We Went to Watch Wicked

Say that one three times fast! Many of these pictures may look familiar. They come from Cindy, and her blog Live a Colorful Life. Anyway last weekend my mom, dad, Cindy (Around the Block mom), Mark (Around the Block dad), Valerie, and I all piled into the pilot and headed to San Francisco to watch Wicked on Sunday. But what about Saturday you may ask?
First thing we did after we were all settled into our hotel was to meet up with our (Val and Jess's) second cousin Jamie, who lives in San Francisco. He was on a hunt for a violin because he had his first lesson the following Wednesday. So we all met this character...and Jamie had an audience while checking the violins out! We all head lunch and then Jamie saw us off on the famous San Francisco cable cars.
The cable car line ends up down and the water and very conveniently near GhirardelliSquare! We made our way to the chocolate kingdom. On the way we saw some interesting things:

Unique City tour method!

And Mark working his way into wedding pictures!

Here Cindy is showing off one of the funnier things we saw in the City!

Onward to Ghirardelli, they have the best chocolate ice cream topping. I don't know that it counts as hot fudge. But they warm it up and put it on the ice cream...must stop, I'm drooling.

Val's sundae had whipped cream! Mmm!

Sunday morning we woke up to big winds and, well, San Francisco weather.

We had breakfast at the top of our hotel and I got to eat my four specially picked macadamia nuts! Then Mom, Val, Cindy and I went to a lounge room to read (It was soooo cozy and relaxing!) Mark went to read his newspaper in his favorite place (bed) and my dad went to check out the bookstore and Nike Town! Then we checked out of the hotel and headed to the Orpheum Theatre to see Wicked!!

The show was fabulous! My favorite character was Galinda/Glinda. Kendra Kassebaum was PERFECT for the part! It was a great weekend!...er Wicked Weekend?

Pondering Production

Just for kicks and found in Never Not Knitting! Page-A-Day Calendar, by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee also known as Yarn Harlot.

"I always find it sort of ironic when people tell me that they wouldn't enjoy knitting because it takes too long to make anything good. I just smile. I especially love it when the person has a "slow" hobby of their own...like child-rearing. That's one where it takes a really long time to make something good."


I kind of agree with Beverly Sills on this one though. She said:
"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."

"just as soon as I saw it I felt it was home."

Chapter II Anne of Green Gables

This little cottage is such a kindred spirit! I could completely imagine myself living there so cozily!

Pondering Production-Quite the Pickle

My mom showed me this comic from the Fresno Bee the other day. I laughed. Let's just say Luke is glad I showed his brothers how to make hats.
The other day a little boy was watching me knit for a little bit at work (the kids were watching a movie because it was raining outside and there are too many of them too all be running around playing. Anyway the notoriously "macho" (for lack of better words) father looked less than thrilled that his son was interested in knitting.
But seriously...
Knitting and crocheting teaches kids lots of thing:
Patience
Fine Motor Skills (You wouldn't want a doctor or mechanic without those would you?)
How to Read Directions
Counting
and much more...just trying to get the point across. :)

Jaunt to the Gem State

Yes ladies and gentlemen, I went back to Idaho (for a visit, that is.) It was a really good trip! While you might have been thinking "Aw Valentine's day what a romantic time to visit." we were actually doing more celebrating of Luke's brother Marks birthday, which was a lot of fun!

Friday night we did a lot of hanging out and catching up with people! I got to meet some fun new people and catch up with friends I had met during my exchange. We also premade some lasagnas for a birthday dinner we were going to have on Saturday before the Pink Party (a birthday and Valentines Day Celebration).

On Saturday Luke and I got some good quality "hang out time" in, and we went up to the closed golf course and had a picnic! I didn't even have to make my sandwich! It was really good!

The Palouse (Not sure what that is? Click Here) landscape is really starting to grow on me. I didn't find it very attractive at first but it can really be quite pretty!

Thirsty?

After the picnic we headed back to work on dinner, and supervise the oven cooking the lasagna. We had birthday pie for dessert (requested by Mark) and Mark got to light the candles(he requested that too).

I couldnt understand why Mark liked lightning the candles so much. I tried to make the lighter work but couldnt. Everyone eating dinner with us laughed at my excited face when I finally made it work!Then people started coming over for the pink party! What's a Pink Party? You just hafta wear pink. If you're not...we dont want you! Thats a little harsh, but we did make a couple people change.

Me with three out of my four roomates from last year! Lindsey, Heather, Kelsi, and me!

