It's Spring, so that means it is time for . . .

. . . millions of things to be happening at the same time.  Planting the garden, fresh kittens, a new baby calf, and pretty things blossoming outdoors.

  Molly's kittens!

Little Donald born on May 8th!

Donald and his momma, Bessie.

Flowering crab tree at one of the local parks!

It is officially tick season around here--I don't know that I really need to announce it far and wide and even if I did, I am sure there is someone far more important that actually knows when tick season really is or if there is an official tick season around here.  Friday and Saturday there were ticks abounding out in the pasture where Dan was working on a new fence line.  I was only out there briefly those days, but both days I had 3 on me.  Sunday ticks at the park where we went for a picnic in the afternoon and Monday I weeded through the weed patches right by the house (otherwise known as my flower beds) and ended up with two ticks crawling on me.

Aren't you happy that I spared you pictures of those?  I've been feeling all creepy crawly since then!

Coming Home!

The children should be coming home tonight or tomorrow morning!  My friend's wife and her sister on on there way or already in FL now to pick up their kids whenever they arrive.  I believe that 114 children from the orphanage will be coming to the US from this orphanage (these were the children already in process of being adopted).  Now the orphanage will not need to care for so many children (approx. 15 children were not in process of being adopted yet) and can focus on helping birth families that are in need of help.

The kids have been back and forth and unsure of what will be happening to them for the past week during aftershocks and small amounts of food.  Plus, media attention--CNN's Solodad O'Brien went with the children on the bus yesterday to the embassy (the bus ended up having to turn back as the children were getting sick in the heat and waiting in clogged streets).

I can often whine and complain (maybe not out loud all the time, but it is still there running through my mind) about how things are going in my life.  Don't have enough money, our furniture is mostly handed down through family and friends, but I need to be reminded of how my life has been blessed.  Those who have been blessed with much need to give much.  Give their prayers, give their time, give what they can . . .

We have all been blessed in some way, so we should give of those blessings to others.  What have you been blessed with?  How can you use what you have to help those around you?

PS  I think I may have to look back on this post when I want to start to whine about things.  I'm one of those people who needs lots of reminders!

Closer

I just finished editing two Christmas programs to go up on the local cable channel and also finished off the framing jobs I needed to do before Christmas.  Feeling a little less crunched.  Didn't finish all I had hoped (my brother's family will be getting their Christmas box after Christmas--just didn't have time to package it up, yet), but as long as I get those programs i just edited onto the air tomorrow afternoon I think everything will be just fine ;)

De-quarantined

Well, technically I wasn't quarantined (the doctor just said that I shouldn't be in close contact with teeny babies and pregnant women), but I am now safe to roam the entire earth. Now, to find something to help me get rid of the little red marks that remain over my eye.
I've heard about a product called Maderma or something like that. Does anyone know if it works?

p.s. I have to say that my dad's camera is a really nice one. In fact, I photographed my brother-in-law's wedding and got some gorgeous pictures with it. (of course very few people will ever see those pictures because they are already getting divorced after about a year-crazy, crazy. Is it bad of me to be more upset that I took such beautiful pictures of their wedding that nobody will ever see than the fact that they're getting divorced?--you don't have to say it-I'm a bad, bad person)

Hey! and Shingelles and Eye Camel Friday/Monday

Well, I was so going to post again on Friday because I still have all sorts of cool pictures to show you. (Taken by a Canon Digital Rebel with a Tamron Zoom Lens, Isela) I didn't because I woke up on Friday morning with the left side of my face all swollen and had to go to the doctor. I have Shingelles :( Sad, sad, sad. My face remained swollen through the weekend and I have a rash on my left eyelid. It really looked like Dan had done a number on me. Now, I look much better (although my eye is still a bit swollen). Anyway, since I can only post from work (no internet at home) I had to wait until now to post anything.

So I have an eye camel Monday post for you

Here is Oliver in a bowl made by Zac Spates

Close-ups of kitties

Haystack

Cleopatra

Now for knitting content (because I got to stay home alllllll weekend, for once. Yippee!)-

1. I wound the hanks of cherry blossom sock yarn (I don't have a ball winder or swift or anything, so it takes a lot of time) while watching part of the first season of Bewitched (while we were watching this Dan told me that if I was a witch, he would be perfectly happy for me to use my powers to do things-snap-the house is clean-snap-we're on vacation in the mountains-snap-he doesn't have to go to work anymore---okay that didn't happen and I am not a witch. I guess it is for the best)

2. I also finished the thumb on the blue whale and started the second one. (I was really tempted to start making a pair of knee highs, but was able to restrain myself)

Well, that's the knitting content. I also read two books this weekend. One called Blackbird an autobiography Jennifer Lauck (heartbreaking and warming) and the other The Postcard by Beverly Lewis (about an Amish woman). I'm a sucker for those kind of books. I like to cry and all that with books.

I'm Back

Well, we got back Monday morning from Israel. We were soooooo tired and it is nice to be back. Yesterday I caught up on all of the blogging I had missed. You guys are all so much fun and I like to read what you have to say. I'm not always the best with words (good thing I didn't stay and ESL education major in college and moved onto art instead) and reading everyone else's blogs always makes me want to describe my life better and all that, but that probably won't happen ;o)

My Stetson Man

Today I was reading archives from while I was gone of Pioneer Woman (thanks D for linking to her a while back-I love her blog) and at the end of one of her posts she asked whose mind you would pick to read for 24 hours if you had the chance. I thought about it and right away my husbands mind came to mind. I don't know if you guys have the same kind of thought, but my wonderful Dan is not that verbal. (I am, if you couldn't guess) It's something I love about him and some times I wish that I could stop blabbing on and on about nothing and be more quiet and all.

I wonder things like-why did he ever like me? am i waaaaay to weird? does my pestering about what he's thinking bother him? (well, I know the answer to that-YES!) and much, much more.

All I know is that we had fun on our trip to Israel because we were together. It would have been miserable if one of us had just gone on our own. (oh, is wasn't that bad or anything-once I have pics ready I'll show you. It just didn't start out very well) Our flight was to leave on the 24th a little after 5 pm, but our flight got cancelled because we had no flight crew. Well, we ended up leaving Minneapolis on a different flight a little after 7 instead and missed our connecting flight to Israel by 11 minutes (arghhh, if our 2nd flight from Minneapolis had actually been on time, we would have caught the connection) We got booked onto another flight to Israel that left Newark at 4 in the afternoon the next day. Thankfully, Northwest had to put us up in a hotel and pay for our meals while we were delayed as the situation was entirely their fault, but it was still not fun. I called our emergency contact in Tel Aviv to tell them what happened, so that we would be able to be picked up by someone at the right time. That got all worked out (thank goodness). So anyway we arrived in Tel Aviv a little before 10 am on Monday morning (rather than 3:30 Sunday afternoon) and a taxi brought us to meet our group that had already started the tour a little earlier that morning. We started right in touring and finally got to rest at the hotel later that night.

Like I say-I am so thankful that we were together. I don't know how I could have handled it all if Dan hadn't of been there. I dealt with the details and he dealt with me ;0)

In knitting news (if you're still reading at this point), I did very little on the trip. Oh, yes I had lots of time, but my brain was fried. I made one mini sweater. Yep-that's all. Oh, and I think I am going to rip out the beginning of the myrtle leaf shawl. Somewhere on the trip a big section of the lace slipped off the needles and I have no clue where to start to fix that, so I'll just start over (I only had three repeats done out of forty). This time I'll use metal needles instead-I just can't get the hang of those wood ones. It all goes so slow with them.