It's the weekend!

One of the Teeming Millions commented recently that I don't seem to have much fiber on the blog these days. She's got a point. Frankly, the merino that I am spinning is just too froo-froo blue for my liking, so I've kinda just got it sitting around. I am working on a new scarf using some old yarn that was hanging around (I think I spun it 2, maybe 3 years ago). It was my first attempt at boucle but it came out more as a snarl yarn. It's handspun soy silk with a millspun cotton thread binder. I'm using US 13 needles, and it's a drop-stitch pattern (knit two rows; K1, YO to end of third row ending with a knit stitch; K1, drop YO to end of fourth row, ending with a knit stitch; repeat these four rows until you run out of yarn, ending on row 2) so it should be fairly long considering how little of the yarn I actually have.

My niece sent out photos of her new son, James. I of course forgot to forward the e-mail home (she sent it to my work address) but I'm sure Big Sis will post one or two on her blog.

My mornings have improved recently. Normally I read, brainsuck, knit, or whatever until 6:00 then get ready for work. This week I switched to getting ready first, and then from 6:00 until 7:00 I watch "Star Trek" with Ralph. We enjoy the show together, and if I'm not quite ready for work when the show starts I've still got the commercials for that. And today was especially good, because it was an episode that I've either never seen before, or it's been so long that I didn't remember it. Now that's a rare thing with Trek!

Don't even say it.

No, there are no pictures of the TWO baby lizards I saw at work today. I'm sure you all know why.

In lieu of anything interesting to say, thought I'd post some LOLs from I Can Has Cheezburger. The first one is one Big Sis made, and I thought it pretty dang funny.


moar funny pictures


moar funny pictures


moar funny pictures

Didn't bring the camera. . .

. . . so I didn't get a picture of the really cute baby lizard that I saw at lunchtime. Sigh. You think I would have learned by now.

Today's picture is my weight on the moon, according to the scale at Griffith Observatory.

Hali is doing just fine; eating well & has almost forgiven us for taking her to the vet.

And that is pretty much all I've got for today. How can one stand the excitement???

Clean teeth!

Another uneventful day, for the most part. Hali had her vet visit today. They cleaned her teeth & her ears, and clipped her nails. She had a fractured tooth which they thought would have to be removed, but after taking the broken part off there was still enough sound tooth below the break that they were able to leave it. She's got some ear drops & antibiotics and has to be on soft foods for a while.

And that's it for today's news. My gosh I lead an exciting life.

Good things

Not much to talk about today. I noticed on one of the other websites I go to that someone posted a topic "Name one thing that made you happy today." So, in lieu of having anything interesting to say, I'll just mention some of the things that made me happy today, or at least amused me. No traffic on the way to work. The iced tea I made tasted really good. We had eleven sales and only one cancellation on the latest sales report (which covers 8/11-8/17) for net ten sales. "Net ten" is a palindrome. Had a very yummy sandwich (turkey, ham & swiss on whole grain bread, warmed up) for lunch. Got off work on time today, which is almost unheard of on a Monday. NO fire drills! No traffic on the way home. I'm enjoying my audiobook (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) even though I've read the book three times & listened to the audiodisk at least twice. It wasn't too hot outside at lunchtime. I have shepherd's pie baking in the oven for dinner tonight. And lastly, this "FAIL" from icanhascheezburger.com:


see more pwn and owned pictures

The best laid plans. . .

. . . of mice and men gang aft agly. Which is to say, one should double-check an event's website before actually heading out there (something you think we would have learned after the Huntington Gardens incident). Turns out the fiber festival was cancelled, a fact we did not discover until we had driven to Santa Monica. I was, to say the least, quite disappointed. However, we are a flexible group when it comes to excursions and thanks to my handy-dandy GPS, discovered we were only about 20 minutes away from the Griffith Observatory. We had a very nice time there even if it wasn't a fiber festival. I was very impressed with the accuracy of the sundial there--the time on it exactly matched Ralph's watch, which receives a radio signal from the atomic clock in Colorado and is therefore a pretty reliable watch indeed.


The talent show was also fun. Punweaver & DS performed "What is This Feeling" from Wicked; Punweaver's husband MS did a juggling act; and all in all there was in fact actual talent at the talent show.

This weekend went by far too quickly. Good thing Labor Day is coming up soon, as I could really use another 3-day weekend.

STUFFED!

