The Big Move

Well its been a fun 10 days... We left San Jose last Monday around 5pm. With our cars loaded so much we could hardly fit ourselves in there. Bob was also towing a U-haul. So we could only go about 45mph. Needless to say we didnt get far. We stopped in Buttonwillow about 11pm. The Kitties were ok, we drugged them..

I had Gato & DeDe, they slept the entire time. The next day was even more fun, not only did we hit the traffic of LA but it was raining and foggy and full of accidents. So instead of going 45mph we were going 10 if we were lucky. So we got to Palm Springs. DeDe it seems go accustomed to things..

Here she is on her own bed in the Motel 6 room. We then drove the rest of the way to our new home.

This is our front door.
Our first night at home, my mom and I went to the bar & grill restaurant we found when we were up here looking for houses. Its called "Chuy's Mesquite grill" Its fun, good music and the best grilled zucchini ever. This is their Chandelier..

How fun is that?

Yesterday, my aunt Leslie took me and my Mom to the Gem & Rock show.(when my mom asked if I wanted to go I totally thought she was talking about Jem the Truly Outrageous)It's suppoed to be the largest in the world. There was every kind of bead, jewelry, precious and semi-precious stones, geodes and everything you could imagine. And all at wholesale prices. I got this for only 80$


It's as big as my hand spread wide, and pretty heavy. At a store this would cost 250$ easy. Next year Im saving up so I can get a bigger one.

The kitties are very happy here. No more nervousness and they have so much room that they arent crowded together. Riker hasnt been pissy, and Oreo hasnt even looked nasty at DeDe once. I can't wait till everything is more together. I need to buy a new bed. I want a Queen Size now, and I need a new desk and all this other stuff.. But for now everything is good.. =)

Pretension

Pretension,nothing in the world bugs me more. Like in "Steel Magnolias", "An ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure". I went to a cookie party last night and I made these very good cookies with white chocolate chips, walnuts and ground up bits of Malibu Rum flavored milk chocolate. They were good. There were tons of cookies so everyone was encouraged to take a few of each kind home. Well when this one girl was leaving, as she was told to take some of mine, she said "Oh no we don't eat white chocolate". As if it were below her. It just drove me mad. I don't care if its not "Real" chocolate. Who gives a crap? Its a bloody misnomer, don't blame the cookies! It was just a tiny little thing but pretentious jerks like that drive me batty. Maybe it's from my over exposure to goth posers but I can't stand pretension.

And no my yarn snobbery does not count. I don't look down on people who buy acrylic. I just feel sorry for them. And can't understand that if you can afford better why you don't get something that wont make you sweat. And the washable thing is not a good excuse, that's what cotton is for, and there are plenty of washables that have low acrylic percentages. RYC Cashsoft, or Debbie Bliss Cashmerino? These things can be found on sale. And Blue Sky Cotton is machine washable and dryable and comes in glorious colors for the whole family. So =P.

Pumpkin!!!

Ok, now that Sara has made her announcement, I can gush! I'm going to be an aunt again! They've nicknamed the baby Pumpkin, which is just so cute. Tho I hope its a girl cuz I just want to make all these cute pumpkin things, and if it's a boy I'm going to feel like the aunt in Christmas Story that made the bunny outfit.

Here's a couple hats I made for Pumpkin while I was at Sara's for X-mas.

I'm so excited. I'm soo happy for Sara & Richard. I know they'll make the best parents.

Time to play catch up

Whew, its been a crazy couple of weeks. We went to my sister, Sara's, for X-mas. It was fun, we made tamales from scratch. Sara did the hard work but we all assembled them together. My brother in law, Richard, made this heavenly green chili gorn chowder, that I have to get the recipe for.

