Uncategorized – Page 35

May 3, 2014April 25, 2014

Vogue Knitting Live in Seattle Inspires

Vogue Knitting Live is a terrific showcase and provides inspiration from workshops to art, to new fibers, and new designs.

Sweater designs displayed at entrance t Vogue Knitting Live

My knitting enthusiasm seems to have disappeared with the rain in California. I have plenty of projects to work on, but I lack motivation. Then I read about Vogue Knitting Live in the Knitter’s Review blog. I found the basic information on the website. I had work and church commitments that limited my time so I signed up for one afternoon workshop and planned my trip to Seattle so I could spend the afternoon learning to speed steek and then shop for a few hours in the Expo.

Yarn tasting where knitters could try out different fibers.

Steeking is a technique used in Nordic knitting where you knit in the round and then crochet a safety edge and then take scissors and CUT an opening in the yarn. When I was in Norway last summer I bought the yarn to make a Norwegian style sweater and thought this class would be both challenging and practical. I arrived in the nick of time to take my class from Ragga Eiricksdottir from Iceland. She did a great job explaining the properties of Lopi, the technique of steeking plus passing along tips. As we knit she shared some of her current projects, information on her wool cooperative in Iceland. She also explained how they bring the sheep down from the mountains at the end of summer and sort them by their ear tags to their proper owner to over winter.

Rigga and her friend like to find Icelandic sweaters in thrift stores and rework them in cool ways. — Ragga and her friend like to find Icelandic sweaters in thrift stores and rework them in cool ways.

I would LOVE to participate in sheep sorting in 2015. I added it to my travel wish list.

The expo included the usual booths with yarn shops and specialty items. It also offered “yarn tasting” with dozens of different fibers to touch and try out. Plus there was an outside aisle featuring many yarn artists.

I spun the “wheel of fortune” and kept landing on “spin again”. After about 7 spins I finally won a bag of yarn and a pattern book. Yeah!

I enjoyed so much about my trip to Seattle that even if Vogue Knitting Live had been a bust my trip would have been worthwhile. The one frustration was how far the event was from downtown Seattle, thus requiring me to rent a car. The Meydenbauer Center is in the suburbs surrounded by a sterile neighborhood.

Did my knitting mojo come back? Not exactly. I do not know whether it is my preoccupation with cycling that has dampened my enthusiasm, or just a slump. I am trying some advice I read to knit every day for 10 minutes regardless of how you feel. I am trying this and one benefit is that you steadily make progress.

I recommend checking out one of the Vogue Knitting Live events already scheduled: in Chicago in October and New York City in January, 2015.

April 23, 2014April 20, 2014

Taking Napa Valley for Granted

I live just 45 minutes from Napa Valley. Lucky me, right? Yet I rarely take advantage of the amazing food and beautiful landscapes. Mainly because I am not a big drinker, as in hardly ever. When I do enjoy a glass of wine I pay dearly that night or the next day. So when I go wine tasting with friends I am the designated driver.

Wine crusher statue greets visitors to Napa Valley

Over the years I have had many, many great meals in Napa, Yountville, St Helena and Calistoga. Recently I participated in 2014 Global Co-Active Summit at the Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa. I took my Brompton bike to be able to ride everyday. The Meritage is located in an industrial park right on the other side of the hill that the Wine Crusher statue. There is a great walk through a vineyard to a pretty view once the morning fog burns off.

Meritage Resort pool area from hill walk.

The cycling opportunities are a little less readily available from the Meritgage. The Summit kept me busy and my riding was limited to the industrial park. I having been thinking about driving back to the Valley to ride some hills. I found this great blog post on 7X7 SF offering 6 bike routes.

The Meritage is staffed by exceptionally friendly and capable people, but the food service was limited for some mysterious reason, so I jumped on Trip Advisor and Yelp looking for a Mexican restaurant. The first place I looked for did not appear to exist. I drove a few more blocks to an address for another taco place by another name. Instead I found the Hacienda Taqueria at 1851 Old Sonoma Road. It was very authentic and affordable. The freshly made chips are delicious. The hot sauce on the tacos is very spicy and the chicken enchiladas very delicious. Went back two nights later with friends when we needed some quick, filling, tasty food to go.

I will share when I try one of the routes from the 7X7 SF blog post.

April 19, 2014April 18, 2014

Prepping for Le Tour

I rode out towards Winters about 8 a.m. The sun was shining and the farmers were already plowing and planting transplants. A welcome site in this drought. A red wing blackbird perched on the fence sang in full song as I whizzed by on my new bike, yes NEW road bike. I quietly passed wild turkeys grazing along the side of the trail as the spring sunshine caught the beautiful colors on their feathers. My new Trek Lexa is super fun to ride.

