Beach Knitting

KAS modeling my 2008 garter stitch stole which I finished while sitting on the beach.


Saturday was spent at New Brighton State Beach just south of Santa Cruz with KAS, EAS and their parents. Their mother had planned this for last weekend but then we had that freak rain early last Saturday morning. The forecast was for possible showers throughout the day, so we decided to cancel. At the time we thought we had probably missed the boat, that the fine weather could not possibly continue for another week. But surprisingly enough, it did. We arrived just before noon and it was beautifully sunny with no wind. Then we spotted the fog building down by Monterey. It crept slowly north, then another patch started creeping south from Santa Cruz. By 2pm, we were socked in; no sun but no wind either, so it wasn't too cold. The fog didn't deter other people either. They just kept coming until the beach was really quite crowded.



Leo got the last of our salami.

We left about 3 o'clock and drove up to Capitola to Judy's Sewing Center. I had heard that they carry the new Janome quilting foot and bobbin holder, which are supposed to make free motion quilting easier and better looking. However, it turned out that they only had them at the parent store in Scotts Valley. By this time I really didn't want to go home without, so we drove over to Scotts Valley and bought both. I'm anxious to try them out - hopefully tomorrow.



By the time we got back to Highway One we were getting hungry again, so decided to go home via Moss Landing and get a bowl of clam chowder at Phil's. They make the best! There were signs all over the place saying that the Food Network will be filming there on 10/26 and 10/27 .
Their website says that the episode will be shown on Nov. 19 at 4am. I don't know why the early hour but I'm sure it'll be shown again and again.






Husband also ordered a cannolli for dessert. I think he's had his eye on this item for a long time but usually is too full after his meal to even think about dessert. But tonight he planned ahead.

Don't forget your free taco at Taco Bell - Tuesday October 28 from 2pm till 6pm!

Mom's 101st Party

The big day actually isn't until next Thursday but this was the weekend we could get everybody together. All five of her great grandchildren were there as well as two of her great-nephews and a great-great-nephew.

It was a surprise until the guests started arriving; then she caught on right away.





Mom had a lot of help opening her gifts. She doesn't see too well, so EAS read all her cards to her.
TCB borrowed a little video camera from my nephew and flitted around recording all the activity, with a running commentary. Unfortunately, she didn't realize that the camera needs to be moved slowly, so most of the video is just a blur. But we all really enjoyed watching her in action.









Amongst all the activity, there was time for some deep thought; or else there was something really interesting going on out in the street.












This is the end of Clue 5 on MS4. There are about 50 rows to knit in Clue 6 and then the first half will be complete.

The weather in SF was cool but very clear, no fog even at sundown. This is Fleet Week in the City and the Blue Angels were performing. We actually heard them flying at one point. I don't think they went over the house but they are so loud that you can hear them even when they're not very close.


Last night the low temp was in the upper thirties. Very unusual for early October.

Seize the Day

This morning the Husband came back from walking Leo and suggested that we drive up to Fremont Peak.
I had planned to spend most of the day sewing - EAS wants a lizard costume for Halloween and I've committed to making it for her, so I suggested that we do it another day. But then the Husband made a comment about what a beautiful day it was and that set me to thinking about how often we put off doing things and lose the perfect moment forever.

So I decided to leave the costume for tomorrow and we took off right after lunch. The valleys were hazy but the sky above was the most beautiful blue.


One of the things we wanted to do was to check out the campsites. I've never been camping but we do have a tent, sleeping bags and a camp stove, and I've been talking about trying it at least once before I'm too old. Fremont Peak State Park is close enough to home that, if I chicken out in the middle of the night, we could be back in my own bed pretty quickly.

However, I think that if we do choose Fremont Peak, it won't be in summer or early fall - the deer flies were awful today!

It was very quiet up there. We saw only one campsite in use and only one other couple visiting as we were.









Finally got a photo of the Green Eyelet socks I finished the other day. I can't believe what a perfect fit they are. The basic pattern was the Universal Toe-up Sock pattern from Knitty.com.

The eyelet pattern was from Wendy Johnson's Double Eyelet Rib Socks.

I finished Clue 5 on Mystery Stole 4 tonight. Clue 6 comes out on Friday. We were still watching Bones when I finished, so I started working on the Purple Pattern socks. I've completed about 5 inches, so I tried them on and the fit looks good. The yarn is Lion Brand Magic Stripes and is a bit thicker that what I usually use, but I'm still using size 0 needles with 48 stitches around.

County Fair

Granddaughter EAS spent Friday night at our house and this morning Gpa took her to see "Beverly Hill Chihuahua" which was a big hit with both of them. Then we all drove out to Bolado Park for the San Benito County Fair. After a quick hot dog for lunch we headed straight for the barn section so that EAS could get her animal fix. She saw the horses, the cavies (which you and I would call Guinea Pigs), the cows and sheep and finally the rabbits and fowl.





I sat outside the Rabbit/Poultry building with Leo since we didn't think the bunnies and chicks would take kindly to a rat terrier in their midst.
I think EAS was most impressed with the turkeys. I'm not sure she had ever seen one except on the table at Thanksgiving.













After we did the barn area, we headed for the commercial building where there are always lots of free things. The children always love this part of the fair - all the pencils, fans, candy and little doodads they could want, even bags to carry everything in.


This is where we ran into cousin David who was manning the Pinnacles National Monument exhibit while the ranger was taking a break. Doesn't he look distinguished with his new beard?

EAS and I visited the Quilt exhibit but, while there were many nice quilts, there was nothing really exciting. I couldn't even choose a favorite. Maybe I was spoiled by last week's show in Morgan Hill but this one was very disappointing. It's not that the quilts were bad, just not inspiring.


We had some rain during the night and lots of clouds most of the day but we managed to avoid any rain while we were at the Fair. There was plenty of mud though. Usually it's all dust, so this made a nice change.

I finished my green eyelet socks this morning and started on a pair of self-striping socks this evening. I'm using a very easy pattern, so these should go pretty quickly.

Rain on the Way

The first storm of the season is reportedly heading our way. This KSBW webcam photo from Fremont Peak definitely shows "precursor" clouds. It seems like it's been a very long time since we had any rain - at least since last March or April. However, this is very early for the fall storms, so I won't be too surprised if it just fizzles out. Disappointed, yes, because I really love rain.
But, on the other hand, this is County Fair weekend, so I won't be that disappointed.



This is the end of Clue 4 on Mystery Stole 4. Clue 5, which was released this morning, has 48 rows which will take us to row 232. Then I have to knit the same thing all over again and graft the two pieces together with the Kitchener stitch. So, considering it will probably have taken me a little less than 4 weeks to do this much, I should have this baby ready to block by Halloween. So far it's been a pretty fast knit but sometimes the boredom factor can set in when I'm doing the same thing twice. Sort of like second sock syndrome.

Speaking of which, I am just about finished with the green eyelet socks - only seven more rows of ribbing to do on the second sock and they are ready to wear. I started them in January but had to frog a couple of times due to size issues. This time I have a winner, I hope.