May Wrap Up

I can not believe May is over and Summer is here. This month I added 2 plants to my front yard. We lost 4 plants this winter that never recovered. The plant pictured above is a Bougainvillea “Bush Royal Purple”.

I planted it next to our front porch hoping it will grow up the posts and cascade over with a ton of flowers some day. This plant demands my attention when I look out my front windows. I love it, and love to see a punch of color.

This is a Pindo Palm I also planted this month. We usually vacation in tropical places. Palm Trees to me feel like I am on vacation. I have wanted to have one of my own for awhile now. I think it will do great in my climate for the majority of the year. I just might need to give it a little TLC in the winter if our temperatures drop to low, by maybe covering it up the first few years.

Hexagon Blanket
I wasted no time starting a new project. I have been looking at all the Hexagon blankets online on Ravelry & Flickr and had wanted to start my own for some time now. I finally purchased some yarn on sale at WEBS hopefully enough to complete a blanket. It is Encore Plymouth Worsted Yarn in colors: #0180 rose, #0235 aquamarine, #0029 pastel pink, #0793 pastel blue, #0896 pastel yellow, #1606 purple.

Here is one of the many inspiration blankets. This one is by Maxine over at Tiny White Daisies. I plan to make mine similar to hers. I will be using a cream color yarn forming the outside of the hexagons joining all the center flowers together. The pattern I am using is free and you can find it on Ravelry HERE and also HERE.

The Summer of Sewing
This summer I am planning to spend plenty of time with fabric and my sewing machine. My machine has been packed up since the move last October. Hopefully it will not hold any grudges. I have purchased the fabric above for a little Patriotic project to kick off my summer of sewing. More details to come.

Movies
Last weekend we took Chloe to see Kung Fu Panda II. We went to the 2D showing not wanting to deal with the glasses. We wanted to see how Chloe would do at the theater. There is a Winnie the Pooh movie coming out this summer I want to take her to so we thought we would practice with Kung Fu Panda. Chris and I had bets going as to how long we would be able to stay. I said 20 minutes. We were both wrong and she was able to sit thru the whole hour and a half and we even sat a little thru the credits while people were leaving. Some of the things that helped was we got there when the previews had already started so there was no wasted time sitting around. Also we sat near the front so the screan was literally in your face with little other distractions. Also there was booster seats available at the theater to use. The only thing she needs to work on is her whisper. Through out the movie she would say Mommy look or Mommy Panda, loud enough for many people to hear. Luckily there was lots of children in the theater and many kids talking. Overall a big thumbs up and all three of us had a good time enjoying a movie together. We are looking forward to the Winnie the pooh movie due out later this Summer.

I will leave you with some photos of Chloe taken in May. She let me put her hair up this past weekend. It lasted about 15 minutes.

Little Patchwork Blanket

I completed Chloe’s Little Patchwork Blanket. The inspiration behind this blanket is from Lucy at Attic 24, her Zig-Zag Baby blanket. I thought it was brilliant to put the little squares together on the diagonal. Here is how the project came together.

I used Baby bee Hushabye yarn in all solid colors. Top row across colors are Baby Sage #82, Sugar Plum #60, Meema’s Blue #39, Middle Row: Boo Pink #40, Naked #11, Pink a Boo #36. Bottom Row: Baby’s Blue #50, Chocolate #80, Mint Charm #26. I used one skein of each to complete the project.

I started with making little granny squares. I liked how easy and portable it was making the little squares. It was amazing how fast you can turn out a bunch of squares. I would make them in the evening while watching TV or if I had a moment during the day while Chloe took a nap. I think it came out to 150 squares and 35 half squares to complete the blanket.

Then I sewed the blocks together into zigzag strips. Then I added half triangles onto the ends and top border to make the blanket square.

Then I sewed all the strips together into a blanket. I used the cream colored yarn when sewing all the blocks together and also for the half blocks on the top and bottom border strips.

I added a single crochet border that I went around several times with varies colors from the blanket.

Tada! It fits perfectly on Chloe’s toddler bed.

Chloe is admiring her new blanket. She is learning her colors and this blanket has lots to practice with.

The Little Patchwork blanket is a perfect size for Chloe to drag around the house and play with. I love how it turned out and am so glad I made it with yarn that I can throw into the washing machine when I need to. I love how this blanket turned out and am excited to start my next project.

