July 23, 2006

12 business days and counting

Vacation!

We're off on Wednesday, Aug 9 and headed here to begin our time off. We'll see some frogs, some scenery and what Rob's looking forward to - trees.

After a couple of days, we'll head to San Diego to see Mom & Dad. Rob's not big on touristy stuff, so we're not likely to see Shamu. However, M&D live only a few blocks from Balboa Park so we'll check it out. Probably go sailing one day. Rob would like to see Hell Week if it's going on.

OK, the main reason to go? Tickets to see the Packers play.

We'll get back, have a day at home and then Rob will go to work and I'll head out to Chicago to see the sis. But this isn't just a regular trip. Nope. Kim will be hosting her mom and 2 sisters at the same time. All four of us together for a few days so we're going to set the town on fire.

Just a brief post, I need to finish a sweater for a niece's birthday. Pictures to come.

July 11, 2006

Work sucks.

Not enough time in the day to do anything beyond the basics and even then, it feels like only half of those. A co-worker is going out on vacation for 4 days and while we're splitting his duties among the rest of us, there are only 4 in our department and only 3 that do actual work. So his vacation means there will be only 2 of us holding down the fort. Ugh.

Below is a pic of the Trellis sweater I knit for a co-worker's first child. She was always wearing cabled sweaters so this made sense to me. It's knit in Bernat's Cotton Tots. Picture courtesy of my camera phone.

Zach J's sweater

Did I mention the new desk we bought a few months ago? Ikea's Mikael. Love, love, love it. Allows me to put tons of stuff around without cluttering it up too much.
new desk

You can see photos of the nieces and nephew, our wedding photo, the turtle planter I've had for over 20 years (Thanks, Mom!) and the little tortilla basket we use for office supplies.

And Mom, here's another grandson fix:
please no pictures

Art was changing him into clothes to go play in the water and Kruz looked bored with the whole process.

I noticed I'd forgotten to add a book to the list: Happily Ever After by Susan May Warren. Christian romance. I'm trying to branch out and read different authors and that includes more Christian writers. This was fun, interesting and enjoyable. Not a review to get you to pick it up, huh? Well, I liked the bookstore/coffee shop setting, the struggle with the main characters to accept God's grace for themselves even as they encouraged the other's faith (gosh, not something I struggle with at all *wink*) and that the characters felt compelled to hide portions of themselves even though they longed to pour out these areas of themselves and have them accepted. Don't we all wish for that unconditional acceptance and love from someone? Thankfully, we have God filling that very tall order.

July 08, 2006

True to my name

I have been a bit of a yarn pig lately.

I've been knitting as evidenced by the shot below:

July knitting2

What you see above is a tank for a niece who's birthday is at the end of the month (I'll also be working on a sweater to make a sort of twinset for her), a scarf for a friend and socks for a sister-in-law.

The tank is in Sirdar Snuggly DK in Lilac (0219) and the pattern is the June 15th pattern from the Knitting Pattern-A-Day. The scarf is being knit in Frog Tree Alpaca in shade #82 (a grayish purple) and the pattern is FiberTrends' Paws to Remember. The socks are from the sock yarn received for Christmas - KnitPicks Dancing sampler - in Swing (23592) and I'm using my Ann Norling pattern for Wide Wale socks.

I've been doing plenty of reading as well. I updated the reading list on the right and since the holiday weekend, when Rob and I made a pilgramage to Powells, I have 5 more to add.

Unhinged by Sarah Graves - part of the Home Repair is Homicide series and the first one I've read by her. Enjoyed it and plan to hunt down or borrow the rest of the series.

A Case of Bad Taste by Lori Copeland - first book in the Morning Shade Mystery series. Christian fiction and the mystery is more of a puzzler - no killers and the only deaths are the ones tracked in the obituaries by one of the older characters. Fun and encouraging.

To Die For by Linda Howard - I've usually enjoyed her books. This one was a little different - written in first person, a character I couldn't exactly relate to, I caught on to the identity of the mysterious shooter earlier than normal. It was OK. Glad I bought it used.

A Groom With A View by Jill Churchill - part of the Jane Jeffry series. Fun, light and enjoyable.

Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch by Haywood Smith - first book I've read by the author and it was fun! I can see why women enjoyed this book. And maybe it's a part of me getting older as well, but I can start to relate to characters in their middle-age (granted I just turned 37, so I'm not in my 50's like the main character). But I'm identifying less with the books I read in my 20's and finding a wider range to enjoy. Like this one.

July 01, 2006

Pictures to make it up to you

To start, yes I have been knitting. These were the most recent - baby bonnets. The pink on the left was made with Erin's pattern from LB Microspun. The one on the right is Tahki Cotton Classic noodled together from other patterns with simple eyelet pattern.

bonnets 2

I did add ribbon to both hats, pale pink for the pink bonnet and hot pink for the white.

We (I) had plans to work in the yard this weekend. Clear out beds, lay down weed fabric, plant some shrubs. Draw up plans for a pergola-like thing down the west side of the house. I'll still do some of that, but it's not going to be as fun since we can't pack the Forester up. Erin had a slight accident:

Erin's accident 1

Hit on the passenger side of our only (!) car while going to her Mom's to pick up more stuff. We live in Vancouver, her mom lives in SE Portland so this was the furthest Erin had driven by herself since getting her license.

It doesn't look like much until I explain that the other 3 tires are actually straight. This tire is pushed in and angled. Insurance had the car towed to a reputable shop and we'll hear from them on Monday. In the meantime, we have a lovely Neon from Enterprise.

On an upnote:

Delirious

Don't you love a kid who enjoys his meals?