Crazy Weather

And they say Texas has crazy weather. It's hailing in Sacramento right now. This is the view from the garage. That is hail covering the street. Front door view.

Lovely view of the pool.

And the back deck.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving -this day has many connotations for me. My parents immigrated from Holland to England to San Francisco. From all the stories, they came to San Francisco the weekend of Thanksgiving. Being from Holland they had no understanding of what Thanksgiving was but were invited to celebrate the holiday with neighbors. From that day on Thanksgiving dinner has always been a celebration in my family. From year to year you never knew who would be at dinner but there were always extras. For my mother's 7oth birthday we decided to go on a cruise for Thanksgiving - her birthday is December 1. I will say this was probably the end of the family Thanksgiving holiday for our family. I was getting a divorce, mother was dealing with cancer and everyone seemed to be moving on. This was a wonderful time but time moves on and things change.

This year Jim and I are by ourselves . Next year I hope to find people to share the holiday with us. I am in a new land and need to learn how to negotiate it.

The Empress's New Clothes

Here is Mei Ling in her beautiful new sweater.

Bret is Finished

Actually the sweater has been finished for about a month but I finally got it on my model last night. It's gotten rather chilly in Cali!! The pattern is from Rowan Denim People by Kim Hargreaves. I did shorten the amount of ribbing on the cuffs and the sweater band. I love working with Rowan denim although the darker blue did turn my hands blue.

This sweater was knit with no holiday in mind. Two years ago for Christmas I gave Jim a sweater that was not completed at the time of gifting and he likes to tell everyone how it didn't get finished for several more months.

Yes my man does dishes!!!

Mei Ling's New Sweater

Yesterday I decided I needed to get out of the house. It's getting to a point that it is harder and harder to find somewhere to put things as I unpack boxes. The weather here in Sacramento has gotten chillier and Mei Ling is wearing the sweater I previously knit her 24/7. What better excuse to go to a yarn shop!!! So off I headed to The Yarn Shoppe in Elk Grove.

The Yarn Shoppe in Elk Grove is a wonderful well lit store. The people there are friendly and helpful. I wandered for awhile touching and feeling. I did fondle for some time some Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (should we say spoiled dog) but decided on some Berroco Pure Merino dk in three colors - navy, eggplant and aqua. In the photo the aqua is looking more light blue - just imagine it a little more green. If I can make it to DFW Fiber Fest in April I hope to take Franklin Habit's class on photographing yarn. I think it will really help my photography. The yarn is said to be shrink resistant. I just need to remember not to put it in the dryer.

I hope to hang out more at The Yarn Shoppe!! They have knit nights Tuesday and Thursday right now and I did overhear something about people bringing wine, kinda like the old shoppe. The biggest drawback is that it's about 25 minutes from the house. Then again for me that's kinda like the old shoppe!

We have landed.......

In California.

Last Wednesday my car was picked up for transport and the packers came. For some reason I thought the packers would be women. I had mixed feelings about men packing my panties and bras but Jim does like Victoria's Secret so no granny panties in the drawers. Friday the movers came and loaded up the truck. It is truly amazing how they pack the truck to use every bit of space.

To squeeze a little fun into our last weekend in Texas we were invited with the Millers to the Big Brothers/Big Sisters 50th anniversary on the 50 at the new Cowboy Stadium on Friday night. We got to check out the locker room and the dinner and auction were out on the field. We had a great time and it was fun seeing the new stadium. The screen hanging down from the ceiling is huge.

Saturday we had a crisis as Hagen, Kelsey and Mia showed up at the house. Apparently their dad decided that Mia, the eight year old indoor cat, was going to now become an outdoor cat. I had a fleeting moment of bringing the cat to California but really didn't want to as I am allergic to her. She is now residing with Kelsey's boyfriend so Hagen will still get to visit her.

Sunday we headed to the airport. Getting Jake on the flight went smoothly and he didn't seem traumatized when he got to California. Sacramento airport has an area to let your pet out to do their business which we checked out with Jake and then back in the crate for the ride home. The little dogs were happy to see us and get out of dog prison which is what Jim calls the boarding facility.

My car came Monday and Tuesday all the furniture and boxes showed up. Lots of boxes!!!!! 179 to be exact. Now I get to open them and find places to put everything.

And as a final note I would strongly discourage anyone moving to a new time zone in the West to make the move the weekend of daylight savings time. Rather then my body adjusting to a two hour change I am dealing with a three hour change.