My wish for you for Christmas and New years

I stumbled on a story about a women crying at the airport as her daughter was leaving.  The woman and daughter made a statement to each other "I wish you enough."  When asked what they meant, she described this wish below.  It's beautiful and says everything I would like to say to you who follow my blog.

I WISH YOU
"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye."

I want to make a plaque with this saying and hang it at my door, so all who leave will be able to see it.

Time for Thankfulness

Oh my friends,
I must share this was one of the best Thanksgiving feasts I've had in years.  Our friends came over along with my husbands father.  We had shared the cost of a pre-cooked meal and added in our favorites  to it.
I was so busy re-warming food, and putting it out, I forgot to take any pictures of the people or the table setting.
First formal meal in our new home. A lovely relaxed Thanksgiving dinner with no dysfunctional family happenings.  No one arrive wasted or drunk, no arguments, no fighting. Our only disruption was the little dog we were house sitting. She stayed in her kennel while we were eating, and behaved quite well.
We had some Bordeaux wine my husband brought back from his recent travels to France, as well as some Sparkling wine we picked up at Trevari this summer.  Another bottle of wine and some espresso and pie ended our relaxed meal.  It  was so nice to take our time eating, and enjoying the meal, without the stress of a big crowd.  I love my family and our get togethers are interesting for sure, but also stressful for whoever is hosting.  This was simple and lovely and easy to clean up. With leftovers for all who wanted them.
Delightful!
ThankYou to my friends who will always be my family! (even if our kids don't get married and make us inlaws) ; )

Thanksgiving nears

Well it is indeed the night before Thanksgiving. Unlike Christmas or a birthday it doesn't have the wonder and excitement that those days hold.  However, I look forward this year to enjoying the company of friends, as our family is off doing other things.  My brothers and their families live in California, along with numerous cousins and the few remaining aunt and uncles on my dad sides.  My favorite aunt is off in Hawaii, I wish that the funds were available, I would be on a plane last week to be there and share the holiday.  Once my daughter finishes school, I will be taking far more trips to visit family.

I keep seeing where people are posting that they have set their tables and are ready for the big day tomorrow.
I'm still unpacking boxes to locate my china.  Haha.  I don't have enough storage space. arg  I found a lovely little pillow someone posted on their blog.  choose joy

It says Choose JOY!  Love it!  It can be so hard sometimes to concentrate on the things that irritate us, like kids who don't call home, or places I would like to be at or do.  But rather than focus on that, choosing Joy to focus on, what makes you happy, even if you don't have those things.

  I'm hoping that my daughter enjoys her turkey sandwich at school tomorrow.  London doesn't have Thanksgiving. On the other hand she has the joy of going to school in England, following her own dreams.

I'm hoping that all my other family enjoy their day, what ever they may be doing.  Although family can be a nuisance sometimes, its nice to know you have some.   I always kind of wished I lived in a giant clan inside a castle. That's until you get there, and think what was I thinking.

Seeing a new side

I love my husband, and I know after 30+ years his quirks and moods.  What I love is that most people do not.  To our friends and most people he does not work with, he presents as a gentle rather soft spoken soul. He is congenial and has a humor often compared to British humor.  He also enjoys what I would call humor of things like South Park and Futurama.

This is a man who brews beer for the joy of the end product, recreating tastes he remembers from England.  He does what is expected of him because he is conscientious and responsible for his family. He is a loving and gentle father, who has a daughter who wants nothing but praise from her daddy.









So imagine the surprise of our friends as we set around a table sharing dinner and tasting wines as a night fun, when the conversation began to be heated at his end of the table.
 Suddenly he was slamming the table to get the attention of those he was conversing with, to get their attention and make his point, that he wanted to be heard! Several times he was banging the table, as wine classes shook and plates jumped.  I know this man, I've seen this a few times over the years, but its rarely shared out side of the work place.  I know this man can be strong and create a sense of dread at work.  He's often sent to straighten out problems, he co-chairs a world committee  for FAA requirements. He is not a push over, although, some may think so.  I loved that he shared that side of himself to our friends.  These are friends we've had ranging from 30 to recent years.  It was amazing to see their responses.

