SIGNS OF SUMMER

It is a beautiful, sunny day and I am seeing signs of summer all around. It makes me smile. I LOVE to be warm and it seems like warm weather has been a long time coming!! But it is here now and I hope to stay!

Quick update on backs, surgeries etc.. Aaron had his second surgery and is doing much much better this time around. In fact, we took him back to school yesterday where he is hoping to take one of his finals this week and touch base with his other professors to make a plan for completing his other courses soon. So many thanks for all your prayers and concern for him. In the meantime, Steve's dad ended up in the hospital for most of last week as well and ended up having a defibrillator put in. (All while Steve was still in San Diego....) But he is home now and doing well. Yes, I think things are looking up!!

As soon as it starts to head into warmer weather we start thinking 'shearing'. Yep...Llamas need to be sheared so they can handle the heat of our Iowa summers. If we had the time, it would be nice to clean them all up so we could save the wool. (Which we have done in some years past.) But now it is just a matter of getting the wool off the animals to make them comfortable. The animals don't like it at first, but once they settle down, MOST of them do quite well.






This is Squire. He was one of the first llamas to be sheared
this year. I know that it HAS to feel good to have all that wool off of you once the heat sets in!



















This is Sebastian. He is Kirstin's first llama that she owned. His dark wool is especially important to get off. His large midsection suggests he had a bit too much grain this past winter!! On real hot days we put out sprinklers for them and hose them down on occasion.






Another way that they cool themselves off is to roll in a dirt pit. It's not long after you set a llama into a pasture that they start making a dirt pit. This one is in our paddock, not too far from the barn. It holds one large adult llama which can create quite the dust storm when they are rolling around in it!! Never tried it myself. Can't say I've even been tempted!







Another sign of summer is Steve standing at his grill. Love that about this time of year....Easy meal time.





















Of course, Sumo is never far from the grill, licking his lips and hoping for a hand-out!!















Getting the hammock out is another ritual. I love the time spent sitting in the hammock. A group of Ryan's friends stopped by yesterday and piled on! (Yes, it was dangerously low to the ground!!)

But who cares????



Ryan's best friend got married yesterday. A beautiful day for a wedding. I have to say, it was strange seeing Ryan up front in a tux. It won't be long and he will be the groom. I feel as tho we are being slowly drawn into the next season of life. Empty nest; children getting married; grandchildren. How can this possibly be happening??? I feel far too young.....

But I am very excited. I think it will be another fun 'season'!!










Jello. Yes, summer means jello. So, for our Sunday night group I made our favorite jello 'salad'. (Yes, around these parts anything with jello and fruit is called a salad.....). I know, I know that jello is gross and made up of gross things. But it still tastes good once in a while.
So here is my recipe for anyone who wants it! And feel free to treat it as a dessert if you'd like!

Yummy Strawberry Jello

1 pkg (3 oz) strawberry jello
3/4 cup boiling water
1 cup ice cubes
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries (or 5 oz. frozen)

1 pkg (3 oz) strawberry jello
3/4 cup boiling water
1 cup ice cubes
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries (or 5 oz. frozen)
2 cups cool whip (whipped cream)

1. Dissolve 1st pkg. of jello in 3/4 cup water
2. Add ice cubes
3. Stir 3 minutes, until gelatin is slightly thick, remove ice.
4. Stir in fruit. Pour in mold or 8X8 glass dish
5. Place in refrigerator
6. Repeat steps 1-3 with 2nd pkg of jello
7. Stir in fruit and whipped cream.
8. Pour in mold on top of other jello
9. Refrigerate at least one hour.

(A double recipe fits a 9X13 glass pan)


I also made a pan of Caramel Rice Krispie Treats. (Been craving them for some reason). But as if they are not sweet enough already, I dipped them in chocolate. I don't know why I do these things. But they are yummy and I have high hopes the kids will finish them off tonight so that I won't!!

Time to start my walking routine!! (First thing tomorrow!)


Until next time.....

BACK AGAIN.....

