Happy Anniversary

Carrot cake with a pineapple flower and beer brittle. Definitely worthy of an anniversary cake.


The Steel Bridge.


Made in Oregon sign.


Our deck.


Our private hot tub.


Wild skin(terry cloth) robes in our room.


New rings that were originally a Christmas present, came in time for an anniversary.
My beloved is Mine & I am His/Hers.


A beautiful box.....


with a beautiful gift, from my sweetheart. Bought because they match my eyes. (He's a keeper)


Buttons for a new sweater.

Lots of fun wandering in downtown Portland over the last two days. My legs hurt now, from walking so much. :)

Oops

I did mean to come back sooner and time got away from me.

When I went out to take these pictures, they weren't in full sun, it was shaded. However the sun was shining brilliantly. I was getting pictures that were full of white because of the sun. Over exposure I think. I also wanted to play with the macro settings and once I started with that, I found that I could control some other settings that filtered out the extra light. These are the final results.

Wow! No substance......

I just took a look at my blog for the last couple of months. What a bunch of hoooey. There's been no substance at all. Ok, so the snow posts and Kim posts are important to me. But, there's been not a lot of knitting going onto the blog. I wondered about that when I joined Ravelry well over a year ago. Ravelry has stolen all of my knitting. In fact, Kim has gotten after me to blog more. So, now I need to go find some pictures of what I have finished in the past month or so.

This is the Leaflet Scarf and Mitts by Anne Hanson of Knitspot. It is for my ISE7 pal. I found online a sportweight from Miss Babs. Love it!! This colorway is called Ironweed and I bought a total of 5 skeins. I used 2 full skeins and a few yards of the 3rd one, so I have almost 3 left. I am thinking Spiraluscious and the mitts to go with them, also by Anne Hanson.




Some spinning I did in January. It was 4 oz of Alpaca, Merino, Silk from Abstract Fibers. I picked it up at OFFF last September. It was heavenly to spin with and I don't think I have shared it with you here. I think I am going to make some bulky mitts with it, or maybe mittens.


In January we went to the coast. Newport to be exact. We went to the Aquarium and the Marine Science Center. Oh and the beach as it was something like a -2 low tide. It was pretty awesome!! We are going back in June for another low tide and camping.






Tomorrow or so I should be back with some Spring pictures, just as the weather changes again. I found crocuses in the yard this week and got some neat pictures of them. Just need to get the pictures onto the computer.

Which Sports Car Are You?

I'm a Mercedes SLK!

You appreciate the finer things in life. You have a split personality - wild or conservative, depending on your mood. Wherever you go, you like to travel first class. Luxury, style, and fun - who could ask for more?

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Merry Christmas

My favorite part of the Muppet Christmas Carol. Have a blessed day.

More Winter Wonderland

Original isn't it!?

Today we chained up and headed to downtown Portland for the OBT's The Nutcracker.

The roads were interesting...........some areas bare and dry, other areas with snow wafting across it and still other areas of drifts. In downtown, the main roads we were on had not been plowed.

185th, just up the street from where we live.



Entrancing onto Hwy 26.



Downtown Portland, just exiting onto Market Street.



PSU looks lovely in white. This was just a quick photo opportunity, so it's not the best.



Robert had to pull over while we were still in Portland before heading home, to clear the ice off of the windshield wipers. This church was our view.


On the way home it was getting worse, with visibility about 100 feet or so at some points. Kim has decided she doesn't like riding with chains on. I think it upsets her tummy too much.

I think we are content to stay home now.

Winter Wonderland

Chipmunk Cheeks Redux

Deja vu. I think Kim actually looks worse than John did last year. I didn't take pix of John last year because I didn't want to embarrass him. Kim, however is my ham, and said she'd be disappointed if I didn't blog about it. It's mostly one-sided as you can see from the picture below. That's today. Yesterday she was drugged up and peeved at every one at the oral surgeon's office. She spent the majority of yesterday and today in her recliner. Though she is definitely more bored today.


She's been eating lots of homemade pudding, applesauce, we even tried rice pudding, but it was too much for her mouth to take. Today she tried some chicken soup with veggies and a smooshed up veggie hot dog. She was craving more substantial food, including meat that she normally doesn't like. I am hoping that the cold packs will help with the swelling soon. She's been using them most of the day.

I know my knits are appreciated when they are worn out in spots. Both thumbs and at least one pointer finger needed to be redone. I think he may have caught them on something.

These..........

became these again. I got them sent right back to the recipient, he should have gotten them today.

Podcasts and Christmas Stories

A friend of mine recently started a podcast, "At the Kitchen Table". She lives up near Mt. Hood, has some acreage, with Pygora goats, Angora rabbits, and other small poultry. Episode 1 and 3 are up, she lost episode 2 to sound issues. BUT, her sound quality is excellent for a new podcast. In episode 3, which I just finished listening to, she mentioned a holiday favorite of hers. "The Cinnamon Bear" radio story. I found a blog that posts it every year. So, here is the blog to download the mp3 of "The Cinnamon Bear". If you can, take some time to listen to Deb's podcast, "At the Kitchen Table." I feel like Deb and I are having a cup of coffee together and visiting!!

Not much happening here

I haven't had much to blog about lately. Dad was in the hospital for a week. He's not doing to well. His heart is wearing out. Kim is supposed to get her wisdom teeth out this week, but we keep getting a last minute call saying the doctor isn't in. (He had some kind of surgery and hasn't bounce back like they thought) I've been knitting, but it's all Christmas presents and I'm not done with them yet. I did get a pair of socks done, but forgot to take a picture before gifting them. Maybe next week I can get a picture of them on the intended recipient. Hmm, oh Robert's mom is out here for the next week visiting all of us kids. We had her for the weekend, now she's down in Eugene visiting another kiddo, and will go up to Seattle in a day or two to visit two other kids. When we took her to Eugene yesterday we had a mini-family reunion with 3 of the other siblings, nieces and nephews and great niece and great nephew. I put the pictures up on my flickr site. I got a really cute video of John holding the baby too. :) Another set there is the BMFA Destash Sale that was this last weekend as well. I took mil and Kim and both had a good time. Now I need to recuperate and catch up on some more knitting.

Kim holding her little cousin Leela. This is Robert's great-niece. She looks just like her momma at that age.

Can't Blog Right Now

Sorry can't come to the blog right now, I'm watching too many of these.





Kim's getting some of their CD's and DVD for Christmas. Do you think Santa would bring me one of them for real?

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.