I don't really remember the wines we had that night except that none of them really tickled my taste buds.  Perhaps it was the fact that we thought we should do wines that were under 15 dollars, so instead of going for our standard wines we've become accustomed to, such as 14 hands, cupcake, manage a trois, we all went out looking for something more exotic and the deal! You know the" I got it for under 15 but really its a more expensive wine on sale type."   I won't remember the wines of the night, but I will remember the night.  I'll rate this wine as Mr G, vintage '58, with humor, strength, gentle, loving, and surprising!  A variety worth having in your in cabinet!

a sewing feeling coming on

Ok its October, its nearing Halloween in fact.  I have not formally set up my craft/sewing room, But i do have access to my sewing machine.

I'm having that urge to sew something, fabulous and delicious.   I was browsing some patterns through Vogue and found this lovely.  I like the style of the color blocking and that it really accents the waist.  It's sleeveless which seems to be my favorite kind of dress.  It's not that I have attractive arms, its that I can wear a light sweater or jacket as needed.  I always feel constricted in tailored long sleeve garments.  ugh. but this does make me want to buy the pattern and try it out. This is Vogue V1329.  I'm craving a new coat as well but can't decide whether I want to try making one or go through the purchase process.  Because its complicated and I can't find the fabrics I would prefer, I will probably go purchase one.  My last anorak coat I bought was 20 years ago.  I didn't realize so much time passed.  I wear it a lot  in winter, and it had a lovely fleece lining, with lightweight  filling, but its definitely looking its 20 years these days.  I purchased it right after my daughter was born. I bought it a size big so I could wrap her inside of it with me, when she was in a sling.
Its now like 3 sizes to big, but in some ways that makes it uber comfortable.

So before I can take this on, I must first attack my friends footstool. It will be a pretty easy project, and needs a new cover made for it. But that's incentive to move on to something else.

Are you ready for Halloween?  I kinda am.  I want to put out my decorations tomorrow which is late for me, but hey its before the day its self right?  Also the majority of my decorations fall under the category of FALL decorations not only Halloween so they will carry me through Thanksgiving.  So this weekend, has 2 goals, hang my art which has been in boxes since moving, and seasonal decorations.

Wine, wine and more wine

OH MY!
We went over to Prosser for a crush last weekend at Airfield. There was a wine makers dinner, and we were with 2 other couples.  The food in all honesty was so so.  Seems like anytime you're in a large group its going to be that way, some of it cold, some not so good,  but hey they served wine with EVERY course.
Our friend who had a vegan meal was probably way better off. her food was always hot, and they wanted to make sure she like it. Not the case with the regular Joe meal. Next time I'm ordering vegetarian.  Of course that just got us started so we headed back to our hotel and shared a couple more bottles.
The following day, my hubs and I went swimming for a bit, while the others participated in a 5k run.
We then all went back to the winery, and had lunch, with Wine of course!  We sat with the owner of the winery for a bit and talked about his involvement in  the winery and how much work went on during the harvest season.  He told us they had 20,000 pounds of grapes for the crush to be foot stomped.  we probably did about 100 pounds, sorry we weren't in the mood for stomping as much as we were for drinking.  With more wine on board, we stomped a bit between the 6 of us, and then hosed off and headed into Prosser to shop.  Its a small town but they have some unique and well priced antique shops. I only bought a small piece of green depression glass this time.  I had my eye out for a much bigger piece like another side board, but naught was to come to my attention. Delicious dinner was had by all at Tuscany a little Italian restaurant. Followed by a trip over to Monkey business, a toy and liquor store.  Talk about a weird mix of things. We stocked up on some vodka as we were tired of wine. Went back to the hotel and partied in the common area/breakfast room.  Feeling like college students again,( Our kids are all grown and living on their own mostly- with plenty of help from the parents of course) we were able to let our hair down, kick off our shoes and party down!
Yep til the next morning, it all catches up to you. Gotta love that wine!!
Pictures are a few and will post soon.

I want to scream from the rooftops!

