Monkey see...

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Abbymonkey getting used to having a big soft tummy...

What? What?

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Originally uploaded by theleming

Love this picture--thanks, Court! The hats are from Auntie Foosh (aka D1) and Abby is demonstrating to Audrey the "down side" of having a mobile little sister!

Determination!

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Today was a play date at Grandma's, which allowed lots of room for scooting, sliding, and yes, crawling. I didn't think anything of it when she was up on all fours and actually crawling--she was so close last Friday, I just figured she'd mastered it over the weekend.

Nope. After she and mom got home, I got a text message asking what I'd done since she's now full-on crawling! One of those kind of double-edged milestones: now she's mobile, which means keep an eye on her!

There are a couple more pics on my Flickr page for today, including one that shows her sharp little teeth--yes, she bites! But she's so cute and so sweet, we can't get too upset with her!

Rockin' Good Time

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

..except he kept saying he was bouncing. He really likes that chair!

Play Ball!!

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Whose favorite team? Well, here's a hint: the man is riding a bicycle 200 miles on Saturday, the THIRD time he's done it this year!

He also believes in indoctrinating fans young...

Joy!

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

A little bit blurry--but she's hardly ever still, and the camera is once again refusing to take pictures unless the flash is turned off. The longer exposure time means there's a split-second more for someone to move.

And move she does!

Tree and Arbor Wrap

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

This is a project for a KAL on Rav--it's a FickleKnitter design, and the yarn is Alpha B's Sexy B in Escapade. The yarn is soft and wonderful and the shaded purples are lovely.

Not that you can tell from this craptastic photo, however. Camera is giving me fits (yet again) and I think it's time to take it shopping for its replacement. When I've done that in the past, it shapes up and behaves. Let's see if that still works!

Another Day...

...another post. Don't really have a picture to post today, since today's activities were anything but photogenic. Let's just say, two women sweating and (maybe a little swearing too) moving boxes and bins and "stuff" around are not a pretty sight. Even though D5 was wearing her really nice jeans.

After the massive renovations a couple of years ago, there have been some boxes left over that were still packed--using the term loosely as the "packers" were more like "let's see how much damage we can do shoving stuff in boxes" kind of guys. So today we tackled a few of them.

I still don't have a "real" plan in mind as to what I want to do with myself, but I do know that whatever future I have, this house needs to be lightened of "stuff." So things in boxes need to go. There's going to be a yard sale--kind of a Giant Antiques, Collectibles, and Stuff Sale. As hard as it is to part with some things, it's too hard to keep on hanging on to them.

Now, please excuse me while I go read the next chapter of Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? Gotta love Peter Walsh!

Six Years

Playtime!

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Someone's very very close to crawling--she actually did a couple of times today. She's definitely full of beans!

I thought this would be an appropriate photo for my first "play" blog post of the month! Kind of squeaking under the wire, time-wise, but it all counts. (Right?)

Li'l Miss Happyface

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Abby loves to be talked to, and she's beginning to "talk" back. She has a habit of smiling and grinning as soon as the camera's done clicking!

Abby's Baptism

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Abby with her parents and godparents--and, of course, sister Audrey! It was a lovely day and a nice ceremony to welcome her into our Catholic community!

Mad Sippycup Skillz!

Mad Sippycup Skillz!
Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Abby can hold her own sippycup, drink from it, swing it around, and have another swallow. She doesn't want help, either!

Remembering

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

It doesn't seem like 5 years have gone by.

Another Birthday

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Today (8-8) would have been my dad's 94th birthday. He didn't quite make it--my father-in-law passed away on his 94th--but all he had cared about was living to be older than his mother. And that he succeeded in doing!

So, kind of a bittersweet day today, remembering the "old days" and the good past times. I sure hope he and Ma are having a good time together again!

A Last Goodbye

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

This was taken on my last visit with my Dad, on June 18. He passed away peacefully on June 30.

Vaya con dios, Dad. You will be missed, and long remembered.

My Accomplishment!

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

From Dear Jane at Asilomar: the blue and white ones are mine. This is what I have to show for a week of concentrated effort! 6 blocks and 3 triangles--plus I have 4-5 more blocks in partial stages of completion. Jane A. Stickle was very fond of appliqueing melons, apparently!

