What I learned on my summer vacation...
1. I will never get as much work done while on the road as I think I will.
2. Bring a calendar. Creeping deadlines are creepier when you forget about them because you're busy having fun!
3. Not having internet access regularly (except from your Blackberry) isn't conducive to productivity. No, apparently I don't know the definition of the word "vacation".
4. Never underestimate the ability of siblings to develop new ways of tormenting themselves (and their parents) when stuck in the car for several hours a day.
5. Don't be surprised that the kids would rather watch Spongebob Squarepants than those nice educational DVDs you were sure to pack for them.
6. Don't be surprised that the kids would rather play in the pool or play in the hotel's arcade than go sightseeing or to the museum (even the dinosaur museum).
7. Kids' menus seem to have only four selections wherever you go - chicken strips, cheeseburger, hot dog, grilled cheese sandwich. With the occasional corn dog or mac & cheese thrown in for good measure. My kids burn out on these selections within about four days. Not good for a 3-week road trip.
8. After 3 weeks of road food, my kids will actually squeal with delight when they're served some nice green broccoli! Never thought I'd see the day.
9. Buffalo are big. Even though I know they can be really dangerous, I still get the urge to run up and pet them, especially since I know how ridiculously soft buffalo yarn is.
10. When visiting Mt. Rushmore, small children will be most interested in looking up the presidents' noses.
11. 4- and 6-year olds would much rather run around the playground in the Medora city park than go for a hike in the North Dakota Badlands.
12. I could knit a pair of worsted-weight socks for myself in the time it takes to drive from Billings, MT, to Portland, OR, if I don't have to drive and we travel only during daylight hours. If I have to drive and we travel partly at night, I can get to just past the heel turns.
13. I actually like knitting two socks at once with Magic Loop! I really am not a big fan of two socks on two circulars because of the entanglement factor, and I don't tend to like doing a single sock on ML, but the two together I'm finding to be quite delightful. Go figure.
14. Lake Superior is still as cold as ever.
15. I'm a terrible photographer. I didn't take a single, solitary picture on this trip. I told Bill he's official family photographer from now on.
16. The innocuous-looking hot-air-balloon ride in the kids' area at Valleyfair in Shakopee, MN, is seriously vomit-inducing for those of us who don't like spinny rides. It doesn't look spinny, but believe me, it is!
17. Owen has inherited his mother's wimpy stomach. Sydney has inherited her father's guts of steel. We know who's going to be riding the carousel with me when Sydney and Bill are on the loopy roller coaster!
18. As much as I love Famous Dave's, there is a limit as to how many times I can enjoy eating there in a short period of time.
19. It's not a good idea to plan sightseeing adventures to Yellowstone and Grand Teton Nat'l Park on the drive home from your nearly-3-week vacation. Fortunately, we came to our senses before we left the interstate.
20. 3 weeks is the absolute outer limit of my patience and sanity when trapped in the car for hours with a 4-year-old and 6-year-old who are filled with infinite amounts of energy and get seriously naughty when they're at all bored.
21. It is possible for me to not bring enough knitting along. Usually I have 3 or 4 extra projects that never get touched. This time, I actually had to stop at a shop (the lovely Wild Purls in Billings, MT) to get a project for the drive home. That has never happened before! Either I'm getting faster, or I overcompensated for my ridiculous past packing habits...
22. I'm still on Central Time, and so it's past my bedtime even though it's not even 9 pm here in Portland!
Tomorrow will be all about shipping the orders that came in while I was gone. In the meantime, go check out the pattern I just finished up for Sandra Singh - it's in Malabrigo Sock! Yummy...
(click on pic to go to sandrasingh.com for deets)
2. Bring a calendar. Creeping deadlines are creepier when you forget about them because you're busy having fun!
3. Not having internet access regularly (except from your Blackberry) isn't conducive to productivity. No, apparently I don't know the definition of the word "vacation".
4. Never underestimate the ability of siblings to develop new ways of tormenting themselves (and their parents) when stuck in the car for several hours a day.
5. Don't be surprised that the kids would rather watch Spongebob Squarepants than those nice educational DVDs you were sure to pack for them.
6. Don't be surprised that the kids would rather play in the pool or play in the hotel's arcade than go sightseeing or to the museum (even the dinosaur museum).
7. Kids' menus seem to have only four selections wherever you go - chicken strips, cheeseburger, hot dog, grilled cheese sandwich. With the occasional corn dog or mac & cheese thrown in for good measure. My kids burn out on these selections within about four days. Not good for a 3-week road trip.
8. After 3 weeks of road food, my kids will actually squeal with delight when they're served some nice green broccoli! Never thought I'd see the day.
9. Buffalo are big. Even though I know they can be really dangerous, I still get the urge to run up and pet them, especially since I know how ridiculously soft buffalo yarn is.
10. When visiting Mt. Rushmore, small children will be most interested in looking up the presidents' noses.
11. 4- and 6-year olds would much rather run around the playground in the Medora city park than go for a hike in the North Dakota Badlands.
12. I could knit a pair of worsted-weight socks for myself in the time it takes to drive from Billings, MT, to Portland, OR, if I don't have to drive and we travel only during daylight hours. If I have to drive and we travel partly at night, I can get to just past the heel turns.
13. I actually like knitting two socks at once with Magic Loop! I really am not a big fan of two socks on two circulars because of the entanglement factor, and I don't tend to like doing a single sock on ML, but the two together I'm finding to be quite delightful. Go figure.
14. Lake Superior is still as cold as ever.
15. I'm a terrible photographer. I didn't take a single, solitary picture on this trip. I told Bill he's official family photographer from now on.
16. The innocuous-looking hot-air-balloon ride in the kids' area at Valleyfair in Shakopee, MN, is seriously vomit-inducing for those of us who don't like spinny rides. It doesn't look spinny, but believe me, it is!
17. Owen has inherited his mother's wimpy stomach. Sydney has inherited her father's guts of steel. We know who's going to be riding the carousel with me when Sydney and Bill are on the loopy roller coaster!
18. As much as I love Famous Dave's, there is a limit as to how many times I can enjoy eating there in a short period of time.
19. It's not a good idea to plan sightseeing adventures to Yellowstone and Grand Teton Nat'l Park on the drive home from your nearly-3-week vacation. Fortunately, we came to our senses before we left the interstate.
20. 3 weeks is the absolute outer limit of my patience and sanity when trapped in the car for hours with a 4-year-old and 6-year-old who are filled with infinite amounts of energy and get seriously naughty when they're at all bored.
21. It is possible for me to not bring enough knitting along. Usually I have 3 or 4 extra projects that never get touched. This time, I actually had to stop at a shop (the lovely Wild Purls in Billings, MT) to get a project for the drive home. That has never happened before! Either I'm getting faster, or I overcompensated for my ridiculous past packing habits...
22. I'm still on Central Time, and so it's past my bedtime even though it's not even 9 pm here in Portland!
Tomorrow will be all about shipping the orders that came in while I was gone. In the meantime, go check out the pattern I just finished up for Sandra Singh - it's in Malabrigo Sock! Yummy...
(click on pic to go to sandrasingh.com for deets)
posted by knittinmom at 8:29 PM
4 Comments:
You have learned many truths on your vacation! I love the new socks; they are very pretty.
Welcome home! :)
I think I saw Sandra's banner ad with your socks on Knitty!
Love the socks. Wow, what a vacation and I agree with all of it.
Hi Chrissy--Thank you for posting about this wonderful pattern. We're having a KAL for it in my Rav group, Sandrasingh.com Your work is getting raves!
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