The Countdown...

I am imagining that somewhere in the sleeping city of Spokane WA, Pia and Katie are waiting in line, along with a giant gaggle of teenage (and teenage +) lovers of that vampire kid...I know neither one of you goons will take your nose out of this book until you have finished it.

And I'm pretty sure Mrs. Turner would NOT have approved of this series for the Bothell library.

the 5th Parlange Boy

Kind of like the 5th Beatle...

The boys called me last night, VERY excited. They had found a little bird in the yard and told me they were now responsible for it and brought it inside.

When I got to work this am, Thomas Bird was snuugled up in a basket with lots of grass and some water and carrots. There were big plans to catch worms for him. Unfortch, he flew the proverbial coop asap and they are birdless. A few tears but we are on the lookout for him...

They're in the mail!

I mailed my "Think Outside the Sox" contest socks today! Wish me luck!

MMMMMango

Pia brought me two "Bath Melt Bars" by Lush from Hawaii. You drop one in the tub and yum! I love the mango color and scent, perfect Oahu souvenir! I tried one last night and it was fab!!! Thanks, Peeps!

Another Thing I'm Never Going to Knit

It's crocheted, but still...pink naked baby mice. Gak. Not gonna happen.

Another Sock in the Works

I started a new sock project, needed something small and portable for my knitting bag. This is the "Jule's Sweet Sundae Sock" kit that Susan gave me (thanks sis!) I love the color, "Neopolitan", which just happens to be my fave ice cream flavor. These are short sockies with a little lacy frill at the top. Moving right along, I should have the first one done this weekend...unless my beads for the "Secret of the Stole III" knitalong arrive, in which case I may get distracted.

Day O Fun

The boys and I went to the local pool yesterday afternoon for 2 hours of fun in the sun. It was a great time! Thank god they are doing road construction right next to the pool, bc there were hardly any people there. For a buck each, we swam our tails off.

Two little fish wait for the session to start.

Taking a quick snack break (the swimsuit on the left is all you are gonna see of Riveria, the human blur)

The boys are gaining a lot of confidence in the water; the twins can back float like nobody's business, everyone was jumping off the side and going under the water with a minimum of trauma (water up the nose, blindness, etc). And Michael is totally fearless in the water, that boy def. needs swimming lessons stat!

Even Gramma Laurie had a lot of fun, the water was great and swimming is so good for the achy back! And I wasn't the palest person in the pool (that would have been the people who swam in full length outfits for some reason; the sun obvs. never gets anywhere near their skin).

We will def. go back soon!

Precious!

Is there anything sweeter than a little girl in a summer dress? I don't think so! You're darling, Logan!

A Great Summer Read

I read this last year actually, but Cara just read it and reminded me of how GOOD it is! "The Double Bind" by Chris Bohjalian (he wrote "Midwives" which is also a great read). "In his new novel, The Double Bind, a literary thriller with references to (and including characters from) The Great Gatsby, Bohjalian takes readers on a haunting journey through one woman's obsession with uncovering a dark secret. "

5 stars, people! Read it!!!

My Sox Contest Entry!

Not the greatest picture, but here's my entry for the Knitter's magazine "Think Outside the Sox" contest finally finished! I think they turned out nicely, but any comments/criticisms are welcome! Like 'I'd wear these every day if I only owned a pair', or 'gak those are so fugly I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy', or anything in between.

More Cute Silverwood Pix!

Katie is complaining that all my recent posts have been boring knitting-related (may I remind KT the blog IS called A Fluther of Knitting...) so I am posting cute pictures of the boys at Silverwood today.

Michael had a blast at Boulder Beach, the boy is completely fearless in water. Part seal, I think.

RJ and Mikey get a sweet treat. Yum! For the adults, there was a bar you could stop at on the Lazy River. Yum for big people!

Mikey and Mama enjoying lunch.

People, all I want to eat today is cotton candy and ice cream. Take this protein laden lunch outta here NOW.

Alex tries to entice Gramma Laurie into the pool. My Miracle Suit didn't slim me down enough to take a picture, but I did actually go swimming.

What's Better than a New Knitting Bag!

Not much. Of course I HAVE knitting bags, but who can't use another? My regular (yellow Knitty Messenger Bag) got barfed on at the Indians baseball game, so it's temporarily retired. I am loving my pretty new Jordana Paige bag (a bargain on eBay!), which is nice enough to use as a purse, should I feel the urge.

It's Back!

And can I just say how happy I am that Project Runway is on the air with new eps?! LOVE IT. And for your blogging pleasure, do check out "Project Rungay"

Favorite Ride!

We all agreed that the "Thunder Canyon" ride is the most fun at the park, especially on a hot day (you are guaranteed to get wet on this ride). 8 people are loaded into a round boat and you head down the rapids, spinning and getting swamped by river water the whole way. A blast!

Waiting in line, the twins indulge in a little pre-ride jitters.

Liam is the first to feel the not super warm water.

Alex takes a big wave on and loses.

Definitely a fun ride! Esp. when the other guys are getting soaked.

RJ gets creamed by a waterfall.

As soon as we got off, we had to get right back in line and go again!

Group Hugs!

Thank God Pia was in charge of photos! She got a lot of really cute shots of the gang at Silverwood:

Lorraine and Michael getting ready to roll (Mikey was very sad that he was too small to ride any of the 'big kid rides', poor little peanut. But they found a little kids' ride and play area so he did get to go on the rides after all. But he would've preferred to ride the Screamer)

Gramma Laurie and the boys waiting to board Thunder Canyon (or take a smoke break if Liam's hand signal is correct)

Pia and Riveria posing nicely. We didn't see much of RJ, he took off with his friend Emily as soon as we got there. I'm sure they had a blast.