Apple Farm

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Lunch stop, on the way to Asilomar. Staying in Santa Cruz for the night, then tomorrow off to Carmel and Pacific Grove. Mass @ Holy Cross church, which is also home to Mission Santa Cruz.

Pea Pod Baby

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Abby loves to be talked to! Today she was in a very mellow mood, although she didn't have much to "say."

Family visit

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Visiting with my dad at the Soldiers Home. And yes, I will be starting my diet right away!

Graduation!

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Mom and kids. Brian is now a junior so in two years we'll repeat this scene! Way to go, Kristin! We're so proud and happy for you! Your dad would be thrilled and delighted too. (I'm sure he and your Grandpa Bob are up there cheering you on!)

After a Long Night of Knitting...

After a Long Night of Knitting...
Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

... I could still manage a smile! I did it! 10 pm to 8am, knitting and rocking to raise money for a cure!

Belle Nuit, with Fur

Belle Nuit, with Fur
Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Had a photo shoot on some of my current WIPs tonight. Hi-Hi was helping out. The blue beads are actually part of the shawl; the green ones are stitch markers.

More pictures of yarny goodness (and catly beauty) on my Flickr page. I seem to be suffering from terminal tiredness today (for no good reason) so this is it. Hey, it's a post, right?

Smile!

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Abby's learning to smile for the camera--or for Grandma, who's behind the camera.

Yes, this blog is still alive. I'm not committing to NaBloPoMo, but I am going to try to post more regularly.

But this is all you're getting today. More Abigail cuteness on my Flickr page--linky's over there!

Happy Anniversary!

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Forty seven years ago!

Happy Birthday!

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

A toast to Robert on his birthday. Remembering the good times and wishing things could have been different.

My blue suede shoes

My blue suede shoes
Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Went on a shoe-shopping spree and this is one of the pairs I got. I also got the same style in a light beige. I haven't had new shoes, with one exception, since I got back from my trip to France--in 2007! So it was high time.

The one exception was the pair of New Balances with the oversized laces--the ones that got caught in the screen door and tripped me up! Yes, I'm still trying to recover from that fall--haven't worn those shoes since. I'm mad at them!

Anyway, I took a little trip down to the outlet mall at Lake Elsinore, and found the Naturalizer outlet. Oh my. Shoes with Dr. Scholl's gel insoles and extra heel padding! My feet are almost happy!

First Family Portrait

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

The whole new family--mom, dad, Audrey and Abigail.

Smile!

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

When you can't go to the hospital to see Mom and new baby sister, at least you can check her out on line, right?

New Baby

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Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

Meet my newest granddaughter! She doesn't have a name yet, but we'll find out soon what it is. She was born on Valentine's Day, weighs 7 lbs 11 oz, and she and Mom and Dad are all doing well. We'll find out pretty soon what Li'l Missy thinks of her Li'l Sissy!

View from Upstairs

View from Upstairs
Originally uploaded by marie watterlond

This is a test, to see how well Flickr and Blogger talk to each other! I like the idea of being able to blog without having to upload photos from my computer (lazy much?) but I think the down side is that I can only do one per entry.

Of course, that does mean that the entry is started, and from there I can edit it to add more photos. Hmmm... Blog more often, maybe?

We'll see how it works out!

Candle glow...

...after it's all over, time at last to relax and savor the memories. I think it was a good Christmas, I hope that everyone else did too!

Now it's time to start thinking ahead for new goals and resolutions for the new year. If I've learned one thing in my (many) years on earth, it's that the best-laid plans are the ones that go the most wrong! Doesn't stop me, though.

Once I get my thoughts in order, I'll share them here. It's a good way to hold myself accountable! I've already got a couple of things percolating--Project 365, the Knitting Olympics, the 10 Shawls in 2010 project--as well as continuing to work on the house.

If I don't get back here to say it, happy New Year to you!

Deck the Halls...

