Happy New Year

Hello hello! I hope you all had a good holiday, and that you are not so buried in January's return-to-business that you've forgotten all about it already. I spent my New Year in Spain this year - I have to say, I am not generally a big fan of New Year's Eve festivities, but I had a great time out of the country. Even if I DID have some trouble with the Spanish tradition of eating a grape on each stroke of midnight. (I am a small person, with a small mouth, and those grapes had SEEDS.)

If you want to hear more about our vacation shenanigans, E and I created a joint travel blog over at bbtwo.wordpress.com, so feel free to check it out.

On a photograph front, I am working on getting all my many many many photographs up on Flickr, and I will post a link to the set when I do. I think I'm also going to put together a short version set for those who just want the highlights version.

And yes, I'm still taking daily photographs - I think I'm going to extend that project at least through the end of March, and I may make a full year out of it. The new camera I got for Christmas is so much more fun and responsive than my old camera, I feel like there is new ground still to cover.

Today's photo, however, came from my webcam - yes, that is both cats sitting in my lap (my legs are crossed, which is how Freya is seeming to float in midair - she's perched on my knee). We are keeping each other warm. And yes, I did take that picture by holding my laptop over my head. I couldn't very well get up to fetch my real camera without disrupting the cat pile.

Anyway, so I am back and not dead, and things are going well. I hope to resume posting about some knitting stuff soon - I am very close to finishing my first pair of knit socks for myself, and they have been a bit of a revelation. Which is almost a pity. Socks are pretty tedious to knit but I will undoubtedly be making a lot more of them because they are so comfortable. But more on that another day!

Longest Night

Happy Solstice
Originally uploaded by jessajune

Happy winter solstice. I am looking forward to the return of the light and all it symbolizes.

It's been a rough year for a lot of people. Here is hoping that the lengthening days will bring an increase of good fortune with them. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to spending some quiet time with my family before heading off to adventure overseas. Maybe by the time I come back, things will look different, lighter.

In other news, I love my new camera. It's still a point and shoot, fits in your pocket, low fuss machine, but it is a hundred times faster/smarter/better than my old one. I would never have gotten this photo with my last camera.

Back from Maine!

Plank Bridge
Originally uploaded by jessajune

I am back from Maine! You didn't even know I was gone, did you? You thought this was my usual sort of not-posting-in-the-blog. But no! I had the excuse of being across the country, where it is both foggy and warm at the same time, which is pretty bizarre for we folks who hang out in San Francisco.

It was a great trip. Maine is beautiful. And very wet. They are apparently having an unusually cool/wet summer, which does not at all detract from the beauty, but does make tramping around the countryside sort of an adventure. Fortunately, I overpacked, so I had sufficient dry clothes for regular changing.

I've posted a boringly large set of photos to my Flickr: Maine Trip July 09.

Happy Fourth... err, Fifth of July!

I'm in LA, visitig my boyfriend's family - we're having a great holiday! I hope you are too.

(photo by Greg Borman)

China Camp Hike

Grass in the wind
Originally uploaded by jessajune

The Monday of Memorial Day weekend, we went hiking at China Camp. We drove all the way out to the remains of the fishing village at the end of the park, took a quick look, then set out on the trail to find a good picnic spot.

It was a perfectly gorgeous day, and the park is a nice one - only $3 to park all day, and they have picnic facilities for people who don't choose to find a likely spot at the top of a hill, like we did.



The only difficulty in our day was that we didn't really consult a trail map. We just picked a direction and walked in it. It turns out that if you take the trail along the back side of the park, it just runs along the border, and you'll walk 5 miles or so through lovely grass and wooded areas with no forks in the trail. And if you are too stubborn to turn around, like we were, you will walk around the entire China Camp park, because if you leave your car at one and and then walk to the other, you don't have much of a choice but to go back (though by a different route, to keep things interesting). And maybe you will be pretty tired before you are finished with the trek back. Possibly.



