FERRET! AAAHHHHHHHH!!!

I was sitting in my office this morning, minding my own business, when I suddenly spied a large-ish, dark shape moving across the floor. I looked up, and it was a dark brown ferret! What in the world?!?

At first, I tried to call it over to me... it is/was probably someone's pet, so it had to be friendly, right? (I know, I don't know what I was thinking, but whatever.) It didn't come over to me, just kept hopping around, so I calmly left the room and shut the door.

I found the custodian.

Me: Rick, you will never believe what I have trapped in my office right now.
Rick: (looking skeptical) what?
Me: A FERRET! Hand to God, Rick, there is a ferret in my office.
Rick: Are you sure it's not a rat?
Me: Yes, I'm sure it's not a rat.

We go back and forth a bit; Rick is hesitant to believe my tale of mystery and excitement.

I tell several other coworkers; no one believes me. "How did a ferret get into the building?"

I was a bit baffled by their question... this isn't exactly Fort Knox over here. Doors are propped open during deliveries, for instance, and ferrets are sneaky, squeezy little creatures.

My coworkers tromped upstairs and looked in through the window next to the door. The ferret was frolicking around, jumping up on the bookshelf, trying to knock my pictures down from the wall, and having a good old time. After a while, he appeared tired and rested in the corner. I took advantage of the moment and darted in to my office to grab my breakfast and my iced coffee; the ferret did not seem to mind. I really didn't want the ferret to eat my breakfast!

Anyway, animal control arrived in a fairly short period of time, and caught my little friend in one of those bags-at-the-end-of-a-stick contraptions. Now here comes the most exciting part:

Ferrets spray when they are scared. This spray smells rather terrible. Now, my office smells skunky/ musky/ animal urine-y. Ewwwww! Even grosser, I checked out the spots where I saw the ferret had climbed, and it looks like there are pee trails everywhere. GROSSSS! Fortunately, I have some all purpose cleaner and unlimited paper towels and some industrial spray disinfectant.

I just hope the ferret didn't sneak into my purse and use my cell phone to make any long distance calls.

It has been quite the week already... all of this happened before 9 AM today! Jeepers.

Quincy Hat

In the middle of doing some knitting for pay, I've had occasion here and there to whip off a project or two. The most recent one is the Quincy Hat from the Brooklyn Tweed booklet by Jared Flood, put out by Classic Elite Yarns. That was a mouthful! Edited to add: I used Manos del Uruguay classic wool in the Wildflowers colorway.

Anyway, I really liked the simple yet very creative construction of this hat! The brim section is knitted flat, with built-in i-cord edging. You then put a twist into the brim, kitchener stitch the brim together, and pick up the crown stitches. Each step is relatively simple, but with enough interest to keep you wanting to knit more. And, the final result is super cute!

Here is an ultra glamorous shot of me in the bathroom mirror:


And here is a better shot at the crown:


The only changes I made were to go down a couple of needle sizes, and to cast on two fewer stitches when making the brim. I frequently like a slightly shallower hat than patterns call for.

Now, I'm trying to decide whether to make a matchy scarf by repeating the brim pattern, or to just use the same yarn in a different pattern. At this point, I can't decide!

Max's Knitted Socks, Leak Update

I had promised a leak update about a month ago; here it is: They fixed the leak. Huzzah!

Now, on to the knitting. I tweaked the Wee Tiny Elf Socks (ravelry link) pattern to fit a human baby foot, since it's originally designed to be just a little decorative sock. I also knitted the cuff lengthwise rather than knitting all of those little triangles one by one (I am too impatient for that). I think they turned out great!


Don't you just love those pointy toes???

I also made a pair of socks without pointy toes, using the Baby Keep Your Socks On pattern.


Both of these sock photos were more difficult to snap than you'd expect... it required a lot of assistance from other family members. We figured out that if we lifted him up in the air and then brought his feet down to the table, he'd keep his feet still for a split second... which is when you have to snap the photo!

Almost as great as the socks in the photo? Those cute little chubtastic legs!

New Garbage Disposer!

A while back, I may have mentioned that my garbage disposal had kicked the bucket. With work resuming in two days, I finally figured that I had better get kickin' on some of those around-the-house jobs I've been meaning to work on.

I was initially worried that I would not be able to install it myself, but finally just went to the store to ask about how hard it really is. Turns out, it's not that difficult at all! It would have been easier if I had been able to find a unit that was compatible to my old one, but that was just not meant to be. However, the whole process, including rewiring and everything, took less than 1/2 hour. That's less time than it takes to put together an Ikea bookcase!

