Crocheting during the Olympics

This year I picked a crochet project.  I have wicked newbie skills when it comes to crochet. Basically I know the basic single, double crochet and triple crochet stitches and that's about it.    I picked the "Blossomy" scarf. I decided to really push myself and expand my horizons. 

I haven't learned to read crochet patterns all that well yet so I misinterpreted a few things and didn't look for clarification always and this scarf is uniquely my own.  While I was making the second medallion I worked the last few rows with the wrong size hook.  One that was teeny tiny, like 1.0 m.m.  How I didn't catch that while I was working the project is beyond me.  Thankfully, crochet is forgiving and I was able to bring it back to where I needed it and I started working it with the correct hook again.

I'm very happy with how this turned out.  It's almost a shame that it's still summer and too warm to wear scarfs. I enjoyed the pattern very much. It's well-written and the different stitches are explained.  I can definitely see myself making more of these in the future.  

Pattern: "Blossomy"

Yarn: MadelineTosh in the "Iris" colorway

Hook size: U.S. size G/4 m.m.

I didn't finish this before the closing ceremonies. Life got too busy so the first week I barely touched it.

We have some windows

This weekend hubby went to work on the house.  New windows were installed on the front of the house.  

 I'm in love with that big front window. It's nine feet wide.

Here's a picture with one of the workers, for scale, standing by the window.

All the interior doors have been delivered.  Those need to be hung and stained. Interior painting has started.

Exciting times!

One more thing taken care of

Yesterday I signed my son up for school in the new district.  In that one action I now feel that we have an anchor to the new house and the new community.

The school sounds better in many ways than the old school. You can bring homemade goodies to class.  It's still a Christmas program rather than a Winter program or "Fine Arts Festival." It reminds me of how school was when I was in elementary school.  There is also another student from my son's old school that will be transferring to the new school.  Same grade but will be in a different classroom.

We got a tour of the school and I think my son my son asked more questions than me.  He wanted to know the important stuff like where the music room, art room and gym was.

Next week there is a back to school event where the kids can bring all their stuff in, set up their locker, meet the teacher and see classmates.  It sounds like fun.

Now I get to review the new school supply list and fill in the gaps.

Amazing how quick the summertime went.

A couple before photos

We headed out to the new house tonight for a bit.  My husband took a few photos of the progress so far.

I didn't mention in my last post that the house needs a complete renovation, inside and out.  So far the biggest improvement to the exterior has been the brand new roof.

 Some new exterior doors have been installed too.  Very nice doors.  I'm pretty excited for when the that big front window will be replaced.  If I had been thinking I would have taken a picture of the what you would see out that window.

Here is a shot of the back.  The back hasn't been cleaned up yet.  Next year there will be a big ol' deck on the back.  I already have grand illusions of canning and dyeing fiber and yarn on the back deck. Again, I should have taken photos of the view.

Playing catch up and some news

Quite a few things have happened since my last post.  We got some more rain. Yay!  But it wasn't quite as much as I had wanted but something is better than nothing I say.

The garden is still growing.  The beans are taking off and producing like crazy.

Here is a picture my DH took of me and the pole beans.  I think that if you stretched some of those vines out they would be well over 12 feet long.  My lattice is three feet or so apart.  The vines are reaching out to each other and creating a bit of overhead shade.

Last weekend I harvested the majority of the tomatoes, green and red, and they are currently ripening up on my balcony. I figured this was better than letting them sit on the garden bed.  The fruits are so heavy that the plants were completely weighed down and not doing so well.  While I harvested I pulled up the tomato plants that no longer had fruits.

We have been harvesting the potatoes plant by plant.  Potatoes this fresh are delicious and make fabulous french fries. 

Next thing to start harvesting is the onions.  The few that I've pulled up so far don't seem to be as big as the one's I harvested from last year.  I'm not surprised considering how dry this year has been.

I also have a bit of a secret that I've been holding onto the last couple weeks.

Ready?

Drumroll ...

Well, maybe not *that* dramatic.

I'm buying a house!

DH and I found a great house, out in the country about 45 minutes from where I currently live and about 20 minutes away from my Happy Place.
 
It's on 20 acres and features great big Norway pines and oak trees and some maple trees.  There are a few acres of a really REALLY pretty Jack Pine forest.  

There is something so pretty about this kind of forest.  The moss, how bright the greens are, even the bone structure of the trees.  It's primitive and alive all at once. 

Have I mentioned the blueberries?  We found some blueberry plants.  **squee**

It probably won't be ours until late September.  I'm not going to lie, this new big event in my life has caused me to have a few freakout moments the last few weeks.  I've lived in my current house for 15 years.  It's comfortable there and it's what I'm used to. Now I'm going to have a longer commute, may get snowed in during the winter, and the eventual changing of schools for my son, but most of it has seemed to worked themselves out.

This is something that I've wanted since I was like 18.  However, life took me on a different path and this dream got set aside while I was busy with another house, starting a family and teaching myself homesteading skills at the Happy Place. "Someone" must have decided I was ready for this and dropped this place in front of DH.

So yeah, I'm nervous and excited all at once. :-)