tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97796492024-03-14T13:02:10.286-05:00WoolgatheringIdle Thoughts From a Not So Idle MindLSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.comBlogger936125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-6443262289799512642016-10-11T17:24:00.005-05:002016-10-12T11:07:53.538-05:00Of Palaces and Codebreakers"Where have you been?
I've been to London to visit the Queen..." (old nursery rhyme)
Our trip fortunately coincided with that time of year that the Queen goes to her castle in Scotland for a getaway and Buckingham Palace is opened to visitors for a tour of the State Rooms. We decided a visit to the Palace and the optional tour of the gardens, followed by High Tea at an elegant hotel LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-49742636925179109972016-10-06T10:44:00.002-05:002016-10-06T11:04:41.230-05:00London's Multiple PersonalitiesOne attraction we all agreed that we needed to put on the London agenda was the British Museum. We slotted it into our first full day of sightseeing and planned on spending the entire day there. We knew that the sheer magnitude of the treasures on display would be more than we could manage to see in just one day, but we planned on seeing as much as we could. We also figured thatLSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-61534190755668654962016-10-04T16:26:00.001-05:002016-10-05T12:36:54.520-05:00Things SherlockSherlock Holmes and I have been friends a very long time. I was about 12, I believe, when Mother recommended I order a copy of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Hound of the Baskervilles from Scholastic Books. (Remember back in the day when you could order wonderful books from Scholastic through your school? I still have a number of those books in my collection, old LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-70703986195007216472016-10-03T16:00:00.002-05:002016-10-04T13:12:03.149-05:00London Calling"...London, that great cesspool into which all the loungers and idlers of the Empire are irresistibly drained..."
The Study in Scarlet, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the first Sherlock Holmes novel
"Just put me back in London. I need to get to know the place again, breathe it in--feel every quiver of its beating heart."
BBC Sherlock, The Empty Hearse (LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-29940410618005296552016-09-29T21:18:00.001-05:002016-09-29T21:57:07.405-05:00On the Subject of Bathrooms in Britain and Other Oddities(This was the only thing I wrote on the entire trip while it was happening, hence the present tense and a bit of repetition from my previous post.)
At this point on the trip, we've stayed in eight different hotels across England, Wales and Scotland, with two more to go. I've been quite pleased with the accommodations for the most part. I had expected that traveling as a single on aLSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-24120832464777888472016-09-29T15:54:00.001-05:002016-09-29T19:46:40.791-05:00Life on the Road with a Group TourWhen contemplating a first trip overseas, you have to decide which approach to take: (1) plot the trip yourself and commit to renting a car and hoping you can cope with whatever the local roads and drivers throw at you, (2) plot the trip yourself and commit to using public transportation, or (3) join a group tour and let the professionals take care of the details. We opted for a LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-67119809778434239992016-04-19T14:44:00.001-05:002016-04-19T14:44:27.382-05:00Brain Scatterings
Random things brightening my week...
1.
Last night I went a couple of houses down the street for a neighborhood meeting and I was greeted at the door by a 3 month old toy poodle who caused me to wish longingly for a new baby in the house. She tore around the room, deliriously happy that so many new folks had come to see her, and was literally bouncing off the walls, the furniture, LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-8314558900832570162015-10-12T11:59:00.004-05:002015-10-12T12:03:38.372-05:00Regenerating
Life sometimes takes a little dip into the dark side. For the most part, I rock along fairly content with life. But every so often it seems like everything goes arse over teakettle and before you know it, I'm in a black mood and struggling to find my way back to my happy place.
I've had worse tumbles into the grumpy zone, but last week did try my patience to the critical point. &LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-44518145068024196582015-08-08T12:04:00.000-05:002015-08-08T12:10:14.026-05:00Heart Over MindMy mind knows that I need to stick with my de-cluttering goal and not be dragging in more stuff to fill the holes I've managed to make in the storage areas.
My heart keeps over-riding my mind and telling me to give a good home to estate sale finds.
I think my heart will always win this debate, drat the luck.
My association with Dixie's has plugged me into their estate sale activities and I've LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-34992869553747576512015-07-27T14:21:00.004-05:002015-07-27T14:33:22.540-05:00Touring the Backroads
Back during the monsoon season in May, Cousin Glynda alerted me to a historical tour that was going to take place via bus in parts of Bastrop, Williamson and Lee Counties. She knew that my maternal grandparents had lived in that area during my childhood and, given my family history bent, thought I might be interested in tagging along. It turned out that the tour was to be based on a LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-81696992921433117612015-07-21T10:33:00.000-05:002015-07-21T15:32:47.537-05:00Making the ConnectionsBack in February when we started making reservations, I ran into a bit of a problem. The root of that problem was that I don't fly very often and I haven't learned the tricks of getting where I want to be if the airlines don't happen to have the right combination available as a choice. I was wanting to fly in and out of small town airports and the round trip combinations offered just LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-33389271007566081422015-07-17T15:28:00.001-05:002015-07-17T15:56:04.884-05:00The Scenic RoutesBy request, I am inserting this post to give more specifics about the various routes we took on our scenic sight-seeing. If you happen to find yourself between Durango and Crested Butte, I can recommend them all, with the warning that a good high clearance vehicle with 4-wheel drive is pretty much required for the really spectacular views. Also, some of the roads we traveled are onlyLSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-6650536367408006262015-07-16T17:36:00.002-05:002015-07-16T19:26:34.716-05:00On Top of the World
After leaving Cold Spring Campground, we kept climbing up the canyon toward Taylor Park. Taylor Park is a fishing hub that sits at a crossroads with a gorgeous lake and mountain view. Just before we reached the little settlement, we stopped for photos at our usual spot, a scenic overlook of Taylor Lake.