I bought the bike from Joe at the Freewheeler Bicycle shop in Davis. He did a superb job fitting the bike to me and his colleague helped me learn to use the clipless pedals on the trainer when I picked up the bike. They adjusted the pedals so they are easy to clip in and out. I am still nervous about all of my bike handling skills and gaining confidence with every kilometer.

I am 10 weeks away from my departure for Le Tour de France. I am using Bicycling magazine’s Simple Plan to get in shape. The Simple Plan is a six week training plan by Selene Yeager and Leslie Bonci. It is living up to its name and it pushes me on my gear shifting skills.

In March I set a goal of riding every day for 30 minutes. It was an achievable goal and it motivated me to take Black Beauty to Seattle so I could keep riding. At the end of the 30 days I felt much stronger and comfortable on my bike. I made the pledge to ride everyday in April with the 30DaysofBiking. So 3 days a week I do an interval training ride and the other days I ride to commute or to relax.

Davis Adult School offered a bike repair class and conversational French class–both on Tuesday evenings. I decided that knowing how to repair my bike would be a useful skill for the long haul and not just this summer. We work on our bikes at the workshop at Martin Luther King Continuation High School. I had to laugh though, when I told one of the women who is an accomplished bike mechanic why I wanted to take the class she laughed and said, “You don’t need to know how to change a tire. The ratio of men to women in cycling is so great that all you have to do is wait by the side of the road and someone will fix it for you.” Hmmm. Not my style. Then I met a woman from Montreal who speaks fluent French and she said, “Well you can’t really learn much French in 10 weeks.” All I can say is Theo, our instuctor is a great teacher and I am enjoying the class.

People in my class are fascinated by my Brompton foldable bike. As soon as I am done overhauling Gidget (my beach cruiser) I will watch some more videos on the Brompton website and take it in and practice changing tires and other repairs. I found a great bike shop in San Francisco, Huckleberry Bicycles, that carries Brompton Bikes and parts.

It is getting real.

April 16, 2014April 6, 2014

San Diego and Storylines Conference

Even when it rains San Diego is still beautiful. I registered my daughter Sarah and myself for Don Miller’s Storylines conference even though it flying from Auckland and going straight from San Francisco Airport to Sacramento to fly to San Diego. It was worth the effort to hear Anne Lamott talk about her writing practice that same evening.

General Session at Storylines Conference, San Diego

We quickly checked into Humphrey’s Half Moon Bay Inn and the desk clerk announced that we got a free upgrade to a suite. Lovely, at first. Our room was super roomy and had a plethora of televisions and a view of the marina. We had no opportunity to enjoy it as we spent the next couple of days at Point Loma Nazarene University for the conference. We were let down by housekeeping, including finding sand in my bed (and I never went to the beach!)

The Storylines conference attracts mostly “Jesus people” though not exclusively, and mostly 20-somethings though not exclusively. We connected with another mother-daughter pair from Oregon who offered transportation to a Denny’s to get something approximating dinner on Thursday night. We connected with other people over meals in the campus dining hall including two young woman who left for a New Zealand vacation the next week! It is not easy to generalize about why people were there, (Read Raechel Wong’s guest blog) I would guess that it was for spiritual growth and inspiration to live a more adventurous life. Most people had a more “millennial” attitude toward their faith–faith in action, not a spectator sport. One of the clear favorites at the conference was Bob Goff who had a line of people waiting for a word and a hug everytime he attended a session. My curiosity overwhelmed me and a I bought and read his book Love Does. Wow.

Sarah and I enjoyed our time in San Diego so much that she and her husband decided to return for a fun weekend. She is giving Humphrey’s another chance. It is a great location–near airport, on the shoreline.

April 12, 2014April 6, 2014

Eat, Sleep, Bike in Seattle

A blue sky day like this one is the kind that suckers Californians into moving to the Pacific Northwest. Of my three days in Seattle I had this stunner, and rain, and clouds and rain. I traveled to Seattle for a combination of personal and business reasons. I have not been to Seattle in a few years and it has increased its cool factor in my absence.

Eat

I ate so well that I am glad I took my Brompton to get some exercise each day. And it was Pi(e) Day on my last day there!

I stayed in the hip and chic Hotel Andra, centrally located in the heart of downtown and surrounded by a number of Tom Douglas restaurants. My colleague and I had a great meal at Serious Pie. I ate a tasty greek salad at Lola, although the slab of feta was a challenge to eat in bite size pieces. And after seeing the Pi(e) Day reminder, I started my day with a slice of coconut cream pie and coffee at Dahlia Bakery.

