Nine days and nery a word…  I still had a few Vancouver events to tell you about, but I got sucked into some amazing books, and playing catch-up at work.  I wish I could say that I had spent my time finishing my Olympics sweater… but nope… it’s still in the bag I put it in before we left for the trip.  

Spending two full weeks in Vancouver was fabulous – but one of the biggest highlights of the trip for us was getting out of the city itself, heading north to take a hike in the rainforest.

It rains in the rainforest.  But we didn’t let that stop us!

Our wonderful hosts, Chris and Christa, took us up to North Vancouver to hike at Lynn Canyon.  In the photo above, you see that Kris and I are standing on a suspension bridge – high above the river below!  I am okay with heights (for the most part) but there was a decent amount of traffic on the bridge, so I was holding on as I crossed and looked over to the river below.  

The temperate rain forest is a beautiful thing.  We saw glimpses of it during our trip to the Olympic Peninsula last year, and were able to compare it with the tropical rainforest and cloud forests we saw in Peru in 2007.  The temperate rain forest is not hot, but there is a mist and an insulating humidity.  Much like the mist machines at the market that spray the fruits and veggies with water… you get a little “dewy”. 

Like a dreamscape – the large and commanding trees covered with the lush, verdant moss.

Seeing the forest and the river renewed and inspired us. 

Many more photos – including some lovely macros of the mosses and more of the river and trees are over on Kris’s blog.  He also did a great post about one of our other events – our trip to the Vancouver Aquarium.  He took all the photos that day, and he got some great shots.  Check them out! 

By now, you know that Kris and I LOVE hockey.   We are pretty hardcore fans, and we came into the Olympic Games with tickets to 9 hockey games.  So far, we have been to SIX of them.  Everyone of them has been so much fun!  Almost as fun as the game are the die-hard fans that travel to these games from their home countries.  They make the game that much more enjoyable.  Face-paints, cowbells, flag-waving.  It’s just amazing.

Finnish fans before the Finland/Belarus game

Russian fan before the Russia/Latvia game

German fans at Germany/Sweden game

Some friendly Americans (from NYC) that we met at the USA/Norway game

…and of course, the GAMES and the ATHLETES!

I found a great spot for photos down near the ice, and have been lucky to get some nice photographs of the players as they come out onto the ice.

Miikka Kiprasoff and Kimmo Timmonen – Team Finland

Sergei Kostitsyn – Team Belarus

Team Norway

Jaromir Jagr – Team Czech Republic

Team Russia salutes the fans after a big win over the Czechs

Team USA warming up before the game against Norway

I made some signs – the Team USA sign above and then a slightly more creative one for my favorite hockey player, Evgeni Malkin on Team Russia.  His nickname is “Geno” so that was the inspiration behind this one:

…and what’s cooler than meeting up with other hockey-loving knitters at the Olympics?  Brynna, Amy and I are all active on the Ravelry hockey forum Puck This! and we arranged meetups.  Brynna and I met up to watch the first Canada game against Norway at a park with outdoor screens.  Afterward, we headed to the Russia/Latvia game.  It was great to meet her!

Amy and I both had tickets to the Sweden/Germany game and texted throughout the game and then met up afterward!

With a friendly blue-jacketed Olympic volunteer at the Canada Hockey Place arena

… More photos and stories to come…

As many of you know, tomorrow evening is the beginning of the Vancouver Winter Olympics !

Many knitters are participating in the new incarnation of the “Knitting Olympics” that have been deemed the “Ravelympics” now on Ravelry.  Last I looked, there were over 8000 knitters and crocheters signed up for those events – with event names that run the gauntlet from the “Hat Halfpipe” to “Mitten Moguls”, there is something for everyone.  These Ravelympians far outnumber the actual Olympians in Vancouver.  It should be great fun to watch!

I have not participated in a Knitting Olympics, and I am not planning to this year as I feel that I have pressured myself enough with deadline knitting… but that doesn’t mean that I am not cheering you on wholeheartedly!  I would love to hear what you are planning for the Ravelympics – leave me a comment and tell me about your team, your event, and your project!

