Monday, December 30, 2013

Fish Stick



The great fisherman.
Them fish just jump onto the sticks!
 
{March 2013}

Sunday, December 29, 2013

River Walk

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Muscatine.
So I went for a walk along the river.
And took my camera along for good measure.
 Lots of other people had the walk idea.
Or run.
Or ride.
But I was the only one I saw out shooting eagles.
 Ba gawk!
 Shreik!
Find the eagles in this photo.
 
{28 December 2013}

Monday, December 9, 2013

Giant Mark Twain

Giant Mark got a little addition on Friday.
 
Yes, his neck looked a little cold in that big entryway.



 Putting that scarf up wasn't all that easy...
Giant Mark is aptly named.
 
He needed to be dusted,
fluffed,
and finally dressed.
Even the tallest ladder wasn't quite tall enough.
So, thank goodness for convenient balconies,
good balance,
long broomhandles,
and clothes hooks.
 
The goal was to make the scarf about 12' long.
Even with last minute speed knitting and long fringes,
I think the total length ended up being somewhere around 10'.
It made a good serape, too.
 
{December 2013}



Friday, November 15, 2013

Sleying the Reed

Today, I played with the loom.
Threading these warp threads through the reed
is called sleying.
It slays me.
(Talk about ancient sayings.)


And here she is all ready to go.
Weaving the weft into the warp.
That's the next step.
Its like learning a whole 'nother language.
 
{15 November 2013}

Sunday, November 3, 2013

GUAM

When Marvis invited me to go to Saipan with her, I wasn't quite sure what to think.
Nor did I know where it was.
Nor did I know we'd get to see Guam, Saipan AND Narita Japan.
And get the special priveledge of meeting so many fabulous people. 
The view from our hotel room in Guam.
It was a short, sweet stay.
The coral in this bay is very very sharp.
The current is very very strong.
Why yes, I did get beached on sharp coral while snorkeling.

 This group worked hard to feed us.
Photos galore at the end of convention.
We headed off to Saipan that same night...
it was hard to leave Guam after even 2 and a half days!
 
{March 2013}

Friday, November 1, 2013

Meyowl

 
I try not to be pet-obsessed,
but sometimes this cat of mine is pretty cute.
(And yes, sometimes she's pretty obnoxious, too.)
 
{February 2013}

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

San Francisco on my mind

 
In January of this year, I got to go to San Francisco.
And I got to see this lovely couple.
And their adorable offspring.
My honorary nephew got to have his first co-ed sleepover.
And he didn't even cry much when I shared his closet!
Amazing, considering that Mom and Dad had JUST stopped responding
to every peep one week before.
{January 2013}

Monday, October 28, 2013

Autumn Paddle

 Saturday was a glorious fall day here.
I played in the yard for a bit,
getting all the ugly brown flowers
and frozen tomato vines out of the gardens
and onto the compost or burn piles.
 
Then I was supposed to go kayaking with a few friends in Iowa City.
Come to find out, lots of rental places put their kayaks away at the end of September.
Who knew?
We did find one that still had rentals available,
but the vehicle situation prevented us from getting enough.
And so, we sadly cancelled.
Meantime, my kayak was already atop my car, ready to be transported.
It looked at me sadly while I did some other necessary things.
Finally, my mom said she wanted to go for a walk.
So...I asked if she wanted to walk in the park. And help me get my kayak in the water.
She agreed.
We went.
It was glorious.
I did not capsize, but there were some good-sized swells,
and quite a bit of wind.
 
I am sad to report, though, that I lost half of my cartop carrier on the way home.
Yes, I had tie-down failure.
So, I need more foam!
Sounds like a good excuse to go to the watersports store to me.
 
{26 October 2013}

Sunday, October 27, 2013

San Antone

In which I travel to Texas
To see:

 A giant earth pimple
(aka Enchanted Rock)
And two of my favorite nerds.
(Slightly belated blog thanks for your hospitality!)
 
{December 2012}

Friday, October 25, 2013

Cousins!



Sometimes it feels like we never see
each other anymore. But we got to last winter.
 
It helps that some of them have moved
from warmer climes back to the Midwest.
 
And that others of them
have plane tickets, will travel.
 
It IS fun to get together
with family.
 
Yay, BC&J. (And SMA, too!)
 
This time: in Minneapolis.
 
{December 2012}


Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Cardmaker



Once in a great while,
a stamp set tickles my fancy.
And a whole set of cards gets made with it.
Very soon now
I will be hoping that inspiration sets in again.
{November 2012}

Monday, October 21, 2013

Boys will be Boys

My nephews.
They're entertaining.
At least to me!

At least they read their Bibles!
Fighting blind

Playing nice

TA DA!!!
(I love the fake super-excited faces.)

Yep. They're definitly boys.
{November 2012}


Saturday, October 19, 2013

Me Again

I'm BAAACK!
Yep, talking to friends about blogging
AND
going through old pix
has got me inspired to blog again.
{October 2013}