MLK Jr Day

I'm trying to figure out how to weave with these yarns. The three on the left are handspun silk and the scarf on the right, which is now frogged and in two balls, is from the Rambouillet alpaca. I have eight balls of the mohair that I bought at a guild silent auction for $2.00. I bought it realizing that I might be able to tie it in. I don't have yardages yet and really don't know if I can achieve an attractive fabric from these odd balls, but I'm thinking about it.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day today with a high of 60 degrees. I was cutting rag rug strips this morning and when I saw the warm forecast was for just this day, I ate lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon on the deck. I pulled the scarf apart outside since the alpaca is hairy and was a little messy. It was a perfect day for reading and I probably should have used sunscreen.

I love these colors together - the green, terracotta and blue.

It felt like a holiday which seems odd since I don't have a job!

January Half

I finally finished spinning up the Rambou-
illet alpaca blend for my big squishy cardigan. I need to finish a couple of things before I start on it, so I got back to work on the Jackelope, though so far there's nothing intelligible to show - just pink knitted origami.
This is the next fiber to go on my wheel. I'm not exactly leaping into color, am I. It's Blue-face Leicester, which is always a pleasure to spin. I'm continuing to have problems with my Lendrum, or I will soon. My old wire guides are nearly worn through, and the replacement guides I bought are too big and stop the bobbin from completing a revolution. These are the replacement replacements. The first ones were even bigger. I don't have a back-up plan.
The colors are quiet but inter-
esting. I think it's just about time to weave with some handspun - still nothing on any of my looms. I notice a little energy seeping back into my marrow, this second week of Synthoid. I've started cutting strips for a rag rug, though it's a long-term process.
I've finished my scarf. The Tosh super-
wash merino is super soft, and the subtle color variations please me very much. The Kitchener stitch was painful but by the end, I had finally gotten the hang of it, though you wouldn't know it by looking at my work. There's a lot of Kitchener in the Jackalope too. This pattern is from Ravelry. It was knitted in cotton and was called a summer scarf, which I don't understand. Were I to do it again, I think I'd eliminate one pattern repeat to gain a little more length.

I hope to finish two more scarves this winter. I only have a couple, since I gave most away, and one that I did keep, I'm ripping out to use as weft in a weaving project - more on that later.
Our Tumbleweed Book Club met today and for the first time in a long time, everyone was present. Sandy got us all "on film" using the time-delay on her new camera. This is the third try, which explains a lot of the expressions - lots of laughs. Enjoying these ladies is just one of the many perqs of retirement. BTW, I'm reading Ape House by Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants. Man, can this woman write. Oh, and BTW, I ordered a Kindle.

Inbetweens

This is week 12 now and pretty bleak. I'm always amazed that anything comes back and grows flowers after months on end like this. I heard on NPR today that New Hampshire snowfall was 4" an hour. I now consider myself to live in a garden state.
Melissa and I went to the Goodwill Bargain Bin before Knit n' Kibitz today. It's the place where they bring in the expired sales from all the stores and pile them on tables and then sell by the pound.
We had a lot of fun, especially wondering at what people paid full price for at one time. Melissa hit the jackpot with one shirt - the designer buttons were the hit of the hunt. I came in second with this acrylic vest, which I scalped for these buttons.
Melissa and I really didn't know what to do about this vest. Someone had sewn it up in a crude fashion, but this is Indian cloth, mirrors and all. It ended up coming home with me.


The detail is what made us know that we couldn't leave it behind. Phone image sent and DD Chris has already staked a claim. They were tumbling whole tables into tubs and turnovers to be shipped out to Asia. Makes one think. At least it makes this one think.
This is the project that I took to Knit 'n Kibitz today. I'm in a bit of a rut. I'm knitting both ends to the middle so am knitting them simultaneously on a needle. I had more fun with my knit buds than I did with my knits.
I snagged this photo on my way home this evening.

