Category Archive:Family

Ladybug’s friend just had her first baby – and, of course, that baby needed a new blankie! I decided colorful was the way to go. Apparently said baby approved – she “showered” it with her approval (yup, she wet all over it.) Good thing I believe in using washable yarn for new babies, huh?

This is crocheted (here’s the pattern at Mother Fury’s request – anything for you, Mom!) – I’ve also been doing quite a bit of knitting – working on some dish cloths now for a swap on one of the groups over on Ravelry. I’ll show pictures of the dishcloths before I send them off to my swap partners. Those haven’t been chosen yet.

451 Press is having some overload issues – so, the knitting blog hasn’t been updated in over a week. They are working on that – installing new equipment, etc. Whoot! Thanks, 451!

And, the grandkiddos just keep on getting bigger – took the oldest out for dinner Sunday evening. He missed his “shopping day” the previous week because he was (gaso!) working! So, we took the youngest of Ladybug’s kiddos for HIS day – and took the Boy this week.

Mortified him in the checkout line – where we were buying him some ice cream and cookies. He told his Mama all about it – made her laugh at him and threaten to come along the next time to chaperone. He said that wasn’t necessary – because he knew she would just gang up on him WITH us. lol. Yup, I love it.

Busy week ahead at work – the last day of the year was today – fiscal year, of course. So that means I have to not only prepare the monthly report, but the fiscal year report as well. Monthly deadline is the 5th. Annual deadline is the 15th. I hope the rest of my numbers come in tomorrow. 😉

soooooo you all be good now, you hear?

these bags are from Ms. Hiroko A, a friend of Keiko who sent bags previously for the project.

So many times we get caught up in our lives – caught up in the lives of other people – caught up in projects (some good and some not so good – you all know the types) – and we put our hearts and souls into all these things . . . .

. . . . and then they come to an end – or at least the end of our part in them. Such is the Share-A-Square project and the offshoot Bag Project. Yesterday I received the last 5 bags needed (from Japan, no less!) to make up the 70 bags I had promised Shelly I could gather together.

Tomorrow I will box them up and ship them off to Shelly in time for her to take them, along with 140 precious afghans, to the children at Camp Sanguinity. Yes, friends, they are precious – they represent hours of love and work YOU have put into them – and, THAT is precious.

From the bottom of my heart – THANK YOU for helping Shelly reach her goal – thank you for your support in so many ways.

You are each very precious to me!

Here’s a very nice article about the entire project.

Sadly I won’t be able to join Shelly and Sherry and others to deliver the afghans – I had hoped to be able to go along – but, someday I trust and hope that I will get to meet these two dynamic ladies. You’ll all be the first to know when that happens!

Okay – it wasn’t really a vacation – but I did take a bit over a week off work. June 30 is the end of our fiscal year and we cannot carry over more than 160 hours of annual leave. I was right on the cusp of that so needed to take some time off.

Didn’t go anywhere – but did have some much needed down time. I did have to go to work four hours last Wednesday for my CPR training – missed it in January when I had that pesky little heart attack. Other than that – no work for me.

Came home with BIG plans to clean my house and the like – haha! Didn’t happen. Well, I actually got this room straightened a bit – enough that I can at least walk into the room and find my way back out – without having to tie a rope around my waist for safety’s sake.

Hubby and I spent some time with Master TAT a week ago – and TAT and I had that lovely time with Miss Jackie, but other than that I actually kept pretty close to home – taking it easy. It was a much needed break (and, don’t tell anyone, but it is going to be a bit hard to go back to work tomorrow). 😉

Hubby and I decided that I couldn’t let the whole time slip away without at least getting out of town. We thought about running up to Anchorage, but he had some business appointments – so, we thought, how about Seward? It’s closer – so that even if we weren’t able to get a room for Saturday night (and we were not!!! Durned tourists! okay, just kidding) – well, it’s close enough for a day trip that wouldn’t wipe us out completely.

The plan was for us to sleep until we woke up this morning – get breakfast – get coffee – and get on the road. We headed for Seward just about noon. It was a drizzly sort of day, but we did find some sun spots here and there – and we had a lovely time together.

We saw some flora:
that’s an Arctic Rose – stopped alongside Kenai Lake and found a couple of huge bushes – can you see the rain drops? Well, maybe not in this smaller picture, but I hope to get some prints made of the larger shot. By the way – I know of at least one reader who likes to borrow other folks’ pictures. I don’t really mind, but please don’t forget to give credit where credit is due – okay? And it would be nice to ask first. But then, you all knew that.

