Survived, Laminaria and Italy

Well, as I'm posting, I must have survived the spinning class at the gym yesterday!

I have to admit that the class was actually fun! I worked hard. I was drowning in sweat. At times I forgot to breathe and only got back into it as our instructor kept reminding us to take deep breaths (where did that yoga breathing go?)... I will definitely do it again!

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Pictures of a "pretend blocked" Laminaria:

First part: the stars

Second part: the blossoms

The third part: the edge

I hope to be able to block it properly over the weekend, but I'm not sure I have time to. Just by "pretend blocking" it in a dry stage, made me realize what an enormous amount of time it can take to pin up a shawl and have it look good... I also have to read up on blocking. I've never blocked anything lacy before...

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Boyfriend and I are meeting up with friends tonight to discuss a vacation we're thinking about taking together next fall. Yes, we're doing this early, but there are ten of us and we need to figure out if it's even possible for all of us to go at the same time. And if we can work out a budget that everyone feels comfortable with.

We're thinking about renting a big house for a week in Tuscany, Italy. And spend our days focusing on the beautiful landscape, on things that are eatable and drinkable, and on creativity. I've been told to bring my knitting and notebooks and some of the others will bring drawing and painting supplies.

So, not only am I thinking about going to Canada and the US next year, I'm also hoping for some time in Italy. Winning the lottery wouldn't be too bad...