tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174570662024-03-13T11:40:17.689-04:00The NookChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.comBlogger387125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-71663880448068195832010-07-16T15:41:00.006-04:002010-07-16T16:00:32.347-04:00July 16thHere's a few pictures looking back at July 16th in 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005. Amazingly only one of these pictures was taken on a different day, and that was the 17th. However, I decided not to go back any further. 2004 has the 18th as the closest day, and there was one picture from July in 2003 (23rd) and no pictures in July 2002.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_BNYs41e-Umr5q_-orQEDWl0b3O33wyT8sVWeimS0OYPB3U0c-Nen1RCzUMkS01JAvJNhIELqEI-94DvreME1C7hYrf4JWbYoP3gZz31gXcxbwEOqzS_uiNDiXUl7YLrJdK29pQ/s1600/2009.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_BNYs41e-Umr5q_-orQEDWl0b3O33wyT8sVWeimS0OYPB3U0c-Nen1RCzUMkS01JAvJNhIELqEI-94DvreME1C7hYrf4JWbYoP3gZz31gXcxbwEOqzS_uiNDiXUl7YLrJdK29pQ/s320/2009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494593501131479682" border="0" /></a>2009- England<br />Bolton Abbey. We also went to Skipton Castle that day.<br /><br />2008- Maine<br />Scottish Highland Games in Brunswick. We stopped on our way to Acadia.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCH3uy5jTee4dNzlZGqGU42A0Pd0wNC2EnBDmyTaxbJydorbc92UaVpGzpdUnt8jWP4ELmmg9Y9vex1cTU3jke23hnIyh8MKAQNB5jF6qviXuNPPM9pUI0QUPxUONqXlB3kCusTg/s1600/2008.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCH3uy5jTee4dNzlZGqGU42A0Pd0wNC2EnBDmyTaxbJydorbc92UaVpGzpdUnt8jWP4ELmmg9Y9vex1cTU3jke23hnIyh8MKAQNB5jF6qviXuNPPM9pUI0QUPxUONqXlB3kCusTg/s320/2008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494593498466008786" border="0" /></a><br />2007- Belmont<br />I had just gotten a new camera lens and was testing it out on the plants in the garden.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCZN2z6l_sDNdRS7mXI15T1a3jWyRQm_VBkFCizZJrbhK7OgPBnuaISJcNndUMkS0eGyF7hLOYZLX6x1ErJs7aMpnTZVqfe9MTbDM-dKr2nXYh8kHWdiWF-RKxXUtmhUXr2Jekw/s1600/2007.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCZN2z6l_sDNdRS7mXI15T1a3jWyRQm_VBkFCizZJrbhK7OgPBnuaISJcNndUMkS0eGyF7hLOYZLX6x1ErJs7aMpnTZVqfe9MTbDM-dKr2nXYh8kHWdiWF-RKxXUtmhUXr2Jekw/s320/2007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494593488687326002" border="0" /></a><br />2006- Cow Parade<br />This is the Trojan Cow. IT was located in South Station. I spent two Saturdays roaming around Boston trying to get pictures of all of the cows (approximately 100 of them, if I remember correctly).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYA2ZJLRSVjOWOG7T7ECVOF4H8voLcXXNhyjWyK2yD9yogpzw6kXaffzuiBl6Rrzb4n9qmvOQSbiZoDZjxCgUS8yJLEpTvZy-c9o32ZBRNQQir84GauFwEeJ76avM8g3jJ56Q6w/s1600/2006.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYA2ZJLRSVjOWOG7T7ECVOF4H8voLcXXNhyjWyK2yD9yogpzw6kXaffzuiBl6Rrzb4n9qmvOQSbiZoDZjxCgUS8yJLEpTvZy-c9o32ZBRNQQir84GauFwEeJ76avM8g3jJ56Q6w/s320/2006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494593484240038322" border="0" /></a><br />2005- Philadelphia<br />Aunt Ethel's funeral. She had numerous scarves and Chris was displaying them and offering them to anyone who wanted any.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvX22IolZCeq6UaqjRNTxI5vj0aJdPdOW4SaZDe_cDQHuE4znvG9ionElG5aSDuPgSWfTjX0RG4oG-rwrqcNOiHsoW7IoJ2LFB1CUALUt9jOVuDRG8ERHBj7xyCLcNTusTgwB3tw/s1600/2005.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvX22IolZCeq6UaqjRNTxI5vj0aJdPdOW4SaZDe_cDQHuE4znvG9ionElG5aSDuPgSWfTjX0RG4oG-rwrqcNOiHsoW7IoJ2LFB1CUALUt9jOVuDRG8ERHBj7xyCLcNTusTgwB3tw/s320/2005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494593478663326866" border="0" /></a>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-74372426198868559392010-07-15T09:02:00.004-04:002010-07-15T09:17:31.203-04:00A year ago today...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg_0x3HG_R1ckPdeE4gvupEOsEH6TW9WnD0w55IRphyphenhyphen3AJ3ohbAQLR1cW6L30OPUqnyewzx708n7a49CuYTRQVkNnmi2P5UQEnJ7roI5yCXnrrXxZneuSFOMaW3dtEBHYkCJqgAw/s1600/Penyghent.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg_0x3HG_R1ckPdeE4gvupEOsEH6TW9WnD0w55IRphyphenhyphen3AJ3ohbAQLR1cW6L30OPUqnyewzx708n7a49CuYTRQVkNnmi2P5UQEnJ7roI5yCXnrrXxZneuSFOMaW3dtEBHYkCJqgAw/s320/Penyghent.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494118739659346194" border="0" /></a>A year ago today we were in Yorkshire on a 3 mountain, 25 mile hike. The weather started off chilly, rainy, and overcast. Eventually the rain stopped and things cleared up a bit, but it never really warmed up. I guess that's ok- better to be cool than profusely sweating.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacSh9FPbCUuGss2jDk3GelcCm7zFi8iEx616gG1sBATQogjdkcnKTWDbOBK58D0p_9E8O_IPOrLhImvHBD3nB8PvTefXMAgpLlfAGlOReFe79XMH05Jydtt5MB5kGYjQA6apl_A/s1600/Whernside.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacSh9FPbCUuGss2jDk3GelcCm7zFi8iEx616gG1sBATQogjdkcnKTWDbOBK58D0p_9E8O_IPOrLhImvHBD3nB8PvTefXMAgpLlfAGlOReFe79XMH05Jydtt5MB5kGYjQA6apl_A/s320/Whernside.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494118735899154018" border="0" /></a>This is the last time we've gone on a big hike. And who knows how much more hiking I'll be doing. I like to hike, but it causes me a lot of knee pain. At the time, we commented that if the future kids ever wanted to go on this hike, Uncle Andrew would have to take them.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnN1gtCHiU9eG3PfRlCdIcyg9KiORoEEiTZEdXa-Ow3I2YuAkfFTh8NinaQiST960rfimpnaPe5N2YV2Wczin7N-1vzLeDZhy_mYZ7daros2JjIrdVEBpQpORg7M5lQZx5RKVULg/s1600/Ingleborough.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnN1gtCHiU9eG3PfRlCdIcyg9KiORoEEiTZEdXa-Ow3I2YuAkfFTh8NinaQiST960rfimpnaPe5N2YV2Wczin7N-1vzLeDZhy_mYZ7daros2JjIrdVEBpQpORg7M5lQZx5RKVULg/s320/Ingleborough.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494118729466423458" border="0" /></a>Anyway, these photos are from the summits of each of the 3 Peaks: Pen-y-ghent (694 metres - 2,276 feet), Whernside (736 metres - 2,415 feet) and Ingleborough (723 metres 2,372 feet).Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-80410696051527338962010-07-14T09:17:00.004-04:002010-07-14T10:07:57.174-04:00Yum!Blech. We've been stuck in a hot/humid wave for about two weeks now. Not fun. And last night I decided to turn the oven on to make cupcakes. In my defense, I had a number of zucchinis from the garden sitting int the fridge wanting to be used. However, of the three (and one is HUGE) I only needed to use one of them. Here's what I made:<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://stacyjulian.com/blog/?p=451">Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting</a>.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_t8hjcKB7b7R04JFuvzCcQ993RoqGgmZ-lxJPE3NzL_Ycqp31ysvdVE3_q3MR4b2W73vM9hroZHi95Pe7Fbn33tLaGgIOMgPkICuZyQcYuskWEcRm49gwlVqzkykjrxJWin_Qg/s1600/cupcake.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_t8hjcKB7b7R04JFuvzCcQ993RoqGgmZ-lxJPE3NzL_Ycqp31ysvdVE3_q3MR4b2W73vM9hroZHi95Pe7Fbn33tLaGgIOMgPkICuZyQcYuskWEcRm49gwlVqzkykjrxJWin_Qg/s400/cupcake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493758621345039298" border="0" /></a>2 C shredded zucchini<br />3 eggs<br />2 C sugar<br />3/4 C cooking oil<br />2 tsp vanilla<br />2 C flour<br />2/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder<br />1 tsp baking soda<br />1 tsp salt<br />1/2 tsp baking powder<br />3/4 C milk chocolate chips (optional) <p>Preheat oven to 325 degrees<br />Stir together zucchini, eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla.<br />Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, baking powder and chips, stirring until combined.<br />Spoon batter into cupcake pan lined with paper liners.<br />Bake about 25 minutes<br />Frost with Peanut Butter Frosting<br />Yields 24</p> <p><strong><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);">Peanut Butter Frosting</span></strong><br />Beat 1/2 C peanut butter, 1/2 C softened butter, 1 Tblsp milk, and 1/2 tsp vanilla with electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add 1 1/2 Cups powdered sugar until spreading consistency is reached.</p>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-54189050269509638762010-06-14T09:55:00.018-04:002010-06-18T16:58:56.633-04:00So what's been going on?Apparently I haven't been into blogging much lately. So what's been going on the past month plus?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVCYMRmMP8-nImBKsbLc9po57b4bGp0KLFXmW0R6gGV276BnxRMl80MEZlDklSZf9Ha-ePAag8Dun2k7KZAL0RO6wCrHcdzqSmYjnmF3QxzZx9kzG1rIJJsJQAbe92fTTiuh7Gww/s1600/alien.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 263px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVCYMRmMP8-nImBKsbLc9po57b4bGp0KLFXmW0R6gGV276BnxRMl80MEZlDklSZf9Ha-ePAag8Dun2k7KZAL0RO6wCrHcdzqSmYjnmF3QxzZx9kzG1rIJJsJQAbe92fTTiuh7Gww/s320/alien.