A Little Adventure...

Last Saturday, when the skies were blue and the waters were calm, Mr. G. and I went on a little adventure of sorts. We went to see the 'Vashon Sheepdog Classic, the trials at Misty Isle'.

We left our house at 8am in a thick mist. There were at least two running races going on in our little town and I was happily surprised to see a lot of people around that early in the morning. We parked our vehicle on the street in Fauntleroy (West Seattle) and walked onto the ferry. (a first for both of us) By that time all the mist/ fog had disappeared and it had become a gloriously calm and warm day!

Upon crossing the Sound we took a shuttle to Misty Isle Farms and spent the whole day in the field enjoying the competitions, the dogs and the sheep (one escaped into the audience!) and some lovely food. And yes, I might have bought a lovely skein of wool for the mister...

Here is a little description of the competition:  "During these competitions, the mission of these highly trained dogs is, at the  signal from the handler, to run to the top of the field, gather the sheep  and move them in a quiet workman-like manner through a series of tasks that could be encountered on the farm. The sheep are to be guided with kindness and patience throughout the run. A “grip” or bite is cause for immediate disqualification (unless the dog is defending him-/herself). All along, the handler guides the dog with whistles or voice commands. The entire run must be completed within an allotted number of minutes."

We had a wonderful day and to top it all off, a beautiful view of Mount Rainier on the ferry ride back... (click to enlarge!)

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A few have asked me privately how Miss M. is doing all the way down in L.A.: I won't lie, it was darn hot (several heatwaves came through), but she has managed to get a different room in a dorm with air-conditioning so she is now a very happy camper. Today especially when she received her first test grade back which made her top of the Chemistry class! (sorry, had to brag a little a lot there...) She'll be coming home for four days in October and we can't wait to see her again in person! {smile}

Ramblings...

Wow, we went from tropical Summer to full on Fall overnight! Saturday a rather large storm swept through the area and a ton of rain came down. A lot of wind also (although not in our area) and at one point 450.000 people were without power. But rain: Yay! I think the last time we had a proper amount of rain was last May!

(Click! to enlarge...)

Darker days call for more knitting! I'm still working on the Estuary shawl but the knitting is just plain not enjoyable. So I decided to start a project on the side with yarn that was given to me by my mother earlier this summer. (Drops Nepal, 65% wool & 35% alpaca, aran weight) The color is not quite my favorite (it leans towards oatmeal but with a bit more grey in it), but it is so soft and squishy. I bought the pattern called 'Lemongrass' by Joji Locatelli, but decided to add Krebinette's lace pattern to the front. I also added a vertical cable on the back, just for interest. The tall collar will be added later. Once blocked this pattern will look lovely and the sweater/ poncho will certainly become one of my favorites to wear...

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In other news, Miss M. is starting to settle in L.A., although the heat wave last week didn't help. At one point the temperatures went all the way up to 104 F / 40C! Remember, no a/c in her dorm... We did realize very early on that Thanksgiving is way to far away, so we booked her some tickets for her October break, only 6 more weeks to go before we see each other again! {smile}

Master C. is starting his junior year at Gonzaga today. He moved into his first apartment in the middle of August and seems to be quite happy over there. He is getting cooking lessons from his girlfriend so I think he'll be just fine. Last night we did a family Skype session which was a lot of fun!

Well, that was it for now. Just a short little update!  <wink>

PS: It is so dark outside, I've got my favorite candles on!