Happy Easter!

We went back to Josephine Gardens this weekend for an Easter picnic under the cherry trees, which were in full bloom this weekend.



I was reading a plaque at the park, and apparently the park was designed by Frederick Olmstead, the same man who designed Central Park in New York City. The Yoshino cherry trees were a later edition, and they are from the same stock as the cherry trees in the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC.

Here's a close up of one of the weeping cherry trees:



The Yoshino cherry trees were planted in 1932, and have some wonderful twists and knots in the trunk, and every once in a while a new branch pops out and it looks like there are flowers growing off the trunk:



And another one:



The joys of trying to get three children to stand still for a picture!



As you can see from how we were bundled up, it was a little on the cool and breezy side - I would be shocked if it was above 50 - but it was just a glorious sunny day.

Happy Easter!

Lent Came and Went

And I managed to exercise every single day!

In the last 46 days, I have:

- Rode my stationary bike for 10hr 40min
- Walked the treadmill for 6hr 10min
- Used the elliptical machine for 4hr 20min
- Walked for 3hr 10min
- Road the recumbant bike for 2hr 20min
- Did water aerobics for 1hr
- Swam for 40min
- Ice skated for 30min
- Shovelled snow for 30min

and lastly

- Gardened for 30min (since I was digging holes, I'm counting this!)

All for a grand total of 29 hours and 50 minutes of exercise. I have to say, I'm quite pleased with myself.

Yay me!

It's a Good Day

My tulips are coming up:





My pansies and dianthus look beautiful:



My child has her eyes open for the picture on the first try:



And a cute seventeen year old guy gave me a flower:



Okay, so I paid for the coffee - but he did the flower all on his own!

What I Love About Spring

Pink!



You know - normally I am not a pink person. Perhaps with the exception of the pajama bottoms I am wearing, I do not own any pink clothes. It is not the first colour I reach for when I knit, either. But there is something about that happy pink colour that bursts out in Spring that makes me smile.

Andrew, Willow, and I went down to the Brandywine Zoo and Josephine Gardens this morning for a long walk up and down the Brandywine River and to see all the cherry blossoms. They aren't at their peak yet - I hope the weather holds up through the week and we can go there again next weekend for a picnic. We would love to have a more traditional Hanami party, but the powers that be here tend to frown on massive amounts of public drinking here in Delaware. Ha! I just read over that Wikipedia entry - it doesn't mention the extreme drinking that goes with many Hanami parties!

Here are some more pictures of the trees:







As you can see, almost ready, but not quite.

As we walked up the river path, we saw some Wilmington fire trucks shooting water from their hoses into and over the water.



We weren't sure what they were doing at first - I've never seen them do this, and I thought they maybe had to drain the tanks of the firetruck. I'm showing my ignorance here - do firetrucks even have water tanks? We walked about a half mile past the trucks, crossed over and back on the other side. Andrew noticed they were actually *pulling* water from the river and shooting it out. The crane was going up and down and they were shooting water everywhere - so at that point we figured they must have been training or doing some sort of target practice.

Willow noticed the rainbow first, and insisted I take one more picture for all of you:



Enjoy!

Wait - What day is it again?

Sorry - this whole week has been a bit of a blur.

I was all ready for WIP It Wednesday, had my picture for the blog post and everything...



Here's my latest WIP (and no, Teri - I don't have any finished objects to show you). It's going to be a felted laptop bag for work in three shades of green. Let's see - it's Cascade 220 on size 9 Knitpick circulars. I'm not using a pattern and am making it up as I go along. I have to take my laptop to meetings on a frequent basis and I have a monstrous laptop rolling case. I am not kidding - I asked for a slim case, but apparently the manufacturer did not make that anymore so I got a frackin' behemoth that has a suitcase attached. I KID YOU NOT! I just want a bag to carry my laptop, the associated cords, and whatever file I need.

I also took some pictures of my nascent greenery outside before the rains came in at the end of the week.

