Twice Today!

First, the usual camellia eye candy. This bush has an interesting history, sort of. It was growing next to the "old" back door of this house, along with another one. When we added on, it was obvious that the other one would have to be moved, but we thought this one could be left in place. Sure enough, the deck was built with a nice opening for its trunk. It's been thriving, and even outlasted the first version of the deck. Its sister, a deep red peony-flowered variety, was moved--Nurseryman: you can't move camellias in September! Husband: It's that or cut it down. Nurseryman: here's how to do it. Success!


Now, here we have something much less successful. Way, way, WAY less! This got frogged as soon as it had been photographed. And no, it's not my version of a thong--it's the start of a Candleflame shawl. So unsuitable in this yarn!

Version #2: much more successful. This is great waiting-room and "coffee" knitting!


Finally, some snowdrops looking as if they'd much rather be in the snow than in the hard-baked clay that is my yard:







Knit Devil (fiendish person that she is) sent me a letter for her meme (read all about it on her blog) which basically asks you to list 10 things that are important to you that start with that letter. She assigned me C. (If you want your own letter, leave a comment on her blog, and she'll send you one of your very own.)
So here are mine, in no particular order.
1. My maiden name begins with a C. Which, of course, means that my dad and brother have the same last name. They are both known as Chick or Chicky.
2. Caitlin, aka D3. Obvious, no?
3. Courtney, aka D5. Ditto. When my husband called my mom to tell her that she had a new granddaughter and her name was Courtney, he said there was a long pause. Finally my mom said, Well, we'll love her anyway.
4. Cats. Love them furball critters!
5. Connecticut. My spiritual home, I think.
6. Cobalt blue glass--Royal Lace pattern especially.
7. Children's books. I have loved to read ever since I was a wee little thing. The family story is that I taught myself to read from the newspaper, which would have been a neat trick since it was an English-language paper and I didn't speak English till I went to school.
8. Craftsman-style houses. No, I don't live in one; my 1921 house is a pseudo-Tudor. I still love the style!
9. Chilly weather. I don't do well in the heat; I'm one of those people who, like my favorite flowers, needs a winter chill to thrive. If I don't get it I have a very cranky outlook.
10. Chocolate Candy. Nuff said??
Hmmm... there are a lot of things I love that didn't get on this list. Who could believe that not a single one of my grand-darlings has a name that starts with C??

Presenting... the UFO of the Month!

This month, I hereby resolve to work on... Birch! Hmm, she's not blue, grey, or white... but she sure is a weight on my conscience, so she's getting the nod. I love the pattern, I love the yarn, but as a knit, I'm having a doozy of a time working on her. I've had her on so many different needles it's a miracle she's still OTN!! She's going to come traveling with me, and I'll see if I can't get her done.

Anybody want to guess where this building is?

Short-ish post today, as I have a list of things to do as long as my arm--longer, actually. Part of the "fun" of leaving town for a couple of weeks is all the prep it takes, especially when the two weeks are going to be taken up with fibery pastimes. (Yes, the family will hold down the fort at home, and the fuzzballs will be well cared for. I, however, will be in fur deprivation mode. After all, I can talk to the people, but I can't pet cats from far away!) So I'm trying to get the sewing machines ready, the fabric and gear for quilting, and then the knitting to take to Stitches with me. Yes, I am going to lose my Stitches virginity this year.

I don't know how much blogging I'll be able to do from either of these venues. I do have a laptop now, and I'll be taking it with me, so there is every possibility of finding someplace to connect from. Stay tuned--but don't hold your breath!

Frost, Mail, Flahrs

Is it wrong to dislike plants? I mean, to the point where, when something like this happens to them, you say, good job Jack Frost!

I mean, I like a lot of plants, and some I love. These, I detest. They are my neighbor's and grow on the other side of the fence, but their big ugly rubbery leaves hang over and drop all over, and they just make me unhappy. So when the frost came, and all of them (she has 5 of the things, in varying sizes) got frostbitten, I was not unhappy. Of course now there are dead brown leaves falling in my yard, and as you can sorta tell by looking at this one, the whole plant isn't dead. I imagine that by summer, they'll all be back to their repulsive glory.

