Oct

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Woo! I love halloween! Currently I am typing this in full on gross out zombie makeup at my desk at work, I am surrounded by a fro’d out 70′s voodoo doctor & a mummified (complete with skin falling off) Egyptian queen. The Mr was successfully sent off to his job as an Ugly Step Sister from Cinderella. Pumpkins were carved, and I baked probably the creepiest cake EVER.

It's naked here, but has been colored for the contest.

Last night I met up with my spindling teacher Susie & rented two of her kiwi wheels for trying out. Two, since the Mr & I already realized that we can not & don’t want to share. At least we are adult enough to figure that out before hand She’s also going to call me from the Torance fiber fair to tell me if it’s worth seeing. Gotta love that woman!

Next, I’ve been tagged by Isa for a friday MEME.

So here are the rules:Link to the person who tagged you. Post the following rules on your blog. Write six random things about yourself. Tag six people at the end of your post.

Random Facts About Me:

1. I am rediculously afraid of sharks. I start having a panic attack when I go into the ocean & I suddenly find myself in above my calves. And since I have learned that Bull Sharks can go from salt water to fresh water I won’t be swimming in anything with out clorine. I know it’s stupid but I think I would be that person that got their leg popped off by accident by a shark.
2. I know how to play the violin, and quite well too. My orchestra once played in Carnigie Hall and it was one of the most amazing memories I will ever have. I attribute all my fine muscule movements and wicked memory to my orchestra experiences. This is probably one of the reasons that I have picked up spinning so fast as I already know how to get my fingers to work in concert.

3. I believe that anything worth knowing can be self taught. I learn and teach myself almost anything and rarely take a class. If it’s in a book I will learn it there. I was always like this, in Calculas in high school I would read the book lesson while the teacher was teaching & start the home work early.

4. I have the worlds most amazing inlaws on the face of the earth. I now feel as though I have two moms & have added another super dad to my belt. (I have a dad & a stepdad already). I will never be able to put into words how blessed I am to have them.
5. I live on coffee. Seriously. I would drink coffee from the time I get up in the morning till I go to bed at night. I guess that makes me a true caffine addict as I have no problem getting to bed.

6. It takes me about 6 months to figure out if anyone I know really likes me or I really like them. I’ve been told I’m extremely friendly, funny & likeable, but I think I’m stand offish. It’s hard especially in a group of people for me to ever really feel comfortable. I may look like it, but I rarely am as I’m always trying to be “me” but not to much, as I think that is a bit abnoxious.

I tag Alli, Sarah, Becky, Kent, Moni, & Alana

Have fun guys!

1303 days ago Short URL 7 Comments

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Oct

Some Days Are Just Counter Clockwise

This weekend we dog sitted my inlaws dog and just stayed home. Honestly, I wish more weekends we as relaxing and lazy as this one was. I was up early & out to meet my friend Cheryl for breakfast at Eggs N Things in Ventura. Boy, green chili, sour cream, cheese & bacon omelet rocked my world. Though we technically did a whole lot of “nothing” I did manage to be crafty & productive in other areas.

I spun, and spun lots (well at least for me).

: Hand spun Romni singles by me!

This was really only my first try at spindling by myself. I was quite proud of the result so far. I actually filled up a good portion of the spindle before the husband sat down, watched me for a second & said “Do you know that you are spinning that counter clockwise?” O_O Huh, guess I didn’t, guess i couldn’t figure out which way a clock actually ticks. So yeah. I guess I’m going to have to spin another but load (a technical term for sure) of singles counter clockwise in order to get some yarn. How funny. Anyway, don’t focus on the “wise” it was spun on but look how even. I’m quite happy honestly.

More singles out of my romni

You know what else I found out by perusing the ravelry spindlers forum? That empty toilet paper rolls are great as cheapo bobbins. Also? And I’m sure they all know this, but it was a moment of rare brilliance for me. The toilette paper roll fits perfectly on my ball winder. Which means I can turn this into this.

All wound up

Please ignore this yarn. It was from class & is quite thick thin but unintentional.

First skien. Not bad if I do say so myself

So I did use the first lumpy yarn to ply with some later singles just to try plying. I think I need to find a better way to control my bobbins, which means the Mr is off to construct me a cheapo lazy kate (is that the right term?). All in all it went well. after I plied I skeined it on my swift (as I don’t have a knitty noddy) and then washed & dried it. Boy did this fluff up more than I thought it would! I’m really quite pleased with the result. It’s not soft like merino, but probably feels equivalent to Felted Tweed. So not bad. Estimated about 63yds.

