transform

This time each year my mind shifts. The windows open, nature sounds are let back inside and mingle with everyday life. My thoughts shift to seeds, plants, sunshiny walks, blowing bubbles. It seems like the very projects I was knitting on days ago don't interest me anymore because they're from the cold weather days. Now I shift to new projects, warm weather projects...

Radiate by Helene Rush
Misti International Pima-Silk

So far the yarn and the pattern are a delight. A springy delight. I sat out back on the deck yesterday and warmed my skin in the sunshine. Pretty soon my deck will be full shade but right now it's under a canopy of budding branches that filter the sunlight and create a certain bliss. I plan on doing much of the same today.

Yesterday I sipped ice tea, listened to the birds singing, listened to the squirrels scavenging the forest behind our house. All I could think about was our garden in Iowa. This would be year three for most of our perennials. 'Year one they sleep, year two they creep, year three they leap' I wish I was around to watch them leap. To tend to them and show them the appreciation that I have for them. I wonder if our crabapple tree is blooming. I wonder if the hundreds of bulbs I planted just last fall are coming up.


I want to go to Waterworks Park and see the crabapple trees all in bloom. The American Redbuds and the Magnolia trees have to be amazing right now. The sweet, warm, Iowa air. the Union Park Carousel. Walker Johnston Park. Evenings thick with thunderstorms looming. The neighborhood garage sale. The downtown farmer's market. Saturday knitting at Ted's. Walks around Gray's Lake. The church picnic, field day at school, J. and Eric in the 4th Parade, the lilac arboretum at Ewing Park, the rose gardens at the art center, coffee at Grounds for Celebration, driving up to get my groceries at Hy-Vee. I could go on and on. I mostly just miss the familiarity of the people. Not feeling like I'm in a foriegn country.

Most of the time I don't like talking to people about being from Iowa out here because they look at me with cross eyes and just think its a big corn field out in the middle of no where. They joke about how much they hate ethanol, they joke about 'the one tree' out there. Sometimes I do run in to someone who has actually been there and they go on and on about how great it is out there.

I tell people we moved here for the quality of life and it's true... we do love Maine, the people, and the land... but Iowa is truly a great place to live and a great place to raise a family, no matter how much time passes. I'll always be an Iowan.

We did get to enjoy a delightful place this week ... Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. It's an amazing place in Boothbay Harbor. Most of the 'garden' space is natural forest which is truly the beauty of Maine for me. It was an enchanting place. We immediately got season passes and can't wait to watch everything bud, bloom and change with the seasons.

This year my gardening focus is going to be on containers. I don't feel settled enough yet to plant some roots in the ground. I have a huge elevated deck that will be mostly shade in a couple weeks. I brought all of my pots from Iowa and I'm just going to fill them all with shade-loving annuals and herbs and create my own oasis in the trees out back. It'll be quite the lovely retreat all summer long. It also has a very sturdy gate so the babe can hang out there with me without having to worry about falling down the stairs... so nice!

transform

This time each year my mind shifts. The windows open, nature sounds are let back inside and mingle with everyday life. My thoughts shift to seeds, plants, sunshiny walks, blowing bubbles. It seems like the very projects I was knitting on days ago don't interest me anymore because they're from the cold weather days. Now I shift to new projects, warm weather projects...

Radiate by Helene Rush
Misti International Pima-Silk

So far the yarn and the pattern are a delight. A springy delight. I sat out back on the deck yesterday and warmed my skin in the sunshine. Pretty soon my deck will be full shade but right now it's under a canopy of budding branches that filter the sunlight and create a certain bliss. I plan on doing much of the same today.

Yesterday I sipped ice tea, listened to the birds singing, listened to the squirrels scavenging the forest behind our house. All I could think about was our garden in Iowa. This would be year three for most of our perennials. 'Year one they sleep, year two they creep, year three they leap' I wish I was around to watch them leap. To tend to them and show them the appreciation that I have for them. I wonder if our crabapple tree is blooming. I wonder if the hundreds of bulbs I planted just last fall are coming up.