When you have a bad day at work, what makes you feel better? Coming home to a front porch bearing treasure, that's what! Here we have the new Rowan 41, which on a quick leaf-through looks to be full of yummies, beginning with the cover. Now, I don't always knit much from the Rowan books, but I love them for the inspiration they provide. Yeah, I'm still chugging on Birch, which is from # what, 30 or something? Hey, a girl needs all the eye candy she can get, some days! then there's my bundle from Yarn of the Month, and a Don't Knit and Drive mug (all the way from Seattle, thanks Marie!) because while I don't knit and drive, I DO drink (coffee) and drive. Lastly, my big treat--and I did it, I cannot tell a lie--some yummies from Dave Daniels at Cabin Cove Mercantile. Note the very Project Spectrum-like colors!

And here's a splash of sunshine (speaking of which, it's been in the high 80's here for the last few days, and I'm doing some serious watering to try to counteract it!) courtesy of a very tough little gazania. This plant used to live alongside my driveway, back when the driveway was blacktop. It survived the giant trucks and tractors that hauled away the tons of oak tree; it survived being moved before the new driveway went in, and it has survived the heat and dryness of this past year. And still has the courage to bloom this effusively.

I'm going to try to take a lesson.

On the bandwagon again...

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting and do it all the time. While finishing a piece is the plan, you still love the process, and can't imagine a day going by without giving some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation involves leaving ample space for the stash and supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn ends and you begin.http://marniemaclean.com
Take this quiz!








Quizilla |
Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Saturday Sky??

A little grey/blue/white in this snap I took last night on my way into work:There are some very interesting buildings going up around town--I like the way the light worked on these. Definitely not a generic skyline!
The camellias are from my yard. I don't know their names, but the house was built by a nurseryman and there are a lot of "experimental" varieties around here. Seeing how slowly camellias grow, I have no problem believing that these have been here since the early days--house was built in 1920. And it shows. Everywhere. Especially the kitchen. Don't let me get started on that; let's just stop and smell the flowers.
Oh, that's right. Camellias have no fragrance. That's why they are such great corsage flowers. Yeah, my very first corsage ever--college freshman, fixed up with someone's buddy Rudy. Pink camellia. Gorgeous thing, loved the flower, wasn't too keen on the guy. He never called me back after the Sunday afternoon when he called and my cousin Richard gave him a real hard time. Who needs a big brother, right?
This last one is actually a white blossom, with the sun shining through it. The quest for a yellow camellia is ongoing, but so far it's not happening.
My town is "famous" for its annual Camellia Festival, but the only thing camellia-related is that the floats for the parade have to be covered in camellias. Nothing else. So you're basically working with a palette of pink, red, white, green leaves, brown (you have to cook the leaves, or pick nice fallen ones), and yellow from stamens. It is amazing what the kids can do--yeah, these are done by kids, some grown-up help allowed but all the flowers etc have to be pasted on by kid hands.
It was great training for my kids--when they worked on floats for the Rose Parade, they already knew how to keep the glue off their clothes!
More info on the Festival here if you are interested!

Poetry Reading for St. Brigid's Day

I saw this over at Knitting at No. 9 then found that my friends the Knit Devil and The Dim Sum-mer have also participated. Sheesh, and here I did a poem for yesterday. Well, That certainly doesn't mean that I can't do another one today, right? Without further ado... here's one of my favorites.

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

(Robert Frost)

Project Spectrum Begins...with a poem

It's a blue day...

the sky

is leaden grey.

My words take flight

like birds

wings of white

against the dark

and dreary sky.

Hear them cry:

why?

why?

why?

as grey

gives way

to blue and white

and sun so bright

the mood turns light

and it feels right

to say, good night,

good night,

good night.

Crafty-ness

Sunday was a great day for creativity--D5 hosted a stampin' workshop at her house. Here's my set of projects, plus a really cute bookmark that my sis-in-law made. Not only does it say Meow! but it has a picture of Simon. How cute is that?








Now this is something pretty cute. The quilt shop where I teach one night a week also does dolls. This lady is one of the display models, and the pattern is available.