That said, it was a great day, and I would highly recommend it as a place to go to escape June Gloom in SF. Just check a trail map before you set out, ok? And don't forget your sunscreen.

Happy 2009

A bit after the fact, but this is what we did on new year's day: hike to the top of Twin Peaks!

After that I promptly got sick, and am still sniffling, 9 days later. But otherwise it was a great way to kick off the year.

I'm showing off Eddie's new thermos. Taking tea was a great idea - it was cold and dry. The caffeine was welcome, too.

Christmas knitting: not quite complete

I found out right before Christmas that my cousins are coming to visit tomorrow. The thought of going out to buy them something filled me with dread. So instead... I'm attempting to whip out 2 pairs of child-sized armwarmers (adapted from Knitty's Voodoo pattern) by tomorrow afternoon. Some knitters could do this in their sleep, I realize... but I have never been particularly speedy.

The good news is, I managed to whip out one last night, and the second is in progress... I'm double stranding some purple fuzzy acrylic/wool (Sirdar Salsa DK) from my stash (probably purchased 6+ years ago, finally seeing the light!) with some shiny bouclé novelty yarn from Abby.

I took some pictures to go with this, but lent my camera cable to my brother in law over the holiday and now can't find it. In fairness, I remember he did try to give it back to me, but I was in the middle of something and said, "Don't give this to me now, or I will lose it." And then I never saw it again. Sometimes it hurts to be right.

Update: apparently I then changed my mind and took it anyway. So it could be ANYWHERE. Except in the drawer where I usually keep it. I've already checked there. Boo.

Snow?

So I didn't go to the library as scheduled this morning because there was supposed to be snow on highway 17 and snow showers in the morning in Santa Cruz, and we people from California just don't rock like that. I rescheduled for tomorrow, when it is supposed to be a low of 34 (rather than 29). If you've ever driven on highway 17, you know that the nastiness of the road is only surpassed by the idiocy of the people who drive it, and I really didn't want to add ice to that equation.

But I was all up and showered and everything, so I went out to run my errands. This turned out to be far more difficult than expected. The stamp machine at the Saratoga post office is now no longer in service. If you want to get stamps, they recommend going to Campbell or Los Gatos, according to the sign. I thought about standing in the line to get stamps, but that was clearly going to take ages, and I had other things to do. I decided I could run my other errands in Los Gatos, most likely, so I went there. After finally finding the post office (I started at the wrong end of Santa Cruz Ave, it seems), I park a billion miles away, trudge through the rain - pity I didn't bring my jacket - and get to the post office. It does, in fact, have two postage vending machines. Neither of them have seasonal stamps in them. I look at the line - every bit as long in as the one in Saratoga. I decide the green ink I've used to address the envelopes is festivity enough, and buy some liberty bell stamps. Not exactly "silver bells" but slightly more seasonal than the flag, right? And dump my mail into the slot. I've just missed the 10am mail time. Oh well.

Now I am ravenous, so I go in to Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Co. to grab a mediocre bagel and some coffee, only to find there is nowhere to sit. I stand at the condiment counter for a while until an older gentleman takes pity on me and invites me to share his table. I review my internship notes as I don't have any other reading material, the newspapers all being read by other customers.

Then I go to run my other errand, and since it's Christmas related I won't say that much about it, other than the fact that there was a sample out of the item I wanted, but none of the right boxes behind it. After trying 20 minutes to get the attention of a sales person, I left. The thought of driving out to find another store was too mch for me, so I gave up and came home.

I was feeling pretty disgruntled by now. But then, as I was driving up the street, I saw this:
I know, it's a bit glare-y and blurry, but that, in the center hill there, is snow. In Saratoga. Snow! By afternoon it will most likely be gone - it's warmed up quite a bit in the last 2 hours. But this is only the second snow in our area IN MY LIFE, and I cannot help but be happy about it. Merry Christmas!

Holiday linkage

Yarn Harlot spends some time musing on knitting gifts.

This is the cutest thing I've seen in quite some time: balaclavas for your keys.

A Christmas pinata is the best idea evar.

