Weekend update

This weekend was so great! The weather was beautiful! On Saturday - Coleen and I hit the Sugarloaf Craft Festival at the MD fairgrounds. We didn't buy too much (gotta save for Sheep and Wool!) but I did buy a cool purse/backpack for me and one for my mom.

I also planted a new garden near my patio. I bought a dogwood tree on Friday and some other plants and finally put them in a new garden bed. I don't know about my other MD neighbors - but my yard is nothing but rocks and clay. It is virtually impossible to dig in my dirt! I had to use a pick ax to get a hole even close to big enough for my tree. I imagine I was quite the site - covered in mud and swinging a pick ax like a lumberjack! Hehe!


But - it's all worth it in the end.





I still have to add a few more plants and mulch over everything. I am also going to add a stone border around it all. I'm pleased with the progress so far.

Here are some of my new babies:

Bachelor's Buttons


Drumsticks


My new dogwood tree:



The rest of my yard is in bloom too!
I love the color of these tulips...





My magnolia tree is still blooming.



I love these purple/blue flowers on my Trevi Fountain This picture kind of reminds me of the water falling in the actual Trevi Fountain in Rome...



There was also some knitting accomplished this weekend. I am onto the sleeves of my Central Park Hoodie. Slow and steady - I can't wait for this project to be finished! I'm getting very excited!

I'll sell you a Poodle... for cheap!

I just saw this article and had to share!

Take from this article:


"Thousands of Japanese have been swindled in a scam in which they were sold Australian and British sheep and told they were poodles.

Flocks of sheep were imported to Japan and then sold by a company called Poodles as Pets, marketed as fashionable accessories, available at $1,600 each.

That is a snip compared to a real poodle which retails for twice that much in Japan.

The scam was uncovered when Japanese moviestar Maiko Kawamaki went on a talk-show and wondered why her new pet would not bark or eat dog food.

She was crestfallen when told it was a sheep.

Then hundreds of other women got in touch with police to say they feared their new "poodle" was also a sheep.

One couple said they became suspicious when they took their "dog" to have its claws trimmed and were told it had hooves."


Anyone reading from Japan? Here's a hint...
Poodle=



Sheep =


What's next - the Tokyo Poodle and Wool fest!!

Monet socks

I finished a pair of socks while on my cruise to the Carribean. I worked on these socks every day on board and took them with me to Cozumel, Cayman Islands, Key West and Jamaica. They are very well traveled socks! I should have posted this sooner but I forgot!

The colors in the yarn were too beautiful to hide with a pattern. They reminded me of Monet's paintings - so I am naming them after him.

Here are my Monet socks:



Stats:
Pattern - Basic sock with 2 x 2 ribbing at cuff.
Yarn - Ruby Sapphire - MELINDA Handpainted Treadsoft Superwash Sock yarn
Needles - US 1 DPNs


Don't you think the colors are like a Monet painting?













Also - for those of you that asked - here is a pic of the 3 generations T-shirts we made:






We didn't actually put them on - but you get the idea!


Spring continues to bloom at my home and at work. I am starting to get back into my gardening mode. I spent some time yesterday working in the garden and planted a few things. I need to plant some flowers in a new bed that I prepared last fall. It's definitely hard work - but it's so rewarding to see the flowers coming to life!

I also spent about a half hour pulling up dandilions - ug! They never stop!!

But - having the beauty of flowers around me is something I cherish. I'm lucky to also have this beauty around me at work. I work in a biulding owned by the US Dept of Agriculture and let me tell you - the grounds are gorgeous. There are flowers everywhere! Right now the tuplips are in full bloom....

Greetings from Pennsylvania!

I'm visiting my folks this weekend and they FINALLY have high speed internet now! That means - I can even post pics and blog! What a concept!

Anway - I came up this weekend for a friend's baby shower. She LOVED the knit halter top by the way! I ended up buying her a stuffed chicken to wear the outfit. (Her nursery has a barnyarn theme.)





Both the chicken and the top were a hit at her shower!

