Prince William Forest Park

okay so finally the weather was decent enough to go out and play. We went to Prince William Forest Park (Click here for their site!) and it is a really nice small park fairly close to us. They have group campgrounds, regular campsites, cabins and back country camping. We opted for the later. It was so nice... although it did rain (hey, we got to try out our rain fly!), it did get cold (in the low 40's (my feet were not happy while trying to sleep) and it did get quite breezy at one point. Which was okay - it tried out our stake tying skills. Everything went smooth.

I would have slept better if it hadn't been so cold and it there hadn't been a crazy owl hooting all night. The first time he did it, I almost jumped out of my skin - he was very close by at that point. Luckily later he flew farther away and we got some shut eye.

So I know you want to see pictures. Here are some!

First here are some scenes we saw in the main part of the park:
1. Beaver evidence. Sorry it is blurry.


2. Dogwoods were out in full force, it really was beautiful everywhere in the park! Plus lots of violets, and other tiny wildflowers. All the trees were bright spirng green with new leaves... the park has a lot of beech trees.


3. Here is a picture of our little campsite!


4. Here is a picture of the sun peaking out just as it was setting - there were a few showers beforehand (thank goodness we started setting up camp early!) and even a few pretty strong showers later in the night.

5. Luckily this is the scene from inside the tent this morning - clear as a bell and the sun was out. I like the way the shadows of the trees looked against the tent. Unfortunately, we'll have to rinse off our tent in the tub and hang it out on our porch today to dry it out.

Which leads me to the question - if you are supposed to let your tent dry out before stuffing it away - what do the through hikers do in the rain? They can't possibly be stalled every time it rains. Hmmm. Not that I'll be hiking 14 miles a day anytime soon.... but I am curious.

News Flash - swifts are SWIFT!!

Hello, My dear Daddy made me a swift because he knows that I hate tangles in my yarn. And what a swift it is!! Isn't it beautiful??




I think he should go into the swift business, don't you??

I'm sorry I don't have an action shot, I must admit I swifted/wound all my hanks into balls this weekend. You know how it is with a brand new toy.

Hubby says he is happy because it means a reduction in swearing around the apartment by 45%.

Also - tonight I plotted my herb garden. And by garden I mean container garden, since all I have is my porch which is approximately 4X5 ft.

I'm planting Rosemary, mint, basil, cilantro and dill. All of my favorites. Come on over this summer and I'll make you a pot of mint tea. And an omelet or (if I learn how) quiche! Or herb Roasted Chicken! The possibilities are endless, really. And I know I won't keep all these plants, but isn't half the fun giving away little seedlings?

So here are my little babies:

And while I know seeds are small (duh) I didn't expect mint seeds to be so itty bitty!!

Here is a dime illustrating the tiny-ness of my seeds. The biggest seed, to the upper left is Cilantro, then right below the "n" in "One" is the Rosemary seed. The seed underneath the "m" of "dime" the basil seed and to the right of the word "America" is the dill seed. The if you look all the way to the right... all by itself... that blurry little thing is the mint seed. So tiny!!

Well that is all that is new here. Tomorrow rain. Luckily the seeds are happily inside.

So, Exciting Day!!!!

Okay, first you have to go see what Susan posted Here on Her BLOG
No, Seriously. Go over there and see what she posted. Click on the purple words "Check this out" on her blog. Then come back here.

It is so funny that she posted that today. Maybe she is psychic.

My blog will be here when you get back.

Okay, so Danes are the happiest people on Earth.
Who is second closest to the happiest people on Earth?

The people who go visit the happiest people have got to be pretty darn happy too, right?

So - Guess What!! We're going to Denmark this fall!!!!
How exciting is that?!?!?!? Hubby has a conference to go to. And so I'm going to buy a ticket to go too! We learned it was a go today!!

I even started a countdown on my calendar.
Now I have to go do some research on Denmark!

Hey Everyone!

Weird day today - Still very cloudy and gloomy - it's like the 5th or 6th gloomy day in a row.

Not a whole lot new here. I had a Red Cross volunteer recognition last night to go to, they did a fabulous job transforming the room into a castle - with candle light and the whole nine yards. It was really nice.