Last Oprah Show

I have been watching The Oprah Show since I was 14 years old. I do not know where to begin to thank her for the knowledge I have learned from watching the show. I have laughed and cried. I have read a ton of books, and watched a bunch of movies all that I saw first on her show. I have loved all the celebrity appearances and that Oprah always asks them the questions we want to know the answers to. The list goes on and on for all the things we have shared together tuned into her show at 4:00. On Wednesday the 25th of May 2011 I will be in front of the television with a box of tissues and watching the last ever Oprah show. Can’t wait to see what she does next.

Weekend in Southern Oregon

We spent last weekend in Southern Oregon. Chris’s Grandfather was having his 90th birthday party that Saturday. So we flu out on Friday and came back on Monday. The whole flying business to get to Southern Oregon and to get back home was a torturous experience with a 2 year old. The two days that we spent there were wonderful and well worth all the trouble. We stayed at the WeAskU Inn that is in Grants Pass, Oregon. This is our second time staying there and is a real treat. We stayed in one of the cabins that the back porch overlooks the Rogue River. This is a photo taken in our cabin. You can kind of see the sitting area with a lovely fireplace and plenty of room for Chloe’s pack-n-play and room for her to run around.

The first morning we met up with Chris’s Dad and step Mom, Chloe's grandparents, at the Tap Rock Northwest grill. The restaurant was great and we had a beautiful view while enjoying a leisure breakfast. After eating we went outside and walked along the property that was against the river. We had a wonderful visit with them and Chloe was also able to meet one of her cousins close to her age.

The birthday party was that afternoon and Chloe was able to meet her great grandpa for the first time. We had not seen him in several years so it was nice to get a chance to visit with him. It was great to hear stories of Chris’s grandpa from his friends and family.

The next morning we met up with Chloe’s Grandmas in Jacksonville Oregon. We walked over to the GoodBean Coffee Company and hung out for awhile while I drank a Chai Latte. I stopped in a quilt shop named Country Quilts. I came out with this quilt pattern titled “Shell We Dance?” by Java House Quilts. I love turtles so there was little chance of me seeing this and not bringing it home with me.

We then went to the Jacksonville Inn for their Sunday brunch. The food was excellent and the service was even better. Overall we had a wonderful time and it was great to be able to spend time with Chris’s family. I will leave you with some more photos I took on the trip.

Crab Sandbox

We set up a little sandbox for Chloe to play in on the back porch. It took me awhile to decide on which one to get. Overall the best reviews where of this crab sandbox. It is perfect size for her to play in with a bunch of digging tools and pails. It comes with a lid to help keep the weather and unwanted critters from getting into it. The best part is I am able to sit on the back porch with her and squeeze in reading a magazine while we both enjoy being outside. Digging in the sand is now one of her favorite activities and Chloe affectionately refers to the sand box as “Crabbie”.

Mother's Day 2011

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there. Chris took Chloe out this morning and she came back with this beautiful bouquet for me. It was the sweetest thing. Chris opened the door and whispered to her to bring the flowers to Mommy. She came in the house by her self holding the large bouquet and once she found me she smiled and said “Mommies flowers” and handed them to me. The sun flowers in the bouquet are exactly what I needed, hints of summer just around the corner.

Today was all ready perfect receiving the flowers but we continued on and took Chloe to the local zoo. Here she is feeding the ducks. This time she knew what to do with the handful of food and tossed it into the water one piece at a time and laughed as the ducks raced for it. We ended the day with a stop for some ice cream for a very sweet ending to a perfect Mother’s Day.

Here is one of my favorite photos taken at the zoo. Turtles in a row laying out in the sun.

Tummy Bug

Poor Chloe has a tummy bug. She caught it at her daycare. I was told yesterday that it was going around. This is news I would have liked to have heard earlier in the week. Since Chloe just goes a few days a week and only for socializing with other kids I could have kept her home. Oh well what can you do? At least her immune system is building up to be mighty strong. We have been washing lots of laundry including her favorite stuffed cat and bear pillow. She is now eating some dry cereal, a bit of applesauce and some water. My fingers are crossed that this will stay down. Overall her mood is good and she does not have a fever today, so hopefully the worse is over.

Happy Cinco De Mayo to everyone. I will be making beef tacos with margaritas tonight for hubby and I. We are not ones to pass up any celebration that includes Mexican food.