Today is one of my days off this week. The beginning of the month, I changed my work schedule. I now usually work 3 to 3 1/2 days a week, but 12 hour days. This lets me be home a bit more with the kids. It's amazing how much this has helped my mommy guilt. I still wish I could be home more, but this is a start.

The puppy is settling in nicely. Settling into our bed, that is. I think the second night here, I couldn't stand the whining and crying coming from her crate, so she now has found a perfect spot snuggled up between G and I. If I can't listen to a puppy cry, is it any wonder that our kids still sleep with us most nights? I'm sure it's quite the picture. Mom, Dad, Catie, Jack, Annie, sometimes one of the other dogs, and maybe a cat all in bed in the mornings. Good thing we bought that king sized bed last fall! And I learned something new about dogs last week. Apparently, they can pass out after shots. Yup. G took her to get her immunizations, and after her shots, she was out cold. I shouldn't get such a kick out of that, but I do.

And in knitting news, I've been doing a fair amount. I think I've finally mastered continental knitting. It's becoming much faster and efficient for me. I still struggle some with tension, especially when purling, but it is now my preferred method. Knitting stockinette in the round is my absolute favorite thing to do! Sad, but true. I get all excited about just knitting around and around, holding the yarn in my left hand.

Here's a couple of hats I've finished lately. The first is from a kit I bought at the Nestucca Bay Yarn retreat last fall.

The second is a hat I made for George. It was one of my first full continental projects. The brown is some of the first yarn I spun. If you look close, you can see some giant slubs, as well as some parts that are way overspun. The beige is some Peace Fleece I've had sitting around. It's quite a "rustic" hat. But I love it.


Head over to Ravelry for stats on both.

There's been a bit more knitting as well. And some crocheting. I hope to get pics up later this week. Have a great day.

Newest Family Member

Sometimes things take you by surprise. Thursday night a couple of our friends said they had gotten some puppies that were too much for them. Of course I'm a sucker for puppies. Herding dogs no less. So now we have a new puppy, as do my mom and dad. Here's Annie. She's an Australian Shepherd.

It's been awhile since I've had a puppy. Way fun. But, boy does she like to chew on stuff. I'd forgotten about that part.

Historical Day

I set the alarm on my pager today for 10:00 Mountain Time. I had read that would be the approximate time Barack Obama would be sworn in as our next president. In the middle of seeing a patient, the alarm went off, and I couldn't help but smile. I just watched his speech online tonight, and was inspired yet again. When Obama was in Boise last year, I went, and was amazed. I am thrilled today is here and wish him the best. He certainly is facing some challenges, but I'm confident in his ability to meet them head on.

The images of the National Monument Mall were amazing. I can't imagine the energy and electricity that must have been in that crowd. I would have loved to have been there to experience it firsthand. Even watching the video gave me chills. Today is a good day to be an American.

Amazing 48 hours

Shhh....I'm blogging from my desk at work. In my defense, though, it is 5:12 pm, and I'm done seeing patients. Only the paperwork looms. I just had to share the utter awesome-ness (is that really a word?) of the last couple days.

1. Met with a builder.
2. Loved the builder.
3. Found out we'll need a lot less down on the construction loan that we had planned, so we'll be able to break ground sooner.
4. Work is ready for me to trial a flexible schedule...basically working fewer days, but somewhat longer hours when I am at work. The end result, though, will be more time/days at home with the kids.
5. Learned that I'll be able to buy a share in my office building, an incredible investment.
6. Got a good night's sleep for the first time in days.
7. Catie stayed in her bed all night, hence #6.
8. Finished the I-cord border on Catie's Tulip sweater.
9. Heard Jack put a two words together for the first time!
10. Tonight we're eating G's version of the Zuppa Toscana soup from Olive Garden. Yum.

Life is good. Finally.