...and walls, and every other surface that will allow it! Not much done so far, but here's the beginning:


The Great Wall of Rubbermaid has been reconstructed! This is 6 trips from the storage unit; doesn't include the trees, which are currently out on the front porch, or some of the Village houses, but you can get the general idea. Yes, there is such a thing as excess.

Although I don't think Susan would think I'm excessive!



Christmas mugs are fun. Yes, there are a lot of these; I probably won't be keeping every one of them, because I have others that I like better. But they will definitely have to go to good homes.

I think.

Then there's the feather-tree quilts. I made these little guys many many years ago; they are trimmed with buttons, many of which came from my mother's button box. Yes, there are two; they look very similar, but one is more muted colors and has more vintage buttons. The other has a brighter red and more of the "new" buttons I've collected over the years.

There are pictures of both of them on my Flickr page if you want to compare.

I have a couple more Christmassy quilts, which are still among the "missing." I can't tell if they are in the Great Wall or not, but it doesn't look like it. I'm sure they are here somewhere, because they were out last year.

More updates as we make more progress. The manger scene has now been set up; the Baby Jesus is hidden away (he comes out at midnight on Christmas Eve) and the Wise Guys have started their trek, although right now they are on the mantel, clear across the room. (They will arrive on Epiphany, unless we just can't stand it any longer!)

Just a Drive-By

Or, aaahhh-chooooo! Still not sure if this is allergy or infection, or some of both, but whatever it is, it can go away already.

But it's December, and somewhere there is ice and snow and real winter weather. Here, well, we had a little rain the other day, and it left a dusting of powder on top of the mountains, and snarled traffic, and we had Severe Weather Warnings. Because, you know, we got a whole inch and a half. Yes, 1.5" of rain.

There is more due this weekend, and I think its major purpose will be to mess with my plans to get the holiday decorations out. But we'll see.

In the meantime, I am busily working on Christmas gift knitting. I have a rather ambitious project--don't tell on me, in case I don't make it, okay?--of making hats for all the grands. With the great-grand, and the grand-in-law, that's a total of 14. I'm plugging away at it, and making progress.

Look, I even did this: that's me with my knitting, in front of the MGM lion, in the lobby of the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Who else do you know who goes to Vegas to knit?

Well, knit, and spend time with the daughters, and cuddle the great-grandbaby too. This was not my first trip to Vegas, but it was the first time I've stayed in one of the big hotels on the Strip.

It was an experience.

But I didn't gamble. Some things never change!

In Celebration of Standard Time!

Presenting a couple of cute critters that were encountered last night:

a ladybug clutching her sippy cup and eating pizza;

and a rather unhappy dinosaur. He doesn't like things on his head, and his expression clearly states: You can make me look adorable, but I don't have to like it!




More cuteness--and some actual smiles...on my Flickr page. Click on the badge over there!

Would you believe I have actually been knitting, and even finished a couple of things?

Here's the proof: Argosy scarf, in four colorways of Mmmmalabrigo Merino Worsted. That's Lime Blue, Apple Green, Curacao and Lettuce.


Of course it doesn't take a full skein of each to make the scarf, so I've been making hats out of the remainders.

See that? There's the Lettuce one, all done. As I write this, the Apple Green is a little over halfway to the top decreases.

Not sure if I'll keep using the same pattern--it's quick and easy. It's the Boy Hat which I found on Ravelry. Easy enough that I was able to copy the directions onto 2 post-its. Because, of course, my printer is still among the missing.

One of those projects for a cool weekend. Apparently, the Universe does not want me grubbing in the garage, since we've had nothing but hot and miserable weekends.

Sigh. I believe in winter. I do believe, I do believe...but the proof is not here.







Anyway, this little hat is not really meant to have a turned-up brim; I posed it on top of a little basket at the quilt shop, and had to roll it to make it stand up.

However, since I'm a bit of a pinhead, I have to roll it on my head, too.

Have I mentioned that Mmmmmalabrigo is soft and squishy and feels nice and warm?? It's also loosely spun, so there's a thick-and-thin quality that makes it look very rustic.



And lastly, here's an FO that I for one never quite believed in--yes, the Paris Scarf is finished!