So for Christmas I have asked the Mr for a spinning wheel. Now I just have to do some research to find out which one I would want to bring home I’m quite excited about this. Also? I wish I had taken a picture of the Mr & me both spinning on the couch last night, it’s so nice to be able to talk to someone & compare notes. He’s amazingly good for having less practice than me & though he was feeling a bit down on it last week (he was all “what would you knit out of it?” “It’s so lumpy “) I had to remind him that he’s not a knitter so why worry about what it’s going to be? I had to tell him to think of it like he did with his raku.

Me: “Did you ever think of what people would use your bowls & pots for when making raku?”
Mr: “No”
Me: “You did it because it made you happy & you enjoyed creating it right?”
Mr:”Yes”
Me:”So think of this as the same thing. You don’t knit, so don’t worry about what it’s going to “be”, just focus on enjoying yourself and making what YOU want to make”

after that a light bulb went off & he seemed much more happy. Also I sent him a link to the handspun group on flick to show him how different every skein could be and that it was a GOOD thing. Now I think he understands. Also? He’s thinking about joining ravelry. How awesome would that be?

Also, if you have any suggestions on wheels I should be looking at (I’m looking for a modern wheel, not a saxony) I would LOVE your comments & feedback
Thanks!

1307 days ago Short URL 10 Comments

Craft/handspun/knit/Knitting/photography/Picture/Pictures/Spin/spinning

Oct

NO on PROP 8

Voting yes on prop 8 in california would ban the marriage of two people of the same sex. Marriage and love is personal. What goes on in anyone else’s bedroom is none of my or your business. What goes on in my bedroom is none of your business. Why is this an issue? And honestly why would someone care enough to try to ban it? Does the marriage of my nieghbor, my coworker, or my fellow commuter effect me in any way at all?

No.

Prop 8 is bigotry put into law, plain and simple. Less we forget our rights, “All men are created equal”, and we all are allowed “The Pursuit of happiness”.

When I hear the line “two men/ women having sex is gross” well ya know what? I’m sure that the sight of my Mr & me aint so pretty either.

Get over it. Vote no. http://lezgetreal.com/2008/10/face-of-proposition-8.html

Also? over 50% of all marriages in the US end in divorce. So what the hell are you “protecting” so dearly?

1309 days ago Short URL 2 Comments

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Oct

Spin, Spin, Spin, Fall Over.

Last night the Mr and I had a class together, introduction to spindling, and you know what? I wasn’t the one that suggested we take it either. I have always had a passing curiosity with spinning ever since I started knitting (which I guess is only honestly about 2 years now) but the Mr? Not so much. He was content to watch me knit & listen (at least I assume he was listening) to me babble on about knitting. Then something changed. The Mr and I while on vacation visited Ranch Of the Oaks near Lompoc and were given a short lesson on how they prepare their fiber and how the machines in the mill worked. This little tour was given by my friend Mette’s husband, Tom. Tom spoke a bit about how he spins and weaves, Tom is also not the image my Mr had of a man who does these things. Suddenly that day, the Mr decided something. He was going to try spinning too.

So we picked up a small bag of Mette’s amazing fiber in a grey & black mix and went home. I checked the classes at my LYS and found out that there was an upcoming spindling class. What better way to see if either of us likes this spinning thing? Also, a spindle is relatively cheap (especially compared to a wheel) and it would give us an idea if either of us had the patience for it.

I have to really credit Susie, our teacher, for her fabulously welcome attitude and wealth of information. She made the Mr feel right at home and even told him about how her husband spins and weaves. I was eternally grateful for this as, I don’t know how your knit shop is, but when a man comes in on knit night we all do kind of stare. After a bit of a history & a little demonstration of technique she gave us all spindles to play with.

Who was the first person to get theirs to spin with out wobble? That’s right, the Mr. Fast & strait, and it took him about 10 seconds to accomplish this. I knew this would happen. I figured his experience with a potters wheel (lets not forget his major now! LOL) would really help. I was in a close second, which surprised me because I figured he would like it, I would not.

lumpy, bumpy, and FUN!

