I hope all the mommies out there had a wonderful day.  My first Mother’s Day was excellent!  We got some stuff done around the house, spent quality time with Joshua who has started rolling over and is cutting his first tooth (I can see it popping up!) and I did lots of knitting!

I putzed around my craft room playing with some yarn I just bought.  Planning out projects.  Admiring all the pretty colors.  Oh the dangers of working in a yarn store…

And I worked on my craft project.  It’s a project I saw on pinterest and I really like how it’s coming together although it seems to be taking forever.  Bill says I’ve made a lot of progress over the last few days it just doesn’t feel like it.  I can’t wait to be done so I can finally tell Bill what I’m going to do with it.  For now, it’s a secret.

Bill and I worked on the garage this weekend and I can finally pull my car into it!!  Yippee.  Still a lot to be done in there, but we’ve made significant progress!

That was the weekend!

I am so sorry that I have been away from you for so long.  Truthfully, I have thought of you often and I feel terrible for not getting to you sooner.  There’s been a lot going on.  Right after my last post, Mom arrived for a visit.

We barely got her room ready (ish) for her visit.  It left a lot to be desired but she had a bed to sleep in and could get to the bathroom.  It was a bit hectic as the contractor was here working and our new floor was installed a couple of days later.  The room looked (looks) amazing and then we were busy getting things set up.

Saturdays have been busy because I’ve started working at my local yarn store!  I am a staffer at Green Planet Yarn and enjoying it a lot!  I’ve learned a lot both about the store and about yarn and knitting.  I also come home from work motivated to knit which is good because I’m pretty much spending my paychecks at the store.  It is impossible not to be tempted by all the beautiful yarn and patterns.

We’ve also been getting stuff done around the house.  Mom, Bill and I did lots of yard work and things are looking pretty darn nice.  I got the side yard cleaned up which was a goal.  The furniture is set up in the back and more stuff got planted in the front.

Bill’s parents also stopped by for a visit.  Of course we visited, but they also helped us with more house projects!  Lights everywhere!  And they got to truly experience life at Casa Napier as we had the windows replaced during their visit.  This place constantly feels under construction.  The good news is that we are done (with construction) for awhile.  And the new windows are awesome.

Two days after they left, we took Joshua on his first trip.  We flew to Nashville to meet his Great Gran.  What a wonderful trip.  He was so well behaved during the flights, and even after a long day of travel (including an unexpected refueling stop in Memphis), he had a big smile for Great Gran.  We visited and relaxed and slept and ate and read and played with Joshua and that was it.  I look forward to the trips to Nashville because we always come home refreshed.  And it was so wonderful to see Gran with her grandson and great grandson.  My heart is full.

We arrived home a couple of days ago and are getting settled into our routine.  Joshua is sleeping through the night now (knock on wood).  We’re going for our walks again.  The craft room is open for business and we have projects stacked up.  Hopefully now we will visit more regularly.  Thank you, dear blog, for your patience and understanding.  You are a true friend.

XOXO,

Margaret

is moving furniture back into this room.

From this room.

Because my mom is arriving from Brazil tomorrow morning.  And this is where she’s supposed to sleep.  We do have a futon where I can put her for a couple of days if I need to, but that’s not ideal.

We had my craft room painted sort of suddenly.  I’ve been wanting to do it for awhile and we got a couple of estimates and found someone who had room in her schedule which gave us 4 days to empty a very full room.  And it had to be empty because of the ceiling (it required a lot of brush work because of the beams and slats, etc.).  Moving the stuff went pretty quickly although we were rushing around at the last minute, as always.  Gracie wasn’t sure what to make of things.  Where’d all her toys go?

Now the room is painted and it looks amazing!  (no photos yet.  you have to wait for the finished product.  the first photo is the “before” picture.)  The shelves will be put up next weekend (giving the paint plenty of time to dry).  We can’t move all the furniture in because we are hoping to have the floor replaced in about two weeks.  Currently, it’s linoleum which is okay, but it has a large indentation in the middle from a rug, and my chairs and furniture have put a ton of dents in the floor.  We are going to go with wood laminate which will hold up better for us.  I’m only bring back the stuff on wheels (which is a lot of the furniture), my big fabric dresser, and the stuff that will go on the shelves.  That’s 80% of the stuff.

I’d better get to it.

