Traveling for tunes

Off to Santa Cruz in the morning to see

Recognize him?

If not, this ought to help......

The girlie and I are doing a quickie trip in just over 24 hours. Must go now as the flight leaves at Oh-my-God-thirty.

Will check in after our triumphal return.

UPDATE: He was in terrific form--voice lovely and full, manner courteous and gentle. The venue, the Rio in Santa Cruz, was friendly, if a bit confusing at show time. We noodled around town all day, noshing and window shopping and relaxing at several libraries (Hi Live Oak! We love you!). Fun trip.

wow

Comet Pan-Starrs Moonset from Dan Finnerty on Vimeo.

word

concept, designation, expression, idiom, lexeme, locution, morpheme, name, phrase, sound, term, usage, utterance, vocable 

Some that I favour


avocet

gobsmack

post

flews (my most recent acquisition)

phalarope

recalcitrant

 

watch first then scroll down to read

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Since 1955, Loes Veenstra has knitted over 550 sweaters and stored them in her home on the 2nd Carnissestraat in Rotterdam. The sweaters have never been worn. Until today.
The sweater are all presented in a book called "Het Verzameld Breiwerk van Loes Veenstra uit de 2e Carnissestraat" designed by Christien Meindertsma. This book is published by Wandschappen for DNA Charlois. For orders: www.dnacharlois.nl.

Loes and the fruit of her decades of knitting were 'discovered' by Museum Rotterdam. The museum has put her sweaters on display as part of the exhibition ´Over leven in Carnisse´ (Life in Carnisse), on show until January 18, 2013 in Gemaal op Zuid (Pretorialaan 141, Rotterdam).

(linked after finding on Ann & Kay's blog--thanks ladies!)

Leftovers

Christmas gifties for my mister--he likes G&Ts and though not enraptured by Dr. Who (as the girlie and I are), he was tickled pink that Bill Paterson is still getting work. (Please tell me that you've seen Comfort and Joy -- aah, Bill Forsyth...)

I made the most picturesque French toast ever. The bread had little cinnamon sugar nuggets in it.  It browned beautifully and got the most mouthwatering eggy crust....I dusted it with the contents of the sifter....which turned out to be  ..............................................cake flour

These came from a felted sweater and found a new life by growing into leaves.....

...to become a gift for the weary-looking plant of a friend.

It's been unnaturally foggy for the last two weeks. Here's all you can see of the back yard..

And this enormous monster stomping around out there--even frightens the dog!

...it IS warmer and safer in the laundry room anyway...

Tried to get a photo of a necklace I made for her...........but we were having too much fun!!

love the boys

We wish you a Merry Christmas

Visions of chicken breath crunchies danced in his head.......

We decided to stop spending and start enjoying what we have. We think the tree turned out really nicely, and want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Give people hugs, won't you?

(Spot suggests hugging dogs, too.)

EDITED to add: Golly, look! Only two posts away from tying my meager output of the last two years! WIll I make it? Can I think up two more posts in just a few days? Anyone want to place a bet?

what to do with too many blackberries

Tools: big enamelled pot, salt, things to dye (yarn and t-shirts)

Boil water, add salt and stew yarn and shirts for 20 minutes.

After draining water, remove items to be dyed and wring. Add berries, mash, and boil for 20 minutes.

Here's the beautiful berry dye, pre-straining.

End of November

Here's a series of photos. Some of them involve a secret I'd kept since September. Others are just snaps I took as we went along the way to revealing that secret. It was a lovely weekend with people I love.

two pair

What I saw

I can't really compete with bb's commuter posts as I don't have a stealth-worthy phone cam, nor her gift for prose. Still, today was a good day, at least as far as the non-work time is concerned, and I thought I'd share.

Morning, walking to bus stop.

• a brown bunny who hopped away and disappeared as I approached
• fewer than normal amounts of ginormous spiders and related webs (urk)
• the large scarecrow in the community garden nearby, now headless, just in time for fall
• two more brown bunnies,  one enthusiastically dining on old thistle blossoms

Morning, on bus en route to the city across the lake

• several scullers on the water
• one great blue heron, posing gracefully in the shallows
• some humorously over-chic window displays at the flagship Nordstrom's (still affectionately called "The Bon" by long-time residents)

