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!

Play Ball

I was so excited to see a sunny sky this morning knowing that Iowa Cubs were playing this afternoon. It was our first chance to see the team play this year and I was very excited. It was only about fifty degrees but it was so fun to be back at the ball park, eating a hot dog and enjoying my first ball game of the season!

Parable of the Sower

These bulbs are pushing hard to make their way through the very dry soil. It has been a dry winter and spring so I really shouldn't complain that it rained and rained all day long. I couldn't ride my bike but I did think of these plants and remembered the parable of the sower. It made me think of what "soil" I am when the Sower offers "seeds." These flowers will flourish after the fresh April rain. What is my "April rain" and will make me flourish? Life and nature are full of so many lessons when I open my eyes. I do appreciate the reminder!

Birthday Weekend

It was a wonderful weekend! I just love birthdays, even after 52 of them. Ashley, Travis and Mowgli came for the entire weekend and helped me to celebrate. I just love hiking in the woods and my birthday brought perfect weather for a hike. Dale and Travis did some geocaching while Ashley and I walked the trails. We spent more than ninety minutes in the woods and because it got up above eighty degrees. We lost the sweaters very quickly after we started. Fortunately we burned off lots of calories to compensate for some of the celebration foods. We cooked at home; enjoying good meals and fun in the kitchen. We made waffles, pasta carbonara, grilled sausage sandwiches with potato salad and some spinach chicken salads. We also got to have a patio lunch on my birthday. I just love going to restaurants with nice patios on a perfect weather day! It's a very good thing that we got exercise every day and a good thing that they came on Thursday so that we could have a long weekend to celebrate! It was a great birthday, all weekend long!

Pansy Time

It's pansy time! I was so excited when I found flats of pansies displayed at several stores today. It's too early to plant most things but I got some pansies and a few tulips that were forced. I got to spend time in the sunshine digging in the dirt which is very fun for me. I planted the flowers in a pot then spent some time cleaning up remnants of last year's garden and checking the progress on my chives and iris. After a sunny walk around Gray's Lake and digging in the dirt it really feels like Spring!

I Love April

It's April! I just love this time of year for so many reasons. I expect to get lots more time outside now that April has arrived. There are some showers in the forecast but lots of sunshine and temperatures in the sixties and seventies. It's my plan to exercise lots more too. The flowers in the photo are blooming at the botanical center but crocus are already in bloom and other bulbs are pushing up higher each day. There are so many things to look forward to this month. Welcome, April!

Botanical Center

Dale recently joined the Des Moines Botanical Center and it's been a fun stop on gray weekends. We get to visit spring and play with our cameras. This weekend we went to the zoo again. It was a bit too chilly for lingering but it was a perfect place to get a little exercise taking a few laps around the zoo and enjoying the atmosphere. Botanical Center, Zoo and a movie made for a great Saturday, even if it was gray and windy.

Lung Association

Today was the Fight For Air Climb. The event had many changes this year but it's the American Lung Association's biggest event for the year in Des Moines. My friend, Jennifer and I volunteer every year and this year we headed downtown at 6 AM again. This year many of the "climbers" went up 66 flights of stairs . . . another great reason to volunteer (instead of participate.)

I am passionate about volunteerism and feel so fortunate to be able to work with volunteers for my paid job but I think it's important that I volunteer myself also. Finding once a year events is one of my favorite ways to volunteer. I also look forward to the summer months with opportunity to volunteer at the zoo again!

Fun Groceries

Grocery shopping has never been a huge chore for me. If I have time I don't mind the job. Lately I have found a couple of very fun markets which make grocery shopping even more enjoyable. Since my first visit a couple of years ago, I love going to Graziano's. I love to take friends there or even bringing the kids or out-of-town guests to explore the little 100 year old Italian market. The specialty is Graziano sausage but there are also amazing spices, cheeses, peppers, sauces and many other unique items. I hear that this store has changed very little over the decades and I believe it. It's a treat to shop here.

More recently Trader Joe's opened in West Des Moines. Although I avoid the place on Saturdays I do enjoy going and looking for new interesting food items when they aren't so busy. There are some healthy affordable options, unique foods and some really inexpensive wines too! Going to specialty stores for specific items does take more time but since it's fun grocery shopping I always enjoy it.

Weekend Visit

Jay and Briana traveled to my place last weekend. We had no agenda but did have a good time. We did a couple of things together for the first time; shopped at my favorite market, ate the "Best Nachos in DSM" and visited the Botanical Center. We cooked together and hung out lots. It was a relaxing and fun weekend.

Healthy Thursday

When it's seventy-four degrees in March it's easy to be healthy! After work I took a short hike on a trail in the woods that is very near my home. It certainly got my heart rate up more than walking around the pond and I love being in the woods. Grilling out for the first time this year added to the warm weather thrill! This warm weather helps me with my efforts to be more healthy than I was this winter.

