My visit with baby Kennedy, 3 weeks old

On Aug 3rd, Mary and I drove up to Rancho Murieta to visit Erin and new baby Kennedy.Erin is the first chicken to have a baby, so we are all happy to be Auntie chickens. Kennedy was about 3 weeks old at the time. It was great to visit with Erin, Danielle, Mary and Eric. Even though I am scared of babies, it was really fun to hold Kennedy. Actually, she may be the only baby I haven't been afraid of. Progress! Of course it helps that she is also really cute, especially without the bow (hahaha).

The many faces of Kennedy (she loves to smile, purse her lips, and fling her arms all over the place):

Here is Danielle, a proud Auntie hen.

I liked this picture of Merle. The dogs were both being so good.

Volvo Across America! (Part III)

After Boulder, we drove to Utah. The landscape was so surreal, since you can drive across flat desert for 2 hours without seeing any towns. Thank god we didn't break down! Our first stop was Arches. The landscape was as amazing as I had imagined, but damn it was hot! There isn't a lick of water to be seen, and the temperature was around 107 F (well, it did cool off to around 85 F- at about 1o PM!). We did some short hikes when we first arrived, in the heat of the afternoon.

Park Avenue

John at Windows Arch- I think in this picture he looks like hes standing in front of the abyss.

Heres me in front of Windows Arch

I climbed up to sit in Double Arch.

We camped in Arches park, and luckily our campsite was shady, but still scorching hot. We also had the most amazing sunset. At night we went to a ranger program "sounds of the park". This ranger guy loved sound like you wouldn't believe. When it finally cooled off, we had a gorgeous night under the stars.

The next day we did our biggest hike, to Landscape Arch and Double O Arch.

Our next stop was Zion. Still hot, still lots of red rock. At least Zion has a river running though it. We spent our first 2 hours in the park just standing in the water. Our campsite at Zion was completely shade-less. The next day, we did a crazy scary hike, called Angel's Landing. We heard it was steep, but nothing prepared us for the actual thing. The path was straight up steep, with 1000 ft sheer cliffs on either side, and only chains to hold on to. Believe me, I was clinging to those chains for dear life!

Volvo Across America! (Part II)

In Chicago, Beth and Tom gave us a shiny new (well, new to us) Volvo. We promtly drove it back to California, putting about 2 years worth of miles on it in a single go. John has cris-crossed the country before, but it was my first time "in the middle" of the US. I usually stick to the coasts. It was really interesting, and hot as hell, and I miraculously did not fall asleep at the wheel.

Our first stop was Boulder, where we stayed with James and Christy. They have a really nice townhouse that butts right up to a mountain- which we climbed (see green arrow). I was impressed with us. :)

Lots of chipmunks at the top of the mountain

Volvo across America! (Part I)

John and I took 2 weeks off in June. We spent 6 days in Chicago, where we celebrated John's 30th birthday with a big BBQ at Beth and Tom's house. Lots of his relatives from Dubuque, IA. came, and Mike Dorenfeld made a surprise appearance all the way from New York City. Lots of fun!

We went to Lincoln Park zoo with nieces Linnea, Caroline, Hannah and Emma.

Linnea is adorable, but don't be fooled by her cuteness, she can be stubborn as hell. Especially when you're trying to make her put different shoes on.

We watched niece Nicole doing TaeKwonDo- apparently she is the best kicker in the class!

All of the kids- Nicole, Emma, Hannah, Alexander, Caroline, Linnea

The most fun was probably when John and I biked the entire Lake Michigan shoreline in Chicago. My favorite sight was "the bean".

spitting face fountain was fun too

archives of knitting

These are some selected items I have knit over the past few years (sort of a knitting highlights reel).

This baby kimono-style sweater was for Erin's new baby, Kennedy (born July 2007). Many pictures of Kennedy will be coming soon!

These stuffed piggies are also for baby Kennedy.

This blue hoodie from Debbie Bliss was for nephew Alexander. Its too big now, but will hopefully fit in time for Swedish winter.

This is a fairisle scandinavian-esque hat I knit for niece Linnea. Probably the trickiest thing I've made so far.

This stuffed sea turtle is for Mike and Jessica's new baby, Marc (born July 2007). Its sort of a souvenier of our Hawaii trip in january, when the baby was first announced.

For myself I made a silly orange hat with gathered top.

This hooded sweatshirt was the first sweater I ever attempted. It is from the Yarn Girls guide to simple knits.

John, sporting the Leo sweater (pattern from knitty). I made it from knitpicks Andean treasure- so soft, and warm.

A felted book bag for my Mom (if your name is Matt Welch, do not look below)

my handsome guy, Ernie

I guess I should introduce the "pitty"* that is referenced in this blog title. Here is Ernie, who was adopted 6 years and 3 weeks ago. Time flies! Just look at his distinguished, gray muzzle. He is turning into such an old man.

* Note: Ironically, I usually hate the word pitty, I think it sounds super cutesy (I prefer pitbull, or American Pitbull terrier). But for some reason I'm using pitty in this blog. Go figure.





My Grandma and Ernie are best buds!



He may be getting old, but he still has mad hops. Although back in his heyday he could easily jump above John's head.

Hawaii in April

OK, I'm going to have to start posting my backlog of photos to get this blog up to date. These are from our Houseboat Hawaii (no boat included) trip in April. And since I haven't seen the sun in 3 weeks out here in the Sunset, I wish I was back there!

We stayed in military housing- so luxurious! But for about $2 per person per night, you can't beat the price!

Here are a few pictures from our day trips, hiking in the rain forest and visiting a Buddhist temple.



Look, John is holding the moon.