Here is Willow with one of the daffodils. I am not sure what she is doing with her right hand.



My strawberry plants came back!



And here is my brand new rhubarb:



Someone at work was selling a few different varieties of fruits and bushes, and I picked up two different rhubarb plants from him. Now that I have a full-size freezer, I anticipate saving lots of rhubarb for when it is not in season!

Starting the 2009 Garden

I started some seeds this afternoon - anyone want to take a guess what I like to eat? You'll have to forgive the handwriting - I was writing at a weird angle. I love these windowbox greenhouses - I have another one on the window for dark purple and red dianthus. I think I want to get another two - one for cosmos and the other for more vegetables.

What do you want to plant in your garden?

How Much Are Waffle Makers?

I want a waffle maker just so I can try out this recipe Mmm... savoury waffles! I'm not normally a fan of waffles - I find their sweetness to be cloying - but savoury, cheesy waffles and eggs - I think I could do that.

What My Birthday Says About Me

You know, I was all prepared to scoff at these results, but then this came up:

Your Birthday Predicts You're Logical

Ever since you were born, you've been very practical. You focus on how things are instead of how they should be. You cope well. You love fact and figures. You crunch numbers like a pro, and you're naturally analytical. You don't give into your emotions. You are ruled by your head - not by your heart.

What Does Your Birthday Predict About You?

The bit about loving facts and figures and crunching numbers like a pro - that is me, dead on. I love it when someone gives me a task that starts with, "Factor in the current CPI-U and extrapolate what the..." Who knew! I like to think I'm all artsy-fartsy, but the truth is I am entranced by numbers and facts.

It May Not Look Like Much

But the rhubarb is coming up! I also noticed chives and strawberry plants poking up through the dirt this morning. I really need to start planning my garden for this year - we're going to build raised garden beds.

Skating, Socks, and a Woo-hoo!

We went to Soren's (Willow's fiance, don't you know) birthday party yesterday afternoon - by my count it was Willow and 9 boys, and let me tell you, she was skating circles around them.



Literally. I think the skating lessons she has been taking these last few weeks have been a sound investment, and she really seems to be enjoying herself on the ice. I wish I wasn't so afraid of injury so I could get back out there with her!



You can't really tell here because I couldn't get my camera in position quick enough, but she was showing me she can skate on one leg.

The birthday party dynamic was interesting - in this group of six-and-seven year olds, the line was already drawn in the sand. At one point the boys were all dog-pile wrestling on each other, and Willow took a flying leap and landed on top of them...at which point the boys all stopped and said, "You're a girl!" Soren's dad, Stefan thought this was hilarious. Willow didn't seem to care until the boys started playing shoot 'em up Star Wars games and apparently she wasn't making the proper swoosh sounds and they started ignoring her. Take heart, darling - they will all regret ignoring girls later.

I managed to finish the first of my Kermit socks this weekend - after they sat for about a week with only the kitchnering of the toes not completed.



The colour in that picture is deceptive - to me the Kermit green is the dominant colour in the socks, but it certainly doesn't look like it in that picture. Here's a better representation of the sock colour:



I'm a little puzzled over what to wear these socks with - because of my job I don't get to wear jeans often (we pay for the privilege on Fridays). Does anyone ever knit socks to match clothes they know they can wear to work?

And as for the woo-hoo...

As of today I have exercised for 20 days straight - even Sundays! I'm really pleased with myself and I feel great. I even managed to do something different today by attending a water aerobics class rather than just hitting the cardio room.

Woo-hoo me!

My New Favourite Website

Go here now - you won't regret it!

I'm not even sure how I stumbled on this website this morning, but I got here and my mouth dropped open. Then started watering. It's funny - I'm trying to be careful about what I eat - but I love food p*rn! It doesn't make me hungry - it's just that the pictures are so beautiful and gives me ideas of things to try.

Enjoy!

