At last! The Vacation

Forgive me, this will be a picture heavy and link-heavy post. We returned from Canada yesterday morning - all groggy and jet-lagged as we could be. There is so much I could say about the trip, but I will try to keep this to brief musings... oh, who are we kidding?!!? Here we go:

1. The Empress Hotel



This is what the weather looked like when we arrived in Victoria on July 13th - sunny, beautiful, nary a cloud in the sky. Yeah... that didn't last. It clouded over the next day and proceeded to rain every day until July 23rd. The local TV station said it was 'statistically improbable for it to rain seven days straight in July on Vancouver Island.' Um, it did!

2. More Canadian Things I ate on vacation:

Old Dutch Potato Chips and Popcorn Twists
Nalley's French Onion Dip
Nanaimo Bar
Garlic Coil
Butter Tart
Canadian Chocolate bars (at least a 6 of these...)
Maynards Wine Gums
Licorice Allsorts
BC Cherries
Hawkins Cheezies
BC Salmon
My Mom's Blackberry Jelly (seriously - the best in the world)
Pizza Pretzel (I can't find a link for this - it's pizza dough shaped into a pretzel form and baked with toppings on top)
Wild Raspberries

... Yeah, I ate really healthy. In my defense, I was there for two weeks and only sampled these things along the way. Some of you may argue that these are British Foods rather than Canadian ones, but I only can get these in Canada, so to me they are Canadian Foods.

3. Willow Behaving:



I think it only happened this once. She and Emma (the baby doll mentioned in the 'Eight Things About Willow' post) are wearing the same dress courtesy of my Mom.

4. A Trip to Victoria



Of course, in the rain. This is a picture of the Friendship Gate on Fisgard Street. I wanted to find honey buns and bubble tea, but struck out on both counts. The rain got heavier and subsequently so did the grumblings of the progeny, so we hung out in Mayfair Mall and then Bolen Books to waste time until we could pick Andrew up at the ferry.

5. Willow and William Playing:



The last time we were out here William was only 5 months old and there is only so much playing you can do with a five month old... but he is a more robust and rowdier 14 month old and he and Willow had a blast playing together.

6. The Creepy Trees:



We pass these trees on the way to my parents' house - there is a whole forest of them and they creep me out because the short branches all look like arms to me.

7. I got to touch my sister's pregnant belly!



I didn't get to see Jaime when she was pregnant with William, so I was excited to see her pregnant belly. She isn't planning to find out the sex of the baby - but I saw the ultrasound pics and I am predicting she is having a girl. On a completely unrelated note, I love Jaime's new haircut - I think I may get a similar one soon.

8. Willow's Birthday Cake:



Craptastic cake writing aside, I like my decorating attempt! I got the idea from a Canadian Living Magazine. You take a candied fruit slice, slice it in half lengthwise, and put licorice in the middle to make your butterfly.

9. William and Gram (GG to him) hanging out:



10. Willow and my Dad being silly together:

11. TV Shows I Watched While on Vacation: .

Due South
Dr. Who
Coronation Street

Again, you may not consider these Canadian programs - especially the last two - but I don't get to watch them here (partly because we haven't had the cable hooked back up since we moved).

12. Willow and the Pigs:

While not Canadian at all, Willow did meet up with some fine looking pigs while we strolled around downtown Seattle. We were in town for a couple of hours and enjoyed both Tully's Coffeehouse and Cutter's Bayhouse.

13. Sea-Tac's Playroom:

Thank goodness for this! This pic was taken about 10pm and as you can see from her airborne pose, she was still full of energy.

14. And the knitting:

I did rip out the baby sweater I was working on and gave the yarn to my Mom as I didn't want to lug it back to Delaware. My Mom has a pile of old Patons pamphlets from the 50s and 60s and in one I found a pattern for a 'Boy's Helmet.' Why they called it that I don't know - girls can't wear helmets? It was a very easy pattern and I love the results. The green is knit from Patons Astra (the recommended yarn) and the pink from some unknown acrylic in my Mom's stash. Personally, I like pink one better because of the stripes. It's a 6 - 12 months size.

All in all, I had a great (if not soggy) trip to BC. Mom? The last two trips have been rather dismal, weather-wise. Think you can do anything about that? We miss you and Dad already.

Well, this was unexpected...

