So much to talk about

Warning: There are lots of non-knitting pictures. I'm still having problems with editing and uploading pictures. No matter what I do there is still too much white space. Anyhoo...

At the beginning of August I went on a cruise to the Caribbean for 7 days with my Mom. The boat was huge but didnt feel as crowded as expected. I was seasick the entire time. My inner ear is screwed up from a head injury about 10 yrs ago. I couldnt do much except read, knit a little, sit in the hot tub and eat constantly. It was a constant challenge to find GF good but somehow I managed.

The Swallowtail shawl and Mom enjoyed the balcony. It made me dizzy to look.

In Nausau we went on a boat tour of the islands and saw huge houses owned by Oprah Winfrey, Tom Cruise etc. We also went in a mini submarine to see the protected coral reefs. The pics didnt come out very well. After about 20 minutes it started to get very warm and I was sea sick once again. There wasnt much to do in Nausau because it was a national holiday and most of the stores and restaurants were closed. We went to the Straw Market but you cant bring in straw products because they carry red mites and I was tired so we went back to the boat and sat in the hot tub for a while before dinner.

I loved Bermuda. We were scheduled for a 5 hour bus tour, but the bus was overbooked. We ended up in a mini-van with 4 other passengers on a private tour with Earl who knows just about everything there is to know about the island. This is view from Fort St Catherine and from the shore at one of the beaches. The water is gorgeous. I'm hoping to go back to Bermuda and lie on the beach for a week sometime soon.

The towel bunny looking particularly dapper in Mom's sunglasses.



It felt good to be back on dry land. We missed most of the awful weather that hit NYC, including the tornado in Brooklyn. Havent had a twister hit since I was a kid living in Topeka KS.

Waiting for me was a package from my Sockapalooza pal!! Briana is 14y.o. (soon to be 15!!). Not only did she make these gorgeous socks but she sent me hand-dyed yarn. Plus a hand-typed letter. Who bothers to take the time to hand write anything anymore. I was so touched!! Love the socks. Cant wait to find a new project for the yarn!! Thanks Briana!!

There was also an email for with job offer letter. The new job will be a major career change. I'll be going back to accounting after an almost 10 yr hiatus, since I started working my present job. Its in a sector I've never worked before but its a tremendous opportunity with lots of growth potential if I can survive the learning curve. It will mean more hours, less money, fewer benefits......but sometimes you have to take a step back to move forward. The hardest part will be having to find a new therapist. The woman I;ve been seeing for the past 3 yrs has helped me more than I can find words to describe, but I have some money saved so I wont have to change right away. I start the new job Sept 6. I gave notice at the old job this week. My boss took it hard, he teasingly called me a traitor. Now I'm just marking time, reading accounting books and knitting blogs until my last day. Then the real fun begins.

In the meantime, summer's here and the produce is gorgeous. I've been cooking and baking all weekend. I think I missed being able to cook for myself on the cruise and it was comforting to not have to worry about whether the food would bother me or not. Here are some pics of what I've been cooking lately.

Tomatoes, rolly polly squash, ground turkey, red onion, garlic, a splash of red wine vinegar to deglaze the pan, Tinkyada rice pasta.

Tomatoes, rolly polly squash, fresh corn, eggs, red onions, garlic. I learned a neat trick from Ina Garten on the Food Network. (Watching marathon cooking shows is a major guilty pleasure.) Adding butter when the eggs are done is supposed to stop the cooking process so they dont get over-cooked. I'm not sure if it worked but butter makes everything taste great.

I made Bette Hagman's Butter Basted White Bread in the bread machine. Sorry no pics. I had to eat it immediately after it was cool enough so I didnt burn my tongue, about 5 secs after taking it out of the pan.

Also, blueberry cake/cupcakes from Rebecca Reilly's Gluten Free Baking. Her recipes are either fantastic or terrible, nothing in between. These werent too sweet. Very moist and dense, like gluten cake. I think its the almond flour. I had to bake them la few minutes longer than the recipe called for because they were a little wet. I think the almonds I ground in the food processor werent fine enough to absorb all the liquid. The tiny pieces of almonds did add a nice texture. I'd definitely make them again.