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No, we didn’t drink all of them. Did a couple of dumpster dives at the recycling center (thanks, honey!) and got a little help from Freecyclers in the seemingly endless quest for empty wine bottles.
Finally done. And am now absurdly considering making new flower beds around the front porch using wine bottles. Please talk me down.
Let’s take a little garden walk, shall we? Oh, one other thing…the mulch…free. Called a local tree company and they delivered a load gratis. Saved so much $ and thrilled to not have 100 or so empty plastic bags.
Ok, let’s go!
Watching the crops grow. Almost as fun as watching paint dry…
A wee little Tickseed plant I picked up at Home Depot
Irises that we got from a Freecycler when we moved into our house in 2008.
I adore Irises
I also adore Rhubarb and Chives. Maybe not together-together, but together in a garden is a beautiful sight.
You can do it, little berries! Grow!
Asiatic Lily, another Home Depot buy
Isn’t the color intense? Hmmm…what can I do with color ideas from flowers?
We should have flowering Orchids.
We brought a flask of Orchid starts home with us from our trip to Hawaii. We bought them at the Akatsuka Orchid Farm on the Big Island. They certified them with the Department of Agriculture to make the trip to Alaska. We bought “Volcano Queen” Orchids.
This is their journey from incubating flask to pot.
We ended up with 46 plants total. I think that I may need the assistance of The Orchid Whisperer (my Aunt Lisa) while these guys grow.
Good: Both Mar and Heather gave me the Kreativ Blogger award. Thanks so much, ladies! You both made me smile. I am honored to think that others see me as creative.
The rules:
1. The winner may put the logo on her blog.
2. Put a link to the person you got the award from.
3. Nominate 5 blogs
4. Put links to the blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.
I haven’t had much of a chance to read blogs lately, I have tons of unread posts in my reader. Our internet connection is iffy at times…we were without internet all weekend and I hate going to the lobby to use the computer there.
So, that said, I nominate these bloggers…
Deece, Jill, Jackie, Tamie, Phoe
Some knit, some stamp, they are all immensely creative in their own their own ways.
Bad: Is it wrong that the way the award is spelled really annoys me?
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Good: Our realtor has a boat and took us out whale watching one day last week. He’s nice like that.
Good: We got to see lots of whales. You can only go so close to them, they are protected. One snuck up on us on the side and came up and made us all jump, he was pretty close. We got out of there shortly after that. We also got to see lots of bald eagles…one even swooped down near the boat to grab something out of the water. Magnificent creatures. We also saw sea lions lounging on a buoy.
Bad: This is the only shot I got of what was a whale…my digital camera battery died almost instantly. DH brought along his big film camera, but only brought one lens. We are smart like that.
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Good: We went to the DMV to find out what we need to do to get an Alaskan license (and so I can register to vote in November!). We got lots of information and all of the forms that we need to fill out once we get a home address.
Bad: Alaskan law states that if you don’t have a current, valid Alaskan license, then you have to take and pass the written test. Regardless if you were licensed in another state or are in the military. I am already nervous even though I know I will do fine. I will be reading up to make sure of that though.
Good: At least it will make me a better driver and more aware of the tiny details that I may have forgotten.
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Good: I started a new baby sweater for a couple that we know that are expecting a baby boy soon. I love knitting baby sweaters and think that all babies should have at least one hand knit baby sweater. I am using Knit Picks Comfy in Planetarium and this fabulous free pattern. I love this pattern.
Bad: While perusing the Knit Picks website to get the above link for the yarn, I see that they now have Harmony Straights. Oh my! So pretty. They will go on the holiday wishlist this year for sure.
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Good: I am finally on the decrease section of my Clapotis. It has been put on the back burner this week to work on the baby cardi, but I plan on finishing it up this weekend. I am using Noro Kureyon #150 and I adore this yarn and this colorway. My picture isn’t impressive, but rest assured that it is impressive in person.
