DK the Nautical Knitter

Yes, I know it is not officially Wednesday anymore. I couldn’t let the leap year date pass by without posting though, so this post is officially changed to “Where We Were Wednesday - 2.27.2008″.

The trip to Las Vegas began last week, on Thursday 2.21.2008. We piled all the book orders, luggage, dog, and of course my knitting projects into the car and left the house. Dropping these things off at their proper places along the way we finally made it to the INSANE “terrorist free zone” affectionately called the Atlanta Airport. Don’t get me wrong, stripping for a crowd would not have been so bad, if I was getting paid for it. Ahh, the pleasures of 21st century travel. At least I was able to take my knitting on the plane. Sharp, metal needles with a long nylon cord are ok, unopened water bottles in plastic containers, NOT ALLOWED! We went through the exact same “security” process on the way home as well and needless to say, I did not feel any safer, just more exhausted. I love my boat…

Mr. K was able to work on the ever frustrating Sudoku puzzle on the plane and we shared a breakfast of champions provided by the flight attendants, after the initial hour of riding through turbulent thunderstorms had ended. No kidding, I actually saw the plane flexing in the middle, like I was on a roller coaster ride.

The actual time we spent in Las Vegas was wonderful, as always. We stayed at Sam’s Town just off Boulder Highway. This is a place that we love to play, but we had never stayed in the hotel before. The room was much better than others we had stayed in on previous trips and this will probably be our hotel of choice for future trips as well. The room was an “inside” room, so our view was of the waterfall and gardens that they have created within the courtyard area.

There were plenty of places to eat and none of them were on the list as healthy establishments, for sure. We enjoyed burgers at Fatburger and wings at my favorite wing joint, Hooters. Our favorite place to eat in all of Las Vegas, however, is a little place tucked away in the ***** * just off the strip. The place is called Ellis Island and is the best place in all of Nevada to get ribs and a beer. The beers are micro-brewed on site and are $1 each. The full plate of ribs is $7.99. Ribs, beans, and corn on the cob are the only thing they serve. There are no menus, but if you get there too late (after 4:00pm) the wait time for a table is minimum of one hour. We have waited 3 hours for a table before. Believe it or not, it was worth it! The Krispy Kreme doughnut shop inside the Excalibur resort is fun to watch, and it is even more fun to eat the hot doughnuts right off the line. We ended our stay by getting cheesecake take out from the Cheesecake Factory. Yum, Yum!

Since we had rented a car, we took a Sunday drive out to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. Crossing over into Arizona and back again into Nevada we were able to get a good look at Lake Mead and the new bypass bridge that they are building to divert large trucks and heavy traffic off the actual dam structure. We were amazed at how much the lake was down since the last time we had been there. In the photos below you can see acres of bare land where there should be water. The marina tow boat was busy moving sections of their docks further out into deeper water in order to keep the boats floating.

There is never a shortage of things to do or things to see in Las Vegas. We visited some of our favorite casinos. There are very few that we prefer to play at, but several that we enjoy visiting for the scenery. The Bellagio has an atrium area that is always being reinvented for the current season or event. We really enjoy the Christmas display in this atrium. Since this was February, the display had been changed to the theme of the Chinese New Year. All the plants in the atrium area are living and they always smell so wonderful.

We also took time to walk the strip again, taking in the sights of New York, NY, the Venetian, and the brand new Palazzo. The Venetian has a waterway running through the mall area and you can take a ride in a gondola for a price. This one came complete with a singing gondolier (oarsman). She could really sing! The white statue in the photo is actually a living person. It was fun watching the “statue” scare people who were approaching trying to figure out if she was real or not.

Off the strip our favorite place to play is the Palms, four of a kind seemed like the hand of the week. Our game of choice is video poker, Jacks or Better. We hit several four of a kind hands each, but the royal flush remained elusive this time around. The Rio is another place we like to visit for the atmosphere. In the afternoon and evening they have a carnival show throughout the casino where they throw beads and dance. Makes me want to visit the real Rio!

One of the best parts of the trip was meeting new friends and Secret of the Stole Sponsors. Below from left to right is Susie Rose, me, and Beverly. They met me at a local yarn shop called Wooly Wonders and we had a really wonderful visit. Susie Rose taught me how to use my spindle which I have owned for about 5 years now and not touched. Thanks Susie Rose! Beverly is a member of the Secret of the Stole groups and both of them are super new knitty friends of mine!

Last, but not least, is Robbie of Ruby Vegas designs. You will have to look very hard to find a more genuine, friendly, and energetic person than Robbie. She is the Secret of the Stole shawl pin designer. I finally got the chance to meet her in person and it was a thrill!

We had a wonderful trip (not counting the lovely airport hassles). Now that we have had our annual Las Vegas fix, it is time to refocus on the Caribbean. Perhaps the Florida Keys????…or beyond…stay tuned.

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This week’s trip to the coast was very short, but oh so sweet. The weather was not cooperative enough to sit on the beach and knit, but the views the approaching storm gave us were absolutely wonderful.

I sat in the car and knitted while Scott did his daily beach walking. The wind was blowing very hard and although the temperature was not too bad, the wind was bone chilling.

