Hot Knits!

Knitting black wool in over 80 humid heat is killing my eyes and felting the yarn in my sweaty palms. What a conundrum. I cannot see the stitches to knit at night when it is cooler. I will get this done. So off I go to jump in the pool and cool my core so I can pick up the needles. I force the anti-swimming dog to join me and cool off. Otherwise, we both just lay around and moan. Knit, woman, knit!

Why I Need Bigger Closets

You decide?

Stash Donations

This is how the yarn comes in, sometimes including moths and all kinds of amazing little creatures. Most of the yarn is pristine and still bagged in the original shop bag.

Where's "Oh No, Mr. Bill"???

Here is some of the donated yarn for the September Stash Sale at the North Coast Knitters Guild. You can attend. The prices cannot be beat. The meeting starts at 1:00 on Sept 1st. For location and guild details please go their website: ncknit.com

Mr. Bill is overwhelmed by the donations. Very high quality yarn at yard sale prices. Be there or be square!

UFO's Completion Committment

Here is an email I received today from a friend. It brought to mind the many UFO's that nag at me from the closets, boxes, bags stashed around the house! I pledge to finish some of the things that I started. Now, where is that open bottle of Pinot Noir...

I am passing this on to you

because it definitely works,
and we could all use a little

more calmness in our lives. By

following simple advice heard

on the Oprah show, you too can

find inner peace.

Dr Oz proclaimed,"The way to

achieve inner peace is to finish all the
things you have started and have

never finished."

So, I looked around all the things

I started and hadn't finished, and
before leaving the house this morning,

I finished off a bottle of White
Zinfandel, a bottle of Tequila,

a package of Oreos, the remainder

of my old Prozac prescription,

the rest of the cheesecake,

some Doritos, and a box of chocolates.

You have no idea how freaking

good I feel right now.

LA Is Beautiful

I hate to drive in LA. Sometimes the fear of being squeezed in traffic, prevents me from seeing the beauty of the city of Angels. I love the diversity and richness that abounds.
This building forces a reaction and gives you pause. Think about the message. Then proceed.
"We are each of us angels with one wing. We can only fly embracing each other."

Scrub, Rub and Teeth in the Tub!

When I knit the snowy white cotton wash clothes for Arabella's impending birth, I never imagined that they would be so multi-purposed.

It was pushing 100 degrees and putting the baby in a tub with cool water was the right thing to do.

Teething on the tub and the washcloth and on anything near her mouth, is the order of the day.

Enjoying the bliss of babyhood.

Moon Rise July

Just outside my front door, the moon was rising, red and full.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the Lunar Landing I post these amateur photos.

I am a moon child. My nephew David was born 40 years ago as we were glued to the Television.

Happy 4oth Birthday to David and our first steps on the Moon.

Next Stop - LA

Hot town, summer in the city. Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty... Left the desert and made a pilgrimage to Saint Sophia Greek Church. It is a well known LA landmark. As I drove west towards LA the temperature dropped from 120 to a balmy 100.

The church was a blessed, dark, cool respite from the heat. Arabella Moran was Christened in the orthodox Greek way that was not only Holy, but entertaining. Christine the Godmother is our dear one, as well as her whole extended family. The pomp and circumstance was only outdone by the party held at he happy family home.

Perched on a hillside in the Silver Lake area of LA, the apartment is one of four in a complex built in the 1920's. We were in the neighborhood of Jeff Lewis, for all of you "Flipping Out" fans. It was such a picturesque setting with delicious food and scintillating guests. The shared patio space and the city view are inspiring!

Alexandra and Paul have such nice neighbors. I spent the night at the neighbors in one of the coolest design themed homes I have stayed in. Metallic silver walls, with true gun metal gray accent walls. Bright orange furniture and drapery were so right. Outside the box and so cool.This was a hip group of people that I was hobnobbing with. I am so corny, not hip at all. I need to get my hip on.

Did you notice baby Arabella teething on a silver spoon? That's our girl!

Hot Travel Times

I spent the weekend on the road. I went to visit a kindergarten classmate and her hubby in Palm Desert. It was 121 degrees. That is what I said. I do not believe that people are meant to live in such extreme weather conditions. I thought my car would spontaneously combust. It was good to see them on their first trip to California. From their home on Marco Island, Florida to Palm Desert, Ca is what I call from the frying pan into the fire! Tom was in town to promote his book "Lost and Found" which is a good read and available on Amazon. Check it out. I think it would make a great movie.



We went to the Japanese restaurant in the Marriott
and at 10 pm, in the bar it got cool enough fro me to drape a shawl around my shoulders. It was the "love shawl," knit by my friend Joan Clark from KnitWits.
Thanks Joan- love it. Berrocco Suede Yarn. Super simple and comfy.

Note to Self - Slow Down

Brynn comes in from Monterey today. It is Friday Breakfast club. Formerly, we all attended a Weight Watchers meeting, but we are all drop outs now! Breakfast was always the best part! I am meeting a friend for lunch and then plan to get home to cook for my skinny girl and try and get some meat on her bones! It is all about food on Friday.

We all dread this weekend with Ryan coming home for his first visit since we have our new reality. Emotions will run high. We are all kind of stumbling around each other, trying to figure out our roles. It can be very confusing.