(some of these links via Not Martha)

I love Etsy

Flitting about on Etsy, doing some shopping and putting together a little "here are some things I like" list (on request). Nothing like a little armchair windowshopping, right?

I just wanted to point out how gorgeous Rachael Sudlow's rings are. Pretty much I want all of the ones that don't involve a large stone. They're on the expensive side, but for good reason - just gorgeous.

I've done a bit of Esty shopping for stockings and whatnot this year. I like supporting independent craftspeople, and there are a lot of beautiful, creative objects for sale. I wish I could afford to spend more money there - but it at least has to wait until I become gainfully employed.

I suppose I should get back to work doing my own Christmas crafting.

Thanksgiving

I am sitting here, blessed with wireless internet and a fire in the fireplace, sitting with my folks. Everyone's reading, except the cats*, who are lounging about and looking like they wish we'd do something more interesting. It is peaceful.

Part of me says I'm mostly thankful this year is over. But honestly, a lot of good things happened. I'll be turning in my last assignment of grad school next week. (Assuming all is well - I haven't received an official letter from the school yet, but as far as I know everything is in order for me to graduate.) My sister got married to a nice guy who she loves, and did her own graduating. I spent some quality time getting to know my neighbors, and they turned out to be great people.

I'm thankful to have my family and friends, my Bucket, my pets, my health. Occasionally my sanity. I have hope that next year will be better - for me, for my family, for our country.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.


* Note that these are my Mom's cats, who are much less rambunctious than mine. If they were here, my cats would be crawling on everyone and wreaking havoc. Instead, they are sulking in the catbed while lying on top of one another, wishing I was there to entertain them. At least, I suspect that's how they're spending the evening.

The Holidays are Looming

Laurie writes:

Can you believe it's just a week-and-a-day until Thanksgiving? If only holidays were meant to be spend under a blanket watching Spencer Tracy movies and knitting and drinking warm tea spiked with calvados while the cat sleeps on your feet.

To which my initial response was... aren't they? Because that sounds pretty awesome to me. Okay, I'm more likely to drink coffee spiked with whiskey and cream or a glass of red wine. And I tend to put my blanket under the Xmas tree. But still.

I am looking forward to the holidays as only a student who has submitted her final project can do. Now if I can only get that pesky last paper written (for my internship) I will be finished! And desperately thinking about the holidays rather than job finding. Ahem.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Ghost pumpkin says, "Grrrrrr!"



I managed a slight variation on my normal pumpkin face. This is harder for me than you think - usually I expect it's going to look different, but they all end up looking like this. Mostly he's just less happy than the usual pumpkin. But it's a white one, and ghosts aren't exactly known for being happy.

Half Moon Holiday

Bucket and I managed to take advantage of Presidents' Day to break away from everything for a bit. We headed south to Half Moon Bay, driving around for a bit until we landed at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company for lunch and some truly outstanding imperial stout. We happened to end up at the bar next to the brewer himself, Alec Moss. We chatted about his beer, Magnolia's Strong Beer Month, and the British Beer Festival (happening in the first week in August), which he highly recommended we check out - budget notwithstanding, it sounds like something worth crossing the pond for.

On the way back out on highway 92, we stopped at the Half Moon Bay Nursery, which is really an incredible spot. We came home with geraniums, lettuce, vegetable seeds, and a flower for my bathroom window.

It was really nice to have an actual mini-vacation day, without worrying about work and school and everything else, especially considering that he's leaving soon for a work trip, and will be gone for a week and a half. And it took less time than our original wine tasting plans, so we could get back here and back to work by late afternoon.

Happy Valentine's Day

I love what Kevin wrote in the Ficlets blog today.

I know it may seem easy for me to say that Valentine's Day doesn't have to be all about Hallmark and being in a romantic relationship (though I wouldn't claim chocolate shouldn't enter the picture in some form or another), since, well, I am in one.

