Here's the sock that I started before we left for Yosemite. It's from Around the World in Knitted Socks. When I got this book for Christmas from my sister Molly, my Gram said she really liked these socks. Gram is a very accomplished knitter in her own right, but now that she's going to be 90 this year, she can't knit socks anymore. It hurts her hands too much to grip the tiny needles.

When my mom and I went to Stitches West in February, I knew that I wanted to purchase some sock yarn. I bought a skein of Little Traveller by The Sanguine Gryphon. Honestly this is the most expensive sock yarn I've ever bought. $19 for 560 yards. Not really a terrible price plus the yarn is beautiful and very nice to work with.

I'm planning on these as a gift for my Gram for Mothers Day. Not sure I'm going to finish it in time but I'm going to try.

The stitch definition is beautiful.


I hope I get them done in time. I know she's going to love them.

I also finished another book this week...

Blood Orange Brewing by Laura Childs

From Goodreads.com:

Social darling Delaine Dish is throwing a lavish Candlelight Concert to raise funds to restore a run-down Victorian home-and Theodosia Browning is more than happy to help out with tea and tasty treats from the Indigo Tea Shop.

Unfortunately, the unveiling of Theo's opulent spread proves to be far from grand after retired CEO and beloved politico Duke Wilkes falls to the floor with a jagged piece of metal protruding from his neck. When the Widow Wilkes begs Theo to apply her sleuthing skills, she can't refuse. But her investigation opens up a simmering pot of shady politics and personal payback, and Theo soon finds herself in a situation stickier than any jam she's ever served.


My take:

3 out of 5 stars. I don't hate these books but I don't love them either. I'd read this one before so I think I would have liked it more if I hadn't already read it. These books are nice because you can put them down for a long time and pick them up and catch right back up with the story line.

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

From Goodreads.com:

The times and species have been changing at a rapid rate, and the social compact is wearing as thin as environmental stability. Adam One, the kindly leader of the God's Gardeners—a religion devoted to the melding of science and religion, as well as the preservation of all plant and animal life—has long predicted a natural disaster that will alter Earth as we know it. Now it has occurred, obliterating most human life. Two women have survived: Ren, a young trapeze dancer locked inside the high-end sex club Scales and Tails, and Toby, a God's Gardener barricaded inside a luxurious spa where many of the treatments are edible.

Have others survived? Ren's bioartist friend Amanda? Zeb, her eco-fighter stepfather? Her onetime lover, Jimmy? Or the murderous Painballers, survivors of the mutual-elimination Painball prison? Not to mention the shadowy, corrupt policing force of the ruling powers . . .

Meanwhile, gene-spliced life forms are proliferating: the lion/lamb blends, the Mo'hair sheep with human hair, the pigs with human brain tissue. As Adam One and his intrepid hemp-clad band make their way through this strange new world, Ren and Toby will have to decide on their next move. They can't stay locked away . . .

By turns dark, tender, violent, thoughtful, and uneasily hilarious, The Year of the Flood is Atwood at her most brilliant and inventive.

My take:

2 out of 5 stars. It was OK, not great. I didn't really enjoy the other book,Oryx and Crake, that I read by this same author. That book and this one ties into this one. I'm not sure if I just didn't like the story or if I just don't like the style that this author writes in.

After one of my runs last week when I could barely run at all due to the pain in my knees, I finally made a doctors appt. The appt was on Thursday before we left for our Yosemite trip. I'd been suspecting that I had runners knee which is basically that the muscles on the sides of the knee are under developed. The pain has been in my knee caps vs. the joint and since I hadn't had a fall or twisted the knee, I didn't think it was a joint problem.

After the doctor examined my knees and we talked about the amount and type of pain that I'd been having, she came to the same conclusion that I had, runners knee. She gave me some exercises that I need to do and I have an appt today with a physical therapist. She also has me on 600mg ibuprofen and rest.

I'm trying not to feel like someone died about this. I was so divested about this last week that I can't describe the feeling. Now I'm looking at it as an opportunity to get stronger so I can run faster. I'm really looking forward to running again. I'm looking forward to it so much that I dream about it at nights. I dream of races and of the feeling that I get of being strong and happy when I run. Running makes me feel so great that I dream about it. I think that means I'm a sick person.

Doctor said 1 to 2 weeks of rest until there is no pain and then I can start running again. I am really looking forward to that day.

We're back from Yosemite and we had a fantastic time. The weather wasn't ideal but it was still really nice. We had partly cloudy, sunny and a bit of rain while we were in the park. The clouds were very low so it wasn't the best for viewing some of rock formations but we still really enjoyed it. Best of all, since it was Easter weekend, the park wasn't very crowded.

