Yes, I'm back

We have spent the week trying to get back in the groove. Our trip to Joshua Tree, CA was good. Not great, but it was really good to get away with our family and friends. I feel like my brain got a vacation from the pressures of my life at home, but my body did not get the rest I was hoping for. The drive down was fine. We succumbed and purchased a portable dvd player and it was quite helpful. As much as I would like to live in nostalgia and I think, 'by george, we didn't have dvd players in the car when I was a kid, my kids won't either!', it actually kept my squirly, squirmy, high-energy girls- wee C, too- occupied, thereby allowing dh and I to have a fairly peaceful drive. I mean, it is almost 1000 miles, one way and we make the drive one-way in 2 days. So, we compromised our ideals a wee bit.

I did not get as much knitting done on the drive, or the whole 'vacation' as I would like, go figure. I sat in the back with the girls so I could help keep the peace, reading stories- 'Up, up, up' by Dr. Suess is lil' C's fave. I started the Jaywalker twice and ripped it out twice. My tension was off and I think I need to knit the smaller size. I got a bit tired of Jaywalker and my lack of progress, so started Shedir on the way home. It is a great pattern, lots of wee cables and twists and Rowan Calmer is a dream to knit with, very soft and forgiving. I am so glad I know how to cable without a needle. Grumperina has a great tutorial. Check it out. She is brilliant. I am still working on Shedir, it is not a quick knit, just a lovely one I recommend.

The weather was colder than we have had in year's past. It was lovely and warm the day we arrived in the park, Sunday. Sunny on Monday, but the wind picked up in the afternoon and it howled all night. Dh and C were sleeping under dh's handmade tarp tent and it flapped all night. The girls and I were fine, but I worried about my boys and it was noisy, so I didn't sleep well. Tuesday morning was really windy and cloudy so we headed to town for supplies. As we arrived back in camp after lunch, it was still windy and cold- cold enough to snow and snow it did. We stayed in the car while the kids watched a dvd, I knit and the snow fell for about an hour or so and stuck enough to make for a lovely scene. It was kind of fun, acutally, though I never ventured out into the flurries. The rest of the week was cool and pretty breezy. Thursday it was clear and the wind blew itself out so we had a quiet last night. Friday was beautiful and calm and warm, much more typical for this time of year. Aah, well. We did not get as much climbing done because of the weather, but we did get to do some. I climbed on Thursday, a climb I have done before, but when I was in my best climbing shape, many years ago. And, I got to the top! I had to rest a bit, but it was kind of like riding a bike, my body remembered and I did much better than I thought I could. So that felt great. We got to hang out with our dear friends from Eugene. And got better aquainted with a family from pdx. They are good climbers and a great family, we enjoyed their company very much. E had fun with their 3 yr. old tri-lingual son. His papa speaks Finish to him, his mama speaks Vietnamese to him, and they speak English to each other so it was really fun to listen and ask questions. It was great for my kids to hang out with a multi-cultural family and hear their stories.

I am trying to examine my life right now and figure out how to best spend my time. I am not sure what I want this blog to be. An online personal journal, a light-hearted crafty knitty blog, or some sort of combination. What and why and who am I doing this for. There are so many amazing writers, crafters, knitters and bloggers out here in cyberspace. The list of my favorites is wayyyy toooo long. I am such a perfectionist and feel that I am falling quite short of my blogging aspirations. We will see what the future brings for moody mama and her musings.

I leave you with a few pictures from our trip.