So we spun a few different fibers, the merino was harder for both of us (that’s it in front) because she said the fibers were shorter & they were definitely more slick. It also doesn’t surprise me that the Mr really loved the courser Romi wool. I can definitely see him doing amazing things with texture and color. If you’ve ever seen his Raku or paintings you can definitely see this too.

So yeah, we bought spindles (though I thought we would both pick on of the fancy decorated ones we didn’t!) and a small bag of romi to practice on. There is now talk about a wheel. I think I might now have my very own yarn making slave What more could you possibly want? Damn good looking & makes yarn!

1311 days ago Short URL 7 Comments

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Oct

The Weekend! It’s More Than Just For Knitting!

Busy busy weekend, but really, there’s only two types of weekends aren’t there? There’s the kind where you lay around in your pj’s and do absolutely nothing for two days ignoring all outside life, and then there is the more common type, where you run around like a mad person trying to get everything and anything done. You always have things left on your list that weren’t finished because, you, (and I!) over estimate our time.

First off, knitting content.

Pattern: Koffieboontje
Yarn: Yarn Nerd 900 MHz colorway Terra Firma
Needles: US 1 circs
Verdict: OMFG LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

I absolutely love these socks, they were mindless but fun to knit, the slipped stitches really show off the yarn beautifully and they are super stretchy which is always a plus. Especially coming in off my Meida’s Socks which for the second time don’t fit.

I did an eye of partridge heal here and I love the result. This yarn is just so beautiful that it calls for slipped stitches to show off all the wonderful colors. These colors are very fall to me. They remind me simultaneously of being back in Minnesota in the fall and camping in the redwoods up in northern California. Adam really out did himself when he dyed this colorway. Just stunning.

Why, yes I do walk the back cuff off my jeans.

A huge thanks goes out to Mintaka for translating the stitch pattern for me. I loved hers so much but grieved at the fact that I do not know Dutch so that I could read the pattern, she graciously PM’d me on ravelry with the stitch pattern. Thank god for Ravelry and bringing all us like minded thoughtful generous people together. I don’t know where I would be in my knitting life with out it!

I also started knitting my FIL’s sweater on Friday. This is in Knit Picks Shine Sport colorway Hollyberry and is BEAUTIFUL! I love this yarn (pima cotton) and I think the st pattern is pretty. This is much more red than it looks here and I think will be quite lovely to wear. The Mr has requested a sweater in this yarn too.

And here is a better picture of the color.

This is color accurate.

Besides taking pictures of socks I went pumpkin hunting with the Mr.

"I don't know if these are big enough"

The Mr always has to have the biggest pumpkin he can find. Which meant, as per usual, that we had to go to more than one pumpkin patch to find “THE” pumpkin. But honestly, if he makes him happy do I care? Naw

I also went to the Channel Islands CSU campus this weekend for the Ventura Spinners & Weavers Guild thing-a-ma-bob. It was nice, but it’s geared toward (DUH) spinners & weavers so there wasn’t a whole lot for a knitter like me. Thankfully the campus is awesome and my friend Beatriz (who works for the school) took me around & gave me the tour, which means I got to take a lot of pictures Most of which I haven’t uploaded yet.
Some of the campus is clean and beautiful and restored, some of it is not. See this campus is the “Hotel California” that the Eagles sung about and used to be a mental institution. Some of the hallways are dirty & badly light & down right creepy. I made it almost to the end of this hallway in front of me when I creeped myself out & had to walk out…briskly.

The great part about this campus, besides being completely gorgeous, is the court yards. So many court yards and they are all amazing. You almost forget that all the court yards have huge imposing gates on them (for obvious past reasons).

ALSO! God like that wasn’t enough? We gardened a bit yesterday. Step by step & slow as a snail with a bad back we are fixing up the remains of the yard at our house. After the “Great Haul Out Of Everything Resembling A Morning Glory” and filling an industrial dumpster full of yard waste. It’s taken quite a bit for me to even look at a plant with anything but disdain for a few months. But now we were ready & we planted a bit.

Here's what the front looks like now

We cleaned & planted along both sides of the sidewalk (sorry for the low light quality), pruned existing plants & put some more plants in pots. I now have a potted herb garden and a new succulent.

Living Rock

And now for the side patio planting.

