So far. So good.

It felt like the final stage of a long pilgrimage as we walked about 15 minutes across town and through he doors of Twisted.  It's awesome, Shannon and Emily!  Great to finally see all the work you've put in so far.  Nice selection of yarn, many of which I'd not seen in person before, and piles of beautiful handpainted and other sock yarns to choose from, not the pattern above, but so many others.  I couldn't even choose, so asked C to pick something out for a pair for himself.  He chose a nice, regularly spaced striping Austermann Step colorway.

Then around the corner for Thai dinner with Shannon, S, and Jessica.   Followed by watching a sky writer out front of the restaurant.  We couldn't have been far from Amy.  Here's another part that she posted.  Such a perfect summer evening in the city.

Then it was off to the coast to visit with an old friend of C's who was having a family reunion in Lincon City.  We walked into a house full of kids, board game players, and knitters!  Spent the day at the beach and the evening knitting with three other knitters, including Cat Mazza of Microrevolt.org (KnitPro).  She's super sweet.

Then onto the NWWRF.   Something for everyone, C, myself, and the boys, respectively: good reggae music, a field of wooly sheep just beyond the stage, and cousins and other kids to play with.   Great festival again in an even better location this year, i.e. close parking and camping with lots of shade, frequently cleaned porta potties, even propane heated shower stalls set up in the woods!  Fun, peaceable, festive, easy atmosphere for young and old alike.  We even had the fun surprise of running into my cousin from Seattle there with his two boys.

Beware the pirates of the mossy, wooded forests of Oregon!

Goodness, I'd forgotten the good vibe Oregon and it's folks give off.  I swear, you can just feel it in the air.

An impromptu and surprisingly fun stop by the campus of my alma mater, in an attempt to avoid any more traffic on the trip north along I-5.   Got some funny questions and remarks from the boys.  E:  "Where is the school yard?  Where did you have recess?"  and in the library, "Where is the kids' section?", "Are you sure there isn't a kids' section?  Maybe we should ask someone."   On the field outside my old dorm rooms, above, "Why is this grass so green and nice?"  Ahem.  Apparently nothing like ours at home.

As it turns out, the entire campus was like a playground to these two, climbing around sculptures, hand railings, tree stumps, bike racks, and more.   Rough housing and running around on the perfectly groomed green grass, the brick central square, and chasing after squirrels.  Finding crow feathers and green acorns on the oak trees.  Funny, I barely remember the seasons changing during those four years of school, let alone had any clue what kind of trees grew on campus.    In the library, I had to show them where I'd go when I'd take a break from studying, to look back through old issues of Life magazine and laugh at the old advertisements.

R commented something to the effect of how exciting it was seeing a college campus.  I hate to break it to him that it's not ALL fun and games.

    

The past two days have been spent at my parents' house in Seattle just kickin' it...kind of...sortof...not really.  Actually, unpacking, getting ourselves and our clothes and things clean, doing laundry, regrouping and repacking, mowing and watering the yard, R recuperating from a summer cold picked up somewhere along the way, me icing a nasty swollen and sore bee sting on the ankle, watching movies and late night TV, picking blackberries, swiping flowers from the yard for dyeing, and knitting some.  Missing C.  Being the tooth fairy to R.  And contemplating how green my feet and toe nails are after mowing the lawn.  E:  "Mama!  Your feet are as green as an evergreen!."  Wondering what grass clippings would do in the dyepot.   Yeah,  just chillin' for the most part. 

Off for the Sunshine Coast this morning! 

Comments

[Stephanie]

Sounds like a wonderful time! I just also had to add that I *love* your trekking socks in that first picture. I have lusted after that yarn for a while now. Very nice!

[Bethany]

What a fabulous holiday you're having! Thanks for blogging about it so we can live vicariously. 8^)

[Peg]

Your holiday sounds fantastic. It is great when both children and adults can have fun together.
I remember when I took my children to see my old school - I attended there from Grade III to Grade XI. They laughed at how small it was, and I did not tell them for many years that it was twice as large when they saw it as it was when I was there in Grade III and my little girlfriend and I worried about getting lost in the school. We had come there from a 2 room school!
Happy Sailing!

[Nicole]

Sounds like fun!

[chrispy]

I tried dyeing with grass clippings once. I did not get past prepping the dye material since it smelled so bad. Think cow manure. Not pretty. If you can't smell a darn thing then this supposedly gets amazing greens.

[linda]

i love the photo of e and your shadow!!

[Lizz]

I'm glad the Oregon vibe was sweet and full of love groove for you! After almost 10 years it still amazes me. Have you been to the Oregon Country Fair yet? It's a must do thing.

[rani]

WHAT A BLAST! You're a rockin' mom!!

[Amber]

It looks like you're having so much fun! I'd love to go to that Raggae Festival sometime... I have heard a lot of nice things about the Sunshine Coast. That's another destination for us one of these days.

[Jen]

That's so funny to see, your "moon" photo--I also watched it being written, as I biked home from downtown PDX. Glad you had a good time in my favorite city of Portland, OR!

[anita]

Hi,

I'm new to your blog, and also from Portland. I was tickled to see the skywriting pic--I was walking my dog in Portland that day and saw it too! :) Small-blog-world!

Great knitting pics too. :)

[marti]

thanks for sharing, it looks like a good time was had by all!

[kitkatknit]

Please tell me more about the yarn in the kickin_it_2_r1.jpg picture. Did you hand dye or is it a commercial yarn? I love the colors!

[shannon]

Hey, S! so great to see all ya'll on your visit - give my love to everyone, and we'll be seeing you at christmastime

smooches
s

[Julia]

Your son looks like a carbon copy of you in that picture!