A year and a day

G'day all!

This time last year, we were bemused and confused. Our grand trip across Canada had ended and we had just flown in to SJ airport.

We have been in California for a year and a day (it's a leap year). 366 days in California.

How has it been?

All over the shop like a madwoman's you-know-what!

You can read more about it on my other blog.

I have now lived in three different places in my life. By that I mean I've had an address for mail and stuff, a place where I live rather than stay for a little while. Those places are Melbourne (Oz), Fort Collins (Colo) and Campbell (Calif). In their own ways, each has been special. Fort Collins will be a place I'll always remember, and possibly the memories will be better because we didn't spend a winter there ;-)

In honour of this great occasion, I announce a contest!

In the comments, tell me two places you have lived (one place if you have always lived there!) and a place where you would love to live (and why you would love to live there). Contest closes 8 January 2009 at midnight PST.

The prize? Any skein of yarn under USD25 on my Etsy shop. (If the yarn comes as a pair of skeins, I call that one skein - enough for two socks. I wouldn't make others do what I like to have - singleton socks, though in my last post you will see all socks knitted this year had a mate of sorts in the same colourway! Also, the nuno-felted scarves are off the list of goodies to be won.)

I remembered I had not blogged a last minute giftie. Pray excuse the fuzzy pics - the camera just would not focus on it. I have one clear pic out of about 20 and that pic doesn't show much of the hat. LOL

fo_pikespeak
I call it "Pike's Peak" for one of the highest mountains in Colorado.

fo_pikespeak_off
It's sorta pointy off the head.

I knitted it from the top down using my turkish cast on and handspun yarn from a CVM/romeldale sheep called Lulu. If anyone is interested, I'll re-create the pattern. I can't looka t the original cos it should be in Colorado (I hope!). It is good for hats with an unknown amount of yarn - no getting 95% of the way up and running out of yarn! Nope, you get 95% the way down and run out of yarn.

I might not get all the finishing done on the shop baby jacket by tomorrow. I have half a sleeve to go yet then some i-cord for the closure (a tie). Plus we are going to get in the car and go driving Some Place Else for a few days, so I might not be around much.

4thjulyheart
Wishing you and yours a wonderful New Year full of dreams and gentle realities.

anon!

Comments

  1. Anonymous1:43 am

    I grew up in Noorat, a small town in Victoria Australia. After various city dwellings, I came to Little River, also a small town, and I love it!!
    The only place that might be better would be to live close to the ocean ... maybe near Apollo Bay with the magnificent Otways at my door step.

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  2. Anonymous1:46 am

    The last comment is not meant to be anonymous ... the computer took over and posted anyway!!!!!!!!!

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  3. I grew up near Louth,72 miles from Bourke on the Darling River,after several moves Im now in Kambalda WA and I would like to live permanently Manjimup( I think thats how its spelt). A small farm to grow my own produce organically ,a couple of sheep for Fibre),a milk cow,because it gets cold enough to make use of those handspun/knitted goods and it doesnt get too hot with enough rain to keep things green.
    Hows that?
    Oh and Happy New Year ,enjoy your Road Trip!!!

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  4. Great hat!

    Happy New Year! Congrats on a year and a day. I'm going sort of general on where I've lived, because some of the places don't have names anyway and there were a lot of them. Connecticut - we lived in a little house on the coast, this is the house of my earliest childhood and I remember it really really fondly. Texas - where I live now, went to college (in a different town), got my first job after college (in a different town from that), etc. Where would I like to live? Chris and I have our sights on a flat in Firenze, Italy. Sort of where my ancestors (Paternal side) came from, they lived in the country, but we do that now and I suspect I might like to live in a city for a bit.

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  5. Happy New Year!

    I've only really lived in this area (Fylde coast, Lancashire, England), with a permanent address, although I lived just outside Windsor for 3 years while at Uni.

    I'd quite like to live in North Yorkshire though!

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  6. Three places for me, born and raised in N.Ireland. Moved to NB Canada and have now spent more than half my life here. I also spent 2 years in Prince Edward Island while at college.......... I like NB!

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  7. I've lived in 3 different towns myself, all in the same state. My current town (which I don't post on the net), Elmwood Park and New Brunswick (for college).

    I wish you a very happy and healthy!

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  8. Happy New Year to you and yours Lynne. I recently realized that I have lived in Los Gatos longer than any other place in my life, and in this house longer than any other house in my life. It's funny that I came out here for a 2-year contract and yet it seems to be the place where I have taken root.