Two “Little Red Riding Hood’s” (which are actually pink???) and one lavender plant in the middle. These should all fill in really nicely hopefully bringing the humming birds in and some butterflies too. We moved the one potted grass plant to the middle there because when people were coming up the walk they would pass by the front door & end up in the back yard (where they don’t belong). So this creates a good barrier I think and protects our personal space.

And lasly I leave you with a little something I found on the inside of the women’s bathroom door the other day. How unbelievably true!

1314 days ago Short URL 4 Comments

california/knit/Knitting/photography/Picture/Pictures

Oct

Nominee!

I noticed the other day that I was nominated for a Premio blog award by knitted gems. Thanks girly!

In accepting this award, I agree to:

1. Display the logo and link to the one who awarded it.

2. Nominate at least 7 blogs to receive the award.

3. Add links to those 7 blogs to my blog.

4. Leave the nominees a message that they have been nominated to receive the award.

And here are the 7 blogs I nominate:
1. Kent’s Craft I find this man ridiculously brilliant & charming
2. A Shrill Caramel Beautiful photography & brilliant knits
3. Make Do And Mend Who I’m secretly stalking via her knits
4. Knitosaurus who makes me want to run to Alaska & knit with her
5. Mustaa Vilaa who knits all the socks I want to, but more beautiful than I could accomplish
6. Exercise Before Knitting who produces beautiful knits, and kinda makes me feel guilty for not exercising
7. Tres Chic Veronique Beyond beautiful knits & ridiculously cute & lives in a cool city

In other news a whole lotta nothing. Amazingly I just don’t have a whole lot to say. There are Santa Anna winds ranging, fires buring, and sinus’s complaining. Ah the joys of California. For your reading pleasure I am going to recap the tale of “Windy Road of Death”.

My Mr likes to drive (so do I and honestly it we do a lot of “I’ll drive”, “That’s ok, I’ll drive”, “Seriously, I’ll drive”, “No it’s ok I’ll drive” which can be annoying to say the least) and will randomly turn off highways, byways, frontage roads, interstates, and the random deer trail to see what else there is. I’ve grown used to it. We usually always end up some place pretty neat, and as long as I have a drink of some sort I’m good to go.

This happened while on a side trip from Morro Bay to San Luis Obispo. Off the 101, out of the corner of his eye he spots “the road”. Luckily along this part of the 101 you can actually pull a U turn (crazy right?), so we flipped around and pulled into the little turn off.

I smelled trouble immediately. What I saw out the windshield made my blood run cold. In front of us was a neglected tract of crumbling pavement, sprinkled generously with pot holes. I’m not talking California, “omg, there’s a ding in the road & my honda might bottom out on it” pot hole. What I’m seeing in front of me makes Minnesota, long winter, long spring, mile deep crevice pot holes look, well, a bit wimpy.

These are serious pot holes. We are driving my Dodge Caliber. Does anyone see a problem? The Mr didn’t, and since he was driving, up we went. I have to say, I love my car more than anything. She handled it like a pro, no bottoming out, no skidding, no nothing. This car fucking ROCKS.

This below is the best patch of the road. The only reason I didn’t take pictures of the worst parts of the road were because I was holding on for dear life trying not to look at the road that was, litterally, falling off the moutain. I am not afraid of heights and there was a point in the road that almost made me cry.

: I felt like a bobble head this whole ride up.

The whole way up I prayed that we wouldn’t meet anyone trying to come down. Our small car took up the entire “road” and the only turn off was called “falling off the mountain”.

: That may look like a bike trail, but I assure you, it’s our road.

Look at this picture, tell me, that thing in front of us, does that look like a road to you? It certainly doesn’t to me. But oh yes, dear blog readers, that is what we traversed. Up & up. That also, for the record, is not fog. It’s cloud. We drove up this stupid windy road of death for 45 minutes.

: More windy, terriblely small road.

Look! Option A is “Paved”, and option B is totally not! Oh the choices! For the record, we passed a sign when first entering this park that no motorbikes, or 4 wheelers were allowed.

: Round & Round. Up & Up.

We did finally make it to the top. And what was up there? A weather station. WE couldn’t even get close. Bleh. But the view was spectacular. Seriously. Below is a picture of the 101. We were so far up we were in the clouds and it was quite beautiful. Would I brave the road of death again for this view? Probably, cause I’m crazy like that. Next time I just need a blind fold.