I hope many of you are planning to watch the events – you will be in for some real treats!  Since the Summer Games have such a ginormous following, they are

Here are a few tips and things to watch for during the Games:

•  Winter Olympic Sports are FAST.  Several of them involve icy surfaces, so this means that the action just *zooms* right by.  So, you may need to work on a project that doesn’t require large amounts of attention!  You look down to count your stitches or check your charting – and boom, you just missed the win!  Luckily, there are DVRs and instant replays – but you don’t want to miss the action!  …and in case you do miss it and have an accident, there are always commercial breaks for a little bit of frogging

• I don’t have to tell you that my anticipation for the Games is all about the ice hockey.  Because the Games are in Canada – the Home of Hockey – there is a HUGE HUGE amount of pressure on both the Men’s and Women’s teams to bring home the gold medals.  And honestly, both of them are so good that they could do it.  The most contentious matches will be between old rivalries (aren’t they always?).

For the Mens’ tournament, the match that has the most hype is Canada versus Russia.  Both of these teams are very deep and star-studded.  Both teams are fully made of athletes who do this for a living – both in the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).  Two of the undisputed “best players in the world” will be facing off – one leading Canada and the other leading Russia.  Watch for Sidney Crosby (Canada) and Alexander Ovechkin (Russia) – and if you watch the Games, you will hear their names A LOT.  However, because the Olympics are a one-stop shop, unlike many of the other “best of seven” style tournaments, there is a very distinct possibility that one of the other national teams could make a real showing.  The biggest “contenders” in addition to the two already named are the US, Sweden, Czech Republic, Finland, and Slovakia.  There could be a “dark horse” – and that’s what makes it so exciting!

As for the women’s hockey, the biggest rivalry is between Canada and the United States.  Canada won the Gold in Torino in 2006, with Sweden taking the silver and the US taking the bronze.  Women’s hockey is serious business with serious fans!  I watched one of the matches between US and Canada a few weeks ago and really got into the excitement in the game.  It was a nailbiter right to the end.  The Canadians took the game, but it was so close!  Women’s hockey doesn’t get much (if any) “air time” on TV and in the news media, so I simply don’t know that much about these athletes as I do about the men – but I will love finding out more about these amazing women through the course of the Games.

• Figure skating is always the soap opera of the Olympics, and I doubt this year will be any different – from the costumes, the judging, the relationships between partners… oh!  so juicy and exciting!  the figure skating consistently ranks among the most popular events on TV and in person (that is why the tickets were so hard to get – the price point was so high!  so, we will be enjoying the figure skating on the screen, not in person).

• In a weird turn of winter events, the Vancouver area has had a very mild winter – so much so that they are trucking in snow from the mountains to bring to the ski/snowboard courses north of the city.  Conditions are not really improving, and while there are some contingencies in place, everyone is hoping that things go off as planned.  Several of our events are indoors, but we do have a ski event in Cypress Mountain and we are all keeping our fingers crossed that it happens!  …I wish there was a way I could take the 4 feet of snow here in Maryland to BC with me!

I would love to hear about what events you are planning to follow!

Months of planning and the day is nigh!

In my hand is the first set of event tickets: Russia v. Latvia. It should be quite a game – Latvia isn’t a major contender, but word on the street is that they have SERIOUS fans… Megan told me stories about the Latvians that showed up in Halifax for the World Juniors in 2008 – so that will be fun! Maybe they will have handknit mittens?

We’ve been discussing everything Olympics in the  Vancouver 2010 Ravelry group (pssst – come join us!) and people are getting excited!  For those of us actually traveling to Vancouver (or living there, already), we are planning a series of meetups during the Games.  It’s gonna be grand.  And you can bet that I will document it well with my trusty camera.

