Happy Halloween

What a week!

Wow, here it is Thursday night. It's been one incredible week. Last week I got a package in the mail that I didn't share with you. It was from Luxembourg! But, I kept this package mostly closed up because it was a birthday present. It was from a secret swap so I didn't know what it was at first. When I opened it, I read the card before anything else. In the card it did say there was something for Kim, so I let her open that. Today I opened the rest of the package. I have now entered the 40's. I am looking forward to it much more than I did when I turned 30.

Yummy lavender yarn, Belgium Truffles, and a collector's spoon. And of course the felted Phantom for Kim.


Other things that came today for my birthday: many birthday wishes on Ravelry, a singing phone call from my co-workers! And this was from them too. Thank you gals!!

The black ones are grapes, and the other larger brown ones are chocolate covered strawberries. Some of the flower pineapple pieces have cantaloupe balls on them. It is yummy!! We went out for a big lunch today, so this was just the right thing for a snack for dinner tonight.

My family gave me a new watch. I can't get a good picture of it. It is Black Hills Gold, and the outer edge of the clock face has butterflies on it. There is also a butterfly on the face.


Slippers with cables and pompoms, and Halloween socks. Now, I like the slippers and need a new pair, but the socks? I am not a fan of orange, but I will wear them next Friday night. :)


Knitting projects that were finished this week?


We found the ears and a tail that match the red in the yarn, at Party City. We got lucky as we didn't have the armwarmers with us to match them up. She also has a black cat collar with bells on it. She still needs to make her corset, probably a Friday night or Saturday night job as the dance she is going to is on this Sunday night!

Fingerless Gloves

I got a great package in the mail today!! It contained a pair of fingerless lace and cabled gloves made just for me. It was part of a Fall Fingerless Glove Swap. Thank you Readingknitter01 for these great gloves and all the other little goodies!!

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

I have to share a short video with you. This last weekend I went to the Women of Faith conference here in Portland. Kim did not go with me because she was concerned she would have to leave early and it would ruin it for both of us. I got home Saturday night and we were listening to a new CD I bought at the conference. Nicole C Mullen. LOVE HER! And love the fact that my babydoll is dancing again.




Yesterday we went to the Naturopath again. She had the results from a saliva test that she had Kim do about two weeks ago. Kim's hormone's are whacked! We are going to start out slowly adding certain supplements to help her get back to normal. Cortisol is one hormone that Kim does not produce enough of during the right times of the day. It can affect sleep, and how you handle stress. Progesterone is another one that was under the limits that they like to see in her age. The cortisol supplement we start now, the progesterone after the weekend. There will be some other hormones added probably next month, but for now we start this. Kim has been sleeping somewhat better with the help of the Ashwagandha. YEAH! Over the past two weeks, there has been a visible difference in Kim. She is singing again, smiling more, and definitely dancing more! I was able to get her out of the house on Friday to do several errands with me, then we came home and made up a bunch of picnic food for our group that was attending Women of Faith. We tailgated for lunch on Saturday. Kim had a great time helping me. Sunday we went for lunch for celebrate Robert's birthday. I hope this is the beginning of her feeling better.

I have been knitting. I finally finished a pair of swap gloves. I need more practice at this type of knitting. It is not fair isle and the name is eluding me now. Intarsia, that's it. Robert thinks it looks cool as it makes the picture stand out more. I need to send it off later today or tomorrow as it is already a week late.

It's about time

It's been OVER a month, so Linda goes and awards me this:


maybe in hopes I will be posting soon?

Here are the rules for the award recipients:

1. Please put the award on your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. You must nominate at least 4 fellow bloggers for this award.

4. Add links to the recipients.

5. Leave a comment so the recipients know they have received an award.

Please stop by to check out these four blogs I love:

Purls Beyond Price Nathania from sock camp and her precious baby girl.

Magpie Ima Her kids, homeschooling, work and knitting.

Sanna's Bag Knitting, kitties and writing.

Deb on the Web New farm life, knitting, soon baby bunnies.

I know, I know

It's been a couple of weeks. I've been slacking, even though I keep thinking about blogging. Nothing exciting has happened over the last couple of weeks. It's nice that everything is flowing along.

I finished my Lady Grey. I love this sweater!! I like all of the sweaters I have made, even if they fit me funny. This one though I really love, which is why I am making another one.




Monday we took a trip to the cardiologist for John's yearly checkup. All the tests show that his heart is doing good. Possibly even better than last year. If you remember, last year we had a minor freakage because his murmur had become audible. The doctor said J could go for 3-4 years in between check ups. Woohoo! Friday we see Kim's GI doc again and since she isn't feeling better we are going to push for some other tests.

Tonight we are off to the state fair to see Garrison Keillor and his Rhubard Tour.

Beer

My beer as of today. It is bubbling along nicely. :)

Today's Scoop from the market

Fresh and local strawberries and blueberries.