: And Finally The Top.

: This is just hilarious

Our wine club shipment came last night. I thought this sticker was completely hilarious. Seriously no drunk package signing allowed! But honestly, how are they going to tell? What if I’m just tipsy? Buzzed signing is ok? Gotta love the randomness of the world. And since I’m on the topic of randomness…

: We didn’t take this trail, for obvious reasons.

Yeah, we didn’t hike this trail. Would you?

1318 days ago Short URL 7 Comments

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Oct

One Knit, Two Knit.

I have two knits to show you. Both have been done for quite some time, but I’ve been lazy about getting photos. Plus it hasn’t been all that sunny here so I haven’t been able to get good shots anyways, even if I tried. So there are my excuses, as flimsy as can be, but here are the knits so I think I’ve redemed myself

Conwy Socks

Pattern: Conwy Socks from Knitting on the Road
Yarn: Araucania Ranco Solid 105
Needle: Size 1 circs
Verdict: Love The color is spectacular knit up & they are really cozy. The pattern was really easy to follow and was easily memorized. Deffinately a good sock This yarn rules. I wish I would have done a longer leg, but I thought I was going to run out of yarn since it wasn’t my usual 400+ yards. I didn’t run out of yarn, not in the least, but oh well. Live & learn!

This sock deffinately suffers in the book. It’s knitted in a dark blue yarn & photographed in bad lighting. Which means you can barely tell what the sock looks like. This sock demands to be orange or red (at least I think so). The Denmark sock sufferes the same fate, someone really had poor color choices for this book.

Next!

Pattern: Entralac Cowl (my own)
Yarn: Noro Kureyon

Not a whole lot to say about this knit. Don’t know if I’ll make a pattern or not. I think the colorway choice is what sucked up my enthusiasim for this knit. Maybe I will try it again some day.

In other news I’m under the whip currently. I may have over extended myself for christmas knits. I have two sweaters, 2 afgans, a pair of gloves, and a shawl to finish. O_O I know it will be fine once I get everything sorted, but damn, that’s a whole lot! LOL On that note I leave you with a picture of my cat A Boy Named Sue. Looking rather cute isn’t he?

1321 days ago Short URL 6 Comments

knit/Knitting/photography/Picture/Pictures

Oct

Alpacas, Ostriches, & Yarn! OH MY!

Before the Mr & I went on vacation I dropped a line to the Central Coast knitters forum asking about yarn shops as I hadn’t really found anything on the net. What I was greated with was an invitation from Mette (alpacaholic) to come to her alpaca farm! After a few other emails were exchanged it was decided. I had to go. And I can tell you, I wasn’t sorry I did!

"Why hello there!"

Metta runs Ranch Of The Oaks with her husband Tom and they, along with a few other farmers were having an alpaca day where all the farms were open to the public. We honestly didn’t go to any other farms as meeting Mette was the real reason for the trip but boy was it worth it.

*Sorry about the bad picture Mette, I wasn't in the right setting & you were busy!*

Not only did Mette greet me like we had known each other for 20 years with a big bear hug (thankfully she recognized me from Ravelry, and had a name tag as her icon is an alpaca) but she is just so damn cute & such a lovely person! I am hoping to go back with the Mr for a longer visit when there is less people around & less going on.

Did you know that alpacas sing their frustrations? At least it sounded like singing to me. It was quite amusing but I think they were sick of being on parade & being stared at. Boy were they cute though!!!

Isn’t that the softed cutest looking nose ever? I realized when I was loading these on to my computer that my reflection is in all of their eyes which I thought was pretty darn cool.

Mette has ostriches, and I don't know why

You think that I didn’t come away from my trip with out yarn did you? I bought these at ranch of the oaks. They are natural undyed alpaca, in about a sport weight and beautifully soft.

Undyed Alpaca from Ranch Of The Oaks

I bought this at The Cotton Ball in Morro Bay which is actually a quilt shop (and a beautiful quilt shop at that!) but they had some classic elite yarn.

I am blue AND green.

