Under Smokey Skies

Northern California during summer fire season is rather unpleasant. You can generally expect quite a few wild fires to ignite and right now, we are being struck by more than a few. Not that I put much faith in the local news broadcasters, but one report indicated close to 800 fires of varying size have burned since we had thunderstorms last weekend. With all of that fire all around, the air is hazy and smoky. Kind of a bummer since my son desperately wants to play outside and we have had to remain cooped up for 4 days now. The photos below are of the eerie red sun at sunset shining though the haze.

And the Winner Goes to...

The first completed project of 2008, a pair of Jaywalker Socks! The socks were completed in 2 weeks, which is record time for this snail-like sock knitter.



Pattern: Jaywalker Socks by Grumperina.
Size: Womens Size 11, Large
Yarn: Opal Sock Yarn, Petticoat 1290
Needles: Size 1 (2.5 mm), Options Harmony DPN's
Gauge: 7.5 Stitches per inch/11 Rows per inch

(This pattern originally appeared on Magknits.com. It has moved to Ravelry. If you are not a Ravelry user, you will need to sign up to view the pattern. You should sign up. Really.)

These sock are a gift for my Mother in law. She was scheduled to undergo surgery tommorrow and I made these socks to brighten her day and keep her feet warm during her recovery. They are appropriate for her since over the course of our relationship, there have been many zigs and zags. I hope that as she wears these socks, she will know how much I care for her.

These socks were surprisingly easy to follow and the pattern was written well. I love how an increase and decrease here and there can turn a boring stockinette sock into something so visually interesting. I am proud of how even my stitches were and that the sock stripe patterns match. I am also pleased that there were no holes in the sides of the gusset stitches, a clear sign of improvement. Overall, these socks were a success. I also got a chance to use my brand spanking new Options Harmony double pointed needles. These were a gift for Christmas from my DH.



We had a feathery visitor in our back yard the other day with quite a round tummy. She was kind enough to pose for a photo. I thought i would share it with you.

C is for Creativity

As I get further along in the ABC-Along, I am finding that the most importart things in my life are the hardest to capture in snapshots. I have been thinking for quite some time that I wanted to use Creativity for the letter "C". I asked my husband how to photography creativity to which he responded, "Creatively, of course!"

Creativity is different for me than it is for someone else. My creativity takes the form of knitting (mostly), sewing and quilting. I have recently tried my hand at beading and jewelry making as well as hand dyeing my own yarns. For me, I am happiest when I am creating.

This photograph represents the tools and materials that are at the center of my creativity. Like an artist with his palette, brushes and canvas. I think that it is important to point out that creativity does not always yield a finished project. If all that matters is the end result then I think that make you more of a crafter (not a bad thing) but creativity means that you enjoy the process and that is where your focus is.

This photo also pays homage to the fact that the creative life is not always the organized life. It is wonderful that there are creative people and organized people. A world without organized people would be chaos and mayhem, yet a world without creative people would be boring and sterile. I find it difficult to be both. I find that with creative people is that the usually have a method to their madness, or what I like to call organized chaos.

B is for Brother

Family is the most important thing in my life (knitting comes in second place). I count my brother, T, among those people in my life that I can count on. While I would not say that we are super close, I think that we both know that we can lean on each other when we need it. T is six years older than I am and is very goal oriented. He set a goal for himself to get involved in Scuba diving and has turned it into something profitable by becoming a diving instructor. He also is an EMT and teaches classes in CPR and First Aid.

Eight things I love about T:

1. Whenever I call him, he calls me "seeeester"-not sister.
2. He is the first guy I have ever met that keeps a cleaner house than I do. I think he may even keep it cleaner than our mother.
3. He knows something about cars (I dont know anything except how to make them go fast)
4. He makes the best tacos in the world! (Maybe even better than Uncle Don. I don't know, the jury is still out, but if he made them for me again, I bet that would tip the balance)
5. Using a sewing machine is not an assualt to his masculinity. Really. You should have seen us together as we repaired his Scuba wetsuit.
6. He is the father of a really cool young man who also goes by T.
7. He has an 11:00 o'clock rule. Since he works on the ambulance and works 24 hour shifts, he gets off work in the early morning. He goes home and sleeps. No one is allowed to call him until 11:00. If he is still asleep after 11:00, that is his problem, but if you call before 11:00 and wake him up, be prepared to face his wrath. OK Not really, but he does get grumpy. The world would be a better place if everyone had an 11:00 o'clock rule.
8. He knows how to slice prime rib like an expert(seen here on Christmas 2005).

A is for America

I have joined a group of blogs and websites in a netring called "ABC Along" that goes through the alphabet one letter at a time and shows photos for each letter. The photos are supposed to have meaning to us. This is my entry for the letter A.

This flag was erected after 9/11 and is next to Interstate 5 in Redding, California. Not in the photograph but of equal significance is a yellow ribbon tied to an oak tree in honor of the troops that are fighting and dying for my freedom. I tend to take my liberty for granted. I can go to the whichever house of worship that I choose and may say whatever is on my mind whenever I please. This country that I live in is not perfect, but I would rather live here than anywhere else in the world. When I find myself taking my freedom and liberty for granted, I simply need to drive by the flag to be reminded that many have sacrificed a great deal for me to live in this great land.

God Bless the USA!