Bad: While I love this design and the look, following the pattern freaks me out. Especially now in the decrease section where I am dropping 2 sets of stitches. I get nervous that I will screw it up again and end up with a hideous mess. Even more so considering this is intended as a holiday present for someone.
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Good: We have rented out a vacation house for the next month until we get our house. I will be glad to get out of hotel living and be able to stretch our legs. My new cyclamen will be happy to have more windows to try to catch a few rays in. I adore cyclamen and african violets for indoor flowering plants.
Bad: Our household goods from Saipan aren’t here yet, and the vacation house doesn’t have a crib. We have been going over the pros and cons of moving BTH into a toddler bed when we go there later this month. I think that we are going to do it. He has gone quite a while without “his” crib now, sleeping in borrowed cribs and portable cribs/playpens so I don’t think that there will be an attachment issue.
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Drumroll, please………..
Good: We put in an offer on a house and it was accepted! Yay! I am hesitant to put all of the details on here just in case…if you want to see it and the virtual tour, just leave me a comment and I will happily send the link to you. We are already thinking of ideas for new flooring, paint and window coverings.
Bad: I am a bit stressed about it because it is a huge mortgage and responsibility. This house costs double what a very nice house back home costs. And it is our first home purchase. We can totally afford it (thanks, USCG) and still have me stay home full time with the kids, but still…I am a worrier by nature.
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And on a final totally positive note:
Good: There is a birth center here in Juneau! I am so happy! And they do water births! We had a consultation and a tour last week and we had our first appointment with our midwife this week. I love it and am so looking forward to an awesome birth experience at the birth center. They even offer free classes, prenatal yoga and belly dancing for pregnant women(!). I am all over the prenatal yoga but the belly dancing will take some convincing me thinks.
Peace.
I had forgotten how hellacious it is to be sick. Oy vey. I felt like I wanted to die. Thankfully, I am much much better today. I have even eaten something more than just applesauce and wheat toast. That alone is a huge accomplishment.
Well, the week from hell is over. This is our last week in the house. Everything went pretty smoothly last week except for Bella baby (orange kitty) taking off one day before her appointment with the DLNR Vet for her final sign off on the Health Certificate to fly. I forgot to capture her and keep her in the spare room, so we were kind of stressed, but she showed up right after we got home from the appointment with the other two pets. So we popped her in a kennel and off we went, back to the clinic. I think that she was trying to say, “Neener, neener, neener. The appoinment is over already, so I don’t have to go.” Sorry sister.
I think that the pets have winged their way from Saipan to Japan and are now in Minneapolis where they will spend the night at the kennel before flying to Chicago in the morning. There is a limit as to how many hours per day that a pet can fly. And there is a ban on pets flying in the summer months…seems like we got in just under the wire. *whew* My Dad & Father-In-Law are picking them up in Chicago and taking them home with them for the time being.
The garage sale was a giant success. Much thanks to Harry’s radio station and their “Bargain Basket” announcements and the Saipan Garage Sale website. We still have the brush cutter available, so if you want a brush cutter, let me know and I can get the info to you. Plus, I have lots of plants that I would like to find new homes for. These are plants that I have rescued, saved, divided, repotted, nurtured and loved. I am not sure if our house is going to be rented out quickly or not and I would hate to have my lovelies croak from lack of water or too much sunlight. We can’t take them with us, otherwise I would. I am giving them away. If you want some, let me know via comments.
I received an awesome package this weekend. I participated in a pin cushion swap on Ravelry. My partner did a fabulous job on a pink ribbon pincushion for me and I love it! It will have a special place in my new sewing room when we move. She even included lots of tawashi’s for me and a cute little lion puppet for BTH. He carries it around making meowing noises at it.
We didn’t get an updated MLS listing this weekend from our realtor. Not sure what is up with that. He hasn’t answered our last few emails either which is making us nervous. Is this a precursor as to what is to come? I hope not. But, I have totally fallen in love with this house…
Looks like a cabin, but isn’t.
