Spring cold...

I'm terribly sick, so the blog will continue to be quiet until I'm over this. I have all sorts of things to report on, but no energy to take the pictures.... AND the sun is shining, so I feel even worse that I can't be outside taking advantage of things... I don't even have the energy to figure out the ripple blanket crochet stitch... I really, really hate being sick.

First Day of Spring!

Well... I waited a day too long to take pictures of the flowers outside. We had a pounding rain yesterday (sounded like hail on the roof) which pulverized most of the delicate flowers and knocked blossoms off the trees. So I just have a few pictures of some of the more hardy flowers...



I have finally found the macro button on my camera...



... that only took five years...


... but I'm having fun with it.



These hyacinth smell wonderful! I cut a couple for the house and they scented the entire first floor for three days.



I am taking a break from basement finishing to work away on the kids' rooms upstairs. Elsie is all moved into her new room and the little man (Mister Ewan) should be in his tonight. Yay! That means I will finally have my bedroom back after 6 months. Most of the painting is done. There is just some trim left to do... my least favorite part. I can't wait to post some pictures!

Back from Hawaii

We enjoyed a lovely ten days in Hawaii with the kids and my parents. It was so nice to warm up and see some sun. We were at the beach everyday and did lots of snorkeling and swimming and sand castle building.



This was my parent's first trip to Hawaii, so we did some of the sights (Dole pineapple plantation, the USS Arizona) but balanced it with plenty of relaxation.



Both houses had beautiful lanais from which we could watch the birds... one of my mom's favorite things.



I put some of my better photos on flickr





Now we are back in Portland and apparently spring has arrived during our absence. I will take some pictures tomorrow of all the flowering beauty. The nice weather is not supposed to last... rain is in the forecast for next week.... ALL week.

Mini Swap

Our Mini Swap package has arrived from Norway! Strikkelise and her children sent the most amazing things! Thank you so much!



Elsie spent a great deal of time learning where Norway is and looking at pictures on Strikkelise's blog.



She was thrilled to open the box and discover everything wrapped in pink!... the most perfect color in the world!



The Hello Kitty barrettes are a big hit. She immediately put them in her hair. She took them out to sleep, but has them back in again this morning.



All the goodies....


.... and some magazines for Mommy! Which I absolutely love... and may have to figure out how to purchase an international subscription. The pictures are so beautiful.

There are also these really, really cool metallic pencils. They are kind of fat, but have a triangular cross section so they don't roll off the table. Genius! When you go to the manufacturer's website, there are all kinds of triangular pencils!

Thank you, thank you!!!!