Thursday, February 25, 2010

Grateful for Fave Five

I enjoy participating in Susanne's Friday Fave Five each week. It's a great way to focus on positive events in my everyday life and to remind myself to search for blessings to be thankful for. Thanks, Susanne, for hosting Friday Fave Five! If you want to see what FFF is all about or participate too, you can click HERE.

1. I'm thankful for the opportunity I have to create beautiful fiber objects. No week at Willow's Cottage would be complete without some fiber in some form being knitted, spun or felted. I spun this silk and merino blend fiber while I watched the first part of the Olympics. I raced to finish the first skein before we packed the car and drove to San Diego for the weekend because I intended to give it to my daughter in law for her birthday. The brown and gold hand dyed fiber was a beautiful gift for my precious daughter in law!

2. I'm thankful for time spent with my family! Because the main purpose of our trip was to participate in the birthday celebration for The Princess, we headed to Hodad's in Ocean Beach on Saturday at noon. The Birthday Girl chose this iconic hamburger joint because, honestly, this place has the World's. Best. Onion. Rings. And. Chocolate. Milkshakes. When we arrived, we took our places in line and waited until there was room for our 'party of six' to sit at one of the picnic style tables.

Hodad's is world famous for its beach shack decor as well as its burgers, fries, shakes, and onion rings. The walls are almost completely covered with license plates from all over the US, Canada, and the rest of the world. Surfboards hang on every wall.

This fascinating bike is made from all kinds of beach debris. I wonder if anyone has actually ever ridden it.

3. I'm thankful for good friends! This week has been filled up with 'last times' for Ellen and me. We took our last walk in my neighborhood. We enjoyed our last cup of tea together at All Things Tea. This is how I'll always remember Ellen--with camera in hand! Today we'll have our last lunch, and then tomorrow she and her husband will be heading north to Washington. Ellen and I met through our blogs, discovered that we lived in the same town and that we both loved to walk. We've been photographing, blogging and walking buddies for two years. I'll miss her joyful spirit and sense of humor. Fortunately, we'll still have our blogs, phones and facebook for keeping in touch.
4. Gentle rain is a blessing we have enjoyed this week. Usually our rain in Southern California drops in torrents, roaring in from the coast with strong winds. Yesterday's rainstorm was more of a Pacific Northwest drizzle, a sweet goodbye gift for Ellen.
5. Lastly, I love Skype! What could be more precious than seeing My New Boy blow kisses to his Mema in real time through the computer screen?
What were your favorite little blessings this week?

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

You and Ellen are a real duo I tell you. The friendship so shows with the both of you. Thank goodness for all the memories. And you have Skype. Great FFF. Have a wonderful Weekend :)

Tracy said...

Another wonderful FFF and great week, Willow... Love all the fiber love... ;o) Happy Weekend ((HUGS))

Dorothy said...

You've got some wonderful faves this week, Willow! I wish I could grab a burger at that burger place! Sounds delicious!! And I love Skype too! It'll be a great way for you to stay in touch with Ellen.

Hazel said...

You must be a gorgeous mother-in-law to be giving such a charming gift to your DIL. Your "lasts" with Ellen sound kind of poignant, but with all the communication gadgets we have now, I guess you two will be just fine :)

Lisa notes... said...

I love your fibers. Your pictures always make them look so intriguing. Aren’t celebrating birthdays just the best? I love it. I’ll have to show the bike picture to my husband; he would appreciate it.

Islandsparrow said...

I commented over at Ellen's that I'm going to miss your walks with Ellen :)

So glad we can be in touch via our blogs. And yay for Skype - we talk regularly with our children in Toronto and London - it's so sweet to see their faces and hear their voices. I'm sure I'll be keeping in touch with future grandchildren the same way :)

Wonder if there were any PEI license plates there??

Happy weekend Willow!

Joy said...

What a great Fave Five!! Your friends & family are very blessed in having you in their life ~ you seem to treasure the moments and know what's really important. Yeah for Skype, too!!! :)

ellen b. said...

Crying....

roxie said...