    Congratulations on a year and a day. My parents sent me flowers on my 10th year anniversary in the USA and it seemed such a nice idea!

    I won't enter the contest - but I lived in lots of places in the UK - from Liverpool in the North West, to the Isle of Wight in the South, ending up in the London outskirts before I came here. I loved living in London, but I would not like to go back there again to live - but then my circs have changed so significantly since then (children!). I think I'm here in LG for keeps now!

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  9. i lived in ord,nebraska (out in the middle of the state)and omaha, ne (biggest city in omaha).

    i would love tolive in north carolina, preferrably near the coast.

    i t hink where my brother lives would be too hotin the summer (savannah georgia, area)

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  10. Anonymous6:22 pm

    What is strange is that your hat is pointy by itself, but not on your head. And your head is not pointy. Very strange!!!

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  11. Anonymous11:28 pm

    That's a great hat!

    Two places I have lived - Vicenza, Italy and Largo, Florida. (And many more. I've never lived anywhere longer than 4 years.)

    A place I would love to live - right now, I have to say Ft. Carson, CO. We have to move this summer and are waiting for DH's military orders. That was our first choice, so fingers crossed that we get it and don't end up someplace awful.

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  12. Happy new year!

    Two places I've lived are Saskatoon (SK) and Prince George (BC). I don't have a specific town in mind, but I'd like to live in the Yukon someday because a friend of mine has told me a lot about it.

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  13. Happy New Year Lynne!

    Lets see, I've only lived in a few places as well. Toronto for the past 10 years and Ottawa before that. I'd love to live on the East coast at some point, either in Nova Scotia, PEI or Newfoundland, although I worry that the amount of cloudiness and fogginess would get to me after a bit!

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  14. Anonymous4:53 pm

    Hmm... I've lived near Boston (twice) and grew up north of Chicago. We love living in SF, but if given a choice, I'd like to spend some time in the UK - either near London or Cardiff.

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  15. I've mostly lived all over New England - Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. I had a couple of years in Wales for boarding school, which I loved. And now I'm trying to get used to my new and very, very different life in Phoenix.

    If I had my choice, I would go back to Vermont. Like many knitters, I have in mind a little dream farm ...

    p.s. I've posted about your contest on WiKnit, my knitting contest blog

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  16. I found your contest through WiKnit.

    I grew up in Texas, and currently live in Mississippi. A place I'd like to live is Alaska, though I'm not so sure I could handle the cold!

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  17. I was born in Brunei, and came to Vancouver when I was 8 years old. I've also done a co-op term in Alberta, but that was only for 4 months, so I'm not sure it really counts.

    And where I'd like to live someday is Adelaide, Australia. My cousins are all there, and we visited on our honeymoon. It's so lovely there, plus it's in the middle of wine country.

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  18. I have lived in NJ, VA, Morocco, Rhode Island, Puerto Rico, and Maine. I would have to say even with all the cold weather, mud season, black fly season, etc. Maine is the prettiest place I have ever lived and the best place to raise children and grandchildren!

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  19. I've lived in:
    Rutland, VT
    Leominster, MA
    Becket, MA
    Parkersburg, WV
    Vincent, OH,
    Guilderland, NY
    Davidson, NC
    Stockholm, Sweden

    (not necessarily in that order) *grins* We moved around a lot when I was a kid. Now that I'm a college student, there's only two places I move from each year- sometimes I feel like a nomad!

    One place I'd like to live is on a beach somewhere. Or near one. I've never lived by a big body of water, and I'd love to!

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  20. I'm a native of San Francisco and never lived anywhere else for more than 3 yrs. And that was just acroos the Golden Gate bridge in Marin. By the time I was 19 I'd lived in 8 apartments or houses. Since then, 1 apt. for 33 years. Someday I plan to settle down. Congrats on joining us here in CA, we're glad to have ya! I learned about your contest from WiKnit and will post to my blog.

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  21. I've lived in New York City and a small town in New Jersey. There is no comparison. I loved living in NY - everything was there. I lived there as a child and also an adult. Other than moving back to NY, the only other place that sounds good to me is San Francisco.

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  22. I've lived in Ocean City, NJ and Orlando, FL. But I want nothing more than to live in Managua, Nicaragua by this summer. :)

    http://hellopapaya.blogspot.com

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  23. I've lived in a small town in Minnesota and in a suburb of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. I would love to live in Hawaii (or anywhere warm and sunny year round!).

