Sunday, December 30, 2012

IT'S OUR 50TH ! ! !

Today is our 50th wedding anniversary!  Hard to believe we ever made it this far, as it only seems like yesterday.

We got married in Boise, Idaho on December 30, 1962 and have moved about a few times from Boise to Casper, Wyoming - to Spokane, Washington - to Sequim, Washington - to Graham, Washington and just this past Fall to Maricopa, Arizona.

We both retired in 1999 and I think it's after that when you find out how much love and respect you have for each other.  After your kids are grown and gone, your work career is over, and you just have each other around (all the time!) you really learn to appreciate each other.   I think I'm really blessed to have such a great hubby - and he says maybe we can make it another 20 years.   We'll see if our health holds out that long.

He brought me these dozen roses:
We drove north to Fort McDowell - lovely day for a drive, paid our dues at the casino, had a wonderful dinner.  I had liver and onions, which I usually only have once or twice a year, as hubby can't stand the smell of me cooking it at home!

I've been working on these fingerless mitts yesterday and today:

They are Malabrigo Hand Thingies and I'm loving the "slip stitch" design just starting to show up in the upper part of this photo.  I'd like to finish them tomorrow.  They seem like they might be too small for my hands, so may be gifted to one of my granddaughters, and I'll try them again on larger needles.

Happy New Year to my friends and family!!




Saturday, December 22, 2012

HOILIDAYS ARE HERE!!

Thought I'd post here just this one last time until 2013 rolls around.  Hopefully, I'll be getting in some knitting time in between other "goings on" around here.

It's been hard to realize it's the Christmas season with the temperatures outside being in the 70's today.  Of course no snow, no rain, no cold - just doesn't seem quite right. 

We've discovered we live on a street with a lot of great neighbors who get together to "eat" at least once a month.   Had Thanksgiving at one neighbors with around 30 people there (all orphans from their families), then had a "leftovers" party the next week to eat up what didn't get eaten that day!   Today, there was a brunch for the people on the block who had birthdays in December.  Great spread with about 18 people - all who have welcomed us warmly!  Good feelings.

Unfortunately, our children will not be joining us for Christmas, but we understand.    We will be having a Butterball turkey breast with all the trimmings for just the two of us.    

Also this month (the 30th) is our 50th wedding anniversary and we'll be going out to dinner somewhere special.

New Years we'll be spending at home - I'm sure K will not be far from the TV and the football games!


Today he's watching the U of Washington play Boise State (his favorite) since he's from that area.  There is a "lunch" wager on with our friends who are rooting for UW.

Since my "handle" is knitterbeader, I should show a picture of my most recent knitted article.  This was a gift to a granddaughter (I don't think she reads this blog).   Pattern is Lazy River Scarf, knitted in Cascade 220 Sport.



Picture update:
1st picture is one of our 5 bougainvilleas in the back yard.  Aren't they beautiful and hard to believe this is the 2nd time they've bloomed since August. 
 This 2nd picture is of Keith enjoying one of the many lakes in our community.  This is about 1/2 a block from our house and is a very peaceful place to enjoy the sun and the waterfalls.
 This last one is a close-up of a lime on our tree which is about ready to pick.  The tree was just put in a few weeks ago (7 ft. tall), and has several limes on it and lots of blossoms.  Don't know how many of the blossoms will actually become fruit, but can't wait until I can get enough of them at a time to make a key lime pie!!

Anyway, so long for now and see you next year.  Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, enjoy the season, and a Happy New Year!

Friday, October 19, 2012

Hello From Arizona

It's been quite some time since I posted last and a "lot of water has passed under the bridge", as they say.

We moved to Arizona in the middle of August - temps were between 115 and 119 degrees when we got here.   We stayed in a motel for 10 days until our house was completed, so spent a lot of time in the room, inside air-conditioned stores, in the air-conditioned car, etc...  you get the idea!   Was like a furnace blast when you walked out the door.  You better believe we asked ourselves over and over, "did we do the right thing?".    We're loving it now however, it's cooled off into the 90's and now very pleasant and enjoying the wonderful sunshine every day - no sweatshirts on, etc. like it is now up in Washington state where we moved from.

We've moved into a 55-plus community called Province, in Maricopa, Arizona.  There are approximately 1100+ homes here now that have been sold, and room for about 1100 more.   In fact there are 4 new houses being built on our side of the street at the present time.   There is a 33,000 sq. ft clubhouse with all the activities you'd ever want - huge outdoor swimming pool and a lap pool inside, lots of exercise rooms, craft rooms, cards, town hall for big banquets/dances, etc.

