end of vacation

I'm back to work today.  I've dreamed of work at lest a third of the nights.. crazy stuff, all the way to walking the aisles with coworkers asking me questions like usual... I close tonight and I've been getting up early almost every day, so that is going to be a tough turnover.

I finished the Christmas yarn Mark and Esme got me and it is a simple but useful shawl.  I have this owl pin on it that Miss Irene (Grandma)  gave to me.  I'm working on a second lace thing that I might make into a sleeved bolero thing.. I'll have to see.  I do like knitting lace and Mark had also found some bamboo knitting needles for me on a clearance shelf, so I found an interesting yarn in my stash and started working on it.

It is 'Unforgettable' self-striping acrylic yarn, in Tealberry

It took two skeins to make it, and it is just a simple seed stitch pattern.

This yarn was lovely to knit with, and it is soft and silky and warm but not hot.

It has t he most beautiful drape, flowing over anything like a stream of silk water.

I've gotten to level 11 on the French learning site I'm using, and 31% fluency (which fluctuates with how many I answer right/wrong).

We watched Arrival.. not the greatest.  I have 'Forever Knight' in the queue to introduce Mark to - something someone posted the other day reminded me again I needed to look for it.  It is about a night-shift vampire detective who is trying to cure himself of his 'disease' with the help of the coroner.  *hilarious* in its way, for that alone.

I'm still sunburnt.  Esme had sunscreen on so only her back between the suit straps got burnt some.. she still says it is uncomfortable.  I might look for some aloe lotion when I get off of work tonight.

I didn't touch my book I am writing all week except to print out the progress.  I did read about six books, though.. maybe seven.  The Orphan Tales series is still swelling up at times and being further digested and rolled around... there is just SO MUCH to it it keeps changing even after I read it. 

Garden flower

nasturtium and zinnia

Out at the Beach

We all went out to the beach, Mark took the photos (and didn't get wet).  Esme and her friend were swimming for hours.  I got definitely sunburned.  I had my hat and shirt but I should have worn them more of the time we were there.  We had a lot of fun sitting on the beach after a bit and watching the girls bounce around. One more day of vacation and then back to work.

More beading

 This is the necklace that Esme made today, it is an ocean necklace with a real shell.

 trying out some combinations

That 'look' when Mom is taking pics... ha.

I've even gotten a little sewing and knitting done during this vacation.  I finished something today that I'll try to get a picture of tomorrow.

Birthday and beading

I had my birthday walk this morning, and watched the sun come up.  Then we hung out at the house for a bit.  I accidentally broke my shell bracelet, and rebeaded it with other scraps to make something new, then went right on making a necklace with the rest of them and a huge pretty shell I had never used in my bead collection. 

I finished reading the Catherynne Valente book.. 'In the City of Coin and Spice' (volume 2 orphan tales) and it was so much.. I cried in the middle, and also in the end.  It shocked and intrigued and delighted and filled you to bursting with both tears and wonder... (In the Night Garden, volume 1).   And the stories overlap and intertwine and pluck the same note on different instruments, retell old tales and tell other ones you are sure mean something else... and in the end, I was still surprised as something never said I thought was true was not.. and it changed everything again.  

We went to town for cat food and dental floss, and picked up a few more beads and the Real Ghostbusters cartoon set for my birthday, which I had wanted, but didn't want to spend that much on it... we are watching it now.  Esme made the green bracelet all by herself from the beads she picked, and I made t he other two bracelets with what my kit had and the new box I bought.

green beans and cucumbers from the garden tonight...

Father's Day 2017

Mark got a happy Father's Day card, shockingly chartreuse bath towel (to match his new choice in shorts), some cookies and candy he likes and of course, a holiday potato.  It just isn't a holiday without a potato being exchanged between them.  // ha

Other than that, his wish was to stay home and relax.  The weather was very rainy and stormy, too, so it was a really good idea.

I've read two more books, started on a third.  Listened to my music yesterday and drew this for fun.  Esme sat beside me and drew  something of her own, too.  Then, when I was nearing the end of the drawing, she said the rabbit needed to have a kite. 

Micron Pen. it is sort of an Italian villa... we watched Under the Tuscan Sun the other week, and a I started this drawing the tower and doorway kind of took over...

first day of vacation

I picked our first bean crop (four), and spent some time in the sun.  I read two books.  I finally folded the laundry.

We bought Esme a new swimsuit yesterday, in case we want to go swimming.
We wrapped up some Father's day gifts and Mark found a few other things he wanted at the store.

He bought me some goat cheese I had looked at before.
Hmm.. what to do with that?  My instinct says eat it plain on crackers.

The Lamb family recipe book

A few weeks ago I took down all the paper printouts that were scattered all over the fridge and rewrote them into this tablet.  We couldn't decide on what to put on the cover, so it got a little bit of everything going back and forth between Mark and I.  What's actually in here are all the recipes we've made that were good enough to keep and want to make again.  Some of them are 'family secret' type recipes, like Mark's ginger muffins and the Dragon Pork spice ratios.  My egg noodle and pancake recipes are in here, too (see the pancakes tab for easy access?)

I made the 'yellow cake' recipe out of this (also seen on one of Esme's birthdays) and layered the batter over mandarin oranges and pineapple pieces to make a cake dessert for tomorrow at work. We all just had a piece of one of the two cakes I made and it turned out good!

Flowers and egg noodles

Nasturtiums, zinnias and a marigold in the garden

 

Making egg noodles

The flower garden I started a few months ago is starting to produce some very pretty blooms worthy of cutting and bringing in to a vase.  The other flowers - dianthus, and verbena, are not cutting flowers but they are pretty, too.  I've reached level 11 in the French program I'm working  in (Duolingo), and a twelve day streak, which is really good.  Mark pointed out some Italian sausage (the kind with the fennel) in the store today, and I bought some and an orange pepper to make a meal for Esme.  I ended up making egg noodles again for the first time since I was Esme's age or younger.. it was pretty much a success.  I'd like to try again tomorrow or at least during my vacation and try to make them much thinner.  They would be even better cut thin.

Nasturtiums and garden

 The little garden is bursting forth with some colorful flowers.  The pink gladiolus is blooming, as are the nasturtiums (above), marigolds, dianthus and verbena.  The zinnias are almost ready to pop open -  I can see the colors of their petals in the edges of the buds.  I planted some more zinnias that Esme had chosen in two places and they are germinating.. which means more color later on.  The morning glories are finally starting to climb their trellis and the moonflowers are still unfolding leaves from their initial breaking through of the soil.