Willow has to wear a school uniform when she starts Kindergarten in August. I was checking her school website last night hoping to find a school supply list when I found a notice saying that the school's clothing policy had changed. This kid is going to need a whole new wardrobe - she is only allowed

- black, dark blue, or beige pants/skirts/jumpers
- all shirts must have a collar (plus a precious few additional colours)
- absolutely no writing or pictures (i.e., logos) on clothes

Now, the logo thing isn't so much of a problem - she doesn't have much in the way of that because I don't like it. However, both of her grandmothers have made her dresser-fulls of clothes... and in a riot of little girl colours and patterns - flowers, pinks, purples, turquoises, butterflies, hearts... all which are pretty much verboten under the dress code. Honestly, in her current wardrobe I can only think of a handful of things that fit the wardrobe (a yellow polo shirt, a red sweater, and a white turtleneck).

So, I guess this means I need to crank out at least a sweater for her to wear to school. It's really too bad - I am working on a beautiful shawl-collared sweater (and that in itself is not a problem) for her right now in a beautiful turquoise and sage green colourway (and that is the problem). I have some dark green Wool-Ease in my stash I can use... off to find a pattern.

Eight Things... about Willow!

I received this meme from Jen and since I have received something like this in the recent past, I am going to change it up a little. Instead of me, I'm going to tell you eight things about Willow.

And I'm not going to tag anyone... if you feel so inclined to write up one of these, go for it!

Eight Things About Willow

1. She hates fresh tomatoes, but loves tomato soup, spaghetti sauce, ketchup... practically anything else you can think of that is made from cooked tomatoes.

2. Her grandfather has been teaching her long words that describe her: obstinate, procrastination, cantankerous, etc. She is good at this - she can even give you synonyms for these words now!

3. She can read easy readers and hasn't even started kindergarten yet.

4. She and her friend Soren are always playing duos - Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, Harry and Hermione, Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann... and despite the fact she tells me she is going to marry Soren someday, they never seem to pick marriageable pairs! I had to inform her that Luke and Leia were brother and sister, which confounded her to no end. Andrew said I was spoiling the story and we would let her find out the rest of the family tree on her own.

5. The kid swims like a fish. Three cheers for the Y!

6. She has a penchant for expensive foods: prime rib, steak, lobster, shrimp, etc. We had barbequed steak last weekend and she ate more steak than anyone else (mind you, over three days, but still!)

7. She loves her baby dolls, and after watching Toy Story 2 she is worried about outgrowing them. With tears in her eyes, she made me promise that I wouldn't ever let her throw her baby dolls away.

8. She routinely tells her teachers that I am pregnant (I'm not!), to the point that every couple of months one of the teachers pulls me aside and surreptitiously asks, "Are you having a baby...?" She wants to be a big sister in the worst way.


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The trip to Victoria was a mixed bag - the rain wouldn't let up and Willow complained about walking outside (despite the fact that she was the only one with an umbrella!) We did get to Beehive Wool Shop where I bought some stuff for my SP9, some Patons Deco in rose garden to make a baby sweater for my sister (she isn't finding out if she is having a boy or a girl so I am making random outfits in different colours), some Aero needles, a set of Pony Pearl dpns in size 2, and Patons Astra to make a baby helmet from an old (perhaps 1960s) Patons pamphlet. They had Fleece Artist stuff there, too and it felt soooooooo nice. A little expensive for my means (damn exchange rate!), but is sure was soft and in pretty colours.

WiP It Wednesday

What? You thought I would forget simply because I am on vacation? Silly mortals...



I can forget for much simpler reasons than that!

Unfortunately, this WiP in destined to be frogged. It is the ribbed baby's cardigan from the new issue of Knit Simple, and I really don't like how it is working out. The ribs are doing what they are supposed to do - bunching up - but that is going to cause it to be quite cropped. It's too bad - I thought this would be a nice, simple, one piece baby pattern I could work up while away. Not so. I will have to go back to my old baby pattern standby - Daisy from Knitty.

Whenever I come up to my parents' house, there are a few foodie stock things I *have* to do, and so far I have accomplished:

1. Had Heinz Tomato Soup for lunch. This stuff makes Campbell's taste like salty crap and despite not living far from the Heinz factory in the US, I have never seen it in our grocery stores there.

2. Eaten a Coffee Crisp bar. Yes, I know there are a few select places in the US where you can buy these now (My local Dollar General, oddly enough) but it isn't the same.

