The Hunyaks

The noise level has gone up considerably, we bought doughnuts and handed out quarters for the grocery store tattoo and ring machines, we've had a gymnastics show with multiple costume changes, Lucy has done more ball chasing than ever in her life, and Walter just wishes they'd go home. 

It's great having visitors!

A Few Pix

Beauty Shots from the garden:

Grow, tiny tomato and pepper, grow!

The view from Jon and Lorraine's cabin window

The darling fireplace Jon built from rock he collected (basalt maybe? from the cliffs by his property)

Busy Bees

Well, busy for ME, usually I'm sitting around knitting and not much else :-)

No pix but here are some updates:

1. I reached my 40 pounds lost goal last week, hooray!  Then promptly celebrated by gaining 2 lbs. this week.  And had my first gout flare up in months when I foolishly drank 3 glasses of wine at our dinner party (Peggy and her partner Patricia came over, along with Tony's new gal Laura.  Lots of fun!)  Back on the diet horse this week.

2.  We love Laura!  Tony's new gal pal is perfect for him: cute, athletic, smart, lots of fun, a good cook who does paleo/gluten free, and just an all-around great person.  It makes me so happy to see my boy so happy.  And bonus, she's an occupational therapist so I'm set for those old lady needs like a walker and arthritis exercises.

3.  Visitors!  Susna is coming over for a couple of days, bringing Logan and Hadley.  Can't wait to see those three ladies!  I may be babysitting Katie's friend Sara's little girl.  So we will be taking a toddler with us on whatever adventures we go on.  But I figure Logie and Hads are a nanny's best friend so I'm confident we can keep little Sienna Miller (the baby not the movie actress) entertained.

4. Garden:  we have two peppers, four tomatoes at last count,  a bunch of onions, and lots of squash/zukes in various stages of growth.  I haven't checked today, but looking out the window it appears that the garden has gone crazy over the last couple of very hot days, so hoping for much more produce.

5. Camping:  Tony and I got our long-planned camping trip accomplished after 3 years of talking about it.  We (Tony, Laura, Cara and I) were hosted by Jon and Lorraine at "The Property" (it really needs a good name)  The weather and the lake were perfect.  The company was lots of fun -- Alex and I manned the pedal boat for a tour around the lake (little did I know that my 6 months of riding the recumbent bike were going to pay off -- no knee pain at all pedaling the boat for an hour).  Jon was his usual hilarious self.  And Cara and I survived a night in the tent.  Luckily, Pooh had purchased a cot for me, so no need to actually sleep on the ground :-)  The two of us had to cut the trip short after one night to go home and take care of the dogs plus my above-mentioned gout situation.  But hopefully we can go back soon, as we now have all kinds of camping gear

6. Knitting: (obligatory content)  I am working on a couple of pairs of socks (one pair for Liam, who requested "light green, thick socks" -- couldn't say no to that), my ongoing "Crackerjack" scarf with stripes knit after each Mariners game, color depending on home/road win/loss, plus a sample cowl for the yarn shop.  I have about a million things I'm itching to start and some ideas for new designs of my own, so I need to knit faster.

7.  Katie is away at Camp Cross this week, it's going to be kind of quiet around here.  And dinners are going to be dull.  I hate to cook and Cara isn't much better so we rely on Katie for imaginative cooking.  Come home fast before we starve Katie!

Throwback Sunday

I took this photo about 30 years ago. On the dock at the lake:

Caris took this photo of Colie yesterday, same spot:

Same saltwater sandals too!

A Happy Fourth!

I headed up to Horseshoe Lake (aka The Property) to hang out with Jon, Lorraine and the three big boys for the day. Mike is spending July with his grandparents, currently taking sailing lessons.

Jon finished the tiny cabin and it's adorable

He built it all himself, mostly from recycled materials. I'm trying to talk him into building me a tiny house. 

Rando photos:

New pup Koda. Doesn't bark. I approve.

Bad Blogger

It's hard to blog when one's life is devoid of interesting events. Mind you, I find my life fascinating but to an outside observer, it's watching paint dry. But here are some tidbits:

I'm one pound away from my 40 pounds lost milestone. I'm thrilled that I've come this far!  6 months ago, I was unhealthy and unhappy with it. While I still have a ways to go to reach my goal weight, I feel so much better and yesterday I had to toss my beloved plaid shorts. Which literally fell off my hips. 

Cortisone shot worked well on my knee and I'm fairly painless for now. Tony's lovely new girlfriend Laura is an occupational therapist, so I'm assured of getting hooked up with a walker when I need one lol. 

Too many knitting projects as usual. I have two patterns ready for publication at interweave. One will be in their next Downton Abbey issue and the other in the fall Knitting Traditions issue. I'm also finishing up a scarf pattern which will be available through Knitpicks' IDP (Independent Designers Program). I'm excited about that, it's a big potential customer base. 

Little miss Colie is growing so fast!  Each morning starts with opening all the apps on my iPad then we settle down with a hot bottsy and the Bubble Guppies. Words are slowly happening. Once those floodgates open, there will be no stopping her. I'm also putting in weekends at the yarn store. They haven't actually taught me how to do much (answer the phones or ring up an order) but I'm a pro at putting yarn on the shelves. Now I need to find a good pair of shoes for work. Suggestions welcome. 

Our garden is growing!  I have given up on the green beans after Walt trampled my healthy plant. But onions, potatoes, spaghetti squash, zucchini, tomatoes and carrots plus lettuce are all growing. And Katie and I have enjoyed a few raspberries off our bushes. 

That's about it. I continue to be blessed with the gift of having the worlds best kids, who love their mom and make a happy home for me. I'm so lucky I have those four people in my life!

Moochie

Our little gal is getting big!  Not too many words yet, but when they come there will be no shutting her up :-). She is a master of all things Apple, works the iPad and iPhone like a pro. And kills us every day with her cuteness.