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484220742204838658" border="0" /></a>I'm continuing to grow a little alien. For updates on Baby B, check out my <a href="http://bredfordfamily.blogspot.com/">baby blog</a>. I mentioned to someone else recently that it was an alien and she didn't seem to like that name for it, but Chris and I both think that Baby B looks like an alien. (There are actually some more recent pictures than this which are on the baby blog.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5lhglwUt67zPDwiA9oMaAQt_XmnYRptIjDEZpDwxB69tLdz9rkYtAcv6R-U4XOxgYGg6epenvCKsnNUAJBmMUNVV3bcCyGnpS4CLYEtr1YFT8w3yv97WfReB7tCnlUCqrUOsSKw/s1600/MIS.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 101px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5lhglwUt67zPDwiA9oMaAQt_XmnYRptIjDEZpDwxB69tLdz9rkYtAcv6R-U4XOxgYGg6epenvCKsnNUAJBmMUNVV3bcCyGnpS4CLYEtr1YFT8w3yv97WfReB7tCnlUCqrUOsSKw/s320/MIS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484220678395704674" border="0" /></a>I went to Orlando for work. We stayed at a gorgeous hotel and the weather was mostly nice. However, due to working all day and being exhausted at night I didn't get out to enjoy it much.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAh9mIZe-KrmWk89vwmAR9NROwGSAsIKweT8d9PFIqFYcWFRqdtoGOOVCzMCeSoR0bz8fuu0EvPA5kBtbgYt0uEyn5Y1ygU20B9eFYBBB__c-WwuyiXYaM-pCmHHg2RnnNXGqkeA/s1600/Garden-+flowers.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAh9mIZe-KrmWk89vwmAR9NROwGSAsIKweT8d9PFIqFYcWFRqdtoGOOVCzMCeSoR0bz8fuu0EvPA5kBtbgYt0uEyn5Y1ygU20B9eFYBBB__c-WwuyiXYaM-pCmHHg2RnnNXGqkeA/s320/Garden-+flowers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484220449544950530" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8b2xufyKRkMJM4-BqoZmjCadz5TKB54c_lwu4GdRGdpoWbzPaDTOuA-rivygsOsx8DZ0vDxDxMAmx0mhfksvQ6_cpf13f4E9fwadBsStOEQie31Cbfr500yNqu0QsRPis4UevpQ/s1600/Garden-+fruit.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8b2xufyKRkMJM4-BqoZmjCadz5TKB54c_lwu4GdRGdpoWbzPaDTOuA-rivygsOsx8DZ0vDxDxMAmx0mhfksvQ6_cpf13f4E9fwadBsStOEQie31Cbfr500yNqu0QsRPis4UevpQ/s320/Garden-+fruit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484220453551965042" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaEXpjk7IHeCL5B_MkRd3blYbNfWDL1E-fzKrJYr4O-iCCclZtfIXs612Tvo7NeJvlTrWOCwxEaFDgvWq_l4uHkhVqmWFvLAYeFLWRsGAgvwU9oJdNuwyreBnY_WY1kzMB5V9U3g/s1600/Garden-veg.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 106px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaEXpjk7IHeCL5B_MkRd3blYbNfWDL1E-fzKrJYr4O-iCCclZtfIXs612Tvo7NeJvlTrWOCwxEaFDgvWq_l4uHkhVqmWFvLAYeFLWRsGAgvwU9oJdNuwyreBnY_WY1kzMB5V9U3g/s320/Garden-veg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484220459283483922" border="0" /></a>Gardening. All the veggies are in, as are all of the flowers. Cucumbers and beans are both growing well. As are peppers, chives, lettuce, and many others. I've even been able to pick a couple of strawberries, although an animal got one of them. Corn is doing ok, but I think the spot it's in just doesn't get enough sun. Some of the broccoli turned to flower. Ugh. Too early for that. The carrots just didn't make it at all. Peonies looked great, as do other flowers. Still want to get a couple more things for the front.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkaD3bVhNSHlK7XYyF936BOhk7JnFAQbCdEHSnoWltf8w4FsydQy7oWmZKzKS86sRLZLZWU9e-zyeRFuo6UU3BsDG2YDc1rJMUMiGyDO_kT9IQKXufBDLwPlVgnOTMQ-q_jgJvlg/s1600/wayside+shearings.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkaD3bVhNSHlK7XYyF936BOhk7JnFAQbCdEHSnoWltf8w4FsydQy7oWmZKzKS86sRLZLZWU9e-zyeRFuo6UU3BsDG2YDc1rJMUMiGyDO_kT9IQKXufBDLwPlVgnOTMQ-q_jgJvlg/s320/wayside+shearings.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484220197902069090" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtKGqQDVyTGT2CCkQGKerRI5Xkv6i6mSapSXmW6mtK0AI096Vuk0xvxnnvnaRnQCSR1fZB7lTyjIV0Quz5qPwWEn9ga6m3_eDxFgdtevnRyVlfZ3a7W6iehB77RJH_GYIdqRhtQ/s1600/OSV1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 183px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtKGqQDVyTGT2CCkQGKerRI5Xkv6i6mSapSXmW6mtK0AI096Vuk0xvxnnvnaRnQCSR1fZB7lTyjIV0Quz5qPwWEn9ga6m3_eDxFgdtevnRyVlfZ3a7W6iehB77RJH_GYIdqRhtQ/s320/OSV1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484220201921005218" border="0" /></a>Sheep Shearing at Wayside Inn and Sturbridge Village. The one at Wayside was pretty low-key. It was the same shearer who did the one we went to last year in Waltham. Sturbridge was nice because they were much more interactive- answering questions, etc. And it's nice to use our membership a bit more.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR_taaLQ7njY5xuZfRHVrLUC_X1G4w3AHC9N4-XDKFJBpYV27-ak-B8M3848W7ZOeVOev2igjalCgcwREK3ufCeqe_VfuNDoEDHP4YwryCvP3GCEN0FM9gY_Z4ivtf3iLejXS57w/s1600/fenway.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR_taaLQ7njY5xuZfRHVrLUC_X1G4w3AHC9N4-XDKFJBpYV27-ak-B8M3848W7ZOeVOev2igjalCgcwREK3ufCeqe_VfuNDoEDHP4YwryCvP3GCEN0FM9gY_Z4ivtf3iLejXS57w/s320/fenway.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484220108950817730" border="0" /></a>Two Red Sox games. I volunteered with a group from work to sell raffle tickets which got me into the first game, and the tickets to the second game were a reward from selling the tickets.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTwZd7y00ga1963HQRaNI990Rzm-o9HJI2HYPCA2XM7hd6X5RSUfRXRydOhkrwZxngAwLk0ME8fXjt1T-BE9rK0BwnmVw6YDOJDJlrbZUiKpXEmn_1FS8r1gB00ekOvIQKUCcgPw/s1600/patio+furniture.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTwZd7y00ga1963HQRaNI990Rzm-o9HJI2HYPCA2XM7hd6X5RSUfRXRydOhkrwZxngAwLk0ME8fXjt1T-BE9rK0BwnmVw6YDOJDJlrbZUiKpXEmn_1FS8r1gB00ekOvIQKUCcgPw/s320/patio+furniture.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484220002027716450" border="0" /></a>New Patio Furniture. We're getting more and more grown up.<br /><br />Chris' parents, Michael, Rebecca and Elizabeth came from Georgia for a week. Here's a run down of what we did.<br /><br />Projects around the house- changing out two lights and installing two new ones over the sideboard, moving the thermostat, fixing a spot on the roof, hopefully fixing a leak at the door of my craft room, and got landscape lights to work again (who knew all they needed was new bulbs!).<br /><br />Candlepin bowling. Isn't this supposed to be easier than 10 pin? I was horrible.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9z8FTeBy2oIaqlVarMBT60-6cdGpdZXrT6lXLmQnngNJabEO9isTMiNgN0APT3HxbpF59XC2aRmQf2adLJkcZJ3cv-YPy03YCXZiwBMl0wtVv2EgRNQou2lH7qwJ1KeDiYNEkVg/s1600/OSV2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9z8FTeBy2oIaqlVarMBT60-6cdGpdZXrT6lXLmQnngNJabEO9isTMiNgN0APT3HxbpF59XC2aRmQf2adLJkcZJ3cv-YPy03YCXZiwBMl0wtVv2EgRNQou2lH7qwJ1KeDiYNEkVg/s320/OSV2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484219824333211522" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ADidwkNr6WyI4PtWVmf7r_X5DEW12U2AdYZ3ihwMsZnOFHeDOp6EILqDo-tCcNkTBGzZyCQ3p4YQ15QFTN7B8SDMk7PpanP4cfwTEUiceSryo-wbMyUZDgXpDOvNON_uVOpsuw/s1600/OSV-+flowers.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ADidwkNr6WyI4PtWVmf7r_X5DEW12U2AdYZ3ihwMsZnOFHeDOp6EILqDo-tCcNkTBGzZyCQ3p4YQ15QFTN7B8SDMk7PpanP4cfwTEUiceSryo-wbMyUZDgXpDOvNON_uVOpsuw/s320/OSV-+flowers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484219831043910258" border="0" /></a>Old Sturbridge Village, again. We're really starting to put that membership to good use. When we were there for Sheep Shearing the week prior, I had really wanted to get a photo of the spark during the rifle demo. Instead all I got was smoke. This time, I had success!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdfnRi9cTFR-_Y-k8Yyj-hgw4tRurjOoTpbvl-o5LK8AixW_hJhRNPKNQZliknA5ZKLcpBuyX8HgKc6t2TcyQbmtD12soM_hPhoiEJ407gInyn47bWbE4ZZTGEqjBZf7sDtOxY5Q/s1600/constitution0.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdfnRi9cTFR-_Y-k8Yyj-hgw4tRurjOoTpbvl-o5LK8AixW_hJhRNPKNQZliknA5ZKLcpBuyX8HgKc6t2TcyQbmtD12soM_hPhoiEJ407gInyn47bWbE4ZZTGEqjBZf7sDtOxY5Q/s320/constitution0.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484219581120327826" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06nqSwC4SL8NQNYgIdm5LlmfWcp71OUrTeHU_QMzL41ssez-rL-KCTFIfNYKgHYxD-dlmxUn4XgZDZlDDptieZ9oXcBZOg1YVKH581spY0V69-zquSQ4lJI-vaT4TjaaECmPK2A/s1600/constitution1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 142px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06nqSwC4SL8NQNYgIdm5LlmfWcp71OUrTeHU_QMzL41ssez-rL-KCTFIfNYKgHYxD-dlmxUn4XgZDZlDDptieZ9oXcBZOg1YVKH581spY0V69-zquSQ4lJI-vaT4TjaaECmPK2A/s320/constitution1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484219640037144850" border="0" /></a>Constitution. Too bad we couldn't go to about half the ship due to renovations.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4J4s6mWQ0f4GDDdh_nQo-yWmjXs2eu0rV2Mu5H5dRSxm1Z3DzZMny1sGmINoprZxs3n_CuJ5oglWUiFRwn6l1KpHvUS8Xs3z3fNnNmTbIEZne_8xljuK-mdjmbDnAITB4f5gQNw/s1600/scooperbowl.