When we got home from Sara's we packed up Bob's big truck and drove down to Tucson to pick out a house. The drive down took forever, because his giant, heavily laden truck was only getting like 9 miles to the gallon so we had to stop every hour to refill, and he could only go 60mph. So we had to stop in Buttonwillow for the night at a pretty janky little motel, that was supposed to be a 2 room suite. So that I wouldnt have to try to sleep next to Bob who snores like a freight train. But it looked like it used to be 2 rooms that they knocked the wall down between put 2 fulls on one side and a couch on the other. I tried to sleep for a little while, then moved to the couch. I was in a deep dreaming sleep when his snoring woke me up. I got so annoyed I went out to the car. Problem being it was 32 degrees out. I found myself reminding myself of Survivor Man episodes.Cocooned in the blanket, wiggling my toes, I was only out there a little while before my mom insisted I come in. She sat up with the tv on so I could get back to sleep. The next day we drove for like 12 hours or so to get there, my mom insisting she didnt need me to take over driving. So we finally got to my aunt Leslie's house at 10:30pm New Years Eve. We watched the ball drop and promptly passed out. My aunt Leslie, can rival us for animal love, while we have 7 cats, she has 5 dogs (3 Boxers, 2 rat terriers), 3 cats (2 siamese, 1 abyssinian), 1 bird, and 2 1/2 horses ( one of those cute miniature horses). So over the course of a few days we went to see 18 houses. We found 2 we liked and 1 we liked better. We put in our offer and got it.Here's some pictures...
You can't tell from this picture, but the security door has a Kokopelli on it. And just inside the front door, theres a mosaic of a kokopelli on the floor. It's a 1871 sqft house which is much bigger than we have now, and the lot is huge!



Here's the big kitchen, with pass throughs to the living and family rooms.






This is a tri-level with the master bedroom down stairs, and the 3(!) other bedrooms upstairs. I will likely knock the wall out of the 2 front rooms to make a larger room for myself. And we'll still have a craft room/ guest room.



This is the fabulous pool, doesnt it look like there should be a model sunning herself on that raised platform? There are spiggots there where water flows back into the pool.

Arizona here I come!

Mom & Bob accepted an offer last night! Hopefully the contingencies will be removed soon, The guy wants a fast close. Once they're removed we're home free. I can't wait. This limbo crap has been driving me insane. On the crochet front I've finished multiple projects that I cant show you yet. If the weather is good tomorrow Ill take pictures of my Jade Sappire cashmere sweater, and some hats I finished awhile ago. But I'll leave you with this nice holiday picture...

Thats Ricky. He'd look happier but he kept blinking, this is the best of like 30 pictures.

Friends Thanksgiving

This last weekend was our annual Friends Thanksgiving. A tradition started by my sister, Sara and her friends from college as a way to gear up for the upcoming holidays. Every year we meet at at one of our houses and everyone cooks something and we pig out together. Much like a regular thanksgiving but without any family drama.Here's the menu..

Appetizers
Bacon & Carmelized Onion Tart
Rosemary & Kalamata Olive Tapenade
Goat Cheese Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

Sides
Fennel & Haricot Verts Salad w/Mustard Vinagrette
Brown Butter & Shallot Mashed Potatoes
Molasses Horseradish Sweet Potato Spears
Ryan & Sara's Famous Cranberry Sauce
Lumpia

Main Course
Cider Brined and Glazed Turkey with Andoullie Cornbread (just boring old
yellow) Stuffing and Sage Gravy

Desserts
Pumpkin Roll
Pumpkin Cheesecake (my contribution)
Fudgy Chocolate Layer Cake

Libations:
3 bottles of Pinot Noir
1 bottle Zinfandel
1 bottle Anglianico
1 bottle Ca' del Solo red blend
1 bottle Late Harvest Zinfandel (dessert)
1 bottle Port
Coffee, tea, beer, water

Mel cooking.
Sara cooking.
The boys contribution, hehe just kidding they cooked later.
Lots..
and lots..
of fooood =9
Sara and Richard after the stuffing.
Mel & Grant post stuffing.
Brian and Ryan after the stuffing.
And to close, Richard & Sara's kitties, Deano & Doyle looking exra cute. (If you can tell, Doyle is the litter mate of my monsters Riker, Pepper, and Oreo, and Harley's baby.)