3. Had Stinky Noodles for lunch. Yes, I know that isn't the real name, but that is always what we called them. And for some reasons, my local grocery stores don't carry this variety, either.

We are heading off to Victoria today, and there are a few things on my list for there... Purdy's chocolates, Rogers' Chocolates, honey buns (this I couldn't find a link for - but you buy them at an Asian bakery - it's like a steamed cake), Murchie's Tea... Yes, there is a reason why I am only having yogurt (albeit Island Farms Vanilla Plus Yogurt) for breakfast...

I've been tagged by Jen for a meme, and that will be up tomorrow!

Singing In the Rain

Okay, I am not known for my melodious voice, so let's skip the singing part... I caught the weather report this morning and it looks like it my rain on and off for the remainder of my vacation. Truly, I don't mind. Willow might go a little stir crazy and demand to play down at the lake in the rain anyway, but that's okay, too.

I didn't take my Mom's camera with me when we went out walking yesterday, but here is a pic of what the area looks like. We are quite isolated here and I am so enjoying the slow pace. Life and work were rather hectic before we left for vacation and I have a sneaky feeling that my head may have exploded if I had continued much longer.

Knitting has been happening - I will have a picture up for WiP It Wednesday tomorrow. I am working on a baby sweater right now - and I hope to finish it while I am here. There are a couple of good knitting stores are on the Island that I will be frequenting in the next few days. I am excited about seeing Beehive Wool Shop because I hear it is just huge. I want to stock up on Aero needles - I love using them and have never seen them at my LYS in Delaware or Pennsylvania.

Hmmm... it is nearly 10am. Maybe I should get dressed. Oh, I love vacations!

Best Laid Plans

I had this plan for a really cool contest - I am on vacation right now, and yesterday I took a picture of a world famous hotel that was outside the Customs building as I waited to be let into the country... I was going to post the picture, have people guess from the photo where I was, and then send the winner a postcard from said location.

However, I cannot seem to download pictures from my camera onto my host's computer. Bah humbug!

Anyhow, I am taking lots of cool pictures, and you will all just have to wait until I get home to see them.

And the photo? The Empress Hotel - downtown Victoria, British Columbia.

Disturbing

I hope all of you find this as disturbing as I do - I saw them while buying Willow new sneakers today. Check the sizes out... some of those are *baby* sizes. As in one year old to maybe three years old. What on earth are people thinking? The picture doesn't give you a clear view of the heel - but there is about an inch of clear plastic heel there - not platform, but an actual heel.

Off to Dulaan Today

These babies will be in the mail to the Dulaan people:



It looks like I will be a little late for this year's container - I misread the flyer and though the stuff had to be there by July 15th, not July 1st - but I know they will get there eventually. There are 11 hats, 2 pairs of mittens, and 1 sweater. Yes, that is the sweater I had knit for Willow, but she wore it once and by the time the cool weather rolls around again, it will be two small on her... so better someone else gets some use out of it.

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People, it is going to be ungodly hot here today. 95'F and high humidity... Yes, I know that us nothing on the scale that some of the western states are going through, but beastly nonetheless. Do you know how hard it is to find indoor things to do in the summer for kids? I mean, if it were just me and Andrew, we would just walk through the mall, maybe catch a movie or two... but you can't do that with a kid and keep your sanity. A few of my co-workers had mentioned The Crayola Factory, but I found out that it would be a nearly two hour drive. It sure looks like a lot of fun, but I think I will keep that idea until the fall when the weather will be nicer.

You know what the ironic thing is? On days like this, I *like* going to work. I will be in happy air conditioning all day (at someone else's expense), get to talk to my friends, not have to wear sunscreen (I am very fair-skinned and wear it religiously but hate the feel/smell of it), and not have to worry about Willow being overheated or bored. Why does this heat have to happen on a weekend!?!!?

WiP It Wednesday

You didn't think I had forgotten, did you? Okay, I did forget last week. Or rather, by the time I remembered I was so tired and hadn't taken a picture of any of things I was working on and so let it slide.

Anywho... Here is Willow's 'Oh My' vest:



I'm making really fast progress on this and I like that! The pattern is a child's hooded vest from Knitting Pure and Simple (scroll down and see pattern #271). I'm knitting it out of Plymouth's 'Oh My' in an olive/forest colour and it is terribly soft. I went to JoAnn's today to pick up a separating zipper and found that there is not much colour choice in short zippers (10 - 14 inch). Basically, I had a choice of white, cream, or black. I went with a 12" cream one. I brought it home and measured it against the vest and found I could have done with a 14" one after all. I was worried about the zipper being too long for the vest - apparently that was an unfounded worry.

