Hot Tang!

Well, I'm back from a soggy weekend of white-water rafting. The Peshtigo River in upstate Wisconsin (75 mi. NW of Green Bay) has some class III rapids that Squid and I CONQUERED this past weekend, thankyouverymuch. The weather was quite nice for the actual river trip, but after we went to bed Saturday night, the rain started and didn't stop. Which meant that we broke camp in the rain, loaded the van in the rain, and drove home in the rain. Ew. We can't put our car in the garage right now because there are two fully-pitched Eureka Timberline tents drying off in there. Now all we need is a sunny day . . .

The rafting itself was a lot of fun--though a LOT more strenuous than I thought--I'm a little creaky today. There were about 22 of us in our group, and everyone got along famously--which in a group that size, is rare. Though we're all well-meaning dorks, so it's not a big issue. Unlike the campsite full of jackholes who blared their mickeyfrickin' Linkin Park/Marilyn Manson/Metallica/G'n'R CD collection at deafening levels all weekend. We mocked them quietly amongst ourselves as "annoying, but harmless" until the fireworks came out. At that point we complained, since we were on the doorstep of a national forest, after all. And every piece of signage and documentation you saw at the campground stated "no fireworks", often in multiple places. They left shortly thereafter. We're so darn tame by comparison--"Hey, you! One more Simpsons reference, and your asses are outta here!" isn't that likely to happen.

I'll explain the Hot Tang! title later--tomorrow perhaps. The camp cuisine deserves an entry of its own.

In knitting news--I got a lot of knitting done on the way up, but was a little too sore and sleepy on the way home to get much done.

Finished: Someday I'll sew the strap on my Round About.
On the Needles: Fiona: has several more rounds of full triple crosses on her now, and I know it's working as it should. I'm a little concerned about my tension in the transition from the triple cross back to purl--it seems a little laddery, even when I purl through the back loop. However, Brooks mentioned that hers was that way too--I won't sweat it, and if it's too holey, I'll line it.
The Stripey Cap: I think I'm done with ribbing, and ready to get stripey. Wheee! The hat will progress quickly from here, because the stripes are so much darn fun.
Colinette Throw: It didn't travel with me, so no real quick progress--I'm up to the Isis section in seed stitch. I hope to start the 2nd repetition of the pattern this week.
Skully and Sherbet Socks--no progress at all.

Obligatory Cultural References
Reading: I Had Brain Surgery, What's Your Excuse?, Suzy Becker. Surprisingly amusing for a memoir about the aftermath of having a brain tumor surgically removed. I'll be done with it in no time. Next up: The Namesake, for book club.
Listening to: Squid swordfight on Puzzle Pirates and the dryer go thump thump thump.