Summer Distractions

Summer is going quickly (AHHH I need to find a job!), and there's a lot going on.  I've been negligent with my knitting.  But I have plenty of excuses!

I've been travelling to Washington DC frequently to visit my boyfriend.  He lives right in the city, and it's wonderful to explore by myself while he's at work.  Last visit, I went to the zoo.  My favorite animal, the red panda, was not out because she had just had twins!  I had to compensate by buying a stuffed red panda:

Definitely adorable.

I also saw a lot of real animals while there:

Passed out Giant Panda.

Asian Elephant.

SLOTH.  You can just see the side of him.  Ignore the monkey tail hanging down next to him...

Sleepy tiger.  I visited during prime nap time.

Last weekend, the boy came to visit me.  We went canoeing, and spent the afternoon at a local bluegrass festival.  Amazing and fun, but not really good for my knitting!

To top it off, I've become addicted to Steig Larsson's Millenium series.  I finished The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo last week, finished The Girl Who Played With Fire yesterday, and hope to finish The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Next tomorrow.  Yes, tomorrow.  I need to finish it so I can start the new George R.R. Martin Book!

For those of you who have not read the Song of Ice and Fire series, it's the best fantasy series I've read.  The first book, A Game of Thrones was just turned into a tv series on HBO.  They did an amazing job, and I can't wait for next year.  Meanwhile, fans have been waiting for this book (the 5th), for several years.

I also have a book on what went wrong with teacher education (and how we can fix it) that I keep meaning to read and blog about.

I haven't completely forgot about knitting though.  I'm chugging away on my socks, and I'm about 2/3 done with my second sock!

Detail of the ribbing.

Turning the heel is actually really fun :)

Hope your summers are just as busy/enjoyable!