Just For Laughs

"Lex Luthor Bailout" with Jon Hamm - watch more funny videos

...because everyone needs one first thing in the morning.

Bad Luck, Good Luck, Bad Luck

Bad Luck:

Finishing one skein in your baby blanket and knowing right away you won't have enough with the skeins remaining.

Good Luck:

Going to Michael's after SnB and finding the exact colourway and dye lot I needed, despite the fact I bought the original skeins 2 months ago.

Bad Luck:

My car's 'door ajar' light won't turn off. We've opened and closed every door and window multiple times. My FIL found a nut missing for the hatchback window and temporarily fixed that, but the light still won't turn off. The dealership we go to isn't the closest one (because the closest one earned my enmity with the fuel pump fiasco - charged me $500 for something that didn't need to be fixed, then couldn't 'find' my problem (aka dumb woman doesn't know what she is talking about), and kept on pushing me to buy a new car rather than have the problem fixed) - anyway, it is a bit of a drive to the dealership. We drive out there convoy-style, Andrew and Willow leading and me following, knowing the garage will be closed, but we can drop the keys/explanation in a drop box and leave the car there. We arrive, and there is a gate across the driveway - the whole dealership is closed! At 3pm on a Sunday afternoon! It blew my mind - all these car industry troubles, when are people supposed to come to a dealership to buy cars - between 9 - 5 Monday through Friday?!?! In any case, we turned around and headed right back home. My FIL and I will have to try and find sometime during the week to drop off the car.

Okay, more good luck, please...

Then Again, Maybe Ice Skating Isn't For Me.

I lasted 10 minutes tonight. Ten minutes of locked knees, stiff hips, and in utter terror that I was going to fall again. You should see the bruises I have right now - from the ice skating birthday party a few weeks ago where I got kicked in the head and slashed on the calf with ice skates, to last week's three falls in 5 minutes** (one during which my skate must have made contact with my right inner calf which is every shade of the rainbow, heavy on the blues and purples) - if anyone saw me with shorts on right now they would think I had been in a horrible car accident.

Sigh.

Today at work I told my friend Ryan that I hoped I was getting better which each subsequent session at ice skating. Granted, it has been nearly 30 years since I did it with any regularity, but I know the basics. He took one look at my calf bruise and said, "Yeah, but there's the survivability factor."

He's got a point.

I know I am no longer one of those kids who can (and will) fall down every three minutes and have nary a bruise or sore muscle to show for it. When I fall, I fall hard and it shows. And the next day (and many days afterward), I feel it. There are other less jarring and much less damaging activities I am much better at - cycling, swimming, walking - and I think I am going to stick to my strong points for a while.

(** I would like to point out that these three falls happened *after* skating just fine for twenty minutes. Just saying.)

A Good Wife, A Bad Mother

The call came around 9:00pm last night that Willow's school district was calling a snow day in advance of the storm that was coming our way, so I knew I would be working from home today. It works well - Willow is old enough to keep herself occupied with toys, books, or tv - only pesters me for a snack or lunch. The snow was beautiful - I think maybe 6 - 8" fell - enough for it to cover the top of my boots. She wanted to go outside, but I told her she had to wait until 3:30pm when I could turn my computer off and be done for the day.

Three-thirty came, and she was all bundled up - was wearing long johns and two sweaters without me even having to tell her to. So, we head outside, and she played in the snow while I shovelled the front walkway, the driveway, the sidewalk going around the house, and the back steps - that's the good wife part of the story. Andrew was really happy when he came home to find out that he didn't have to do that. And going by how sore my arms and lower back are now, it was probably some good exercise.

But the bad mother part. Well. Willow hasn't seen much snow in her six years. We have had some dry winters, and it seems that whenever we do get snow, it is gone that same day... so she had never experienced something that was commonplace between kids when I was young. How many of you have had someone come up behind you and wash your face with snow? I can't think it is just a Canadian thing! Turns out she didn't see the amusement in it, and she started crying and calling me mean. Ooh boy, I felt about two inches tall.