Well, much has happened since my last post. The biggest news being that Aaron had to have his second back surgery on Thursday (less than 2 weeks after the first one!) Somehow he had re-herniated his disk and the pain was worse than before. Poor kid! He came home Friday afternoon feeling much better. Praying that this one does the trick and he can spend the summer healing and be back to school next fall ready to go!

As he recovers, I am spending some time reclaiming my house after it was much neglected during tax season. Closets; cupboards; storage rooms are being emptied, cleaned and organized. Feels good.

Steve and Kirstin are out in San Diego (poor things) sea kayaking; shopping; eating at fun restaurants.. When he has time, Steve is taking in some of the conference that he is out there 'attending'......

To keep us company last night, Ryan and Mallory re-scheduled a trip to Ames and showed up with grocery bags full of dinner fixings!! After making us dinner, we all played a game of Phase 10 and then Aaron was ready for bed. (One doesn't get much sleep in the hospital, and he was wiped!).





I did work on my Noro scarf some while up in the hospital. I hope to finish it up today. I guess I am going to have to figure out how to 'block' as I think this scarf will really need it.






I spent a little time trying to read some blogs last night. A big congratulations to Kristin on the birth of her little girl, Laila Ferne!! We've all been anxiously awaiting her arrival!!




Sheri posted a picture of the front of her refrigerator and then, basically accused me of only putting pictures of her family on my refrigerator before they visit!! (Can you even imagine????) So, here is a picture of the front of my fridge (that has not been changed in several months!!). I LOVE having my fridge front covered with faces smiling at me.

What does YOUR fridge front look like??











Before Kirstin left for San Diego, she asked me to look after bear. I have been taking pictures everyday and sending them to her phone of all the fun bear is having while she's gone (at the hospital with Aaron; making dinner with Ryan and Mallory etc..). I have now put Nikko in charge of watching over bear. I know Kirstin will be thrilled to see bear AND Nikko on my blog.....








Off to check on the patient.....

Until Next Time.....

A FINISHED PROJECT!!

Yes, you read correctly, I actually finished a project!! It has been a long time coming! I finished knitting and felted the Vintage Bubble bag that I have been working on for quite some time. I used Paton's gray wool merino with the Noro yarn that I received from my ITEIII partner. This is one of my favorite bags to knit! I want to find a fun fabric to line it with and add a snap. Not sure yet where this purse is headed...I have few ideas!











Thanks to all of you for your prayers and concern for Aaron. He's had a bit of a set-back with increased pain again and difficulty walking. I am going to take him to school tomorrow and see how the day goes trying to get to classes. I'll hang around for the day (knitting, of course) and will either leave him there for the night or bring him back home. Still hoping he can get some of his courses completed before the end of the semester.


Ryan and Mallory have set a date....December 29th!! A Christmas wedding! Lots of fun planning and shopping to do before then!

I'm also working on planning Kirstin's open house for her graduation. The one thing I know that we will have for sure is punch. This is the yummiest punch recipe ever.

Frozen Punch

1 - 48oz can pineapple juice

2 quarts water

2 pkgs lemonaid Kool-aid

2 cups sugar

Mix all together in an empty ice cream bucket. Freeze for 5 hours. Stir. Put back in freezer and freeze completely.

To serve: Take out 4-5 hours ahead. To each batch, add 1 liter of Sprite.

(Just don't let Ryan know you are serving this or he will show up and drink it all!!!!!!)


We had the Sunday night high school group here tonight. I made the spaghetti recipe that my friend Sheri at the Loopy Ewe posted on her website. It was a huge hit. (And boy, did the house smell GREAT all day while it simmered away...)











Sumo is LOVING this weather. He and Nikko go out first thing in the morning and stay outside all day. I love it because it seriously decreases the dog hair in the house. Definitely a win-win!!















Not much else new to report. I hope to cast on some socks tomorrow and will keep you posted on any progress!!


Until Next Time.....

HAPPY EASTER!!

And what a wonderful Easter it has been. So much to be thankful for. We are blessed beyond measure....

