Updates and Fun Finds

Life's been busy lately but good.  I got to work a couple of days this week at the yarn/antique shop.  So fun!  I love it!  I even taught a few classes while I was there.  Grandpa, who I mentioned went into the hospital on Monday, ended up with double pneumonia.  He seems to be doing pretty well though and was told that he'll be going home today.  I got the results of my uterine biopsy back last week.  It's good and bad news.  The hormone therapy improved the complex endometrial hyperplasia to simple endometrial hyperplasia (that sure is a long name!).  That's good in that the risk of cancer is almost nothing now.  But, the doctor recommended doing another six cycles of progesterone to try to completely fix the problem.  The bad news is that I'll have to go through that horrid biopsy again.  Ugh! But, on the bright side...that means I'll need more yarn therapy afterwards!  ;-)

I visited my daughter last week.  We went to lunch and ran a few errands.  In the afternoon, we went for a foot massage.  They said it was an hour and only $20.  Sounded good.  Turned out to be a whole body massage for an hour.  It was amazing!  We only had to take our shoes off.  We started out by soaking our feet in tubs of warm water while they massaged our necks and shoulders.  Then, we laid down and they massaged our scalps, face, arms, hands, feet and legs.  And, if that weren't enough, we then laid on our stomachs and they massaged our backs and necks more and our feet and legs again.  We felt amazing after that.  We tipped generously and it was still an amazing deal!  We'll definitely be going back to that place!  We ended our visit with dinner and she played her harp for me so I could hear some of the pieces she's working on and what she'll be playing in the upcoming concerto competition.  I've been listening to her play for years but she never ceases to amaze me.  Her playing is so beautiful!  

I've squeezed in a bit of shopping time here and there.  I'd love to show you what I've found...

When I visited my daughter, I stopped at Suzoo's Wool Works in Costa Mesa.  I'd never been there and, since I was nearby, I had to check it out.  I bought a beautiful shawl pin.  It was only $10!

On the way home from visiting Grandpa in the hospital this week, I stopped to check out some antique shops I'd never been to.  I found a transferware plate that I couldn't pass up.  Botanicals and birds are my favorite on transferware.  And, this shape is so unusual that I had to get it for my collection.

When I was working at the shop yesterday, I helped someone start her first crochet, lace shawl.  She chose a skein of Cascade Heritage Sock yarn in a gorgeous blue/teal color (color #5637).  I fell in love with it and there was just one skein left.  So, I had to buy it.  The color is quite different than in the photo.  Pictures just don't show how gorgeous it is in person.  But, this was the last skein and this yarn just came in the shop last week.  So, that speaks well to how beautiful it is.  It's also very soft.  It's made with 75% Merino superwash wool and 25% nylon.  I can't wait to make something with it!

I finally have a "normal" day at home today and my to-do list is super long.  I have lots to catch up on...including blogging.  So, I was sure to put it on my list.  

Now, back to laundry, cleaning, and all the other stuff.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Birthday, Part II

My 50th birthday celebration got a little bigger. It started out last week with a wonderful day of skiing with my husband and daughter. We continued the party on Sunday by spending a day in San Diego. We did a little shopping, dining, and even enjoyed a concert.

It was a sunny day and I enjoyed the hour drive down there and the chance to relax and crochet the whole way. We grabbed some yummy coffee drinks and spent a couple of hours at Ikea looking at their great stuff and being inspired. I love Ikea! We stayed for lunch and enjoyed their delicious Swedish meatball platters. Yum!

Next, we went to a bead and jewelery store/outlet that I heard about years ago and had been wanting to check out. They had so much stuff that it was a little overwhelming. But, I did find a little something that I wanted. A beautiful silver rose. It's about 2 1/4" wide with a pin on the back that works great as a shawl pin (I wore it with one of my shawls right after we left the store). It also has a loop that I plan to string a ribbon through and wear as a necklace. It's so pretty! I love it!


From there, we drove north to the town of Encinitas. It's one of our favorite places in San Diego and we spend a lot of time there. It's a beautiful little town with gorgeous beaches, beautiful weather and a great vibe. It's hard to explain. We just feel really good when we're there.

We walked around some little shops and had dinner at a fancy little Italian restaurant (I didn't notice the name). It was good! I had potato dumplings filled with spinach and ricotta and it was covered with a sage cream sauce. Yum! Hubby had butternut squash gnoccis with scallops, shrimp and some kind of tomato/cream sauce. It was really tasty! My daughter had penne with artichoke hearts and prosciutto. We enjoyed some delicious wines as well. It was a small, pretty restaurant with dim lighting and a comfortable feel. There was even a doggy laying on the floor next to one of the customers with his own little bowl of food. So cute.

One of the little treasures in town is the La Paloma Theatre. It's been around since 1928 and keeps on going. That's pretty special these days. It doesn't seem to have been remodeled or modernized. How it looks now seems to be how it's always been. It's like stepping back in time. It's a bit magical. We love to see shows there!

For years we've seen on the marque that George Winston performs there every January. We've talked about going but never got around to checking into it. This year, my husband surprised me with tickets. He bought them in November for my birthday. What a sweetheart! We were pretty lucky to get tickets because we heard it sold out pretty quickly.


We have some George Winston CD's that I love. I especially love listening to them when we go camping. His music is so happy, relaxing, and uplifting all at the same time. We were excited to see the man behind the sound. It turns out that he's a VERY quiet man...a man of very few words. But, he sure is talented. He even plays the guitar and the harmonica...verrry well!

We all had a very nice day! Turning 50 has been a little emotional but it's actually starting out pretty well! :-)