She had to be featured here because her name is... Madge. Now, I must say she bears no resemblance to any person I might know by that name... just sayin'!!















Progress report on Trellis:

10 more rows and it will be time to do some shaping. Whee! I'm wondering if this can be considered an early start on Project Spectrum?



Hmmm... I'd better go back and read the rules again. D'oh!



Let's finish up with some gorgeous boy cat, okay? Hi-Hi was keeping Lady E I warm...that's the red bag under him. He very patiently let me take his picture--but isn't he a beautiful boy?

Okay, I know, I need more Carrot pics and fewer cats. It's just that this guy is much handier for photographing. And, he doesn't move as fast!

Inspiration

The feeling didn't pass. Cast on tonight:



This will be Trellis done in the same yarn that I used for the Irish Crawling Scarf.

Still being "plagued" by the same nasty sinus infection/allergy attack/plague so not a lot of content today. Sorry! When I'm feeling better I'll tell you the hilarious tale of how I managed to get on the wrong side of a locked door... without car keys or house keys.

We're Back!

Once again, Blogger is playing games with me. Sigh. It's so much easier to write about a picture when you can actually see it!
There was traveling over the weekend, sort of a Family Invasion. The Irish Crawling Scarf got a workout. The Crawler says it kept him warm, and tasted good, too.


Then there's the matching Aran sweaters... a boy and his grandma. Who didn't knit either sweater, sigh.


Then the view out of the hotel window:


Who knew that there would be more smog in Salt Lake City than in Los Angeles? At least for this past weekend. There will be more pictures as the other "participants" start to get theirs uploaded too.

I am happy to report that all went well. The grandcarrot was a perfect darling, the aunties got to spoil him rotten, Memere got in some good cuddle-time, and best of all, he's now signed, sealed, and officially forever a member of this family. Yay! He was very good in court and smiled and made big eyes at the judge.
He's now racked up a total of five states visited so far--Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah. He's a very well-traveled baby!

Cheers for Me!

Okay, Blogger is being "funny" here and only showing me the HTML code for the pictures, so you will have to bear with me on this.

First up: a real, genuine, FO!! Yay!



Irish Crawling Scarf; my own variation on the Irish Hiking Scarf, done on some random blue circs that seemed to be the right size, out of Plymouth Dreambaby, held double, light blue. I liked the effect of this so much I am seriously considering making a matching sweater. I think I need to go lie down till the feeling goes away.

Next up, a couple of random sky shots. Taken in my yard, one looking east, one looking west. We so seldom get clouds that it was photo-worthy. Just sayin'...

This One's for Debby!

You Are Grape

You are bold and a true individual. You are very different and very okay with that.People know you as a straight shooter. You're very honest, even when the truth hurts.You are also very grounded and practical. No one is going to sneak anything by you.People enjoy your fresh approach to life. And it's this honesty that makes you a very innovative person.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorpurpleareyouquiz/">What Color Purple Are You?

My dainty delicate darling daughter Debby absolutely ADORES the color purple, and has since she was a tiny wee girl. She's also the reason D3 can't stand the color! Me, I just always associate purple with Debby. I made her a wonderful Purple Poncho from the Harlot's pattern and, whenever I am looking for a gift for her, it's almost always purple!

Baaa, Baaaa, Baaaa

Join much? However, I do think that this is a good idea, so I've joined up. I know I'll be able to get the button onto my sidebar sooner or later.

It's just that tonight I'm rather tired, so I'm having trouble figuring it out. Maybe I'll just need to repost the picture every so often??

However--since the first set of colors is blue, grey, and white, I'm in-like-Flynn. I have probably cornered the market on blue, grey, and white yarns. Not to mention inks and paper for scrapbooking and cards... And fabric. Oh yeah, lots and lots of blue and white and silver fabric. And plain grey.

Not to mention the grey hair. And blue eyes. Oh, yes, I will be in my glory with this colorway! We'll see how well I do with some of the others, though. One thing I can be sure of: I will always have enough yarn and fabric and paper and inks to participate!

You will have noted, however, that I am NOT doing the "Knit from your stash" thing. I am organizing mine, and downsizing it, which will mean doing mostly stash knitting--but hey, when Webs is practically GIVING away pretty mostly-wool yarn, what's a girl to do??