Well, except for running a couple of tails in, and giving it a good wash and block. After all, it's been all over: on airplanes, trains, buses and cars; in France, and New England, and up at Asilomar; not to mention innumerable coffee shops and other knitting venues!

It's also been on more needles than is reasonable for anything that's this (relatively) simple: the original set, Bryspuns, fell apart on the TGV between Nice and Avignon, and were replaced by some that a French shopkeeper found in the depths of her stockroom. Those were kind of skanky aluminum, but needs must when the devil drives sort of thing, you know? Once I got back to the Land of Multiple Needles, I tried it on Options--too slick; bamboo--too sticky; an old Balene--perfect needles, horrible elderly cable that wouldn't play well with me. Sigh. Then I bought a set of Zephyrs, and oh my, they are perfect for Sea Silk! I've also moved Birch onto them and they are perfect with Kid Silk Haze, too. (Not so good with Mmmmalabrigo; the Options are working much better!)

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a hat, and some baby sweaters, and a few other projects to go work on.

And can I just say how very happy I am to be back on Standard Time? It was so nice to wake up this morning to sunshine and the knowledge that the day wasn't already half gone! Tomorrow will be the test: on a workday, having a little extra sleep time is a real blessing!

Where do I sign the petition to abolish hateful nasty Daylight Saving Time??

Random Musings

Decided to take a little break yesterday, since I got off work early, and went to Antique Row in downtown (or is it Old Town?) Pomona. Hadn't been for a long time, and I've been a little curious about how the antique business was doing during the economic downturn.

While walking over to the main "malls" I spotted this interesting building. It's one of the old brick buildings that line that street, and it's apparently in the process of renovation. I was amused and amazed by this treatment of the building--it looks like an overlay of smooth stucco has been applied to parts of the building, so that it looks as if it's emerging from a shell. A candy shell--like a Jordan almond--was what it made me think of.

Looking down the street there's another building getting the same treatment.


I'm so glad to see these wonderful old buildings being restored and recreated! Now I'll have to make a point of going back a few more times to check on progress, and see what's going to be going in there.

The whole street was pretty lively for noon on a Friday afternoon. There were a number of people in the different malls, and I overheard a couple of calls that were apparently buyers asking to reserve particular items. Most of the shops in the one building I really toured (it used to be Robbins Antique Mart, now it's just "Antique Mart" with a big blank on the sign where Robbins used to be) were having sales, which is par for the course especially this time of year. I know there were certain dealers who always had sales, back when Bob and I used to go for a Saturday or Sunday outing. They'd mark their prices way up and then discount them to the "normal" asking prices.

Hot buttered muffins for breakfast today. I've been looking at the raisins and wishing for something with raisins in. Earlier this week I made (and eventually ate) gingerbread with raisins in it--sooo good!

So muffins were the next thing. They did hit the spot, too.

Looking at my "new" Fiesta reminded me of the dealer in Pomona (or as my son-in-law says, "P-town") who had a whole double display case of original Fiestaware. I'm glad to see that the re-issuance (in lead- and cobalt-free glazes) doesn't seem to have hurt the market for the originals. He had some lovely stuff. There was a set of 8 ivory cream soup bowls that I could easily covet. At $40/each, however, covet is all I will do! I'll keep using my all-purpose bowls, thanks!

The new yarn is from a swappypack I received this week, from CyberFiber on Ravelry (who is also my Facebook friend Elizabeth). Although swaps tend to sometimes get mired in drama, the RR swaps have so far been pretty drama-free. I did this swap, as well as a Magic Yarn Ball swap, and I'm signed up for a Books and Yarn swap. The idea of that one is to pick a book (or two depending on whether they're paper or hardbound, new or used) and yarn to go with the theme.

I've got an interesting partner, and I'm looking forward to putting together a really amusing package for her.

The last picture is the contents of my swappypack spread out for maximum viewing. There are also more pictures on my Flickr page if you want to see the stitch markers or granny-square earrings or other goodies up close.

Yes, that is a "cattle-pult." Did I mention this was a "shop local" swap? That's why my yarn came from Indiana, which apparently has cows too. All I remember from driving through it is many many cornfields, rush hour traffic in Indianapolis, and the sign that said "Do not spit on the monument." Obviously there is much much more!

