A Day at SU

Today we went to Syracuse with Bob and Sally to see an SU basketball game and visit with Corey. We left here in the sunshine at 9:30 AM and drove east on the Thruway, dealing with a couple of small snow squalls. We met Corey outside of the Carrier Dome and joined 26,000 other SU fans to cheer on the team. It was a great game, with Syracuse leading most of the game. They were up by 11 points with about 3 minutes left. They quickly blew that lead and were up by 4 with only a minute left. Then 2 quick mistakes by the young SU team and they lost the game. It was heartbreaking. Syracuse starts 2 freshman and 2 sophomores and we are hoping that in the next couple of years they can gain the experience to come out on the winning side of these close games. I bet they have lost 6 or 7 really close games in the last minutes this season, so hopefully with more maturity and experience, they can become a powerhouse team. There were some exciting plays that brought the crowd to its feet and we were glad to be in the house. 

We walked down to Marshall Street to one of the SU t-shirts stores to get a SU sticker for a friend. We then had a good walk back to the car at Manley. Since the game started at noon, we were out looking for a late lunch/early dinner at 3 or 3:30 PM. We went down to the Armory Square area and stopped into a store call The Hot Shop, where they sell 3000 different kinds of hot sauce. Corey and Sally each found and bought something that sounded good to them. This Hot Shop was a tiny shop with a bunch of small signs on the door indicating some rules and restrictions for coming into that shop. First off, you had to be 18 years old to go in. I soon discovered several hot sauce bottles shaped like naked bodies of men and women-scandalous! There were additional signs on the door stating that they don't do donations, give out change for the parking meters or have a public restroom.  Plus, you could not bring in your backpack! Fortunately, Corey left his backpack in the van and we all peed before we left the Carrier Dome! I asked the Hot Shop owner for a recommendation of a restaurant in the area and he directed us to the Empire Brew Pub, where we had a good dinner. Thank goodness, he didn't have a policy against making restaurant recommendatons! We all (except Corey) sampled their on-site brewed beer. It was good. 

I got a fair amount of knitting done in the car today and am nearing the end of the second Rockin' Sock Club sock. I should be able to finish it this weekend or early next week. Later in March, my school will have a week-long celebration of Dr. Seuss and one of the events is Crazy Sock Day. I hope to be able to wear these socks on that day. 

Tomorrow I have to deacon at church and then we are having Grandma and Grandpa here for dinner. I think I will cook Grandpa a pot roast.

Hope all is well. 

February 28th

Not too much has been blog-worthy in the past couple of days. You know, the usual stuff, get up , go to work, come home, something on the calendar to take us out in the evening, come home, go to bed. Repeat.

We did hear from Tucker that he had uneventful flights from Portland, OR to San Diego. He called Jim after he was an hour into his drive back to Bluff. He had a great time in Portland. Now it is back to work for him.

Tonight we are going to the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra concert. I forget the exact program, but there must be Mozart on the agenda, because we love Mozart. Gram and GrandDad also have tickets for tonight's concert, so we will go with them and get there early enough to hear the pre-concert lecture. 

Dad took Grandpa and Grandma to the doctor yesterday and the news was that Grandpa needs to continue on the oxygen all the time. This was disappointing to him. I'm not sure when he goes back for another evaluation, but I'm sure it is not soon enough for him.

This Saturday we are going to Syracuse for a basketball game. Bob and Sally will be joining us as we cheer on the Orange. Corey seemed glad that we were all coming over for a game and it will be good to see him. 

I'll include another photo from our San Diego trip. I took this one after we rode about 15 miles around Mission Bay on our Cruiser bikes. Jim and Tucker are riding on the trail right in front of our beach house. We were staying in the upstairs of the white house with blue trim, just to the left of the light pole. 

Hope all is well.

Back to Work

After a wonderful week off it was back to work today. I had such a great week off and felt refreshed, that going back to school wasn't too bad. The kids seemed glad to be back, if not a bit tired, but overall it was a good day. I am doing some basketball skills with my classes and they love that, so I have very few motivation problems.

Yesterday was another sunny day here in Rochester and I went to the Tug Hill area of NYS at the east end of Lake Ontario to XC ski with Sally. This part of NY gets huge amounts of snow and as we were driving east out of Pulaski, it was like driving through a snow tunnel, the snow banks were so high.It is interesting to look at these snowbanks because the town uses what must be an enormous snow blower to cut a clean knife-edge along the edges of the road and you can clearly see the stratification of the various snow storms they have had since the last thaw. There was a good 15 inches of clean white snow on top of numerous lower layers. Digging out your car or mailbox must be quite an undertaking after a good storm.

But on to skiing, we went to the Salmon Hills Ski center and skied for about 2 hours on wonderfully groomed trails. Plus, it seemed like we had a private park-we saw very few other skiers. Apparently Saturday was the big ski day at this place and Sunday was their quiet day. We skied out to the farthest point and returned by a different route. It was a good day of skiing-a long drive for a couple of hours of skiing, but a good day none-the-less.

Here are 2 photos from our ski-one with Sally approaching Look-Out Point and the other looking out over the Salmon Reservoir. The snowmobilers use the frozen reservoir as a race course!

We watched a little bit of the Academy Awards, but since we only saw one movie that was up for something (Michael Clayton), we didn't know too many of the nominees.

I had a couple of guesses on the location of the walk that Jim and I took on Saturday. Corey knew where it was because it is a favorite running spot for him and Jim. It is an area behind Park Ridge (Unity) hospital where there is a levee. Nice spot.

There is a winter storm watch for tomorrow and Wednesday. So far this winter, the weather guys have over estimated the severity of the storms that have blown through, so I'm not holding my breath for this one either.

Hope all is well.

Sunny Saturday

A beautiful day here in Western New York. Jim and I went for a walk this afternoon and I am going to include two photos from the walk and if you would like to guess where we were walking, please do so in the comments. Tucker, you are excluded from participating since we told you when you called tonight, sorry!

I had my last spinning class this morning and we blended some fiber using hand carders and we "flicked" dyed locks which were then spun into yarn. There is a whole new vocabulary that goes with spinning and I learn more each class I attend and each book I read. I took a skein of yarn that I spun earlier this week in for "Show and Tell" at class and my instructor said she was going to enter my skein in the spinning contest (Novice category), at this year's Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival! I guess I better not knit

anything up with that skein, in case she actually does it. My instructor gave me some hints on spinning the Icelandic sheep fiber that I bought in Iceland this past summer. It is a bit trickier to spin, but it is so soft that it will be worth the extra effort. I spent the second half of the afternoon spinning and  watching college basketball. 

Tonight we went to Odyssey to see the boys basketball team play Pembrook in the second round of the sectionals.  Odyssey was ahead by about 10 points for most of the game, but after 2 of the stronger players for Odyssey fouled out it, it came down to a 2 point game. Then Pembrook's star fouled out and Odyssey ended up winning by 5 or 6 points. 