We spent two days in the park and camped about 20 miles outside of the park. Here's just a fraction of the pictures we took.

It was cold enough that there was a lot of snow still on the ground at the higher elevations outside of the park and inside before you dropped down into the valley. I wore my snow jacked both days but I'm always cold and there were plenty of people in sweat shirts and even a few in shorts.

We saw a number of animals including a bobcat, 2 coyotes, 2 bears, lots of deer and squirrels too numerous to count.
Hubbs at El Capitan.

Bridal Veil Falls. All the major falls were running like crazy and there were tons of seasonal falls too.

Due to my knee injuries we only did one hike up to Lower Yosemite Falls. I gimped along pretty good but I don't think this is what the Doctor meant when she said she wanted me to rest. But hey, I didn't want Hubbs to see Yosemite from the truck.

We took the dogs with us and found Yosemite to be very pet friendly. I'm pretty sure that that the dogs thought we were trying to kill them with all the walking that we did.

Half Dome was very elusive while we were there. It was clouded over almost the entire time that we were there. It was only uncovered for about 20 min's that we saw. Other wise the clouds were very low and Half Dome was pretty much completely obscured.

Yosemite falls was amazing as all ways. Beautiful from every angle.

The lupines were amazing.

The deer were so beautiful and very plentiful.

The park rangers were practicing swift water rescue on the Merced River and we enjoyed watching them practice. I'm sure later in the year they will get to put those skills to use.

I even got a chance to work on a sock I started for my grandmother for mother's day.

We even hiked out to Mono Lake.

The weekend was fantastic and I can't wait to go again. We're planning to make a day trip a little later in the spring to see it again and do some real hiking when I'm healed up. I didn't get to run in the valley while we were there but there is always next time.

My couch to 5k program has been coming along nicely. I completed week 2 last Thursday and began week 3 on Saturday. I'm really not having much of a problem getting back into the swing of things at all...at least with the running portion. Where I'm having trouble is my knees. They are killing me. And I'm not sure what the problem is. All the reading that I've been doing regarding the knees makes me think that it's not a typical runners issue and maybe I need to see a doctor to make sure I'm not doing serious damage to them. Even with the pain, I'm still pushing through. Week three is in full swing. And even more surprising then me sticking with it is that Hubbs is sticking too. And I hate it. He runs faster then me, especially since I'm hobbling right now, and he makes it look so effortless. I hate him. But I, grudgingly, admit that I'm proud of him too. I honestly figured he'd run once or twice and that would be it. But he's right there doing it and doing a great job. As an added bonus for me I've been pushing myself to continue to run after the end of the run interval to catch up with him once he starts the walk section. He's not usually very far in front and I'd guess that I'm only running 10 to 15 seconds more to catch him but I'm doing it. Most of the time I feel like I could keep running even after I catch him. I'm never out of breath and I never feel like there's no gas left in the tank after the runs. So the runs are good, solid runs. Even with my bad knees I feel like the program isn't advancing fast enough for me but I'm trying to trust the program and just roll with it. I also thought that running was going to pull my extra weight off faster but it hasn't. I did lose 4/10ths of a pound this week and I'm going with the old adage of, "Any loss is better then a gain/maintenance." However, since I got back on track on March 8th, I have lost over three pounds and that ain't bad. My favorite quote that I've been finding strength in lately is from Pat Riley, a basketball coach. He said, "There are only 2 options regarding commitment. You're either IN or you're OUT. There's no such thing as life in between." And let me tell you, I am in. I'm committed to this big time.

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

From Goodreads.com: A new collection of four never-before-published stories from Stephen King.

1922

The story opens with the confession of Wilfred James to the murder of his wife, Arlette, following their move to Hemingford, Nebraska onto land willed to Arlette by her father.

Big Driver

Mystery writer, Tess, has been supplementing her writing income for years by doing speaking engagements with no problems. But following a last-minute invitation to a book club 60 miles away, she takes a shortcut home with dire consequences.

Fair Extension

Harry Streeter, who is suffering from cancer, decides to make a deal with the devil but, as always, there is a price to pay.

A Good Marriage

Darcy Anderson learns more about her husband of over twenty years than she would have liked to know when she stumbles literally upon a box under a worktable in their garage.

My take:

4 out of 5 stars. I love Stephen King, no two ways about it. Not all of the stuff he writes is great but this book was pretty good. My favorite of the 4 short stories was Big Driver. Kept me on the edge of my seat. But all the stories were good.

I got this book for Christmas this year and kept getting distracted away from it by library books. I started reading it shortly after Christmas and just finished it. It's not a long or tough read at all but I just couldn't find the focus due to all my other reading to devote the time that it deserved until about a week ago. Now I'm really glad that I took the time. Total enjoyment.