I have run the garbage disposer successfully already - no leakage, no problemo. I am tickled pink!

Finally!

I started a post back on August 7, but then my computer started acting sassy, so I never got to finish! I am back from Oregon, where I finally met my new nephew, Max! I took about 150 pictures, and whittled them down to about 50 sharable pics... click here if you want to see them all, or simply enjoy a few selected pics below.

Here he is, enjoying the swing at the park... we pushed him very gently of course, since he can't quite sit up on his own yet...


Here is my brother, probably making entertaining noises for Max:

Max REALLY liked the flavor of my sister Liz's hand... he was going to town on it!


Napping in the baby carrier:


Enjoying his play mat:


I enjoyed my visit, particularly meeting Mr. Max. Of course, I also attended the Sock Summit, but that is for another post!

The Leak Update, So Far

So, the leak occurred again last night, at the more acceptable time of 10 PM. How considerate.

I again called my neighbor and maintenance, and we all decided that the a/c should be turned off, and turned back on again an hour before the maintenance guy could arrive.

This guy was a bit more on the ball - he dumped a whole 4 liters of water into the drip pan, and blammo... leaking commenced. So, it appears that there is a leak somewhere in the line AFTER the drip pan.

Fortunately, my neighbor is agreeable to having his a/c unit looked at further, and will avoid turning on the a/c until the issue is resolved.

I must say, I am relieved that the actual cause was narrowed down... I was fearing a miserable cycle of leak-> maintenance -> "we don't know" -> leak -> maintenance... so on and so forth, with no one taking responsibility for rolling up their sleeves and taking responsibility for solving the problem.

That's it for now... several nights have been spent tossing and turning now, or managing drips, and having to get up early for repair personnel. I am tired, but wow, it looks like a gorgeous day out there!

I'll be sure to update again once an actual fix/solution has been put into place.

Water From Above

I am a light sleeper. It's a pain in the neck sometimes, but every once in a while, I'm glad stuff wakes me up. Take 1:30 AM, for instance, like, just a few hours ago. I really do think I was in a deep sleep, but still woke up... I initially thought the noise was my blinds slapping against the window frame, (which happens with a fair bit of regularity) but once I made my way over to the window, I realized the noise was coming from further in my apartment. I turned the lights on, and to my horror, water was dripping from my ceiling all over my PlayStation2, right next to my TV and stereo! Noooooooooo!

I will briefly interrupt the story to state that I actually have occasional nightmares about water dripping into my home. The dreams are more strangethan what would happen in reality, though... for instance, I have had a few dreams where I move in to my new condo, only to realize that it only had part of a roof, and that rain and snow would accumulate on a regular basis. I hate those dreams.

Back to the story... I quickly unplugged all electronics in the area and moved them away from the region of drippiness. The drips were happening every 2-3 seconds I'd say. The thin puddle on the floor was a few feet in diameter.

Of course, I ran upstairs, and, feeling guilty, started pounding on my neighbor's door. He eventually came to the door, and I apologetically explained the situation. He and I examined the area where water ought to be coming from, but we couldn't see anything. The area in question was also next to the HVAC vent, but we didn't really think anything of it at the time.

So, I called the management company. The woman who answered (thank goodness for 24 hour service) said that she'd call maintenance right away.

An hour passes.

I call again. She seems surprised that I have not seen hide nor hair of said maintenance personnel. She assures me she will call them again.

30 minutes pass.

I call again. Same assurances are given. Dripping had stopped briefly, but started up again. I begin to strongly suspect the air conditioning unit of my neighbor.

30 more minutes pass.

I call again.

20 minutes pass. I am getting understandably vexed. Finally, there is a knock on the door. My wet ceiling and puddly floor are inspected. Maintenance dude leaves and knocks on my upstairs neighbor's door. I listen and hear thumps and evidence of possible progress being made in the a/c ventilation system.

Mr. Maintenance comes back. Evidently water is not draining properly from the drip pan of my neighbor's a/c. Instead, it is draining into my condo. The HVAC repair company has been notified and will *theoretically* show up first thing in the morning. My neighbor's a/c is turned off, and the dripping has stopped.