Luke with Carlos and his brother. Luke plays intramural sports with Carlos.Kelsi, Laura (Matt's Girlfriend who I hung out with a lot while watching intramural sports), Matt (one of Luke's roomates last year), Mark

I also got to meet and get to know Melanie (one of Luke's Business group members) and Sophia. Very much kindred spirits!Luke and Fred (lives on the third floor apartment above Luke)

These guys just showed up. We're not exactly sure who they are but I took a picture because they were too funny! Made me think of a "Boy Band!" I guess they just went to the Salvation Army story and grabbed some pink womens clothing. All their sleeve seems were ripped because they needed more moving room.

Throughout the four day adventure that was not nearly long enough we went to Moscow Bagel 3 times, watched a couple movies, and did a little homework! It was a really good trip, and I allready got a ticket to go back in April!

bRing it On

So Valentine's day has just passed, and being in a college town, engagements have been popping up everywhere. This sparked up some conversation and debate among many of us, regarding whether or not an engagement ring should have a diamond. My view is that if the girl ,like me, is especially hard on rings, or requests a simple band, it would not be out of place to purchase a ring that goes with her preferences. Many of my other friends, including Luke, think that it goes against common etiquette to not have a diamond in an engagement ring. They also thought that something is to be said for spending a certain amount of money on an engagement ring. Cast your vote in the poll, and comment to let us know what you think! We want your voice to be heard.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love wool yarn,

from a sheep in a barn.

A cupcake, I heart,

especially when it's art!

I send out a toast,

to all the ones I love most.

Thank you for reading!

More post's will be succeding.

What a Love-ly Day

Many people despise Valentine's day, calling it overrated and "national singles awareness day" etc. True, merchants have made this day one of marketing romance, but underneath it all I still find excitement.

I like to use Valentines Day to remind people I care about and love, that I am indeed still thinking of them! Rather than thinking of chocolates and candy (well those are good too) but I think of how special it would be to wake up and find happy cards from my parents! This year at my work, the kids are having a friendship party. I remember "way back in the day" when we weren't allowed to buy those 3x2 in. cartoon character cards. Instead we made our own cards out of doilies, ribbons, and beads to let people know we love them! I remember making heart shaped cookies, frosted in pink, with each persons name carefully piped in white frosting. (Okay my mom did that.) But the lesson was learned and the cookies were good! Valentine's day isn't another day we have to buy things. It's a reminder to let people know we care!

This Valentines day started early with the sighting of the Martha Stewart magazine cover, which was the inspiration for my card this year. You saw pictures of the frosting mixing, here's some fun I had with colors around the house! That and my dad's avoidance of inflated flower prices and hand delivering roses to my mom a couple weeks early! :) Then we woke up Wednesday morning to find cards from Dad outside our doors and my mom's roses (getting a little droopy) replaced with pretty red tulips! Little things that let us know he was thinking about us! He even did the grocery shopping! Haha. Anyway, I hope you have a happy day! By the time this gets posted I'll be on my way to visit Luke in Idaho. That turned out to be a happy coincidence.

Busy Bee!

I forgot to blog after superbowl weekend but here's a hint as to how busy I was, and a preview of more to come!

I learned the value of having lots of small glass bowls!

...and spoons!

Exciting!

Tonight I finished assembling 1930's Chip's and Dip friendship quilt blocks with my sashing!(is that the right terminology? Do I mean setting? Wait that's jewlery.) This is very, very exciting! I designed the sashing pattern myself!
If that sounded like gibberish, here's some background:
A friendship quilt is when you make a 12 of one quilt block and then trade with 11 other friends who made a quilt block so you end up with 12 different blocks.
This particular one is made from a pattern called "Chips and Dip" or something like that. We also all used 1930's remake fabric.
You might notice that there are some repeats in this one. This is why:
My mom and I both participated in the exchange. She is a major fan of the reds and blues, I really really like the purple. We decided to divide the blocks by color and make two twin quilts one pastel and one primary. She ended up with more blocks or something, so I am including 4 extra blocks. Three that my mother had made when she was playing with the fabric, and one that I made just at the end, and LOVE! Can you find it? Its the one with teal/green and purple.

So the quilt top isn't done. I still need to add some borders, assemble the top with batting and backing, and bind it, but I couldn't help but share! Yay!!

Pondering Production

"One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries." -- A.A. Milne
If being disorderly leads to exciting discoveries, and exciting discoveries lead to creativity and inspiration, than me being disorderly is proactive for positive production. Dad, this is why my room has always been, and may always be, a disaster in one form or another. Its production.

