moody monday

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Jen

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Emma and I are moody.

When feeling under the weather (on the eve of a birthday)…make candy!

Emma wants some …

( See her nose? )

Honestly, I have not gone on a candy-making jag in years. I used no recipe, just tossed ingredients ( about a cup of org. sugar, a bit more than half cube of salted butter, a glob of corn syrup, and a dash of cream) in a small saucepan over a low flame while cold-water testing until it was right. Poored in a buttered pyrex dish over a bed of chopped toasted almonds, then sprinkled more on top. I ate a ton of it, it shook off the blues, and then I felt better.

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Oh, and knit something really amazing !!! Anyway, the rest of it is just cozy, dark drizzling dank gorgeous wintery day, while drinking coffee, munching butter toffee and knitting. I will be home in my hermitage for the week just working on forthcoming design. 🙂

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Christmas tidings…

Posted on December 25, 2016 by Jen

Wool Man

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On this cool and very quiet Christmas day, after a hike to the peak…

all the best wintery wishes from The Wool Man…

Emma & Me to you!

The events of the day…

Posted on November 7, 2016 by Jen

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Emma has gotten herself somehow mysteriously injured, and has been hobbling about for a day and a half. I suspect she may have slipped and fallen on the stairs while we were away at a neighbor’s for dinner on Saturday, because Sunday she just could not move hardly at all. Today she is a little better, at least been able to walk a little ways although very stiff and sore, far beyond her normal senior-dog arthritis.

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Emma sleeps in our bedroom upstairs, but in recent months she has been getting very unsure of herself on the stairs and has been needing help up and down because of the slippery hard-wood surface. Last weekend I cut up a big old rug for the turning area of the stairs, which helped a lot for that was where she was slipping the most, but the straight sections were still needing to be covered–insert Emma’s injury Saturday evening. So Sunday morning I went into town and I bought a smattering of small throw rugs, sewed them end-to-end to make runners, cut more rug matting, and created a patchwork of rugs on the whole stairway, which is now very cluttered, and a bit odd, but no longer slippery.

I was so worried last night I slept on the couch downstairs next to her to give her moral support, and joy of joys, today she is much better and at least able to walk around a little outside but won’t be able to climb the stairs for a while yet. Wish her well, she’s looking up, and I’ll give her a good pet from all of you.

Knitting Track News: I have measured with this wheel the feet distance of the whole knitting track. The actual ‘track’ is a sloppy figure-eight looping through woods very near our house, total of 1448 feet. Not a big deal, I know , but as the track itself is over 1/4 mile around, so three times around the track plus the walk to and from the track is 1 mile…. and folks, that is not nothing ! 5x is 1.5 miles, 7x is 2 miles, you get the idea. Just think of the knitting I can accomplish while working up a sweat!

144 finished feet done & dusted, about 1300 feet to go. I did about 60 feet just today, and I’m tired! For now it may seem perpetually under construction, but one day I will be finished and it will be a great accomplishment !!

See my recent post How To Make A Knitting Trail ,

or all knitting trail & knitting-while-walking related posts HERE.

Knitting In The Wild

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Jen

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We have been walking through the morning hours of Autumn. Miles of yarn and prints of dog paws, and shoes, side by side. More chaotically spaced actually, mine straight forward, destination ahead, focused on the rounds of lace, of sleeves, of precious warm cardigans, and Emma’s prints with her own agenda, as the wild life is speaking to her and new smells are exciting her in zig-zag directions and renewed vigor giving her incentive to come up to the peak with me these days.

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Our walks journey through Autumn, with the arrival of rain, we seem to be experiencing a gradual awakening of our dormant selves, as is with the succulent green mosses everywhere … our joy of joys.

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To the peak we have walked a few times this Autumn already. On the ridge right before the peak, like a comfortable old bed, there is a soft pine needle layer from an eerie forest of stick-like old trees composting on the jutting toothy rock beneath … it is so dreamy to walk through, I just had to hang my knitting on it and be silly.

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Everything is in its place, and life is good.

Fields of Gold

Posted on October 2, 2016 by Jen

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Went out for a lovely knitting walk in the late afternoon today, and caught the golden fields at their height and most fragrant as the rain has come, and it won’t be long before they become dull and brown and beaten down by the strong winds up here on the ridge.

Leaves falling along one of our newer trails, a shortcut home through the edge of black oak woods (can you see the sticks ahead which mark the path?). Emma and I have really upped our game, and are walking religiously since day one of Autumn , and I’m knitting bunches as we walk. Grateful that Autumn has greeted us with some cool weather and…. did I mention that it rained last night? Everything is in its place, and life is good.

Equinox Walk

Posted on September 22, 2016 by Jen

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Happy Autumn Equinox everyone! It is in recent years, my favorite day of the year. This morning the equinox occurred at 7:21 in the morning, and I planned to get to my secret knitting spot on one of my trails, overlooking a vineyard and hazy Mt Diablo in the distance, only about a ten-minute walk from my door at the most. Here are some more photos of our little early morning walk out to greet the new season…

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Emma enjoyed the scent of the fresh wildlife tracks from the night, and I enjoyed the brilliant angled light fuzzing through the trees. We then reached our secret spot on time, about 7:20, here standing on the big stump of a very large fir, gives a wonderful vantage point of the area we live in.