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  24. There are a lot of miles between San Francisco, where I grew up and New Jersey, where I live now. Highlights include 5 years in La Jolla, 1.5 years in London and 10 years in Jerusalem.

    Under the right (and right in a very narrow definition) circumstances I would love to live in Seattle.

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  25. I've lived in New York and also Philadelphia. I couldn't believe how provincial Philadelphia was when I moved there. As soon as I finished graduate school I moved right back to NY.

    Where else would I like to live? Not where I'm living now, to be honest, maybe Seattle?

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  26. I was born in Price, Utah and seem to have been on the move ever since. So the two places I will list will be Bell, CA and Glasgow, KY. The place I would like to live most is anywhere on the intercostals water way in North Carolina.

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  27. Congrats on passing your first year! That is usally the time it takes to get to know the lay of the land...learn where some good places are to go, etc.

    Two places i have lived, Ferrisburg VT, we lived on a small dairy farm there. Ewa Beach , Hawaii, we lived there for 13 years and loved it, my daughter considers that home as she grew up there. I would love to live somewhere in rural ireland, a dream i know but would love it!

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  28. Anonymous8:32 pm

    I'm a student and I've only lived in two places so far - New Jersey where I grew up and now in Providence, RI where I go to school.

    I'll be graduating this year and am trying to think about where to live - maybe Boston or San Francisco. Or wherever I can get a job.

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  29. Happy new year! I live in Long Beach, CA and have lived in a bunch of other places in CA, Provincetown, MA, Dublin, Ireland (and would love to move back there), and London, England. I would like to try living in Alaska for a while.

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  30. I have lived in Ohio during college years, but am a Chicago Illinois Girl.

    I would love to live in a house that had an unobstructed west view so I could watch the sunset daily. Maybe in Wisconsin.

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  31. I'm so glad to see that there are others who have had relatively few living locations.

    I grew up in New York City, and went to college in upstate NY. I now live in a NY suburb. Boring, I suppose.

    I'd love to live on water sometime. Facing the ocean, a river, or a lake would be heaven for me.

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  32. What a wonderful hat!

    I live (currently) in Boulder, CO... and even though I swore I would never live in a drought state, I love it here - mountains, culture, hippies, yuppies, granola crunchers... it's all here. I also have lived in Chattanooga, TN... I loved the people there... so friendly and it had a small town feel even though it was quite large.

    If I had a dream location it would be Mexico - somewhere near Cozumel where I could run out and jump into the turquoise ocean and swim with the turtles. Ahhh, white sand beaches... tropical drinks... cabana boys.

    Cheers!

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  33. I'm so boring...I have only lived right here in SW Virginia where I was born, and if I lived anywhere else it would be in mountains of Western NC or Eastern TN...because it looks like home!

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  34. I've spent time in or traveled through 48 states, and lived in NY, NJ, VA, FL, AZ, WA, IA, OR, and PA. The Pacific Northwest is heaven on earth... mild climate, friendly people, gorgeous flora and fauna, and people can actually drive their vehicles! We are in PA now for my husband's residency and can't wait to return to Portland in May 2010. The only other place I'd want to live is the UK - London or York.

    Thanks for a great contest!

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  35. Two of the places I've lived in is Los Gatos, CA (Hello, neighbor!) and Annecy, France (my current location).

    When and if DH and I move back to the USA, I'd love to live in Portland. Why? Because Powell's Books resides there. :)

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  36. I grew up in New Jersey, went to college in Cambridge, MA, then lived in Philadelphia, and now I'm back in NJ. This is a relatively small radius isn't it?

    I'd like to live where there are mountains so that it would be easier to go hiking.

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  37. I've always lived in Minnesota, and now own a house on the street where I grew up. However during a study trip in college I spent a month living in Egypt, a month in India, a month in Hong Kong and a month in South Korea.
    I think that I might like to live in Colorado for a time. MN is a pretty flat place of meadows and forests. I wonder what living in the mountains would be like.

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  38. Thanks for all the entries! I'll do a proper follow up when I am over the worst of this dreadful cold. I think I'll go back to bed now....

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  39. I grew up in various parts of the Bay Area but have lived in other places since getting married including Tempe, AZ (near Phoenix) and Vancouver, WA (near Portland, OR). I'm back in CA since last year but in Southern CA which is new to me. I would love to live in Paris, France for the food, the culture, etc!