Beginnings

I love being reminded that I live in an environ-
ment where personal touches still matter. Each Christmas Ian tips our trash collection guys and Jan, our mail lady. They deal with some nasty weather. When Ian collected the mail, he also collected this bag off cookies and note from Jan, expressing her appreciation. Sweet!
Another personal touch - we bought a new dog bed at Costco because those circular beds take up so much space. No one wanted to touch it and they did a musical chairs of the two acceptable beds. I think the problem has been resolved. I just realized as I loaded this picture that there is a huge dust bunny under that chest. There's a whole family of them and when summer comes and we open the windows, they all meet up along the baseboards on the east side of the house.
We're babysitting Alexia this weekend so her parents can attend the college football bowl game in San Francisco with University of Nevada Reno and Boston College. I bought her some variegated yarn so we try knitting again. But before we did, I found some videos on YouTube to watch.



This video was immensely helpful. Guided by this young lady's instructions, we went "in, round, through and out of town." It was our mantra. It's a great video for teaching youngsters, taught by a youngster.
Alexia is very excited by her work and I realize I didn't take a later photo. She knitted nearly 4" today and can work semi-independently. She had quite the agenda: knit, weave, spin and bake cookies.
The looper loom won my nod since it's another sofa activity. She's close to having a potholder, and we'll finish that tomorrow. Tomorrow is also cookies. I put her to bed, she closed her eyes and she was out. Oh how I wish.

Narnia?

We left Redlands about 10:00 Sunday morning and got to I5 and the base of the Grapevine about 11:30. Grapevine is nickname for the 4,400' pass over the Tehachapi Mountains. Traffic was quite slow and then we got into this unforecasted mess and 25 degrees. DS Josh pointed out that the crazy California drivers are tailgating, even on ice. Stepdaughter Margi informed him that it's just stop-and-go traffic.

The cars were zipping by us with just regular street tires, until they started sliding off the road and then they slowed to this crawl. The windshield wipers froze so Ian finally had to pull over and break off the ice. When we got back on the road, we were the only car on the entire stretch, clear to the San Joaquin Valley - eerie. We stopped at an In 'n Out Burger for lunch in Bakersfield about 2:00 and the whole buzz was how they had closed the Grapevine. Southbound traffic stretched for miles. Apparently we were the last northbound car through!
We spent the night in Modesto. The hotel had a writing desk and Alexia was thrilled to sit and draw at for an hour while we looked at our laptops. We didn't get home until mid-day Monday so my picture for week 11 wasn't taken until Tuesday. It snowed, then rained and then snowed again while we were gone.
We awoke to pogonip - an adaptation of a Shoshone word that means cloud. It is what meteorologists call freezing fog. It flocks the trees and is gorgeous to look at but nasty to drive in. It was 18 degrees when I took this picture at 9:00 in the morning. Tomorrow is supposed to be the last day. I feel like the witch from Narnia has been here.
This was my travel knitting - it's the 4th time I've made this scarf but the first one I get to keep for me. The yarn is MadelineTosh fingering weight superwash Merino, very soft. I had worked on another scarf for about 4 hours and finally ripped it out after mistakes, reknitting and diminishing fun. Knitting is supposed to be fun!

Ian and I went to town this morning to see our doctor and go over annual lab work that was done in December. Both of our reports were excellent except for one thing. I've developed hypothyroidism and came home with a prescription for Synthroid. I start taking it in the morning and he assures me I will notice a change in my energy levels within the first week - a late Christmas present. Woo hoo!

Squeezing in our visit

It had rained hard the whole time Ian was in Redlands for Eve's memorial, but when we got down there, it could not have been nicer. We left Reno a day early to avoid a snowstorm and had dry roads all the way down. DD Chris said her drive home the day of our planned trip day took her an hour and a half because the snow was so bad. On the other hand, look at this! That's a pretty cool hot tub.