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4J4s6mWQ0f4GDDdh_nQo-yWmjXs2eu0rV2Mu5H5dRSxm1Z3DzZMny1sGmINoprZxs3n_CuJ5oglWUiFRwn6l1KpHvUS8Xs3z3fNnNmTbIEZne_8xljuK-mdjmbDnAITB4f5gQNw/s320/scooperbowl.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484201824802245938" border="0" /></a>Scooper Bowl. This is an annual event in Boston to raise money for Cancer reasearch. You buy a spoon and then go to all the vendors for as much ice cream as you would like. The portion sizes are small, but this is probably a good thing. I sampled 9 different ice creams. One was icky so I threw it away, but eating 8 1/2 scoops is a lot! Ben & Jerry's had a yummy Boston Cream Pie, and Edy's had a yummy Caramel Cone. I think those were my two favorites.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL-39B9GDzotCl1ISqQ5_ZFc4jtxyGQuWbkJ62FW6QyPBVtN3BTDcGScmLW0_-544MOP6otEFXnILe0ltdw1VegWpqsohxRiSQy0CIQWkPFrk9Z-AHEfyv1JEg6MlsrSclVMAh1g/s1600/Childrens+Museum.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 158px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL-39B9GDzotCl1ISqQ5_ZFc4jtxyGQuWbkJ62FW6QyPBVtN3BTDcGScmLW0_-544MOP6otEFXnILe0ltdw1VegWpqsohxRiSQy0CIQWkPFrk9Z-AHEfyv1JEg6MlsrSclVMAh1g/s320/Childrens+Museum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484219379563737778" border="0" /></a>Children's Museum. Fun, but they got rid of a number of the exhibits that I remember liking.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfrqVleG0aA6tVvt1l_yXDFfXsGaR64dkwv3thU7SRQJo-MzB6PdLZSoFU0ZUtEM89soILz7DOAnZhWg9avEP4FF63RVA0_kBYYIrNhm6LcGBhLWU_oeJ84BA36HhzegK0Xq_JA/s1600/Derby.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 169px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfrqVleG0aA6tVvt1l_yXDFfXsGaR64dkwv3thU7SRQJo-MzB6PdLZSoFU0ZUtEM89soILz7DOAnZhWg9avEP4FF63RVA0_kBYYIrNhm6LcGBhLWU_oeJ84BA36HhzegK0Xq_JA/s320/Derby.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484214360685847618" border="0" /></a>Elizabeth made a Derby car. At first she was reluctant, but she really got into it in the end. In fact, on the 2nd and 3rd days of working on it, when we came home from other activities she even let Uncle Chris know that they had to go work on it. Here she is sanding and painting. As she was working on it, Uncle Chris and I were the only ones who were allowed to see it. I hope it's nice and fast!<br /><br />Baby stuff! Lots from the Rummage Sale, some clothes from Wisconsin, TONS of clothes and other stuff from Georgia. Plus we just got a couple of things from one of Chris' co-workers. The house is starting to be overrun with baby stuff, and we've barely started.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhE_eLruWwqrMoYVtgx89UH4Y_wRg8JYaZ40RQSGelnlf74yWnHbN0gZRoGYjoKLgAcqH_t2AJbTTIdZeNWcfzHWkdklxyS0cvnRPapQKj51a2bCOCq6OTh9OYu4gTq47iqdG9UQ/s1600/clothes.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 189px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhE_eLruWwqrMoYVtgx89UH4Y_wRg8JYaZ40RQSGelnlf74yWnHbN0gZRoGYjoKLgAcqH_t2AJbTTIdZeNWcfzHWkdklxyS0cvnRPapQKj51a2bCOCq6OTh9OYu4gTq47iqdG9UQ/s320/clothes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484203075833413586" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNRFJmJXdpIHsy4s7pemxNVa6OcuuiREPQjmmRKqHz0Yd8To2_SSR8mbj4OO-m1tz9PNj9ySvtwZJF6d8wFAFyZZaOps9y3Bl6Q61KZlA-BTU6Vh4oT2TkFxM6kGdEPpMxBufIHQ/s1600/rummage.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNRFJmJXdpIHsy4s7pemxNVa6OcuuiREPQjmmRKqHz0Yd8To2_SSR8mbj4OO-m1tz9PNj9ySvtwZJF6d8wFAFyZZaOps9y3Bl6Q61KZlA-BTU6Vh4oT2TkFxM6kGdEPpMxBufIHQ/s320/rummage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484203084674096194" border="0" /></a>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-39480601578143679262010-05-02T14:17:00.003-04:002010-05-02T14:31:36.348-04:00Productive weekend!Saturday wasn't all that productive. I went to a scrapbook convention, about an hour away. I spent an hour there and came home empty-handed. Ok, so it's good for my bank account that I came home empty handed, but it still cost me $7 to get in and $3 to park. Not to mention the 2 hours of driving. Blech. I just haven't been scrapping much, so nothing really jumped out at me as a "must buy".<br /><br />When I came home I was feeling a bit tired so I took a nap for a bit. Then after dinner we watched Back to the Future II. Did you know that in 5 years we're supposed to have flying cars? Somehow I don't think the technology will be advancing that quickly.<br /><br />Sunday was a bit more busy. We woke up kind of early and went for a bike ride. We live very close to a bike path, but this is the first time we've been out there (other than a short walk a month or so ago). The problem was that when we moved we had a washer and dryer in the shed blocking our bikes. We were planning to sell them, but I don't think either of us was really all that motivated to actually place an ad and deal with calls. Then in January I found a charity that would take them. But in January there was snow between the shed and the driveway. And then I got pregnant and could no longer lift heavy things. Finally last weekend my dad came over and helped load them into Chris' truck. The shed seems so much more spacious now!<br /><br />So the nice thing is that at 9am on a Sunday there aren't too many people out on the bike path. And it also was pretty cool. Right now (at 2:20) it's about 83 degrees. The bad thing is that it was mostly downhill going away from the house which means you really have to work to get home. We went about 4 miles (turns out we almost were at the end) and then it started sprinkling so we headed back. Plus we didn't know how much further it went and I knew we had the hills on the return.<br /><br />When we got home I did a bit of gardening. Watered my strawberries, rhubarb, and asparagus. 4 of the 5 rows of asparagus are looking good. Hopefully the other one is just taking a little longer. Something had dug up one of my strawberry plants, but I put it back in. And I guess I'm not too concerned. Strawberries send off runners with new plants, so if that one doesn't make it, I can always replace it with one of the runners.<br /><br />When I planted the rhubarb one had looked much better than the other, but now the runty one is looking ok. Hopefully next year I'll be able to make a strawberry-rhubarb pie with fruit from my garden!<br /><br />I also did a bit of transplanting and planting of other seeds. Not sure if they'll make it- may be too early, but this super nice weather gets me itching to plant. I transplanted some scallions and mesclun, and planted seeds for some carrots, more scallions, a row of corn, and a nasturtium. The corn is the only one I'm really thinking might be too early. The seed packed says "after all danger of frost" but I also had read something that said it was ok to plant when oak leaves are as big as a squirrel's ear. I have plenty of seeds though, so if it is too early I can always replant.<br /><br />Now I'm off to my mom's to pay her bills. And then maybe a stop at the grocery store on the way home. And if it's cooled off at all when I get back, I may do a bit more gardening- need to prune the rose bushes and pick up some leaves and sticks from the front flower beds.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-79158257884264958482010-04-21T09:57:00.011-04:002010-04-21T10:28:53.988-04:00Floods, gardening, and what were they thinking?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA_fpU8zRakIoYafBb2XmlyCvEp7ea3qpKgSEwejgE70SmCdWIAgnX6nd4BA9Y4Eq6FQHrQhItKMZxswnHq8zdjbrN8zsj4IpLDllIxW1pAyFRogO6_JzGEc3D_LA3SeSfg4pJMA/s1600/Flood.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA_fpU8zRakIoYafBb2XmlyCvEp7ea3qpKgSEwejgE70SmCdWIAgnX6nd4BA9Y4Eq6FQHrQhItKMZxswnHq8zdjbrN8zsj4IpLDllIxW1pAyFRogO6_JzGEc3D_LA3SeSfg4pJMA/s320/Flood.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462596539361011106" border="0" /></a>Remember how I mentioned that we had a lot of rain in March? I think it was actually the wettest month on record. In fact, for a few days our commute was really screwy. The way we normally go to work was flooded and then our alternate route had flooded as well. One night it took us over 2 hours to get home after sitting in bumper to bumper detour traffic. Not fun at all. This photo was from our normal route the day the road finally reopened. As you can see, it's till pretty flooded. Not fun. This photo was taken April 5th. By now traffic is back to normal. Rivers and lakes are starting to return to normal levels. Unfortunately there was a library near this intersection that is still closed. They've already filled multiple dumpsters. And they may even still be pumping out water.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsSy-s_suOC4vrgcjSVaE2WULV14xCueWMoD9gWVBtsdLk4daGT25joxG-1d1UDRih7mfL0d5sVhcoQDFJdHyZZ4ZQK8kRyTNF1sp147dIy6iZmoEyxh0Rn5ZjanZYxtNHBQvF2g/s1600/Mulch.