A few pictures of the family

I recently had pictures taken of the family.. The last time pictures were taken of the whole family was 10 years ago.. or so. Picture taking can be a chore with my guys, but I found an amazing photographer.. Look at these amazing shots...

The whole family.

Dad and the boys.. great shot!

Mom and the boys.. You know.. what we really look like all the time.

Sam, at nearly 14, and looking so much more like a man than a boy. (sniff, sniff)

And Ben, so sweet and glorious. His face already manly.

And finally a picture of the boys at their best...

Back from Never, Never Blog Land

It's not that I don't love you all... it's not that I haven't thought of you since September, and the felling of the tree, and I probably could have jumped on the computer in the last (gulp) 3 months, but I had serious training for a new position at work (I LOVE IT!) and of course the everyday, everything that comes with motherhood, a crazy attempt to learn the violin, keeping my sanity with knitting, and a full time job. The housework is still on the back burner.. screw it. You know I keep wanting to start a new years resolution of getting an organized life.. work, coming home to be the homework Nazi, spending 30 minutes (several hours would be better) cleaning house, getting dinner started, practicing the violin for 40 minutes to an hour daily, finishing the dishes, getting the kids ready for bed, getting to bed at a decent hour and getting up refreshed and feeling in control of my life. Go ahead.. laugh at my pipe dream. I do.. I cannot tell you how much I admire the women I know that do this.. I know them, I marvel at them. The more years I go through, the more I am willing to concede that this is just not possible for me.. I am a true Aquarian, I am an artist who gets lost for hours in one project.. I start to feel my fingers hurt when playing the violin and realize I've been at it for 2 hours. Ahh Well.. I'll likely try again this year. I'm stubborn.

In the mean time, I thought I'd show you the newest projects that I've finished...

This is this year's cardigan.. Aran, Peruvian Wool.. very warm, and it took forever..

I really love it. It gets a lot of attention and I'm

okay with that.. After this I need some instant gratification projects. This is really a trend for me. I think I buy most of my sock yarn stash during the few weeks after a big project is done.

Now the little grey sweater is a new baby sweater.. no pattern, I just know how to do a sweater, in the round and cut down the middle now.. I have gained a great deal of satisfaction from that. And those of you out there with new little grandchildren.. I know you will love this little cardigan.. I think it's about a 6 month size.

The inside is lined it with a little black velvet ribbon.. Classic.

Last.. not least, I made some hats for my nieces Kaelie and Callie (identical twins.. different likes.. love those girls) and for Ben who did not want to be left out of the fun.. the knitting was not a big deal, but they all picked out the colors, and we dyed the wool. I was pleased with their choices.. Ben is the blue and red striped. Kaelie wanted the blues, and Callie the greens,browns, and golds.

I will say that I tried to get every comment next to the individual pictures, but the blog gods are angry with my absence so..

Now, let's see if I can be better this time. I have just had some pictures done of the whole family and I hope to do a post that has some of the photos.. they are magnificent.. really, really good. I won't say tomorrow.. but let us say soon..

The end of the tree

This is mostly a picture moment.. so I'm going to show the moment to you in pictures.. however I must say that the men who did this job today were amazing. They were very skilled and smiled and worked together well. They arrived at 8:30ish in the am and were done right after 11:00 am. I miss my tree, and yes Pam, I cried. On the other hand the amount of light that is in my house is exponentially greater, there is sky behind my house. I will be sending these pictures off to Northwest Tree service.. I have even more really good pictures and I think that they would like them. They certainly deserve them. Quite a morning...

Stitch Markers.. and the Joy they bring.

Joan just sent me her stitch markers that she made.. beautiful!


Now apparently the all purple/pink were made by her sister in law and are really pretty.. they are light, they are set with earring hoop thingies (technical knitting term for you muggles out there) which I really like because you can open them up and put them on your knitting at anytime, without knitting around until you are at the perfect point in the round.








Joan's are made with glass beads (I'm drooling all over the things!) they are heavier, but not too heavy at all.. I really like the weight of them. Joan used the lobster claw doohickeys, (another technical term, you're learning all kinds of things today!)
Joan's are the ones on the left hand side. Her sister in law's markers are on the right.(I never actually got her name with this so, I'm sorry Joan's sister in law, I would give credit if I could!)

Both of these markers are wonderful and serviceable.. I kinda want to combine them though.. I want the earring hoop thingies combined with the glass beads that Joan has done here, because I find that I cannot use Joan's markers over a 6 needle.. and I'm going to want to use these all of the time! The hoop thingy can be used up to a 10.5 needle. I tell ya.. Joan's markers are now my permanent Sock markers.. and I will be using the not yet named sister in laws markers for those sleeves for my sweater (they are on a size 10 needle.. )

Can you see the little pink and green beads on the left... this is so delicate in real life.. I'm really sorry that photography is not my medium today...


Thank you, thank you, thank you ladies.. there is nothing so cool to me than getting new tools for your obsession. Especially handmade tools that I did not have to
a. make
b. buy
I love them both!

Sweet Gum Rollercoaster..

Well the end of the tree thingy is that she has to come down. BLAH!

