Weekend at the Observatory

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Another wintery day in Los Angeles. Griffith Park Observatory.

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I've been itching to write for a while now, but the knitting and spinning have not been terribly interesting, because the Hoolia, she has not been terribly interesting. I've been sick as a dog for several weeks, so the only crafty thing that I've done is plug away on the baby sweater from hell (see it masquerading as a cute, fun project in the entry below), and then only when the nausea let up enough to allow me to knit. Fun! I am probably being a bit harsh on the baby sweater. It's darling, and I will be very pleased with it when the drudgery is over, but I overestimated the thrill of "honeycomb stitch". Honeycomb stitch is just lovely when completed, but it's hard to read as you're knitting it because the bulk of the action happens on the RS while you are working the WS. It's easy to f*ck up and it's about as interesting as seed stitch (but just as pretty, too!). I am only a little ashamed to say that there are at least four places where I screwed up half a row and just left it. I couldn't bring myself to rip out a row of that stuff if the error was not glaring, and my feeling is that the wee recipient, who is likely to barf on it anyway (all hail machine washable wool cotton!) will not notice. One sleeve left to go and I'll photograph it for you, mistakes and all.

Happliy, I was graced with a nausea-free weekend, just when our weather decided to go from a lovely 70 degrees to an even lovelier 80 degrees (for those feeling envy, fear not - we are sure to experience 100 degree weather in May and July-August, with a nice June Gloom sandwiched in the middle - even Angelenos get their due). We took full advantage of both the weather and my wellness for the entire weekend, and enjoyed the great outdoors.

Before the fire, Griffith Park was one of our regular weekend stops, but since then many of the trails have been closed, so we've only gone to volunteer with the recovery effort. The last tree-planting we participated in was in early December, so when we went back this weekend to help out with the planting efforts at Dante's Peak, we were pretty surprised to see that a lot has changed and many trails are now open. I was pretty pooped out from the effort of going to the planting site and back again, but Moxie, who used to run the mountain, decided that he wanted to go back for a run in the afternoon. He got in his exercise while I lazed around on the deck and ploughed away on the aforementioned baby sweater. While there, he also checked out the observatory, which we have not been to since it re-opened, mostly because we aren't big fans of crowds. M was very impressed, and insisted that we get up early on Sunday morning and beat the crowds to the observatory so that we could enjoy the morning there. It was a great idea, because no one in LA seems to be up and about at 8:00 am on a Sunday. I even had a chance to coax my esteemed photographer into doing a Mishka photo shoot....bonus!

What the Elves Made this Year

One vest for dad, one apron for mom, coming up!

Hoolia Claus did not go unassisted. Townes helped to make sure that the vest was folded completely flat for packing by putting in some dedicated napping hours on top of it, and the dogs assisted with moral support while I sewed by lounging lovingly on the bed. I could not have done it without them. I hope that your holiday crafting was just as merry and well-supported. There's nothing quite like having a good crew to get you through!

Hmmm...What could that be?

Mommy's hat with added ventilation.It tastes like wool. Rather yummy, forbidden wool. It smells like mommy. Do you think it's mommy's hat?

Well, it used to be mommy's hat. Now, not so much. I have quickly learned that Ash loves my knitting. If I so much as leave for even a moment to go to the bathroom without securing it in a place too high for him to "counter surf," I can depend on finding it in his mouth. I am not so sure that he would ventilate it on his own, but with Zosia the destroyer at his side, he can do quite a bit of damage for the purpose of encouraging play.

Surprisingly, I am not that upset. I made this hat in 2003, and it was kind of a silly knit, complete with two pompoms on the top at the end of long I-cord strings. It was definitely fun while it lasted, and I got good use out of it in DC, but in LA it very rarely sees the outdoors. It just isn't practical for this climate, so it ends up neglected in the winter clothing chest, with all the down jackets and snow boots that we used to wear. It's not really my style anymore, either. What I did realize is that it would look great as a thick headband. I love the twisted stitch cables, and with just the slightest bit of re-working (including tightening up that flaring ribbing at the bottom), it will make a beautiful accessory that will get tons of use. In a round about way, Ash actually did me, and the neglected hat, a favor. Most importantly, he gave me a very concise heads up concerning his knitwear-eating activity by chewing on a hat and one swatch that I had made, rather than the absolutely delicious cashmere sweater that I am working on. And I am eternally grateful for that.

Was that the hat of the mommy who loves us, feeds us, hikes with us?
Why yes, I believe it was.

Plus, I kind of feel honored. I know that this will be knitting blasphemy to those among you who are not animal lovers, but I know that Ash chose to play with my knitting precisely because it was mine. He loves me, and he wants to play with my toys, just like he plays with Zosia's. She doesn't care when he tears her plush toys to shreds. She likes it. I think it's Asher's way of saying that he cares, and that he is so, so happy to be here, rather than in a cold cage at the rescue. I just hope that his intestines get through this intact. I'm not sure how digestible wool is, but I fear someone (maybe two someones?) may be pooping pompoms in the near future.

We are so happy, so pretty. How could anyone be mad at us?

Double Trouble

Can you tell which one is Zosia?
Are you sure?

Our little girl had a big weekend. She was a single gal on Friday night, but now it's Sunday evening and she has a live-in boyfriend. M and I have discussed getting a second dog from time to time, but it didn't feel serious. On Saturday he suggested that we go look at dogs, which we do not do unless we're getting one. We went on-line and found "Bear" at the Burbank German Shepherd Rescue. He's Zosia's twin with about 15 more pounds of muscle, but unlike our sassy little girl, he is totally mellow. What a sweetie. It was love at first sight - for us and then for Zosh. We named him "Ash."

The mellowness is incredible. He fits in perfectly, and as I write this all six of us - two dogs, two cats and two humans - are lying on the floor together snoozing and quietly watching football. So nice. I hope your weekends were peaceful as well and full of good food!

Our sweet big boy "Ash" on his first outing with us.