Just to mix it up a little, I'm interspersing my Spring Break adventure with knitting content. It's amazing how much beauty exists just a few hours outside of Seattle, I hope I can remember to get out and enjoy it! This is my favorite time of the year, before it gets hot, but after it's unbearably cold to be outside. After our jaunt to the Deception Pass Bridge, we headed down to Rosario Beach. I'm slightly embarrassed to say that I found out about the beach from a website devoted to accessible nature experiences in Washington. I didn't realize what "accessible" meant until I saw the photos of scooters on the website. Since I'm normally an indoorsy person, I figured that I could handle any trail that a person in a motorized scooter could tackle. We even took the trail that is supposedly only for "able-bodied" companions! Score!

As the last delicious moments of Spring Break swirl down the drain, I've been trying to cram the maximum amount of craftyness into the time I have left. I made a batch of buttermilk bread, from my Secrets of a Jewish Baker cookbook. I dyed a batch of Knitpicks merino sock yarn with koolaid, producing two very nice skeins - they're mostly Black Cherry and Tropical Punch, with sporadic flecks of Raspberry Reaction. The last time I dyed yarn with koolaid, I inadvertently felted the yarn a bit, because I rinsed the hot dye out of the yarn with cold water. This time, I followed the instructions and rinsed the yarn with hot water, and avoided any felting. Hooray! Since the two skeins are slightly different, I don't think I'll make them into a pair of socks. A better bet might be to make a lacy scarf, and switch between skeins on alternate rows. I tried that approach with the Purl Scarf and beanie I made out of Manos, and it worked great. I also finished the giraffe scarf, after making it quite a bit longer. It's 3 skeins of K1C2 Temptation, and I've got one skein left. What to do... And the final picture is my mint plant, slowly coming out of hibernation. It supplied mint for dozens of batches of mojitos last summer, and I can't wait to enjoy a batch out on the back deck! After the temperature crawls over 60 degrees, I'm so there.

Day two of our Skagit Valley adventure took us to Deception Pass, which features a freaky, freaky bridge. Views from the bridge are incredible, overlooking the San Juan Islands on one side, and something else pretty on the other side (I know, I'm terrible not to look these things up). I could only walk out about 30 feet onto the bridge, because the safety features are not that reassuring! Your only protection from traffic roaring down the middle of the bridge is a single cable, at knee-height. Your only protection from careening over the edge is a loose network of metal rods at waist-height. These rods can easily be slipped between, under, and over. And the entire bridge constantly shakes and trembles as 16-wheeled megatruck disasters scream down the road. No, thank you! The only thing that made my tummy feel ickier was using the public restroom in the visitor area. Euch.

I know someone was here last week looking for such a craft, and I've just happened to stumble across a pattern for adorable chicken-shaped knitted Cadbury Creme egg cozies. I guess all you do is squeeze the chicks at the top to make them lay their eggs... Eww.

Pensive Frog is being updated, to try to better deal with some technical difficulties with comments and such. New knitting updates soon, and a new cute format, I promise!

I've just returned from a simply lovely jaunt in the Skagit Valley! April 1 marks the beginning of the tulip festival, when tens of thousands of cityfolk descend on the peaceful fields surrounding the towns of La Conner and Mt. Vernon. We came a few weeks early, and were treated to empty fields, and scores of just-born tulips just beginning to open their eyes. The daffodils were in full swing, however, and will probably be gone by the time the festival begins.

If you know the answer to that question, you know a pretty saucy joke. Pensive Frog is on the road!

Right when I was learning how to knit, I spied a pattern in Interweave Knits for a DNA scarf! I thought, how cool, but I'll never be advanced enough to try that... Just now I found a free DNA scarf pattern, that was designed by a biology grad student at Rutgers. Since I'm pursuing a genetics-based Ph.D., this scarf seems nerdy and apropos. So I'm going to have to tackle this one soon.

Here's my fuzzy felted frog! He needs some facial features, doesn't he? Since last night was St. Patrick's Day, we had our traditional feast: corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, soda bread, Guinness, and a new addition for this year, tarte tatin: This is a pre-inversion pic. It was quite yummy, and the recipe was easy. I also made brandied whiskey sauce to accompany the tart, and I have about 2 cups of it left over. I'm thinking it would be great over french toast, fruit, or perhaps squirted in a latte?

Remember when knitting scarves was supposedly EASY? I just got my copy of Pam Allen's Scarf Style, and there are so many fun projects in there I'm itching to start on. NO! THE STASH MUST BE DEPLETED! Huh? That was weird... well, I can't wait to get down to Village Yarn & Tea and pick up enough Manos to DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME, MAGGOT? THE STASH MUST BE DEPLETED PRIOR TO INITIATING NEW YARN-BASED OPERATIVES! What? Oh, that must be my penny-pinching conscience. I think my conscience has had some military training, perhaps? Whatever. I'm clearly in control. I'll just buy enough Rowan GET DOWN AND GIVE ME 50! Knit, or purl?