Scrapbooking

I did it! I chose a date and am sending out invitations to my first scrapbook party of 2009. My next weekend without another event planned is 2/28-3/1, so 3/1 it is. I really enjoy being the hostess. I make coffee & tea and have some kind of finger foods available. Planning everything is one of my favorite parts. I plan food, I clean house and I set up extra tables and chairs. This time I also need to plan which pictures I will work on and which tools, papers and embellishments I will pull together for those pages. I really want to work on the travel pictures that I took when I was in Europe back in 1998. To do that, I’ll need to get my negatives back from my sister. I suppose that is the first step after applying the postage to the invitations.

Wonderful Weekend

On Friday afternoon, my husband picked up a package from the post office for me. It contained the yarn for an unbloggable knitting project. I have been knitting on it since then, and am over half done. Once it’s finished, I’ll post a picture of my Cables & Os sweater, so that I can show the progress, once again.
On Saturday, I knit most of the day, but did take a long break to drag dh out of the house for a walk/run. It was a gloriously beautiful day. Something about the fog and frost burning off into a clear, sunny day just warms me from the inside out. Afterward, we went to his parents’ house for our weekly (usually Friday) dinner and card playing. His brother is back in town and staying with my in-laws. In the past, he has been standoffish and sometimes rude or condescending. This time he played a game of cards with us and was generally much more pleasant. It was actually nice to see him. I think that means that he has made some changes in his life that will make him happier and more likely to keep a job. I am very happy for him.
On Sunday evening, as I was leaving my parents home, I told my mom to give me a call and we could go and try to find a new heat resistant table pad for her dining room table. (The old one was getting cracked, so she cut it up to cover some other furniture.) The next day, we met at Joann Fabrics to see what they might have for sale. We unexpectedly failed to find what she wanted.
My sister and nephew came along for the outing and we four had a good time together. She found some scrapbook paper and sticker kits that were adorable and on clearance for only $4. One of the packages was all about cats, so I purchased one for my MIL’s birthday, in March. I also picked up the birthday and travel themed kits. The birthday one will be good for making cards and the travel one I plan to use for my Europe pictures. I need to get my negatives back from my sister, but then I can have the reprinted and put them into a scrapbook that my MIL gave me for my birthday several years ago. I don’t think that I’ve worked on a scrapbook since then! I am thinking about restarting my monthly scrapbooking party. I have so many things planned over the next month, but maybe I should get this on the calendar while I am thinking about it!
Monday’s weather was also so beautiful that I just had to get outside. Surprisingly, the ground was still covered with frost at about 11:00! Everywhere the sun had shone on the ground it was melted, but if I happened on an area that was shaded the ground was pretty slippery. With the sun warming my face, I had an excellent walk/jog and wasn’t cold at all.

Back Home

We left home early Tuesday morning, following my parents up the mountain pass to Coeur D'Alene. As we drove, we hit snowfall at the summit! It was beautiful and was not sticking to the highway, so I loved it! Since dh was driving, I had the opportunity to look out the window, taking in the beautiful scenery.

Coming back down into the valley, the sun was out and it looked so warm. However, we stopped to view the Columbia River from a lookout, it was so windy that we felt like we might be blown down the hillside!

When we arrived at our condo, my mom and I took a few minutes to unpack the food we brought & then headed out to take the 25 minute trip back into Coeur D'Alene. We found the scrapbook store and spent about 45 minutes looking around. I found some great camping/ATV-ing papers and stickers. Afterward, we went looking for the yarn stores. We found 2, but they had already closed.

Most of Wednesday we spent scrapbooking. I finished my album for Christmas 2006, except for a little journalling that still needs to be done. Then, I went on to work on my camping pictures from last year. I was certainly glad to have the papers & stickers that I purchased the day before, as I forgot the notebook with all my outdoors-y stickers & embellishments in it! Although I didn't catch up on any of my knitting, I feel a great sense of accomplishment getting so much done on the scrapbooking.

We needed to be back home by Thursday evening, so my dh & I left around 11AM. He offered to stop at a yarn store, before going home! Isn't he great? I found 2 skeins of Sockotta sock yarn that I loved & we were back on the road. I, of course, immediately cast on! :)

As we drove, the sun was shining & it looked gorgeous, until we arrived back at Snoqualmie Pass. This time, it was raining pretty good!

By the time we arrived home I had about 3/4 of a sock finished in the Purple Mix colorway.

To top off this great trip, I went to the mail box, and what did I find? A great package from Mildred on my Stitch Marker Exchange! She sent some great, purple markers and a skein of sock yarn!

Vacation!!!

First, Green Gable news: I have finished the second sleeve and am about to begin the remainder of the body! I'm satisfied that I've completed this milestone.
Meanwhile, my dh & I have been invited, by my parents, to join them on vacation in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. I'm excitedly planning, now. Mom & I have been talking about what food and entertainment to take with us. I think I will scrapbook with her, while we're away. (We're only going for 3 days and 2 nights, but they are all mid-week, so I'll be off work!) I need to clean out my scrapbook bag, re-organizing it and removing anything that is finished or that I won't be working on while over there. It currently weighs about 80 pounds!
I'm also planning on taking Green Gable to knit on in the car, since dh will drive most of the way. Its about a 6 hour trip, so that equates to plenty of time to knit on it. Hopefully, I'll finish just before we arrive. This way, I won't feel guilty when we go scrapbooking & yarn store hopping and I buy a new project to start. I love to buy yarn at "new" stores. Its one of my favorite things to do while on vacation. I'm probably going to buy yarn that can be used for this month's Bag of the Month. I wasn't very excited about last month's bag, and I only joined at the end of February, so this would be my first project knit with the group. Its a beautiful slip stitch pattern that creates a nice felted bag. Add some lining and a sturdy bottom & its just about perfect!!