sheep in the city

Home again, home again...

I am back from Chicago, and as much fun as I had, it feels great to be back at home. I'm not going on any more trips (that I know of) until Thanksgiving, when my parents and I are heading to Scottsdale, just the three of us. The rest of the siblings are going to their in-laws. Sometimes it's great being single.

So Chicago. What a great place. I have to say, it was one of my favorite cities that I've visited in the last few years. My friend Julie picked up RayLynn and I, we dumped our bags at her house, and took off exploring. We ate lunch at Crust. Yum. Good food and all certified organic. Then we wandered down the street and found a little gem of a store called Paperdoll. Oh my. I was overwhelmed with little goodies to buy, but I held myself back. I did buy a bag there though. It's covered in Donuts and is the cutest thing. Seriously. Frivolous and fun...just what I like!

From there we headed to Loopy Yarns. Once we found it (right in front of our faces!) and found a parking spot...the bigger challenge in Chicago...we headed in. What a charming spot. Friendly people, lovely yarns, and then WHAM! They have Koigu! I am in knitters heaven! Ahhh, Koigu, how I love thee. I walked out with a lighter step, but maybe that was just because my wallet was lightened too?!

All of this happened on Friday, the day that we arrived. I loved that we still had 2 full days to hang out and play! I didn't love getting up at 4:00am Denver time to get to the airport, but it was worth it in the end. My friend Julie is an amazing cook, something that I haven't been able to experience first hand very often since she has always lived far away. Mmmm, mmm, good! She can cook! I came home with a few of her recipes for cheese garlic biscuits, black bean salsa, chicken enchiladas, cinnamon rolls, chicken artichoke lasagna, and many more. Being around her makes me want to cook more. We'll see how that plan takes shape.

Saturday I got to meet up with Jen, of Piddleloop fame. (you know, the wonder-girl who made my goldfish bag) I made what she called a "rockstar" pickup, meaning that I picked up my purchases in person...so I got some extra goodies. So fun! I bought a couple things. Like maybe a few bags for myself and one for my mom...and then maybe a couple little bags that had sheep on them. My iPhoto is still acting weird so I'm not loading any new pictures on my computer...I "borrowed" these photos from Jen's blog, saved to my own server of course. Anywhoo...I'm planning a big Russia/Chicago photo post as soon as my brother helps me with my computer. It was so fun meeting you Jen, and if you haven't visited her shop...what are you waiting for?! She does awesome stuff! Get over there!

**One goal I have for the month of November...post more than 5 times. Including this post, I will have posted a measly 5 times! That is a pathetic showing...at least for me. I want to get back to posting at least every other day. So, I'm going to try!**

Chicago anyone?

I'm headed to the windy city tomorrow morning and I'll be there all weekend! A few knit shops have been recommended to me, Arcadia Knitting and Loopy Yarns. Are there other shops that I should try to make it to? Is there anyone out there that would like to meet up at any of these stores? I'm traveling with my good friend RayLynn, who I taught to knit years ago...and she is now addicted to knitting almost as much as I am. (although she still only works on one project at a time...I'm so proud!) We are staying with good friends who live in Chicago about 10 minutes from downtown. I will be in town all day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday...then it's back to Denver on Monday afternoon. I'd love to meet some Chicago-area knitters if it's at all possible! Email me if you want to try and get together! sheepinthecity AT gmail DOT com

*the picture above was taken in June of '05 when we had both finished our Clapotis scarves...which we started together on a previous trip to California. RayLynn is the best traveling buddy a girl could have!*

Russia...

*Just to warn you...my iPhoto is acting weird and not letting me export pictures. So this post will be picture less. No fear, I will post many, many pictures soon!*

I've been home for a week now, and I finally feel up to writing about my trip to Russia. I was completely wiped out by the flights home, this was definitely the longest trip as far as flights go that I've ever been on. I was traveling for a total of 30 hours, including layovers and delays. Getting readjusted to the time difference was killer. Enough complaining though...I'm home and back in the swing of things. My sister and her family moved to their new house this past weekend and my parents move to their new house next weekend. It's a little crazy around here and that is why the blog has been on hold. It will be so nice to have everyone in my family settled in to their new homes and we can all get back to a normal schedule, whatever that is. :) Oh, and did I mention that I'm going on a trip to Chicago this weekend with my friend RayLynn? Crazy! This trip has been on the books since mid-summer...I've never been to Chicago before and I'm thrilled to be spending time with RayLynn.

