11.29.07
A sewing project…for knitting of course!
First things first…we woke up to snow this morning. And it snowed for most of the day. It was one of those first overcast days that I enjoy, and then they just get a little old. But here is a picture of the surprise that I woke up to this morning.
After work I decided that I needed to have a little knitting bag that I could take my sock project with me to work or such. So I found a pattern to loosely base my own little bag on. I got to wander through the quilt shop down town looking through all of the great colors and textures of material. I finally settled on a green family color. Here are some pictures of the final project. I am not as happy as I would have like to be with it. But it will work for what it needs to and I can make a more polished version later.
and it is snowing again this evening! I can’t wait to see what is waiting for me when I get up in the morning.
11.26.07
Christmas Lights! Tis the Season ya know ;)
Yes, my dear husband climbed up on the roof and put the very first string of Christmas lights on our very own house! This was quite the feet because we do not own a ladder, but it wasn’t that bad because our house is unusually short. No, I am serious, I could paint the ceilings in the living room without a ladder (obviously b/c we do not own one) and I am not all that tall. So the husband backed the trusty Ford under the carport and climbed up onto the roof that way. This was unconventional but we live in Eastern Washington and that is how we roll. On a different note we got LED Christmas lights this year, which are supposed to use 90% less electricity and last for up to 20 years! Exciting stuff around our little abode.
And I tried to take a picture once they were lit, but it didn’t quite work out the way that I thought it would. I will try again later. And the weather forecast is calling for snow! I can’t wait to see if it actually materializes.
Oh and here is a picture of my lovely sister in her new hat! It is a Foliage knit with Cascade 220 wool that was knit on Size 7 dpns and a 16″ Addi circular needle. I thought that I had miscounted some stitches after transferring from dpn to circular, but all that I needed was a stitch marker and then it was all so clear.
11.24.07
A great Thanksgiving with family…all of them
Jason and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house for the very first time for my side of the family. I, of course, was more nervous than the lovely husband about all of the food that needed to be prepared. So I was up at 0530 baking a pie, making stuffing and readying the 23 pound turkey for the oven. Amazingly Jason got up just when I needed help moving the giant turkey from the pan into the cooking bag and into the oven. There was no graceful way for one person to hold the turkey AND put it in the bag, well maybe someone very strong but not me. Thankfully everything turned out great, here is a lovely picture of our turkey and few things.
Jason carving the turkey and being silly
Since my family had to leave so soon after we ate, they had a long drive in the snow. We were able to hop into the car and head over to the tri-cities and see Jason’s family for a few hours. I think that it worked out quite well. We also got to spend some qualiltiy time with Jason’s grandma, which was nice. We don’t get to see her as much as I think we should.
On a knitting note, I was able to finish my sisters hat for her yesterday, I will post some pictures when I gift it to her. As she loves to have her picture taken, which is evident on my Flickr site of Thanksgiving photos. Someone gave her the camera.
11.21.07
Interesting thoughts…thanks knitting
The lovely husband and I were wandering around in the local bookstore last night, something that we both enjoy. When he came up to me with an interesting quote that he had found “It is better to be a soldier’s widow than a cowards wife”. I did not catch who wrote or said this line but it has stuck with me since he said it. It was obviously written by a soldier. This quote brought forward many thoughts and caused me to question myself and how alright I am with being a soldier’s wife. Not because I do not support him and his commrads, but because of the danger that it brings and the very real possibility of becoming a widow. Granted the husbands everyday job as a wild land firefighter is not the safest job either, but there is no-one out in the forest that is trying to harm you.
It seems that about every couple of months these thoughts start to swirl in my head and I have to deal with them and get back to everyday life. Which I have done now and I am ready to move forward. Mostly because that is all that I can do, there is no sense in getting all worked up over something that I can not change and have not control over. It may sound slightly odd and not connected at all, but this is why I took up knitting. Knitting is something that keeps not only my fingers busy but also my mind. It was a great help this summer when I was home alone and had been for a few months. I didn’t have to think about when the husband was supposed to be home, or what kind of danger he could be in on whatever fire he happened to be fighting that day. Or when the news came out that the National Guard unit that he had been deployed with almost three years ago was again being deployed to Iraq, I am pretty sure I finished my second sock in record time when that particular story was in the paper.