I also got to spend the afternoon/evening with my grandmother today! She just turned 91!! I think she looks absolutely amazing for her age. She can still get around and we had a great time - we posed for pictures and then made T-shirts with an iron-on image of the three generations - her, my mom and me. We made a t-shirt for each of us.

Here's the photo we chose:



Don't we look cute!

Happy Birthday Grammy!

Cutey pie!

Last night I finished a little baby shower gift for my friend. I made Katja from Knitty. I absolutely love the pattern!

My bear is modeling it for me here:



Stats

Pattern: Katja from Knitty.com
Yarn: King Tut cotton in color 2560
Needles: Knit Picks interchangables circ in size 7
Alterations: I knit it in the round instead of flat. I also added a small button hole at the back (thanks for the idea Jolene!) to help keep the back from flopping around.


I really enjoyed knitting with this yarn - it did tend to split a little - but it was so soft and knit up a lovely fabric. It was a quick knit too - I think I finished it in two evenings.



Oh and I really to kick it into gear and get back to my CPH - it seems other people are going to catch up otherwise!!!

Cruis'n

Well I managed to get some much needed sleep today and upload all my pictures!! Still not unpacked - but hey - I have my priorities!!!

Hubbo and I had a great time on our cruise. The ship was so huge!!
There was an opening in the middle and you could see all the way down 11 floors!



There was also a ton of activities including rock climbing, mini golf, a spa, a gym, a track, two pools, and a kids activity area.



And of course - the main activity for many onboard was the FOOD! And man, was there a lot of it! I don't think you could go a half hour with seeing food or drinks being served somewhere. We tried to restrain ourselves as much as possible... but it was so good to be pampered! On the last night of our cuise - the wait staff and chiefs paraded through the dining room and thanked us for coming - it looked really cool on the dining room steps....



Of course our waiter, Roman, was the best one. He was so handsome! He had a wonderful accent and gorgeous deep dark eyes. He was so smooth - one night - he even hand-fed me souffle! I was in love :)



Oh yeah - Hubbo was there too.... (heehee) Don't we look nice all dress up for formal night?



I wore the shawl I made and even got some compliments on it!




Our first stop after setting sail from Ft. Lauderdale was Key west, and believe it or not - it was my favorite stop!

I loved all the old homes. We took a little tram around the island and stopped at Hemingway's house. It was so beautiful. Lush gardens and cats everywhere! Polydactyl cats (meaning they have extra toes)!! Apparently Hemingway had a cat with 6 toes and many of these cats were descendants of his cat. It looks like they are wearing mittens. Here's a little mosiac of the critters running around the gardens...


1. Hemingway House cat, 2. Hemingway House cat, 3. Hemingway House cat, 4. Hemingway House cat, 5. Hemingway House cats, 6. Untitled, 7. Hemingway House Cart, 8. Hemingway House cat, 9. Chicken

There were chickens too - Coleen I thought of you!

We also stopped at the Southernmost point. I really don't understand why they put statues of people there. It's just plain silly if you ask me...



After Key West - we set sail for Cozumel. Hubbo had made a reservation for me to swim with dolphins at Chankanaab park. I was so excited! BUT... when we got there - they had no record of our reservation and there was no space to make a new reservation. Denied! I was bummed. But it was ok because we found a nice place to sit and we snorkeled instead. It was still a pretty good day :)

I mean after all - I got to sit here and drink Sol all day long!



And I even go to meet this Iguana - (yes Nicol - this picture is for you! But this doesn't mean I like iguanas!)




Anyway - after Cozumel - we set sail for Cayman Island. I was really looking forward to this stop. My parents had honeymooned there and talked about how great it was all the time. We decided to use the cruise ship this time to make our reservations - because they won't get screwed up that way - right?

Um... wrong...

We made a reservation to go on a catamaran cruise and then snorkel with the sting rays. Our excursion didn't leave until 2pm - so we decided to get off and explore the beaches a little before our trip. Seven mile beach was beautiful I have to admit:



But when we returned to meet up for our tour - we were informed that it was canceled. Canceled?! They waited until now to tell us! I was so mad because it meant we couldn't even make arrangements to go on our own now because the ship was leaving at 6 and this trip was going to bring us directly back when we were done. There was no way we could make it if we went on our own. Denied again!! I couldn't believe our bad luck. I decided no more excursions for me.