Oh I do love my offspring, but I want to scream from the rooftops.......Get over yourself and get a job!!!!!
why can't  she understand when we said YOU have to help yourself this year That we really meant it?
Her new digs are more expensive and she is still settling old bills from the previous house.  I know she applied for jobs, but she doesn't understand the concept of follow up.  That a week or a few days after you should stop by and say "Hi, I'm really interested in that position, and hope I can interview"  Argh I love my child, but wish upon wishes that she would take that step of actually realizing that its time for her to help her self.  She will soon be 21 and besides dancing has only held 1 summer job.
By her age, I had supported myself for three years, gotten into college, and did what I could with absolutely no parental support.  In fact it was pretty much, oh you graduated from high school- your out of here, 2 weeks after I graduated. My husbands family was more generous, but they still expected him to hold a job either for them or someone else. He worked from a young age, so what the hell?  Yes I'm ranting. and I will stop now. The unfortunate part is that she won't read this and has no idea how disappointing it is to see her lack of interest in supporting herself at all. In her mind its ok that her parents work more, to make her life be the dream.

It's those little things

So It's all those little things that start to make a difference.  Now that the big stuff is mostly unpacked, you start thinking about those little things, the nik naks, the photos, the things that make your home look like you. Those are the boxes that are still kind of in limbo unpacked with the I'm not sure where you should go notes.
They are also the things I long for the most.

I finally found a shelf with coat hooks to put by the front door.  It's black, and I want to paint it white or aqua and antique it.  But my husband hung it for me and I didn't even ask and THAT was pretty exciting. I want to put a small bench under it to sit and put on your shoes - because we are typically a shoes off house.  Also
I'm still searching for a piece to put on the opposite wall to collect things like keys, and mail, and store a few items in.

I'm really needing to use my sewing/craft room but its a box factory.  no room to walk.....also my biggest project for sure as part of moving in.  It's so much easier to pick something else than go in there and try to figure out what to do.  I have half the space of my old room. But I don't have half the stuff -ha ha. Jokes on me, even though I weeded through a lot of it before moving.  Hmm those ideas I have for making things and selling them?  I better start doing something about it, so I can clean out some it.

Well that's a little on what is happening at the new house. Pictures are do soon, maybe in the next post.

Finally In!

Here it is a little over two weeks in our new house.  Its starting to feel like home, despite the boxes, and papers all over the place.

Regardless  of our moving boxes and dishevel we had a little evening of Tapas and Wine out at the fire pit this weekend.  It was lovely having the fire going, and sitting around in the evening just enjoying each other's company.   I love serving Tapas. It's easy and you can do a lot of simple variety or get very extravagant. I saw a recipe for for a steak salad that had a chimichurri sauce I wanted to try making.  So I made the sauce, using a lemon flavored oil, lime juice & zest, jalapenos, cilantro, parsley and some salt and pepper.  Then I took some left over flank steak from dinner a few nights before, chopped it up fine, and put it in a some salad mix greens.  I took some pizza crust and through it on the barbecue, with the chimichurri sauce on it, some goat cheese with kalamata olives, a little red onion on top. When the dough was cooked, I took it off, placed the steak salad also mixed with the chimichurri sauce on top of the crust, and served warm.  It was delicious!  & Made it into a finger food.  I forgot  to take a picture but will next time.

 My daughter showed up later with a couple friends so we through out a few more chairs so they enjoy the fire too. They brought S'more fixings and we had a lot of burnt marshmallows going around.  It's interesting to watch the science of marshmallow cooking.  The patient ones, go for the perfect golden toasted mallow, while the impatient char the mallows to a blackened state.  Regardless much fun was had  by all, whether you were a cooking or watching.  I usually find s'mores to sweet, so I'm more of a watcher.

With both the music and wine flowing, it was a pleasant evening with perfect weather.

6 days

Only 6 days left until we close.  I'm so excited to finally be in my own home.  I love my friends, and Thankful they've been so generous.  But I miss my own things, my own way of setting up a kitchen, and I know its going to be a horrific mess for a few weeks.  But I'm looking forward to it.  The unpacking and deciding if there's a place for it in our new home.  We got rid of so much its absolutely amazing, but whether it was a sufficient amount or not is another matter.  And this home is a bit different in style and feel. so although there may be space, it may not be the right feel.
All I can keep thinking is 6 days, 6 days, 6 days, 5 days, 4 countdown.......

I know I need a few  new pieces of furniture.  I no longer have a china cabinet of any type. So I've been on the lookout. A few side tables, and some outdoor furniture including a new gas grill. We gave our old grill a sad farewell when we moved.  It was pretty beat and would cost more to replace the grills and burners than just by a new one at end of summer sale.  Speaking of - when did summer clearance start in July?  Our local stores have almost completely rid themselves of summer furniture.  I don't get it, and back to school is in full swing.  For Seattle summer doesn't even come into reality until after July 5th. And our Sea fair fest is in August, the first two weeks, so you would think we could have a bit of summer outdoor items still available.