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsSy-s_suOC4vrgcjSVaE2WULV14xCueWMoD9gWVBtsdLk4daGT25joxG-1d1UDRih7mfL0d5sVhcoQDFJdHyZZ4ZQK8kRyTNF1sp147dIy6iZmoEyxh0Rn5ZjanZYxtNHBQvF2g/s320/Mulch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462594877015411874" border="0" /></a>On the home front, to make the garden all nice and pretty we ordered 4 yards of mulch. In hindsight 3 yards probably would have been sufficient, but we found places to lay it down a little thicker, etc.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkuWlcH9Mb2E89MWEXmbZOT3IoKmvgwZGsPkAbB-dw3gsNWc8YKh8PCpA74Panf2zuTeRY67yPsUH_D6SuZsIQuSG_QafyCcQrfKrYTAa9w9rUWCQpZ9hFlli9vHwfeWnin-TYeg/s1600/Graden-+Sep+09.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkuWlcH9Mb2E89MWEXmbZOT3IoKmvgwZGsPkAbB-dw3gsNWc8YKh8PCpA74Panf2zuTeRY67yPsUH_D6SuZsIQuSG_QafyCcQrfKrYTAa9w9rUWCQpZ9hFlli9vHwfeWnin-TYeg/s320/Graden-+Sep+09.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462594783535622802" border="0" /></a>The largest bed that we put it on is in the front of the house. This first photo is what it looked like when we bought the house. A patch of grass completely surrounded by beds with perennials. How exactly are we supposed to get in there and mow it? Yeah, we thought it was pretty stupid. So we ripped it out. :) We planted more perennials. It looked horrible all fall and winter. Basically a big mud pit. I tried to put down some wood shavings to act as much and to keep the mud under control, but the wind ended up blowing a lot of the shavings away.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpPhrF64mqKDCOOX-1gUiN3c8EM8I-ZH8l6d2zLiJ3-tZ9H5uPmFRGQSUojO4kgvEvo6TQYHivb1oNmHsf8qWQcHR-YS5N58KWYUvu7Qd1HJb1PkzS_Wr0TeDJfeIadVxOWZvoA/s1600/Garden-+Apr+10.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpPhrF64mqKDCOOX-1gUiN3c8EM8I-ZH8l6d2zLiJ3-tZ9H5uPmFRGQSUojO4kgvEvo6TQYHivb1oNmHsf8qWQcHR-YS5N58KWYUvu7Qd1HJb1PkzS_Wr0TeDJfeIadVxOWZvoA/s320/Garden-+Apr+10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462594698119611698" border="0" /></a>With the delivery of the mulch, we finally were able to make it look nice. Ah, so much better and no longer a huge eye sore. I'm sure the old owners thought we were crazy. Turns out they had just redone the landscaping before they put the house on the market, and then we tore it all out. And I'm sure they weren't pleased with how the mud pit looked. But finally it looks good. I'll probably add some more things- maybe some perennials, maybe some annuals. Who knows. The only annoying thing is that some of the stuff I planted hasn't come up yet and I'm starting to think it may not. I know I planted 2 more peonies, I transplanted a calla lilly, I think only 3 of 5 day lillies have sprouted, and I think there are even one or two other things that haven't come up yet. Hopefully they are just slow, but I may have to see what kind of guarantee the plants had. Or dig around a bit and hope that maybe I just planted them too deep. Either way, in a month or two it should look nice.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72AYWGASrh-A-mEJNNxBLSQbH5y0mYihZEt78MgoecB2wwL3y-fU8dtKS-ILiGaeAQYbMT5MuFCP59iPXiWexRO2Ve0BM2wLCAplNP0JhM2VobygVFIlR47f9JjncTAXrQv4Rug/s1600/Sign.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72AYWGASrh-A-mEJNNxBLSQbH5y0mYihZEt78MgoecB2wwL3y-fU8dtKS-ILiGaeAQYbMT5MuFCP59iPXiWexRO2Ve0BM2wLCAplNP0JhM2VobygVFIlR47f9JjncTAXrQv4Rug/s320/Sign.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462590832970105378" border="0" /></a>We stopped at the grocery store last night on the way home from work. My food desire of the day was hot dogs. We had the dogs but didn't have buns. We also needed charcoal. And then we agreed on spicy curly fries to go with the hot dogs.<br /><br />I have to say, being pregnant is good for getting what I want for dinner. :) Chris has been good about going along with my desires, even when it included sloppy joes, which he dislikes.<br /><br />Anyway, as I was sitting in the car while Chris went into the grocery store I looked over and saw this sign at the cart corral. Really? Have we gotten so addicted to text speak that we can't write out the word "for"? And it's not as if there wasn't space for it on the sign. Blech.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikKMvWvoBK88AGkmDOS6_FqAIh2XcO_xeraqz3EajMEyUXGI-gei5zqv6qcKAhfN7fS7vapWZ8MERlyHtb-6xyPSlTJakXwrsdi6zxksYp4Bpxon26-V2RPSJ4nY1PIbwDcI2tGw/s1600/Asparagus1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikKMvWvoBK88AGkmDOS6_FqAIh2XcO_xeraqz3EajMEyUXGI-gei5zqv6qcKAhfN7fS7vapWZ8MERlyHtb-6xyPSlTJakXwrsdi6zxksYp4Bpxon26-V2RPSJ4nY1PIbwDcI2tGw/s320/Asparagus1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462590825093206802" border="0" /></a>Back on the gardening front, remember my earlier post where I said we planted the asparagus? Well that was about a month ago now and every time I looked at the bed I saw nothing. Well not tonight! It's probably because I was looking at the bed from the deck or from across the lawn. But last night while we were grilling our hot dogs we went down and actually looked at the bed. Out of 20 crowns that I plants, about 5 or 6 of them have now sprouted. Yay!!!! I really don't understand why, but this makes me very excited. I've included a picture with my finger next to a stalk to show you how skinny they are. But that's ok. They'll get better. I can't wait until next year when we really can start harvesting.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtONHSCzZKfH4zMt503jxyT_2MNMozKB33NU0NHSzkIbnlgXuPhfYR4VK7y5qpGY20ZIquxdt5LhOSS4KrBZQl-vN6FIYErj9AINhmqxM2LEL6Kp4R0xx_HJAWhyVR2HFoNK3pA/s1600/Asparagus2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtONHSCzZKfH4zMt503jxyT_2MNMozKB33NU0NHSzkIbnlgXuPhfYR4VK7y5qpGY20ZIquxdt5LhOSS4KrBZQl-vN6FIYErj9AINhmqxM2LEL6Kp4R0xx_HJAWhyVR2HFoNK3pA/s320/Asparagus2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462590822176433570" border="0" /></a>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-29997063081751022732010-04-18T15:31:00.004-04:002010-04-18T15:41:24.543-04:00New additions...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5jrmYW1dAmK3uoRhyphenhyphenElkB82hmW2Psta8TjbXfVrSjCHsL0Fjy6IsiuY-iYTG1Ngmblgd57OWQXbSLvNVsAt5T1ZRO3uXzLjO6Kq0WUTk5lvognQshzp07hBHKgMJ2dMoCK3ngxg/s1600/Online-blurred+info.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5jrmYW1dAmK3uoRhyphenhyphenElkB82hmW2Psta8TjbXfVrSjCHsL0Fjy6IsiuY-iYTG1Ngmblgd57OWQXbSLvNVsAt5T1ZRO3uXzLjO6Kq0WUTk5lvognQshzp07hBHKgMJ2dMoCK3ngxg/s400/Online-blurred+info.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461563492589257394" border="0" /></a>A new addition to the family is coming this fall! This ultrasound was from back in mid-March. Baby was just a blob then, hence the arrow and the text that the tech added to the photo.<br /><br />Baby Bredford is due November 4th, although I would happily deliver 5 days early and have a Halloween baby. :) Feel free to go <a href="http://bredfordfamily.blogspot.com/">here</a> to follow along as Baby develops.<br /><br />The past few days have been filled with telling people. Thursday and Friday I started to tell people at work and yesterday I announced at skating (only 1 more lesson and then I'll stop for the rest of my pregnancy) and at a family reunion.<br /><br />Announcing at the family reunion was interesting. No idea why I was so nervous, but I was shaking when I got up to announce, and for a few minutes after I sat back down. We apparently have a dowser in the family, and he came over and offered to tell us the sex of the baby. (He claims that he generally is correct about 80% of the time.) I kind of thought about it, but we declined since we'd already decided that we aren't going to find out the gender of the baby.<br /><br />And one of the final announcements came this morning when I announced on Facebook.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-38451408169451715152010-04-15T11:32:00.002-04:002010-04-15T11:33:38.720-04:00Really?I just looked at the forecast for this weekend. Didn't the weather gods get the memo that it's mid-April and we'd like nice weather?<br /><br /><table class="dayEven" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="dayLead" colspan="3">Saturday Night</td></tr> <tr> <td class="dayIcon" width="50"><br /></td> <td class="dayDesc">Rain in the evening...then rain showers likely with a <span style="font-weight: bold;">chance of snow showers</span> after midnight. Little or no snow accumulation. Lows in the mid 30s. Chance of precipitation 80 percent.</td> <td width="15"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <table class="dayOdd" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="dayLead" colspan="3">Sunday</td></tr> <tr> <td class="dayIcon" width="50"><br /></td> <td class="dayDesc">Mostly cloudy. A chance of rain and <span style="font-weight: bold;">snow showers in the morning</span>...then a chance of showers in the afternoon. Highs around 50. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.