more Hawaii

Sorry to disappear like that. The week seems to have whipped past me without me noticing. Here's a continuation of our Hawaii adventures...

After spending half a day stomping around Pearl Harbour (and it is a fantastic historical site. We ran out of time so we didn't get to tour the USS Missouri or the submarine. Next time, we'll allot a entire day), we waited, and waited for the shuttle (which never arrived) to take us to the Aloha Stadium swap meet. We ended up hopping in the car and driving over. It's massive. Imagine walking around an entire football stadium full of stalls selling stuff. So. Much. Stuff. And it's all so cheap. Hubby and I bought some Hawaiian hats. We got a couple of Hawaiian shirts. You could buy quilts:


I bought a small cushion cover from this vendor. We also found a bakery stall and I bought some haupia flavoured Hawaiian Pretzels (OMG - deep fried crispy goodness) and hubby picked a coffee cake.

We drove over to Aiea for a little more shopping - hubby went to a bike store and I went to Fabric Mart. Wow. That place is amazing. So many fabrics! I mostly bought Hawaiian prints (for skirts & tops). I think my jaw dropped when I walked in the door.

We headed back to the hotel for their cocktail & entertainment hour (music, shiatsu, drinkies). The drive back took forever. Traffic is a nightmare. The highway is 6 lanes across in each direction and it's jam packed. Even after we got off the H1, it was crazy busy on the side roads all the way back to the hotel. I'll never complain about traffic at home again.

We eventually wandered over to the Hilton across the street in search of some supper. Hubby had a tip about a pizza place that was half decent. We found it and hubby ordered a Hawaiian pizza (ham & pineapple). Only he would eat a Hawaiian pizza in Hawaii. We wandered around the shops after supper and imagine my surprise when I saw this:


It's mounted on the outside of a hotel. The outside. That is completely unheard of out here. In fact, the hotel lobby was completely open to the elements. Don't they worry about critters getting into the building?

That's it - our first full day in Hawaii and it was spectacular.

Pearl Harbour

Our first stop was a very sobering visit to Pearl Harbour. Almost 70 years later, the impact of the Japanese attack is still very much apparent. I could feel every one of the 1000+ lives lost while standing on the USS Arizona memorial.


The moment of silence that I observe every Remembrance Day will have new meaning to me.


ETA: You can click on the pics for a bigger image. But here's what the above plaque says:

Dear Lord / Lest I continue / My complacent way / Help me to remember
Somehow out there / A man died for me today. / As long as there be war
I then must / Ask and answer / Am I worth dying for?

Poem Eleanor Roosevelt kept in her wallet during World War II

aloha

We're back from a week in Hawaii. We had a great time but it's good to be back home with our kitties. The day after we got home, I got hit by the flu. Hubby got sick in Hawaii so it was just a matter of time before I got sick, too. I've been flat on my back for three whole days. Today is the first time I've felt vaguely human.

We picked the perfect week to go. Our area experienced record breaking low temps plus a huge dump of snow. Lucky for us, the snow melted and it warmed up before we came home.

I'll be posting more pics and stories about our vacation shortly. Mahalo!

Ricky and the pawbreaker

Last month, I posted about a new cat toy - the Pawbreaker. Well, I got a video of Ricky playing with it (see - I told you there'd be more cat movies :) You'll have to excuse the poor lighting - Ricky knocked the thing into a dark corner.

Phoebe and the cycling jersey

Our cats are attracted to some pretty unusual things. For example, Ricky likes the smell of feet & loves sticking his head into a freshly vacated shoe. He'll roll around like he's on a catnip high. And he'll only do it with hubby's shoes. Phoebe has a similar attraction to hubby's clothes. In particular, his stinky cycling stuff - the stinkier the better. Enjoy:

(We got a Flip video camera at Christmas so expect more cat videos)



Hubby must have a scent that the cats find irresistible. He is their favourite lap/sleeping spot/cuddle buddy.

PS. We don't leave clothes all over the floor. I took this video in the bathroom while hubby was showering.

wacky weather

Thurs was an incredibly crazy weather day. Hail started falling from the sky and kept falling. After about half an hour, my backyard looked like this:


The pellets weren't very big but there was a lot of them and it kept coming down:


It was very localized - starting about 2km to the west of my house and ending about 3km to the east. So drivers weren't prepared and many got into trouble. I had to drive to my weekly quilt meet-up and saw many accidents/stuck cars. There were two Miatas spinning out on the hwy. I got stuck behind a semi waiting to turn left. The road that he was trying to reach was blocked by a semi with a back wheel perched on the center median. The cab was pointing uphill which made it impossible for him to move. I had to drive around the semi waiting in the left turn lane and then drive around the one that was stuck. When I got to the top of the hill, there was a police car blocking the road. A minivan was perpendicular to the road and wasn't able to move out of the way. I was forced to turn left and go the long way around the golf course. You can see pics of the stuck yellow semi and the mini van in the Vancouver Sun's website. My car did fine driving in the mess - love my 4 wheel drive and super fancy snow tires! My Dad asked me on Wed when I was going to take my snow tires off. I think I'll wait until March just to be sure because they're predicting snow for the beginning of next week. Didn't the groundhogs forecast an early spring this year?!?!?!

Not a lot of knitting this week. My sock mojo has up and left me. There are half finished socks all over the house and I have no interest. This is very odd.

I haven't blocked the fuzzy Sasquatch sweater pieces because I don't have anywhere to lay it out to dry. The guest bed is currently occupied - I'm looking at you, Ricky!

I made the necessary repairs to the pink sweater. I shortened and reknit the cuffs on the sleeves. I also took out the ribbing on the body and lengthened it. But when I was done and tried it on, the center cable panel looked "wrong". Like I'd forgotten to cable at the bottom. So I ripped it out again, added an extra cable twist in the appropriate place, and reknit the hem. It's also waiting to be blocked.

Yesterday and today are bright, sunny days and it seems like the hail never even happened. Ricky is very happy about the sunshine.


Awwwwwww!

utter & complete sweater failure

I finished the Mondo Cable Pulli:


But I can't wear it. The body blocked out to the correct measurements yet my belly button gets drafty when I wear it. The length in the back is fine but I think the cable pulls the fabric up so the front needs to be longer to compensate. Either that or "the girls" are too big. I'm going to rip out the ribbing and add an inch and see how that looks. The second problem is the sleeves. They are very, very looooong. So long that you can't even see my thumbs. Those'll be ripped back and reknit. I am so happy that I didn't weave in all the ends before blocking.


I started another sweater while I was waiting for the pink one to dry. I'm using this crazy super bulky furry yarn called Gedifra Sombra (80% wool, 20% nylon) that will make me look like sasquatch's younger sister when I wear it.


I started knitting Fri - completing the front, the back, and one sleeve over the weekend. The pattern calls for 13 balls of yarn. I was halfway through the 12th ball with one more sleeve (120g) and the collar to knit plus seaming. I double checked my gauge and all my measurements and everything looks right. I even weighed some of the balls to see if any were short.

I knit the second sleeve and half the collar (I don't want it that wide) using the very last bits of the 14th skein this morning. I will have to unravel my 12g gauge swatch for seaming in order to avoid breaking into a 15th ball. Because I used extra yarn, I don't think I have enough to knit my sister's sweater. I got the Sombra at a big sale and I doubt there's any left. Pooh!