Wandering Waif Collection GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

How cool is this? I wish I had as much talent as this woman. I wish I had a little girl...maybe I can put it on Bug?

Wandering Waif Collection GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Car! Farmer's Market!

So we finally received our car--at 1AM this morning. I can't believe how strange the moving company was! They blamed the delay on a broken truck (really?) and then, Jes believes that since I might have been a bit...snippy on the phone yesterday (moi? No way!,) the drivers had to go until they got to our house, no matter what time. Anyway, it's so nice to have our car back!

This morning we made our way to the local farmer's market. It was awesome! I felt a bit like I'd been transported back a few years, when I was taking all my Pickled Papers crafts to the markets every weekend. It was nice! I picked up fresh peaches, pluots, beets, fingerling potatoes, and green beans, as well as almond-poppyseed bread. And the best part? I only spent about $15! I also signed us up for a weekly dairy delivery--fresh milk, cream, yogurt, and eggs. And it was less expensive than buying all those things at the grocery store. Score!

We had breakfast at this tiny place called Puget Sound Pizza (I know, I thought it was weird too!) It was so good! Bug even ate a giant breakfast, and this is the kid who doesn't eat! After that we went to Lamb's Ear Yarns, so I could pick up my double pointed needles.

We may go to Leavenworth tomorrow or Monday, depending on whether or not our friend wants to go as well. Then maybe we can meet up with Mom et all for lunch or dinner. We'll see.

Hope you all have a wonderful long weekend!

Car and Sticks

Our car still hasn't arrived. The moving company first said it would be here Thursday, then they called to say it would be here between Thursday and Saturday. Yesterday, they said it would definitely be here today (Friday) between 2 and 5. At 2, I received a phone call informing me that they weren't able to make it today, but that they'd most likely be here between 8 and 11 tomorrow morning. Ugh. I'm really frustrated, and really missing my car!

Given that I don't have my car yet, we're really getting to know the bus system. Today we took it to the mall, where there is a JoAnn's. (Funny story, I'm on my second set, soon to be third, of double pointed needles for ONE sock. I borrowed a set from Shona, and after bringing them all the way to WA and back, managed to break one of the needles upon arrival to MA. So I bought a set to replace hers, and I had the first set, less the needle I had broke. But, given my aptitude for losing things, I managed to lose one last night, just as I really got going on my sock. I tore apart the house (really, how many places could it have gone? We don't have our furniture yet!) Anyway, since it's nearly impossible to knit a sock on three needles, I really needed a new set. Hence the trip to JoAnn's.) Back to my (long) trip out: after walking from the transfer center to the mall, then around the mall, spending an hour at the little playspace for Bug, then walking to JoAnn's from the mall, I found that they only carry double pointed needles in a size one and above.

Remembering a sign for Michaels, I thought, "why not walk in that general direction and see if I can find it?" Heh--20 minutes later I found the sign, then walked down the giant hill to the store. Once inside, I found an even smaller selection of knitting needles, and of course no 0's. Having seen a sign for Hancock Fabrics, I decided to trek over there. At this point I really had to pee, and Bug was not happy.

Hello Hancocks! Do you have any size 0 needles? No? Really? No as in you don't have any in stock, or no as in you don't carry them at all? Not at all? Really? At this point my temper was getting a bit short, and I wasn't very happy with the sales girl, who informed me that their bathroom--after looking at my stroller--was up the stairs and down a hall. But that she suggested I go to the Goodwill next door since their bathroom was on the bottom floor.

So on to Goodwill we went. Bug by this point was really mad at Mommy, but darnit I had to pee. I waked around the entire store, only to figure out that I had passed it already. Finally, relief.

That's when I realized how far I had walked. Not to worry, though, my car would be here soon, and Jes could pick us up! That's about when I got the last call from the moving company, saying it was delayed. Again.

To what lengths have you gone to knit a sock? I'm just curious, since I can't be the only crazy person out there.

My legs hurt.

Where's my stuff?

We're starting to get settled--as settled as possible give that we don't have much furniture, or any other fun things (sewing machine, I miss you!)

