Quick Updates

PACKING: One of the PODS is half full already and I believe a third or fourth container may be required. The bathroom has been painted and I'm currently working on staging (removing "stuff", cleaning, painting and sewing valances) in A1 & A2's bedroom.

BIRTHDAY: Today A1 is officially 10 years old! She chose waffles with blueberries and whipped cream on top for breakfast. Her party will take place sometime in the next week after B gets home. This picture was taken when she was 7 months old.

KNITTING:Terri and others were right, I've had to keep some evening knitting going for sanity's sake. I fell asleep last night after just a few rows on the Jaywalkers.

BURIED: Due to packing, etc. daily activities have been seriously neglected. Unfolded laundry continues to pile up, as do the unharvested apples. I hate waste and the apples on the ground make me feel panicky.

FAREWELL: As some of you know, B has been in the Air National Guard for near 23 years and his latest squadron is located in Portland, OR. His new permanent civilian job will be working for a different Portland based guard unit. As a result, he will transfer to the new unit following this weekend.

Yesterday he was detained on his way to Commander's Call to discuss issues with another unit member. Upon his late arrival to the assembly he found those present standing in a semi-circle at parade rest (feet apart, hands behind back and looking straight ahead). The commander called the squadron to attention, gave the order to present arms and they all proceeded to bombard B with water balloons. Here are some pictures that were taken during and after the carnage. Please note that individuals purchased said balloons and no taxpayers' dollars were spent.

Ready, set, go!

PODS containers will be delivered tomorrow so I can start packing. A 5 gallon bucket of semi-gloss contractor white paint will be applied throughout the house to freshen up grungy walls (by yours truly of course). Painting sucks, but it does help. I'll start with the bathroom after my caffeine fix. The realtors are scheduled to be here Monday so selling contracts can be signed. Lots of items will be donated and sold, much to the dissappointment of the girls. It's a safe assumption that not much knitting will be finished over the next few weeks. I'll post opinions regarding the PODS moving experience when all is said and done. We've hired a full-service moving company and have moved via U-Haul and Ryder in the past. Neither experience was pleasant. Hopefully this will be better. A1 turns 10 on Saturday. I'm not sure what kind of party or celebration we'll have for her. She's requested money for clothes shopping. It works for me, as long as mommy frugality and fashion input are involved. I don't want her blowing all of her cash on an over-priced ho-bag outfit. Cheers all!

CHANGES!

B. called me about an hour ago and HE GOT A JOB! He starts on August 20th and it's in Portland, OR.

Now the race is on to pack up and sell here and find a place there. Whoo hoo!

Stunned, blown away and some sentimental ramblings

Yesterday's mail carrier delivered not one, but two packages. As I ran out to meet her she said, "Must be more yarn."

The first package came from Disentangled from a contest that she held last week. Included in this package were two skeins of KnitPicks' Memories in Yukon, a package of stitch markers, two pretty sticky pads with a matching card and a hand-held stitch counter. Thank you so very much! I am completely astounded at your generosity. The yarn is so pretty and I can't wait to knit with it. And I've never had a stitch counter like this. No more fumbling with the little turn dials on the barrel counters. Thank you again.

The second package was from my KSKS pal, Liz. Liz went above and beyond with her sewing for the KSKS. She created not one, but two lovely project bags and in addition to those she made a coordinated knitting notions/accessories pouch as well as a double point case of her own design! But wait, there's more. In addition to the four wonderful bags she included coordinating stitch markers, a pattern for Badcaul, toe-up socks by Anna Bell, a Keychain Sock Blocker and yarn to make a mini sock, an adorable sheep card... oh yeah, and just a couple of skeins of KOIGU! I sat in disbelief for several minutes and then read her lovely note. Then I started to cry.

Anybody reading the past couple weeks' of posts here might think I'm an emotionally unstable freak. Rest assured that this is not the case, I am just your average freak. Six months of high stress from unemployment and lack of insurance has left me on edge and feeling very negative. Sometimes it feels like the entire world is going to Hell in that proverbial handbasket. Constant reports of wars, killer heat, incompetent leadership and the media focus on the shallow, Hollywood crowd (I don't give a rat's ass about Paris Hilton, Mel Gibson or Brad Pitt) tend to magnify the troubles of our world.

Last night while pondering the amazing kindness I've experienced over that past several weeks I realized that the world is still a good place. Not only have people that I've known for years, (Marta, Karen and my family) been generous and supportive, but people that I've never met in person have bestowed encouraging words, advice, levity and in some cases even treasured gifts. I will always be grateful for the day that Sherrill chased me down in the school parking lot and gave me her blog address. I'd never heard of a blog before and now I can't imagine life without it and all of you wonderful people that I've come to know. Thank you!

Now, in honor of all of the worlds' great people I am going to work on the PIF surprizes for as many people as possible! Sometimes we all need to be reminded about the kindness that still exists.

HELP!

I've always been vocal regarding my sewing machine aversion. Today I unpacked an old machine that belonged to my late FIL. I had never looked inside the case, but I kept it around so my girls could have it to learn on. I had no idea it was quite this old. My guess is that it's from the 1950s or 1960s and obviously machines have changed. I have no idea how to thread this, let alone operate it. I'm off to eBay and the Singer site to search for a manual. In the meantime, if any of you brilliant and kind people know anything about how this works then PLEASE, oh please, email me or leave a comment. Thank you!









Stitch selector? Stitch width?

Pay it Forward!

This morning I picked up my mail from the neighbor and guess what? Mama-E surprised me with a "Pay-it-Forward" gift. I'm speechless. In the envelope were these lovely green glass beaded earrings on their own "PIF" card! Thank you Mama-E, I love them and green is my favorite color. Now it's my turn to PIF and surprize someone. I have about 4 ideas and I'll work on them throughout this week.





Laundry was washed and dryed and now there is a pile of unfolded clothes at the foot of my bed that would rival Mt. Everest. But some applesauce was made out of the apples that had dropped while we were away, a minor amount of knitting progress was accomplished and a prototype apron was completed.

Whew!

Our whirlwind tour of the thriving metropolis of Grayland, WA is complete. For your viewing pleasure here is a photo summary of the trip:





A view of my parents' cranberry bog. There are little green berries throughout at this time of year.









Sadie Mae. Sadie will be 1 in November and the girls had a good time playing with their new "Auntie". Here she is with her favorite toy, a ball I felted for her.








The A team roasting marshmallows.






Willapa Bay from Uncle Wally's boat. Uncle Wally, Grandpa Porgy and I went jigging for anchovies.










A birthday present from my brother, David. He made the frame in his shop and the picture is of my Grandfather on one of his boats. The outside wood of the frame was actually wood left over from the building of this boat, the Miss Helen.




Knitting was embarrassingly neglected. I did a few rows of my sister's vest.

Today will be spent catching up on laundry, making applesauce and sewing an apron for the Apron Along. Hope everyone had a great weekend.