Martini Knitter

Birthday Celebrations

 Yesterday was Keith's birthday and being that we both had to work,  we celebrated with a quiet dinner, carrot cake cupcakes, fantastic conversation, and a movie. 

On his birthday six years ago we went to dinner together for the first time.  We had been friends and colleagues for a little more than a year at that point and I must admit I was captivated.  We took it slow, went to dinner a whole lot more times and well here we are. I must admit I am especially grateful each year on his birthday. 

So without further adieu a few pictures to commemorate the occasion.  Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

Even the kitty got into the action :)

Catch Up #2-After the gardens

After strolling through the gardens we stopped by the Farmer's Market, the strawberries were just in and the veggies looked amazing.  I do miss shopping here a couple of times a week,  I was a bit spoiled that way in college.  We followed up our browsing with lunch at the NC Seafood Restaurant and enjoyed one of my favorite lunches (not the most healthy meal but absolutely delicious).

And this cool license plate was parked out front.

Catch Up #1-Duke Gardens

I do apologize for the blog silence....the day to day has gotten away from me for the last little bit.  I would like to catch up if you will in the next few posts.  During our recent visit to NC we enjoyed a lovely day out with Keith's parents.  We visited Duke Gardens, it was still early for some things to be in bloom but what a spectacular place to explore.   

Saturday Sky and Backyard Fun

We are down in NC visiting my in-laws and we had a beautiful Saturday outside. I took the camera on a tour     around the backyard.     

Saturday Hike

Keith and I went hiking with a friend yesterday.  A gorgeous spring day, temps in the 70s, and plenty of sunshine.  We headed out early for our hike up Mount Sanitas.  Nothing is blooming just yet but we found a few photo ops.   

A perfectly ducky day

Saturday was predicted to be 75, followed by snow on Sunday.  So we decided to take the new camera on an outing that turned out to be a trip up to Evergreen with a hike around the lake. We saw quite a bit of wildlife,  including ducks enjoying the thaw, a family of deer, and a bison herd. We had a nice hike around the lake and  enjoyed watching the ice fishing --I am looking forward to spring.   

...after the X-Rays

So  it's Thursday night and I am out at knitting and we were discussing interesting blogs and I was mentioning how much I am enjoying SouleMama and her picture project. I was checking to make sure I had the correct blog and noticed that I had an email from Keith.  A bit odd so I opened it and the gist of it was,  if I'm not home when you get here I am at the hospital near the house. Needless to say Eleanor got promptly put away and I headed to the ER to get the whole story. Did I mention I had two phones with me and neither had rang...he didn't want to bother me at knitting.  I think we need a new household rule that any emergency room visits warrant a phone call,  but maybe that's just me.  Fortunately, we meet for knitting very near to our house and the hospital so Keith returned my call on my way and caught me up.  Jammed toe/foot on door,  loss of feeling,  can't bear weight,  went to ER,  x-rays, and waiting for results.  The ladies at the desk gave me a visitor badge for Room 15 and pointed me in the right direction.  No pictures in the ER and fortunately his toe/foot is not broken it is a severe contusion that we will need to keep an eye on for a few weeks.  This is a picture about 24 hours later and no matter which camera or lighting I use I can't due the color justice.  One half of his foot is black/purple and the toe is striped.

He is still having a bit of trouble getting around so I think we will be laying low this weekend.

Never a dull moment....

Thanksgiving Holiday Recap

Warning Picture Heavy Post ! I can not believe it is December!  We were fortunate to take some extra time off over the holiday and visit both of my grandmothers and my Mom.  We flew into Rockford, IL  very close to my mom's place late Thursday evening (the 15th) and stayed a quick night with my Grandma K (mom's mom).  Mom was extremely generous and lent us her car to make the 6+ hour drive up to visit Grandma E (dad's mom). Grandma E lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Lake Superior,  beautiful country but not the easiest place to get too especially this time of year. Keith and I had a nice drive up on Friday and arrived to the wonderful aroma of homemade stew...sorry no pictures it was gone too quickly.  We had a wonderful visit,  very low key with lots of knitting and visiting.  We woke Saturday to a dusting of snow and headed out to three lovely yarn stores and warmed up with some coffee at Babycakes.  I picked up some Frog Tree Alpaca Chunky  in Ecru and cast on for a The Single Cable Scarf from One Skein ( I did use 4 skeins to make it longer).     Sunday Grandma E and I went out to breakfast and took a drive through Presque Isle and spotted this  red-headed woodpecker.  Whether I travel for business or pleasure, I always enjoy local culinary treats and I have to say no one makes these better than Grandma E,  we indulged in one of my all time favorites, pasties. These are truly a labor of love,  making them is a two day process and the effort is much appreciated.  Keith had forgotten his hat and asked if I would make him one.  After I finished up the scarf we picked up a few more balls of that wonderful alpaca yarn and a set of circular needles.  This was a quick knit after dinner Sunday evening, of course I had to check my decreases and then the finished product .    It was most enjoyable to sit with Grandma E crocheting, me knitting and Keith reading in the evenings.  Grandma knit wonderful hats, scarves and mittens each year when I was younger. 

We headed back down to Illinois bright and early Tuesday morning to visit with my Mom, step Dad, step Brother and stay with my Grandma K and her new furry friends.  Sampson and Delilah are the two newest additions to the family.  They are approximately 8 weeks old and bundles of energy and curiosity. They provided endless entertainment during our stay.  I spent a good deal of Wednesday baking while Keith helped out with a few lingering chores around the house.  Wednesday evening I was lucky enough to join Madame Purl and her regular knitting group for a bit.  And then she was able to come over Thanksgiving morning for some more chatting, knitting, and playtime with the youngsters( they were intrigued by the clear knitting bag).   After the pies finished up we headed over to Mom's house for a lovely Thanksgiving dinner.

Friday was my step brother's birthday and seeing as how he recently moved to IL from GA, I thought a scarf was in order.  And Grandma K also recently moved from TN to IL and that lovely Frog Tree scarf found a new home.

My first scarf...for me that is

So with winter coming although you wouldn't know it with this gorgeous weather, more on that in a bit, I decided it was high time that I knit myself a scarf.  Christine was working on this pattern during her visit back in September and it seemed the perfect pattern.  It is the Herringbone Rib pattern from Life's A Stitch and it is such a great knit.  I used Manos color 106 and size 7 needles.  In the interest of full disclosure, Keith and I went by Shuttles yesterday to pick up a couple more skeins for a hat and some wrist warmers. We had a bit of cake in honor of a book signing, chatted with the author and picked up this delightful new book, Knitspeak: An A to Z Guide to the Language of Knitting Patterns. 

Since this is the first November we have lived in the greater Boulder area,  I must say we are certainly enjoying this phenomenal weather.  It has been in the 70's most days and brilliantly sunny.  Here are a few pictures from our bagel breakfast, that we enjoyed sitting outside (note Keith's short sleeved shirt).

Enabler

Mom brought us a fantastic housewarming present....lots of fun grains and flour to experiment with.  Can you believe she stashed all this wonderful goodness in her suitcase?  I am looking forward to baking with it and Keith is looking forward to the sampling :)