It's Almost Official

On July 2nd I am going to do something really cool that will change my life. I am going to join a weight loss support group. Making changes to my lifestyle can only be successful if I have  good support group. My family has been wonderful in their encouragement to reach my goal, but I need a group that faces the same challenges that I do each day. The groups is called TOPS and there are many a chapter around. Take a look at their website for more information if you're interested.

I'm looking forward to starting this up and have been enjoying the changes already being made to become a healthier person. There are good incentives too, like that really cute sweater that will be knitted up once I reach my goal...

Finishing

There's a lot that I love about knitting. I love choosing the yarn and pattern and then stitching everything together. Mostly, I love finishing a project and giving it to someone I love. This morning, I finished a pair of fingerless mitts for my cousin James. They were promised last Christmas but the point of the story is that they are done. I will be mailing them off this afternoon on my way to work.

There are a few other things in my basket that need finishing. Like the mittens, they too, have been sitting there and pondering when they will be cast off and bestowed upon loved ones. The answer? I  cannot say. Maybe this week on my days off, but don't get your hopes too high.

Jars of Love

Today, my mother taught me how to make jam. As a small child I watched as she made jar after jar of jams and jellies to be passed out at Christmas and put away in the pantry. this was an exciting thing. we bought the berries (blueberries and raspberries), sterilized the jars and lids, and filled the kitchen with all kinds of lovely aromas. And now, we have this:

 



 

It's really tasty. I can't wait for Alex to get home so I can show him what I did today :)



More Photos

As promised, here are more photos from Seattle.

 

The solar flare seemed an appropriate part of the photo, given that he now has a degree in astronomy

All three of these handsome young men are graduates of University of Washington

Our family is so proud

Here it looks like he's pondering the mysteries of the universe...

This is the observatory where Andrew spent a lot of time watching the stars and such



Home Again

We got home from Seattle last night. It was a lovely trip and wonderful to see Andrew (the most recent college graduate in our family). He now has two Bachelor degrees; one in Physics and the other in Astronomy. He's really smart and worked extremely hard. Those pieces of paper are hard-won.

On to the photos. There are a lot of them, so I'm only going to post a small selection of highlights. Enjoy.

This was at the Pike Place Market (I did stock up on new tea as promised)

After the graduation, my parents treated us all to a special supper at the Rainforest Café

We also celebrated the newly engaged couple (aren't they adorable?)

 

This is Cousin Jordan. His nickname is "Hon Bee", I made sure to stop and get a photo

Every now and then, I get a really great idear...

This man is taken ladies. He's all mine :)

 

This is something of an inside joke. My mother will understand it quite well...

 

There will be more photos posted later, but for now, enjoy, and I missed blogging this weekend.

 

 

One Hour

In one hour my parents will be picking us up for the drive to Seattle, Washington. Andrew graduates tomorrow and we are all so proud of him. Everything (even the knitting) is packed. It was a very difficult decision, but finally, I decided to bring along a sock (which will be toted along in my purse while out and about) and the WB (which will be the car/hotel project).

I have also put in my bag the new book for our monthly book club and Anne Frank's diary. They are both good reads. More later, probably in a few days when we get back.

P.S.- I have heard rumblings of a new tea shop at Pike's Market Place and I fully intend to stock up on my stash...

I Simply Cannot Decide

The trip to Seattle is in exactly three days. The suitcase I packed, the snack bag has been filled, and the clothes that I will be travelling in are set out. But, despite having these things done in a perfectly orderly time frame, I have yet to decide for sure what knitting to take along. It has to be something simple that I don't need to think about. That leaves out Naomi's sweater (due in December).

There's that second mitten I started for a cousin (it's a pretty simple cable pattern and if it gets finished on the trip, that will be one project completely finished* and I will fee very accomplished).

There's my mother's Christmas gift that's maybe a quarter of the ways done, but it has a chart, and we will be in a car, and I don't like the idea of going back and forth between a chart and my knitting while in a moving vehicle.

Then, there's (one of) my new pairs of socks. It's still the first of the pair, but i'm at the gusset. that's a simple  small project that will be easy to tot around town. I put it with the suitcase.

And lastly, there's the WB. It's coming along nicely; the fourth color has been added, but it's due in November and there are still (many, many) miles of garter stitch. hmmm. It's a bit awkward for car driving, but when we are at rest stops and the hotel it would be okay...

I'll figure it out. Maybe. Who knows. I'm looking wistfully over at that pretty new sock yarn that I was originally going to take...I'll keep you all posted.

*The mittens were promised round about last Christmas...

100

I have been thinking about what to blog about for the 100th post and I think I have come up with something. This month starts off my first Annual Summer Reading. The idea behind this is to see how many books I can start and finish between June 1 and September 1. I am already a bit behind because there were two books I was trying to finish first. Those two are all done. So, here goes.

The first book I will be reading is Anne Frank's The Diary of Young Girl. I want to be reading books I have never read before, so this is a good start. When I have finished reading each book, I will post a brief summery and a star rating. One star (the lowest rating) will represent a poor read, and five stars (the highest rating) will represent a spectacular read.

I'll keep you all posted. Cheers!

Good Friends

It has been a good week. We have good friends around.

 

These are from Justy's Produce Fresh blueberries that were put into pancakes 

This is a stuffed pepper from our neighbor Randy downstairs (it was delicious)

This is from knitting buddy Camilla. She made it to store my yarn swift.

 

It's back to work for the next few days. Then next week, we are heading up to Seattle for Andrew's graduation from University of Washington. I need to nail down exactly what knitting I'm going to bring along. It keeps changing...

In the Garden

I'm not really sure what to write about today. It was a good productive day, but now, it's time to relax. I'll have more photos later of what I did today.

I bought my first Fuchsia

No garden is quite complete without a gnome. Or three...

The strawberries are doing really well. I harvested a few more this afternoon. They got good reviews...

 

 

I finished putting the garden in at my parent's home. We will be growing the following:

 

-pumpkins

-bush beans

-bell peppers

-corn

-beets

-radishes

-onions

-baby carrots

-lettuce

-cucumbers

-zucchini

-butternut squash

-Hubbard squash

 

The raised beds are filled with great compost and soil that should provide the crops with good nutrients. We are all looking forward to what grows this season. I promise to post photos along the way.