Beetle Mania

It has been a decade since we owned a new car. No complaints here, it was never really a priority. However, a lovely holiday bonus and a clever trade in thanks to Chris, we have been enjoying a Harvest Moon Beige 2006 Beetle with mp3 ready plug AND BUTT WARMERS!! WOO! Love the butt warmers. I know we don't live in an über cold climate, but they are divine! People - please... you have to try them (not mine, necessarily). I've wanted a Beetle for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid our next door neighbors teenage kids shared a blue one. I came from "buy American only" stock, so having a V-Dub in the driveway was about likely to happen as pigs flying out of my butt (no, it can't happen, I don't care what Wayne says). Party on. Anyhoo, she is a beauty. Maggie loves to ride in her with me. Here it is... my farfegrüven

easy like sunday morning

panama rocks. my pumpkin spice latte and maple bar. breakfast of quasi-champions.

why i hate clowns

because they are evil. just look at this hideous jester we found in our local christmas shop. i would like to go on record for being perplexed that the moderate population of livermore can even support a christmas shop year round. the price tag was almost as horrifying as the creature itself.

a cool $1,100 could land you this freaky beauty.

Leafy goodness

Playing in the "leebs" is an essential part of living. Maggie has been eyeing our fading mulberry for a few weeks now. She's been licking her chops for a shot at leaf pile jumping. The ol mulberry finally dropped enough leaves to make her dream come true.

Christmas is coming the Yarn is getting scant

This woman has put a substantial dent in her Yarn stash by knitting the following Christmas pressies.
What does that mean? Of course! More Yarn is needed!

Top: Chris modeling the Irish Hiking Scarf I adapted to use Lamb's Pride bulky yarn in Blue Magic for Carson

Middle: Close up of the Old Shale Scarf I made for Auntie Tree using Cascade Quattro in Kuaui

Bottom: Felted Flap bag for Danell using Lamb's Pride in Sable

If a knittinista knits in Disneyland can you hear her purl?

By cracky, you sure can!

Boredom buster tip #152 - when in line at Disneyland, pull out your knitting and make use of your time!

One can knit on planes, why not the Happiest Place on Earth? That's what this googly-eyed Disneyland-ophile did the weekend before Thanksgiving! I should have had Chris take my picture in front of the castle, but that's yours unruly in line at Flik's Flyers in a Bugs Land at Disney's California Adventure Park. I know, I have to slow it down. Living this fast pace is going to make me go out the way of the rock greats of the 60's.

happy birthday to me!

indeed.. it is the auspicious day of my arrival on planet earth. life sure is pretty good. the time of my birth 16:09. my dad used to make me wait to open my gifts until that time since it "technically" wasn't my birthday. i guess i get that dorkiness from dad.

my sweetie had me open my gift at midnight today. he bestowed upon me the lovliest silver swirl ring. i love swirls, what can i say? maggie made me the most beautiful card where she spelled out "I Love Mom" on her own.

i have wonderful friends and family who not only remember me but also carefully choose gifts they know i will love. as i reflect upon another year i realize i'm damned lucky. i have a beautiful, loving family, wonderful friends, a good job, all my own teeth (even if some are crowned) and my health. each new day is a gift and i'm honored to share it with the people i love.

namaste

182 days of chinese food

i love chinese food. is it because i'm half chinese? i don't think so, don't most people dig chinese food? go know? all i know is friday night chris and i were tired from a long week, couldn't decide what to eat and lacked the enthusiasm to actually go INTO a restaurant. i wanted pizza (the other half of me, italian). chris was on board, but the smallest and newest decision making member of our board of directors for the rosendin family claimed she was not in the mood for pizza.

some of you might say she's the kid and you're the parents, just have the pizza. but for foodies, it's not like that. we trio of rosendins are foodies and we try to respect each palate. this was a true test because it was 6:45pm, chris had gone riding and did not have much to eat that day (as usual) so he was bonking. my food intake was also scarce, a small bowl of oatmeal and a smattering of peanut m&ms when i got my 2pm chocolate jones. we older rosendins were furiously hungry and had maggie been lightly dusted in seasoned flour she might have gone in the frying pan, but we're better than that.... we accessorize, can rotate our thumbs and don't eat our young.

