Mother's Day 2010

Today I count my blessings. Justin, Alex and Claire are beautiful, intelligent, healthy, involved children. Audra has become a cherished member of the family as well. Though it all feels precarious with Nicole gone and my husband relocating for work for the time being. I hope all goes well for him. I hope we fare well too. As essentially a single parent again, I'll have to stay on my toes.
I really have so much to be thankful for. Friends and family have helped me get this far. I am indebted to them for their love and support. I have a steady job even if it has become harder and we've had a pay cut. We have a home. I am blessed.
Happy Mother's Day!

Cool Overcast Sunday

Just got back from a walk with Paul. It's beautiful out, though a bit cloudy. Perfect weather for a walk. The snow in the mountains is gorgeous and it's nice to have some moisture in the air. Haven't done much this weekend. We did have friends over Friday. It motivated the family to help straighten and vacuum. It was nice to start the weekend with a semi-clean house. It puts a more pleasant twist on the whole thing.
Went knitting at Yarn Deli Saturday. The ladies are all getting ready to go to Stitches West this coming weekend. I wanted to go but think I should go down to the Big 3 in San Diego with the family instead. So maybe next year( I think it was the same thing last year. Stitches and The Big 3 are on the same weekend.) This year we are trying to unload some cars and find wheels for Alex's Model T. You should check out his blog, Fix the T. He's trying to get it rebuilt to drive cross country to New York next year.
Went on a date with my husband. I can't even remember when we last went out together. We've been raising kids the entire time we have been together and have not given the time we need to to maintain our relationship. The kids are definitely old enough now to take care of themselves for long periods of time. And we need to take the time to repair our relationship due to the lack of communication we have been in the habit of. We had a pretty pleasant date. It's nice to take the evening off from the usual responsibilities. We took that walk together this morning too. I am hopeful.
May be heading to Laguna to help my daughter with her sewing machine. It's cool she is designing clothing. That was my favorite thing to do when I was young. I wanted to be a fashion designer growing up. She avoided doing anything I like while she was growing up. It's nice to have a common interest now.

Last Curtain Call

Here is the last time on stage for my daughter and the rest of the cast of Babes in Toyland. Did I say they were absolutely astounding. What a wonderful group of kids, teachers, and parents that were involved in this. Unfortunately, "Once you leave a part of you can never return again."

These Kids Are Amazing!

My daughter and her cast had 3 full performances of Babes in Toyland today. They are wonderful. Here are the gypsys.

Today is the Play!

Today is the first day of 'Babes in Toyland' performances. They will be running scenes for 6 audiences at the high school. I have decided to take the day off to try to take pictures. My camera didn't work at Saturday's dress rehearsal. Here's my babe in her Jill costume. Break a leg!

Socks and the End of the School Year

I am so into knitting socks these days. These are a few of the ones on the needles. Unfortunately my knitting time has been limited so I haven't finished any lately. I have about 6 pairs of socks on the needles and have decided I need to make my son a pair for his birthday I haven't started yet. I am doubtful I will get any finished in time for the end of sock group deadlines at midnight tonight.













I just joined the pair a month challenge and have a great accountability partner. This will be great to have someone checking on my progress from time to time and egg me on. She is going to participate in the 52 pair plunge. I am in awe. I would like to step up my knitting to at least 2 pairs a month on a regular basis and work on other things too. Who knows maybe I'll be able to.
Only three half days left of school. Still lots to pack up and take off the walls, not to mention keeping my students from getting into trouble now that just about all their work is done. Preteens can be quite the pains when they have the opportunity.
My son has had his 8th grade dance. Paul drove him and his friends in my 30 Pierce Arrow. They had a really good time. Today is his band trip to Soak City, Tuesday is the 8th grade trip to Magic Mountain. After that he is a 9th grader.
My daughter is sad her 8th grade friends will be leaving after Monday and she'll never see them again. She really thrived and made a lot of friends the last two years in drama class.
pics later

My Own Fairy Godmother!

Tonight was opening night of Cinderella at our school. My daughter has the part of the Irish Fairy Godmother. She was phenomenal! She is getting more confident on the stage with every play. I am so grateful to her teacher for this experience.

The Travelers Return in Time to See Me Off to New Mexico

Well, Hubbo and the kids are back. They got back late last night. The had as good a time as you can going to a funeral. It's a nice thing to have family to share life's ups and downs with. They were so happy to have spent time with their aunt and uncle, cousins and husband's aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Today my daughter and I head to San Diego to meet up with my sister-in-law and niece before we all take off for New Mexico. I've been doing laundry and packing all day today trying to be ready. I think I've got done what I can for now. At least we have clean clothes to take with us and I have a couple of knitting projects to carry along. My cameras are charging and I just need to put a few more things away and bathe and dress.
At least I finished my Jaywalkers before leaving. I am going to wear them. My Noro Entrelac socks are getting there. I just had to get other things done today.

