Unemployment Schmunemployment

Due to the recent notification that I will be unemployed in about a week, and a HUGE boulder that fell on the road between home and the office, I stayed home today and did almost nothing. But the crafter in me has been itching to do something, so I pulled out the rest of the orange roving I bought on etsy and spun the remainder into some sort of yarn... Pics of that after it dries from its little bath, but here's the process...




Oh, and yeah, we just got back from Hawaii, did I forget to mention that? During our eleven days there was quite a bit of rain...



but there was some glorious sunshine too...





So, yeah, I'm not complaining about anything!

Its Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Craft-mas

For some wacky reason, despite past, and recent events, I still do love me the holiday season. That little lump in your throat when you hear the Peanuts gang sing type of love. We've already watched the Grinch, Rudolph ("in-de-pen-dant!") and Its a Wonderful Life. We've got our tree up (a small miracle for us, as it is usually a Christmas Eve event due to procrastination).

I've been crafting, which is a seasonal status quo. My husband refers to it as Suzie's Santa Sweatshop. These little sparklies were for a local art sale last weekend, and I actually sold four whole pairs of earrings!

I'm also doing some sewing this year (darn tendonitis, no knitting) which is surprisingly quick in comparison to both knitting and beaded earrings... I can't give away the surprise, but here's a taste of the cute. I just love my grammy's awesome vintage fabric!


And at some point a while back I promised a full pic of the last baby sweater I managed to complete, so here it is... Ta Daaaaa!


Hope y'all are cozy and crafty, and surrounded by the voices of the Peanuts gang.

A Bit Sad

As of last Wednesday, before Thanksgiving, I was 10 weeks pregnant. Sadly on Thanksgiving (after a lovely dinner) I suffered a miscarriage. I was in very capable hands, with an obgyn cousin of the Hub's at dinner with us, and another emergency room doctor cousin at the hospital 7 miles away. I did end up at the hospital, but was discharged after a few hours and sent home to rest (relatively) comfortably back at Aunt Madeleine and Uncle Matt's house.

So we're all okay now, albeit a bit sad. One remaining hurdle will be to explain to Jackson that the baby that was growing in mommy's belly is no longer there. So, because of the situation, all I can say is that I am especially thankful for my wonderful husband, the amazing family I married into, and my sweet little son. Wishing everyone a cozy weekend of quality family time.

Sedentary Roving

So the pesky tendonitis has completely curbed my knitting habit these days, and I have been hankering for something crafty. Partially inspired by this crafting hottie, I finally dug around in the yarn stash and came up with this nifty kit that I got from my brother in law about two (?!) years ago.



Only when it was in kit form, that there stuff wasn't wound on the spindle yet. (That stuff was formerly roving which is washed and combed wool that has yet to be spun into yarn.) That there stuff henceforth will be known as MY FIRST YARN EVER!



Yeah, its a bit lumpy and uneven, but the process is surprisingly satisfying, fun, and quick! Yay, new craft! (Try to ignore the fact that the new craft is completely reliant on the old craft for actual use.) Now I just need me some more roving stuff, look out credit card!

And Yes, It Hurts To Type Too, Darn.

So I seem to have knit a bit too much in the last few months and given myself some tendonitis in my wrist, boo. But I am (finally) just finishing up this wee knit for the newest baby in the family... I'll divulge a bit more once its in the mail, though really I'm not leaving much to the imagination here...

Civic Duty

So I got summoned for jury duty for today. Oddly enough, despite the fact that I am about to turn 40 (forty!?) I have never done this before. I remember once getting the summons thingy in the mail, about two weeks after the date, as I had been overseas at the time. So being older and much more predictable these days, I did what you're supposed to do, called ahead the night before, and showed up at my appointed 8:30 am check in time. We were crossed off the list, given name tags (I was dubbed the catchy "Juror 91277") and metal-detectored for cell phones and guns. Then we went to the court room.