Did I say 6 days? oh yeah !! I'm already doing the countdown, and trying to get things done- notifying utilities, getting the storage delivered, HIRING help to unpack them, also have 2 storage units that need to be loaded and unpacked at the same time the pods come.  Notice I said HIRE- we learned our lesson the hard way, its important to hire help to get you through this.  We tried to do to much on our own, ended up calling some friends, and still were suffering.  I have a sprained collar bone.- no LIE, don't even know what happened to cause it, other, than the excruciating ordeal of packing and moving things. I  just can't ask for more help from my friends or family, and would rather pay to have others  do it. It's worth every penny to have someone pack and move you. Our problem was the storage time in between, or I would most definitely have gone with a moving company.

Nomads

So we are between homes now.  We have several generous friends, who while they are out of town vacationing, allowing us to house sit for them.  And really it is allow as they would normally have no one.

Our move out was quite complicated with one thing after another, not enough storage in the pods, getting another storage space locally and running out of room st 1:30 am in it, and having to wait until the next day to be able to rent another space and a U-haul to finish.  The new owners had scheduled workers to come in and clean carpets etc, and were concerned we would be in the way.  We scurried to have everything in the garage and out of the house as we waited for U-haul to open, meanwhile trying to clean the house as we have never left a house dirty before this.  We notified our Realtor of the issue and that we couldn't do anything else before 9 am, and instead of trying to soothe things over, she sent us a bunch of nasty text saying we were trespassing, and that we could have the police called on us, to make us vacate the house. REALLY- we were trying to make things reasonable, not a turmoil.And what did she want us to do, when there was no where open, and we had no more space? I was really feeling let down by our Realtor at the end.  Most of what was left was either garbage or things of little matter, and it would have been easy to walk away at that moment and say fine clean it up your self, but we aren't those kind of people. Ultimately we did not clean well, since they had hired people to come in clean, paint and do the carpets.  I just gave up.  We'd been working 2 days straight, and had only slept for 3 hours in between because we couldn't do anything else. I left a couple big room carpets behind, because we had decided to not go back in, while waiting for them. We left a couple pieces of furniture as well, but I just didn't care anymore.
This was probably the worst move out experience of my life, that's for sure.

Meanwhile this week,  we are staying at a friends house not far from where our new house will be about a 10 minute drive. My husband gets to experience a shorter drive for work, and our daughter is with us visiting from London.  I know- why didn't she stay for the Olympics? I would most definitely stayed but she was homesick.  She and I are spending a lot of time at the Y's, the one I work at and the 2 close to here, going to various classes. I"m hoping to make a connection or two as well so  can maybe get on their sub list or enhance teaching program. A little sun time down at the park on the water. Got her bike working yesterday so she should be able to stretch her legs a little too.  She's full of lots of go go go, while I'm craving for a day of nothing, but lounging, since the few weeks before we moved were filled with packing, and various other things regarding the move.  She missed all the hard moving adventure, arriving 2 days later.  But we'll get her back as she will be here when we have to unload all that storage and pods.

Well that's what has been happening  the last few weeks.  Hope your summer is going well.  More to come next week.

Our search is finally over! New home in our very near future.

If you have read my blog over the last two years, you're aware we've been involved in the housing market.  We finally sold our house just 2 days after relisting it back at the end of May.  Where we had it on the market for 14 months prior with no offers , took it off for 6 months re-listed with a new agent, and it went so fast that it sold, in two days with a second offer coming in right behind the first one.
   We've sifted through a lot of crap out there.  Homes where the holes in the walls, dirt and grunge on the walls and floor is hard to get past and these people are asking top dollar. ReallY????? I would be ashamed to put something like that on the market. In fact I would have been ashamed to live in a home like that, so I guess that explains everything.  You don't have to have a lot of money but some elbow grease goes a long way.  We were so tired of searching and making offers. 















We actually made or attempted to make 7 offers before this home.  So number 8 was the right home. Finally this little gem popped, it had been on the market and the buyer backed out so they re-listed, I never even it saw it the first time it was listed in May. At the time I wasn't specifically looking in this area, but more in general area of it.