I want to go to Waterworks Park and see the crabapple trees all in bloom. The American Redbuds and the Magnolia trees have to be amazing right now. The sweet, warm, Iowa air. the Union Park Carousel. Walker Johnston Park. Evenings thick with thunderstorms looming. The neighborhood garage sale. The downtown farmer's market. Saturday knitting at Ted's. Walks around Gray's Lake. The church picnic, field day at school, J. and Eric in the 4th Parade, the lilac arboretum at Ewing Park, the rose gardens at the art center, coffee at Grounds for Celebration, driving up to get my groceries at Hy-Vee. I could go on and on. I mostly just miss the familiarity of the people. Not feeling like I'm in a foriegn country.

Most of the time I don't like talking to people about being from Iowa out here because they look at me with cross eyes and just think its a big corn field out in the middle of no where. They joke about how much they hate ethanol, they joke about 'the one tree' out there. Sometimes I do run in to someone who has actually been there and they go on and on about how great it is out there.

I tell people we moved here for the quality of life and it's true... we do love Maine, the people, and the land... but Iowa is truly a great place to live and a great place to raise a family, no matter how much time passes. I'll always be an Iowan.

We did get to enjoy a delightful place this week ... Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. It's an amazing place in Boothbay Harbor. Most of the 'garden' space is natural forest which is truly the beauty of Maine for me. It was an enchanting place. We immediately got season passes and can't wait to watch everything bud, bloom and change with the seasons.

This year my gardening focus is going to be on containers. I don't feel settled enough yet to plant some roots in the ground. I have a huge elevated deck that will be mostly shade in a couple weeks. I brought all of my pots from Iowa and I'm just going to fill them all with shade-loving annuals and herbs and create my own oasis in the trees out back. It'll be quite the lovely retreat all summer long. It also has a very sturdy gate so the babe can hang out there with me without having to worry about falling down the stairs... so nice!

Lookin' Up

My friend Amy and her kids came this weekend for a visit. They are from Connecticut and were on the tail end of their spring break. They'd never been to Maine, so we had fun showing them around... so strange to be the tour guides instead of the tourists! Great fun. We are on spring break this week... we're going down to visit them this weekend. We're also going to the 100th annual Connecticut Sheep & Wool Festival... so excited!

Amy is an avid knitter as well... so we did a mini yarn crawl. I took her to Purl Diva (of course!) and some other shops along the way. We also went to Halcyon Yarn in Bath. I had never been there. This may be silly but I have to admit that I got a little choked up with glee when I entered the store. It's amazing. It's spacious but also just jam packed with goodness. There were many unique yarns there that caught my interest. We didn't have much time because we were there shortly before they closed. I left empty handed but that was alright. It is close enough to be one of my LYS's so I didn't feel the urgency to buy anything. It was quite the experience.

I was so thrilled to have my friend visit but it coincided with me losing my voice!! All I wanted to do is gab gab gab with her and pretty much whisper/squeaked the whole time. Now I'm really paying for it and am trying to stay completely mute... not easy with two boys in the house! It's working though and I'm starting to feel better.

Spring has finally arrived in Maine. The trees are all budded out, the daffy's are blooming, and there is an overall ease in the air now that we're out of the grips of winter. Such a nice feeling to be outside again!

I've continued to go adventuring every chance I get. We've found some great places to walk/hike lately and there are countless more to discover! Recently we've gone to Pineland Farms which is an amazing place... it's a working farm/creamery that also has a huge network of hiking trails. In the winter they also are a big cross country skiing spot which I'd really enjoy. They also outfit and offer lessons. I was so thrilled to find this place! I took the boys on a hike there after school last week. J. was quick to notice how quiet it was and also the whisper of the wind in the pine trees... it sounds so different and unique. It was so much fun to watch him completely relax and unwind by just taking our time on our walk in the woods. The babe also enjoyed it immensely... he tried to bring every rock and fir cone back to the car. I managed to convince him to bring just a few. He has quite the stash of treasures squirreled away around here.

Yesterday after our friends left, we hit the road and ended up at Preservation Park which is a part of Poland Spring ... you know, the bottled water brand? It was a beautiful place full of trails similar to Pineland. We walked just a short distance because my allergies were spiraling out of control pretty quickly. We also drove down to Bethel and reminisced about the time we stayed there last summer! Again, so surreal to be back and be residents.

