More Hipps Than You Can Shake a Stick (or a Needle) At

The Hipp parents and sister were in town last week. We had a great time with them and got to see some things around Southern California that have been on our to-do list for ages.

We all did a 5K walk/run to celebrate the 4th of July. I finished somewhere between 33 and 38 minutes (I didn't time myself exactly); not bad for someone who sits all day at work, then sits at home knitting (or reading blogs) afterwards. We spent some time hanging out on the beach, playing golf, and eating like there's no tomorrow. It was a great vacation and one I sorely needed after an endless parade of outbreaks at work.

Some time was taken from the general gluttony to visit the Getty Center and my dear alma mater, UCLA (go Bruins!). The Getty Center rocks. It is breathtakingly beautiful. But make sure you bring sunglasses...that white travertine is bright with a capital B.



I pulled a tendon in my foot during the 5K, so after hobbling through the Getty architectural tour and a few exhibits, I skipped the garden tour (sigh), propped my foot on a chair, and set a spell by a fountain to knit. I managed to complete the toe finished on sock #2 for my Sockapalooza 4 pal before feeling ready to limp to some fine art.

Yup, that means sock #1 is done! I ended up redoing the entire cuff in 1X1 rib; I think it will help hold the sock up a little better. Linda at Happy Sticks commented that her Roza Socks don't stay up as well as she would like, so I wanted to give it a little extra lift. Does 1X1 rib grip better than 3X3 rib? I'm not totally sure, but it seems like it would.


UCLA was more beautiful than I remembered. Much of the construction that was ongoing during my time there is complete. Powell Library was getting retrofitted for earthquake protection during my first year, and we had a temporary tent-like library that was christened the Towell (temporary Powell, get it?). When Powell was finished, it became a good place to study and, thanks to the cushy leather chairs and hidden desks in the book stacks, a good place to take a nap between classes.


My foot still hurt, but I had such fun poking around North Campus that I barely had time to defend myself against the Bruin Bear that tried to attack me.

I survived. But just barely. I used my knitting needles to poke it in the eye. It's back to work for me. Have a great week!