Vacation, Long Beach Island, NJ

As a child my family went to LBI pretty much every summer. I don't remember how long we ever stayed, but LBI set my expectations for the beaches. As a child I was envious of my friends who got to go to Wildwood, after all, Wildwood had the boardwalk. LBI was simply beaches, ocean, and bay, now that I am an adult, I appreciate the simplicity of waves, sand, and non-boardwalk tourist traps. My family continues to visit LBI each summer, I do not. This year I decided to join the extended family for one week down the shore. I've returned tanned, but not ready to resume the stress of work (who ever is?).

Barnegat Lighthouse (probably the first lighthouse I had ever seen)

An entrance to a section of the shore:I was happy to return to Boston, and my kitty was probably even happier. I did some knitting while at the shore, but not a lot. Most of my time was spent instead with my new toy, a Kindle.

I hope that everyone enjoys this long weekend!

Modeled Shots

I brought the dress over for a modeling session. I had to do some horsetrading, but I got her to put it on. Once I got out the camera, her inner Cindy Crawford came through and she gave me some great shots. It seems to fit great!

A Little Summer Dress

Is anybody still out there? I seriously doubt it at this point. J and I have been terrible bloggers. I haven't had the crafting bug lately. I've started a bunch of knitting and sewing projects, only to leave them doomed to UFO status. I'm afraid to start anything new on the knitting side - everything just takes so long. Plus, it's been quite hot here in SoCal lately. However, I did miraculously get the sewing bug on Sunday thanks to a tutorial I found online for a shirred sundress. Allegedly, no pattern was required, so I made a quick trip to Beverly's for some fun, girly, summery fabric, and set about making a new dress for my niece. I didn't bother getting her measurements or anything, figuring that the bodice of the dress would stretch to accommodate her. I only knew she is 42 inches tall (at 4 yrs old, btw).

I had never shirred before, and I was nervous. It wasn't quite as easy as the tutorial implied. It turns out that the key to getting proper shirring is to wind the bobbin (elastic thread) fairly tightly. As a result of not having this knowledge, the first seven rows of shirring had to be ripped out, which occupied one evening in front of the TV. Replacing them didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped, so it isn't perfect, but since it was my first time, I'll consider it a learning experience. I think next time, it will go much better.

Here is the finished product:



I'm starting to like it, although I'm still focusing in on everything I don't like about it. I plan on giving it to her sometime this week, so she can be the coolest kid in preschool!

Long Weekend

I hope that everyone enjoyed the long weekend. I decided that I wanted to get out of the city for at least part of the weekend, and thanks to Amtrak, I was able to do so. Amtrak has a train from Boston to Portland, with some stops along the way. Since you are able to take your bike along with you, I decided that this would be the perfect way to take a day trip (I have no car-be warned I may complain about this for awhile as I try to adjust).

I hoped on a train at about 9 am and arrived in Wells, Maine by about 10:30. After getting off the train, I hoped on my bike and headed down Route 1 to Ogunquit, where I visited Perkins Cove. At Perkins Cove I got off my bike and took a stroll along Marginal Way.

After exploring this shortish coastal path I returned to Perkins Cove and wander the shops there. As I was wandering, I noticed that I could take a cruise down to see the Cape Neddick (Nubble) Lighthouse. Since this Lighthouse was among the things I wanted to see, and since I didn't know if I could actually bike all the way there and still eat where I planned for dinner and make it back to the train station, I decided to buy a ticket and to leave the driving to a captain :)

The cruise lasted about an hour and half and took me down the coast line and around the Lighthouse then back to Ogunquit. It was the perfect way to see the Lighthouse since I was able to see it from 3 of the 4 sides, and if I biked down I only would have seen it from one side.

After the cruise, I got back onto my bike and rode up to Kenneybunkport (no photos) where I had my dinner with a Shipyard Brown Ale and a view of the boats/ships sitting in the various docks. After dinner I had plenty of time to ride back to the train station and to relax (and be eaten by mosquitoes) while waiting for my ride back to Boston.

Lest you think that I am all about traveling and not knitting at all, here is some evidence that there is some yarn action happening here:

Nebula Socks by Cookie A (sorry no link-I really have to get ready for work)

Hello!

Well, I don't really have much to say, but I thought I would post anyway to prove that we here at the Purly Gate are still kicking.

I haven't been doing much knitting lately. I had one secret knitting project in April, which is now off to it's recipient, but still not bloggable. I have another secret knitting project that is in the works, a photo unworthy shawl, and a pair of orchid lace mitts that are a graduation gift for a string musician I know. To be honest, I haven't felt moved by my knitting.

To distract you from this, let me share some photos from a recent trip:

And a recent photo from home:

This is my first time along the 3rd base line, usually I sit in the grandstands, along the first base line, just slightly off from home plate.

Oh, and I am very seriously thinking of going carless. I am not entirely sure that I am ready for this move. I don't drive often, but it has always been nice knowing that I had my car available. I don't drive enough to justify (to myself) the cost of a new car though, so we shall see how this works out for me.

Spring in Boston

Finally spring is starting to rear its head. We still have plenty of chilly days, but flowers are in bloom and tourist are back around. The tourist are particularly present this weekend since the

Boston Marathon is being run tomorrow. This means that I don't have to work tomorrow, but it also means that I had to fight through crowds to get to the library. I can live with tourist if it means that I will be able to ditch the jacket soo and to enjoy the parks and flowers around town, which it does.

Happy Spring everyone!

The First of Many

Today was the first of many recitals for Savannah - her first ballet recital. She takes lessons at the YMCA, and the recital involved each class performing as a group. Some did tap, some ballet. She's in a "Pre-ballet" class, where kids were around 3 or 4. It was mostly them wandering around the stage, jumping up and down and twirling around. It was really funny and really cute too. Here she is in her tutu:



She loves to sing and dance, so I see a lot of performing in her future. I just noticed that a studio near my house teaches Irish dancing (which she sort of did instead of ballet during the recital, if I'm being perfectly honest with you), so my brother is going to look into signing her up. That will be a blast!