I returned to my homeland this week. Even though Pacific Northwesterners have made something of a profession of hating Californians, I am a Californian girl, through and through. I was born in Beverly Hills, and lived in Santa Monica and Westwood for the first part of my life, and I always come alive when I am back in LA, smog and all. There is basically no chance I would move to California, between their political and social culture, tax policies, and cost of living, (also, I'm nearly 50, never have had any work done, don't work out, and don't always wear makeup), but I love the climate, the views, the food, the actual cultures there, the shopping, all of it. So, I was a beach bum for a little bit this week, doing my knitting on the beach and at the pool.

It is, of course, a business trip for Rich (this is how we get most vacations around here), but we took Elijah with us as a treat and reward. He's been such a trooper, truly manning up and seeing what has needed to be done during the hard times of the past couple months (and really the last couple years) and doing it without a request from us, without complaint, and we wanted to recognize that. I told him I wanted to go to the beach, the fashion district, and eat well, and would take him wherever he wanted to go. Dominic and Shawn came up to watch our house and the girls at home, so everything would go smoothly and so the animals would be taken care of, as well. We knew it was a huge request to make of them, but they did it quite generously and willingly. And they brought Winnie, so we get to see her sweet little cheeks!

We got to eat delicious food, go to a Maronite Church there, walk around the beach and pier, get a little shopping in, visit museums, and Rich and I even got to dance at a street salsa dance they have weekly. We took Elijah to a VR arcade, and he and I went to a museum and spent some good time together. Now we are back home, and trying to get back into normal schedules.

The top picture is where I was with Warda on Monday, this is where I am today. Sadly, it will not be finished in time to give on Mother's Day, but it will still be sent for it. I ran out of yarn when I was eight rows away from being finished. I've re-written the pattern a bit and have gotten back on track.

I did some more reading in the Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge, peeked a bit into Garden of Truth and read just a tiny bit in Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station.

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Labels: Books, Design, Family, Homemaking, Knitting, Prayer Requests, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 11:06 AM