It is currently almost 5 AM; maintenance has been gone for some time now, but I am unable to sleep. The fear of damage to my home has my adrenaline pumping, and I am irrationally worried that the dripping will start again. My neighbor is very nice; he is not the type to turn on the air conditioning when he knows it will flood my condo. Intellectually, I know there is nothing to worry about, but I am still wide awake... and exceedingly tired. And of course, I can't sleep in; I have to get up and shower and such so that I am presentable for the next round of repair personnel!

Hahaha, that is kind of funny, considering the state of pajamitude I was in when the first guy got here! You'd think I would have had plenty of time to put on appropriate clothing (2+hours), but I was sleepy and was expecting him to call first, not just show up; I assumed I had appropriate changing time! However, there is something about middle-of-the-night visitors that makes pajamas seem more acceptable. Once daylight hits, it feels like I ought to have actual clothes on, yes?

I will close by stating that spell check has selected a couple of words as misspelled, but did NOT highlight "pajamitude". This surprises me!

Enjoying the Out of Doors

Last weekend, I spent some time at my parents' house. One of the things I did was go on a very hilly bike ride with my father... man, I am not used to those hills! And living where I do, I don't really get a chance to practice... let's be honest, I would not practice if I could avoid it! But, it's much hillier where my parents live, so I am forced into the hill climbs.

The next day, my left wrist hurt really badly. I think I put a lot of strain on my wrists when I ride. Not quite sure what to do about it.

I also took my camera into the woods and took some photos. Here are a couple of the ones I thought turned out the best. My parents live in the woods near some good granite quarry spots, and the old hollowed out quarried areas are full of water at times. See if you can spot the wee black tadpoles in the pool of water.

The Sun!!!

It almost feels like a miracle that the sun is shining. I quickly took advantage of it to take some pictures of a few projects I have finished up in the semi-recent past.

First up is the Counterpane Carpetbag, which I actually knitted eons ago, but never got around to sewing it up. I really like how it turned out. I did end up lining it, because I can just imagine stuff inside wriggling its way out through the knitted holes!


Next up, the 4 Corners Dishcloth. You knit one quadrant at a time, and then seam it up using a garter stitch graft, which I had never done before. Slightly different from kitchener stitch.



Next, the Chinese Waves dishcloth. Slipped stitches help to create a nice, waffly texture.


The Varanasi Socks are up next. It's a free pattern... actually, most of them are free, except for the Counterpane Carpet Bag pattern. Not too many people on Ravelry seem to have made the Varanasi socks yet, but I really liked the pattern. I enjoyed that the socks are different in the front and the back. There is a little ribbing up the back of the leg, kind of like a spine.


And finally, the one I'm probably the most excited about, the Easy Ripple Afghan! It's crocheted, and I don't crochet all that often. However, I am quite pleased with how it came out. I like the colors I picked, and the chevron pattern is easy to memorize. Don't you just love it?


That's all for now, folks... I have to go get ready for the weekend!

The 6 Month Report

So, in 43 minutes, it will be the last day of the 6th month of the year... close enough for me to feel as though it is time for a 6 month report on my New Year's Resolution... which was to "spend less money and reduce my debts". In reviewing the post I made about said resolution in January, I can safely say that a lot of the changes I've made have not only become second nature, but have really made a difference in helping me reach my goals.

To briefly review, I first took a look at all of my bills and cut/reduced what I could - quit the gym, changed my cell phone plan, reduced my cable package and Netflix package, and so on.

After trimming whatever bills I could, I decided to write down every penny I spent. I have been doing this every single day since January 1, and it has been very illuminating. Here are a few things I have learned:

1. Coffee and bagels are a slippery slope, and the few bucks add up. Better to make coffee at home, and if you really "need" a bagel, buy them at the grocery store.
2. Writing things down sort of automatically makes me spend less - you can't be in denial about where the money is going.
3. I spend about $350 a month on groceries, eating out, and entertainment. This is actually pretty good, in my opinion. I also think that this is a lot less than I used to spend - again, keeping track seems to be helping.
4. It is a lot harder to earn money back to pay off a credit card bill than it is to just not spend it in the first place. Is that splurge on a fancy new outfit REALLY worth it? Possibly every once in a while, but definitely not every time the urge strikes.
5. My desire to buy new stuff has been seriously dampened. This goes for yarn, too. I've spent about $60 on yarn all year so far, and all of that yarn was either required to finish a project I had already started, or was for a gift I did not have appropriate yarn for.

