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.

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?

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!

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!

Creepy and Crawly

Much to Tank Boy's delight, and my horror, we had a bit of an ant coming out party in the front yard this week...



Terribly sorry about the crazy camera work, and Tank's slight whingeing in the background. No one was thinking completely clearly and yes, by the end of the video I did indeed have ants crawling on my legs and feet. An hour or two later they were all gone.

Tasty Autumn With A Hint Of Spring

Due to an unusually forceful and prolonged rainstorm here a week or so ago things have, again, taken on the rosy tones of Shangri-La. The fall colors are coloring, but the air is clean, crisp, and dust free. The waterfalls are flowing again and the grass is growing. The past two weekend have been painfully pleasant, that aching sweetness that only fall can conjure.










If you're wondering why this entry is filled with so many fantastic pics, its because they were all taken by the Hubsand. He got a new camera, and is up to his old (and fabulous) tricks!

I'm still working away on the dinosaur/dragon costume, here's the latest addition, scary claw fingerless mitts! (Note the lack of flair in the pic, it was taken by me...)


The Women's Thursday Evening Climbing Club has come to a halt for the season, that pesky darkness just kept interfering. It has, however been moved to the Friday Day Women's Climbing Club for all those who are interested! Last week a gal and I did the (CLASSIC) Nutcracker. I led all 5 pitches (yay me!) and was WORKED by the end of the day! Today is the first day I got out of bed without creaking!

And yet again the world reminds me why I love the savoriest of the seasons. I keep reminding my self to breathe, absorb, and enjoy.

Two For One Coupon Day?

Today, at work, the contractor did this crazy thing where they made a Tee into a pressurized waterline, without geyser-ing hardly anything! To start they bolted a sleeve around the existing water line with a little tee type protrusion on it. Then they bolted a valve on to that, which is just a piece of pipe with an extra bump on top so that a little door can go up out of the way, or down to stop the water flow. They they bolted this crazy enclosed drilling contraption on, of which I'm only showing the business end...



Then they drill in the center pilot hole, and then the big circular drill cores out a honkin circle. The center pilot bit actually has some heavy short wires that pop out and hold onto the circle (I believe it is called a coupon, but I read that on the internets, so someone could be playing a cruel joke on me...). They were more than happy to let me take it home!



Construction work iz fun!

Byzantine Torture Boots Be Damned!

So the Saucy Skier trip was a splendid epic. We started off perky and cheerful at our little local ski resort...

And then proceeded to ski out a formidable 11 miles with fully loaded packs. We passed some amazing scenery:

Then we passed some crazily amazing scenery:

And arrived at our tiny cabin destination where we had some additional precipitation, some tasty meals, and some minor tiffs with Oscar the Grouchy Pellet Stove. On tap were also a handful of chilly trips to the outhouse, three bottles of wine, a power outage, and the subsequent loss of all cabin heating capacity. (Evidently the power went out in all of Yosemite.) Yay for down sleeping bags!

We rallied out the next morning and even managed to bask in some of our famous California sunshine for a lunch/blister bandage break:

Thank you ladies, for a lovely time. Thank you The Hub for letting me peel out on your birthday. And thanks to this wide wonderful world we live in!

Big Money, Big Money!

So I think I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had entered some knit items in the Mariposa County Fair. And I may or may not have mentioned that I was blessed with third place ribbons for both of my entries, yay me! And here they are in all their prizewinning glory,

a hat


and a pair of socks


And not only do I get bragging rights, I actually get a cash money prize! Sort of...


Yep, siree. One dollar! Tee hee. They probably spent way more in time, effort and postage, poor things. Now I just have one question for y'all.

Is the mascot on the above ribbons a butterfly wearing ruffled bell bottoms?

I thought so.

Out Of My Comfort Zone

Last weekend right as the thunderstorms hit CA, we took Tank Boy camping for the first time. I'm not a big "car camper", I admit, it seems silly to me to drive somewhere relatively close and pretend you don't have a house with a kitchen and a bathroom at your immediate disposal. (Backpacking is different, and so is camping as a cheap method of lodging...) Anywhoo, it was actually quite pleasant (after the quick rain, lightning and thunder passed) as we were camping in a Redwood grove with loads of other families that we knew. And Tank Boy loved it. One of the highlights for him was definitely this:

a lady bug swarm.

I did enjoy this:


and this:


Which was basically sitting on my rump with good friends and knitting. And speaking of knitting, I'm almost finished with this cute girlie sweater for my niece, shown here on a reluctant Tankster...


