Today I would like to wish Alice, who is turning nineteen on the nineteenth, a very happy birthday. It’s hard to believe that 19 years have passed since your birth.  I recently unearthed the photo above which is dated February 14, 1994 but she more closely resembles the recent graduate below. Red seems to be a recurring theme. Happy Birthday baby!

Last Sunday, my sister Liz and I took Dad (aka “Opa”) along with super-boyfriend Kerb to the town of Bolinas on the Northern California coast. I received a tip from someone in Portland who had recently visited and she recommended this place highly. It’s an amazing locale and you really should visit if you ever get the chance.

I couldn’t get over how lush and green it was.

The beach we visited is called Agate Beach which is also home to the Duxbury Reef Reserve and as luck would have it, we arrived at a point of very low tide. There were many people out on this warm January day exploring the tide pools rich with sea life.

Alas, though, no agates to be found this time of year.

I also had the foresight to throw my latest hat in the car, a hat which I am calling the “Explorer Helmut” in honor of my sister’s love of nature and exploration.

Kerb looks a bit perplexed or perhaps askance. Always difficult to read Kerb’s poker face. It was really too warm for this hat which will work nicely on a chilly, snowy day – if I ever experience that again. I dunno. Maybe Ashland.

Bolinas and the surrounding beaches are not far from the city of SF. You can even see Sutro Tower in the distance. This is the view from the Muir Beach overlook down Hwy 1 a few miles.

I can safely say that I am past the hat obsession and well into my newest one: baby socks. Stay tuned.

A few people have asked so I am now posting the pattern for the post holiday slippers from a previous post. You know, the ones I made for my Dad (aka “Opa”). You can download Slipper Pattern 044 as a .pdf file now. The pattern was given to me many, many years ago by Thelma Tolomei and I’m afraid the condition is not the best and it’s a little worse for the wear. But it’s a time tested pattern and has produced untold pairs of slippers.

I also wanted to update everyone on the status of Blaise and Kathy Lee, friends who were missing in the Haiti earthquake. They have turned up in a Miami hospital injured but alive. I received a message from an emergency room nurse at Guatanamo who cared for them before they were transferred to Miami. Here is an excerpt from that message:

I saw your post on the missing list for Haiti…I saw that Blaise is your friend on here..Good news Chris, Blaise is, last I heard in Jackson Hospital in Miami…I can’t give you specifics, but he was treated in our facility in GTMO on the 13th, and sent to Miami same day.

My old friend, Blaise, who was a good sport and modeled some of my knitting themed t-shirts about a year ago, has been living in Haiti with his wife during the past year. Those familiar with Portland may recognize this spot with the blue wall as Rocco’s Pizza. As recently as last Monday, Blaise and I had been in contact via Facebook but since the earthquake, there has been no news. I’m hoping and praying that he and his wife are safe.

After the photo session, we went for coffee. These photos are making me homesick for Portland.

No, Blaise doesn’t actually knit. But like I said, he’s a good sport.

(PS: If you are able to donate to the rescue effort, I urge you to give what you can. Donating to UNICEF via Google is quick, easy and painless.)

These have got to be the ugliest slippers on earth but they were requested by my mother as a Christmas gift for my father. My mother was disappointed when they didn’t materialize on Christmas Eve but hey, what can I say? I didn’t even find the pattern until Christmas Day.

Then I got to work.

I started the slippers on December 28 and they were finished on December 30. They’re so simple that they really don’t need a pattern. I wrapped them up and presented them to Opa who was pleased…I think. Here’s a shot of Opa with his best bud, Tony D.

Tony is from Poland and comes over most Sundays after church to have a drink with Opa. This is about as cheerful as it gets around here. I love Tony because he always says “Hi gorgeous!” every time he sees me.

Today I took Opa to the beach. More on that later.

My new year’s was spent collecting Alice and her belongings and delivering her to SOU where she started classes yesterday. Here’s the college freshman with her new short haircut.

Amid all the packing and loading and visiting and driving we were able to spend a dry 24 hours in lovely Ashland. After moving her into the somewhat gloomy monolith known as Greensprings,

I suggested we stroll the downtown at night.

Everything was beautifully lit up for the holidays and luckily most of the shops were closed so I wasn’t tempted to spend any money. Still, I do enjoy window shopping at night.

I have to say, the town has a theatrical thing for hats. They were everywhere! Well I can’t wait to come back in the summer and check out some plays on the Elizabethan stage. In any case, I’m sure I’ll be returning to Ashland often.

The only knitting that I have to show for myself is a swatch. Yes, a swatch. I actually knit a swatch and I LOVE it.

Although this magnificently purple Cascade 220 was intended for the Monday Morning Cardigan, I have changed my mind. It’s going to be Redhook from the Made In Brooklyn pattern booklet by Jared Flood (aka brooklyntweed.net). I have had great success with Jared’s designs which are simple yet modern and extremely wearable and so I have high hopes for this project. Casting on…now.

I started the year with every intention of knitting one pair of socks per month – 12 pairs total – but unfortunately work got in the way. I had the same goal for 2008 and even surpassed it, knitting a total of 14 pairs…I think (I’d have to refer to my Ravelry account to know for sure). I did however, finish eight pairs in 2009 and that’s not too shabby. In the process I learned some new techniques such as toe-up, magic loop and turkish cast-on.

Sock knitting came to a grinding halt for me back in September as I attempted a fitted knee sock (pictured above) – which I christened the “sock that ate New York” – and came to the sad conclusion that I will probably never wear these crazy knee socks and the yarn would be better utilized in the service of TWO pairs of socks (instead of one). Does any of this make sense? I thought not.

I saw sad proof of my sock knitting mania the other day when I opened my sock drawer and out popped pairs and pairs of socks that I don’t even wear anymore! What’s up with that? They’re beautiful articles of knitted handicraft but what good are they sitting in a drawer. The story gets even funnier when I realize that my favorite socks are really the SmartWool socks I recently bought at REI. Aren’t they fabulous? It’s pretty obvious that I love orange socks, isn’t it?

My resolution for the New Year is to actually wear the socks I’ve knitted or find them good homes. I’ve already gifted the purple ones and I think I’ll have plenty of opportunity to wear a few pairs as I venture North to Oregon and Washington on Thursday. I also resolve to knit smaller socks…to fit Alice.

Continuing my recent tradition of quickie blog posts, I want to wish you all a Happy Holidays. Have fun whatever you celebrate.

No, the yarn above did not come from Etsy. It came from Webs and is intended for the Monday Morning Cardigan continuing my current obsession with all things purple.

I bring up the subject of Etsy because of an article that ran in today’s NYTimes. It seems that some people are actually making a good deal of money selling their handknits on Etsy (but spending all of their time knitting to do it). My brother’s gf, Maggie, has been after me to sell some of my own handknits and I am definitely considering it. Stay tuned for handknit items to come…probably in the new year.