A couple of quilts have become the objects of my affection.  First, I saw this one, a halloween themed quilt.  I saw this awhile ago via a blog I read (sort of a friend of a friend situation).  I obsessed for awhile, them forgot about it, and then started to obsess again.  How fun is that quilt?  It’s a color scheme I wouldn’t normally use and I’ve seen some really cute halloween fabrics.  And now I’m collecting them.

And then there’s this quilt which I have not been able to get out of my mind.  I love, Love, LOVE the colors and how they are combined.  It also uses a line of fabric which I love (Anna Maria Horner’s Good Folks).  A fabric that is hard to find in its entirety.  A line of fabric that I must have (thank the lord for Etsy and an understanding husband).

I found a complete set of fat eights and a large number of fat quarters.  I also have one or two of the fabrics in my stash so I’m hoping that I will have enough.  I almost freaked out because I found the fabrics but didn’t buy them right away.  I was mulling over my options thinking about using alternate fabrics as the blog suggests.  But the options didn’t have the same appeal to me.  When I went back to buy the fabric, I couldn’t find it and though I had missed my opportunity (panic!).  I eventually did find it; I don’t know why I had so much trouble.   I even had Bill make a special run to the Barnes and Noble to get the book for me!  I was able to request the book on-line and they had it behind the counter so Bill only had to run in and pay.  They even emailed me when it was ready!  I haven’t even made this quilt and it already has quite a story.

I can’t wait to get my craft room to a state where I can start to work on things!

Bill was home a little early last night and we decided to take advantage of the lingering daylight with a walk.  We were rewarded for our efforts with a beautiful moon.  It was big and bright.  Joshua wasn’t that impressed.

Right now I’m mulling over furniture placement in my craft room.  I should be putting stuff away and dusting and purging.

… and I am BEAT.  I so desperately want to join in here…

Okay, I don’t desperately want to join in.  But it looks super tempting and I know I could sleep.   I’m definitely planning on a nap later or Bill will have to peel me off the floor when he gets home at 6.  I can feel it.  I got up at 5am for yoga.  Actually, the alarm went off at 5:07 and I thought I hit snooze so I closed my eyes and then reopened them at 5:16 thinking my alarm was about to go off but it didn’t because I had, in fact, turned the alarm OFF.  Thank goodness I woke up.  I really like the instructor which is my only motivation for getting up at that ungodly hour.  I hurried home from yoga because I knew Bill had to be at work at 9am for a meeting.  I made it home by 8, quick shower and a quick second breakfast (first breakfast was a small bowl of cereal before yoga so I wouldn’t die) and then the baby boy was up.  So he entertained me while I extracted some breast milk, and then I fed and changed him, and then he entertained me while I tried to extract some more milk and then it was time for him to take a nap.  And I am totally on my third breakfast already.  Second breakfast was an iced latte a la BillBucks and an eggo waffle with nutella.  Normally it’d be peanut butter but we ran out (gasp!).  I think the peanut butter would have stuck with me a little longer.  So I just popped some almonds and kiwi and OJ and three handfuls of animal crackers.  I think I am sated.  I make no guarantees.  I just ordered some Zone Peanut Bars because I find those filling and tasty and would be perfect for a time like this.

In between all my eating, I’ve been thinking about the yard and what I want to do with it.  The front yard needs some more plants.  And fewer weeds.

I’m thinking about a burning bush, kinda in the corner but not too far back.  I think those are pretty.  And I was thinking about some ornamental grasses along the fence.  But then I have these plants in the back that I was wondering if I could pull out and put along the fence.  They are very pretty but take up valuable real estate in the back.  Hmmm…  It doesn’t seem worth it to put regular grass here so I need something that it pretty and won’t need a lot of water.  And isn’t rocks.  Enough with the rocks already.  (The whole front yard which is unphotographed is all rocks.  Ugly.  Gray.  Rocks.)

Then there is the side yard which needs some lovin’.  It is just a hot mess right now.

I’d like it to be usable space.  It’s shady and could be a nice sitting area.  I’d also like to have something pretty to look at from the kitchen.  I am thinking of a couple of hanging plants on hooks and then maybe some planters like these.  And/or some ornamental grasses along the fence.  I’m big on the ornamental grasses aren’t I?  Some of the stuff belongs on the garage, some in our garden area (once we figure out where that is), and some of it would be in the sitting area.  And we have to get rid of those rocks.  I am actually using them in the front to fill in around the plants.  Until I know where the rest of the plants are going, I’m on hold.  And I’m going to have rocks left over.  So many rocks…  These are just a tiny bit nicer than the gray ones in the front.