There were many funny (or sad) anecdotes over the moving period, but one we're still laughing about is:  I put the "important" keys to the upright freezer, hubby's rollabout Craftsman tool chest, a custom-built gun display case for an antique shotgun of my days, and other keys, in a ziploc bag and put it somewhere safe where we could get to it right away when we got here.  In other words, we carried it down in our loaded mini-van for that reason.  Well.........we've never found the keys, yet anyway.   The freezer was fairly easy to open - just put a putty knife between the rubber stripping around the door and lifted up and it opened - same with the gun cabinet.   BUT, the toolchest that was another story.  We looked online and found Sears and other places do sell replacement keys, but this chest is about 12 years old - no longer made and no keys available anywhere.  We went to a locksmith and they had the key blank and made a key - brought it home and it was pretty difficult to get in the keyhole and then hard to turn, so hubby put pliers to the key, turned and broke off the key in the lock!   We found on the internet, a diagram of the locking system of the chest, so he started drilling about 2 to 3-inch holes in the back of the chest to reach in to twist lock mechanisms.  There were several of them so he has 4 big holes on the back of the chest.  But he got it open, so all is well there. We had gotten some red masking tape for something else, but it worked great to cover up the holes (matched the toolchest).

It's been fun decorating and not so fun trying to figure out where to put everything.  Most everything is done except for my office/craft room.  I don't have as much storage space, so having to buy several more bookshelves to store supplies on.

We've met quite a few of the neighbors, at least the ones who are full-timers.  Most of the "snowbirds" aren't here yet.  Everyone is very friendly.   We have both joined the community Golf Club - Keith plays every week and I'll be joining him to play Couples Golf, also once a week.  Couples is in the "twilight hours" somewhere around 3pm (when it's still quite hot for most people, but cheaper rates), followed by dinner afterwards.   A lot of my aches and pains in my shoulder, hip, knee and foot have gone away and I'm getting around pretty good now.

We miss our friends and families up in Washington state, but are happy here and enjoying being able to be outside a whole lot more.


I might add, that with all this sunshine and water, most of the plants have doubled in size since these pictures were taken.  The tree in the foreground is a lemon, and back in the middle is an orange tree.  Guess it'll be another year or maybe two before they bear fruit.


Sunday, July 8, 2012

WHAT'S ON MY NEEDLES

Not a lot of knitting is going on, but I'm still working on the Roses are Red shawl (see below), and getting ready to do a KAL beginning August 1st, a shawlette/scarf Unleaving.  I'm using this Sunshine Yarns in fingering weight Coralla Blue from my stash.  Feels good to use up what I already have.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

MOVING TO ARIZONA

We'll be moving away from Washington state on August 3rd, for Arizona.  We made the decision we were tired of the gray, rainy days and wanted some sunshine to be able to enjoy the outdoors.   It's going to be hard to leave our friends and family, and it's even harder packing things up.   This is what my craft drawers/boxes, etc. look like - waiting to be put into the boxes on the right.   One thing good - I go to bed tired every night so am sleeping real well.  I've already been checking online to see where there will be some LYSs in the area, even though knitting will probably be put on hold once we get unloaded on the other end.   We do have to put our furniture in storage until our new house is ready for us to move in - which could be anywhere from 2 to 10 days.  So I'll be able to knit on the 4-day drive there, as well as some days in a hotel room.   It's been fun picking out what we want in our new home, so am anxious to see what it turns out like.

This is what an "in progress craft pack" looks like!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

I finally finished my Lemon Silk Scarf.   This was a very simple pattern and went along with me to meet-ups, car traveling, etc., all places I could not knit something more complicated.    When I ordered the yarn in Lemon Cream color I thought it would be a lot lighter than it is, but it turned out more yellow than I thought.    I don't wear yellow very well (except really light), so DD#2 said she loved it and that's where it's going.

My Roses Are Red shawlette is slow going - seems I have a "counting" problem (even with all those srs1ch markers)!   However, the yarn is a delight to work with, and I'm liking the pattern very much, so I'll keep plugging along.


Thursday, June 21, 2012

How's this for a nice cool pix while many of you are suffering from the heat!   This is Mt. Rainier, the highest volcano in the contiguous United States.    We live about 60 miles away and get to see it every day, in all it's glory! This was taken yesterday.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Rain, Rain, Go Away, Come Again Another Day
Don't know about you other Pacific Northwesterners, but I've had about enough of this grey and wet stuff!  We had a guy come today and wash our windows, inside and out, including the skylight.   They looked wonderful for a little bit, but now it's raining on them.   At least it's wet rain on clean windows instead of dirty ones.
However, it does give time for indoor things, such as knitting.   I'm still working on this scarf and have found a recipient - my daughter.  I was knitting on it Mothers Day weekend while on a 5-hour each way car trip to Spokane to a babyshower for our granddaughter who is expecting in mid-June.   The daughter loves the color, etc., so I said great - you get it!  


