Can it be the last week of January? Flying past in wind and rain, the first month of 2010 is almost gone! Friday has arrived right on schedule and along with anticipation of the weekend comes participation in Friday's Fave Five, which is hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.
1. After our weeks of back to back to back rain storms, I am reveling in some sunny warm days. Yes, I'm focusing on the weather again. I love sunshine.

2. I can't seem to get enough of this, either:

Although it didn't take much convincing, I persuaded The Professor to take a Sunday afternoon walk along the promenade in Ventura. Throngs of people and dogs had the same idea. Even the surfers were out in force, challenging the higher than usual waves.

3. As usual, I've kept my knitting needles near me all week. Because we will be traveling to a colder climate next weekend, I'm working on warm wooly mittens (blue, of course). I have delusions of finishing a sweater, too.

4. I discovered that the public library in the next town over has a large collection of novels by Elizabeth Goudge, who is one of my favorite authors. I checked out four books and am reading the first volume, Island Magic. Did you know you can knit and read at the same time if you choose a book that stays open on its own and a knitting project that doesn't need too much attention?

5. Speaking of knitting, I was able to join my crochet and knit group this evening for an hour of fellowship, fiber and fun. The hostess wanted to (re)learn to knit so I delightedly walked her through the steps of casting on and working a knit stitch.

Have you experienced some favorite moments or events this week? Share them with others, either in my comments or over at Susanne's blog where you can sign up with Mr. Linky.

Low Surf

Pelicans seem to prefer low surf.

Maybe the fishing is better that way.

More High Surf Love

Ventura Harbor

Photos Taken Thursday Afternoon

Storms

Welcome to Friday Fave Five. Susanne is our host. You can participate too! Check in on her blog, Living to Tell the Story.

This week at Willow's Cottage can only be described as wet and wild. I am referring of course to the weather. Does it seem like Southern Californians are obsessed with their weather? I think that, because our normal weather pattern is sunshine and more sunshine, when rainstorms assail the hills, valleys and freeways, people get a little crazy.

It's true that the infrastructures in both cities and agricultural areas are just not built to handle huge volumes of water and so we get a lot of this:

I had to take two detours to drive from the town next to mine back home on Monday evening. I am thankful for safety in driving.

While I don't love being out in the rain, I am thankful that we will have water to drink this year. Rain on the California coast means snowpack in the Sierra Nevadas which means drinking water in the summer.

My cousin's visit came right between two storms, so we were able to go out to the beach and walk in the sand and enjoy a fish and chips dinner at a locally famous marina restaurant named Andria's, sitting outside ON THE PATIO (in January). Because we seldom see each other, we talked and talked. It was wonderful.

High winds mean high surf, and we have had high surf warnings this week. Since I tutor in Ventura on Thursdays, I usually drive down to the beach for a few minutes. Today, the waves were crashing over the break water at the harbor entrance.

The Professor returned to classes this week, but he still cooked dinner a couple of evenings when I came home tired and hungry. His newest culinary challenge is learning to master stir frying in the wok. I have been happily sampling some really yummy vegetable dishes.

Our weather forecast predicts sunshine will return this weekend. That's a fave, for sure!

How was your week and weather?

What I've Been Spinning

Quiet Time

Some weeks are quiet. Savoring the familiar, we slip through the daily routines, hardly noticing that the days have crept past. Thankfully, this is not always a 'bad thing'. I have glided through Willow's Week quietly.

Trying to chronicle the best of this week, I can only report that it was a quiet and gentle time.

1. It rained a little. We woke in the early morning to the sounds of rain pattering on the roof.

2. The sun shone quite a lot. Even though the wind also blew, the cheery sunshine smiled down on us almost daily. Our weather forecast is for a sunny weekend with coastal warnings of very high surf, so we have two more days of this happy weather.

3. Each morning, The Professor makes me my very own cafe latte. Most days, he brews a second one for me to take in my personal mug so I can sip it on the drive to wherever I am going. It's wonderful!

4. There is an Indonesian proverb that says, "Sediket demi sediket, menjadi bukit" which translated literally states, "Little by little, a mountain is made." The English equivalent might be, "Baby steps!" That is the way I've started to tackle my overwhelming assortment of old photos. I took the first baby step toward sorting, decluttering, and organizing almost a century of pictures. Yes, truly, nearly 100 years. I have most, if not all, of the photos from my grandparents, and their ancestors, as well as my parents.

5. Anticipation! I am expecting a short visit from my dearest cousin! If I don't get around this weekend to say hi, you'll know why.

Thank you, Susanne, for hosting Friday's Fave Five! Please click HERE to join in the weekly fun.

Feed the Birds

A family enjoying the beach

The birds seem to be enjoying the family.

FFF

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five aka Willow's Week. Here at Willow's Cottage, the kids are gone, life is back to (almost) normal,and the cottage is empty(er).

1. Our Farmers Market continues to sell fruits, vegetables and flowers every Saturday. How I love to plan my Saturday morning around a stroll through the market to visit my favorite local vendors to pick out potatoes, garlic, apples, cucumbers and fresh greens.

2. I am back at work, helping teach, doing some tutoring. Fortunately, I enjoy what I do to earn money to purchase that fresh produce.

3. While the rest of the US and much of the Northern Hemisphere has been shrouded in snow and ice, our Southern California coastal area has been sunny and warm. Between teaching and tutoring on Thursday, I had a few minutes to drive a few extra blocks to Ventura Beach, pop out of the car, breathe deeply, and snap this photo of the Pacific Ocean. Our Ventura County weather advisory warns of high surf this weekend, but our temperatures will remain in the high 60s. Winter is my favorite season in Southern California.

4. Ellen and I are back walking our usual route! We walked on Tuesday and plan to walk Friday morning again. What a blessing it is to have a friend to exercise with.

5. http://www.crivoice.org/ I've been using this website to download daily Scripture readings for The Church Year where it lists the reading for the current Season of Epiphany. Because one of my 'hopes and goals' for 2010 involves more focus on my spiritual life, I appreciate having the readings easily accessible.

Thank you to Susanne for faithfully hosting FFF every Friday. Go visit her and leave a comment and find out what people all over the world loved about their weeks.

And thanks for stopping by Willow's Cottage. Your comments make my day!

More Treasure

January 1947

Knitting for Baby, 1948

Knitting for Men, 1950s

Mittens and Gloves, 1950s

Treasure

Through the years and from several different sources, I have accumulated a substantial library of old knitting, crocheting and crafting books. During the Christmas visitation of my daughters and sons, I pulled out several boxes and bags, opened them up and offered any and all patterns and books to the girls. Because both girls (well, they're women, really) love vintage clothes and are quite knowledgeable about style, they love the pattern books and enjoy playing the game, "What year was THIS published?"

Wanna play? Try to guess!

A) What is this? Cinderella?

B) Four beauties!

C) Clues to the decade include the mustache, shaggy hair and that wristband!

D) No fashion era should ever include reptile accesories!

E) Black and White

I enjoy perusing the old books for ideas and comparisons in style, shaping, and fiber, so I find them interesting and inspirational. I just don't need 50 or 60 books! Is there anyone out there in blogland who would like some? I'll be happy to mail off a box of old patterns to the first person who asks for them.