First of all, thank you to all for the prayers and well wishes for Aaron. His surgery Friday went extremely well. In fact, they sent him home Friday night!! (Which still has us amazed!!) His pain has already gotten better. The surgical pain is there and he still has a lot of healing to do, but definitely headed in the right direction!!





Ryan and Mallory put on an Easter egg hunt for all of us on Saturday. I didn't do so well.. but mostly because I was so cold!! (And that was even wearing my winter parker and fingerless gloves!!). With much assistance, I did manage to find 8 of the 9 eggs they hid for me.

















I offered Sumo some of the eggs I had found.. but he preferred his rawhide. Go figure. (Next year we will have to put some milkbones in the eggs!!)


















But, the most EXCITING egg hunt came later in the day. Ryan had hid eggs all over town for Mallory, with each egg holding some chocolate and a clue to where the next egg was hiding. The final egg was in his pocket and held... A RING!!! And on one knee, he asked her to be his, and she said YES!! We could not be more thrilled!! Since before our children were born we have been praying for their spouses. Mallory is above and beyond those prayers and hopes.


Ryan had also arranged for Mallory's family to be at our house when they came in to announce it. With a quick hug, we sent Mallory into the living room to 'call her mom'. Instead, of course, there was her mom and dad and sister to get the news in person.

Yes, we are blessed.

Praying you all had a Blessed Easter!!


Until Next Time......

ON STITCH MARKERS AND SURGERY...

Well, this has been an interesting week. It started out Monday morning with an email that told me I had won a set of stitch markers from Shelly. I was very excited. I really never win anything!! And the fun thing is by the time I receive them, tax season will be over and I'll be back to some more concentrated knitting time!!



Not long after that, however, I got a call from Aaron that his back pain was worse and that he could no longer make it to classes. I left work and drove to pick him up. We got him some relief for the pain (i.e. stronger drugs) and scheduled surgery for tomorrow (Friday). We praying for quick relief from the pain and the ability to finish his semester at school. He has strong grades so far, so we are hopeful!!

I've got my knitting bag packed to take to the hospital. Still working on my scarf and Vintage Bubble bag. Itching to cast on some more socks. And now, my friend Sheri has posted her new Loopy Ewe challenge... knitting fingerless gloves for Luba's girls and baby hats for children at a Chinese orphanage. (Meg is adopting a baby from China and taking all the hats with her..how fun is that???) I am SOO excited about the response already that Sheri has received and know that Luba is going to be so encouraged by the knit items!!

Well, short post for today.. will update Sunday.

Until Next Time...

We're Back....

from our weekend in Minnesota. It was a great time connecting with dear friends. We talked ALOT; ate ALOT; and did some scrapbooking and knitting in between. I was not as productive as I have been on other weekends, but I was a bit distracted by what was going on at home. I'll come back to that in a minute....








Kirstin was much more productive than I. She was able to finish the jean quilt that we had started for her dorm room next year. It turned out very cute. It is one of those that you sew and then clip all of the seams so that they fray. Rag quilting or something like that. There wasn't a washing machine where we were staying, so she had to wait until we got home to really see the final outcome.



























Kirstin also finished her Paton's varigated scarf, as well as another scarf in light blue. Like I said, she was very productive!!









I plugged away at my Noro scarf in between scrapbooking and visiting with friends. I made some progress.. but not like Kirstin!! I love the way Noro self stripes and the beautiful colors... but I am not crazy about the thick/thin aspects... especially when making a scarf. I think I would like to try this pattern again.. maybe in some yummy alpaca!













I also worked a little on a vintage bubble bag. I am using Paton's gray and then the Noro that Anita sent in my ITEIII tote box. I think the combination of colors will felt together well.