It was a fun way to spend a Saturday evening. We sure didn't know too many people! The above photo is a bit dark, but in the upper right corner, you can see Corey's white State Championship banner! The Odyssey girls team plays their third round sectional game on Tuesday evening at the new Aquinas sports complex so we may go to cheer on the team and to check out the new facility. 

As I mentioned, Tucker called tonight and is having a good time in Portland with his friend Kellem. They have been sightseeing from bicycles because the weather has been so good. Kellem has a gig tomorrow night, which Tucker is looking forward to. Kellem is a great fiddle player and is part of a band, so I'm sure Tucker will be hearing some great music. 

Corey runs tomorrow afternoon in the Big East Indoor Track Meet in NYC. Jim discovered that the meet is being streamed on the internet, as a pay-per-view program. So, he signed up and watched parts of the track meet today, using "Neighbor" Net! He'll sign in again tomorrow with Corey's race being one of the last of the meet. Run fast, Corey!

I am going XC skiing with Sally tomorrow at a place called Salmon Hills at the east end of Lake Ontario, where there is a ton of snow. Hopefully, we'll have another sunny day.

 

One thing I have noticed since coming home from San Diego is that the cars in San Diego are all clean and shiny, which is not the case here in Rochester. I want to see shiny, clean cars again (including the Beetle, which desperately needs a wash!).

Hope all is well. 

Home Sweet Home

Here's one for the record books. Jim, Tucker and I all had uneventful flights to our destinations ( we came home, Tucker went to Portland, OR). We were fortunate to fly through cities that were experiencing flying-friendly weather. I got to Rochester at 1o PM and Gram and GrandDad picked me up (bringing my pre-warmed puffy coat for the 18 degree weather that welcomed me). I went back to the airport at 11:15 PM to pick up Jim.

 

I was supposed to take Grandpa to the doctor for a check-up today, but the doctor was sick and cancelled all his/her appointments. He will try again next week.

I got my chores done this morning so I could have a spinning afternoon. The photo below is of me winding my freshly spun yarn onto my new, homemade Niddy Noddy! The Niddy Noddy is a quick way to get the yarn off the bobbin and into a skein. I could have purchased a wooden Niddy Noddy for a minumum cost of $20. I went online and found directions for making one out of PVC pipe. So, off I went to the Home Depot store and bought a 10 foot length of 1/2 inch PVC pipe, 2 T-connectors and 4 end caps, for a total cost of $3.16! I took the pipe to GrandDad and he cut the pipe into the lengths I needed and then I assembled the Niddly Noddy! 

I have used it twice today and it works great and I like the fact that I made it at minimal cost. I still have over half the PVC pipe left, so if you want a Niddy Noddy, let me know!

I did a fair amount of knitting yesterday while on the planes. I got just over halfway through turning the heel on the second sock of the Rockin' Sock Club socks. I sat next to a knitter on the flight from San Diego to Chicago and we talked knitting for awhile. 

Jim and GrandDad are at the Rochester Museum and Science Center for the first presentation of the Distinguished Lecture Series. I think tonight's topic was polar bears. I am working my way through the pile of newspaper and mail that accumulated during our time away.

Today the sun was out, but it was cold. The sun was a fond reminder of how pleasant it was in San Diego. I need to go through all my trip photos and select some to go in my digital picture frame at school. Plus, I enjoy the process of sorting photos because it refreshes all those wonderful memories of our time in San Diego. What a great city-if you've never been there, put it on your "Bucket List".

Time to go rinse and hang up my latest skein of yarn. Today's spinning is the best so far-more uniform thickness and better plying. I'll have to start thinking of what I can make from these early spinning attempts. 

Corey is off to NYC to run in the Big East Indoor Track meet. He qualified for this race with his race at Yale a few weeks ago. Good Luck, Corey, and run fast!!

Hope all is well.

Last Full Day in San Diego

The threat of rain never materialized and we had another great day in southern California. I am writing this in the evening, because we need to be up and on our way first thing in the morning. No leisurly walks or blog entries tomorrow!

Tucker has been wanting to visit the Museum of Man in Balboa Park since we arrived and we kept putting it off for other things until today which ended up being a good decision because this museum was free today! I dropped the guys off at the museum and then drove to a yarn store where I needed to get some spare size zero needles  for the socks that I am currently

working on. I broke 2 needles on the trip out here and fortunately had a few spares with me, so I needed to replace the spares. I went to a very lovely shop called Two Sisters and Ewe and they were having their winter sale so my needles were 10% off. I also treated myself to some

merino wool and silk roving that was 20% off. This was a quick trip and I was back in Balboa Park looking for a parking space in less than an hour's time. I caught up with Tucker and Jim who were just finishing up at the Museum of Man and we headed to the Art Museum for a quick tour, because that was another one of the freebies on this particular Tuesday. Then Tucker started to need his Mexican food fix so we headed north to La Jolla, to the Birch Aquarium at the Scripps Institute. 

We made a stop at what turned out to be a chain of mexican restaurants called Rubio's and it was good. I worry that Tucker may grow gills with all the fish tacos he has eaten in the past week! On to the aquarium!

Jim and I had been to this aquarium 25 years ago and in that time, they moved from a facility down by the ocean to a new building up on the cliffs. It is a great aquarium with just the right amount of displays for me, not so many that I get restless and bored. Here are a couple of photos from the aquarium. The first one is of the kelp forest tank and the

second one shows Jim and Tucker playing in the fake river, diverting water to make

new hydraulics and then sending toy boats down the river to see what happens. It was great fun for big and little kids!

After the aquarium we continued north to Torrey Pines State Preserve to see the rare Torrey Pines. Great pine trees with huge pine cones.

And once again, this attraction sits on some prime real estate along the coast. We were able to hike some trails on top of the cliffs to some ocean overlooks and then hike down to the beach. There were some great walls of eroded rock which reminded us of the rock formations in Bryce Canyon. Tucker and I hiked along the beach, while Jim hiked back up to the car at the upper parking lot and drove to the lower lot to meet us. Tucker and I took off our shoes and waded in the 57 degree ocean. It was a lovely afternoon.

We took the scenic drive back to the beach house and got our stuff packed up. Dinner was at a seafood place downtown on the harbor front. We had a window table with view of the harbor and got to watch several boats/ships moving past. 

This has been a wonderful 5 days in San Diego. The weather has been great and we have done many enjoyable things. I'm so glad that Jim and Corey gave us a reason to come out here in February! Plus we got to spend some quality time with Tucker, who graciously carried our daypack for the past 4 days!

Tomorrow Jim and I head east and Tucker will be flying to Portland, OR to spend a week with a friend. Here's hoping all of our flights go as planned. 

No blog tomorrow (Thursday).

Hope all is well.

