Surviving...

...and making lots and lots of progress! Why, there has even been knitting, as you see Missy A modeling her latest Pea Pod Cap. No, that's not the real name of the pattern--it's from a book called Little Sweet Peas, from Sirdar, and the patterns aren't named. Just called "cardigan and cap" and other equally descriptive names.
Whatever.

It's a very cute hat, and I even did my own modification to the pattern: I knit it on circs instead of flat, as the pattern is written.

I'm going to make the matching cardi, and I will probably meddle with that pattern too. It's one of those gems t hat calls for you to cast on a certain number of stitches, knit the bottom few and then put the front band stitches on a holder.

You then knit up these 3 stitches in garter stitch, and sew them onto the fronts.

Been there. Done that.
Thought it was a royal pain, and don't do that any more. Not on a baby sweater that won't get a whole lot of wearing, but will get a lot of washing!

The bins are gone.

Bye-bye, bins. Also bye-bye to the huge pile of construction debris and trash.

Here's the gross part. When they moved the bins, there was a great deal of scuttling in the trash pile. Ewww!

Well, it's gone now, and I hope the critters have found a new home.

I had a good crew to hang my new light fixtures:
Son Jeff and his son, John.


This is how the light fixture looks in place.

I really like it. Gives the house a more appropriate arts-and-crafts feeling.

Don't you agree??



Then there was today's adventure. A blowout, on the top of Kellogg Hill, which any of you in SoCal will realize is the best spot in the world NOT to have a blowout. Thank heaven for the Metro Freeway Patrol, is all I can say. Now I need to buy a new tire.


This is the last of the boxes and bins that aren't under cover yet. It's amazing to me that we could have had all this in the house, plus the 6 or 7 Explorer-loads that went to Goodwill and the giant truckload that preceded it.

Oh, and the furniture that was put on the porch with a "free furniture" sign. Had some interesting pieces, plus a bunch of bookcases, but they got the heave-ho. Trying to make room. The table in this picture is going to be in my workroom. It makes a great cutting table!

Cousins John and Garrett had a great time this evening, playing at Auntie D5's. Not that I'm prejudiced or anything, but I do think they are very handsome young men!
New sconce for the dining room. I just love this fixture, which is a smaller variation on the "big" chandelier in the same room.

A homage to our gone-but-not-forgotten oak tree. There's a "picture tile" set into the front of the fireplace surround that also features a large tree--since the house was built in 1920, and the oak tree was at least 150 years old, I'm sure it was there when the house was built and that's why the tile was chosen. So I'm just carrying the theme along.
Here's the chandelier.

Isn't it a beauty??

It's from a local artisan, James Mattson. We have a wonderful shop in Old Town Monrovia, called Historic Lighting, which has the most wonderful Craftsman pieces--not just lights, but furniture and rugs as well.

So that's part of what's been going on. I've been roundly scolded for neglecting the blog, hence the update. My only excuse (besides being overwhelmed and extremely tired!) is that I've been deprived of internet access. Now, thanks to John, I have my computer back, and our network is again up and running so no more excuses. Besides, this weekend is Missy A's baptism and that ought to provide some great pictures. Hmmm... wonder if Jeff brought his suit??

And what will Memere wear? My clothes are almost all still in boxes. Time to shut down the computer and go unpack!

In the morning.

After a good night's rest!

Progress, Part ??

Not that much different to show, except that today the stove and microwave came to live with us!

I think I'm going to like them a lot. Already made my first batch of microwave popcorn!

It's been a weird-weather day here, cool and cloudy with bursts of violent weather. There was even a tornado not too far from here!

In the meantime, the tile crew came to replace some cracked tiles, the paint crew came and finished up some patching/painting, and I've been working on laundry, too. Tonight we'll be clearing things off the wood floors, so that tomorrow the floor crew can come in and do a final buffing and clear-coat.

The cats and I will be camping out upstairs, hopefully without too much trouble; D4 will go stay with a sister. After all, on Saturday there's going to be a birthday party for the Grandcarrot, who's turning 2 next week (Go, Garrett, Go!), and an extra pair of hands will come in handy!