What a Character

Yep,. I'm a Twilight addict and I've peer pressured my friends into becoming addicts as well. My friend Cindy writes about how she's "Been Bitten" [here]. She took a quiz to find out that she would be an Esme. Cindy and my mom predicted that I would be an Alice and they were right! What would you be?

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

To find out which male character you are click [here.]
When you find out your results, let me know!

Swatches- A Yarn Studio at Gazebo Gardens

Many of you may know I have been searching for a Kindred Spirit Yarn shop in the Fresno area. While Janna's (pronounced Yanna's)Needle Art, and Ancient Pathways had good products and pleasant service they didn't make me jump and squirm and giggle with glee! Then I found Swatches. Located at 3204 N Van Ness Blvd, Fresno, 93704 it is a little nook with a cute porch and given a cozy garden feel by its surrounding business Gazebo Gardens. The owner, Fran, is very helpfull and what I would call a kindred spirit. She is very willing to order just about anything you're interested in, and has a two page list of classes. The shop is new so it's not quite The Web-sters or Keep Me In Stitches, but I'll take it!

Shop Hours are:

Wednesday -Saturday 11:00 5:30

Sunday 11:00-4:00

25 Things

25 Random Things

1.)I used to play World of Warcraft. I had a level 70 Priest.
2.)I just learned to knit less than a year ago and I love it! (Even if it makes me an “old woman”)
3.)I’m addicted to the Twilight series…especially that special Anne of Green Gables Dress. I have no idea what it looks like but it’s fabulous I’m sure.
4.)I have 14 pairs of black shoes.
5.)I’ve been saving blue glass bottles since high school.
6.)Yellow is my least favorite color…and I drive a yellow bug. I think the rims counteract the yellow-ness.
7.)I have a jar of broken golf tees in my room. Every time I go somewhere golf-ish (more frequently now that I go places with Luke), I grab broken tees from the range or tee boxes and take em home to add to my jar.
8.)I don’t really wear jewelry. If I put on a necklace it stays there for a month. I love wearing my mom’s old silver band ring but I think I’m wearing it out. I’m pretty hard of rings.
9.)I don’t like rice. I like rice pudding, and over steamed rice drenched in butter and jam, but that’s it.
10.)I wear men’s deodorant. Old Spice Sport, to be exact.
11.)I love lounging in the sun like a cat.
12.)I wrestled at Pinedale when I was in the 4th, 5th and 6th Grade.
13.)I HATED Jr High and High School. With a passion. I think I had meltdowns before the first day every year. Sure there were good parts, but I wouldn’t go back!
14.)I have an interview process/list of requirements for whoever I date. We keep dating until the list doesn’t match up or I get a ring J. Some of the weirdest things: can drive a manual car, will read out loud to me, will sweep and mop (I vacuum)
15.)I like getting History DVD’s from Netflix. Last night I watched one about Jamestown.
16.) I would like to spend some time teaching in an American School abroad, like in one of my favorite books Bloomability by Sharon Creech. Maybe Germany, Italy, Switzerland, or something.
17.)I’ve been planning imaginary weddings since I was in the third grade. At one point I had a binder. Now I have power points.
18.) I could watch John and Kate Plus 8 for days.
19.) I am afraid of mattresses and unfriendly people/animal germs. I’ll lay in the dirt but don’t make me touch a sketchy couch, or any bare mattress. Something about permeable surfaces.
20.) Fall leaves on a sunny afternoon make me swoon! Thank you U of I arboretum.
21.) Drinking my daily quota of water is a challenge.
22.) I keep my knitting patterns in a binder labeled ENV SCI 101&102. I made it really cute with stickers and cropped paper lines. I cant bear to take it out.
23.) I think outlook has the best calendar system for me. It pops up with reminders whenever I need to be somewhere.
24.)I like to dip my corn chips in Ranch Dip.
25.)I have a whole Civil War era outfit, and like to wear it any chance I get! (Choir Concerts, Civil War Reenactment, Halloween, etc.)

Pondering Production

Just for kicks and found in Never Not Knitting! Page-A-Day Calendar, by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee also known as Yarn Harlot.

"Some of the confusion in knitting comes from variations in the lingo, which can change from place to place. Take one of the basic knitting fabrics: all purls on one side, all knits on another. To make it when working in the round, you knit all rounds. If you're knitting back and forth, you need to knit one row, turn the piece, and purl the next row. So, what do you call this? Depending on where you are, it might be stockinette, stockinet, or stocking stitch. See? Confusing-- especially to new knitters.
So what do really experienced knitter call this stitch? Boring, usually.