it's sort of like I live in Tuscany sometimes

1. go to middle of the day step class with the stay at home moms (this
is not the most Tuscany part)

2. get a pedicure with sister and friend, godson picks out colors

3. buy a half flat of strawberries on the side of the road

4. make strawberry shortcake from scratch, including real whipped
cream

5. eat Indian food with sister and best friends

6. knit in the car

7. get a look at the coolest tangerine kitchen in the world, I hope the
pictures will turn out

8. play with sister's puppy

9. spend a day wine tasting in Napa with sister and favorite people in
the world, weather is perfect

10. have morning coffee with grandma and talk about tomatoes

11. buy jars for summer canning: strawberry jam and pickles

12. make quilt panels

13. pose for highly gifted photographer buddy

Ok, I snuk in an extra day and took Friday off since my sister was in
town. I still feel all sparkly.

Can I just say that after today's luncheon party at work, the only thing I am fit for for the rest o

Can I just say that after today's luncheon party at work, the only thing
I am fit for for the rest of the afternoon is taking off all of my
clothes and curling up on my side underneath my big puffy white
comforter. The comforter needs to be pulled up over my head so I can
sleep quietly without the sun getting in my eyes.

I'd also like to admit that I unbuttoned the top button of my pants,
right here, at work.

Um, I put in three tomato plants over the weekend. People always talk trash about Sacramento, but s

Um, I put in three tomato plants over the weekend. People always talk
trash about Sacramento, but seriously, how many people out there can
actually feel like they're getting a late start on tomato season by
planting actual plants on March 21st! I put in Early Girls and I made
sure to rip off the bottom set of leaves and plant them lower so they'll
have extra roots to feed the yum yum tomatoes this summer. And in case
you think three plants sounds skimpy, I'll be doing a giant bed in the
back full of heirlooms and romas for sauce, I just haven't had time to
rip out the sod yet. Have I mentioned how much I love summer?

tech geek meets crafty geek

I swear, it's ridiculous how much I love this stuff:

http://www.mini-itx.com/projects/underwood/

not my fault

well I've felt pretty bad about how little I've been updating my blog
and how I haven't had any good pictures or anything. I finally realized
last night that there's sort of a reason for this: my home internet
service has been down for like a week so I can't really do pictures or
anything snazzy. So that's why. It really has very little to do with me
being lazy or boring if that's what you think. And 80 degree weather
isn't distracting at all!

Well I finished the pocket flap on the Rogue and I think I'm on row 26 of the body underneath the po

Well I finished the pocket flap on the Rogue and I think I'm on row 26
of the body underneath the pocket. Other Roguers will know what I mean,
the rest of you will not. But I think the number of Roguers is in the
90s so probably a lot of people really will know. My boss finally
decided the color of the yarn is "coral" which I like better than
"salmon" as I was calling it. Fish may not be a good look. Since the
color is a bit sensitive I've been waiting to get a good bit to shoot in
good light before posting a photo.

The feeling of Spring is making my head all happy and dreamy but so far
the feeling hasn't worked it's way down to my fingertips. The
creativity is tingling all over but not prompting any action yet.

spring

doesn't it seem like all things are possible in spring! Everything will
come true in its own time, slowly uncurling toward the sun. Sacramento,
my chosen homeland, is enjoying a glorious week of perfect weather. I
feel I might burst with the excitement!

update!

I have finally started Rogue and after a bit of a false start (13 rows
on U.S. size 4 needles with 20 extra stitches?!!) I am on row 5 of the
body. Yes, technically that only means that I have done 5 body rows but
now that the pattern is started things are zipping along beautifully. I
got exact gauge on U.S. 5s but I wasn't sure about what size of the
pattern to make. The smallest size would have been snug but the next
bigger size I think would have been too big. I decided to knit the
smallest size on U.S. 6. It'll give me a little extra room and I won't
have to knit a whole garment on 5s, that's just a little too small for
my taste. Oh, and my kool-aid dyed wool is knitting up very nicely with
a subtle variegation that's muted by the fact that I'm holding two
strands together.

The only sad thing is that I seem to be unable to join any Yahoo
groups. I can't sign up, I think I may have some type if cookie blocker
that won't let the right secret things happen for me to get in. So I
can't participate in the Rogue Yahoo group. I know there are a bunch of
people making this but the only one I've seen is Claudia (link to be
added later) who is already practically finished. I think she's my
hero.

Since I haven't done anything interesting lately, here's a pic of something interesting I did a month or two ago. This is my friends Leah and Allyn's pug Miles. Allyn designed his spiffy ocean camo jacket and I helped with the execution. Click here for a side view of the jacket including the general stars Allyn added. We're very proud of this jacket since we designed it from scratch and custom fit it to Miles, who is not even 1 yet and not the most patient model. This is the second in a series of coats we've been making for Miles, the first was a khaki ripstop nylon with black fleece lining, it was a more basic model without a collar.

p.s. I'm finally swatching for Rogue. Boy, that February's a killer! I think the arrival of Girl Scout Cookie Season has helped immeasurably.