Hats and More Hats

It has been awhile since I wrote a post focused on just my knitting.  This is after all a blog which states that it is about life and knitting, so I decided to show what I have knitted during the month of May.

Because I knew I was going to be spinning at the Topanga Banjo and Fiddle Festival, I wanted to have more hats to sell, so I focused my efforts this month on HATS.  My goal has been to knit through my yarn stash AND sell or give away the resulting items.  Since I only sold ten hats at the festival, I still have twenty-six left to sell later in the year.

And since the festival, I have made several more hats.

Seven striped beanies

two Close Cables caps

(and one beanie on the needles)

This is now all the Simply Soft yarn I have left in my stash.

I'm making progress!

Memorial Day

This is a hard day for many veterans.

We celebrate.

They remember.

They mourn.

Heading into Summer

Friday Fave Five

The end of May edition.

1.  This is from last week, but I have been smiling all week about it.  I met my long time friend for a morning coffee date at 9:30.  We've been besties since our early weeks in college when we started singing together in a trio.  Our husbands know us well--we began receiving text messages telling us they knew we'd be staying for lunch.  Which we did.  Then we talked some more.  And her husband sent her this text:  "I'll keep the light on for you."  We finally broke it up at 2:30 and promised we'd get together again sooner--which we did on Tuesday at her house.

2.  Sunday was one of my favorite days of the year.  Topanga Banjo and Fiddle Festival and Contest.   At Paramount Ranch.  Have you ever seen a Western movie?  One where the cowboy rides into town and ties up his horse at the post in front of the store.  I spent the day sitting on that porch spinning and talking with people who came to the Ranch for the festival.  The best part is listening to the music!

3.  I sold a few hats.  Since it was so hot, most people weren't interested in purchasing hats, but I did sell maybe ten caps.

4.  One afternoon I walked with a friend around my neighborhood.  I wanted to show her where the 'secret' cut-off from the back part of the golf course cuts over to the creek.  As always, I was awed by the sometimes wild beauty of the area where I live.

ducks in the creek

willow trees and wild mustard

blue heron in the agricultural field across the creek

5.  The Professor is finishing up his grading and cleaning out his office.  One of his students left this sweet thank you gift for him.  In his words,

"Last week I was supervising a student who needed more time to finish her final exam. When she was done, she reached into her backpack and gave me these three candy bars with the printed messages. She said I had been more accommodating of her needs than any other teacher she had in high school or college. My prayer going into this semester was that I would finish strong and not coast through the semester. I guess I succeeded."

Now we are ready for SUMMER!

Keys and Birds and Sunshine all Week

I really thought I'd get more blog posts up this week but here it is already-- Friday. Usually I write about my Friday Fave Fives and celebrate what has been the best of the week.    Here it is Friday afternoon, and my brain is waking up to the fact that 1) it's past time to post and 2) hmmm, I didn't photograph the 25 hats I have ready to sell.  I totally blame retirement brain and beautiful weather.  I do have several faves, however.

1.  Mother's Day.  Since we don't live anywhere near our children or grandchildren, I treasure the phone calls, texts and cards.

2.  There is a sweet little boy we know from church.  I think he has just turned three.  Since we occasionally help out in the 2-3 yo nursery class, he recognizes us and talks with us.  Sunday, he walked up to me and said, "Excuse me.  How many keys do you have on your key ring?"  *melt my heart*  He said, "Excuse me."  So politely.  A glance at Mom's face showed me that keys are his new fascination.  So, I knelt down and pulled out my key ring and we discussed my keys.  Who can resist loving a conversation with such an adorable child?

3.  That conversation prompted me to text his mom two photos-- the first photo is of old keys I told him I owned.  And the second is of keys which the local hardware store gifted me when I went in to purchase 'the cheapest key' they had.  I love my hardware/garden store.  The clerk gave me all those keys to share with our little friend and invited him to come visit and he would show him how keys are made.  If I wasn't already a loyal customer, this would have made me one.  I can't wait to share these with C.