It is on Douglas, the island across from Juneau. Love the fact that from the front it looks like a little cabin that could be sitting on the river. Even DH is yapping about this house and he hasn’t yapped about a house on his own for a while. Fingers crossed that it is perfect in person and still there, waiting for us on August 1st.
Here are some questions for you, my lovely readers…
1. Anyone own a Honda Odyssey? We are looking at model years 1999-2004 specifically. Your experience please.
2. We have talked to the bank about pre-approval for our monster mortgage. It will be good for 90 days. How long does it usually take to get pre-approved?
3. On average, how long (in weeks/days) does the house buying process take from the time of offer acceptance to closing? (We have asked the realtor this but he hasn’t replied yet)
4. Anyone have furniture from Pottery Barn? I am really liking their eco furniture (what am I, a tree hugger?) and we will be buying all new furniture for the new house. Just wondering what other people’s experinces have been with their furniture. We figure that furniture should be bought with the idea that you will keep it for at least 10-15 years, therefore we don’t mind spending the extra $. Most of our furniture was hand me down stuff that I got when I moved out on my own a long time ago. It is time we bought our own.
Okay, that is enough from me. If I am scarce this week, it is just because we are busy. And not the drive-you-insane-following-appointment-times-and-other-people’s-schedules either. Just getting stuff organized for the movers when the come on Monday. Squee!
Peace.
Wow, I have been quite neglectful of the blog lately. Time seems to just slip right past me most days. Plus, DH was dinking around with the new computer the other night and the screen went black. Hrrrrm…that’s not supposed to happen. He was messing around trying to get the info off of the old hard drive onto the new one and has some kind of external thingamajig hooked up. Poor darlin, he really tries hard. So now we are back to the laptop, which I am not too fond of. Oh well. When I win the lottery, I can buy my own little puter ( a Mac ) and do what I want. Guess I should start buying tickets.
The biggest downside is that I try to comment on blogs and I can’t. The comment page just keeps reloading. Frustrating. Friends in blogland, know that I am reading and wanting to comment!
A pretty hibiscus on a very clear day. We have a big hibiscus bush in front.
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We took Connor to the beach for the first time on Friday. He had a good time, I think. He only cried a couple of times. We bought him a cheapy floaty tube and when he got to where he could touch the bottom, he would take off. The beach is now Connor’s aqua walker.
This little girl decided that she wanted to take her puppy swimming. I watched her for a while to make sure she didn’t drown it. So cute!
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Last weekend, we did some beautifying of the CNMI with Angelo‘s group, Beautify CNMI! There was even a little write up in the paper.
Click here to read a good post from Cinta and to see a cute family shot at the end. We plan on doing more volunteering with this group in the near future.
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Since only one person *technically* signed up for my PIF challenge, I decided to choose 4 others. I started working on one of the projects this week. Here is a sneak peek:
Where have I been that I have not used circular knitting needles before now? Holy moley, I am a woman obsessed now. Since I took this picture, I finished knitting it (and no, it isn’t a hat). I immediately casted on for another similar style, only using a smaller needle and they are bamboo, not metal. Wow, bamboo rocks! Someday, I will be able to try out the Cadillac of knitting needles, the Addi Turbos…until then, I will be obsessing with my one pair of bamboo circulars.
By the way, if you ever see a copy of this book (in picture above) at a garage sale (where I got mine) or a thrift shop, I highly recommend you pick it up…it is full of great info on every kind of stitching and has awesome diagrams. If I had to pick only one book to have in my library for needlework, this would win. It is Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Needlework. I think that mine was $2.
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The sewing machine is officially DOA according to Sam’s Electronics. They can’t repair it because it seems that I broke off a big piece of metal that holds the shuttle race in. I am bummed that I am without a sewing machine for a while, but to be honest…I kinda hated that one anyway! Too many bells and whistles. I bid on a vintage Singer machine on ebay…only has 5 stitches! Just my speed. But, I have been outbid. So, the search is on again. Got to keep it under $75 including shipping.
And, we dyed more of Connor’s diapers. I *love* them! 
Peace.
