Lani's household consists of Steve, the long-suffering coding genius and computer security guru; Jim, Lani's tall, red-headed and handsome son, currently finishing his second year of college; Hunter, Jasmine, Himari, Chenault, the miraculous Onyx and the even more miraculous Resk, undisputed feline rulers of the house; and Jesse, the man-hating green-cheeked conure.
Ann's household consists of Don, who is not just a computer genius but a pilot, a builder, and a damn good father; their son Steve, the marathon-running, college-bound, funniest teenager I know; and wonder dog Tater.
Other family members are Laurie, Lani's beautiful daughter who teaches at elementary levels; her handsome son Alex, aka Alexander the Great; Mary and Bo, a/k/a Mom and Dad, and Bud and Ann, Steve's patient and wonderful parents.
This was my view at 6 am. You can be jealous - it's beautiful! I also went to Hunt's Oyster Bar today, and consumed the following by noon: 1 dozen raw oysters, 3 fried oysters, 6 fried shrimp, 2 hush puppies. (burp) It's almost 5 and I have absolutely no desire to eat anything. Ever.
I did overhear this conversation at Hunt's:
Waitress to customer wearing a back brace, "You're looking great, you're almost ready for a roll in the hay!"
Customer's response, "Yep, and I want a skinny woman, not one of them fat 'uns!"
By the way, this was before I ate. Obviously didn't slow me down at all . . .
And - I finished the January dishcloth for Mom. I told her we are going to knit her a dishcloth a month. I may have neglected to mention that commitment to you. You're up for February!
The Linoleum Dishcloth by Mason Dixon Knitting in the wild.
I am in Paris this weekend visiting my friend Mario, who has a puppy named Io. He is a 10 month old golden retriever and is adorable. Mario is doing a very good job with him, he is well socialized and is very sweet.
We went walking in a park close to Mario's apartment, and found pony rides with Shetland ponies. Don, this one is for you since I know you love ponies. I wish you could feel the fur - it is so thick this time of year, it's like petting a bear. The pony I'm standing next to is the largest one in the bunch, there was one that might come up to Don's knees.
Between my office in London and the hotel was St. Paul's Cathedral. I walked every day back and forth, and this is the worst picture but it is really pretty. There are footpaths laid out through London for different tours, and it just happened that my path to the office was on the Jubilee Footpath.
I had time this week to have dinner with a friend who still works at Aon, Sally, and I was showing her my most recent knitting so here is a picture of her modeling my Optic Mittens and a cashmere lace scarf. I was wearing both and she admired them so I asked her to model them for me.
I am headed back to London tomorrow night on the Eurostar train, then will fly to Isle of Man for a meeting on Monday, then fly back home Tuesday. Lots of trains, taxis and airplanes so I am getting lots of work done and lots of knitting too. Finished knitting when I return home, and hello from Mario to everyone.
Don and I were glad to see the last of 2010. It wasn't a particularly good year for any of us, but we have high hopes for 2011. We have done what we could to get it started right - Hoppin' John - check. Collard Greens - check. Spending the first day of 2011 with friends and family - check.
Over the holidays I bought myself a heated bird bath, and have been seeing all sorts of new birds. These are insectivores that don't come to my feeders, but will come to the only source of unfrozen water around. Look at this Eastern Bluebird - he looks twice his normal size because it was so cold out. He's hiding behind the goldfinch.
And, of course, the Red-Bellied Woodpecker who loves the peanut feeder and defends it from all other birds. He looks pretty fearsome when he's running off the starlings. We call them the biker birds since they come in a gang.
I went to Las Vegas this week for two nights to go to a conference, which turned out to be very interesting. It was about telematics, which is all the technology they are putting in cars today to do navigation, satellite radio, even Internet connectivity. I met a bunch of people and got some good ideas, and then it was time to come home.
When I have been to Las Vegas in the past the security lines have been unbelievable. One time Don and I thought we would miss our flight, we were in line for well over an hour. So I take no chances when I am there. So, even after two nights of not much sleep, I dragged myself out of bed this morning to make sure I didn't miss my flight. And, of course, when I got there fully two hours before my flight time this is what the security line looked like.
Right. No one was there. I know that somewhere there was someone laughing, but I assure you it wasn't me.
This was my view at 6 am. You can be jealous - it's beautiful! I also went to Hunt's Oyster Bar today, and consumed the following by noon: 1 dozen raw oysters, 3 fried oysters, 6 fried shrimp, 2 hush puppies. (burp) It's almost 5 and I have absolutely no desire to eat anything. Ever.