There will, hopefully, be more knitting time coming up. Today was a stay-home-and-tend-the-home-fires day, but tomorrow will be back to Audrey-tending. Saturday? Well, I can tell you one thing: lots more baby pictures!

An F.O. At Last!!

Finally, something has been finished around here!

This is the lavender Shedir (out of Rowan Calmer) that I started back at the end of March. It's for D2 and will probably go into a mailing bag today, unless I decide to give it a bath first.

Why would it need a bath? Well, it's been all over the place.

Started it at Asilomar, and worked on it through some of the evening programs during the conference.

It's been to knitting group. It's been worked on at the house, and we know the condition the house has been in, aka dirt, dust, plaster bits and wood particles everywhere.

Then of course it was put on a charming and cooperative model.
Well, wouldn't you say this was charming and cooperative? As well as adorable?
Yes, little Missy A came to knit group, and she has learned to behave in a manner befitting a Knitting Princess. She had company, since Beth brought Cormac. They were only mildly interested in each other, since the concept of "play with" is pretty much absent from the little ones. But they were cute.

And that's what counts!

Finishing off with a shot of my Mother's Day flowers from D1 and her crew. They're posed on my new island in the middle of my new kitchen. There will be pictures soon--the handles for the cabinets have arrived, and will be installed shortly. I hope.

Yes, the Project is coming to a close. We are currently waiting for two new doors to arrive; once they get here, they and the other doors that were taken down will be hung, the knobs etc will go on, and then it will be time for the Floor Guy to do his "thing." Which ought to include finishing a new trap door (the tile one was not really okay lookswise, and it was too heavy for most humans to lift, so it's being replaced with wood, which was what I wanted in the first place) and another coat of finish on the floors.

Then to the opening of the Bins of Doom. It will be nice to have my "stuff" back but oh, what a job it will be finding places for it all! I can already tell you that the "place" for some things is going to be the Goodwill. Not the yarn or fabric, though! Nope!

Happiness is...

... having a cousin? Or having silly aunties who will make faces at you and make you laugh!

Here's the latest on our little ones, who as you can see aren't quite as little as they used to be!

Mother's Day was a good day, very low-key with a fondue dinner followed by a fondue dessert. The babies were passed around, the Grandcarrot had a blast going up and down the stairs at Auntie D5's house, and a good time was had by all!

The cats have come home, at least for a little while, and they don't seem to mind being confined to the upstairs bedroom and bathroom. Which is probably a good thing! The workers are nearly finished here--at least, it appears so--I think, when the move-in day comes, they will go to the "kitty spa" for a "day of beauty" since Simon really needs to get his white ruff cleaned. It's still grimy grey! Hi-Hi is nice and clean but it's spring and they are both shedding. There are gobs of fur on the carpet. I think this means I need to get a new vacuum (needed anyway) that will handle cat fur!

Do check out the latest entry in our blogging family: http://thebugspeak.blogspot.com/ which is our "knitterbugs." They've caught the knitting fever, all right, and so has their mom; dad is kind of bemused by it all, especially when they want to "just finish this row" before going to bed!

More pictures will be coming as things finish up here--and I'll see if the cat-boys will pose in their new "apartment."

Updating the updates

We have lights! The living room sconces are once again operational. They've been rewired (one was unfixable and is up as a "dummy") and have new light bulbs.
So nice to have lights again!
And the coffeemaker has a nice new place to sit. That doesn't flush! So nice to wake up in the morning to the coffeemaker grinding the beans and a lovely aroma wafting up the stairs!
Okay, so it has to compete with the delightful scents of plaster and paint...

There has been knitting, too. The lavender Shedir is up to (down to?) the decrease rows, and should be ready on time.


Celebrating Cinco de Mayo in Montrose on Monday is fun. Joselito's did a Mexican Flag special: red, white, and green enchiladas. Complete with little flag!

And someone is learning to sit up. Not quite there all the time yet, but almost!

So that's my update. Baby: growing. Knitting: occasional.
House: getting closer and closer to finished, and to the dreaded Emptying of The Bins of Doom.

