saugatuck or bust!

i decided last night to google maps my route out to my weekend get away spot with the 6 pack. good thing i did. i totally had it in my head we were going to saginaw. when i pulled up the address amy sent, we are going to saugatuck. on the opposite side of the state.

after working a 12 hr shift weds followed by knitting class, and another 12 hr shift yesterday followed by kickboxing, i was too tired to pack. so i left it until this morning knowing it would be a busier morning that way, but that’s ok. the car is now packed and i am ready to go, have to make a few stops first before i hit the road. the cat has plenty of food, but i think she knows something is up.

when i walked out to the shed this morning to get my suitcase i discovered two things. something is living under the shed.

i now have orange daylilies in the garden where i have never had orange daylilies before. only yellow ones.

weird!

a day at the zoo

when i was a little girl we used to go back to pennsylvania every summer to visit my grandparents and my uncle bill’s family. my dad was a school teacher and my mom a stay at home mother, with four children to raise, this was our only summer vacation. i remember one year going back to stay at uncle bill’s and going to the pittsburgh zoo with his family, all of our cousins. i was very young, and the only thing i remember is the escalators. they left an impression, i think i may have been a bit frightened of them. you ride the escalator up a hill from the parking lot to the zoo. i took this shot (from very near the top) at the end of the day as i was leaving.

my sister is on vacation this week and mentioned maybe going to the cleveland zoo, which we have done many times, so i suggested the pittsburgh zoo. we had good weather, a bright sunny day with a nice breeze, it turned out to be a great day to spend outside and at the zoo! there was a baby elephant, angelina born on july 9th, this is a 6 day old baby.

she was in an indoor exhibit and one of her family members was outside. as we watched the elephant, a little boy ran around the corner (which just gives you another view of the elephant) came back and told his mom. it’s basically just the same elephant. (my sister and i laughed all day at this. no matter where you go, it’s basically the same elephant)

we saw the lions

a baby tiger cub snoozing, (born may 11th) and of course bears

i like how the pads of his feet are pink! there were ostrich and zebra,

tall, majestic giraffes, one of my favorite animals,

and musi seals, everybody’s favorites!

giant fish in the aquarium,

and we went to the petting zoo! this little guy had an itch!

i got to pet a deer and it’s hair was very coarse, i thought the kangaroo would be too, but it was very soft. i turned to my sister and said this would make great yarn! after she finished laughing at me we moved on, and spotted the llama and camel. she starts shouting at them, watch out for her, she’s got knitting needles. i don’t know about you, but i think they were very pleased to hear i am a knitter and i think they liked me!

i think the camel was flirting with me!

last but not least are these little guys. we stood there and watched them for about 10 minutes, they never moved. i wish i knew what the joke is, cause it looks like it was funny!

that little guy just laid there with his jaws opened, and never moved! these are west african dwarf alligators.

so as we were leaving and headed down the escalator i started wondering how in the world did people get to the zoo, on the top of that freakin’ hill before the escalators? i googled and was unable to come up with an answer, i did find reference to a book pittsburgh zoo, a 100 year history. currently selling on amazon for $75. i found an article that said the zoo opened in 1898. the land was donated by the city and the zoo constructed and donated by an entrepreneur, who also happened to own and operate a trolley company, and that it was the practice of the trolley companies to open attractions on their routes to attrack business. whatever his reason for building the zoo, it was a generous gift to the city that still stands 110 years later. amazing! the article also said the city was embarrassed that they didn’t have a zoo and yet cleveland-yes cleveland did! i found that hysterical!

hello muddah, hello faddah

my nephew is going to boyscout camp. in fact he leaves tomorrow, so my sister sent out emails asking us to write to him at camp, i have already mailed one post card so he should get it right away, and will mail another one along with a letter tomorrow. my sister had a good idea to include a sheet of paper along with a self addressed stamped envelope so he can write back. he is 11 years old and this will be the longest he is separated from his family, so hopefully this will ward off any homesickness.

my sister said we could not send care packages because he is not allowed to have food in his tent but he can buy snacks, so she said to send him no more than $5, which i did along with a note telling him not to use this money for beer.