The little BLUE Irish Crawling Scarf is moving right along. There will be pictures as soon as it looks sufficiently different to warrant photography--or it's done, one or the other. Except for that, not too much knitting going on here, too busy trying to get over this galloping crud I've been fighting for the last month!

This n' That

This is a square for NETA's afghan, which went into the mail this morning. The square, not the afghan! It's hard to see the pattern, but it's the Little Shells pattern that I used for Garrett's green blankie. The long tails are deliberately left in, to help with the joining. I wish I could be at the joining party this weekend, in NH! Unfortunately, I'm still here in CA.
Sigh.

Oh well. Next up is another lousy picture, this one of the beginnings of a scarf for the Grandcarrot. He's got a trip to Cold Country coming up and doesn't have a scarf! Imagine it!

So, Memere to the alert! This is a baby-sized version of the Irish Hiking Scarf. Why not? D3 says I keep wishing we were Irish--well, if my brother's research keeps going in the direction it's headed, it may turn out that we are, in fact, some percentage of Irish instead of Scottish.
I know, it really makes a lot of difference... still. Baby is going to get an Irish Crawling Scarf. Since he's not old enough to walk yet, let alone hike!

The box is almost ready to send off, but first we need to remove one item, which isn't being sent.
The box contains a couple of shawls for the Shawl Ministry at St. B's in CT. I think Simon just wants to send them off with an extra little soupcon of love!

Finally, here's The Boy with his new haircut. Cute or what?

That's it for today. I think.

One Mystery Solved!

Remember when I said my Evil Twin had been shopping and I had no idea what she had bought? Well, it came today.
This mixed lot of Valley Yarns Shelburne. Very soft pastels--pink, blue, green, rose, red, and white. Gee, I wish she had at least left me a note as to what she expects me to do with this!
Wouldn't that have been sporting?? Simon thinks so!
Of course, he also thinks he's much cuter than the yarn. I have to agree. Right here--this pose--is the reason I have to keep the shredder unplugged unless I'm sitting right here. He thinks it's a great perch. He's also been known to turn it on.
I don't want to shred even one hair of his lovely fur coat, so I keep the shredder off.
Check that paw action! Does this boy know how to pose, or what?
Anyway, there was more in the mystery package.
Lots more.
This stuff:

Classic Elite Wings. In pink... PINK!!! I so don't knit with pink!
Well, I guess ET has other plans for me, wouldn't you say? The other yarn in this container is another of ET's impulse buys, Berocco Cotton Twist from elann.com. At least it's a pretty ice blue. I can actually think of something I would make (and wear) in this color. I think maybe ET is searching for her inner girly-girl. I just wish she'd do it with her OWN credit cards!

Simon says, feed me!

I have made a very startling realization. I'm sure this will come as no surprise to anyone else, but it was a shock to me. Here it is: I can only knit on one thing at a time!~
That's right. No matter how many WIPs or UFOs I have in process at any given time, I can only have my hands on one at a time.
No wonder I make such slow progress!
Next, I will probably start to figure out that it's impossible for me to knit while washing dishes, or folding laundry, or doing any number of other necessary but excessively boring chores. Why, yes, Simon, I also can't knit and feed cats simultaneously.
This kind of amazing insight will, I'm sure, serve me well. At least I can post and shred old bills at the same time. I think I'm going to go put a log in the fireplace and sit and knit and watch the news. Or maybe I'll just have a glass of wine. After all, I've done some heavy-duty thinking here!
(Note: I also did a pretty fair amount of heavy lifting today, as we got in lots of new books and changed out some displays. Book-hefting has to be good exercise!)

Move Along, Folks, Nothing To See Here...

...well, except for a rather gratuitous cat photo. This is Chucky, my grandkitten. He normally doesn't look like a fruit bat--I guess it's the overhead angle that did it. He's pretty fluffy and pretty big, also pretty old--we think he's at least 19 but could be 20. The afghan is my first Ab Fab, the English Garden colorway, still one of my favorites. It lives with Chucky, D3, her husband and The Grandcarrot. He's been a rock n' roll cat as well, had his picture taken with #1 Son's roommate The Rock God. When #1 married, his roommate asked if Chuck could stay with him, and that worked well until he (Rock God) was touring more, at which point Chuck moved back with #1 and family. When they in turn relocated to the East, Chuck stayed with the house, which D3 bought from them.