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Happy Independence Day to the Americans out there! We had a barbecue at my in-laws for lunch and we counted the American flags we saw between our house and theirs. It is about a 2 mile drive and we counted over 60 flags!

When Cheap Chapstick Happens to Good Kids

Guess who found her way into my 79-cent Avon Candy Cane flavoured chaptick tonight?



See how she artfully filled in her eyebrows as well? Bezzie, be thankful you have a boy!

Hot Sticky Days...

I hate 'em.

It's probably a combination of things - having grown up on the West Coast... the west coast of *Canada*, no less, I'm just not accustomed to this humidity. I hate the fact that right now it is warmer inside my house with the windows open and ceiling fans going than it outside. And yes, I have air conditioning - but I feel silly using it when it is only 75'F outside. Right now I am hoping that when the sun goes down the house will finally cool down to a comfortable temperature.

Growing up we never had air conditioning - simply because it was not needed. Don't get me wrong, it got plenty hot during the summer, but ceiling fans did the trick. The first home I had with air conditioning was in Japan (and yes, it was needed there!), but even that wasn't until our last year in Japan and our landlord finally capitulated into installing a wall unit. People in Japan approach the heat of summer in a completely different way - for example, in Japan summer is the time for ghost stories - because the chill you get up your spine while hearing the story is supposed to cool you off.

Ugh. Heat. Having to wear my hair up all the time. Not wanting to cuddle. Not being able to knit large items. Bah humbug.

Yes, the irony is not lost on me that I am complaining about this in June... I read in the news this morning that 2007 in on its way to be the second hottest summer on record after 1998. I don't remember 1998 being particularly hot. The year 2002, now that was a doozy. Nothing like being nine months pregnant after 30 consecutive days of 90'F+ temps and being forcibly barefoot because your feet are too swollen to wear shoes...

On Turning Corners and Turning Heels

First, the big news...

I received the pathology results of my breast biopsy this morning, and my surgeon assures me there is no cancer and they biopsy showed only normal breast tissue! There is a mass (it was only small - maybe 1cm in diameter) and the surgeon is confident she extracted most of it - but I have to go back in three months to have another ultrasound to measure it and see if it has changed shape or grown. Yay! Of course, my breast currently looks like someone beat the bejezuz out of it, and she said it would be changing colours for about a month, so no topless swimming for me. Hey - don't laugh - there are nude beaches where I am going on vacation!

Now, I am not saying this whole experience hasn't been an 'a-ha' moment, but I do know I need to change things in my life. I am fairly healthy - I don't smoke or do drugs... the odd mojito or margarita makes it into my system, but they are few and far between. My nemesis is food. I love it - love cooking, love shopping in grocery stores, love eating. I really need to learn to step back and know that food is for sustenance, not pleasure. I also need to exercise more - I have a membership at the Y, I have a bicycle, and I need to get off my sizable duff and use these things!

Stay tuned for news on this front...

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Knitty SP9 matches were sent out yesterday, and am really excited about this! For the second round in a row I have been matched with someone whose blog I read regularly and feel I know. One thing about my new downstream SP is that she is a sock fanatic and this inspired me to work on my Dancing socks. While watching a couple of documentaries last night I finished the heel flap, turned the heel, and started working on the gusset stitches - I'm on a roll!

WiP it Wednesday

May I present a maybe quarter way finished cable sweater for my husband?



This one has been in the basket since about October 2006 when I picked up my Dad's hemp-wool socks. I put down the sweater because there was no way on earth I would finish this before Christmas and Andrew saw me knitting it nearly every week anyway so it wouldn't even be a surprise. I am just about at the place where I need to start shaping for the underarms. There is about 17" here so far - Andrew is a very long-bodied individual so I even added a bit onto what the pattern called for.

The particulars:

Yarn: Plymouth Encore in Charcoal
Needles: 24" size 7 Addi Turbos
Pattern: from a Family Circle Knitting magazine from the early 90s - but I think the pattern is pretty classic.

One of the reasons I haven't picked the project up again is that I am a bit worried that I may not have enough of this colourway to finish the sweater. I bought 10 skeins (I believe that is 2200 yards altogether) before I had even chosen a pattern. I know I have complained about this before - but really, if worse comes to worse, I might just have to get a bit creative with the sleeves.

