Ahhh!!! Holidays

Yes, I have been on holidays, my first real Christmas break in years, no pre-Christmas/
post-Christmas sales, no Back-to-School orders,
And we did very little of what we planned to do. And many things we didn't plan.
Like go to Mt Gambier. I haven't been there in 5 years, since my grandfather died, and its been good to go back there. It was even better to go with Denise and see everything new through her eyes. Having grown up visiting there every Christmas when I was little, I've seen all the tourist attractions, yes the lake is blue, caves are dark, pine forests smell nice and limestone has fossilised shells and bones in it. You start forgetting how interesting the place is.
The only problem with our holiday was that we decided to travel on a 38 degree day, and I've realised that my air-conditioner must have a leak in it, as it was re-gassed last year, and now just blows hot air. It was a welcome rest going for a tour down the Naracourte caves, where it was at least 15 degrees cooler than the surface.
So the first thing I had to show Denise while there was the infamous lake. We went to the look-out, and found that there is an even better look-out, just up those steps!
At the top of the steps is one of the main water holding tanks, where water is pumped from the lake to, and held before going down to the city to use. The reason for it being so high is to give decent water pressure to the city.
And of course, once you climb up, you have to climb down again!
While there we also had to go on a guided tour down to almost to the edge of Blue Lake. The first time I did this tour we actually stood on a small platform just over the water, however since then the level has dropped 2m, making the metal steps too step.
The tour was very informative, and a damn sight cooler than anywhere else unless it involved ice.
We got a lot of the history of the area, as well as a lot of the science behind how it was formed and why the water is blue.The reason for the blue is because the water is filtered through kilometres of limestone as is flows down to the coast. The water that is in the lake is actually still moving, just really slowly. So the water is ultra filtered, and very pure, and also contains tiny particles of the limestone. In winter they tend to be denser, the water has a vision range of about 17m, and the lake appears grey. However in summer they seem to drop away, the water has a vision range I think about 25m (I can't remember the numbers), so when you look at it from above, you can see so much deeper, and the water appears much bluer. The tour guide explained it so much better than me.
Understandably with all this heat, there hasn't been much knitting.
I'm currently trying to find a nice heart pattern to make a shawl for Denise for our Commitment Ceremony. I've got a few, so I'm trying them out, see which one looks the best, which ply wool to use, which size needles, then ordering a couple of balls from Bendigo. I can't find a shawl pattern I like, but I've got an idea on how I want it to look. Let's hope I can draft something up.
Denise has cast on a Tubey Jumper of her own, so I'm now compelled to get mine finished before she does. I've only got another 20cm to go, but that damned 3x1 rib is making me not want to finish it. It's boring, but you need just enough concentration to remember to purl every fourth stitch.
Now I'm back at work I need a small traveling project, and I have almost finished my first Merino Bambino baby wool sock. The wool is so soft, and the colours are so bright. I love these already. It's bad manners to take your shoe and sock off in public to test your sock length? Right?
Denise has cast on for another pair of fetching gloves. She's getting to be quite the project whore. She has almost as many projects on the needles as I do. I'll have to do a count later when I update the side bar.
Oh, and the last big thing since I updated this, I've hit another milestone in my life, the quarter century! I am now 25, although I was feeling old before the numbers changed.