Our next stop was Jamaica and I didn't even take a chance with an excursion - we just deicded to go shopping in town. It was crazy! People calling to us to go into their shops and cars driving crazy everywhere! I thought we were going to die on our way back to the shop - the taxi driver was driving all over the road and in the wrong lane at times!!


Even though some of our excursions got messed up - the cuise itself was still great. I think if I ever go on a cruise again - I won't even bother to get off at all! I'll just sit and knit and sip on a cocktail.

Oh! - and play bingo...

Here's our bingo dog with the sock I was working on. Bingo the dog was free when you bought a "Bingo pack". They are ALL about the bingo on cruises. Bingo people can be dangerous - I warn you now!



Ah - it's good to be home :)

I'm back!

I wish I were still here:





But alas.... it's back to reality.

Details and more pics coming tomorrow! I'm too tired to write tonight. But I admit - I am glad to be home!

Woohoo!!

I got it!!




Now I can relax and enjoy my cruise!

I'll be visiting Key West, Cozumel, Jamaica and Cayman Islands.

Today is my 4 year anniversary and this cruise is our gift to each other. Hubbo surprised me this morning with one other present... he bought me a dolphin experience!! Check it out!

I can't wait!!

Also - a big thanks to Coleen for a fun night at Toby's! I'm still singing Fiddler songs in my head!

Slacker blogger

I've been a bad blogger this week! My mind has definitely been elsewhere.

I am in now in week two of a passport renewing drama and my time has been eaten away while on hold with the passport agency! To make a VERY long story short - I am leaving for a (much needed) cruise on Sunday and realized my passport expired a little too late to just mail it in... so 1 bazillion phone calls to the passport agency later - I finally got an appointment this morning. I still need to go back tomorrow and pick up the completed passport - but hopefully it will be OVER!!! You gotta love government workers though - really... I mean how else can they have fun except to play with people's nerves when they really need something.

Case in point... I need a passport... I need it now... I need it or I can't go on a trip... They have the power and know it... One *nice* lady told she made me an appointment and would email me the details and confirmation number later that day.

OK - this is the 21st century - emailed info - cool! Or so I thought....

Later that day... no email... next day... no email. Phoned them again... New *nice* lady on the phone say, "Email?... we don't email appointments. Someone told you the wrong information." (A.K.A. - you were the butt of some government worker's joke!)

So - I finally got an appointment for today thinking I'd actually get the new passport in my hot little hands immediately... wrong.

I feel like curling up in the fetal position and crying for my mommy to make it all better. (Nah - I'd rather just complain to you all!)

Oh a position note - I did get to have Cosi this morning... Mmmmm Cranberry Orange square bagels with butter.... heaven! They are one of the things I miss about working in DC.

Anyway - sorry I turned my short story into a long one after all - sometimes you just need to vent!

In other news... last Friday - I was in Virginia for the annual PeopleSoft Mid-Atlantic Regional Users Group (MARUG for those in the 'biz) and also got a chance to meet a fellow blogger! Since I was in the area - I shot Jinann a line and asked her if she was free for a visit! It's always cool to actually get to meet online friends in person - isn't it?

We met at Capital yarns and I bought some yummy Mountain Colors sock yarn and I finally got the Favorite Socks book I've been lusting after.


After that we ate some yummy BBQ at a local joint next door to the yarn shop... you could smell the BBQ in the shop too!

Here we are after our BBQ feast!




It was cool to get a chance to meet up!

Before I met Jinann - I had some time to kill and was driving around - looking for something to do when I spotted a sign for Sully Plantation. A plantation!? I had to check it out...

It was the home of Richard Bland Lee, Northern Virginia's first congressman, and was built in 1794. I didn't take an official tour or anything - but I did walk around the grounds a little and took some pics:







There were plenty of pretty yellow goodness around to suit the new Project Spectrum colors too :)



Definitely worth a quick stop if you're ever in the Herndon area!