</td></tr></tbody></table>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-19743065473763563122010-04-05T11:43:00.006-04:002010-04-05T12:11:38.702-04:00Spring has sprung!I'm probably jinxing myself by saying this, but it definitely feels like Spring has Sprung! After a few weeks of rain, we've had fabulous weather for the past 4 days or so, and it looks like it will hold for most of the week.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh49LvLSsYfQPGzox4K4-GelPHQS-AVJJz6gaU69rRitmJ2KKFoBS16GLBBo5_w_W_7pGe84Oir1Uo5V2KNI0HnJ-JeTcvRNyNmqEUj5-JCRkeTRjMR9Ra64VOH0Of1yxFLWmZ1Fw/s1600/Asparagus.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh49LvLSsYfQPGzox4K4-GelPHQS-AVJJz6gaU69rRitmJ2KKFoBS16GLBBo5_w_W_7pGe84Oir1Uo5V2KNI0HnJ-JeTcvRNyNmqEUj5-JCRkeTRjMR9Ra64VOH0Of1yxFLWmZ1Fw/s320/Asparagus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456683195764165378" border="0" /></a>A few months ago I planned out my garden and ordered plants/seeds. The seeds were shipped at that point, but all of the plants are shipped out when the company thinks is the appropriate time for them to be planted in your region. Imagine my surprise when on March 13th I got an email saying that my asparagus has shipped. Eek. We weren't ready. We hadn't built the bed yet where they would be planted. With rain in the forecast for the coming weekend we took the 17th off to get the bed built. Of course these things have a way of taking longer than you imagine. Luckily the rain held off for the weekend and we were able to get it finished and get the asparagus planted. The photo shows the asparagus on rows of compost. It was then filled in with more dirt/compost/llama-poop-fertilizer.<br /><br />It's a good thing we got the asparagus in when we did, because we were then met with another week of rain. This is making our commute interesting because many roads are flooded. But the rain ended last week and we had a weekend with temperatures in the 70s. Saturday I spent some time picking maple seedlings out of the front flower bed. Wow, there were a lot of them. I was putting them into a paper grocery bag as I pulled them out, and I probably got at least a half inch of the bag full. That's a lot of trees! Now I just need to get some mulch ordered and delivered so that we can get that spread in the flower beds.<br /><br />We once again hosted Easter this year, with a mix of family and friends. There were 12 of us, and it's a good thing the weather was so nice. I wasn't really sure how we were going to fit 12 people in the dining room, so I decided that we should eat out on the porch instead. Perfect! Wish I'd gotten a picture of the table. It was a little tight, but not bad. Brunch consisted of French Toast (with strawberries or syrup topping), bacon, quiche, deviled eggs, cinnamon rolls, and ham.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhmfk2Y6bEwbwP4hRmm4BEWmjx0qIs0d9GsOk_NCHAlZ__0TfPEUvo7BNc68B2aRwpqBK4XhDEJexZdzhIjrUZ2ELo6H9w3dyHKpvpckmZe3LGg-Wea3WaADxUcxuwq5dKln7Odw/s1600/Flowers2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhmfk2Y6bEwbwP4hRmm4BEWmjx0qIs0d9GsOk_NCHAlZ__0TfPEUvo7BNc68B2aRwpqBK4XhDEJexZdzhIjrUZ2ELo6H9w3dyHKpvpckmZe3LGg-Wea3WaADxUcxuwq5dKln7Odw/s320/Flowers2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456680124038787058" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr9U8U_SWI_5V3IrnqrYvZn0OjauIw5WPCtQpe7AQHI8GfxKpy-EUaEB9j8Wl8fzBhLylQHjxaUbBwA4hrgOpkAwVswQX8MgAS024sKs_otWYfwd_e2cXAFjZHTRMsuHwA4uYGsQ/s1600/Flowers3.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr9U8U_SWI_5V3IrnqrYvZn0OjauIw5WPCtQpe7AQHI8GfxKpy-EUaEB9j8Wl8fzBhLylQHjxaUbBwA4hrgOpkAwVswQX8MgAS024sKs_otWYfwd_e2cXAFjZHTRMsuHwA4uYGsQ/s320/Flowers3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456680226246727698" border="0" /></a>And the house is starting to look like a florist shop! I had bought a couple of bouquets on Saturday and then other people brought flowers with them. Some of them were absolutely gorgeous!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7gD8e7gLpDtgceEgV0-_99q8MtsM7OQMFrovnyBceBbs5wTAPPV1qan_iAqXFoOnD4I0t2tawEF8VZaoBWGnwa_VandVCy8WgLtARdHquY_1gDwUPx5E3eBLnbHNUj0J_CVqwQ/s1600/Flowers1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7gD8e7gLpDtgceEgV0-_99q8MtsM7OQMFrovnyBceBbs5wTAPPV1qan_iAqXFoOnD4I0t2tawEF8VZaoBWGnwa_VandVCy8WgLtARdHquY_1gDwUPx5E3eBLnbHNUj0J_CVqwQ/s320/Flowers1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456680109975485986" border="0" /></a>Joining us for Easter were Mom and her caregiver Iko, Dad, Liz, and Hanna, Andrew and Gentry, and friends York, Desta, and Kristin. After eating we played some badminton, and then after the "adults" had left, we played Telestrations. It was interesting since we had some repeat words this time from when we've played before. Photos of everyone are below.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOanzMkq5dUKPHTIl7AziZI74qBW7nAsd_ak4Rm70goikPBlMJjhpHd1l0M6RkV92iKnyBtLTtUdnlAyaLWKSvUZXa6_9GVRFTOY2TD0fH9UpP8JRevOZ7sItP71EIKAyG7GdWHw/s1600/Mom-Iko.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOanzMkq5dUKPHTIl7AziZI74qBW7nAsd_ak4Rm70goikPBlMJjhpHd1l0M6RkV92iKnyBtLTtUdnlAyaLWKSvUZXa6_9GVRFTOY2TD0fH9UpP8JRevOZ7sItP71EIKAyG7GdWHw/s320/Mom-Iko.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456680320403238818" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIz3vwPr5heXID7CVcO7O0SoIZ9tcgaQ2j0m5C_18Hj87UiBTaVBplXSOPx-I6TSz-t38Hczi31r3cgpHFqedmabyEqXfqRT9QEV_7uR2uAJRrCpBq5MTqzJ2oxTI7XhgZWvPQw/s1600/WestSt.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIz3vwPr5heXID7CVcO7O0SoIZ9tcgaQ2j0m5C_18Hj87UiBTaVBplXSOPx-I6TSz-t38Hczi31r3cgpHFqedmabyEqXfqRT9QEV_7uR2uAJRrCpBq5MTqzJ2oxTI7XhgZWvPQw/s320/WestSt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456680236158834578" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBDxVDFOOnIrdh_Kh4KBXerSkjdIw4IkT5ln0rvxdgG7-ta7WgaiCMSLLLtNk9OqhLmDLt6QGaDoiXbD7LQcjU9ETpl4YucA1DAsl5ArLTUUWDZj-lBocq4-bQ9MVPvr004xCBpQ/s1600/Badminton.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBDxVDFOOnIrdh_Kh4KBXerSkjdIw4IkT5ln0rvxdgG7-ta7WgaiCMSLLLtNk9OqhLmDLt6QGaDoiXbD7LQcjU9ETpl4YucA1DAsl5ArLTUUWDZj-lBocq4-bQ9MVPvr004xCBpQ/s320/Badminton.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456680106802739554" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA9JogDemW2iNI-APFF_6JVrtXZDrDAih1I0vQ_yUBoKn4TmvFMd-3h9xBauBR0iPXAUV7OoZczOBPz201mnPJhSfvk24NZxFUzsgRSvqPWBvLGyrljuP3AjgBEmRWd3zpxyABBA/s1600/Andrew-Gentry.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA9JogDemW2iNI-APFF_6JVrtXZDrDAih1I0vQ_yUBoKn4TmvFMd-3h9xBauBR0iPXAUV7OoZczOBPz201mnPJhSfvk24NZxFUzsgRSvqPWBvLGyrljuP3AjgBEmRWd3zpxyABBA/s320/Andrew-Gentry.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456680098529167010" border="0" /></a>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-78423667672509999242010-02-28T20:30:00.003-05:002010-02-28T20:37:36.881-05:00Knitting/ skating time<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSJSKS2wok_ZHm865hVvmWc7tYVQsREUyjviDjhgTvSvv0osQM1-1mvDYtEMoTLDp6nVNezlCZUEm-JJ75aQY5PpaUo09dBW-D_sBXJOJhtJHMjWKGikBQ2mdzo5Hstzps4n6O_g/s1600-h/skating.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSJSKS2wok_ZHm865hVvmWc7tYVQsREUyjviDjhgTvSvv0osQM1-1mvDYtEMoTLDp6nVNezlCZUEm-JJ75aQY5PpaUo09dBW-D_sBXJOJhtJHMjWKGikBQ2mdzo5Hstzps4n6O_g/s400/skating.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443472033213399138" border="0" /></a>So a few weeks ago I decided to make some legwarmers to wear for skaitng. I don't wear them for my Saturday group class, but I've also been taking private lessons on Sundays to prepare for my competition in two weeks. Since it's a more intense class I wear my skating dress and tights (and a sweatshirt). But since it's cold at the rink I decided I wanted some legwarmers. They took about a week and a half to finish.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPoztmuCA7zQ05DqNAoABmwRxagxYydmo5z6OHpfz8E5EPhYhF4RrakGpvngK_XxtJ3Et00erb8w3HTnfRNYW60iVz6fCIgR3AK1LOqqtqGsy9XNHzq7yF8ls56HGI4z5Gi0TfdQ/s1600-h/legs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPoztmuCA7zQ05DqNAoABmwRxagxYydmo5z6OHpfz8E5EPhYhF4RrakGpvngK_XxtJ3Et00erb8w3HTnfRNYW60iVz6fCIgR3AK1LOqqtqGsy9XNHzq7yF8ls56HGI4z5Gi0TfdQ/s400/legs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443472037031792146" border="0" /></a>The dress is what I'll be wearing for my competition. As you can see, I've added some trim to the top and bottom. The trim at the top makes it a little difficult to get in and out since it isn't stretchy, but it's not too bad. And I sewed it on with fairly big stitches, so it will be easy to change if I want different decoration at a later point in time.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-25395185391476213232010-02-27T23:07:00.002-05:002010-02-27T23:12:05.463-05:00CongratsCongrats to my brother Andrew and his <s>girlfriend</s> fiance, Gentry, who just got engaged!<br /><br />To quote Andrew when he called me,<br /><blockquote>It's early, so you can't say "no you're not". I asked Gentry to marry me and she said yes.