Went to Johnny Reb's for dinner again. Got pulled pork & double mac-and-cheese (Ralph got pulled pork & double mashed potatoes and gravy). We each ate half our meat and all of the side dishes. Oh, did I mention you get free seconds on the side dishes if you want them? Well, the waitress brought us some without us even asking, so I've got my leftover pork and TWO helpings of mac-and-cheese for tomorrow. I am so full I can hardly move.

Not much else happened today, which is odd because the day passed very quickly. Read a bit, spun a bit, read some more . . . that's about it. Oh, we did go to a garage sale where we bought an old-fashioned baby carriage. No, no, we're not expecting; with a bit of work & a large-headed rubber skeleton, it's going to be a great Halloween prop.

We decided today that we ARE going to have an All-iday this year; however, it will be in September rather than August. I'll just tell people it was moved out in honor of National Procrastination Day (June 1) or possibly National Procrastinator's Day (Sept 5). Or maybe Fight Procrastination Day (first Wednesday in September). So you see, September really is the perfect month to hold a party that is late.

Tomorrow should be a good day. Going to the fiber festival with Big Sis (and maybe Ralph; he hasn't decided yet if he wants to go) and then in the evening all three of us will be attending a talent show put on by the church our friend Punweaver attends. Ralph & I went last year and it was a lot of fun.

I can has cheezburger

I created a few LOLs at Icanhascheezburger.com. Of course, I doubt any of them will be picked for their webpage, but it was fun anyway. Here is one of them:


moar funny pictures

Hat Day

Today was Hat Day at work, with prizes for Most Elegant & Most Outrageous. We won't find out the winners until Monday. I thought I had a good chance for Most Outrageous with my "Tim the Enchanter" hat, until RM showed up wearing one too! (That's me in the picture, not RM. Not the most glamorous shot of me ever taken but what the heck.) Well, maybe we'll tie for it. Incidentally, that's part of the view from my office that you see in the background.

Good news, at least for me: I used a different coffee this morning, and did NOT get sick from it. It's odd, though, because we've been drinking the other brand for weeks now without a problem. Wonder if we just got a bad can? Not sure I want to risk buying it again though, just in case.

Only 4 Prii on the way home today: two black, a white & a green.

Last night I was annoyed because I forgot to bring home the apple, cheese & milk I had planned on snacking on during the long drive. This morning I was really glad about it though, because I didn't have time to eat breakfast before work (translation: spent the 6:00 o'clock hour watching "Star Trek" instead of getting ready for work) and it was nice to have some food when I arrived at the office. Went to lunch with The Girls With Whom I Walk (MP, VG & CE). VG paid for mine since Ralph had brought all that Greek food a while back, which I really appreciated. Wonderful Thai place; I had a beef curry that was just delicious, and it came with soup, a small salad, and an egg roll. I was STUFFED afterwards and still feel pretty satisfied even now. Not sure I'll even want dinner, but if I do get hungry I have the fixin's for chi-li dogs.

Oh, lovely--Sadie is splashing the water bowl with both feet. Again. . . .

This week is going by so fast!

Can't believe it's Thursday evening already. This week has just zoomed by.

Today's picture is of sunflowers at the Madrona Marsh.

Don't think I'll make it to the fiber festival on Saturday; too many other things to do (shopping, laundry, get Sadie's vet records transferred to our vet & her license transferred into our name [ugh, bet there's a fee for that], make an appointment to have Hali's teeth cleaned, etc.) but I should be able to go on Sunday. Wonder if Big Sis is busy that day, and if not if she wants to go? Guess I could *ask* her. . . Hey, Sis, wanna go to the fiber festival on Sunday?

Saw lots of Priuses (Prii?) on the drive home again: six on the freeway not including mine, and one parked in a driveway. Guess I shouldn't really count the parked one, since I pass it pretty much every day. I was a little surprised though, because normally I pass three parked ones in our neighborhood.

The new babies seem to be doing well. We put in a mat of fake plants at the top so they have a hiding spot. Unfortunately, we had to move an adult fish into the hospital tank; one of the other fish bit off his upper lip! I don't think he can eat, and is likely to die :-( I think it's time to move the other babies into the big tank, since the ones Ralph put in last week are doing fine, and this way we can medicate the injured fish without harming the preschool.

