Lavender Blue

I named this blanket Lavender Blue because it's made up of shades of those colors. It's the second blanket of the year. It's 39 inches by 47 inches, so it's big enough for a lap blanket for a teenager or a regular blanket for a little person. 

Contrasts

As you know, I try to walk about 2 miles every morning. While it's possible to walk any time of the day, there's something special about a morning walk before people are stirring. There's a quiet that envelopes the world that is peaceful and relaxing. I also get to see little things that would not be noticeable later in the day.

Today I saw sun shining on dewy leaves. 

This is special in two ways...the grasses are starting to grow and there is enough moisture in the air to produce dew. 

Then when you consider that my camera is an iPhone, that's pretty special too.

After enjoying the "new" grasses, I was saddened to see that some of the veteran trees in the Park are not doing as well. I fear the rain is coming too little and too late. I don't think they will recover.

Those are not autumn colors, that's a coniferous tree dying. It's too sad. Along with the old conifers dying off, there are a few huge valley oaks in sad shape too.

This is one of my favorite trees in the park. It's a giant, with a trunk the size of a Smart Car. This time of year, the leaves should be dusty green instead of dusty gold. 

The lake is at 14.5% capacity and even though we had 3 inches of rain over the weekend, the

lake level did not rise.

Little Hats

Yesterday I was asked to make 3 little hats. I asked what color, and pink was chosen. Since it was rainy, it was a good project. 

Here are two of them, the third will be finished in less than a hour. The top one is for a newborn, the other two are for girls under two.  I'm kind of proud of these hats as I did not have a pattern to follow. My niece texted me a picture and based on that, I created the hats. All those Project Linus blankets have taught me a little bit about creating patterns!

Later: I finished all the hats, and they came out really cute. 

I decided they were a little bland, but with the addition of a puffy flower, they are perfect.

Later still: Meet one of the little girls who will get a new hat! Isn't she a cutie!

Still later...I was asked to make 3 hats, but it was so much fun, I made one more. 

It's the same size as the 2 larger hats (above) but a different pattern. If you need a little hat, I have some good patterns now.

Lake Cachuma

Winter at Lake Cachuma is always a nice place. The skies are usually blue, the temps are usually warm and the lake usually has water in it. Things are not usual this year. California is experiencing a drought, and even though this area has had 3 inches of rain in the last 2 days, the lake levels are the same as they were last year. In other words, the lake is at 15% capacity. Here's a photo from last year at this time.

And here's a photo that was taken before the rain of last week.

And this was taken today

There's not much difference, except grass has started to green up the lake bottom.

When the lake was created in the 50s, a feed lot was covered by the water. I don't know when the feed lot was last used, but here's what that feed lot looks like today after being covered with water for nearly 60 years.

Last year, the water level came up to the cement. This year, there's a "lawn" growing in the same place. 

Here's another portion of the feed lot I did not see last year...If you look carefully you will see 3 circular structures...will the archeologists of the next millennium think these were holy kivas like those found in Anasazi Land, or will they know they were feed bins? 

The dying oak trees are another consequence of the drought. These bastions of the valley are feeling the lack of water. The leaves are turning brown, never a good thing. 

A scree of green has started to cover the land. The rains are supposed to bring more water. In the meantime, we are enjoying the blue skies and the mild temps. 

1924 Silent Movie

Tonight I saw "The Thief of Bagdad" starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. The silent movie was filmed in  black and white, and while it was meant to be melodrama at its finest, I found it to be a comedy. The music was grand Rimsky-Korsakov that fit well with the overall story. The story was a typical love story with a damsel in distress. The acting was pantomime and rather grim. The special effects were wonderful given the day. There was a flying carpet, a flying horse, an invisibility cloak, and magical beings. The sets were grand and rather marvelous. (However, Bagdad did not look anything like it looks today.) It would have been fun to see the movie in living color as the sets and costumes looked like they sparkled with exotic fabrics. 

Back in the 20s, Mr. Fairbanks was one fit guy. He had his shirt off during most of the movie (was it scandalous?) and he wore billowing harem type pants that showed off his slim waist and muscled legs. The damsel, actually a princess, was veiled, but the veil was sheerest gossamer and her outfits were pretty revealing. The stereotyping was over the top. The Mongol Prince, the Persian Prince, and the Indian Prince were portrayed in ways that would not be considered politically correct nowadays. Fairbanks played the thief, who stole the heart of the  princess and in the end they flew away on the flying carpet where they lived happily ever after. 

