Sunday Yarn, Open House, Estate Sale and Pics!

Last night we went to Gale and Tom's for BBQ and dominoes. We had a fun time, and the weather cooperated so we were able to sit outside until about 8 pm.

Today Will and I went to an estate sale that I had forgotten about yesterday. Unfortunately, I couldn't find my list when we left yesterday morning, and while we actually drove by this one that was in condos not far from where we live, we missed it!

I found lots of stuff, all for $10. I think Kathryn can use this, but if not, I can. I have one that is wider, but I think these drawers are deeper, so one of them should work for her.Pictured below, I also bought silver Chanukah candles (unopened in package marked $9.95), a wooden frame, 3 sets of metal circular knitting needles in their original packaging (size 3, 4 and 5), a Chanukah wrapping bag (they had several, but I just bought one), a "make your own license plate frame" kit unopened, needle nose pliers (for Will), and long, aluminum straight knitting needles in size 2 (with square ends opposite the pointy end). They had a lot of Christmas and other religious decorations, so it was hard to tell what was what there. Mixed household? Then I went with Will to town and stopped in the local yarn shop that is having a 20% off sale thru July. I bought this yarn. It doesn't photograph well.
Then Diann picked me up and we went in her convertible to an open house with an obnoxious realtor who told us he's called the cops on people who refused to sign his guest list. So I used my PO box, my voicemail, my anonymous email. I wonder how he expects to sell the house if he is such a jerk? Then she and I went back to the local yarn store where I looked for yarn to match the "red sock" since I'm making a tennis sock out of what's left, but I'm running out. They had the "red" color, but Diann pointed out that I have other sock yarn left that would go with this denim, so I could use it for that, too. This one photographed well. Go figure. The green yarn is holding the ends together. It's not finished, but I took it off the needles for now. And, after I bought another cable needle, one that I didn't like as well as the one I lost, I found the "lost" cable needle. It was in the big ball of black yarn I was using, but I had shoved it in so deep, I couldn't find it when I went to look for it!

I need to get started on holiday presents that I plan to knit. This Friday is August 1st already!!!!

Tacos for dinner tonight! South SF tomorrow.

Saturday Pictures

Someone posted on Fremont Freecycle that she wanted fruit canning supplies. Not knowing if plums counted, I responded. Yay - she wanted my plums. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn on the outside porch light, so when she came by last night it was dark. This was after my annoying plum picking session when I got 3 in the picker basket, only to have 10 or more fall on me each time. I turned the light on, but her son didn't see the bag when she sent him up the driveway. I felt bad about that, but with modern technology (computer email and cell phone calls) we finally hooked up this morning, and I dropped a large bag of them on her doorstop. OK, I didn't "drop" them, because if I did, they'd all be mushy! I LOVE FREECYCLE!

We went to garage sales today. We spent $13.50 total and got a lovely picture, a great summer hat for me (I have a peach colored hat and a turquiouse hat, but black is my color), some unused Jane cosmetics (4 eyeshadows, a pedicure toe thingy, and a nail polish), spatula and slotted spoon for Kathryn's kitchen, two metal "envelopes" perfect for hanging lavender, a bag of pine needles (those were free - I picked them up under a pine tree where we parked to make the soil work for the azaelas I planted earlier in the week) and something else that I picked up that isn't in this photo because it's for someone who reads this blog!

Apparenlty this smells interesting.


When we go on our walks around the neighborhood, sometimes we walk by the park area where our neighbor feeds strays. Can you see the black cat in the middle? When the neighbor is out of town, we feed them for her. She was able to capture one and give him a home at her house. His new name is Felix.

