Ah, so wonderful to be back home, on solid ground, and in the company of my favorite boys (C, Johnny dog, and the cats, Maverick and Goose). I’d have written sooner, but to be honest I have been wandering around the house kind of aimlessly for the last two days. Well, not aimless, exactly – I’ve baked a vanilla bundt cake, a three berry crisp, and made fresh cinnamon applesauce since I’ve been back. I guess the nesting instinct kicked in strongly when I got home!
The trip back from Monterey Bay to the dock in Newport, OR was wild. We left MB late on Thursday night and drove straight into a gale. I went up to the bridge several times on Friday to enjoy the show as waves crashed over the bow of the ship, and the highest average wind speed that I saw was just over 35 knots (40mph). Whee! It was like a carnival ride! Scientists and ship’s crew alike were downed with sea-sickness, but I got through it without much fuss. It was difficult to get the timing right to catch the crest of the waves, but this photo is close. Keep in mind that the bow of the ship sits some 25 feet off the water. This is not to say that there were 25 foot seas, but the 12-15 foot waves were sufficiently large to bring a lot of thrashing and crashing on our 274 foot vessel. I quite enjoyed the ride.
During the transit I made a simple beanie for one of the ship’s crew members who went above and beyond the call of duty in fixing our head (toilet). The ship has a vacuum flush system, and fixing a clog involves a lot of pressurized air. I won’t describe the whole scenario, but let your mind wander to the most disgusting possibility – it happened to Smitty. So, I happily knat up a beanie out of Noro Big Kureyon, on size 7 needles. It was soft and simple, and the colors were lovely (and certainly masculine enough for a guy who uses wrenches as often as his brain, and who has many many tattoos). I failed to get a picture (the shame!), but trust me, we both loved it were rather pleased in the end.
Arrival at the dock on Sunday brought a proverbial shitstorm of activity, after which everyone scattered like ants from the hill. We had time for one beer at the Rogue before hitting the road (a HazelNut Brown Nectar, one of my favorite beers of all time). In the flurry to leave I failed to get email addresses from a couple of crew members who I wanted to keep in touch with, so if you’re reading this and you work on the TGT (slim chance), email me at amanda"at"amandawhitmire"dot"com, or leave a comment for me with your info. I’d love to hear from you.
Being home has been wonderful, despite the fact that I am kind of disoriented. The entire house was immaculate when I walked in, which I loved and appreciated coming home to. Even better, the plants aren’t even dead or dying. For the most part, they are thriving! The hydrangea is in full bloom, and through some special form of neglect I got it to bloom in both pink and purple. I thought that the pH of the soil determined the color of the flowers, so I am at a loss to explain the present situation. Regardless, I am enjoying it. I took a nap in the hammock by the stream yesterday – now that’s what I call being home.
On the knitting side of life, there were three new books waiting for me when I got home: Mason-Dixon Knitting, Knitting Rules!, and the Vogue Knitting Ultimate Knitting Book. Thanks for the gift cert. to Amazon.com, Mom! I’ve flipped through all three and am delighted with the selections. Mason-Dixon will be the first one to see some action for a real project. I have been itching to knit decoratively & functionally for the house, so look for some dishcloths and felted boxes soon. I bought some yarn for baby bibs, too, since every woman I know seems to either be pregnant or have a newborn baby. Quick! Someone remind me to finish school and get a job before I get knocked up, too!
Anyhow, it’s nice to be home, and I’ll see if I can keep up with the blogging now that I am on dry land.