For Auld Lang Syne

Happy New Year, dear readers! 

I hope the holidays have treated you well; a lot has happened in the time that's gone by. 

My Christmas and New Year have been fantastic; I've been working a retail position (and I simply love the people I work with!), I finished my Christmas knitting with time to spare, and I've been able to catch up with family and friends along the way. 

Going On Safari

Two Fridays ago (the week before Christmas), I took a very dear college friend to the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park.  If there ever was a perfect day to go, this was it!  The weather was perfect--sunny and just warm enough for jeans, a t-shirt, and a light jacket--there was hardly anyone else there, all the animals were out and active, and we saw nearly everything there was to see (except the Garden Walk and Hidden Jungle, but there's always next time). 

We arrived a little before 11, and stayed until closing--a very long day indeed!  As much as I would like to talk and talk on and on about everything we saw and did, I think the photos speak for themselves. 

Me and Noelle. 
When you go to the Safari Park, taking a picture on their big bronze rhino statue is mandatory.

How do you measure up to a California Condor?

 Tiger Trail

Tyger tyger, burning bright, / in the forests of the night...
--William Blake, "The Tyger"
One of the Park's female Sumatran Tigers

Introducing the newest member of the tiger family...

...Here's Suka!  Find out more about him here on the Safari Park's official site.

What a handsome face!

 Lorikeet Landing

What these comical little birds lack in size, they make up for in color, personality, and most of all vocal ability.

One little Lorie...

...two little Lories...

...and three!  Yummy, yummy nectar!

 African Woods, Walk, and Tram

The African mammals really are a diverse group, and absolutely incredible!  It is genuinely hard to have only one favorite animal here. 

The elusive Okapi...

...and its more familiar cousin, the giraffe.

Those babies grow up so fast!

One of the four lion cubs born in June 2014...this little lady still has some spots on her hip.

One of the cheetahs, as seen from the tram.  We also saw the Cheetah Run, which goes on at 3:30 p.m.  Get there early if you want a decent view.

A crash of beautiful Southern White Rhinos.  If you don't know already, I have a very big soft spot for these animals.

 

 We didn't take pictures of everything we saw; sometimes it's better to just absorb what you can, when you can, and without a screen in front of you. 
And just a quick plug, I encourage you dear readers to log onto the San Diego Zoo's and Safari Park's websites to plan an amazing safari, to learn about the incredible animals at both locations, and to find out what you can do to save them from extinction. 

Projects Completed! 

Since I finally finished my Christmas knitting and the finished objects have been revealed to their lucky recipient, I can finally give the big reveal to you the readers, and take my other current projects out of hibernation. 

Here's my variation on the Neon Ski Bonnet, by Lacey Volk (links to Ms. Volk's Ravelry page, with the original Neon Ski Bonnet pattern, and blog). 

The only thing I changed when making my incarnation of the hat was the design in the center of the band, which I changed to a three-strand braid.
I selected "I Love That Yarn" in the antique teal colorway--it's easy to care for, and the feel in the hand and around the head is a dream! 

I also made an infinity scarf to go with the hat, knitting a variation on Phyll Lagerman's Lasagna scarf (Phyll's Ravelry page) in a 1-by-1 seed stitch instead of 1-by-1 rib, and worked in Yarn Bee Andes Alpaca, a heavenly 30%/70% alpaca/acrylic blend, in the colorway Paradise.  I liked that it was reversible, but I desired something a bit wider than the ribbing.

Unfortunately, I was a complete dunce and forgot to take a picture of the finished object. 

I had an absolute blast making both of these projects, and I might need to make another of each once the rest of my projects are back in order. 

A Wonderful Christmas

Christmas certainly came and went quickly, which seems to happen more often as we grow up.  It doesn't exactly help when stores start putting up trees and ornaments and snowmen while the rest of the world is trying to figure out what they're doing for Halloween.  But that's enough of that. 

Amid working retail, I had time to spend with family and friends.
I baked Christmas cookies with my mom (actually, she did most of it during my shifts at work). 

We set up the tree and decorated it. 

The tree on Christmas morning...true, it's a blurry one, but it still captures the spirit!

We hosted an ornament exchange with our pals from work. 

My dad and I made our traditional pre-Christmas-Starbucks-run-and-mall-walk-around. 

On Christmas Eve, the three of us went to the 10 p.m. mass and watched the first 15 minutes of Elf when we got back home. 

