Spring Cheer

It's still windy/breezy today after last night's window shaking gusts but there is blue skies and sunshine. I finished a couple more knitting projects and the keyword will be COLOR.

The first item is something I've knit many times and it still is lots of fun and quick. The fun factor is the unexpected color combinations that I get from knitting from 2 different colors of yarn. Then add in that each ball has its own unique color sequences which makes each scarf special.  I present the Noro Striped Scarf which I shall be thrilled to wear when the chill comes. Oh wait, it's here now!

My next project is a new one to me. I have lots of acrylic yarn which has its purpose and it's come a long way with softer textures. I have too much but it does come in handy especially when I found a pattern to use up all my leftovers. The pattern is called Tribbles and it is a scrubber for dishes or counters. I gave it a try even though using it on dishes had me wondering about general cleanliness and care. Enough people on Ravelry raved about them so I thought I'd go for it. People had drawers full of them so each day they'd pull out a clean one for the day. Throw them in the wash and you're done.

I made the one for now and I'll test it out soon. I am making more...I like the idea of reusing, reduce and recycling. Even Tyler had a project that had to use items around the house so we made a bird feeder out of a empty milk jug, some takeout wood chopsticks (unused) and string. So don't be surprised if you receive a Tribble to try out! Like I said, I have a LOT of yarn!

California Chill

It still feels like winter with the chilly windy weather this week. So here are some more pictures.
Seriously, Mammoth in the Sierra Nevada is still getting snow! One part of the resort will be open until July 4th so for the first time, I'm gonna go up and see how the spring/summer snowboarding will be.

There is always ice skating. I have to keep myself busy since my personal hockey dreams have ended for the season. Hmmm, I'm still trying to convince Joshua to try ice hockey.

Finished projects

I finished my first lace shawl! Since I have tons of socks yarn that is what I used for this simple shawl.

Pretty mix of pale blue and gray. I will call it Gaia because that is the name of the yarn I used. I bought this locally spun and dyed yarn while in Victoria, BC. It's nice to have a garment to remind me of a memorable trip.

I used my Joann's gift card to buy an umbrella swift and blocking wires. Believe me, you don't want to know. The wires are long thin wires that you insert into your knitting after it's washed to block it to the correct dimensions then pinned down to hold it in place while the piece dries. Hector is very sweet and doesn't yell when my yarn and knitting take over the family room. :)

Finished mosaic socks from The Loopy Ewe sock club. This pair has been mailed to a dear childhood friend. The blues, purples, yellow and green and quite cheerful and spring-like.

These guys aren't quite finished yet but I like how they're turning out. I love how the straw looks like it is going up Tyler's nose.

Game 6 tonight

This is what Game 3 looked like in downtown LA.

Everyone was rooting for the Kings...like Magic.

and Oscar De La Hoya.

Even though we won that game 3, we are now down 3-2 in the series and must win the final two games to advance in the Stanley Cup playoffs. If we lose tonight we are out. Since my BIL Carlos is in town, I offered my ticket to him so he and Hector can go. I will be cheering the Kings on at home. Go Kings Go!!

Yee Haw, it's a rodeo

I'm trying to make and upload the videos I have stored on my Flip. I will add the youtube link because sometimes the video doesn't show up on Facebook. The link will be all my videos so you can enjoy them over and over and over. Heh.
So here is the infamous bike rodeo....

Vancouver

Here is a video of our first day in Vancouver (part 1). Believe it or not, I'm still uploading video from February. It doesn't help that I keep adding more. This is just a mish mash of that crazy, super long day but to see the USA mens hockey team play was really exciting. :) It was awesome.

It might not make much sense but it was pretty crazy there and we had very little sleep. Lupe says something inappropriate on video which I can't make out or remember but we had fun. Muhhhh-der was mentioned which was the "inside code word" of the trip. :)
More hockey footage later.

Snow to Surf

Now I take you from the cold mountains of Mammoth to the warm sunny beach.

Jumping over the waves never gets old.

A view of Palos Verdes.

Hanging with friends.

Digging a huge rock out of the surf and rolling it up the beach is bonding stuff.

We had a great time and even saw a pod of dolphins frolicking. We gathered seashells and Tyler even found some sea glass. I'm already looking forward to summer and more time at the beach.

Japadog

Yum, this video makes me want one.

More Mammoth

Joshua and his ninja impression.

The kids wait in the tubing station while Hector runs to get cash. If you ever go to Sledz in Mammoth, it's CASH only.

Getting their tubes...a guy hooks the loop on a tow rope which drags the tube and hopefully you up the hill to the halfpipe.

Video later.

Oooooh, butterflies!

Since I'm on the subject of vacations, here is one from February.

Black Cherry

I finally finished my Kool-Aid dyed socks. I kinda lagged with my sock knitting but this Mammoth trip was exactly what I needed to get my sock mojo back.

Tyler was very sweet to model them for me even though they're bright red/pink. Also who knew that child's feet got so big? Yikes, they are probably equal to women's 7-8 right now. They do look pretty (the socks). The pattern is faceted rib and I would definitely do some more but of course, I have other socks on needles waiting for some knitting attention.

Mammoth Mini-Break

We took our annual spring break trip to Mammoth although it was a bit earlier than the kids' official spring break. No matter, the weather was definitely not spring-like. We also left super early Thursday morning which not our usual time. This was my ultra brilliant idea to leave early so we could actually ski too that same day. So we left at 4:30am after going to bed around midnight. Ugh. Oh yeah, it was raining too. Even though it was a pain to leave that early, it was nice to get out of LA and miss all the awful traffic that gets worse during rain. By the time we reached Mojave, the sun started peeking out.

We arrived in Mammoth around 9:45am and we stopped 3 times. It was pretty sweet. Then our hotel Best Western allowed us to check in at 10:00 am which was even sweeter. Hector took the kids to get their skiis and I was allowed to rest for 30 minutes.
We headed over to the main lodge and skiied the beginners lifts to warm up. Did I mention how cold it was? Brr. It was around 30* and then add some strong 20 mph winds. The clouds started coming in and snow began to fall. We skiied for a few runs but the combination of the early drive, cold winds and exercise began to wear on us. I did manage to go down the beginner terrain park where there are some boxes and rails for people to try with small 1-2 foot jumps/ ramps. In all my years of going to Mammoth, I've never tried these. Well, this is the year. Yep, I went down and chose a little jump. And landed. Upright. Woo hoo. I even got some air! It felt huge like a foot but Hector says it was more like 3 inches. :) Whatever.

If you go to Mammoth and decide to stay in a hotel, try the Best Western. Indoor pool, full complimentary breakfast buffet, flat screen TVs and our room had a Jacuzzi tub which the kids and I loved.

More later on our trip. Tubing was done.

Home

Some sky pictures from January. We came out of basketball practice to see the light on the clouds. It's nice to be home.

Mammoth was really fun. Unusually cold weather for spring but hey, that's half the fun. We even had light snow every night. We had a great time skiing/snowboarding. The amount of snowfall this season was more than normal (thanks el nino) so we all had fun. Snowball fights, tubing and even meeting up with Veronica and her family for some skiing. Sore muscles, good food and we even checked out some properties in Mammoth. I need start playing the Lotto more...

More pictures and video later....