Alexia was beside herself because she got to go in it with the grownups. Aunt Rochelle told her that if she could get four people to go in, she'd turn it on. Alexia pestered everyone the entire day, trying to get her four. She kept asking, "We need four for the hot tub. Are you in?" She's six and already negotiating.
These are some of my favorite women, two of my grand-
daughters and my grandniece McKay, who calls herself Kay Kay. They're playing a game of concentration and Kay Kay is holding her own. By the way, the hat fit McKay so they're going to let her wear it this year and pass it down to baby Gus later. It actually looked cute on her, but by then my camera battery had died and I forgot my charger.
Alexia adores her cousin Elise, who is showing her how to use Kristie's iPad. Kristie got it from her parents for Christmas and just turned it over to the girls. I'm still in ponder mode - Kindle or iPad?? I didn't get a picture of McKay with her knitted fruit, but she was thrilled.
Gus is only six-weeks old, and spent five days before Christmas in the hospital with RSV. He has rebounded splendidly and is sporting his new baby blanket. It really takes a baby to make a blanket look cute. And well, he's my first grandnephew so I think he's better than cute. He's very strong, laughs and coos - okay, okay.
So not only did Kristie let the girls take over her iPad, she played Pictionary with them in the dining room. And this woman is a district attorney! I won't try to explain relationships - Amy says we need to diagram our family.
New Years Day we celebrate in Gardena, the Japanese area of LA . You have to understand LA - everything is a drive and this one takes an hour and a half from Redlands. Gardena is where Ian and sister-in-law Rochelle went to middle school and high school. These are all grandchildren - lots of Hapa family. And I'm friends on Facebook with Taylor, on the right.



The food never stops - sushi, sashimi, tempura, you name it. This platter a young lady brought and took photos of for the menu at her father's restaurant. I had to check on Alexia and when I came back, the only thing left was the fish in center, i.e., fish head. No thanks.
That table is filled with food and gets constantly refilled. Carol (wife of college friend) is chatting with Stephen (son of college friend). Gabe in the background is Mexican American married to Hapa daughter of high school friend. Gabe learned Japanese on the playground so is trilingual and a Honda executive - they love the lingual part. This is our family. I think I'm the richest person in the world.
This is Eve with McKay at our house in 2009. She lived a vigorous life right up until the end. She passed away the week before Christmas and I miss her with all my heart.

Going on a Trip

Alexia is coloring the menu from the Carson Valley Inn where we ate lunch on the first day of our trip. She is the best child traveler ever. I applaud my daughter for raising such a pleasant child.
She paused her Leapster to watch a movie. We "listened" to several of her musical DVDs and ended up listening to and watching My Despicable Me with everyone when we got to Redlands. Her "mobie" was a hit for the whole family - it's pretty cute.
We make a huge trek because our family is so huge and spread out. Aunt Missy (Idaho) is cuddling with McKay, Gus (North Carolina) and Alexia (Nevada).


Uncle Jason and I ended up taking the girls for a date at the Jump. It wasn't as much fun for McKay - too busy.

Great grand-
ma and grandson Gus. It's been a grand-
mother week. I am so pleased that my blanket was good.

Ta Ta for Now

I finally finished spinning the fiber I had blended by Morro about four years ago, half hogget Rambouillet and half alpaca. At the time I sent in for processing, I was unaware that alpaca fleeces are notoriously full of second cuts. The wool fleece had been skirted and since the alpaca had been washed before shearing, I just assumed it was ready to go.
It was a mistake that I have regretted. These are the neps just from this mornings spinning. Every day it has been like this so that what should have been a delight to spin has been the opposite. The yarn is fabulous, and in the end, that's what counts. But fool me one, shame on - what was that?



Anyway, I am packed, ready for tomorrow. I hate so much to pack and always try on everything I plan to take. I hate it when I unpack and realize that what fit me last time, doesn't fit now. It's a tedious way to pack, but I've learned that that extra step is worth it, and I can pack fewer things that way.

We're headed to SoCal, Redlands in the Inland Empire, which is a historic orange growing area, full of Victorian homes paid for by the lucrative orange shipments to the East Coast by rail. It's where my sister-in-law lives and where Ian's family assembles for New Years Eve. The next day we drive down to Gardenia, the Japanese area of Los Angeles, and celebrate with old friends from back in high school. A new storm is coming in but we think by leaving tomorrow we can miss driving in it.
Ian tried to resuscitate my iPod today. He worked and worked on it. It's been tempera-
mental for a while, requiring rebooting with more frequency. Today, it kicked up it's legs and clutched a lily to its chest. RIP my 20-gig old friend. You've been rode hard and put up wet. I thank you for your faithful five years of service. Your 160 gig replacement is on order. We've had some good times together.

Oh, and the debut novel that Ian selected this year: The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman. From the frontispiece, "Set against the gorgeous backdrop of Rome, Tom Rachman's wry, vibrant debut follows the topsy-turvy private lives of the reporters, editors, and executives of an international Englihs-language newspaper as they struggle to keep it - and themselves - afloat." It's written in the present tense and it promises to be a wonderful read.

