Wait and then hurry up....

Sometimes we have to hurry up and wait, and wait and wait, but for me this week was the opposite. It started out as an easy week with clients - Monday was a new client meeting with billable time and a future date to contract with them for a particular project, Tuesday I was at a client's office where I shared an office with a sick person who should have stayed home (OK, that was bad), at home yesterday preparing dinner for friends, cleaning, doing errands but I got confirmation from a new client in Fremont (!), and today a huge project that had me working 9.75 hours. At least I got to work on it from home.


Yesterday I went to the doctor because when I sit at my desk my arm hurts. As suspected, it's a muscle/tendon. I wanted confirmation that that was the problem (I had it about a month ago and it went away, and Will JUST asked me earlier this week how it was, and the day after I responded "fine" it came back). Short of changing my whole setup, I wanted to know if there are exercises I can do, which there are.


It's been cold here - we even lit a nice big fire and turned the chairs and TV around so we could sit by the fire and see the TV.

Sometimes are cats are smart, and sometimes they are just cats. All three were in the office with us today. Mowry is about to leave but Alex looks pretty happy.

This is actually Alex sleeping in his favorite spot - that's the DVD player digging into his neck (to the right). This looks very uncomfortable.

Cinders prefers to be curled up on the desk near electronics, but not on them.And Mowry is all curled up on the towel behind my monitor. Sometimes I forget he's there, but then he'll meow if I move quickly. We're off to LA tomorrow. Have a nice weekend.

Wet and Windy

It's been raining most of the week, but the workers who were fixing sidewalks lifting from trees were out there yesterday right before it started raining.

It's not as cold as it is in Durango, CO. It doesn't look real, but as you can see from the date stamp, this was yesterday morning in Durango. Cousins Traci and Mike live a bit out of the main town, so I can imagine they had even more snow.

When it rains in California, the hills get beautifully green. This is the back and side of my LYS (local yarn store, for my non-knitting readers).

I promised not to complain about the cold, proclaiming one hot day last summer that I'd rather be cold because you can put on more clothes, blankets, etc., than hot when you can't get cool unless you stand in front of an air conditioner, but I give up. I am officially complaining. It's cold! No higher than 43 yesterday? THIS IS CALIFORNIA - not Colorado or Alaska. The rain doesn't bother me as much as the cold. ONLY the wicked witch will melt in the rain, and based on the behaviors of people rushing for cover in the rain, I suspect there are lots of wicked witches out there. And speaking of the wicked witch...

It's just Mowry resting behind my monitor.

This looks only slightly more comfortable.My second sock of pair #4 is coming along. I'm trying not to work on it too much because it's perfectly portable for our trip to L.A. next weekend.My knit in the round (read: very few seams, yay!) sweater (with sleeve length TBD - as long as I have enough yarn to knit) is coming along. I prefer knitting in the round but I'm on the part where I'm knitting and purling the back half while the front half is on a holder. Diann is right - this is NICE yarn. Someone is selling 18 skeins of black Unger Plantation (this yarn) on eBay, but I really do NOT need any more yarn yet.We're officially hibernating, much to the consternation of our friends who want to go out to dinner with us. It's not that we don't want to go out to dinner, although that is a treat, and something we don't do very often, it's that we don't want to go out at all until summer because it's so darned cold. You should have heard Will yelp when he came back from getting the mail, which is right outside our front door! We're California weather wimps, and proud of it! But we'll see - maybe we will go to dinner this weekend.

Long Post with Cool Pictures

We went to Sahuarita, AZ, which is south of Tucson. This is a trip that was postponed from October when Alex was sick and he needed medication, observation and love, none of which he would accept from anyone but us. We took Southwest Airlines, which is always a pain (see prior posts) but while we left about 5-15 minutes late on each leg, we got in on time! While their new system still isn't assigned seating, it worked! Did I just say that? I may complain when things suck, but I also admit when they work or I am not right.

It was nice to meet Will's childhood friend and his wife. They were very gracious hosts opening their home and weekend to us.

Friday night we went for Mexican food at a place that had been around since 1922. The wait was absurd, but I attribute that to one inept hostess, and one good hostess - they only needed the good one. The food was excellent.

