Making Friends on a Tour or Cruise

 

On my last cruise, I made a few friends from both the pre-cruise tour and by being on the ship.  This woman lives in Florida, but she is from Puerto Rico.  She invited me to dinner with her in the specialty restaurants on three different nights. She is an avid cruiser, and a Platinum member.  The dinners were delicious, and we had wonderful conversations.   She told me she wouldn’t have gone on her own, and her gift certificates were for two.  It pays to be loyal to a cruise line.  We were on the Norwegian Prima.  I love this ship! 

We also ran into each other while waiting to board the bus back to the ship after one of the London tours.  We sat near The Tower of London Gift Shop and discussed our impressions of the city and its history.  I picked up some salted caramel biscuits to give to my friends who had me to dinner at their flat.

I loved this cafe with the rooftop garden in Norway.  It was right next to a lake.  We had lunch nearby with our tour group.  

The fjords were awe inspiring.  I absolutely loved the energy and incredible nature in Norway.  I definitely plan  to return.  

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Holland, Clogs, and Windmills

 

One of my favorite stops on our cruise was a tour of a place where they still make and sell wooden clogs.  The tour leader explained that some of the Dutch still wear them for gardening.  They are hard and strong, apparently very sturdy in the mud. I remember as a little girl my aunt bringing me a pair after her trip to The Netherlands.  I loved them.

These were some of the antique clogs on display.  I was so impressed.

They also sold wooden tulips as a decoration.  They look so pretty in a vase, on the dining table.  One of the ladies on our cruise set them with her guests at dinner, as a centerpiece. 

It was a special and quaint day trip.  I love taking the excursions when I travel.  All you have to do is show up and get on the bus.  Everything is organized for you.  

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Small Cottages in Norway

 

I was so impressed with the simplicity of Norway.  The small, sweet, neat and clean homes had lovely gardens.  

The curtains in the windows and potted flowers make the entrance to this cottage look so welcoming.

Of course, being nestled among these waterfalls makes for spectacular sound effects.  The negative ions in that area are so powerful.  It was a very healing setting. 

After a glorious hike, we headed back to our home, The Norwegian Prima.

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Traveling in EuropeTo Celebrate Turning Sixty

 

Our London tour group enjoyed a delicious lunch upstairs, at The White Lion.  I chose the most flavorful meat pie.  It tasted oh so British, with a divine buttery crust and brown gravy.  

The bathroom was just gorgeous.  I loved the hand painted sinks, carved framed mirrors and attention to detail.

Look at that wallpaper!  The tiles and doors were so pretty, too.  That was my first time eating in a pub.  What fun!  I would say we started at the top.  

I have more photos to show you, but am having issues uploading them, so until next time…

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I Love London

 

While visiting London last month, I took a three day tour pre cruise with some of my fellow passengers.  

We all stayed at The Raddison Bleu Hotel.  The tour bus picked us up each morning and took us to various locations.

I met with my  friends to celebrate our birthdays.  They have the most gorgeous flat in London!  I took the bus there from my hotel, and really enjoyed the scenery.  The view and dinner that we shared were both spectacular.  Osky made the delectable lamb, garlic rice, and beans, and Richard baked us our scrumptious from scratch carrot cake.  I ate every bite.  It was so much fun to see them.

We had spectacular weather!  I was expecting rain, but the sun was shining, and we never needed an umbrella.

My sweet friend Sara from our MGM days met me for dinner the night I arrived. She is so reliable and dependable.  We had a fantastic conversation, as we always do.  We met backstage over forty years ago.

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Footage From The Bridge Fire in Wrightwood, California

 The Washington Post did this excellent story on The Bridge Fire in Wrightwood, California.  This shows the magnitude of the blaze.  Those are the hiking trails where I take my dogs.  

Seeing the Damage from The Bridge Fire in Wrightwood

 

This morning I took a drive up Highway 2, to see the damage on the west side of town.  The road was closed  off for weeks.  Seeing those mountains was devastating.  I was shocked at how barren the land looked.  Once filled with trees, birds, and wildlife, it now reminds me of a graveyard.  It was sad to see the beautiful homes and wide spance that had burned.  What used to be green, lush, and healthy is now filled with dry skeletons of trees, or just nothing.  Ground zero.

This is a mailbox in Iceland.  They are a land of knitters.

The timing of being in Europe during the fire and evacuation was divine.  I was able to visit a beautiful part of the world and get together with old friends.  It was eerie to read the updates on my iPad and study the progression of the blaze on my cameras.  Since being back home, I have been watering my oaks and pines, raking up more pine needles that blew around during the fire, and taking loads of trimmings to the local dump.  The birds seem happy and relieved when they arrive and rest in the greenery.  I’m sure they are in shock, too.

The one thing I learned from this wildfire is to be as organized and on top of chores as possible.  It helps to look at your cabin from a fire fighter’s point of view.  The more we care for our homes and gardens, the easier it is for them.  I am continuing to create more defensible space.  The deck and balcony are swept each day.  An evacuation can happen immediately.  You may not have any warnings or time to pack.  Many of the locals expected more notifications.  Fire is not logical.  It can move like a freight train, especially now.

I have an app called Watch Duty that alerts me to all the fires near me.  It is so helpful.  Leaving early that morning made it much easier because I could take my time packing, take care of the dogs, drain my indoor pipes, light up the house, and drive with without being surrounded by smoke or traffic.

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Settling Back Into Cabin Life After the Fire in Wrightwood, California

 

The above photo was taken in blue Iceland.  The nature there is stark and memorable.  The homes are small, simple and uniform.   It gets very cold!  People live very simply and are happy with what they have.  