<br /></blockquote><br />So for some back story.... When Chris and I got engaged, I called Andrew to tell him. But it was 11:00 or so, he was in bed, and I woke him up. So when I told him, he replied, "No you're not." Yeah, thanks for the support.<br /><br />I was a bit more supportive to his news.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-21575971690596130772010-02-24T14:05:00.004-05:002010-02-24T14:13:00.795-05:00Fun new game<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhnU5lGX8u-pbfEGfobKcgFO303kMxpZh6tAd0-dXx_NoOafqlI-Fxkf3W1xSfeiOgAHcClbbxFuimvlPvNW-bBeZkZ8UgCiKpilElB1vtVeYCF2yl8iEaGKb_8gcKnXI82tFs7g/s1600-h/Telestrations.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhnU5lGX8u-pbfEGfobKcgFO303kMxpZh6tAd0-dXx_NoOafqlI-Fxkf3W1xSfeiOgAHcClbbxFuimvlPvNW-bBeZkZ8UgCiKpilElB1vtVeYCF2yl8iEaGKb_8gcKnXI82tFs7g/s200/Telestrations.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441888351293190354" border="0" /></a>Shortly after Christmas Chris and I got <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Telestrations-Telephone-Game-Sketched-Out/dp/B001SN8GF4">this game</a>. A few people saw it and agreed that it looked like fun, but we didn't get a chance to play until Saturday. O. M. G. I don't think I've laughed this much in years!<br /><br />Basically each player gets a card with a word on it that they draw. Then they pass their sketchbook to the next person. That person looks at the drawing and write down on the next page what they think it is. They then pass the books to the next person. That person looks at the new word and draw it. Etc. Until it gets back to the original person. You then reveal all of the drawings and guesses.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHerLbrT14SkesbQ1syHsPg3qzIX3e-6bV3SNUAYRkmAdGKr6PXFGospDc9N8i6Amc-ZXYBeAJUr0OThnxTZU1kvXcqi6yIb8ENIKgiDETup1c38TTmOhQhDsP7Q_0n1bNkQZmw/s1600-h/example.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHerLbrT14SkesbQ1syHsPg3qzIX3e-6bV3SNUAYRkmAdGKr6PXFGospDc9N8i6Amc-ZXYBeAJUr0OThnxTZU1kvXcqi6yIb8ENIKgiDETup1c38TTmOhQhDsP7Q_0n1bNkQZmw/s400/example.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441889539319173714" border="0" /></a>So in the example here, the word is kickball and by the end it's swiss cheese.<br /><br />When we played, it was interesting how some stayed pretty consistent throughout. Others started off one way and then switched to something else halfway through, and others.... Yeah, there was a lot of laughing!<br /><br />If you play games with 4 or more people, I highly recommend this.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-56055426442130222362010-02-16T14:53:00.002-05:002010-02-16T14:58:02.455-05:00Cream Cheese Frosting<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXtuaetW5yd6cQEz7_edHe95-isRvbHIFzlVLiQbaivEOWQBLFqMFqDSg1fgfRkgF9y-W92UJR-st6r3SQ6XvfRCz-XV2Yfqfmim11vyZhwWK0L35HH-c29yB3fe1PB-i4mKMY1w/s1600-h/IMG_0004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXtuaetW5yd6cQEz7_edHe95-isRvbHIFzlVLiQbaivEOWQBLFqMFqDSg1fgfRkgF9y-W92UJR-st6r3SQ6XvfRCz-XV2Yfqfmim11vyZhwWK0L35HH-c29yB3fe1PB-i4mKMY1w/s200/IMG_0004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438931895673935074" border="0" /></a>Every time I make a recipe that calls for cream cheese frosting, I fall in love. This time was no exception.<br /><br />I decided that in honor of Valentine's Day I should make red velvet cupcakes. Chris saw the recipe which included a note from someone who commented that it made a LOT of frosting and that next time she would half the recipe. Chris scoffed, so I made the recipe as written. We now have a container full of leftover frosting.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyVzui0wmpDo7fbea9iONbsZNupAHDyCHCFmqOU8K_yQBoXU0hbpa9slqb_B_lcI1qnouW-F4i_bnKYgrm065e8sxNufk3IBNolQrBEZ0B0p2z7M0PVjRNzjpnng6vEMI25_4s_A/s1600-h/IMG_0006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyVzui0wmpDo7fbea9iONbsZNupAHDyCHCFmqOU8K_yQBoXU0hbpa9slqb_B_lcI1qnouW-F4i_bnKYgrm065e8sxNufk3IBNolQrBEZ0B0p2z7M0PVjRNzjpnng6vEMI25_4s_A/s200/IMG_0006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438931905644768066" border="0" /></a>We also decided that for future holidays I should just change the color of the food coloring. So there very well could be green velvet cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day. I also think I need to get a large star tip for decorating purposes.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-48080746391949816442010-02-09T10:00:00.000-05:002010-02-09T10:00:06.375-05:00Work in progress<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJRnFlnIIlgWYE6vBUq1wXL_-XCYOw73aSoHmaWYBWSkhyfJpIqngDSZ1erJX6kx1WwoZbYsu8xcm_fyPb9z3-pFGmemE2oWJ9hiIMyY3rVXfDfDdoH_C7ymzcR8GT0YKCc-PLg/s1600-h/legwarmer.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJRnFlnIIlgWYE6vBUq1wXL_-XCYOw73aSoHmaWYBWSkhyfJpIqngDSZ1erJX6kx1WwoZbYsu8xcm_fyPb9z3-pFGmemE2oWJ9hiIMyY3rVXfDfDdoH_C7ymzcR8GT0YKCc-PLg/s200/legwarmer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436088458161296018" border="0" /></a>So here's a work in progress of my legwarmers. The color is all wrong, but I love the texture of it. Unfortunately I don't know if I'm going to have enough yarn. The pattern said two skeins, which is what I bought, so I thought I would be good. But as I'm knitting, I realized I'm nowhere near the finished length, but my yarn is quickly running out. So I check the pattern. 2 skeins, but 100g each. The yarn I bought was 50g per skein. Doh! Hopefully the store will have more of the same color. It could be challenging because this yarn has been discontinued. If they don't have it, I'll have to do something creative with mixing in different colors or trying to find the yarn elsewhere.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-47953182913801231452010-02-08T08:54:00.005-05:002010-02-08T09:30:59.823-05:00Skating and music and knitting, oh my!Yesterday out on the ice, I sucked! I got better, but the first time through practicing my program I was downright awful! I think it was the lack of warming up, plus I wanted to do well so of course I was bad. My coach commented that she knew I could do these things and that I just needed to relax.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtASwViAuQArVvmObvZAPEojXKoZfAy_H7cGQyCv8p07zJhLaUKeMQvGjr7WpZrwkph1QIjDqxgF0aU6ynBr9glpps-Dy9zFAo4PfWuDZh_9NvHsQAoaNtIuI3t1M9vneQBlclA/s1600-h/dress2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 116px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtASwViAuQArVvmObvZAPEojXKoZfAy_H7cGQyCv8p07zJhLaUKeMQvGjr7WpZrwkph1QIjDqxgF0aU6ynBr9glpps-Dy9zFAo4PfWuDZh_9NvHsQAoaNtIuI3t1M9vneQBlclA/s200/dress2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435873283417523746" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioPgvOt5VWItcrU5kcdQra13xBwQHYtWt1eZxOlvFczw7VdVHKRh54eKKluSRJ7JpYQUENJdXXL0dnLuzocaKnthKNk_Eowjd9iIb9nu13XOOJRY9rWSR9U1xLKq_J4VQU7EU2nA/s1600-h/dress1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 119px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioPgvOt5VWItcrU5kcdQra13xBwQHYtWt1eZxOlvFczw7VdVHKRh54eKKluSRJ7JpYQUENJdXXL0dnLuzocaKnthKNk_Eowjd9iIb9nu13XOOJRY9rWSR9U1xLKq_J4VQU7EU2nA/s200/dress1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435873279473738594" border="0" /></a>Saturday I went and got my dress. I had looked at dresses online and noticed how crazy expensive they were. I figured I would look locally and see what I could get and then order online if I couldn't find anything. So my coach and classmates suggested that I go to a local store in Framingham. I did, and here's my dress. Except I got it in black. I had thought about getting one in a simmery black velvet, but they didn't have a style that I liked in that color. <br /><br />But holy expensive, Batman! This was more than the ones I saw online. Well, more than the cheap ones I was considering. However, I know this fits and it was comfortable, so I guess it was worth the price. Now I just need to pick up some tights. And I think next week I'll start practicing in it.<br /><br />Saturday while driving around I was flipping through radio stations and found a fun one. And Chris and I have now discovered a new favorite song. :) <a href="http://leenyandtamara.com/leenyandtamara_music.html">Ladybug, Ladybug, Ladybu-u-ug</a>. Yes, it's a kids song. No, we don't care.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAUx4WxHOXb7vRWWEm44TQ4MDPrPWjfBr01DvpkWyLgWJFvNCih98teqvWcTj505IHUjh0sb5EdknOAd0SVU_9lI-WYjCoLkwAdpAMCjLLzImu0VZZhkDxVC2wAG-v54k6Lh-3g/s1600-h/eggplant.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAUx4WxHOXb7vRWWEm44TQ4MDPrPWjfBr01DvpkWyLgWJFvNCih98teqvWcTj505IHUjh0sb5EdknOAd0SVU_9lI-WYjCoLkwAdpAMCjLLzImu0VZZhkDxVC2wAG-v54k6Lh-3g/s200/eggplant.