new year

hello lovely friends. thank you once again for the kindest words on the mountain posts. i'm hoping everyone had a wonderful holiday, celebrated with love and joy and even a little magic. i think i'm just now recovering. i cried when my children all came home and cried even more when they left again. i cried missing my mum who passed away last september. but when i had to hand my camera over for repairs, and was told maybe it would be back in six weeks ( my eyes filling with tears again), i knew it was time to find a way to step out of this fog i've been in. missing is okay, but it was beginning to feel like depression.

tonight i picked up my knitting needles, the first time in days. and made this post too. looking through the many photos i'd taken this year made me feel blessed and better already.

giving thanks for twenty eleven... 

january ~  spending our anniversary in the redwoods, big sur, california

february ~ camping in californias serengeti, the carrizo plain

february ~ visiting my youngest daughter in brooklyn, new york

march ~  fox encounter, carpinterias salt marsh

april ~  back to the carrizo plain

may ~ back to nyc, to the fashion institute of technology, to earn my knitting teachers credential

june ~ taking the train to anaheim, california to see u2 in concert



july ~ the royal couple visited carpinteria

august ~ home

september ~ my mother, paris 2001

october ~ paddle boarding in the pacific ocean

november ~ making big plans

december ~ the sierras, family and home

these were some of the things that filled our year in twenty eleven. it's difficult to choose just one photo and one line to describe a month, or even a day. and though losing my mom has been the hardest thing in my life, tonight when chuck and i went out to dinner we agreed it was indeed a year to be thankful for, with the blessings of good health, good friends, much loved family, one little dog and adventures too, we hope for the new year to be more of these things, for all. cheers and welcome twenty twelve.
love, lori xxx

cold cold river and my rose

thank you very much for the kind comments on snowy mountains, this then is part two (and last of our adventure)...

mt. whitney is the largest summit in the contiguous united states, with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m). this time though, we didn't come to inyo county to visit the mountain. our plans were going to take place at the base instead. but with a mountain range this spectacular, it was nearly impossible to keep those granite peaks out of my cameras viewfinder. it is always changing, and always astonishing.



the purpose of this trip was to get photos of standup paddleboarding on the owens river. the kids were asked to do this in their swim suits. i don't know if it's easily visible, but parts of this river were frozen. luckily, the weather cooperated and the day was sunny and still, no wind. here are chuck's models, smiling when they were done, even with frozen toes. thanks so much kyle & vanessa. i took the sort of safer route and went out in the kayak instead (my feet still turning to ice). photos of chuck and i paddling by my son kyle. good job dear son. and thank you honey for another epic adventure   :)

*  *  *

and...my youngest, the last of my five, turned twenty one today. i found a bakery that lives near her in brooklyn, nyc. and they awesomely delivered this darling cake in the morning, which surprised her and made her laugh. and prevented me from crying (too much) about not being with her. well, and also, she'll be home in only three days. oh my girl. happy happy birthday dear hannah rose. love mama.

(cell phone photo of yummy cake, sent by happy birthday girl)

snowy mountains

in the shadow of the majestic sierra nevada mountains, in a tiny rustic motel,  i am typing this post. dear friends, back at home we experienced a problem with our internet provider, and so we've  been out of service for the last three days. i've missed blog visiting and emailing (and trips to ravelry), but i'm hoping to get time to catch up tonight. this motel we arrived at last night, might lack in certain amenities for some, but it has wi fi, so hurray!

do you see that river in the top photo? we are here to get photos there this weekend for an assignment chuck has. my son and daughter in love met us up here today. hurray again! we popped into an outdoor store on our way to dinner tonight and spotted a baby in a box, unfortunately, she was not for sale (but i did get some christmas shopping completed, excited). there is snow here, up on the mountain, that is really very very exciting too.

chuck's cowl was a replacement for the one i recently made, this one fits much better. he's very happy with it. he reports it kept him warm this morning in the freezing wind and chill. knit on a super bulky wool, with size fifteen needles, it was finished by the time we arrived to the snowy mountains. ravelry notes here.
joining (belatedly) with small things yarnalong.