Speaking of cold, I finished my Nicole Shawl!  It is very warm and cozy.  It will be a lovely wrap to wear in Wrightwood during our cold winters.  It kept me comfortable as a lap blanket on my flight home, too.  I can’t wait to show my knitting teacher and the ladies who helped me on Ravelry.

Norway gives off a fairytale like quality.  The mists made it feel dreamy.  I love that little house on the edge, by the water.  The views from my balcony were breathtaking.

Cruising through the fjords was a spectacular experience!  It was so clear and bright.  We were very fortunate with the weather.  I would love to do this cruise again someday.  It was far more than I had expected, on every level.

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Update on Fire in Wrightwood, CA

 

Hello Everyone, I am back from my break.  We were evacuated during a terrifying wildfire in early September in Wrightwood, CA.    I had packed up that morning and left with the dogs.  Later that afternoon, I noticed the live cameras at Mountain High looked very smoky.  The air was thick, grey, and dense.  A few minutes later, a woman posted an horrifying video of the mountainside burning like an inferno.  I felt sick with dread.

I messaged a couple of my close neighbors.  One posted video of her family leaving town to stay with in laws.  Most ended up staying in hotels.   The sky was orange and there was just one road open leading out of town, a two lane highway, Highway 2.  I expected pandemonium, but watched my screen as the cars on her videotape exiting slowly and carefully.  There had been many meetings discussing what to do if this ever happened, and now it was happening.  An arsonist was reported and caught.

I had booked a trip from London to Norway and Iceland for the following day.  My friends and neighbors assumed I would cancel it, but I didn’t.  The dogs were safe up at dog camp, and  I couldn’t stop a forest fire.  I received notifications on my iPad all night long  at my hotel in London.  The hiking trails and areas where we picnic and enjoy nature were all burning.  I saw a fire truck and a fireman parked in front of my land on my cameras.  The lights were flashing through the middle of the night.  I saw embers floating around my yard, and caught my breath.  A firefighter was walking through my rose garden and they were calling more fire trucks to the intersection where I live.

I was amazed at how many firefighters and trucks were put on the scene.  Their plan of action was extremely well organized and executed.  Thirty structures did burn.  This is a town of five thousand.  I haven’t really been able to see the damage, because Big Pines Highway and part of Highway 2 is closed.  They stopped the fire very close to my home, on both sides.  All of the preparation guidelines for disasters that are taught by local agencies are so important.  I had renewed my home insurance early, just in case.  We have returned home and I am working on clean up, raking, and trimming back lilac branches.  Everything needed a good watering, and some of the tiny pink roses were still in bloom.

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Taking a Break

 

I am taking a short break.  I will start posting again in a few weeks.  This is a darling cottage in Wrightwood, California that used to belong to a Disney animator.  It is so special.

The roses that I planted in my woodland garden are doing beautifully.  I fed them some liquid fertilizer and top dressed the soil with planting mix.

The deck has been stained and is ready for winter.  I have a lot of chores to do in preparation.  I placed my firewood order for eucalyptus and mixed wood, and had the chimney cleaned.

This is a video of a new bear that was walking up the hillside just steps from my cabin.  This one has a more angular face.  The wildlife is literally right at our doorstep.  What a magnificent animal!  

Blogger did not post the video.  It won’t let me delete the space.  I’ll try again when I have more time.  How are you doing?

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Knitting Challenges

 I am sorry I haven’t posted in a while.  I have been busy with home maintenance appointments, knitting, and working in my yard.  I have a lot of cutting back to do with the lilacs and periwinkle.  

I am making progress on The Nicole Shawl.  I had an enjoyable private lesson with my beloved knitting teacher last week.  She showed me where I had dropped two yarn overs, which had thrown off my stitch count.  It was at the very end of each panel.    I am getting the hang of it.  Lace is so rewarding; I love the texture.   It is an exciting project. I can’t wait to wear this shawl once it’s finished.

This hawk landed on my deck, made strong eye contact with me, and started chattering.  He is so beautiful.  How are you spending your end of summer days?

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Almost Done Knitting a Sweater I Started in 2018

 

I finally took this sweater out of my knitting bag, laid it out,  reread the pattern, untangled  the yarn, and began to finish it.  I had originally extended the length, then realized that I wouldn’t have enough yarn to finish the shoulders and neck. So, I frogged it back and balled that yarn to finish the project.  Too bad I procrastinated for so many years, but the yarn and needles were patiently waiting.   The wool is Cascade Heritage.  A lady in my old knitting group gave it to me.  She said that she wasn’t going to use it.  She had it in a storage bin for decades.  We are still in touch, and have a phone date set for tomorrow.

The pattern of this sweater is called Carbeth.  It’s the third one I have made.  I love the design, it knits up quickly, and it’s a sweater I wear nearly every day in the winter.  I have made it with three different types of yarn, so they all look and feel different,

My Nicole Shawl is coming along, but my count is off by two stitches.  I made an appointment with my knitting teacher to see what I am doing wrong on one of the lace rows.  It will be a relief to clean up the stitch count and get back on track.  It is exciting and inspiring to be knitting clothes  again.  

Are you getting ready for winter?  

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Back To Knitting

 

I have picked up my knitting again, and am finding it really exciting.  It’s like having a piece of my soul returned back into my body.  Being creative and making your own clothes is very rewarding.  Each winter I appreciate my hand knits more; they really last, and they are so warm.

I worked on these socks while I was in Alaska.  I finally finished the final toe last week.  They are squishy and comfortable, and I am happy with the fit.

It is such a satisfying feeling to use yarns from my stash.  I have several balls of sock yarn carefully stored for the future.  Socks make such nice gifts. I am working on The Nicole Shawl right now, and it is very enjoyable.  How about you?  What are you making?

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