As for making extra money, I have done various odd jobs, as described before on this blog. The one odd job I continue to do is test knitting. Check this out - I'm on my 19th "for-pay" knitting project since the beginning of the year! Amazingly, during that time, I have also managed to complete 13 projects for myself, including 3 sweaters, 7 pairs of socks, and various other projects. Not too shabby, I must say. I can only imagine how small my stash would be right now if I had been only knitting with my own yarn!

And, finally, I should mention that I am keeping up with my "debt pay-down" plan, as well. I am optimistic that at some point within the next 36 months, I will be able to say that I no longer have a student loan or a second mortgage. Now, that sounds really nice!

So, that's the 6 month status report. I am optimistic that the rest of the year will go well, too. Wish me luck!

Maxi Dress - I'm Confused

Soooo, this spring, everyone is advertising and selling maxi dresses - halter top or spaghetti strap dresses, frequently with an empire waist, and trailing alllll the way down to the ground. I was excited to see this style, because I think it would look good on me. In fact, I actually bought one the other day at Target, and it looks pretty cute!

My confusion is this: who in the world are they making these dresses for??? The one I bought (as well as all of the others I tried on) came all the way down to my feet - the hem actually touches my feet, people! For any of you who have never seen me in person, I'm 5'11" tall... which places me in the top 1% of all women... which means that these danged dresses really couldn't possibly fit anyone whose shoulders are any closer to the ground than mine are, without the dang thing dragging on the ground.

Personally, I am as pleased as punch - a cute, trendy look that I can actually carry off! However, I'm sure it's a look that will fade fast, since the other 99% of women are going to pick the dress up (if they can actually REACH the high-up rack these dresses have to hang from), hold it up to them, and realize a foot of fabric is lying on the ground. A non starter - that dress will never even make it into the dressing room!

ANYWAY, I intend to rock this style for as long as it's still cool - it's a nice way to look glamorous but still be comfy - the dress I got is a knit jersey fabric... nice!

Apologies to the other 99% of women out there... if you have a sewing machine, perhaps you can hem a maxi dress to your liking???

Thankful

At this time of the school year, I am incredibly thankful that I did not receive a pink slip on the 15th. Dozens and dozens and dozens of school employees received them, but I did not receive one. True, most of these people will have these pink slips rescinded prior to the first of the fiscal year (July 1), but they have to wait and worry until then, and my heart goes out to them. I attended a union meeting today, where we discussed possible concessions that we as a unit could offer up to the school board, so as to preserve as many jobs as possible, and I am hopeful that negotiations will go well.

It was hard to sit at this meeting and look around at all of the anxious faces - one woman noted to our table that her husband had just been laid off, and that she also just received a pink slip. What an absolute nightmare!

I worry that things will get worse before they get better, but I am incredibly grateful that I am most likely safe for one more year.

Tossing Some Crochet Into The Mix!

Although I am a knitting fiend, I do also know how to crochet. I've been rather successful in my efforts to bring little to no new yarn into my home, and have been 'shopping the stash' any time I want to start a new project. This past weekend, I didn't really feel like picking up any of my current WIPS, so I impulsively dragged out a BIG bag of acrylic yarn that I bought some time in 2008 (an impulse purchase at the time; no idea why I had planned to make a crochet afghan). What better way to blast through a BIG bunch of stash yarn?

Of course, it is an ill timed project... who wants to keep a big, warm, cozy afghan on their lap while they are working away on it? However, after only a couple of afternoons of work, it's already 16 inches long... at that rate, it will be just over 5 feet long in 8 full evenings... not sure whether those 8 evenings will all be soon or later, but they will happen eventually, I suppose! Irritatingly, I think I will have to buy more yarn to finish the blankie, but if I buy it on sale, it won't be too expensive to complete.

The colors are quite pretty, and it's decent acrylic - check it out so far:



I feel like the colors are a bit richer and prettier in real life. Interestingly, a lot of the colors match the stripey chair I have in my living room... I'm not sure if I'll keep the blankie or give it away... but considering the matchy aspect, maybe I'll keep it!

I was zazzed!

Last night, after trying to make plans with a friend which potentially involved some convoluted idea of when/where to take a bike ride, I became quite zazzed about the idea of riding my bicycle. So zazzed, in fact, that I woke up earlyish and went for a 20 mile ride this morning. I've gone on a handful of rides so far this spring, but none yet where I just rolled out the front door of my home... I had been bringing my bike by car to somewhere so the whole ride would be quiet and pretty. One disadvantage of the 'coming home' part is an unavoidable stretch of cobblestones... quite jangly on a bicycle!

