We now interrupt this normally mild-mannered blog, with it’s usual fare of knitting, tea, and dogs, for basketball season. I apologize for driving away any of my ‘gentle’ readers who couldn’t care less about the NBA. I’ll try to keep it to a dull roar and promise a minimum of grousing about the refs and how unfair life is. Really, I’ll do my best.

But, for the moment…….It’s Kings all the way!! Woohoooo…..we won our home opener! In overtime! No last minute melt-downs. Arco Arena rocked and rolled just like in the ‘glory’ days. I almost needed earplugs.
I saw several Israli flags in honor of Omri Casspi, one of our rookies, and the first Israli to play in the NBA.

Kings 127, Grizzlies 116 in over-time. Heh…ok, we’ll talk about knitting tomorrw…I promise.

Hubs better think so, because today he is, as he told his mother some years ago, “a half-century” old!
*
*

*
*
In honor of the old man’s his birthday, please enjoy
The Many Faces of Dearest

You’ll probably recognize this photo, taken just two weeks ago. The Liquid Amber trees lining the field in Brownsville, just down the hill from Mt. Hope.
*
*

*
*
I’ve been really enjoying the pictures Chan has posted recently of her fur-kids, now and then. And, since nothing exciting has happened in our doggie world, I thought I might just steal her idea.

I took this of my little Sasha back at the end of August but somehow missed it when posting since then. Considering that I named it “Way Too Cute” I musta liked it….who knows why it never made an appearance here.
*
*

*
*
Here’s an oldie that was so typical of baby Sasha. Taken in June 2005, when she was only about three months old. Ahh…a nice, dirty pile of towels, perfect place for a nap!
*
*

*
*
Now, reaching waaaay back, two photos of my Bonnie dog. Wee Bonnie Lassie was Misty’s mother and Sasha’s grandmother. Like Sasha, her fur ‘changed colors’ after grooming.

Freshly groomed, Bonnie’s tan fur dominated.
*
*

*
*
However, after she had a chance to grow the fur back out a bit, the silvery-grey beauty was evident.
*
*

*
*
Like Chan with her Mugsy, I had truly special feelings for my Bonnie dog. I confess, I cried more when she died than I did when some people I know passed on. I’m so glad I got my little Sasha to love and to help me rmember her grandma.

Fun fact for the day: Of all the pups born into our extended doggy family, Sasha is the only one of a total of more than a total of a dozen little dogs to resemble the Yorkie side of the family. Eight of the first nine pups born over several litters were black….including my Misty, of course!
*
*
Here I am in July of 08 with a lap full of Misty’s sisters.
*
*

*
*
Yes, my robe is too cute, isn’t it. ( sigh, that will teach me to get dressed first thing in morning!)

*
*
Perhaps you should be just a tad worried?

We had a wonderful night tonight. Went to Winters to see a very fun group play a concert at the Palms Playhouse. Those Darn Accordians rocked the place for two full hours. It was fun to initiate our friends Bill and Michelle in the crazy world of TDA.

Hubby Dearest and I both got bumper stickers and I got a photo of the group and three autographs.
For your viewing and listening pleasure, here are a couple of videos from YouTube
*
*

*
*
I can’t give you the whole concert, but these two videos give some idea of the range of music this awesome group performs.
*
*

I know I’ve been a bad little blogger lately, but what can I say? Life demands more of one at some times than others. In spite of the lack of postings, I have been busy knitting. Wanna see what?

Ok! First I started a scarf, which is going to be a gift for my SIL….
*
*

*
*
Pattern is Best Friend scarf. I’m using Online Linie 5 Corafino in a pretty shad of blue. It’s a Merino wool/microfiber blend; very soft and nice to work with.
*
*
I also started a mini (two person) KAL of the ubiquitous February Lady sweater with my pal Lisa. I don’t generally prefer garter fabric, so I’m doing mine in stockinette. Yarn is Cascade 220 superwash, colorway Pumpkin Spice. Isn’t that just perfect for my fall sweater?
*
*

*
*
This is the first sweater I’ve knit for myself, and to put it mildy, I’m a little worried about how it will fit. Ack…
I hope I can wear this when it’s done….whenever that is!

Just an FYI, I’ve blended a new tea over at Adagio.com. This time it’s a hearty blend of Irish Breakfast tea mellowed with Apricot and a dash of Peach flavoring. I think it will be quite warming on a chilly autumn or winter’s morn. (or eve for that matter)

Look for Irish Summer Bounty featuring my original ‘artwork’ (read photo)
*
*

*
*
While you’re there, why not also check out my original Signature Blend, Golden Summer.
A refreshing blend of Black Teas (Assam and Ceylon) and natural Blueberry flavor. Perfect for a summer day or for evoking the golden memories of summers past.
*
*

*
*
Or for you who want/need de-caf, you might like Grace’s Signature Blend LovinComfort Tea.

On Saturday, September 26, the day of the Walk For Life, it was 102 degrees….naturally. One week later, on October 3, we attended an outdoor, eveing wedding, and were quite chilly in the breezy 60 degree temps that settled in early that evening. One week, forty degrees…how typical of Northern California!

Moving on one more week, I drove ‘up’ to camp for a Lady’s Retreat expecting to experience cool temps and to enjoy fall colors. It was beautiful! Daytime highs in the 80’s and limited ‘color’ in the foliage.
*
*

*
*
Notice how green the Liquid Amber trees were on October 11th? I was expecting something more like this, which was taken six days later!
*
*

*
*
What caused this spectacular change to occur so quickly? My best guess would be the massive storm that blew through the north state on Tuesday, Oct. 13th.

Yeah, that’s California for ya. From 102 degrees to highs in the 60’s and bone-dry to flooding and mud-slides in three short weeks!

Furthermore, it’s been raining off and on since sometime last night and the news is showing snow on the roads in the Sierras. Early snow is bringing with it high hopes for a good ski season. None of this means a thing, however, as it may yet be in the 80’s on Halloween; not an unusal situation here in the land of fruits and nuts.

I tried to get this done yesterday, but….oh well!

I put in a busy week with the needles and some donated Vanna’s Choice Baby and produced

1). A baby Thorpe hat
*
*

*
*
2). A Raglan Sleeve Easy Baby Sweater
*
*

*
*
And, a baby Button-Tab hat
*
*

*
*
All three items were knit from the same 7 oz skein of yarn, color ‘Little Boy Blue’ and using KnitPicks Options in sizes 6, 7, and 8…except for some bind-off on size 9. There is still a small ball of yarn left over!

I’m a little puffed up proud of myself, so I’ll post one last picture of the whole effort. Not a bad weeks work, eh?
*
*