One Week

One week from today, I'll be leaving for my Ironman in Madison, Wisconsin. Thankfully, due to the crazy traveling I did last year for work, I was able to use my frequent flyer points to buy a plane ticket. I was so dreading that drive. Especially the drive home. Now, I'll be traveling in style...well, as in style as you can get when flying United.
Due to my extreme hatred and mistrust of United, my bike will be hitching a ride with my friend Carolyn from Tulsa. I barely trust them to get me there (if they can just get me to Chicago, I'll be able to rent a car and drive from there), so I have absolutely no confidence that they'd actually get my bike there. So, I'll be dropping my trusty Kuota off at her house on Monday so she can start her journey north on Tuesday. It's going to be a busy weekend getting everything ready along with completing my last bit o training. The long-term weather reports are looking good for Madison right now, but as the people who raced there last year discovered, it can turn from perfect to horrible without much warning. I'm hoping for perfect this year, but I'll be prepared for horrible. That means a very full suitcase. I think I'll be taking two. One for my triathlon gear, and the other for clothes.
The training has been good the last couple of weeks. Ashford helped get me through an indoor bike ride:



And my friends Andrea, Megan, Jenn and Tracy have help get me through my long runs. It has made the long runs go by so much faster and they're much more fun. They've taken shifts so I have had the motivation to keep going. It's been great to have them be a part of my training, and because of them, I've had a several great runs to lead up to Ironman

This afternoon, race numbers were posted. I'm #2180, so I guess they're expecting me to show up and race. It sounds like a lucky number to me.

But enough about the Ironman. This last weekend, I finished spinning another one of the rovings that Linda and I dyed. If I were the type of person to jump up and down clapping and squealing over a skein of yarn, this would be the skein. It's such a beautiful rainbow, and I'm impressed with how well I was able to keep it so even. Hooray!



I also cast on for the Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann with the orange and purple yarn I spun from the roving Linda and I dyed. It is the first time I've dyed, spun and knitted the yarn. It's extremely satisying. I had to try out this pattern by EZ. One, because it is super cute, and also because of her last name. I doubt we're related (her last name is spelled wrong!), but EZ is a bit of a superstar in the knitting world. I just hope I have enough of the yarn. If not, I'm going to have to try to remember what I used to get the colors.


And it can't be a blog post without cute kitten photos.

Xena and her entourage:


Psst, come here...yeah, you. Let me tell you something...


How can you resist this face?

Just in case you were curious...

47%

I'm going to have to work on my zombie eluding skills. I'd at least like a 50% chance of surviving a zombie apocalypse.

A "Fair" Weekend

This past weekend was my third weekend in Des Moines in three months. And this was the first one that didn't involve a wedding. Instead, the highlight of this trip was the Iowa State Fair. Going to the fair is something I look forward to every year. I've only missed being there one year in my life, but there's always something new to see along with my old favorites. My niece, Megan, started off the fair on a high note by winning 4th place in the kids plant competition.



Her prize winning plant was only a few feet away from the world famous butter cow, and the special butter sculpture of Harry Potter. The butter cow exhibit is always a must see, and this year's didn't disappoint. Other highlights of the fair included my annual foot long hot dog, the hard boiled egg on a stick from the Egg Producers, going down the big slide with Megan and having my 2-year old nephew show us all how to drive the John Deere tractors.

After two days at the fair, my legs were worn out, so instead of relaxing, my sister Linda and I spent Saturday dying yarn and roving. We took the lessons we learned from our first dye day, and came up with some really beautiful color combinations.



Once again, we tried many different methods.


This was our first attempt working with roving. It was looking a little rough as it was drying, and I think we could have been a bit gentler with it, but it turned out great.









I've started spinning the purple and orange. It is going to be gorgeous! I can't wait to start to knit with it.

And we also dyed a bunch of fingering weight sock yarn.





















The group photo - Once again a successful day.

