Random pictures

It's still 81 degrees outside and that is hot for 8 pm! We had a very cool summer, so now that we're having a heat wave, it seems wrong, even if it is often hot in September and October.

This morning started with a 3 3/4 hour conference call, during which time Mowry found the computer portion rather interesting. Luckily he didn't stay too long, because I couldn't exactly read the screen with him planted in front of me. I bet I had more fun than the other participants!


Will came with me to a client's office and planted himself in their cafe so he, too, could enjoy the A/C. This is the approach to the Dumbarton Bridge. It's hard to tell, but it was pretty crowded. We're trying to get from Palo Alto to the east bay. The cloud formations are lovely.
This evening at around 6:30 pm it was very overcast with pink clouds against the pink crepe myrtle tree out front. It didn't last long, so I'm glad I captured it in a photo. On our walk the other night the palm trees were illuminated by the sun, as was the hill in the background. Isn't this a beautiful place to live?

Garage sales, flea markets, concerts, oh my.

Today we went to a garage sale on a small court nearby. It's hard to go to garage sales after our neighborhood-wide sale two weeks ago, but this one house had MANY things. I found another wooden "window" planter (for $1) and she threw in a few fake flowers, Will found two work shirts in perfect condition (for $1 each), and a cool dominoes game unopened and marked $35 (for $3) . Then we went to the Ohlone flea market and I found some double-pointed knitting needles for $1. I probably could have offered the guy 50 cents, and I think he would have taken it, but I didn't. Unfortunately, two were size 2 and two were size 1, but they will be spares since I'm constantly losing them.

Then we went to the Niles Plaza for an unusual Saturday concert. First there was a flag ceremony honoring the memory of 9/11/2001, and I was a little concerned because when we got a new flag a year or two ago, they had a very religious (and in my opinion inappropriate) religious ceremony. It was completely inappropriate for a diverse town with people who have many different beliefs, but I digress. If they did this again, we missed it, because all we saw was a speech by Blue Star Moms (very appropriate) and a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by a Niles local. It was a nice tribute to this horrendous event none of us will ever forget.

I got in some knitting time on this sock....

Wow - I got a lot done! The top photo is true to the color, and the bottom photo is too light, but you can tell that because the Crown Royal bag should be much darker. The music was good, the shade was good and it was a nice event. It was a hot day.
The cows on the hill made for a nice photograph.
I'm almost done with this cardigan from the lovely yarn Diann gave me. I had to add a strip for buttons because it was a little too narrow. My plan is to put all different kinds of buttons on here. I may use snaps to close it, instead of buttonholes, but for now I've done nothing about that.

Photos and more photos

My blog is really a place for me to post my pictures.

The "master" bathroom in our house is rather small, but it has a full size shower. The bathroom is the one room in the house that was painted a color, and that color is very pink. The blue around the tile is painters' tape, as we prepped for painting. We've been talking about painting the bathroom for 4 years now - it is 4 years since we opened escrow to buy this house.
We met Ken and Diann at the local hardware store a few years ago, and they told me peach was a good color because surrounding this burgundy tile inside the shower is peach tile. I was never convinced, but I'm sure it would have worked, had we been able to find where we put the peach paint once we were finally ready to take on this task. It may be a small room, but it was a pain in the butt to prep and paint.

So we went out on Labor Day 2010 and bought new paint. I wanted a medium beige, but Will thought lighter was better since the room is small. How small is it? The greedy people on HGTV's House Hunters would undoubtedly say "This is too small, and it's dated, and I couldn't possible live with this", but aside from the pinkness, we have NO problem with our small bathroom.

The color I picked was not what I thought it was. I like contrast, however small, between the woodwork and the walls, and I used two different paints, but couldn't match as close had I actually tried.

We hadn't yet painted the ceiling, but we debated and decided the pink must go.

Luckily, Will is tall, but he still had to use a step stool to reach the high parts. My job was the lower parts (behind the toilet, around the mirror, etc.).
What a mess. We had so much stuff (pictures, jars, towels over the shower door and on the racks, etc.) that had to be emptied out before we could start painting. Did I mention it was a hot day, so we needed a fan blowing in our direction, also. The great thing is that our small bathroom has a window, so it was well ventilated

Here is the finished bathroom. Not beige, but NOT pink! Hooray. It's growing on me. I love the retro light.
We bought this Buck Stove for a fraction of its new cost from a neighbor. We don't have a mantle, but now we have a place for some things when the fire isn't going.
Ziggy is sleeping on a shirt Will found at garage sale weekend.

Mowry loves sitting on my desk between my keyboard and my monitor, right in my way.Ziggy LOVES his toys. Here he is on his back with his toy fish. Above his head is "crazy mouse" - a toy my parents brought the kitties the last time they visited.

It's almost impossible to get a picture of all three cats. Ziggy in the foreground on his back, Alex and Mow watching Ziggy. It IS impossible to get a GOOD picture of all 3 cats, so I'll settle for this for now. I obviously don't have Photoshop or any other program that can edit and make magic.Ahhhhhhhhh, our avocados are growing, and if the squirrels and other critters don't get them first, we should have several in about 5 months! They are still small and yet I occasionally find eaten ones on the ground.
Happy New Year - L'Shana Tova.

Random pictures

The concerts at the new Niles Plaza have been really good. I love seeing this older couple dancing on the sidelines. I tried to take their picture without revealing their faces to keep their privacy. Aren't they adorable?
I'm currently working on sock #2. This yarn was from Diann from her favorite Houston store, Hobby Lobby. It's purple and gray, but the colors aren't that true in this picture.
It's overcast today, but my weather program says 77 degrees already at 8:45 am. It's quiet but this picture was down Second Street Saturday when many of the houses had garage sales.
A garage sale on Third Street. I worked very hard to get a picture without people. I don't want to post other people's faces on my blog!
I didn't bring my camera on Sunday, but thanks to someone who did. I love this view from the Plaza looking toward the town at the booths set up for the Antique Fair. Unfortunately, there were a lot of booths with "foreign plastic crap" as I call it, and as I probably called it on my last blog entry, but it still looked cool from the Plaza.
Our favorite white female cat from next door (Ginger Snap) has a pink collar that is tight and too long. Tuesday I was home and she came over for her treats without her collar but I could see the mark and no fur where the collar was. Then I looked at the front of her neck and there was a huge sore. I wanted to cry. A few days later it was scabbing and looking good, so I guess she's okay. I just want to take her in and make her out cat, except for three cats (and two humans) who don't want another cat.