Afternoon, on bus returning to city wherein lies my domicile and familial unit

• another great blue heron, artfully displayed near a beaver dam 

Afternoon, walking home from bus stop

• a large, white cockatoo strolling along fence top as his people milled about (this at the house where the owners have thoughtfully cut a vertical opening in the corner of the fence so that the dogs can see what they are barking at) (the dogs, seemingly aware of this unusual advantage, do not abuse the privilege and bestow a few warning barks, then go about their other business.)
• the largest flock of bushtits I have seen in some time. (I love watching them witter about and hunt bugs, gregariously calling as they move from branch to branch to tree to bush. They're only a little larger than a hummingbird, being about the size of your big toe with a tail and tiny beak.)
• family of three, picking blackberries (which threaten to engulf us). The wee girl told me that they plan to make a pie, and I told her I'd just used some to dye a shirt and some yarn.
• big winged termite (blech)
•  man +dog +empty lot + chuckit + tennis ball = happy
• yet another brown bunny -- are you keeping count? That makes four
• hummingbird
• lady coming home, unloading two smallish, happy dogs from the car as man exits house.  

            she: you're going in, then     
            he: yes, I'll probably not be home before 10:30 or so
          (they cross paths, she coming, he going, and exchange a kiss)   

           she: mmmmm, you smell good

Finally arrive home to my dearies. Girlie cast as Stephano in Tempest production ("I get to play a drunk and sing terribly at the top of my lungs!"). My redhead programming the wunnerful microscopic cell phones we got for our Europe trip last year for his folks to use in Spain soon (jealous much? why yes, yes I am). Mr. Spot getting wobbly in the legs, always happy to see me come home at the end of the day.

 

The party's over

Summer here in the Pacific NW is drawing to a close. It's a short season at best, and my tomatoes are mature but not yet ripening. (I was advised to pick off all the new flowers to get the plant to pay attention to the fruit already maturing,)

It's been in the high 80's to 90's this week. Herself and I went to a water park on Thursday and had a great time. Today was cooler and a bit cloudy--tantalizingly lovely and hovering in the 80s.

The girlie has been actingactingsingingdancingacting this summer. The redhead has played chauffeur and worked very hard at healing up well following his surgery. This week, the girlie had a break. We thought about going somewhere this weekend, but decided instead to have a very simple backyard potluck and invite some folks over.

A good part of yesterday and this morning was spent cleaning up the place and getting ready. As we worked, I reminded myself how nice it is to have the house in "clean-enough-for-party" mode. I always worry (doesn't everyone?) about whether folks will enjoy each other, do we have enough refreshments, is the bathroom clean enough for everyone to use?

We had the world's-best in-laws over. We had our new neighbors with their lovely toddler and new baby and one of the grandmas. The other neighbor's boy came with our dear lady from across the street who dog-sits our old Spot on occasion. My dear redhead invited some friends from work who also have a new infink. My good friend from work came with her Papi-hua-hua (papillon/chihuahua cross), and the nicest lady from down the street came by,too.

As usual, it came together beautifully.

I have no pictures, so you'll just have to take my word. Babies were passed around and loved. My amazing girlie entertained the young 'uns with drawing and the sprinkler and a very cleverly thought up scavenger hunt list (some of the items: two pine cones, a blue crayon, someone with brown hair, a cookie). She danced and sang and made a great playlist featuring 1776, The Rutles, Little Shop of Horrors, The Indigo Girls and The Monkees. There was freshly caught JUST-smoked salmon that the fish-eaters raved about. Everyone ate and chatted and enjoyed. The weather was obligingly perfect.

Sometimes I think that the best part of the party is after. When everyone has gone home with leftovers, the dishes are done, and the set struck. The quiet calm of an unusually clean house, the girlie curled up with a book on the couch in the purply evening light, my favorite redhead noodling on the computer, and the dear old doggie groggily reveling in having his house back to his main pack.

I am content.

Where the hell have I been since April???

Let's see now.......

Alaska with my Dad in May....

In June, noodling in the garden and praying for tomatoes....

In July, working on my theory of the evolution of knitted fish and marine critters...

To metamorphose into this for a new, tiny neighbor....

And felting sweaters to become this for big sisters of new, tiny neighbors....

Hmmm. Also working on helping my dear redhead to feel better after a difficult health hurdle (he's being SOOOO brave), enjoying the girlie's delighted, headlong fling into acting/dancing/singing for the summer months, and getting into watching the Tour de France with both of them. We want to be there. We will be, someday. The scenery is incroyable.

The Beatle mentioned above was fab. Simply fab.

Hope your summer is full of wonder as well. Oh, and here are some flowers for you; it was so nice of you to drop by!

Super Starr

Very much looking forward to seeing this chap this summer. The girlie is still dancing with delight about it. (Me too, to be honest.)

It's finally not raining here, and I'm knitting up a hat from scraps. Started out with a nice picot cast on, and we'll see where it goes from there. Also picked up a lovely wooden darning egg from etsy; my socks keep growing holes, but I hate to keep buying new ones only to see my toes repeatedly erupt from them. Time to mend!

