ARDIRI

Back from Yosemite!

I had the most amazing time in Yosemite and I believe I have found my ultra-favorite location to visit in Yosemite--the Tuolumne Meadows-Glen Aulin-Waterwheel Falls area.  I felt like I had found paradise--except for the mosquitoes!  Unfortunately, I can't find my camera/computer cord to download the pics.  Bah!  Back as soon as I locate that darn cord.

Happy Trails to You...And Me...Until We Meet Again!

Today, John and I will be heading up to Yosemite for a backpacking trip from Tuolomne Meadows, past Tuolumne Falls, Glen Aulin, Le Conte Falls, and a half dozen or so other falls before hitting Waterwheel Falls.  I'll be back on either Thursday or Friday with pictures and hopefully at least one knit Sockapalooza sock finished upon the trail!  Oh! And I should have pics of my finished Fitted Knits Two Tone Shrug to share!

Picassa-ish Rock

In lieu of running, I am hiking (aprox. 1 hour/day)--in flip-flops!--the road up to Huntington Lake in hopes of healing my blister before next week's backpacking trip to Waterwheel Falls in Yosemite.   Along the route, there is this awesome rock that looks like a cubist sculpture of a person reclining or a couple spooning:

Another site along the way--overwhelming mountain beauty:

Although I am excited about moving to San Francisco, I know I shall miss this ubiquitous gorgeousness!

The Joys of Living in the Mountains

As my mom frequently reminds me--this is the mountains; we are living in the mountains, and with the mountains you inevitably--no matter what you do--get bugs.

And with the mountains come the nice little (1.5 inches!) surprises on your kitchen floor (when walking barefoot about the house!) like this:

Luckily, I didn't step on it or get stung by it.  I had to have my mom get rid of it because I do not like scorpions at all.  I can handle dealing with spiders, centipedes, ants, and even black widows, but I am quite afraid of scorpions!

The Slrog & 1 Snake!

• May 26, Saturday--5 miles running.

During this evening's run, I saw a Sierra Mountain Kingsnake on the road and I touched it!  The snake looked like this one pictured below (picture courtesy of  Gary Nafis, found on CaliforniaHerps.com):

Luckily, this one snake is NOT poisonous unlike it's almost-twin, the Western Coral Snake, which has venom "twice as powerful as the rattlesnake" and is a "relative of the Indian Cobra".  Fortunately, the two snakes--the Sierra Mountain Kingsnake and the Western Coral Snake--are found in very distant and distinct climes.

I also managed to have an olfactory hallucination while running: I thought I smelled McDonald's french fries even though the nearest McDonald's is an hour and half drive away!  What the heck's up with that?

• Runagogo Round II: Total mileage 106.83 miles(only counting actual runs, not counting cycling, walking, etc).

Pine Needle's Revenge

I am quickly coming to the realization that I have become "citified" in my "old age" (of 31), as I attack the seemingly endless layers of pine needles blanketing the ground around my parent's house.  As I rake away with my mp3 player plugged into my ears, NPR shows or music playing, I envision my own future--without a yard!  I see myself living in San Francisco in a loft or condo-type abode with a small patio that grows yummy kitchen herbs like basil, cilantro, thyme, etc., all tidily contained in their little growing pots.

The weird thing is, when I go backpacking, I don't mind the dirt that much; it is all part of the package.  I set out for a 2-4 day trip with the knowledge that a shower will not happen for a few days.  Just getting water for drinking is a chore in itself, whether it be filtered with a backpacking water filter that you hand-pump or treated with iodine tablets (yummy--iodine water!).  I simply accept the bugs--except mosquitoes, which carry West Nile Virus and other fun diseases, and so I spray repellent all over my self.  All of the work  and dirt that comes with backpacking is not so bothersome, most likely because it is part of the journey. 

But, when I am raking the yard, I immediately become aware of the flies swirling about my head, landing on my ears and arms,  and the dirt caking on my legs.  I feel the tiniest bits of pine needles that break off and make their way down my socks.  And as soon as I am finished with my yardwork for the day, I must hop right into the shower to wash all the dirt away--even if it means that I am going to have to take another shower post-running just a couple hours later.

Yep.  I've become certifiably "citified".

*A note to the parental unit, whom I believe are reading this blog: "Thanks for all the years you guys let me out of yardwork!  Muchas Smoochas!"*

Door Closes, Window Opens

An interesting change of plans has occurred for my summer...

