| spring |
[Apr. 15th, 2006|03:48 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  calm | ] |
Ahhh.. I do love to see the early spring wild flowers come up. These are two that I have missed some years because they bloom so early and for so few days - especially the twin leaf.
The top pic is hepatica. It flowers before the leaves appear.
The second pic is the twin leaf. The flowers will only stay on the stalk a day or so after they open. In this pic the flowers haven't fully opened yet.
Thought I had a pic of the pulminaria but I guess I didn't. It is unusual - spotted leaves and small pink flowers.
Puttering around in the back yard today. Raking a bit and doing a bit of pond maintenance. The weather is great. |
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| alpaca socks |
[Feb. 17th, 2006|04:37 pm] |
Here's a picture of my recently finished socks. I bought this nice alpaca yarn from Emily. She dyed it. It's perfect for socks! My next pair will not be so complicated though. All that cabling makes for pretty slow going. I've got some smokey pink that I will be using to make my next pair. Am going to try a new method: use circular needles and make two socks at the same time...hmmmm. We shall see. |
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| Thanksgiving and Christmas |
[Sep. 30th, 2005|12:34 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  okay | ] |
I know this is silly but the whole clan looks at live journal - so here it is.
Thanksgiving. We are planning to do a Thanksgiving dinner at our house. Elizabeth, Sarah, and Matthew are planning to come (at this point, anyway!) and any others are welcome to make reservations so we make sure we have enough places to sleep everyone. More meat eaters needed!!
Christmas. Is Christmas in Fenton or Holland this year?? Am willing to have everyone but need to know 'cuz the house isn't really in any shape for a Christmas get-together. The livingroom/dining room area looks like SOMEBODY's music studeo! ALSO, when will we be getting together? I need to put in for my time off in the near future.
Please cast your vote soon!! :) |
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| Tuesday afternoon |
[Sep. 6th, 2005|04:20 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | tired | ] |
Got back from the Jenkins bash, nibbled a bit on some taco chips, and then went to Contours. I am participating in a wellness session where I have to log all my time spent exercising or walking or other such stuff. It's a pain to keep track of but it does keep me going. I'm basically a non-active sort. Always have been.
Went and bought circular needles to knit my socks on. Am making a pair of socks using a pattern from Denmark. Very cool double cable pattern and very nice yarn (alpaca) that I bought from E. The new needles are inspiring me to knit, knit, knit.
I wish it would rain. What a dry summer this has been. The maple tree in the back yard is going to shed alot of "helicopters" next year! What a pain.
The Jenkins get-together was pretty relaxing. It was short this year - did anyone else notice? But it was good. |
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| Miss me? |
[Jul. 20th, 2005|11:28 am] |
I haven't written in a bit, so thought I'd check in.
I am busy knitting another baby sweater - this one is for a niece. She is due in September and we are having a baby shower for her in a couple of weeks.
I still have turtle problems. I am thinking that he isn't very big. The large things moved around in the pond may be animal(s) going after the turtle or even the fish. The dog food can (I removed the top) is empty but the trap didn't spring. I have given up.
Didn't sleep well last night. Can't figure out why. Probably got an hour or two. Hmmm
I am feeling intolerant lately. Try not to let it control how I act.
Got pics from D & C in California. Wasn't able to get through on e-mail to them. They seem to have lost my e-mail address or something. Not sure what the deal is.
Gotta go back to work. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 27th, 2005|02:01 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | calm | ] |
Some more pics of my baby knitting. Have started a blanket, but am not sure I'm happy with it.
The socks are not perfect. The one that actually looks like a sock is quite big for a newborn. The other one is more of a tube sock - usable with many foot sizes - but looks like you'd use it as a mitten! Ah well. I'm learning.
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| Trying something new |
[Mar. 13th, 2005|04:29 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | mellow | ] |
This is my latest project. I never would have attempted this 6 months ago. I'm wanting to try lots of different knitting projects now! It's not nearly as hard as I thought it would be - the mystery is disappearing.
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| Snowshoes!! |
[Feb. 20th, 2005|09:22 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | All over the place! | ] |
Well, the Chelsea Fleece Fair certainly was fun. You could spend as much as you wanted to. Spinning sure looks like fun. I may have to try it - how cool to go from sheep to sweater! hmmmm....
I was thinking this morning: I should have brought my snowshoes to E! I am sorry that I didn't think of it sooner. Ah well. Nothing to do about it now. Shoot - it's snowing, too.
Am planning to do some house cleaning (no fainting out there!) realizing that I won't have to worry about dog hair anymore ... :( I have to admit that this is a bit of a relief. I probably won't get very far, but will give it a start. Have laundry to do also. And since it's Sunday, I must do some goofing off!
