Thurs-day-out

Take one humongous shopping mall, mainly outlet stores but also a good smattering of other shops.


Add some sturdy walking shoes,

two strollers,

two sisters,

one grandmother,


one great-aunt--who also happens to be a great aunt!


Stir and allow to blend for several hours plus a good nourishing lunch.

Result? Today's outing to Ontario Mills, in Ontario, California. As opposed to that "other" Ontario, which it's often confused with, particularly in airports. This is the one you don't need a passport for, assuming you live in the USA; if you live anywhere else, well, it's definitely worth the trip!

Nathaniel is showing his dimples.


Do you know how hard it is to catch a little tiny guy's smile long enough to get the picture?





The cousins were playing on Audrey's quilt. Nate doesn't seem to mind that he's a boy on a pink quilt, and Audrey doesn't seem to mind sharing.

Head over to Audrey's place and check out her video!

A little while later, she found his sleeve and then his hand. Of course by then the cameras had been put away! Take my word for it, though, it was pretty darn cute.


"Read my feet!"


Audrey's Valentine's Day finery had a message for you!

Cat meets girl:

As in, who is this and why is she on my sofa?

Highland gets acquainted with Audrey. I'm not sure how he managed to balance himself on the side of the sofa cushion--he's a Very Large Cat, after all, and still outweighs Little Miss--but he did it, and he did NOT fall on her.

The blanket is one my mother had made, which I brought back on one of my trips East last year. It's made of one of those Mystery Yarns that my mom specialized in. It machine washes and dries and seems pretty indestructible. Yes, there are some glitches in the knitting, but then my mother was one of those people who never learned to read a pattern, so she'd just work out the design by knitting and trying different tactics till her piece looked like the picture. So I think this is pretty wonderful.

She'd only hate seeing the cat on it, I think, because she felt as though all living creatures were dangerous and out to get her. Naturally, all of our cats loved her, and she'd sit there with a purring cat draped across her lap, just exactly as if it was a rattlesnake coiled to strike. "You're a very pretty cat, but I don't like you, now go away!" she'd say, and the cat would curl up and purr a little louder.

Yes, that's a copy of Knitting Around next to Audrey. Her daddy's hat is coming from that book. Pictures soon, I think, as I'm almost to the decreases. Unfortunately most of the lights in the living room don't work (happens a lot) so there isn't enough light to read directions by. Tomorrow. You see, I think it's just that the extension cord came unplugged--but there isn't enough light to see by, to plug it back in. Old houses are such fun...

Nate got his blanket. He seems to like it a lot. His mama does too!

Hand for proportion.

Here's hoping you had a good V-Day! I will probably be hitting the leftover-Valentine's Day candy-half-off sale first thing in the morning!

Tomorrow is Cast On for Lenore Day for the OOPS Knitters. I still need to wind my skein into a ball...and find my pattern.

Tomorrow is also Audrey's 3-month-old "birthday" and Nate will be 4 weeks old as well. He gets to visit his doctor and we're waiting to hear how much weight he's gained.

Isn't it hard? Here some of us adults would love to lose weight, and we're cheering little Nate along to gain some. Life just isn't fair sometimes--I mean, I could spare him (quite) a few pounds!