Been feeling ill lately if I drink coffee; Ralph has had some problems, too. Don't know if it's the brand, or if we're making it too strong, or what. We have some other coffee which I will brew in the morning & see if it makes a difference. If not, well, guess it's so-called iced tea for me in the mornings.

Oh. I see.

Forgot to mention that Ralph moved a few of the baby fish into the big tank, to see how things went. When I fed today, I only saw three of them at first, so I looked around a bit. Ah, there it was, swimming with the other one. Wait--other one? I thought he only put in four. . . well, maybe it was five. Um, six? Seven??? I asked Ralph, "Sweetie? Did you move more babies to the big tank?" He said no. We looked closer. . . yes, yes, there were at least ten in there, and most of them were smaller and darker than the babies in the small tank. Looks like we've got another preschool. And that one fish still looks awfully fat. . . . oh dear. . .

Middle of the week

Pretty good day today, if uneventful. On the way to work, I was listening to the radio. The first station I listened to played "Werewolves of London," after which the DJ said "That was the late, great Warren Zevon." Since they were headed into commercial, I switched to a station that was playing "Have to Say I Love You in a Song." When it ended, the DJ said, "That was the late, great Jim Croce." I guess any dead performer is "late, great."

Saw lots of Priuses on the drive home. A dark blue, a light blue, a green, a white, a silver, and of course mine. Looks like the high gas prices are making a lot of money for Toyota.

Sadie is fitting in more & more each day. She is starting to come when she is called, and greeted me when I got home from work today. Hali tolerates getting her face licked for longer than she used to before growling. Zoe plays with her (Sadie) a lot, with their favorite game being "Bite My Head." Right now the two of them are playing "Annoy Hali" which is their second-favorite game. We got her vet records today, so this weekend I can go to the animal control & get her license updated. Hope it doesn't take too long, as I want to go to the fiber festival in Santa Monica on Saturday.

That's about it I guess.

And so it ends

I found out last night that Neighbor D passed away Sunday morning. He never regained consciousness as far as I know. I'm glad he went quietly without suffering. He had stated prior to going into the hospital that he did not want to be kept on life support, and I think it is good that his sister followed his wishes. We will miss him though. We will take good care of Sadie & the birds.

Back to work. . .

. . . and a nice surprise awaited me. MR has been transferred to the South building. Mr. Boss Man took his old office. And Mr. Boss Man's old office--is now MINE!!! Of all the days not to bring the camera. The girls with whom I walk put a big red ribbon across the door, and my name is in the nameholder, and they moved my Important Items (awards, photo of husband, photo of Jeff Goldblum) into the office. Tomorrow SE will set up my computer there & it will be official :-) Needless to say I am very happy & excited (I just stood giggling when I saw the ribbon). I'm sorry MR isn't in our building anymore as he was a nice guy, but I am glad it was a transfer and not a layoff!

Not much else to write about today. Cooking fish for dinner: tilapia with thyme & lemon pepper, and I'll heat up some veggies to go with it. It's been kind of a long day & I really didn't want to cook, however I am glad that I took the time to fix it. There should be enough for lunches tomorrow, and if not, well I did stop at the store on the way home so we have sammidge fixin's. I also got some snacky-type things (oh rats, forgot the pudding!) and therefore have *no excuse* to not pack lunches tomorrow.

Today's photo is a shot of pink blossoms on an acacia tree, taken at the LA Botanical Gardens. I really liked the juxtaposition of the soft pink flowers framed by the thorny trunks of the acacia.

forgot to post yesterday

Forgot to post yesterday, and I bet Big Sis thinks I forgot about her birthday. I did leave a birthday message for her on Knitter's Review, and Ralph sent an e-mail from us both. So I did remember even if I didn't make a big fuss.

Big Sis & The Boy are both pressing about the All-iday Party. I want to have one, although it may be a bit late since it is the 11th already & the 23rd is less than two weeks away. Also, it feels weird to plan a party when Neighbor D is so ill. Plus I don't want the fuss of planning. I just want the prizes to buy themselves, the food to cook itself, the invitations to mail themselves, and the decorations to magically put themselves up.

Vacation is over. I should be getting ready for work. . .

A sad posting

Sad news today. They took Neighbor D off life support this morning. It looks like it is just a matter of time now. Earlier Neighbor D's sister & his two nephews were moving things out of the backyard. Sadie heard them and ran over to the fence, whining & crying. Poor thing--how do you explain to a dog that her master is not coming back? Anyway, we will be keeping her (and the parakeets) so she will have a loving home with people she knows. The picture today is one I took of her in our backyard yesterday.