After a "near-miss" capture experience, her neighbor managed to trap another of the strays-he's a black cat with one white whisker. His name is Oscar. (Hmmm, I thought Felix was for "Felix the Cat"). I wish Oscar was now an indoor kitty, but he seems to hang out by his new home, which is only a block and a half from where he was caught above.Here is where Oscar lives. The photo makes it look like all vegetation, but that's because I cropped out the houses! My favorite are the sunflowers.Our cats have a nice home. No having to catch their own food, or wait for a kind stranger to feed them. One of them (Cinders) takes her food out of the bowl and eats it on the floor. This would be okay if she didn't leave a lot on the floor. In the interest of not getting ants, I clean this up regularly during the day.

I forgot to stop at the Farmers' Market in our travels today, but I may have some tomatoes from my tomato plant out back that I can use for a salad I'm making and taking to our friends' for dinner tonight.

It's Friday

I am in So. SF today where it's 54 degrees with 1 mph winds, at least just now when I looked at my "weatherbug" program. It's just about my perfect temperature at home - 73.4 - with no wind.

I think I lost the cable needle I was using when I was at Kaiser knitting my black sock while waiting to get my blood test. I called today, but I think if anyone found it, they wouldn't have known what it was unless they were a knitter, so unless I dropped it in the car, it's probably gone.

I can buy another, of course, but I needed it last night! It's the turqoise small one.

I'm looking forward to the weekend. We'll do some garage sales tomorrow morning, some house cleaning, and then BBQ and dominoes with friends.

We don't have anything planned yet for Sunday. I may stop by our local yarn store because they are having a storewide 20% sale thru July, and my mother-in-law requested a pair of hand-knit socks for Christmas. I have some nice leftover yarn from previous socks, but I don't think I have enough to make a pair. She wants them to sleep in, but they still need to be high enough (not like tennis socks).

July 24th Our 14th Anniversary - updated 12:30 pm

Today is our anniversary. People keep asking us if we are doing anything to celebrate, and at the risk of sounding goofy, we just think every day together is special, and so it doesn't call for a special celebration. Since we love being home, we'll celebrate tonight with a home cooked meal, a walk around the neighborhood, and some TV (while Will reads and I knit). It doesn't get any better than that (for us) unless we happen to get a cat on one or both of our laps!!!

Sunday, July 24, 1994 was a beautiful day in Palos Verdes in Southern California, with a view of the Pacific Ocean facing toward Santa Monica and Malibu. No one wanted to tell me, but apparently it had been overcast and gray several days prior to our special day, but as you can see, the sky and water were blue. That is the rabbi's workspace behind me, not my butt, so please look closely to differentiate between my dress and the tablecloth!

We looked at the pictures today. We have those taken by the professional photographer (the standard family, many of the bride and groom, etc. shots) and then some taken by guests. I am usually the one at occasions with the camera in my hand, but that wouldn't work, so I handed the camera to my sister. She took several good ones, but focused (pun intended) on getting pictures of us. We had enough of us!!! We wanted pictures of the guests - the ones the paid photographers don't take. My friend and former boss took many pictures that day, and she was captured in other pictures while taking pictures, but we never saw any of her pictures. She moved, got married, moved again, got divorced, moved again and the pictures were never found!

Sadly, I counted 15 people who were at our wedding who have since passed away. We're glad they were at our wedding, and sorry they are no longer with us. In no particular order: Will's father, Uncle Imre, Aunt Harriet, Uncle Steve, Aunt Margaret, cousin Mel, cousin Milt, cousin Michael, Uncle Eddie, Millie, Aunt Adeline, Ed (Betsy's husband), our friends and former co-workers Clay and Jack, and Marv (friend of my parents). I apologize If I missed anyone. Aunt Margaret was over 100, and Uncle Steve was 95 when they died. After talking to my mother, I realized I did leave someone out - Rue (friend of my parents), so it's actually 16 people, not 15). On the lighter side, all these people are gone, but our bitchy black cat, Cinders, who is about 16 years old is still around.