She's just moving to Washington, right? It's not like Ellen is dying. You are doing Last-for-a-while walks and teas. You know you will re-connect now and then. And with the e-communion, you'll get to develop a whole new aspect of your relationship.

Felicitations to the Princess! You make me hungry with your descriptions. And oh, what luscious yarn!

Mr Puffy's Knitting Blog: said...

Your FFF is always such an enjoyable end to the week!

Such a lucky DIL to receive that beautiful spun yarn ~ it would be fun to see what she makes someday.

Hodad's looks like a great place and if I'm ever in that town I'm heading over there like a shot!

I'm sorry you are losing Ellen ~ it sounds like you two shared a lot in common.

Melli said...

I am so sorry that you and Ellen are no longer going to be able to share walks and adventures. I do believe that is a friendship formed in Heaven, and though it WILL certainly carry on, it won't be the same. I hope you each find another "pal" to share time with. I don't have a special "pal" right now - and I miss that!

Your yarns are so lovely... I wish I could feel them!

Barbara H. said...

What lovely yarn. It's fun to see what you're working on each week.

That burger place looks fun!

I can imagine how hard it will be for you and Ellen to part ways, but I'm glad we have more means to communicate and keep up with folks than we used to.

I'm sure that when we have grandkids, if they're not living nearby I will definitely get more acquainted with Skype!!

Carrie said...

I'm impressed with your handiwork!

And that bicycle made out beach debris is amazing.

Karyn said...

Friendship...especially a serendipitous friendship is a blessing that lasts a lifetime. You and Ellen obviously share that type of relationship.

SKYPE is going to be one of my everyday favorites all too soon, as well. My daughter, SIL, grandson, granddaughter are moving to the other side of the world (Zambia) in June.

That fibre is gorgeous - what a love-filled gift for your DIL. What will she make with it?

Brenda said...

A friend of mine told me her grandson thought she lived in the computer because they mostly communicated through skype (she lives in Africa), sweet and sad at the same time.

I love the pics of the hamburger place. A good hamburger joint is always a favorite with me.

TXDidi said...

What a lovely post. Your spun skein will be treasured by your daughter-in-law. And onion rings...does it get much better, unless we're talking dessert? Reading about your friend moving kept reminding me of the song "Friends" by Michael W. Smith. That song always makes me cry. But thank goodness for instant communication via email, internet and Skype.

Susanne said...

Hopefully you and Ellen will have many reunions in the future. I know you will both miss each other in between! Maybe you can Skype with her too!

That yarn and fiber is gorgeous. What a special gift.

I loooove good onion rings. I wish we had a really good burger joint like that around here.

Michelle said...

I like what Thom wrote!!! A duo.I hope that you and Ellen keep in close touch and have lots of lovely long walks in the future when time permits get togethers.

I bet the burger shack is the best!!

Laura@OutnumberedMom said...

Your #3 was incredibly neat! I loved the story of your friendship.

Happy weekend!

Robin said...

Cool yarn and restaurant. Looks like you had a nice week.

Flower said...

Another full week of good times and fond memories to keep you going! It is fun to read the list!

Elizabeth said...

I have much to be thankful for!
This is an excellent meme to remind us to focus on good things.
Snowy here....
gentel rain would be nice...!

nikkipolani said...

Now that's a great shot of Ellen :-D

Knitting Linguist said...

I so enjoy reading your FFFs every week! And thank you for the wave on your way by :) I've spent much of this week enjoying small moments with my girls and feeling tremendously grateful to have my wonderful family. It's a good feeling :)

Marg said...

Looks like another week...of special times. I can hear your heart beat when you talk about Ellen...
I love that wool. Yesterday, I took off to my wool shop again...There's one lady who just loves to help me and has inspired me..
I just go there to talk.
Yea for SKYPE

HRG at Sacred Ruminations said...

Wonderful FAVES this week! I'm glad to have found Susanne and the rest of you in the Blogosphere because counting blessings is a wonderful thing to do on a regular basis and reading about the blessings of others is marvelous too. I'm glad you and Ellen had those two years together ...
Hugs and blessings,