I'll be moving home; as in:

To My Parent's House! 

Holy cannoli, I have not lived at home since a few weeks after my graduation from high school and it is so weird that I'll be staying with my parents from May 18th to August 1st.  It will have been approximately 13 years since I've last lived with my parents.

"Why?" You might ask.  Forget that, of course, you'd ask "WTF? Why?"

Well, my housing plans for the summer fell through and I've no friends who can take in one woman WITH TWO CATS! 

So, it's off to the woods I go!  Look out Big Creek, California, with your population of 258 humans and at least one black bear, your elevation of 4,920 feet, your one post office, your one general store, and your pool at the K-8th School (And, by golly, a Wikipedia entry! Who woulda thunk it?!).

The Pros and the Cons:

The Pros:

1. I'll be able to visit with my parents (my mum and my real dad, not the bio-dad) as well as with my brother, Ronnie, who's in his late 30's.  (He has his own place.)
2. My cats and I have a place to live rent-free for the summer.
3. High-altitude training for my marathon running!
4. No job!  Except for well-paid yard labor and house labor for the 'rents.  Maybe even some local babysitting if the price is right!
5. Time to work on my thesis prospectus and one last paper.
6. Beautiful trees and sky.  Lots o' wildlife.  Hiking in my backyard.
7. Knit, knit, knit!
8. Read, read, read!
9. Watch cable t.v. like a slothful teenager.
10. At the end of summer, I'll be moving to the city by the bay, San Francisco, Bay-bee!  And will finally be living with the love-dove again!

The Cons:

1. My cats will have a better living situation than I will, as I will be camping out in the backyard (with the bear!) for the summer to avoid the cigarette smoke.  (It must be noted, that my parents have significantly decreased and are on their way to quitting smoking.)  The cats will be living it up in the lap of luxury being spoiled--I'm sure--by their grandparents whom believe it just fine to make hamburgers for their pets!  And have been know to hit the local Der Weinerschnitzel to pick up hot dogs for their dog.   (Note to self: Must weigh cats on weekly basis or even bi-weekly basis to make sure they aren't gaining too much weight!)
2. No Love-Dove, Johnny.  He'll be staying in Concord.  We do plan on actually getting some good backpacking trips in this summer, especially after last summer's lame attempts to at least go camping.
3. Uh, yeah, nothing to do.  No friends nearby.  Only a teeny-tiny library that's open twice a week.  Nearest yarn store at least an hour and a half drive away.

Right now, I am basically tripping out about moving home.  Bear with me (and hopefully there will not be a bear with me when I am sleeping outside!) while I just go: "Whoah!  Mind-frack!"

A Taste of Last Weekend

A taste of last weekend's trip to Marin Headlands (just a taste in pictures 'cause I've soooooo much reading to do for school!):

The Golden Gate Bridge

The Pacific Ocean

The Love Birds (By gods--note to self: Use more sunscreen!  Look at those freckles!)

A Marsh(?) near Tennessee Valley Beach

Tennessee Valley Beach (with strangers in picture)

Brain Coral (I think!)

John Cheesing it up for the camera:

And squirreling away from the cold:

Pretty Epiphyte:

Point Bonita Lighthouse:

And more of the Pacific Ocean:

Knitters Rule!

Wowzers!  Super kindness would be the key descriptor for the wonderful knitter Debi (of KnitVegas) from ISE 3!  After reading on my blog that John and I would be heading up to the Marin Headlands for some outdoor's adventuring, Debi emailed me with her phone number to let me know that if anything were to go wrong with our trip she could call upon her daughter or sister in the area to see if they could help us out.  Such generosity and kindness!!!

Real, Actual Knitting Content--With Pictures!

By gods, today we have REAL knitting content!  I am currently working on a scarf for my International Scarf Exchange pal.  I decided to use some of my own laceweight handdyed yarn--colorway Lucky--to make her a simple lace eyelet scarf.  Boy, oh boy, does lace look quite fugly pre-blocking!

And for Ms. Lucky-Scarf's closeup:

And, in other news, it looks like my love-dove, John, and I will be heading to the Marin Headlands for a short weekend backpacking or camping trip (dependent on permits for sites--whichever has permits is the one we'll be doing).  Looks like it'll be pretty chilly, but not rainy.  I'll be prepared with both school-reading and knitting no matter which path we find ourselves on!