A day in the Life of a Double-Stuffed Oreo...

I just love my new Catnip toy that my person bought me.


Hey, what are you doing here, Jerk?


Pepper may be my big brother but he can wait his turn.


Unless he bullys me and chases me off, jerk..


But that's ok, cuz my Mommy loves me more than him. =P

Halloweenie

Well I spent today cleaning my room, its fairly nice. My mom said she'd wash my floor and then its all ready. So far we've had 1 group of trick or treaters. It's way sad. I hope when we move we'll be somewhere that gets lots of them.

Pumpkin Massacre 2007

Pumpkin carving is so much fun. Im not quite the pumpkin carving artist as my Sister, Sara, she was born with the pumpkin carving gift, but Im not bad. Tho Im happy I only got 3 this year. My mom packed away the pumpkin carving knives so I had to use the big one there and a small steak knife. Not so easy, and now the tips of my fingers on my right hand are numb, and my wrist and arm hurt like hell. But luckily I didnt cut myself. Ill take pictures of the results tomorrow night when I light them.

On the crochet front, I started a tree topper using my Under the Sea Star pattern. Im using Blue Sky Bulky with Filatura New smoking running with it. I think it will be cute. I just have to figure out how to mount it. Then I think Ill make ornaments with the rest of the new smoking. Ill probably teach a workshop on it for the store. Theyre getting pretty popular, and I think the last email about them helped drive some traffic to my website.

Okie, back to watching "Pumpkinhead" on the new Fear.net on Demand =)

Long time no talk

So Ive been a bad blogger. This moving stuff if totally for the birds. The cats are not loving it. Poor Pepper who really doesnt like change(remember his peter problems brought on by the stress of having Magick in my parents room?), well he's scratching his chin all up and freaking out whenever my Litter maid goes to clean. Dede thinks its all so fun, she loves running around jumping on boxes and peeking in on Bob or Juan working in the bathroom or kitchen. Oh to be a kitten..Ive finished a bunch of projects but I have been busy during the day and havent been able to take them out in the light to photograph them. I'll try to post some stuff soon.Tomorrow starts AMC's Monsterfest, I cant wait, Nothing but horror movies from here to Halloween. And they actually have some good ones in there. The Halloweens (3 not being a good one, nor actually a real "Halloween" movie)Original Nightmare on Elm Street, Children of the Corn, all enough to make me giddy. And there are ads for a new Horror movie network going live on Halloween, looks like they might just be an OnDemand or online thing tho. But I wont complain, much.
Pepper just stole an old swatch of mine...I should go see what he's doing with it...

My new kitties

Aren't they cuuute!! Theyre very inexpensive. I got them from Heel & Sole Shoes. I ordered then on Wednesday and got them today. I think I will wear them tonight. My friend Michelle is taking me and her fabulous new boyfriend, Grayson, to the haunted house at Santa Clara County fair, it looks cool =)

My Little...

You Are a Mermaid

You are a total daydreamer, and people tend to think you're flakier than you actually are. While your head is often in the clouds, you'll always come back to earth to help someone in need. Beyond being a caring person, you are also very intelligent and rational. You understand the connections of the universe better than almost anyone else.

What Mythological Creature Are You?

Yarn Diet

I think I may have to go on a yarn diet soon... I just packed up my yarn.. I bought those Ziploc Big Bags for it, the xxl 20 gallon ones... I filled 4 of them. And I think theres more yarn hiding in my room under some clothes..
In other news, my tailbone still hurts. It's kinda embarrassing. That's what I get for trying to do a good thing by giving blood. Maybe I should go get a new tattoo so I wont be able to give blood for another year. Bah, I need to lay down.