San Diego Day 4

The fun continues! This morning started out cloudy, but the sun came out later in the morning and was in and out the rest of the day. No complaints here. The forecast for today is mostly cloudy, and rain moving in sometime in the next 24 hours. It's OK if it is raining tomorrow when we are leaving, as long as it is not so much rain as to interfere with our travel plans.

But I don't want to think about leaving just yet, so let me tell you what touristy things we did yesterday. 

It was zoo day. We were there as the gates opened and we walked around for more than 3 hours checking out the animals. The animal photos I have included are the orangutan and an anteater carrying a baby on her back. 

Almost as interesting as the animals was the diversity of the tree and plant life. Every where you looked there was a different variety of tree, and by different, I mean trees we never see in Rochester! The flowering plants added such a nice splash of color-the blooming long-stemmed birds of paradise are just past their prime, but are as common as daffodils or tulips at home. The photo at the top of this entry is just one of the many flowering plants that decorated the zoo.

The next photo is called "Feeding Time at the Zoo." Notice these 2 specimens look a little skinny and like they could use a good meal!!

After the zoo, we used our GPS to located the nearest Mexican Restaurant for lunch and there were about 5 to choose from within a mile of the zoo. We choose the second one we came to because there was place to park right next to it. I think Tucker would like to eat Mexican food for 3 meals a day. I'm OK with one or two meals!

Because the weather was nice, we decided to tour the aircraft carrier, The Midway. This ship has a long and important military history and is now permanently docked in the San Diego harbor. We took a self-guided tour, using head phones and little digital radio-type things that provide you with info as you move around the ship. It was a good way to tour the majority of the ship. In order to go up to the flight control deck and the bridge we needed to get on a guided tour, which we did. It was all very interesting and it would be exciting to see one of these ships in action when planes are taking off and landing every 42 seconds! With 4,500 men on this ship, it was a floating town and we saw everything from the laundry room to the brig.

From the ship, we drove across the beautiful bridge to Coronado, where we walked through and around the very fancy Hotel Del Coronado. This photo shows us standing in front of a Dragon Tree, one of Tucker's favorites. 

We thought about having dinner somewhere in Coronado, but it was a bit early so Tucker suggested we stop into a local bar and have a drink. This younger crowd is full of good ideas! We walked into an Irish pub (what, no Mexican!!) and found nice table with a view of a TV that was showing the Syracuse basketball game. It was Happy Hour at this pub so we had discounted drinks and a half-priced appetizer. Unfortunately SU lost, but it was fun to watch. We were quite full from our appetizer sampler so we came back to the beach house with plans to get a pizza later. We ended up walking down the ocean walk about a mile to a pizza place and had a nice meal. 

So that was our Monday. Today we will do a museum and then head north to La Jolla to do some hiking.

Hope all is well.

San Diego Day 3

Writing my blog entries in the morning seems to work better than trying to re-cap our day in the evening. I am just too tired at night and the mornings are just peaceful and quiet (I'm the only one up in this house at the moment).

Yesterday was another sunny, warm day. We rented bikes at a place about a half mile down the beach walk. These bikes were classic old cruising bikes, fat tires, single gear, wide handlebars, and coaster brakes. And I had a "girls" bike, with no top cross bar. Can't remember the last time I rode a bike like that. From the rental place we continued north along the ocean walk

 trail until it ended, turned around and returned the way we came for a bit until we found a road that crossed over to the bike trail along the bay. We ended up riding about 15 miles, most of it on the bike trails around Mission Bay. There were a couple of short stretches where we needed to take to the roads to connect up with another trail, but there were bike lanes on those roads. It was a great day for riding and we stopped briefly a couple of times to take photos. Because it was Sunday morning, there were impressive numbers of people out getting their

 exercise and enjoying the beautiful day. There were walkers, runners, bikers, skateboarders, surfers, rowers, kayakers, sailors, water-skiers, boogie-boarders, beach volleyball players, cricket players and families playing in the sand and surf.

We rode for about two and a half hours and realized we were starving and thirsty, so we headed back to our beach house for a quick snack and drink and then rode back up the ocean trail for a couple more miles before we returned our bikes. It was a fun morning!

Brother Bob sent us this photo of Joanie, enjoying the wonderful winter weather in Michigan, so I thought I would compare it to the wonderful winter weather we are enjoying here in San Diego!

After lunch we went to Point Loma Nazarene University to look for some artwork by the father of our friend, John K. When John heard that we were coming to San Diego, he suggested we stop by this university and see if we could find his father's paintings in the Music building and the Library. This campus is on a long narrow spit of land that pushes out into the Pacific Ocean and the campus is perched on the cliffs, with buildings stair-stepping their way down to the ocean! An amazing location! Surfing 101 must be required course at this university! We found a door opened at the Cooper Music building and walked into a lobby area and there were 3 of the paintings we were looking for. There was a student receptionist who wondered if he could help us and we told him why we were there. He told us we could walk around to look for more paintings, but that some of the areas would be locked up. We ended up seeing about 10 paintings, some up close and personal, others by pressing our faces to the glass windows and looking into locked rooms. These paintings were mostly landscapes, with a few portraits, all done in oil paints. John's father had quite a talent and we would like to find out how his artwork ended up at this university. The library was locked up so we were unable to continue our search there. We were glad to have checked out this beautiful university.

 

We continued south on this peninsula to Cabrillo National Monument to see the lighthouse that has stood for hundreds of years and to learn the important role this area played in US history, especially around the time of WW II. The views back on San Diego were impressive, especially as the harbor was filled with Sunday Sailors, sailing boats of all types and sizes. 

We needed to re-supply our meager food supply at the house and I was curious about a grocery store called Whole Foods so we used our GPS to get us to the Whole Foods store in La Jolla. This grocery chain is always mentioned when people are talking about Wegmans. Whole Foods is an organic grocery store and a bit pricer than Wegmans, but with the same focus on customer service, high quality merchandise and presentation. We did find everything we needed and

enjoyed walking up and down the aisles looking at foods and brands we had never seen before. One of the things on our list had been a box of Wheat Thins, but, of course, you cannot buy Wheat Thins at Whole Foods. You have to buy Back to Nature Crispy Wheat crackers, which will be a fine substitute! I did get a pineapple for $1.49, which is a great deal compared to the price at home.

Our Rochester friends, Jean and Dave, are also visiting San Diego this week so we met up with them for dinner last night at a fancy Mexican restaurant in Old Town. We had a great dinner and lots of laughs.

Our plan for today is to go to the zoo and do a quick tour of Balboa Park. We should get a good amount of walking in at the zoo. I'm not sure what else we might do, it all depends on how long the animals at the zoo keep our attention. 

Corey flew home yesterday with his team and we are hoping all went as planned with that. It would have been nice if he could have stayed these few extra days with us, but college called!

Time for a walk or breakfast, not sure which will come first.

Hope all is well.

San Diego Day 2

Another beautiful morning, although I did sleep better, not getting up until 6:45 AM. 

