MAIL CALL!
A very large envelope showed up in the mail this week. Friend
Valerie (recovering from surgery so wish her well!) had made herself a vest that did not fit. I thought it might fit me so up it came from San Diego. Alas, it did not. But! It was a pretty good fit for hubby. He will get a lot of use from it when the cold weather comes. It's coming, right? We've flipped back into heat again which is just strange for mid October.
I am making good progress on my
Mama Bear sweater. I've got one sleeve done and a bit on the second. It's a very nice pattern and I love the Malabrigo worsted a great deal. I think I will get a lot of use out of this garment. The colorway is very apt, SFO Sky. If you lived in or around San Francisco you'd see the sky be this color most of the summer. To quote Mark Twain, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco". Be wise, carry a coat when you visit and a scarf and hat.
We have company from Boston coming in two weeks. Well, actually more in the realm of visitors since we are only meeting up "in town" for a few hours for lunch and a hike. Hubby and I drove out to Auburn to scope out a possible hike. We did one and a bit. The first was in full sun and not very interesting with too much traffic noise despite being not far from a river so we turned tail and headed back towards the shade. The second went out to an old limestone quarry that was much more to our liking.
Along with a great view of the river there were the remains of some quarry buildings and a tunnel that I assume goes far back into the mountainside.
There was an almost icy breeze blowing out behind the gate. We stood there for some time trying to cool down.
Hubby pointed out what a good picture this would make. What we think was probably a loading dock in front of the quarry entrance. That's a fig tree to the upper left.
There was some nice wildlife.
It was 90F/32C and we were well toasted. A very small dog was happy to finally get back to the car and snooze on the way home. Never fear, I had his water bowl with me along with nice doggie snacks.
GARDEN HOO HA
Yet another photo of the pineapple sage. Can you blame me?
Probably the last red rose.
Do not fall asleep. The Pod Creatures from The Invasion of the Body Snatches will surely get you. A seed pod (or two) from a climbing vine, Akebia quinata. My trusty Sunset guide says the fruit is edible. Yeah, right. Let me know, I'll mail them to you.
If you were here you would hear me laughing. I just turned around because I saw something out of the corner of my eye and it is yet another lizard looking for a way out of this cat infested hellhole. They are everywhere! Darting back under the fridge, on screens trying desperately to get out, under the stove. Some have tails, some do not. Some are alive, some are not. It's a jungle here.
IT'S IN THE MAIL.
HONEST.
In this case it really is. A gift FO. Photos soon (and I am really pleased with it).
I continue to work on various patterns. I frogged the few inches I did of the hubby vest because it was too big. Try again. I cast on for Multnomah, a gift for a friend I will see in December. So far it is an easy pattern though it seems very small. I have completed the body and am about to start the edging section where I must pay more attention. Wish me luck with that.
Traveling Woman (along with Man, and dog, and two cats).
We took a short RV trip to Lassen where I managed to not take a single photograph. Suffice to say that it was gorgeous, it being Lassen after all. It also rained on the way there and it was snowing from Bumpass Hell, over the Summit and down the other side. It was cold. Omar shivered. I shivered. Hubby was stoic but I think he shivered when no one was looking.
We decided to take The Squeakers. Opal was less than pleased though. She spent a lot of time in one of the overhead compartments but after awhile she came down and sat in my lap. Olive was a trooper. Hey, there is still food and laps, what could be so bad?
After passing through Lassen we headed to Birney Falls. I had never seen them - and they did not disappoint.
Garden Stuff
The last wave of heat ripened a lot of tomatoes. We are now well into Fall with cool mornings and nights. There was a little rain and some thunderstorms. Yesterday hubby got his big brush out and cleaned the wood burning stove including the chimney. Time for a nice fire to take off the chill.
Pretty much everywhere you look you see female preying mantis. They are looking hard for a little C & C. That being Copulate and Consume. A girl has to do what a girl has to do. Hey sailor, new in town?
The very tall Cosmos bloomed at long last making some gorgeous color in the rather run down garden. Cosmos generally grow to 3' to 5'. These are more in the 7' to 9'. Not that I'm complaining.
I was sitting in the front window this morning and noticed this rather lovely shadow.
MY MUSICAL WEEKEND
Last weekend I headed over to Sebastopol for the 16th annual Celtic Festival. While not having gone to each and every one I have made it to most of them, and most of the time with my dear friends, Kimberly and Marion. They are a joy to party with.
In a rare fit of plan-ahead-itis. I started knitting gift shawls months ago. (Bakersfield in red, Saroyan in grey.) They were a big hit.
We had lots and lots of fun. It was far too hot though and sadly, the festival is going downhill. Smaller attendance, fewer vendors, cutbacks all around. It's been a great yearly meetup but we decided it was time for us to branch out and find another venue to go party at next year. Suggestions? We're willing to travel.
A close up of Saroyan done on size 1's in tosh sock "Graphite".
As usual, the Towel Man was there dancing to the music. No one seems to know who he is and when it came down to it I decided I didn't want to spoil the mystery. I took a video of him dancing and of some of the groups. With luck I'll figure out how to edit them and post them soon.
When not at the festival listening to music while knitting I could be seen sitting in the hotel room, knitting. (And, what am I knitting? The yarn is Codex from The Sanguine Gryphon in the colorway, Jane Bennet and the finished item - and it is now finished - will be mailed to Toronto soon. Stay tuned for photos after the recipient has received it.)
I had hoped to get down to Petaluma to visit Knitterly but we couldn't face getting back into the car and sitting in rush hour traffic on a Friday.
Something totally different
A totally unposed photo of Ollie and hubby zonked out together. All together now...awwwww.
Garden Stuff
Things were cooling down. Then things got hot again. At least the nights are cooler. The heat has been great for the tomatoes but I am really ready for cold weather.
A flower arrangement with some scabiosa grown from my friend Elaine's seeds via Berkeley. Included are a few pieces of Dusty Miller and some Cosmos.
Japanese anemone.
A sure sign of Fall. The pineapple sage has started to bloom.