On Saturday we went to the Titan Missile Museum. http://www.titanmissilemuseum.org/, the only publicly accessible Titan II missile site in the nation. We toured the underground missile site, saw the 3-ton blast doors, the 8-foot thick silo walls, and an actual Titan II missile in the launch duct.

This is the underground launch control center where the prospective, but never needed launch would have taken place.

Then we went for a drive and walked around the desert. I always thought desert was cactus and sand, but Will loves the desert and I try to see it thru his eyes. While the Phoenix/Scottsdale area seems more like cactus and sand, this area was really quite spectacular.

When cactus turns purple, it needs water. I didn't know that ever happened.

Apparenty there is a spot on my lense that closes when not in use, so hopefully I was able to clean it off today. Who knew it can be colder in AZ than in Fremont, CALIFORNIA? It was in the 30s at night, but it was windy and chilly at Oakland Airport when we got home.

We had lunch at Wisdom's in Tumacacori, AZ (http://www.wisdomscafe.com/) that has been there since 1944. I couldn't pronounce that if I heard it 10 times. Great burger!There was some colorful stuff here outside of the natural beauty.

We even crossed the Santa Cruz River without a bridge in a Chevy Impala. Apparently you can do that in the desert if you know what to do, how deep it is, etc. No pictures, though. I was IN the car. Below is one of the many ways Border Patrol keeps a watch. This pecan orchard is very close to where they live.

Jerry and Jane have an adorable silky poo (part silky terrier and part poodle). Somehow I didn't think of taking her picture! She was really cute for a dog! But we missed our kitties.

Unfortunately for our friends, Ken and Diann, the burglar alarm went off when they came in on Sunday, after all had gone well for them on Saturday. The 91 year old neighbor across the street called the police. I didn't know she could even hear the alarm. Ken and Diann talked to the police and met our neighbor next door. When we came home, I opened the door and the alarm seemed different, but only when I called Diann did I find out what had happened. I called our neighbor to thank her - it's good to know neighbors care enough to watch out for you, and do something if they think there may be a problem. That alarm is VERY loud. I hope they are still willing to check on the kitties when we go to LA in a few weeks.

We missed our kitties, who were VERY bad this morning. At about 5:00 this morning I was dreaming about something work-related when I heard a loud crash that in my dream I thought was an earthquake. Will got up to see what it was - someone (could he be orange, cute and smaller than his brother?) knocked over the kitchen table. The kitchen table isn't particularly strong or sturdy, but that must have been quite a leap to knock it over. I'm just glad I moved the two old 1950s yellow and green bowls I keep on the table before we went away. BAD KITTY. They don't look like they could cause trouble, but take my word for it!

We had a very nice trip. It was fun to see Will and Jerry reminiscing about old times when they were just boys getting into boy kinda trouble, and catching up - meeting two of their kids, the 3 grandkids, etc. But Dorothy was right - there's no place like home! We were glad to get home!

We hope they will come to Niles to see us this summer or next.

Pictures of things

It's Wednesday and I am working from home. And yes, I'm really working, but reports are slow, so I can update this blog while I wait. AND I have an orange cat on my desk. It doesn't get any better than that.

Last night we went to open mic after about a month. It's Tuesdays and one Tuesday was Christmas Eve, one was New Years' Eve and then the restaurant took a vacation. Will played his bongos with guitarist Eddie and they rocked!

While listening to the acts, I worked on sock #2 of pair #4 (Pairs #1 and #2 were successful and I wear them all the time, while pair #3 was a failure with one turning out larger than the other, so it's on hold for now). I don't want to work on this sock too much because it's the perfect portable project for our travels to Tucson this weekend. I've only knitted about an inch or so of sock #2. I'm keeping sock #1 of this pair handy for reference so I can make sure they end up the same size!
Speaking of Tucson, we had to postpone once when Alex was very sick and needed medication, observation and love, which he only accepts from us, and barely at that. I'm just getting over a cold that was pretty much a "no-show" (barely could tell I had a cold) but now Will is getting my cold. I NEVER give him my cold. And you know colds are for guys. I convinced him to suck on zinc lozenges, and his friend said it was okay to come out there even with a cold, so we're bound and determined.


Can you tell how big Alex is? He's on a DVD player. It's not on, so it's not warm, but he still likes sitting on it!

