Thanksgiving Celebration!

Enjoy every bit of the feast, of friends & loved ones, near & far.

As for me, there’ll be NO turkey  :(

For they all……..

…got away from me.

2009 KIP #8 & FO ~ Cable Beanie With Brim

Knit In Progress #8
Malabrigo Azul Profundo #150, 100% Merino Wool 
Cable Beanie, design by Marianne Garrison (LYS)
Needle Size to gauge: Size 8 One Size Only
Start Date: Mid-November
Target Finish Date: Ongoing, until I get bored with it
Special Note: Hat is tight-fitting. The cable design is very simple to follow. Malabrigo Yarns are incredibly soft.

There’s this cache of these brimmed beanies and Button Hats for Christmas gifts and winter knitting that I’m building. Also included would be fingerless and closed mittens. Scarves included.

Hood River Fruit Loop Scenic Drive ~ Part 2

Oh boy! I totally forgot about sending the next write-up on the Hood River Scenic Drive. So here’s Part 2.

       

The surprise stop in the fruit loop was the alpaca farm called Foothills Yarn & Fiber. A stop there meant yarns had to be bought, of course.

But the alpacas were deliciously cute and cuddly. In residence were a cat and a dog. And here they are:

  

Yes, this gentle giant, I found out, was quite heavy. He stepped on me when the cat crossed his path where my foot was. And he was the mystery nose I blogged earlier.

Back in the town of Hood River are quaint little stores that can all be visited by foot. Great restaurants and great views, I tell ‘ya. But what my hubby and I discovered was the trip up 2nd Street and Montello Avenue on a stairway beside the Big Horse Brew Pub. As you go up those steps is Winans Park on the right side. Keep going as the end of the steep stairway stops at Montello. On Montello, look down towards how beautiful the town of Hood River and Columbia River are, and you will be amazed that you have climbed up over 250 feet of over a steep 45° angle in no time. That was the best workout we had while there! Mind you, even with marathon training, I had to stop a few times to take my breath, while the hubby kept going.

                            

                    

We had a great time and will take My Precious next summer or fall. He was not too happy we left him out.

2009 KIP #7, FO ~ One Skein Project

Mindless Knitting!

Knit In Progress #7
Crystal Palace Yarns Taos 100% Wool 
Button Hat, inspired from Flower Hat by Miriam Pike (LYS)
Needle Size to gauge: Size 6 (S) or Size 7 (M)
Start Date: Late October
Target Finish Date: Ongoing, until I get bored with it
Special Note: Hat is loose-fitting with rolled edges. Taos Yarn colorways are just fantastic for this type of project. Yarn is so soft and light.

This purplish hat has been promised to YS (Youngest Sis). 2YN (2nd Youngest Niece) gets one too. Hers still needs to have the buttons sewn. OS (Oldest Sis) and Lola (Grandma/Mom) will get theirs next, soon.

Morse Code to YS: I need KIKIAM! That’s why you’re getting all these knit stuffs. Do you hear me?

Theme Get-up for Halloween

Remember this?

Well, here’s what it is:

I’m ready to punk out tonight.

The Mohawk Hat came from this book. 

It has inspired me to make this hat for my son in 2007. But he has no use for it other than Halloween, which he now declares is only for young kids. The hat has been sitting around collecting dust. So I fixed it a bit since the hat was a bit large for my head. I replaced the yellow yarn with pink variegated yarn.

       

The DomiKNITrix book is so easy to follow. The visual step-by-step instructions are what I like about it. It’s a bit of my ‘knit bible’ book. And Jennifer Stafford is not your standard knit designer and I like that too.

Happy Halloween!

This was taken during a trip to Sahalie Falls area last year.

From  Sahalie Falls, hiking down to Koosah and Tomalitch Falls, one would not notice this freak of nature.

Coming back to Sahalie, though, the discovery is quite exciting, stunning and scary at the same time. So, is this a freak of nature? Or, petrified naturally? Or, is this a warning of the presence of woods monsters?

You Would Have Been 16!

Could have been…

Should have been…

Sweet Sixteen! Today!

Alas, all we have are memories. Great memories!

Jake misses you ~ because Jake misses the time he steals your share of the food bowl. haha!

I miss you because you were such a part of our family. Adaptable, malleable, and just one awesome ’people’ cat. Everyone who knew you, loved you. Except maybe the one that made you go away. I still think I know who made you go away. I have suspicion but not proof.

Oh Tom, you are totally missed!

And there is yet to be a blog page to honor you, oh sweet ol’ Tom!

In any case, Happy Birthday!

What Is This?

HINT: It has something to do with Halloween! Pix is a bit blurry, but it will come out clearer once I tell you what it is.

I’m Still Sad!

Hello! My name is Jake!

I’m the only cat around now. I miss my cat friend, Tom. I’m having difficulty adjusting to this loneliness. To divert attention, I lick myself to oblivion. If not for the loving care of my human caregivers, I would be hairless by now.
Where is he? Where did he go?
His birthday is coming up, and usually there’s lots of food to go around. I miss food.
Where is he? huh?

A Birthday!

My Precious had just had a birthday Monday. As always, he wanted a quiet celebration. So unlike his younger days,  when 10 or more little terror guests, mostly boys, were invited. Now, it’s only a family affair.

Last Saturday, part of his gifts was to drive him anywhere he wanted. There was a limit to distance, of course. He wanted to hike Mt. Hood hiking trails. But that’s out of the choices. Explained to him that if it’s raining locally, it would be snowing up Mt. Hood. He opted to go to this place:

Uwajimaya: only 3 stores, 1 in Oregon and 2 in Washington. Visited all the store aisles; bought dessert goodies. We had a very Japanese lunch. The restaurant within the store looked all Japanese except for the background music. It was playing Hawaiian songs. Sushi is always part of the dishes that we order when we go Japanese.

Then off to downtown Portland, about 20 minutes west of Uwajimaya. Walked around and window-shopped. All in 1 hour of getting there. Then, the birthday boy got bored. So we went home. I couldn’t complain. It was his birthday after all.

What he got for his birthday:

• The much-anticipated Lizard Ridge Afghan:  He was quite surprise with this unusual present. And he loved it. My Precious is a blanket person. Never a sweater person, so I cannot make him sweaters. He stopped wearing sweaters once he reached grade school. ‘Tis sad!

• A tire gauge: very practical. Dad only gives him practical gifts.
• A Border’s gift card: bookstore gifts are always handy. There’s always a bookstore gift card in any present we get/give.
• A clock sticker: his car’s clock somehow breaks every now & then. Must be a loose wiring somewhere. Everyone is lazy to have it fixed. So Dad just got him this.
• Lots of chocolate: Euphoria chocolate, a local chocolate maker.
• And lastly, he got 2 days off from work. This child who’s never taken days off just because. He’s learning. haha!