It was another wonderful weekend with my family. I just wish I could figure out a way to make the drive shorter. Six hours in the car gets a little boring. Thank goodness for my iPod. I was able to listen to several podcasts while I drove.

When I got home, I found that the kittens had once again disobeyed orders and grew while I was gone. The are getting so big so fast. They're just so cute and so much fun to be around


If that glass wasn't there, the squirrel on the other side would be in big trouble.


It's a kitty noddy.

Pretty stuff

I'm sitting here recovering from my failed attempt to run 18 miles this evening. The heat (I love Oklahoma in Aug.) and my 90 mile bike ride yesterday made it pretty miserable. I made it about 10 miles, so it wasn't a complete loss, but I'd like to get a good long run under my belt in the next week or so.
In happier news, I've finally taken photos of the lovely rovings I picked up a week ago at the Christmas in July fiber festival in Kellyville. It was such a fun event, and there was way to much to choose from, but I think I brought home a nice selection. The coolest thing was that the majority (if not all) were from Oklahoma, or at least within the region. I'm happy to know that I would be able to support my habit locally if the Internet ever breaks.



Some light tan alpaca...so soft, from JR Alpacas. This photo does not do it justice. But I was a bit rushed...more on that later.



My beautiful rainbow colonial wool roving.



This is my favorite. It's merino wool in a colorway called Sandstone. At first glance, it looks a little bland, but then you notice the bright blue and red streaks that run through it. I can't wait to spin this!



This is why I was rushing through the photo session. Purl, the mighty roving hunter, was on the prowl. I couldn't even take the merino/angora/cashmere (wow!) out of the bag. So, imagine a fuzzy bunny soft roving. It's undyed, so I'm waiting for it to tell me what color it wants to be, and what it wants to be made into. It is just so cool. That was the big splurge for the day. I'm going to have to spin it in a kitty proofed room.

I can't just post a crazed kitten photo. They sleep too. And they're pretty darn cute when they do.





They also can look sophisticated and not roving crazed.



And here's Xena, who is still not happy about the kittens, but seems to have accepted that they're here to stay, sleeping in her favorite spot. It's a pretty expensive cat bed.


I'll have more to share soon. I've finally reached my goal of becoming a Loopy Groupie at The Loopy Ewe, and I have completed a full pair of socks. I think it still counts as a pair even though one is a green/purple monkey sock, and the other is a red magic loop sock. Eventually, I will have a 2nd pair that is exactly like the first. I've cast on and made decent progress on both of the 2nd socks. I hope I'll have some quality knitting time while I'm in Des Moines for the Iowa State Fair.

I need a bigger lap

Is it starting to feel a little cooler in the earth's underbelly? I had three, yes, three adorable kitties sitting on my lap last night for more than 5 seconds. The clouds had parted, the angels were singing and kitties were tolerating each other (read - Xena was tolerating Purl and Ashford). It probably would have lasted all night had I not needed to eat. Thankfully, before I was loaded down with kitties, I had been surfing the net on my computer so I was able to capture the momentous occasion on the Mac's built in camera.


Not the best photo, but that's the best I can do with 3 cats on my lap. If you're playing along at home, that's Xena's side in the front, Purl's cute little mug in the left and Ashford's orange chiny chin chin on the right.

And I can't just post one cute kitty photo. Here's what happens when you leave a ball of orange yarn out on the table.All I can say is thank goodness I was home to witness this. The crazy little cat would have been in a bit of a bind...literally.

This past weekend, Mary and Phil finally tied the knot. It was a beautiful ceremony at my grandparent's farm. The weather decided to not act more like May than the middle of July, so it was an absolutely lovely day. There are more photos of the big day at their blog. Here's one from my camera.



That's the flower mob. Such a fine looking group all decked out in their polka dots.

After the wedding, Mary and Phil had invited their friends and family to join them on their RAGBRAI honeymoon. RAGBRAI is a week-long bike ride across Iowa. So, right after the reception, we jumped in the car and drove several hours to Rock Rapids, which is about as far northwest as you can get in Iowa without crossing the stateline into South Dakota.

