I am glad that I have plenty to work with, yet not so much, that I am seriously considering getting rid of any.

I also have been able to go from storing my socks in four plastic storage containers, now down to two. I consolidated all my non holiday / seasonal specific socks into a larger container, as well as my liner socks. I left my seasonal / Holiday socks in their own separate container.

It’s nice to see that I have more socks knit up than I have sock yarn left. While I am not actively looking for more sock yarn, if I find something that I really like, I will order it. Seeing the sock yarn that I do have, it has reignited the excitement I have for knitting socks.

Purple Rainbow Peeps

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Tuesday I finished up the pair or Purple Rainbow Peeps socks I had been working on for a bit.

The yarn was from Bumblebee Acres Fiber Farm, and this colorway was on the Coquette yarn base. It was one of the spring yarns I had ordered last year.

I started on a new pair of socks on Tuesday, and got a little ways done on the cuff of the first one. I didn’t work on it at all yesterday, as I had gone to the beach for the day.

I grew up going to the beach, it was where we went (and still go) to get away from the city, especially if it is supposed to be hot in the city, since the beach is usually cooler. Once in a while, during the summer, the beach is as hot as or hotter than in the valley.

I hadn’t been to the beach in over 19 months, until I went yesterday. It was a much needed trip. There were still mask and physical distancing measures in place when you went into stores, but many stores were open. The Beach is easier to to physical distance on, and being outside, myself and everyone else I saw on the beach were not wearing masks, and it was 100% fine. Unless you go to the heart of Cannon Beach or Seaside, here in Oregon, there is plenty of room to spread out on the actual beach.

It was definitely good to take a break from the grind of city life and get away for a few hours.

I am back to the city, and back to working on my knitting in my free time. I can only be on the go so much, and then need to relax for a while to recharge, and knitting does help me recharge.

Spring is in the Air

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It’s kinda crazy how quickly the weather can change around here, a couple weeks ago, we had a snow and ice storm hit, with temperatures early on in that storm down in the 20’s. This past Monday we had our first 60 degree day.

After I had finished up my last pair if socks, I wanted to work on something with more vibrant colors, and that was more springy, so I had picked one of the spring yarns from Bumblebee Acres that I had ordered last year.

I also got the four hanks of yarn i had received in the mail, and got them wound up on monday.

Two hanks are from Forbidden Fiber Co and the other two are from Bumblebee Acres.

I am definitely excited to work with these yarns and see how they knit up!