Around the House

We stayed around the house most of the weekend just getting some little things done. Steve hung up the wind chime for me, although I couldn't seem to get a photo that does it justice.

I had a little yarn problem while knitting the seed stitch cardigan, but it'll work out by the end of the day. Luckily, Steve is patient and we don't have any pets to worry about.

Here are the three baby sweaters I've been working on. Not sure why I didn't knit them in a linear fashion, other than the fact that I'm a nonlinear crafter!

I particularly like the border in this one. I have the cutest little truck buttons for it.

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This rug is the coolest looking project, but I will have to find a yarn substitute, because there is no way I can justify $250 for it. I gotta say it again, PurlBee is an awesome source for free patterns, but their project yarns are so pricey!

 

 

Steve and I walked down to the beach this afternoon; after going every day since January 1st, I missed eight days. I was glad to get back, and you can see, Steve enjoyed it too!

The sand had some interesting patterns, I assume from the high winds we had for most of the weekend.

Skipping the Oscars this year. This cold has got me down, so it's early to bed for me. Hope your weekend was a good one!

Best Birthday Card Ever

 

 

Feeling low, but I bought a copper bird bath which brightened the day a bit. Pictures when I'm feeling better.

 

Almost forgot: a sweet deal at Quince & Co., thanks to Amanda Soule. Check it out!

 

TGIF

The temperature is supposed to hit the eighty degree mark today, but we had a bit of frost on Monday; guessing that was our All Winter In A Day (my apologies to Ray Bradbury).

 

It's hard to see the little bird at the feeder, but see if you can spot him:

No list this weekend, just going to see how it unfolds. Happy Friday!

The List

Let's check the status of my to-do list, shall we?

• Complete the Honey Cowl
• Finish painting the kitchen
• Watch the rest of season 2 of The Good Wife
• Finish one of the baby sweaters that I have on the needles
• Get my hair cut
• Enjoy the beach
• Work on my gifted class assignment

 

So as usual, I didn't get as much done as I had planned, but that's okay.

Here I am with the haircut and the cowl, and the unfinished kitchen in the background.

And although I didn't finish the baby sweater, I have made good progress on it. I finished the body and I'm working on the button band, so it's almost done.

 

 

Melissa posted this picture of the two of us on my Facebook page this week. This was taken at Natural Bridge when she was either three or four years old, which would mean I was thirty-two or thirty-three. Isn't she adorable? I love her little hand on my leg. The time has definitely flown by.

 

Hard to believe we were this young, not so very long ago.

 

Weekend Goals

I have a few goals for the three day weekend, but mostly I'm planning to have fun and relax.  Thankfully, this week was so much better than last week, so I'm not as desperate for the time off as I was last weekend.

Here's my list:

• Complete the Honey Cowl
• Finish painting the kitchen
• Watch the rest of season 2 of The Good Wife
• Finish one of the baby sweaters that I have on the needles
• Get my hair cut
• Enjoy the beach
• Work on my gifted class assignment

Those are what I call do-able goals, don't you think? Except for the homework part. 

Happy Weekend!

Birthday Fun

I had a wonderful birthday today, despite the fact that I didn't get home until 9:00 p.m.

The Bay was quite misty, and while that doesn't make for the prettiest photos, it is beautiful in its own misty way.

 Steve gave a knitting book that I cant wait to dig into, plus a Wawa gift card!  Oh, and he put money on my favorite coffee shop account too, which was a nice surprise as well.

 Melissa stayed over last night, and her gift was waiting for me when I got up this morning.  I think these will look great with my new kitchen color, don't you?  Plus, she surprised me by coming to school on my lunch break and bringing me a birthday balloon!

 This card just warms my heart.  I am such a lucky mama.

 My students sang to me in every bell today, my coworkers bought me lunch, my mom brought me a Diet Coke to help me make it through my class, and when I got home, I opened the gift that Meredith had sent me!  She sent me a spa gift: beeswax candles, a knitted washcloth, a knitted soap, chai tea bath sachets, and a pair of handwarmers, all handmade by her!  

 It was definitely a wonderful birthday.  And tomorrow is Friday!

 

Lucky Me!

Remember the wind chime I saw when I was in Baltimore a few weeks ago?  My sweetheart bought it for me as my Valentine's Day present!  I am so excited!  I'm going to hang it in the kitchen, probably in the window.  Still loving the paint color too.

 I started another baby sweater last night, using Cascade 220 Superwash.  A little ADD knitting going on around here this week.

 Tomorrow is my birthday, but I won't be doing much in the way of celebrating because I have class right after work, which means I won't get home until 9:00 p.m.  My birthday fun will begin on Friday and continue throughout the three day weekend, so I can't complain too much now, can I?

A Birthday, the Beach, and a Baby Sweater (or Two)

 We had the "kids" over for Andrew's birthday this past Sunday and they all played Night Sky Monopoly, the astronomy nerd version.  It was so much fun watching and listening to them.  The empty pink chair to the left of the photo was my knitting and listening spot.

I overslept this morning and didn't take my beach walk until after work.  It was a nice bridge to the evening, although the light is much prettier in the morning.

