Geocache #259



SWAG

Travel Fun cache

Alycia(AllieBee) and I decided to go geocaching today.  It was the perfect day for it, other than it has been raining for the past week or so and the ground was a bit soggy in places.  But not too bad if you were careful.#1 cache of 12 for the day was just this side of Hopland and a new known Travel Bug (TB) hotel.  I had been here before on a trip to pick up some wine at Jaxon Keyes, but decided then I wasn't properly dressed to be tracking in the bush!!  So here we are back to check it out.  AllieBee made a fairly quick find of this cache nestled in the bushes--I'm sure I was all over that bush both this time and last time as that is where my GPS kept taking me.  Guess you have to be at just the right angle to see it!!  Sometimes being short pays off and tall NOT!!  Can you see it nestled there? It is pretty well camoed too!

Loggerhead Turtle Geocoin

 

Christmas TB

 

Had a nice pick of SWAG and a few TB's and coins too!!  AllieBee nabbed the green sunglasses right off saying that she had forgot hers and she didn't care if they looked goofy or not, this was saving her money!  I picked up a TB called 'Christmas' a simple jingle bell attached to the tag, and a geocoin called 'Loggerheads Turtle Geocoin'. 



Our homemade magnets



Dropped off a TB called 'For my Rose' I forgot to take a picture of it as I thought there was already one at the TB site, but alas no!  It was a cute little stuffed tiger.  I, also, left a magnet that Alexis, my grand daughter, and I made last summer just for geocaching SWAG.  

All in all a good first cache of the day and my 259th cache found!!

 

Reading This week!!

OK, OK I am still reading 'Night of Many Dreams' by Gail Tsukiyama and IT IS an interesting book.  but I must say I did get a little distracted and read a couple of other books too!!  This book has been sitting in my work bag to read on my breaks at work.

I have a bad habit of reading more than one book at a time. 

I was needing a little something to read that was pure mindless reading and ended up reading a romance "For Kaitlyn's Sake'.  It was a pretty quick mindless read LOL!!  Sorry no picture and Amazon to show you!!

I then had a book that I had posted on one of my bookswap lists quite awhile ago (didn't think it would ever be asked for) that I hadn't read yet get requested.  I am so bad that I can't let a book go through my hands without reading it.  So instead of reading more of 'Night of Many Dreams' I then read "Merlin's Bones' by Fred Saberhagen before I sent it off to its new owner.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked his book.  It is described as an "offbeat Arthurian fantasy".  Liked it enough to list a few more of his books as wants on my bookswap list!!   One of our Dr's commented that he had read some of Saberhagan's books awhile back and had really enjoyed his writing too.

After finishing 'Merlin's Bones' at work I was without a book to read, I had left my bag at home with "Night of Many Dreams'.  So raided my locker which has plenty of books for just such an occasion.  Now I am almost finished reading 'Wife For Hire' by Janet Evanovich.  I really like her styly of writing.  She has a series out about an inept bounty hunter name Stephanie Plum that I have almost read all the books too.  I am sure a new one will be coming out soon.

I am sure afer this read I will be able to sit down and finish 'Night of Many Dreams' as I am about half way through with it!!

Update on Knit-A-Long

Finished the Back this week, even with working most of it!!  It's turning out pretty nice!!  I like the colors!!

Started the Left front!!  Interesting how the pockets are worked in. 

This is turning out to be a pretty kewl project!!

Saturday night potluck at work - again!!

Here it is saturday night at work again - Brenda decided a few years back that if we had to be working on a saturday night we needed to have some fun and started the potluck saturday night thing. 

I decided to make the 'Chicken Tortilla Soup' and found a nice easy recipe at http://www.cdkitchen.com/ lo-fat too!!  I made it like the recipe excpt that I baked the chicken when I got home from work this morning and let it cool while I slept for awhile.  When I woke up around 1'ish this afternoon I threw everything except the cilantro, lime juice and tortillas into the crockpot and let it simmer the rest of the afternoon.  I then made the tortilla strips (coated with olive oil flavored pam and baked) and let them cool.  Right before I unplugged the pot to head to work I added the lime juice, dished up a bowl to take a picture and to taste.  I think I need to stop by the store on the way to work and get a bit of sour cream.  Cause a dollup of cream in the middle would make it perfect!!

Hmmm, hmmm good if I say so myself!!

Here's to another good potluck saturday night -- hopefully it won't be as busy as it was last night and we can enjoy Brenda's 'Pot Stickers' and my 'Chicken Tortilla Soup'.

