On the road day 2

Today started out pleasantly with a soft rain. I had been cold all night and had the heater and the fireplace, which works sporadically (lighting and unlighting it's self randomly) until the sauna I created baked poor Becky, so she turned things off during the night. My core temperature must have come up as I survived the cool (mostly ) to nicely warm (finally) shower.
The hot night in the room got the yarn farther along in it's drying ........


We had our breakfast and then I got to darning my socks which had such a large hole in the heal that I had to knit a square and insert it into the gapping hole.

Once done we had a nice drive to Knitting by the Sea in Carmel Ca. This vexed our GPS (Lee) somewhat because Carmel downtown doesn't have street numbers.
We had a lovely time, and I showed Maurya my hat, and asked about the ear flaps, she took one look at the disaster (you should have heard Becky's views on my "ferally" knit hat, she has now made me review how many times this particular hat has been knit, 4-7 times depending on if you count casting on and ripping out or if you just count knitting many rows (two times something like a completed hat was ripped out) and then ripping out) and had me tear out the whole thing completely and started me again. Now Maurya is a bit of a (she even owns it) knitting nazi. She didn't like the way I cast on, my needle size choice (the second needles purchased for this hat, thanks to Maurya I now have three sets of circular needles yikes) and my increases but I have to say she was right in all things, I'm not much of a knitter but know when I hear reason even if I don't want to hear it. Becky visibly relaxed as the mess turned into a hat, under the steady eye of Maurya. It wasn't easy for Maurya I'm not that great of a student, but the hat is on the right track.

I am a yarn (crack) pusher, it's what I do. Becky and I told Maurya about the textured cashmere, she thought we were nuts and told us so (I like that in a person, I don't have to wonder what are they thinking!) and wanted to see some of this "yarn".... as she fondled it she repeated several times "I don't want to like this yarn"
"I can't like this yarn," "I don't want to love this yarn", and so another fan was made. After teaching me for several hours and designing a pattern for a hat I dreamed up, I thought to pay her for her time, however she was happier with yarn, although not the cashmere, that's for Hill Country Weavers, but a mystery skein (I had some fiber that was "found" in a dye pot. I couldn't remember whether it was 80% Merino 20% Angora or 20% Silk, these two balls of fiber sat for while and every so often I would go into the production room and try to decide/remember, then go and do something I really needed to do, and then I put it into production thinking that would surely I could tell when it was spun, no go, then another ball of mystery fiber turned up, luckily all in the Newport Rocks color-way, so I put it all together and thought someone would want this skein). This is the skein Maurya chose for her time... I'm thinking I got the better of this deal, she thinks it was a boon, so we both won on this deal! And I feel like I have a new friend, I think she thinks she has a new yarn line.

Once the store started to get busy and it was clear I would follow directions, we left Maurya hugging her skein and traveled on to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I have to say this place has changed since the last time I was here! Becky was in third grade and Steven was in first.... this is sometime in the mid-late 80's. All the changes were enhancements.
I have taken this picture of the Congo Tetra's for my husband Mike. I found out today that they are from Africa (he probably told me this sorry Mike) and that Spotted Otters (I'm sure he didn't know this!) eat them. This tank was wonderful and as Mike is redoing ours I thought I would inspire him


I had no idea that there were so many kinds of Otters in the world, but this is a wild Otter that lives in the sea outside of the Aquarium! This is my first sighting of a wild Otter!


Our favorite was the Jellies (not Jelly Fish as they aren't fish at all). If you are remotely close to Monterey the price and trip here for this exhibit alone is worth it. They are so beautiful and the music (I bought the CD for going to sleep music at Camp Andersen) and art (a lot of glass work, I thought of Shelia Ernst! Love you Shelia!) work they have in conjunction is so breathtaking it defies description. This is a temporary exhibit and is due to be taken down in 2009. Becky and I both wrote letters this evening in regards to keeping this as a permanent display, please add your voice to this cause! Look on Becky's blog for lots of great pictures of the Jellies!!!
After the long day we were in the mood for something sweet and went to a Crepe place and had these luscious desserts...ummm Nuttela is the bomb!

Becky is knitting on the cashmere scarf in Northwest Winter cashmere for me, the fire place keeps lighting, burning for a while then going out sometimes relighting, sometimes it takes a manual touch, and I'm working on the hat, the right way I swear!