Monday Musings (Back in Ohio... Sniff, Sniff)

Highlights of the week: Well, just about the entire week was spent in my home state of Colorado, hanging out with my family and adventuring in the mountains, so it was ALL a highlight! We hiked to Lost Lake, a beautiful secluded mountain lake, with my parents last Sunday (pictures here), and Jarrod and I drove up to the summit of Pikes Peak and spent two fabulous days in Rocky Mountain National Park. We even got to see some fall colors -- as well as two black bears and tons of elk!

(Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park)

(One of four huge elk bucks we saw.)

(Dream Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park)

(Emerald Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park)

Reading: I finished up "Rubbernecker" by U.K. author Belinda Bauer and totally loved it. It's about an anatomy student with Asperger's who stumbles upon a possible murder. I enjoyed this mystery so much that I'm planning to read the other two books by Bauer available in the U.S. Now I'm reading "The War of the Encyclopaedists" by Christopher Robinson and Army vet Gavin Kovite. I haven't gotten too far, but I'm intrigued. It's about two friends who keep in touch via a Wikipedia page when one of them deploys to Iraq.

Knitting: I didn't take my knitting on our trip to Colorado and I haven't had time to knit since we got home Saturday. My fingers are itching for some yarn! Before we left I started working on the first sleeve of my BlueSand Cardigan. I hope to do a lot of knitting this week -- and catch up on DVR recordings at the same time!

Watching: Jarrod, my mom and I went to see "A Walk in the Woods" at the theater. It's based on the awesome travel memoir by Bill Bryson about his experience hiking the Appalachian Trail. (Here's my review.). The book was better, of course, but we all enjoyed the movie.

Eating: We enjoyed some of the famous donuts at the summit house on Pikes Peak, along with a warm cup of cocoa. If you ever go up Pikes Peak (via the road or the cog railway), you must get a donut. It's obligatory.

Wearing: My new Pura Vida bracelets, handmade in Costa Rica! I'm hoping to post photos soon. (P.S. If you happen to look at the site and decide you have to have some of these awesome bracelets, you can get 50% off your order and I get a $10 credit if you follow this link!)

Looking forward to: Putting out some fall decorations! It'll warm up later this week, but yesterday was only in the 60s here in Ohio and it put me in the autumn spirit (so did enjoying my first Starbucks pumpkin spice latte of the season!). For the moment, burning a fall-scented candle will have to suffice.