This is a  small view of the back covered porch and patio, you can't really see that the view that is a wooded reserve except for reflection in the window shows a bit.  There's a lovely fire ring built into the patio.  Which i look forward to sitting with friends and sharing a glass of wine with in the evenings.  I love the inside of the house, but this backyard really made it for me. Its not huge, but gives the impression because of the reserve behind the home. Its pretty simple to care for. I'm in love with the covered porch/deck . When my husband was in the Air force, our townhouse had a covered patio, which was so delightful all year long,  It didn't rain much where we lived, but it was definitely hot and sunny and the cover was incredible.  I love having trees in the yard and wildlife, despite the deers eating all my flowers and shrubs.  I don't mind the bunnies too much having a munch if they don't eat everything. I'm so accustomed to the seeing deer and bunnies in my yard, I will definitely miss them if some new creatures don't venture up now and then to the yard in this home.
It already feels like home, so I hope our buying efforts all go smoothly.

This is a view of the front. It has a great covered front porch and sits in a cul-de- sac with about 8-10 other homes.  I'm hoping that neighbors are nice, and we can get to a know a few of them. I plan on staying here for a long time.
Moving can be exciting, but its such a huge amount of work.  I'm looking forward to moving all my hanging flowers, and baskets over to this house.

7 Gables Pension

I just have to do a separate post on this place.  If you like Shabby chic with a little french influence this 7 Gables Pension is for you.  Even better if you like Wine tasting want to be able to walk around.

Located in Prosser, washington  a small town, with small downtown, that has several antique shops.  It has a big industry though, and thats wine.  Its basically a farming community with a big growth of this industry.  They have and are continuing to build a area called Vinters Village, when completed, it will be a large amount of wine tasting houses and restuarants along with some places to stay.

7Gables is part of the Vintners Village and was recently written up in Sunset magazine. Sitting on 6 acres the B&B is quiant and quiet. The house is a restored farm house, which recently had 4+ bathrooms added on.  The grounds are beautifully maintained, with a picket fence surrounding the main property, and a wrap around porch to relax on and  take it all in.  The home is filled with charming antique and new furnishings mixed together.

There is a huge garden that she grows the produce  used for meals in the house.  Becuase she grows a fair amount of produce, she sells to some of the local chefs and business'. In talking to the owner Debbie, and getting a sneak preiview, she will be opening an antique shop in late July early August where she will have many pieces of restored and painted pieces & pieces similar in style seen in the house, and a bit of a farmers market- selling some of their garden produce. I look forward to making a trip back when she has this open.

These little piggies are soft sculpture and all three are attatched. They were so cute sitting on our bed

when we arrived.

Debbie has a lovely kitchen with modern appliances where she makes the most wonderful breakfast for the house guest.  I understand she does special events as well at the house such as bridal teas.  I can't wait to go back, and now that the secret is out, I'm sure it will be harder to get in to.

A weekend in the Washington Wine country

This is a view from the Silver Lake Winery in Zillah/Toppenish area of eastern Washington  We were able to sit and enjoy this while we sipped Rosa Rose' and had a delightful lunch on thier patio.  They have beautiful grounds up at the tasting room.  The grass is rich green, theres a lovely rockery fountain, and large trees mixed in that offer dappled shade to relax under.  Just walking into the building is a relaxing experience.  We hit this beauty on the way home as a last stop for our group before we all went our own way.

We started our weekend over in Prosser.  We were staying at the 7Gables Pension, which is a sweet little B &B  right near Vinters Village.  7 Gables is a 1904 farm house that has been refurbished and decorated in a French Shabby Chic style.  It has 6 unique bedrooms most have baths.   If you are tall (the 6ft and over group) you may be challenged because of the gables in the top floor rooms.  Some more than others.

 Regardless its a lovely place to stay and the proprietress Debbie, is fabulous.  We had planned to walk everywhere but shortlyafter arriving a huge thunderstorm started and the rain was coming down in buckets. For the lack of umbrellas, we opted to make our first stop with the car.  We went over to the Alexander and Nicole tasting room and had some of our favorites, and viewed the changes going on there.  Then we hopped back in the car and parked at Wine O' Clock for lunch.  This was one of those long leisurely lunches you rarely ever have. 2 hours of  pure joyful conversation, sharing and tasting each others food, and wines, ports and cordials, followed by desert and coffee. The staff here are helpful and pleasant. The owners are even better.  The food was incredible. I had a corn soup which was not thick like a chowder, and a salad, and snagged a piece of artisan pizza with pesto, grilled eggplant and pine nuts.