And now I must go find my super-glue and do a little surgery on the Shun Giraffe, who had an unfortunate accident on the way. Maybe he just lost his head from the yarn fumes...

Now...it's really mine!

But, of course, today Firefox and Blogger are not playing nicely, so first you'll need to enjoy the glory of the crape myrtle tree!

It really is a lovely vivid color, glows in almost every kind of light. So naturally, when I try to take a picture, what you see is the haze in the air.

The thing about crape myrtles is that the little devils put out a nice very very ultra-fine mist. The particles are so small that you can't really see them with the naked eye, but the camera catches the refraction of the sunlight and makes the picture look hazy.

So, really, not bad photography, just very interesting.

Oh, this does show up on any car that is parked under the tree for any length of time. Yes, that means my new car too. Since the best place for me to park just happens to be directly under the tree, well, I guess Kiwi needs to take its chances.

Besides, a light dusting of pollen and hot pink blossoms looks really nice on a kiwi green car!

What I mean about it really being mine now is that my new Glornak sticker came today. That was the one thing that really made me sad about trading in the Purple People Mover--I couldn't get the sticker to come off.

Not to worry, the Sheldon Store had more. And they ship super fast, too.

After spending almost all day Friday, and most of t he weekend, hunting for the original pink slip (title) for the Ford, I gave up. Today I went to the Auto Club and ordered a duplicate. I also changed the insurance policy to reflect the new vehicle.

Cleaning out the files has been rather cathartic, and the shredder has been quite busy. I think there are at least 10 bags of shreddies going out on the curb tonight. Well, they're in trash cans, but they're going. I'm still frustrated that an important paper could get mislaid. I'm sure it will turn up. Eventually.

So that's been the story around here. Knitting and crocheting have taken a back seat to paperwork, and even now I'm blogging instead of doing what I really came onto the computer for today, which is checking on my bank account to see what I've paid and what I haven't. I'm really amazed that my credit score came back as good as it did, considering my rather haphazard approach to record-keeping and bill-paying lately. (It was good enough to get me 0% financing on the new Kiwi. That's pretty good!)

Hopefully I can get out of Paperwork Hell soon and return this blog to tales from the yarning and quilting side of life. I sure hope so!!

No Pictures Today

Well, I have been trying to upload pictures for the last few days, and every time I try, I get a half hour of "working" messages and then it either times out, or gives me a "bad request" notice.

So I guess I need to refer you to the Flickr badge over there, which will take you to my page where you can see all the photos I would have uploaded as well as lots more. And you'll have to make do with text today, sigh, which will look like a nice long bunch of paragraphs.

It's too bad really, since we've had some great stuff going on here. Camp Grandma happened (with lots of help from the aunties, the cousins, and the cats) including a trip to the beach, a shopping spree at Justice (who knew that was the hottest place for tweens to find their new school clothes?), fun at the park, dinners in and out, learning to decorate cakes with Auntie D4, the Long Beach Aquarium, tea and art and rambling at the Huntington, a very hot trip to the Arboretum, and learning to sew.

The next adventure for me came with reading about the "Cash for Clunkers" program. I'd been so busy it barely registered, even though I'd been kind of thinking in the back of my mind about what my "next car" would be for quite a while. Then I saw a photo on a news website of MY TRUCK with "clunker" painted on its side! A little research quickly showed me that the clunker cash would be quite a bit more than even the high blue-book on the truck, so I called my "favorite" dealership to inquire about availability on my presumed next choice. Ummm, they had one left, and had just sold two, didn't know when more were coming in.

Off I went to talk and test drive. Yes indeed, my poor purple truck did qualify for the top $$$ on the program; and after test-driving my first choice (the Escape hybrid) and a second choice (Mariner, non-hybrid), plus running some numbers, i eventually drove home in... a kiwi green Mariner! It turns out that because I do so much freeway driving, the hybrid wasn't the best choice; the Mariner (and the gas-only Escapes) get about the same highway mileage and have more pep.