I got up from my recliner and left my blankie. If that isn't an invitation to kitties, I don't know what is. First there were three. Then there were two. (Cinders is there, she's just not in the picture).

And then there was one. Alex is skittish and ran away when I approached. Nothing disturbs Mowry's cat nap.

Tuesday

I don't have pictures today because I am at a client's office and my camera is at home. I wouldn't be typing this from a client's office, except I have nothing to do. Nothing, nada. I guess I'm here for moral support to someone who will be filing something later today with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), but she really needed me on Friday but I wasn't able to be here on Friday.

Our local library is only open on Tuesdays, so I'm hoping I can stop by on my way home. I reserved Sue Grafton's most recent book and it's in. My cousin was visiting many years ago and she left one of Sue Grafton's books. I never read mystery books, but I figured I would read it since I kept hearing these alphabet titles, so I thought I'd read one and see what all the fuss was about. I originally liked Sue Grafton's character, Kinsey Millhone, and the fact that whatever she calls the place, it's really Santa Barbara, but now I'm bored with the fact that she doesn't update, doesn't have a cell phone, and we know it's Santa B, so just say it!

Saturday January 12, 2008

Today the weather was gorgeous. Last weekend it poured and was cold, and we hibernated while I thought about where my camera could possibly be hiding, but today we had blue skies and weather warm enough to go to the flea market and then prune trees in the backyard, and lots of pictures to be taken to make up for that lost week.

When my neck and shoulders and arms hurt tomorrow, I can look here to remind myself why!

Every time we go to the flea market I am appalled to think that they are considering developing the land where these beautiful trees are.

It's particularly pretty in the winter after we've had some rain. Below is my favorite aisle at the flea market. It was pretty empty on this aisle today, but just the beauty is worth the price of admission, which actually, is $0, but that's besides the point since it's just a saying.

A week without my camera makes me want to take more and more pictures of EVERYTHING! On the way home with the car moving (not to worry, I was the passenger and not the driver!) I tried to capture the Niles sign and the cows on the green hills, but I could only get part of the sign. The black dots covering the hills are cows.

I tried to take a picture of something as we were driving down our street (I was still the passenger) but all I got was a picture of me taking the picture!

This seems like a good place to sleep when it's cold. They have so many blankets on this bed, maybe they won't find me. Well, they wouldn't have found me if my camera crazy human mom hadn't pulled back the blankies to expose me, but I'll pretend I'm still asleep and maybe she'll go away and leave me alone. Cinders used to be an outdoor kitty, but now she's much older (15? 17?) and since she stopped showing an interest in going outside before we moved here, she hasn't been allowed outside since we moved. We would try to get her to go outside when we had a open house in our townhouse, but she'd turn around and come back in. Since we moved, she often looks longingly at the front door, but we no longer let her out.

Today I was looking out the window that looks out front and who do I see outside? Cinders! I ran to the front door, opened it and yelled at Cinders to come in, and she did. She's the only one who answers to her name. Mowry may come several minutes later if we call him (from another room) but that is so we don't think he's responding to humans calling his name!

Needles and Things

Today's post is about cats and knitting.

I'm working on a sweater in the round (read: very little sewing together, and no seams on the side) but I can't quite tell yet if it is going to fit. The measurements tell me it will, but I tried to try it on and my circular needles got in the way. If there weren't 144 stitches, I might put them on a piece of yarn to allow me the flexibility to try it on, but that's too much work. Isn't knitting the sweater and finding out it doesn't fit too much work, you ask? Well, yes.

It's beautiful yarn I bought from someone on ebay at the urging of Diann. It's Plantation Unger cotton in a beautiful light green, and she's right - it's really nice to knit with! I just found some more Plantation Unger on ebay - this time 8 skeins of yellow. The one I bought had 8 skeins listed, but she realized she only had 7 and reduced the price for me, but I'm hoping I have enough to finish what I'm working on since 8 would have been better. It will probably be more of a shell or short sleeve sweater than a long sleeve sweater as I had hoped.

Alex looks a little ratty in this picture because while his fur doesn't mat, he's due for a brushing. He really has magnificent fur! Cinders is watching his and my every move from the back of the room. She mats but is soft and fluffy on those few spots without mats.

Mowry likes to check out birds and things from the window.