i planned to do another hike this morning but it was raining quite a bit this morning, even after it stopped raining which was close to 11 am, the trails would be quite muddy and the next trail in line is very hilly, so mud, hills and my knees just do not make for a very appealing combination. i hit the gym instead and did a 50 min workout on the elliptical. i still miss the old machines they took out and even after 50 mins i hadn’t worked up quite as much of a sweat as i used too. so i’ll have to increase the tension, at this point i am still trying to break even on my cardio. i work tomorrow but only until 2pm. i may even leave sooner, off tuesday but sharon and i have made plans to go to the zoo. work weds and thurs and then off to michigan. vacation is almost here!

take a nap in the rain

i highly recommend it. today was a busy day, i spent the day with my sister. later in the evening i laid down on my covered swing in the backyard and took a nap. it started to rain, not real hard at first. in fact the canopy shielded me from most of it, and it really just felt like a fine mist under the protection of the canopy. eventually it stopped raining, it was great. later it started to pour, needless to say nap time was over.

my sister is on vacation this coming week, and she mentioned she’d like to do a little trail walking, i have to hand it to her, she did 3 miles in 2 hours time with me today, and kept pace.  we did a section of the  towpath trail, and i admit i picked it because it’s a flat trail and would be an easier walk for her. we drove up to the canal visitor center and walked 1.5 miles up to lock 39, and then back.

in 1832 the ohio erie canal  served as a pathway from lake erie to the ohio river, was 308 miles long and consisted of 146 locks.  today only 6 miles of the canal still has water.

pine grove

usually i go hiking in the morning, before it gets too hot. today i had some errands and such to do, i plopped down for a nap after lunch, and unable to fall asleep, i thought about taking a hike. there was a strong breeze blowing so i thought i’d try my luck, there were two trails to hike today, and fortunately they were both forest trails, no open meadows, so that helped keep the sun off my back as well. the first trail was a short loop, two fifths of a mile, the forest point trail. the second trail is a bit longer, the pine grove trail. it is named after a pine plantation which was part of a reforestation effort in the 1930’s. most of the park is second and third growth. the plantations consist of both red pine and white pine. this is all according to the trail book for the parks system. i started this trail and other than a pine tree scattered here and there i guess i missed the tree for the forest. when i read “pine plantation” i expected a large area of pines planted all together, much like the christmas tree farm on the tree farm trail.

i started out on the trail, it was quite dense which kept things cool, but no pine trees.

finally after walking the entire loop i found pine trees, red or white i have no idea, i can only tell you they were tall.

the total distance for both trails, 2.3 miles.

it was a beautiful day, sunny and breezy, a perfect day to hang the wash out on the lines, one of my favortie things about summer, i just love the smell of line dried clothes.

even the cat was enjoying the breezes. talk about the life!

another sweater down, almost

the day started off with the davey 5k/10k run in kent this morning, part of their heritage festival, benefiting the united way. i did the 1 mile fun walk, it was just me the senior citizens and the strollers. but seriously it was a great day for it, the sun is shinning and it isn’t too warm yet. got me another t-shirt, life is good. i walked a bit downtown, the vendors were just setting up their booths. it was a mixture of churches, businesses, and fair food. (selling trinkets you don’t need, food you shouldn’t eat and religion i don’t want) i decided not to hang around, but headed home instead. i swung by ksu just to take this snap shot of the giant brain.

my lilies are finally blooming, the daises and blackeyed susans haven’t opened yet.

i finished the second sleeve on the sweater i was making for class, i’ll be finishing it tomorrow. after it’s all sewn together i’ll still need to do the collar.

i’m a month behind on the sock of the month again, i just started the june som today, and my next class starts this wednesday.

happy firecraker day!

i had good intentions, i had intended to do one of the hiking challenge hikes today, but i didn’t get up in time, and i was due for a family gathering at mom’s this afternoon. dad had requested strawberry pie, so i stopped to pick up a couple and called my sister. we headed down to the parks in our home town for a bit of a walk before dinner. they have a really nice walking track, and it runs in front of the garden center, we walked around the graden center grounds first and enjoyed the flowers.