 In my "more quiet times", I'm knitting a scarf/shawlette from the BeMine series called "Roses are Red"
 I'm expecting this to turn out beautiful, so am happy working on it.   Had a little bit of a slow start due to the fact I sometimes can't count correctly, but am now on a roll, and lovin' it.

Baby shower "happy" picture (mama-to-be holding the Moving Mountains blanket I knitted for Brady)
 


Thursday, May 10, 2012

Of late...........

Way past time to bring you up-to-date on the happenings around the "Place". We've been very busy prepping our house for sale.   Nearly done except for some weeding to finish up in the backyard.  It's pretty amazing how fast those weeds grow - especially since our weather has been "sun" followed by "rain" followed by "sun".    Several prospective buyers have come through the house, but no offers so far, but guess I'm impatient as it's only been on the market a couple of weeks.    


Meanwhile the new house in Arizona was started yesterday:
If you look closely you can see the trenches dug out for a foundation - so hopefully in 100 days we will have a house complete.


I've been having trouble with my camera this past few weeks.  First I thought it just needed a new battery so bought a new one.    Well then I started getting a "card error" message, so bought several different type SD cards and although the camera seemed to work, it was not connecting to my computer and software program Photoshop Elements.   Finally gave up and went to Costco today and bought a Nikon S4300 point and shoot.  (bought my own Mothers Day gift!!!)  So much fun with a new camera.  My old one was 6 megapixels and this one is 16!!  What a difference.


Following are a couple of pictures I took when I got it home. 

This first one is Moving Mountains Baby Blanket 
This will be going to our first great-grandson due next month.   I'm going to Spokane for a baby shower for the soon-to-be mom and baby tomorrow.  Hopefully she'll like it as much as I enjoyed knitting it.
This is a pretty creamy-yellow scarf I have been working on in my spare time.   It was advertised as a creme-yellow, but it's a little too yellow for my coloring, so will be gifting this one.  The yarn is bamboo, merino wool and silk - very yummy.


 Then I went out in the yard and took some pictures of flowers in the backyard with the close-up lens and really happy with the pictures.   



Monday, April 16, 2012

Arizona and Knitting

Just got home from two wonderful, but very busy weeks in Arizona. The pass over the Siskiyou Mountains in southern Oregon-northern California looked like this:


We followed the snowplows up to the top and down the other side, and they were spreading red sand on the road. Just imagine what our car looked like after that!!!!

While in Arizona, we purchased a lot and will be having a house built in a 55+ community. It will be at least 4 months before they are finished, and hopefully we can sell our present home by then. We're just getting tired of the rainy, gray days here in Washington state and look forward to being in the warm climate year around. Of course, this all means I'll be terribly busy prepping this house for sale and my knitting projects will probably suffer.

I did finish this hat for my husband - Lost Banner Hat by Susan B. Anderson
I knit this with Malabrigo Worsted in a beautiful lime/navy color, which made hubby happy, as these are the colors of the Seattle Seahawks and the Sounders teams.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

GETAWAY TRIP TO OREGON

Hubby and I got away for three days in Grand Ronde, Oregon. We had a beautiful hotel room with lots of amenities to spoil me rotten. We had lots of good food, casino playing, resting/knitting time and travel time. One day we drove 25 miles to Lincoln City on the Coast. Talk about weather - wind like we haven't seen in awhile - it was predicted at 65mph - but don't know if that is what it actually was. I know it was too windy to get out and walk on the beach. It was blowing so hard, people were having trouble walking in it. Below is a picture of the turbulent ocean waves. The waves were breaking way out and were very high. You can tell by the color of the sky and water what a stormy day it was - but oh so fun to sit in the car, eating our Subway sandwich. I was able to lean my arms on a fence to steady the camera long enough for a picture. We left from the water view and went to an Outlet Mall in Lincoln City, leaving quite a few bucks there. Most of the damage was done at the Coach store, Eddie Bauer and VanHeusen. Hubby "made" me buy this beautiful graphite color Coach bag. I've not had a satisfactory purse to carry since my last Coach finally gave out, so I'm one happy lady! He bought some things he has been wanting also, so we did well for each other. His birthday is coming up, so he was able to purchase his own birthday gift.While on this trip we experienced crazy, violent weather at times: snow on the roads, high winds, heavy rains, and sunshine - sometimes all at the same time!!! Nice to get home and settle back into the routine. I got quite a lot knit on the baby blanket (in prior posts) - so I'm confident it will be done long before this new great-grandbaby appears.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

This is what I've been spending my time doing, of late - knitting on this baby blanket for our first great-grandchild. It's a pretty easy knit once you learn the pattern. I'm already visualizing my new great-grandson all snuggly-wrapped in this. Due in June.
Going to Oregon for 3 days this week and I know I'll have lots of knitting time and can hardly wait. It'll be cold outside, but all the better to stay in by the fire and knit!!! This is a new knitting "toy" for me this week - a hand-thrown pottery bowl. It's so pretty and very practical. It's got two holes for yarn and the bowl is large enough to hold two balls when doing colorwork (which I hope to be doing more of).
Promise to come back with some beach pictures.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy V-Day everyone! Hope you're having a good one!
This is what my wonderful hubby brought home to me yesterday:
Plus I went to Shipwreck Beads and picked out my beads and sterling bracelet and had fun putting it all together. I know, I showed this bracelet in an earlier post below, but it was too tight after adding all the beads, so had to go back and purchase a larger size sterling bracelet and now it fits perfectly. This was a combo Valentines/Birthday present:
Knitting-wise, I have a lot of things On The Needle, but not enough progress to show you - maybe next time I'll have something finished!!!!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Spring Coming????

