RENO

So we went to Reno, NV. We left Eugene right around 8:30 am on Thursday morning and pulled into the Hotel around 4;30 or 5 in the evening. For those that don't know there is two common ways to get there from here, one is to go down I-5 and through Mt. Shasta the other is to go through Willamette Pass and go down via Central Oregon. We choose to take I-5 down. The trip down was uneventful which is always a good thing, there was a lot of road construction which of course slows you down.

Here is a shot of Mt. Shasta from I-5.

We had wonderful weather on the way down and on Friday, except for the winds started on Friday. Friday we went out and about, we visited 3 yarn shops that were on my list. I will post pictures later of my haul....hehehe.

Hey girls I found a license plate for you all, take a look...

Then we came across this little gem.....

We went to the Railroad Museum in Carson City on Friday and were greatly impressed, there was some serious history there.

Scott and gang bowled Friday night and did pretty good, we will see just how good in a while. Fingers crossed for the money.

When we got back to Reno Friday we played at the different casinos, no big winners. But needless to say we had fun. I am a people watcher so I was in heaven just watching all the people and everything going on around me. Here is what the Reno sign looks like at night....

Saturday morning we got up and played a little Keno, we just happened to hit a 4 spot which was our big winner for the whole trip, it payed out at $115 not to bad. Then we headed out for the day. we went to the new Cabela's store...all I can say is WOW. This is an outdoor persons dream come true. I can't even begin to describe it, they have just about everything a person could want. They have wonderful displays of wildlife animals in natural settings. If you ever get a chance to go to one you really should.

When we left there we headed to Lake Tahoe. We started our journey at the upper end of the lake and drove around the West side down to the South and came back over Mt. Rose. The highest elevation we were at was right around 8900 ft. The lake is incredible, there was still snow on the ground and the houses. It was chilly and we had high winds. But it really was a great day. Here we are at the North end of the lake...

Here is a view of the lake at Inspiration Point..... On this leg of our trip the winds were blowing, we had 60 mph gusts.

We had to be back in Carson City for bowling at 8 am on Sunday so we called it an early night. We went on down to Carson City and found snow on the ground. The gang bowled and then we all headed out. Talking with everyone and watching the weather channel we had a decision to make ...which way to come home? We ended up coming home through Klamath Falls and then Willamette Pass.

We had pretty much every type of weather possible on our return trip. We started the day off with sunshine and winds, then hit the snow, then we got into some hail, then fog, then we hit more snow, then when we got home we had rain.

I wish I could say the trip home was uneventful but I can't. We were making good time and just cruising along until we made the turn onto Hwy 58, this is the highway that takes you over Willamette Pass. We started out with nice dry pavement no snow, no ice. Then we started getting into the snow, not bad, it was fresh and the sanding truck had just gone through, so all was good. Then it got worse, we went about 5 miles and came upon a wreck, a car on each side of the road, one flipped over on its roof, everyone appeared to be ok. Then about 3 miles from that we hit the ice, we slid a bit, no area to chain up. So at this point we just parked for a bit to regroup and get settled down and then proceeded on our journey.

We went past the ski lodge and all was well, except the icy roads and fear building in us. Then when we got to tunnel we had to sit for about 45 minutes. There was a U-Haul truck with a car dolly and car on the back that jack-knifed just outside of the tunnel.

I have to say I really was scared at this point. Not knowing how long we would be there, what was going to happen, and with the temp dropping who knew what was to come. Anyways a tow truck got the U-Haul out of the way and we were moving again.

When were about 45 minutes from home we hit a snow storm. I was pretty cool to see the snow coming at us the way it was, we could hardly see the road but the snow itself as so pretty.

We ended up pulling into our driveway around 10:30 pm. We hit the road at about 2 pm so we really didn't do to bad on time.

I was so happy to be home. Frank greeted me at the door by jumping on me, as soon as I emptied my hands I picked him up and was greeted with about 5 solid minutes of his puppy kisses. The kids told us he was depressed and refused to eat while we were gone. He is back to normal now and doing well.