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435873290270798754" border="0" /></a>And in knitting news, I'm still working on a secret project, but it is almost done. However, I've taken a break and started on some <a href="http://www.purlbee.com/spiral-rib-leg-warmers/">legwarmers</a>. I figure they could be good for skating. I just started them last night, so we'll see if I can finish them by the weekend or not. If I do, chances of me getting burned out are high. Last weekend I finished up my eggplant, pictured here. The pattern book used the alternate word, aubergine, which I love. I also love the word courgette.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-12274853972211115642010-02-03T09:10:00.002-05:002010-02-03T09:13:45.267-05:00Fun timesSo last night as Chris was driving home, a cop pulled out behind him. And the cop was behind him for about a half mile or so, following him through lights and turns, etc. Then, two houses away from being home, the cop turns his lights on and pulls Chris over.<br /><br />Cop: Do you know why I pulled you over?<br />Chris: Actually, I have no idea.<br />Cop: Your inspection sticker has expired.<br />Chris: I just got it inspected last week!<br />Cop: Oh, well my computer says it's expired. Maybe the records just didn't get updated yet.<br /><br />The cop even got out his flashlight and looked at the sticker. Luckily not too closely as he did, indeed, have an expired sticker. However, Chris did bring it in for service a week ago and he paid for an inspection. He just never received that inspection. Fun times.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-73953172863531882572010-02-01T11:56:00.003-05:002010-02-01T12:13:48.072-05:00Competition TimeFor probably about a year now, my skating teacher and other classmates have been saying that I should learn a program. Learning a program is no fun by itself, so this means having a place to perform said program. And on Saturday my teacher told me about a competition the second weekend in March. So I said ok, I'll do it. When do you want me for a private lesson? How about tomorrow at 11? Ok. So yesterday I had my first private lesson. And today I hurt. It wasn't really anything new, but it was the intensity. By the end I couldn't do it anymore. My legs weren't supporting me. Only six weeks to get ready. Hope I can do this!<br /><br />And I'm very quickly realizing why I put this off so long. It's expensive! $40 registration fee for the competition. Not too bad. But then there's the costume. No clue how much that will end up being, but they're not cheap. $15 for ice time for practice, plus another $30 for each private lesson. And I don't know if I'll need those weekly or if I can spread them out a bit. I also should probably try to find some mid-week time to practice, as it doesn't really make much sense to just skate on Saturdays and Sundays.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmyjf1fRqyDr0tMgMmZg2jof6Xxb73cW38Dv6d0sXQebGwtv7OuPTRevx_1gv_0_WylsP-_NjXBAjYV7T_-eJ41aw7xdWdNlDO94Ty4g0l-1KrP3-XMqKBEfyuzvcxJDGpv_-vw/s1600-h/skating.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 146px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmyjf1fRqyDr0tMgMmZg2jof6Xxb73cW38Dv6d0sXQebGwtv7OuPTRevx_1gv_0_WylsP-_NjXBAjYV7T_-eJ41aw7xdWdNlDO94Ty4g0l-1KrP3-XMqKBEfyuzvcxJDGpv_-vw/s200/skating.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433324080399343058" border="0" /></a>What's amazing to me about all of this is how much I've learned and improved in the two years that I've been skating. I remember in my second class I started crying because I was so stressed and frustrated and feeling as if I couldn't do anything. I just hope I don't suck too horribly come competition day.<br /><br />(The photo is from January 2008, about a month or two after I started lessons.)Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-33352221239408882362010-01-28T12:16:00.004-05:002010-01-28T12:38:33.366-05:00Spring, Hurry up and get here. Please.Earlier this week we had a "warm" spell. It was in the 40s. Glorious! The warmer temperatures, combined with some rain, and the foot or so of snow on the ground mostly all melted away. I knew it was too good to last.<br /><br />As I write this, snow is starting to fall outside my window. There are a number of things that I'd like to get done outside at home, but it's always dark, too cold, or everything is covered in snow. Blech. And I continue to have spring fever.<br /><br />Even though I know it won't truly warm up for 3-4 more months I've started to plan my garden. I've run into issues in the past where I've put it off and things I've wanted to order have been sold out. So over the past couple of weeks (inspired by some emails I've received) I planned out my garden and placed a number of orders. We still have work to do prepping the ground (building beds, etc) but all of the plants and seeds have been ordered. And according to UPS tracking, the seeds should be coming to my house today.<br /><br />I've ordered tomato, asparagus, rhubarb, and strawberry plants and lots of seeds-<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Q3v6_l7qGwIR91_g-VwJzc-8YwDe4Gs6q8QrRwKfI8Pz0PWG8F0AG5eL75GHcRNQGE1_xsNIFKh1aPF_KBILHSG31bZQGyPjNxM2jOgo-JMER4G5pdzeBLyrJsA3mh1xhTrSXw/s1600-h/b48930.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 172px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Q3v6_l7qGwIR91_g-VwJzc-8YwDe4Gs6q8QrRwKfI8Pz0PWG8F0AG5eL75GHcRNQGE1_xsNIFKh1aPF_KBILHSG31bZQGyPjNxM2jOgo-JMER4G5pdzeBLyrJsA3mh1xhTrSXw/s200/b48930.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431846066941185602" border="0" /></a>Petunias<br />Nasturtium<br />Cosmos<br />Four o'clocks (never heard of these before, but they looked pretty)<br />Cilantro<br />Basil<br />Parsley<br />Mesclun mix<br />Broccoli<br />Sweet peppers<br />Zucchini<br />Cucumbers<br />Beans<br />Scallions<br />Carrots<br />Corn<br /><br />Wow, that's a lot of stuff! And most of it will go into 4 4x4 foot beds. The asparagus, strawberries and rhubarb will be going into a larger bed along the porch. And the flowers- haven't really decided. A few here, a few there. And maybe some of the herbs will end up in pots as well. All I know if I've got my work cut out for me with seed starting. Hopefully I'll have better luck than I've had in the past.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-34031914960164214932010-01-28T10:51:00.005-05:002010-01-28T11:01:32.985-05:00Thoughts on a Thursday<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8eX1nDP2OjadEH1HSn0zHXzTRyc9ik-IO4m6Gg9JCJBMSxiPitBY8m2gdt6976FHAkbV2hLzsqTih_-ppmPzA_JMZflikiLvYiy0kRSgLQUzwQeKF_GxBJDTpz5Ca2NvCUg6bg/s1600-h/IMG_0006_medium.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8eX1nDP2OjadEH1HSn0zHXzTRyc9ik-IO4m6Gg9JCJBMSxiPitBY8m2gdt6976FHAkbV2hLzsqTih_-ppmPzA_JMZflikiLvYiy0kRSgLQUzwQeKF_GxBJDTpz5Ca2NvCUg6bg/s200/IMG_0006_medium.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431820945011839298" border="0" /></a>Today's post is all about knitting. As many of them have been lately. I don't really understand why I'm so much into knitting all of a sudden, but it all started right after Christmas when I saw a knitting calendar with a pattern for cookies. Then that led to the penguin hat also in the calendar. And I wanted to make something to give along with the hat, which led to the monster booties (and another secret project). And along the way there were vegetables and fingerless gloves. And my latest internet addiction- Ravelry. This led to elf slippers and the desire to order lots and lots of yarn. Yup. I have a problem.<br /><br />My scrapping, however, has been sorely neglected. I still have a couple of layouts to do for my 2008 album. Plus their are the 2008 vacation (Acadia) and Christmas albums. For 2009, I think I've only done 2 or 3 layouts. So not only is there the normal album, but there's also the England album. And although I did start it, I never did finish the 2009 Cookie Baking cookbook. Yup. I'm rather behind. With little chance of being caught up. Blech.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJQeZot4upCF61wfd9Kt7N3tpl2TWskO0i6bK5fW8hNdLJ3zuCzfQkcTmrOopE-dNOc1xcqsKD1OwibSUI_Va6o80iFJ4VD39zx72rHvFspfd21I1f-8u3ueAG4w9QRFJtkkKSg/s1600-h/IMG_0012_medium.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJQeZot4upCF61wfd9Kt7N3tpl2TWskO0i6bK5fW8hNdLJ3zuCzfQkcTmrOopE-dNOc1xcqsKD1OwibSUI_Va6o80iFJ4VD39zx72rHvFspfd21I1f-8u3ueAG4w9QRFJtkkKSg/s200/IMG_0012_medium.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431821071882866290" border="0" /></a>We have company coming on Saturday which means that the rest of the week needs to be spent cleaning and getting ready for that. But all I want to do is go home and finish knitting an eggplant.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-2395179488256755712010-01-24T23:24:00.005-05:002010-01-24T23:32:08.468-05:00Busy weekend<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73gZonr8q5oiOKeXf_4HYgJMUc5-lrc7NMQJrvwyrbCws9VLdTkrwJhwnalQOlpK63VzU8mZWVQU9N_NOib8kCwLcmg37kFzgg_dG5pp3leEmEAp-Jo9g2oqbH1VWdljAJ6qHug/s1600-h/ElfSlippers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73gZonr8q5oiOKeXf_4HYgJMUc5-lrc7NMQJrvwyrbCws9VLdTkrwJhwnalQOlpK63VzU8mZWVQU9N_NOib8kCwLcmg37kFzgg_dG5pp3leEmEAp-Jo9g2oqbH1VWdljAJ6qHug/s200/ElfSlippers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430528791487146482" border="0" /></a>This weekend's knitting projects included these elf slippers, making cases for my double pointed needles, and starting to make a bunch of grapes.