Today on the commuter bus there was a guy drinking beer. Not the usual classy commuter behavior. I heard the guy pop the top and I thought, is someone drinking a soda! That's totally forbidden!! And then I thought, maybe the guy's diabetic. But then I saw the can - Natural Ice. hmm. I am pretty sure I haven't drank a beer at 7:45am since college. (or, um, ahem, not even then, Hi Mom and Dad! Nice of you to read my blog!)

Come to think of it, I think I drank some Natural Light (aka Natty light). I guess that brand just is the best for crazy beer drinking mornings.

Anyway. That is really all. I don't have much to say about the VT shooting. It is very sad. The poor kid, the poor kids... as a former College Instructor, I can say that I really feel for them all. It's a nightmare.

Rain Rain Go Away

Well, the weekend is quite a bust! Horrible weather. I guess it is nice to stay in... but it would have been nice to go out for a weekend hiking and camping! Shoot. At this rate we won't get to use the tent until June! What is up with the weather?!?!?

Harland has been gone on business trips lately - 2 weeks in a row he was gone. You know with all the Army wife training I had, you would think 2 weeks would have been totally painless... but still I missed the guy. Not the soundtrack CD (which has been played once so far since he came home) but the rest of him I miss.

Amy asked me "what do I do when he's gone?". I didn't want to say before he came back in case there is some crazy blog stalker out there.... luckily no business trips int he future.

There are several things I like to do when he's gone:
1. Eat in front of the TV
2. Eat ridiculous combinations like popcorn and sushi for dinner. Actually eat things he doesn't really like. Like KimBap. And Soup.
3. I like to sleep in. He's a big fast waker-upper. I take more after my dad. I like to set the alarm waaaay before I have to get up and read in bed until I have to get up.
4. Watch girly movies.

okay so that is what I've done in the last few weeks.

And also, I think I've posted on here that I want to become healthier... so I have a new goal here on the blog. I joined Weight Watchers this week on Wednesday, so I'll let you know how that goes. With Harland "I can eat anything, and eat it is super large quantities" as my hubby I totally have gained weight. And I know that WW is a solid way to lean how to eat proper portions and better food. And I know it is something that you can eat real food and learn how to make good choices. My first goal is 19 pounds. unfortunately I have gained so much weight that I'll have to have a 2nd goal once I reach that. :( But that is okay, you can't be perfect every day of your life, so it's important what direction you move in, right?

Don't worry, this isn't going to turn into a weight loss blog or anything, I just wanted to tell you what is up. And that is about it.

A new post!

Alert the media! A new Post! Holy Cow!

Anyway, I have been knitting dishcloths mostly. In a regular old crazy frenzy of circular dishcloths. Other than that I have not been knitting. It was a rough week here this week. But whew, it is now Saturday so I can relax.

I had to order some new needles this morning (yay Knitpicks!) and so when those get here I will start on SOMEONE's Birthday Present. I am doubting it will be done by her birthday in middle May, but maybe, just maybe I'll get it out on time. I can't post progress pictures here because she is one of my (very few) readers. :)

I've decided I just can't knit presents for people. It's like birthday cards. I am no good at getting it done on time. In fact I still have yet to mail Ms. Amy's birthday present because I need to pack the package better because I am afraid something will break (I knitted in Ceramics, just kidding. But really, her present is breakable). What I knitted her will no longer be useful in Florida, that season has passed... but maybe she can use it next year (hi Amy!).

So I don't know. Hell is paved in good intentions as they say. I guess from now on I should just knit as it comes and goes and not promise anything and then people will be surprised if they get something knitted. I haven't had the chance to knit as much recently due to working and commuting and all that jazz. And sometimes I am tired and don't want to knit at night. It is sad. But true.

Anyway, enjoy your weekend Folks! Hope that you do not get too much snow! We have what looks like about a dusting to a half inch on the grass and the cars, but the pavement is pretty clear. although it is still very grey outside and we may get more. Poor flowers... they all came out earlier this week, and it was 80 degrees on Tuesday!!!

Loves and hugs!

P.S. I know I just ordered them, but I hope my new needles come soon!!!!!!