may it rest in peace….

Well, maybe I felt a little bit of happiness at it’s passing but, hey, I’m only human.

“What is this?”, you say?

Well, this is the offending curing iron that tried to take out my eye. I guess it feels it has lived out it’s mission because when I finally got the nerve to use it again, what did it do? It died. This is it waiting to go to it’s final resting place. It is sitting now in a clean garbage sack but little does it know that it will soon be covered with all kinds of garbage and do I feel bad? Not really.

I went to the eye doctor again today, visit #6 in 8 days. This is the first time he has been a little discouraged. He said there is something funny there and he’s not sure if I actually did puncture that 2nd layer or if there is something foreign in there. That part is not too thrilling to me at all. I’ve been on straight steroids since Friday. Healing has slowed but he said that that is really to be expected because we are now down to the real damage. Now he tells me how really bad it could have been. Evidently, 3/4 of my eye surface was burned. My sight is still blurry but for today I could at least read a letter or two from each line of the chart I saw. Even on Friday I could barely read the biggest letter.

I am still praying for total healing and appreciate all prayers. It really is a process and like he says, in one week…the progress has been good. If I had this kind of burn on my arm it would never have healed this fast.

And now I have something cute to show you.

I’ve only gotten to see the little sweetie a few times since they’ve been home from Virginia. They got home the day after my big accident. Then she got RSV and since I couldn’t really drive until last Friday and Tyler was hospitalized once with RSV, they couldn’t really come here to visit. Now Tyler has some kind of weird cough at night so we’re just keeping our distance between the two. I did sneak in a visit yesterday after church, though. I can’t bear being away from her for so long.

She’s experimenting with her little cup and water! Time is going so fast. I had to poke her on the floor so I could see her sit and then I just held her for a little while before I had to come home. She just makes life feel all better! (and thankfully she is getting better!)

When you get a chance, go check out Tyler’s blog….he’s getting fit!

 

my curling iron is not my friend

I have been silent for a reason. On Saturday, my curling iron flipped out of my hand and in catching it, I poked my eye and burned my cornea. I’ve been to the eye doctor 3 times since Saturday! Today he said he finally feels hope that it will heal without any more intervention but he is not totally sure. Saturday the blisters were too big to see what the real damage was. Yesterday he could see the site and today he said there is remarkable improvement. So scary.

Yesterday, though, I did have a highlight. The little family returned home and I was able to hold my little missy. She is a big girl from when she left 2 weeks ago. Look at her!

Excuse the weird spot on the back of her head, I “enhanced” the dark picture and this is what I got. I felt half blind when I took it that’s all I got. She still topples over, but she can sit for a few seconds at a time.

She remembered her grammy!

Here she was showing off for me…rolling this way and that and talking to me. It was such a highlight to my boring day.

And before all this, I was knitting…

That’s take 2. I didn’t like the first pattern I was using and I am almost back to where I had been.

The end.

 

catching up…

I know I’ve been slacking on blogging quite a bit lately. So much going on. i usually rely on my camera to remind me what I’ve been up to but that has been neglected too. What is this world coming to?

Last August our knitting group started an afghan. 17 of us finished knitting it in about 14 days. We met a few weeks later to lay it out to be put together. We worked on it for a few weeks assembling it. We were still enthusiastic when we worked on picking a border. We even got a good start on that border. But then interest kind of waned.

We really did work hard for quite awhile on it. Some of us knit on the border, some started sewing it on. Then it got folded and put in the basket. Sometimes I would get it out and look at it. Sometimes people would drop in and work on it. But progress was slow. Finally Pallas and Fran got ambitious and finished it off.

Isn’t the border pretty?

The colors don’t show true, the edge is dark green. I have no idea what that block color on the right is because we didn’t have anything that color.

Pallas took it home and finished the edge and steamed it and now it is ready to go to it’s home. I’m sure going to miss it!

Next up…I did a swap. This one was to make a magic yarn ball and hide little trinkets in the ball of yarn. The idea is that when the recipient knits, the fun things will fall out and surprise her. Well, I don’t think I know of anyone who waits! Here is what mine looked like before I mailed it off.

It was fun to do.

Yesterday, Rebecca and I got to go have our fun day in Olympia. The fog never lifted downtown so we were freezing all day. Tomorrow I will take a picture of the scarf I bought. It will be a fun memory from the day.

We ate lunch at the Bread Peddler.

The sandwiches were really good, we split them. We laughed over how hard the bread was to eat but it was really good. I think I’d really like to go there for breakfast some day. The atmosphere was interesting…we ate at little metal folding tables and every table was full and the turnover of people was constant.

We spent hours going in every shop we felt like going in. It was fun.

Downtown Oly is full of fun little surprises!

 

still kickin’

I haven’t been around for awhile. It is so much work to move to a new computer. I’m loving the mac, loving it!

Since I was last here, we have had more snow and flooding. I got next to no pictures this time. I have no idea where the ones I did get went. lol Still a bit to learn.

I did make little Miss Mayah a hat.