The running update: Jim ran a little better than he thought he might considering his sore heel prevented him from training the way he normally would for this race. He took 6th in his age-group and his 50-year old team took 3rd in that age-group, thereby earning each of the team members a medal. Corey had a bad day, and as you might imagine was quite disappointed. Although he disagrees, I think the fact that he has been sick for most of the past 2 weeks (cold, sore throat) weakened his body so he was not as physically ready as if he's been healthy. Oh, well, that's how it goes in the running world. Corey was not the only runner yesterday who who came away with a less desirable time. But, hey, we were in San Diego and the sun was shining and it was 60 plus degrees!

It was a perfect day for running and working on your tan. As a matter of fact my face is a bit pink this morning from yesterday's sun. I'll put the sunscreen on earlier today.

After we watched all the races, we all were starving, so we found a little Mexican restaurant and we ate fish tacos. They were tasty, although I would prefer them if the fish had not been deep-fried. Shortly after we returned to the beach house, we were joined by Corey and 3 of his teammates who wanted to go boogie-boarding and play beach volleyball. Well, this is the place for doing those things! Of course, it was 60 degress with a water temperature of 57 and a slight breeze, but that did not deter those young and young at heart(Jim joined in the water fun, too). Jim took one boogie-board run, and it was a good one, and called it quits. Corey, Tucker, and Mike continued to catch the waves for 20 minutes, until a life-guard came to me and asked the

 boys to move down in front of the life guard tower, because there was an occassional riptide in

 these waters and guards wanted to be able to have clearer view of all swimmers. I called the boys in, gave them that info, but they were shivering at that point and ready to quit.

After a quick warm-up in the house, we went out to play volleyball. One of the many courts had just opened, so I joined the 5 guys in a game or two. We had a lot of fun and laughs.

Jim took them back to their hotel and then we went out to dinner at a Mexican Restaurant in the Old Town area. This restaurant was the only place in the area that didn't have a 45-60 minute wait and the meal ended up being OK. We were so hungry and tired that we probably would have eaten most anything.

Yesterday morning I went for a long walk on the boardwalk in front of our house. I must have walked 2 miles to the north, enjoying hearing the ocean waves and checking out all the beach front homes. I power walked and did the 4 mile round trip in about an hour. What a great way to start the day!

Today looks like another beautiful day. The weather is supposed to be nice for the next couple of days and then the potential for rain comes in for Tuesday and Wednesday. Today we may rent bikes and take a tour of the area. We also have a couple of places we want to hike. 

Hope all is well. 

Life is Good

It is 6 AM, and I am sitting at the table in the beach house watching the world wake up. Small and large boats are heading out of the bay into the ocean, there is a huge freight ship cruising by in the distance with with a eye-catching light display that makes me wonder where it is headed and what it is carrying. Several groups of walkers and runners have passed by on the paved path-what a great way to start the day. Several huge waves have just crashed into the rocky break wall on the far side of bay-maybe from the wake of that huge freighter. The skies are clear, promising sun and warmth later in the day. I'm not too sure of the outside temps yet, but folks look pretty bundled up.

Already, I am feeling rejuvenated by the green grass and sunny skies. I guess one just gets used to the dreary, gray weather that Rochester has served up this winter. 

I think I will go find a few more layers and head out for a walk before Jim and Tucker get up. 

Hope all is well.

Sunny Southern California

Here we all are in sunny San Diego. I left Rochester at 10 this morning amidst the blowing snow and arrived in San Diego to be greeted by sunny skies and temps in the 60's! What a shock to the system, a pleasant shock! Jim and Tucker were at the airport to meet me and carry my heavy suitcase and they whisked me away to this wonderful beach house. Here is the view that awaited me at the airport-palm trees!!!

Now if you are planning a trip to San Diego and are going to be here for more than a day or two, let me recommend this rental beach house. It is right on the beach with the ocean just a delightful sand stroll away. We went for a sunset walk on the beach right after we arrived and walked by several beach volleyball games and then watched the surfers catching the last of the waves in the daylight. This beach house has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and a large open kitchen, living room, dining room area. The dining table is surrounded on 3 sides by large glass windows and sliding glass doors, which lead to a small deck. There is also a deck area on the ground level where there is a picnic table and a grill. Tucker hopes to go to a local fish market and get some fish for us to cook up on the grill one night for dinner. Sounds good to me.

For dinner tonight we met up with some of Jim's teammates at a restaurant in the Little Italy section of Downtown. As we were finishing up our delicious dinner, Corey called Tucker to say that they were walking around the Little Italy area too and wondered where we were. He stopped into our restaurant so we had a mini family reunion. 

I am really tired tonight with the jet lag and 2 poor night's sleep leading up to this trip. 

I did a good amount of knitting while traveling today. I finished my Sock Club sock and started the second one. I'm pleased with the way the first one looks. I did break 2 of my size 0 needles today, but fortunately I had brought some extras. I now have a reason to visit a San Diego knitting store to get some new spares! 

Race Day tomorrow. Check back for the latest and greatest news from Sunny San Diego.

Hope all is well.

San Diego Here I Come!

Three of the four Robinson family members are in San Diego and this member that is still at home can hardly wait to get there. I do need to go to bed real soon because I am quite tired after getting up at 4 this morning to take Jim to the airport. His flights were all on time and he and Tucker were settling in to our rental beach house when they called. Here are a couple of photos that they sent me. The first one is the view from our balcony, as you can see it was a cloudy afternoon. When Tucker called me later, it was raining. That weather is to move through tonight and the forecast is for sunshine and 70 degree temps for the next 4 days! Yippee!! The second photo if from the inside of the condo. Both Tucker and Jim agree that we got lucky renting this place off of the internet. 

Corey and his teammates and coaches arrived late this afternoon and they all met up at the race course to check it out. 

Grandpa Update: He had a good day at home and had a visit from a Visiting Nurse, who spent 2 hours with them. She cleared up the issue of using a gas stove while oxygen is being used in the house. She said that the oxygen just needs to be more than 12 feet from the stove. Phew-that problem is solved. They go to the doctor next week to see how long Grandpa will need to be on the oxygen. Did I mention how glad we are that Jeannie is in town with Grandpa and Grandma?

Happy Valentine's Day to one and all. The kids at school were very excited about the days' festivities and my last class of the day was on quite a sugar high! 

One of the packing decisions I needed to make tonight was what knitting projects to take. I decided to continue to work on my Sock Club socks and take another pair of socks in my checked bag if I happen to finish my Sock Club socks. That would be a lot of knitting, but I do have 2 long days of travel. 

My flight is scheduled to leave at 10 AM tomorrow and Gram is taking me to the airport at 8. If all goes well, I should be in SD shortly after 4 PM. The weather is looking good in the cities that I fly into and out of, so I'll hope for no mechanical problems. 

