And here's HK's cat Neko, enjoying the new patio furniture we bought a few days ago. The weather has been so nice, we have been eating dinner out on the deck pretty much every night. I love our backyard. It was one of the major reasons we really wanted this house. It was even worth the icky traffic driving up and down our street all the time.
And what was for dinner tonight? Sushi, of course. And gyoza (the potsticker kind), but no photo. That was our second course.
Just a wee bit more love of my home in the spring.
And the love of a good camera, too. It almost looks Photoshopped, but really all I did was resize for posting.
It snowed off and on all day, but nothing stuck. I am glad, because if the kids have any more snow days this school year, they won't have summer vacation until August. Since it was cold and blustery, Nathan started up a fire in the fireplace. The kids decided to roast mini marshmallows on teeny sticks. They managed to do this without burning off their fingers, so I was impressed.
I folded laundry. I am still not done, but you can see my sofa again, so that is a nice change. It was fun to watch Nathan and the kids hang out by the fire and have fun. I have to go to work in the morning, so I should probably get to bed. I still have more laundry to get dried before tomorrow.
I cleaned out my hall closet. It was making me nuts. I didn't think to take a before photo, but just picture it piled high with shoes, boots, backpacks, toys, school papers and pool float toys. And underneath that crap was a pile of dirt.
So I pulled everything out into the hall, sorted through it and went to Target to buy a shoe organizer and shelf to put the shoes and bags in. You can't see it, but the closet is more than twice as wide as what you can see in the photo. There is a 31" shelf to the right of the shoe organizer.
And I ordered a new vacuum from Costco the other day. Nathan didn't argue. I think he was sick of hearing me yelling at the old vacuum cleaner after every 4 square feet of floor I cleaned. I would have to dismantle it and pull out all the crud. The hose got crushed in the move, and the thing hasn't been the same. The dog also chewed through the cord and it had to be patched back together.
I cleaned the kitchen today too. Swept, mopped, dishes, and all kinds of other stuff. And it's still not completely done. *sigh*
Now I just have about 15 loads of laundry to wash and fold. Well, about 8 are just in need of folding and putting away. Seriously. We have that much laundry backed up and in the living room. I can't stand it any longer. But I am seriously tired.
Lexa decided we had to have it when she saw it on display at Target. Well, she actually saw the full sized version at McDonald's and was enthralled. When she saw this pocket size, she insisted that we buy it. So this year, we have a very small, fake Christmas tree.
It even came with a nifty tag stuck to it. It has unfortunately been lost, but it said something like "The plastic used in this tree contains lead. Please wash hands after touching."
And the other tag on it? "Made in China". I guess since it's not a child's toy or food product, it is still legal for them to ship poisonous junk to us. I really must do my best to avoid made in China products. It's hard, though. This country has consumerized its way into not producing a damn thing for itself any longer. Just wait - it's going to seriously bite us in the ass. And how will we respond? By buying everything made in Mexico, of course!
And people wonder why I feel the need to spin and knit my own yarn. Sheesh.
It's November, and the rain storms have arrived right on schedule. With any luck, this year we won't have wind so bad we lost power for days or weeks on end. I woke up this morning to the red and gold leaves littering the streets. It was really pretty, though - like someone had a party and threw confetti all over. On the way back from church, I saw so many people in m neighborhood looking dismayed nad furiously cleaning up all the leaves that had been thrown all over.
It looks like the crows ate all the berries off the ash tree, and it is turning brown from yellow and orange. I guess it decided to skip turning red completely. My yard is getting out of control. Even Momigi is looking a bit unkempt. She needs a trim, but she is still beautiful.
I think Fall has to be my favorite time of year.
Wow, so one of my Plurk buddies prompted me to sign up for NaNoBloMo. What was I thinking? Normally every year, I see how so many other people sign up and begin their journey toward posting 30 days of interesting stuff.
I am boring.
Again - what was I thinking? Life has sucked for me since September 16. That was when work decided to hit the fan and things blew up all over. I mean, today I spent most of my afternoon sleeping. I am just worn out. What the heck makes me think I can possibly pull this off? Oh yeah. I am stubborn. I'll give it a shot.
