1870 pearl

Wildlife

At least once a week I find myself down at the beach to enjoy the sun. Often I bring my beach chair down to the oceans edge and let the surf tickle my feet while I read a book. At times my little friends the Sand Pipers make their appearance to feast on the tiny invertebrates in the sand. They make me laugh as they dart back and forth to escape the incoming surf.

Last week hundreds of Sea Hares were tossed up on the beach. Why? I do not know. But they fascinated us, especially our son. Soon he caught a few of them and placed them in a bucket to observe them more closely. They swim so gracefully in the water and they squirt ink when frightened. RB pleaded desperately that they should come and live with us but his request was firmly denied. I might add that this was very hard to do when we looked at his tan face with big sad chocolaty brown eyes staring back at us. However, we "The Parents" prevailed and he later returned them to the sea.

I am so enamored with our new life that I can hardly remember living in the isolated, bone dry Arizona mountains.

Tell me, are you growing weary of  seeing my back yard regular basis?

 

New Life

My sweet little DPN's have been devoid of inspiration as of late, but today that is about to change. Cat Bordhi latest book has breathed new life into my sock knitters soul.

The yarn has been chosen and the imagination has been set free. Let the sock knitting begin!

It Suits Me

On Saturday morning I awoke and thought to myself, today is the day. Today I am determined to find a bathing suit that fits me, one that I really like - no settling for second best, is pretty, modest, flatters my curvy shape and is priced just right, no more than $50.00, give or take a wee bit. With that in mind I sent up one of my many, daily "flash" prayers. (Which is a pithy request of divine assistance, protection or petition.) Please Dear Jesus, help me find the right bathing suit today. Thank you.

As I left the condo later that morning TBC suggested that I visit the shop across the street. I quickly dismissed that idea because the average price of their suits are about $100.00. To rich for my blood if you ask me.

Off I went and three hours later I had nothing to show for my effort, with the exception of a depleted tank of gas.

Upon arriving home I felt discouraged and my hope was dwindling, though I was still determined and would leave no stone unturned.

I reluctantly walked to the store that TBC recommended. Hanging on the door of the shop was a sign that stated "Buy 1 suit and get 1 free". That sounded promising and my spirit lifted a bit as I walked through the door. Straight away I found the suit I'd been looking for. I tried it on and the fit was perfect! It met my criteria with one huge exception. The price was outrageous - $98.00! Ouch! However, in that moment I decided to buy it, even though it was insanely expensive. After all I was going to wear it a lot so the "Cost Per Wear" would still be reasonable. And I was not going to compromise on the style and fit requirements so I accepted the price as is.

Then I proceeded to scour the racks for the free suit to no avail. Nothing else was right and I was very disappointed that I would not get a free one considering the store prices. With that point accepted, I brought my beautiful new suit to the register and the store manager said to me, "Since you couldn't find another one I'll give you this one for 60% off, if you promise not to tell the locals." To which I replied with a bright and happy smile on my face, "Really?! Thank you very much. You have my word. Ring me up please!

God is good my friends. He provided down to the last detail and I got exactly I wanted yesterday. Oh, He is exceedingly good in every way.

My only regret was not heeding my husband's advice sooner. I would have saved a lot of time and fuel.

P.S. TBC is delighted with my choice and we spent the remainder of the day on the beach, which was a great opportunity to try out my new suit. It is perfect in every way. I felt pretty, comfortable and confidant all day long.

P.P.S. Real knitting in the next post. I just had to share my wonderful blessing.

Rumors

Meet my new best friend, Ms. Hotshot. She can boil water in a New York minute. This is good. It is rumored that I am not a civil person in the morning until after I have a hot cup of tea placed in my hands and been left alone for a while. My husband wholeheartedly agrees with this nasty rumor. I think it is a pathetic attempt to malign my good name. Though I have observed that every morning for the past 16 years he greets me with a hot cuppa, a kiss on the forehead, and ensures that TAZO Awake tea is always in the pantry. 

While I am civilized this morning, my sock is not. She's too snug and refuses to go past my heel. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

Walk With Me

There you are! Are you ready to walk with me this morning? Did you remember to bring your bottle of water, suntan lotion and a hat? Good, let's go.

What a beautiful day for a walk. Take a deep breath of the salty sea air. Mmmmmm. So very good for the soul.

Let's walk south towards the public beach. It's only a half a mile. On our way we shall pass by the 26 million dollar home that has been 6 years in the making and it's still not even close to human habitation. Maybe 2 years from now if they are lucky. And no, I am not exaggerating one little bit. Incredible isn't it?

It seems as some fine feathered friends are watching us today as we enjoy our ocean side stroll.

Occasionally the sea brings forth treasures from afar. Maybe it's a broken bit from a pier. Look it even has tiny mussels attached to it.

Hey, what's that circling above our heads?  A mighty Sea Hawk seeking a mid-morning snack!   

 

Can you believe it? We're already back at the condo. Aren't you invigorated from our walk. I am. Oh my, would you look at that.

Really, Mrs. & Mr. Crab you might want to find a more private place to propagate your species;0) 

I'm so glad that you came with me today. Let's do it again soon because you never know what we are going to see. Perhaps one day if we are lucky, we shall see Mr. Black Snake, who lives in the bushes near the condo.

Did I distract you from the lack of knitting today? I promise knitting is happening but I just had to share this with you. Surely you can understand that:D 

Dear Gentle Reader,

Life has been flying by so quickly these days that I have been remiss in sharing the details of our new life with you.

