What?

OK I'm a little bit horrified.  Turns out Cindy's Weekend is also an online game, and a rather silly vapid game at that.  Sorry for that.

Annnnnyway, it's no secret that I knit.  Not as often as I would like, but certainly more than most ordinary people.  I am currently working on a pair of socks for a friend.  I have finished one and barely started the second.  I will post a picture once they have been finished and sent to the recipient.  Since she's not likely to see this blog anytime soon, it's not a big deal, but what's life without a little suspense?

So, I went to Europe.  Got off the plane exhausted and onto a train that took me to Paddington Station.  Naturally, the first thing I did at Paddington Station was find the Paddington Bear booth and buy a small traveling companion. 

That's him at I Knit London.











I also looked around until I found the statue nearby.  Since it was a literary tour, it was the natural thing to do.

So whatever else I do from now on, Paddington may very likely be going with me.  So from there I got on another train, then staggered to the hotel across the street from the Victoria & Albert museum.  Beautiful place, very convenient.  Once my hotel room was ready I took a long nap.  When I woke up, I went down the street towards Harrod's and took some night pictures until it was time to have dinner with the other fabulous knitters.  Wonderful people, every one.  And that was the first day of our tour.

So here I'd like to say a word about the train systems in Europe.  For the most part, it was fantastic.  You can get anywhere you need to go quickly and conveniently.  All you need to know is the name of the station closest to your destination and the line.  Then just get on the right line and wait until you get there.  Easy-peasy.  The only problem I had in London was a station closure the day I left.  The elevator wasn't working, so I dragged my bags down 178 steps only to find that the train was not running.  All those people who passed me coming up could have said something! But they didn't.  In Paris, the trains were more expensive and the system slightly more complicated, but once you figured it out, you were good to get anywhere, and fast!  Very crowded in Paris though, trains and the city itself.  But more about that later.  I also took the Chunnel between London and Paris.  While the whole idea of a tunnel beneath all that water kind of freaks me out, the Chunnel Train was fast and pleasant.

Yeah I know

I know, I haven't posted anything in a while.  I've been overwhelmed by the idea of sharing all that I saw in Europe.  I went on a Craftlit tour to London, Bath, and Wales, which was organized by Holiday Vacations and the fabulous Dianne!  After the week of touring, I took a train to France and spent five days seeing not nearly enough of Paris.  Then I came back to London to take another tour (just one day) to see Oxford and Stratford-Upon-Avon.  I couldn't possibly come to England and ignore the Bard.  I got to see so many glorious things that I've always heard of, and took so many fantastic pictures, that I don't even know where to begin telling about my trip--so I haven't posted anything at all.  Since it's almost Christmas and I'll soon be off for vacation, I will take some time to share some of my trip.

Also, I may be changing my format a bit.  Instead of focusing on travel and local sites, I'll just share interesting things as I run across them.  This doesn't mean I won't be sharing the kinds of things I've posted on up until now, but that I won't restrict my posts only to places and such as that.  Since I don't blog all that often, it probably won't be all that noticeable anyway :) but maybe I'll have something to say more often.

Anyway, I'll try to keep up better from now on.  Merry Christmas!

At the movies!

Monday afternoon at the movies!  What could be better?  Of course, since I have a job, this is not my usual Monday afternoon, but we had an offsite event this week.  Several admins went to see Eat, Pray, Love at the Gold Class Cinemas at The Domain.  One of these days I'll have to do a separate post about the Domain itself.  Serious upscale shopping, beautiful shopping center, everything you want if you want to spend money.  But back to the theatre.  This theatre is everything you would expect it to be in a shopping center like the Domain.  Big, comfy seats that recline with a footrest.  The armrest opens up so you can get your purse safely out of the way--just don't forget that it's in there!  A little table for your food and drink, with a call button in the middle.  And the menu!  I had the Crispy Spinach, Artichoke, and Gruyere and let me tell you, it was even better than I expected.  Upon request, they will bring you a blanket and a pillow.  Since I was wearing a skirt, I was very thankful for the blanket.  There is covered parking right next to the theatre, so you don't have to walk far.  They even have a free membership that offers special prices.  A really great, relaxing movie experience I highly recommend.

Quickie

August 21 I went to Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Alamo Drafthouse on Anderson Rd. with some of my oldest and dearest friends and had a blast!  It's been at least 15 years since I've been to see this show.  Not much has changed, really.  It's still a great time!

Alamo Drafthouse is a really fun theatre.  Not your standard popcorn-and-soda fare, they have a real menu.  You write down your order and the server comes by to pick it up.  In front of each row of seats is a long, thin table for your food and drinks.  You can order as often as you want, and the server will bring your bill about 45 minutes before the end of the show so you can pay and be all squared away before the end of the movie.  They show not only current films, but cool old stuff as well.

Last weekend I also did a rather complicated puzzle geocache with one of the same friends and others that took most of the day.  It was a lot of fun, and we got to show an exchange student some of the best parts of Austin.  The cool thing about this geocache is that it was placed by the guy who created Ultima Online, and was also an astronaut.  He has his own castle, complete with observatory.  The final part of the cache is set up on his land and...well, if you cache you wouldn't want me to spoil the surprise. 
Austin is really one of the most interesting places ever!

Long time gone

OK, I haven't posted in a while because things have been insanely busy lately.  First there was the sweater for my boyfriend:

Then the class reunion:

Then a wedding at Quintana beach:

A karate tournament I don't have pictures of, another reunion of people I once worked with that I didn't make it to, and another sweater, this one for myself:

Lots happening, on top of work and other things.  I'm trying to plan my trip to Europe in October (so excited!)  The first week of the trip will be this craftlit and the second week I intend to go to Paris, and possibly Stratford-Upon-Avon before I come back.  So I will try to keep this interesting, even if no one ever sees it but myself, but there's lots to be done yet.

Luling Watermelon Thump

OK, I've been busy but not doing much worth posting.  Last weekend I went to check out the Watermelon Thump in Luling.

There were three sections.  The first was rides:

The second was food, including the beer garden and entertainment:

The last was vendors, where I saw this adorable cuteness:

There was also a juggler, complete with fire and a unicycle:

There was a watermelon auction, which started the bidding at $1000 and reached some INSANE prices:

The grower of this watermelon was a previous Miss Watermelon Thump and the bidding was something like $10,000 when I walked away.

The admission price was $8, which I thought was a bit high for what there was to see.  I should have brought more cash with me, though, because I had sausage-on-a-stick, but I didn't have enough left for watermelon.

Downtown Luling is lovely and quaint.

Farmers Branch Historical Park

Farmers Branch Historical Park would have been better if I had called ahead to arrange a tour, but there was plenty to see, even so.  Even without a tour guide, the site has plaques everywhere to explain what you see.

So if you can, definitely call ahead to arrange a tour, but even if you haven't, it's still worth stopping.  A very nice park with lots of room and plenty to see.