But just so this first post isn't a total loss, the trees in my backyard are looking beautiful. I stare at them far too often when I should be working.
Let's start with knitting. I started my I Mog Di socks from my Wollmeise club shipment. They are coming along nicely, when I get the chance to actually work on them. You have to pay attention to the pattern, but it goes faster than I thought it would.
Oooh! I got a great pair of Via Spiga pumps for super cheap on Saturday. The retail was $225.00. I got them for $23.99. I love them!! 
And in other shopping news, I spent a birthday check on some earrings made by my Plurk- buddy Opal. Aren't they lovely? Go buy stuff from her! She's got great jewelry and stitch markers and handspun.
And lastly, I got a bird feeder for my birthday from Anne and Doug. I had been wanting one for some time. I put it on the hook on the deck that I can see from my desk while I work. The jays are hard to get photos of, because they spook much easier than the sparrows and finches.
Well, I hope everyone is having a great week. Mine isn't too bad, though I have been working way too much.
It's my 16th anniversary today.
I just wants to share a photo of the first bloom off this bush. I was wondering what color it would be ever since we moved in. I like purple, lol.
And Nani was cute the other night. We took her for a long walk and she was pooped out. She immediately came in the house for a drink, then went straight to her boy's bed for a nap.
So, the drive-by blog post is at an end. I hope everyone has a great start to the weekend and stays safe.
Well, I got rid of the bronchitis, finally. I've been a bit sad lately. Our kitty, Baby has disappeared. He's been gone for about 3 weeks now. I have been reading about bear sightings by families on our block. In this area, vets are reporting a large increase of dog and cat deaths due to raccoon attacks. I feel sick over it. I know that he wouldn't have understood or been happy kept as an indoor cat. He was 12, but that didn't seem like near enough time for us.
But the roses are still looking pretty in my yard. Baby loved the new yard.
and if you want to have fun, head over to Plurk. It's been taken over by knitters of the world and become a whole lot of fun, lol!
Last night at 10 I decided I needed to just suck it up and go to the Urgent Care. My breathing was getting worse and I hurt all over from coughing. It seems that I have bronchitis that severely aggrivated my asthma. I wasn't responding to my regular meds. After 10 minutes on a nebulizer, I felt slightly better. I filled my prescription for prednisone and antibiotic-mycin.
I got home. I ate a banana since the doc was worried about my potassium levels because of my frequent albuterol use. I ate German chocolate cake. I went to bed. I woke up. I still felt like poo.
So today I managed to get through one more work day - barely. I needed to remind myself that life doesn't totally suck, so I decided to go look at my flowers in the yard. The hydrangeas looked especially lovely.
And up close we see:
Even the simple little daisies were looking rather beautiful.
Mr Midgeling snapped a few photos on his phone of me glaring at him while sucking on the nebulizer. But we won't be looking at those today. Maybe tomorrow if I feel in the mood for a little sellf-mockery. Naptime? Sounds good.
We made it home from CA and OR. After driving through all the wildfire smoke in CA, I feel seriously bad for the people who live there and are forced to deal with the smoke.
Things here are settling down a bit. I have lovely news! Not only will my sister be living here in the Seattle area soon, but my brother Graham has decided to move here as well. My brother Andy lives in Colorado right now, and I don't think he and his fiancee have any plans to move any time soon. I'll have to work on him later, lol.
Last night while admiring our back yard from the deck, we noticed someone who decided to stop by for a salad:
Isn't he gorgeous?
My in-laws are here visiting and checking out our new house. A couple of days ago my MIL Carol gave us the most beautiful housewarming presents.
Here's the first one:
It's a wallhanging done in Japanese print fabrics. I love it. I already plan on hanging it over the fireplace mantle. It is so pretty! And here's the second:
Here's a closeup of the fabrics (also Asian themed):
I really love these quilts.
I am loving our new house. We are so amazed at all the new things that pop up and catch our attention.