Silverwood Fun

We got to spend a fun day at Silverwood, thanks to Lorraine's employer who provided tickets and a great lunch for all.

Now, I'm not a big rides fan (yet another phobia), but the boys convinced me to do a few of the rides with them:

Bumper Cars, of course their favorite ride, last year I think this is the only ride they would go on.

Ramming Speed! Alex and Liam prepare for impact.

RJ looks hellbent on causing some damage to a poor unsuspecting driver.

Even Gramma Laurie got in on the action. It's time to redo the hair, my grey is really showing! Yikes!

A New KAL

KAL= Knit A Long and I am getting ready to start my 3rd one. They are fun, you join a group and everyone knits the same project. This one is called "Secret of the Stole III", and it's a 'mystery' KAL as you get a 'clue' (part of the pattern) every week, so you really don't know what your project will look like till you finish.

Of course, a new project calls for new yarn (fageddabout using something I already have in the stash). And I couldn't decide which one I liked better, so I ordered *two*:

"Peach Ice Cream" laceweight merino wool from the Yarn Chef (on Etsy)

"Rose Petals" silk & merino laceweight from Heritage Yarns (also on Etsy)

This project also calls for 622 beads which are knit into the stole, and I chose these Czech seed beads:

I will have to swatch and decide which is purtier! I've added a button for this KAL if you want to join in.

Life With Mikey

My pal Mikey is going to be 3 on Sunday! He is such a cute little guy, full of personality and charm. Here are a couple of cute pix from yesterday:

Playing hide and seek with his brothers. What you can't see is that his diapers are off, as he was working his tail off to earn gum for going pee and poop on the potty and stripped the diaps off just before this picture in order to gain a piece of sugarless bliss.

His new birthday bike. And this boy goes like 60 on it! He has turning and braking down pat too. Also, Mikey is in the 'I can pick out my own clothes thank you' phase, so we've spent a lot of hours in t-shirts, no pants and monster rubber boots lately. Paris couture take notice, this could be the hot new look.

Yarn Yarn Yarn!

I've been in a real yarn-whore mood lately for some reason. My stash groweth mightily! And I seem to be obsessed on collecting enough sock yarn to have a pair for every day in the year (although I don't manage to knit it up nearly as fast as I purchase it). Here are some of my new goodies:

"Hogwarts Houses" sock yarn from Biscotte & Cie (damn it I've also discovered Etsy!) Hand-dyed in the house colors of the 4 houses at Hogwarts.

Fleece Artist Sea Wool

70% Merino 30% Seacell (is that seaweed? It's soft anyways) Not sure what this color combo is called but I like it.

"Watershed" from Neighborhood Fiber Co. (purchased at Wool Girl) in color "Grant Circle". Againa 70/30 merino/seacell blend. I am partial to this fiber artist cuz she names her yarns after neighborhoods in Washington DC, so I can think of my Car-Car and Tonsy while I'm knitting.

While I was vacationing on Lopez Island, I felt the need to purchase some souvenirs of my trip. Natch, I bought YARN. 8 skeins of natural color 2 ply worsted wool from Island Fibers. Maxine spins this lovely soft yarn and I have enough for an Aran sweater I'm going to design myself! Though Maxine claims to be a Luddite, she has a website and she said she'd check out Ravelry since I raved about it.

This cute pair o socks (picture only I haven't actually knit em yet) is a kit called the Swedish Ullared Sock, by Beth Brown-Reinsel. I bought mine on eBay.

Tip o' the iceberg, folks! I will be busy for many many months (years actually) with my stash!

Thrift Store Find!

On our way home from Lopez, Liam and I stopped at the 'Will to search for treasures. He spotted THIS kid's size accordian and of course we had to buy it.

Now I just need to figure out how to download the instruction manual from the company's website and he might actually be able to play something recognizable. Meantime, he is enjoying working his new 'squeezebox'.

Thanks to the Bellevue parent who went crazy listening to this thing and donated it to the Goodwill!

Yeah for Office Webisodes!

To get Office fans through the summer:

Rush Right to the Store Katie & Pia!

Cuz your favorite Series (soon to be a major motion picture evidently) is featured on the cover of this week's Entertainment Weekly! The vampire boy is wearing really creepy makeup I say.

My Method of Housecleaning

nataliedee.com

Don't You Love It When...

Little kids use big words? Liam's current favorite is "apparently". He works it into a sentence whenever possible, and it's hilarious. It amazes me how he always gets the context right, even when he's not exactly sure what the word means.

Keepin' It Cool

Mikey doesn't need any fancy-schmancy swimming pool to have a great time. He and I cooled off in the Turtle Pool in the backyard and we had a ball.

Mikey sittin' and chillin' while WoWo dips her feet

"Hop In WoWo, the water's a refreshing 50 degrees, straight from the hose!"

Don't you just want to pinch those adorable round peaches!?

Hats! Hats! Hooray!

Liam has made an excellent start on his hat collection. Here are some of his chapeaux:

The "Tiny Fez". As the package says, 'Everyone Looks Good in a Tiny Fez!' Ain't that the truth!

The "Straw Boater". He found this in a thrift store on Lopez and we both decided it was the perfect topper for a charming young gentleman.

Ansel Adams Jr.

Liam and I left Lopez on Saturday thinking we'd avoid the long lines. We were the FIRST car to load up on the 3:30 ferry, after just missing the 1:00 ferry (yep 2 and a half hours sitting at the Lopez ferry is incredibly boring). Liam took some interesting pix, he's a budding photographer!

"Self Portrait in Rear View Mirror"

"Waiting for the 3:30 Ferry"

"Gramma Laurie Keeps Herself from Going Insane"