While I was gone things got a little crazy on the home front. While talking on the phone with Aaron on Friday over at college, I realized that his lower back pain that he has been having had gone from bad to worse. (It had seemed to be getting a bit better over Spring break). He wasn't even able to walk to class. Steve canceled his plans for the weekend (chaperoning a youth retreat) and went over and picked him up. A MRI Saturday morning showed some disc issues that will most likely need to treated surgically in the next month or so. He has another appointment in two weeks and we will know more after that. We also got a call Friday evening that Steve's dad was in the ER with heart problems. After the weekend in the hospital, he is home and doing well. It was a hard weekend to be away knowing all that was going on here at home. I was ready to hop in the car at a moment's notice to head home. My concentration level was a bit lacking to say the least!


There is always Sumo to brighten any day. He loved all the scarves and was willing to model one for you. (I think he would have preferred the light blue one.. or even brown maybe... but I chose this one!!)






Until Next Time....

OFF AGAIN......

Yes, the car is packed and ready for an early morning departure. Where am I off to now? It is time for my yearly Spring Crop Get-Away with my friends. We have rented a house in Owatonna Minnesota (Preserving Memories Retreat) and will be there through Monday. Kirstin will join us Friday evening for the weekend. I have brought along the sewing machine and materials we need to work on her quilt for her dorm room next year. I also have my knitting along.. and threw in my cropping stuff for good measure.


Kirstin found a great scarf pattern over Spring break and is already well into her second scarf. It's an easy pattern and they look and feel wonderful!! I have started one out of Noro yarn.. but work keeps cutting into my knitting time!!!

The brown scarf is Paton's Wool Merino, Taupe. The middle one is Paton's Varigated Wool Merino and the little one is my Noro one. (Hope to show my progress after the weekend is over!!)

It's hard to see the pattern real well... but it's really nice. The pattern is called Rafaela's Twisted Brioche Scarf by Jane Marino. (Click on picture to get an enlarged photo)

Of course the weekend would not be complete without food!! We team up for meals and each team takes one meal start to finish. Kirstin and I have Saturday lunch. We are going to make 3 different salads and have bread sticks. One of the salads is a must at every crop. I mixed up the dressing tonight to take along. I don't have a great picture, but here is the recipe.

Spicy Chicken Salad

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
1 whole green onion, cut in half
1 Tbsp dry sherry
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
2 cups water

1. Place in saucepan.
2. Simmer 20 minutes.
3. Cool. Shred Chicken.

Dressing:

Stir together until blended:
1 1/2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
2 1/2 Tbsp salad oil

Stir in:
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground red (cayenne) pepper
1 Tbsp minced green onion
1 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro.

Blend well.

To assemble salad, place shredded lettuce on plate, top with chicken and then add dressing.
(I usually triple the dressing... mixes great in the Pampered Chef Salad dressing mixer)


I wanted to show the finished purses that I sent with the team to Russia. I heard the team arrived safely, with smooth flights; good connections and zero lost luggage. It will be wonderful to hear of their time there.



























Well, everyone have a wonderful weekend!!

Until next time....

BACK FROM BREAK.....

We are back from our wonderful week over in Galena. I thought that I would do a quick update of what we did. Before I do that, however, I have to share the WONDERFUL tote that came to me from Anita who lives in Canada as part of the International Tote Exchange!!
















I was so overwhelmed by the bag and all of the wonderful goodies that she included in the package..... A knitting book; 2 boxes of Canadian chocolate; Noro yarn; Salt Spring French Roast coffee...and of course the wonderful tote that I know I am going to LOVE... and because it is a gift for me, I will not be tempted to give it away!

Thank You Thank You Anita!!!





I’ve been doing much less knitting this break than I had planned, but am very very ok with that. Because instead of knitting, I have been enjoying family and friends....including some new friends that we just made this week. (Which I will get to in a bit!) But, back to knitting. I finished and felted the bag that will be heading to Russia Monday. It’s a Sophie bag, knit double stranded with Paton’s Wool and Andes wool held together. I made the S-cord handle, which is one of my favorites. Now to just add the button and it will be ready for it’s trip around the world!








Back to our new friends; Mallory’s family came and joined us in Galena for a visit. It was so great to meet them and spend some time with them. As Kirstin said “It seems like we’ve known them for years”.







