Happy New Year, considerably late. I've been back from Oregon for a few days, but not in front of the computer.

In short, it rained every day we were in Oregon, and we didn't see the sun until we had been back in California for over 24 hours. I finished Duane's scarf, and cast on a pair of woolen socks for Tom on size 0 needles. I remembered the pattern for the scarf I accidentally left behind in Oregon on my last trip, so I was able to start that up again. It's Sea Lettuce, by Lucy Neatby. My back was out for 2 days of the 10 we were gone, but I still had fun.

We caught the annual docent's appreciation dinner on the way home. I got my 1,000 hour pin. I found out that my scarves are popular auction items, almost status symbols, so I'll want to make a few more to donate this year. The dinner was terrific, a pot luck supplemented with Santa Maria-style barbecued tri-tip donated by Linn's, a good restaurant in Cambria.

Since the socks I'm working on are both in a very fine gauge, I decided to cast on something quick and simple today. I brought a bag of bulky yarn from stash, thinking I could get a couple of scarves out of it. When I determined that I had enough for a sweater, I put it back, and cast on with some laceweight mohair on size 5 needles. Simple, yes. Quick, no. I knit all day, and have a scarf-beginning of 5 inches.