Only Once

It only took one time for Leanne to figure out that shawl modeling was FUN. The next time she saw me headed out the door, camera and shawl in hand, she was right behind me, patting her shoulders and saying, "Me!"
  
Which makes this even better for me, both the shawl making and the shawl photoing.
 
This one is a pineapple shawl I'm teaching for a class.
 
I love the pineapple-y goodness of the bottom edge, but the top is too open for my tastes.
 
It makes a great class, and I'm glad I made one, but I don't think this will get much wear.
 
Next up - one of my favorite patterns for that special one-of-a-kind skein of yarn.
  
I loved the colors of this hand-dyed yarn when I bought it on-line, but - surprise! - it looked a lot different when it arrived in the mail.
  
I was expecting deep oranges and reds - the yarn's name is "Dragon Fire" after all - but I got pretty pinks and corals. 
  
Not my cup of tea . . . . but purrrrfect (I hope) for the friend for which it is intended.
 
And if not? Leanne says she'll take it!

Baby Giraffes

Today was the first time we've had both girls and no other obligations since the baby giraffes were born at the Santa Barbara Zoo. So guess where we headed? I didn't get many pics of the little ones - there was a crowd around their compound the whole time and I was busy holding either Leanne or Leia up so they could see. But can I just say "cuuuuuuuuuuute"!
 
Leia fed Michael, the babies' dad, but Leanne wanted nothing to do with him. She stayed pressed up against PopPop the entire time. 
 
Michael wasn't much interested in being fed, at first; he kept eating his hay and ignoring the trainer. 

 

Then he slowly ambled over, almost walking past the girls,

 
before he decided maybe he did want the nice green veggies he was being offered.
 

Not bad for a cellphone shot, eh?

We did all our usual things, in our usual two hours; checking out the fish pond - 

before heading to Leia's main reason for going to the zoo - sliding down the hill! Leanne hasn't quite got this figured out, but she was enjoying herself anyway.

  

WIP Fest

One finished project -

  

a flower potholder for a class I'm teaching. Love how this turned out - so bright and cheerful. 

The hardest part is getting the white trim to look neat and tidy, especially on the back.

 
and a bunch of works-in-progress. 
Shawl for a friend;
another shawl that's been promised for a year or so. . . .  
sweater for me (a crochet-along with my Thursday night peeps);
and the knitting project that will probably give me an ulcer. I'm making a coat; a KNIT coat. My favorite part? 
The little numbered markers the instructor made for us. I love watching them flow past my flying lumbering needles. Two weeks in - class goes till the end of July - and I'm already well behind my fellow students. Oh, well; slow and steady gets it done, right? 

Irises? Irisi??

More iris blossoms are making their appearance. One poor thing was all set to bloom the day we got hit with scorching Santa Ana winds, record temps in the 90's and ash from the Springs Fire - the trifecta of 'kill that flower'. Oh well, maybe next year I'll get to see what color it would have been.
My little corner of heaven - irises and miniature pansies.

In better news - the blooms on these three survived and they are gorgeous.

 Fanfaron -

 
Wonderful World - 

 
and finally, Rock Star, my favorite so far. 

 
Five down, nine more to bloom!

Sunshine Dress

This morning, Leia asked for a new dress to wear in honor of Auntie Rachel's last day with us. So being a good granma, I whipped this up for her in about an hour.

Total 70's flashback in color, length and style.

Leia picked this 'cheater' fabric last week at Joanne's. One seam (sewn twice, since I misjudged the width the first time), two straps and voilà, a pretty little dress that Leia loves. I'll add a decorative fabric flower or two later, along with a ruffle or some lace along the hem.

But this was just perfect for lunch and a movie with Auntie Rachel.

 

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Mother's Day

A few pics from my GrandMother's Day. My poor kids; it really is all about the baby grands these days, at least in pictures.

Rachel flew out from Colorado for the weekend, but left Addy at home.

I thought Addy might be upset at being left behind, but judging by this picture John sent, she's handling it just fine. It probably helps that she has Dad and Grandpa Jim wrapped tightly around her little finger.

It was great watching Leanne, Travis and Leia running around and having fun together while their aunts and uncles talked. Sure wish everyone lived closer so we could do it a lot more often.

 

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Top 40

And the hits just keep on coming. This used to be my kitchen faucet, before it snapped off in hubby's hand this morning.

Guess what just moved to the top of home improvement replacement list? It couldn't have waited its turn nicely? Sheesh. 

Is this year over yet?

Not That Big A Deal

Usually it's a fairly big deal when your fence blows down in a wind storm (the same storm that fanned the Springs Fire).  
But the way our year has gone, the fence ranks only as a minor nuisance, 
  
well behind the slab leak and 5-hour fun-with-plumbers day;
 
installing a new washing machine when the old one flooded the house and garage before dying;
  
guest bathroom tear-down/remodel after the water pipes gave out and flooded that room (seeing a theme here?);
 
installation of a whole-house, expensive but effective and unfortunately necessary, burglar alarm system;
 
and my new wall oven, part of the kitchen remodel, but we'd hoped the old one could hang on for another few months.

Thank heavens for Handy Hubby or we'd be in the poorhouse right about now.
 
Personally, I'm ready for this year to be over.