Moving time is close at hand.

The house is very close to being finished.

 

Both inside and outside.

There is a lot of landscaping yet to do but that can be done while we live there.

And so we are moving on the 15th!  I'm not going to be posting or reading or commenting anywhere until probably quite awhile after that date.  I'll catch you later! 

Bees 'n Lilacs

It took longer than usual but the lilacs are finally blooming.  

Things are a little different this year though.  

In years gone by there have been butterflies, butterflies, butterflies.  But this year I have only seen two.

But!  There are bees!!  Just look at this.  And listen to this.  That is not a lawnmower or a chainsaw in the background but the bees buzzing away.

 

  

Isn't that amazing?

Saturday Sky and a couple other things...

I loved Sandy's Saturday Sky but I don't think to do it often enough.  And today is an especially uninteresting sky.  But I'm still going to show you what we have going on for the next several days.

Grey and rain.

The start of this farming season is horrid.  There was snow everywhere still in early May and now that the snow is gone and the fields are just starting to get ready to plant...this happens.  Uff.

We are SO late.  But the farmers are holding it together.  And we desperately need the rain.  It was so dry last year.  If only it had held off for a few weeks and given everyone a chance...  /sigh

On a brighter note...well, maybe...I'll let you be the judge of that...

It's CMMDI Mega May.  I didn't think I'd have time, patience or the right attitude for knitting but as it turns out I really need that time in the evenings.

But to find the pattern to go with this yarn, (Malabrigo Lace), turned into a "Mega May Effort".

This is the list of patterns I have tried.

1. My Heaven Shawl
2. Rock Island
3. Flower Basket Shawl
4. Dragon's Blood

And the pattern that the yarn finally said "Ok, this is the one." is Citron.  It's the only one that has Malabrigo Lace as the suggested yarn.  Duh.  I should have looked for that first.

 

 

It's looking pretty good and is just what is needed.  Simple knitting with a little counting thrown in for good measure.  The hardest parts are the M1s and that is because of the slippery needles.

 

News about the house building is good.  The siding is going up and is looking good.  The hardwood floor is beautiful with the 1st coat of finish.  The woodwork is mostly up everywhere. 

 

The only thing that made me freak out was the sticker shock from the price of cabinet pulls.  But I pulled myself together, got my p**p in a group, my ducks in a row, my head on straight and lived with it.

 

Have a great weekend! 

 

 

More house pictures

A lot is happening now at the house.  And even since these pictures were taken there has been more.  It is fun, exciting and a little nerve wracking to see all the decisions coming to life.

Fireplace and built in bookcase/entertainment center.  It's made with cherry wood.  This is the Great Room.  The open space under the far left cabinet is where my piano will sit. 

We just love the fireplace.  The stone mason did an unbelievable job.

The kitchen is on the opposite end of the same room as the Great Room.  The back entry is through the door slightly hidden by the cabinets on the mid-right.

Cabinets are also cherry.

This is DH's office.  It currently is being used as a lunch room by the contractor.  The wood is Western Red Cedar. 

Another built in bookcase/entertainment center.  This one is in the den.

The painter has set up shop in the master bedroom for staining and varnishing all the woodwork. 

I love all the windows.  They are facing north which some seem to think is wrong but this way we have a view to the wide open spaces behind the house...

This area is the dinette/kitchen table.  The door goes into the pantry.

Dining Room.  It is storage for bathroom and laundry room cabinetry right now.

Stairs to the basement.

Hardwood floor.  The 1st two coats of finish will be put on it in a week to ten days.  They keep telling us that the appearance will really pop when that is done.

I'll be doing more pictures again soon.  It should be interesting to look back in a few years and see all the info recorded here...

Yup. They said it would happen today.

It's snowing.

 



FOs and randomnesses

Since it's April 22 and we still have substantial snowbanks, I thought I'd photo Henslowe outside. 

The color really isn't correct on any of these pictures but this one is exceptionally dark.

I love everything about this shawl.  Well, excluding the bind off which felt like it took as long to do as the rest of the shawl...

 

 

 

But the bind off is a big part of what makes it so pretty and interesting.

 

 



Also finished is 2nd DGD's Potato Chip Scarf.  It was fun to do because she asked me for it and I was happy to make it.  And she said it is "bootiful"!

On the weather front, this is our backyard.  Yes.  Still with the snow everywhere.  Snow forecast for Wednesday.  But!  Temps in the 50s and 60s by the weekend.  WooHoo!!

We had so much fun at our anniversary party a week ago.  I'll post about that when it's closer to the real date...

Tag! You're It!

Karen tagged me today.  I'm sposed to tell 5 things about myself.  So here goes...

1. I've been trying to lose weight since December.  I lost 11 lbs. and gained 2 back.  Uff.
2. I'm itching to knit some lace but I've got 1 3/4 pairs of stranded mittens to knit.  Well those and various other UFOs.  Uff.
3. I'm so waiting for spring.  We still have too much snow.  Even the fields have lots of snow on them.  And there is a 90% chance of more snow this weekend.  Uff.
4. On a brighter note, May 5th is DH and my 40th wedding anniversary and this weekend we are meeting all our kids in MN for a little celebration.  WooHoo!
5. The decisions for the house are finally starting to wind down.  The hardwood is installed.  The tiles are being ordered tomorrow.  We've gotta decide on door knobs and cabinet hardware but when that is done there can't be too many more decisions to make.  Amen to that.  My decider is almost worn out!

Happy Thursday!