Such Sweet Hands

Having spent the first 15 years of my life livng in a windy and thunderstormy sort of place, today’s windy weather made me feel right at home. Where I’m from this is how March is supposed to be: shiney bright sun with huge gusts of wind that come out of nowhere. If only the barometric pressure would have dropped and things sat still for a couple of minutes. Not that I’m wishing a tornado on Los Angeles, but sometimes I miss that tingly feeling you get when you breathe in that eerie air that warns of one. Maybe it’s just time for a springtime visit back home.

This is the view from the courtyard. Poor recently bloomed plants! There are petals everywhere!

Honestly, Monday was a tough day.  I worked hard, felt sick, had one of those identity crisis where one spends the afternoon tallying ones worth.  I worked some more and then I indulged in 3 hours of the final episodes of Six Feet Under.  Damn, that final segment is simply breathtaking and a good antidote to the afternoon’s troubles.  I love a show that kills off all it’s major characters with such grace…

I didn’t feel much like taking pictures, but that’s the nice thing about flowers.  When I moved to Southern California I knew any trying mental state could always get a reprieve thanks to the flowers.  I feel like a spoiled girl getting to live on this courtyard  full of roses and calla lilies.

Two Sundays in a row we’ve gone to Cha Cha Cha. Last week it was brunch before Felted Circuits class and this week it was early dinner after class. It’s simply one of the yummiest and most satisfying places. And who can refuse decor that is so colorful, with strings of lights and and all sorts of interesting altars. These last two visits we’ve been seated by a new piece in honor of our mayor.  I noticed it makes a lot of people smile…

This is Twilight. On my 8th birthday I came down with a fever at school and was sent home. I sprawled out in my mom’s huge bed and fell asleep watching teevee. I spent the day zoning in and out, falling asleep and waking up. It felt like The Beastmaster was on HBO the entire afternoon. Then I woke up, just after it had gone dark outside. The lamp at the side of Mom’s bed was on, and Twilight was standing there under the lamp. She was a gift from my brother.

I was already a seasoned lover of unicorns. But, she was my first My Little Pony, they were still pretty new. I loved her and as my My Little Pony set up grew, she stayed the favorite one. She stood out from the other My Little Ponies and existed outside of the stable playset the rest of the ponies lived in.  She just always seems to belong wherever I am.

She’s one of those things that has traveled with me through several moves, always kept out in the open on a desk or shelf.

Yeah, I totally *heart* My Little Ponies.  How could I not?  They’re the perfect intersection of girly things, magical horses, with manes and tails to brush and decorate with special clips and ribbons!

We have here a rather boring picture, but that is much of what I’ve been up to.  Switching between rather tedious work and sorting out the stuff in my office.  A quick snap of the view from my desk at that moment.  I have too much stuff…

You might see the shadows cast on the wall by the chandelier, I love those shadows.

There’s no way around it. If I’m going to share a glimpse of the daily events of my life for a month, pizza eventually comes up. Not so much because of me, but because of Rob, my pizza loving sweetie. That’s him, with our friend Maiteeny, her passion for food and finding new places to try is only matched by Rob’s adoration of a great pizza. She tried out this new place, Vito’s, the night before and called us with a review so glowey we had to return with her the next day.

Most places don’t succeed at adding fresh veggies to a pizza. Things end up wet and sloppy. But this place makes a tasty spinach and ricotta pie. The ricotta is sweet and creamy, it really adds something…  Being able to order a slice of something veggie is a nice counterpoint to all those slices I get of Rob’s standard favorite: pepperoni and mushrooms, as seen above.

Breaking from the mold of photos being froma specific date, I’m posting one from last fall because this just came out!

You’ve already seen pictures of the bag here. And it’s predecessor here. And you’ll be hearing more about it later. I’ll be telling you all about every step of making these bags.

This is the “Versatile Wrap Top”. Wear it wrapped in back, wrapped in front. Wrapped snug or drapey and slouchey. Wear it open like a vest… the list goes on. And yeah, there are stringy bits hanging in this photo… This reminds me to finish my own, I really want to wear it!

I love both of these patterns and can’t wait to see folks make and love them too.

I’m constantly amused at how the granny afghan is a staple for setting a cozy, middle American household scene in film and television. Teaching crochet also kept me in with grannies. It doesn’t matter what kind of rep the grannies have had, people never stopped wanting to learn how to make this square. As much as it’s tackier uses has scared others from crochet, it has also continued to bring people to crochet.

So far I’ve only made bags using grannies. And now I have a vision, a blankie for my office. I can see it draped across my chair. It will keep me warm, it will brighten my room. It will clear at least two shelf cubbies worth of yarn! Maybe?

I’ve a ton of Organic and Dyed Cotton from Blue Sky Alpacas as well as quite a bit of Cotton Chenille from Crystal Palace. You may not know this, but these two yarns play beautifully with each other. It’s some kind of interyarncompanyspecies serendipity. This first little square starts off with dyed cotton, the 2nd round is cotton chenille, and the 3rd is organic cotton. Don’t they look made for each other? So I’ve piled up the yarns, I’ve made a few little squarelets, and I’m envisioning the finished blanket.

A fancy 3 course meal with wine pairing…  la dee daaa!

The meal included a fresh crab “salad” with enoki mushrooms and cucumbers.  The most I’ve ever enjoyed crab.  An amuse bouche of Strawberry Gazpacho.  My mouth was amused…  Then there was the soft poached egg served in shell amidst layers of cream and honey.  So soothing and yummy.  Gluttonous dining at it’s most civilized.

And yeah, those little tarts are soooo teeny tiny, but man they were so yummy.  I walked away from that meal totally full, but not stuffed.  Quite satisfying.

Another day, another picture of a friend’s baby.  This is Miles, he’s got the wildest head of hair and the way with the ladies too.

Note:  I fudged on my photo a day rule here.  Although I’ve been posting late, I’ve been using photos from each actual date.  This photo was taken on Saturday.  On sunday I carried around a camera with a dead battery… brilliant.