so, maggie offered her suggestion - chinese. she adores chinese too... and italian, and indian, and sushi and thai. a true foody if ever there was one. so, we called in our order to a new restaurant. not new to livermore, but new to us. now that downtown was open for the new parking, we decided to give it a whirl. i waited at home making the rice while mags and chris went to pick up our feast. now, a note about rice making. i am the BEST pot rice maker this side of of the great wall. don't show me any fancy rice cookers, i will scoff. my rice is light, airy and delicious and i do it in a pot over the stove. don't ask my secret, i will have to kill you upon divulging. 30 minutes pass and the loves of my life are finally home. apparently the restaurant was very busy so the 15 minutes turned to 30. chris starts opening the containers and we look in shock-horror.. that's not our food! apparently there was another chris and he made off with our order! would it be non pc of me to say we must look alike to them? heh. hey! i'm chinese, i can say that.

my beloved of 13 years packed it all up and drove back downtown to get our correct order. apparently they must have known he was coming having already realized the debachle with the other chris. my sweetie came home with not only our order, but the incorrect order as well. we have chinese food coming out of the wazoo! we couldn't give any away either! sridhar came over but he had already eaten. mollie, steve and the girls already had a delicious split pea soup feast ahead, bill, jan and the boys were busy all weekend. so, we have been eating chinese food for the past 4 days (okay, so 182 days was a teeny tiny exaggeration). but c'mon we all know headlines sell. would you rather have said "medical miracle! woman gives birth to self!" no, and lets face it that would be pretty gross.

so, above you saw the picture many take out containers and below my lunch today complete with a cuppa of my delicious fancy lipton decaf green tea (hey, it TASTES GOOD!), a small collection of some of our fortunes and pictures maggie drew of she and i.

i know i should just throw it away, but i can't stand to waste food. in another day this stuff will max out on shelf life so to avoid a runny bottom i will toss it out, but not before giving it the old college try! bon appetit!

ps - this chinese food is YUMMAY. a deffo do-over (just not 182 containers worth)

Staaaaaar Waaaaaaaars noooothing but Staaaaaar Waaaaaaaars

a long time ago in a galaxy far far away......


there lived a boy, a girl and a wee girl.... self-proclaimed star wars geek take back the night! livermore's downtown trick or treat was a great time for us to test ride our halloween getups. chris is obi wan, i am princess leia and maggie is padme. it was a fine time for maggie and i switching mother/daughter roles. maggie had some tricked out padme hair as you can see. she loves it so much she wants it like that every day. d'oh!

we get to do it all over again monday night! woo! maggie and i love halloween, chris takes some coercing, but he loves his girls. and now... for our dramatic pose....

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU (and you and you and you)

hip knit chick alert!

i was looking through knitty.com for something and then happened on this wonderful article http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer04/FEATknittingissexy.html which made me think. it was a perfect time to read it because i just started a very arduous project for chris. i began a worsted weight raglan rollneck sweater and i have been feeling like those cartoon characters.. you know the ones.. their legs are spinning a million miles an hour and they are not advancing. then, i found the article and realized i was creating something from nothing for my sweet baboo! he would cherish it always and it would be against his skin. for me, that is sexy! "ooh, looks like someone just got sexy all over me!" (guffaw)

so, i finished the article feeling envigorated and recharged by the perspective that i'm knitting sexy here, people! as is my nature, i love to read about other people and decided to check out rachael's blog. o my lord, run, do not walk to this blog http://www.yarnagogo.com/ what a funny, hip knittinista! and she's a local girl, can't beat that!

knit on!

gonna dress you up in my love

i'm completely ecstatic that maggie is at an age where she appreciates, ne is uber proud of the things i knit for her. i finally finished the musique sweater coat in colour: dune. marjie says it reminds her of a seashell and how right she is with that yarn colour name! we chose her buttons last night after work.

at pick up today a few of the mom's complimented my handiwork. apparently after chris dropped mags off for morning assembly she was showing off the sweater. aww! pardon me while i enjoy this now before she gets to an age where i am a complete idiot and she hates my entrails.

runner up!

i am thrilled to make the honorable mentions page for knitty's calendar. they didn't even choose the photo that i would have (scarf on tree, below). go know? i wish they had used the tree hugger snap.

to quote eloise - oh my lord! my bra strap is showing in this one... further to quote eloise, here's what you have to do, sklathe yourself off of the floor clink clank pick up that phone and say i had no idea they would choose THAT photo, thank you and goodbye!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amyknitty/55741770/in/set-1207459/

Daisys in the Nursery!

well, our first daisy scout activity was quite fun. the alden lane nursery fall festival was full of adventure and the girls had a blast. we will get our activity patches soon and get these gals up and running with their patch mania. on deck at alden lane (my favorite place to shop for growing things) petting zoo, 4H display, scarecrow contest, old farm equipment display and the girl scouts booths - apple fishing, hoop/pumpkin toss, pony ride. yay! here are the gals and i before entering (we're sans maya in this picture - darn it! she came along a bit later). DAISY'S ROCK!

