Hot and beefy ...


:: I bought a pair of shoes today - that's them, above! They cost $1.99 in Ralphs. A bargain and perfect for me - though I think they're probably meant for a nine-year-old (with big feet). As I tried them on, I could hear a little voice on my shoulder saying, 'Not MORE shoes!' It was the voice of eight-year-old Simon, who would always castigate me for the number of pairs of shoes I owned - particularly when I'd refused to buy him a $50 pair of trendy sneakers when his feet were still growing so fast. One time, he was so incensed he even went to my wardrobe and, out loud, counted 37 pairs (I was a full-time working career girl then - and shoes have always been a weakness!). Perhaps that's why he's still absolutely obsessed with sneakers. Just like his kid brother ... look at the pair of them!


:: It got up to 35 degrees today (that's 95 F) and it was beaut! The pool is sparkly and the water is warm, there are flowers everywhere (poor Will is sneezy and snotty with rheumy eyes), birds are singing, flutes are trilling (we have a flute player living near us and she/he practises a lot), and everything seems to be screaming 'Summer!' But, of course, let us not forget that first we must experience what the San Diegans call May Grey, and June Gloom - the almost daily occurrences of the 'marine layer', when warm, moist air blows in from the sea, hits the hills and mountains, rises, cools and forms a dense rolling mist that blocks out the sun. Sure, it's grey and gloomy, but it keeps the temperatures down until it dissipates in the sunshine.

:: So that explains the 'hot' of this post's title. The 'beefy' is a reference to a massive hunk of beef I've just prepared for the oven. Dave and I will have it for dinner - or a few slices of it anyway - later as we watch A-merrrrrican Idol (Yay! Can't wait!). Will has gone off with two friends to see Wolfmother in concert, so he's eating on the road.

:: Cate has sent me a manuscript to work on, and I'm all excited about making a start on that tomorrow. Fifty thousand words - looking good!
In the meantime I'm knitting a summer jumper out of linen - a very fiddly yarn, I'm finding.
The pattern calls for two strands to be knitted together, and each strand is made up of three threads, so there's a lot of splitting. And it's a bit like knitting with string - no stretch. But I love the colour and the texture, so I think it will be okay. It's a sleeveless, shapeless sort of top, with a straight-across boat neck. I think the front may look boring and sack-like, so I'm thinking of putting in a pattern of holes just to relieve things a little. We shall see.
I have also to finish Dad's socks, and I have a fabulous stash of wool to knit for all the Bondi babies on the way - three so far, with the first (our chef, Chris, and his wife, Amanda) due in September. Exciting times!