it's been a while

some random bits of updating:




melanie was curious about the coach purchase- stylish and chic (the bag not me, but trying)


the w&s bag- (mary) nothing super fun, but got some bits for the kitchen that were awesome deals: pizza pan, itty bitty scrapper, infuser for mulling spices for this fall, strainer, itty bitty spoonula (love these) new dishtowels, brining bags for this year's turkey, and a candle















the green cardi- done, done and done! love it, put it through the washer and dyer after this photo was taken. helped a bit with the fit and general look::: note to self- put together before doing sleeves in order to adjust for the shoulder drop (if present)















a huge mess- the family photo project underway- lotta progress made- plan to do some "mini" books as discussed on ali's blog. not anything overly detailed, just want to make sure the photos are in a central spot, and the suspects identified.















post photo- nicely organized---see anyone you know??

more progress on the moss sweater- working on the sleeves, and have picked up stitches rather than do the sleeve as a separate piece, hope it works- no photo yet

no pj for nearly a week:: jekyll island youth retreat- must be staying out of trouble as i haven't received any phonecalls! mohawk is gone- he decided it was boring! andrew enjoying not having "big" brother around, and the house to himself, doesn't pj make a cute swift? future blackmail photos

















outing to cast on cottage to pickup the rest of mom's yarn and lunch for andrew and i at henry's- yum!

play day with kathy and her girls:: pool, knitting, quilting, yummy snacks (no photos as there was no make up and seriously bad hair!)

got this gorgeous stuff for the PRSC- wow- what a difference from the last two

















hmmm, i think that's it- got some new recipe ideas for giada and mom comes home next week- wow- has anyone see july? i think it's missing!

a few of my favorite things

had several days to experience some of the things i really enjoy-
♥-time off (yea)
♥-knitting and quilting time
♥-visiting a new place- airforce museum and ga music hall of fame-both very cool and who knew ga had so much influence on all genres of music -some photos here, here, and here. ♥-time with the family- especially with no clock watching!
♥-shopping and bargains at the outlet mall

♥-the views and vistas while driving to dawson county


♥-had to stop to take a picture of these

♥-time to myself with no rushing, set agenda (except store purchases!), etc. would enjoy company next time.

♥-dinner with friends (friday night)

♥-brunch with SILs and sara-who made the most awesome carrot cake-wonder how they'd taste as cupcakes-hmmmmm?

-casting on a new project with SILs-and reunion of the zombie socks

all good stuff- don't you agree? guess that leads to a very belated "Gratitude":: having the opportunity to take it all in, and reflect on how lucky i am right now. looking at each day full in the face, and "saying" i'm going to get all i can out of you today!

capre' diem ya'll!

that's cool . .

this week included some random bits of coolness, and it has nothing to do with the weather! first off, my weekend begins today at noon, yea looooong weekend, always cool--

next, i was making cards, and pulled out some ribbon i had bought on clearance a couple months ago, and when i unwound the ribbon- ta da-it's self-adhesive- leave it to martha stewart to come up with something cool and efficient---no glue dots, or other bits to hold the ribbon onto the paper. i was so capitvated by the coolness of this product, i bought some deocrative tape featuring the same adhesive! thanks martha (you old jail bird, you)-honestly you gotta love it--

then- upping the cool'o'meter- wound the loose nut for this weekend's cast-on- i'm getting better at this whole at home-yarn-winding business! brunch and knitting- yea you know cool--



my blooming dipladenia-aka: mandevilla (who knew) isn't it gorgeous- very similar to the bougainvillea--oooooo tropical coolness
new hand railings very cool-to compliment the new steps, the same steps that should have been done right the first time- oh well, live and learn- right? second photo is a view from the porch of my garden spot- i've added a few more bits since this photo was taken-will be an unending wip for awhile- want to add more color for spring and summer.

a snap from the dining room window- have added a sunflower looking thingy to the urn-with the heat this is definately not a cool spot to be, but it is pretty n'est pas?