We took a lovely drive down streets we had not ventured down before and stumbled upon a community cemetery. Some of you may think this odd, but I love cemeteries. It is just so fascinating wandering through them looking at the headstones, with the dates and sometimes the epitaphs on them. Some of them can be quite amusing since they are placed there by those left behind.

During our drive we stumbled upon these guys (gals) and I just wanted to jump right out of the car and join them in the fun! This is called Powered Paragliding and I think this would be such a cool hobby!!

Although the trip was short this time, we were greeted by this when we arrived back at our house. Beautiful, no?

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On the hard.  We are at our home on land this week trying to get back to work.  We live in a small (1200 sq ft), two story, house with lots of windows.  The house is located pretty much in the center of a 40 acre plot of land, with open grassland on one side of the house and woods on the other.  Just off the corner of our back patio is a one acre pond that all but dried up last year in the drought.  It has a little water in it now, but still has a long way to go to fill back up again.

We built this house two years ago and if you would like to see photos of it when it was shiny and new you can go here.  Since we have been living in the house for two years now it has become cluttered with general living items, like furniture, televisions, computers, and generally lots of "things" that require dusting.  Here’s a revelation about me that you probably don’t know, I DO NOT DUST.  Instead, I prefer to rearrange the furniture periodically and while doing so give the items being moved a good cleaning.  Where is all this going you ask?  Well, today I decided to rearrange my office, probably a subconscious attempt to avoid real work for the day.  Here are the before and after shots.

Doesn’t that look much better?  I think so.  Now I can actually get some work done.  Hmmm, I think it is time to run away go to the boat.  Mr. K and I will be going to the boat for the weekend.  I will try to get some beautiful beach shots while we are there.

In the meantime, if you would like to see more of our waterborne adventures of this past year, you can visit here.  That is about all I have for this Wednesday.  Next week we will be flying somewhere we love to go….  See ya then.

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Today I planned to launch a new weekly post category that would give my readers a sense of where we are and what we are up to. We travel (or try to) quite a bit and I wanted to be able to share photos and fun stuff about our trips.

Interesting how life takes over and changes even the best laid plans. It turns out that I am posting this from my mother’s hospital room. Yesterday, my mother had surgery to remove potentially cancerous cells from the wall of her brain. The surgery went very well and she is now in the room, just as talkative as ever. She will be going home tomorrow and we will be heading back to Alabama on Friday.

There are no photos to share this time, just relief and thanks to all those who have sent their wishes and have been praying for her.

Next Wednesday, we will be somewhere else, hopefully more relaxing and enjoyable.

Till then…Fair Winds

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"Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?"  Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry

I was informed this morning by a fellow blogger that I "Made her day".  Thanks Amanda for the awesome award!

Now it is my turn to give the award to others who make my day with their blogs…  I will be posting comments to your blogs, so look out!!

On the travel front, we will be leaving tomorrow for Dallas to spend about a week with my parents while my mother has surgery.  Hopefully the Secret of the Stole II KAL group will run smoothly by my remote control.  That is what laptops and iPhones are for anyway, right?

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And, so are we. He was so happy to leave the vet doggy camp that he barked all the way home and has not moved from his bed since 9am this morning.

Blazer was at doggy camp because Mr. K and I took a couple of days off to go down to the boat. Blazer turns green on boats so he gets to visit doggy camp instead.

After the Thanksgiving non-event, we were ready to get back down there and hang out, if just for a few days. All of our time was not spent lounging around though. We took advantage of the 80 degree December weather phenomenon to get out to the beach and shoot some video for the upcoming knitting tutorials. We knitted and filmed and enjoyed the completely deserted beach and just as we were finishing up the video recording for the day, the rain started falling. Heavier and heavier it fell, ushering in a cold front that would bring in incredibly strong winds that would rock the boat all night in it’s slip. Temperatures were in the 30’s the next morning when we awoke. Unlike our previous boat, however, this boat is quite watertight and has a heater/air-conditioning unit that works beautifully. We stayed warm and dry inside all night while the wind and rocking waves lulled us to sleep.

Now it is time for us to get ready to head to Dallas, TX for Christmas with my family. We are leaving in three days, which means that Blazer gets to return to doggy camp to visit with all his friends again. Since he does not have Aubie here with him any more he has become quite the cling-on and seems to need company 24/7.

Anyway, we are going to be gone about a week and hopefully we can get in some good knitting video recording while we are gone. The Civil War Shawl KAL and the Secret of the Stole II KAL have to be ready to go in January, so it looks like a working Christmas holiday on the road for us.

Have a wonderful holiday and we will see you on the flip-side.

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Cooked and carved the turkey on Saturday, check. Made the stuffing, and the baked sweet potatoes, too, check. Sealed it all up in bags to freeze so we could have it on the boat on Thanksgiving Day, check. Loaded the car with clothing, food, ice chest, etc., check. Made sure to take computer to the boat too, so Secret of the Stole KAL members wouldn’t miss their final hint this Friday, check.