Picture perfect day
David and Karen
At the crossroads you can turn left LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-78071403063733843842015-07-12T20:39:00.002-05:002015-07-12T20:40:01.426-05:00Driving Up the CanyonOne place we almost always have to visit when we are in Colorado is a small government campground above Gunnison on the Taylor Canyon Road. Mother's and David's first trip to Colorado was spent in that campground, sharing the large pop-up camper that George was living in that summer as he played campground host. It's a primitive campground with no hookups, so I was never tempted to LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-24295991108006660712015-07-12T09:53:00.002-05:002015-07-12T10:00:50.279-05:00Mountaineering, Part 2A few hours with the breathtaking beauty of Lake Irwin left us ravenously hungry, so we decided it was time to tour the town of Crested Butte, with the first order finding a place to lunch. Crested Butte has changed a little bit from the time I knew it so well, not so much in appearance as in content. It used to be a sleepy little town with jewelry and art stores, tourist trap stores LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-13930706405495142932015-07-11T19:30:00.001-05:002015-07-12T09:54:59.736-05:00MountaineeringThe first time I visited Crested Butte, I knew nothing about the area. We spent all our time in the small tourist town with shopping the boutiques and jewelry stores. I knew there was something special about the place (and I don't just mean the mountain that juts up to a sharp crest just outside of town), but there wasn't time to explore and I had not yet embarked on my ruthless LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-14138722274584669942015-07-04T12:15:00.001-05:002015-07-04T12:20:05.678-05:00Camping 2015 Style
Back when we used to make the summer run to Colorado every year, we generally stayed at campgrounds. Mother and I purchased a pop-up tent trailer to pull behind first her red Bronco II and later my blue Bronco II. Our first trip I had some issues with getting the trailer properly situated in the assigned slot, but I quickly became an expert in maneuvering the trailer into theLSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-8340425266456315332015-07-02T16:11:00.002-05:002015-07-02T16:11:30.283-05:00Standing on the Brink
I had to take a brief hiatus in blogging thanks to a wonky internet connection the last 3 days of the trip, so I hope I remember things well enough to report the remainder of our outings.
After leaving Ouray, we headed to the Gunnison area and on the way we stopped to explore the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Back when I first visited this lovely place, it was a National LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-69260777946298668112015-06-29T07:39:00.003-05:002015-06-29T07:41:49.844-05:00Soaring to New HeightsI've been to Telluride many times in the past and have never been able to decide how I feel about it. It is a gorgeous little town, but it is a town that caters to the rich and famous and I've generally felt out of place there. Telluride sits in a box canyon, surrounded by breathtaking mountain views that include a stunning waterfall high on the mountain in front of you as you drive LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-5914896595153580502015-06-28T08:04:00.000-05:002015-06-28T08:04:51.905-05:00Shifting to Low GearThe trip to Ouray from Durango was a long day of mountain driving - illustrated with unbelievably gorgeous scenery, but ending with three tired travelers by the time we got settled into our new accommodations. We are spending a few days at a B&B on Main Street in Ouray where we have the entire second floor to ourselves with private front and back decks, a view overlooking the historic LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-27001068880744436392015-06-26T00:22:00.000-05:002015-06-26T00:22:42.635-05:00Engine, Engine No. 473As best I can remember without being at home so I can check the photo archives, my first trip to Colorado was in 1986. Mother's friend George was working as camp host for a government campground outside Gunnison and she talked me into going with her for a visit. She and David had made the trip a year or so earlier and she wanted me to see Colorado. I wasn't all that enthused, LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-73774258779166013762015-06-25T06:33:00.000-05:002015-06-25T06:33:08.107-05:00Spiritual PilgrimagesSo I seem to be continuing a theme - pilgrimages.
Once upon a time I made a yearly pilgrimage to Colorado, something that was essential at the time because being in the Rockies leveled me and restored my spirit and provided inspiration for another year. Some years Mother and I went together, some years David joined us. Back in the day we pulled a pop-up trailer along and spent time LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-4300737409727653202015-06-21T22:55:00.002-05:002015-06-21T22:59:03.003-05:00Pilgrimages and Kinship
I've had so many positive experiences as a result of the time I spent several years ago creating a family history website. I've been remiss in recent years in keeping the website updated due to some software issues, but even so it continues to reap benefits. I've had many distant cousins get in touch with information and photographs over the years and my family history is much, much LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-40274956262726736682015-02-09T19:50:00.000-06:002015-02-09T19:56:23.783-06:00Knit 1, Purl 1, Sip Tea
I've mentioned before how I allow myself to buy birthday presents for me during the month surrounding my actual birthdate. This year I started early.
I blame a magazine called "Tea Time". I pick up a copy now and again because I love to read the recipes for tiny sandwiches, biscuits (cookies) and scones that would be fitting to serve at an afternoon tea. While standing in LSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9779649.post-13280320431315201072015-01-06T08:38:00.001-06:002015-01-06T13:43:21.257-06:00The Fandom Shawl
I think the term we will use is "fangirl". I sometimes develop a fatal attraction to something and then get so totally focused on it that I will look for ways to incorporate my fascination into my daily routine.
Which is how The Perfect Storm Shawl came into being.
The name has nothing to do with the fact that the shawl is made from a stormy grey yarn. It has to do with why ILSWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608749083072334979noreply@blogger.com1