Starbucks Coffee — Drinking local means Starbucks

I also enjoyed coffee guilt free at Starbucks. Where else can you drink local coffee, at Starbucks? My colleague and I had an adventure trying to find the Pike Street Fish Fry that UrbanSpoon said had amazing fish and chips. We started at Pike Place Market and walked most of the way to Capitol Hill before we found it. It was worth the effort.

Pi(e) Day inspired me to seek out a berry pie at A La Mode Pies across from the Woodland Park Zoo. If I did not already have my heart set on Marionberry Hazlenut, I would have been torn between Chocolate Caramel Pecan Tart and Star-Spangled Sour Cherry.

Slice of Marionberry Hazelnut — Slice of Marionberry Hazlenut

Sleep

I received an email from Stash Hotels telling me about Hotel Andra. I looked up the reviews in Trip Advisor and then making my reservation via Booking.com. I enjoyed every aspect of my stay. The staff especially excelled in making my stay a success. the bellman especially offered great advice about biking routes. My room was very comfortable and the wifi very fast. I will gladly stay here again.

Bike

Bicycle and jogging path through the Sculpture Park. — Bicycle and jogging path through Sculpture Park

I brought Black Beauty along so I could be sure to keep my commitment of riding my bicycle every day for 30 minutes. I had a terrific ride along the shoreline one morning. Another day I rode to the Seattle Center and around downtown. Seattle has invested in bike paths and there were large numbers of bicycle commuters on the street. Impressive considering the inclement weather.

April 9, 2014April 6, 2014

Tiburon: More than a Saucelito Alternative

Last month when the rest of the nation was in the grip of the polar vortex, I found myself driving across the Golden Gate Bridge on a glorious blue sky day.

My beautiful friend Ray was visiting friends in San Francisco for the weekend and called me to join them for lunch in Tiburon. I used the jaunt to the Bay Area to take care of some bike business and so found myself crossing the Golden Gate to get to Tiburon in Marin County. The mid-day traffic was moving and I was making good time, so I pulled off at the popular vista point on the Marin side of the bridge. Every family visiting San Francisco that weekend seemed to be here to take photos. It was worth the effort navigating a parking space.

Continuing on past the turn off to Saucelito, I was not sure how difficult it was going to be to get to Tiburon, yet I was thankful Ray did not choose a restaurant in Saucelito as the last couple of times I have tried to drive through I have been caught in seriously slow traffic on the main drag. Soon enough I was zipping down a beautiful road that hugs the bay to Tiburon.

What a gem of a place! I passed a large gathering of bicyclists to park in the public parking (not free). We met up at Guaymas Mexican restaurant next to the ferry terminal. We could watch people coming and going from our outdoor table. Climate change stinks except when you can eat outside on a winter’s Saturday and worry about getting a sunburn.

The food was good. The company made the lunch great. We had fun talking and trying each others food. I asked about all of the cyclists and Ray and friends explained that a lot people ride from SF, across the bridge to Tiburon and then take the ferry home. Brilliant.

Afterward we walked around the corner to Caffe Acri for a coffee and dessert. Perfect accent to a beautiful day with my beautiful friend Ray.

March 27, 2014March 23, 2014

Perfect Bainbridge Island in Pugent Sound

Children learning to knit at Churchmouse Yarns and Tea.

I needed to learn more about the Seattle tunnel project, so I timed it with the Vogue Knitting Live event and arrived a little early so I could visit my friends Kathy and Tedd Kraft on Bainbridge Island. I rented a cherry red Fiat 500 from Dollar and scooted to the ferry terminal. I joined the queue and waiting about 20 minutes for the next ferry to take me the short 30 minute ride to Bainbridge Island. I had my Brompton bike in the boot of the car and I thought I would ride into town. It is only a short walk from where the ferry lets out. Time was pressing. And I wanted to visit the Churchmouse Yarn and Tea Shop; I read about it in a knitting magazine and it sounded delightful. I had a short time before it closed. I easily parked the Fiat and was quickly distracted by the Blackbird Bakery. How to choose among the delectable from scratch baked goods?! I drug myself away and around the corner to the Churchmouse. It deserves all the praise heaped on it. I walked in and found class was in session for a determined group of young ladies. I almost started hyperventilating from all of the fiber temptation. I was determined to keep my baggage light so I focused on knitting patterns. The staff was very helpful. I do not understand why but sometimes knit shop staff is grumpy as if I am interrupting their knitting time instead of bringing custom. The two women who helped me were enthusiastic and friendly. A few minutes later I was meeting my friend Kathy and visiting her boat at the Harbor, passing by the Pegasus Coffee shop where the entire coffee craze was born in the USA, and driving to another part of the island to a lovely home on the water where Kathy and Tedd are enjoying their retirement–as much as these two slow down. I was really impressed by the open friendliness of everyone I met. The weather was kind on that day and it made the Island even prettier. Over dinner Kathy and Tedd told me about some of the biking events. I will time my next visit with a bike event. And I will definitely visit again.