Awake? Why am I awake?

5:23 on Saturday morning, and I've been up for almost an hour & a half. Insomnia sucks.

Taking advantage of a new blogger feature: the blog list. I like how it shows the most recent post. You'll notice there's a new blog there: simple knits. It's got a listing there of 500 easy knitting projects that use 285 yards or less. I found the link today on Ravelry, and am hoping to find something nice to do with the yarn left from my shawl.

Went to see "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" yesterday. Ralph's choice of movie; I would have preferred to see "Mummy III" but the showtimes worked out better for HB. Actually, there weren't any movies listed that I really *wanted* to see, so I wasn't going to make a fuss over HB vs. Mummy. I was not impressed with HB though; jumped around too much, got way too smarmy in a couple places, and took way too long to get to the Golden Army part (a short intro at the beginning so you know what the Golden Army is, then you finally get to them again at the climax of the movie). Also, there were a couple spots that were way too predictable. Example SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! The ogre has this metal fist that he shoots out to smash things/people, then it automatically hauls back to his wrist with a long chain. Hellboy is standing in front of these huge spiked cylinder-shaped gears. (You can see where this is going already, can't you?) Sure enough, ogre shoots out the fist, HB jumps to the side, fist goes into gears, ogre pulled in after & suffers gruesome death (fortunately, most of the gruesome is left to the viewer's imagination). END OF SPOILER. There were a few saving graces: John Hurt has a small role in the beginning (he's my fave actor ever); Roy Dotrice (the father on the old TV show "Beauty & the Beast" as well as being the real-life father of the actress who played Jane Banks in "Mary Poppins) has a small role as the elf king; good effects; nice make-up work. Not worth paying full price at the theater though.

Not sure what we're going to do today. I double-checked my coupon for the bookstore; it expires today, not tomorrow, so I guess I'll be going there. Ralph got a bad sunburn yesterday, which means pretty much no outdoor activities for us. Another quiet day, which isn't a bad thing. I can get some more knitting done (did 6 rounds of the orangutan leg last night), and some spinning, and finish the book I am reading. There have been worse days.

Last Friday of vacation

Guess it's pretty much officially over; it's 2:30 pm on Friday and my remaining vacation is now just a weekend. Man that went by way too fast!

Been a rather quiet day today. Sewed the arm & embroidered the face on the orangutan, although I will probably redo the face as I am not entirely happy with it. Went to PetSmart & got a small wading pool for Sadie in the hopes it will keep her out of the pond, then bought some plants & stuff to spruce up the pond a bit. I did a little bit of weeding but quickly got too hot to continue (it's in the mid 80's today, and there is NO SHADE anywhere near the garden). Ralph potted plants & rearranged the pond. It's looking a lot better now.

Ralph might be having another D & D game on Sunday. Not sure what I will do if he does; probably go to the bookstore because I have a coupon. I don't really need another book yet--still have one that I haven't read yet, and a few chapters left to go in the one I am currently reading--however it's a good coupon (40% off one book) and expires on Sunday so I want to use it up.

Speaking of Sunday, that is Big Sis's birthday. I swear, it seems like she has one of those every year. . .

Two weeks from today is the start of the big fiber festival in Santa Monica. Past years have been a bit quilt-centric for my taste, but I'll most likely attend this year anyway. It's not that far away, and is good for a couple hours entertainment. I don't actually *need* any new fiber, like that's ever stopped me before, but I would like another yarn gauge or two (one to keep with my travel wheel, and one to keep in my bag when I go yarn shopping), and some more small stitch markers since I seem to have lost 90% of the ones I've already bought.

I want more Johnny Reb's macaroni & cheese and pulled pork. Last night was the first time I'd had their mac-a-chee, and to my surprise I enjoyed it more than I did the sweet potato fries which is amazing because I *adore* their sweet potato fries. The mac-a-chee tasted very much like how Mom used to make it, except they use bigger macaronis and more cheese sauce. Soooo good; in fact, it is the only mac-a-chee I've had that I think tastes better than Mom's, and that's saying a lot! However, we did go there last night & I doubt I could convince Ralph to go again tonight.

MMMMMMMMMMMMM!

