Guess what came in the mail!

I spent several hours working on this post. Then did ??? & the whole thing disappeared. Sigh. It was almost finished. See if i can recreate. I think this will be much more brief.

Subtitle: Winner!, Knitting update, Trees, Toes


I don't usually enter blog contests. That is not the reason i go to blogs. But i couldn't pass this one up. It was by Ellen at Stuff From Ellen's Head. And i was so excited to win. Just look:
Pecans. Already shelled pecans! It can't get better than that! I've not had home-grown pecans since my parents lived in Alabama a few years ago. Thank you so much, Ellen!

This is the hat/scarf set for the 11 YO boy who likes green. The scarf is getting fairly long.


He actually got two hats. The first one i knitted on needles that are too big & had too many stitches. I don't think the bigger hat will fit anyone. But i liked the pattern that particular yarn formed in the hat. I don't know what i'll do with the big one. (I tried & tried to turn the scarf pattern into a hat but never managed it. I finally ended up with K1P1 rib, so it is reversable.)


This is the horseshoe pattern hat. It doesn't show up very well in this pic. I'm knitting it on circular needles. I think i've a fair number of mistakes in it, but in general they don't show & i can correct them row by row. The scarf i've been leaving in OC to work on when i'm at my ILs, but need to take it home this week (i get to stay home Thanksgiving week!)


These trees are Southern California's answer to wanting to have fall color. These are called Liquidambar Trees, which are a form of sweet gum. The leaves have always looked like a maple to me. They are fast growing trees. As you can see in the above pics, the same tree can have a lot of different colors on it. Several of these have green, yellow, orange, red, & burgundy all on the same tree. They usually turn in November & are bare by mid-December, to re-leaf in February or so. They have a prickly gum-ball called "monkey balls" for seed dispersal. These trees were in front of our townhouse here in OC when we still lived here. I took several of the monkey balls a few years ago, dipped them in white paint & glitter & used them as tree ornaments at Christmas.


I don't know the name of this tree. It has always looked to me like a crab apple, both in the leaves & the blossoms. It is used in Orange County/Southern California ornamentally frequently. Late January is beautiful when these trees bloom all over town.

This is both types of the trees.

These are my toes! Since i almost always work barefoot, i regularly get pedicure/manicure combos. I thought she did a good job with the flowers on my toes. :) The dots they often use remind me a little of East Indian Henna work. I was so pleased that someone who used to do the work was back. She does wonderful massage work (as part of the pedicure). It was from she that i learned the reminder that going slow is wonderful. I'd just melt when she worked on me. Nice to have her back.

236