Let me back up here a bit and mention that our court house (Mariposa County Courthouse) is old. It was built in the 1800's. So the court room is up a flight of narrow stairs, on the second floor. It also has, not only a large structural beam right smack dab in the middle, but said beam also houses the chimney of the court room wood stove. I'm pretty glad it was a lovely mild day, and we didn't have to huddle 'round the stove for warmth. The final quaint, charming, and slightly alarming fact about our local courthouse is that the entire building vibrates when the bell is rung. So nine long peals of the bell clapper could be felt as well as heard.

And then the guy pled guilty in chambers, and we were all sent home after an informative video and thank you speech from the judge. Oh, and I kid you not, as I was driving away they were getting someone out of the paddy wagon and he was in black and white horizontal striped pj's. We do things the old fashioned way here. Evidently.

To see our high tech facilities click here and scroll down a bit more than halfway. You can just see the wood stove, to the right of center.

One Of The Reasons That I Enjoy An Occasional Costco Trip

The cute little head banging part just kills me!

Let Me Count The Ways!

Oh county fair, how I love thee...





Way to go Hubsand! First place Children's Portrait and some other crazy rainbow Special Award thingy too!

That there is that wacky sweater that I done-did knit, with all kinds-a crazy rainbow colored ribbons on it too! You could have knocked me over with a feather! And the Tarnay's clean up at this year's county fair! I ask you, what is not to love?

Glossy Highlights

So we have friends visiting from Spain, along with their two kids, and Tank Boy is in seventh heaven!

He is also quite pleased with his NEW SOCCER UNIFORM, because evidently my son is already on his first team!

There has been much romping about the park, Strider Bike riding, and river splashing. That is until about four days ago, when it abruptly went from summer to fall in one night!


And you know what fall means to those who get a weekly veggie box?

FIGS! Yumm!

In Praise of Deadlines

You will never guess what I finally finished!

It only took me a mere 18 months!

The jury is still out on whether or not it fits The Hubsand, as I had only 15 minutes to spare in getting it to the County Fair committee today, and The Hub was running around getting his photo submission ready as well. So you may notice that the model is distinctly not he. I may also have stayed up until 3 am last night figuring out how to graft and seam the crazy patterns on this thing, but really don't want to admit that in public.

Hey ever wonder what the inside of a cabled sweater looks like?

Kind of a keerapy mirror image of the outside, huh? And notice all those loose ends? With approx 15 balls of yarn in this thing there were approximately 30 of those suckers to weave in on the inside!

Ever wonder what suziehulahoop looks like after a knitting marathon, no shower and little sustenance, while modeling a wooly sweater in 92 degree heat?

Alrighty, time to head back to Knitpicks and get the supplies for the next project!

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Last weekend the Hubsand and I got a surprise weekend away in Tahoe without the tot! Auntie Rena and Grampa teamed up to give us a weekend out of town. So we hotfooted it over to Lake Tahoe to revisit our youth. And by that I mean we went mountain biking. Together. Whee! We hit up Stanford Rocks and my former back yard ride Hole in the Ground. The biking was awesome, the camping was lovely, and we ran into tons of great folks from the old days. (Especially nice when I broke my chain and realized I'd forgotten the chain tool!) As a matter of fact, the whole thing was so great, I spent the next week wondering why the heck I'm not still living there. But then again, Yosemite is pretty dang awesome too...

So the point of this story is that while Mom and Pop were out of town Tank Boy got to go to Merced with his Auntie and see "Despicable Me" in 3D. He really loved the glasses, and they're flattering on him, no?


And speaking of awesome Yosemite, the YosGirlz did Cathedral Peak this last Friday. My camera these days is a bit bulky, so it did not come out at any awkward times during the climb (almost all of it) but I did get in a few snappies. There is a ginormous ledge before the last pitch of the climb, so Publina graciously got a shot of Vicki and I getting the gear organized.