Entrance sign to Johnny Reb's in Long Beach. Best dang BBQ in the city :-)

Ralph sitting at the table, waiting for our food to arrive. If you eat any of the peanuts, they ask that you put a donation in the jar (just at the right edge of the photo). The donations are given to charity; currently they are raising money to send needy children to camp. The other jar is Ralph's lemonade; love the fancy glassware :-)

My meal: pulled pork, sweet potato fries (and some ranch dressing to dip them into), hush puppies, and macaroni & cheese (mac-a-chee!). It was soooooooo good. . . I only ate half so I've got leftovers for tomorrow.

Ralph's meal: St. Louis pork ribs, corn bread, and mashed potatoes with country gravy. It looked much better "in person" than it does in the photo. I had a bite of the ribs & it tasted wonderful.

Shot looking down the aisle. The guy in the dark shirt was our waiter; the people to whom he is speaking are the guys that are watching Neighbor D's house (whom I shall call Neighbor M & Neighbor R since they do live on our street & all), and Neighbor D's sister, BB. We had just ordered our food when they came in. We mentioned to the waiter that we knew them, and he said that they are his neighbors, too! Turns out he lives one street over and maybe four blocks down from our house. Small world!

A nice day out

Had a good day today. Went online & did a search for local nature centers, and discovered that there is a marsh reserve/nature center in Torrance, about 10 miles from the house. What the website *didn't* mention is that it is a vernal marsh, which means that it's wet in the spring and pretty much a dried-out remnant in August. Sigh. Not a lot in bloom except sunflowers and yellow poppies, and not a lot of birds. Still had a good time though, despite having missed some darn good photo opportunities. I swear the birds have a little sensor that tell them the split second when I get the camera in focus, and they choose that precise moment to fly away. Particularly frustrating is the fabulous shot I got of some reeds where a nansecond earlier there had been a vivid red bird. It got chased away by a rather territorial hummingbird just as I pressed the shutter. I did get a couple nice shots of a sparrow feeding a fledgling, and several shots of an orange bishop (a new bird to check off my birdlist!). We will definitely have to go back next April or so.


On the way home, we passed this rather amusing sight: a lifesize statue of a cow, standing on someone's balcony "looking" over the railing. I felt a little funny taking pictures of someone's house, but I figured I was on a public sidewalk photographing only what was visible from that sidewalk. It's not like I was using a telephoto lens to peek in the windows. Besides, this was just too good an opportunity to miss, and unlike the birds I knew it was unlikely to fly away just as I was clicking the shutter (although with my luck with photography I wasn't about to discount the possibility . . . )


*Still* have not had dinner at Johnny Reb's. Sigh again. Ralph cooked last night: angel hair pasta tossed with a blend of fresh basil from the garden, chopped garlic, minced ham & mushrooms all sauteed in olive oil and butter, then topped off with shaved parmesan cheese. Yes, yes, it was delicious, but it was *not* BBQ. Maybe tonight. . . . and maybe that cow will fly off the balcony after all. :-)


Got more knitting done on the orangutan, although not much. Finished knitting the arm. Yup, that's it. Haven't stuffed it, haven't sewn it on. Still, that's 1,200 more stitches completed in the past two days than I have done on this project in the previous six months or so. I have great hopes of having it finished by this time next year.

Halfway over!

Hard to believe my vacation is half over. Seems like it just started. . .

Lazy day today. Did a little knitting; the orangutan is off the "hibernating" list and is now an official WIP (that's work in progress, for those non-knitters amongst the Teeming Millions). I sewed on the first foot, and have knitted half of the second arm. Still a lot left to go: finish the arm, knit the other leg, knit the other foot, knit the other hand, knit 5 fingers for the hand and two "thumb toes" for the feet, knit the left ear, sew all those parts onto the body, then embroider the nose & mouth. He's supposed to have knitted eye & nose ridges too, but I couldn't get them to look right and will probably just embroider them on using satin stitch and a double thickness of yarn.

No Johnny Reb's last night. Ralph didn't want a heavy meal, so I picked up egg foo young & special fried rice for me, vegetable delight for him at Chee's. It was good, but not BBQ. Maybe tonight, although I am not counting on it.

Forgot to mention, coming home yesterday we saw an LA Sheriff driving his squad car down the freeway while talking on his cell phone. (For those of you among the Teeming Millions who do not live in California, as of July 1 driving & using a cell phone at the same time is now illegal, unless you are a) over the age of 18 AND b) using a hands-free device such as Bluetooth). Guess he's not going to be citing many people for cell phone usage while driving.