Maybe I will start a new knitting project with my new yarn. |
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| Chelsea and Chelsea |
[Feb. 14th, 2005|09:02 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sad | ] |
Just got back from the vet. They will bury Chelsea at a farm up north. Funny, I didn't cry last night but couldn't sleep for thinking of her. This morning I can't seem to stop crying. It will be a hard day at work - not much sleep and I seem to have a cloud over my head. The weather seems to be mirroring my mood. I don't have to be to work 'til 11:30 but have to work through 8 tonight.
Will mail Nicholas' b-day package today. If I can pull myself together, will go to Friends of Wool for coaching on how to fix my sweater.
Saturday morning I plan to go to Chelsea (the city) to a Fleece Fair with Barb. Hoping to connect with Emily and possibly Leigh? Barb works 'til 8:30 am in Battle Creek. We'll meet at a McD's and head east. She has to work the next night too, so plan to let her get back and sleep before she goes off to work again. Still not sure if I will come back to Holland, go to Fenton, or ? Don't feel like planning at this point. Will decide later this week. |
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| Knitting woes |
[Feb. 5th, 2005|03:18 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | crushed | ] |
I was very disappointed when I went to put my sweater together. There is a mistake in the pattern if you use the instructions to make size medium! I thought I had knitted it wrong but I took it to Friends of Wool, the local yarn shop, and she figured out their error. Will have to put this on the back burner for now. The sweater looks pretty cool - very disappointing. Ah well.
Bought yarn for Nicholas socks. I'll have to knit up a storm to get them done in time to send! |
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| Snow in Holland |
[Jan. 23rd, 2005|12:59 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | sore | ] |
Well, we finally finished shoveling the driveway! What a job. We worked together this time. I think we motivate each other. We also take periodic breaks. There sure was a lot of snow! The paper said 11".
Read in the paper today about the local knitting shop having a "Knit for her cure" event next Sunday. You can buy a kit to knit a scarf then sit and knit, enjoy snacks and watch a movie - profits will be used for the fight against cancers that afflict women. I guess one of the owners was diagnosed with cancer and that is one of the reasons they started their shop. They figured if they were ever going to do it they'd better do it "now." She has been cancer free for 5 years now. I will be driving back from Mom and Dad's on Sunday so won't be able to go. Maybe I can buy a kit anyway.
I think I'll just goof off for the rest of the day. A nice bubble bath sounds sooooo good! And of course, a little knitting! |
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| Info on tension stemming from the jaw |
[Dec. 27th, 2004|10:15 am] |
For those who are curious, my doctor gave me some things to research and I will share them here.
An article about the syndrome - google this: Dental distress syndrome Fonder (author)
source for affordable night mouth guards - sleepright.com
info about laser therapy - thorlaser.com |
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| Christmas 2004 |
[Dec. 26th, 2004|10:04 am] |
Had a quiet but nice Christmas. Missed seeing any of "the kids" (I know, they aren't KIDS anymore!) but did talk to all of them at some point. It is good to hear their voices and know that life is good for them.
I stayed in my 'jamas all day! Had some projects to finish for the Jenkins Christmas. Almost done.
Next will be a project for myself! Hope everyone enjoys this stuff as much as I have enjoyed making them.
We're off to my family's Christmas gathering today. Promises to be chaotic, but fun to talk to the nieces and nephews. |
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| The body is a strange machine |
[Dec. 12th, 2004|10:43 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  hopeful | ] |
Well, I finally went to the doctor about pain in my elbow. I have been having pain during my exercising since May but it was starting to be evident during regular daily activity. I self-diagnosed myself using the internet: golfer's elbow. Similar to tennis elbow but with pain on the inside bone of the elbow instead of the outside bone. Well, in the week before I went in, I also started getting extreme pain in my wrist when I would push on anything with my hand. Ugh!
So, anyway, I went to the doctor. He agreed with the elbow diagnosis and said he did think that the wrist pain was related. He proceeded in showing other areas on my right side of my body that were also holding pain and tension. One of the areas, a knot in my back, I have actually gone to him for treatment for about 6 (?) years ago. I still get the knot but Steve helps "push" it out now and then.
He suggested 2 things. Laser therapy on the spots. Which he did. But also, this is the weird part, he asked be to show him my teeth in a closed position. He took a folded piece of paper placed it on my front bottom teeth and had me close my jaws. He tried to pull the paper from my mouth but my front teeth prevented it from being pulled out. According to the doctor, the front four teeth, if in contact (upper 2 to lower 2), send an adreneline message to the brain. This causes tension though the body. Interestingly enough, and I didn't notice 'til later, this contact in my mouth is only with my RIGHT front teeth, the side where I have the tension spots. He suggested reading on the internet on laser therapy and also he gave me a website to buy an inexpensive (relatively) mouth guard to use at night. The mouth guard prevents my front teeth from contacting.