We were a group of five total, but split into two groups for the actual climbing. From the top you could see three alpine lakes, Bud, Cathedral and one more. Here's two of our party chillin' (literally, it was chilly!) partway down the hike off the back side, with Bud Lake in the background.


From the same spot looking the other way you could see Eichorn and Cathedral Lake as well.


I have no pics of the actual climbing, but it was so lovely. There are innumerable ways to go, most of them fairly mellow. I got to pick what looked fun and then head off! The classic chimney pitch in the middle was a highlight of the day, a tiny bit exciting, but ultimately doable and very well protected. So. Much. Fun.

That evening we had a campsite reserved in Tuolomne Meadows and the Hubsand and Tank Tot got to join us. Being high elevation, its pretty cold at night and in the morning. But there's no need to freeze when you can wear what amounts to a sleeping bag around camp.


We rounded out this weekend with Saturday at Tenaya Lake, reading books and dipping gingerly into the water. (Oddly enough the water was warmer than the air, but the breeze was so brisk that swimming was kept to a bare minimum!) It was achingly beautiful, and the perfect family time counter point to the previous day's Girlz activities. And you'll never guess what we did on Sunday... actually got the towel racks up in the guest bathroom! Photos soon!

Pants On Fire

Oh my heavens, I totally fibbed, 'cause look what I found on the camera card today!



A picture of two totally forced smiles, in which you really can't tell that we're soaked to the skin! That would be Elizabeth Lake behind us, and very grey skies above.

And speaking of grey skies, things were not looking too sunny for Sunny the Sunflower...



His wee spindly stem got broken, but we quick like bunnies popped him in some water where he's been rather perky ever since...


And now, just 'cause its funny, TankBoy HobbitFoot

Too Busy To Take Photos, Alas

Well now that its Tuesday night and I've recovered, here's how the weekend went at overschedulers.com...

Friday Gal's Climbing Day took a trip out of the hot and steamy Yosemite Valley, up to the high country in Tuolomne. We had a lovely little party of three for this little gem. We were still basking in the sun all day, but the breeze was cool enough that we were not baked on the rock, yay! And since Stately Pleasure Dome, overlooks the tantalizing Tenaya Lake, we went for a refreshing dip after the climb and a few minutes of much deserved lounging on the warm sandy beach.

Saturday dawned the same sunny and clear way that we Californians come to always expect. So our little family decided to also take advantage of the nearby higher altitudes for a wholesome hike. Unfortunately the day did not turn out like those in the pictures. It sort of rained on us. Well, pretty much poured, hailed, and even thundered. So we glimpsed the lake and ran for the car. About a mile from the car, with a 40 lb kiddo strapped to my back, I had to give up the jog and resort to the low energy shuffling. I did get in a little nap in on the way back though, due to my carcoleptic tendencies...

Sunday we had to do a mondo Costco run, but I had to keep a good thing going, so I got in a two hour mountain bike ride before heading into the grand metropolis of Merced. I do have to mention at this point, after returning from shopping, and getting the kiddo in bed, I laid down in bed for a wee rest and konked out before 9 pm. Party animal.

Monday consisted of 4 loads of laundry, vacuuming, dishes for days, finding space for all of the Costco purchases in the pantry, naps and even a bit o' knitting.

So then today, Jackson's buddy at daycare had a birthday party after school, and The Huzbunkle and I found ourselves with 3 free hours. And much to his chagrin, I dragged him out for another mountain bike ride...

I think I'm the luckiest person on earth to get to play this much, with such a wonderful family and community, in such a lovely place. Thanks everyone!

You Can't See The Pain In Photos!

Tank Boy was walking around with his shirt like this:

And promptly walked into a chair and gave himself a right-eye shiner:

Which of course never looks noticeable in photos, but the clerk at the market could sure tell. Hubsand thinks its hilarious to pretend that he knocked him around. Yours truly, the old stick in the mud, does not find the humor in this...

