Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Re-entry Recap


So on the whole it was a lovely holiday to Mexico. The travel part was a bit tedious (bad hours, delays and an uncomfortable child) but nothing that a little 7-up and knitting couldn't ease, well enough to appreciate the greater picture.


And what a picture, eh?

We went all inclusive resort this summer for 5 evenings at Ixtapa Club Med. (which is why there are quite a few photos where we are obviously about to tuck in or just tucked into some vacation eating.)

It's a family spot and there were so many amenities geared towards family, babies, children ... of which my son had no interest whatsoever. There was archery, circus school with a tight-rope, trapeze swinging and a trampoline! There was a soccer tourney every evening, and talent shows...

Nothing.


He hung out at the pool with me and went kayaking with his father a bit the first day or two but then he was all about the ocean. He didn't want to make friends. After realizing I just wanted to do what I wanted to do (which wasn't too far from what he wanted to do, just throw in a few exercise classes) I backed off and knit under the umbrella while The Manfriend read. We kept an eye on the shaggy head with goggles that often turned into a pair of  stick legs and long narrow feet bobbing while he looked for tropical fish or pretty shells for his cousins.


It was a good time.

I finished the second book, Prodigy in that YA Legend trilogy, which I've decided I'll just do a trilogy follow-up / review when I finish the third book.

Image from Amazon.com

However true to my word, I managed to finish a grown up book as well. I read Gone Girl. My sister warned me she had a hard time reading it initially and I see why. I didn't like anyone (of the characters) when I started reading this. Everyone irritated me. Even the character flaws that I could relate to, irritated the eegads out of me. Yet, I persisted. I just wanted to know,  "what now?".  I was placated with the ending. I think I prefer it to other options, but I've heard others were less satisfied. Did you read it? How did you feel about it?

On the knitting front: I packed like I was hot stuff:


But in reality I only finished Antarkis during the layover in Mexico City. I still haven't blocked it, which I'm excited about, because it seems rather ... small.  So I'll post a final final of that soon.

I brought along Dr. G's socks and they are almost done!



I also cast on the ultimate pair of tropical vacation socks. Seriously this colorway sends me to a happy place as I finish the first of the pair. I can still feel the soft humid heat and see the sparkle and shine of the swimming pool. I can feel the sting in my eyes of the saltwater and hear the laughter in the background of a sunset at the end of another wonderful water-logged day.


And now, I am back. Still knitting, wishin' I was swimmin' ... and working for the next vacation and filling up the family calendar with To Dos as Middle School looms around the corner. Le Sigh.

Remember if you haven't already entered in the "Trust Me Giveaway" go here and give me a comment with your choice of fingering or worsted. You have until the end of day Friday August 8th!

9 comments:

  1. oh the beach! we love to visit as a family to any beach and it looks like you all had such fun! love that you are knitting and reading on vacation!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think I have to buy that knitpicks yarn. OMG.
    MExico vakay sounds so wonderful. Glad your son wanted to hang out with YOU. Didn't read Gone Girl. Funny it got such good reviews….we all want something different from our pages eh?
    I missed you

    ReplyDelete
  3. The beach is a siren. I can't believe your son wasn't interested in any of those fun activities. Maybe if he had a cousin or friend along with him? Your socks rock.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looks like y'all had a wonderful time and everyone got to do their favorite things.

    That Knit Picks yarn is BEAUTIFUL. Perfect vacation yarn.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ah it looks like, and sounds like, you had a wonderful vacation! It's fantastic when a vacation does exactly what it's supposed to do, relax and recharge. Love all the yarn and those socks are sending me to the ocean right now. Gorgeous color. I had a very hard time getting into reading Gone Girl. As I turned each page I questioned why so many people loved it. I think the turning point came for me when I reached just past the halfway point in the book. It became a little more intriguing for me and I just wanted to see how it ended.

    ReplyDelete
  6. How fun! I finally tried knitting on the pool deck and found it wasn't as gross as I thought. Usually the hot sticky weather keeps from wanting to knit wool, and I don't do cotton. But this year the temps were mild, so knitting happened! Hope you get back to vacation again soon! Why can't we have 6 vacations a year?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your vacation sounds beautiful, relaxing and filled with sun. My kids never did join in any activities when we were away. I loved that they wanted to be near us, but also would have loved a bit of beach time alone. Gone Girl was a tough read for me, everyone raved about it so I tried, but 3/4 of the way through I still did not like a single soul in the book so I stopped reading, asked my friend about the end and went on with my life. Love your knitting.
    Meredith

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ahh, time at the beach is THE best!

    Love the striped socks - a perfect reminder if the lazy days of summer, spent on the beach and around the pool.

    ReplyDelete