It was a million to one shot, doc. Million to one.

Two visits to Muir woods to get "the money shot" (one pre-op and one post-op) and several months of waiting later, I discovered my name was not on the list of finalists for the Knitty Calendar photo contest. Oh well, I'm posting my tree hugger shot here as an homage. She will always be beautiful enough for a calendar to me. what can one do but KNIT ON!

namaste

i have proudly made a substantial dent in my yarn stash - hooray! after months of yearning to go back to yoga, i did. after months of coveting the yoga mat bag in knitted gifts, i finally made one! now i can go to and fro toting my stylish, handmade felted yoga tote. i'm deeply satisfied with the way it came out, maybe even a little.... enlightened.

new knitty, daisys & the power of om

well, the new knitty fall issue is up and i'm chompin' at the bit for those fall surprises! soon i will find out if my photo of the latifah scarf will be published in the knitty 2006 calendar. it's been two long months of waiting. keep your fingers crossed. i wouldn't mind being ms. october or something. i really think the "tree hugger" pose of the scarf wrapped jauntily around a beautiful mossy tree at muir woods captured what they were looking for, but a spin of the troll doll for luck can't hurt!

daisys.... my favorite flower. be it white marguerites (which maggie was named after), shastas, or the ne plus ultra... gerbers. i am now fully ensconced in daisys. the daisy variety i speak of is girl scouts kindergarten level. they ask for a leader volunteer and i waited. my friends were proud of me for not jumping right away.. but after a week with no leader, i couldn't take the pressure any longer and my hand flew up. so, i will have 8 little girls in two straight lines in my charge. it will be really fun and rewarding watching the lil gals grow, make bonds, learn their capabilities and empower them as they hurtle toward their bright futures. DAISYS ROCK!

lastly, i have taken steps to a stronger mind and body. i'm back in betsy's gentle care and restoring my body and mind with wednesday morning yoga. it is so refreshing and wonderful.

namaste

bags, skulls & knickers - oh my!

i wanna rock ... ROCK! for my dear friend andrew i created a pattern to make an intarsia hat with skull & crossbones. special touches thanks to red eyes, so help me god.. red eyes. no, andrew is not scott farkus, but he's a hep cat living nor'east of sunny california. hopefully this will keep his melon warm once the harsh new england winter rears it's ugly heed. now mags wants a hat just like this. i think she may end up being a sk8r girl or mild goth. i'll take that to a bratz worshipping mini ho any day. happy birthday andrew!

memo to self, not good to throw knitted items for felting into longest wash cycle unattended......twice. turned out just fine, i have a smashing little bag that is like my version of the mary poppins carpet bag. it's deceptively demure on the outside, but you can pack alot of crap into it. viola! it's just like the great big afro'd painter bob ross says....there are no mistakes, just happy accidents! now, where did i put my thalo blue?

now, i am one of those birds that didn't care much for barbie's as a kid. as an adult i liked them even less. well, one day maggie comes in and is completely excited about the fact that our neighbor gave her a bunch of her granddaughter's dolls. while it was a lovely gesture (could we have been pawning junk off on unsuspecting children?) i can't help but wonder why she didn't ask myself or chris first. if i give anything to a kid i always ask one or both parents first.

well, amongst the rabble i find a thousand tiny polly pocket sized dolls and accessories (argh) and worse yet, a barbie (gasp), but wait..... even more horrifying.. "my scene" barbie dolls!!! bless my corns i nearly had a case of the vapors. now i am no prude, believe me, but these dolls are not an image i want mags to view as "normal". while not as horrendously slutty as the bratz dolls, mattell tried to make hip, urban slighly ho-ey dolls. i don't want my daughter playing with hookah dolls.

i let mags play with them for a few days but i couldn't take it any longer and told her they had to go. to make nice i explained that barbie's would be okay and we'd find a new barbie. enter disneyland and their fab little "then and now" 50th anniversary barbie doll. so, now we have a few barbie dolls. and compared to what else is out there, i have to say bab's isn't all that bad. the poor girl didn't come with skivs - i certainly wouldn't let her sit her pristine bum on the seats of the BART! i searched and found this fab little pattern by sarah bradberry http://www.knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/toys/undies.htm and alas babs is no longer going commando.

i can't stop cabling!!!!!

