Tag: US national parks

Thursday, August 22, 2024

Scott let me pick the specific itinerary for this cruise, and I always knew I wanted a route that would include Glacier Bay National Park. I had been looking forward to this day for a very long time. Scott had treated us to a balcony cabin and thermal suite passes in part so we could maximize our peaceful views of this unique place.

Official Park Rangers were onboard all day providing commentary as we cruised the bay. They set up in the observation lounge to answer questions, and also brought along with them educational displays, the stamp for my NP Passport, and some souvenir offerings such as the postcard and sticker (always stickers) I’ve saved in my journal.

We took in the views from various points on the ship – the balcony and thermal suite of course, but also outdoor decks and the observation lounge. Scott claims that some small brown dots in the water were otters. I definitely saw whales today (as on other days), and of course… the glaciers.

OK, so here’s a photo dump of a fraction of what was taken. It may look like I added a gray filter to some of these, but I did not. Gray is my favorite color and I couldn’t have been happier that this was nature’s color scheme and mood for today. Magnificent.

In the evening we enjoyed live music from Stick2One in the Cavern Club for several sets. I may have demonstrated my exceptional dancing skills on a couple of different dance floors this night. You’re welcome, fellow cruisers.

Saturday, May 11, 2024

Cross stitching as a hobby is a bit difficult for me to admit. Somehow it feels more geriatric than my knitting. But it’s one of the first crafting hobbies I had as a child, and recently when I needed a knitting break I went in search of a project that interested me. It had been so long that my first instinct was to go to Joann’s to look for kits and patterns, and I was surprised how limited the selections were these days. Then I got a clue and looked on Etsy, where apparently there is a cross stitch pattern for anything you could possibly think of. OK, well that’s not true because I have a dark and inappropriate imagination. But there are some good ones…

Alas I did not succumb to my basest instincts, and instead found a wonderful seller with patterns for every single US National Park. Score.

I purchased the Mt. Rainier pattern from their “Mini” (6″x6″ on 14 count) collection in January, then went to Joann’s (or was it Michael’s?) for the hoop, aida, and floss. I tend to be a pattern follower so I attempted to buy all of the prescribed DMC colors from the pattern, but when they were out of some I made substitutions of similar colors. I didn’t feel good about that, but that was pre-medicated ADHD-brained Stacy so I had to get everything immediately in order to get started on my new dopamine fix now, right now. #impulsecontrol #allornothingthinking

I just finished the project and am happy overall with the process and outcome. I’ve brightened this photo, but left contrast, color saturation, etc. without edits.

The aspects I’m not 100% in love with are the fabric, the thread saturation (that might not be the right word), and all of the color choices. I went ahead and did some YouTube viewing and ordered linen for my next project, which will be a first for me. I’m also going to experiment with 3 strands instead of 2 on the next one to hopefully get more color density (that seems like a better word). And for sure I will not automatically go with the pattern-prescribed DMC choices for the entire project.

I ordered the patterns for Olympic National Park and North Cascades National Park, and as soon as the linen is delivered I’ll be doing some floss shopping.

I could see us a few decades from now, when we return to a home base with walls, framing a whole collection of these as mementos from our many, many years on the road.