Crazed Crochez: October 2007

Firestorm

First, I want to talk about the California Fires. (Isn't everyone?) When I moved to California last year I was happy to be moving out of hurricane country. I was never in the direct path of the hurricane but close enough to worry. There were several storms where I ended up at the hospital when it was locked down because the winds had gotten above tropical storm levels. And then there was the infamous tropical storm where I fell on the wet tile floor on my lanai and fractured my humerous. (NO it was NOT funny!) Anyway, for those who have been through that you know how exhausting it is because it's non-stop hurricane news, shelter openings, wind speeds, tracking, etc. It's hard not to watch but at the same time, after about 24 hours, it's exhausting and stressful. Last Sunday, they started the non-stop coverage of the Malibu Fire. Here's a few images from here in Orange County. (These are from last night when the Orange County fires flaired up again.)

Silverado Canyon (the Santiago Fire)-This is not too far from where my cousin used to live.

Santiago Fire

These are the heros of the week.

Fires have burned in every one of these areas this week

Close up of the Orange County fire area. I live in the bottom center portion of the map - Aliso Viejo.

The calmness of the people who have been so affected by the fires. The strength and acceptance of those affected and the compassion of the community is overwhelming. We have managed to come away from this unscathed for which I am eternally grateful. For those who haven't been so lucky, I will say a prayer.

Needlework:

Did you see this?

It's the Tilted Duster from Norah Gaughn.

I made this:

I'm just noticing....did I put the buttons in the wrong place? Oh well....it's the Mary Pat twist. My apologies to Norah Gaughn.

I have moved on to a bunch of little things. They are having a craft fair at work that I agreed to participate in. What was I thinking? I am not a production knitter.....So far I have made a couple of hats. and am working on a scarf. The one good thing is that I get to use up a bunch of my stash.

I am in love with this book.

The Babydoll dress and the Mesmerize sweater are calling to me. The sweater is made with Tilli Tomas yarn but I don't know where to find any to purchase. I know it's very expensive but I'd like to give it a whirl. Isn't it always the way that when you have become obligated to knit things you find more exciting projects to take on?

Travels:

A few weeks ago I got a new GPS for my car. I love it. It tells me where I need to go and how to get there. I decided to take a road trip to test it out. We took a road trip up to Montecito, just south of Santa Barbara. It's where Oprah and Ellen have homes. We went to say "hey" but they weren't home. It's beautiful there with the closeness of the ocean and the mountains. We found a little hiking trail and took a bit of a walk. It was a nice day.

The first Frank Lloyd Wright

House in California