I have a wacky family..

My brother in law is in a kickball team in LA, you should see this video he did... For more go to
http://www.kickballninjas.com/videos/.

Song stuck in my head

Since the other day when it played on Live 105's 20th anniversary countdown, Ive had this song stuck in my head... Its very funny..

Spa Escape take 1...

Well, I held my first Spa Escape for my BeautiControl stuff. It was almost a bust. I invited everyone from work and we held it at the store after hours and it ended up being Me, my mom, the owner and Gunilla my webmistress. It was still fun, and in a way it's probably good it wasnt crazy, as I gave blood yesterday and this morning I passed out in the shower and seriously messed up my back and bruised my tailbone. So I was a tad out of it. I got some practice and I know what I need to brush up on and what I need to have next time, I just hope there will be a next time. Right about now I could really use an long bath with the Luxuries of the Sea bubble bath and masque, but I dont have my bath tub back yet. =( I'll have to make due with a glass of wine and bed..

Cattywampuss!!!

Isnt it cuuute?! I love it. It will soon be a craftkitten pattern.
On the homefront, my bathroom has been ripped out and is in disarray, the new tub just went in yesterday, but thats it, Bob was working on tinting and laquering the family room floor today, so it was really stinky.
Im having wacky dreams again.. Tho last night it was a happy one. My sister, Sara, was pregnant again and healthy, it made me happy. Im sure it will happen soon. I want her to be happy and healthy again so bad. Please send her healthy vibes and thoughts so we can help her along.

a word of advice

Do not eat 3 day old leftover Palak paneer. It's a bad idea. Especially when your stepfather is ripping out your bathroom. And no its not Ecoli. Its not that bad, but it still aint fun. To clear those lovely images from your head here are some lovely finished objects...


This is my "Hollywood Starlet Purse". Isn't it cute? 2 hanks of Colinette "Tao" and an adorable purse frame from Sunbelt. The dress is vintage 40's linen, that I havent been able to fit in for awhile.



This is my "Elle 7 Bag" made with granny squares put on an angle, done with 2 balls of Diakeito "Rococo", a self striping yarn better than Noro's "Kureyon".

I also finished a new amigurumi kitty. But my mom needs to embroider on the nose and whiskers before I can take pics.



I recently developed a case of kitten fever... I was driving past the Petco in Los Gatos on my way home on Sunday, and there was a sign "Kitten adoptions" I sooo almost swerved right in. So I begged my mom to get another kitten, but I cant until we get to Arizona. Which is probably a better thing cuz then the cats will be les territorial cuz the new place with just come with the new kitten.. Is it bad that I have a name picked out already?

Super Fun Happy Dream

So after all my talk of supper fun happy post, I ended up having the superest fun happy dream. Me and my whole family we vacationing in Egypt, and my friend Mel told me about a yarn store there where she bought this fabulous horizontal spinning wheel and I was in some random store and a girl behind the counter was knitting and I talked to her about crochet and the yarn store, and thenMagick was there she had come back to me and everything was super fun happy. I didnt want to wake up, but I did and I was in a very good mood. I think this could come true some day. I know Magick will come back to me some day, I know it's hokey but I believe in reincarnation, and with cats it can happen fast within your lifetime. So I expect to see that glimmer of Magick in another kitten's eye someday. And I will take her home and love her all over again. I can't wait.

Super fun happy post?

So Ive been avoiding you my bloggy friends.. My last few posts were kinda downers and I thought I should write a super fun happy post to make up for it, but I wasnt feeling it. Ive finished a few crochet things that Im happy with but I just cant get with it. I picked up Magick today, her box is really pretty. As soon as I brought it home I put it on her pillow and laid down, and DeDe came and sniffed it and head butted it and rolled over purring and she laid with me. It's hard to be depressed when faced with this...

Thank the cat gods for sending her to me when I really needed her.