Anyway, it was a very nice ride. I evidently enjoy exercising when it is cool and cloudy out, and this morning did not dissapoint. 55 degrees when I set out, and not a single ray of sun to be seen - perfect! Now that I'm home, I feel a bit clammy, but that is when a hot shower feels best, in my opinion! Anyway, I'll have to break the news to my friend that we will not be going on a ride together this evening; at least, not on bikes!

The sun did start peeping out a little bit near the very end of my ride - I am hopeful that it makes a more grand appearance later on today! Enjoy your weekends, everyone!

Whoa, Another Job?

A while back, I mentioned that part time jobs keep falling in my lap. Today, it happened again! I received a call from Student Support Services (a department within the Lowell Public School Department) saying that there was a family that needed some mental health support over the summer. I won't be too specific about the family demographics, as it would be very easy to identify the family. It is a family that has arrived to the US fairly recently, and they have two children, both of whom have the same noncurable genetic disorder that prevents them from being able to go to school. The disorder is medical in nature, and the school environment is simply too dangerous to their physical well being.

Anyway, the children already receive in home tutoring and nursing assistance, but the school department and the family are worried about isolation and the children's mental health. Enter, me! The specifics of the job are a bit unclear, but it sounds like I might visit a couple of times a week and hang out/ interact with the kids. Even better, it is very close by to where I live, so it's not an annoying schlep anywhere inconvenient.

So, that's all of the information I have at the moment. I was very specific when I said I was not interested in anything more than a few small hours a week - so this would be pretty perfect, wouldn't it!

Great Brook Farm

Yesterday, I went for a nice walk in the woods at Great Brook Farm, in Carlisle, MA. It was an incredibly gorgeous day; I couldn't believe how beautiful a day it was! There were still mosquitoes who chomped away despite the "Australian Rain Forest Tested" bug spray I used, but for some reason, the bites aren't really all that itchy. I am grateful.

I had recently bought a new rechargeable battery for my pocket sized point & shoot digital camera, so I tucked it in my pocket and snapped a few pictures - it's a much easier camera to pack and pull out than the big ol' DSLR I have. I enjoy using the DSLR more, but... it is a bit unwieldy when tromping through the woods.

Here are some of the photos I took:

Look at how many lady slippers there were!


Here is another one... they were everywhere.


A poofy dandelion:



Just LOOK how gorgeous it was!




Another nice feature of this spot is that they have amazing ice cream there. I got butter crunch, and it was incredibly creamy, rich, and wonderful. Yeah, it kind of negates the exercise I did, but hey... it was worth it.

While we sat and ate our ice cream, we saw a bunch of geese across the pond. One of them seemed to be in trouble , flapping around and not following his family into the water. The family swam away, then mom quacked at him and went back to get him, but he did not follow. An intrepid human boy tiptoed toward the situation, and finally he and his dad figured out what was going on... the gosling was trapped with a length of fishing line! The mom watched carefully as the humans freed her baby... and then he swam happily out onto the water and joined the other geese. It was rather exciting, I must say! At first, I didn't realize the gosling was in trouble, and I thought that the boy was going to get nipped by an angry mom, but everything worked out okay in the end.

I saw a few excellent dung beetles, but the photos didn't turn out very well... I'm sure you are all quite disappointed.

Weird Dreams

We all have them. Ever since I've moved into an old mill building, I have occasional dreams relating to living in an old building. My actual home is watertight and snug as a bug, but in my dreams, sometimes there is only part of a roof, letting birds fly right in, and last night, there was water GUSHING down from the ceiling. (In my dream. Not in reality) I stood there, not knowing what to do, and then climbed up on a ladder and tightened a bolt on some pipe going across the ceiling. All gushing water stopped. Evidently, in my dreams, I am a plumbing genius.

I am assuming I dreamed about gushing water for a couple of reasons... it was raining, and I needed to use the "facilities". I will reflect on this theory the next time I dream about my home flooding...

I dunno what I feel like doing this weekend. Anyone have some good plans?

What a Weekend!


Was this weekend lovely, or what? Or, am I only able to remember yesterday, which was sunny and breezy and wonderful? Yeah, I guess that was it, actually.... because now that I think about it, Saturday was downright cold, and Sunday was spent sleepy and snoozy and waiting for the sky to open up... did it ever rain? I can't even remember now.

