Amusement



Here is one of the many reasons I love my husband: he makes me laugh all the time.  He always says things that are completely unexpected and amusing.  For example, we were on a hike in the foothills the other day.  He had stopped to take a photo of a butterfly on a flower. (I had stopped to catch my breath.)  We were both watching the butterfly in hopes that he would come on the other side of the flower so that Michael could get a better shot.  Not wanting to cooperate, the butterfly flew into the air where it was joined by another, smaller butterfly.  As I was thinking in my head, "Oh look, the butterflies are friends,"  Michael yells out, "BUTTERFLY FIGHT!"  and then continues on with the hike.  And that is one of the amusing Michael moments that keep me entertained on a regular basis.

What A Deal !!!

Guess who's the star of the coupon book...

That's right, it's me.

Starting Over

Sometimes you just have to start over.  This is not a profound statement about life (although, it does happen every now and again)...I'm talking about knitting. 

I've been working on a little hat/mitten/scarf combo for Colleen's friend Sarah.  Sarah requested that the scarf be kind of feathery.  I've never really done any intricate work like this before, but I figured I probably had the skill so I thought I'd give it a try. 

I have this sweet book called Faith, Hope, Love, Knitting that my friend Angela gave me and there was a pattern for a sweater that I thought I'd adjust into a scarf. 

The directions for the main part were pretty understandable, mostly yarn overs, and k2togs, but the edging had a lot of new stuff that I'd never done before, such as cables and bobbles.  I forged ahead even though I didn't really quite understand what I was doing.  Well let me tell you, it didn't look awesome.  I showed it to Michael who usually says, "That looks nice" to everything I show him.  He looked at it with a raised eyebrow and said, "That doesn't look very good."  Of course I didn't want to hear that, I wanted to hear that the mistakes weren't noticeable at all, and I could continue plugging along.  However, I knew that he was right.  (Grumble, grumble)



This looks like booty.

So, I started over.  I wasn't ready to pull out all my work, so I actually started over with a new skein of yarn.  And you know what?  It looked much better.  It looked like it was supposed to look.  And it was much easier the second time around. 

Now the scarf is coming along nicely.  I guess starting over isn't so bad. 

Streetwalker

I saw this slushee as I was driving home from work.  I don't know why but I always find these guys so amusing. 

Bottles

I had really good intentions of blogging extensively about my trip to Michigan, such good intentions.  But the weeks keep creeping by and I keep ignoring this blog because those posts are so long.  I think I need to post random stuff and throw in a little Michigan here and there.  I told myself that it is okay if this blog is not chronological.  It's okay. 

So here is random for you:  I love glass bottles.  I love glass in general, I don't really know why.  I think because it is so sturdy and so delicate all at the same time.  I like the way light shines through colored glass.  I also like to collect things.  Michael and Colleen both call me a magpie, and glass bottles are a very cheap thing to collect.  When I lived in Saratoga, I had a nice little glass bottle collection in the corner of my craft room.  Here is a cute picture of Katya with the bottles in the background.

Here is a not cute picture of me with a better view of the bottles (a little blurry, but you get the idea). 

Now I am living in a small apartment, which means not a lot of room for knick knacky things.  I also don't want to spend any money on decorating (even though I LOVE to decorate) because I know this is a temporary dwelling.  So, here is my cheap, fun, decorating in the kitchen. 

I think these Izze bottles are so cool.  I love the big, twinkly, sticker and the bold colors. 

Also, check out our awesome old-school stove. 

Glass bottles = twinkly happiness.  Yay!

West Michigan

I crammed a lot of events into my trip to Michigan, so I will try to break it down a little bit into a number of posts.  I spent the most amount of time at my sister's house, so I will start there. (Please note her awesome decorating in the background.)  Plus, she has a new baby who hasn't yet been properly introduced on this blog.  So without further ado, here is my nephew Henry:

Isn't he a cute little pea pod? We bonded.

I love this shot of my dad and Henry. 

Proud Grandpappy.

Henry was baptized on Sunday.  That was a pretty special day. 

Most of my Schmidt family came.  That was really awesome because there is nothing I love more in the world than Schmidt family fun.

It usually involves lots of card playing and my Uncle Ron acting lovably goofy. 

My Aunt Pam was unable to be there, but I did spy one of her great knitted objects. (Aunt Pam is my crafty hero.)  Check out this sweet koala bear in his little brown sweater. 

She also made this lovely quilt that Emily and I used to showcase Henry's baptismal gown.

Other fun events included having Emily wake me up with breakfast in bed...

Hanging out with Louie and finding him snoozing in my suitcase...

Conversing with Reuben...

And  hearing the church bells ring from my brother-in-law's church, which is across the street from Emily and Andrew's house. 

The rest of the pictures are from a walk that Emily and I took in the rain.  I love Michigan in the springtime!

Away

Hello out there, I have not forgotten about this blog.  I'm currently in Michigan visiting my family.  It's been an eventful week.  Sadly, I attended a funeral for my uncle on Friday.  This was very sad, and yet, as is usually the case with funerals, it was great to see so many family members (many who I hadn't seen in years).  Sunday was my sister's baby's baptism.  It was wonderful to welcome little Henry into the family of believers, and see more family.  The rest of week promises to be a little more relaxing, with lots of visits with friends.  I plan to post more when I've returned home. Until, then I'll be living it up in my favorite state (don't be sad, Colorado, I like you too, one just never forgets their home state.)