Okay, that may be a tad dramatic. But you get the idea!

And finally, the kitties will get to come home. I miss the little guys, and I hear they have been creating their own brand of havoc and wearing out their welcome. Let's hope they'll be as glad to come home as I'll be to have them!

Onward and Upward...

Upward, as in stairs? Okay, so I'm stretching for post titles. Any better ideas?

The stairs now have their carpet installed, and I think it looks pretty nice. Once the dust from all the woodworking is off the stair treads, they ought to look really great. When we did the addition, wayyyy back in 1983, we couldn't quite afford an oak staircase, so we went with oak for the endcaps, the banisters and newel posts, and the stair molding. The treads were left to be carpeted, and the spindles (which don't show in this picture) are pine, stained to match the oak.

The backsplash tile is in. The colors on this look pretty close to what you'd see if you were standing there. The colors are a mix of grey, brown, taupe, and "indescribable." The orange splotches are tape where Sam-the-painter had "touchups" or "fixups" noted. Still some work to be done: there's going to be a lazy Susan in the cabinet, and the handles need to go on.

Um, yeah, I did get handles. Pewter, with just a little bit of detailing. After trying out many many many MANY knobs (I think Great Indoors and Expo are reconsidering how many they'll let customers try out and return now) the inescapable conclusion is that knobs just aren't going to do the trick. Let's hope handles will. 64 is a lot to find! And, with numbers like that to buy, it kind of leaves out the ones that are super gorgeous and $11 or $15 each...

Just so you can see how those babies are growing:
here's Nate, looking fascinated by the camera and by his great-auntie, who was making faces for him.
Cousin Audrey has learned to roll over onto her tummy from her back. First she did tummy-to-back, and then the reverse. Now she can't seem to remember how to do the tummy-to-back. But she's very pleased with her tricks!
(This picture is from Auntie D4's Flicker sets. She has lots more if you're into gorgeous baby photos.) (Also if you follow the link to her blog, there is some great A video. Think baby giggles.)

And yes, there has been some knitting. The lavender Shedir is coming right along and I'm planning on having it done soon.

Because once the contractor's crews are done with the house, there is going to be one heck of a lot of work moving stuff back in, and sorting through what gets to stay and what needs to go. Nothing like living without all this stuff for 3 months to give a person perspective on what really matters!

Moving Right Along...

The sink is in, and so are the granite countertops.

Yes, the sink is black. One of D4's friends told her it doesn't look like a "real" sink--she thought it looked more like a liner. It's black granite, and one of the nice features is that it's the same material all the way through. So if it gets scratched, it's just scratching down to another layer of the same color, and shouldn't show.
Stove corner. No stove yet, but it's coming.
Well, first we have to buy it. Then it has to be delivered.
THEN it can be installed!

Front door has been painted red. No special reason, just kind of like the idea.

However, the doorknob is now broken, so it won't open from outside with the key. New lockset, anyone?
and:
...now there is carpeting in the bedroom and closets upstairs, and on the stairs, too.


This picture was taken while the carpet-laying was in progress, so I didn't get a shot of the stairs. They were covered with guys nailing down tack strips, not the most inspiring sight.





Unless, of course, like me, you're counting down the days till you can go home again. I think we will give the carpet solvent fumes plenty of time to dissipate, though. I need my last few remaining brain cells!




Corner of the house, showing the new colors. The trim is a dark blue, which in the color chips seemed to have a lot of green. In daylight, and on the house, it seems to veer off to the purple part of the spectrum. Just like the Purple People Mover, aka Yarnmobile. Guess I'm doomed to purple-iciousness no matter what.




Seeing double: CoffeeCat Patty brought her twin sister to our Monday knitfest! Such fun, meeting the charming Dr. Jenny! And, she's a speedy knitter just like our Patty!