I distracted her with the icicles that were hanging from our and our neighbour's front overhangs. I knocked some long ones down with the broom handle and we dueled until our icicles were broken to pieces.

One of these days I will learn to be a good mother.

Keeping With It

I posted a sidebar list so you can see I am keeping track of the exercise. I plan to branch out into other things, but the weather hasn't been conducive to that lately... and the stupid rain/snow mix we are supposed to get tonight and tomorrow isn't going to help matters.

Lenten Come Lately

Yes, yes, I know - I'm not Catholic, but I like keeping Lenten resolutions anyway. I like the idea of trying some thing on for 6 weeks and seeing how you like it. In the past I have given up chocolate (and discovered my love of vanilla lattes), given you a fact I learned a day - and this year I have decided to exercise each day for a minimum of 20 minutes.

Why 20 minutes?

Well, that is all I did yesterday when I was still wracking my brain for an idea... so 20 minutes it is. It's not a huge sacrifice, but I am challenging myself to do it. Some people subscribe to the idea that Sundays are free, but that is one of the days I will actually have *more* rather than less time to exercise.

So, here you go:

2/25: 20 minutes ice skating
2/26: 20 minutes treadmill, 20 minutes recumbant bike

Yay me!

My Child's First Forgery

The scary thing is that it isn't a half-bad representation of my signature.

WiP It Wednesday

Remember those Mandy socks I was so enamoured of?



Well, I've stalled on the second sock. Part of the reason is that I really prefer to knit socks on two circulars, so dpns all the way down seem very cumbersome to me. The other thing is that they are a tad too long for me. I have size 6.5 / 7 feet depending on the shoe and there is just too much wiggle room there. I'll finish the socks and give them to someone, but the urge to finish them right now just isn't there.

These socks, on the other hand...



I'm completely entranced with. My friends and I were planning our annual trip to MDSW, and I guiltily thought I had better knit something with the yarn I bought there *last year* before I went and spent a bunch of money this year. You know, fiscal responsibility and all that... Well, I bought this Puckerbrush Farms superwash merino sock yarn from some booth (I don't think it was called Puckerbrush Farms, but I could be wrong) at MDSW last year. It's knitting up to be a light socks (Ladies M, size 2 circulars, 56 stitches around) and moving very fast. I love the greens in the sock - they remind me of Kermit the Frog.

And lastly, two of my coworkers are pregnant right now - and due within a day of each other. Megan found out she was having a girl, so I started on this yellow baby blanket with flecks of pink and blue for her. It isn't much at the moment, but will be prettier as it grows:

Gah!

I hate it when I get so worked up and angry about something that I can't sleep!

I had a fit at the McDonald's manager yesterday. Not at her, per se, but rather in reaction to her twit of an employee who was working the drive-thru. This girl didn't seem to know when her speaker was off or on, and all sorts of off-colour comments were coming across the speaker. She apparently disagreed with how I was ordering Willow's cheeseburger (no onions and pickles, please) - at one point even muttering, "Why can't you just order a plain cheeseburger?!" Then when I went to pay for the Happy Meal, she was too busy between making suggestive comments to someone in the hallway and more derogatory comments about the person behind me's order to even look when she gave me my change. We get home, and Willow's cheeseburger has onions and pickles on it (she has a freaky dislike to pickles). I fume for a few minutes, scrape off the offending vegetables, pick up my receipt and called the manager.

First off, I don't think I was the first person who complained about the person given the manager's reaction. She did seem shocked when I told her the utter drivel coming out of this employee's mouth. And I don't give a flying fuck that I was only spending $3.90 on a Happy Meal - all I asked was to have no onions and pickles and I really don't think that was too much of a concession to ask for. And the asinine thing is that the drive-thru person doesn't even have to make the burger, so why would she even care if I asked for something different - all she had to do was punch some freakin' buttons.

Gah!