This has nothing to do with anything except as a reason for the picture. I have been pretty quiet lately but apparently my Evil Twin has surfaced and has been doing some heavy-duty shopping. The worst part is that she knows my credit card numbers and leaves me to pay the bills!

Why, just this morning, she ordered some yarn from Webs. She must have done it while I was in the shower. I forgive her, though, cause she did order my favorite colors and at $1.99 a ball, it's reasonably priced. I could also blame Dim Sum Mary but really, it's my own fault for letting my guard down.

ET has also hit Webs a couple of other times--she hasn't told me what she ordered, either, so it will be a complete surprise when it arrives. She did an order to Eddie Bauer, too, but most of that is going back. I keep telling ET that the name of the game is Reduce, Re-use, not Replenish, but she doesn't listen. Do you think she's related to Sheepish Annie's HM?

Anyway, the shredder has been busy again too. I found a great resource for record retention here which has given me the boost I need to clean out my paper monster. When I get done, the important stuff will go into the safe deposit box, the current records will be easily accessible, and I won't find myself at the beginning of NEXT year madly entering stuff into Quicken so I can get my taxes done! Oh well. That's what I said last year too. That's why everything up through March 2006 is already entered...

As if that wasn't enough new-brooming for one person (well, two if you count ET), we're also reinstating our family Biggest Loser challenge. The big weigh-in will be just before Easter and the stakes are $50 per person. Since the only one who doesn't need to (and shouldn't) lose weight is D5, she's the stakeholder, weightmistress, and general cheerleader. You heard it here, folks--now help me stay honest, and make a good effort to win this thing! At the very least, I can unload the 20 0r so extra pounds that have made themselves at home in all the wrong place.

Back to the shredder. Can I just say that if the bag doesn't open fully, or if it falls off the bucket, it makes a hell of a mess?

And a Happy New Year to All!

My stash runneth over. This is a shot of the garage stash annex. Some of those tubs have been there for, well, a lot longer than I care to think about. The box is holding squares for an afghan that my mother knitted, and which I really should assemble and finish. I really should. Except that I'm not fond of brown and orange. Or acrylic. But my mom made it. By the way, she died in 1991, so we are talking about a number of years here! This thing will be old enough to vote soon.

Question: do I count it as a UFO if I intend to finish it for her? Or does it NOT count because, after all, I didn't start it? Quite a conundrum, isn't it?

In other news, we here in the Greater Pasadena Area will be hosting our annual Tournament of Roses extravaganza. If you live outside of the country--heck, outside of SoCal, you may wonder what the big deal is about a rose parade and bowl game. It's a big enough deal that the main thoroughfare through Pas (aka Colorado Blvd, for reasons I have never known) is now lined with people camping out for the night to secure a good viewing spot. Most of them will be too tired and too cold tomorrow morning to really enjoy the parade--but it's the experience. (Personally, I think it looks like a gigantic homeless encampment, but what do I know?)

I will be watching the parade broadcast--or, more likely, rebroadcast--from the comfort of my living room. Might even put a log in the fireplace and have a toasty fire, there will be fresh coffee and cookies are baking as we speak. Oatmeal cookies make a tasty breakfast--just like having oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar on it, right?

Prime knitting time!! I'm hoping to get a few more tiers in on my Lady E's--#1 just needs about 4 more to be done, #2 has 10 tiers done, so they will be good parade companions.

And yes, I have seen the parade live and up close. In fact, for several years, my girls were volunteer float decorators, and we had the glue-stained fingers and sweatshirts to prove it! D1 even got to be a float escort one year, standing watch over her float during a torrential rain. Of course by the time the parade started, the usual sunshine was beaming and all the floats looked lovely. My current job is right on the parade route, as was a previous job--we would take the VW bus, back it up to the wall of the parking lot (conveniently, about 6 feet above street level) and the kids could stretch out on blankets in the back (or back-back, as they called it) and watch. And the quilt shop was right there for coffee, hot food, clean bathroom facilities...

