cordeliaknits

We had a fabulous time

  And now we're home.  <sigh>

There were beautiful views, windy roads, and sea lions...

 

hours of knitting on our balcony, listening to the waves crash and putting on more layers as it got colder...

There was lots of reading and movie watching, several hot baths, one fainting episode (after which Les insisted that I was no longer allowed to draw my own bath), and a fire in the fireplace every night...

There was a trip to Mendocino and Fort Bragg to do some Christmas shopping, coffee drinking and beach walking... 

We found a bag full of glass for Celeste at Glass Beach, where the beach glass outnumbers the rocks!

 

We saw giant gnomes and beautiful houses, we ate turkey, I wore layers of sweaters and Les wore a Piggly Wiggly t-shirt, and above all, we had a wonderfully relaxing, renewing, and romantic Thanksgiving weekend.

So much to be thankful for!

   

Happy Thanksgiving!

Les is in the shower, I'm dressed and about to pack yarn and snacks, and then we will be leaving to drive north for a few hours to our wonderful hotel for a weekend of relaxation, which we really need!

Last night we went to Harry's Hofbrau and bought two turkey dinners, so we'll warm them up this afternoon at the hotel and have our Thanksgiving dinner in front of the fireplace.  I can't wait!  I'm so glad we decided to have a no-stress, romantic, chill, beautiful holiday together.  Tomorrow we will celebrate Buy Nothing Day, and then maybe on Saturday do some shopping for gifts in Mendocino. 

I've printed off lots of knitting patterns, and will probably pack too much yarn...I got several books at the library last night, and I'm about to burn some Cd's of Christmas music for the car.  I've packed cozy sweaters and soft pj pants, and I will report on the fun we have when we get back Sunday night!

So, I hope y'all have a warm and cozy, tasty and relaxing holiday weekend with lots of knitting and love, just like we will.

Same old things--cooking, knitting, Christmas music!

So, I am feeling about 80% better from my stomach plague of the last few weeks, and I'm pretty happy with 80%.  It means I can eat solid food, and care for babies for 8 hours without risk of fainting or passing out from severe fatigue!  Also, I don't feel so much like killing people in my free time.  (being weak and sick makes me very irritable!)

Eating solid food means I can cook again!  (not that I couldn't cook while sick--it just wasn't nearly as fun or appealing to me)

Last night I made "chicken delight" which is my version of Auntie Knickers' chicken paprikash, and tonight I'm making homemade pizzas with chicken (flavored with Poppy's seasoning and cooked in the Crock Pot last night), eggplant, goat cheese and caramelized onions (also made in the Crock Pot, two nights ago)!  And Sunday night I made Spaghetti Carbonara, a special request from Les.

I love to cook (when I feel good and the 'kitchen' is clean), and I LOVE my Crock Pot!  Les brought it home for me one day a month or so ago, and I have been using it at least once or twice a week since then.  How did I ever live without it?  Especially in a trailer?!  It's so great, because it has no pilot light to fiddle with, doesn't use up propane (which is a precious commodity when you need it for hot showers), and doesn't heat up the whole trailer like the oven does.

Also, how great is coming home from work to a yummy smelling hot dinner all ready to eat?!  Pretty great, let me tell you.

What else...oh yeah, knitting!  I'm working on several presents right now, and have several more planned to work on during the holiday weekend.  We are going to our lovely ocean view hotel for the weekend, and I plan to knit a TON while sitting in front of the fire, the ocean, and the HBO!

And finally, Christmas music.  Can't get enough of it.  Got to figure out a few more secular winter/snow songs that are appropriate for my Jewish baby, 'cause I think she might be getting tired of my renditions of "Let it Snow" and "Winter Wonderland" after hearing them both a dozen times a day.

p.s. Baby R has left the nanny share, and Baby O and I now enjoy the company of Baby M, a 6 month old sweetie who doesn't scream every time I leave the room!  Work has gotten much less stressful since the change.

Christmas knitting, Christmas music

I've been working on my Christmas gift knitting for about a month already, as I have one big project I'm working on.  Now I'm starting to plan out the smaller projects and work on them simultaneously.  Here's what I started last night just before bedtime.  Armwarmers for my stylist, Karen, who gave me another great after hours haircut last night!  

Yesterday was an exceptionally hard day at work, with screaming like you wouldn't believe that lasted for way too long.  When I got home, as I often do lately (especially since I've been sick), I immediately got in bed with a warm drink, a book and magazine, and my beloved heating pad.

As I read about Oprah's favorite gifts and felt the tension finally start to melt away, I realized I wanted to listen to some Christmas music, that it would be the perfect addition to my after work relaxation procedure.

I used to have rules about Christmas music--it couldn't be played before Thanksgiving or before the first sticking snow, whichever was first.  But now I live in stupid sunny California, and if I waited for snow I would never get to listen to it.  Plus, Thanksgiving is just a week away, and I need the comfort and relaxation that only Christmas music can provide, so I'm abolishing all my previous rules!

In that spirit, I found a new favorite Christmas album.  Mary Chapin Carpenter's Come Darkness, Come Light.  It's new, and it's perfect.  Her voice is beautiful, there's a good mix of classic and new songs, and it's definitely got a Winter Solstice vibe running through it.  I'm just sorry I don't have time to burn a cd of it before I go to work today so I could have it in the car. 

