Friday's knit picks...

It's 'show & tell' here today...and all about knitting! Way back when...I was the lucky winner of Knitting Mania's 100th post give-away...hand knit wristlets.

If you go back to her post...you will notice that she had them displayed on a beautiful antique glass hand. (And check out all her felted purses while you are visiting...amazing work!) My intention was to find exactly that hand...and have them as part of the bedroom decor. After checking antique stores...and every other place I could think of...I gave up on my vintage hand. It my not be antique...but my daughter found a hand that works just fine...at a Eddie's Hang-ups...a place that specializes in display fixtures for stores. So...after many months...my one-of-a-kind hand-knit by Christina vintage wristlets have found the perfect resting place. I think they are actually meant to be worn...and would match my cream coloured jacket quite nicely...but I quite like them where they are. Thanks so much, Knitting Mania!

And, in my favorite knit-pic of the week...

...Maelyn is wearing her mommy's dress, and it fits her just fine. It was hand-knit by Grandma Baerg for Heidi about thirty years ago. After all these years in the cedar chest...it's finding a new life. How special is that?

The grands have been here this week...and Emme spent some time working on her knitting...

...on a knifty-knitter, which is rather like a giant spool knitting loom. We pulled her first little project off the loom last night...

...a hat, which is perfect for a very small head...or a teddy bear. What fun!

Have a wonderful weekend...

a perfect day to be thankful...

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them,
is the true measure of our thanksgiving.
W.T. Purkiser

It seems like the perfect day to be thankful...
regardless of which country I live in.

I wish all of you...my American friends and family who are gathering around a table somewhere today...a most blessed Thanksgiving celebration.

It's Camp Grammy over here for a few days...Emme, Spencer and Ryder came with their overnight bags. Ranen will join us for awhile today...and we'll have a fun time. As long as I remember who needs to be picked up where...and at what time...it will all be good. So I too have family gathered around my table...nothing fancy on the menu though. We will think of you and your pecan pie...as we eat red finger jello.

Enjoy the day...

experiencing san francisco...

It was our first visit to San Francisco...and a most interesting one it was! Cable cars, trolleys, bridges and hills...

...and tours on open-top buses were all part of the package.

We stayed at an historic hotel...right downtown...and were told it was best to leave the car at home since parking was at a premium. Since leaving the car behind wasn't really an option...we paid to have our car stored for the duration of our stay...and travelled like they do in San Francisco! We put many miles on our shoes...and used every form of transit available...and truly experienced the city.

We know from past experience that the best way to learn a little about a city is to take a narrated tour...the 'hop on-hop off' variety. And that is exactly how we began our visit to San Francisco. We learned so much...and hopped off at our favorite spots.

We found out that the chances of seeing the Golden Gate Bridge when it is not obscured in fog...are about one in seven. Despite the odds...

...we had sunshine and clear blue skies! We hopped off when we arrived at the famous landmark. It seemed the perfect day to walk the bridge...and so we did.

The Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world when it was completed in 1935...and so it became the global symbol for both San Francisco and California. It is 1.7 miles long...90 feet wide and 220 feet above the waters below. An average of 40 million vehicles cross the bridge annually. And one other bit of info that I had a hard time wrapping my mind around...the cables used to suspend the bridge are over 36 inches in diameter.

We passed bikers, tourists, maintenance guys and painters...the job of painting the bridge is never-ending. When they reach the end...they start over!

We saw many of the famous landmarks...

...including the historic city hall. It was the venue for the marriage of Marilyn Monroe and Joe De Maggio in 1954 (I don't actually remember that)...and has been featured in many movies.

We drove through neighbourhoods with Victorian homes...some which have become quite well-known over the years.

These 'Painted Ladies'...as they are called...is a row of seven homes along Alamo Square park...often seen on postcards of San Francisco.

The yellow house in this row of seven was made famous in the filming of the television series Full House.

Many Victorian homes were destroyed by fire following the great earthquake of 1906...but those that remain are jewels along the streets.

The Presidio...which served as an army post for three nations for over two-hundred years (Spain, Mexico and the USA)...was transferred to the Park Service in 1994. It is now a national park, within the boundaries of the city.

Within the park are large subdivisions of former military housing that are available for lease...if one happens to have unlimited resources.

This particular home is renting for $5000 per month...and that does not include the car parked at the curb. San Francisco has the second most expensive real estate in the world...next to London, England.

We passed through Chinatown...and Little Italy...

...rode uphill and down...and gazed up through a maze of trolley cables as we toured. We spent a good deal of time at Fisherman's Wharf...

...observing and sampling!

We ate at the Boudin Restaurant...home of the famous San Francisco sourdough. There are no secrets at this bakery...we watched the bread being baked from an observation deck...while on the sidewalk the crowds gathered at the windows.

Pier 39...which lies a few blocks from Fisherman's Wharf...is a 45 acre complex on the waterfront...

...where one can spend a lot of time shopping, eating, people watching or watching the sea lions. The best fun is always free!

A large colony of sea lions spends the winter months right at this pier...a most amazing site.
I was planning to include a short video clip...but I'll leave with you this still image...since blogger wouldn't upload my movie. They looked pretty cozy!

We tried each and every mode of public transit...

...and rode the cable cars just for the fun of it.

We took the F-line train to the waterfront...along with all the locals...

...who were all too preoccupied with their blackberries to enjoy any of the sites we passed!

I'll leave you with one final image of Powell Street...and it's famous cable cars...a museum in motion.

That's all for today...but one of these days I'll be back to take you by ferry to that island you see behind us in the photo. Just for a visit!

together in unison...

We gathered to pay our respects...friends, neighbours and family...remembering a kind, thoughtful man who had touched the lives of many and will be missed. To us he was a neighbour...and until recently we would see him working on his yard or riding his bike. Those days are over.

The funeral was held in a Catholic church...with great acoustics...a wonderful place to make heavenly music. It has been used as a recording studio by choirs on many occasions...and we have attended concerts at this very venue. We noticed that all the songs were sung in unison at the funeral...and only the melody line was printed in their songbook. Since the songs were mostly unfamiliar to us...we towed the line and sang melody...just like the rest of the throng. Toward the end of the service, there were a few familiar hymns...and without giving it a thought, we broke into harmony. Elmer sings bass...I sing alto...and we don't really need notes...we just harmonize. The moment the funeral was over, the lady in front of us whipped around and asked us if we were from a choir. Well, no...but we grew up singing in choirs and in church...and at home. Well, she almost insisted that we go sign up for the choir. I was speechless for a bit...and then informed her that we don't actually attend this church. "Oh. Well you should convert...we need you in the choir." We laughed about that as we left.

It was a lovely tribute to a man whose time on earth was over...and we came together from all denominations in a Catholic church...and remembered Lambert...and sang in unison, songs of praise to our God. But is there some reason we can't sing harmony? I wonder.

is that for real?

The fireplace? Fake.

The rockwork? Fake.

The candles? Fake.

I found remote controlled...
battery operated candles for the mantle over the weekend...
and was thrilled.

They will be much safer.

As I put them up on their lofty perches...
I had to think that pretty much everything here is fake.

But the mantle is real...
real hundred-year-old fir from our old barn...
as is the floor.

And the hearth is real slate...
and on it is a real New Zealand Ikea sheepskin.

And my mantle is empty...
ready for greenery...maybe that will be real.

Coming soon!

Oh...and the fake pillar candles are were at Home Sense..
if you need some.

Have a REAL good Monday...