I have computer access while in SD so I should be able to blog. Check back for updates.

Unless I am too busy!

B, S, and L: Have a great trip to Ottawa and take a skate for me!

Hope all is well.

Home, the Good and the Bad

Home-the good news is that Grandpa came home from the hospital late this afternoon. There is an oxygen service coming to their house tonight to deliver a cannister of oxygen for Grandpa. I think Jeannie was his good luck charm. She was here for 24 hours and he managed to get himself well enough to come home.Home-the bad news is that Jim is home. He was supposed to fly to San Diego this afternoon but when he arrived at the airport he discovered that his flight from here to Newark was cancelled, thereby messing up his connection to San Diego. He will try again tomorrow morning, early, at 6 AM. That means we will have to leave for the airport at 4:30 AM. Yikes-that is early. I guess that will allow me time to pack for my trip before I go to school instead of having to do it when I get home. The flight was cancelled because of weather in Newark, but tomorrow's weather looks good for flying. I hope my flights go as planned on Friday because it would be difficult to make alternative arrangements and still get to see the race on Saturday. I will try not to worry about it because worrying will not change anything. 

We talked to Tucker tonight, who had a safe and uneventful trip from Bluff to San Diego. He said that at one point today the weather was so pleasant that he was driving along with the windows down! He is in the hotel room that Jim had booked for the 2 of them and Tucker said it is quite nice. There is even a telescope in the room for whale-watching from his ocean-view room! And poor Jim is stuck here! 

Corey flies to SD with his teammates and coaches tomorrow. Hopefully they will have good luck with their flights. 

So Jim just got home from Grandpa and Grandma's house, checking up on the patient. The oxygen guy was there and set up the compressor that concentrates the level of oxygen and delivers it to Grandpa through a hose. The guy was saying that there should be no open flames in their house because of the oxygen which poses a problem because Grandma cooks on a gas stove with open flames. Sounds like dinner out every night to me!!! I guess they are going to have to change how they do some things and see what their options are when Grandma needs to cook. Here is a photo of the oxygen set-up.

I will say it again, we are so glad that Jeannie is in town, as we are trying to head out of town. 

Time to go to bed since the 4 AM alarm is going to rattle our cage too soon.

Thanks to the folks who have made comments on the blog or via e-mail. I will try to address them in the near future.

Hope all is well.

Wheely Excited!

I am wheely, wheely excited! Today I bought the spinning wheel that I loved at spinning class last Saturday. But let's back up here a minute and let me tell you what happened at 5:40 AM today.The phone rang and I had to go downstairs to answer it because Jim had done something to the phone by our bed when our phone service was out. The call was a recorded message saying that Greece schools were closed (because of severe wind chills)!!! Unexpected days off are such a treat-I was so excited I couldn't go back to sleep. Jim and I talked about me getting the spinning wheel at my next class, but I thought if I got it today I could use it today! So here is a photo of my Ashford Traveller spinning wheel.

The wheel is made in New Zealand from New Zealand Sweet Birch wood. I tried 4 different wheels during my 3 spinning classes and this one felt the most comfortable and seemed to "fit" me best. 

I spent 2.5 hours spinning this afternoon and spun 2 bobbins of single ply yarn and then plied the 2 yarns together to make usable yarn. It was so enjoyable and my technique is getting better. I was able to make the adjustments to the wheel as the bobbin filled and seemed to have good control of the wheel speed. I finished spinning my one bag of Romney wool, and still have a small ball of roving from the Corridale sheep. Below is my bobbin full of finished yarn. Finished as far as spinning goes. I still need to "wet" finish it, which means I have to soak the yarn in water and then let it hang dry to set the twist.

After dinner we went to the hospital to see Grandpa, but he had just left the room to go for a CAT scan. We didn't stay because we didn't know how long he would be. We did leave 2 photos of his cats-that should put a smile on his face. We then stopped at Grandma's house and she gave us the Grandpa update. He now has pneumonia but his temperature has been normal all day. He did more walking and even some stair climbing today. So, I think today was a good day.

Jeannie comes tomorrow and Grandma will be glad to have her here. 

Jim spent a great deal of time yesterday replacing the headlight on my Beetle. When it wasn't apparent how to get to the lamp, he went on the internet and discovered that it is a very complicated job. But he was not deterred and using directions he found on the web, he got the job done. That probably saved us about $100 by not having to go to the dealership. Well Done!

Hope all is well.

Grandpa Update 2

We visited Grandpa this afternoon for an hour or so and he was sitting up in a chair when we arrived. He had just gotten back from a walk around the hospital floor and was pretty tired but in good spirits. He had a fever earlier this morning, but none while we were there. He thinks he will be in the hospital for another couple of days. It would be really difficult for him to come home if he cannot walk confidently. 

Grandma was at the hospital for a couple of hours today, but this is a pretty stressful time for her. We stopped over to their house after the hospital and she was resting. We talked about where we could put a bed downstairs for when Grandpa comes home, so we may need to go over and get that set up in the next day or so.

Jeannie comes to town on Tuesday and that will be perfect timing. She will be a big help to Grandma when Grandpa comes home. Plus her time in Rochester will cover most of the time we are in San Diego.

From a warm winter day on Saturday to an Arctic blast today. There was a bit of sun today, which is a spirit-lifter even if the temps are in the teens!

Back to work tomorrow.

Hope all is well. 

Grandpa Update

Grandpa will spend another night in the hospital as he still has a fever. There seem to be no other symptoms and his temperature goes down when he has Tylenol in him, but goes back up when the medication wears off. The concern at this point is how weak he is.When we visited this afternoon we suggested he try to go for a short walk, with our help. He said he was too tired and would try tomorrow. A physical therapist showed up while Jim and Grandma went to the cafeteria for a cup of tea and she wanted to take Grandpa for  a walk. He said, "no." I asked if there was  chair that he could sit in, thinking that that would be an improvement over him laying flat on his back. The PT left the room to track down a chair and sure enough came back with one. She put the chair on one side of Grandpa's bed and made him get out of the other side and walk around to the chair. It was all he could do. She told him he could get back in bed after sitting up for a half hour and he had it timed to the minute and called for a nurse as soon as 30 minutes were up. Grandma is pretty tired these days, but did get to the YMCA this morning for some exercise. I will update the blog with new info as we get it. I took this photo of Grandpa, with his permission! I'm not the paparazzi! 

This morning I had my third spinning class and I may have found the spinning wheel I would like to own. In the two and a half hours I was at class today, I spun two bobbins of single ply yarn and the plied the two strands together into a 2-ply yarn. I have 62 yards and it is great! It is off-white since the fiber is in its natural state. I could dye it if I want, but at this point I think I will focus on spinning and not try to learn about dyeing too. I felt so comfortable in front of this wheel and was able to solve my own problems as they arose. I will post a photo of my skein of yarn in the near future. 