I made scones this morning (from a box, nothing special) but realized after I started that I didn't have a mixing bowl. But did that stop me? Nope! I mixed the dough in my one sautee pan, then kneaded it with no extra flour (could I have possibly thought to reserve some mix, of course not.) They came out fine, though, and Bug even had one or two today. Given how picky he is, I'm taking that as a compliment.

Our car is supposed to come tomorrow, so that's exciting. As much as I enjoy riding the bus to Target, with a toddler and stroller, then schlepping two (heavy) bags of supplies home, I think I'll be happy to drive there from now on!

My desk arrived today:



Seriously UPS, did you have to beat it up?

Also, I think I did something to my camera, because all my photos are coming out slightly blurry since we visited the butterfly house...I wonder if the humidity did something to it. Does anyone know if you can have it serviced? Or do I have to buy a new camera?

I love this photo

Sam's birthday party
Originally uploaded by Tiny House

Bug at a friend's birthday party--in his swimmy pants and sandals, finding new places to sit. (I can't remember if this was before or after he fell out of the chair...hmmm.)

I think I love this photo because it's so simple, yet it brings back good memories of this past summer.

Tinky Pans

This morning started out kind of crazy. I had to take Bug to the emergency room, which, let me tell you, was slightly unnerving. Last week, our doctor told us Bug had hand, foot, and mouth disease, which is just a virus that you have to let work it's course. But he had a cold on top of that, which made him super cranky, and he hasn't been eating much (no big surprise there, but it's worse than usual.) Last night I noticed his rash was getting worse, and this morning it was super-bad (is that a word? It is now.) Plus, he had been sick in his bed--have you ever seen green vomit? I have now. Our car isn't here yet, so after a very early call (sorry Aunt Molly!) we were able to get a ride to the hospital. After an hour or so the doctor had confirmed that he had the hand, foot, and mouth disease, but also an ear infection. So now he has antibiotics. Really, it was nothing serious, but still a bit...exciting for my taste.

Now we're home, and Bug is napping, so I'm catching up on all my things--baking, cleaning, and blogging. Fun!



Ahhh...domesticity. Sometimes I think I was born of the wrong generation: I really enjoy keeping house, baking, sewing, gardening, cleaning, and raising my child. Our stuff still isn't here (the moving company estimates next week,) but we're making do. I even baked cookies today! (Never mind that they came out of a tube, and the baking sheet gets thrown out.)



The dog and cat are really enjoying following me all over our big empty house. Pecan, our cat, likes to sit on the stairs and bat at us when we walk by, trying to get our attention. And Nibbler, the dog, is following me everywhere. Right now she's sleeping on the stair just below me, snoring away.

Tinky Pans! Whenever I change Bug's diaper, I tend to call him stinky pants, so now he runs around yelling "Tinky Pans" when I want to change his diaper. Pretty awesome!

Safe and Sound

We're here! We made it Sunday afternoon. Welcoming us to our new neighborhood was this snail, which Bug thought it was fantastic!



We broke out the "colors" and made pictures for the fridge--a necessity in my book!



One of Bug's birthday presents came a bit early, so I gave it to him. He's been carrying it with him everywhere, so maybe he's finally found a lovey? (It's only landed in the dirt once so far, but I think I'll need to get a second one so I can wash it, though, since he protests, loudly, when he can't find it...)



Knitting at the Starbucks--about four blocks from our house. I find that just great!!!



And a photo of Mommy and Bug. Now if only our stuff would arrive, our move would be complete!

Boxes of Chaos

We're coming down to the wire. The truck will be here tomorrow to take most of our possessions, save the few bags of essentials we're carrying on the plane. The car was taken yesterday. My last day of work, and Jes' last day in the Boston office, was Wednesday. We're down to our last two boxes, and darn it--we'll get everything in them.

Bug is starting to act out, knowing that something is going on. He's kind of driving me insane, though I know it's just because he's confused. Sometimes I wish I could act out.

A lot of people have asked me how I feel about the move. I'm not sure yet--I think so far I've been too busy to analyze most of my thoughts and feelings. Maybe I'll figure it out after we've settled in over there.

I've been keeping up with all my blogs that I like to read, and it makes me want to make things. I miss my sewing machine. I want to put it in my carryon bag, but somehow I think Jes might be opposed. So I'll have to wait. Meanwhile, I've been sketching some new ideas--mostly quilts--that I want to start on. I kept out my notecards, but haven't been in the mood to make any.

