Rain Rain Go Away!

It has been raining here FOREVER. There was some serious flooding in our area and it looks like another wave of rain is about to hit. Luckily we live on top of a hill and our basement has stayed dry (knock-on-wood). But I have serious cabin fever. I managed to get out for a while today which was nice. We've been saving up for a kitchen so I opened a new savings account that we won't withdrawal from no matter what and I managed to find $200 from around the house ($93 in change!). I also visited Lowes to check out their cabinets and tile and made an appointment to meet with someone tonight. I already have a design I'm happy with so now I'm shopping around and working out the details (the fun part). We have a long way to save though since I want granite countertops! Here's a picture from this weekend of some fun in the sun, I'm longing for another day like this.

BGLOD

My camera has come down with an illness and it's called BGLOD (blinking green light of death). Isn't that sad, that there's a name for it? Apparently it is a common problem and has been acknowledged by Nikon. So it's on its way to the repair shop under the care of UPS, hope it makes it safely! I've finally finished the back of the Belted Wrap Jacket and have started part of the front. I'm pretty happy with it so far, I just hope it fits. The front seems a little small but we'll see. I'm glad to have the biggest piece done, it finally feels like I've made some progress. And I completed a little sewing project. I bought some beautiful Laura Ashley home decorator fabric from the special order discount bin at Joann's and whipped up a cover for the bird cage. We cover it at night and if it's being particularly noisy during the day, I'll cover him for a few minutes and take it off once he's been quiet for a while to encourage a more peaceful house, if that's possible around here. By the way, the name Nickel seems to have stuck, my son came up with it from who knows where. And last but not least, to break up the monotony of the never ending sweater I've started some dishcloths out of Sugar 'n Cream 100% cotton yarn I bought at Michaels. Of course, the pattern is from Mason Dixon. I love the pattern, it's brilliant. I love the freedom of using bright colors in any combination. I've already finished these two and can't wait to start the next one....maybe pink and green?

We still need a name...

New addition!

We always stop at Petco after eating at our favorite restaurant, Sakura. Usually, the birds are kind of nasty and want to bite the crap out of your finger (which we found out is because all the other Petcos send their trouble birds to them!). But this one conure got our attention and we fell in love. Awww.... We've had a parrot in the past, an umbrella cockatoo which was a little too much bird for us to handle, especially with young kids in the house. Luckily a friend really wanted her so it worked out for everyone. But we've missed having a birdy companion around. He/she is a Jenday Conure (I think, they said it's a Sun Conure but the markings look more like a Jenday). We haven't come up with a name yet, it seems like bird names always end with an "ee" sound! The bird is sweet as can be and seems to be adjusting well, although I can tell it's a little nervous. And of course it's a picky eater and is only eating the soft white things in its Zupreem food mix, which I think is dried banana. It's a little louder than I anticipated, that was one of my qualms with the cockatoo. I'm going to Joann's tonight to buy some fabric to sew a cover for its cage...

I'm still here!

I have been knitting! I've finished the Yarrow Ribbed socks, pictures and official FO report to come soon. I'm trying to decide which socks to start next. I'm thinking of making Jaywalkers or Conwy, I'll have to flip through my books. I always like to have a pair of socks on the needles. I've also been working on the Belted Wrap Jacket. I'm finally on the armhole shaping on the back, so I'm beginning to feel like there's an end in sight! It has been slow going but I am determined to finish it before starting another major project. I really want to make the Cable Hoodie I've been talking about forever. I've decided to make it with Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, thanks to Shannon for the inspiration. I just need to decide on the color. I'm thinking white or "putty" (slightly off-white). But that's so boring. I was thinking of making it in a pale blue color. But I think white would go with more things. I don't know. What color should I make it in?

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Look how cute! Hubby bought a Segway for work and we just got this awesome trailer for the kiddos to ride along. It is so much fun, I'm a little scared to ride the thing myself cuz hubby has had a few crashes on it but it's a nice thing that he can do with the kids. I am so excited because we finally got our front garden completely cleared out. It was a mess and not my style at all. It was full of perennials which is nice for a few weeks in the summer but looked terrible the rest of the year. There were hardly any bushes at all. I like something with a little more structure. Plus, there were weeds EVERYWHERE and it was so hard to tell what was what. I can't wait to put the new plants in, I have no idea what we're going to do. Luckily, our family friend is a landscaper so I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. The screen room is finished and now there are plans for a patio between there and the deck, with a fireplace! It's going to be awesome, I love renovating our home. We've also been having some fun in the sun! He's looking so grown up! Where does the time go????