Oh...so you want to hear about my trip, huh? It was a whirlwind to say the least. We arrived in Moscow on Saturday night after the sun went down and the next morning we left to fly to Samara before the sun came up...so I didn't see much of Moscow on the first leg of the trip. We touched down in Samara and immediately were picked up by a driver and translator and driven to the orphanage. We did get a chance to tour some parts of the orphanage, where the babies lived in particular. Overall, it was a lot better than I expected. They had about 10 toddlers and infants. The women working there seemed to be very friendly and even though we couldn't communicate (the translator had gone off to have tea) it seemed like they really cared for the babies. Pretty soon, we were able to leave with the baby...and head back to the city of Samara. Let me just comment on the driving over in Russia for a moment. It is CRAZY! I never would want to drive a car there. I'd much rather have someone who is used to the way things go driving me around. In a lane that looks like a 4 lane road, there would be six lanes of traffic. At a light where it looked like there was room for maybe 3 cars, there would be at least 5. And shoulders on the road? Those are actually just another lane to drive in. Sidewalks? Those are actually the perfect place to park your car?! The craziest part is that they don't require for children to be in a car seat, so when we left the orphanage Terri just held the baby. I looked at her at one point, as were flying down the road, going who knows how fast, and said, doesn't this feel wrong? No car seat and all the crazy drivers. We did make it safely back to the city. It was a little scary though. The first night was a bit of a challenge, trying to get the her to eat, but everything worked out in the end. My cousin Terri is a first time Mom...so she's just figuring things out as she goes. We were in Samara until Tuesday doing paperwork and waiting for her passport. I was definitely ready to head to Moscow...to get back to the city!

We stayed in an apartment in downtown Moscow. Terri took care of all the arrangements, but I guess it was cheaper to rent a short term apartment than to stay at a hotel. So we had a little kitchen and a big bathroom and a washing machine. (which came in very handy for the babies clothes, etc.) It felt like we were right in the heart of the city, I loved it! We were very near Arbot Street, which is geared towards tourists, but it was fun to walk through that area. I picked up many a souvenir there. The weather in Moscow was much cooler than I was expecting. Oops. I really should have brought a warmer coat. It rained alot in the afternoons and once it even snowed! That was kind of cool...we were there for the first snow of the season!

Overall, I had a fun trip. I loved experiencing and being submerged in a new culture. I love that I now have stamps in my passport. But what I love best, is being back home with friends and family...and of course Jesse, my big kitty. No matter how exciting a new place is, there really is no place like home!

It's go time!

The day has arrived, I'm headed to Russia this afternoon. I'll be posting from the road at least once, but I'm not too sure that I'll be able to upload any pictures. Until then, knit on and I'll be back in the states on the 14th!

I've been meaning to post this picture of Jesse for a few weeks now. It has nothing to do with my trip, it's just a funny picture. I got this DVD for him on the recommendation of the Knitty Professor. Her cats love it. Seriously, this is what happens every time that I put it in the DVD player...he sits and stares. So funny. Okay...gotta run to the airport now!

*what you can't see in the picture are all the little mice on the screen. Creepy, but he loves it.*

Busy, busy, busy...

Things have been running full speed ahead around here since I found out that I'm going to Russia. Things need to be cleared up at work so that I can be gone for a week with a clear conscience. Have to clean the house up a little so that I don't return to a mess. And oh yeah, did I mention that I had to have a partial root canal on Monday? Sheesh. I can't wait until Friday! One of my friends asked me how you can have a partial root canal? Well, my dentist killed the nerves, packed some sort of medicine in the canal, and then put a temporary filling on it. I get to come home and have him finish the job. Fun times! Everyone that I talked to said that I had to have this done though, that I would be miserable on the plane and in a foreign country with a tooth ache. I tend to agree with them.

I found out a few days ago that when we fly to Russia, we have a layover in Paris...so I guess I'll be using that passport to fly to Paris after all! On the knitting front I still haven't decided what I'm going to take with me. I've been knitting here and there on Alice's sweater and the Mystery Dad project. I've made a little progress on both of those. I'm just going to keep plugging away at all these projects...one row at a time, that's what I tell myself.

My Dad flew down to Houston today, and he'll have his third MRI/bone scan/cat scan tomorrow, Wednesday the 3rd. Please pray for these results. We all want some good news. His PSA has been rising in the last few months so he and his doctor will decide this trip if he is going to stay in the clinical trial or not. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors, nurses, and technicians that will be working with him.

Thanks to everyone who offered up their travel advice. I've printed all your suggestions and put them in my travel file. (yes, I'm a nerd. I made a travel file) Okay, I need to head to bed...lot's to do tomorrow. Only 2 1/2 more days until go time!