OK, I lied about celebrating. To "celebrate" I went to Kaiser to get a blood test. Whoopeee. I have an annual physical scheduled for next week, so I asked the doc for a blood test before, rather than have her order it after. I was home today (a change in schedule since I was originally going to So. SF today, and home tomorrow) and anything has to be better than going to the Kaiser lab on a Saturday morning, although I'm glad I can do that if I need/want to.

I brought my knitting with me, but the wait wasn't too bad. I've started a sock in black yarn. I thought all the yarn I recently ordered using a business thank you gift certificate was "Diann-approved" but when she saw it, she assured me she wouldn't have approved yarn for a sock that didn't contain wool. I also know that black can be difficult to deal with, but so far I like working with it. I'm experimenting with cables - we'll see how that goes. I'm not using a pattern. I'm a rebel - I don't like to follow directions unless I must, so I'm using the sock pattern and a cable pattern, of course, but I put the cables where I want them to go (sans pattern). Oooh, am I adventurous? As I said, it's an experiment! So far I like what I see!

It's easy to knit with, but difficult to photograph. Those are my wonderful stitch keepers, and the blue yarn is actually being used as a stitch holder.

After the blood test we went to the Thursday Farmer's Market at Kaiser. It's small (compared to the one we go to on Sundays) but who needs several vendors selling the same thing? I prefer to go to the farm where we used to live, but we were here. I bought an onion, a nectarine, and an heirloom tomato. I HATE wasting food, so I'd rather buy a few items and go back when I need more. That usually works best for me, but sometimes I wish I had bought more!

Today is also trash pickup. When we moved here, I was so happy to have a green bin and a yard, my goal was to fill the green bin weekly. If not fill, then at least enough to make it worth being picked up. The Saturday before we got married in 1994, we were leaving for Southern California and I was outside gardening! Now Will is used to me doing that! Is this cool, or what? The green bin is being picked up. The guys don't even have to get out of the truck! I was just out there making sure it was FULL! With all the plums and things to trim, it's full most of the time.

Tuesday - Where do our cats sleep?

Where do our cats sleep? That's a trick question. Read on...

Alex is on a cat bed on our bed. Sometimes he sleeps on his back, and it's hilarious! Mowry likes the chair in the living room. It's covered with a throw because he also likes to scratch it.
Here's his spot before I cropped it, so you can see the whole scene. Notice the unoccupied cat bad. I guess the back of the chair is more comfortable, or fun, or whatever than the cat bed. Maybe it's just cooler in the summer because the cat bed is hot? Sometimes Cinders likes the cat bed placed on the corner of my desk.

Where do our cats sleep is a trick question, because we have no idea where they sleep when we aren't home!

I just got home from SF and this was a BART trouble day on the way home. The reports says: "Delays of 30 minutes from Fremont to Richmond and delays of 20 minutes from Bayfair to Fremont due to ongoing track side equipment problems." I'm not sure what that means, because the 9-car train I was on went out of service at Bayfair (just 3 stops from home) so I had to catch the next train, which was a 6-car train a few minutes later. I thought it would be very crowded, but it was okay. Then we had to wait for two northbound trains to pass and clear the tracks before we could move, because they were "single-tracking".

BART wasn't the only one with problems today. This blog wouldn't let me save everything and kept giving me an error message, but it appears to be okay now.

I'm glad to be home!

Monday Pictures

Saturday night we went to the Essanay Cafe for dinner with Ken and Diann. They've done a great job on their outside patio. Will played bongos with Eddie on a few numbers.

One of my "Happy Places" is Wrigley Field in Chicago. Check out this very cool webcam:

http://www.earthcam.com/usa/illinois/chicago/wrigleyfield/

We had a brunch here on Sunday for our realtors, and the couple who introduced us. I think when you bring a dish, you don't need to also bring a present, but Carol and Jim brought a delicious fruit salad and yogurt to go on it, and these beautiful flowers that will get planted somewhere out front to match our pink house:

and Debra and Ed brought an egg dish and sausages, and these beautiful yellow flowers that will get planted out back:

Our cats are messy. OK, one of our cats is messy. Cinders insists on taking the foot out of the bowl with her paw and eating on the floor. This would be good if she ate it all, but she doesn't. I'm concerned about getting ants. The small bowl was found at a garage sale for the "late great Dave" when he had to eat special food. It is now Alex's preferred bowl.

