A day with Grandma and Grandpa

Rachel and I just got home from spending the day with my mom and dad. Grandpa mailed her a recipe for apple strudel, said it was his favorite and worth $100. Well, Rachel made it for him as a surprise, not expecting to receive any money and it was delicious. Dad slipped her $100 as we were leaving. It was a fun day.

MDS&W 2009

The first weekend in May is the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival held at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship, MD. I drove down with three of my knitting friends - April, Anya and Jen. The day started off with a light rain, but became a pleasant day, not too warm and slightly overcast. We wandered through the fair at a relaxed pace,taking in all the sights and sounds. The animals were precious to watch. Each of us made a few purchases, but no one blew their budget. It was fun seeing some the well known knitting patterns being worn. Many "February Lady Sweaters, Central Park Hoodies, Rustic Root, a variety of gorgeous shawls. Socks That Rock seemed to draw oodles of people. I gravitated toward the natural handspun and purchased some Icelandic lace weight lambswool in a very dark espresso, handspun worsted wool in a midnight blue/black and bought a skein of superwash sock yarn in a pretty driftwood color. Now to spend some time wondering what to knit. All in all a very good day.

Chocolate Raspberry

I spent a busy week going to the gym, running errands, visiting and knitting with friends. The pups were groomed and came home squeaky clean and adorable. Marvin spent a few days in VA, Rachel and Adam were in the city. I finished Nadine's baby blanket, have a Manos scarf in the works for Rachel and started a Juniper Bonnet using some Dale Baby Yarn. The color is a pretty mango red. Checkout www.brooklyntweed.blogspot.com for more details on the bonnet. Here are a few glimpses of life:

Now to enjoy my cup of chocolate raspberry coffee.

Easter Celebration 2009

We had a wonderful day celebrating the Easter holiday with Dr. Fuller's family. Adam also joined us. Rachel outdid herself in the dessert preparation department. There was cheesecake, raspberry sorbet, lemon squares, key lime pie,red velvet chocolate decadent flourless chocolate cake, rice krispie treat 3D bunny and cornbread. Photos are posted. Dr. Fuller is the happy fellow and Grandma Fuller is with Rachel.

I will need a week to detox from all this delicious food. When the kids left to return to Philly, I sent them home with all the left overs...just too tempting.

Fun Day in Philly

Yesterday I took the train into Philly to spend the day with Rachel. She needed pasty supplies so we met at Market Street East and walked into the heart of the Italian Market where her favorite cooking supply place, Fantes is located. We spent some time collecting the various spatulas, pastry brushes etc. She gets so excited in that place. Next we went to lunch at small eatery and had delicious grilled vegetable sandwhiches. Onward towards toward Loop on South St where Rachel spotted some pretty lavender jojoland cobweb merino lace and then a few blocks away at 2107 Locust St to Rosie's Yarn Cellar where she picked out some variegated Manos in reds, golds, blues and purples. The game plan is a simple rectangular shawl, the pattern yet to be determined and a winter accessory. We then continued to her apartment. We walked a good 5-6 miles yesterday and by the time we drove back to Blue Bell, my right leg was feeling the effects of our day. But, it felt great. Rachel spent the night, the pups were thrilled as was Marvin. They wanted the UNC-Villanova game. Today the plan is a realxing lunch with her dad at Minados a Japanese house and then maybe pedicures.

Content

Today was wonderful. My children were all home, pups were thrilled. We relaxed, caught up on life and watched basketball and bowling. Nothing gives me more joy then having my loved ones close enough to hug.

Quiet Monday

The weather has been nice, but still cool for Spring. Rachel and Adam spent part of this past weekend in Blue Bell before driving back to NC for break. The pups were thrilled as you can see in the photos.

Marvin and I went to dinner with some friends. We enjoyed a delicious meal at an Italian style restaurant somewhere in Morrisville, PA. Definitely worth the thirty mile drive and worth going to again.

I'm trying to finish up baby blankets before the little ones arrive, have one more visit to PT and then an at home plan in addition to the gym to keep me fit and strong.

Sunny Day

Today was beautiful. Sunny, blue skies and just the right temperature. I attempted to sit on the deck with a cup of coffee and knit, but the pups were having too much fun for me to not take some photos. So no knitting content to report. How about a budding maple tree and a few action pup photos.

54 Years

Today we spent the afternoon celebrating my parents 54Th wedding anniversary. We had a small gathering with mom and dad, my sister's family and my cousins. We had a delicious, late lunch here: http://www.bellanapolibloomfield.com/

Mom and Dad are fun and still adore one another very much. Its hard to believe mom gave birth to me when she was 19.

Now we are home, relaxing and watching TV. The pups surprisingly did not eat the couch while we were gone and were happy to see us when we returned.

Friday Update

This week I was completely out of wack due to the time change. I can't really remember what I did, except for the usual trips to PT, the gym and my knitting groups., But despite my inability to recall the week, I did finish Celia's First Noro Sweater and started a Baby Dragon Scarf with some Noro Aurora. The photos are below. And of course here is one of RP so if Rachel takes a peek here, she can see how cute he is.

Lazy Sunday

Well, let's see. Not much went on today. The pups didn't budge until almost 9AM, which meant we had a lazy start to the day. Moving the clocks ahead will have us all out of wack for a few days. I puttered around, went to the gym and then grocery shopped. After putting groceries away, I tossed a turkey breast in the oven and sat on the deck to knit. Dinner was tasty and after cleaning up, boredom set in. I took a ride back to the supermarket to pick up the Bartlett pears the packer forgot to put in my bag and strolled through B&N bookstore. Exciting, eh?

I need to start taking pics of other things aside from the pups and my knitting. My excuse is that I'm still learning to use my camera. Once the weather improves, I'll have more interesting photos to share.

Haywire

Today was quite warm, but cloudy. I went to the gym and scooted to Yarnings to see if they carried Fiber Trends Naturally Stella Bamboo, but no luck. I did find a skein of Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool for $4. Its Deb's favorite color, so I decided to buy it instead of a $4 latte. No definite plans for this yarn, but its enough for a simple lace scarf.

I'm not quite sure why I am so haywire, but I am. I feel stronger and more toned as a result of going to the gym and PT. My clothes do not feel any tighter..if anything, my pants are bigger and roomier, but my mid section feels full. My body weight is shifting...almost feel like I have a Michelin tire around my waist. Not good. Have to figure out how to work this off. Me and WW are not in sync.

When I arrived home, I discovered RP, Stan, Zip and Marvin on the deck enjoying the day. Here are some photos of my gang in action.

Fun Friday

Today was relaxing and fun. My Friday morning Borders knitting group met and as usual we had a great time. I worked on Rachel's striped garter stitch afghan and the two Noro cardigan fronts. Our conversations are lively, passionate and interesting, so mindless knitting is a must.

Tonight,I started a baby hat from the "Minnies" book by Jil Eaton. The pattern is called, "Genghis baby" and is a top down hat started with i-cord. After about an inch of I-cord, I increase in each stitch, then divide the total number of stitches onto four needles, continue increasing each round until I have the required number of stitches and work even. Its really cute. I'm using Gedifra Donatello from my stash in a bright apple green.

Rachel arrived safely in NC this morning. She and Adam, Deb and Bill are attending a wedding tonight and then will relax the remainder of the weekend.

Zip is all wound up and has been playing fetch all night. My arm is tired. Here are some pics of the hat and of you know who.