Hanging Out in Red Rock Country

I've been here in Sedona, AZ for a week now and it's starting to feel like home. That's not a good thing. I HAVE a home, and it's in Georgia.

This is the view from the end of the driveway in my sister's guest house. And, yes, it's pretty close.

Everything in Sedona is close. The town itself is tiny and you can get from one end to the other in about 5 minutes unless there's a major gridlock at rush hour. Then it takes 10 minutes.

For instance, this morning I went to the post office to mail the granddaughter mitts (more in a minute). Then I parked in the main shopping/tourist area to get a coffee and check out all the goodies for sale. Next, I drove partway up Oak Creek Canyon to check out some views, chatted with some tourists (note that I'm already thinking they're tourists and I'm a native), photographed some cacti.

Then I went to the outlet mall in Oak Creek Village (about 15 shops) to buy shoes and books. Finally, I headed back home to meet my sister. On my way, I hung a left and went up a twisty mountain road I'd never been on before and checked out some more views.

All that took about 3-1/2 hours. Including all the clicking, driving, buying, schmoozing. It's a small town, guys.

About the mitts. I have done NO work on the Hanami stole. Well, that's because Mr. Pug and the dogs were here. But they left on Sunday to drive back to Georgia--so what's my excuse since then? I don't have one. I'm just too distracted to knit on that piece right now, But I promise I'll start again tomorrow. Wedding day is about 60 days away.

But back to the mitts. Aren't they cute? The pair on the left is for Emma--knit on size 2's (Magic Loop), and the pair on the right, a little bigger, are for Kerrigan, knit on size 3's. I used the cabled mitt pattern and improvised with different ribbings, size, etc. Yarn is Toasty, color is Strawberry Jam. Too cute, huh?

The other thing I've been working on is a baby blanket for my sister's new granddaughter, due in April. It's modular and fairly mindless and I've really enjoyed it. But it's been escapist knitting--back to the stole tomorrow, I swear!