Before going to the hospital, we went to the Barnes and Nobel in Pittsford for a presentation and book signing by J-Mac. For you out-of-towners, J-Mac is a young man from Greece, who rose to fame when he went into the last basketball game of the season for the team for which he was the student manager and scored 20 points in the last four minutes of the game. J-Mac, or Jason, as we knew him, has autism and was a much loved team manager. We knew him and his family because he also ran Cross-Country and track. The coach called the opposing coach in the days before the game and asked for permission to let this boy play as a reward for years of service to the team. The coaches agreed that he could play near the end if the outcome of the game had pretty much been determined by that time. With 4 minutes to go, the Greece Athena team was up by quite a bit, so the coach signaled for Jason to go into the game. This was the first game he wore a uniform and the fans knew that he might get a chance to play. He missed his first shot, then hit a 2 pointer, followed by 6 consecutive 3 pointers! The fans and his teammates were going crazy! The video of these last 4 minutes is a real tear-jerker! The local news picked up the story and then it ran on the national evening news stations and ESPN. The coach, a PE teacher in the district was given a leave of absence to deal with all the publicity as a result of those magical 4 minutes. J-Mac, as he is now called, was nominated for and won, a national award from ESPN. Book and movie offers came pouring in. Magic Johnson came to town to meet J-Mac and talk about doing a movie about Jason's life. When President Bush was in town, he wanted to meet J-Mac. Jason has become a spokesperson for the Autism Society. This week was the release of his book, The Game of My Life, so we went to get our signed copies. Below is a photo of J-Mac signing a book for Corey, who ran in many races with Jason. Corey, he wanted to know how you were doing, as did his father. The book signing was very well attended and we are glad to have a copy for us and for Corey. If you want to read an uplifting story, go buy a copy. It will benefit a great kid. 

On our way home from the hospital we stopped at Davinci's for dinner and near the end of the meal we commented that we hadn't seen anyone we knew. Five minutes later, I looked up towards the front door and there are Gram and GrandDad waiting for a table! 

Have you voted for your favorite Valentine treat? If you voted for "Other" and can or want to share what else you would like to receive for Valentine's Day, leave me a comment. Remember this is a "G" rated blog!

Stay tuned for Grandpa updates.

Hope all is well.

RGH

Grandpa is in the hospital. He woke up with a fever of 102 yesterday and was very lethargic. After speaking with their primary care physician, Grandma called an ambulance which took Grandpa to Rochester General Hospital. He was given a bunch of tests and there is no clear diagnosis or reason for his fever. He spent the night last night and will be there again tonight because he still has a fever. He says he is feeling stronger now, which is a good thing. Hopefully he can come home tomorrow because he misses his cats. Grandma had dinner with us tonight and went home shortly after our meal because she was very tired. We will check in with them tomorrow and give you an update. 

Grandma bought herself a cell phone and was having trouble getting it to work. The customer service people she talked to on her land line phone couldn't help her and told her to go to Radio Shack  to get some "in person" help. While I was at at the hospital this afternoon I took a look at her cell phone and was able to get it to work and show her how to use it. We will need to call her a couple of times when we know she has the phone on so she can practice using it. 

Here's one of those things that makes you think you are having a good day: I was driving to the hospital and picked up Ridge Road at Mt. Read Blvd. I then made all the lights right to the hospital!! There must be at least 10 lights in that stretch-and they were all green, no yellows or pinks!

Today was a Professional Development Day for school staff. All the PE staff in the district got together and played Dodgeball - no just kidding!!! We had several presentations and participated in some workshops. It was  a pretty good day as far as Professional Development Days go. 

Here is a photo from the Jump Rope for Heart event at our school yesterday. We had about 170 kids stay after school and they raised over $3,700 for the American Heart Association. It is a great event and it gives us one more opportunity to talk about how to have a healthy heart and why that is important. Have you done something good for your heart today?

Below is a photo from the Jump Rope for Heart event of me and one of my favorite students! He is a great kid and the really cool part is that we share a birthday! He gets so excited about it each year and every day in the month of March he gives me a count down until our birthday. Last year I found a card at Hallmark to give to someone who has shares your birthday, so I will have to look for something like that again. 

Tomorrow is spinning class and once again, I am very excited about going. Hopefully I won't have any near-tears experiences! 

Let's do a Valentine's Day poll. Check the upper left corner of this blog for your chance to vote for what you'd like to receive for a Valentine's Day gift if you were to get something.

Hope all is well.

No Phone, No Internet

Boy are we roughing it! The phone and internet stopped working yesterday so we have been getting by using "Neighbor" net for an internet connection. It can be very fast service or it can hardly seem to make it to our house, but it is all we have right now. The telephone service people were here today and discovered that the line from the pole to the house was damaged so they will be replacing it - tomorrow.

It is pouring rain, hail, ice, sleet right now with the promise of a couple of inches of snow later tonight. Hopefully the phone people will not be called away tomorrow to fix downed phone lines from this winter weather episode. 

Yesterday the power went out at school for about 40 minutes. It is pretty exciting when all the lights go out in the gym and 23 kindergartners start crying that they are afraid of the dark!! I had the kids back under control by the time the principal came into the gym a couple of minutes later to see if we were all OK. And we were! 

Jim and I went to Yoga again last night and Jim had a much better experience. I think he actually enjoyed it.

Tomorrow is my Jump Rope for Heart event at school and I am always amazed at the generosity of our families. They raise a lot of money for a good cause. 

Guess that's all for now. Time for me to knit and Jim to get the computer back and use "Neighbor" net.

Hope all is well.

Let the Sewer Work Begin

I came home today to find the front yard dug up and a Water Authority sawhorse marking the area. We have a temporary black top sidewalk and a good muddy driveway. There was a note on our front door from the Water Authority stating that our water had been turned off for awhile so to expect some discolored water and sputtering from our faucets. We thought the work was going to happen when the ground was frozen, but apparently someone was anxious to get started. We'll see what things look like tomorrow when we get home.

Congratulations to all the Giants fans out there. The Super Bowl was a good game, and I was happy for the Giants, but really would have liked to see the Patriots have a perfect season. I thought it was pretty poor sportsmanship by Bill B. to walk off the field with one second left on the clock. He has such a great football mind, but seems to lack some social skills. I didn't win any money in school football pool, but my hopes were not too high on that one.  Thanks to all who voted in the poll. And then there was Tiger Woods, coming from 4 strokes down to win another golf tournament. That was pretty exciting. I cheer for him, too.

Yesterday I started knitting a scarf out of 2 different variegated yarns and I like the way it is progressing. I needed a project that was fairly mindless for times when I wanted to knit, but could not concentrate on the lace pattern for my socks. I will put up a scarf progress photo when I have a bit more to show. 

Got a note from Jeannie saying that Britni was settling nicely into her training for her new job with Burlington Northern Railroad. Britni has been issued her own hard hat and steel-toed shoes! You go girl!!!