On Sunday, we rode 77 miles from Rock Rapids with the other 15,000 cyclists to Spencer, and Monday, we rode 79 miles from Spencer to Humbolt. Unfortunately, after 2 days, I had to head back to Bartlesville, and even worse I left my camera with my parents, so I have no photographic proof, except for the photo of me that appeared in the Des Moines Register. I'm the rider in the orange on the left side of the photo. Next year, I'd like to ride for the entire week. There just wasn't enough time in 2 days to taste test all of the the wonderful goodies the towns along the way were serving. I did manage to eat a couple of Farm Boys breakfast burritos, vanilla milk shakes, homemade vanilla ice cream, a smoothie, one of the best monster cookies I've ever had, fresh-picked Iowa sweet corn, watermelon and a wonderful spaghetti dinner served by a local Catholic church. I can totally see how people gain weight while riding 450 miles in 7 days.

It was pointed out to me this week that Ironman Wisconsin is less than 50 days away. Yikes! If I survive the next two weeks, I'll be feeling pretty good. I'll be getting up early in the morning to ride 90 miles and then go on a 15 mile run Sunday morning. Good times. As a reward, I'll be heading to a fiber festival in Tulsa. I think that will give me an incentive to ride fast. I need to get there before all of the good stuff is gone.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention that I finally got my invitation to join Ravelry. My username is LynnZimm. I still have a lot of work to do to upload my photos, but I'll get that done in my free time. :)

Growth Spurt

I was away from my house for one night at a work retreat, and I swear the Purl and Ashford have doubled in size. Just two weeks ago, they were tiny little babies, and now they're so big. I wish there was a way to keep them tiny and cute. Although, I am looking forward to the day when they are able to jump up on to the couch without too much effort. I cringe every time I hear Purl latch on to the couch with her sharp little kitten claws.

I have some catching up to do on showing off my handiwork. And because the Purl and Ashford have learned that if the camera is on, they are supposed to be in front of it, the kittens will be modeling.

This is Purl with the Coopworth/Silk Blend my sister and my niece picked out at the Iowa Sheep & Wool Show. The colorway is Pandora's Box. So pretty!



This is the Ashford coyly showing off the first Monkey sock I've completed. I think it's taken me 4 months. I am amazed at the knitters who post the start photo on their blogs one day and have the finished pair the next. I need a lot more time, and three less kittens to be able to do that. The yarn is from Yarn Pirate in Crocus.



Such lovely yarn. The photo doesn't capture how cool the lime and purple colors look. I should be posting a photo of the second sock here sometime in November. By then I will have added at least 3 more skeins because I'm a member of the Yarn Pirate Booty Club. I can't wait for my first shipment! Hopefully, it will come before I head up to Iowa for my little sister Mary's wedding.

And finally, the next photo (minus kittens) is the Perchance to Knit superwash merino roving I spun for the Tour de Fleece. I really love how this turned out. The colors are so vibrant.



On the schedule for this weekend...I have a long bike ride and a long run, then I'm hanging out with the kitties and my spinning wheel.

Progress

They're still not best friends, but there's more balance to the kitty harmony in my house today. I captured this moment and it involved very little hissing and swearing, with no signs of an impending smackdown. I see that as progress.



Another sign of progress this weekend was that I am actually going to be able to spin without too many kitty interuptions.


I said, not too many interruptions. I did have to pay attention to make sure I didn't crush a little kitten paw. The spinning wheel is fascinating.

In honor of the Tour de France, I'm participating in the Tour de Fleece, a challenge to spin every day while watching the Tour.



So, I spun this:


It's superwash merino handpainted by Perchance to Knit. Merino is so soft and fun to spin. The finished product is hanging on the drying rack right now. I'll post a photo once I've skeined it. I also attempted to teach myself how to Navajo ply. It's a really cool technique, but I need a lot of work before I release it on my good wool. It gets really overtwisted. Maybe I'll make that one of my challenging mountain days.