The light at sunrise had an amber glow and the air is cool. I thoroughly love this little loop in the woods next to my house, at first light. Tomorrow and often in the days following, I think I will come here to greet the sunrise and feel Autumn’s transitory beauty. Perhaps a thermos of tea and sit on the stump here, knit, and thoroughly enjoy the season as the leaves slowly turn.

I also have a little new knitting going on, but I won’t give details for another week or so…

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Enjoy your first-day-of-Autumn and happy knitting!

Mid August

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Jen

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August is such a stale time of the year. No cool breezes, no moisture, perpetual aqua blue skies, and a lot of anxiety about wildfire. The grasses stand crisp and golden, and so picturesque, but really it is just in suspended limbo until the rain comes, there in the bleaching hot sun day after day while even the moss in the forest turns brownish and, like the grasses, is frozen in lifelessness for months.

Mid August is even more stale than when the month arrived, and by the end of the month I am usually quite fried, dreaming of verdant countrysides in far off lands.

I have been thinking about my knitting trail, and ideas. So far it’s just staked out and haven’t walked it very much, but I need a grand plan, and I need ideas. I was hoping for some from you readers.

Now I will make myself a fresh iced coffee and wait for a little conversation to begin…

Emma is Eleven

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Jen

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Today is Emma’s eleventh birthday.

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We had home-made tamales, chocolate cake & icecream, and we can bake Emma her own dog biscuits now because we have a biscuit form, doggie cookbook and biscuit mix too!

And …

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. . . there’s a new squeaking raccoon toy to torture!

We went for our traditional walk after the party was over, but Emma and I were too tired to go far. I followed her out into the woods….

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Then she stopped a while,

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and we both decided to go back home and play with her new toys and take a long nap!

Winter Solstice

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Jen

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Today, out for a short walk to photograph the shortest day of the year !

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We hope your Winter Solstice is a happy contemplation, with Christmas & New Year so near. I did manage to finish ALL my gift-making, a list too long to mention, but I’m quite proud its finished. And now, I am off to do some cheerful decorating & gift wrapping!

Making (2)

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Jen

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Emma has been so very patient, chillin’ out while I’ve been a Making Maniac. We haven’t been doing much walking in recent days because I am seriously preoccupied, and besides, it’s been raining a lot lately too. I just want all the gifts made and then I can enjoy myself, and the sooner the better!

The latest is something I promised somebody closely related (I won’t say who, or the surprise may be ruined) I’ve been working on this stocking for 3 days, totally improvising as I go ~ pretty interesting heel turn huh?

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Felted it partially this morning, and here it is, still quite damp. Well, that is us here, filling the days with cheer of making. It just doesn’t get better than that, and I hope you’re all having a magical December !

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November Chill

Posted on November 21, 2015 by Jen

jenjoycedesign© Autum Landscapes Early this morning I walked to my secret hidden knitting spot which from a neighboring high mountain vineyard overlooks a landscape of beautiful mountain ridges. I caught the sun illuminating the gold on vines, and maple trees, a lovely sight which always takes my breath away. Oh look! Hot air balloons making their way from the valley floor up the side of the mountain!

This morning, I managed to get a shrouded view of the majestic Mt Diablo in the background. Can you see it there, in the foggy atmosphere?

This one is from yesterday morning, with the rather strikingly deco-esque water tank. . .

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The forested paths seem to sparkle now with golden leaves falling from the trees to the ground, I just love to knit while wandering over these paths which meander through the rustic forest.

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The chill of Autumn has begun to take hold. We’ve had some rain with more on the way, and the landscape is now turning shades of gold-to-crimson… and with shy sprouts of grasses coming up! These weeks have been busy for me, as I’ve managed to make a string of six new patterns in a relatively short space~~ Altitude Cowls and Mitts (the last being the Twist Mitts)

Its time for walks shuffling through rustling leaves, fires in the wood-stove, and the kettle whistling as mugs are filled and sipped throughout the day ((my new favorite is fresh ginger tea!)) . . . and of course knitting till the cows come home for holiday gifts. Being already past mid-November there are only a short five weeks left to this year, but I am working steady on the designing as well as keeping a firm hold on the homestead.

Hoping lots of merriment to you this coming Thanksgiving Holiday!

Ridges . . .

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Jen

I have managed in an all-out flurry to design & knit these Ridges mitts!

An addition to Altitude Ridges Cowl, Ridges Mitts are pretty monumental in that they set precedent for additional hand accessories for two remaining of All Three Cowls.

These cowls & mitts are designs I am really working hard to put together in time for holiday knitting ~~ so feel free to check out the pattern on Yarnings HERE or on Ravelry HERE.