Most people in climates that allow it expect a white Christmas, where everything is silver and sparkling.  Living in the low-elevation regions of Southern California, that's not going to happen.  My favorite Christmases have been the ones where the garden is laced with a delicate covering of frost, or like this year, where it had rained the night before and the ground is wet and washed and clean and the blue morning sky is filled with big puffs of clouds. 

I received a lot of wonderful things this year, including a beautiful, hand-carved St. Nicolas figurine my aunt found in Montenegro...

...a handmade yarn bowl my mom found for me on her trip to Portland with her friends...

...and a wonderful Shutterfly photo book my mom made, with photographs from my years at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

 Opening presents is always interesting with a frisky beagle; Linus is always trying to get our attention, even if he has to snag one of our presents and make us chase him for it.  Possibly even more fun than opening the presents themselves is wadding up the wrapping paper and watching him chase it around the Christmas tree! 

 Every year we give him a new toy, usually the hard plastic type (the soft fabric ones don't last long with him).  Normally he takes to it right away and starts chewing with glee and gusto.  This year, however, we thought it would be fun to give him some of those food-scented ones.  He promptly wanted to bury the darn things. 

He gave up after a while.

My uncle  and cousins came in the afternoon, and we spent it eating cookies, playing Scattergories and Bananagrams, and having an overall wonderful time! 

Except for looking up words for challenging each other during the games, and taking pictures in front of the Christmas tree, nobody was behind a phone screen. 

Nobody was texting.

Nobody was playing with an app of any kind. 

The television was turned off, and there was music in its place.

It meant the world and more to me. 

It seems like Christmas flies by too quickly, especially in these modern times.  I think old Scrooge's nephew Freddy sums up the season very well indeed:

"But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round—apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.  And therefore... I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!”--Fred, A Christmas Carol  (Charles Dickens)

 Ringing in the New Year

Generally speaking, our New Year's celebrations are pretty mild; we like to stay off the road, and I'm usually the only one who has the stamina to stay up until midnight.  But we love playing games--usually Sorry! or Scrabble--and the competition is fierce.  Sorry! is my Dad's game, but Scrabble is my territory, and I rule. 

We may miss the ball drop, and we often sleep through the entry of the new year, but one thing I never miss on New Year's day is watching the Tournament of Roses Parade, and seeing the Cal Poly Universities float is the highlight every time.   

For those of you who missed it, this year's entry was pretty darned cute! 





Photo from the Cal Poly Rose Float Facebook page



 



I have had other favorite floats from years' past, though, and you can check them out in the link in the caption.  While you're browsing, look for Soaring Stories (from last year--absolutely spectacular!), Tuxedo Air from 2013, and Jungle Cuts from 2010.  As an alumnus of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, I take great pride in seeing my alma mater represented, and my goal is to be a volunteer for float decoration.

 

Resolutions, resolutions. 

Just like many others of us, I've made a pretty comprehensive list of New Year's resolutions.  There's a lot in my life that I would like to start doing, change, or rearrange; whether or not I actually follow through could be a different story.  But if you'll allow me, I would like to share a few of mine here. 

• Read more, and watch less television.  Save the good programs for when they're airing, but turn off the midday, mindless background stuff. 
• Learn a new word every day.  Or two, if possible.  I'm planning on getting a word-of-the-day calendar to help with that. 
• Eat more fruits and vegetables every day. 
• Learn to cook. 
• Go for a run, at least every other day, and fill in the alternating days with strength training or yoga. 
• Keep a daily journal. 
• Learn to play the harp, the guitar, and re-learn the piano.  I have all these beautiful instruments longing to be touched and played once more. 
• Finish projects that I start--no more paintings or knits going into extended and excessive hibernation because I get bored or stumped. 
• Land a regular job with benefits.  Start by applying for anything and everything I can possibly think of. 
• Pray more.  I notice I worry far too much about things that are out of my control, so I need to put my faith back into God and let Him take control when I've done all I can. 
• Play outside.  I have my mom's beautiful garden, and a great little buddy to enjoy it with, and I need to do so while I still can. 

If I haven't lost you at this point, I would love to hear your resolutions and plans for this year. 

 

Until next time, love and joy come to you, and to you your good health, too, and God bless you and send you a happy new year! (paraphrased from Here We Come A-Caroling, 19th Cent. English)