That's about it. As you can see, it was a *very* exciting day . . . . yaaaaawn. . . .

Learn something new every day

Did you know that the Huntington Botanical Garden is closed on Tuesday? Neither did we. Ended up at the Los Angeles Botanical Garden instead. I didn't even know the place existed (I love my GPS!!). We had a wonderful time. They have lots of peacocks there & I got some good shots. We took waaaaaay too many pictures of the black-crowned night heron (especially after he caught a fish & tried for about 20 minutes to swallow the thing). There were some kids playing in a sprinkler, and I started to take some shots but unfortunately they saw the camera and started to show off. All the naturalness and spontaneity were gone so I only took two pictures, neither of which are much good. There was a lovely waterfall, and ever so many dragonflies. Oh, and there were some nice plants too. We were there for pretty close to three hours and only saw about half of the place. We would have liked to have stayed longer, but we were both starting to feel a little ill in the heat (100 degrees!) plus our lunch was in the car (in an insulated bag with some blue ice to keep it cool). After we rested, ate, and cooled off in the A/C we just didn't have the heart to go back out into that brutal heat. We will have to go again some day & see the rest. I've got about 40 pictures from the day posted on Flickr if any of the Teeming Millions are interested in having a peek.



Either Sis is having computer issues, or her life is very dull, as she didn't post anything yesterday, and when I checked a couple minutes ago there was still nothing new. Doesn't she know it is her *duty* to keep me entertained?

Thinking about maybe going to Johnny Reb's for dinner tonight. I love their sweet potato fries, and some good Southern BBQ sounds mighty tasty. I really would like to go; we'll see if Ralph is hungry enough to go out in a bit or if I'll have to fend for myself in our scantily-stocked kitchen. However, I am certain that there is nothing in that kitchen that will even come close to Johnny Reb's sweet potato fries.



Our baby mollies are almost big enough to put in the main tank. I'm a little worried that they'll get eaten if we do it now, so have been using delay tactics to keep Ralph from transferring them just yet. Unfortunately my most effective one ("They'll get sucked into the filter") won't be valid much longer as most of them are fat enough to no longer fit through the slots.


Well, I guess that's just about it for today. No plans for tomorrow yet, although I'm sure we'll find something to do. This has been a very good vacation so far. I feel so much more relaxed & have been having a wonderful time. Wish I could do this about once a month :-)

Tuesday and still no work :-)

Slept in the tent again last night. Wasn't quite as pleasant as the previous night, as we had taken the rain cover off to keep the heat down, and didn't get it back up again until after the nightly dew had started to accumulate. So, the covers were a bit damp & the air a bit muggy. Just like real camping, I guess :-) Sadie definitely likes sleeping in the tent; all of us were up & back in the house around five or so except for her. I had to practically force her out a few minutes ago (I had left the door unzipped so she could get out, and wanted to close it up before the bugs started to invade). We'll be putting the tent away & sleeping in the house tonight.

Today we plan to go to the Huntington Arboretum. We've only been once before a few years ago when they had a special display of a corpse flower (STINKY!!! like a dumpster) and spent most of the time waiting in line to see it. We are both looking forward to the trip, and I should have some nice pictures to post when we get home. We'll probably bring sammidges & a blanket so we can have a picnic lunch while we are there.

Not too happy with the yarn I am spinning. It's soft & even & all, but I just don't care for the color. It's a rather froo-froo shade of blue. Once it's all spun & in skeins I will most likely dye it, either a deeper blue or possibly add a bit of green to it. I don't want to dye it *too* darkly as that will destroy the heathery look it currently has, which is the one thing I do like about the color.

Haven't started a new knitting project yet. I really wish I had just added a few more repeats to the shawl; it would have really been long that way, plus I would still have a project. OK, OK, I know I could work on one of the three WIPs I currently have snoozing away. But the orangutan is dull and the socks are most likely going to be frogged and the lobster claws need to be adjusted and I don't wanna do it right now.

No Work Monday

Last night we decided to "camp out" in the backyard. We set up the tent, inflated the air mattress, and slept in the cool night air. It was so nice that we plan on sleeping out there again tonight. It makes it feel more like we are on vacation, at least until we go to a real campground.