So that my friends is the story of our journey to Reno. All in all we had an awesome time. I feel very blessed to have made the whole trip with out any real problems and am very happy to be back home.

I will be taking pictures and posting my LYS haul.

A New Bag

I wanted to knit a new bag to take to Reno, but couldn't find the perfect bag so I borrowed some ideas from several bags and made my own from a combo of bags.

I used the stitch pattern from one, the idea of a flap from another and the over the shoulder strap from yet another. So what does that make....take a look.

I still have to make the button and line the bag but I think it turned out great. I am going to make a button from part of the apple tree we had to take out last year. Our kids helped us plant the tree in our yard shortly after we moved into our house, I thought the apple wood would give the bag a nice natural feel. I used Sugar 'n Cream in Ecru from a cone.

I used seed stitch on the sides and bottom and then used what I beleive is called a s cord for the strap. The s cord is so eazy and has a nice finish. I used 9 stitches, you knit the first 5 and then slip the next 4, turn and repeat. It looks like you have done i cord on each side with a ladder look in between.

IT'S DONE!!!!!!

So I have been working on a ripple pattern wrap for a while now. I don't want to think about how long exactly. I finished it last night and did the weaving in of the ends today. The model wearing is my wonderful daughter. She informed me "Thanks for making it for me Mom. It is so nice and snuggly, see ya" In her dreams.

Anyways I used Bernat Bamboo Natural Blends, I used the colors dill, wicker and lotus. I love how nice it turned out. Daughter is right it really is nice and snuggly. I can't wait to use it on our trip to Reno.

Frank and his ball

So Frank loves his ball. It is your standard tennis ball. In the clip you will hear some clicking type noise, that is Frank compressing the ball. Watch him bounce, not run. We believe he has springs for legs....LOL.

Projects

So I made a crocheted spa cloth today! I couldn't believe how fast it went and even how easy it was to do. I used Sugar 'n Cream Twists in Summer Twists. I know the color is difficult to see in the photos so I will describe it as a lavender, soft green, tan and white twisted combo. It is very pretty and made a wonderful cloth. The pattern I used is Tulip Stitch Cloth the pattern can be found here: http://foothillsofthegreatsmokymountains.blogspot.com/2008/03/tulip-stitch-cloth.html Hers of course is much prettier than mine but I still love mine.

I also made a flower pin for the hat I made earlier this week. I love the colors and it should go with most things.

Update on my life

So I see that it has been some time since I posted anything on here, boy has life been busy and ever changing!!! Where to start? We have a new member to our family. Scott and I adopted a 2 yr old male mini doxie. He came to us with an abusive background but you would never know it, he is the best dog. We absolutely love him, he is smart, well behaved, a real little lover and a quick study. His name is Frank, what else would you name a solid red wiener dog?!?!?! The first pic is the day we brought Frank home and the second pic is about a month later.










I lost my girlie room, just after I had gotten almost complete :( Our son moved back home exactly 10 months to day he moved out. It was also his 20th birthday, as you may guess he didn't have the best birthday.

I have taught myself to crochet. I made the same hat twice. The first one turned out way to small and the second one fits me. I also crocheted a dishcloth. I enjoy crocheting but LOVE knitting. I have completed many projects in the last couple of months. Let see, 2 pairs of socks, 3 hats, a toddler sweater, a sweater for me, several dishcloths, and I am currently working on a wrap. So you can see I have been busy on the knitting front. The first pic is the one that was to small, and the second pic is the one that fits ME.


My wrap, I am using Bamboo yarn for this, and just love it.

We leave for Reno soon. I can't wait, a long weekend, well closer to a week away. Just my darling husband and I. No kids, no pets and no phones. YAY!!! I have a list of LYS to stop at and can't wait.


I am tired and sore tonight, I started back in a water aerobics class. I took a shallow water class last year and loved it, but life got in the way and I had to drop it. So I have decided to take a deep water class 2 mornings a week now and boy there is a difference between the deep water and shallow water class. I can see why it is only 2 mornings a week...LOL. I felt great when i was done but hours later I am feeling the muscles and know that I worked out, that's a good thing, right?