Catching up

So, quite a bit of things going on for a change. First up, as you can see from the bottom photo I finished my "Skew" socks which I made with the yarn Lizard gave me for my birthday. I call these my "Tweedle" socks because the colorway of the yarn is "Tweedledum & Tweedledee," and like that famous pair the pattern is simple, and a little off. I learned a new cast-on for this project, which is an added plus.

In good news, the Neighbors From Mariachi Hell have moved out (these were the people that would start their parties at 10:00 PM (yes, you read that right--PM) and not end them until about 4:00 AM. These parties had live, loud mariachi bands. Calls to the police did no good.) Anyway, they have moved out & new neighbors have moved in. Neighbors K & A had a "Welcome to the Neighborhood" dinner party for them last weekend. It was a lot of fun, and I really like both of them (Neighbor G & Neighbor S) a lot. Neighbor S is rather on the quiet side while her partner, Neighbor G, is very outgoing & boisterous. It was a great party & we're all so ecstatic to have them as neighbors (and hopefully friends, too!).


Two weekends ago Ralph & I went on a looooong (for me) hike at Black Star Canyon. The leader set off at what she called "a nice, slow pace" and what I call "a bloody race up the bloody mountainside." I was exhausted by the time we got to the top of the hill, and there were still two miles to go afterwards. Still, there were some interesting things to see including a wingless wasp, prickly cucumber, and a turkey buzzard nest. I did take some pictures, none of which anyone will ever see because my camera memory card was damaged & I lost all of them. Sigh. I can post some of Ralph's when he downloads his, though. The hike was part of an anniversary event (one year since the land was donated to Orange County as a permanent wilderness area) and there were lots of freebies including t-shirts, water bottles, seeds for native California plants (I got California Poppy), free admission to the OC Zoo, pens, and magnets.

Today we went on a much shorter walk along the San Gabriel River. We brought Zoe with us & she had a pretty good time. The water was *very* cold, and felt good on our hot feet. Zoe wasn't so enthusiastic although she did go into it of her own free will. I picked up a new camera card a couple days ago so I was able to download those photos.



The middle photo is a just-opening hibiscus on the plant in our backyard. I'm not sure why it looks like it was taken at night; it wasn't exactly noon but the sun was completely up. I think it came out nicely, though.

Next week we are having dinner with our friends MS & SS as well as PH2 & MH2. We're going to George's Greek Cafe & plan on ordering the "family style" dinner. I'm really looking forward to both good friends & good food.