Squash for grilling with onions, mushrooms, and sausage. YUM!


Maryhill Peaches

Maryhill Nectarines
The peaches taste have a hint of coconut.

Yummy dessert.

A Day in Pictures

With a few captions.


A batch of beer made just this morning. It will sit in this fermenter for about 3-4 weeks. This beer will be for my birthday. It is a dark porter and will need a good name. :)



I got a great book in the mail today and we made pretzels from it.

Last, but not least, cinnamon rolls for tomorrow morning or tonight's dessert.

Ooops

I just dropped $$$$ for one of these. :) Actually mine will be slightly used, and was less than the asking price. Fortunately it's my play $$.

Super Fun!

Robert and I spent the weekend together! Yes the kids were around, but everything we did was for us. This weekend is the annual Oregon Brewer's Festival. We attend it every year. I have been looking forward to this weekend for the last month because I knew I would be able to spend time with Robert.

We started Friday morning with picking two flats of blueberries. We ate at least half of one flat and froze the other flat and a half. Then we came home and got ready to go to the festival where we met up with Triners, a knitter visiting from California. We had a great time sitting with her, drinking beer, eating pretzels, blueberries and knitting on our socks. I think we left around 4:30 or so as it was getting rowdy and crowded. (Robert had also been on Thursday, but I had other stuff happening)

We went back on Saturday by noon so we got in about 4 or 5 more beers before it got too crowded for us. Just so you know, we tried samples, not full glasses. I think the sample is a couple of ounces.

Robert made pretzels when we got home. They were really good fresh, not so much today.

Today we hit the farmer's market to see what they had. We bought fresh basil, green onions, one zucchini and one yellow crookneck. The basil is for pizza tomorrow night, with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes. YUM! We also did some other shopping like Costco and the regular grocery store. It's been really nice to just hang out with him this weekend.

When we got home Robert made burgers for our late lunch, and I put basil, tomatoes and feta cheese on mine. Oh it was good. Then he made cinnamon rolls, carmel popcorn and I think he's thinking about something chocolatey like fudge or brownies. I love it when he gets in this cooking/baking mood! That's probably where I have gained all the excess this year.

Yesterday while we were downtown Portland, we hiked from the lightrail to PPAC. A couple of months ago we happened to see that "The Phantom of the Opera" was coming to town. This is Kim's absolute favorite musical. She doesn't know it's coming to town. She is going to be so excited. We aren't going to tell her until a few days before. Our tickets are for the first week of September, and they looked like really good seats too!!! I am excited because I know she's going to be excited!! Ok, I was able to tell a secret without bursting!

We saw some monkey mayhem while we were downtown. It's in the window's of a store called Mario's I think. There were sock monkeys everywhere. Climbing ladders, on stilts. They were having a great time!!









Kim update: The endoscopy biopsy results showed nothing! A good thing, but at the same time, now what! The doctor put her on Nexium and it is about the same as the other drugs she has been on so far. We will try it for a few months and hopefully over time she starts feeling better. He also prescribed an anti nausea drug, but it's not really an anti nausea. It's more for moving things through the digestive tract. She doesn't need that, so we went to the pharmacist and asked their opinion. They gave us an OTC that should work much better. She hasn't had to use it yet, the nausea has been 4 or under.

My Kimma

came through the endoscopy quite well today!! They gave her Versaid, a great amnesia drug, as well as something else for the pain she would experience. It took her a while to come out of the fog and sleep, but once she was out, she's been going strong ever since. She has a bit of a sore throat, but other than that, she's ok. The pictures show some inflammation in her esophagus, and a little bit of inflammation in her small intestine, but we won't have results from biopsy back until late this week or early next week. It can't come soon enough. I told Robert though, that if either of the kids have to have major surgery later on in life, they are going to have to sedate me. I don't handle the waiting room stuff to well anymore.

Second Jellyfish Video

First Jellyfish Video

Home, Sweet Home

ETA: I am putting some short videos up on Flickr too, but I'm not sure where they will land yet. They are jellyfish from the aquarium!

We got home Friday evening. I slept for the next 10 hours! It was a fun, educational and hot trip. We took tons of pictures from the train windows. I haven't sorted through them too much, or labeled, but if you go to my Flickr page, on the right side the top three sets are from this trip. We learned that getting a sleeper room is much more comfortable than coach. :)

Kim goes in for an endoscopy tomorrow morning. We are to get there at 10:30 and they start the procedure at noon. It's supposed to be quick. I hope she handles the medication well.

Our attendant on the train. She was a real gem!

Out to Lunch........

Kim and I are getting ready for our trip south. We are both really excited to be riding the train. I am seriously giddy inside!! We'll be back next Friday late. I might be able to blog, but it will be pictureless unless I can find Wifi access somewhere close by. Hmm, I know where the closest Peet's is to mom and dad's, then I could get a much needed cup of coffee too. :)

Have a fun and safe weekend.