How cute is she? She’s in Lynchburg, VA right now and I’m missing her terribly. Hopefully tomorrow we can do a video chat.

We went to a wedding Sat. It was beautiful.

Sorry for the quality, my cell phone doesn’t take great pictures.

This is what was next to me.

We sat in the balcony, it was kind of a fun place to watch it all.

There’s Ben standing down there in his tux. Isn’t he cute?

It was his birthday Friday. Before the rehearsal, he went to Tacoma and got himself something fun.

I hope he enjoys it for years to come!

Tyler had therapy today in Oly. They have to move so we have to wait to find out where to go next time. The little stinker got mad at his therapist today because she pushed him a little bit out of his comfort zone. He needs to get that that’s life, Tyler.

This post bored me completely so I’m closing here. I’ll try to get myself back on track soon.

 

happy new year!

We got home last night about 6 from Portland and spent a quiet evening at home. 

I regret not getting out my camera more while we were gone but not much I can do to change that. 

I had to take my first macbook back because of battery issues.  It’s rough driving in downtown Portland during the day.  While waiting at a stoplight, look what we saw.

That was the best shot I could get…but there were 2 city policemen trotting through the streets.

The exchange was quick and easy. 

I wish I could have captured the frenzy inside the Apple Store.  It is amazing.  When we bought the macbook originally, we never left the spotwhere the fellow in the red t-shirt is standing.  The sales guy did everything right there.  When we took it back, we had to go to the back of the store and it is so overwhelming!  It was pretty cool.  I had intended to buy a sleeve but there was so much activity, I thought I’d think about it over lunch and go back. 

I totally forgot.

That night we went to dinner at Olive Garden and then found the Barnes and Noble.  Wow!

It was a dream.  I spent my gift card and we hung out for awhile.  Next time we go to Portland, we will definitely hang out here longer. 

Yesterday before we came home, we spent time driving around our old haunts.  This is the street we lived on when Rhianna was born.

We lived way down at the end of the street but the house is gone.  It was a converted garage and we spent some great times there.  Life was much simpler in those days.

We drove by Roake’s Hot Dog stand.  That place never changes…I didn’t get a picture but it’s a little old building.  When you order, they’d give you a card from a deck of cards and that’s how they’d call you….Ace of Hearts, your order is ready.  I lived on those things. When I was pregnant with Rhianna, for a short period of time it was the only thing I could eat without making me sick.  I know, I know…not so healthy. 

It’s always fun to re-visit the past.  We have a lot of memories from this place.

Tyler was happy to have us home.  He reached his limit for doing something different and when Kyle had to ask him to not talk so loud (talking to the bathroom mirror to his favorite person~himself) because Mayah was sleeping, he got mad at Kyle.  I guess that makes Kyle officially a member of the family!  lol

We all made it past midnight and slept in today.  We had dutch babies for breakfast and we’re all still in our pj’s at 2 pm.  Just my kind of day. 

For all who asked about dutch babies….here’s how to make them.

Preheat oven to 400.  Put a pie plate with half a stick of butter in to heat.

Blend 3 eggs in a blender on high until frothy.  Alternate adding 3/4 cup flour and 3/4 cup milk while blending (a little at a time).  Turn to high speed and add a cap of vanilla.  Pour into the hot butter in the pie plate.  Sprinkle generously with cinnamon.  Bake 20-25 min.  Make sure the family is around when you take it out of the oven, they never look the same.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with syrup or jam. 

You can easily double the recipe and it comes out fine.

Enjoy!

 

new toy and random,random, random

I do hope you had a Merry Christmas.  We had a nice one, quiet but busy.  Most of the family was there in the morning.  For some reason for days and days I have barely remembered to get my camera out. 

I thought this present above was pretty great.  I got very sentimental on Christmas morning when I realized last Christmas we had just found out she was coming.  There is just nothing like being a Grammy. 

I took Kenny and Tyler to see “Marley and Me” on Christmas day.  We had to break the rule of staying in pj’s all day, but we put them back on when we got home.  It was a pretty cute movie, I loved the family values.  I cried, but it was good.

The girls got matching gifts for Christmas…they use G Diapers which are environmentally friendly and they seem to be working well.  Daddy got them matching t-shirts. 

I finished the blackberry cowl and now all I need are buttons.  This was a very relaxing knit.

We realized that we are both beyond tired.  Kenny and I were not supposed to get gifts for each other this year and had planned to get something together later… like maybe a new table.  We both kind of cheated, though (him more than me). He gave me money for something I’ve been saving for for a long, long time.  I gave him a little trip away…and today we drove to Portland.  We went downtown tonight to purchase my long-saved for item.  That wasn’t the point of our trip, though, and tomorrow I suspect we may be visiting a few old haunts that he wants to see….music stores from the days when we first got married.

Before I show you what I got, I wanted to show you what a drive to Portland can produce!

Calorimetry!  I could have finished it but I talk too much in the car and laid it aside a few times…I don’t think I realized what a quick knit it is.  I started getting it off the needles while Kenny was checking in. 