I'm guessing the movie is a classic. It lasted 3 hours (when you saw that movie back in the day, you got your money's worth!). I thought it was funny. The story did not move "well"...when it could not logically move from point A to C, magic was invoked, and voila the problem was solved! I'm wondering if there was a storyboard for the movie? I would love to see what that looked like! If the movie shows up again, record it on your DVD then watch it at double speed...you will miss the wonderful music, but the story will move along better. You can also stop it now and again just to look at Mr. Fairbanks.

First Blanket of 2016

Last year I made 25 blankets, so I'm going to try to see if I can make more this year. You might ask if the world needs more blankets, and the answer is YES...there's always someone who needs to feel the love and the warmth that goes into a hand made blanket.

The first one of the year is for a baby boy. It's a blue Teddy Bear blanket, just right for a newborn. 

It looks like it's white and blue, it's really light blue and lighter blue. It's nice and cozy for baby and mommy. If you know of a baby coming soon in your future, and you'd like a Teddy Bear blanket,  let me know and I'll make one for you too.

It's New

Did you know that there are adult coloring books. NO! They are not x-rated coloring books...they are just coloring books for adults to use. I guess kids can use them too. The designs are complicated and the lines are close. All you have to do is select a color you want in each of the spaces, and  like magic, the whole "space" will be changed to that color. The purpose of these coloring books is simple: de-stress. You can also nurture your creativity while thinking outside the box. There are no rules that say the colors have to accurate so you can use whatever color you want! Why not?

I "purchased" a free app called Colorfy at the Apple App Store. The basic kit is free but if you want more colors you can buy them (PS it can get pricy).

Here's my first masterpiece. 

And, you don't have to be online to play! Hat tip to Priscilla for finding yet another time waster!

Bring It On!

It's 2016. 

Happy New Year!

Fun Sign

We went to a little diner in Nogales and this wonderful sign was on the wall. 

On a more positive note...

I like this message better!

Dinosaurs in the Desert

Strange things happen in the desert...and here's one of them. These metal beasts were at a gas station in Gila Bend. 

Two Trees of the Desert

The Sonora/Mojave Desert in California and Arizona have two very distinctive trees: the Joshua and the Saguaro. 

The Joshua Tree seems to grow on the California side of the desert but can also be found in Arizona and Utah.

While the Saguaro seems to grow on the Arizona side. Rarely do you see the two trees in the same area but there are a few "strays" in California.

It's as if the Colorado River has drawn a demarcation line "saying" it's impossible to cross over to the other side.

Both have National parks in their honor. We did not visit either of those parks this time, but we have in the past. 

As you drive along the road, you see some Joshuas propped up with wooden braces. It's nice to have friends! The Joshua is top heavy, even though it has a deep root structure. It's hard to tell the age of a Joshua as it's a type of yucca and as such, does not have "tree rings" to count. They can live for hundred of years, making them desert survivors.

The Saguaro is probably the best know of the two trees. I'm guessing if you say the word "cactus" to most folks, they will picture a Saguaro. The Saguaro can live 150-200 years and get to be 30 feet tall. Most Saguaro develop the distinctive arms and can grow as many as 25 of them...but strangely, some saguaros never develop arms and no one knows why.

Whenever we are in the southwest desert, I like looking at the distinctive shapes of these two trees and marvel how they can survive in such a harsh environment.

Fun fact: The scientific name for the Saguaro is Carnegia Gigantica in honor of Andrew Carnegie.

Fun Fact: The Mormons named the Joshua tree after the biblical figure. They saw the limbs stretched on high leading them westward just like Joshua led folks to Canaan.

Christmas Lights

One of the joys of Christmas is looking at the decorated houses. As a youngster I remember whole neighborhoods would get bedecked with lights and displays and cars would queue up for blocks and blocks just to see the show. That's rare nowadays. The cost of power prohibits it I guess. Given that, a few houses are decorated and they are delightful to behold. 

Here's a glimpse of a one such house. Thank you for making our Christmas a little brighter (no pun intended).

The Fence between US/Mexico

You have all heard about the fence that divides the US/Mexico border. Have you seen that fence?

At the Nogales, AZ international crossing, the fence is about 15 feet high. It consists of vertical steel "planks" set a few inches from each other. From some angles you can see thru the fence, from other angles it looks solid. Every so often there are posts where guards can watch the happenings on both sides. There are also cameras...lots of cameras...watching, watching watching. 