March 20, 2014March 18, 2014

Our Most Thrilling Experience Together, Ever

The most thrilling experience Mom and I have shared is flying in a helicopter and landing on a glacier above Milford Sound. She might argue that it was my birth, but I need only remind her that I was not a very cooperative newborn. I also present as evidence that on this day in February were both smiling.

Karen (Mom) and American Julie on board helicopter

Pilot Sarah of Milford Helicopters lifted off the ground with us carefully belted in the back and another couple alongside her. We all had our earphones on and so she might have heard me exclaim, “Oh, this is awesome.”

Neither of us had flown in a helicopter or landed on a glacier until now. We flew into Milford Sound, climbed up the face of a cliff and tipped over the edge (keep breathing!). Then we flew over mountain peaks to Mount Tutoko and lowered onto the glacier.

Pilot Sarah instructed us to get out carefully and only walk to the front of the helicopter. We gingerly dropped onto the glacier and then enthusiastically snapped photos. I even took a picture of the so blue sky.

We climbed back in the helicopter and this time we rode in the front. My mom was still wearing her grin. (She did not stop smiling the entire trip.) We lifted off from the glacier and flew over more mountain peaks to a landing pad just on the other side of the one-way tunnel and met up with our terrific bus driver and continued with our group back to Queenstown. The entire trip was the most thrilling and memorable 30 minutes Mom and I have enjoyed together.

March 18, 2014

Beauty Through a Fire Hose: Milford Sound

I had read so many rapturous accounts of Milford Sound that part of me expected to be a little let down. Then we got to Queenstown and I was so bowled over by the beauty and I wondered if it could be better than the views of Lake Wakatipu or the Remarkable mountains.

Yes it can.

We booked the Real Journey‘s tour of Milford Sound and joined a busload of people heading out of Queenstown at 7 a.m. in the morning. We drove along Lake Wakatipu and then entered an agricultural valley with sheep and commercially-reared deer in the paddocks lining the 2 lane road. When we entered the area called Fairlight I felt my body relax and exhale a sigh. The light and air were so lovely. We stopped at Mirror Lake and we gaped at the beauty. We took a bathroom break and grabbed a coffee in Te Anau (Tea Ah Now). I grabbed some yummy meat pies at the bakery even though we were provided lunch as we boarded the boat. I was surprised that you had to pay $1NZ to use the public facilities. These were outlawed in California in the 1970s because they are discriminatory to women (men can go anywhere!) However, there was a full time attendant and it was very clean.

At last we arrived at the Milford Sound harbor and moved from the bus to a boat. Mom and I hung out on the prow of the boat, braving the elements to avoid getting seasick. The wind was strong on the way out and not a factor on the return. The weather was so fine it was stunning.

Milford Sound is a fiord and a mighty fine fiord. I kept my eyes wide open for a kea parrot or a Fiordland penguin. Alas the only wildlife visible were New Zealand seals.

I took 589 pictures on this day! These are just a few of the wonderful snaps I captured.

One of many waterfalls in Milford Sound.

March 7, 2014

Dining New Zealand Style

This lamb burger with bacon and avocado inspired much photography.

There is a lot to love about dining in New Zealand. Fresh, local food is easy to find. Gluten free is catered to, although the regular breads are phenomenal so I am happy I am not sensitive to gluten. The eggs are all free range and some of the yolks are so yellow as to be neon orange from a diet of greens. The dairy products are among the best in the world. (I ran the gauntlet of US customs to bring home Edam cheese.) The beef and lamb are yummy because they are grass-fed. The wine, the bacon, the honey… obviously I could go on and on.

This lamb dish was delicious and beautiful.

The food in New Zealand is not cheap. Even when you factor in the exchange rate (lowers price to Americans and Brits), and tax is included in your bill, and tipping is not customary, food is more expensive than in the United States. There are no 99 cent deals on any menus. Step out of the mindset of quantity over quality, “value” equals mass, and embrace the idea of high quality, tasty food served in just enough quantities.

Cafe Kohi on Tamaki Drive on a summer day.

Then enjoy dining outdoors whenever possible. And treat yourself to dessert.

The coffee is also an art form. Is it the milk that makes the flat white so special? Or the coffee? I could write a whole post just on coffee, however a young American living in Auckland has done such a good job I am going to refer you to Sedona Wilson’s blog post. Good on you Sedona for capturing the magic of a coffee in New Zealand.

P.S. Hokey Pokey is a Kiwi specialty and means it contains honeycomb.

Chocolate and Hokey Pokey ice cream tastes great at top of gondola in Queenstown