Will try to get out in the yard and photograph my lovely tulips and lily-of-the valley tomorrow.

Will try to post them before Christmas.

here we are in January

My, my, my, past the mid-month already. I know how much I enjoy finding posts on the blogs I read, so I am "effort-ing" (as heard on a local newscast this AM-cripes!) to de-hibernate and post a bit more often. No promises, but I'll give it a go.

Winter photos above; we got treated to a hearty winter storm last week and it's just now melting. I scored BIG with a friend's de-stashing sale, Spot waiting patiently for Santa, some bowls I lurve that were waiting for me at an op-shop, and a few of the enormous murder of crows that blanketed the back yard for some food tossed out yesterday. (It was cool--nearly Hitchcock-ian at times!)

Barb over at Woof Nanny posted a great end-of-year list, and I want to hitch my wagon to her star and note a few things that have made me happy.

*Glad that despite some bumps, my family has remained well and strong. I love my Yuma boyze, the southern AZ crews, and the Kirkland dears.

*The perseverance of Spot.

*The return of the knitting bug. I've cranked out some shawls, a couple of hats, and a sonic screwdriver.

*Birds, birds, birds. Herons and bald eagles in the Arboretum, bushtits and juncoes and towhees in my yard, hawks on the light poles, and the ever-present crows.

*Bunnies seen on my frosty morning walks to the bus.

*M's hard work to keep excelling in school while still finding time to enjoy herself. Seeing her shine onstage in "Oliver!". Her wonderful phalanx of girl buddies. The lovely sound of the piano drifting out of her room. Her gentle insistence that I pull the concertina out and work at it. (Can't believe the bellows are still good!)

*A wonderful Thanksgiving made up of friends from both nearby and faraway and some killer baby back ribs. (Len and M kicking *ss on Beatle's Rock Band--Len yelling at the program when it failed him repeatedly for drumming as he actually does and not following the program--hysterical, I tell you!)

*Travel. The amazing Northern European cruise, subsequent week in the UK (love you, Della!) and several delightful runs to Vancouver (I've never before been in a motel where the wild party next door ended with the police coming and ushering the revelers out! Peeking through the curtains and thanking the nice Canadian cops afterwards--hee-hee!).

*Having a job that allows me to work with friends AND pays me on a regular basis. Lucky, I tell you.

*The continued delight of finding what I want/need/never expected on the interwebs. Patterns, projects, photos that make me grin, books I want to read, songs that I'd never heard, blogs I want to learn from, and inspiration to make me want to continue to create things.

Let's all have a terrific 2012, eh?

Have a good one!

she's something else

The girlie and I have gotten into the habit of a little texting (from her) and emailing (from me) when she's out of school in the afternoon.

I thrill to see her notes pop up in the midst of the sea of corporate crap messages I slog through daily.

Wednesday's exchange:

M
Hi Mom! Just got out of school! How's your day going? Mine was good, I don't have much homework yay!!!

me

YAY for light homework! I'm running off to a meeting right now.

XXXOOO

Love you-I'll type at you when I get back.

M

Okay, have a super-duper fun meeting. I'm sure it will be a life changing experience. You'll have to tell me about it.

these exchanges make me feel like a successful parent.

slacker

Wow, I just looked at my "archives" post count.

Amazing decline in the number of posts each year.

Wonder if I can eke out a few more to whup 2010?

Still chuckling

The girlie just finished 2 weeks of acting camp. She did it last year and it was "Grease" in which she happily took a speaking part, even though it was a guy's role. This year, they riffed on "Glee". (Of course, we know OF it, but hadn't watched it until the night before her show on Friday.)

The cool thing is that she told us early on that she had a solo, and that it was "Sing!" from A Chorus Line. (She was doubly tickled as she'd met Mr. Hamlisch last year at a Teen Concert here in town, and he was very kind a generous with his time. Reception pre-show and brought all the teens backstage post-concert for Q&A.) (Classy.)

I have yet to get her OK to put it hers up here (and may not, even with approval), but this is the best YouTube version I found. (roll to 1:25 to start)



She owned it. And the thing I really liked? She had a blast with it. Told her afterwards that it wasn't a solo, it was a number. Big difference.

*grinning*

Consider this your invitation

To come visit and see the rest of my photos from the trip.....

Whatta ya got, you ask?

well.....
Viking yarn and knitting tools!
A cool chick and a cool old Citroen!
Wonderful Weymouth-ian and Silly Seattle-ite meet and make pilgrimage to yarn mecca; leave lighter of pocketbook!

Don't delay; click here today!