Vacation: New Hampshire

I'm working backwards in time now. We were in NH for the last of July and early August. The weather was delightfully cool and we only got rained on twice. We had two separate visits from grad-school-era friends and their kids got along decently with our kids, which is always a nice bonus.

We don't eat out much when we're in NH. Part of this is just geography: it's a middling to long drive to anything really good. Part of this is family: we're here to see the uncles and aunts and cousins, even if it means eating burgers or lousy pasta for dinner. And part of this is my FIL, who's an insanely creative and excellent cook. When he and MIL are hosting a meal, we're always there.

We did manage to visit two outlet malls: Settler's Green in North Conway and Tanger Outlets in Tilton. Both are really good for children's clothing, and Tilton also has the lovely Thai House so that was like a double-win.

So where did we eat, when ate out? We trekked across the state to get great Asian food at East of Suez, which makes good lumpia and an amazing Taiwanese salt-and-pepper-chicken. We went to The Corner House Inn (an old family tradition) and also to Chequers Villa while we were visiting the uncle who lives in Tamworth. The former makes great seafood, salads, and burgers. The latter makes good jalapeño poppers and pizza, but stay away from the pasta unless you're completely unfussy. We missed going to Lago, which used to be a tradition but has fallen by the wayside this year. The view of Lake Winnipesauke is unbeatable, and the food's pretty darn good, too.

I also hit the sale at Patternworks, the lovely little yarn shop in Center Harbor. The yarn was pretty well picked over by the time I got there but I did score some 16-inch circular needles by Clover at a good price.

And that's really it. Lots of time in the water. Lots of time looking at mountains. Catching up with friends. Catching up with family. A delightful paucity of mosquitoes.

Vacation: Nantucket

Yes, yes, I know I promised The Blog a recap of our week in London, and I haven't gotten to it yet. I blame it on the difficulty of transferring pictures off my very ancient phone. Since making that promise, I (we) have gone to New Hampshire for one family reunion and then to Nantucket for a different branch of the family's reunion.

Today we talk about Nantucket. Everyone from my mom's immediate family showed up for at least 4 days. We all stayed in Madaket in various rental houses, which permitted us some privacy while still allowing us to run back and forth to different houses all day. This proved useful for the people who don't do much in the kitchen, in that they could drop by and bum food from those of us who do like to cook and bake.

We ate out more than usual. I no longer remember the exact sequence of days and times, but I know that we

1) had dinner at Black-Eyed Susan's, which was yummy except that the pork curry was so hot it made me cry, but so tasty that I couldn't stop eating it. The tuna tartare appetizer was lovely, and the cod entree was exceptional. If you go, be aware that they only accept cash and the prices run in excess of $30 per entree. On a happier note, the corkage fee is only $2 per bottle.

2) got smoothies twice at Nantucket Ice Cream and "Juice Guys". I got a Nantucket Red (excellent) and a Pink Cloud (almost nearly as excellent) and highly recommend them for excellent product and service. They're a little off the beaten path; you have to go most of the way out on the wharf for the Hy-Line Ferry and look to the left.

3) had lunch at Millie's of Madaket. It took us a while to get a table but the wait was absolutely worth it! The oyster po'boy was luscious and their rice side salad is truly stunning. My cousin said his shrimp taco was terrific and my aunt loved her quesadilla but I can't remember which one she got. Scallops, maybe? So really, only mom's redfish po'boy was less than exceptional. As with most Nantucket eateries, prices run about 50% higher than I'm used to seeing here in inland New England.

4) had dinner at The Rose and Crown. The poutine was disappointing but my Mixed Salad (mixed greens, dried cranberries, toasted goat cheese, almonds, carrots, and radishes in a cider vinaigrette ) was fantastic, and a very good price. I don't remember what everyone else got, but they all seemed to enjoy their food.

5) had two meals at Brotherhood of Thieves. I got the crab cake burger with sweet potatoes fries and it was fantastic both times. The rest of my extended family had beef burgers and seemed to enjoy them.

6) got ice cream The Juice Bar. I thought the ice cream was good but not so fantastic as to warrant standing in line for nearly an hour. My cousins, however, disagree with me and went in most evenings to brave the line and the mosquitoes.

7) got donuts at Downyflake. I didn't go myself - this was at the tail end of an unsuccessful morning crabbing expedition - but the guys were kind enough to bring me back a donut.

I also made time for exquisite yarn store next door to Downyflake. This is Flock, a small but well-curated shop that seems to specialize in Madelinetosh. I went in hoping to find self-striping sock yarn. The collection of Regia was tiny and did not match what I wanted, but I allowed myself to be seduced by two skeins of Tosh Sock. (Pictures to follow when I unpack enough to actually locate said yarn.)

So overall, a very nice visit! Next year I hope to schedule a nature tour, and maybe get into Black-Eyed Susan's for breakfast.

Another FO: fingerless mitts!

Finally put another project to bed!

I'm currently in my last week of "real" vacation before the upcoming school year starts to intrude. I had promised myself that I would either frog or finish a few projects over the summer. Thus far, I've deemed one pair of socks to be irredeemable, and finished one pair of fingerless mitts.

The details: my Ravelry page
Yarn: ColorWul by Patons, in "Bramble"
Needles: Size 8, wooden (I used the 2-circulars method; each was 16 inches)
Pattern: a greatly modified version of the Perdita X Mitts. Each mitten is 40 rows long and 32 stitches around. I ran out of yarn a little early so the thumbs aren't as fully developed as I'd like. Next time I do this, I will probably shoot for only 37 or 38 rows.

Evidence of life

Wow! Didn't mean to miss an entire month there. I still have to blog about our trip to London back in June, and more recently I've actually knit some stuff. But today is filled with the misery that comes from having a small dog barf on your bed at 4:30AM and a mostly unsuccessful attempt to finish sleeping on the sofa (with him, of course).

I will try to catch up more, soon.

Shown below: a pair of baby socks I just finished, from Kate Atherley's free pattern. Used Patton's Kroy sock yarn and size 1 needles.