4.  The weather has been wonderful this week.  Our windows are open and I can hear the birds chirping, the quail calling and the owls hooting.  I love living on the edge of a rural area. where the wildlife thrives.

5.  Last but not least, it's finals week at the university.  That means that The Professor is wrapping up his semester.  The best part of it?  It's his LAST SEMESTER!  Yes, he is joining me in retirement!

Flowers, Yarn and Books to Read

I wrote a Fave Five blog post this morning and it was nearly finished when, I don't know how, the whole thing deleted itself!  (I blame it on the fact that I have two fingers taped together because of a hand sprain and I must have somehow mistyped and deleted my post.)  Anyway, my Friday Fave Fives are a bit late since I'm retyping it all...

When I was thinking back on my week and checking the few photos I took, I realized that my focus has been on three things:  flowers, knitting (big surprise there!), and psalms.

1.  Flowers.  The jacarandas are in full purple bloom in Southern California.   The three jasmine plants at the edge of my patio and covered in blossoms.  And the fragrance--oh my! Sweet and heavenly!

I love the five blade helicopter flowers.

2.  The weather has been warm enough that I have been sitting on the patio with my tea and knitting.  My stash of hats to sell has been seriously depleted and I have a venue coming up on the 21st where I can sell hats, so I'm knitting hats like crazy.  I love combining sunshine, jasmine, tea and knitting.

3.  A friend gifted me four pots of flowers when she moved to Arizona last week.  Since she couldn't take all her potted plants, she offered some to me and others.  I am enjoying the gerbera daisies and coreopsis and fondly remembering my friend.

4.  This year, for the second year, The Professor and I are reading through the Bible in a year using a chronological Bible.  Since we have just finished a section about King David, we are reading the psalms he wrote.  I'm loving rereading so many of my favorites.  HERE is the link to Psalms 121 which may be my most favorite psalm.

5.  I picked up a book the other day which has been sitting, partly read, on my table for a long time awhile and started reading it.  The Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L'Amour is his autobiography.  L'Amour was mostly known for his Western novels but the man was so much more than a pulp novel writer.  I loved this quote about book stores.  Remember, he first wrote this in 1938...

"Bookstores were fewer than today, when paperbacks are everywhere.  There were many wonderful old bookstores operated by people who both knew and loved books, and to browse their shelves was and is pure delight.

It is not uncommon today to find no one working in a bookstore who reads anything but the current best sellers, if that much.  In the days I speak of, bookstores were usually operated by book lovers.  Now they are run by anyone who can ring up a sale.  Yet there are exceptions, and to come upon them is always a pleasure."

Do you have a bookstore in your area where  the owner is a book lover?  We do and we make sure that we support it by purchasing books there.

Home Again

I was away for two weeks and a day.  I love traveling and visiting my kids.  And when it's time to be home, I love that, too.  Here are Five Faves from my second week in the east.

1.  Another walk with my friend. This time we explored a bike path along a local river.

2.  After our walk, we enjoyed lunch outside on the patio of a cute restaurant that allowed our dogs to join us.  The weather was a bit iffy, so we were the only ones dining al fresco.

3.  I enjoy playing with my daughter's dog.  Mollie loves going for walks with me.  But.  I'm second, at best.  She loves her mommy most and is always bereft when mommy leaves for work.  So cute!

4.  A safe flight again.  I am always thankful for that.

5.  The timing of my flight home was such that The Professor would have been sitting in horrible evening Los Angeles traffic if he had tried to pick me up when I landed.  So--I asked my friend who lives near LAX to pick me up and we had dinner.  This was a win-win since we seldom get to spend time together anymore and we miss that. (We used to be walking buddies when I lived in LA)  So it was a wonderful way to end my trip, AND at the end, The Professor was there to bring me home.

Thus endeth the two week sojourn to the east.  And now I'm happy to be home.