then headed out on to the track, we had just about made an entire lap (one lap is one mile) when we found a family of ducks sitting on the side of the trail next to the water.

they were just so cute! we headed to the next park over where the mckinley monument is. william mckinley was the 25th president of the united states, born in niles ohio, and lived a good deal of his life in canton oh, where he met and married his wife ida saxton. he was shot on september 6th 1901 and died 8 days later, on september 14th. he is the third of four presidents assassinated in office. there are 108 steps total leading to the monument, we climbed our way to the top.

we walked around the outside and then went into the tomb. it’s dark and very cool inside. william mckinley and his wife ida saxton are interred inside. there were wreaths layed out for the holiday.

we all know that the fourth of july is independence day, the day we celebrate the declaration of independence separating us from the british government. did you know the legal separation from great britain occurred on july 2nd, 1776, when the second continental congress voted to approve a resolution of independence?  After voting for independence, congress turned its attention to the declaration of independence, approving it on july 4th. One of the most enduring myths about independence day is that congress signed the declaration of independence on july 4th 1776. The myth had become so firmly established that, decades after the event and nearing the end of their lives, even the elderly thomas jefferson and john adams had come to believe that they and the other delegates had signed the declaration on the fourth. Most delegates actually signed the declaration on august 2nd 1776.

In 1777, philadelphia celebrated the first anniversary in a manner a modern american would find quite familiar: an official dinner for the continental congress, toasts, 13-gun salutes, speeches, prayers, music, parades, troop reviews, and fireworks. Ships were decked with red, white, and blue bunting.

In 1778, general george washington marked July 4th with a double ration of rum for his soldiers

In 1791 was the first recorded use of the name “independence day”.

In 1870, the u.s. congress made independence day an unpaid holiday for federal employees. In 1941, congress changed independence day to a paid federal holiday.

hope you had a safe and fun holiday!

time to get into the swing of things again

it’s tough getting back on that horse. this is why i committed to daily exercise. i know once i start skipping days i am more inclined to do so, procrastination is no stranger to me. i am still getting over this cold, it’s been well over 2 weeks now, (see i even procrastinate about getting better) i didn’t feel up to kickboxing class last night, so i went for a bike ride instead on the trail behind the house. you have to pedal up a gradual incline to get to the trail and i was surprised at how easily and quickly i got winded, once you get on the trail you go down a small hill, and with the exception of one or two small inclines, it’s basically a flat trail. i rode to the end and back and at the end i had to face that hill, but i did it. i pedalled up the hill, for the first time this summer. most of the bike trail is dirt/gravel, and every time i hear the sound of my tires crunching the gravel on the trail all i can think of is the soundtrack from woz, where almira gulch (aka the wicked witch of the west) takes toto and rides off at the beginning of the film.

riding up to the top of the hill at the end of the ride i couldn’t help but remember that 2 years ago when i bought this bike, after the first knee surgery, i couldn’t do it. i had to get off and push the bike up the hill. in fact right after the first surgery when i started physical therapy they would have me ride the bike, and i couldn’t pedal all the way around, my knee simply couldn’t bend that far. one thing i have noticed since i have lost a bit of weight, it s getting easier to move, and hopefully the continued weight loss will make things easier on my knees. this is one of the things that kept me motivated yesterday. i was really tempted to skip yesterday, but i thought if i don’t get to it again, i will continue to put it off until tomorrow, and i will undo all the good i have accomplished so far. other people have mentioned the weight loss, but now it’s noticeable to me, and that feels good. trust me i have a ways to go yet, but it’s encouraging to see progress.

now that the sweater is done it’s time to get the house cleaned up. i am also working on finishing up the sweater from last months class before this month’s class starts, but i should have that done by the weekend. i have a walk for untied way this coming saturday, hopefully it will go better than the one in ravenna last month! i still have to check at the gym and see where i placed. hopefully the list will still be up tomorrow.

