Packing Again

I'm now two days away from my flight to the Antarctic. I've done this drill so many times, I no longer have to think about it too much. Yes, it is still exciting, but the result of all this experience, is I've become a master at packing and organizing my stuff. In fact, the other day when the lady at Jenny Craig was packing up some food I'd ordered to take with me, she pulled out a cardboard box and I took one look and said, "I don't think all of that is going to fit in that box," and she said, "Oh sure it will, plenty of room," and another lady in the office chimed in, "yeah, it will fit no worries."

Well guess what? It didn't fit. The box was too small. Once all the food was packed, the first lady handed me a box much larger than the first one and said, "you were right, the box was too small," to which I explained that I've spent the better part of the last 11 years packing up my life at least twice a year and I've developed a talent for sizing up boxes.

You can see in this packing action shot that Snowflake is making it known, in no uncertain terms, that he is coming with me. Shhh, don't tell anyone. Cats are not allowed in Antarctica.

Tomorrow I go over to the Antarctic Centre by the airport and get my clothing issued for my Antarctic adventure. The next morning, my flight on the C-17 is scheduled at 5am. Of course this is all dependent on the weather down on the ice, which can be very fickle this time of year.

Now that most of my house is packed up and all my craft stuff put away, I am relying on knitting to keep me happy for the next couple of months. I've packed lots of yarn and currently I am working on a hot pink dog sweater for my niece's toy poodle. And I mean 'toy' poodle, not toy poodle. Her poodles are as much real dogs as Snowflake is a real cat (but we won't call them 'stuffed' as not to offend). She has two doggies, and since I'm unable to measure them properly (since she's in California, and I'm here), I am guessing and hoping that the sweater will fit. If it does, I'll make another one in light blue (her two favorite colors).


This is that cool bamboo fiber yarn. Who would know this stuff is made from bamboo? It's so soft and silky and knits up beautifully. See the nice sheen it has?

Recently when I visited my friend Kay, we got to play on the torch for a little while and I made these two cuties...

Really, it's tough to make a matching set, because after you make the first one, you have to put it in a high-temperature blanket (or a kiln) so it doesn't cool down too quickly (and crack). So the first bead is out of sight when you make the second one, so you have to just try and guess and hope it looks like the first one. I think this set turned out pretty close and I'm happy.

These beads started out with a white center, then I layered green glass over that, then applied the dots with another, slightly more yellow-y green. I like the way the white underneath brings out that gorgeous green color.