Saturday, May 26, 2007

Knitting - what's that?

Happy 18th Birthday!


First the Birthday girl - she's in the middle! What a kid - she won three more big scholarships at the High School Award assembly this last week. She's going to the college of her choice - Go Wildcats! I couldn't be prouder! The graduation frenzy has begun.
Garden up-date - this is the before.
You will have to wait a few months for the after....but the veggies are all in the ground! My back hurts! But this is the advantage of only working part-time these days (the only advantage). My yard is looking good! The kids gave me two beautiful hanging baskets for Mother's Day and this is one...
I love my Irises - next year I need to move them to a more productive spot. I've even got some scented ones!
Knitting - oh yea - I remember! I still do that, I'm actually making some progress on the Celtic Cardigan - only about 30 rows left on the last front - then the sleeves (easy), then the button bands (hard) then put it all together. I'm afraid it's going to turn out bigger than I thought and I did check gauge many times before I started. Hopefully I can block a little of it out!
On the work front - the Camp Sherman job is gearing way down - doublt I'll work out there at all next week - bummer. But the new job is gearing up - but not fast enough to make much of a difference - It looks like I'll have tons of leisure time for a few weeks. Luckily I refinanced my house awhile back (to help Molly pay off some of her student loans) so I have a little reserve. Unfortunately I have a 'got it? -spent it!' habit.
I've got to get started on my Sockapalooza project - I think I'm going to do the Diagonal Rib Socks from Knitting Daily. I have some stash that would work well. Or I might do the same "Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Socks" that I did last year. That would be appropriate it. My sister is trying to decide how to treat her breast cancer - as it turns out not only did my mom have it - but her mom too. Now we're trying to decide if we should get the genetic tests - My sister is going to have a total masectomy anyway - seems safer in the long term - but we both have daughters, so the test might be a good idea. She is trying to convince her Insurance Company to pay for it - the first family member is the most costly, then the rest of us could do it - or at least I could. I think the girls should wait, in the years to come the cost will come down and they might know more too. I'm also not sure I want to burden them with the knowledge that they carry the gene. It's a dilemna.
Hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend - it's going to be very warm here so we will enjoy it although we have NOTHING planned - kinda nice - but boring!
Knit Peace

Monday, May 21, 2007

7 Random Facts:

1. I make my bed everyday! Usually as soon as I get up. It’s easy, fast and makes me feel as though my bedroom is neat – except all my shoes are out of the closet under my dresser!

2. I have worn silver bracelets for 40 years – a few of the same ones and some additions. I lost my favorite (a totem pole) a long time ago.

3. I gave my red hair to my children – literally – with each pregnancy I lost a little more. Theirs is beautiful red, mine is now blah brown (I’ve enhanced it a little!) My mother’s was red the day she died at age 80!

4. I have a love-hate relationship with weeds. I hate to get started – but once I’m going I’m hooked. I love pulling them up! Weed therapy.

5. I love my house – hence I’m making sacrifices to stay here (no retirement fund) despite the fact that it’s built for a large family – not a lone person. My private yard is wonderful – lush and green – a sanctuary in the high desert.

6. I do not have a ‘youthful’ figure – but am often pegged for being much younger than I am so it may be worth it!

7. I haven’t knit a stitch in three days – I did hold the latest project for a few moments though!

Kim tagged me for this so thought it was a good excuse to get some content on my blog - I am so busy these days I barely have time to read the latest - but after graduation things will settle down and I'll have a moment to write the details. All is well - just busy.
My schedule this week:
Monday: Work at home (job related); clean house and cook dinner for book club here tonight.
Tues: Work in Camp Sherman all day - then to other job for a few hours
Wed: Work in Camp Sherman all day - then High School Awards Assembly (Yea - hopefully it means more scholarship dollars!
Thurs: Work at home
Friday: Take Marianne and friends to Kah-nee-ta for a day of swimming in the hot springs pools - it's her 18th birthday and senior skip day.
Saturday: Work
Sunday: Plant veggies, fertilize lawn etc.
It actually doesn't look so bad on paper - it's the work stuff - there is a ton of tasks that must be completed this week to get ready for big important events coming up - land use hearings, neighborhood meetings, finish budgets, (OMG - there is a beautiful Wilson's Warbler outside my window!) redo of plot plans to meet Oregon's every changing Land Use laws (they change daily at the whim of State agencies) the list goes on - but I'll get it all finished I'm sure - knitting will not get accomplished I'm afraid - oh well there is always next week...
I did have a great weekend - actually spent two evenings with all of my children. Molly was in town for the weekend and we all met Morgan for dinner in Bend on Friday night - then on Saturday night we celebrated Marianne's Birthday with thier dad at his house. Two in a row!
On to this weeks adventures!
ttfn and Knit Peace!

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Happy Mother's Day


Happy Mother's Day to all of us! We deserve it!

Roxie had a great idea - especially for those of us who have lost thier mothers - write down a special memory of your mom to share with others. I think those memories so tend to fade with time, so save them for your children and grandchildren.

The thing about my mother is that she had so many friends - it still amazes me. First there were the "Snotty Nine" - these were 9 buddies that she kept in contact with since grade school - they did a Round Robin letter to each other for over 60 years. I completed her last entry just after she passed away and have remained in special contact with one of the nine. They all lived in different parts of the country - but you would have thought they had coffee over the back fence every day.