Leave on Monday and make the 4.5 hour drive to the marina, check. Upon arrival, found out the marina wi fi was not working and would not be working until after the holiday week was over, CHECK. Made the 4.5 hour drive back to the house in the same evening, of course. What else were we supposed to do? Visions of Secret of the Stole members coming up the road to get me with lighted torches and pitchforks in hand went through my head.

Mr. K and I will be having our “leftover, prepared ahead of time” Thanksgiving dinner back here at the house. Luckily, Mr. K and I embrace change so it’s all good…

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I wish you were beautiful…. Actually, the weather is wonderful. It is cooling down, finally, and we found this fabulous tent thing at the dollar store. Can I hide out here forever?

Mr. K says no, so tomorrow it is back to the house and back to our day jobs.

When we arrived at the boat there was a pod of dolphins, about 50 to 100 individuals, there to greet us. They were chasing schools of fish toward the shore and having a feast. Fascinating!

Today we are off to the Shrimp Festival in Gulf Shores. Mr K. loves shrimp. Me, not so much. But I did spot a corn dog vendor yesterday while we were touring the arts and crafts part of the festival, so I’m set.

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Can you see me doing the happy dance? Well, I am. We are headed to the boat this weekend for some long overdue R&R. I have been going through ocean breeze and sand between the toes withdrawal. We may even get to do some outside sprucing up of the boat, which we haven’t been able to do in the last few months because it has been so bloody hot here in the southern United States. We are leaving Blazer at the doggie condo (vet) so he can visit with his kennel friends. Since Aubie passed away Blazer has been seriously lacking in dog company.

Tonight will be a long night as I have to upload the next hint for the Secret of the Stole KAL for tomorrow and we will be on the road tomorrow. Can you say “is it midnight yet?”? Oh well, I am so excited about putting the next hint up that I probably wouldn’t sleep anyway. Besides, Florida State plays Wake Forest in football and the first game of the NLCS is on as well. I will get in some serious knitting time tonight.

In my other “job” I came across a really neat quotation book and, in the spirit of college football season, I will leave you all with this one for the week:

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.

-Vincent T. Lombardi

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This past week turned out to be one of those weeks for us. Throughout all the details that follow I was able to somehow keep my sanity and keep my schedule in regards to the Secret of the Stole KAL. A huge THANK YOU and a big CYBER HUG go out to my friend Reba for helping me keep the group on an even keel during our travels. So, here is what happened.

It all began on Tuesday when we took our dog Aubie to the vet because he wasn’t feeling well. As I said in the last post we were leaving on Friday for a 10 day trip to Colorado and we needed to find out what was wrong with him so we would know whether to board him or not. I won’t go into all the particulars, but, on Wednesday we were informed that his one or more of his organs was failing and the dog that just the day before was following me around the house, would not make it through the day. We rushed to the vet and I was able to hold him while he breathed his last. The dog that gave me over 14 years of happiness and completely unconditional love was gone.

Since neither DH, myself, or our remaining dog, Blazer, wanted to be in the house with the memories of Aubie everywhere, we decided to leave a day early for our trip. The trip to the cabin was quiet and uneventful. I was planning on knitting up a storm and couldn’t manage to do but a few rows. Blazer was given the king’s throne in the car and seemed to enjoy it. After 1500 miles and way too much junk food, we arrived at the cabin in Creede, CO (altitude 11,000 ft) mid-day on Saturday.

On Sunday, we found Blazer lying very still and lethargic on his bed in the motor home. This is highly unusual for him since he has for the past 14 years been extremely vocal and interested in anything that was going on around him. He slowly emerged out of his grogginess and we thought it was just an “altitude” issue. Until later that evening, when we were checking on him and he had a seizure, stiffened up his body, flailed his head back and briefly stopped breathing. When the seizure was over he was once again lethargic and mostly unresponsive, leading us to believe that that was what had happened earlier in the day as well.

The following morning we called our vet and he basically told us that we should get him off the mountain and bring him in asap. We were stunned and saddened that Blazer was now ill and we would be cutting our trip so short. Tuesday, we left Creede and 1500 miles later we arrived back at home. Blazer went to the vet today and, wouldn’t you know it, all his blood work turned out “normal”. He is not diabetic, anemic, suffering from a heart murmur or even heart worms. That was the best news we could have had this week. We will hear about his thyroid test soon and if that comes back clean then the next thing the vet said we could do is a CAT scan to check for a brain tumor. I found this to be a point of amusement since it was an interesting name for a scan of a dog’s brain. A CAT scan is not happening on a 14 year old dog in my house, so we will just have to watch him closely and keep him company from now on since his brother is gone.

On a brighter note, when we arrived at the cabin William, our grandson, and his parents were already there, as were my mom and dad. It was William’s birthday (2 yrs) and we had a great time visiting with him. The festivities and family time took our minds off our loss, if just for a little while.

To the left is a three generation photo of William, Bryan (his father in the background), and Scott (my DH and Bryan’s dad). The photos we took of William and of Blazer while we were there are just priceless and I will post more of them soon on our personal blog Door Number Three for anyone who is interested.

All in all, it was just one of those weeks…

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