Showing posts with label california. Show all posts
Showing posts with label california. Show all posts

Monday, April 1, 2013

progress report

My vacation getaway is winding up with 2 nights in San Francisco, a wonderful city that I always love to visit.  Having my sister here is the best part!  This morning we had a chance to do some window shopping and some actual shopping.  Even made a stop in the nearby Daiso shop, the Japanese $1.50 store, according to their advertising!  I am always fascinated by all of the little containers and boxes that they have, something different than what I usually find back at home.

During our movie-watching time last night, I was able to stitch together another little hexagon block--


I love the little bug in the middle!

And I have had my knitting along, finding minutes here and there to make a few more rows.  I am at 2.5 inches--yay!  I'm aiming for 6" and then will decide if that is enough.  This is about 5 feet long, and these rows do take a bit to complete.  Tomorrow I will be occupying my waiting and flying time with some more rows!

And a parting shop of the grounds at Asilomar--

Thank you, California, for a great visit!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

a stonehenge moment

I know it's been too long between posts when my own son calls and tells me to put up something new! I think I have been kind of out of sorts about blogging because I am without my camera yet. I have concluded it must have been stolen from the duffel bag that was checked, and that is my own fault. I have never left it in a checked bag before, and now I know why. It was a slip-up on my part, so time to move on--I'm shopping around for a new one! So the pictures here today are leftovers from San Francisco--

The wineries we visited all had such beautiful buildings and grounds. Makes me wish I could be a gardener there! I was amazed at this huge rhubarb plant in front of the Korbel Champagne-making place (not sure what to call it if it's not a winery? Champagnery?)
Bob has a grudge against rhubarb, I think he sabotages my plant at home so they never grow very well, and I think he had it on his mind to pull this one when no one was looking. I got him out of there fast!

We had a great dinner out at North Beach Italian Restaurant, and I discovered that their napkins have a buttonhole in one corner so they can be kept in place--what a nifty idea!

In the sculpture garden on top of the Museum of Modern Art, we observed this very large sheet of metal standing upright. Very tall and wide.
Then we noticed the shadow it cast--
barely there! The sun was in just the right spot to cast almost no shadow from this very large work of art. We thought it must be something like a Stonehenge effect and maybe kind of mysterious. This was just before we went to the movie "Inception" which was also kind of mysterious. I would be hard pressed to explain that movie to you, you will have to see it for yourself.

Are you familiar with the Stieg Larsson books? This is a trilogy with 2 main characters, based on mystery and mayhem, set in Sweden in present day (or nearly present, the author died in 2004 after completing the series).
It is best to read them in order, starting with The Dragon Tatoo, then Played with Fire, then Hornet's Nest. The movies for the first two are out, I'm not sure about the 3rd. I have finished reading/listening to the first 2, and waiting on the library to get me the 3rd. It's hard to wait, the ending of Played with Fire was a real cliff-hanger, so there is a lot to be straightened out for "The Girl", Lisbeth. It has been fun to read them and see the movie, which was in Swedish with English sub-titles. I was understanding more and more of the Swedish by the end of the movie, I might have to go a few times! The reader on the CD's did a very good job of pronouncing all the names of the Swedish towns, streets, people, etc., in an authentic way, at least to my ears!



A parting thought--
"If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything." --Win Borden

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

several things

How's that song go? "We are the champions, we are the champions" or something like that! Yes, Bob played a tough round of golf Sunday, went into overtime, and came home with a big grin on his face! That's my guy!
This followed a perfect cabin weekend on Potato Lake (near Chetek, WI) with friends Bob and Debbie. Bonfire with s'mores, pontooning and fishing, reading, knitting, sitting by the lake, golfing, paddleboating, lots of laughs and plenty of good food. Just a couple highlights:
Also did a little nature study:
The spider was identified as a Nursery Web spider and it was larger than the ordinary spider but no one wanted to get close enough to stick their hand in the picture for some perspective. I'm guessing it was about 4-5" across the legs. Sitting on a nest of eggs, which is what really has Debbie creeped out because that means there will be more! Not sure what the mushroom is, but it sure was a bright yellow on top.
Brita's bridal shower platter is done just in time for Bob to take it with him on his drive out to CA. He leaves tomorrow for Colorado, spending time in Estes Park with Danny and planning to climb Long's Peak together. Then to Mammoth Lakes for a couple days with Dan before going to San Francisco where we will meet up for nephew Scott's wedding. Fun things happening!