No, Still There

Yesterday a few people, whilst admiring Willow's new superhero cape, expressed dismay that she was starting to grow out of her curls. Let me assure you that it is simply not so:



Forgive the expression - it was the best shot out of about seven. I really do so much better when she doesn't look at the camera! The reason her hair looked straighter in the previous post's photos is because we have been braiding her hair before she goes to bed to help with the screaming the next morning when I try to brush the snarls out.

My new camera has a nifty video with voice feature and I have taken a few cut pictures of Willow telling me stories. I looked into the Google Video tonight to see if that was an option for posting it into my blog and the T&C were much too complicated. Does anyone use any of these video sites to upload their own videos? If so, please tell me which one you like best.

Done With the Dreaded Capelet

It's finished!









And she loves it - of course, she thinks it is a superhero cape - but I won't disabuse her of that notion.

The particulars:

Pattern: Tuneful 'Rap by Scarlet Taylor (Creative Knitting Magazine July 2005)
Yarn: 4.25 skeins Paton Astra
Needles: Size 7 and 8s in Knitpicks Options

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Thank you for all your well-wishes on the biopsy. It was a quick procedure - maybe 15 minutes total. I had to write 'yes' on the breast to be cut in Sharpie pen - who knows when that will wash away, so for now it looks like I have a very ill-inked in tattoo. I didn't get to see the needle the surgeon used because they had towels rolled up under my left shoulder and side to prop me up sideways on a 45 degree angle. The surgeon numbed my breast with a local and said I shouldn't feel a thing. Well, I didn't feel the needle go in, but I SURE AS HELL felt it rooting around inside me! I gasped out loud and the surgeon said, "Can you feel that?" Me (gasping): "Yes!" Her: "Is it tolerable?" Me: "Um, it's okay..." So, she had to go in 4 more times to get more vials of tissue for the biopsy. Then they put surgical tape over the incision, put an icepack in my bra, and off I went. It was sore at the hospital, but didn't start to hurt until the drive home when the local wore off. A few extra-strength Tylenol and some judicially self-prescribed chocolate later, I was okay. Sleeping has been a bit tetchy - I tend to sleep on my front or my left side, both of which are awkward at the moment.

Egads it hurts...

I'm typing one-handed right now, the other hand propping a bag of ice against my left breast. The biopsy is finished and I will know the results on 6/26. Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to pop some Tylenol and chocolate.

WiP It Wednesday

Well, suffice to say that these socks have been a WiP for so long they can practically be considered vintage socks...



I'm not entirely sure, but I may have started these socks in late 2005/early 2006. I did finish the first one in Fall 2006 and started the second one right away... but then got caught up in the insanity that is Christmas knitting and these babies fell along the wayside. The particulars?

Yarn: Knitpicks Dancing
Needles: Size 1 metal 6 inch DPNs
Pattern: Ann Budd's basic sock pattern but with only a 4" leg (I don't like long socks).

I have picked these up recently and am about 1/3 finished the heel flap. I love how featherweight and stretchy these socks are, but hate how Dancing curls up on you (because of the elastic) while knitting. And I won't be knitting socks again in these needles again anytime soon! I much prefer the 4" bamboo dpns for socks - I have small hands and find these 6" beasties a bit unwieldy.

Drowning in the Stash

Wow - one of the beautiful things about loading all this stuff into Ravelry is that I am finding all this yarn I had forgotten about. Shh... don't tell Andrew.

Great Movie to Knit By

Andrew laughs at the fact that I knit while watching movies - you know that right away foreign films are out. I have a better than passing knowledge of Japanese and French, but that still wouldn't get me through a movie without having to constantly check the subtitles and potentially mess up on the knitting. Last night we watched The Departed on DVD and it was a wonderful movie to watch while knitting. Granted, we turned the subtitles on anyway - I don't know whether it was my Canadian upbringing, but the Boston accent is a little difficult for me to wrap my head around sometimes. In any case, it was a great movie - fast paced, great characters - and had me entranced whilst knitting. I think I even put the knitting down from time to time to follow what was happening... and I don't normally like cop/mob movies. So - can anyone else give me some suggestions of movies you like to knit to?

I received my Ravelry invitation this morning and set up my profile... I foresee this being a big distraction for me... but in an oh-so-good way!

