Snail Spirals

Though I didn’t get much knitting done over the past few days, it was a fabulous Christmas long weekend. My sister and her boyfriend were able to come out to visit for five days, and we had a great time. Lots of good food, opening presents, playing with Emma, Christmas-partying, a trip to Mt. Baker for skiing, sightseeing around the island, hiking Mt. Finlayson, and general fun.



Our first Christmas in our new house was wonderful. Emma got a ton of presents- some great toys. Her particular favorite is a dog pull toy with a xylophone on its back. I was a little surprised that she got so into the presents. I would have thought she was still in the paper/bows/boxes stage of gift appreciation, but she really did get excited about the presents too. I guess that it helped that she got some really cool toys. She was pretty indifferent to the clothes, but was very interested in the toys.

I did finish the first Christmas sock, and started the second on the ferry when we went to Mt. Baker. I didn’t do any knitting on it during the day at Mt. Baker, since Emma was awake and wanted to play. She and I went on a big long walk in the afternoon while the others skied. She fell asleep during the walk (I rigged a sling out of my coat so she could sleep), so she missed most of the gorgeous scenery. Of course, being one and a half, she was far more interested in the sticks on the path than vistas of snow-covered mountains. We probably only went a mile all told, but carrying a 24 pound toddler in a makeshift sling for ¾ of a mile is still tiring. I was wiped out when we got back to the lodge.



We really do live in a beautiful area. We need to make more of an effort to get out and see more of it while we’re here. The whole area around Mt. Baker is gorgeous, especially the North Fork Nooksack River. The Pacific Northwest rainforesty/moss-dripping-off-the-trees environment fascinates me. In my former life as an environmental biologist for the state of North Carolina, back when I had a real job where I actually got to use my degree, I got to explore rivers and streams and do freshwater mussel surveys, wetland delineations, and endangered species surveys. I can hardly stand to pass by woods or a body of water without getting out and poking around to see what I can see. I really like to know what it is I’m looking at, and keep “life lists” of much, much more than just birds.

I collect field guides. I am a geek.