 

 I've started another knitting project; the Striped Cardi from 60 Quick Baby Knits, in blue and green.  I really want to make the Seed Stitch Cardi, but I think I'll do that in a heathered green I have.  I still need to finish the Tulips sweater, but it looks so big that I've lost interest for now.  Of course, I should be doing homework, but no need to panic.  Yet.

Old & New Photos

I was reading my old blog this weekend, and found some photos that I had forgotten about.  This one is from our first Valentine's Day, in 2007.  We were in Annapolis for the weekend; this was the restaurant where we ate breakfast.  I remember it was so cold that weekend, with snow on the ground.  I loved that trip and the historic B&B we stayed in that was directly across from the Capitol.

 

This photo of Steve was taken at First Landing State Park, but I don't remember the date.

 The starfish is from a trip we took to the Outer Banks a few years ago, right after a major storm.  I have never seen so many shells; I must have brought at least ten full size conch shells and twice as many moon shells home from that trip.

 And this is one of the few photos I have from our trip to Ireland; they were all lost due to a computer crash.  If only I had had a blog before that trip, I would have saved them.  I really hate that I lost them.

 I took these photos this morning.  Even though it was around twenty degrees out, it was surprisingly comfortable on the beach because there was no wind.  The few waves that you see are really the wake generated from the ships leaving the harbor.

 

 

 

 

I so enjoy starting my day with a quick visit to the beach.   How do you like to start your day?

 

Snow!

The sky is so pretty this morning.

 We got a light dusting of snow last night, and the temperature is in the twenties today.  I think this is our one day of winter.

 I refilled the bird feeders.  

 Here's one of the visitors.

 I am very happy with the shade of blue I chose.  It has just a touch of grey in it, and I think it makes the white trim look crisper.

 

 This is a really close match to the colors I'm knitting to make the Tulips sweater.  I think the Mission Falls 1824 Wool is a little heavier weight than the Dream in Color Smooshy, so even though I'm making the smallest size, it looks a little large.  But it will fit someone, right?

 

Super Saturday

I such a fan of alliteration (obviously).  Melissa is hanging with us this weekend, and she has been a huge help with the painting. I certainly don't look this cute when I'm painting!

 

 This picture shows the truest color.  I am really happy with my choices.  It's Benjamin Moore in Harbor Mist; blue with just the right amount of grey, exactly what I wanted.  I think it makes the white trim look so much brighter.

We didn't finish, because we're having Andrew over tomorrow for his birthday, but we did get the majority done.  I don't mind waiting until next weekend to finish the rest of it. 

 

Thanks to everyone for the helpful advice about the arthritis.  I bought some Tiger Balm today, I'm taking my new meds, and I'm planning on relaxing the rest of the weekend.  And I've got my fingers crossed that we get a little snow tonight.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend, no matter what you're doing!

Fun Friday

9:00 a.m.  

I had two doctor appointments scheduled for today, and while I could have made it into work in time to teach my last two bells, I decided to give myself the afternoon off.  For some reason, I have been feeling fragile this week; not sure if it's hormonal, seasonal, or just a whole lot of little stressors adding up to one big stress blob, but whatever the reason, it hasn't been a particularly easy week.  So, I'm sitting in a coffee shop relaxing between appointments and enjoying the portability of my iPad.  And my knitting, of course.

 

12:30 p.m.

  I've finished with my appointments and I'm now in another coffee shop doing some knitting and reading.  I'm trying to come to terms with the diagnosis I received that the pain in my neck is arthritis, according to the x-ray.  It shouldn't be a surprise really, since both my parents have it, but it wasn't what I was expecting.  I have to have an MRI and go back to discuss the results within the month.  

This is a close up of the Tulips sweater I'm making; can't decide which photo shows the truest color.  

 I've just divided for the sleeves, so it's moving along.  

 8:00 p.m.

Decided to paint the kitchen tonight, or more accurately, I painted one wall in the kitchen.  It's not the best idea to paint at night, but I couldn't wait any longer.  The photo was taken with the iPad, and it's crappy lighting, but I think it may be exactly what I was envisioning.  I'll know for certain tomorrow, when I can see it in natural light.  

 Hope your Friday was a fun one!

 

 

Wacky Wednesday

Let's have some knitting content, shall we?  Although the colors aren't true, this is the green and purple Tulips sweater I started on Sunday.  I'm already at the arm divide, so it's coming along nicely.  I don't think the colors are as pretty as I had envisioned, but they're not bad.

 

The Honey Cowl would have been done by now, but the sweater has distracted me.  I really love how the colors are looking in this and can't wait to finish it and see how it looks.

 On my way back from the beach this morning, I surprised this little fellow.

 

I followed him as he jumped from the fence, to the gate, and through the flower bed,

 

until he finally found safety up the tree.

 The seagulls were out along the shore.

 And doesn't the sunlight look interesting in this photo?  I'm going to have to start getting up earlier if I want to catch the sunrise, since it's coming up earlier every day.  

 One more work day for me this week, which is a good thing, since I've been a bit cranky this week.  Pretty sure no one will miss me on Friday!