Flowers of Alaska (and Mt Rainer)

Well, that's it. I'm back home from my vacation. Nine days of Alaska and seven days of Seattle / Mt Rainer NP. The weather was so-so - there have been good days (like the last two days in Seattle) and not so good days (like most other days when it rained or was foggy or simply overcast). Not the best way to get a tan ;)

I did read Harry Potter 7 within two days (it was raining, what else was there to do?) but I also did get out for some hiking. And while hiking I did a few photos of flowers (they do have the advantage that they don't run away when one gets close ... most animals are not so accommodating)

As I don't have anything to show stitching vice (I haven't stitch anything (at all) while on vacation) and only knitted one sock (which I'm not even sure I like and might frog again), here some of those flower pictures.

The quick tour of the flowers in South East Alaska and Mt Ranier National Park

Fuchsia at the B&B we were staying in in Craig (Prince of Wales Island):



Fireweed (all over the place)


Salmonberry (taste good too)


pretty flower (might be a Columbine flower)


another pretty flower


Indian Paintbrush

Some sort of bell flower (might be foxglove)


Maybe, next time, some land scapes - and then I should have something to show on the knitting or stitching front ...

vacation update - the wildlife

Well, vacation is well underway - I've spent the last week in Ketchikan, Alaska, with a friend. A nice, quite place to relax. We also went for three days to Prince of Wales Island (to only way to get there is to take a three hour ferry ride) and checked out the wildlife there:








As you can see, we got a bit :)

Tonight, I fly back to Seattle for one more week of sightseeing (and shopping - never forget the shopping)
I've picked my books store for tonight to pick up my copy of Harry Potter 7 - all I need is a nice, comfortable place to read it.

vacation

Yeah, as of today I'm on vacation for the next three weeks. I'll flying of tomorrow to Seattle and then on to Ketchikan (Alaska) to visit a friend. Then back to Seattle on the 20th, just in time to be in the cue in the book store for the 7th Harry Potter. Back home one week later (after some sight seeing and shopping)

I've made the labyrinth from last week into an ornament.


It's much more sparkly in reality.

I've also started a table cloth (can you call the piece of fabric 80 x 80 cm a table 'cloth'? ... hmm, I'm not sure) - it was a kit I've got at Aldi. Here one of the leaf groups.



I've bought the kit twice, with the idea in mind to use the second one for a pattern with owls I've got, but so far I didn't manage to get the printed lines for the leaves out. They are much, much paler now, but still quite visible. I guess, I'll end up dying the whole thing in blue.
Well, the kit was really cheap - if it doesn't work, it was still worth the try.

I'm off, but I might be able to blog from far, far away ;)

3.8 - 180 - 42.2

No, this is not my age (though one number is getting scaringly close ... more about that later), nor my weight (luckily!!!!).
Those numbers, in kilometer, is the distance one has to swim, cycle and run in order to call himself (or herself) an Ironman - and all that in one day.
Every year for the last six years, the Ironman European Championship takes place in Frankfurt, and the starting point is the Langener Waldsee - a very short distance away from were I live.
Now, I've been thinking to go there for the start for a a couple of years now, but there's a little problem: the Ironman in Frankfurt starts at 7:00 AM - basically, in the middle of the night!!!
This year I finally drug myself out of bed at the ungodly hour of 6:00 AM (consider, it's Sunday!!!) and got myself over to the lake and to the starting line. I didn't quite made it in time - traffic was a bit more than I expected.

Even though more than 2000 people swimming in the lake is an impressive sight, it doesn't photograph so well I did take some pictures and here's a small collection:

Nothing works like a bit of encouragement ...

Rainer, go wild, it's only 224 km to go ;)


That's the leading group - one of the guys had to give up after 140km on the bike, but the rest made it to the finishing line.

Changing area swimming to bicycle


And off they go - only 180 km on the bike and then, to cap the whole thing, a little Marathon.

I have to admit, I'm deeply in awe of those guys (and gals)

BTW, this year, Timo Bracht won in 8:09:15. The women took almost an hour longer, but, and that was really exiting, the race was decided on the the last 100m before the finishing line. The two ladies, Nicole Leder and Andrea Brede, did run the Marathon side by side, and in the end, Nicole Leder won by only five seconds!

If you are interested, here's some more information.

Cross-stitch: I did a little detour on my two big projects (the packaged from the US still hasn't arrived)

The pattern is called Christmas Labyrinth, but I changed the colors. I guess I'll make it into an ornament (eventually)

Ehr, and one final thing ... it's my birthday today. So I'm off to do a little bit relaxing before turning in (you know, I'm not getting any younger ....)