Two other experts said that the joinings are weak on this sort of tree and that the limbs are just going to keep coming down. You see the tree is really, really big.

This is a picture from the front of my little house.. the tree in the back, in the middle.. that's the one in the back yard.

This next one shows how much of the back yard is covered in tree. And our neighbor's roof is right on the other side of the play structure. So two houses and 7 (soon to be eight) children and 3 dogs and 3 cats at risk here.. Not counting the adults.

But she is so beautiful, and her colors in the fall are second to none in all of the neighborhood. We won't get pictures of this, as we will be taking her down as soon as the tree crew can fit us in. Right now the kids have been told the back yard is off limits, and that is just sad. I may have to spend some time in my swing, just to say goodbye (Lord help me, that just brought tears to my eyes. It really did.) I told the boys that we will build something to hold the swing (I need it man!) until the new tree that we plant gets big enough for it. We won't be able to plant until next spring at least, as the crew won't grind the stump until then.

I don't even know how to end this post. I am not really torn about this. It has to come down, we are so lucky that no one has been hurt.

However, it feels a lot like "Your arm has to come off.. that or you die" and that is just not news anyone wants to deal with. I'm wondering if I will have phantom pains for my tree.

Pictures. and tree update...

So I thought I'd update again.. got a few pictures for you.. (and I really hate pictures of myself so I'm biting the bullet to post these.. vain as I am. )

Here is me trying not to scratch with my bow.. see me biting my lip?

Then there are the others in my household that are happy with my new passion...

Me in my newest finished sweater.. cotton, summer hoodie. (reversible, zipper up the front. ) I've been living in it.

Here is the newest sweater I'm working on.. a lace aran. Hard to see I know, but I'm really pleased so far.

Here are the very start of the sleeves, two at a time on cable needles. And clearly lacking really cool stitch markers to keep track of my increase place.

As for the tree news, we had an expert out today and they said that this tree can be saved.. that even it we cut it all off at the point of the break, our tree would grow back.. 6 feet in one year! By the end of next week, we will have this done! I cannot have another winter of wind, rain and worry. I do not want limbs falling on our children. We will be getting a couple of different bids and opinions, whether to lop it off at the break or trim it back drastically but keep some of the height. (I kind of like that idea) But we get to keep the tree!!!

Stormy Weather..

Big storm last night.. Big! Lots of rain, (nothing new for us.. this is Oregon.) but at about 7:45 PM (ish) there was a loud CRACK! and lo! a big branch from my swingin' tree fell into our house and shed.









That is right on top of John and I's bedroom window. No broken window, no roof damage! Yeah! No children outside in the swing (although Sam was swinging in it an hour before) no animals underneath the limb.







Look at that! One of the main limbs off of my beautiful Sweet Gum.












The gutter is the only real casualty and we will have to replace that soon (this weekend) .. remember, this is Oregon, one does not go without gutters.










This is what is left of my tree.. I'm nervous, we have to have someone come out and let us know if the tree itself must come down. I would be a sad, sad, sad lady if it does, but I will not risk house, or most especially life for the love of my tree..

The real problem .. I have a young teenager who has gone decidedly panicked over the possibility of losing a mainstay of his life.. he doesn't even know that the tree may have to come down yet. I do not want to tell him. I don't even want to tell myself.

A not so quick update...

Yep.. Still here.

Just wanted to let you all know. I've been stinking busy with all four kids almost daily, and of course there is work nearly everyday. (this does not include the housework, just leaving to get paid to do a job outside of home)

The summer has flown by though and there have been great changes.

The first big one you know, I started playing the violin. That is going to be a constant in my life from now on. I cannot believe that I did not do this earlier, what I have been missing! For those of you who do not know me well, I'll let you in on a little secret.. I sing. I sing a lot, and if I say so myself, I sing really well. I have been doing this all of my life. I was singing harmony to my mother when I was 2-3 years old (her story, not mine) When I was 10 I started playing the guitar. This was the 70's and I really just learned cords to accompany my singing. I never learned to play individual notes.. or to "pick" if you will. I sang in College.. Opera if you can believe it. I've sang in Churches all my life. The point here is that music is a constant for me, a never ending, everyday, background, flowing constant. AND I COMPLETELY STOPPED LEARNING NEW THINGS ABOUT MUSIC! DUH!

This is really the first time I have ever had to learn to read music.. before, I hear it once, maybe twice, I sing it. No problem, and I usually never forget it...Now, I have to learn what these notes mean, and how my fingers need to move to produce these sounds. Boy, do I have some clunkers in me! I also have some soaring, heart expanding sounds that come out.

I'm finding that my fingers are trying to find the notes on the fret when I am at the grocery store (Mom told me I did the same thing when learning the guitar.. I'm sure I did)

I'm listening to Bluegrass, and Celtic fiddling. Lots of Nickelcreek, but also Bond.. amazing talents, stuff to aspire to. Of course while I'm screwing up my scales I lament that I will never be there. (Thank God that John reminds me that this is a long term project and that I've only been doing this for 12 weeks.)

