Christmas Vacation

A short video from my last vacation. This is Rainbow Falls near Hilo Hawaii on the Big Island. We have been having a lot of rain and you can see the mud in the water as a beautiful copper color.

A couple of pictures. One of Rainbow Falls again and the other of what they call "Boiling Pots". It is further upstream from the falls.

I wanted to show the progress on my two current knitting projects.

The first is the Trench Coat from the Fall 2007 Vogue Knitting Knit.1. I have the back finished and one side about half finished.

The second project is my sock that I knit on planes. The first one is done and this is the second. I am very pleased with progress and working with this baby alpaca is always a pleasure.

I have also been making cookies and brownies. The recipes I have been using are from a retired White House chef, Roland Mesnier, in his book "Dessert University". If you ever get to hear him speak, go. He is a wonderful public speaker and I found him quite hilarious. His stories of twenty-five years with the White House are from a view not often heard from - within the White House itself. His cookies and brownies are mouth watering and very easy to make. The brownies are a chocolate-lovers delight. I make his Chocolate Pear Brandy Truffles to give as gifts.