TBC has taken an extended vacation since our arrival here. He has filled the long sunny days with fishing, snorkeling, swimming and lengthy rides on the Harley with me right beside him. We are now sporting healthy tans for our efforts. This week he announced that he was refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to re-enter the work force again. Let the job interviews begin.

RB became a freshman in high school four weeks ago and is pleased with his new school. He has a heavy class load this year, complete with Chinese 1 and Math Honors to keep his brain well fed and growing strong. As if that was not enough mental aerobics for our teen, he has joined the SPAM (Speed-Power-And-Mobility) Robotics Club. Last year the team went to the national competition in Georgia. They have high hopes of winning this year.

As for me, I have found that keeping myself entertained is rather easy. I quickly met a nice group of gals at Knit Night and I go faithfully every week. RB's high school utilizes an army of volunteers so I joined their ranks and the school keeps me busy a few days a week with administrative duties, which I enjoy immensely. On the home front I have begun to re-establish my daily routines, in which I find great comfort and satisfaction.

The weather here is still rather balmy for mid September and I find it odd that it will be close to January before it becomes cool enough to wear my hand knit socks during the day. I do wear them in the house in the evenings, due to the fact that my feet are always cold.  At least my beautiful collection is not a total loss.

Finding time to knit has been rather challenging as of late, with the constant flow of relatives knocking on our door. We have spent so much time with family that knitting has been on hold. Just today I finished a pair of socks. For a while I was concerned that I would only have one lonely sock to my credit.

All in all I am grateful to no end that we decided to leave Arizona sooner than planned. Florida may not have the changes of seasons that I enjoy, but it is good to be back in civilization again.

Cheers!

Tuesday Morning

Tuesday brought two boxes to my front door. The first being the Dish Rag Tag box loaded with goodies from Jenn. Inside was the very first dishcloth that she ever knit and that sweet gal sent it to me. I am honored. I can hardly believe that she is a novice dishcloth knitter. It's so beautiful and knit in one of my favorite stitch patterns.  The colors are just perfect for my new home. Gush! And yes, we are dead last in the race but we finished and that's what counts.

The second box was a prize that I won from the beautiful and talented Jacque, in celebration of her first year blog-o-versary. I received one seriously sumptuous skein of  Yak Down, which is also super-wash. I do love my super-wash yarn.

As if that was not enough she sent a sweet bookmark and sparkly stitch markers. That southern gal has excellent taste.  Do go and visit her blog. Her photography is spectacular.

Now Tuesday was a good day for me but Sunday was a wonderful day for Jen W. She's on a serious winning streak and won several contests lately and much to her surprise she also won something from me. On Sunday she became my 2000th commenter! How cool is that. I can hardly believe that their are so many of you who enjoy reading about my silly life on the beach. It is refreshing to see a lot of new faces around here. Of course there will be a prize for the 3000th commenter so keep on visiting and commenting. The next lucky winner could be you!

Jen, a yummy hank of sock yarn is coming to you. I do hope you like it.

Please forgive me for posting this so late in the week. It's been rather busy around here. Since our arrival to Florida, many of our family members have been arriving from far and wide to celebrate our home coming and to enjoy the beach. This week TBC's Aunt and Uncle rode all the way from Indiana on their Harley for a nice long visit!

I guess you never really know how many friends you have until you have beach front property!

Saavy Shopping

My friends Missus Smarty Pants, Mrs. Signature Color and I went on a thrift store excursion this week. I found 4 of them just down the street from where we live so I started there. I was ecstatic to find such a large selection of high end, classic style clothing in small sizes! Squee! One hour and $10.00 later I found a slimming red A line skirt in Linen ~ $2.50, a dressy T-Shirt ~ $2.00, a faux gold necklace for another outfit ~ $1.50, and a classic style Knitting Bag ~ $4.00, which I so desperately wanted needed.

After all one should be "stylish" even at Knit Night:D 

Pound Me

Everyone around here knows that I suffer from ODK syndrome (Obsessive Dishcloth Knitting), but what you may not know is how much pain it causes me when I knit with 100 percent cotton. I'm o.k. if I knit one cloth every few days but any more than that and I am forced to put down my knitting for a week or two so I can recover from the fiery torment that it brings to my wrists. With this in mind I resolved to cut back on my cotton knitting........

So while shopping in Richmond VA, I just happened to find a single 1 pound cone of dishcloth cotton in my kitchen colors! Guess what came home with me? One enormous pound of potential torture and my ultimate destruction, if I'm not exceedingly careful.

It is painfully clear to me that I now require constant supervision. I simply can not be trusted when is comes to dishcloth cotton.

By the way, does anyone know how many dishcloths one can knit from a pound of cotton? Wait....don't tell me I really don't want to know.........

Dirty Little Secret

Now that I knit in public I may as well come clean and confess my scandalous behavior that I have developed over the years. After all I'm bound to get caught one day.

I knit sock gussets with 6 needles.

There I said it. The secret is out but don't you dare mock me for doing it "wrong." It works for me.

In my defense I will say this:  I find that when the stitches are spread over 3 needles the tension is positively hellish and difficult to knit. The additional needles significantly reduces the tension and makes this area of the sock much easier for me to manage. And I'll do anything to make gussets less beastly. I despise knitting them but they are a necessary evil that one must endure. I may be slightly different but I get the job done, rather well I might add. After all isn't that what really counts in the end?