It is coming to that time of year when we start to look at what we are thankful for in our lives. I am thankful that have a loving husband, a great family (a bigger family this year!), and great friends. The husband and I are hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our house for my side of the family tomorrow, it will be great fun! And then the next day we get to see a few members of his side of the family, who have not seen our house! I am excited to share it with them and hope that they can make it with this yucky weather that we are getting. Then the sister-in-law (yea for sister-in-law mara!) and I are going to head to the LYS…the boys can tag along too I guess.
11.19.07
SNOW!!
Yes, there was snow on the ground when I woke up this morning at 5am. I am so excited! The first snow of the season! Granted, it is now raining and there is no evidence that it was snowing at all this morning but I KNOW that it was. I know that it is not a great time for snow with the holiday traveling coming up for parts of our family and the many many people that will be driving this week. So I hope that everyone drives safely and takes a little extra time when they have to be on the roads.
I have decided that the blanket that I was knitting for the soon to be mom at work was just not what it could have been. So, I have taken the yarn and am making a sweater out of it. It is so cute and has come along quite quickly. I am finishing the second sleeve tonight and then will be able to start to piece it together. I have started Christmas knitting as well and am loving the yarn that I chose for my moms gift I will have to get some pictures up this afternoon, but it is hand dyed and has so many shades of green, brown and blue. The husband wore his socks last night for the first time and says that they are lovely, I was happy to see them on his feet.
11.12.07
Scary stuff
On Saturday evening my mom and littlest sister were driving home from Walla Walla. The roads were icy and someone had stopped in the road and not pulled completely off the road. My mom had to swerve around them and hit some black ice, they spun around on the highway and went off of the road where they ended up rolling the truck twice. They survived with no major injuries, only a few bruises. They were very lucky and I am so glad that they are both alright. Sadly, they did lose their youngest dog who got out onto the highway after the accident. We are all grieving the loss but also very grateful that my mom and sister are alright.
On a better note, Jason and I got the dining room painted and ready for the new floor this weekend. We enjoyed having a three day weekend to work together and got some major home projects done. It was very nice to have someone to talk to while I was painting, and we worked much better together than we have in the past.
Our older dog has started to bring his blanket out from his crate to sleep in the living room. I thought that it was pretty cute and had to share.
11.07.07
A few decisions…
As the cost of gas per gallon keeps increasing it seems that my anxiety rises at a proportional interval every-time I go to fill up either of our vehicles. It is not uncommon to fill the tank and spent 60 or 75 dollars. So I started to ask myself, as I am sure a lot of people are, where do I really NEED to drive? Both the husband and I work at the same office, but we were working separate schedules and taking separate vehicles the 2 and half miles to work. Instead I have decided that I will change my schedule to be whatever he is working that day, so if he has to be at work at 0700 then I start my day at that same time. This actually means that I get more hours in before school each day, which is great. I then decided that I will take the bus to school instead of driving so that the husband can get home when he gets off of work. It is working well, I am able to read my text books on the bus and today I brought along some knitting to work on as well. After crunching the numbers, this doesn’t save us a TON of money each month but enough to make a differnce and I feel better about getting on the bus to go to school rather than driving in my own vehicle.
I am excited about this decision, it seems silly but I am. Who wouldn’t want an extra half an hour to knit each day? Maybe I will finish the sock for my husband this evening on the way home from school. We will see! Oh and the wedding photos are posted in my Flickr site…there are a ton of great ones!
11.02.07
Back to reality
After seven wonderful days of marriage the lovely husband and I are back to the real world. He must leave for the weekend of Army in Yakima. Now this is nothing new, he leaves every month around this time and has for the last two years. So I do not know why I am acting so weirded out by it. I think that it is because we found out this week that he will for sure be gone for the months of January and February. And around our house gone means GONE. He will be working in the lovely state of Mississippi for two months, and since it is not a fire assignment per say he will not be coming home during that time. But, on a happy note, I might be flying down as well for a weekend of BBQ! That would be wonderful.
I cast on a hat last night for my lil sis, I am loving it! It is my first time working on double pointed needles, the first couple of rounds was a little messy but now all is good. It is in a gray color because lil sis wears a lot of dark colors. I hope that she likes it. It is going surprisingly fast. Jason’s sock is also coming along well, it did have a near death experience when the puppies stole it off the couch. They succeeded in pulling the center from the center pull ball, but the sock was intact and after two hours of my adoring husband and I sitting on the couch working through the enormous knot the ball is now functioning. There was a point where I was on the verge of tears out of shear frustration, the puppies were laying on the floor with looks saying “Mom and Dad sure look mad at us, we had better be super cute”. I can never stay mad at them for too long and everything is back to normal around our little home.