Off to work I go

Well its the weekend again . . . and my weekend to work!  So off to work I'll be heading in a few.  Tomorrow is our Saturday night potluck at work and not sure what to take . . . Guess we will all discuss it tonight and then make a firm decision.  I was thinking about making a chicken tortilla soup. . . we'll see.

Probably won't be working much on my Knit-A-Long over the next couple of days either, but will take it to work on during my lunch break if ime permits!!

Catch you'all later!!

Update: Yarn for my Knit-A-Long (KAL)

Yahoo!!!  Yarn came in for my Knit-A-Long(KAL) today!! 

Was headed out the door to a staff meeting when I noticed that the mailman had left my package by the door.  I tossed it in the kitchen and hoped that I could get back to it later --- We were really, really busy last night at work and it looked like they were going to need some extra help tonight and I volunteered to be available, I would find out at the staff meeting if I was staying and working or able to head back home and start fingering some yarn.

Well. . . I was able to head back home -- on call that is, but still able to start fingering that box of new yarn!!!

I got home and pulled open that box --- oh what nice bulky, soft yarn!!! 

But I really needed to get a few things done before I started working on that project. . .

I warmed up a bowl of soup and sat down to eat it and do some facebooking, but that box just kept pulling my attention.  I, finally, gave in to it and started my new project --- here's hoping that I finish it too!!!  Thus the reason for joining a Knit-A-Long, incentive to keep me on tract!!

I soon realized that, true to their word, it does work up fast since you use pretty large needles and a bulky yarn.  Within in a couple of hours I had a nice piece of the back done.  At this rate I should be able to catch up with the rest of the knitters pretty quick!!

Just a Pinch Kitchen Sister Swap!!

I belong to the Just-A-Pinch cooking site and joined a group called Kitchen Sisters -- A group of women (hmmm might be some men in there too, not sure) that share recipes and good times, just like you would with your neighbors around the kitchen table, but through the internet instead.

They started a monthly themed swap this year and I signed up for the February one!!  Was racking my brain trying to figure out what to get my new Kitchen Sister. . .not sure how many stores I browsed through looking at Valentine goodies, but nothing out there seemed to catch my interest.

 After making the first few Co-worker washcloths I decided that a wash/dishcloth was just the thing!!! I found a BRIGHT varigated yarn and whipped up another cloth -- pulled out some of the heart shaped lavender soap that I made last year, found a box of bath rose petals and some lotion . . .

 

 

. . .Viola!! The perfect Valentine Swap gift for my new kitchen sister in Florida!!

Co-worker Christmas project!!

I have, for the past three years, been saying that I was going to knit washcloths for each of my co-workers for Christmas. 

Well. . . .this year I, actually, started them.  Couldn't sleep the other night (side effects of working night shifts- can't sleep on your nights off!!) So I pulled out the cotton yarn that I bought a few years back and turned the TV on.

Can you believe it? I finished two that night!!  Yahoo!!

Made a varigated one and a purple heart one!!

Two down and upteen more to go!!  Guess I need to figure out how many women I work with.

What are you reading?

OK - I am going to watch 'House' at 8pm tonight.  In the meantime I think I'm going to take a warm bubble bath and read for awhile. 

Which brings me to my question - What are you reading right now?  I love to read, along with many other things. . . At the moment I am reading 'Night of Many Dreams' by Gail Tsukiyama.  This is the second Gail Tsukimama book for me.  I really enjoyed reading the first one and put all her books on my swap list.  This book arrived about two weeks ago and I'm finally getting to read it.  So far, I'm not disappointed.

I'd really like to know what other people out there are reading. 

So. . .What are you reading right now?

Who Loves 'House'?

Gonna watch the new episode of 'House' tonight.  Who else loves 'House' and is going to watch it tonight??

WOW!!  I have no life!!  Hahahaha

Gonna have to 'follow' it on facebook.

Red Wine Cozy

Sitting home alone. . .Again.


Decided to work on a knitting project that I started a couple of days ago. Its a pattern that I found at http://taras-knits.blogspot.com/ as I wait for my yarn for the Lion Brand Knit-Along Hoodie to come in, hopefully later this week.

I was able to finish the Wine Cozy, and if I may say so myself, did a pretty good job. Although my mind must have been elsewhere as I kept having to redo a number of the rows or it would have been done yesterday.

