Sometimes I Stun Myself

I can't believe that in 2 years after starting up knitting and learning all I can that I knit and produced these babies...began on March 31,2009 and completed April 13, 2009. I used the Embossed Leaves pattern but I'll call this pair Honey Mustard.

It helps soooo much to have this macro lens...thanks to my darling Hector.

Seriously it makes all the difference in the world in showing the details.

I totally see this as an entry in the fair...I want to knit more but I'll just admire these for now!

More Zoo

More stuff from the zoo and I think I took about 300 pictures. The playful otter was so cool swimming up to the wall then kind ran up the wall and did backflips. The otter did the same routine all along the wall. Don't they look like they just enjoy life?
This otter decided to come out and pose on the stump...only later did I discover that it peed.

And pooped...

Another alligator with some very impressive teeth.

On a knitting side note: almost done with a pair of socks (Embossed Leaves) which are looking pretty awesome. I'm now debating whether to give them to Josh's teacher for Teacher Appreciation week or save them to enter the fair...

The Monkey socks are 65% finished so maybe these can be the gift socks....I might have to take a survery.

Zoo

We took an outing to the LA zoo today....Hector and I haven't been there in years!!! Maybe since elementary school. I though maybe because it was Easter that it would be empty but I was wrong. Oh well, we bought a family pass so we can go back again this year. The weather was very nice and mild although the kids complained about the hills and smell (come on, we are at the zoo!).

I took lots of pictures and tried at times to use manual focus although I need to remember my monopod. Some came out and a lot didn't but it's all practice and learning for me. The tigers were my favorite and all four of them were pretty active so we must have arrived at a good time. The giraffes are also very cool since I don't have to deal with shooting through plexiglass or wires cages.

Here are some of my favorites of the day....

Reggie the infamous alligator that was finally caught about 4 miles from where we live...

Very vibrant flamingoes.

Gorgeous tiger.

Sweet giraffe.

I'm looking forward to going back soon and taking more pictures.

Winter, uh I mean Spring Break continued...

Although we had winter weather during our spring break, we had loads of fun. I wasn't taken totally off-guard since I check the weather at Mammoth before we head up. The first day skiing was awesome, temps in the low 50's which is pretty warm. I snowboard with Tyler while Hector is with Josh...Tyler and I go all over the mountain since it's mostly intermediate runs.

The second day was still blue skies and sunshine although cooler then the colds started blowing in. That night, snow began falling and continued through the night. Wednesday was our day off from the mountain which was a good thing since there was gusty winds and snow. Not fun. Another friend and her family arrived on Wednesday and went skiing. They said it was not fun.

Instead I took the kids just outside the condo to play in the snow. There is a dismantled tennis court so Josh discovered running then sliding along the court. Plenty of snow to make snow angels and romp. They had a great time. For the rest of the week, every morning gave them fresh snow to play in.

Overall, the week was great! Fresh powder to snowboard in is pretty fantastic. A good way to end the season...I had fun taking pictures of the kids so maybe this summer, we will come back to explore and absorb nature!! :)

Spring Break My Foot!

On the kids' spring break, we usually head to Mammoth mountain for a ski/snowboard week. This year because we have season passes, we've been up there 3-4 times and have been fortunate to have awesome weather...even in December/January which is winter. So we're at April...springtime...but Mother nature decided to give us a day & a half of spring weather then bombard us with 2 days of gusty winds and 10 inches of snow!! This is the first time the kids have experienced these kind of conditions. :) The good news is that the kids were able to play with lots of fresh snow...I'll upload the whole series on Flickr later....

Josh has been fascinated with cameras lately so I let him play around with my little point and shoot Canon. :)

Are You Ready for This?

Ooooh, luscious chocolate cake (from Kings Hawaiian bakery). A week off of school!!!

Cute Easter bunnies...

We're off to Mammoth for our spring break vacation. Five days of snowboarding and skiing with plenty of fun along the way.... no blog updates unless there is an internet connection.

But there will plenty of pictures and video next time for sure!!! Happy Spring!!

April Socks

Spring has arrived!! My birthday present arrived a week early...a totally awesome 100mm macro lens from Hector! I took these pictures on my walk home from the school.
Well, whaddya know? Socks are blooming too! I finished these beauties last night so I had to show and tell. The yarn is a super soft alpaca Knitpicks Imagination in Wicked Witch. This is a prime example of using my toe-up technique since I had a limited amount of yarn. I still had leftovers but it's all good. I made the leg shorter since the sock seems narrow and I'll need to find someone with skinny legs about a ladies size 6.

Also I want to point out my new flickr badge which took me about a hour to find where to create and post that on this blog. Hint: it's under tools. Duh...