tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221061042009-12-01T02:42:48.926-08:00Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.comBlogger410125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-46417514269324697272009-09-21T04:11:00.000-07:002009-09-21T04:11:00.213-07:00

Natalia was met at the airport on Friday night. It was BFF at first site. She is adorable and precious and we just may have to keep her. We've had a whirlwind weekend full of get acquainted activities and resting from her long trip. We've had very few language issues as she speaks much better English than we do Spanish and she is becoming more confident everyday.Sunday we threw caution to the

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-82985183474603543322009-09-16T05:40:00.001-07:002009-09-16T06:04:33.798-07:00

We have made room in the closet . . . . . . and emptied out the spare dresser drawer . . . . . . and taken up more space in a small room to make more room . . . . . . because on Friday night at 5:00 pm we go to the airport to pick up Natalia - Nati, for short - a 12 year-old girl from Guatemala who will be living with us for 12 weeks as an exchange student. She is blond-haired and blue-eyed;

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-86544909229591675732009-09-02T04:40:00.000-07:002009-09-02T07:50:39.684-07:00

Seventh grade. A new year, a new attitude. On both our parts. We wrote "new year" resolutions for ourselves, and each other, then sealed them in an envelope to open at the end of the school year. I'll share mine with you. I promised to try and give my girl more space. To grow, to try, to mess up (gasp!), to fly. I freely admit to hovering last year; to being "too there". But I did so for

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-66070460096587638842009-08-31T06:02:00.000-07:002009-08-31T06:30:23.769-07:00

Sorry. The break went a little bit longer than I anticipated. The blog and I were in a little bit of a disagreement as to which should come first - work or play. Ultimately I won. And while the blog thinks of herself as work (and at times, so do I) last week, it was all work for me. The blog thinks what I do is "volunteer" and thus, should not count as work. She thinks she should come first.

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-57377733719403536362009-08-13T09:05:00.001-07:002009-08-13T09:22:36.302-07:00

My blue house is now . . . . . . my brown house. And I'm ok with it because I got . . . . . . a red chair in the deal! The California cousins (and their parents) return tonight from their 10 day scenic tour of Wisconsin. They paid a special visit to a certain mural (where my brother-in-law's mom was born!!) and I'm guaranteed my own personal slide show tonight! They also had

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-69748056888162295032009-08-11T04:00:00.000-07:002009-08-11T04:00:01.076-07:00

Kathryn got it in her head that the cats might enjoy leashed walks outside. Sam passed on this idea immediately and for the first time in her kitty life, she actually cried. Tig's reaction was a bit more understated. "I'm not moving a muscle, and no amount of jiggling that thing can make me move!""Not even if you get down on your four paws and act like a kitty. Not for kibble or whatever else you

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-3623966902047737192009-08-10T04:56:00.001-07:002009-08-10T06:18:44.396-07:00

Last Sunday (not yesterday, because it took a week to recover) was the annual "Let's all gather at Deb's to celebrate whatever there is to celebrate" event. Included in the list of celebratory events was Dad's 80th birthday, Mom's semi-retirement, brother Dave and his wife Ann's birthday, twin nephew and niece's 19th birthday, and the summer arrival of my sister Diane and her family from

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-1213271392163984912009-08-06T07:48:00.000-07:002009-08-06T08:00:08.483-07:00

Things are getting a very hectic here, so to remind us to take some time out and treat ourselves like Princesses, . . . . we're wearing our tiaras. But only momma gets to wear the furry pink one! Isn't that right Holli?

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-58359783539996368802009-07-30T08:18:00.001-07:002009-07-30T08:29:49.277-07:00

And then you have to 'fess up. I hit another pole. Only this time I backed into it. Not as bad as the last time when I took out the whole front end of the passenger side, but bad enough to have the rear bumper waving at me all the way to the pool and back. And mildly embarrassing that the nice man at the repair shop asked Jon "Are we working on the same white Lexus?" Jon: "New car, same wife

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-790997143390334632009-07-29T04:00:00.000-07:002009-07-29T04:00:03.266-07:00

Brenda, of the Tuesday Morning Knitting Group, is just that kind of good person. The kind that does the good stuff quietly and never tells anyone that she's doing it , even when she's doing it right in front of you. You could almost not like her for that kind of good doing-ness, but then, it's Brenda. And she's just about the nicest person on the planet and you can't fault a person for being nice

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-88770738533030415662009-07-28T04:00:00.000-07:002009-07-28T04:00:07.414-07:00

Yesterday, Kathryn and I joined about 40 other friends from school for our second annual summer service project at Feed My Starving Children. In case you decide not to click over there, I'll tell you that this organization does just what it says, all through volunteers, it prepares, packages and ships nutritionally healthy meals to children throughout the world. After a brief overview you

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-46127857359024257702009-07-27T05:13:00.001-07:002009-07-27T05:41:54.073-07:00

At her last check up, Kathryn was reminded of the need to eat more fruits and vegetables. Note that I put this responsibility on her, not on - - say, her parents. No matter what fruits I buy, I eat some, but the rest usually sits around until it's time to toss them. Except for bananas. So yesterday morning I decided to try a new way to entice her with my own version of a fruit smoothie. Fresh

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-13198398428457619392009-07-24T08:03:00.001-07:002009-07-24T08:35:41.621-07:00

