finally, i find where all the warm went

Posted on annePosted in designing, lace/shawls, projects

yesterday, 8:30 am, canton, ohio:
snow, wind, gray skies and a winter storm advancing.

yesterday 1:45 pm, san diego airport:
sunny, blue skies, 87 degrees in the shade.

did i mention sunny??

david looks pretty happy about it

hugs all around while we waited for our luggage

(we almost walked away with someone else’s bag but the very kind owner caught us in time).

i worked on the new little shawl most of the way—if you could feel this swiss mountain cashmere silk yarn that wouldn’t be a surprise.

i intended to switch projects a little more, but once i got going on the triangle, i just couldn’t stop. it’s a 12-row pattern that’s completely addictive and forms a motif that looks like flower bouquets

yeah, i was sunk the minute i pulled it out. i had no interest in anything else during the flight.

so once we landed i was ravenous. we headed off for a yummy thai lunch at saffron
kim knows all the good places and this one is seriously good—the perfect place to chow down after a long day of flying. david has a troubled history with thai food and has grown to dislike it intensely over the years, but even he was won over by saffron.

after lunch we headed home to show david the lay of the land at chez tyler and meet the boys coming home from school. kade has a couple of new additions to his menagerie and got his braces off, sam grew three inches since my last visit, rex has applied to colleges and is waiting to hear in late january about acceptances, and cole’s volleyball club is dominating their league.

it’s hard to follow all that up with anything nearly as interesting from our corner of the world

ok, yes, we have snow.

but something tells me that’s just not impressive enough

last night we all watched the tryouts for american idol. this is a program i never see at home, but have had the good luck to watch twice now with kim’s family (the finals were happening during my last visit).

kim worked on her moth shawl and a pair of socks and i worked on the pink leaf socks

just putting this out there—we really need to find a name—pink leaf socks just seems awkward and uninspiring. they deserve a much better moniker, yeah?
i was just thinking that bougainvillea might be nice . . .

there they are at daybreak today, lounging poolside. i was awake wide awake well before the crack of dawn and forced myself to lie there until it started getting light. so, i leap out of bed when the sky starts brightening, right? and and guess what??

it wasn’t the sun at all—it was the moon. it was so bright and the sky so clear that it was casting sharp shadows on the patio, so i thought it was the sun coming up. yikes. and by then i was on my feet so i went to the kitchen to discover it was still only 5 am.

toto, we are not in ohio any more.
i’ve never been here in the middle of winter and it’s interestingly different. i keep wanting to ask the kids when school ends (because it’s summer here). and then there are the early sunsets on these summery evenings—very odd.

i could get used to it though, trust me.

more later; today we’ll visit the beach, knit, and maybe do some more walking or bike riding. this morning we walked up the butt burner—a mile-long hill that’s gotta have a 20-percent or so grade, yikes. but i did it and kept pace with kim.

hear me roar.

44 thoughts on “finally, i find where all the warm went”

  1. That’s a lot to roar about! Welcome to the sun; we’d be happy to have you here permanently to get used to this weirdness that we call winter 😉

  2. “bougainvillea” seems like an ideal name, given that the pink bracts have a leaf-like shape. The pink of the sock yarn is ALMOST as bright as the magenta-colored version!

  4. My first thought was rhododendron socks, because I have one with flowers that color. Azalea would also work, but isn’t as exotic-sounding as Bougainvillea. 🙂 HEY! It’s up to 15 degrees here in Chicago!

  6. I think bougainvella is a graet name, the lines of the sock do look like the thorny branches of the plant. by the way, welcome to California!

  7. Hehe I can’t believe I typoed oink instead of pink yesterday. I’m obviously working too hard! I also have no idea for a name for your socks. Still pretty though!

  10. How do you say bougainvillea? I’ve always said it ‘booganviya’ more or less. I’ve heard it ‘booganviliya’ in Alabama. (And I can never remember the Mexican name for it, which is completely different. Same with kumquat trees. Drives me crazy)

    Even up here in the SF Bay Area, it’s been crazy warm this week! That early sunset – that’s how we know it’s winter.

  11. Oh, that looks so nice!!! All we have is snow where I’m on vacation and there will be more snow when I return home. I like Bougainvella as well although mine have never been quite that pink.

  12. Hahahaaaaa! It was even over 80 up here yesterday! California is in the middle of winter heat wave right now. See you soon! 🙂

  13. Welcome to San Diego!

    To be fair, this warmth is unseasonable even for us at this time of year–we’re used to it being in the high 40s and 50s in January. But it is pretty fantastic, especially to share with visitors from less friendly winter climes. 🙂

    I don’t know if you all are pub-goers, but in case you are and are looking for a way to fill an hour or two (or more), I’d like to recommend Stout (http://stoutsd.com), not many blocks north of the convention center. (A mile according to Google Maps–totally walkable. 🙂 You can tell them Erin (of Erin & Ted) sent you.