We were here 8 years ago and we remembered a chain link fence with razor wire on top. We did not see that fence today. 

The fence snakes up and down mountains and valleys and straight ahead. In that aspect, it looks like the Great Wall of China, but it is not nearly as permanent, as long, or as wide. 

What we are not seeing are the tunnels that go under the border. New tunnels are found all the time.

It's Only a Paper Moon

Moonrise on Christmas Eve was spectacular!

And a few seconds later...

Then, the moon was launched into space...

Merry Christmas 

Quarter of a Century

I finished my 25th blanket for 2015. I might have time to make one more. 

The blanket is a huge "Granny Square” one of the first patterns people learn when they start making afghans. The typical Granny Square is 3" by 3", this one is 45" on a side. I think it turned out quite well. 

Back to the Future

In 1985, the movie "Back to the Future" was released. One of the stars of that movie was a Delorean automobile. Today we saw a replica of that car at a rest stop in central California.

It had been shown at Comi-Con. We talked to the owners about the car who said it was modeled after the first car in the movie. 

It looked pretty authentic to me. 

The basic Delorean still looked good too. A stainless steel car...what a concept! 

You never know what you will see when you're on the road.

The Bridge on the Other Side of the Bay

A new Bay Bridge was built a few years ago, replacing a structure that partially collapsed (then was repaired) from the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989. The old bridge on the Oakland side of the Bay is slowly being dismantled and sent to China. Here's what it looks like today. 

As the infrastructure is being broken up into smaller pieces, its memories are slipping away. 

I wonder why we, meaning the US, could not recycle the steel? But I also wonder why we had to rebuild the bridge. 

It's sad to see the old bridge go as it had so much more character than the modern one. I guess this is progress. (But that reminds me of an old play on words....if pro means for and con means against.... we all know what progress means....therefore what does congress mean? But I digress!)

Sunrise

Oh what a beautiful morning!

Two Dozen and counting

That's blanket number 24 for 2015. I averaged 2 blankets a month...but that's not truly accurate as I did not make any when we were in the Caribbean or Norway or Switzerland or when I had pneumonia. I'm working on the pink/yellow/orange pallet right now as Project Linus gave me a huge bag of those colors. I think there is enough for one more blanket, which I started tonight. I just might have time to make 25 blankets this year! 

Given that, the Project Linus chapter to which I belong, donated almost 11,000 blankets to kids in the greater Sacramento area. My contribution was a mere .002, but every stitch counts. If you would like to contribute to this fine group, go to ProjectLinus.com to find a local chapter. They are always looking for knitters, crocheters and quilters as well as yarn and fleece or monetary gifts. Needless to say, I find "working" for Project Linus very rewarding. 

Pearl Harbor

A day that will live in infamy, according to Prisident Roosevelt. The day that started the US entry into World  War II. December 7,1941, 74 years ago! Hats off to the veterans who fought in that war hoping to end all war. Somehow not everyone received the message. 

Sleeping Beauty

Yesterday we saw a local production of Sleeping Beauty. The ballet was wonderful. The story was conveyed quite easily thru mime, and a few captions before each act. The costumes were grand. The principal dancer, the daughter of a friend, was an excellent Princess Aurora. 

There were a few professional ballerinas in the performance as well as some little girls from a local ballet academy. The little ones were the most fun to watch. They were fulfilling their dream of being ballerinas all dressed up in pretty fairy costumes with their pink ballet slippers trying to plié and not fall. In the audience there were little girls wanting to be on stage with the real ballerinas. It was absolutely delightful to watch. 

Autumn Leaves

The wind is blowing

The leaves are falling 

Winter is on the way

Anyone Can Drive?

No, the dog was not driving, but it sure looked like it! In reality, the car was parked, the windows were open, and no one was coming near that car. Big dog as guard is all that is needed. 

Words with Friends

I'm an avid player of Words with Friends. I usually have several games in play with people all over the US. The other day I made "brawnier," a 173 point word. This is not the most points that can be made, but it's pretty good. The game keeps track of statistics, such as number of 7 letter words played in the last month, or average score or (my favorite) the distance of tiles played (in feet). I still need to figure out what that means as it is an online game and there are no physical tiles. BTW, I've played 180,000 feet of tiles since joining the game in 2012. 

My all time best word is "quivered" played in exactly the same spot. It was worth 239 points (see my blog entry for January 21, 2014 for a picture of that stellar word). If you'd like to join my game, I'm Cruztalker. I'm always ready for a new game.