Will decided that an old roasting pan was the best thing for cat water in the kitchen, and Cinders seems to agree.

Will made the best toy for our cats - it's a drum stick (of course, he's a drummer), with heavy string, and he now added a cork from the champagne served at brunch yesterday.

For some reason, Mowry is afraid of this toy! He comes in to get Will to play (by meowing) but this time I went out there, and when he saw the toy, he ran (presumably under the bed since I don't know where he is). Cinders is here checking it out.
She actually followed it around as I pulled it, but now she's done.
The cork has been removed since Mowry was only afraid of it after the cork was added!

Saturday Pictures - It's a Long Post!

Our 14th Anniversary is on Thursday, but we're celebrating today. We exchanged small inexpensive but special gifts. We both think presents are not important unless you find something the other really wants, and it isn't expensive. It's even more special if it is from a garage or estate sale! Will gave me the double yellow Melamine dish that he got at a sidewalk sale in our little town a few months ago, and the smaller bowls I found to match at an estate sale on Friday:

and I gave him a Fisher Space Pen to replace the one he recently lost. This one came with a suede case, so it won't fall out of his pocket as the last one did.

And without the case it looks like this....

Funny story about this pen - actually two stories. This isn't the first one Will lost, and one day I was in a dressing room at Ross Stores in SF and I looked down and there was a pen just like the one he lost. There was also a whole Seinfeld episode about a pen like this.

Alex has been hiding in my closet lately. That's him below my dresses.

He can't really hide from me and my camera!

Tonight we're going to a local restaurant with our friends, Ken and Diann. We wanted to take them to dinner to thank Ken for helping Will help Kathryn move a few weeks ago, and to both for having dinner for us after the move. Will is also going to play bongos on a few numbers at the restaurant with his guitarist friend, Eddie, who is playing with someone named Ryan who we don't know. It will be a nice way to celebrate our anniversary.

We went to a few garage sales today. Actually, several - we were able to park our car and walk at a few neighborhood sales, but all we came up with was a small tea kettle for Kathryn (perfect for her small stove - someone who no longer has their RV was selling it for $2), and a plastic ice tray (for 10 cents!) and a sponge holder that suctions to the sink (for 5 cents). Why we didn't get two sponge holders is beyond me!

I'm actually watching someone who lives down the street ride his motorcycle up and down the block while holding a baby on the seat. A BABY! Not even a seven year old who begged for a ride (to which he COULD say no). I wonder if we did a scientific study of how many people out there are complete idiots and who don't know when to wipe their noses (or whatever), if it would be close to 90% as I think it is? Or am I just a jerk magnet who attracts these morons so I see more of them? I hope it's the latter, but I doubt it.

Diann had a great picture on her blog of veggies from her garden. These are not from my garden, but the lemons fell off the next door neighbor's tree into our yard. The silver holder is one I bought at a garage sale a few months ago for 75 cents, and I love how it looks filled with veggies and fruit. In the background behind the top tier next to the window is the needlepoint picture Aunt Mare made for me. You can't see what it is, but you can see it is hanging there to look at every day!

I do not bake. I cook. I don't like to measure and be exact. I want to throw in a little of this or that if I feel like it, and you can't really do that with baking since it's chemistry. Diann made a delicious chocolate zucchini cake that she brought over when she came for dinner a few weeks ago, so I tried the recipe today. It looks good, and it smelled great, but I won't taste it until our brunch tomorrow.