Drifting Along

In knitting news I have finished some things finally!

I finished some dishcloths for a BBQ swap I am involved in. I realized as I was making them, that I could make some for me, so that will be on the agenda soon.


I finished a pair of lace fingerless gloves for my bff Julie, who I hope to see next week while in California. These are the same gloves I made for a Spring Fingerless Mitt Swap. This is Socks that Rock in Lightweight, colorway is Moody Blues. And I still have half a skein left.


And I finished my Mr Greenjeans. I am hesitant to like it yet. I am going to put in two more button holes at least. Has anyone done that after the knitting is complete? Kind of like steeking a buttonhole? I think it can be done, just carefully.



In Kim news, the GI doctor switched her medications again, back to a stronger acid reducer. It still makes her nauseas, but it's within her limit. If she's not feeling better in two weeks, right about the time we come back from California, then we will proceed with an endoscopy to see if he can see anything. She doesn't want to do it, but I think it's inevitable unless she starts feeling much better in the next week and a half!

Speaking of California, I can't wait, except I know I am going to be exhausted from the get-go! We take the train down on July 5, get there in the mid morning on the 6th, come back on the 10th, getting home in the late afternoon of the 11th. On the way down we are in coach seating, so not much rest for us. On the way back, we decided to do a roomette, which does give us space to stretch out and sleep, if we can. Kim and I both think it will be fun. We will be down there to see mom and dad, and to celebrate dad's 71st birthday. I just realized that I don't have a gift for him, so am trying to figure out what to get him or make him! Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

Good News

I wanted to post some pictures from last weekend but didn't have a chance to. I am on Kim's computer, so can't get to my pictures. :( However, we have some good news. First, my tooth hasn't been bothering me since it was threatened with a root canal. Second, we had some other issues come up with Kim earlier this week. The Prilosec made her sicker, so we headed back to the doctor, who was concerned Kim had lost 5 lbs in two weeks. She has her on Pepcid AC, which seems to be doing the trick of keeping the nausea down to about 2-4 after she's eaten. I called several other GI places and they couldn't/wouldn't see her, so our doc stepped in and got her other appt stepped up to next week!! YEAH!!

Well, we are at Black Sheep and super busy but having a good time. I am exhausted, so is Kim, but she seems to be feeling so much better. I am so glad.

No Name

Wow, it's been 2 weeks since I blogged last time! I'll blame being busy, but it's not that easy. It's more of taking care of my family and myself. I've been to the dentist and may actually end up having a root canal some time in the next month. I don't have any free time to do it though until after July 11. We'll see what happens. Hopefully I can keep the pain under control until then. The other family crisis that we have been dealing with is Kim and her tummy. She has been having nausea upon eating any meal since before Spring Break. When we finally got to see the doctor, they took blood and suggested a wheat free diet. It took a couple of days to get to this diet, and Kim slowly started feeling better. 4 days later she was feeling really good and tried some baked beans that we knew to be wheat/gluten free. It make her feel so sick within minutes. Maybe the acidy tomatoes in it? Except that she can eat my spaghetti sauce with no problem at all. I let the doctor know that the regular wheat free diet was doing well, but the baked beans did her in. So we have an appointment to see a GI doctor, but it isn't until mid August unless there is a cancellation that we can get into. Very frustrating to say the least! The celiac sprue test that they did, came back negative. However, in the reading I have done, the final test for that is a biopsy. Kim is supposed to go back to a regular diet, but she doesn't want to. She's been feeling so much better that she doesn't want to change back. I don't blame her at all. I'm kind of tired of seeing her eat just rice, veggies and fruit. She doesn't like to eat meat too much and won't eat any dairy either because she thought she was lactose intolerant, but she won't even try some little things now like yogurt or cheese.

Here's some bread we made today. It is mostly rice flour and potato starch. It is pretty good.



I have been knitting, at least on Mr. Greenjeans. Almost done. The buttonband and re-doing the sleeve cuffs a littl bit.

Tomorrow Kim and I are going to sit at Streets of Tanabourne for a couple of hours with a group of other knitters for World Wide Knit in Public Day. Another woman and I and Kim were interviewed the other day for a local little paper. It will be fun to see what the reporter came up with. She's a knitter and will be there tomorrow as well. I found it online, it's just a little bit and there aren't any pictures, but I'll see it tomorrow in person and I'm pretty sure there will be some pictures. :)

HaHaHa

I saw this on another blog and had to take the quiz.

you are lavender #E6E6FA

Your dominant hue is blue, making you a good friend who people love and trust. You're good in social situations and want to fit in. Just be careful not to compromise who you are to make them happy. Your saturation level is very low - you have better things to do than jump headfirst into every little project. You make sure your actions are going to really accomplish something before you start because you hate wasting energy making everyone else think you're working. Your outlook on life is bright. You see good things in situations where others may not be able to, and it frustrates you to see them get down on everything.

the spacefem.com html color quiz