That will have to wait until tomorrow.  Now I have to run and drop off yucky things to the lab so they can find out what kind of plague I have!  I'm praying for a better day with the babies today, because I don't think I can handle a repeat of yesterday.

New Bike! (still sick)

So, the good news is, Les got home this afternoon with our awesome new (used) motorcycle!  It's big and red and loud and oh-so-comfortable!  We took a little drive on it tonight, and I love it as much as she does.  Pics to come.  (gets dark so early now!)

The bad news is I'm still sick, and I'm starting to think I may have a parasite (eew), since it's been too long for food poisoning or even the stomach flu, I think.  I'll be calling the Dr. for an appointment in the morning, but I will be going back to work and just suffering through.  At least I'm used to dealing with the pain, nausea, fatigue, and other icky things (that shouldn't be mentioned in polite company) at this point, so though it may wear me out completely to be with babies for 8 hours, I'll just have to do it.

So, it's not yet 9:00, but I'm going to have some peppermint tea and go to bed with the heating pad. 

What an exciting life I lead these days, eh?  If it weren't for the Harley, you'd think we were just a couple of old farts!

sicky

I'm sick.  It's a tummy thing.  It's not fun.

I had to call in sick yesterday and today, and now it sounds like Baby O might have the same thing, poor kid!  This morning I woke up at 7 to call in sick, had a small glass of milk with carnation instant breakfast in it, and went back to bed.  I woke up 7 hours later when Les texted me from work!

SEVEN HOURS!  And that's after sleeping for nine hours during the night!  It's crazy.  Yesterday I couldn't eat anything, and got really weak and dizzy, so that's when I came up with the carnation instant breakfast idea for some protein.  Of course, I might not have been able to keep it in me yesterday, but I'm finally starting to feel better, and it doesn't make me want to gag to think about drinking a few sips, so things are looking up.

(another Mendocino pic for you, just because it's pretty)

In happier news, Les is flying down to pick up our new motorcycle tomorrow!  So sometime on Sunday afternoon she will be back with it and we will have our freedom again!  Woo Hoo!  Hopefully I will feel well enough to take a ride!

randomness

The picture in the last post was taken in Point Arena, CA near our hotel.  Those people had all sorts of cool sculpted trees. 

This train was in Fort Bragg.  (As you can see, I'm resorting to random older pictures that I didn't have a chance to post when they were current, since I haven't been able to take any good knitting pictures lately.)

The verdict on the Chex mix in the crock pot is mixed, as far as I'm concerned.  Basically, to make it you just mix it up like normal and cook it in the crock pot on low for four hours, stirring every half hour or so, and with the last half hour uncovered.

I wasn't able to do it exactly right since we went to see a movie halfway through the cooking and I had to turn it off.  I also added more of the liquid after a few hours because I hadn't exactly measured stuff and the mix seemed a little dry.  Of course, then it seemed like it would be soggy, but in the end it dried out, and I have to say, it does taste yummy.

Next time I make it I will be better about measuring and following the directions exactly and see if that makes it better. 

And, to answer MacKnits question, "what is meme-ing?"  Well, it's like a chain letter that includes information about yourself, or answers to questions that you do on your blog and then 'tag' other people to do it on their blogs.  Sometimes there are specific questions to answer, and sometimes, like the one I just did, it just calls for some random weird facts.

a meme for youyou!

  Celeste tagged me for a meme of random and weird facts about me, so here goes nothin!

1. I am currently in the process of making chex mix in the crock pot, and I am SUPER excited about it!

2. I go to the public library at least twice a week.

3. I live in a trailer.  A travel trailer. 'nuf said.

4. I will see any movie with good period costumes in it, even if it gets terrible reviews.

5. I love to obsessively research things that I'm interested in on my own time, yet I hated doing homework for school.

6. I take hundreds of random pictures with my digital camera (see above) with no purpose in mind for them, but it makes me happy.

7. Despite my Seven Sisters education and Master's Degree, I love love love trashy paranormal romance/mystery novels, and read at least one per week!  (Les suggested this one)

So, there you have it.  I'm sure there are many more random and weird things about me, but I can't think of them just now.  Instead of tagging others, I'll just suggest that if you'd like to do this meme on your blog (or in my comments section if you don't have a blog!), then consider yourself tagged!

Almost to the end of the week...

Baby O is quite upset about Prop 8 too!

Work has been hard this week, with sick babies who can't breathe well enough to drink from a bottle, and therefore are not sleeping.

The upside?  I'm getting lots and lots of exercise in, walking around the neighborhood pushing a double stroller several times a day, just to stop the screaming!

On the upside, Deacon and Harley are getting along better.  We often find them sleeping and cuddling together on the bed.  If you look closely at this picture, you can see Harley's hind leg resting on Deacon's back!

I'm getting a massage tonight to deal with the arm-numbing knot in my left shoulder.  I can't wait!  Perhaps it will relax me enough to be able to knit some more.  Lately I've been getting home from work with no energy left to do anything but cook dinner and get in bed with a heating pad and a book.

Emotional girl

Sheesh.  What a rollercoaster of emotions in the last 24 hours!

SO EXCITED about the miracle of President Obama!

SO DEPRESSED that 52% of Californians are hateful and selfish and voted yes on Prop 8.

SO HAPPY that we finally found a new bike to buy, and the insurance money is in the mail!   

what else can I say?