But when I was growing up, we celebrated VD at home as a family. Not in a big way, but we made each other cards, and gave one another sugary treats. Love doesn't have to mean just romantic love. We love our families. We love our friends. A day to recognize and celebrate love shouldn't be dismissed based on romantic relationship status.

I love my family. And I love my friends. And I love my Bucket. And I am happy about all those things today. Tell the people you love that you love them! And have some chocolate. Because, hey, any excuse to have some chocolate is a good one.

Top of My Head

Loki is laying on my lap, leg dangling over the edge, as always, purring and kneading the air. It's about the cutest thing ever, especially considering that he was driving me NUTS this morning with pulling things out of the trash.

I've been forcing myself to get ready for the upcoming semester - which is good because it starts next week. I've been thinking about it for the whole of January but not DOING anything. Having a life without much imposed external structure is nice, but damn if I can't get ANYTHING done without more in-your-face deadlines. This self motivation thing is tough.

Especially when there are other things being impressed upon me from other areas. I'm not complaining about it (well, ok, I'm complaining about the whole land use issue, but I think that's reasonable), but when the motivation for everything else I need to do has to come internally I have a hard time prioritizing. It will be easier once things start and I have clear deadlines to work towards.

I'm also way behind in my budget - went on something of a post-holiday spending binge it seems... I think what really happened is that the holiday spending (which I did have a separate budget for) broke my new habit of frugality and I just sort of forgot that I can't just buy things the way I did when I was employed. I mean, I KNOW that but until I sat down and tallied things up I didn't realize how much I was just spending without thinking about it.

I've also been in a panic about the Large Project (tm) - I knew it was going to take a long time, but when a single pattern repeat takes an hour and a half and is only an inch high... getting to 6 feet by a very firm deadline is something of a problem. Particularly as much of my impulse spending was on yarn, and I have several projects I want to work on for myself. With one large exception (photo upcoming, I hope) I am not allowing myself to start them... which makes the knitting, which I am supposed to love, into something of a chore.

None of this is earth shattering, it's just what's in my head. Maybe releasing it into the wild will help me buckle down and get things done. You never know.

Kristin Loves Me

Look what she gave me for Xmas!


















(you may recall I mentioned a certain hankering for this very object a few weeks ago)

New Year Covered in Cat Hair

My new year cleaning project was going really well this morning until I got to unpacking my Christmas presents. Which involved handling Laurie's book. Which accidentally led to my opening it. Which sort of led to me taking a break for "breakfast" and reading half of it.

Back to work!

Handcrafted Holiday

Speaking of holidays... I'm making a lot of gifts this year. At least the way I've planned it, it's the highest % of homemade gifts I've ever attempted for a single holiday. I'm not sure if I'm going to make it or not, but I still have some time.

Planned are: 3 scarves, 3 embroidery-type projects. Finished is: well, none of it. 2 of the scarves are almost complete, one is not yet started. Or less than not started because I'm scrapping a previous effort, so I have to frog the whole thing and THEN start it. For the embroidery stuff, I picked up the last of the needed materials yesterday, so I can get started soon. In theory.

In the meantime, I am also working on the big mystery project, and I have a schedule to keep there, y'all, so there are a required number of pattern repeats every week to stay on track. And the HP scarf, which still needs fringe. And that scarf I started the other day (which I am not allowed to touch again until all Xmas projects are done). And I'm teaching myself to knit hats, so I have a half-finished hat as well.

I am crazy. That is the take home message here. Aie.

Unclean Caffeine

I feel kind of... dirty. I was driving home this morning and thinking about breakfast when it occurred to me that it was now November. Which is officially the commercial "holiday" season. Which means... Starbucks has their holiday flavors out.

Now, I normally avoid Starbucks on principle. I am strictly pro-independent coffee shops. There's a place down the road that got bought out a few years back by the guy who used to cook there, and I prefer to give them my patronage when in pursuit of java goodness.

But I have this Starbucks card in my purse. The money has already been given to them, whether they provide me with product or not. So I might as well indulge in a gingerbread latte, right?

Right?

Mmmmmmmmm. Tasty gingerbread latte.