Hope all is well. 

Happy Ground Hog's Day

Happy Ground Hog's Day. Old Phil saw his shadow, so we are in for 6 more weeks of winter-which is fine by me, because I don't mind the winter. I do wish we would have more snow. The ice and slush from Friday is really useless winter material. Snow gives one so many more possibilities. I believe I am in a minority here, so I will cease and desist with the snow talk.

Last night we did get to the movies to see The Bucket List. It was a good movie, with some laugh out loud moments. We have not put together our "bucket list" yet, but it is food for thought. If you haven't seen it yet, I would recommend it. 

Today I went to my spinning class and I was so excited for class number two because class number one went so well. I tried a different wheel this morning and it was like I had never spun before and was the most uncoordinated person on earth. I was so frustrated after an hour of yarn spun way too tightly, or yarn wrapped in places it shouldn't be wrapped, or a wheel that would not go in the correct direction that I was almost in tears. The teacher was very patient and helpful, and when I really analyzed what was going on I realized that the problem was the different wheel. I could not treadle the wheel so that it maintained a consistent speed and went in the right direction. The teacher, Deb, let me try another wheel and voila! I was back to spinning like I had last week. The second wheel I used this week was a double treadle and very pleasant on which to spin. I was a bit frustrated that I spent so long trying to get the other wheel to work, but it just reinforced the idea that there is a reason why there are so many wheels available. I once again will be looking forward to next Saturday's class.

 

Both Tucker and Corey called us this afternoon and it was great to talk to both of them. Tucker called from Durango, CO where he met up with a college friend who was in Durango with the women's hockey team he coaches. Tucker was going to see the game and then hang out with Kevin and the hockey players. Tucker said he was going to have to be on his best behavior because he was a bit afraid of these 30 year old women hockey players!!!

Corey called from Yale University, where he was was running in an indoor track meet. He ran the 3000 meter race in a time of 8:27.91! A time he was very pleased with! This time qualifies him for the Big East Indoor Track meet later in February. 

We went out to dinner with Bob and Sally tonight. We went to the Garland House in Brockport. T & C this is the place we ate after my Master's degree graduation ceremony. I had one of the specials, which was a piece of broiled haddock with a spinach/feta cheese/bacon stuffing on top. It was sooooo good. We had a lot of good conversation over drinks and dinner, but I didn't take a photo to document the event. 

My photo for today is to show the progress I am making on my sock club sock. I spent a good amount of time knitting today and got the heel turned. The pattern used a technique for the heel that was new to me, so there were some mental gymnastics as I worked through the directions. I think that the hardest part of the sock is completed, but I may have just jinxed myself my writing that!

Tomorrow I have to get my grocery shopping, ironing, and work-out in before the Super Bowl. We will have dinner with Gram and GrandDad and watch a bit of the game at their house. I am in a Super Bowl pool at school and am hoping to recoup some of the money I lost in the weekly pools that I did pretty poorly in. 

Go Patriots! Remember, you can still vote for your favorite team until the start of the game.

Hope all is well. 

More Crazy Weather

Sleet, freezing rain, snow, regular rain-we've had it all in the last 12 hours! On Wednesday we were helping students off and on the buses because of high winds and today we had to help again as the sidewalks were so slick and the custodial staff could not work fast enough to keep the walks safe. The freezing rain/sleet was falling so fast that a minute after the custodians cleared an area of the sidewalk, it would be covered with ice again. As far as driving goes, the main roads were OK, but the side roads were covered with an icy slush. I am glad that I only live 3.5 miles from school.

A couple of updates. First, I misspelled Sue's new granddaughter's name-it is Amelia. And we thank Sue for sending a photo-I was right, she is a beautiful baby with a beautiful big sister (and a beautiful mother and beautiful grandmother)!

Second, we ended up not having overnight guests on Wednesday night. Maw called about 7 PM to say that Porge refused to leave their house so they would be staying put, in spite of the fact that their house was 50 degrees due to a power outage. Jim went over to their house to get them to come to our house, but Porge said "NO" in no uncertain terms. Fortunately, their power was restored at 11 PM. 

I am hoping we go to the movies tonight to see The Bucket List. The advantage to living next to a movie theater is that bad weather shouldn't keep us from going there. I'll have to see what Jim's thoughts are on a movie tonight when he gets home.

Last night we went to Mr. Dominic's for dinner because a student gave me gift certificate to this place. It is usually quite busy on the weekends, so we decided to try a Thursday night and had a nice meal with no wait.

Tomorrow is my second spinning class and I am looking forward to it. I have done some research on spinning wheels and tomorrow will try a different wheel and see how I like that one. One of the decisions one has to make when thinking about purchasing a spinning wheel is whether you prefer to treadle with one foot or two. Some wheels are more portable than others and some are prettier than others. Also, the kind of yarn you think you will be spinning will influence your decision. Lots to think about!

It is Super Bowl weekend (I guess you knew that!) so let's do a poll. In the upper left hand corner of this blog is a chance to vote for who you will be cheering for. Voting will end just before kick-off. Please only vote once. Please note that the question is about who you will be cheering for, not who you think will win! There could be a difference!

Hope all is well.

Catchin' Kids

We awoke to howling winds this morning, and now, at 6 PM, the winds are finally dying down. Gusts were recorded at over 60 mph and the concern first thing this morning at school was how to get the kids into the school before some of the light-weights blew away. All the staff had scary stories about trying to get from the parking lots into the building so we knew we had to help the children. As each bus arrived, it drove to the end of the bus loop where there was a door directly into the large gym about 10 yards from the loop. My PE colleagues and I joined the teaching assistants who normally manage the bus arrival process, and we all grabbed onto the smaller children as they unloaded from the buses. Some of the gusts literally lifted our little ones off the ground! We were catchin' kids! After 35 minutes of this, we were glad to get back into the building and thaw out our hands and feet. At the end of the day we had to help the kids to the buses and we had the added challenge of blowing snow added to the mix. It was an exciting day.

We are having overnight guests tonight! Maw and Porge have been without power all day and will spend the night with us. I wonder what the temp was in their house when they left to go have dinner at church and then head over here. One of the benefits to us is that we will turn up the heat a few degrees for them!!! 

I've knit about 3 inches on my Rockin' Sock Club sock and I like it! There is a one inch cuff of ribbing and then a lace pattern starts. The yarn is very comfortable to knit with so I imagine it will be comfortable on my foot. 

Hope all is well.

Yoga Fiasco

So, I have been taking this yoga class at the J&J gym once a week for several months now. It starts at 4:30 PM and is an enjoyable 70 minutes. Yesterday I convinced Jim that he should try yoga as a way to support his running. Tonight he came to class and was doing great until we started to do some backbending. Once a month we do yoga with those big exercise balls and today was that day. We were laying backwards on the balls and reaching over our heads towards the floor. To me, it was a wonderful stretch. To Jim, it gave left him with such a nauseous feeling, that he was unable to do much more for the last 20 minutes of class. We have been home for 2 hours and he is still unable to eat and feels yucky. The instructor said that she has heard of some people who have this reaction to backbends, so I guess if Jim decides to try yoga again, he will have to avoid doing backbends.