But what I do think is funny is the whole goofy shoe thing... Yup, I tried them, but see that pinky toe there that is about a half an inch shorter than the other toes? Mine aren't. I lasted about 15 minutes. Back to Amazon with you, you pinky torturers!

Damn Gnomes

Yes I finally found my card-plug-in-reader dohickey! I swear I looked there a million times, so the gnomes must have tired of messin' with my mind and finally returned it to my dresser.

But alas, now I'm looking at the pictures and they are sadly out of date:


Sunny the Sunflower here has grown at least another 10 inches! Yay! He still has that odd hitch in his giddyup there, but is actually budding for what might be a real live flower! Go Sunny!


And the Hubsand's handknit sweater sleeves have actually grown from this size by a significant number of inches as well. Go Suzie! (They also might have an odd hitch in their giddyup too, but I'll just ignore that for now and blithely knit on...)

And speaking of giddying up...


...despite the fact that my precious wee one here has a distended bowel that is pressing on his bladder, decreasing his bladder capacity to half its normal size, and now has to be on laxatives for the next four months, he's been displaying his normal aptitude for new sporting events.

I Have Not Forgotten You!

I can't find my camera cord, so I have been postponing in the hopes that it would turn up! If I can't find it today I'll do the dreaded no-picture-post!

The Fine Line Between Fun and Over Scheduling

Hi! So quick monthly recap here:

Went on a 9 Bride Bachelorette weekend at a lovely vacation rental house on the river in Guerneville CA...

We squeezed in a ton of stuff like redwood hiking, spa treatments, wine tasting, and late night drunk hula hoop making and mehndi temp tattooing...


I got weirdly crafty before the event, and asked each bride for her fav color and attempted to make earrings to match each gal. At the event itself it became one of those goofy shower games where everyone tried to match the earring to the woman. Whee, geeky fun!



Since then The Hubzand and I took a wee Staycation, and kept the kiddo in daycare whilst we lounged about the house for a week! Highly recommended! We also spent two nights over at Bass Lake (where I used to backpack guide), got our mountain bikes all fixed up, and took a lovely ride here!

Then the next week the SKOOGS came to visit, and there was good food, hand knit hats, mountain biking, toddler biking, and a general lovely time!






And of course Auntie Rena was here to spoil Tank Boy silly! Yay Auntie! Sorry 'bout the lack of photos!

And then, in some sort of scuffle slash tug of war over a tonka truck, Tank Boy managed to knock out his best friend's two front teeth.

Yes, he's doing fine, no they won't let us pay their dental bills.

And then there was this music festival yesterday (With the always lovely Lusetta and her ever adorable Toby), and today yet another head cold for Tank and myself. And I'm spent!

And next time the bittersweet update on Sunny and Share...

So Frackin' Wholesome!

At one of Tank Boy's potluck preschool classes we planted sunflower seeds, and much to our surprise they actually sprouted!

We haven't had the best of luck once seeds get past the sprout stage, so I decided it would be best to snap some photographic proof while the snapping was good... And yes, I have named them Sunny and Share (get it get it? Sonny n Cher?), 'cause who wouldn't!? (Note: Share is the one missing her two bottom ribs...)

For Mother's Day weekend, I got what all girls want, shelves on which to organize our crafty crap!

Previously this closet was a teetering pile of storage bins that had recently given me quite a thump on the noggin during implement retrieval. The Hubsand was tired of worrying for my life when I went to craft, and took it upon himself to find a structural solution. I'm pretty stoked, all my goodies at arms reach, with no threat to life or limb!

In fact the craft room was so organized that I had to take a few minutes and craft some knitting stitch markers just for myself...
Ooo, pretty pretty beads...

With last week's video of superball madness, I couldn't figure out how to squeeze this in, but aside from running up and down the stairs a half million times, Tank Boy also went on his first REAL mountain bike ride as well.

He did end up "over the bars" once, but hopped right back on and finished the ride with a wee fat lip! I couldn't be more proud!

That's all I got, so we'll be moving on...bye!