A New Leaf

While still surrounded by boxes, I am finally feeling settled...a welcome feeling! I have a lovely new home, furniture that's only been rearranged once, and I know where *most* my things are. Moving has been a process for sure, but I'm glad to see the end in sight.

We moved in 3 weeks ago, and I really wish I could have blogged during that time. There were so many things that I wanted to put down into words, but of course now it's getting foggy, and I'm not sure I have that kind of time on my hands! We do love our new house. Even Lex is settling in well. We've moved into a community with lots of kids (and dogs) and his new favorite pasttime is guarding the windows from predatory cars and bicycles.

Toby and Lucy are loving the house too, though their favorite game is racing and sliding down the steps. It's a full time job just keeping them from breaking limbs on these stairs. Grrrrr.

Curtis is a couple months into his new job now and everything is good. His new office plans get togethers once in a while, and we're looking forward to a night at the ballfield next month with his coworkers. He is working 5 days a week now, rather than his 4 10 hour days, which I loved. Adjusting to having him gone an extra day a week has been rough, but it has been nice eating breakfast with him in the morning! It just seems that the weekends go by so much faster when there's only two days there!

I am starting to venture out with the kids in search of new adventures. Our new area has a huge park system, and there are tons of free park programs to choose from. On Tuesday we went to a local farm to see the babies (the lambs were adorable!), and there I found the brochure for the park system. So on Thursday we went to a Tike Hike down at Twin Creeks Metropark...I don't think I'd been there before, but it is a lovely park, on a ridge overlooking Germantown. The kids took a guided hike, and Toby and Lucy loved looking for animal tracks, and of course the muddy mudholes (of which there were many given the rain last week on top of melted snow). We saw a meadowlark singing in the field, a Wooly Bear caterpiller, and coyote poop. Toby was beyond thrilled. He can even tell you know how to tell that it's coyote poop. Way to make a mama proud!

I've marked all sorts of events on the calendar, and it's nice to see those empty squares fill up. After all week after week of nothing to do drives me stir crazy! In April there's even a weekend even centered around the sheep shearing...complete with spinners and fleece cleaning and dying...ahhhh, I can't wait!

Toby turned 4 the weekend after we moved into the house. I canNOT believe my boy is 4 already. It seems like so recently that I had him at all, and now to see how much he's grown - it's amazing. He is so excited that he's 4 now, but I suspect most of that is because he knows when he turns 5 he can go to school :) Lucy has decided she no longer needs sleep and it's really driving me up the wall. She's up in the morning before Curtis leaves (she used to sleep until 8) and takes at best a 1 hour nap (I'm used to a 2 hour nap, come ON here!). She's still at an age where I'm sure she needs the nap, but it does seem like her sleep habits are changing. She used to be my good sleeper, I don't know what happened!!!

Let's see, I will at some point post pics of my house, but for now let me give you the rundown. The great room is pretty much done, we just need something for the walls. The kitchen is done, again though, nothing on the walls. I have some odds and ends that need homes sitting around, but most things are taken care of. Laundry room needs shelves before it's done, kids bedrooms are done except for walls, master bedroom needs major help, and craft room has become a dumping place for "We don't know where this goes but we need a spot for it". Lovely, eh?

Anyway, I'm sure I'll keep thinking of things to post about, and try to keep all of you up to date on what's happening around here!

Ciao!

Ravelympics socks!

I will have to add photos after I get my own computer and get internet back, but I have finished my new socks! I am thrilled with them, and my foray into lace socks. They are beautiful, and my favorite pair of socks to date. I used Dream in Color smooshy on them and the yarn is fabulous. I have learned that the base yarn is available for sale, so I'm thinking I may have to look it up to self - dye some!

I have cast on sock 2 of my malabrigo socks - the pattern for these is Easy Going, on size 1 needles. I broke one of my size 0's on the Ravelympics socks, so I will have to find another alternative - long bamboo 0's are not for me!

My mom fell in love with my Moebius Cowl (knit from my handspun alpaca), and I happened to have more of the yarn with me, so I knitted that up for her in the last 2 days - super quick knit, and having done the Moebius cast on once, this time went much easier. The cowl came out gorgeous; I am very proud of it. Mom loves it - it helps keep her warm at work! And there's nothing I love more than knowing my knitting is appreciated!

I bought some Mini Mochi at a Richmond LYS last month (my first purchase moving back to OH), and today started looking at some patterns for it. I'm thinking a Fair Isle hat should be appropriate, given the weather up here! I need a new winter hat anyway, and I found some gorgeous uses of the Mini Mochi colorwork on Ravelry. I think that will be my next project after the Malabrigo socks. While I still need a few more pair of socks to make a full stash (and I have all the yarn here ready to go), I am thinking I need a bit of a break from socks!

Today is the Big Day!

Tonight we will have the keys to our new house in hand! Woohoo! Now I just need to say a prayer that it doesn't snow too much because I do not need the weather cancelling my closing! While I'm at it, it would be nice if we don't get snowed in tonight, because we have a lot of work to do over at the house this weekend!

Right now is the first moment I've had truly to myself in about 4 weeks. I'm used to getting a nice nap time, where even if Toby isn't sleeping, he is at least in his room while Lucy sleeps. But since we've been at Grandma and Grandpa's, I don't want him disturbing Lucy, so his "quiet time" has been hang out with mom time...but mom really needs a break in her day, so it's been driving me rather nuts! But today he was just at it more than usual, so I decided he needed a nap too. It didn't take too terrible long for him to fall asleep, and now the house is quiet.

Of course as I type that, the phone rang, so now I'm just hoping he didn't wake up!!!