Then there are the friends that she made when she moved to Portland as a young bride. Mostly these were families that my father had grown up with. They welcomed mom like she had always been there. They are a huge tight knit group, aging fast and we are losing them often.

There were the friends from work - she was a nurse and volunteered in a clinic run by the hospital interns. Our holiday dinner table always had an orphan or two and her weekly batch of cookies were always a hit with them. She adopted the whole bunch.

She always listened and never had a bad word to say about anyone - and I'm sure she knew all the dirt as everyone confided in her. She was polite to a fault and always insisted that her children and grandchildren be the same - this has been an extremely valuable attribute for my kids especially - even in this day and age they always get compliments about how polite they are. It has served them very well and I know it's my mom's influence. She never criticized - which occassionaly was a problem. Like all new moms, I really was counting on her help when I started my family - but I had to always ask - "what do I do about....how do I...." She wouldn't offer advice unless you asked - she thought it was intrusive!

She always did the right thing and put up with a family that I don't think she was prepared for. She was a great sport - trailing after us on backpacking trips, camping in the Canadian wilderness with my dad on flyfishing trips and one last camping trip with all of us in Yellowstone. One year she walked the entire Rouge River Trail - while the rest of us floated the river! Five days! My mother was not athletic! She was a Southern California beach girl - thrust into a family of outdoor enthusiasts!

And now that she isn't here - we know she is 'intruding' all the time. We laugh when we say "mom would have" or "Grannie Annie would". I think about her everyday - especially when I'm doing something I know she wouldn't approve of - does she know? - I hope not! She is a constant positive influence on us all. We were fortunate to be part of her life. We miss her. Happy Mother's Day Mom - we love you.

Friday, May 11, 2007

I do so knit....

I do knit - really. I'm almost finished with the first front of the Celtic Cardigan - remember that? - started it maybe last year! But I am really working on it - when I haven't fallen asleep in my chair. So what am I really doing...besides working of course.....

This is only about half of what I've got to plant - then there is the vegtable garden - at least I have all the plants and the seeds. Now I just have to til it up!


I am going to finish this weekend. I am going to sit and do nothing on Mother's Day - I might knit. And I might not.....I miss my mom.


It hasn't been a great week - my sister was diagnosed with Breast Cancer - but it's the non invasive kind and it's very very small - she's young and healthy - she'll be fine. But we've been down this road before (my Mom died of Breast Cancer) so it's still very scary - but I'm the Pollyanna type - so I'm convinced she'll be just fine! I'm not going anywhere else with those thoughts!
(Yes my annual mammogram is scheduled for June-I didn't forget!)
So all you who haven't - get a mammogram on a regular basis!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommys - aren't they wonderful!!

Saturday, May 05, 2007

I'm still here

I have been so busy I haven't even had time to read blogs much less write in mine.

I have been: (In no particular order)

1)Painting another bedroom, buying a bed and bedding. Now I have a guest room - although I am considering moving into there myself after M3 goes to school next fall - it's in a different part of the house and I can almost close off the back bedrooms and maybe save a little on heat. The room is much bigger - but futher from the family bath (no master bath in this house) - so we'll see.

2)Visiting with M2 daughter - who I wrote about in previous post. She has had meds changed and is doing sooooo well - It is so wonderful to see her blossom into a self assured young women - she's witty too! Had M1 son over while she was home - gosh it was fun to have them all here.

3)Working two jobs - I'm getting confused - which job is tomorrow and what tasks are on my list? Really - each job has two companies involved so it's easy to get mixed up - who does this bill go to? Am expecting to give up the Camp Sherman job in the next month or so - I will miss the location and the drive - but not the uncertainty!

4)I went hog wild - new cell service. M3 and I had same provider - but when she goes to college in the fall she will be out of range - can you believe it - something about being away from home for more than 50% of the time - and they would cancel her and charge us for the left over contract...so I paid off the contract and went with Verizon - M2 is already a Verizon customer so we brought her over to our new family plan - and it will save us all money and we get better phones and much better service. What a deal.

5)I went hog wild again - bought a new computer - had to - my old laptop was at the end of it's daily useful life. But since you can't buy a new computer without Vista on it - I've spent the last day trying to get everything installed and/or copied from my old computer. The Easy Transfer Software isn't...But I'm almost there (Copying my iTunes folder as we speak!) I also had to buy new Office - OMG - but I got the home edition - decided I didn't need Publisher and bought Outlook separately - less expensive and girls can upgrade thier laptops too.

6) I haven't been knitting much - but a little on the Celtic Cardigan. But look what Barb (bloggless) did.... 16 Beanies for Preemies!!! OMG but they are cute
The boys at the High School had their big night last Thursday - they raised $13,000 for the NICU - and thanked all the knitters!
7)Tomorrow I'm gardening - have to get going - although it's been freezing here at night - so no pots out yet, but the Round-up has to get started on those weeds and the lawn needs Weed and Feed.
I hope you are all well and enjoying the spring. I've been going to fast to really enjoy it - but soon!
Knit Peace