Mis-Adventures of the Kennedys and friends

This weekend we rented a motor home, packed up, and went down to San Diego to hang out in the Qualcomm Stadium for the weekend. It was the yearly Big 3 old car and motorcycle swap meet. I've been going down there for about 20 years to this event. My parents used to be the ones to get everything down there and we'd just show up and walk around, shop, and visit. Of course they didn't have jobs to go to or kids at home. It's tough to get organized enough to do it. We missed it last year. We don't live in San Diego either.


Any way, DH and DD were supposed to get down there before 8AM Friday, but didn't make it. The rest of us were supposed to leave after work and school or Saturday morning. My older DS and DD decided not to go. I wouldn't have even rented the motor home if I didn't think I was going to get to hang out with my kids. We ended up leaving Friday at about 7PM with our friends Leigh Ann and Robert. When we arrived around 9PM the gate was still open, but no one had the list of space renters and we didn't have the passes they gave us last year. They made us wait until 5AM Saturday morning to go to our spot. Ridiculous.
We kept our spot for next year, but unless we start getting ready for it months in advance there isn't a lot of point. We don't sell enough to cover the space rent let alone the motor home. It would be worth doing if we could get rid of some things doing it. We had a pretty decent time even though DH was a grouch. It was a little cold yesterday, but beautiful today. I guess next year we might do it again.
I did finish my Noro rainbow socks and decided to start the Annetrelac socks from the Holiday issue of Interweave Knits with the leftover Noro. I had some really BRIGHT yellow yarn with me (that I dyed to put a Pikachu on a present for my niece)that goes with the remaining yarn. So I started them. They will definitely be vivid. I'll be able to use up my scraps up. Don't want Noro to go to waste.
I finished one of my son's Fiery Socks in time for him to wear one to his Vista Idol competition.

Yarn Crawl This Weekend

Went to three shops on the list and two more who did not participate. This was the first one I know about in this area. It was nice to spend the day with my friend and daughter visiting yarn shops, but the "run" itself could have been better.

I spent the evening working on my redesigned Fake Isle hat. Here's what it looks like. What do you think?

Great Day off!

Went with my daughter and the drama class from school to see the play, 'Seussical the Musical.' It was great! I loved the color scheme and set design. Pictures were off limits so I have none. I loved the play though.
After school my son and his friend went down to the coffee shop at the closest shopping center to school and played guitar and keyboard until we all got too cold to go on.
Took hubby to dinner for Sadie Hawkins day.
I think we all had a good time today.
I even worked a little on the newest Dream Swatch. It rolls a bit. I hope it will block. The yarn seems too soft to want to firm up in a certain shape though. I will try.

Alpine milestone

This is my Sunbeam Alpine. I have missed her. She's been being reworked for a long, long time.
Paul finally turned over the keys. She's only been unsafe for over 10 years. I thought I would lose it and finally smash her or sell her before this day came. Now (per DH) she is acceptably safe for me to drive. (Of course we took a drive to the hardware store and she wouldn't start when we came out. If I'd gone by myself I would have been stuck.)
It was a lovely night for a drive. The Maxfield Parrish colored sky and palm trees lit by the sunset. It is air is very clear. We drove by a couple of orange groves(of the few left) and could feel the 5-10 degree temperature change in the air. It wasn't that long ago that the whole area was like this. Now we have 110+ degree temperatures regularly in the summer. We drove by an entire block of new warehouse type business buildings that used to be groves. There is an entire housing development and super gas station with car wash just down the road that used to be orange groves. My pre-teen/teen age kids say remember when Redlands used to be nice and there were all sorts of orange groves here.
Perhaps I should break the negative theme of the end of old Redlands and get back to the beautiful evening and my cute little roadster. I have missed her and she's mine again! She is a 1954 Sunbeam Alpine.
A few years ago I was driving home from work when a number of power poles and lines were knocked over by heavy winds. I managed to stop my car about a car length from where the last pole snapped and fell in front of me. Unfortunately the power lines fell across the car, directly over me, and crushed the windshield right where was sitting. Did I mention the top was down and the only way the live lines did not hit me was that I ducked over the passenger seat just in time? I can tell you when I looked up and saw those lines coming down on me did I ever move(and swear). Anyway, I lucked out. Nobody knows how I got out of there alive. The lines were still live when I climbed up and jumped out of the car. Had I touched the ground and still been touching the car I would have fried too. I would say I was really lucky, but it really had to be more than that. The car had a few dings, but was mostly alright. Then more and more things started going wrong with her. My husband has been working on the car now for years. It has a new engine, new brakes, a new radiator, carbeurator, lights, shifter...maybe more. Now I need to start work on the interior and get her painted. I am thinking a yellowy gold might be nice. Really it's nice to know I can just get in her and go(if we get the safety switch issue fixe, since I don't know the ins and out of the wiring under the hood.)
Here's a picture of my daughter with her new glasses so grandma can see them.

