Wicked Wednesday - Inexplicable Time

Is it really only Wednesday? How is it, that when Christmas rolls around, we're all so stunned:

"Christmas!? Already? It feels like I just finished celebrating a new year a few weeks ago! How could it possibly be Christmas already?!"

And yet, each individual week, it takes an absolute eternity for the weekend to get here.

I think I know.

I think time flies so exponentially faster on your time off (weekends, evenings, holidays, vacations), that it creates a vortex which sucks in the rest of the year, causing time overall to fly by, while still allowing it to creep ever so slowly while you're at work.

If that's not wicked, well, I just don't know what is.

Home! Home! Home!

I'm thrilled to be back home, back in the arms of my cutie-patootie! I got to move my flight up a day early, so got home Friday night, which was a pleasant surprise for all of us.

Don't get me wrong. Den Haag is a great place. It's right on the beach, and it's a lovely beach - long strip of sand to stroll down. We had a beautiful rainbow that you can just barely see peeking out of the clouds.

I went to Taste a few more times and enjoyed lounging as long as I wanted while sampling different wines. That's one concept I wish restaurants/bars in the U.S. would adopt - not everyone is in an all fired-up rush to eat, drink and leave. Sometimes, you just want to sit back and relax for a while.

The folks that designed the Netherlands Forensic Institute (where I worked all week) are pretty clever. They put in different types of soil in the courtyard so that the plants growing there would be different and make a fingerprint design. It's easier to see the design in this older satellite picture before the plants went in, but it still looks pretty cool, even with the plants.

Yes - it was raining - practically the entire time I was there. We had two nice days of weather.

Also, these same designers have a quirky sense of humor. As you can see on this satellite picture, there are six courtyards in the building,and in each courtyard, there's a different "artistic" layout. I have no idea what's up with the bunnies, but there it is.

Another fun experience before I headed out was a seasonal meal of raw herring, served with onions and pickles on a bun. Sort of the Dutch version of hotdogs - but yummier (to me) and a little healthier.

I barely knit anything while I was over there. Caught up on my reading instead. But, I'm back in full swing now and have almost finished Liesl. I'm putting full length sleeves on mine, and using Art Fibers Kyoto, which is primarily silk (raw), in a golden-yellow color (colorway 27). I have one sleeve left to knit, then I can block it and find some buttons for it. No seaming on this baby. Woo Hoo!

Again - it's good to be home.

A Weekend in Holland

It's Sunday.

It's Raining.

Who cares.

Heading out in a minute to bike down to the sea, but first, let me tell you about yesterday.

I walked all around town center here in Den Haag. Of course, my first destination, was Woool, the LYS. Met Pauline, the shop owner, and bought a wool/bamboo locally dyed, in the same shades as her cat - named Sunny - hence the colorway is named Sunny Cat. Also bought a Merino laceweight in Chocolate Colorway. Hoping it's enough to make the lacy cardigan in Feminine Knits.

After that, I went sight-seeing, like a good little tourist. Took shots of one of the many museums, and some skullers out for morning practice.

Also found these sand sculptures - made from a different type of sand - cubic, not round - supposedly withstands wind and rain, as opposed to regular sand sculptures. Here's a shot of one of many - front side:

Back Side:

Finished my latest book while sitting under a giant tree, drinking tea, outside the church - Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles - about a girl in Missouri during the civil war - good book.

Went back to the room and downloaded A Thousand Splendid Suns onto the Kindle, then headed back out and found a great wine bar called Taste, and finished the day by reading this book I can't put down and drinking almost an entire bottle of wine - all in different varieties - Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, and, of course, some champagne.

Not a bad day. Would have been better if the SigO were here.

Just sayin.

Wicked Wednesday - Hittin' the Road Again

Well, I have to go to Holland tomorrow.

I know - most people would say "Wicked!"

But the simple truth is, I'm gonna miss the SigO - something Wicked.

I'm just sayin'.

I know:

And I will.

Taosday - Last Weekend

Today I'm going to reflect on our bike ride this past weekend.

We drove down to Orange, VA, because I had this (faulty) memory of a great ride I had done down there.

Now, it's not fair to say it's not a great ride. The scenery in the beginning is quite nice. There are a few old churches,

a nice little river,

an old train station,

with an even older caboose,

and, of course, an adorable SigO.

However, this ride is advertised as a ramble. A ramble, in my opinion, doesn't include 16 straight miles of up and down hills. A ramble, should be a nice, somewhat easy, peaceful ride. I know - Taoists don't judge - but who ever said I was taoist? Not me.