Besides all of the amazing Olympic events, Kris and I are also planning to do some sightseeing – hikes, museums, performances.  There are a number of shows and events also happening with the Games, including some fun music shows (Damien Marley, Matisyahu, Bedouin Soundclash, and many many others).  One of the big ski resorts north of Vancouver – Grouse Mountain - will be open 24/7, with special midnight and sunrise snowshoe tours, performances, and lots of events.  I have never been skiing or snowboarding, but this feels like a good time and place to start… Coincidentally, Grouse Mountain is also where NBC will be airing the Today Show each morning – and if I can time it right, I am hoping we can be on “the plaza” one morning with a sign!   I told my “morning crew” at the gym to look at for us when they are watching on the treadmills!

The majority of our tickets (surprise) are hockey tickets – but we also have a set for Curling, and Freestyle Aerials, so we will get a nice mix of events.

Some of the ladies in the Rav group are also working the venues at the Olympics… people are asking if we will be able to take our knitting into the events.  Much like airports and security, it appears that it will be up to the discretion of the specific guard.  So, plastic needles may be the best bet… if I can make my deadline with my sweater (close!  I will update on that soon), I think I am gonna make a flurry of quickie projects on big needles – cowls, scarves, and hats, perhaps?

The forecast is calling for a “Storm of the Century” here in Maryland starting tomorrow morning – blizzard, lots and lots of snow – so, it looks like it’ll be another shut-in weekend with copious amounts of Spanish lessons and knitting – not that I mind!  Funny how the the East is getting slammed with snow this year, but Vancouver is relatively dry and warm and that is where the Olympics are!  best soak up the winter while I am on this coast!

Hasta luego, mis amigos~~

Through my teacher training program last year, I had the opportunity to meet some truly amazing and gifted people.  So many varied interests and passions, yet we all came together to learn more about yoga and to deepen our own practice! 

I had the pleasure to talk to Kath before teacher training started in late 2008.  As a fellow knitter, she found me online before we started studying together and we exchanged a few emails before meeting at the studio.  Over the year, we grew closer and I have the joy to call her my dear friend.  We can talk about yoga, we can talk about knitting and yarn ~ it just flows and it is beautiful. 

One of Kath’s many offerings is that she is also fluent in American Sign Language (ASL), and she just started teaching her first yoga class in ASL at a local studio.  When she asked me to help her with a little photography project for her class, I jumped at the chance for this special project.  She wanted to put together a visual set of poses with the proper alignment for her students.  Since she is teaching the class in ASL, she cannot always demonstrate the pose because her hands will be used in the pose.  That is where the photos come in!

We met up at the studio on a quiet Sunday afternoon;  the air was cold and there were flurries of snow, but inside, the sunlight cascaded in the windows, and set a perfect scene for the yoga photos.  Above (clockwise from the top left), Kath does sukhasana “easy pose” with her hands in Anjali mudra “offering gesture”.  This is the way that we begin and end each class.  In the next photo, she demonstrates a full body pose called eka pada svanasana, or “one legged dog pose”.  This pose is a preparatory pose for hip opening and also works on upper body strength and balance.  The next is the recognizable adho mukha svanasana “downward facing dog pose”.  The final pose is utthita parsvakonasana “extended side angle pose” which also opens the hips, as well as the shoulders and chest.

Just a note on the use of Sanskrit terms: the style of yoga that I practice (Anusara) honors the tradition by using these names while also realizing that not everything can translate word for word.  Additionally, Sanskrit can be the universal language of yoga (similar to how Latin is used for biology in Linnean taxonomy) no matter where you are in the world.  It’s a nice fit.  Plus, the language is phonetic, and if you sound it out, it is pronounced exactly as it looks.  I love learning more Sanskrit as I study yoga.

While this photo project was a true joy to do, Kath must have felt that she wanted to give something back~ and while there was absolutely no need to do so, it was a pleasant surprise when she presented this lovely yarn to me this past weekend:

 She says that this bulky yarn is the perfect tonic for my small needle/fingering weight projects of late.  I look forward to casting on for a bulky cowl or hat on size 15 needles once I finally finish my Olympic sweater