'Cause Turtlegirl told me to...

WiP it Wednesday coming up!

Here is a picture of the dreaded capelet I am knitting for Willow:



Why dreaded? It is mile upon mile of stockinette stitch. I am almost finished the body and then have to pick up and stitch the collar and button bands. And it is not a poncho! I haven't told Willow this is for her - in fact, it was supposed to be her Easter present and um, that didn't happen. The pattern is from an issue of Creative Knitting from last year and calls for worsted weight cotton and that wasn't going to happen - so I used some Paton's Astra and unintentionally got a pretty close colour match to the magazine picture.

Willow hit her first educational milestone yesterday - she graduated from Pre-Kindergarten!




I did take some video with my digital camera and I wish I could put it up on the blog - it is so funny. Willow is a ham - had to stand between the two risers in front of everyone and dance while everyone else was singing...

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Squished boob update - I had my surgical consult this morning and am scheduled for the ultrasound-aided needle biopsy next Friday. The doctor told me that in my age group that it only turns out to be cancer in 10% of women and that it is her job to prove it isn't cancer. The pathology results will be available about a week after that. Thank you for all your prayers and happy thoughts.

Thinking Positively for the Weekend

Everyone, thank you for all your well-wishes. I have an appointment with a surgeon on Wednesday, so we will see what happens then. Between now and then, however, I need to keep myself occupied. I did knit quite a bit last night with one of Nell's mojitos - well, not with the mojito itself - that would have been messy - but it was my companion while I knit. I have been working on a capelet for Willow and it just may be the most tedious thing I have ever knit. Luckily for me, all that there is left is about 2 more inches on the body and then the button bands. I have received plenty of beautiful sock yarn in blog contests recently and I really want to dig into them.

For your viewing pleasure, may I present some more flowers from my father-in-law's garden?













And just for the hell of it, Cranky Willow:



Remember, you can click on the photos to see larger sizes and more detail. I wouldn't advise it of the last picture, though - your monitor might crack.

Squishy Boob Day

Last week I had my regular check up with my doctor, and we joked about how I am getting old - and he told me that since I will be 35 this fall I needed to have a baseline mammogram done. So, the appointment was set up. My friends from work were all telling me stories about the varying levels of pain involved - and just this morning I thought to myself that I had the worst luck to have my mammogram scheduled for the hottest day of the year so far - a day where you can't wear deodorant, powder, or perfume.

Now I think maybe I have the best luck, because they found something.

I had the mammogram and then was shuttled off to have a more in-depth ultrasound . It turns out there is something in my left breast above and under my nipple. What freaks me out is even *I* could make it out on the screen. The doctor told me that it is not a cyst. I have to see a surgeon and have a biopsy done and I hope to get this done very soon.

Incidentally, the mammogram didn't hurt. It was more awkward than anything else to contort myself so they could take the pictures.

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Forgive me - I can't remember who I stole this from today:

You Are An ENTJ

The Executive You are a natural leader - with confidence and strength that inspires others. Driven to succeed, you are always looking for ways to gain, power, knowledge, and expertise. Sometimes you aren't the most considerate person, especially to those who are a bit slow. You are not easily intimidated - and you have a commanding, awe-inspiring presence. You would make a great CEO, entrepreneur, or consultant.

What's
Your Personality Type?

The funny thing is that this is me in spades...

Someone Is Conspiring Against Me...

...to make sure I don't get any sleep. The name of this evil entity? My local public library. It really is good timing, I suppose - when else am I going to have a chance to read doorstop-weight books through all hours of the night and not have it effect my work? Earlier this week these three books were waiting for me:

1. All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris. Sookie is one of my favourite characters - a genre heroine who hasn't fallen into the 'have sex with everyone she meets' ditch. Don't get me wrong - I still read those other books by that other author as soon as they come out, but I like the fact that Sookie still thinks about things and um, has a storyline. Enough said. I had also listened to Grave Surprise by the same author on audio CD earlier in the week.

2. 1634: The Baltic War by Eric Flint and David Weber. I think I read these books as a matter of course because I did enjoy the first book (1632) and enjoyed it so much. Somewhere along the way, however, these became more war (and gazillions pages of battle scenes) writing and less about the up-time people making their way in a new world. Authors, the finger-waving thing you accuse nearly every single female character of doing is very off-putting - repetitive and unoriginal. I did like Eddie Cantrell's part of the story, though.