A funny aside…we stopped at Starbucks halfway here.  Kenny commented that the poor girl at the drive-through window was soaked.  I said, “Maybe she needs a calorimetry.”  He said, “A WHAT?!?”  I repeated and he said “What in the world is that?!!?”  LOL  He didn’t even get it when I held it up to show him.

We drove and drove looking for somewhere to eat but we were tired and ended up re-parking where we had just been when we went shopping and we were going to walk down to Pioneer Place to eat but stopped instead at this high-class joint.

We wanted to sit in the window and watch the street while we ate but cold air was blowing on our feet so we had to move before our food came. 

And what have I been saving for???

I cannot even tell you how excited I am.  I think the diligent saving and saving made it even more fun.  I still had my Christmas money from last year and only had to let a third of it get away for something practical.

Ok, I was windblown and rained on today, but here I am, the proud and excited owner of a new macbook!

I was reading the book trying to figure out how to even turn the thing on! 

And here it comes!  Kenny was pretty excited, too.

We had to change rooms after we got here because we had no wireless connection in our first room.  Kenny took his laptop and they went to find a room it would work in.  I have to say, having a new macbook and no connection might not have been much fun.

And this is what we look like tonight.  I am not sure if you can see, but there are 2 laptops on the ottoman in front of the chair.  The macbook side by side with the old sony.  I had to keep messaging Rhianna to ask her how to do things, like get messenger on the mac, never did figure that out.  I am now writing this on the Sony but then it is going to bed. 

Yea for time away!

 

merry christmas!

Best wishes to you and yours. 

I can’t even believe I am on here this time of night doing this but I’m waiting for Kenny to get home, he had to get some things from his office.

It’s been a very busy day starting with breakfast with my family.  I didn’t get any decent pictures other than this one.

love those BabyLegs!

And this one…  for some reason no good pictures of any of the rest of the family.

Then tonight we had our impromptu Christmas Eve dinner.  I think I might have said yesterday that we had to cancel the big family dinner at my sister’s because the streets where she lives are still really bad.

Our dinner was simple but good!  We had spiral-cut ham with cranberry relish like I made for Thanksgiving, baked potatoes, rolls and yummy apple-snickers salad!  Brittany made that and she also made her first pie from scratch~banana coconut. 

Myself, I like simple meals. 

The kids did their exchange gifts.  I was so proud of Rebecca.  She made Rhianna an apron with her new sewing machine.  I know this isn’t a flattering picture because she’s got it on over a bulky sweater, but how cute is this!

Then tonight we had our Christmas Eve service at church.  It’s the first time I’ve been there since the snow.  We had someone clear the parking lot with a backhoe yesterday.

I forgot my camera so all the pictures tonight were taken with my phone.

We have a big parking lot and around the entire perimeter was snow piled high.  This is so amazing…and even more amazing, it is snowing again tonight.  Our street is white again but I doubt this will stick around for long, it’s much wetter.

We sang a few Christmas songs and then Kyle read a children’s book that was very simple with a clear message.  I snuck a picture of him…

Then he sang one more song

We had cider and cookies afterwards and now we are home, we have on our new Christmas jammies and are ready for bed.

Merry Christmas!

 

on the road again…

Yea!  I drove the car today.  Here’s what I saw when I came into the downtown area.

Ben cleaned off the frozen snow from my windows but I was still peeking out through the snow.  On the left are the city workers in orange shoveling snow.  On the right is a backhoe piling it up. 

This is the snowpile near the shop.  There are some that are over 6 feet high.

They say we should get more snow tonight or tomorrow but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of concern that it will stick.

We still don’t know if we’ll have a Christmas Eve service at church.   Today they plowed the parking lot, the snow was 18 inches deep and even 4 wheel drive trucks were having trouble getting up the driveway and if they managed that, couldn’t navigate the parking lot.   We are just not used to this!

 

it’s fun being snowed in for a day

The first thing I did was finish the fingerless mitts I started for Kenny last week.   They were simple but sometimes the most simple things just don’t want to cooperate.  I had trouble getting them the same size although I counted and measured and counted and measured.  I won the battle.

and to prove that I finished both…

I really like them.

We had breakfast together.

Dutch babies!  It’s a family favorite.

The rest of the day we just dinked around, watched the weather, I knit, Kenny was busy doing his stuff. 

We had freezing rain, snow, huge snow, little snow…all day.  It’s something we’re just not used to.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

We did have company for dinner.

This is actually her when they were leaving.  This girl is so funny.  They can rarely avoid this reaction to the carseat.   Rhianna walked around with her and tricked her into her little bear suit.  She’d walk with her, stick her leg in, walk with her stick the other leg in, etc.  Then boink!  Screams.

As she screamed…the guys were busy doing something.

I got to start a new project and I’m over half done!

The lighting was not good but I started a cowl for myself…Blackberry Cowl by Tidewater Knits.  It’s a simple knit and fun.  The color is not true, I’ll get a better picture when it’s done.

And now…off to knit a few more rows and get myself to bed.

 

a morning at home