<br /><br />I found the pattern for the slippers on Ravelry on Friday, bought the yarn on Saturday, and finished them up Sunday evening. Kind of funny because earlier in the week I had been discussing slippers with someone at work and we mentioned elf slippers. So I think these will have to go in to work when they are done. And there was some leftover yarn that I figured was grape colored, so I started to make some fruit.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihCR21mFOxlNSkIfUFfO7IyKzUNr4YJLs7w-DD4LCyiu1z5YjJSoI18NkaxglAJISp0bsNVDtKHkVhMZYhCWETCucRzFj72EFg6m950yQuaivUZBoQqJjbIlB8Vs96ByofZSdVJg/s1600-h/Grapes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihCR21mFOxlNSkIfUFfO7IyKzUNr4YJLs7w-DD4LCyiu1z5YjJSoI18NkaxglAJISp0bsNVDtKHkVhMZYhCWETCucRzFj72EFg6m950yQuaivUZBoQqJjbIlB8Vs96ByofZSdVJg/s200/Grapes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430528738771960130" border="0" /></a>I went with a pattern that I had for <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWu8cwl-V_62VlDsYnOOQ8BGoOZ-zl2aHo-KBstXDOTWX1Z8iyIHGkbPXNy3OGayIVIqvVep8lwGS72Vx1ibDIB73vjtubVPr5jRIb72QChQ5Dg0-MUtvW_Li__AkULHUDH3X4vA/s1600-h/eyeballs.jpg">Halloween eyeballs</a> and used that for my first grape. It turned out a bit large, so I left out an increase and a few extra rows and I think the smaller size will be fine. Then I made the stem out of some yarn leftover from <a href="http://cbreecher.blogspot.com/2007/02/weekend-creativity.html">Tucker</a>. I have 7 more grapes to make for this bunch, but I think it may be part of an even larger bunch of grapes. That will have to wait to see.<br /><br />And for the knitting needle cases, I started them a few weeks ago. Actually, the project is even older than that. I think it was last spring when I decided that I wanted to make the cases. But this afternoon I finished them up. Sorry, no picture to share of those.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-28781325894785694602010-01-19T12:01:00.003-05:002010-01-19T12:15:13.072-05:00Hello, Pink.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDURi5LEu_7hjmM4bYg50IKdR7FqoPPSzrwkhVVv_m-J9KWkx8x6offVkehRL1eNFAjTr5zIZS6fsChWeNYOPoi7LbitrgqB7J_EXbreGEBLNpIWU5q-qbBoGKmajCvLcRJnPZyQ/s1600-h/IMG_0097.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDURi5LEu_7hjmM4bYg50IKdR7FqoPPSzrwkhVVv_m-J9KWkx8x6offVkehRL1eNFAjTr5zIZS6fsChWeNYOPoi7LbitrgqB7J_EXbreGEBLNpIWU5q-qbBoGKmajCvLcRJnPZyQ/s200/IMG_0097.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428497306558824626" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFUeGdEgqKMDt_LA78dWHkmaEaLVPao5f5IewewUe3GezhfSJnfvnkzkxXc3IpJXkwebZIVg8Sv3BLzqsPb_mKLxIMpV6R57neFAxnW8DIZIEY0UlNNHCBDTxsnM-LamMHO0R5hA/s1600-h/IMG_0098.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFUeGdEgqKMDt_LA78dWHkmaEaLVPao5f5IewewUe3GezhfSJnfvnkzkxXc3IpJXkwebZIVg8Sv3BLzqsPb_mKLxIMpV6R57neFAxnW8DIZIEY0UlNNHCBDTxsnM-LamMHO0R5hA/s200/IMG_0098.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428497308781695618" border="0" /></a>Finished up my fingerless gloves over the weekend. I think I should have made them a size smaller. they seem a little baggy. However, they also fit well over bulky clothes, so maybe it was the right size. Maybe it's just a yarn without a lot of elasticity. The photo of my left hand looks a little wonky, but that's just because of my sweatshirt sleeve and my watch underneath the glove.<br /><br />And they are working. My finger tips are sometimes still a little chilly, but in general I am feeling that they are a lot warmer. And my hands are ALWAYS cold!<br /><br />Someone at work saw them today and commented that it they weren't pink they might look somewhat Austen-ish. Or maybe he said Dickensian. Either way, they kind of fit into those periods.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-8725745035176730152010-01-18T13:07:00.003-05:002010-01-18T13:08:50.328-05:00BlechI need to learn to read knitting patterns better. I have a project I'm currently working on, and I keep messing up. My most recent mistake was following the directions for a Medium size, when, in fact, I'm making a large. No wonder it seemed wrong. Guess tonight I'll have to rip out a section and get that fixed. And this isn't the first time I've made a similar mistake. At least I'm getting practice with picking up a row of stitches.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-38382348187251254332010-01-18T09:38:00.003-05:002010-01-18T09:46:54.343-05:00Weekend recapChris and I went to the Museum of Science on Saturday. We went for the Harry Potter exhibit. I didn't think I would be that impressed by it, but I loved seeing all of the costumes and seeing the details of them.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGKvW2R8tnENmMGfXa0f-sHCYCabTiKFy2048WILEKCZsmo76qZyi3SJF4lhXOlnps0KThH5TfeYdgpkSHomLoqgYG2nAsEOX5ae4KVMs328Z53jGF5Ilfkk3sp4T6_gFS6nc3w/s1600-h/sign.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGKvW2R8tnENmMGfXa0f-sHCYCabTiKFy2048WILEKCZsmo76qZyi3SJF4lhXOlnps0KThH5TfeYdgpkSHomLoqgYG2nAsEOX5ae4KVMs328Z53jGF5Ilfkk3sp4T6_gFS6nc3w/s200/sign.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428090939975228322" border="0" /></a>We also looked around the rest of the museum. Well, not all of the museum, because it's huge. And I saw this sign. Obviously it humored me, since I pulled out my camera in the ladies room.<br /><br />In knitting news, I finished up my fingerless gloves. Need to get a picture of them. Not really all that special, but useful since my hands get chilly.<br /><br />I also put a number of my past projects up on Ravelry.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-43512510677319843262010-01-14T17:55:00.002-05:002010-01-14T17:55:00.701-05:00Derby Planning, already?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwkTnhuXY-2iEphZBVkYnaqrB4YhiBalTgeQKTP-dAk5l_r7b5_1oj3V8bxXyBO2q2cMnNkk7_IFPNxES6nQVBAtdZmcen1gfy9Q7WbkSXU03TJoUFyqIS6pW06Zst7tOp74-MLA/s1600-h/trophy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 173px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwkTnhuXY-2iEphZBVkYnaqrB4YhiBalTgeQKTP-dAk5l_r7b5_1oj3V8bxXyBO2q2cMnNkk7_IFPNxES6nQVBAtdZmcen1gfy9Q7WbkSXU03TJoUFyqIS6pW06Zst7tOp74-MLA/s200/trophy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426665021360548914" border="0" /></a>I'm not entirely sure why, but today I seem to have the Pinewood Derby on my brain. I guess it started out when I was browsing a baking website and I started to look at their chocolate molds to find car designs. And then I started thinking about decorations so I went to Oriental Trading. And then since I was looking at all this other Derby stuff, I may as well go ahead and order the trophies.<br /><br />So we don't even have a date for the Derby, but the trophies are ordered. (I went with a slightly different design this year. Sent 2 pics to Chris and let him choose.) For now, I resisted ordering other things. But I've found that if I wait too long the racecar stuff will sell out at Oriental Trading.<br /><br />Back before Christmas the Georgia family members were asking us when the Derby would be. We don't know. We still don't know. I understand their reasoning for asking- they want to come up to visit and need to request time off at work and they want to come for the Derby. I think that's great that they want to be here for the Derby, but our brains can't plan a party like this 6-8 months in advance! Even picking a date 3-4 months in advance seems super early to me.<br /><br />But for those who must know, I'm kind of leaning towards early August. Or possibly late June. Two very different times, but that's what's going through my brain these days.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17457066.post-12402735775314804192010-01-14T08:06:00.001-05:002010-01-14T08:08:54.334-05:00Took a break from a longer knitting project last night to start another. Initially I was just planning to look at what yarns I would need to buy for a couple of projects. But then I remembered one that I had already that I thought might work fora project. So I started knitting fingerless gloves. This is key because my hands get really cold. Especially in my craft room where my only source of warmth is a space heater, which doesn't get turned on until I get home from work. If I'm lucky, they'll knit up quickly.<br /><br />Also got a couple of gifts boxed up and ready to mail. I had meant to take better pictures of them, but I forgot. I guess I'll have to ask the recipient to do that for me. At least that way they can be modeled, which is even better.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13896758330161978862noreply@blogger.com0