A goat cheese cheesecake intrigued me enough to order it, i didn't realize it was chocolate flavored as well as chocolate sauce, I'm not a big fan of chocolate in general, but the goat cheese made it a bit tart and now I would actually like to make a goatcheese cheesecake one day.

This was followed by a quick walk to  Airfield.  They have this patio at the entrance with tables for sunny days and the fountain has a bit of a pond on the bottom. The owners daughter was our pourer for the day.  She had this dog named Jack's who is a pretty good sized dog.  He was a rescue and appears to have some kind of retriever background among others.  As the day warmed after the earlier showers, he jumped into the pond to take a dip. It was quite a surprise.

They have incredible library room, that knocked the socks off our group.  I think a little jealousy factor went around as we took it in. They had clever chandelier made from Wine glasses. We were quite a long time. Finally we dragged ourselves out of Airfield and headed over to Millbrandt.  We snuck in before they closed for the evening.  After that we were all feeling like heading  back to the B&B.  We made it back to  find that we had a lovely happy hour set out for us, we added left over wine & pizza from our lunch, plus the wine our proprietress had left with our cheese and cracker plate. 

We were like a bunch of young-uns' partying up on the porch of the house.  A few blocks away was a classic car show going on with music.  So we wandered over there about 9:00. A few of us really needed the walk.  The men drooled over the Cobra that was there, and several other cars.  My husband gave up his muscle car for me, he's always telling me, He had to choose between his car or the girl.  Glad I won over the car.  = D  Someday I hope he can find one and refurbish it for himself.  We then stumbled around and made it over to restuarant to diffuse the liquor with a little more substantial food.  Then we  danced outside to the band for a bit and wandered home about midnight.

Sunday morning our proprietress made a delicious breakfast of yogurt with fruit and nuts, followed by pastries with fruit filling, and and egg dish with asparagus, gruyere and ham.

We had coffee out on the porch, then wandered down to Chukar Cherries.  Came back to the house for a bit saw the tiniest little kitten they rescued in an alley, and then it was time to leave.  We headed to Gamache which is next door to the b&b.  Then we all left for Silver Lake winery.

It was delightful  way to spend the weekend. Especially since it was my 31st wedding anniversary with my lovely husband who gave up the car for a girl!

Dance like no one is watching!

I LOVE this sign.  I love to dance, BUT in NO way am I a dancer.  I teach Zumba but I am not a dancer.  I am an athlete who likes to dance (or call what I do dance!)

Ironically I started teaching Zumba before I started teaching cardio aerobics- which is similar but the rhythms in cardio aerobics are more consistant and you can expect the beat of a song to all the same- either 124bpm, or 132 bpm etc.  Zumba changes beats to offer more of a Dance experience. I wish i had done these opposite because I would have been better in the beginning of my Zumba experience. But its all working out.
However I believe when I really let loose, indeed i would end up in trouble.  But to all you dancers and wanna be dancers GO FOR IT!  Have the time of your life everytime the music comes on and makes you feel like moving.

Happy May!
I love May it signals summer for me.  Growing up we had lots of family birthdays in May, including my great grandmother, my great aunt and uncle, my favorite aunt, another uncle and myself.  With Mothers Day and Memorial Day, it was just one celebration after the next. It was also the time of year that I got most of my summer wardrobe as birthday gifts. Now there are only 2 of us left to celebrate birthdays during the month along with the holidays, and I no longer get a new summer wardrobe in honor of turning another year older.  Dang, so not fair. 

So a little sun, gets us outside trying to get the yard in shape, and cleaning out the garage. I've made several trips to the donation Vans in the area.  I need to weed out some more of the excess belongings but having a hard time.  It can be done though and will be (she says with a grimace).