And, finally, a look at one of my "older" quilts. That's the nice thing about passing them along in the family: they occasionally resurface and can be enjoyed all over again.
This one is a pattern called Massachusetts Cross and Crown, and it's from a book by Marsha McCloskey which is currently buried in the bins in the driveway, or I'd tell you the title. This quilt is on the cover, though.
When I was working on it, I took it along to work on during a "quilters' weekend" at a friend's cabin in the mountains. She was trying to start a business, providing weekend getaways with a quilting theme.
Anyway, that particular weekend she'd invited several people including the then-president of one of our guilds, who'd decided that she didn't like this quilt. Every time I took it out to work on it (and it's a fun, addictive technique) she would make a comment, finally declaring that it was the ugliest quilt she'd ever seen!

I don't happen to agree with that assessment; in fact, it's always been one of my favorite things! It now lives with D5, who's been sheltering her mother and sister during these last few weeks of rootlessness. She brought it out for us to sleep under, and it's quite cozy!

I love the scrappiness of it. And blues are always right! By the way, the white fabric with the blue streaks in the lower left star happens to be one of the earliest batiks that was offered for sale commercially, at least in "our" neck of the woods. Now, batiks are really popular, but back in the late 80's they were pretty rare!

Small World

...and I don't mean the Disneyland version, although I must say I am looking forward to taking these two on it! (All together now... can you get the song out of your head? Can you say earworm??)
Actually I had a surprise of the "very small world" variety today. As I may or may not have said, we're having the house remodeled. I found the contractor via a newspaper ad, which I followed up online and checked out all the licensing information with the state before I ever called them.

Well, they've been working really diligently so far. Yes, there have been glitches and problems, but on the whole it's been moving along. I mean, the house was built in 1921 and it has seen a lot of experiences in that time.

Anyway, I've had several conversations with the office staff at the contractor's, as well as many visits with the man himself. Today, one of his assistants called me. Seems that something came up yesterday when she was talking to him, and she mentioned that her father had worked for "Giant Wine Co." for many years. Contractor mentioned that he knew my husband had worked for the same company. She immediately recognized the name--her father was my husband's boss and friend for many many years. I mean, we went to her wedding. Her dad was responsible for Bob and I getting our first house many years ago--he arranged a short-term "advance on earnings" so we had a down payment. I could go on and on, but I'll spare you.

But what are the odds, in a megalopolis like Los Angeles, that this would happen?


Today was a day for cousins to get together. We had half of the Connecticut Cousins visiting, and of course the babies were among the major SoCal sights they came to see!
At one point, both of the little ones were asleep and sharing the same portable crib.

Nice when they are so teeny, huh?

For the record they are now 3 months (Nate) and 5 months (Audrey).
Miss A likes to play on her quilt on the floor.

She is learning to roll over which means she is no longer safe on sofas, or on any bed smaller than a queen.

It was quite warm today and the Japanese iris decided it was a good day to open. They went from tightly furled buds in the early morning to a full-blown display by afternoon.


Theme baby. Here's Sweet Pea, in all her Pea Pod finery.

Can't see her green socks, but they are there!
Here's a group shot of the "clan" after dinner last night. The adults are shorter than both of the kids!

Yes, I've been knitting. No pictures, though, because the latest inch on Shedir and the latest two inches on the Very Warm Hat look a lot like the last ones. One of these days!!

Hot Times

When the temperature outside is frightful--as in, 103 degree readings, and it's only April--there has to be a way of making the best of it.

So a knitters' gathering and mini yarn crawl is one of the better ways! A group of us got together on Saturday to have lunch and visit some notable sites and sights on the West Side. Ellen calls us the Eastside Goils, which is as good a name as any for us! She took lots of pictures and they are on her blog. I didn't get as many as I would have liked, and they are not great, so I'm only going to show you one--the cupcakes!
Because after all, Ravelry is celebrating Bobmas, and cupcakes have been designated the Official Holiday Food of Bobmas.
If you aren't a Raveler yet, what are you waiting for?

After the yarn crawl, there was a gathering of a different sort.
This one involved babies. Big ones... like the Grandcarrot... and little ones. Big brother was wearing his Dodgers shirt, cause there are some major Dodgers fans in the family. Little brother was wearing his BoSox onesie, because there are also some major Sox fans in the family.
Some of them are the same people! It's quite handy that the Dodgers and the Sox play in different leagues. We think a Dodgers/Red Sox World Series would be great fun.