I plan to spend time with the kids, in the pool, knitting the Black Manos Wool in the heat- wearing a wet bathing suit. Picture that if you want a laugh. I have to have it done and delivered by August 3. I have goals and I need goals, yet at the same time I find summer slipping through my fingers. Just as quickly as the yarn runs over the smooth callous on my right-hand ring finger, the days fill up and pass so quickly. The sun comes up every morning and a new day exhausts me right up until bedtime. So much to do, see and feel. I really must hurry up and slow down...

Memories Of College Exceed Reality

I had an appointment with a college counselor this afternoon. I have decided as long as I live in CA and Community College costs $20 a credit hour, I must pursue an ancient dream of attending Nursing School. I made an appointment 2 weeks ago with a counselor to talk about options.

June 25th I applied online to attend. It takes 3 weeks to process the request before I get an official student number. I had to request an official copy of my transcript from my former college. That required a lengthy online form, followed by a FAX with my signature an SS# to Ferris State University. Go Bulldogs. It arrived here sealed and signed to be opened in person at the next college appointment.

I had not seen my transcript for many years. My memories of college included every A I had ever received. It did not include the C's that I had logged! Imagine that. I ended college with a 3.2. I apologize for ever bragging. Yes, I made the Deans list several quarters throughout my years there. However, I had forgotten the couple of quarters when I fell short and had less than stellar grades. Never less than 2.8. But still, ...

So, today, the counselor opened the official transcript as I peeked over her shoulders, and we got to work seeing if any of those old credits will serve me!! I filled out papers for 5 different science courses to be matriculated. I also set up my orientation session that is required to register for classes. Monday the 13th, I orient and Tuesday I register. First class, American History and then I will attempt to enter the CNA program. Certified Nurse Assistant. There are only 24 spots and 18 are already taken. So, If I do not get into that program I will add a science class and possibly Algebra. The Rn program is full through 2012. I will keep accruing credits and applying for as long as it takes. I may be the oldest graduate RN ever, but I am making a pledge to complete this. Maybe, I will end up inoculating babies in Africa? One can dream. One must dream!

Thank goodness I carry around my little green Knitsack with a project to keep me still as I wait here and there. Right now it is a scarf and I am almost finished. Brainless, calming, left and right brain engaged, hand work. I hope this old brain is up to the challenges ahead of me!

Bewildered Birthday

How would you like to spend your first single birthday in 32 years? How about knitting Guild meeting, lunch date, cocktail party with book club and top it off with a joint counseling session in La Jolla. If I brought a cake and some wine, do you think the therapist would join us for a toast????

Stash Containment

Heather the helpful, has come to work her magic eye to re-sort my stash into bins of projects. No longer all the yarns grouped in color families. Now each bin is a project. Handbags, sweaters, blankets, baby wear, shawls, SOCKS... I have a lot of sock yarn. I had planned to be a sock fanatic, and always carry a set of socks in my car or handbag. I did for awhile and them I kept losing my double points in inconvenient places. Have you ever had a family member plop down on the sofa and jump up with a double point needle stuck in their rear??? It seemed funny to me at the time.

The truth is I have more yarn out in the garage in suitcases. I read it was a good place to store stash. I have officially turned 55 today. I believe I have out lived my ability to knit my stash in my lifetime. This is a reality that can trigger the worst kind of midlife crisis. Imagine. Enough is as much as too much-according to Mary Poppins. I will embrace this as I reduce my stash. Last night I sold a stole right off my back. It was gratifying and I love the friend that bought it. May she wear it in good health and long life.If I knit and sell projects, I can then begin again to create a new stash. I am counting on it.

Lunch Bunch Bible study

Marie, Bev and Debbie begin to prep our lunch buffet. We have a great Bible study followed by lunch once a month. Food, friends and the fellowship to follow is the best. I am knitting the Four Seasons Throw for Debbie. It looks great in Black. The stitch definition is classic. I will finish it for next month!

Old Room, New Room

Yellow room, blue room.
A nook for knitting, books or sitting.

From warm to cool, from two to one.
From shared space to lonesome grace.

A new place in the same space.
Making sense at my own pace.

Grateful for the familiar surroundings
I seek to find my bearings, anchor my
groundings.

Faith prevails and protects me from my imaginings.
Knitting rows of prayerful productivity. Thankful.

A Month to Remember

June 2009, RIP. Rest in peace. What a beautiful sentiment. To rest and restore in peace is a lofty goal. In life as well as death. The world will remember the month as the end of Michael Jackson's life and talents. I have stopped watching television. The constant coverage of the intimate details of a strange man is a case of, TMI. Too much information, is never enough, for some people.

The entertainment world lost some substantial celebrities. Farrah Fawcett, Carl Mauldin, Ed McMahon, Billy Mays and a personal favorite, Harve Presnell. He starred in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,"a musical movie that we watched every time it appeared on the TV throughout my childhood.

I will remember the month of June as a month of loss. A commencement time, perhaps. With change comes the opportunity for growth. I plan to take my changes, move towards growth in a new direction, and commence with life.

Happy Independence Day. Celebrate your freedom. My first holiday in my changed status. So far the freedom is a little overwhelming...