We've been talking to realtors again in hopes of putting our home on the market.  It seems like things are picking up and that people have been able to turn their homes around in approximately 2 months or less.  What I don't like is when the realtors try to brow beat you into a price that will get them paid, but you will make less or nothing than the realtor.  They use the excuse of this is the only way you can sell.  Oh yes, I should willingly sell my home 40 thousand less than the purchase price. So that all that I've paid on it, will go to someone as comission.  Oh yes please let me make you happy realtor.  We actually talked to a knowledgeable appraiser who suggested a higher price, after looking at the comps.  The realtor tried to write off the appraiser as trying to apraise it for re-fi not resale, as if he wouldn't know the difference. I mean they have used the excuse of short sales, and glut of forclosures the last few years for driving prices down, but I really feel the realtors play a part in this as well. Encouraging people to short sale and take less for their homes.  UGH I dislike realtors and the tricks they play. I have yet to find one that I truly like and the one who I probably trust the most is no longer in our area.  Sometimes I would rather rent than go through the buy and sell process of a house.
Oh Well, hope this saga will end soon.  I find a little property here and there, and they sell so fast its almost not worth looking yet. I think I get off on the torment though.  Haha such a sick thought.

Easter week and reflection

The spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. There is no law that says these things are wrong.(Galatians 5:22-23)

All of these things improve the quality of our life.  these also make the lives of others more attractive.
If you take care of the garden in your soul you will live a happy life.  It is these things that make our lives more full, not how much money we have to spend or where we travel. Years ago when my husband was in college, we experienced tighter finances than we could have imagined.  Jobs were difficult to find in a small college town. We got by with little, and learned alot.We always were able to manage during those years although at times it seemed like the worst of times. Someone at church told us that believe it or not years down the line we would look back and laugh.  We thought surely no way, but faith comes through and we did laugh. We've laughed many times since then and actually thought those were some great time.

 A few years ago my aunt made a move that she wasn't planning on but circumstances required it.  It took her many churches to find her place.  Because her faith was strong, she has been successful in some of the most trying times over the year.  She is blessed and is a good example of someone who produces and receives the fruits of the spirit.

With Easter week here I think many Christians reflect on their faith and the role Christ plays in it
Maybe this will stir a thought for you.

bunnies, sweaters, and hats oh my!

Easter is on its way, and when your only child is living in another country you have to think early about what to do.  My most recent experience dealing with international mail (and customs, duty & vat taxes) has not been too happy. I digress.

So thinking ahead and now ready to mail are these adorable bunny slippers.  They are made with a pink pacific yarn by cascade yarns and Alpaca Lace in peony pink also by cascade.  Before washing I was able to brush them with a scrubber lift the fluff, and throw them in the washer/dryer to finish it.  then embroidered the eyes and nose.  The bottom has 2 layers so they are quite squishy and come up the back of your heel like a scuff.  She's a dancer, and their house is quite cold so I'm sure that they will get lots of wear.  I considered putting on a bunny cottontail, but decided that it might be a nuisance. 

Here is a quick pick of the sweater I made her for Christmas.  Unfortunately it wasn't quite finished because I ran out of yarn just before she returned to England, so I had to mail it after it was completed.  The pattern was from the Contemporary Crochet 37 European designs  book, and I used  Sublime -Cashmere merino silk dk. It's a beautiful yarn to work with and has such a lovely hand.  The color is kind of a dark  taupe or clay color.  the sweater on the cover is the picture of the sweater I made her.




So I decided to try and knit again.  Having  a strong crochet background, does seem to really help.

I tried many times  years before and never could get the hang of it, the gauge, and the giant spaces on the first row were badddddddddddd.  This time, I decided to make a hat, using circular needles and then having to transfer to the double pointed needles to finish.  It was a bit frustrating- especially those double pointed needles, I would like to know who thought those up. But i did manage to make and adorable pink hat and then crocheted a big loopy flower for the top. I'm pretty impressed with myself.

so much so I thought what the heck lets make a baby sweater.  so I've been working on that now. Its in several pieces and needs to be finished.  Soon, you will see it.  I want to put a crochet edging on it, after its all sewn together.

so this is just a bit of what I've been working on.

phone call surprise.

SO  if you've followed my blog, you know that i spent the last year trying to sell my home.  We took it off the market in September so we could get some relief from the traffic of people tramping in and no offers coming about. Also we wanted to have the holidays with out interruption. We've been comtemplating when to put the house back on the market. It's 3200 sq feet and there are currently only 2 of us living here.  It's just too much space, although I like the luxury of the space, I don't need it.