3. For A Few Demons More by Kim Harrison. Don't have anything to say about this one yet because I haven't even cracked the spine yet... but that is going to happen as soon as I have my morning coffee...

Are you all getting an idea of my preferred reading material? It's funny - I grew up with parents who read escapist fiction - sci-fi/fantasy on my Mom's part and spy novels on my Dad's - so I don't think anyone can blame me for seeking similar escapes. In any case, I hope that the next book that comes my way is The Walker Papers:Coyote Dreams by C.E. Murphy.

But don't worry - reading wasn't the only thing I accomplished this weekend! I finally put the last three remaining bookshelves together in the sunroom (two 6-feet tall and one 4-feet tall) so we can start unloading all the (multitudes of) books we have and start using the sunroom for its intended purpose - a reading room. Although I am sure some knitting will happen there as well...

Andrew and I also managed to catch a double feature on Saturday (Oh, I love three day weekends!) - we saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Spiderman 3. I really couldn't get into Spiderman - Andrew asked why, and the only thing I can think of us that I don't find either the male or female leads attractive and so I wasn't all that invested in the storyline. I liked Pirates of the Caribbean but it had some weird surreal scenes in it. I'm curious how many of the tattoos they were showing in Johnny Depp's shirtless scenes were his own and which were movie artwork.

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Here is a picture of one of the flowers that didn't make it into the last batch - I like the gold in the middle of this rhododendron:

Really, Are Any of You Surprised?

Stolen from Trillian:

Josephine -- [noun]: A lewd street performer 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

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Think of the Pretty Flowers... not the Crazy Zoo Day

I better get this on the blog toute de suite before another person tags me!

Nell tagged me for a meme, so here we go:

Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves.
Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as
well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others
and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those
you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know
that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

Yeah... I'm not doing that last part...

Here are my facts:

1. I really don't like talking on the telephone - I would rather email to communicate.

2. I love bing cherries - actually paid an exhorbitant amount for them this morning - relatively speaking. I grew up in an area where you can buy them on the side of the road for $2 for a 2 pound bag. Let's just say ACME was charging more than $1/pound.

3. I don't swear much. That doesn't mean that blue language doesn't pass through my lips - but I'm more likely to say 'bugger off' or 'bloody hell.' I blame my dad for this - who in turn had picked it up from his British parents.

4. I didn't get my driver's license until I was 26 years old, and didn't drive regularly until I was 28 - but I love to drive now. Just not on I-95 here in Delaware.

5. I like doing laundry. Or maybe I just like the process of having clean clothes.

6. I will gladly (and regularly) forgo sleep to read a good book.

7. I love to go swimming and being in the water - but hate what it does to my hair. I *can't* wash it every day or it would break apart - so in the summer I frequently smell of chlorine.

If you weren't tagged but would like to play, feel free to snag the rules and post on your blog. I figure by this point almost everyone and his/her dog has been tagged... but if you haven't, steal away.

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The following azalea is my all-time favourite in my father-in-law's garden. Tonight he told me it is called a Ben Morrison azalea. I love how it has a distinct tri-colour shading to it:



Here are some other azaleas and rhododendrons I caught in bloom tonight (there are more, but I having some problems publishing them all):

And just so you don't think we are only about the azaleas and rhododendrons at Casa In-Law, here is a picture of one of the clematis vines blooming on the dog run fence:

Remember you can click on any of these flower pic to see the full-size version!

Now, is the title of this blog post confusing you yet? Yesterday I accompanied my daughter on her class' field trip to the Philadelphia Zoo. Yes, you have every reason to question my sanity here. The thing is that Willow is very familiar with the zoo and will run around from exhibit to exhibit because she knows where all of her favourite animals are - and I just didn't trust her in the care of another adult. Notice my wording... not that I wouldn't trust another adult - I don't trust Willow! There must have been other parents who felt the same way, because there was about one adult for every 1.5 children. In any case, I was mentally exhausted after walking around the zoo for 5 hours with two four year olds - and Willow was not listening, pouting when I would lift up the other girl first to see exhibits, trying to climb up on all the exhibit fences... I was so happy to truss her up in her school bus harness and walk to the back of the bus and bury my head in a book. I didn't care if the bus driver was going a zillion miles an hour on 1-95 with no discernible shock absorbers... I NEEDED A BREAK!

Anyway, here is a picture of the two girls before they drove me batty: