Ahhh....Home Again!

Well, after a wonderful 10 day whirlwind trip around the Midwest, we are home again!! I have to admit it is nice to be back, although we had a wonderful trip and spent great time with friends and family!

Our last weekend we spent in Omaha with R&M. Friday night we headed downtown to the Old Market to this pizza joint. It was so good! I have to say it was the BEST Thai chicken pizza I've ever had!







Afterwards we headed to a local ice cream shop that serves homemade ice cream. I got a concord grape ice cream that was very good. Reminded me kind of like laffy taffy. Very sweet.















Saturday we did a little shopping and then we headed to the zoo! I have heard great things about the Omaha zoo but have never been. We spent 3-4 hours there and had a great time. It really is a nice zoo!! And the weather was perfect!






The aquarium was nice.... Loved the underwater tunnel with the sharks swimming overhead. (Ok, not really! I have a horrible fear of sharks and kept envisioning the glass breaking!) I'm not sure why I have such a fear of sharks having lived about as far away from the ocean as one can get my whole life. Maybe I was scarred seeing JAWS at a young age!!!












One of my favorite animals is the giraffe. I just LOVE them. I really don't see how a person could go to the zoo and see the variety of animals and sea life etc.. and not believe in God. I just think He had an amazingly fun time creating everything!!!














Sunday we packed up R & M's apartment and Steve and K headed back to Iowa and he dropped her off at her apartment to get settled in for another year of school. I can't believe how fast the time with her went!!! I rode back home with M who was coming home early for a job interview Monday morning. And.... she got the job!!!!!!! A 3rd grade teaching position at a public school her in Cedar Falls! Now I cannot even begin to tell you how excited we are for her (and proud of her!!). This is a very difficult district to get in to, especially as a new teacher!! She starts tomorrow and couldn't be more excited!!

Sumo was very happy to see us when we got home! He did fairly well while we were gone. Had one major accident (which is very unlike him) but we can deal with that. He was quite anxious to pose for a blog photo and I reassured him that Sophie will not be taking over that job for him!! Here he is with my latest scarf project. I cast on another Fan and Feather scarf out of Wollmeise for the Ravelempics Scarf Stroke. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have trouble finishing it by the end of the Olympics with everything else going. but I'll give it a try.









And the very fun news is that A is home from his summer in Colorado!!! He got home late last night and we get him for almost 2 weeks before he starts his senior year in college! Sumo is always so happy to have any of his kids home (and can never quite figure out why they choose to leave!!). There are several reasons that I think we will be seeing more of A this fall! (One being little Sophie!) The other is a new 'friend' that A met out in Colorado who goes to school here at UNI. I'll keep you posted.....


Until Next Time....

Meet Princess Sophie....

Well, today was the big day! We got to meet our new puppy, Princess Sophie. Is there anything cuter than a new puppy???? Needless to say I was very thankful for a digital camera today as we shot photo after photo. I've tried to narrow it down a bit (from over 100) and hope you enjoy our new little girl.





Steve was a little nervous that she might not like him (Sumo was quite afraid of him initially!) but she took right to him!

















She is a very sweet little girl. I am just sure that Sumo will love her at first sight!!!

















K fell instantly in love with Sophie and I do believe it just may give her cause to visit home once in awhile this Fall!! How can one resist such a sweet face!!

Not only were the puppies sweet and extremely well mannered, but the mom (Ginger) and Grandmother (Molly) were there and both had excellent temperaments. (Here is Sophie looking up at her mom Ginger.)

Since the puppies are just under 5 weeks old they are still nursing. Ginger stood very still while her little pups got drinks all around. Here is Sophie getting a little drink without her siblings around. Lucky girl!! The puppies have sharp little teeth now and have started eating some puppy food as well. Ginger won't let them nurse for long with those sharp teeth!!

We are very excited to have our little Sophie come live with us. Hopefully we can pick her up sometime before Labor Day weekend. (Still working out the details of how to pick her up.) Our friends down the road are also getting one of the puppies. (It's actually her dad who has the puppies!) It will be nice for Sophie to have a litter mate so close!

Sophie is really excited to meet the rest of the kids and, of course, Sumo. Steve has already had a talk with Sumo and made him promise not to eat Sophie. Now he'll have to have a little talk with Sophie and make her promise not to bug Sumo to death. And we should have peace!!

Puppy kisses all around!













Until Next Time...

Thursday in Ortonville

Well, I know that today is the day that I usually do a TNT update. I'll share a little about our training run today and then fill you in on what else we've been up to the last few days.

We woke up this morning early and headed out for a 10 mile run. The air was cool and perfect for running! There is a park preserve not too far from my parents, so we headed there. It was the perfect spot to run with some of the road in wooded, shaded areas.








And some of the road along wetlands. We saw some wildlife.. mostly amazing birds. There was a whole group of pelicans on one of the lakes which were very fun to see. The run itself went fairly well. We run a mile and then walk 2 minutes and just keep repeating until we're done. (We only do this on our long training runs) The shorter runs during the week we run the whole time.






Now to let you know what else we've been up to. Yesterday we headed out to my brother Gregs' place. He has a farm near here that he spends quite a bit of time at. He and his girlfriend have project galore that they work on out there. One is the raising of exotic chickens.






They haven't started laying eggs yet, but I guess they are suppose to be quite colorful. They sure have some interesting looking chickens, that's for sure!!








Last night found us at a lovely restaurant overlooking Big Stone Lake. The weather was perfect and we sat for quite a long time visiting and enjoying a wonderful meal.










This is the view we enjoyed for the evening.













Today after our run, we headed up to a place on the lake that my brother Dean and his wife own.
It has a wonderful view of the lake and South Dakota, which is on the other side of the lake.










Steve and K found some lovely chairs on the deck and I think would easily have spent the day right there. But of course we had other things to see and do!! I guess we'll just have to make 'reservations' sometime and come back!









We managed to sample another local restaurant for lunch and then headed into town to the museum. Here is a shot of the inside of a one room schoolhouse that used to part of one of the 61 school districts of Big Stone County years and years ago. My cousin Larry was working at the museum today and acted as a tour guide for us! We also stopped by a wonderful shop downtown (Village Crafts) that hosts a weekly knitting group. Mom decided to pick up yarn and some needles and we are hoping to help her cast on a scarf tonight and get her on her way before we leave in the morning. The knitting group (led by the wife of another one of my cousins) at Peg's store should be able to give her guidance as she goes.





Tomorrow we pack up and head back to Omaha. We will be making a stop in Orange City, Iowa to meet our little Sophie. We are very excited to see her. (And I'm sure I'll have LOTS of pictures to share!)


Until Next Time.....

P.S. Thanks to all who have visited M's Etsy shop. (And for many of you who purchased her jewelry!) I'm working on a button so that it will be easy for people to head over and take a look at what she has been creating. I know I want like everything that she has on her site!!

Driving and Knitting and Driving and....

Knitting!!! Well, we are now at my parents in Ortonville Minnesota after an overnight stop in Omaha. We had a great evening with R & M, but I realized I had forgotten to put the card back in the camera when we went down to the Old Market for dinner.. so no pictures! We'll take plenty when we go back this weekend.

While in Omaha, we helped M get her Etsy site for her Vintaj jewelry figured out. She has been making the most gorgeous earrings and necklaces and decided that she would give the world of Etsy a shot. You can check her shop out here.






We've had hours in the car the last couple of days and between K and I we have done lots of knitting!! I started on a scarf with yarn and pattern I picked up at the Midwest Fiber Fair. They were both from the Plain and Fancy Sheep Co, but they don't have a website, so I am sorry that I can't link to it. The yarn is fairly nice to work with, but I have come across several knots which are frustrating. The pattern is a combination of garter stitch and chevron pattern and I really like how it is coming out.










K finished her Fan and Feather scarf that she started before she left for Philly in June. I think that it is Yarn Love. The colors are gorgeous. This is such a great pattern! Easy to memorize, with 3 rows of knit; 1 row of pattern.














She also whipped up a pair of Fetching Fingerless Gloves on the trip from Omaha to Ortonville today!! (She is a very fast knitter!!!)








Well, that's all for today. We're looking forward to a relaxing time here at my folks' visiting and knitting and eating my mom's wonderful cooking. My dad cooks very well as well.... (i.e. takes us out!) I'll keep you posted!


Until Next Time.....

Checking In....

Yes... I am still here! We have been busy busy busy since K got home last week so I thought I would catch you up on what we've been up to! First off, we dusted off my trusty old sewing machine and hit the fabric store for a project that we've been planning for quite some time.





We bought six different flannel fabrics and started cutting out 6 inch squares to make a twin size rag quilt for Sheri's daughter as a graduation gift for her to take to college. Her favorite color is purple, so that is the primary color we used.














The reverse side of it is made up of old jeans that we have been collecting for some time. (And came to light in my recent cleaning out of the storage room!!!) The effect of the purples and blues coming through on the denim side was very subtle and very pretty. These are such quick and easy quilts to throw together. We had this finished in a little over 2 days from the time we started!!!












We had a time goal as we packed up the car on Friday and headed out on a Midwest Adventure!! First stop: St. Louis. We spent the weekend with Sheri and her family. Steve had a shoulder visit from Zoe the cat. He doesn't look all that comfortable with her on there and claims that she ripped his shoulder to shreds before she jumped down. I don't know... I didn't see any blood!!



K had her own Zoe experience with having her on her lap while she sat knitting. Hmmm, I'm trying to imagine having Sumo sit on my lap while I knit. I think I'll be content to have him sit at my feet!!!














We did lots of knitting and watched a few movies. We are all working on scarves. I have started a new one that I am really enjoying. I will show it on my next post. We have LOTS of driving time in the next few days and I should get quite a bit done.




The guys chose to watch movies but opted out of the whole knitting thing. I don't know... I enjoy doing something while I watch T.V.









We made a couple of trips to Loopy Central. (Sheri's yarn shop). She just celebrated her 2nd anniversary of starting The Loopy Ewe on August 1st. It is amazing how her business has grown!! It doesn't surprise me tho! Sheri is an amazing business person, known for her incredible customer service and personal touches. Way to go Sheri!!




Of couse a trip to Loopy Central involves several things. One is a trip or two to the M&M jars. I so could not have these available all day every day. I have no will power when it comes to M&M's!








The second is the acquisition of items for my various stashes: yarn; roving and bags. I got 5 different rovings to spin; a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Select yarn and an Atenti bag that Sheri has been telling me I just HAVE to have. (And I always believe her.....) I'm looking forward to doing more spinning after we get home. Someday I will spin yarn that I can actually knit with! I know that it just takes practice, practice, practice!!!





Tomorrow we leave St. Louis. Next stop: Omaha for an overnight stop with R & M. Stay tuned.....


Until Next Time.....

TNT Thursday

It is time for another update on our marathon training with Team in Training. Steve and I will be running in the San Antonio Marathon November 16. While we are training, we are raising awareness and funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Our hope and prayer is that we can help in the race to find a cure for these diseases!

Today I thought I would share a little about what our training schedule looks like. As we have mentioned before, one of the supports that you receive when you join Team in Training is a coach who helps come up with a training plan that is designed to help you prepare for your race and accomplish your goals. It is exactly 108 days until our marathon and I have a training schedule hanging on the door that maps out what I will need to do each week to get ready.

Basically we run 3 shorter runs during the week (3-5 miles) and then do a long run on the weekend. It is by increasing the length of the long run each week that you get ready to go the distance. The longest we will actually run before the race will be 22 miles (which we'll do about 3 weeks before race day!) It will be late in October which will mean we hopefully won't be doing it in this heat and humidity. (I just hope we won't be doing it in snow!!)

We are very fortunate here in Cedar Falls as we have over 80 miles of recreational trails right here in our community! This is a bridge over the Cedar River which we often cross when we are out on our long run. (We crossed over it tonight as a matter of fact!!) I LOVE having the trails to run on. It's very easy to map out any length run. We can access the trail system just a little over a mile from our house, which is where I usually take off from.

Now just to let you know I do not necessarily look forward to all of my runs!! There are many mornings that it is a battle within my head..... "You should go for your run now"..... "Well.... I could wait until tonight instead and get started on my day instead".... "But you know that you do better if you get it over with first thing in the morning....." "Yes, but I would rather shower and go out for a cup of coffee..." etc.. etc.. Sometimes it takes up to 45 minutes for me to actually get ready and out the door for my run. If I would have just gone right away I would have already been back!!!!


We are continuing to raise support and are well over half way there! We are helping with a 'Poker Run' on August 23rd which I think will be a great event to do with the team and should help push us up towards our goal. We still have lots of time, which is a good thing.



Until Next Time....

Our Puppy!

Well, here she is! We received a few pictures over the weekend so I thought I would share them with you! She is just 3 weeks old and has just opened her eyes.














Another picture. So do you think she looks like a Sophie??? We'll get to meet her on August 8th when we are driving home from my parents house. I'm sure she'll have changed again since then!!







Today is my 'Tooth-Day'. If you remember a few months back my tooth fell out. Well, I am finally able to get in to get a 'permanent' fix!! I am ready. It's very strange having a loose tooth!


Have a wonderful Monday!

Until Next Time.....

Birthday Twirl...

Yesterday was my birthday! I had just a marvelous day! There wasn't any one BIG thing that I did, it was all of the little things that added up to remind me of how very blessed I am!! I woke up early and the first thing I did was a 'birthday twirl'... you know, when you twirl around and say (or sing) 'Today's my birthday'. (PLEASE tell me you also do the 'birthday twirl'!!) Then I went for my training run. After that I spent the day putzing around the house and talking to the friends and family who called to wish me well.


I did some spinning.... Here is the roving I did last weekend, as well as one I just started on Sunday. I think I am getting more consistent, but I sure have a LONG way to go!!!















I finished not one, but two pairs of socks!!!! Here are my completed Monkey socks in the Loopy Legend colorway that Sheri had named after me - 'Janice's Sunshine in Winter'. I love how they came out. What is fascinating to me is how different Allison's pair came out with the same yarn and pattern!!!! Check it out here.












Next off my needles were the Vikings socks I started ages ago! After I got a quick review of short row heels, they were easy to finish up. I even did my first bind off that is actually quite elastic and I'm thrilled!!! The pattern is the Waffle Rib stitch out of the Sensational Knitted Socks book by Charlene Schurch.













At about 4:00 pm, one of the best birthday gifts I could get came driving down our driveway!! K is home from Philadelpia after being gone for more than 7 weeks!!! It is SO good to have her home!! She's only home for a few weeks, so we need to soak her up while we can! I also got calls from R & M and A. R & M drove out to Colorado yesterday and are spending the weekend at the YMCA camp where A is working. Although we weren't all together, which would have been the best, it did make me happy that they were together out there and we were together here.









K brought me back a 'Philadelphia' mug from Starbucks for my birthday. (I have been collecting the Starbucks city mugs for a few years). It's funny because R & M had called earlier from Denver to say that they were at Starbucks trying to get me a 'Denver' mug and were told that Starbucks is discontinuing the city mugs. I'm so bummed!! They have been such a great souvenir to collect on our travels!




Steve totally weeded my garden as part of my birthday gift (my love language is 'acts of service' so this is huge for me!) and also got me a panini grill, which I am VERY excited about. I know what is on the menu for tonight!!!!! With birthday money from my parents I bought a new camera that is small enough to tuck in my purse when I am out and about. I love my Canon Digital Rebel, but it is HUGE and not always the easiest to take along. I would show it to you, but I actually sent it out for A to use his last two weeks of work in Colorado, as he has been camera- less all summer!!

Sumo has been laying around pondering life before puppy. See how he has his paw under the rug? He always does this and I think it is so funny! We never actually SEE him get his paw under the rug, but every time you look at him he has it there. Funny boy! Still no pictures of the pup, but I sure have been enjoying all of the name suggestions!! I think we may be leaning towards 'Sophie', but we won't make the final decision until we have her. (In case she's definitely NOT a Sophie!!)



Well, just got the call that lunch is ready! (Boy, am I being spoiled - like they say, it's good to be queen!)

Until Next Time.....

TNT Thursday

It is time for another update on our marathon training with Team in Training. Steve and I will be running in the San Antonio Marathon November 16. While we are training, we are raising awareness and funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Our hope and prayer is that we can help in the race to find a cure for these diseases!

Today is a 'Good News/Bad News' day! As with most things, there is Good News and Bad News about the fight against these diseases.

THE GOOD NEWS....

1. The effectiveness of recently developed treatment methods and steady advances in research bring us closer everyday to finding the cause or causes of leukemia and related cancers and probable cures.

2. The survival rates for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood leukemia, was an appalling 4 percent in 1960. Today, thanks to research, the survival rate has improved to almost 80 percent! ALL is now considered to be a potentially curable disease!

3. Chemotherapy was initially developed as a treatment for leukemia. Today, it is the standard therapy for most cancers.

4. Bone marrow transplantation was developed as a curative therapy for leukemia. Today, it serves as a promising therapy for curing breast cancer, AIDS and sickle cell anemia.

5. Survival rates for adults patients with ALL, only 4 percent in 1960, approached 45 percent in the last decade.

6. In May 2002, Gleevac, the breakthrough therapy that kills cancer cells without harming normal ones, was shown to be superior to standard therapies to treat CML.

7. Hodgkin's disease is now considered to be one of the most curable forms of malignancy. Survival rates have almost doubled from 40 percent in 1960 to 80 percent today!



The Bad News....

1. Leukemia is one of the leading disease killers of children. In the US, four in ever 100,000 children between the ages of 2 and 10 will be diagnosed with leukemia this year.

2. Every 9 minutes in the U.S., a child or adult dies from leukemia or related cancers: lymphoma, multiple myeloma or Hodgkin's disease.

3. Leukemia strikes 10 times as many adults as children. More than half of all cases of leukemia occur in persons over 60.

4. Leukemia and lymphoma are the leading fatal cancers in women and men under the age of 39.

5. More than 106,300 Americans will be diagnosed with leukemia or a related cancer this year.

6. More than 58,300 Americans will die from leukemia or a related cancer this year - nearly 160 people every day.


Although these look like 'just statistics' - they represent real people whose lives are being turned upside down by the diagnosis of one of these cancers. We need more 'Good News'! With additional research we are hoping that new treatments can be discovered. That the survival rates will continue to rise. We're excited to partner with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as they race to find a cure. Thanks for partnering with us and encouraging us!

Until Next Time....