~ some sunshine therapy ~
Despite the consistently grey skies, the still cold air, and the growing depression (emotional not financial, heh), I hadn't realized we were having an inversion until I overheard some folks talking about it. Having spent the vast majority of my winters here, I must say that the inversions do not bother me as much as some. For me, they are a normal part of winter. Even still, during an inversion, the best medicine for the soul is to make one's way above the grey, cold, still air, to sunnier and warmer ground.
On Saturday, in celebration of Elizabeth's birthday, I went snowshoeing with Elizabeth, Edvin, and Josh to Whoop-Um-Up. The sun was glorious. We snowshoed Lower Lamar Loop, which took us about an hour and a half. During that time, Josh and I did our fair share of goofing off, which included an attempt at hiding from Elizabeth and Edvin and then jumping out at them.
After snowshoeing, we went to Hilltop for some burgers and beers. The beer was good, the food was totally subpar in both quantity and quality.
More photos on my photoset
On Sunday, I decided to make more use of my snowshoe rental and dragged my dad and his dog up to Grimes Creek for some snowshoeing. Again, the sunshine was wonderful.
Note, I love how Dad and the dog have the same facial expression in this photo.
The dog is really something to behold. He has a very impressive amount of energy, as evidenced by how he kept running at top speed up and down the side of the mountain next to the trail.
![](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3471/3208171806_56e532e99a.jpg?v=0")
We snowshoed for about three hours and were able to get up to a summit before the trail went down the other side of the mountain. On the way down, we both kept tripping over the toe-spike thingie on our snowshoes which prompted some mutual mockery.
More photos of this one on my photoset
~ outlook ~
Recently, I've been giving a lot of thought to the impact that having a more positive, more optimistic outlook has on one's overall health, wellbeing, and quality of life. This is not at all related to anything that has been going on recently, but is just more of a general life thing I've been thinking about. Life is too short to spend one's time being negative and stressing out about things that don't really matter. For example, today I had a long conversation about this with a friend who has noticed a significant decline in her partner's blood pressure when stress is reduced and they participate in more 'fun-loving' activities. They've even made a resolution to try to not let things like the economy and the impending doom get them down, which I think is very refreshing. With all that is going on, I've sensed that we ("we", as in the general we, not the you and I "we") are really good at self-fulfilling prophesies.
Yesterday, Josh and I rented some snowshoes and went up to Grimes Creek again. The snow was somewhat crusty and packed down, so the trekking was much easier than last time. Not exerting ourselves quite so much, we were able to go much much farther, all the way tracking a herd of elk which we saw off in the distance at one point. We even came upon evidence we hypothesized was left from a wolf hunt (probably a deer or somesuch creature). It was interesting to examine the different tracks in the snow (some possibly elk, deer, wolf, and coyote) and consider the behavior and patterns.
Snowshoeing is an activity that makes one's legs and core feel really strong. I'm surprised at myself that I've never before engaged in this activity, because it is right up my alley of things that I enjoy. Plus, it seems to be much more affordable than many other winter sports. And I like the idea that one doesn't need to go to an established snowshoe trail, but that one can just find some pretty snowy space and explore.
(More photos on flickr).
~ Vivian ~
First finished project of the year and I've been a knitting fool since the school semester ended a few weeks ago. Let it be known that I am delighted, absolutely delighted, with this project. Unfortunately, I ran out of yarn and was not able to knit the hood...sniff. The floppy collar, however, is a decent substitution. Today, the sun was out and Josh and I used the opportunity to hike Pole Cat Trail. It was around 30 degrees outside, I wore Vivian with a baselayer, and felt perfectly comfortable in the crisp air! This cardigan is so snuggly and comfy, perfect for that mild winter hike or cuddling up with some knitting and a cup of tea before bed (how I enjoyed Vivian last night).
Pattern: Vivian
Yarn: Cascade Pastaza
Besides the unfortunate omission of the hood, I made a few other alterations, including some ribbing, duplication of the cable motif on the underside of the sleeves, the button loop instead of zipper, and the changed the shaping. Oh, and the most glaring alteration is employing the Pastaza yarn, which yields a much different look (and feel and wear). I had planned on using Cascade Eco wool, but could not find any when I went out shopping - - and since I had to buy yarn that very day because I could not wait one second longer to cast on, I bought the Pastaza. Mainly because I liked the color....
Here's a shot of the back where you can see my shaping. This yarn was so thick and heavy that I was worried it would make me look like a quarterback if I followed the pattern, so I kept it narrow in the shoulders.
This yarn is also so thick that it has proven to be a very good move to omit the zipper in favor of a single i-cord button loop. The openness of the front provides much needed ventilation. At 30 degrees F, I was quite warm - - and I am normally someone who is always freezing, so this says a lot about this yarn's warmth. The yarn also has quite a lot of the llama guard hairs, which means that it should always be worn with a long sleeve shirt underneath. Otherwise, the yarn is quite poky (not scratchy, but poky).
The floppy collar is just the cable pattern from the body flipped to the wrong side and increasing 8 stitches every four rows in seed stitch. I'm rather amazed that I ran out of yarn. My row gauge must have been totally off - - I had even bought an 'extra' (calculating total yardage) hank of yarn, but I literally ran out of yarn on the collar bind off.
It was a glorious day today, hiking with Josh, wearing my new Vivian... The sunshine therapy was wonderful.