And backtracking to those thunderstorms, the Hoop family is lookin' into a move. I'm frankly a little freaked out by the fire danger here, the Hoop Ranch quite a ways from the nearest fire hydrant, surrounded by 6 acres of dry grass and brush, and at the top of a steep uncleared ridge. Eeep. We'll keep you posted, but send wet rainy thoughts our way in the mean time. Thanks!

On Falls: Prat- and Otherwise

Where do you go when your entire Memorial Day weekend has looked like this

and this?


Why, here of course!


Where its always wet and drizzly due to the thunderous Vernal Falls!

Especially right now with the spring run off AND rain.


This here is Auntie Lolo, and she was here for a wonderous ten days to help around the house and provide free daycare! And how do we repay her? We dress her funny and march her up a soggy trail. We're nice.

It was a lovely hike, though just at the top I got all cocky and tried to pass someone and fell SMACK on my butt bone. With The Tank in the tummy pack. Owie. I am still sitting funny. Here I am seconds later faking like it didn't really hurt. Can you tell?


Hope y'alls weekends (and well, honestly, the week that has passed since then too) were just as lovely!

Cloistered

I have been home a lot lately. In some ways this is lovely, in others its getting old. See I've been almost constantly sick since Christmas. I have officially been coughing for about a month now. Some days worse than others. (I've been to the doc and there is no walking pneumonia, don't panic, Dad.) So I've been working from home a bunch, and of course entertaining myself in the home as well...
So I knit this hat a wee bit ago, and it was really pretty, but unfortunately it fit me like this...

So I knit another!

And I still love it and the yarn is wonderful and soft and squooshy. But now I need to find someone to adopt the first hat and give it a loving home. Anyone out there have a slightly larger than normal head (or whopping loads of hair) and love the color olive green? I'm thinkin' women only, its a bit twee for the menfolk! Did I mention how squooshy it was?

And speaking of guestimating sizes, here's the result of trying to cram a large log into a small wood stove. Yep, that's an exposed burning log hanging out into my living room. Good thing the fire was hot and it burned it down to a feasible size in minutes flat.

And one more noggin: the cheese covered, noodle bespattered, perfectly round one of my Tankster.

And while home these days I have been volunteering with the Obama campaign, which means calling registered dems and independents. Its a bit scary for me to phone total strangers, but it hasn't been nearly as bad as I thought it could be. I try not to call during dinner hours and am achingly polite, and for the most part almost everyone else has been polite too. I don't think I've changed anyone's mind, but I have given lots of good general voting info, such as "yes, independents can vote in this year's California Democratic primary." And "yes, it is too late to get a absentee ballot, but if you can make it to the parking lot an attendant can come out and you can vote from your car."

I know very well that he might not win, but as of today we have about a 50-50 chance! But it feels good to be involved in the political process, and be backing a candidate that I actually feel good about. It has taken a while to revive any political hope at after the last (zillion?) years of election fiascos. We have less than a week until the (horrendously named) Super Duper Tuesday. So at least this part is relatively quick.

Wishing y'all warm hats, cracklin' fires, cheesy babies and political hope.

Nice-Fight at the Four Way Stop Sign...No, YOU Go First!

Occasionally on my way to work, which is, by the way, a whole 12 minute trip, I hear the traffic report on the radio. They have some catchy slogan like "Traffic Conditions Where YOU Live". Which really isn't all that catchy, and is patently not true in our case. But I do then enjoy sitting there and trying to imagine what a traffic report would sound like for Where I Live. I think it would go something like this:

That wacky pack of wild turkeys is slowly making its way across the intersection of Sherlock and Colorado, so watch that final turn before the stop sign. It is rumored that the albino tom has already made the crossing, so if you want to see him you'll have to hurry.
And that horrendous dog that lives across from the lake has gotten out again, so if you hear a shrill yap and a quiet bump, you'll know what is stuck to your undercarriage.
The potholes have gotten especially bad at the intersection of Lakeside Drive and Lakeside Road, so do try to slow down from 10 mph to 5 mph there so you don't blow a tire.
That fat lazy dog is laying in the middle of East Whitlock again, so be sure and have your horn hand ready if you're going over 25.
There was a bear sighting on Carstens, so be sure your garbage is sealed up, and last but not least, the local county convictedly challenged are clearing brush again along Highway 140, so expect a 3 minute delay and nod and smile as you pass 'em by. And whatever you do, don't drive like my brother...

Some things about The Rural are decidedly more colorful than The Urban.