I got the mouth guard in the mail yesterday. When I got up yesterday my wrist was in bad shape. It hurt with very little movement or use. This morning, after my first night with the guard, I have absolutely NO pain! This is very interesting! |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 28th, 2004|11:43 am] |
I am enjoying trying my hand at knitting socks. Barb started me a couple of weekends ago. I'm not real happy with the top edge but, mostly, I'm pretty proud of my creations! I am finding that it's not as hard as I anticipated. Here are a couple of pics.
They are pretty comfortable but a bit big for my foot.
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 7th, 2004|03:10 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | content | ] |
It's Sunday. I really enjoyed the concert last night. I have to admit listening for the harpsicord and the organ. It went very well. I went to the talk before the concert. Not sure it helped me "appreciate" the pieces more but it was interesting anyway.
We decided not to go out to eat in gr. To go out before wouldn't have been good for Steve and we both were way too tired to go out afterwards. We'll have to attempt this at a time when we are just attending a concert.
I did get a couple of pics of Steve in his tails. Will share.
I stayed home today. Cooking and doing laundry. Steve is at the final performance - at some high school aud in gr. He will be playing a synth instead of an organ today. I'm curious how this will go!
I wonder how Costa Rica is??!!? I really think I'm jealous! Some day I will really learn Spanish. |
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| Cool Sunday |
[Oct. 3rd, 2004|06:01 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  lazy | ] |
Fall has arrived in Western Michigan. It's been around 60 degrees the entire day. Our furnace has decided it's not ready for Fall - it won't come on. Steve baked biscuits this morning - mmm. Life is rough. He also made a meatloaf for me to eat this week. The oven still doesn't take the chill off. The thought of taking a shower when it's this chilly is not a nice one. |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 2nd, 2004|03:13 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | relaxed | ] |
Am having fun at the DeGraaf Nature Center lately. Took a workshop on plant communities. It included some "field trips" of which I was able to attend 2. The first field trip was really interesting. There is a bog in Allegan County called Miner Bog. We went out onto the bog (which is just sphagnum moss which covers a very deep lake) and saw such things as pitcher plants and sun dew. These are carnivorous plants that I have only seen in books. When you walk out on the bog it feels like you are walking on a waterbed - you can actually jump up and down and feel the wave action! Too cool. Today we went to VanRaalte Farm. Didn't see much diversity in the plants - enjoyed using field guides to figure out what some of them were. I never realized there are so many different kinds of goldenrod. The programs at the nature center are really pretty good. I decided it was worth the $20 annual fee to become a member.
Brought all the houseplants in today. Big job. I have quite a few big plants: Calypso oleander, Christmas cactus, some big water plant that I can't remember the name of, hibiscus plant/tree, yucca, umbrella tree, papyrus palm. It's like bringing some of the outdoors in! I like it. Had to water all of them after bringing them in because it's been so dry.
Work is fun. We started the fall storytimes this past week - had 18 kids and 8 adults. Not bad for the first one. We read books, sang, and played the hokey pokey. Work sure is rough!
Gave a tour of the library to 40 4th graders yesterday morning - they were really attentive - very nice group. I read "Mr. Wolf and the three bears" - great book - highly recommend this one. They seemed to enjoy the humor. We have had several classes from this school which is within walking distance from the library. They are the only local school that did not pass the "no child left behind" measures, so they are attempting to restructure and try new things. Often, teachers would arrange for a Spring library tour to encourage summer reading. Some of the teachers have asked for collections of "good reads" from the library to keep in their rooms for 6 weeks or so. I actually have always been impressed with the classes that I have seen from this school over the years. They tend to be attentive and the teachers really seem connected to the kids. This school, in particular, is very diverse and tends toward the lower economic end.
I miss my kids. Everyone lives so far away! California, St.Louis, England!!?? That's alot of travelling to see everyone! Ah, well. One of these days we'll have to try and get the whole crew under the same roof. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 18th, 2004|07:05 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  good | ] |
I usually just lurk, but thought I'd try my hand at journalling.
I am very relieved that the Peace stuff is resolved. It has been hard watching Steve have to go through this stuff.
There are some extra perks that come with this:
1. No worry about what will happen around Thanksgiving. Sometimes he has been expected to play for some sort of service on Thanksgiving eve. We are thinking of going to St.Louis for Thanksgiving.
2. I have asked for the days between Christmas and New Years off. With no church stuff eating into that time, we will have a bigger chunk of time to play with.
Life is good. We are rather spoiled, really.
I want to get a tune-up and oil change for the Suzuki. We won't be replacing it this year so I want to make sure it's being maintained. I'm not very good about this stuff. It has been a good functioning car as long as I've had it so I don't anticipate any problems. I really like driving it. I'm not sure that I will ever find another vehicle that I like more. |
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