DSC_0233, originally uploaded by henkeinak.

Hey sis!

I am at a Google Earth institute in Fairbanks, AK, trying to learn all about kml. Needless to say, my head is about to explode all over my computer screen. Sheesh. Imagine me trying to teach teachers to do this. Yeah…don’t think so.

So of course I have had to come up with something to distract me. Kirk has been blogging from CA, where he and Jake are at the Regionals tournament. Here’s a pic of Jake during their first game. If you want to see what Jake and his team are up to, you can visit their blog at http://nlsparta.blogspot.com

And the first one in I cannot remember how long that I’m not working.  No, really - I’m not!!

What’s on tap?  Well.. a bit of this…

And some of this…

And I’ll have you know - my little leanies are all leaning in the right direction!

Spent today running some errands - and Momma - those flowers are out I mentioned. If the darkest fuscia could be bottled, I’d be ALL OVER IT.  I dunno what for, but I just love the richness. So what are they???

Anyone else ever wonder what someone is thinking who sees you slow down to take a picture of their bush from your car?

I’ll also be doing something with this…

Which is set to become a blanket for a mom who had her little boy before I could finish her blanket!  In the meantime, I gave this blanket mom left with me to someone on my own team who had a preemie boy:

Crappy photo, but as usual, I was finishing the final ends and blocking on a baby blanket for another co-worker in the wee hours - I’m so tickled for her - they had a hard time getting pregnant. She was thrilled with the blanket (in spite of the fact that the edges were still damp….)

The pattern is this one, at least loosely so - It’s a quick little pattern that’s easy to memorize and keep things moving. I wanted one that didn’t scream girl or boy, as this Momma is one of two in the 8 or so babies recently who did NOT find out what she was having ahead of time! YAY!

Other than that, I’ve cleaned up a bit, and may actually get to READ some blogs tomorrow! WHEE!  Seriously, it’s so nice to wake up, dink around for a bit and decide.. ya know what, I’m still tired. I’m going to take a nap!  Ohhh the beauty of weekends - that are actually weekends!

First, I embarrassingly thank you for my lovely, lovely lace yarn. I adore the colors and thnk it is just gorgeous.  I am so sorry that I didn’t call and properly thank you for it, sis. The only excuse I have is that I hit the ground running on my birthday when I returned from Spring Break, and I have barely come up for breath since. It’s budget and wrap up time here in the district, and I am currently teaching 3 credit courses, plus writing syllabi for three others that I plan to teach at the end of the school year. I feel like I am just go-go-going every single minute…

Anyway, I can hardly wait to make something with that gorgeous yarn you bought. I love the dark colors. I am thinking that I will have a chance to do some lace knitting this summer,  when I have a bit more time to concentrate on it.

Thanks for sharing some more pics of mom’s trip. She came home with a whole new wardrobe, it seems, and she seems very relaxed and happy with her trip.

The baby blanket is adorable, as is the sweet babe underneath it. You did a lovely job as usual.  I have been teaching my friend Ann at work to knit; she has made 3 dishcloths and we are going to have her attempt a baby blanket. She has picked it up quite quickly!

We had some ashfall from Mt. Redoubt this weekend; everything is covered in ugly grey powdery ash.Yuck! We had some snow the next night, but with springtime, that melts quickly and so now it’s ugly grey mush and muck on the cars.

Katie lost her last upper front tooth, and now is missing all four along that top gum. She looks so cute, but is extremely sensitive about the way it looks. She is such a prickly little thing.

I am trying to make myself go to bed at a decent hour, so I am going to go for now, but will write again soon. I want to post a pic of Katie’s Odessa hat. She looks so cute in it…

I love the Blossom Street books - I got this one at the Library when mom was here, and it’s my favorite yet.  I sat in the bathtub two hours and then finished the rest of it when I got out - I couldn’t put it down!

And yes, I have started my list..

Not the baby, mind you - but the blanket!  This one is the one I finished up while mom was here - literally weaving in ends the night before I had to give it to daddy so they’d have it for the next day delivery!  The pattern is easy peasy, and can be found here off Ravelry, and here within.  If I were doing it again (and I very well may, given the number of little ones coming in my company soon), I would make it just a bit wider if I were using this version of Comfort.  OH how I love Comfort for baby blankets!

Mom has headed home.. but here are a few other shots!  This is how we spent our last lunch, being sure she could soak up all the warmth possible and enjoy a patio lunch before returning to Anchorage (where it was due to be oh.. 50 degrees colder when she got back!)

We had a nice time at the aquarium, though it was a bit hard on Mom’s back.  Here she is in front of the 60 or 80 foot WALL of fish you can watch in one exhibit:

Note the sweater - that day dawned a bit cooler, but it warmed up before we were through as well!  I really REALLY loved the Titanic Exhibit they have right now.  It was so interesting to me, because they had some background, and each person’s “ticket” to the exhibit included information about someone who was on the Titanic when it went down.  It was unreal the number of folks on that ship because something had changed their plans and caused them to leave earlier or later than originally planned.  It was definitely a highlight of the aquarium for me. While I do adore the Georgia Aquarium, and agree its one of the best I’ve ever seen (including having been to Sea World).. it is ALWAYS jam-packed with people. I really wish they’d have some times when you could pay double the price to go in with a smaller group of folks. I don’t do well in crowds.

I’ll have to see if I can find a link or scan the photos of mom and I together. They actually did it in a really neat way - at a few different places, they catch your photo with a blue or green wall, and then insert a background. So there’s a great one of us in front of that fish wall - but you can actually see some of the fish, and the other is of the two of us at the foot of the grand staircase inside the Titanic - it’s very cool.

Mom - you won’t believe the ’snow’ we’ve had!  The last..Lord it seems like FOREVER days it has been rainy and gross here (welcome to GA spring. Next comes 3-4 hot days that can wreak more havoc with my allergies and the nasty cold / infection they seem to have spawned)..

Here’s the shot I took near “the only tree for miles with no blooms”, as you said:

And here is what it looks like right outside the apartment now - where you walked out to the street:

Yes, I know it’s kind of dark - it was a kind of dark and dreary day!

So sister dear - did you like the yarn I sent for your birthday??  Sniffle.  Not that you let me know. CRY.

Now, I’m off to do a bit of cleaning and work - sometime soon (or not, we’ll see with how I’ve been at posting lately), I’ll post the OTHER baby blanket I cast OFF yesterday, the next one I’ve started, and the scarf I’m working on for Mom with the leftover yarn from the shawl I knit.

Oh.. and Momma?  Cleo says she misses you..