Back to Walking

I started the winter with regular trips to the gym but by February I had taken refuge in the warmth of my bathtub or curled up with a blanket on the couch. In the last several weeks we have had a few spring-like days and I have started walking on those nice days! They have been short walks, just around the pond at my library but today I went around the pond two times. That's a big improvement. Most often in the past I have walked to the pond then back home but I am starting out gradually.

Gunderburger

Jay and I went on a road trip Saturday. We had talked about making the journey to Gunder for the notorious Gunderburger and we finally made the trip. It was a yummy burger but more importantly it was fun to hit the road with Jay again. The burger is on the list of 100 things in Iowa you should eat before you die and is well known all over the state. It seemed like the perfect excuse for a road trip with Jay.

Spring Fever

We have had some wonderful spring-like days but this weekend was gray and chilly. After the sunny warm days I feel less patient with winter. I think I have spring fever. This weekend Dale and I saw a great basketball game at Drake and went to a fun movie but we didn't spend much time outside. We did drop by the botanical center for a few minutes and it was like a visit to summer. It was warm, colorful and a bit humid. It's a perfect place to play with the camera and take a break from winter.

Pretty Peas

I didn't eat any cookies this week! I didn't eat any candy or cake either. Sadly, this is quite an accomplishment for me. As always many wonderful baked goods are delivered to my work place daily, gorgeous cakes and huge cookies but I did not indulge at all this week. I did eat lots of fruits and vegetables. These sugar snap peas are pretty amazing, not the taste but the design. I am intrigued by the sweet little peas and the firm outer shell. I have always had an appreciation for beautiful baked goods but looking at these peas remind me that God designed some pretty amazing foods!

Monday Diet

This is what I should be eating today! Last week I jokingly told a co-worker that I was on a burrito and cookie diet. The crazy part is that it really wasn't a joke. I have been eating horribly. I did so well in 2010, until Thanksgiving anyway. Then Thanksgiving turned to Christmas and now it's the end of February. It is time to get back on track. I lost weight last year and now I have started gaining some back. But today is a new day. I am "weighing in" via email and need to be held accountable. I also think I should probably find the gym again very soon!

Puppy Love

Puppies are adorable and have an amazing ability to brighten life! Sunday morning we set alarms, got up early and headed out to the dog show to meet some very special new puppies. Mowgli (my grandpuppy) fathered a litter of five puppies who were born in Minnesota. This was our chance to meet three of the five; Bolt, Nutmeg and Winnie.

I could have snuggled with these babies for hours. They were so sweet and so affectionate. Although I had been grumbling about getting up in the dark on a Sunday I was thrilled that we did. Aren't they adorable?

They looked like Mowgli and reminded us of his puppy days. Ashley and I even suggested that Dale should get a puppy. They look good together, don't they?

Spring in February

It feels like Spring in February. We have had wonderful warm days with temperatures near 70 degrees one day in near 60 several more days. The snow is all melted and I have been walking outside. My valentine tulips on my table add to the illusion of Spring in a beautiful way. Winter will return and my tulips will die but hope is in the air and Spring is just around the corner.

Sleeping Cats

Napping lions were my favorite photography subject on Sunday when Dale and I headed to the zoo to enjoy the February thaw. They obviously enjoyed the sunshine and warm rocks on a lazy Sunday. After working in the church for years, I have to say that I do enjoy lazy Sundays now too.

Almond Joy

There is an amazing Dutch bakery in Pella. It's less than an hour from my home and since it had been well over a year since my last visit, Saturday's adventure started at Jaarsma Bakery. It truly is like stepping back in time. All of my favorites feature almond; Almond Tart, Almond Horn and Almond Filled Cookies! Going into the bakery is an amazing experience. Bringing the little blue and white striped bags home is thrilling! We also stopped at a little local meat market for cheese curds and bacon. The little town square is just bustling with people on a Saturday morning. We stood in line at the bakery and meat market! Pella is a unique little town and we may head back that direction during the tulip season which is really amazing. I just want to go when the bakery is open.

February Sky

Dale and I took advantage of plenty of sunshine and a February thaw on our Saturday outing. It was 43 degrees and a great day to get out and enjoy nature. We drove out to Neil Smith Wildlife Refuge, got some fresh air and enjoyed the gorgeous sky. Winter isn't over but the snow should be melted in the next few days.

First Cat Show

Dale and I had a very fun Saturday with several stops. One of the most interesting was a cat show held at Adventureland. Neither of us had ever been to a cat show so we thought it would be fun to stop by and see how it is done. I am not a huge cat lover but there were some beautiful animals. There were also some pretty strange looking cats including a hairless cat. There were also some very interesting people but no photographic evidence! I will post more about our Saturday outing soon.