So that’s what I’m thinking about.  I’m going to start puttering in my craft room.  I still have a ton of stuff to put away or get rid of.  I’ll work on that until the baby boy wake up for lunch.  And then I am definitely having an afternoon nap.  Definitely.

Hello and Happy Leap Day!  I feel like I should do something special to take advantage of this “extra” day, but I don’t know what.  I think I read in one of my magazines that it’s a great day to take stock of things and set an intention for the year.  That doesn’t feel special to me.  I do that every year.  And at the beginning of most months.  Maybe I’ll just go have a donut.

This is the first “normal” week that the blueberry and I have had.  I’m starting to feel a little bit of a rhythm with him.  I’ve actually gotten some things done around the house (amen!).  Yesterday I worked in Bill’s room and it is looking really nice if I do say so myself.  Actually, both of us worked on it Saturday, hanging pictures, putting stuff away.  We still need to set up his tv and arrange the stuff in the armoire, and he’s gotten some stuff in the closet that needs to be gone through, but it looks pretty darn nice.  My big contribution was arranging his bookshelves, displaying some of his treasures.  Still some stuff to be finished here too…  need a 2×4 to raise up the second row of Star Wars bobbleheads, set up his stereo.  I also bought a rug for his room and he needs different pillows.  The current ones are too flowery.  Pillows are low down on the to do list.  A big improvement though!

I’ve been doing a lot of reading this year.  I just finished my 12th book.  Now two of those were Nancy Drew books which are super easy reads (but so fun and they bring me back to my childhood).  Still, 10 books so far is a good start to the year.  I think it’s because I read before I go to sleep, instead of watching tv which is what I used to do.  But we are trying not to have the tv on around the baby, even when he’s sleeping.  Except for sports.  We read an article that says babies should have minimal exposure to the tv in their first two years.  I don’t remember why but it was in the New York Times so it must be right.  More importantly, if I’m watching tv, I’m not interacting with him.  My logic about the sports is that I can listen to it and I don’t have to watch it (constantly).  And I love my sports (on tv).  Anyway, less tv is more reading.  I’ve also realized that most of my books are set in England.  Of the 81 books in my queue, 20 are set across the pond.  Interesting.

The other big excitement of here is that I start my new job this week!  I am going to be working at my local yarn store, Green Planet Yarn.  I’m very excited, though not that excited about Saturdays away from my boys, but it’s only 2 Saturdays a month (so far) and it will be good bonding time for them.  I also do not need to buy, and most definitely should not buy, more yarn.  We’ll see how that goes.  I think Bill is already resigned to the fact that this opportunity of mine is going to cost him money.  In all honesty, this is a dream job.  I’m looking forward to meeting people, talking about something I love doing, being surrounded by all that beautiful (tempting) yarn.  There’s so much to learn and I’ve never worked retail (except the summer I was 16).  We will see how it goes!

Today my goal is to make some headway in my craft room.  And to move some fabric that I ironed over the weekend that is currently decorating a chair in my living room.  And to go to the library to pick up some books I requested otherwise I will be dinged $3 apiece.  And to figure out how to make leap day extra special (ie pick up a donut).

But first, the kitters has joined me on the bed.  (Please ignore the mess in the background.  It’s also on my to do list.)  This is the evil kitters who found three balls of cashmere yarn that I forgot were on my craft table and who batted them all over the floor of the craft room and living room.  (Thank goodness I vacuumed and swept recently.)  I think I should have been mad but I was really more amused.  This does not bode well for me as a mom.

I keep meaning to blog, but life keeps getting in the way.  Bill went back to work and we’re trying to get into a little routine.  My dad was just here for a visit which interrupts the routine (in a good way).  It was fun to see him get to know his grandson.  We had a very nice visit.  I think he was meant to stay longer.  I think that is what the universe was trying to tell us when it sent a metal pipe and piece of plywood at the car, in separate instances, on our way to the airport.  Sort of a cosmic “please don’t go”.  Thankfully nothing bad happened and the damage to the car was minimal but it was a little scary.  The metal pipe went off the windshield and the plywood hit the front of Bill’s car.  Both items were kicked up at me from the car in front of us.  Totally crazy.  I’m just glad I was driving Bill’s car and not my own.  His car sits up higher and my car has a soft top so it could have been a lot more serious.  But it wasn’t and everyone is a-ok.

