The Duck has landed.

I have landed! Battle Ground, Washington, about 2o miles northeast of Portland, is my home for the time being. TreeHugger boyfriend and I are crashing with some great friends here. The Duck and I were greeted with a welcoming feast of cheese, fresh-picked raspberries, and Scotch. Lovely!


The trip was more enjoyable than it probably should have been, given I was driving 8-10 hours a day, alone, but I can entertain myself endlessly. I saw friends and family, caught up on my podcasts, and got excited at the first sight of mountains, canyons, trees, the Columbia River, Safeway, and windmills. I saw a license plate from every state but Hawaii (I once got all 50, plus the District of Columbia). This is my eighth cross-country drive: back and forth with friends once; four times by myself; twice with TreeHugger boyfriend; five times west, three times east. I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed that I probably won't get to do it again any time soon.

All of that stopping in between the driving allowed for a lot of knitting time. Knitting served particularly well as a way to release some of the energy stored up while sitting in a car for an entire day. I focused mostly on the Baltic Knee Socks, with excellent progress to show for it (excuse the pale legs):
Including my first short-row heel:

Not perfect, but not bad. I won't show you that the other side has a hole an eyelet in the corner. I enjoyed making a different heel, and I'm looking forward to perfecting my technique on the second sock. I'm loving the Fearless Fibers superwash merino in Brick House (the color is more accurate on my screen in the second picture). The yarn just goes on and on and on, and I've never received so many compliments on any other colorway. And besides, I think the yarn is just glad to be home!

More to come. I've got to spread out the blog lovin' (blovin'!), particularly since I'm unemployed and don't have much else to do (and I'm loving it!).

Most recent podcast: NPR's Story of the Day.
Currently listening to: a humming refrigerator.
What I should be doing: Responding to email.