We ran over to the house last night to check out the new radon system - it was installed yesterday. The driveway has been neglected since there has been no one there to shovel it, so it is now covered in chunks of ice. I visited my mom at work this morning to buy some rock salt - we're going to lay it on the driveway tonight in hopes it works some magic before tomorrow.

Toby's birthday is next week. I have a hard time believing he will be 4 soon! Of course, I've done nothing about photographs for his 4th birthday. We are having a Backyardigans party at the new house, with Grandpas and Grandmas. I wish I could do it up a little bigger, but there's no way I could invite over many people just a week after moving in! Hamburgers and hot dogs for the grandparents will have to do this year.

Toby's new thing is knock knock jokes. The current one is knock knock...who's there...woo...woohoo?...Don't get so excited, it's just a knock knock joke. LOL. He's a riot when he tells them too.

Curtis is liking his new job. Of course, we've been so busy hammering out details to close on our house, and he's been so busy just in-processing to his new job, that he really hasn't started learning the ropes of the job yet. As we settle in our new house though he will be settling into his new job.

I can't wait to get settled and start decorating. I never really took the time or energy to decorate our NC house, and always regretting not taking the time, so this summer I really want to put some little touches in, to really make it our home. I'm sure IKEA and garage sales/ auctions will be my best friend!

As of Monday, our stuff arrives. I am so excited to see my furniture again! But with that move to the new house, my internet train is ending for the time being. Ack, for someone who never used the internet until my latter high school days, I have become very dependant on it! Once our financial situation settles out a little we'll get it again, but I have to admit living with out the internet will need some adjustment! Isn't it funny how we become so reliant on technology so relatively fast? It will give me more time to decorate, unpack, and knit :) Now living without the DVR, that will be the true challenge :P As parents of young children, we've become completely reliant on that piece of technology!

Well, I'm going to enjoy a little internet surf time while the children take their blessed naps!!!

Moving on

So closing is set for our new house a week from today! Yipee! Now it's just crossing fingers and hoping we have all our ducks lined up so we don't have last minute delays :)

In other good news, we settled a deal with a buyer for our old house! Which means ONE month of double mortgages! That's almost the best we could hope for - we should be closing in mid-April. What a great Easter present that will be!

In the meantime we are living with family in Ohio and suffering the snowstorms. I really did turn southerner fast.

A moving we will go

Life has been busy lately - fear not, gentle crafters, my knitting has not suffered, but my blogging has.

So what has kept me away from the computer, you ask?

Moving halfway across the country, that's what!

In December, my hubby got a new job in Ohio, back where our family lives. So in January we listed our NC house, spent a househunting trip in OH where we found a house and put it under contract, spent enough time in NC to pack up, and moved in temporarily with family in OH.

Where we have since suffered the wrath of 3 snowstorms.

Welcome north.

We are supposed to close next week (fingers crossed!), and should move in the next week then. Yay! We also put our NC house under contract today, so we're hoping all moves smoothly with that.

In more crafterly news, I have been sock knitting like a fiend. Most of my own socks have developed holes, so I've been stocking up on sock yarns and sock patterns, and am now putting them to good use.

The first pair I knitted in Ohio went to my mom, as she was in love with them and they were a tad short for me anyway. The second pair is with my Malabrigo sock, and I love them, but had to put them on hold while I started my Olympic project - Seaweed Socks in Dream in Color Smooshy (another first!). My first toe up socks, and a pretty lace pattern to boot. I finished the first sock this morning and have already cast on the toe of the second. They are named Olympic socks because I'm working on them as I watch the Olympics...I'm participating in the Ravelympics this year (those crafters on Ravelry know what this is!). I'm participating with a great group who all use yarn from the Dizzy Sheep - if you don't know the site, check it out. It's like woot, for knitters and crocheters (and every once in a while for spinners!) - www.dizzysheep.com.

So I'd like to finish up my Malabrigo sock next, but mom borrowed my 100% handspun alpaca moebious cowl a couple days ago and she wants one just like that. And honestly, what higher praise can I get? So I'm pretty excited to be able to knit for someone who values the product :)

I will be without internet in our new house for a bit - that's taking the back burner to several other things (one being closing on our NC house!), but I will update once we have the information superhighway back up and running. In the meantime, I'd like to post pics while I still have internet - so I will get kicking on that project too :)

Knit on friends...knit on :P

Updates Slow and Far Between

Sorry I've been so lax! We have now relocated to clod, snowy Ohio...and are missing warmer weather down south for sure!

We've been here for a week and a half already and have had 2 major snowfalls in that time. I am not a snowbird. That about sums that up.

We are moving along on closing on our house. Right now closing is set for the last week in February, which will be here before we know it! I can't wait to get in :) Everything is looking good so far, so I expect snafus to appear any day now.

Curtis is enjoying his new job.

Well, I thought i'd have a few minutes while the kids watched Diego, but they sensed my inattention and now Lucy is wandering around Grandma and Grandpa's just touching things she's not allowed to mess with. So I will have to leave you with just this short update.

I have taken some pictures of the snow but don't have my own computer to load them to! Ack! This is one of the few times I do with I had the whole jazzed up phone with internet access so I could update my facebook with them, but alas, this is all I have for now.

I will try to check back later.

House Showing 1 Down...

So the house showed yesterday! We haven't heard feedback yet, but we stopped by after a half hour and they were still here - unless they were running late, that's a good sign...at least they didn't go running out the door right after they got here :P I'm hoping we'll hear from our agent today and maybe get some feedback - things to work on, etc. Well heck, if I'm wishing, I might as well wish for an offer! (One can dream, right?)

Lots on the plate today - Curtis's goodbye lunch at work, so the kids and I are heading out in a few.

And a lot of laundry. How does that always sneak up on me?