Slow slow slow

G'day all!

It was a slow week this week.  Had lunch with a friend on Monday then had bucketloads of work to do.  The weather was dull for most of the week (after being brilliant early on Sunday) and well, it was a good week for getting work done.  OK, it took until Thursday for me to make any really good headway - I have way too many things I am trying to work on at once, all for the one project, and I keep overthinking stuff.  But the grey encouraged me to stay home.

A hint of the glory to come.

Then on Friday suddenly the weather pulled a stunning reversal.  The fog and cloud cleared and the skies washed to a brilliant blue.  It is times like those days that I marvel that I live in this place.  I also decided I had worked four days and needed a break, so I took off to Richmond Beach, a place I almost went to a year ago but the six or seven way stop by the beach confused me enough that I took the wrong direction and went on an adventure (aka I drove around in circles for a while until I found my way out of the can of worms I was driving in).

There is so much stunning scenery around here, really.

Loggy and pebbly beach but there is sand
to the south of this pic.  Richmond Beach.

I forget how beautiful it can be when I am mired in grey.  Even knowing the grey means it stays green here most of the year round does not help on your fourth day in a row of grey.

But this is a reminder.

Old pilings at Richmond Beach.
Sand from here was used to build places in Seattle.

This place is amazing.

Coastal people monument at Richmond Beach.

It truly is.

Looking south-ish from Richmond Beach

It also means I got a few arty shots of the three little quilts - arty because I couldn't find a big enough rock to throw them over, plus it was windy along the sound.  When it is windy, I have to take quick, less considered shots before the quilt blows away.   They are not big quilts by any means - one hardly qualifies as a lap quilt.   I need to get proper shots of them that show the quilt details and also then tell you the pattern they are based on.

This turned out better than expected
and the back is pretty cool too.

Heh, that one is so wrinkly you can't see detail.

This really is a different quilt.
It has no pink in it.

In other news, Nathan's Valentine's Day socks continue.

Bright socks, fairly good colour representation

I've turned the heel on the second one now so hooray, it won't be too much longer before it is done, then I can move on to something else.  I don't normally knit only one thing at a time but I'm a bit flummoxed by choice at the moment - there are so many things I'd like to make that I'm making none of them because I cannot choose.  I have to finish off a microfleece top that I started today.  It has some really bad wrinkles in the fabric that might never come out, right under the bustline too!  However, given I drafted it from one of my favourite microfleece tops, it is pretty good for a first go.  I have to attach the collar and work out what to do with the front opening (face it and leave it open is my current preference).  If I had enough fabric I'd give it a hood - I love my microfleece top with the hood.  I'll have to go find more fabric to make one without wrinkles now that I know my drafted pattern works, which is good!  Also making the basic body takes no time at all on the overlocker, though the finishing touches of hems and collar will probably take longer than the rest put together.

This week's confession: I bought mascara.  I used to have lovely long, dark lashes (so didn't use mascara except on special occasions) but chemo took them away and now I have stumpy little beggars, a pathetic sprouting.  They don't define my eyes at all, so I bought mascara to "define blue eyes."  Turns out that means it is dark blue with sparkly bits in it.  I just thought it would be dark blue.  The sparkly bits are a bit disturbing, but the mascara works.

Now if only it would get a bit warmer so my poor face recovers from getting chilled when I go outside.  The near freezing temperatures a month or so ago really knocked my skin around - I went pink and hot feeling, like I'd been sunburned, across everywhere bar a strip under my nostrils (presumably kept warm by my breath) and part of my forehead (ditto - no, kidding, probably because of my fringe, less likely because of the heat created by my giant brain.  Hah).  It was weird but I remember something similar happening when we were in Canada over FIVE years ago in December.  OMG.  Five years.  So much has happened since then.

BTW, we saw an otter at Ballard Locks today.  Something almost black with a loooong slim/pointy tail thundered down a bank and under the walkway, then a couple of seconds later we saw what looked like a seal head appear in the water.  It wasn't a seal because seals are porkier and don't have loooong tails.  We'd already noticed a lot of oyster shells cracked around the gardens on the south side of the locks and now we think we know the culprit(s).

This plant used to be green.
We don't think otters did this because they don't fly.

anon!