The point is that I ignored a huge part of who I am as a person for a very long time because I was too busy, or too whatever excuse there is, and I suffered for it. I was not nearly as happy as I am now. It seems the silliest little thing, but really, even if every note I play that day is just crap, I still walk away feeling heart-full. I walk away singing, my head full of music..

Don't worry.. knitting is still one of my babies.. I finished a summer sweater (what I call my Jedi sweater) and I am working on my new winter sweater (cable and lace... really nice aran!) and I have another winter sweater that I will do immediately after the cable and lace. It's a hoodie, a lovely green elfin "Lord of the rings" hoodie that I must, MUST have.

Oregonians need hoodies, because we never carry umbrellas... actually that's how we know that you're a tourist, you're carrying an umbrella.. really. I mean it.

I'll try to post pictures of the new sweaters tomorrow, or Sunday.

Also, I just got a new position at work that I am very excited about, I start training for this in October. I won't really get into it, but this is all new stuff to our site and I get to be one of the first 15 to learn it. I am, frankly, deeply honored that I am among the first, and it is a huge blessing to be growing and learning new things at work too.

Now to the children.. School starts again this next week for us, and Ben will be in the 4th grade, and is kinda ready to get back. I am really excited about getting him started on a musical instrument this year. Of the two boys, Ben is the one that walks around singing, interested in what I do on the violin, unconsciously singing the scales after I've played them. Yep, it's time to let him explore what instrument calls to him.

Sam is happily ready for school to start, he is ready for the structure (we run an Aquarian, artsy, fartsy household, I'm sorry to say) he is ready to be back with his friends and doing new things.. I will be talking to his teacher about the possibility of keyboarding for him (they have one in the classroom, and he has expressed an interest)

The girls are home schooled, but I know that they will be sent over with homework if their work isn't finished, soooo homework x 4...

I am also still wishing a had a spotless and organized household (snort. Like that will ever happen. See artsy, fartsy above)

If I write more, your brains may explode. I cannot risk your health for my own release.

See what happens when you post once a month... geesh.

Swinging in a tree

You know? I've never grown out of my need for a good swing. Not the dance type, but little kid swinging. Of course this is really hard to do on a little kid swing set, and even when we upgraded to the really cool wooden structure with swings, (that I help build, thankyouverymuch) I wasn't able to really swing the freeing good swing I crave.


My husband, John, he really loves me.


A lot.


So several years ago we bought a hammock swing and my loving husband installed it into our sweet gum maple tree.


I LOVE my swing, but of course, it became absolutely everyone's favorite swing.. I have seen several kids on that swing at the same time. Finding time to go to my swing is really hard, but I try to get out in the back yard when I can.

My swing's looking a little worse for wear. My garden is a box full of weeds, my house is not perfectly clean,(not even close) and frankly, although my laundry was done to the last stitch of dirty clothes Saturday, there is now at least 5 more loads to do.

But oh! Just a few minutes of time under that tree!

Lookie, Look! See what I see when I swing under my tree! (wish the photography was better, but I think you get the idea!)

A trip back east.

A trip back to Eastern Oregon, that is.. that's a good eight hours east traveling in a car with the whole family and a dog... really, that's east enough for me. This time the whole family got to go out and see Grandpa and Grandma, and it was much warmer! See this is what Dad's place looks like in the summer..

















The high desert is a beautiful place. In the bottom picture are the foothills of the Blue Mountains.. just without the snow this time. Dad and the boys spent some time four wheeling. The boys are just starting to learn how, and neither one of them will be doing it alone, Sam from over cautiousness, Ben because, (as my father said) he has no sense of danger.... (this is so true, not only would he not be afraid of a dragon in his path, he would absently pat it's head as he walked past it and comment on it's lovely coloring.) Not because he has no fear, but because he would not realize there is anything to fear. (Mother sighs deeply, shakes her head and mutters "Bloody Wolverine.")
Ben was Dad's shadow while he was out there, anywhere in the desert Dad was going, Ben was tagging along. If it was outside, and with Grandpa, he was there. They both loved it, but it tired them both, we got home Wednesday, and Ben spent the day needing "alone time". I think that he would live out there full time if he had the chance.
Sam was happy to see everyone, but was not at home. If the whole world could just come to him, in his own space, he would be pretty comfortable to visit. In this Sam and Grandpa are just alike. This is why we go to visit Grandpa, and not the other way around.... Sam loved seeing everyone, but was very ready to get home to his own room and his own routine. He handled being away from everything much better than he used to. He does, happily, go through the uncomfortable sensation of being away from home to see Grandpa and Grandma, he loves and misses them.



Here are Grandpa and the boys. Grandma had gone to work before I pulled out my camera, otherwise I'd have Marcie right there with them.

Here is Grandpa, the boys and Mr. Meta. (that would be short for Metamorphosis, Dad's sense of humor is as warped as my own.) That tortoise is 45 years old, and just in the prime of his life. He is a favorite attraction for anyone that visits Dad.

Lastly, here is a picture of myself and Dad. My heart always aches when I leave. It doesn't matter how long I get to visit, or how pleasant it's been (and it was lovely) it's never enough time.