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Sunday, October 17, 2021

Great Wave Stitch-a-Long, part 11

WOW. This is the 11th check-in with this project. And there's a looooooooong way to go. Here's where I was last time:


And now, three weeks later, I'm here:


Maybe it's because I know this artwork really well, but I love that it's really starting to look "right"!



By our next check in I hope to have another column done. I've realized that slow and steady is the way I'll be able to complete this. Sometimes I'll have a little productivity spurt, and sometimes I'll barely make a dent. 

In the meantime, I've also been making progress as part of the Witchy Stitchy challenge, where I'm working on some cute cross-stitch motifs. It's been much more challenging than I expected to stitch on such small-scale fabric, even though it's aida, and I've only managed to complete one motif so far. But it's CUTE:


In other stitching news, many of you will recognize this fella, Mr. Tiger:


I submitted him to the Washington State Fair (or "The Puyallup Fair" as locals call it) and won an "honorable mention" ribbon. I suppose it would only be honorable to mention to you that I was the only entry in the category! Still, I'm pleased with getting a ribbon at all, so that's fun. 

I'm drafting this early as I'm headed out of town for the weekend. We're going to the super adorable town of Port Townsend, where I'm going to be running my 100th half marathon! Well, running is an overstatement -- I sprained my ankle badly last week, so I'm still hobbling a bit. But I've waited quite a while to get number 100 done, so I'm going to grit my teeth and get through it. (Do not try this at home -- I'm aware it's ridiculous!)

I plan on spending my Sunday evening with my ankle iced and elevated, and reading through all the rest of the blogs in this stitch-a-long. I'm sure their amazing, creative, diverse projects will distract me -- and enchant you if you check them out, too. 

Saturday, October 16, 2021

Larry Scott Trail Half Marathon race report

*I'm writing this race report months later, but backdating it to race day.

In 2020 I expected to run my 99th and 100th half marathons. But given the pandemic and the fact that most races turned into virtual events, it wasn't until October 2021 that I got to run #100. (I ran the races in 2020, but don't "count" virtual events in my totals.)

I had told the race director ahead of time that this would be my 100th race, and, well, they saved bib #100 for me. 

It was a really gorgeous morning -- bright and cool. 

It wasn't a big race, which was fine by me. Eventually we gathered by the starting arch and set out. 

We started along the paved trail, which ran along the shoreline before turning into a forest. 


A small race and us walking meant we were on our own most of the time. But the volunteers were friendly, the course was pretty, and the day was fine. 

Eventually we approached the finish line -- not last, but there weren't many runners left. But they still had the arch set up, and the announcer gave me a special shout out, and the volunteers all cheered. Very, very kind. 





Larry Scott Trail Half Marathon
3:16:52
15:02 pace