i think there may be something seriously wrong with me. i cannot stop cabling! ever since i designed this pattern it's like my "go to comfort knit". now everyone says, "you should TOTALLY sell those" but let's be real. the minute it becomes a "have to" it will lose it's sex appeal. this is a sunshiney yellow version for my sweet friend heather. honestly she is the nicest person on the face of the earth and as i always tell her she is so kind, she makes princess diana and mother teresa look like harlots. how many vegan PETA members do you know that will cook a steak for their hubby. she's a grand example of staying true to one's convictions without foisting it on others or making them feel guilty. see? told ya she's wonderful.... mother teresa who?

heather loved her sunshiney yellow cabled clutch. it helped that the fine people of brown sheep yarn co keep their nebraska sheep so happy. i wasn't about to knit a wool clutch for heather from abused overfed new zealand sheep. i have another one of these little babies in persian peacock turquoise just waiting to be finished for my adoptive mom. i've been waiting to surprise her.

i just finished knitting a yoga mat bag and felted. i fear as the pattern described it may take longer to dry than to knit. at least i used up four skeins out of my embarrassingly enormous yarn stash. i knew it was out of hand, but then one day chris went to retrieve some tp from the annex and when he opened the door several balls fell upon his beautiful shaved head. i happened by at the time and was trying to make a surreptitious retreat, but he spotted me. he just glanced at me from the side as the yarn kept falling and said "andiiiiiiieeeee...." in that sweet "oh honey, you're hopeless" way. i marched my arse down to target that same week and got a little tote to shove some in neatly. at least he wasn't concussed!

quiddich anyone?

who goes to borders at 11:45pm on a friday night for a shot at the new harry potter book? loads of people, that's who.. including my potter-crazed family. while we didn't score a copy that night (all 150 books were preordered!) we did have fun! the next morning chris snagged us a copy. yessss!!! maggie's new school, luckily enough, has the same colors as harry potter's house - gryffindor. i decided to make us gryffie scarves for the new book and movie coming out this november. however, it's very functional given mags school colors. maggie has asked for a likeness of harry's scar. doesn't she look ready for school now? knit on!

head like a hole

schyeah, as if i need another hole in the head! still, i finally realized my dream of having a nose piercing. perhaps it's because i led such a sheltered life as a child. mom was a bit overprotective so maybe i'm just now having my teenage rebellious era. how many people do you know that wait til 30 for a tattoo or piercing? hey, maybe 30ish is the new 20! cripes, i remember when the show thirtysomething was on.. i thought they were old! hello!?!?!

it's almost tooth fairy time

you may notice i have been prolific in my knitting. friday i had some minor surgery to remove a uterine polyp so i've had loads of time to just sit and knit. this was my first surgery in my 33 years of living and hopefully my last. yes, polly the polyp was extricated from my precious womb without incident. she didn't appear to put up a fight. the worst part was the IV so i guess that's a good thing! i was poked four times! ACK! only later did i hear a different nurse offer another patient a numbing spray before the IV. i was robbed!!! dr. mahoney (my anesthesiologist) was a crack up. when he explained the process of a "general" he said first he would "slip a mickey" into my IV. he wasn't kidding. my wonderful nurses mary beth and laura wheeled me into the OR, i was part way in the room and dr. mahoney sidled up with a smile in his eyes (his mask was on) and he waved the syringe and said "heeeeeere's the mickey!" he certainly made me feel more at ease that way and whatever that cocktail was sure took me down like a tranqued rhino on the serengetti. all i recall is them asking me to move to the OR table which i did,things started to look a bit wonky. i put my head down on what seemed like the softest pillow in the known universe and woke up in recovery and hour or so later to my dear caretaker jean who made me comfy and gave me more warm blankets. dr. hughes came in to tell me that the surgery was "textbook" and left me with some souveniers.. photos of polly and her former home. i'll spare you those photos! let me just say that was some magic carpet ride!

excited to report that mags has her first loose teeth!!! i was going to try to knit one of those adorable jean greenhowe patterns - the tooth fairy. turns out i may only have time for a pouch. so, i created a bigger pouch and lined it with some lovely lavender satin which maggie chose. viola! now maggie is ready for the tooth fairy!loose teeth, kindergarten on the horizon.. my baby is growing too fast :( sniffle.

back of tooth fairy pillow

inside tooth fairy pillow

so sweet tank

better homes and gardens hip knits had the cutest little pattern. my friend marjorie pointed it out to me and i decided to try it. my first wearable!it was less daunting being kid-sized :) i must say i think it came out adorable.. could be my little model maggie too! i don't know what's up with the pose. i asked for a smile and i got "pret a porter". go know?