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  41. I have lived in the Panhandle of Texas virtually all my life.We lived in California(briefly) and Oklahoma.My favorite place we lived was on a small rural farm.I hated it at the time but now I can appreciate the simplicity of it.
    My dream place to live is Scotland.It is a gorgeous place with generous people and I love the accent.Plus I am a sucker for a man in a kilt!

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  42. happy new year! what a cute hat, too.

    i grew up in a suburb of jacksonville, FL, right on the coast, and i still maintain my legal residence there while i attend college in gainesville, FL.

    to be honest, my dream home is moving back to jax full time to be near my family, BF, and church home. this is going to become a reality soon since i graduate in may! WHOO-HOO. : )

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  43. I grew up in New York City, went to college in Philadelphia, and now live in between.

    Dream location - back in NYC overlooking the river.

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  44. Anonymous8:58 pm

    I'm a Jersey girl - I've lived here pretty much all my life.

    I think it would be great to live in London.

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  45. Anonymous10:17 pm

    I'm from VA and I've lived in 2 places--my parent's and my own home---same little town. This is the perfect place for me!!

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  46. I lived most of my life in Louisville KY, and moved around the midwest a bit (all over OH, and Chicago IL) but have now moved to Charleston, SC - and my hubby and I always talk about where to go next - I'd love to live in Europe for a while, Italy or Barcalona Spain if I knew the languages - otherwise I think San Fran would be wonderful too..
    ahhh the possibilities - that's the problem there are too many!

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  47. I'm originally from northern New Jersey. Two places that I have lived were Hamilton, New Zealand and Tucson, Arizona. Hamilton is a lovely, small city located on the north island of NZ. I highly recommend it :-) Tucson is another lovely, small city, and it's located between four mountain ranges! It's located about 45 minutes from the US/Mexican border.

    If I could live anywhere right now, I think it would be Tucson. I have a lot of family in the US (although they're on the east coast), and moving back to NZ would mean that I'd only see them every ten years. Moving to the other side of the country still allows me the opportunity to see them every year or two.

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  48. Hi! I grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. I now live In Houston, Alaska. Always somewhere cold... I think I would like to be a snow bird -someone who lives in Alaska in the summer and somewhere warm in the winter - like Hawaii. Probably just dreaming.... Thanks for the contest. Debbie

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  49. I was born, raised and gonna die here in CA! I'd love to live near the ocean though...

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  50. I have always lived in Montgomery County, NC, USA. I love it.

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  51. The place where I spent most of my life is South Strafford, Vermont, which combined with Strafford, Vermont makes up a town of about 900 people (at least when I lived there). The one school houses K-8 grades, an topped out at 125 kids while I was there - my 8th grade class had 9 people.
    Now, I live in Wynantskill, NY which is very near Albany, NY. I can't see Albany from my house, but we can hear the fireworks on July 4th and New Years. I have a wonderful view of a lake and mountains, and my kids go to a great school.

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  52. I've lived in a few places, but my favorite memories are in Okinawa and Misawa, Japan. Okinawa was the tropical island where I would catch lizards had banana trees in my backyard; Misawa was the northern land of ice and snow where I once built an igloo all by myself and was too proud for words (it doesn't take much to make an 8-year-old happy). Good times.

    Thanks for a fun contest! I am so hoping to win this one as a fellow Etsian and knitter.

    Aster.etsy.com

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  53. Thank you everyone for your entries in my contest. Sorry there could only be one winner, given the number of entries!
    Thanks also to Evergreenknits for getting the word out - now I have lots of new blogs to read :-)

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  54. I love the hat :) Sorry I missed the compy but I thought I'd participate any way.

    I've lived in Siena, Italy for a year and in Hampton (near Hampton Court Palace) for six years :)

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  55. Marion11:11 am

    Hi Lynne, My name is Marion and I live in Pascoe Vale, Melbourne. I am 72 (until the 1st July lol) After quite a long time I have started to crochet again and I am really enjoying it. I get most of my patterns on crochet sites and they are always in US terminology. Also the wool is not the same as ours and the size of the crochet hooks are different. I was going to crochet a hat for one of my grandchildren (I have 12) and the pattern said worsted yarn. If you have time in your busy life could you let me know the different wools compared to ours and also the hook sizes. I thought that worsted yarn was probably 8ply. I would be most grateful if you could do this for me. If you don't have time don't worry. Do you miss Oz? Thanks Lynne, Cheers, Marion

    P.S. I just happened to come across your site so now I will be checking in. Do you do any crochet work?

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