Wednesday, November 30, 2011

warm puppy









this is owen. he's my puppy. owen had a birthday, he's now two.
for his birthday he got two cookie bones from cafe luna (thanks kim for
turning him on to them), his favorite thing in the world almost ,except cheese.
and he got this new sweater. he really seems to love it, he jumped around for a
bit and did that rolling thing like he was trying to remove it. but then
i think he realized he wasn't cold anymore and he's been wearing it all morning.

i started with a pattern on ravelry, but quickly changed it up. if you have a
shivery puppy you'd like to warm, notes are here. next time i'm changing it even
more, knitting one long tube in the round with openings for his little puppy legs. please
forgive the wretched seaming here, that was the result of sleep knitting. i sleep knitted
my tea leaves too and ended up pulling out four inches, while sleepy also, which resulted
in a very large pile of tangly wool (using two balls at once.) i didn't have the heart
to take a photo of that. oh dear.
still reading and delighting in wildwood.

joining with ginny and all the yarnalongers here.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

running mountains

here we go, up up and up, to the top of the santa ynez mountain ridge. my sister lindy and i drove up saturday morning. it took us an hour from my home which is waaay down below on the edge of the pacific ocean . i live about center and straight down next to the sea, on the other side of the middle  peak.



 we are driving up here to see chuck, my husband. he is in an ultra run. a fifty mile trail run. the run is on the back side of this ridge we're on. looking at this photo the ocean is on our right, the back country on the left. he is in the back country. along with seventy two others. running fifty miles.


 we are at one of the check points now. behind me is a makeshift tent with supplies for these endurance athletes. we waited (a bit anxiously) for chuck and cheered as each person came through. then, we saw him. he's that blue dot right above the words on this photo. notice the rugged back country from where he's come. there are a lot of hills.


 he was so happy to see his friend and fellow athlete.


now he has to replenish before heading back out. there are foods with potassium and salt. and if you think you see a bottle of maker's mark whiskey on the table, you'd be right. some of the runners might need it i suppose. (i'm quite sure i would).


 this is the check point we were at, i think there were at least five more throughout the course. i am always in awe of the people who volunteer their time to help. my husband appreciates it very much. everyone is so nice and supportive at these things (they must all be bloggers) ((bloggers are the nicest people on earth)).


he was with us for five minutes before heading back out. can you imagine finishing a marathon and beginning again? and on a trail too?

 see you tonight honey. have a safe trip. lindy and i watched him run off and then headed back down the
mountain. we had a day planned. which thankfully didn't include any running.


as we were driving down the narrow windy road, this red-tailed hawk suddenly burst out of the bushes to our right ( there was shrieking) (by us) flying almost into our car, swooping over the hood and then as if we were in the wildwood book, he soared only inches from the ground, right directly in front of us! and then, suddenly again, he made an immediate stop and an abrupt turn into the brush on our left, attacking (scaring the wits) out of a small bird. the bird flapped his wings madly and flew straight up and away and the hawk, seemingly satisfied with himself landed on the top of this small dead branch. and stayed. i was shaking whilst trying to raise my camera, i've never been this close to a red-tailed hawk ever. i counted to three as he looked at me, raised his tail to poop (which indicates flying is next) and then he was off.


 in glorious graceful flight.


 i wished for a moment wildwood were true. i would have asked him to keep an eye on my love.



chuck and i and my sweet sister lindy. photo courtsy of  kevin steele. for kevin's images of the run
go here. (chuck's photo is the first one, he's wearing his handknit hat, a purl bee pattern.)    :)

oh! lindy and i had a fabulous day, we went to a holiday fair, shopped, and played with owen (i only glanced up at the mountain once). chuck finished some time after eight p.m. and walked in the door at nine o five, after fourteen hours of (torture) running. and although he's tired now, i know he'll do it again. if your reading honey, i'm proud of you. and i forgot to ask, did you see a bold red-tailed hawk?

Thursday, November 24, 2011

giving tree






















the little tree called out to me
waving it's jewel colored leaves
gathering ten or twenty,  sure that's plenty
i had a plan in mind.

i wanted more than turkey or pie
i wanted something else to remember
this thanksgiving day by.

i made my request
(to grumbles and eye rolls)
but lo and behold
they did as they were told.
(gently asked really.)

it made them stop
it made us think
thankful words did appear 
on every one
this gift of leaves from the little tree.

and one more thing...




it's kindly provided these two their engagement photos.
today was a very good day for this giving tree and me.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

green and wildwood












new green wool, green juice, my shabby green chair... green is a color i've been spending time with
lately. this cowl is circumnavigate, a new pattern by heidi kirrmaier. it called for malabrigo's
silky merino, something i had in my stash after winning this giveaway not long ago. when i saw the
pattern for circumnavigate one evening while on ravelry, i set my current project aside and cast on.  intending to start and then let it wait in my basket till later (the tea leaves is calling). but found i couldn't put it down. this pattern was completely totally addictive fun. i LOVED knitting it, and now love wearing it even more. the silky merino feels like cashmere, a truly gorgeous yarn. when my husband felt it, he smiled and asked 'where's mine?'  luckily heidi says ...'and is non-frilly enough to be worn by guys and gals alike.'

pattern : circumnavigate
wool : silky merino by malabrigo
colorway : 076 manzanilla olive
ravelry notes here.


i managed not only to get a photo of my book this week, but finessed a photo of the book being
read, while wearing the knit. hee he. i LOVE this book wildwood, and want to always carry it around. it's a treasure without even opening it, the cover art is gorgeous, yet once inside it's even richer. makes me feel a girl again. the authors (a husband and wife collaboration, he also is a member of a favorite band ) call it a middle grade fantasy adventure series. if you click on the link above, you will be able to read the first four chapters. but this truly is a book you'll want to hold. and keep.

counting my blessings this week and wishing all a very happy thanksgiving. we'll be staying home,
with most of my kids coming here, except nyc , miss you hannah girl,   
mamas hold on to your babies now, they do grow up...

joining with small things and the weekly yarnalong here.