Happy New Year

Remember when New Year's Eve was a REALLY big deal? Back then, I thought about New Year's Eve for weeks...what would I do, where would I go, would I kiss someone at midnight? Now, I'm totally and completely content to spend the night at home, curled up under a blanket, knitting and a good book as a companion. Maybe I'll be awake at midnight to give G a smooch. Maybe not. I've turned into an old lady. And I'm totally at peace with that. The past few days, I've been reflecting on the year, and looking forward to 2009. So now you all get to hear about it.

2008 was a mixed bag for me. Gesa's death has affected me more profoundly that I had anticipated. It was by far the defining event of this year. I've been thinking alot about her this week. I've had several friends and family members pass away, but this has been the one that has been the biggest struggle for me. I guess it's because she was such a large part of both my personal AND professional life. I know it won't go away anytime soon, but I'm hoping putting 2008 behind will help. Wishful thinking, I'm sure.

On a bigger and better note, 2008 had some high points as well. It was the year we paid off our credit cards (a substantial amount, unfortunately), and bought the farmland. It was the year of the Alaskan cruise. And in knitting, the year I learned to do Fair Isle (and fell in love with it). Family life was good as well. The kids are getting more and more fun with each passing day. More of their individual personalities are showing, and it's so fun and fulfilling to watch.

2009 is looking good so far. We're meeting with a couple of builders over the next couple of weeks to discuss our plans for the new house. It looks like I'll make it to Rhinebeck. More debts will be paid down, or even off. I still have a lot of improvements to make, but really, life is looking pretty damn good right now. But of course, there's the obligatory New Year's Resolutions.

So, here goes:
1. Lose weight (yup, make this one every year...but this year will be different.)
2. Exercise consistently
3. Grow more of our own food
4. Simplify our lives and our stuff
5. Read more...I joined a group on ravelry with the goal of 52 books in 52 weeks.
6. Get up earlier each morning (maybe I'll use that time to work on #2).
7. Work more towards becoming debt free
8. Recycle
9. Works towards living in the moment
10. Blog more

Thinking back, I probably made some of these last year as well. Further proof I have a ways to go. But we're all works in progress, right?

I hope you all have a wonderful and happy New Year. Kiss someone at midnight. Or get some good sleep. Here's to new beginnings.

6 random things

I was tagged by Jess for 6 random things, so here goes:

Here's how it works:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Six Random things about me:

1. I LOVE washing dishes by hand. Seriously, I LOVE it. To the point that sometimes I wish we didn't have a dishwasher. But George disagrees, so we still have one.

2. I am terrified of mice.

3. When I was little, I had an imaginary friend named Susabelle. Anytime anything bad happened, she was always to blame.

4. When I was in medical school in St. Louis and really homesick, the thing I missed most was the smell of sagebrush.

5. I think Diet Coke is the nectar of the gods.

6. Tonight I played CLUE for the first time in probably 20 years, and had a blast.

Next up...I'd like to tag

Kim
Erica
Carolyn
Angela
Lorette
Theresa

Have a great Monday.

Finally!

Months and months ago we started negotiating to buy some farm land. After some re-nogiatating and lots and lots of paperwork, I'm thrilled to announce...IT'S OURS!

We now own 25 acres of land in Homedale. The top of the hill has views of both the Owyhee mountains as well as the Snake River. There's then a slope, and corrals on the bottom, with a spring that runs most of the year. We're hoping to start building a home a year or so from now, with the goal that it will be done by the time Catie starts kindergarten, so she can just start in Homedale and not have to switch schools.

Right now the top of the hill is pretty good pasture grass. The hill and low areas need quite a bit of work and re-seeding, plus we need to figure out irrigation. But we are beyond excited. I'm hoping to have an intensive grazing system for beef cattle and fiber critters (definitely more sheep and maybe a few more alpacas). Plus I'll finally get my chickens. I'd love to someday have a market garden, but that's far in the future from now. We've signed up for a course through the extension office called Living on the Land, and I think we'll get tons of great info from that.

Here's a view from the top of the hill. We'd like to put the house out from where this picture was taken...looking east over the river.

This is what I've been working toward for years, and am a little floored that it's finally happening. Now we need to come up with a name for our farm. Right now I'm leaning towards Riverview Farm and Fibers. Any other suggestions?