Nov. 15, Little Miss Turns One

The traditional hand-in-the-cake pose:

The "I'm walking!" pose.

The "cousin with balloon" pose.

Yes, it was a lovely day and a lovely party. Little Missy was the perfect birthday girl, wore her polka dot dress with panache and behaved like a little angel. (How often does that happen??)

The theme was polka dots, with big felt polka dots on the walls, polka dot favors, polka dot dresses on a couple of the little guests as well as the birthday girl; lots of presents, lots of food and fun and fellowship.

Reminding me of how truly blessed we are to have each other, as well as these little cherubs.

I took some videos and will try to upload at least one in the next post.

And in the meantime, our hearts and prayers are with all the people who are affected by the fires that are raging around us, those whose homes are in danger or lost, and the gallant fire personnel and police who are fighting the good fight to contain the fires and save lives and property.

Nov. 14, A Sick Day

...but with something accomplished anyway! Last night, I was so tired I quit working on the sweater with only the two flowers on the sleeves, figuring I'd finish the rest of them today before taking this over to Missy A.

Bet me.

Woke up feeling really sick, and spent most of the day in that horrid place where first you're afraid you're going to die, and then you're afraid you won't.

I will spare you the details. However, after a good long nap with my furry "nurses" standing by, I found myself feeling much better. I've been able to sit up, take a little nourishment, and thanks to the magic of DVR I was able to make 4 more flowers for the sweater. I'm kind of thinking it's done, but I may get creative and make a few more flowers--there should be six more around the sides and back. I kind of think they'd be adorably cute, but not the most comfortable, so I'll have to consult with Missy and her mom, and see what they think.

Now it's back to the couch. Yes, I feel better, and I think that by tomorrow I'll be back to normal. But right now? Not gonna push it!

Nov. 13--Full Beaver Moon

Yes, we have a full moon tonight. November ~ The Full Beaver Moon. Time to set beaver traps before the swamps freeze to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Beaver Full Moon come from the fact that the beavers are now active in their preparation for winter. Also called the Frosty Moon.

We also have a roaring raging brush fire in the Montecito area, which is keeping me glued to the TV for updates.

Well, I'm also putting a push on to finish the little green sweater for Miss A. I tried it on her today, and it fits, and Mom requested that (if possible) could it be done by tomorrow. Down to the last 10 flowers! If need be, and as tired as I am it's a possibility, I'll make 2 of them to put on (already did the two on the sleeves) the front, and do the rest later.

Film at 11. Oh wait, it's well after that, isn't it? Pictures when it's done!

Nov. 12--Another Busy Day!

And, alas, no pictures today! It wasn't that kind of a busy day! Just the kind where there was some laundry going on, a few errands to run...that kind of thing.

Also was a knitting day. Even though there was a small turnout (just me and the Yarn Addict), we had a nice time sitting and knitting. She learned about Malabrigo Love--by the time she was into the second cable crossings on her Irish Hiking Scarf, she was rethinking giving it away! I bit the bullet and seamed up the little green sweater--now all that's left to do is the border edging and the little flowers, which I ought to be able to get done tomorrow if Little Miss cooperates. Pictures when it's done!

We discussed Stitches West and whether we can get there next year. We had such fun two years ago, and I'd love to do it again. The only thing is that this coming year it backs up to my class at Asilomar, which would mean much more complicated logistics. Have to see how things are shaping up by that time next year.

Why, by then, I might actually have the house in shape and be able to think about knitting and quilting at home. What a concept!!

The only other item of note is that I had dinner with a friend. We went to Chili's and I had their sliders (which they call something silly about "bites"). Yummy, and just enough. Now, I'm all tucked up with the laptop and getting ready to sleep fast--early call for tomorrow, as Miss A's mom has jury duty.

Nov. 11--Veterans Day

Remembering the many people who have served our country today. When I was a kid, this was Armistice Day--the day WWI ended. That was supposed to be "the war to end all wars." Not likely!

Not too much to talk about tonight. Long day, kind of busy, class tonight went well and I did take a picture or two, but I'm now upstairs and the camera is downstairs. So please be patient!

Nov. 10, Monday

Today seemed very Monday. Maybe it's because I am still tired from the weekend--lots of activity. On paper, and when talking about it, it didn't seem too bad to have a yard sale on Saturday and then work on revamping the office on Sunday.

But in reality, it was a lot more tiring than I had expected. Even though there were a lot of hands to do the work, and I really didn't have to do that much, I felt tired when I woke up and it just kind of went downhill from there. Little Missy was pretty active--she likes this "walking" business and wants to do a lot of it. She still likes to hold on to a finger, for balance, which means I'm walking all over with her. Too cute, though.

Anyway, this is a short post today, going to take it really easy tonight and hopefully get caught up on my rest. Veterans' Day tomorrow, which I remember still as Armistice Day when I was growing up. Musings about that tomorrow!

More Progress...

So the big project for the day was bringing home the desks, and getting them built and put up in the office.

Yes, I know they look more like tables than desks. I guess, really, they are tables; we had looked at several tables and these were just a little sturdier.

So, we moved out lots of boxes, many many magazine sorters (all my collection of IK, VK, Knitters, plus my favorite quilting magazines), books, and more" stuff." Then the desks came in, got put together, and here they are.

I am not sharing pictures of the rest of the house. "Trashed" kind of describes it. There's all kinds of paperwork on the dining room table, and more boxes and things in the back room.

Plus the next big task will be moving the computer setup to this desk. Now, the phone jack (for the dsl line) is on the opposite wall, so we'll need to make some kind of provision for getting it over to where it needs to be. I think some sort of cord protector, with maybe a rug or a runner over it, so that we don't trip and we don't damage the cord, is called for.

I'll keep the blog updated as we add a little more personality to this room, too. Right now, the beige cellular shades, white walls, and plain wood floor look sort of...Spartan? Blah? (Ok, so those full bookcases kind of have their own personality, especially the one with the office supplies, but that's not exactly what I mean!)

This whole process has really involved a lot of thinking about how we want to work, what we need to do to make things easier, and especially the whole concept of finding places for everything. Places that are easy enough to maintain, so that when we take something out we can put it away again without feeling overwhelmed!