Signs of Life in the Garden

One of our 5 peonies finally bloomed last week. It has about 4 more buds that will bloom. So I will not give up on our garden yet!

Here is an update of my belly at 27 weeks.

One Baby Blanket Down...One to go!

This is Baby G's argyle blanket I crocheted. The argyle was D's idea. It was a pain in the butt to make with all the color switching, but I really looks good. The pattern is from the book, Candy Crochet, by Candi Jensen. I'm just not into the typical "baby colors" i.e. pastels, so I took D's suggestion and used red, gray and cream. It won't quite go with the baby's room, which we are going for sage and chocolate brown, but I really like it anyway.

The second one that I am working on now is the "Solas Caomh" from the Spring '09 Interweave Crochet magazine. I will post pictures when this one is finished.

Home-Grown

So I forgot to mention in my last post that D made some barleywine before the holidays.



I think in summer, D is going to make a belgian-style beer. And now that we have a backyard, we are going to be growing veggies this year. D has already planted his hops. We are also planning to have a row of peonies along our adobe wall. I am happy that we are still in the same Zone as we were in the midwest, so all the same plants grow here. Here are a few pics of our back yard. We have the raised bed where I planted wildflowers...mexican hats and cone flowers.


We have this huge wisteria that needs to be tamed more and in front of that fence will be our vegetable garden.

I have already planted two of my roses and my irises that I transplanted from NH.
It's sort of a dirt patch (that becomes a mud patch when it rains and snows, but fortunately that doesn't happen too often). Dan would like to put some flagstone down, so we will see if our landlord will let us do that for reduced rent this summer.

My Growing Belly

I have not posted in awhile and a lot has happened. Well not much has happened, but what has happened is big...

I am pregnant!! I actually found out on Christmas Day, but didn't really tell anyone until I was 12 weeks along.

In honor of my friend, S, I am taking pictures of my belly as it expands. The most recent photo D took of me is at 15 weeks, this one is at 13 weeks...

I am now 18 weeks, so I guess I need to take a new photo soon!! I am actually starting to feel movement. Although it just sort of feels like twinges in my stomach right now. In two weeks (on my 30th birthday) I will get an ultra sound to find out the sex of the baby. I am very excited for that appointment. Once I know the sex, I can start on an afghan for the baby and register. I have already made a teddy bear...although he looks a wee bit grumpy...
We also moved in March to accommodate our new addition. We found a small house just around the corner from our old apartment for the same amount of rent!! It actually has a fenced in yard for the dog too. Speaking of the dog, she now has a bum leg. Well, she has a disc problem in her spine that is basically blocking the feeling she has in her back left leg. She tends to fall down a lot and she drags her "turkey leg" as we call it. She is on meds right now to see if it helps her. We'll see. It helps that our house is just one level, so she has no stairs to climb (or stairs for Dan to carry her up and down). Btw, she will be 12 in May. I think she looks pretty good. This is her in the last big snow we got here.
Turk is doing fine too. He has two little kitty girlfriends that live next door that he pines after through the window.


Next weekend we will have our crib and dresser and so the baby's room will start coming together.

I'll be posting more pictures soon...baby, belly, room, etc.

New Blog

Check out my new blog. I start posting mid-January!!

Cabby Hat

So I started this hat for D when we first moved and I was unemployed. The pattern is from Son of Stitch N' Bitch, called "Lidsville." But I never finished it because I had to buy plastic canvas for the hat brim. So about a week before Christmas, I finally bought some and finished the hat. It is about 10 difference pieces that you have to stitch together. I think it came out really well. D thinks his brother would really like one, so that may be his birthday gift this year. We shall see.


Turk also got a hand-made gift for Christmas...a catnip gingerbread man. The Lion Brand pattern is supposed to be a Christmas Tree Ornament, but I liked him better as a cat toy. He seems to like it. Although catnip seems to have no effect on my cat. He just kind of stares off into space like he's stoned for about 2 minutes. He may just have a high tolerance....

In other exciting news, we have friends moving to Santa Fe in mid-January! R & C are moving here from Arizona! R and D went to grad school together and we used to hang out a lot when we all lived in St. Louis. R & C got married exactly one year before D and I did and they now have two adorable children. R got a new job here and we are so happy to be able to spend time with them more!! Here's to more backyard barbecues in 2009!

More news...I am going to be in my friend, S's, wedding! She called me on New Year's Eve to ask me if I would be a bridesmaid. I am very excited!! She is marrying D's best friend. So we will both be in the wedding. It's going to be on New Year's Eve this year, so that should be a really great time, plus my in-laws will also be at the wedding, so we will be able to see them during the 2009 holidays.

The Days of Unemployment Come to a Close

So I start my new job here in NM on Monday. WOO HOO! I'm very excited about this opportunity. It is something that I have been wanting to do for about a year now, so hopefully I will not be disappointed. I also hope that I will be working with cool people my age....

In the time that I have been "off" I have read A LOT!! I am now into the Twilight series. Which I new I would get sucked into (no pun intended--it's a vampire thing). I have also been crocheting, of course. I finished another sweater last week. I really like it. It is sort of frumpy, but yet has a trendy cut to it. I really like it and the husband thinks I should make more in different colors. We'll see.I also am going to attempt to create (or recreate) my own pattern. I saw this wrap in a store in Taos and I think I can crochet a similar version. I need to start sketching how I want it to look with dimensions and details. I think I am going to get some cashmere yarn for it, so it won't be cheap. I am going to buy the yarn, once I start getting paychecks!