I'm having some problems realigning these pictures in today's post, so I'm going to skip around and let you see them in whatever order they came up in, ok? My time is sorta at the disposal of one Little Miss A, who has been having a bit of a fuss today. The picture just above is the wall of windows in my dining room--now visible due to a lack of stuff piled in front of them, and reflected nicely in the newly refinished hardwood floor.
Living room, slightly blurred, with grandkids.

Looking from the front door through to the back of the house, you can see the dining room and the doorway to the guest room (the door that belongs in that doorway is the one that's leaning against the fireplace in the blurry photo) and the kitchen.
The dusty footprints belong to the workers, and are the clue that it was going to be okay to walk on the floor!


Miss A in her sunhat and sundress. She'll be 5 months old on Tuesday--already!




Some of the food. We had what D3 was calling a real Filipino barbecue, meaning that there was a lot of food (she said she estimated everyone's portion at around 4 lbs. per) and lots of it had an ethnic flavor.

For instance, the marinated pork sticks (mmm mmm good) are a secret family recipe from my daughter-in-law's family. The marinated shrimp is a variation.

Fruit. Yum.
Too bad I couldn't get a shot of this before the vultures descended.

Salmon: also good on the BBQ!




Little Nate, ready for the game!

One of the new projects in D3's area is something called Big League Dreams. The gang (which included all the aforementioned baseball fanatics) checked it out and then went back last night for a game. The park features replicas of famous baseball stadiums and apparently last night, Jose Canseco was there and autographing baseballs!
Today the Easterners are off to San Diego for a few days with their "other" grandparents. Good way to spend their spring break!

All Together Now, Awwww!

That's the reaction this little scene got last night.

My "Awwww!" was an "awww, how cute and adorable is my baby kitty?" D3's "Awwww!" was more along the lines of, "awww, now I have to wash that thing before I can put my baby back in it!"

Guess it's all in your perspective!

Simon has not quite restored his whiteness.
Guess ashes are semi-permanent coloring.

Who knew grey could be so cute?


Kitchen cabinets are going in.

This first picture is the corner where the stove will go. The corner cabinet will have a lazy susan so we can put pots and pans and things back there and still get them out when we need them.
I have a nice collection of stock pots and other semi-frequently-used items that ought to work nicely back there.

And yes, that one on the right will have slots to hold cookie sheets and cutting boards. Remember that I live with the Mad Baker!

Well, I will, once we get to move back in. We're still refugee'd to D3's and there is a distinct whiff of hotel or D5's guest room in the near future.

Not because D3 is ungracious; she is quite willing to put us up, but she had already promised the guest quarters for this weekend. Since it's to people we dearly love and are very eager to see (it's Family #1 from CT) we are quite happy to put the screws on Mr. Contractor to fix up enough of our house so that we can sleep there again!

Besides, it's a long way from either sister's house to D4's job.

More cabinetry.
The base cabinets for the butler's pantry, formerly the mud room.
Has a little more cachet, non? A little more je-ne-sais-quoi than "mud room."
See the pretty tile floor??
The door on the righ side goes to the back bathroom, which is being almost totally remodeled. We're reusing its sink and toilet and faucets and lights; otherwise, it's all new.
Including the window.
Pics on the Flickr page, if you care to see!

Lastly, one more "awwww!" please for Nate the Great! He is such a sweet baby and one of the great pleasures of staying at D3's.

I'm still trying to get The Blur, aka the Grandcarrot, to stand still long enough to get an updated photo. He and his Cousin Audrey, however, are rather elusive when Memere is behind the camera! (Do go over and catch her video of the Sweet Pea Jig!)

Truck update: It's still in Monterey. I have been told its parts have arrived and are being installed, so my next trip up there to retrieve it will probably happen soon.

But not till after Wednesday knitting. I have a serious dearth of Knit Pals time and I need to make up the deficit!!