California visit

I had such a good trip to central coast CA last week. It was filled with family, new and old friends, dogs, beach walks, yarn, drawing, sleeping well, fog, sunshine, fun.

I started out meeting mom and a niece and great niece in Phoenix airport, where we took the last leg flight together to San Luis Obispo. The last time I saw this great niece she was an awful spoiled brat at 3 years old who wouldn't play with me, told me " I don't like you" and was a pain in the you-know-what. She is now 5 and is absolutely adorable, loving and cuddly. It was wonderful to be with her and I enjoyed her tremendously.

 

I rented a car so that I could be independent and was glad I did, as there were tons of people at the house and not everyone had a car. It was complete chaos at my brothers house, with getting ready for a big party after graduation. We went to an awards ceremony that night which was awful and boring but my niece Jody got plenty of awards and scholarships. I helped a bit at the house but basically tried to stay out of the way, and only listened to what my sister in law told me to do. She was the general of this whole party thing and was rather wound up with details.

A cousin of mine came up on Wednesday night, I hadn't seen her since we were both 14 and didn't really know her very well. We had a good time together, she's a yoga instructor in Santa Barbara and a knitter, so we had plenty to talk about and catch up on.

Mom and Cousin.  Mom is wearing a poncho that my grandmother knit for her in the 60's.  I'm not so fond of the fringe on the collar, but the poncho has held up pretty well!   My grandmother knit it after ripping out a coat that my mom had knit which grandma said looked like a "long drink of water" on mom.

Thursdays graduation was fun, party was fun. Once that was complete I could enjoy myself with other things. I took a drive up the coast to Cambria and puttered around the town, then went back to the beach with mom and nieces.

Saturday was a very special day. I left early and drove to Santa Barbara to meet LORI!! We met - of course - at a lovely little knitting store and Lori was standing in the street and waved me into a parking space. big hugs and I felt like I'd known her forever. I was so excited that I dropped my wallet ( in my car) and didn't even realize it until we had walked to another store and I went to buy something. thank you Lori for the buttons you paid for! We had a lovely time, I don't think we stopped talking for the entire three hours that we were together. I bought some gorgeous yarn ( after I found my wallet thank goodness) for a wedding shawl for a friend. It was truly a delightful day.

 And look what I got gifted with - so sweet and kind and just wonderful

On Sunday, two friends drove down from San Francisco. One friend I have known since second grade, and we went thru school together and even attended the same college for a few semesters. We've stayed in touch over the years, she's good people and I love her. The second friend I haven't seen since we were 18 years old. We lost touch after high school, as she stayed in Brooklyn to get married and I couldn't wait to leave the city. I never knew what happened to her, but she found us both on Facebook and we reconnected. turns out that her marriage didn't last, she moved to San Francisco in'77 and got remarried. Two kids, happy as a clam and looks great. It was SUCH a treat to be with these two friends! They stayed overnight, we had a lovely dinner, and morning coffee. They chatted up mom who hasn't seen them in years and years. We talked and talked and talked....the same way we did when we were 15. They left on Monday afternoon, but I know that I'll see them both again soon.

Both friends looked at copies of all the Miss Em comics and gave me great feedback on flow, what worked, what doesn't - it was so helpful.

After they left we took mom for a long walk, tired ourselves out and relaxed with the family for the evening. 

I flew home on Tuesday, but in all honesty I could have happily stayed for a few more days. I was staying in my brothers rustic guest house which is at the bottom of these stairs.  It was delightful and convenient.

I have more pics but on another camera which I don't have the connection to the computer for.  

It was a good trip, relaxing and fun, no stress.  I could easily live there for a winter retreat. Easily!