We had several birthday’s to celebrate this week, and so Kirstin baked a cake. It is the Snickerdoodle cake recipe from ‘The Cake Mix Doctor’ book. Kirstin has two of these books and every cake she has made has been a winner. With this cake, she added pirouette cookies around the edge...and also used little pieces of them as candle holders. It was a great cake.















Tim, (Mallory’s dad), Mallory and Aaron, the 3 celebrating birthdays, made wishes and blew out the candles. Hurray for birthdays! It’s a GREAT excuse to eat cake!!







Aaron taught us a new game this week... Settlers of Catan. It is a very fun game. Very interactive with every player taking part of every turn. I will admit that I am now addicted and can hardly wait to play my next game!!







And then we were off to CHICAGO!! We drove in Wednesday to finally see WICKED! (Kirstin and I have been trying to go since last summer!!). The first stop was BIG BOWL... Ok, I admit, this is my favorite restaurant, and I think I swayed the decision making to have this be top choice. I just LOVE the Chicken Pad Thai. The kids enjoyed it, although I know that it is a little different food than what Mallory is used to.








Before we left Galena, Ryan and Mallory made up sack lunches that they carried with them as we walked the streets of Chicago. When we met up with someone asking for help, they offered them a lunch. It humbled me to see them reaching out in such a way, when my biggest concern of the day was whether I would be able to safely drive in and out of downtown Chicago (It’s a big city!!!) .

















And then it was on to WICKED! It was INCREDIBLE!! If you ever have the opportunity to see it, I would definitely recommend it! I was thankful that we had been listening to the CD since last summer and knew all of the music. My only regret is that Steve was not able to come with us (He couldn’t get all of Spring break off, and had to work W-F).








Ok Aaron, What are you telling Elphaba????














We ended up staying over Thursday and coming home this afternoon (Friday). It was a great week. Now unpacking and laundry and possible a nap are calling out! So....


Until next time.......

SPRING BREAK

Yippee!! It is Spring Break. I took the week off work and can't wait for some 'down' time with family and friends!! (Oh, and some knitting time as well!!!) I am spending tonight packing up and doing some 'pre-cooking' and then we will head to Galena in the morning. Aaron got home from Iowa State this evening. It is SO good to have him home!! Sunday, Mallory's parents are going to join us all in Galena for a visit. It will be the first time we meet them. We are really looking forward to getting to know them. And then Wednesday we will be 'defying gravity' in Chicago when we go see WICKED!!

I'm having a hard time deciding what knitting to bring. Decisions, decisions!! I'm going to throw in some fun yarn and a few patterns and then grab my needle bag. This is one of the best purchases I made when I started knitting. (Sheri told me I HAD to have this bag!!) And I do love it. It has ALL of my needles in it... the straight and double points around the outside and the circulars in a holder in the inside.. along with my 'knitting help' books (Yes, books!!) Now I know that no matter what I decide to start, I'll have the right needles with me! (Because I might go to a yarn store or two and find some new fun yarn or patterns!!)







This is another of my favorite knitting 'accessories'. It was a Christmas gift. It sits in my family room and holds lots of fun yarn waiting to be cast on. The yarn is all being very patient during this bit of a knitting hiatus I am on due to tax season. April 17th is just 39 days away......















Kirstin has been my cooking angel lately. She found the most amazing recipe for a Warm Asparagus Spinach Salad. I've been taking it for lunch every day and start looking at the clock around 10 to see how much longer until I get to eat it!! (We don't add the cashews or Parmesan cheese and put the dressing on each single serving after we have zapped it in the microwave for 45 - 60 seconds.)

Here was my lunch today. Yum Yum!



Well, I best keep packing. Steve and Kirstin went to see the movie 'Amazing Grace'. If you have not seen this movie, I HIGHLY recommend it!! It is AMAZING!! (This is the second time to it for both Steve and Kirstin!)


Well, Sumo's not talking to me since I broke it to him that he is not going with us tomorrow, so no Sumo picture. Maybe next time!! I hope to have some WICKED pictures next time I post!!

Until Then.....