Tuesday, February 26, 2008

The Gardening Bug

Well, as I wrote briefly on Sunday, in spring time the gardening bug bites be hard. In honor of that, I've joined

The premise is to grow something new this year that you haven't grown before. In our case, it's to have a more successful garden...we failed miserably last year, and I'm trying again. In the past 2 or 3 years, I've changed the way I think about food drastically. Maybe it's because I have kids. Maybe it's all those books I've been reading that have influenced me. Maybe something else. Actually, probably a combination of all of them. At any rate, the desire to eat more local is getting stronger and stronger. So strong that part of our lawn is now set aside for food growing, not grass growing.

So, ideally, once a week, I'll post something garden/food related. This is the year things will survive!



Sunday, February 24, 2008

Oh look, another Sunday night post.

Another week (and weekend) gone. It was a fairly busy week at work. 2 deliveries. 1 night of call where I was up a fair portion of the night. And now here it is, Sunday night. Time to get ready to head back to the ol' grind. Blech.

On Saturday, Catie and I went to Tea for Tutus. It was a fund raiser for Ballet Idaho. Catie wore the dress I made her. It was impossible to get her to stand still to take a decent picture of it, so here's the best we could get.

The dress wasn't nearly as dressy as all the other girls there. But that's okay. She still looked darn cute. It was a nice afternoon, and we went with some women from work with their kids. We hit the bookstore afterwards. We had dinner at my parents' house, then home to bed. After no nap, Catie was exhausted. Jack had spent the day getting spoiled by Grammy and Boppa.

I did manage to get some knitting done Saturday night after everyone was in bed. That seems to be my most productive time. Unfortunately, it makes it difficult to get up in the morning if I'm up until midnight or 1:00 in the morning knitting. I've been working on a sweater for myself. A Knitting Pure and Simple pattern...the zippered jacket. I've just finished with dividing for the sleeves, and am starting to work on the body. Miles and miles of stockinette to go. I want to have this done before our cruise in May, so I need to get cranking on it. I'm not an especially fast knitter. Or maybe just not a consistent knitter...there are days that go by when I can't get any knitting done.



I also finished the first sock from the January Socks that Rock club (well, except for weaving in the ends).
I LOVE this heel. I tend to do a top down sock with a heel flap, mostly because that's how I learned to knit socks. But this short row heel fits my foot so much better. I was terrified of the whole wrap and turn thing, but just like my fear of cables, it was unfounded. I think I'll end up doing the majority of my heels this way. Now I need to master toe up socks. One technique at a time.

Today it was gorgeous outside. I did some yard work. It was nice to get out there and do something a little more physical. There's just something about working outside that is comforting and fulfilling for me. I have a feeling I'm going to be sore tomorrow though. Who knew raking pine needles could be such a workout? Every spring, I get this incredible urge to garden. I know that's not different from many of you out there. In my head, I'm quite the master gardener. Alas, reality doesn't necessarily match up to my dreams. I'm making all these plans about what to plant and where. Grand plans. And if it's anything like last year, the veggies won't grow. The flower beds gets taken over by weeds. But every spring, this one included, I tell myself, "This year will be different." Time will tell.

And to finish off the post, a couple of close up kid pics. Catie is enamored with pig tails and pony tails. She calls them her "ponies". So here she is...

And Jack has discovered how fun it is to play "So Big"... Speaking of that, he turns 1 in 4 days. Yikes!

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Things that make my day

We got a new camera. It takes great pics, but I don't know how to download them yet. So in lieu of that...10 things that make me happy. Several of them happened this weekend...which makes me feel especially blessed.

1) Hearing my kids giggle
2) Snuggling in bed with G and the kids on a Sunday morning
3) A quiet house
4) Hand washing dishes (strange, but I love the routine of it)
5) How my dog is so excited to see me whenever I walk in the house
6) Starting to look at land to buy, so that we can finally stop dreaming about our farm and start building one
7) Snuggling up with a good book
8) Really good Thai food, especially green curry
9) A long soak in a bathtub
10) The smell of sagebrush in the rain

Yup...life is good.

Saturday, February 09, 2008

A tough one

Heidi tagged me last week for a meme. It's actually the first time I've gotten tagged. But this one was a doozy. It took some time to sit down and figure all this out...time is not something that I'm big on around here. At any rate...here goes

Rules:Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you’ve written.Link 1 must be about family.Link 2 must be about friends.Link 3 must be about yourself.Link 4 must be about something you love.Link 5 can be anything you choose.Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better.(Readers - don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments.)

1) Family...Thankful for a healthy kid Jack being in the NICU was the absolute worst 10 days of my life...you wouldn't even know it now to look at him. Thank God for all that technology.

2) Friends...Kim. 2 years later, we still joke about out dyeing skills, or the lack thereof.

3) Myself...The announcement. I never did make that sweater

4)Something I love...Delivering babies The hours suck sometimes, but I LOVE delivering babies. Especially when the dads cry.

5) Random...Shearing the girls. Oh, the wool!

And now...who to tag?

1) Kat with a K
2) Lorette
3) Theresa
4) Margene
5) Ann