Fell off the face of the Earth

Okay, I've been busy cleaning and hanging out in the woods. The family went to Long Island, but I just straightened around camp while they were gone. My son Justin is out of the Army and came to camp. We went to the Central Adirondack Art show opening together. It was cool to know several of the artists in the show and actually have people to talk to at the opening.
With all the time I had without the kids and hubby I still never started painting. My friend Leigh Ann just got here. Jet Blue cancelled my daughter's flight or she would have been here last night. She comes in late tonight now.
It's a beautiful day on the lake today, but we're headed for Old Forge Hardware. We did sit and knit on the dock a while and the kids swam and kayaked. We're all beat. I think it's a good nap day rather than party day.
Later...

What's new in the Woods

Wow, it’s been a few days since I’ve checked in. The watercolor class with Sondra Freckleton and Sally Baker was phenomenal. It is the best class I have ever taken! I have not finished my painting yet. Here is a picture of the still life set up.Here is how far I have gotten on my painting.

The kitchen is progressing. It is now too late to get my garnet granite countertop so I am designing a cement counter with inset tiles of garnet tile and whatnot. Hmmmm, thinking about murals and airbrush techniques for the refrigerator and wall paint… Someone stop me. I almost found a sink yesterday. If it wasn’t an undermount I would have brought it home. We also had a load of driveway gravel delivered to fix the floor of the garage. We filled in some mushy places in the driveway with the extra.
It’s been raining. I’ve done a little antiquing, knitting, cooking, reading, gathering interesting branches and such. My son made himself a copper wrist cuff and baked bread today.
My daughter and I visited Old Forge Hardware and found Mr. Bill. We decided it would be fun to surprise people with Mr. Bill in precarious situations. My son was in on it after we got him the first time. This is what Mr. Bill did today.



We have a visitor a lot these days. Don’t tell, we’ve been giving him popcorn. Paul has named him Gerald.

Birthday report

My daughter says she had a fun birthday. Blueberry peach pie for breakfast. A trip to town to see a movie. A really exciting(just kidding) boating safety course...installment one. What more could a girl want?
Here are the socks I hid and did remember to bring with us to New York. Though I say she has a unique way to wear them.

Near miss

We started our Memorial Day weekend by visiting a friend and another friend's yarn store. Today on the way to Designer Handknits in Riverside, my daughter and I were very lucky to miss being rear-ended on the freeway by just one car. We heard a horrible braking and crunching crash, only to see the car behind us pulling over to the side of the road. The car behind them had the entire front end smashed in and the windshield destroyed. Then a young boy got out of the crashed car. This was the fast lane. I hope everyone was alright. We called 911 immediately. The car that had been hit stopped and the driver got out. It was a Mercedes SUV so I think they probably were able to drive again on their way once the reports were filled out. It was a place in the road where traffic always slows down due to construction around a poorly designed freeway interchange. We were all slowing at a reasonable rate. The driver who crashed must have been distracted as traffic slowed.
I was too busy describing the accident to the 911 operator to get too worried, but my daughter was shaking until long down the road. It was a good day, we were spared.

A MidSummer Night's Dream

Okay so it's not midsummer yet. My daughter's drama class is putting on their latest play. My daughter has two parts, a fairy and Tom Snout(an actor who plays a wall in the play within the play) I am so proud of her

Another busy day

The school year is winding down...actually winding up til the end. Placement tests and new procedures to give and have meetings about, studying for final exams, end of the year trips and parties, Academic Pentathlon awards (tonight- we did great!), books to carry back to the library and check in, walls to strip, boxes to pack, classrooms to close. Let's not forget my daughter's play tomorrow and Friday nights. Midsummer Night's Dream...can't wait to see her in her fairy costume. a little tweaking on the underskirt to be done, but other than that she's ready!
Here's another picture of the newest orchid blooming, LC Canhamiana 'Azure Skies'

Sea World Field Trip

Went to Sea World with my classes today....tired...pictures tomorrow. Good night.

Here's those pictures I promised...We saw the penguins being fed, manatee feeding, fed seals and sea lions, rode the Atlantis ride, played at Shamu's Harbor play area, and saw the dolphin show. Not too bad for a half day...
You know while watching the dolphin show and seeing the 5 female trainers, I was reminded of my friend Christiane Covington who was the first female dolphin trainer at the San Diego Sea World over 25 years ago. She volunteered for over a year before being allowed to work with the dolphins. I don't know if she was ever paid at all. I admire the dedication she showed working so long with no reward to attain that goal.

Shhhh...

My daughter is still up at Science camp so I was able to work on the socks I am making for her birthday. I finished. Don't tell! Now I'll have to remember where I hid them until the end of June.
Oh, and about Mother's Day honey. Have I mentioned how important having a finished bathroom is to me? A plug that fits the tub, moldings back in place, tile or even a crappy plastic enclosure, a new toilet, paint, floor.