I’m waking up

Whew! I think I’m finally recovering from our trip to Texas. Two days of driving both going and coming. Ugh. That can be so exhausting! Not to mention that I had to be at work early the morning after we got back for a conference I was helping put together.

I think I’ve finally caught up on my sleep and am back to eating healthier so my energy level is rising! Eating out every meal for over a week can wreak havoc on your diet!! I do not want to see another hamburger or french fry for a long time. My body is craving fresh vegetables and I’m loading up!

Anyway, the trip was fantastic. Really a good time. Let me just say that Austin, TX is such a great city! We really enjoyed bopping around town (even though they were experiencing record-breaking heat and rolling blackouts!). We were strolling around near our hotel when Geoff said “Hey look! Knitting supplies!” and sure enough, he was pointing at Hill Country Weavers, a very cute yarn shop! I was so excited that a) Geoff spotted it and b) he actually pointed it out to me instead of steering me in the opposite direction. I call this “progress.”

Anyway, I left him on the front porch with his book while I ventured inside. About 15 minutes later (I think I made good time!) I emerged from the shop with this:

Some yummy Koigu that I am planning to use for these socks. I just love the blues in the yarn! And this sock pattern is toe up. I’ve never knit socks toe up and have always wanted to try! I’m trying to restrain myself from casting on because I have so many languishing projects. Unfortunately that was the only yarn shop I made it to on our trip to Texas. But, that was probably for the best since my bank account is not “yarn friendly” at the moment.

As for knitting on the trip, I did take Butterfly, Hourglass and the entrelac scarf with me. What did I work on exclusively? The entrelac scarf. I think it was because it could fit in my purse (which Hourglass can no longer do) and it works well for quick, sporadic knitting since it doesn’t require much concentration (yeah, Butterfly definitely doesn’t fall into that category). I won’t bore you with a progress pic of the scarf. Imagine the last pic I posted of it but longer and with more colors.

Anyway, as for more Austin fun, we walked around the campus of the University of Texas and happened upon these fellas:

They have a turtle pond on campus! If I had gone to school there I would not have made it to a single class. I would have spent all my time watching the turtles. They were so fascinating! Also on campus was the LBJ Museum and Archives. It’s really a shame that Vietnam overshadowed a lot of the amazing things this man accomplished during his presidency. If you’re ever in Austin, this place is a must-see.

We also saw the famous bats come out from below the Congress Ave bridge one night. I can’t believe that under that bridge can live 1.5 million bats! We went on a cruise on the river so we got to be right under them as they flew out for the night. So neat!

We also went to Houston but we didn’t really see much. Geoff’s friend was getting married so we did a lot of wedding get-together stuff. Not a lot of time for sight-seeing. But that’s ok, I don’t think it would have been able to beat the great time we had in Austin. Hook ’em horns!