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Just for Me!
You may recall this package which remained unopened until a certain something was finished.
It's from Knit Kimber Knit, my ISE6 spoiler.
A bag.
What's inside?
Closer view.
A perfect fit!
A new friend....
...who likes to sit on the windowsill with "Barb."
And, finally, some yarn to knit. OMG it's almost the same color as the scarf I just sent off!
I love the colors! Now what shall I make?
It was finished on Monday. And now it's winging its way to my ISE6 pal.
It was a fun, relatively quick knit. It's ready for its closeup.
Cast on: April 27, 2008
Cast off: May 26, 2008
Yarn: BMFA medium weight in a Rare Gem colorway
Pattern: Spindrift Scarf by Lucy Neatby
Needles: Addi Lace circular US 1(2.5mm)
It's California. Land of Change. Dry land that had an especially dry winter. So, of course, last weekend's exceptionally lovely, clear, HOT weather gave way to Fire on the Mountain by this Thursday morning. By Friday morning, I could smell it INSIDE my home, even though we're about seventy miles from the fire, and they were advising people like me to stay indoors because of the air quality. I could see why on my way to work.
Downtown Oakland was enveloped in haze. And San Francisco? Couldn't be seen.
Then yesterday morning, the area got a little relief.
Rain? In California? IN MAY?
Another good reason to stay indoors most of the day and enjoy the fact that Mr. Celia, who has been away on business all week, could stay home and have breakfast with me.
Rain is, unfortunately, wreaking havoc with graduations going on at Cal this weekend. Our neighbors sat outdoors in the rain yesterday morning at the Greek Theater to watch their daughter walk the stage in the College of Engineering graduation. This is not something we expect in May. It is not normal
What is normal is that I am a little behind. This package arrived in Saturday's mail.
But I can't let myself open it until this is done and in the mail.
It's almost there, but not quite. I'll have it done by tomorrow for sure.
And here's the normal state of affairs in my house on most days.
Butt to butt, these girls are the best of companions.
Not much knitting. No, we have been busy. First: getting ready for, and second: entertaining, our visiting German cousins, the Familie B*** from K**********. We played tourist with U** and K**** on two of the most spectacular days, weather-wise, I've EVER seen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
My, oh my, it was HOT. 97 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday (5/15 - a week ago). But, oh how clear it was! Familie B*** and I caught a ferry at Jack London Square, and Mr. Celia drove over and met us at the Ferry Building.
U** remembered a calendar my own grandfather had sent to his family when he was growing up in East Germany that featured beautiful photographs of San Francisco. In particular, he wanted to see the Japanese Tea Garden. So there we went.
The Tea Garden is a beautiful, tranquil oasis in the midst of city hustle/bustle. I was more impressed with it now than I have ever been.
From there, we headed over to the DeYoung Museum , primarily for the view from the tower (but we enjoyed the cool inside on the hottest day of the year so far). And then it was on to the Beach Chalet for lunch.
The men enjoyed tasting six different local brews, and the food was delicious.
Of course, everyone thinks when they come to sunny California they will want to swim in the ocean. What most people don't know is that the ocean here is cold, especially in May. It may be 97 Fahrenheit in San Francisco, but the water is more like 55 degrees - chilly! U** checked it out and found I was right.
From the beach we drove the scenic route to catch good views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
We drove down Lombard Street, we walked around Fisherman's Wharf (which IMHO is not really worth the effort), and then we hopped on a cable car.
(Well, not really we had to wait in line and listen to a terrible banjo-playing idiot who didn't even know the words to the songs he was singing - and he wanted to get paid, too! Maybe we should have paid him to NOT play.)
We ended up at Tadich Grill, the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the City (Since 1849 - 159 years!). It's one of our favorites, and a true San Francisco institution. And the food was really good.
Friday, we started out by walking across the Golden Gate Bridge.
Now, I have been on the bridge many times. I love walking across. But I NEVER EVER have seen a day like Friday. It was balmy. You could see seals lolling about in the water below, flocks of birds flying close to the water's surface, the Farallon Islands (From.The.Bridge.), and the bluest of blue skies overhead.
I can hardly describe in words how much I enjoyed the walk across the bridge. There was so much to see. I felt like I was looking through a microscope on the most perfect day ever and the walk took longer than expected because the day was so beautiful. By the time we made it across the bridge, we were ready for lunch. We decided to stop in Sausalito at Horizons Ondine, where we could get a beautiful view of San Francisco. Then we headed to Muir Woods.
What can I say? The redwoods are so amazingly beautiful.
And so amazingly tall.
They inspired the romantic in U** and K****.
After Muir Woods we drove up and up and up Mount Tamalpais, to catch a view of the bay.
and the Pacific Ocean
Spectacular.
Oh my Gawd. That would be me. Featured at the beginning and end of Y Knit podcast Episode 7: Sock Camp Survival. Stephen did a wonderful job of capturing the essense of sock camp. He was brave to be the only man there. The whole episode is worth a listen, especially for the interview with Tina Newton. And he interviews my awesome pal, Casey, too (among others too numerous to mention).
Thanks for including me, guys. It's an honor.
Incredible!
The fledglings departed the nest on Monday. I was afraid they'd leave over the weekend because there was so much activity on Friday. But they were there Monday morning. As if they'd waited.
And there was lots of activity. Hopping up on the side of the nest, testing of wings. You can see it all here.
By the end of the day, though, they were ready to go, and then they were gone. Just like that. All day Tuesday, I suffered from empty nest syndrome.
And then this afternoon, they came back, Mama and her two babies, and alighted on the tree, even closer than before. As if to pose.
And then, just like that, they took off again.
In.Credible.
It was a lovely low-key weekend, with plenty of down time and plenty of catching up.
The Girlie and I went to this party on Saturday and donated to Lala's participation in the AIDS/Lifecycle ride from San Francisco to LA. Go over there and donate yourself. Rachael is offering you a chance to win socks for every ten dollars you donate, people. The AIDS/Lifecycle ride is a worthy enough cause on its own. Add in the possibility of winning hand-knit sox by Rachael - c'mon people - I know you have a spare ten dollars to support Lala. I just know.
Mr. Celia and I went to see a show here on Saturday evening and ran into some old friends. That in itself was a treat, but I also discovered the Berkeley Ukelele Club meets here twice a month. When my schedule calms down a bit (hee hee, like it ever will), I may drop in. It sounds like fun.
I finished some knitting:
& now all that remains is the finishing. I will post pics when finished.
Mom joined me and my friend Sue at the BAHA Spring House tour, which was right in my neighborhood. Fourteen noteworthy houses. It sure was fun looking inside all those places I've only passed by for years. Really fun. And it took us almost the full four hours of the tour to see everything.
Finally, I saw Cranford last night on PBS. If you're a Jane Austen fan, you will like this series. There are just three two-hour episodes. Rich, funny, and some industrial revolution history. Perfect knitting TV. And if you missed the first episode you can watch it on line for a limited time. Worth it.
