Now

Today is so fabulous outside that it feels wrong to keep it all to myself.

After work today, I pulled out the cushions for the outdoor sectional my husband built last year.  It is absolutely the best place to relax in the world.  (other than a beach, but those are few and far between where I live.)

Behind the deck is our storage shed.  My husband built that too.  Isn't he amazing?

I also put the tablecloth out so we can eat dinner outside this evening.  No idea what dinner will be yet, but at least we will enjoy it outside with the birdsong.  I miss the birds so much during the winter months.

In the basement, I found the bag of spring bulbs from last year.  I totally forgot to plant them last fall and they began to sprout in their plastic bag!  Potted them up anyway.  Keep your fingers crossed that its not too late and these colorful pots might soon contain a hyacinth and four daffodils.

I left a little of the sprouted part out of the potting soil.
Good luck little hyacinth!  I have no idea what I'm doing.

This pile of delight on my lap is almost ready for show n tell.  It's a spring tunic top.  Should be finished by tomorrow.  

The weather forecast for the rest of the week is dreary.  Dropping temps each day, lots and lots of rain, and ending the week with a chance of snow.  Yes, snow.  In mid-April.  At least it won't stick.  I know we need the moisture after last years drought, though, so I won't complain and I'll soak up as much sun as I can today while it's shining.  :-)

Stuff and Things

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

I can't keep up

How about you?

Life has been crazy busy these past two weeks!  I have things to show you, but I have been unable to get good photos.  Soon, I promise.

What's happening?

1 - Selling lots of furniture, because we're going to do some upgrading over spring break.  New beds for all of us, and a transition from childish room to pre-teen room for my daughter.

2 - My youngest child turned 8 yesterday.  How did that happen? 

3 - Valentine's day came and went.  I managed so snag one of the very last boxes of fancy chocolates on Feb 15. (my annual tradition.  Half-price chocolates taste SO much better than full-price ones)

4 - I found a new knitting/crochet group!  They're wonderful ladies.  Right now I'm the only crocheter in the group, but I intend to convert at least one of them to the dark side.  :-)

5 - The pattern testers finished working on my sweater design.  It went very well!  I have to do some editing of the pattern and take good pictures, and then it will be ready to publish!

6 - Hubby's birthday is Monday.  I'll be baking a scratch cake (chocolate with orange marmalade).  Should be delicious!

7 - My Nook Color bit the dust.  Fortunately I had purchased an extended warranty so it could be replaced for free, but they don't make that model anymore so it took a lot of time to dink around with choosing a new model and getting it set up.  Very happy with my new Nook Tablet.

8 - Germs Germs Germs.  Seems like someone has constantly been sick this winter.  Right now it's me.  :-(

9 - Allergies.  Took my son to the allergist, and he is allergic to Everything on Planet Earth.  The upside is that we don't have to get rid of the cat like I'd feared, because the cat is the least of his worries.  The downside is that he will be miserable for nearly every season of the year.  I'm hoping Zyrtec is a miracle drug.   

Looks like there might be ONE thing he is not allergic to - the spot above letter D didn't swell.
Lucky him.

Today

Today I should have put the laundry away.  It's still sitting in baskets. (But the day isn't over yet!)

Today I should have worked on my son's sweater, since the pattern design is scheduled to be done with testing in 7 days.  I didn't.

Today I should have cleaned the house, or at least made the beds.  Husband did; not me.

What did I do?

I spent 6 hours building a Lego house for my kids.

Welcome!

Front porch with gardens and lighting.

Tennis or skateboarding, anyone?

Back view.

Hinged, so it opens like a dollhouse.

Home office with balcony door; living room below.

Bedroom with table lamp and wall sconces;
kitchen complete with oven and red hot burners.

Outer view when it's opened out.

The kids are still working on the city.  When it's done, it will have a downtown area, the 'burbs, and a super hero HQ where batman and the Justice League help the local police fight crime.  :-)

Making Progress

First, it's been over a month since my last post and that's just plain unacceptable. Stuff got in the way.  Life stuff.  We finished an addition to the house, and then hired landscapers to repair the yard, and then dear hubby decided to remodel the kitchen and all this was happening at the same time and while I love progress (and new stuff) all the chaos has made me nearly lose my everlovin mind.  As of tomorrow, all plant materials will be installed into their new homes, and my biggest concern will be keeping everything adequately watered.  I'm nervous.  Growy things have never, ahem.....thrived in my care before.   But I'm determined this time will be different.  Because progress is expensive.

Grow Dammit!  Aaaaahhhhh I said GROW!

huhhuhhuh...growing nachos is cool.

In other news, the serger stopped serging.  Mechanically, it's just fine, but it started to skip stitches.  Mom said that's usually a sign the needles are too dull.  No problem.  A couple of new needles and it'll be good as new, right?   Wrong!  They don't make needles for this serger anymore.   It was my mother-in-law's before I got it, so I have no idea how old it is.  I suspect it's one of the earlier versions of home sergers.  I've scoured the Internet, fabric stores, quilt shops and everywhere I can think of and no needles exist.  Seriously frustrating.

If you happen to know where I can find two needles for a Babylock 5260, let me know.  I'll be your BFF for all eternity and send you cookies on your birthday.

Dishes, Dishes Everywhere

When I was a little girl I loved reading Shel Silverstein's poetry.  Sometimes his delightful little diddy's creep back into my head at random times.

If you have to dry the dishes;
such an awful, boring chore.
If you have to dry the dishes;
'stead of going to the store.
If you have to dry the dishes;
and you drop one on the floor.
Maybe you won't have to
dry the dishes any more.

Fortunately, our dishwasher has one of those drying settings which makes dish-drying a non-issue in our house.  What IS an issue, however, is getting the darn dishes into the dishwasher in the first place.  My children are six and eight.  My husband is 36.  One would think that people of these ages could place dirty dishes in the dishwasher.

Maybe this little reversible sign will help.