I can't believe our weather! Two weeks ago I posted how cold it had been, how much snow we'd had, how long our power had been out, and now all I can see outside is beautiful, warm sunshine. It has been sunny and dry for several days now and supposed to stay this way for 4 or 5 more days. High temps are running in the 50's and low in the high 20's - no wonder I feel good. Hubby is out playing some golf and I'm trying to catch up/clean up all the stuff on my desk. I have the top layer done, but still have things to put away so I can get to figuring our income taxes this next week.
Knit-wise, I have 3 current projects "on the needles"
This is a February KAL and I've selected a pair of Mitts that will look all cable-ly some day soon (I hope).

My second project is a colorwork KAL (knit-a-long for your non-knitters). I've never done colorwork before, and finding it quite fiddly getting started. We get a new "clue" each week, so don't know yet what this will be (maybe a hat - maybe a drawstring bag??)
The final knit project I'm still working on is the Moving Mountains Baby blanket for our first great-grandchild to be born in June. I've done about 18" in length so far, only another 18" to go. Really enjoying working on this project!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

SNOW!

These pictures say it all. Good day to stay in and knit!!!
ETA: Then the power was off from 5:30pm to 9:30pm. Could have been worse, I guess.
ETA1: Power off Thursday from 6am to 2:00pm - getting cold and very tired of this weather!!!!


Monday, January 16, 2012

It's Still Winter!


Residents in our part of the world have been going along thinking we were never going to have Winter-type weather. Well, IT CAME!!! It snowed several times over the weekend, melted a little, then snowed again last night and is forecast for more snow through tomorrow. It is beautiful, but cold and treacherous to get around in.

Knitting wise, I've been working on the g-grandchild's baby blanket. What a joy to be knitting for a g-grandson, and then another joy when he is born this summer!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

The New Year is Here!


Our 49th wedding anniversary was Friday, December 30th. Hard to believe it's been this many years, through thick and thin, we've made it. We celebrated by going out to dinner - doesn't take much these days to make us happy! We did stop on the way at Shipwreck Beads in Lacey, WA and I purchased all the "fixin's" for a Pandora style bracelet. I've seen many of these on TV and checking them out at a jewelry store was a major price shock (ea bead runs from $20-$40). The beads on these were murano glass. I purchased the bracelet and some beautiful glass beads and with hubby's military discount, I got the whole thing for right around $20. However, after putting all the beads on it, the bracelet ended up being too small, so I need to order the next larger size, but I'm lovin' it.

In preparation for Christmas, we had a little panic when I was plugging one set of light cords into another (an artificial tree), and the plug-in touched a piece of pipe cleaner that had metal in it, sparks flew, I jumped and hubby and I looked at each other like....what just happened. All the lights blew out so we had not choice but to go get another tree. This time just got a small one and put it on an end-table. It's 4 ft high and a lot easier to decorate. So some good came out of it.

We had a nice family Christmas. On Christmas Eve our daughter, hubby and our 2 grand kids came over from Richland, WA. The other daughter, hubby and 2 more grand kids came south from Covington, WA. We did the Papa Murphy's pizza thing for dinner, after snacking a lot, then most of us played Uno until 10pm or so when Covington family left for home.

The next morning, after opening gifts and having breakfast, we all went up to Covington for a wonderful Christmas dinner which included deep-fried turkey, ham and all the trimmings. We played Tripoli after dinner. All in all a wonderful day. My gifts included a Kindle Fire, Pioneer Woman cookbook, kids/family photo albums and some nice smelling things from Bath & Body Works.

The day after Christmas, Monday morning, our Richland family left for home and we kinda vegged out the rest of the day. Come to think of it, I've not done a whole lot this entire week. I'm going to my knitting meet-up tomorrow, so have to see what I can take along to work on that's not too complicated for knitting in a crowd of very fun talkers!

I've told myself I have some goals for 2012 - no resolutions.

1. Learn to de-stress more to keep my sanity!
2. For knitting I want to learn to add beads, and do colorwork.
3. Finish as many WIP's as possible!!!! (Like these below!)
I'm sure more will come up, but that's it for now.