We invited our realtors and the couple who introduced us to them. They've each had us to their house, so it's our turn. I'm serving (in no specific order) bagels, cream cheese, smoked salmon, orange juice (with or without champagne), cut up fruit (courtesy of Carol and Jim, the realtors), coffee, tea, green salad, roasted carrots (but since I have so much leftover zucchini, I'm making it roasted carrots and zucchini following a recipe I found online for roasted carrots), olives, either scones or an egg dish (courtesy of Debra and Ed, she didn't tell me which, but knowing her, probably both, but I hope not!), and the chocolate zucchini cake. Did I forget anything? I hope not., but I have a list!

Last but not least, we went to open mic at the local coffee house last night. Will wasn't motivated, but surprisingly, it was me who wanted to go. I don't usually care to watch kids perform, but these nine year old twin boys were playing electric guitars (one a Fender and one a Gibson - and I'm totally non-musical, but even I know those are good ones) and they played great! They sang a few songs from the 70s, and played well, knew all the lyrics and even harmonized. Then they did one original song, and it was obvious they wrote it by the lyrics, but it was a good song. It was well worth the price of admission (there is no admission charge) and a fun evening with the other performers, as well.

THE END of today's long post!

Friday Photos

We went to "our Farm" - that would be Ramirez Farm near where we used to live. I was able to buy red onions, zucchini, and tomatoes there. Then we went to an estate sale. This was one of the best ones - the lady lived to be 94, and her neighbors, who were more like family to her, were holding the sale. They were extremely organized, pleasant and we found things we needed.

A retro clock for $2 that matches our kitchen cabinets.

An ottoman (the blotch is from the sticker they had on it - I need to clean that off better!).
3 small yellow Melamine bowls
that match the larger Melamine bowl Will bought me!
Authentically retro!

Yesterday we were waiting at a stoplight and I couldn't resist photographing this - he's on a bicycle, wearing sandals, looking at this phone. Obviously safety isn't in his world or he'd be wearing shoes and not sandals, and a helmet. I could start a daily "stupid things I saw today" listing on my blog, but most aren't worth my time.

House Stuff (with pictures) and Cat Stuff

Yesterday I worked from home, and had a few hours of work to do in the morning. Will didn't have much work going on, and he only had to be on call to pick up our friend from a medical procedure around noon, so we decided to clean out one side of the garage so we could park both cars inside. It's a two-car garage, but it's a small one. That or we have a lot of stuff in it. I know cars were not smaller in 1955 when the house was built:

but maybe people had less crap in their garages. Can you see the stuff on the side wall?
Our washer and dryer are also in the garage, so when I open the dryer, there is about two inches between Peety and the dryer. (The dryer is right next to the drivers' side door). I may have to keep Peety outside when I do laundry. BUT WE DID IT - we got both cars in the garage as you can see from this picture!

This morning I combed Alex a few times. I figure a few quick combings will be better for him than one long session, but he still hates me. Now he really runs when he sees me. Endearing? No!
What I've read of Maine Coons, their fur doesn't mat. "Most Maine Coons keep their fur in good order without the need for additional human grooming. " The Cat Fancier's site says "Maine Coons do not need much grooming and a weekly combing is all that is usually required to keep the coat in top condition. " He was like that until his fur started changing consistency and color. Now he has some little mats.

I did a search online, and apparently some Maine Coons have fur that mats. Plus, he may or may not be pure MC. He matches every single "criteria", but the Cat Fancier's website snottily says: "The only way to tell for sure if your cat is a Main Coon is to look at the pedigree." WHATEVER! I adopt my cats so there isn't any pedigree. If he looks like a duck, etc. etc. If he looks like a Maine Coon, has characteristics of a Maine Coon, he's a MAINE COON - so take that, Cat Fancier!

1. Glossy coat, heavy and water-resistant, longer on the ruff, stomach and britches to protect against wet and snow, and shorter on the back and neck to guard against tangling in the underbrush. The coat falls smoothly, and is almost maintenance-free: a weekly combing is all that is usually required to keep it in top condition.