Haven't done much today. Knit and frogged the same few yards of yarn. I want to make a scarf, and the yarn just doesn't want to be one. Guess I'll set that aside for now & dig through the stash until I find something that *does* want to be a scarf. Maybe I'll get all my little bits & pieces and knit each row in a different color. Could be interesting.

OH! Remember a while back, when I lost the book I was reading & thought I might have left it at the Indian restaurant? I found it! It was in Ralph's truck, which is really odd because I could have sworn we took the Saturn that day. Anyway, now I have two books waiting to be read when I finish the one I am on rather than just one, and I didn't have to spend any more money :-)

You might have noticed that I've added a new link to my "websites & blogs that I like" section. It's called "I Can Has Cheezburger?" and is really pretty funny. People post photos and add silly captions. I've added a link to one of my favorite shots; hope it works:
more cat pictures

Well, I've been on the computer far too much today, so I'm going to go read for a bit.

IT'S DONE!!!!

Starting a new shawl

Well, sort of. I started spinning the yarn for it anyway. I was planning on making the Bigfoot Shawl from "Wrapped in Comfort," however this is coming out far more blue than I expected & I'm not sure it's the right color for that pattern. Still, there are other colors blended into the roving & this may look quite different when it is plied, so We Shall See. There are some other patterns in the book that I think will look very good with this sky blue, so maybe I'll make one of those and save the Bigfoot pattern for another day.

Dad sent me some photos of the alpacas from which I will be getting some fleece. They are so adorable! The one with the "beard" makes me think of an Amish man. I've never cleaned fleece before, so this will be an experience. Wonder how much I will get? I don't think it will be a whole fleece, but if I get at least 8 ounces of usable fiber after cleaning I will have enough to make an alpaca shawl. Mmmmmm . . . 4 ounces will be enough for gloves, or a hat, or a scarf. Oooh, or I could alter the sheep puppet pattern a bit and make an alpaca puppet! Make the ears a little longer and more upright, narrow the nose a tad. . . yes, that could work.

Last night we walked to Chee's for dinner. This is a very old Chinese restaurant about 3 blocks from our house. How old, you ask? Well, the phone number on the sign outside starts with "GA 7." And yes, that is still their current number! I had some fabulous egg foo young and their special house rice (fried rice with baby shrimp, chicken, and bbq pork in it). Ralph had the special rice too (it was actually part of his order & I just stole some of it) and the Three Ingredients (a chicken/beef/shrimp mix with bell peppers served over steamed rice). I ate the last bit of foo young & a bit of the special rice for breakfast. And now I want more of both.

Today's plans: clean house so when we go on our camping trip we don't come home to a mess; buy a collar for Sadie and possibly sign her up for obedience class (if Neighbor D does come home, it will be easier on him if she knows a few things such as sit, stay, and come); get the trailer ready for our trip; read and knit and spin. And whatever else sounds interesting as the day goes along. Oh, there was a movie I want to see that started on Friday. . . what the heck is it? Anyway, maybe we'll go to the movies.

So close. So very, very close.

Witchipoo is almost done! The only thing left to do is block it. I think the steel wire that Ralph has will solve the blocking wires problem, however I still have to find a place that is both large enough for me to spread the shawl out, and isolated enough to keep the dogs/cats from walking on it. As you can see by the paperback I included for perspective, it's pretty large.

We went to visit Neighbor D at the hospital today. He is still in very serious condition: on a respirator, unresponsive, bloated with fluid as his kidneys & liver are pretty much shut down. We've got his dog & his birds here at the house, and if the worst happens we will be keeping them permanently. Yes, it's that serious. His sister is coming out from Colorado on Monday; she has power of attorney & will be able to make any necessary decisions for him.

Didn't really do much this first official day of vacation. Read a bit, knit a bit, ate lunch at In-n-Out Burger, and brainsucked. Felt good, but I don't intend for the whole vacation to be this way.

VAAAAAACATION!

And I have nothing to post about. HA! So I'll post some photos instead:

A rather blurry shot of a Caspian tern, taken at the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Reserve

Our neighbor's cat, Guy

Some teenagers at the Orange County Fair share a loaf of french fried potatoes. It's so big, it took two plates to hold it! It looked so tasty, I was tempted to ask for a bite ;-)

Shot of one of the two Ferris wheels at the Orange County Fair

A sow feeding at the Fair.