Anyway, here's wishing a very happy new year to you and yours. May all your resolutions be good ones, and be achieved by the end of this year!

Of Wind, and Plague

Okay, okay, so plague is a bit dramatic. I guess it's just a sinus infection, brought on by allergies due to the devil winds we've been experiencing. The rather fuzzy shot is of my driveway, made dangerous by a dousing of liquidambar burrs. Brought down by those same devil winds.

Tell me again why I keep those trees?

Oh, and the other photo?? That's the huge collection of the things that are still hanging on the trees.

Okay, here's the tree story. Way way back when, my children were
just little tykes who went to school. On Arbor Day, it was customary for someone to give the fourth graders a little tiny tree in a milk carton. So of course the little tiny tree comes home, and gets popped into the ground. After all, these are children who from their earliest years were helping me in the yard. Pulling weeds, and picking flowers--sometimes, pulling flowers and picking weeds, but you get the drift. So these little trees got lots of TLC. First came #2 son's (they didn't always get the same kind of trees--#1 son got a little pine tree that turned up its toes at the SoCal climate) and then came D1's--planted side by side, for some unknown reason. And they grew and they grew and they grew, as did D3's little liquidambar seedling. Now? There are 3 trees that are taller than the house, shedding little burrs all over the place. And the kidlets who used to happily gather the burrs and paint them gold and stick them onto things, or tie ribbons on them and put them on the Christmas tree, have gone on to bigger and better things.
I hope the gardener has a big broom to sweep all these things up with. He will be here tomorrow so the driveway may be passable for a little while, if the winds die down.
Driving over these things feels like four flat tires. Or driving in downtown LA.
In other news, a court date has been set for the Grandcarrot's Official Court Hearing. Yay!
Okay, time to go take more of those good drugs (generic antibiotic, and I hope it works) and get some more rest. I hope that someday God will explain to me just why he invented sinuses in the first place. Not that I'm questioning His design skills, you understand.
Reminds me of the little couplet from Ogden Nash:
"God in His wisdom made the fly,
And then forgot to tell us why."
Happy Third Day of Christmas to all!

Holly-dazed Update

Leading off with the (at long last!!) finished Pea Pod. Mom must have told Santa about the sweater-to-come, since this perfect-match bib was in Garrett's stocking!
The buttons are just plain little iridescent pearls from JoAnn's, 95 cents for 6. But perfect, no?



The scarf is done. It's been delivered, and its new owner has approved. I really tried to get a shot of the detail, but this was the best I could do.

It's a reversible cable, pattern from the Lion Brand website (but really you don't need a pattern once you "get" that reversible-cable concept. There may be a few more of these in my knitting future, as this one was roundly applauded by the male contingent of the family.

This is a shot of this year's tree--the one on yesterday's post was last year's. The house is D3's. Amazing to me that she can pull this all together, while still working her crazy long hours!







The stockings were hung on the staircase with care, since hanging them on the mantel would have seriously impaired the fire-building. And it was really nice to have a fire blazing while we got ready to tear into that stack of gifts!
Speaking of that stack, it's much smaller than usual. This was the Year of the Heifer Donations. The Conn. families donated a goat, and a flock of chickens, geese and ducks; I gave a pig; plus, there was a whole menagerie that was given for my birthday.


Carrot with carrot. He loved the soft bunny--those ears are just right for chewing! You can just see the leg and ear of his new teddy bear (courtesy of Uncle Jeff) too. He had a lovely Christmas even though he wasn't feeling 100%--that's why we didn't put him into the PP for a shot. However, it's going to fit just fine, with a little room for growth. Thank goodness!

Well, that was us--how was your holiday?? Inquiring minds want to know!

Happy Holidaze!

Just a quick note to wish you a very happy/merry holiday, whichever one you celebrate, whether you're having a big party or a small one, alone or with a multitude! In the end, it isn't so much what we celebrate as the fact that we do celebrate at all. Here's a toast to peace and joy and love for all!