Sick, and sick of packing

So I came down with a nasty bug Friday night, and it was so bad yesterday I stayed home sick from work--one of my last three days. I felt terrible, but I was so sick I wouldn't have been able to keep up with two toddlers. Today it's moved into my sinuses, and is nearly out of my chest, so I can (sort of) breathe. So I'm going to work, but we're stopping at Walgreens on the way to load up on meds.

Our yard sale was a success. I think we cleared out nearly half--no joke--of our possessions. Unfortunately, we still have a lot of things, so there's still a lot of packing involved, but we're able to somewhat take our time. I'm working late tonight, and then tomorrow's my (new) last day, so we'll be packing machines Wednesday night and all day Thursday. And then hopefully the movers come Friday, so we can clean Saturday. They might come Saturday, which means I'll be cleaning Saturday night, and then getting up at the crack of dawn to fly out. Which wouldn't be pleasant, but it's doable.

My poor sewing machine is in the bottom of a box right now, inside a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle blanket. Turtles in a half shell are protecting my baby. LOL.

Travels

Trying to unwind from all the excitement this weekend...

Boxes Everywhere

It's starting to feel like we're moving...we have boxes everywhere, and plans are starting to firm up. The plane tickets are booked, the lease is being drafted, the house sale is still moving forward, the deposit is paid on the moving truck...wow. We're really moving! It's a bit surreal.

We moved here almost exactly two and a half years ago, and I was so excited and depressed at the same time. I had never lived out of my home state, and I missed my friends and family terribly. We had our son here, brought him home to our house here, and he's spent his whole life not knowing anything but his Massachusetts friends. We've made lasting friendships, and I've grown attached to some pretty neat little kids. But at the same time, it's been a huge struggle monetarily. We haven't been able to enjoy the area, because we have no extra money due mostly to our giantomongous mortgage, but also the hugely inflated cost of living. We've only seen our family a grand total of three times--which means Bug has had to re-meet his grandparents and aunts and uncles every time.

So, moving back home will be both bittersweet and elating. We're so sad to say goodbye to our friends in Boston, but at the same time we're so excited at the prospect of living without struggling with money.

We're Not Homeless!

We were approved for our rental in Tacoma--the house we really wanted!

And I packed up my fabric last night. I can feel the shakes starting already. All my pretties, stuck in a box for the next few weeks. So sad.

Tonight I'll put away my sewing machine (the horror!) and all my other crafting supplies. Then my detox will officially start. I'm leaving out some knitting, so it won't be all bad, but still.

We're Back

Last week was crazy, insanely good, pull-your-hair-out-frustrating, and exhausting. I'm exhausted.

After Jes arrived in Seattle, we spent so much time driving up and down, and up and down, and up and down the streets of Tacoma looking for a place to live. Because guess what? Not everyone advertises their rentals on the 'tubes. They put a teeny, tiny, little postage stamps sized For Rent sign in the one window of the house that is covered by overgrown hedges, or in some cases, full grown trees. So you literally have to park, get out of your car, and walk up to the window in order to read the tiny little poorly written phone number so you can call, only to find out that they don't take dogs, or cats, or people who don't partake in illegal drugs. So anyway, we ended up looking at loads of really--I mean REALLY--crappy places, and finally settling on the very first house we found online. (OK, some people advertise rentals...) Go figure. It took a tank of gas, a paranoid phone call to my brother-in-law ("can we stay up in Redmond tonight because we can't find a house down here and we're running out of time and I'm going to cry!?") and a frantic search online only to find out the cost of a three bedroom apartment has gone up. A lot. So we opted for the "less expensive, stand alone house, 40 miles outside of Seattle, but no hookers on our doorstep" option. We put in our application and I'm now anxiously waiting for the darn phone to ring to find out if we got in. (We have a back up, but it's not as great, and I'm not terribly excited about it.)

Meanwhile, we've decided to use this as an opportunity to rid ourselves of all the excess crap we've amassed over the years. So we're only taking the furniture we like, one set of linens, our clothes, and a few treasured possessions (it sounds like less than it really is...) The rest of it will hopefully be sold in our giant moving sale.