Did you just see a Christmas zip by here?

Ian and I had everything ready for Christmas Eve, so that day I wove off the baby blanket. I had thought I'd get it done tomorrow, but we've decided to leave on Tuesday morning to beat a storm. It's a huge relief to be done. The blanket ended up being about a car-seat size, but the temple did it's thing and the selvedges are fine. Phew. Trimming off the ends was a pain.
This the first Christmas Eve that I didn't think to pull out my camera - maybe it's because I was having so much fun. DS Matty and his girlfriend Julia came a couple hours early. The new furniture arrangement truly is conducive to conversation and we ended up playing Mad Libs from a tablet he'd found at a drug store - great fun. The house filled up and got pretty crazy. One of our neighbors thanked me as they were leaving, saying that this was the first year they were spending Christmas alone, without their families. The potluck was good and people stayed and chatted, instead of popping in and moving on. Alexia waited patiently to try her Christmas present. We bought her Just Dance for Kids, a Wii dance-along game.
She is completely focused on mimicking the dances - the controller in her right hand lets her know how she's doing. You asked how the knitted jackalope is coming along. It's coming along, but just not in time for Christmas. I knitted on it for a full day while Ian was in SoCal for the memorial and realized that I have months of it ahead of me.
I'm glad we bought the Wii game or I'd have been knitting in my sleep. Ian and are completely taken by Wii. We bought it for Netflix movies and have only watched two. I can't stop playing tennis. (We also bought the Wii Fit, which keeps my muscles perpetually sore.) Anyway, there is still a party going on, but now clustered around the food, so there's room for her to play this.

I was a little nervous about an open house on Christmas Eve, but it was Ian's idea and so often his ideas are good. This I have learned. Shush - don't tell him I said that.
Ian and I opened our presents on Christmas Day. Charlie has fallen in love, or something, with my present. The closer it got to Christmas, the more open we'd hear him loving my present.
Granted, Ian's wrapping wasn't Macy's, but Charlie certainly person-
alized it. Ian was a little annoyed but I found it charming. The box was heavy and I honestly had no idea what it could be - seriously. Ian always gives me books and I think I forget how heavy books are, but it's because this year he bought three. The one that grabbed me out of the gate is The Hammersteins: a musical theater family. It's not just a family history, it's a history of musical theater and New York. I grew up in glee club and choir so know many of the Hammerstein songs. Perfect choice for me. He bought me a second non-fiction and also a debut novel, always a debut novel. Life of Pi and The Time Traveler's Wife are some of his obscure picks in the past.
I'm happy with the blanket and will get it wrapped tomorrow, along with the knitted fruits and ugly hat. Tomorrow will be laundry, packing and an early bedtime so we can get on the road Tuesday morning. Change of plans tonight - Alexia is going with us. Her parents are nervous but she will have a great time. I'm pretty sure she will talk our legs off for the first hour of the drive.

Change Up

I finished the baby hat today and I'm not going to show a picture of it. I showed the pattern here, and it the most disappointed I've ever been with a knitted gift. I was so excited by the picture that I didn't stop to read the pattern. I struggled with the project from the start because I didn't realize that she had written it to be knitted flat. It never occurred to me that someone would write a hat pattern to be knitted flat. I need to finish weaving the baby blanket to exonerate myself, since both are for the same baby. We leave on Wednesday. I know what I'm going to be doing right after Christmas.
We have an open house on Christmas Eve. Now that DS Josh and family live in Oregon, it's more neighbors and less family, always fun. With the sectional sofa, it's been an awkward arrangement for a crowd. I asked Ian a month ago to consider dividing up the sectional to open up the space.
So here we were, a day before guests, trying to rearrange furniture. Ian is not a fan of rearranging furniture, which is why it has never moved in eight years and which is why I brought it up a month ago. It's not perfect, but I am thrilled at how accessible the seating is with this new arrangement.
Breaking up the sectional gives people room to wander and that has been a problem in the past - if you've been here, you'll know what I mean. The change was a challenge for Ian to accept and I was prepared for it to be a one-day rearrangement. We were sweeping and mopping when he said - Okay. It was a good idea. I love it and can't wait to fill our house tomorrow night. Merry Christmas to you all.