Out of the blue yesterday I recieved a phone call from a realtor wanting to show our house. Evidently there is little on the market in our area and they went back to listings 6 months ago.  If it sells without having to relist makes it 100% percent a plus.  I'm a bit apprehensive, but on the other side a little excited.  Although trying to get my house back into shape over the next 3 days will be interesting.  If nothing it gets us motivated to put it back onto the market if it doesn't turn into a sale.

I have been working on some big projects for crochet and knitting.  I will post these in separate post.
thinking positively!

its all about the positive

So this year i really want to focus on the positive things in my life.  It's easy to complain, to let others know your unhappy, but it takes alot more work to feel good about lifes happenings, and the positive things we miss seeing in certain situations.
So I'm posting this link
to Dr Suess sayings.  As a child I read all those Dr Suess books and read them again to my daughter.  My favorite book to give to graduates is "Oh the Places You Will Go".  It just reminds them of all the potential they have when they explore the world.

[Via: http://www.mamiverse.com/30-dr-seuss-quotes-to-live-by-4920/" />30 Dr. Seuss Quotes to Live By]                 
   

oh happy day!

I saw this lovely photo and had to share.  I love brightly colored bouquets of roses, as oppossed to one single color. 
Since its been awhile I figure I need to come back with something lovely.  I have been working on several things, and will be posting my own pictures soon.  But wishing you a happy day, whether you celebrate Valentines day, or not.

changing friendships

Today I met with two friends for lunch.  I haven't actually seen either of them since October so I should have been excited.  But it was with a weary heart that I went to meet them.

  A few months ago, I found how little my friendship meant to them, and that any driving had to be on my part if  I wanted to get together.  I live 30 miles from them.  For Seattle that can be your commute on a daily basis. Regardless, every time it required driving to my home there were many reasons why they couldn't.  Once I quit traveling into their town, they quit calling.

One of them has taken a job out of state and wanted to share that information and that she would be leaving town on Sunday, while her son who is 12 and her husband remain here.  I think I was supposed to feel more sad, or shocked, but since I've only heard from her twice via text message, since the last time she cancelled on me earlier this fall, it was like the the sadness had already happened back then, so it was just now there would be a legitimate reason for her not contacting me.

  I'm happy that she thinks she's found something she wants to do, and I hope it all works out for her. She kept asking if I would come visit her, and I had to be honest probably not. Why would I pay to fly to another state, when she couldn't even make the effort to come to my home 30 miles away?

 Ultimately the last time they cancelled on me, upset me because it was one the gals birthdays, and I was planning & had started preparing a tea luncheon.  One other person was invited- she was the only who could attend. When I get and email saying " its my birthday I've decided to do something else with someone else", I was pretty pissed. And then the other said she couldn't make arrangements for her son to get home although presumably they had been made earlier.  After a couple hours I called the one with the son, and she proceeded to tell me she had plans to go out with another friend. OK Fine, I get it. I'm good to be around if I will travel, but not the other way around. So I figure this will be the demise of our friendship since I have no plans to travel to see her.

 As for traveling if I have a spare dime to travel, it will be to see my daughter in England.

I wish them both well. Although we had some things in common, I don't think they are strong enough to keep the threads of friendship from unravleing.

I don't get why clothing manufactures ignore the overweight.

This is a personal gripe, that I've had for years and years.

When I was little, my grandmother wore the most hideous clothing, awful fabrics and prints. I didn't realize then she had little choice.  She was a short woman but she had and extremely large bust (it scared me when I was young that I might inherit it-shudder). Her clothing in her later years really didn't match her personality.
I teach fitness classes, and I attend fitness classes, but I have a terrible time finding things to wear.  I am in the 16-18 size group.  This varies from manufacturer to manufacturer- god forbid that we could actually come to some kind of standard.  I've been going to hot yoga, and believe, regardless of size or ability you want to be able to wear shorts and some type of built in bra tank top that has wicking fabric.  Can I find one? heavens no! So frustrated I'm going to have to make my own. 

After all the bitching that people do about overweight people being lazy- did you ever think its because they can't find appropriate clothing to wear to participate? and if they do, they have to pay twice what the size m pays?  Believe the cost isn't that much more.  I used to be a designer and production person for dance costumes so I have the experience of making from wee little ones to adults.
Well that's what I have to share today- sorry for the gripe.