Monday really was the star of the show. I went to Newburyport to visit my friend Heather, and we went on a nice, long bike ride... I'd guess it was 30+miles. Unfortunately, the wind was fighting against us the whole way home - no wonder the trip out seemed so easy! And also, I evidently did a very poor job of applying my sunblock - dangit! I have lobstery legs and some odd patches of sunburn here and there in odd spots.

After the bike ride, we quickly chowed down some pasta and then walked into town... walking helps get out that lactic acid, of course. Oh, and the new gelato stand was also a contributing factor. Gelato is some good stuff.

Regarding the extra freezy Saturday, well, that was a very nice day, too... despite the fact that I was kinda cold all day! Bike ride, car ride, ice cream (sense a theme here?), and watching the NH Fishercats play ball. And fireworks at the end of the game! I love fireworks! Blammo!

I finally have a new knit-for-pay project, which is being knit out of Classic Elite's Princess yarn. So soft and nice! Merino, viscose, cashmere, angora and nylon. So soft and nice! The pattern has ribbing and cables, and the yarn shows off the patterning very nicely.

I also managed to eke out another pair of socks prior to receiving the pattern... and to start yet another pair. One of these days, I"m going to get someone to take pics of me in the 3-4 sweaters I have yet to photograph... they're good ones!

Now, that's a lotta fiber!

This may sound strange to the knitters out there, but lately, I have been feeling stressed out by my stash. This is particularly true now that I'm doing more knitting for designers, and not knitting out of my stash... I feel like I NEED to knit more, to knit through the stash, for whatever reason. (Designers, don't feel bad - this is MY issue, not yours! ;-) ) I've forgone purchasing yarn for the most part this year... I spent a mere $16 on yarn at SPA in Maine this year, and only added one ball of sock yarn in with an order that I placed when I needed more yarn to finish a project. That sock yarn was featured 2 posts ago, btw... so it's not in my stash!

Okay, I'm sort of meandering away from the point of this post. I decided that in order to better know what I had in my stash, I really needed to photograph and organize it all. The upshot? I own seven pounds of spinning fiber - enough for 22 different projects, actually.

And that's just the spinning fiber. As for yarn, it appears as though I have about 100 different yarns, many of which I have multiple balls of. This includes only FULL balls of yarn that have never been used by me in any other project. It does NOT include the partial balls I have that are left over from years and years worth of projects! I still have delusions of pulling these leftover bits out and knitting up some wacky afghan or something like that. Who knows... maybe someday I will!

So, you might wonder how many years' worth of knitting happiness all of this yarn will give me... well, considering that I have logged about 75 projects (not including for-pay projects I've done this year) since October 2007, I definitely haven't reached SABLE yet. (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy) Perhaps I will actually NEED to go yarn shopping before my 40th birthday, but then again, perhaps I won't!

Now, how in the world am I going to resist buying yarn at the Sock Summit in August, or at Rhinebeck this fall??? Maybe if I make those crazy leftover afghans before then, I can allow myself a little purchase or two???

Oh, and if you are interested in seeing some of the most recent yarns I have stashed, click HERE.

Pics of Lowell

This past weekend was the "Doors Open Lowell" event, which affords people the luxury of exploring numerous buildings that are not always casually opened to the public. This year, I only actually went into one of the buildings, but in years past, I have enjoyed a more full day of exploration. Saturday was perfect for walking around - it was warm and sunny, if not a bit breezy.

The building I did go into was St. Anne's Church, which I chose because I wanted to try and get some photos of some of their stained glass windows. Here are a few shots:










There were many more, but those are a few of the highlights. I was glad it was sunny out, as the windows look so much better with glowing sunlight coming through them.

After looking at the church, it was a perfect day for a walk down by the river. We came across an odd sight; a "start" and "finish" line combo that looked... extremely GRUELING. I mean, that has to be at LEAST 1/10TH OF A MILE THERE!!! Those race coordinators are ANIMALS!




Here are some other shots of stuff.





Next up are some photos from a fascinating statue-y thingy I pass on my walks sometimes. I didn't actually take a picture of the entire thing this go around, just some closeups of the carvings.





Some of the carving sections are quite small - here is a shot with my finger for comparison:


And finally, an arty up-shot:


All in all, it was a very nice day. Coming up, a long weekend with no plans yet...