Decided to send it to a new friend for Valentine's Day - I hope it is liked as it comes from my heart and with a wonderful bottle of Jaxon Keyes Farmhouse Red

I guess I'd better get it in the mail if it'sgoing to make it there in time!!

Hoping everyone is planning on a wonderful Valentine's Day with the one they love - as for me: I will be working, and the one I love is far away - I hope he thinks of me as much as I think of him.
http://www.jaxonkeys.com/



Still Waiting on yarn for the Knit-Along

Recieved an email that my yarn had shipped!! Yahoo!!  Should be here by thursday!!

Just have to find other things to keep me busy till then.

Working on a knitted Wine Bottle Cozy -- should be done soon.  Will post when done!!

Watched the Superbowl with a couple of friends -- Yahoo!! for the Greenbay Packers!!

Blue Slipper socks

Started these for this past Christmas, but didn't get them finished in time!! Finished them last night, guess they will be for next Christmas instead!!!  Found the pattern at http://www.beartoes.com/patterns/tropicalpunch.html 

For my boys I decided to make them in the shorter style.  Another Christmas present done!!

OK -- I'm gonna do it!!!

Pondered over whether to buy the materials for this Knit-Along last night at work. When I got home this morning I searched the internet for decent priced compatable yarns and came up with one at a price I could live with!! The Bernat Chunky yarn in teal, figured that way whomever I decided to give it too would like the color.

What do you think?

It's potluck Saturday night at work!!

I decided to make some homemade cranberry scones for our potluck saturday night tonight at work.  They are so yummy with just a touch of orange zest and pecans!!  And only have half the butter of most recipes that I have found, although they do use cream instead of milk!!

We are gonna enjoy these with Brenda's Navy Bean and leak soup!!

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Thinking of doing this Knit-Along

I love to start projects , but have a hard time actually finishing them. I think I tend to get side-tracked and want to start on the next one before the first one is finished. Small projects seem to be the best for me - but I lovethe results of the larger ones!!

Found this Knit-Along http://blog.lionbrand.com/2011/01/27/saturday-morning-hoodie-knit-along-a-truly-his-hers-hoodie/ where everyone works on the same project and posts progress and helpful info each week. Hmmm I like the 'Hoodie sweater' I'm thinking I might want to actually do this and see if blogging about my progress and following others progress actually helps me finish the project!!

But need to get the yarn first!!

Finished first Christmas present of 2011!!

Looks like I am off to a good start for Christmas this year!!

I finished my first Christmas present already - now to just keep track of where I hide it for safe keeping!!

OMG! I haven't posted in over a year!!

Shame, shame, shame on me!!

Update on Geocahing!! I have found, to date, 258 geocaches. A lot over the past year. Had a few minutes (hour) to spare last weekend and decided to take a walk out to a cache near a friends house. After searching through the bushes and brush (took a bit home with me in my hair) my GPS finally settled down and I realized that the cache was closer to the trail than I was looking. Went back down the side of the hill to the trail and walked right up to it!! Boy did I make that one harder than it should have been. Nice walk though!! Picked up a Travel Bug and left a Travel Bug!! (Might have to describe what these are at another time!!)

Geocache #12

Had noticed that there was a cache very close to where I work, but that during the weekday work hours was a pretty popular place for muggles (non-cachers) and hard to get to for that reason. So I decided to hit it on my way home from work -- granted thats 6:30ish in the morning!! LOL

Site was pretty empty, only noticed one person arriving at a nearby office early, but they didn't pay any attention to me. Found it pretty quick with the clues/hints and my iphone GPS which seems to be pretty accurate.

Nice size cache. Looked like a retired plastic mayo container painted greenish. Tried to take some pictures, but at 6:30ish am in December the sun is barely rising and the light is pretty poor -- yep I needed to pull out the flashlight to even find the cache. Tried to get a picture of the site, but even with the flashlight the picture is pretty poor.

But!!! Another geocache found!!!

Geocahces 10 & 11

As I headed home from work I was still pretty stoked about my find yesterday with my new iphone!! Yep!! You guessed it!! I had to check it out again. Stopped at a couple of caches that I have been to before and unable to find. At the first one, after walking the area a bit and looking my iphone GPS kept bringing me back to the same place where my 'gut' had been telling me the cache was. I sat down on the edge to mull it over. I kept repeating the 'hint' over and over in my head 'rock but no roll' and then started to pick up the rocks one by one in the planter area until I came to a rock I couldn't 'roll' over. You guessed it!! I found it.