So now I’ll leave you with lots of photos from our hike up to the peak this morning. This photo taken from my latest secret rock outcropping near the peak, facing northerly and overlooking from the ridge in the direction of middle Napa Valley (around Yountville & Oakville)

On the way down from the peak, this panorama overlooking southerly at distant San Francisco Bay Area (left of center) and Mt. Tamalpais (right of center) . . . and if you look closely. . .

you’ll see buildings rising up through fog, behind the distorted mirage-like zoom view over the bay and marsh land , and you can see the city of San Francisco itself which is about 50 miles away by crow.

Beyond that, Autumn is picking up it’s pace here, and getting the first real blustery cold day for the mountain. Emma and I have been walking a lot more mornings in the week to the peak, and enjoying ourselves thoroughly.

Oh , I forgot to mention, the first photo at the top of post right at the start of hike, looking South East in the direction of Mt. Diablo (the double-crested mountains) Of course, the purpose of this morning’s photo-hike was to capture my local ridges to accompany latest pattern ~ Altitude Ridges Mitts !

The Perfect Morning!

Posted on October 6, 2015 by Jen

Its a beautiful day! The temperature cool, skies clear, and Emma and I had a good trail blaze this morning, finding new pathways and walking old ones. We’ve walked every single day this Autumn, and are very much on track, but just a little tired & aching too. Back home to open up the doors and windows and let the smooth fresh Autumn air billow out the rafters ! Then I thought to get busy in the kitchen with my latest idea of potted brulee. But first some tea. . .

I have been on a preserving kick lately, mostly with apple butter and small-batch jams but I have been thinking about ‘preserved’ custardy things … just little yummy things in jars, like brulees, rice or tapioca pudding, like just pop the lid off and have something amazing & home-made sort of thing. Yesterday I ran into town to buy a case of 1/2 cup little canning jars, and so I finally got busy with steam baths and sterilizing jars and a good measure of inventiveness from a standard vanilla bean brulee recipe. My idea was to cook the little custards in steamy water bath (with loose lids) for about 25 minutes, then when done, take them out and tighten lids immediately, like you do with jars of jam. There’s no sweeter kitchen sound than the ‘ping’ of canning lids cooling with their vacuum tight seal. Oh but I did leave one for tasting !

After cooled I figure to keep them in the fridge, but will have a hugely longer shelf life as well as (I’m hoping) to maintain the freshness of ‘just made’ brulee. Well, that’s my latest experiment in any case. I can hear it begging to be slathered in home-made berry preserve. Can’t you? Or a sprinkle of raw sugar crystals caramelized with a brulee torch. Because lets face it, nothing is better. Well, at least nothing comes to mind at the moment, especially now that morning has become noon, and I’m hungry!

Gone Wild

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Jen

At the peak

It has been a lovely morning up here on the mountain. Fog at sunrise, cool, crisp, breathing freshness into an otherwise stagnant stillness of our drying Northern California landscape. I feel as if my life has evolved into a new level of wild, as the days are punctuated mostly by the wildlife, or occasional trips into town, and the coming and going of ‘the man’. Summer brings chickadees and hornets and straggling tough kinds of wildflowers, but mostly a platinum landscape of dry grasses, and oppressive stickery burrs along the trails which are a true pain to have to endure picking off of one’s self, and one’s dog’s fur. No wonder we have been lazy lately.

The dog and I decided to adventure up & out this morning, and so after weeks upon weeks of very little walking, we made it to the top. Once near the top on the sharp and narrow knife-edge, the actual geological ridge cresting at a width of barely six feet wide in sections, and covered in young knobcone pines, makes a lovely path to follow….

A cliff drop to the east is Napa Valley, and a rolling descent to the west is Sonoma Valley, and from up here one can nearly feel the mountain’s spirit, as if the rock is slowly cutting through centimeter by centimeter, not stagnant but alive, with an energy about it which is luring, beckoning one to get the reward of being at the top. It is a special place the peak, at 2600 feet, and it really is almost less than a half-hour walk from our house if we hoof it, so we vowed to each other to get our lazy selves up there a lot more than we have, Emma and me.

Back at home, deliciously overcast clouds, and a breeze kicking up. While Emma continues her napping, I’m at the drawing board again on a new design, its endless calculations, and with delicious cup of coffee.

I’ll leave you with a little slideshow of nice shots from our walk, and wish you all well until next time…

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Emma Is Ten

Posted on May 2, 2015 by Jen

Emma is ten today, and she’s had a BIG day. Two walks ((it is tradition that we follow her on her birthday, wherever she wants to go, within limits of course)), broken up by unwrapping presents and having a doggie birthday cake, and right now she is quite tired, sleeping on the rug while I post the photos. Here she is opening her birthday present ~~ Mr Squirrel !

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People!!! Ya gotta help me !!! I’m being slobbered to death by a German Shepherd who’s been squeeking me for hours (in squirrel time, that is days) with no end in sight….HELP!!!

(( wait… shhh…. she seems to be falling asleep , I gotta make my escape !!!)))