and finally, the ultimate in coolness this week--

i was doing up the shoulder seams of the moss sweater when my oldest proclaimed- "hey that's really cool how you did that- wow, how long did it take you to make it"- oh my- enough to bring tears to your eyes- pure joy-of course, he turned down my offer to teach him how to knit-maybe i'll have daugters-in-law . . . .

my wordle

this is cool, thanks for sharing mary-

happy 4th, indeed

been there-done it- alas, NO PHOTOS except this one that was on juniper near my office, forgot both my camera and my phone, so here's last year's race post- i started at 7:59 and crossed the finish line at 9:33. pretty good time considering i walked the entire race. a couple times i tried to get a bit of a jog in, but my knee was having nothing to do with that. next year's training will consist of strengthening the knee muscles and maybe that stuff that rebuilds cartilage. i miss not actually running it, but it was incredible fun anyway. like the new route down juniper and ending on ponce, a lot less bottle-necked that at piedmont park.

some stuff i saw: people: tons of people, all shapes, sizes colors, fitness levels, ages (racers and fans), babies in various stages of development (unborn to newly born), dogs (all breeds), drinkers beer, coffee, water, mimosas-- bands: jazz, rock, alternative, african, oldies: tons of powerade paper cups, a priest throwing blessed water on the runners (St. Philips Cathedral), flags galore, mile markers (#6 right in front of my office!), i-pods, hats, visors, saxby chambliss, 2 people from my sunday school class (in different areas), cops, helicopters, water, misters, blah blah blah- can NOT wait til next year-here's my trophy- pretty cool

totally off topic, new hair cut- went here had to find a new stylist-what to you think? i like it better after i dried it, not as straight as it was when emily did the blow drying--


HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!!

bon voyage

tuesday mom headed off to the "mother land". we wanted to avoid the downtown traffic as much as possible. so we drove to the north avenue station, i unloaded mom, her luggage, the boys, kathy and danielle, then i parked at my office, and i walked back to the station- bought our tickets, and headed to the airport via marta rail- what a cool and easy way to go! loved it















and we're off-i don't think mom's ridden the marta train, in like FOREVER!


here we are at the airport--getting ready to check mom in, and get her settled with wheelchair assistance.














mom got to the airport with plenty of time before her flight-the rest of us decided to head to dinner to wait out the traffic at manuel's tavern yummy burgers and fish'n'chips.
me and the boys- don't you just love that hair???!!1
















a quick group snap












and can you believe this- haven't seen on in ages, but $5.00???? i remember when you could get them out of the machine for 50 cents, and i could buy them for my mom- those were the days















got an email from mom that her flight went well, i'm sure she'll have a great time, and can't wait to hear about her adventures--a trip to blackpool is planned.

tomorrow- THE road race!

simply sweet

normally i don't have a sweet tooth, and would choose a plate of luscious pasta over cheesecake any day, but lately, i've had great success with desserts.
no pictures, so you'll have to visualize.
it's been helpful that fruit so far has been soooo good, plentiful and cheap, or at least cheaper than in previous years!--strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and peaches. dessert success can thank the resourcefulness of freezing the leftover scones, as they became a wonderful crunchy topping for the peach/blueberry crumble. i put the scones in the food processor to crumble them, added cinnamon and brown sugar, and melted butter. unlike before, this time i toasted the crumbs, and they came out in granola like clumps- yum. i topped the blueberries/peaches that had been simmered in brown sugar, cinnamon and grand marnier, and baked till bubbly- mmmmmmm! even better with vanilla ice cream-
speaking of ice cream, was checking out the fridge, and noticed that it was time to use the raspberries and strawberries i had bought a few days ago- what happens? a very simple dessert- vanilla ice cream with sliced strawberries and raspberries and a drizzle of chocolate syrup-oh my, incredibly good-
to continue the fruity goodness this morning's breakfast was vanilla yogurt with the remaining raspberries, some strawberries, and topped with the scone crumbles- yea- that's good eating-

say what's in your freezer begging to be re-created?