I came home to a message on my machine from my friend, Sue, saying that her daughter, Laura, gave birth to another girl very early this morning. They named the baby Emilia Grace-such a pretty name, for what surely is a beautiful little girl. Congratulation to the whole family. I can now sew the buttons on the baby sweater that I knit, since I know the sweater is for a girl. 

There are more little flag markers in our front yard, so the new storm sewer work may be in the works in the near future. 

You may remember that a while back there were a bunch of thefts from my school, including the iPod that I use in the gym. Right around that time, I had applied for a technology grant and was awarded the grant. I contacted the grant people and explained how my iPod was stolen and that instead of getting a video camcorder as requested in the grant proposal, I would really rather have my iPod replaced. They agreed to this and today my new iPod was delivered. Tonight I will load all my school music onto it and be set for tomorrow's classes. 

Good News-Jim just got up and went to the kitchen to make himself a sandwich! He must be on the road to recovery!

Mild weather day here. Big winds in the forecast for tomorrow. 

Hope all is well.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Last night we had Sherri, Terry, Jean and Dave here for dinner and we had a fun time with them. It was relaxing and enjoyable to spend time catching up with what our families have been up to. We have known these families since our oldest kids were in elementary school. Jean and Dave are going to be San Diego when we are there, so we are hoping to meet up with them at some point.

  

Today we went to SU for a 2 PM basketball game. We met Corey at the Carrier Dome and had seats behind and above one of the baskets. This was a different perspective from the other 2 times we've been to games and it was good. For the first half we had the SU offense coming at us, and then we got to see the SU defense in action during the 2nd half. It was a good game and SU beat Providence. SU was ahead most of the game, but during the last five minutes they let an 8 point lead slip away and were behind by a point or 2 for until the last minute or so, when they opened up another 8 point lead. The last game we went to, just before Christmas, was went school was on break, so there was no band or cheerleaders. Today's game had it all, including 23,000 fans. I will have to check the SU schedule to see if there is one more game we can get to this season. 

After the game, we took Corey out to dinner and then dropped him off at his dorm. We left him with half a grape pie and half an apple pie, left over from last night's dinner. He also had my leftover pizza from my dinner tonight, so he was a happy camper!

Our drive to and from Syracuse was easy and the weather cooperated. I knit on the way over and since it was dark when we came home, Jim said I had to drive since it was too dark to knit. 

Hope all is well. 

Knitting Knirvana

The last 24 hours have put me on a knitting high. At this point you can start to feel sorry for poor Jim, having to put up with my excitement!

First off, last night I finished knitting my pullover sweater. I decided to have my photo taken in my new sweater, outside, so you might begin to understand how warm this baby is going to be. When I wear this sweater we may be able to turn down the heat in the house another degree or two! 

The second knitting/yarn related event was this morning when I attended the first of four spinning classes. For those of you that know that I love to ride my bike, this is not that kind of spinning. I spun roving (cleaned and carded sheep fleece) into yarn and it was great fun to learn a new skill. I am taking the class at a local yarn store and one of the good parts of this class is that I don't need to have my own spinning wheel, and I can try out several

different types of wheels during the 4 classes. After several frustrating attempts at getting the wheel to spin at the right speed and my hands to move the roving at the right pace, I finally settled into a rhythm and was quite pleased with the single ply yarn I spun. I must have spun over 100 yards! Next week we will spin some more yarn and then we will learn how to "ply" the yarn. Are you completely bored at this point? Just think of poor Jim that has to listen to all this and more! Interesting note: The woman spinning next to me reminded me of Sandy L. (look closely at the other person in the photo)!

I came home from spinning class to find my sock yarn from the Rockin' Sock Club had been delivered! I actually knew it was here because Jim called my cell to tell me-what a guy! The variegations are red to orange and are lovely. These are not colors that I would typically buy, but I am glad to have this yarn and look forward to knitting with it. The pattern has a lacey look to the leg and top if the foot. It should be real pretty when it is finished. 

We are having 2 couples here for dinner tonight and I had better do a reality check to see if everything is ready. None of our guests are knitters, so I guess I will have to get my excitement under control. 

Tomorrow we are off to SU for an afternoon basketball game and then dinner with Corey. My next entry will be either Sunday or Monday night.

Hope all is well!

Pies

Every Friday at school, we have Friday Treats. The staff is divided up into groups of 6 or 8 people and each group is responsible for bringing in Friday Treats twice a year. The group I am in is up for tomorrow. Now, ever since this tradition started at school, about 6 years ago, I have brought in Grape Pies for my first turn. Today at school, 4 different people came up to tell me that they were really looking forward to getting a piece of my pie on Friday! There is even a teacher who broke her foot last weekend, who has arranged with another teacher to bring her a piece of my pie! So, tonight I made 3 pies and the house smells wonderful! Don't worry, Corey! There are still quite a few left in the freezer. 

Today was the 3rd day I endured a really cold gym. The temperature has been 63 degrees, with a wind chill from the air ducts that were blowing cold air. Today I was wearing so much wool, that I could have been a sheep! Even with physical activity, the kids were complaining about the cold! This afternoon the district boys came over and fixed what they messed up last Friday when they came in  to do routine maintenance and the warm air is going again. 

Here is an interesting story: Sally was in San Francisco last week and while she was there she lost her wallet. She had to do all that bothersome stuff like canceling credit cards and getting a new driver's license, and you can imagine the challenge of trying to fly home when your only ID is a fax of your passport. But she made it and today someone sent her wallet back to her! Too late to matter to the credit card people, but isn't it nice to know that there are nice people in the world. I don't have any details, and maybe the wallet was completely empty (there were no details in Sally's e-mail), but I am going to think the best and hope that everything was in order. That's your uplifting story for the day.

I joined a Sock Club. Now before I go on about why I am telling you this, let me say that this is a club hosted by a yarn manufacturer and when you join (one of the first 2000 to send in your money) you get 6 mailings a year of a one-of -a kind yarn and a new pattern, neither of which is available to the general public for one year. Now I'm sure you can understand my excitement when I tell you that our first packages were mailed out today!! I can hardly wait to see what I am getting. This is the second or third year for this sock club and all the big knitting bloggers raved about their projects from last year. I will put a photo of the yarn in the blog when it arrives. I hope I like it-although I guess there is a chance that I won't. I better get knitting on my sweater because it would be nice to have that completed before my first Rockin' Sock Club package arrives. 

We got 4 inches of snow in less than 2 hours this afternoon. Just enough to make it look pretty, but not enough to be a problem.

Hope all is well.