I dunno. I've been trying to feel a little bad about condemning the Purple People Mover but I just can't do it. Already I love the new one, even though it's not as big and doesn't have nearly as much hauling capacity as the purple one. I guess I'll find out at the end of the month when it's time to load up and trek to Asilomar again--maybe I need to repack my tools and fabrics anyway, since there are a lot of things I've brought the last couple of times that I wound up not using.

This would have been a much more attractive post with pictures. Didn't realize how spoiled I have been in the past! Here's hoping Blogger gets it together so I can go back to posting pictures!

Still July, At Least!

First off, let me point you to a new link on the sidebar there: John and Ryan are heading West, and will be blogging about it. You've seen John on this blog before, he's also known as #1 grandson.

I will be looking forward to reading about their travels. It reminds me of my own journey West, back just a few years ago. Picture in your mind's eye for a moment: me, age 20, with a fresh new college degree (ink not quite dry on it!) and a contract to teach in Los Angeles for a year; friend with same. We set off in a '53 Chevy with $300 between the two of us, and actually made it all the way on that. (Did I mention that in 1962 gas cost, oh about 25 cents a gallon? That a night in a pretty decent motel was less than $10, and the fleabags ran $5?)

The rest is history. Although my contract was only for a year, I met someone who convinced me to sign another kind of contract--that one lasted 42 years!

And led, sort of indirectly, to John and his cousins...

If you're tuning in for the yarn pr0n, here's a bit of new stuff for you.

This is the newest from the STR club. Inspired by heirloom tomatoes and all their glorious colors, Garden Daze has reds, oranges, greens and a nice sort of tealy green. I was (shhh!) a little underwhelmed with the sock pattern, but then I don't knit socks, so it's kind of a moot point.

IF I were to want to knit some socks--and, it's always possible, if someone I love enough wants a pair badly enough--and I wanted to use this pattern, I'd probably do it in a semisolid instead.

Who, me? A rebel? Whatever gave you that idea?


I'm a little disappointed in how this picture came out, because the yarn itself is so much deeper and richer in color. There's also a lot more red than you'd think from looking at t his view of the hank.

It's from Fiber Optica, laceweight, hand dyed in the Rekjavik colorway. It's one of those things--I was on Ravelry, just quietly reading away, and there it was at the bottom of the page. I had to click through to the Etsy shop, and well, that was that.

I'm busily chugging away on my granny squares for our Summer of Crochet Love GCA and have rediscovered the seductive power of crochet. Couple of things are helping this new addiction (or should I say, revival of an addiction) along: I have a hook that doesn't make my hand cramp up, and I'm using Noro Silk Garden, which has so many variations that it's just tantalizing to see what will come out next.

I mean, I'll be going along, crocheting from a ball that is showing bright turquoise, magenta, and deep green--and what's under my hook is grey, brown, dull olive. Some of it is underspun and very thick; some of it is overspun, and almost the size of fingering weight; there's VM (vegetable matter, for you Muggles, meaning bits of straw, grass, etc that didn't get cleaned off in the processing), there's bits of thread--it's an adventure in a ball of yarn! No one knits or crochets with Noro expecting perfection; the rusticity is a major element of its charm. My count as of t his afternoon is 57 squares; I'm on the 14th ball of the stuff. My goal is either 99 or 108 squares, which will make a pretty good-sized afghan (or two lap blankets). We'll see if I can finish this before the lurve wears off! Pictures next time, or hit my Flickr page to see the beginnings of this.

(Explanation: I'm writing this post on Firefox, which doesn't cooperate very well with Blogger, so I can't add pictures part way through a post and then move them to where I'd like them. So I think that tonight my squares will have their own photo shoot, and they can be another post.)

All Over In a Burst of Glory

The Fourth of July 2009 is history, along with the preceding 233 Fourths. Now it's back to life as we usually know it, for better or worse.


I hope you had a wonderful weekend and maybe took a little time to reflect on the good things in your life. I know I did, and I feel truly blessed. Sure, it's easy to focus on some of the negative stuff--the aches and pains and troubles and trials and tribulations, but in the midst of all that, there's the sweet smell of baby hair, the glory of early dawn, the radiance of sunset, the great boon in communication with faraway loved ones...the fun and fascination of the internet, even!