Maggie - "So Sweet Tank"

double clutch

thanks to judy from knitting group, i was inspired to make a cabled clutch bag for a girlfriend's upcoming birthday.not that she's not worth the $130, mind you, but i decided i could figure out how to make a similar one and it would be extra special having come from my two hands. i studied the pictures and also drew inspiration from this lovely lady pretending sanity and wrote what could be considered my first real pattern. alas, i present...double clutch

k is for keely

i must be getting faster ... i whipped out this little beauty for my cousin keely's birthday in a day. woo! here's to fast fingers!

red red blaaaaaanket

11th hour hail mary. i completed the redux baby blanket just in time for the baby shower! make that 48 hours prior to the baby shower. phew! the shade is decidedly un-baby like but it will match the baby room theme perfectly. i've decided i'm a cable junkie!

"sundance" scrap wrap

scrap wrap in earthy colourway

cabled baby blanket

knit in blue sky alpaca organic cotton in "nut"

Where little cable cars.. climb halfway to the stars...

well, okay, maybe it's not cable cars i'm stitching, but a cabled/ribbed baby blanket. it is going swimmingly and i'm in the home stretch. marjorie was right, cabling is much easier than i ever imagined. i may escape this project with JUST enough yarn. apparently the blue sky alpaca organic cotton is not quite worsted, but bulky worsted. instead of 30" x 30" it's turning out to be 36" wide and i guess i'll make it 36" long. "they" are right, always do a swatch. lesson learned, no big loss though.. it's a blanket and perhaps the baby will enjoy having his or her toes stick out whilst swaddled. :)

in between time, i am knitting myself a "scrap wrap" in a colourway that chris refers to as my "sundance wrap". :) i rather like the earthy look as is my way. greens/browns etc. even though the tri-valley gets mighty warm in the summer, we do have lovely cool evenings once the marine layer rolls in so it should prove handy.

saturday afternoon i enjoyed what can only be described as knitting nirvana for me. a lovely afternoon on the beach in santa cruz, listening to the surf, soft sand between my toes and knitting needles in hand. hoooo-ahhhhh!!!!

after a luxuriant afternoon in the sun and sand, i discovered a new yarn shop (the golden fleece, santa cruz). jane and liz were just terrific! what a fun couple of gals! i'd have to say that saturday was about the best day of this year because after surf, sand and yarn came a visit to our favourite brewpub, seabright brewery. nothing like a crisp ipa for chris and a refreshing wheat for me to accompany unique pub grub. to top it off we saw star wars III in the evening at the soquel drive-in. because we arrived an hour early to ensure a spot, my knitting kept me occupied while we all chatted and waited for the movie to begin. it occured to me that maggie was seeing the final installment at the same age and venue i did when the original came out c. 1977 - at age five and a half at the drive-in with my parents. being the geek that i am, i found this poignant that maggie and i were connected in this way as bookends to one of the most spectacular movie franchises ever.

you know, i bet anakin skywalker would have stayed the jedi path had he found the serenity of knitting. without fiber arts he was not clear-headed when it came to fighting against the dark side of the force. if you ask me, all of the jedi could have honed their senses a bit more had they taken up the Zen art of knitting. i mean, HELLO?!?!? could they didn't realize they were in the midst of the sith! try fixing some knitting snafus on a needle and one quickly becomes one with the force :)

may the force be with you

cell phone cozy

yes, i love technology....

any new gadget deserves a snazzy way to transport. behold, my mania continues as i produced stitch n bitch "techno cozy" for my new palm treo. pictured here in blue sky alpaca's organic cotton in three colourways - lotus, poppy and cumin. decorative button in the form of a daisy, my fave flower. fashionably connected one stitched kilobyte at a time. kip dynamite "yessss i love technology...."

peace out.

bumpy stitch markers

craft milieu mixing alert!

still truckin' on the airy scarf. nearly done. feeling the need for something pretty and practical, i eschewed my plain rubber stitch markers and decided to fire up my beading brain to create fanciful yet functional stitch markers. i am about to embark on my first baby blanket which includes ribbing and cables so these lovely little markers will add some pizzaz. humbly yours, craftinista mix-master.

pretty in pink stitch markers

pretty in pink stitch markers

denim pearl stitch markers

denim pearl stitch markers

since it won't stop raining and flowers are still in a sleepy slumber, i decided to help spring along and begin creating my very own alice in wonderland golden afternoon.behold my first felted flower which was fabu practice on increase and decreases. while it needs a little more felting, i'm pleased as punch it went so well the first go around.

flower power