Sunday, January 10, 2016

Rain, Flowers and Knitting

Hello my friends.  Thank you again for your votes in my survey and also welcome to my new followers.  My house is finally back to normal (if that really exists) as my Christmas decorations are all safely tucked away until November.    This week we had rain...lots of rain.  The weather kept me busy since I was on school drop off/pick up for my little grandson.  I enjoy this new responsibility since my daughter is busy with my new little granddaughter.  For years, I lived south of Seattle were gray skies and rain were a common occurance.  But here in southern California rain means a totally different thing.  We experience severe downpours here.    Due to the wildfires that have taken place the last few years, when it rains there can be extreme flooding and mudslides.  Luckily, our area is not affected by these hazards but my heart goes out to those whose homes are in these areas.

Below is a photo of the gray skies  from my home .  Those hills in the background were a beautiful shade of green early last year.  But due to the severe drought they quickly became brown.

The past two days we have had sunny skies.  Here's a photo of the beautiful morning sunrise.

But, today's sunrise was even more amazing with all those colors in the sky.  The clouds are back this afternoon and we may get a little more rain this coming week.  But, that's OK as everything is so clean and green.

As usual, I planted some paperwhites and they seem to have taken off quite well.

A couple of them are blooming.  I love seeing these flowers take shape each year.
 

 On a crafty note, I pulled out this beaded scarf that I think I began back in 2013.  You can see my Ravelry notes here.  (I love the way your WIPs can "hibernate zzz" on Ravelry!  Anyway, I'm hoping to get it finished this week.
 

My blog friend Christine who is an extremely accomplished knitter,  shared her experience knitting a beautiful Norwegian style (fair isle) sweater that featured steeking.  Her post so fascinated me that I requested this book as a Christmas gift.  I don't know if I'll ever get around to knitting such a masterpiece but I may try a few practice swatches. 
 

One last thing I wanted to share.  I went to the dentist on Thursday and as I'm always careful where I park my car, I chose an end parking space.  I no sooner pulled into the space when I heard the funniest sound; at first I thought it was my car engine like a squeaky fan belt (do cars still have fan belts..).  But, it was a flock of birds up in the tree next to me.  I didn't pay much attention since they immediately flew away.  Well, it was a big mistake as when I returned to my car an hour later it was a mess!  Yup, and the rain had stopped.  Needless to say, I came home and washed it off which meant I had to dry it as our water is so hard it leaves spots.  I don't know what type of birds they were.  It was such a unique chirping sound all in unison.

Enjoy your week wherever you are.  Again, I appreciate your friendship :)

My best to you,

Pat 

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10 comments:

  1. I love WIP's but also like to get them finished as gives you a sense of achievement. Sorry about your car so annoying with the pesky birds.

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  2. Lots of grey skies here in south-east England too - they make me try harder to find some colour. Beautiful pictures of the sun-rise :-)

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  3. IT is so kind of you to do the car pick up/drop off. If it is anything like what we have at school it takes a long time, some parents can be so rude!
    Love your knitting and your new book.
    Meredith

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  4. Your paper whites are beautiful. Last year I managed to get a few daffodils to flower in a tub outside. None of the local Spanish folk knew what they were. Sadly there is no sign of them reappearing this year.
    I love the knitting. I have a house ful of unfinished projects, but I daresay they will come out of hibernation one day. I am sure your scarf will be worth finishing.
    I love the sunrise photos. Well done for catching those. I am rarely up to see the rise, so my sky photos are always of sunsets!. How lovely to grandchildren nearby. Enjoy your time with them. Kate xx

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  5. Enjoy your paperwhites! Those birds sound like quite a flock!! xx

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  6. Here in the Uk we consider ourselves to be rain experts! I had no idea it rained much at all in California - just goes to show!
    Those flowers are so pretty, you must be really pleased with them.

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  7. I love the look of paperwhites - so pretty!
    Liz

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  8. Oh gosh! Thank you for the link! As you know, I am just starting to knit a(nother) Alice Starmore sweater, which is steeked, so I will try to keep the blog updated with photos. I am very, very glad indeed that you've had rain. Sorry about the birds' gift to you...

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  9. Great post Pat! Loved the sunsets! Shame about the birds! Your knitting looks very pretty - what a lot of projects you have on Ravelry. Christine's knitting is amazing, what patience she has - I'd never heard of steeking, or maybe I've forgotten if I had, and I found Chrisine's post fascinating! Thank you for visiting my blog and for your lovely comment. Hugs! Barbara xx

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  10. Beautiful flowers, I really love the way they brighten up any place. Looking forward to hearing more about what you're up to as the year goes on.

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