Bad Blogger - again!

Sorry it's been so long....but I've been super busy. You know, the usual stuff of life. Work has been good but exhausting and I've come home to nap every evening it seems. I'm still having a blast and loving every minute of it! Yahoo!
Consequently I haven't been knitting much - just slowly working on the Forest Canopy Shawl. Only a few more repeats and into the gift stash it will go. Since I haven't been to knitting group in a few weeks (Gas is just to expensive) I haven't worked on the plain jane pink socks either. But am planning on going this week.
The gas budget is shot this week anyway. (I made two weeks on a tank of gas!) I've got to drive over to the Valley to haul home the possessions of the College Girl. It's finals week coming up and then she's done - hurray! One year down. She got her financial aid package for next year - 100%. I am soooo thankful! She is home this weekend for her birthday, a doctors appointment and to start work on her summer job. So it's hectic around here. The next weekend is the high school graduations of two of my nieces - different families - different sides of Oregon - luckily different days. So there will be more driving - very early in the morning to get there in time. But these are the last ones - so we'll have a break for a few years! Oh my - they grew up too fast!
Last weekend we had record breaking high temps - it was in the 90's - so got lots of gardening done. Planted a few veggies - good thing I didn't do more because now winter is back. It's rained and been cold since last Monday. Short summer we had! The weather has been so weird everywhere.
I've started my summer reading blitz - finished The Namesake and if you lived here. Both wonderful - good book club reads! Tonight I've got nothing to read - so I think it might be a movie and knitting! Sounds good to me...as tomorrow I cook the Birthday feast for the family! It's the Ex's birthday too and he's coming with his lady friend - so have to put out the best. Truly I'm not trying to impress her -but it's College Girls big day!
Enjoy the long weekend with your families and remember those loved ones who aren't with us!

The End

Actually - Finishing!! I've decided that I'm not going to the Black Sheep Gathering or the Oregon Flock and Fiber - I'm going to The Knitting Guild of American Fall show instead and I'm taking a "Finishing" class from Nancy Wiseman!!! I am so excited to do this - finishing is the thing I need to do better - really better - and this will be the perfect class for me. The show will be fun because all the usual vendors will be there (but I don't see Blue Moon listed yet). So instead of saving my fiber dollars for stash enhancement - it's going to technique enhancement - a good investment I figure. Since each of these Fiber extravaganzas is a $75 drive - only one is reasonable!!

I actually have 'finished' something - the hat to this set. Into the gift stash it goes - actually I'm planning on giving to my niece who will be going to college in Minnesota next fall. Her birthday is the first day of classes - so this is perfect!!

Mother's Day with kids was wonderful (of course!), job is great, weather is improving (90 this weekend), garden will be planted! Life is good.

This is the famous climbing area Smith Rocks - featuring Monkey Face. My office is right across the river and the climbers provide lots of interesting watching opportunities.
I've been too busy this week to be very entertained...hardly any knitting even.

But I did have a wonderful evening last night. My Mom's longest friend - they met in Kindergarden and remained close always; actually there were 9 friends (The Snotty Nine they called themselves) - Ann came through Central Oregon on her way from Northern California to Montana and stopped to have dinner with us. She is amazing - OMG she's 83 and incredible: just returned from a 34 day trip to South America - by herself!! She had a blast! Now she's driving by herself to a family event in Montana. Sharp as can be - if I didn't know how old she was I would have guessed 20 years younger! I should be so lucky. We had a great visit and laughed a lot and shared stories about my mom - sort of fitting considering Mother's Day is this weekend. I am so honored that she called and stopped for a visit.

I really didn't do much knitting this week. Only working on a hat to match the mitts, trying to use up the rest of the yarn and have a matched gift set for an cold weather bound college student. Her birthday is in August - the day school starts....so it's a perfect bday present.

College girl is home (again!) this weekend so it will be enjoyable. The weatherman says a "warm-up is on the way" - so guess that means I can work in the garden. Sounds good to me!!