This was a pretty nifty cache hide if you ask me. Although it is not water proof -- guess they need to work on that a bit still. In fact, it was so water logged that I was unable to even sign the log that I had been there -- good thing you can 'log' your finds online. I even left a note with my online log mentioning that it was 'water logged'. I then put everything back together and replaced it as found!!

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The second one that I just had to check out again kept taking me to a fire hydrant in the middle of nowhere -- I just couldn't figure out where the cache could be. There didn't seem to be any place to hide it. Although the cache name fit to a tee!!

After tramping all around in the mulch I, finally decided to stoop down and take a closer look!! I couldn't believe it!! Now this, leterally was a cache just hanging around in plain site, but invisible. It is , also, gotta be the smallest cache that I have ever found!!! I must say this one made me chuckle a bit!! It is so much fin to see the measures that people go to to make and hide a 'good' cache!! Can't wait till the next time I find some time to 'find' some more geocaches!!!

Geocache #9

WhooHoo!!!! I must be on a roll! Found my 9th geocache today in less than 5 minutes. Luckily there was no-one around either. Bought myself a new iphone and added the geocache app. Was trying it out to see how accurate the coords were. Well I had to switch to the compass part of the app and stopped to see how far it was telling me I was from the cache and it was bouncing between 1-2 feet. I looked around and saw that sure enough there was tree right next to me!!

I looked all around it and then about eye level was able to see from the back of the tree next to the fence lodged into a notch the cache! That was a quick find for me!!

Didn't even take it all the way back to the car to log. I had my trusty pen on me and found a hard spot where I could sign the log -- it was a bit damp around the edges, but not so much I was unable to sign it!!

Hmmmmm. . . I think I might like this iphone all that much more!!

Geocache #8 (out of order)

Had both the boys with me today and talked them into a bit of geocaching this afternoon!! This was the second cache we looked for today. I parked about a block away and waved the boys off in the general direction where I thought it was after reading the log notes and hint to them. I then searched through the car for a pen and locked it up and followed them. It was kinda fun to watch them looking all over and around the area. I kept walking up to them and telling them they needed to listen to the hint again!! After a few minutes I stopped and told them that I was pretty sure it was 'here'. My older son immediately started pushing the leaves around and searching, then gave up and went further on. I stood there for a little while longer and kept telling them that it was here where I was standing. I then reached down and put my hand behind the 'pipe' and pulled it out!! No!! I could not see it, but as soon as I had my hand down there I could feel it. We all had a good laugh that Chris had his hands practically on top of it and still missed it!!

Here is the 'micro' cache with only a log and the container.

Not so sure Cody is into the geocaching, but his girlfriend Mae was pretty stoked!! When we dropped her off to catch her ride back home she said that she was going to open her own account at geocaching.com so she could log the finds, and couldn't wait till the next time she came to town to go geocaching with me!! Oh what fun a new geocacher convert!!

I know this says it is GC8, you might be wondering where GC7 is!! My camera phone was out of memory and I had left my camera at home, so need to go back tomorrow to get the pics of it to post. So, yes, there is a GC7!!

Geocache #6

Whoohoo!! Yesterday went out with my oldest son who flew into town to spend the holidays at home so I decided to introduce him to geocaching. After much deliberation we chose to look for one of the caches that I have been looking for and not finding -- this was my 3rd time out looking for it, but I just knew it was there!!!

Low and behold, we find it!! Mt GPS was way off -- probably why I was having such a hard time finding it all these times(yeah!! its a cheaper one). So while Chris was looking through the bushes and trees where I had already looked twice before I stood back and surveyed the entire area and decided to look in the one spot that I hadn't looked in yet . . . so I walk over to it, duck my head under the hanging branches and look up (we knew to look up from the hint) and right there it was just as plain as day!! Called Chris over and asked him if he could see it!! Good thing I had him with me as it was just out of my reach (but I would have gotten it even if he wasn't there lol).

So we take it back to the car and take a good look at it -- this geocache was my first one to find that was in an official 'geocache' container!! It was considered a micro and only had room for the log, but we took pictures and I signed it, then I sent Chris to hang it right back in the tree where we found it for the next geocacher to find!! Yahoo another cache found!!

Maybe I'll have a convert to geocaching and when I go to visit him in Colorado we can go geocaching there too!!

Geocache find #5

Was going to head out and spend Saturday geocaching!! Alas. . . that didn't happen, but did hit a couple (only found the one due to rain) yesterday while driving up to Willits to watch football with the girls. The others I will return to one of these days when it is a little less wet!!

