Refreshed

After a very hectic last week, I had two things on my mind for the weekend: playing outside and knitting. I was able to accomplish both! Friday night I headed down to Knit Happens for the monthly Knit-n-Nosh, and hung out with the crowd there and worked on Latifa. Erika brought in the most wonderful creation -- Revel Bars -- and they were as comforting as the stitches. I managed to get a couple of the ruffles done that night, and a few more over the weekend:

Saturday afternoon, I set off on a long walk, and wended my way through the neighborhoods until meeting up with some friends at a park. (The boyfriend drove and met me there, so I wouldn't have to hike back home.) We pitched horseshoes and played bocce and generally just enjoyed being outside on a lovely fall day. Though it will be nice after the first frost kills the mosquitos and bees; they were a little too persistent for my liking. Sunday afternon was spent biking through Rock Creek Park; I had a great time but always seem to forget that the easy downhill at the beginning of the route makes for a really un-fun walk-your-bike hill on the way back home. Still, my legs aren't sore today like I expected, and I LOVED feeling the cool air on my shoulders as I zipped around.

I also knitted a bit on the loopy velez cowl -- I'm in the long stockinette stretch now, heading for the home stretch. I have about 6 inches to go. It's a quick knit, once you get past the loops, and the yarn -- Karabella Aurora 8 -- is really soft and springy. I think I will definitely be using it again in the future.

A final victory: For the first time, I roasted a chicken! I'd been wanting to try for several months, so I finally pulled the bird out of the freezer and gave it the what-for. Added to the pan all the veggies I could find in the crisper -- baby carrots, peppers, green beans. It was delicious. I could even do it again. Hooray for culinary successes!