Further, while I'm judging, perhaps the guy that wrote the map could put the bong away before reporting to work in the future. I don't know where we were supposed to turn to get on the right road, but as soon as we were on the wrong road, it all flashed back to me.

Yes. I had been on this wrong road before. And it only gets more wrong. Next thing you know, you're riding your bike on a highway, without a shoulder, and drivers who think you're an annoying obstacle to accelerate around -I remembered it all. The last time I was on this ride, I made the exact same turn and ended up in the exact same wrong place. I asked this man who was out mowing his lawn how to get back and he steered me straight. Here's the crazy thing - that same old man was out mowing his lawn again this Saturday. It's a big lawn. I suspect I could go by any weekend and find him out there mowing it. I wonder if he enjoys that? But I digress.

Mind you, this part of the ride wasn't all bad. There were some funny parts...in retrospect...although I think it's going to take a lot longer retrospect before the SigO thinks they're funny. See, I was really tired on this ride. I just didn't have the juice for all these climbs - so when the he pulled ahead, I just told him to keep going until he got to Rte 20. Unfortunately, it was shortly after this conversation that I realized we were on the wrong road and unlikely to ever see Rte 20. More unfortunate - he was cruising too far ahead to hear me screaming - like a banshee - at the top of my lungs - until I was hoarse and out of breath. The more evil side of me (definitely not the non-judgemental side) says "that'll teach him for not checking behind for me from time to time!" By the time the car I sent after him had caught up to him, he'd already climbed up Mt. Kilamanjaro. Now, had I really had my evil face on, when he finally got back to me, I should have said "I had a cramp and just wanted you to come back. Now we can go on!" In fact, I'm laughing a little evil laugh just sitting here thinking about it. But, it didn't occur to me to be that evil at the time. I was probably too hot and tired to think that creatively. So, we headed down hell's highway and were a few miles from our end point when the SigO called for a break and I was so thrilled at the prospect that I didn't bother telling him we were only a few miles out. So, we rested our bikes against a post, and sat here for a few minutes,

me dreading getting back on that damn torture device they call a saddle But, all's well that ends well, and it obviously ended well since I'm here telling you all about it, and, last I checked, the SigO hasn't moved out of the house.

Thirsty Thursday - Sure could go for a beer

This was one of those weeks where the minutiae will just wear you down after a while, making you want to go sit out on the deck and swig beer until you forget all the BS you had to deal with.

So, in that spirit, my top five favorite beers:

5. Hoegaarden - pronounced whogarden - is a white beer brewed in Belgium. They add coriander and orange peels to the mix when they brew it. It's crisp and very refreshing. It, like most Belgian beers, is served in its own special glass. Oh, and it's 5% alcohol. Hooray!

4. Rogue Yellow Snow IPA - Big, and Hoppy. This is their tribute ale to winter sports - you get it - yellow snow - anyway, they add juniper berries to the mix when they brew it. It almost makes you crave a hearty bowl of soup. Very tasty - nice bitter finish.

3. Stella Artois - Brewed in Leuven, Belgium (notice a trend here?) since 1366. Another hoppy beer, which I like best served with a slice of lemon. It was first brewed as a Christmas beer and gets its name from the Christmas star - Stella.

2. Pilsner Urquell - The Original Pilsner. Brewed in the Czech Republic in a city called Pilsen - and hence, Pilsner became a standard word for beer brewed in this fashion. Urquell means Original Source. This pils, in my opinion, is still the standard for all others to compare against

1. Corona Light - I know - after all those fancy, luscious beers, this is the one I drink the most. It's just SO crisp and so perfect with a slice of lime - and so refreshing on those hot days. I'll never forget my first - pulled out of a tub of ice by a guy on the scorching streets of Laredo, Mexico. Sometimes, it's the simple things that rock your world.

Of course, I should add a few warnings:

1. Like all these sites say - Please Drink Responsibly.

And equally important

2. Friends don't let friends knit drunk. I mean - really - do you know how much I've ripped due to one too many of #1 up there?

Wicked Wednesday - New Car

I apologize for not posting yesterday or last Wednesday. Last Wednesday I had bloggers block. I just couldn't come up with something wicked. I'm sure you understand. It's tough for such a sweet young innocent like myself to come up with wicked thoughts.

Just look at this face.

What? I'm sorry? You say that picture is over 25 years old? We must have a bad connection - I can't quite make out what you're trying to say.

Anyway, the reason I didn't post yesterday is because I was out spending excessive amounts of money on

MY NEW CAR

Yes, Bob, what have we got for the young lady? Why it's a Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited!!!

Yes - it has occured to me just how much space there is in the back for when I go on yarn binges.

And That's Wicked!!!