I bought these at The Scarlet Skein which is a rediculously cute little shop in Atascadero (seriously, I still can’t pronounce this name with out thinking it over). This is also where I had my first real Ravelry sighting! When I walked into this shop I was greeted by a lovely woman knitting a sock behind the counter. A little chit chat & immediately she asked “Are you on Ravelry” & I was all like “Do bears shit in the woods?!” (well I didn’t say that because I’m outwardly more polite than that lol), and she was “you know…I think I know you.” Which if it hasn’t happened to you is a little weird. Someone you don’t know, never seen before & live in a diffrent city from says they know you, it’s just odd. So she looked me up & yes, she had been looking at my page the other day it seems! How funny! When I got back I then realized that I did know her too! I had faved her beautiful Lush & Lacy cardi a month ago! SMALL WORLD HUH?!

Dream in color smooshy & Cascade sock

In knitting news, which I know has been a little slack around here lately, I finished my Conwy Socks and will be posting them soon. I’ve just had so much to say about non-knitting stuff! Plus I’ve been lazy taking FO shots of them. I’m 1/2 way done with my coffee bean socks (I don’t remember the dutch spelling for that) and I love them. I also am kicking myself in the butt to get working on my christmas projects. But of course, since I have to get them done I don’t really want to work on them lol.

And here’s a UFO shot of my coffee bean socks

1324 days ago Short URL 9 Comments

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Oct

SR 22 Form, Oh How I Covet The.

First, I’d like to say, I don’t know which is more FUBAR right now. The grand state of Ohio, or 21rst Century Insurance. Firstly, Ohio suspended the Mr’s licence because they didn’t believe we had insurance. They didn’t accept what we sent them and needed something grand and mystical and equally as hard to obtain, the SR 22 form. Little did I know that 21rst Century Insurance would not issue Ohio anSR 22 form because they are not the state that we live in. Course, it would have been helpful if I would have known that, but that would be easy and convenient, and, well, perfect.

So I call around and find out that Progressive Insurance can and will send out the holy grail of insurance forms, that elusive SR 22 (crosses herself). The policy will cost us twice as much as 21rst Century. Of course right? Well I’m not to concerned about that right now as getting the Mr a valid drivers licence. When I dared, (oh the drama) ask about early cancellation on this policy it was met with a steely cold “if you cancel this policy we will immediately let Ohio know that you don’t have insurance and California will suspend the Mr’s drivers licence. But no, there is not an early cancellation fee.”

Was that a threat? I think it was.

Luckily Mr. Big Shot Insurance Salesman, I am smarter than you think. Now I know all about the policy concerning the SR 22 form and I will thwart it and you. I own the insurance, the insurance does NOT own me!!! Hear me oh mighty SR 22 form, one day, we will meet face to face on the foggy cool field of battle, and hear this, I vow to all the insurance Gods that only I will prevail.

How do I plan to circumvent being chained to Progressive Insurance’s way expensive policy? I plan to get the Mr a wonderful, much coveted, beautifully VALID California drivers licence after the SR 22 has been submitted. Then like Ninja I will shop around policies again till I find one that is not so freaking expensive. Then, and only then will I plant my little seed of destruction among Progressive’s strangle hold on my policy. I will get this new fangled cheaper insurance, I will have them over lap nicely like waves on the sand. I will have this new paladin insurance, the hero of my policies go forth SR 22 form in hand and submit it humbly on one knee to the DVM tyrants. Once accepted I will smite down Progressive back to the sulfer pits of bad insurance commercials and overly expensive policies.

Then I will laugh manically (which truth be told, I might already be doing) reborn, and re-insured.
And to distract you, a nice pretty pelican picture I took.

Taken in Morro Bay, CA.

1326 days ago Short URL 5 Comments

california/Family/Memories/photography/Picture/Pictures

21rst Century Insurance/Policy/Progressive Insurance/SR 22 Form

Oct

Morro Bay

Morro Bay. 10 days of (mildly interrupted from the Mr’s work) peace, quiet, and quite frankly, pure bliss. If you have never ventured up the 1 past Santa Barbara, well, you are missing out. Pismo is cute, San Luis Obsipo is nice, Morro Bay is paradise. There is not a whole lot “to do” precisely in Morro Bay. Not at least for those people who need to be entertained. For those of us that can just be, well it is perfection.

Morro Bay is a bird sanctuary, the whole city, birds and various amazing wild animals flourish here. The small population and a spattering of government “no go” zones protecting this or that make further development here unlikely, and honestly, it would only ruin this small town.

The beaches are among the most fabulous too.