For more than 14 years I have lived in a blue house. I've always wanted to live in a blue house. I love my blue house. Love, love, love my blue house. It looks perfect in every weather condition. On sunny days, it looks happy; on cloudy days, it seems to brighten things up; the blue just shines against a snowy backdrop in winter; in the fall, this color blue looks gorgeous with all the fall

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-78851398315462431382009-07-23T06:54:00.001-07:002009-07-23T07:45:44.026-07:00

When last looked upon, Larger than Life bag was complete - sort of. The outer, crocheted portion of the bag was complete; the lining was complete. All that remained since June 12, 2007 was to join the two pieces together. Yeah - I'm that lame. The problem was that the lining was just a smidge too small for the bag, or so I thought.I finally decided that defying the laws of physics was not in my

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-22231884480634277442009-07-20T05:41:00.000-07:002009-07-20T07:02:39.207-07:00

Babs and I spent some quality time together this weekend. I finished the squares for sections 7 and 8 and then tried a different method for seaming them all together.I'm quite pleased with it - even in its un-blocked, un-pulled, un-tugged, un-tucked state. It's simple too - hold the pieces wrong sides together, single crochet through both pieces, chain two, single crochet repeat!Side-by-side

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-4608025256102148922009-07-15T04:00:00.000-07:002009-07-15T04:00:02.387-07:00

And books for hooks, (and my favorite pieces of each new book - The Picot Star Table Cloth, and the "idea page") . . . and hooks on books, (the KnitPicks double ended crochet hooks - stick with your regular crochet hooks - just saying') (a Tunisian crochet hook brought to knitting on Tuesday so as to be reassured that it was not a mistake at the factory!)And my current hooking

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-31072754210405221082009-07-09T07:12:00.000-07:002009-07-09T07:58:05.872-07:00

I am on injured reserve for a while; I have an owie-elbow. Mom and Dad don't know what happened to it and if I did remember, I don't know how to tell them. Tuesday night it hurt so bad I couldn't even walk on it. On Wednesday morning it still hurt really bad so Mom took me to see the vet that I love so much. Dr. Matt pushed and pulled and poked and prodded and tugged and turned. I was so

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-48237713649337270722009-07-08T02:09:00.000-07:002009-07-08T04:01:12.703-07:00

Dear Diary,I finally made that call to the OB/GYN practice today to schedule the appointment I’ve been putting off for several months. In so doing I’m beginning to accept the fact that Nature has a plan for me over which I have no control. It’s just – I’m not ready. Seriously – not ready!. So I’ll rattle off my concerns – fatigue, can’t remember stuff, emotional blubber house (more than usual),

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-74326282307806643702009-07-06T04:38:00.000-07:002009-07-06T06:20:21.421-07:00

Kathryn has become a fan of a few blogs lately; notably, Chris and Bakerella, cats and cupcakes - the life of a twelve-year old! So when the demand was issued call came to gather at "The Big House" for a family dinner to celebrate* with baby brother and wife of just one year who are in town, we jumped at dessert for our "dish to pass". Nanee asked for a "pan of brownies". "Pan" of brownies you

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-14465512183201032162009-07-02T06:35:00.000-07:002009-07-02T06:40:31.959-07:00

Maybe it was his party hat?

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-62410721177737000332009-06-30T06:29:00.000-07:002009-06-30T06:52:34.217-07:00

Jon would say that if we have to start painting rooms over again, we've lived here too long. I claim that since everyone uses our laundry room to enter our house, it should look better than it has.Jon put up the wainscoting a few weeks ago. The weather finally cooperated (in that it is fall again here in Minnesota) so that it could be stained and varnished over the weekend.Tig spent the weekend

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-74854851116861057002009-06-29T04:41:00.000-07:002009-06-29T05:43:06.453-07:00

Our weekend - sweet! Two date nights with the Mr. I finally got to see "Star Trek". He indulged me. As a result of Saturday's funky weather, I had plenty of time to . . . . . . finish up skeining, measuring and petting 125 yards of merino/silk/bamboo. And then I just stared at it, and showed it to Mr. a lot because I really like it . . . and . . .. . . I finished this side (Solid Square

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-58694119743215109892009-06-23T04:00:00.000-07:002009-06-23T04:00:52.556-07:00

And everybody will be complaining about it. Everybody except Holli that is.Because the greatest mom in all of the whole dog world went in to a store she would not ever normally go into for anything and bought a pool.And all of a sudden, the dog days of summer don't seem like they'll be so bad. Heck, it even looks like there could be room for mom in that thar pool. On second thought . . . It's

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-66147536849134417932009-06-22T06:25:00.000-07:002009-06-22T07:24:17.794-07:00

Kathryn's "big sister" Heather graduated from high school this year. While not related to her in any way, Heather served the role of big sister in every way possible, beginning in pre-school when the girls were matched as buddies and they formed an instant bond. What followed is seven year friendship based on that same love shared between sisters. Heather looked after Kathryn during their

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22106104.post-55808982115787194992009-06-17T05:45:00.001-07:002009-06-17T06:17:14.142-07:00

Summer is such a nice time for spinning. I can be outside, not so many interruptions - like - life. So I've been really enjoying the time I've been able to spend at the wheel. There isn't a lot to show for the time but what I do have, I love.First up, some beautiful alpaca that was so very easy to work ("the book" said it would be.) I decided I wanted to separate the three colors for a longer

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14621579116496310351noreply@blogger.com8