Christmas in May

I have been very busy knitting and I am loving it. I haven't posted lots of projects but will do some catch up on that too. Maybe I am blogging less because I am spending so much time knitting. I saw some great stocking patterns and showed Ashley. She said that she would like Christmas stockings for their house I decided that I should start them soon because they looked like more complicated and time consuming projects. I started Travis' on Mother's Day after a trip to Crazy Girl Yarn Shop in Cedar Falls and I finished Ashley's this weekend. They went very quickly and were very fun to knit. Both Jay and Ashley have told me that they have plenty of dish cloths and I need to find something else to knit so Christmas stockings were a great start.

Summer Starts

This is the official start of summer. The pool is open but the clouds are thick. There are rain drops on the patio but hopefully it all clears off this afternoon. Ashley is here for the weekend. I broke out the blender and made the first smoothie of the season. Maybe we will do more shopping while we wait for the sunshine.

Today

Spending time outdoors can be medicinal for me at times. Today as I struggled with my grief I took a break from work to walk outside. I think I can quiet my thoughts and the world around me better when I am near nature. I am incredibly sad about Randy's death and feel exhausted from grieving. I know the facts and have the knowledge but this is my heart and it feels different. Working at hospice surrounds me with people who are understanding and that has been quite a blessing. I have not yet seen family members but have spent many hours on the phone with family and good friends. It will be good to get together with family soon to hug each other and celebrate Randy's life.

Sibling Shot

It's so seldom that all four of us are together so each time it happens someone suggests a sibling photo. Although Dan is never the one to make the suggestion he is cooperative. Poor guy has three sisters! This was a shot from Jeff's recent birthday party. After looking at the back of the camera my much thinner sisters wanted to try for something more flattering. I jokingly offered to take the front row and we got the shot below! It might be my favorite. I still plan to post more photos from Jeff's party soon.

Our Randy

It is with a very heavy heart that I write these words. Today my dear cousin, Randy died. I love this man deeply and will miss him terribly. I feel so blessed to have shared life with a wonderful cousin who loved family with a passion. He was a friend as well as family. It feels unreal, so shocking. He was a successful Broadway producer, a friend to many and family to those of us who were truly blessed. He will be deeply missed by many.

Thirtieth Birthday

My nephew, Jeff turned thirty earlier this month. We traveled to Marble Rock to celebrate with lots of family and friends. Jeff's wife threw a wonderful party. I had so much fun and took lot of photos. I will get some posted soon. For now I will just post this picture of Jeff and say that I cannot believe the boys are turning THIRTY!

Pella Tulips

A couple of weeks ago Dale and I drove to Pella to check out the tulips. It was the week before the festival which means that we miss the parade and events but we also miss the crowds and that is fine with me. Its much easier to photograph the flowers with fewer people around. It was a Sunday which means that the wonderful Dutch bakeries were closed...so sad, but probably for the best! I am still working hard to eat healthy and lose more weight.

Neglected Blog

I have neglected my blog this spring. I have been doing fun things but just haven't bothered to document them in this space. I went to the Asian Festival and a couple of farmer's markets. I have been to Pella, Waterloo, Marble Rock and Cedar Falls. I have been hiking, visited good friends and spent time with family. I've also been knitting like crazy. . . even stayed up past midnight twice. I celebrated Easter and my nephew's thirtieth birthday but I haven't blogged at all. I may do some catch up. There are some photos I would like to post. Mostly I would really like to get back into the habit of blogging. I like it. Even if I only have a couple of readers, it's still fun for me!