one lazy summer afternoon

i spent the day finishing mom’s sweater. i hate finishing, it’s sewing, not knitting, but i poor job of finishing can ruin a wonderfully knit sweater. i worked out on the back porch. the sun was shinning and the birds were singing in the backyard. i had one earphone in for the ipod, the other ear was listening to a symphony of bird song. it was a breezy day out, all at once the wind kicked up and it poured, a perfect summer shower. no warning, just rain, the sun was still shining so i stepped out into the yard in search of a rainbow. i didn’t find one, however the cat looked at me as if i had lost my mind. she spent most of the after noon curled up in a ball on the chair opposite me.

once the rain had stopped almost as suddenly as it began, the sun streamed down between the trees and shone on my little garden in the backyard. the hedges and plants were just a bit more green than usual, the sunlight glistening off the still wet leaves, the astillbe shown brighter than usually a fuscha color, it looked most brilliant against a greed backdrop. it was quite simply a prefect way to spend the day.

my friend tony says i shouldn’t be feeding the birds right now, they should be eating bugs. i have five bird feeders in the backyard, and i love to sit and watch all the different types of birds that stop by for a snack.

i got up this morning and finished everything up, put the buttons on, and grabbed my things and headed out the door. i got all the way to my parents house when i realize i forgot to bring my camera, fortunately my sister had hers. so, do you think mom was surprised?

needless to say, she loves it.

i tried to get a good picture of the buttons but the flash kept whiting them out, and without the flash the exposure was long, so it’s a bit blurry.

i did a 3 needle bind off for the shoulders.

the rest was sewing. you knit the buttons bands separately and then sewed them on, this is the only thing about the sweater i didn’t like. it’s made with barocco’s ultra alpaca light, it’s a light worsted weight, 100% alpaca, the sweater is very heavy and will keep her very warm.

the cat, by the way, still napping

cross country trail

still getting over this cold, it’s the type that lingers on a bit. yesterday was the first effort at exercise in almost two weeks. i am climbing back on the band wagon, after getting a good sift kick in the pants from this cold. i know myself well enough to know that once i get out of the habit of exercise it’s hard to get back to it, this is one of the reasons i committed to daily exercise when i started this challenge, this is also why i don’t allow myself a eat whatever you want day, i will turn everyday into eat whatever you want, promising myself i’ll do better tomorrow.

yesterday’s trail was the cross country trail, it’s one i had never hiked. a very small portion at the end overlaps the lake trail which i have hiked on a previous challenge, this trail has been the toughest to date. it climbs a very steep hill, then continues to meander it’s way up, down again on a somewhat steep grade and back up again on an even steeper one, finally working it’s way back down to kendall lake.

i climbed the first steep hill and by the time i thought about taking a picture of the trail to show you just how steep it was, i didn’t want to back track, so i took a picture of the trail ahead, it was very peaceful.

this picture is also at the top of that steep hill, this tree has all kinds of vines, i have no idea what type of tree it was, but they were everywhere in that part of the woods and really interesting and fun to see.

after trekking through the woods you walk out into a meadow, the day was overcast and i was lucky not to get poured on, it rained earlier in the morning and there were a few rumbles and flashes of lightening in the evening but it never really stormed.

this meadow, along with another i came into later, are part of a cross country skiing area in the park. parts of the area were also farmed at one point and i did see part of a metal fence in the woods, as you left this meadow and walked back into the woods, it was over near this tree.

as i have mentioned before i am a big attractions kinda hiker i want to see waterfalls or giant mossy rocks, well this tree was worth the 2.5 mile hike. the trunk of this tree was so wide i couldn’t wrap my arms around it, and if someone was standing on the other side, i am not entirely sure we would even touch fingers. it was breath taking. i wonder how old it really is. my trail guide for the metro parks says that most of the forest is second growth. i wonder how long this tree has stood there. it looks like it may have been someone’s farm or private property at one point.

a little further into the woods there was a small babbling brook.

the trail let you out into one final meadow, it was very tranquil here. you then overlapped with the lake trail and headed back to the parking lot. this is definitely a trail worth visiting again.