So this is officially my #5 geocache find!! I had a pretty good idea of where it was, in general, when I drove out there from the clues. Originally I parked in the wrong parking lot and did a quick look around but could not find anything that corresponded to the 'hint' and GPS was kinda acting up in the rain. I, finally, decided that it had to be over by the large tree stump I saw in a smaller more frontal parking lot, so I parked next to the stump and settled in to see if my GPS would settle down. Meanwhile I studied the area carefully looking for a 'nook' as the hint had mentioned esp around the stump I was parked too. Just about the time I decided that the GPS had settled as much as it could the heaven's opened up with a deluge of rain. Jumped out of the car and dug around inside the 'nook' when I finally found the camoed bottle pushed far back inside. I had to move quite a bit of bark and debre, grabbed it and ran back to the car to take a look.

I laid the contents out to take a look and signed the little log. I decided that the cache was running a little low on items so I didn't take anything and added a nickle to it. Then I packaged it back up and waited for the deluge of rain and, surprising, cars to slow down so I could put it back, settle it in with the surrounding bark for it to await its next find!

I must say I did get a bit wet even though I wasn't out in the rain all that much!! Walked around in the rain at a couple of other Geocache sites, but didn't have any luck and did get quite a few 'funny' looks!! Oh well!! Next time

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I can't believe how much fun this Geocaching is!! Yesterday spent the day caching and found three caches!! Two were pretty much alike, but hey!! I still found them!!

Here is a picture of GC(Geocache)#2 still in its little hiding spot, can you see it!! This was considered a microcache - meaning that it was small enough that there was only room for log to sign the owner of this cache had also added a very small gel pen to sign the log!!

This was my GC#3. I had been out here a few days before looking and looking, but had given up as I didn't want people to start thinking I was crazy or something!! Part of the allure of Geocaching is doing it without letting others that are just hanging around know what you are doing--hahahaha guess what they call those people? Muggles -- sound familiar?

When I went back yesterday to find this GC I parked right beside this light and was focusing on the Willow tree next to it. After quite a few looks I sat down in the car and pondered some more while pretending to read. The hint was "Do you know what an electrlier is?" I had looked it up and knew that it was a fancy name for chandelier. Ah. . . could it be that simple. A 'light'! So I jumped up to see if the light skirt would move at all and low and behold it totally lifted up and there was my little 'pill' bottle cache!! There was room for small tradeables but I didn't take anything but left my name on the log and a small copper sun/moon bead.

I looked for quite a few more GC'z throughout the day, but most of them had to many people around. These caches were 'in town' caches and being a friday afternoon town was pretty busy. Finally found another tree skirt cache as my GC#4. It was a large camoed 'pill' bottle cache with quite a few tradeable items.

Here is a snapshot of the loot in GC#4's bottle. I took the little red comic pin and added a set of soft earplugs.

All in all I think I had a pretty good day of Geocaching!! Since I have the whole weekend off was thinking of maybe heading out to the lake to see if I can find a few out there. But not sure, it is winter and the ground could be pretty muddy!!!

Geocahing - My first find!!

Last month a friend of mine introduced me to geocaching, you can check it out at http://www.geocaching.com/ . We looked for a couple of caches here in town, the first seemed to be next to the porch of a local business that was still hopping. He nixed going up there while so many other people were still around. I guess you want to not be obvious about looking for your caches, they even call the people milling around while your looking "muggles". The second we were able to get to the co-ordinates but it seemed that the cache was probably in the middle of a nasty blackberry bush, it was dusk with minimal light and starting rain. In the end we gave up on that one too. I'm gonna head back one of these days and find both of them just to be able to say "I found them".



Now, I have bought my own, albeit cheap, handheld GPS and downloaded a lot of the local caches. On the way home from work, looked for a couple of them and actually found my first cache -- Yahoo!!




It 's been raining on and off for the past few days so the ground was pretty wet. The clues and co-ords had me looking on the ground and digging through the fall leaves and bark. I, finally, stopped and looked around saying to myself "I know its right here, so where would I be?" Looks like I had to look up to finally figure it out. Then said to myself "there's no way it's in there" but took a look anyway . . . sure enough there it was!! Yahoo!!






So thats what a 'Camo pill cont" looks like!!

Contest for two free books from Annette Blair

Throughout November Romantic Crush Junkies will be running a contest giving away two--not one but two copies of her Berkley Prime Crime Mystery release,"Larceny and Lace: A Vintage Magic Mystery: Book Two".

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