We set off Thursday morning bright and early, cars packed (we brought both the caliber & the truck as we had a truck bed full of wood from a local ranch, it was cheaper this way!) we headed up the 101 through crazy stupid traffic, veering off and stopping in Solvang for breakfast. Solvang is an odd little township where in, it’s randomly Dutch looking, feeling, and of course tasting. We stopped by Olson’s Bakery which is always our stop, no fancy breakfast but honestly, it’s all the better for it. Next was of course one of the many Christmas shops. I don’t know why they have so many Christmas shops here, but they do and we always stop and get an ornament for our tree and a figure for the ever growing creche set. The ornament is a glass clove of garlic which makes me laugh hysterically and the figure is that of St Michael (which was automatically dubbed “The Smiter” by the Mr as the little figure has his sword drawn way over his head looking as though he’s about to smite someone.) For being distinctively non-christian these might be weird purchases, but my mom started the creche set when I was young, and a figure or two has been added to it every year since. By all estimates we now have the whole town of Bethlehem, a few transients, and the local farmers too. It’s quite a large creche set now. lol

Arriving in Morro Bay was like releasing a long held deep breath. Suddenly all the cares, concerns and petty annoyances were left behind, left at home, or by the road side, because nothing else mattered now. The air was crisp (sometimes down right cold at night), the birds sung, and the sea lions barked in the bay. If there is a better chours on this earth I have yet to hear it.

Our home for the next 10 days

What did we do while we camped? We walked, finding a very public Black Crowned Heron rookery where very few people even noticed it. I can’t understand other people who look and see a tree, never looking to see into the tree. There is so much in this life that people just walk by, never looking up, looking down, or into. I can’t imagine a worse existence than never having your curiosity piqued. Never just stopping with jaw dropping wonder that this world around us.

We saw incredible beaches.

We saw Elfin Forests with 200+ year old miniature Oaks.

Me! in the Elfin Forest

We rented a little electronic boat and cruised around the bay “chasing” (we could only go like 3mph) down sea lions and otters and cormorants, and pelicans.

Flight Pattern

Not as much knitting happened as I thought would during these 10 days. I suddenly on the second day was consumed by the need to read. Read, read and just read. Thankfully the Mr had many a book along, the first in a series, that I could start. Devouring that we found ourselves in the one and only New & Used book store in Morro Bay. I have to say that their science fiction/ fantasy selection was slim, but I found a few including THUD!by Terry Prachet and in 2 days of reading it had literally laughed myself in to a tizzy. I wish they had more Prachet books but alas they did not. I definitely need more. After reading Good Omens (which I saw has been reprinted) and now Thud! well, I’m a convert. Even if you are not a fantasy ready, you need to pick up one of his books, the comedy will prevail.

Bought solely because this was, pancakes in a can!

I also photographed most of this trip. I took more pictures in this 10 day period than I’ve ever taken in one haul. Roughly 2000. I won’t bore you with them all, as many are of the birds of Morro Bay as I slammed my shutter shut making sure I would not miss “the one”. This also brought home an idea that has been floating in my brain for a while, cementing into a reality and forcing itself voiced. I really like photography, actually I love it, think about it constantly, and examine everything with it in mind. This is something I really want to pursue, and with help from a few select people, am going to. With my bulldog tenacity I’m going to sniff out every outlet I can and see where it will lead. One day I would like to be the person gathering stares from amateur photographers with my 3 foot long grey lens, sitting on my stool waiting for the shot to come.

This is my dream, and it will be made flesh. I doubt that I will ever quit my day job and sit out in the woods all day long like I would want to, but one never knows, and you can not rule out possibilities before even trying. So I’m going to try, and I may succeed, or I may flounder, but at least I’m going to try.

Black Crowned Heron

Over the next few days I will be posting individual pictures from the trip and recaping my meeting with Mette (alpacaholic) and neverknotknitting These few are just the first upload, as always, no editing, no photoshop.

1327 days ago Short URL 13 Comments

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Mr Poopers Day Out

Posted in October 2008 …

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Some Days Are Just Counter Clockwise

NO on PROP 8

Spin, Spin, Spin, Fall Over.

The Weekend! It’s More Than Just For Knitting!

Nominee!

One Knit, Two Knit.

Alpacas, Ostriches, & Yarn! OH MY!

SR 22 Form, Oh How I Covet The.

Morro Bay

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