I’m so proud of myself because I’ve gotten up two Tuesdays in a row at 5am to go to Yoga!  Let me tell you, I have to be pretty darn motivated to get up at 5am, voluntarily.  I really like the instructor for that class, and it works with our schedules (ie Bill’s getting to work at a reasonable hour).  The only bad thing is that I’m a zombie for the rest of the day.  I think that getting to bed before midnight would help.  Thankfully my little potato sleeps a lot so I get to nap too.

In my free time, I’ve been working on my granny stripe blanket.  It’s coming along slowly.

And because I don’t have enough to do, I’ve joined the hex craze.  I’m working on a decoration for my kitchen.  It’s not exactly a table runner, but like that.  We’ll see how it comes out.  In the meantime, my little guy is ready for a midnight snack.

Bill’s parents were just here for a visit.  They helped us soooo much.  Oh, and they got to know their grandson too!  But they helped us soooo much.  It’s a lot easier to get things done with four extra hands.  Bill and his dad installed two ceiling fans, put up curtain rods, his mom ironed all the curtains for me, and they cooked and swept and were awesomely helpful!  I got to spend some time working in the garage which is my never ending project.  I’m pretty close to being able to pull my car in.  We just have some furniture to get rid of – two tables, a headboard, two sets of shelves, a book case, a kitchen cart and a coffee table.  Oh, and two hanging lamp fixtures.  And some stained glass supplies.  Okay, there’s still a lot to deal with but we’re getting closer.

One of the big projects that Bill and his dad worked on was pulling out some of the existing landscaping.  It was low maintenance, desert landscaping and totally not our style.  Also, it wasn’t good for the foundation because it didn’t help retain moisture in the soil.  The extreme wetness in winter and dryness in summer can cause foundation problems.

So out came the plants.  I feel kinda bad about pulling out perfectly healthy plants.  Especially the poinsettia to the left of the doorway  which was beautiful, but crowding the gardenia and blocking our view.  Anyway, we went to a nursery over the weekend and bought some new trees and bushes.  I wanted to put topiary trees on each side of the window, and a flowering bush in the middle.  I also want things at different levels, lots of layers.

This is our start.  I saw this tree and really loved it.  It needed (needs) some cleaning up because it’s hard to see the shape, but trust me, it was pretty.  And it was $240!  And I needed two!  For a little more than the cost of that one tree, we got all our plants for the front.  I told Bill I’d rather have some patience and get a smaller tree for much less money, and when it grows I’ll shape it myself.  (My neighbor told me how to do it.)  I do not have a green thumb and am not good with landscaping.  I hope that everything grows into the vision I have in my head.  And I hope we don’t kill these beautiful plants!  Anyway, this is phase 1 and I’m excited!

…does not leave much time for non-baby related activities.  It took me an entire day to clean off a desk.  Every time I got to it, the baby started crying.  I don’t really mind because he’s my primary responsibility, and he’s just so darn cute.  How bad is it that his crying face makes me smile?  Not his super intense crying face because that breaks my heart, but his moderately unhappy easy to fix crying face is very precious.

Most evenings, there’s a couple of hours where Bill and I relax and watch tv.  I started a new project because none of my WIPs were doing it for me.  I’m loving how it is turning out.

This is the Cheques Shawl and it’s an easy pattern to memorize.  I absolutely love the yarn by Becoming Art.  The colors are so beautiful and it’s awesome to work with.  This is the Agave Sport in Sanguine Sky.  It is my second time knitting with the Agave base yarn.  I did a drop stitch scarf in the fingering weight and it is amazing.

This is my second time working this pattern.  I started a shawl in Madelinetosh Tosh Merino DK.  I love the yarn and colorway.  Love it.  And I love the pattern.  But I’m not happy with the two together.  The fabric is turning out heavier than I want.

I’m pretty sure I’m going to frog it.  Don’t get me wrong, I think it looks great, it’s just not what I want.  I have my eye on another pattern for this yarn.  As much as I know frogging it is the right thing to do, I haven’t done it yet.  I’m having trouble undoing all that work.  Oh well, there’s no hurry.

That’s the extent of my crafting.  It’s just the right amount for now.