2. Long, bushy tail.

3. Ears are more heavily furred (both inside and on the tips).

4. Big, round, tufted feet serve as 'snow shoes.'

5. Tall, muscular, big-boned cats; males commonly reach 13 to 18 pounds.

6. Don't achieve their full size until they are three to five years old.

7. Dispositions remain kittenish throughout their lives; they are big, gentle, good-natured goofs.

8. Tiny voice (he has a high-pitched meow!).

9. Not overly-dependent. They do not constantly pester you for attention, but prefer to "hang out" with their owners, investigating whatever activity you're involved in and "helping" when they can.

10. A Maine Coon will be your companion, your buddy, your pal, but hardly ever your baby.

11. The males tend to be the clowns while the females retain more dignity, but both remain playful throughout their lives.

OK, here's where Alex DOES not fit the Maine Coon description: (but is this really criteria for being a Maine Coon? I think not.)

1. Many Maine Coons will play "fetch" with their owners, and many will joyfully retrieve small items. He plays, but no fetching!

2. They rarely meow. He meows!

3. Highly people-oriented cats Just us, and barely so. He's scared of anyone who comes to visit!

4. Relaxed and easy-going in just about everything they do. Poor Alex never relaxes. He is afraid of his own shadow and is convinced that anyone who comes to our house is there to eat him! When he does come and hang out with us, he runs if one of us moves.

It's almost the weekend!

Wednesday - Pictures!

Last night the Saturn was paid for and picked up! Now Peety is alone. There are a few scratches and things that you can't see, but we love it, and now we don't have to be sad when we get our first scratch.

If you look at the plant toward the back end of the car, that's my heirloom tomato plant. It's huge, but no tomatoes yet. Lots of yellow blossoms.

The romas out back are starting to turn red. There are about 3 of them on the plant now. The hanging tomatoes are growing, but still small, and not yet red.
I'd like to say that this picture of Alex and Mowry wrestling is blurry because they were moving so fast, but it's because I had the wrong setting on the camera.

OK, we're done.

Back to our favorite places. Alex is lying on the coffee table in the spare room on top of clean laundry bits (mostly unmatched socks). Note the two unoccupied cat beds behind him on the couch. It's probably too warm in summer to be on the cat beds.Each cat likes to sit on the portable dishwasher. We try to keep them off the kitchen table and counters, which they can easily access when we are not here, but they often do it when we are here, only to get canned air sprayed at them, and/or yelling from one of their humans. We've given up on trying to get them to stay off the dishwasher. It's right by the window and apprently irresistable. Look at how big this boy is!

I read that Maine Coon cats are not supposed to need extra grooming beyond what they do themselves, and they certainly aren't supposed to matt, but since Alex's fur has changed, he has some matts, and he doesn't particularly like getting combed when it means his fur gets pulled. He likes to bite when we comb him, but we've got two humans vs. one cat, and we can hold him by his "hard to find" neck so he can't hurt us. We try to do daily, quick brushing/combing sessions.

I'm still trying to get some shuteye here folks. Mowry is small enough to sit on the windowsill next to the dishwasher, so he can look out front.

On a completely different topic, here is a cool website that shows old amusement parks:

http://www.yesterland.com/

Our house was built in 1955, and Disneyland opened in 1955. Here are some cool Disneyland postcards. Since I like postcards, and grew up around Disneyland, it's apropos. http://www.disneylandpostcards.com/

Pacific Ocean Park (also known as POP) was a great site near Venice Beach. “POP” tried to compete with Disneyland from 1958 to 1967. See what you missed at this simple site with postcards and brochure pages.

http://theimaginaryworld.com/POP.html

Here are some very cool pictures much like the days I went as a kid, from this site: http://theimaginaryworld.com/dtour01.html

I believe that could have been us in one of those cars turning into the parking lot!