On top of all of this, we found out (minutes after we put in our application for the apartment) that while so far everything has gone smoothly with our house sale, the ONE remaining piece, the KEY piece, may not work out. The appraiser is trying to push it through as valued at $20 thousand less than our asking price (BTW, we along with our realtor, came up with our asking price, after lots of thorough research. It's not like we threw some magic sticks in a fire, turned around three times, said a prayer to the house selling gods, and came upon our number in a dream.) Seriously. Doesn't he understand the urgency here? Anyway, we're going to push through with everything as if it were all peachy keen, and hope for the best. Send good thoughts!

I do have some last minute sewing to do before I leave. Things I've been putting off for ages, and things I've come up with in the past few days. Some repairs for a friend (sorry Shona! I promise I'll get it done before I leave!) and one thing for me. I want to leave with a clean project palette. The question is, can I do it in time, and still pack up our house?

I came home with some awesome fabric (I know, I know, more things to move. I can hear my husband already.) But it was worth it. I have plans!

Oh, and I managed to take pictures of the apron I made for my sister. It's reversible, with pockets and a line of elastic for all her dog grooming accoutrements. She also has a matching zipper pouch and dog crate pad (hmmm...I'm envisioning Christmas presents for certain people. And their dogs...unfortunately Penelope the great dane will take a few yards of fabric.) The pictures aren't that great, but you get the idea. And a good view of my fun convertible rental!




Store-bought applique.



And one final note: my Etsy shop is officially offline for the duration of our move. Sad, but necessary.

Seattle Update

We've been busy! We've met up with lots of people, and seen lots of fabric stores (poor kid.) (Well, good thing he doesn't really care yet!)

Oh, the car rental place upgraded me from my requested Hyundai Accent-type car to a PT Cruiser convertible. So that's been fun. And no rain to speak of, so the top's been down the whole time!

Here pictures from the zoo:

Bug smelling flowers in the rose garden:



My brother Duane:



The three "kids" (as my parents say.)



The grandparents and grandchildren:



And moving on...here's Bug with another set of grandparents:



Last night we had dinner with my good friend Kelly at the Kirkland waterfront, and then took a walk and saw the boats and all the families swimming. Bug even tried to take a dip in the water (Mommy had to make a run for it!)



There are more pictures to be uploaded to my Flickr account, but for now we're just having a good time! We have three house possibilities, so cross your fingers that one of them works out. Jes flew in early this morning, and we're heading down to Tacoma today to see inside the houses.

Seattle!

We're here! So far, I've managed to hit up two fabric stores, the paper store, Uwajamiya (in Bellevue, today we'll be going to the big one downtown, as well as Daiso!!!) my favorite breakfast place, my favorite Thai place, and the zoo. Oh, and we've seen two grandmas, a grandpa, two aunts, two uncles, and my new nephew! (My nephew is out of the hospital as of two days ago, and seems to be doing great! He's adorable, and his aunt is now doting on him.) :O)

So, needless to say, we're exhausted. My little monkey is running me ragged, but adjusting to the time zone well, so at least we're sleeping. And I even managed to knit two rows on my socks! Woohoo!

50th Post!

This week has been full of anticipation--things that only Jes and I knew about, eagerly awaiting our vacation, and wondering when our house would sell. Now that the week is closing, and we've disclosed information to family and friends, I think I'm ready to share with the blogging world our news.

Our house sold. But you already knew that. What you didn't know is that we're moving back to Washington state, Tacoma actually, at the end of August. We'll be saying goodbye to all of our good friends here in Boston, and heading on another adventure in the Pacific Northwest. This time in a new city, with new places to explore.

Tomorrow we head out to Washington to not only visit family and friends, but look for a new house, one which we home to call home for a few years. I have a couple I've scheduled to look at, all with three bedrooms, fully fenced yards, and near parks. And the most important part--they're all affordable.

Other than that, I've been schlepping my sister and her boyfriend around Boston, showing them the sights before we all head back, and sewing like a mad person. I managed to finish her apron, a dog crate pad, and zipper pouch, plus cut out the fabric for our new quilt and my apron, and make major progress on my scarf and socks. So while it's not where I'd hoped to be, I'm at least making progress. I'll post pictures as soon as I can; my camera's been acting up.