  14. What about Anthurium? That’s the latin name for the heart flower. Looking beautiful, whatever you decide to call them! I’m loving that yarn.

  15. i had a bougainvillea almost that color when i lived in capitola. if you name the sock that, it will always remind you of this trip.

  16. You are so right about the early sunsets on summery evenings! When I lived in the Caribbean for a few months, it felt very odd, especially as I got there after a full summer of long evenings here in the North…
    Bougainvillea seems very fitting as a name for the pink flower socks! It also reminds me of that time in the Caribbean…

  17. yay, i’m glad you’re enjoying all this warm weather! i, unfortunately, am stuck indoors working madly on an article that’s due to my editor this weekend. another commenter mentioned rhododendron– that was my first thought, too, because of the color and the pointiness. i think of bougainvillia flowers as having more rounded petals. but both are lovely names!

    also, i love the colorway on that shawl! it reminds me of the tundra.

  18. Love bougainvillea as the name – reminds me of the huge hedges of it that grow in Hawaii (speaking of places with sunshine and warmth).
    I just finished my second-in-a-row project with the Hand Maiden silk/cashmere- it absolutely is the most wonderful stuff, isn’t it?!

    Enjoy your weekend!

  19. Fuschia…bougainvillea…hot geranium

    please send me some warmth…it’s to be minus six with continuing snow tonight here in sw pa.

  20. Have fun, enjoy the sun. Our weather is the same as there I think and yes it is easy to get used to. Bougainvillea is a good name for the socks. Enjoy every minute of your visit.

  21. tho I live in the Bay area, and it is slightly less warm up here, I am still confused several times a year about what season/month we are in. I guess growing up in colder climes leaves it’s ebb and flow seasonal mark on one. Beautiful socks! Reminds me of the pink plumerias on Maui…

  22. Sounds delightful! I could use a spot of sun just now and the warmth would be welcome too.

    Those pink socks make me think of geraniums…

  24. At first the socks looked like a chain of hearts to me, but bougainvillea makes perfect sense.
    Glad you’re enjoying some warmth and sun.

  28. oooh so jealous. it is less than 10 degrees in new york tonight. enjoy every minute.
    the new shawl you are playing with is just fabulous.
    have a great time.

  29. The brown pelicans by the water perfectly reflect the colors in the Swiss Mountain shawl. So lovely! Enjoy your stay, the sun, and the warmth.

  31. Lucky, lucky you. San Diego is definitely one of my favorite “Northeast Winter Escape” destinations. You definitely picked the best time with the frigid cold front moving in. Enjoy!

  32. I was thinking Bougainvillea as I read your question and before I saw that you had thought of it. We have them in that deep hot fuchsia in South Florida. As I look at them again, I suddenly thought of fuchsias themselves, they have a hanging flower, don’t they? Anyway, they are definitely in the floral realm and I’m sure they’ll be gorgeous on.

    Have a wonderful time in Southern Cal. You may well be in the only warm place in the country. It is even going below freezing in north and central Florida this week!

  36. It sounds like you are having a lovely time!

    The shawl pattern is really cute 🙂 And the leafy socks, oh my! I think my eyes need lots of colour at this time of the year.

  37. Anne- If I was in an airport and someone walked away with my knitting project and/or yarn, I would lose my marbles- totally. Someone would have to call security.

    Have a wonderful warm time.

  38. OH Bougainvillea is the BEST name! I’m too far north to grow them here, but I absolutly LOVE them! Naming the socks Bougainvillea would be a nice way to mark your California trip.

  40. I was so thinking Bouganvillea would be a good name! They would get this pink (and more) when I lived in Africa. They also remind me of the Flame Tree,which was also prominent there.

  41. Palm trees? Sunshine? Sigh.

    Bougainvillea is perfect for the socks! And I am seriously coveting that wool/cashmere – such yummy colors, and great stitch definition.

  42. So glad you all arrived safely. (How do you get your needles on the plane? When I flew to Costa Rica, I was stripped of needles, yarn no…and other implements taken, yes!). Love the name Bougainvillea, makes me think of the Frederick Church estate at Olana in Hudson, AND the sweet aroma in the night, ah me…and David had a smile….looks like you and David are enjoying the wonderful weather there!!! We are freezing here…..but I am knitting!!! Have a wonderful time!!!

  43. Three cheers for fun in the sun! I can definitely see why you are addicted to the triangle & the swiss mountain looks absolutely divine! I have the same question that Ellen had…about the plane and needles…I usually knit with Denise’s just in case.

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