back in the mix

and now back to photography...

These mushrooms have popped up in our neighbor's yard last week so it's been interesting to see the growth and decay of them. Today I decided to dust off my DSLR and macro lens to get back into a groove.

Lots of cool little nuances and textures in these little shrooms. The gardeners are coming today so this was my last time to get really up close to them.

It rained yesterday and by rain, I mean that it was basically trace amounts. Enough to get the cars wet but not enough to rinse all the dirt completely off.

Flight plan

Another great weekend especially since the kids got Monday off. Hector and Tyler were invited lunch on Sunday at Catalina island with Roger & Glenn. Tyler has known Glenn since kindergarten and they've become great friends in middle school. Roger has a small plane and has been flying since he was 16. This the first time, Hector & Tyler has flown in a Cessna so both were very excited.
























They flew about 15 minutes to Catalina island where they landed, had lunch and short hike. I can't really say any more about it since I didn't go with them but I know they had a special time. Thanks to Roger and Glenn for the fun day!

Walkabout

On Sunday, the kids and I had to drop off my mom's car to her and we decided to walk home. H was really sick so we enjoyed our 2.5 mile walk home. These are some of the photos that I took along the way.

Arrow socks

Trying to get WIPs done and in order to do that, I finished my Arrow socks. Round of  applause.

Love this yarn which is going on my ever growing short list of great yarns. Super soft yet durable with some sheen and great stitch definition. :) All very important factors.





I think I have about 3 more pairs on the needles so I need to get going on them. The 2014 Winter Olympics are coming up so I will have some knitting time in front of the TV. :)

Off the Needles

I'm definitely knitting but way behind in photographing them. My mom's car was acting up for the past 2 weeks so we finally put it in the shop for repairs where it has been for the past week. That means my mom needs transportation and I'm the chauffeur which is good and bad. I'm learning patience, haven't got it but trying... So this week has been daily trips to grocery store and the doctor's office since this was the week where my mom had scheduled eye surgery. The good news is that her car is ready although we want to limit her driving so we shall see how this goes.

Okay, back to knitting. I'm currently working on a sock project from the Cookie A sock yarn club which is fantastic. The December pattern Arrow has jump started my sock knitting again and I'm at the foot so almost complete. The club yarn is by Tanis Fiber which is fabulous. It's kind of funny how much I've learned over these years about sock yarn. Words/terms like MCN (merino, cashmere, nylon blend) & twist all contribute to the fabric of the sock. This yarn is MCN which I read some knitters do not like to use for socks because some do not hold up well but here is where the twist part comes in. I can't get all technical because I won't describe it accurately but I know enough that this yarn will be durable and extra soft/squishy. I can't stop petting it. I do know that I want to buy more and see how it all comes out. Maybe a scarf...

Now the Arrow pattern is textured and easily memorized. Josh guessed the name of the pattern just by looking at my socks. :) I'm so close to finishing but I got a tad sidetracked with a hat. That was a great leftover stashbusting type project called Scrappy Gems Fair Isle hat.




I must stay focused on my socks so I can get to other projects waiting in the wings. 

Meanwhile, I'm obsessed with this T-shirt I thought Tyler might like (he does) and I love saying this because it cracks me up...





Have a great weekend!

Best of 2013

I'm compiling a best of 2013 list since this is the time of year for that (although I'm a tad late).

Note: these are my own personal picks and if you disagree, well tough...make your own list on your blog. ;)

1. Best song. I have two that I've already posted before but I do really like them a lot so it's a tie.





2. Best knit project: Always hard to pick but I have to say that this project got the most responses and feedback. Suddenly, everyone wanted one begging me to knit them one. Well, I managed to knit 2 of them and even my sweet hubby loved it. :)

Epic Vi-Kings beard hats.

With this picture, I won a meet and greet with a Kings player, Jeff Carter who is pretty easy on the eyes. :)

 Cleans up nicely. 

 

Yarny goodness.

Stranded socks

These socks came in a close second for the 2013. I test knit (my first time) for the designer and I love them. :)


3. Travel: 2013 had us travelling from one end of the USA to other (Kauai and Florida). That was a fun experience and it wasn't all in one trip, thank goodness!
Each place had their own merits and we loved both places.

Morning at Kauai.

Epcot.

4. Photography. Lots of new challenges for me to break out of my comfort zone and learn. Too many favorite photos to share but looking forward to more in 2014.

Plus a whole lot more!

2014: Starts now!

A whirlwind 2013 holiday season and hopefully settles down to a brand new year 2014!

It didn't help that our family of four came down with varying degrees of cold/cough/fever but we are over the worst of it. Tyler and I finally got our flu shots today.

Lots of things to focus on like my usual knitting and photography amongst many things on my list. I developed a roll of film about a month ago and was pleasantly shocked to see that I double exposed the roll. So what we see is a mix of Kauai and California.

can you see the ocean view? rotate it.

Josh among some clouds.

Another Los Angeles/Kauai mish mash.

Pine cone/Spouting horn

That was fun although at the time I had no idea that this was happening but it is still kind of cool.

Another fun thing, was practice taking portraits. With babies & children & other people!! Normally I would be freaked out but luckily my models were very good friends which made it easier.