We saw some fauna – first a shrew hightailed it across in front of our car – it made it safely into the underbrush. We saw a moose on the way home – and we saw a LOT of roadkill – looks like it is a big year for rabbits. (they are cyclical – I can’t remember if they have high years one in seven or one in two – I think it’s one in seven)

We visited the SeaLife Center and saw lots of animals there – harbor seals, and the like.

But on the way back from Lowell Point we saw:

see those two dots????

Here . . .

Sea otters just playing and rolling and eating while a fisherman sat quietly nearby watching them – and while we watched them. So cool!

On looking closer we noticed he did not even have his line in the water – he was so captivated by the otters – and I think he didn’t want to chance getting them tangled up in his line. You see the rushing water next to him? He is sitting on rocks below a spillway I guess you’d call it. Across the road where I am standing is a waterfall – it comes under the road and rushes into Resurrection Bay. His truck was parked nearby – and he walked down onto the rocks where he is sitting.

We also saw some kayakers –

We ate a late lunch/early dinner, walked along the harbor for a bit and then headed home. I took several more pictures in Seward and a couple of shots on the way home – I’ll show you at least the ones from the trip home next time.

I need to get off to bed soon – swimming early tomorrow and then off to work . . .

Yep, I still know how to type – yup, I’m still here – yup, it’s a busy, busy, moosie life.

However, I am on a sort of mini vacation over the next week – only have to go in one morning to take part in our annual CPR training. I missed my time – due to that little extra trip to the hospital back in January for my own personal CPR stuff. So, I have to do this one, whether it falls in the middle of my week off or not.
😉
‘sokay, really. I am not planning to leave the area or anything for this “vacation”. I am simply taking time off now so I won’t lose the built up hours at the end of June. We can only accumulate 160 – and if we have over at the end of the fiscal year they are gone forever (like a certain granddaughter’s little black boots)

Sad thing is, at the beginning of the new fiscal year I will be dismally close to that magical 160 hours again – so, this moosie is going to take some much needed time off over the coming year. Won’t be going much of anywhere, but will definitely find SOMETHING to do . . .

. . . like the last two days of this week; I was joined at the pool by one of the grandboys Thursday morning. He had asked his mama if he could join us – because afterwards he knew I was having breakfast with a friend of mine from CA. He and Miss Jackie had bonded about three years ago on a trip to Seward. I drove her over from Kenai so she could do some research on a book she was writing. TAT and Miss Jackie sat in the back seat of my car – singing and talking together like they had known each other FOREVER – while I got to be the chauffeur. No, I didn’t mind. I enjoyed listening to them.

Miss Jackie was back in Kenai this week to promote her new book about the Jesse Lee Home in Seward and Master TAT had gotten to go hear her speak Wednesday and even had his picture taken with her for a local publication. Now he wanted to join us for breakfast. Of COURSE he was allowed to come along.

We talked and sang and laughed and talked some more. We took pictures and had a wonderful time together before she had to move on with the rest of her day.

TAT and I came home to wake Paw-Paw up and to have a fun day with him – it had been prearranged for TAT to spend the night with us.

Among other things done Thursday, we went to Sport Lake to let the young man try his had at fishing. He caught two pan-sized fish – likely Kokanee Salmon (landlocked, stocked salmon) which he insisted on keeping and taking to his mama to clean and cook up for him.

Friday was a busy day, too. TAT and I started the day with laps at the pool again. Then he and Paw-Paw and I went out for breakfast. Once back home it was chore time – with male bonding over machinery and carwashing at the top of the list.

Thanks, TAT – we had a great time with you.

That’s the first fish he caught. I got lots of pics of the boy having fun, but don’t have permission to show them. Rest assured, Ladybug, I will have copies for you all.

Ladybug crossing under the Finish LineOkay – I’m not sure why the picture isn’t showing up – I’ll try to get it in here later . . . BUT . . .! – fixed. ~L

The woman is amazing! The official times are up on the website, although not in the easily searchable format (yet) of former years. So, it took me awhile to suss her name out from all those names.

Age group: 28th place!!
Overall: 204205th place!!

people – there were 1400women registered (eta 1300 competed) in this race! She got 204205th!

nah, no pride here, right? She worked hard and she did well. I am ever so proud.

splits:
Swim 7:38 7:30- 65th 63rdplace
Bike 36:31 – 206th place
Run 37:41 – 344th place
edited times – due to official times being posted – 5/24/08
So, swimming is definitely her strength – it is all definitely impressive to me!

Congratulations, Ladybug.