I belong to a group called "Fremont Freecyle" and people give away things in the most mature way of recycling. List it and someone will want it and come and get it. There's also a local Yahoo group for our neighborhood where this is done, but that also is an exchange for information. Sometimes it's good info, and sometimes people whine about local things.

Someone posted on Freecyle (is there one in your city?) for some leftover yarn and knitting needles. I wrote back, but didn't hear from her. Then a day or so later she emailed to tell me she lost contact with the first responder who didn't answer her second email string, so I can come pick them up. We went this morning on the way to the car dealer for a service issue (another story for another day maybe) and she hadn't left it out. I cut her some slack because she told me she has 4 kids and another due in April. We went back to her house after the dealer at around noon, and there was my bag hanging on her doorknob.



Very cool - the yarn is small quantities, but I may be able to use it. I made a baby blanket and one of the balls of yarn appears to be the same as one used in the baby blanket, so I can add a little more to the edges of my blankie.
It's the blue yarn above the green (looks yellow, but it's green) in the small ball that came out clear in the picture above.

The needles are wonderful! I may post to give away crochet hooks (these and some I have that I don't use) but the circular needles are perfect - size 2, size 8 and size 13, and one more I don't remember. Sizes I don't have! The straight needles are a little bent, but I keep them in a tin for show.

Did I mention how happy I am that I found my camera?

I found it!!!!! Sunday, January 6, 2008

I found the camera! It was a fluke. Just when I was beginning to think these guys had hid it because they aren't too happy that I take so many pictures of them,

I was sitting on the recliner knitting another sock (my last blue/green sock has been put away indefinitely since the first one is smaller than the second one and I am completely frustrated, but I am trying ONE more pair of socks before I give up on socks), when I dropped two sock needles. While I was digging around trying to locate these tiny #1 double pointed needles in the chair, I found the camera! What a nice surprise!

Apparently I had it when I was sitting on the recliner last weekend. This recliner is not used very often because it's in the living room, but it's been cold, so we lit a fire in the fireplace and sat next to the fire. If I hadn't dropped the needles, who knows if or when I would have found the camera! I couldn't take a picture of the camera because I'd need the camera to take the picture, but here is where it was found - and I had to dig my little hand in to get it!

The sock is shorter up the calf than I have done before, but I tried it on and I like it and it appears that it is going to fit. I'm going to start the next one this week, so I don't forget what I did to make this one fit, so they will match. I wrote down notes on the instructions so I shouldn't have problems.

Thunder and Lightning and Rain, Oh My

It was thundering and lightning and raining quite heavily about a half hour ago. We were about to go grocery shopping, but apparently we are officially hibernating since Will just lit a fire. Mowry was on my lap when the loudest clap of thunder sounded. He sat up, looked around and jumped off my lap. Cats don't seem to get a lot of human comfort when their instincts kick in.

We dumped the recycle bin and I carefully put each piece of paper, cans, bottles, etc. (luckily mostly paper) back into the recycle bin, and no camera. I cannot find it. If it was a phone and it was on, I could call it, but that didn't work when Will lost his phone because it was either off, or on vibrate. He later found the found in the pocket of a jacket he hadn't worn in months. My camera is a little large for a pocket.

I'm running out of stock shots so this blog will become very boring very soon.

Someone just posted some yarn, knitting needles and crochet needles that she is giving away on a local Yahoo Email Group. I responded saying I can't resist, but I will want to wait until after the thunder and lightning. I wonder if I'll get these? There was someone who posted last week looking for yarn - I'd be happy to share! It's really the needles I'm after since someone's yarn leftovers don't usually work too well for me.

This photo is from the Durango Colorado website this morning. It looks cold and adorable. We had shutters in our townhouse, but the cats each learned to poke at them and open the bottom shutters. The shutters in the picture were on the sliding glass door and were opened so we could get light. Alex managed to get caught in shutter jail. We don't have shutters now, but to annoy us, both Alex and Mowry like to rattle the mirrored closet doors. Alex especially likes to do this when we are sleeping. This morning he probably forgot it was Saturday and thought we were late since it was 6:40 am. That, or he was just being incredibly annoying.

This was the Disneyland exhibit at the Oakland Museum in 2006. It was much warmer then!