On the knitting front, I'm almost finished knitting a bulky weight afghan for my brother who will be 17 in a couple weeks. I know he'll appreciate a grown-up blankey... his blankey was his comfort object when he was little. He attended prom this weekend. My parents forwarded photos of him in his tux... what a handsome man he has become! I can't believe my baby brother is growing up.

After I finish the afghan, I'm going to focus on finishing up my other big projects that I have going on... two sweaters for myself and a sweater for J.

Also -- after whining about having too much yarn in my last post, I decided to not take any drastic measures. Sara really summed it up with her comment. It would help to get it all organized ... nothing makes me happier than having a reason to organize something into Martha Stewart tidy-ness. (sideways glance at the teetering pile of papers that need to be filed) It's spring cleaning time I guess.. get organized, clean off the needles and start fresh! Sounds good to me.

PS. Happy Patriots' Day!

Lookin' Up

My friend Amy and her kids came this weekend for a visit. They are from Connecticut and were on the tail end of their spring break. They'd never been to Maine, so we had fun showing them around... so strange to be the tour guides instead of the tourists! Great fun. We are on spring break this week... we're going down to visit them this weekend. We're also going to the 100th annual Connecticut Sheep & Wool Festival... so excited!

Amy is an avid knitter as well... so we did a mini yarn crawl. I took her to Purl Diva (of course!) and some other shops along the way. We also went to Halcyon Yarn in Bath. I had never been there. This may be silly but I have to admit that I got a little choked up with glee when I entered the store. It's amazing. It's spacious but also just jam packed with goodness. There were many unique yarns there that caught my interest. We didn't have much time because we were there shortly before they closed. I left empty handed but that was alright. It is close enough to be one of my LYS's so I didn't feel the urgency to buy anything. It was quite the experience.

I was so thrilled to have my friend visit but it coincided with me losing my voice!! All I wanted to do is gab gab gab with her and pretty much whisper/squeaked the whole time. Now I'm really paying for it and am trying to stay completely mute... not easy with two boys in the house! It's working though and I'm starting to feel better.

Spring has finally arrived in Maine. The trees are all budded out, the daffy's are blooming, and there is an overall ease in the air now that we're out of the grips of winter. Such a nice feeling to be outside again!

I've continued to go adventuring every chance I get. We've found some great places to walk/hike lately and there are countless more to discover! Recently we've gone to Pineland Farms which is an amazing place... it's a working farm/creamery that also has a huge network of hiking trails. In the winter they also are a big cross country skiing spot which I'd really enjoy. They also outfit and offer lessons. I was so thrilled to find this place! I took the boys on a hike there after school last week. J. was quick to notice how quiet it was and also the whisper of the wind in the pine trees... it sounds so different and unique. It was so much fun to watch him completely relax and unwind by just taking our time on our walk in the woods. The babe also enjoyed it immensely... he tried to bring every rock and fir cone back to the car. I managed to convince him to bring just a few. He has quite the stash of treasures squirreled away around here.

Yesterday after our friends left, we hit the road and ended up at Preservation Park which is a part of Poland Spring ... you know, the bottled water brand? It was a beautiful place full of trails similar to Pineland. We walked just a short distance because my allergies were spiraling out of control pretty quickly. We also drove down to Bethel and reminisced about the time we stayed there last summer! Again, so surreal to be back and be residents.

On the knitting front, I'm almost finished knitting a bulky weight afghan for my brother who will be 17 in a couple weeks. I know he'll appreciate a grown-up blankey... his blankey was his comfort object when he was little. He attended prom this weekend. My parents forwarded photos of him in his tux... what a handsome man he has become! I can't believe my baby brother is growing up.

After I finish the afghan, I'm going to focus on finishing up my other big projects that I have going on... two sweaters for myself and a sweater for J.

Also -- after whining about having too much yarn in my last post, I decided to not take any drastic measures. Sara really summed it up with her comment. It would help to get it all organized ... nothing makes me happier than having a reason to organize something into Martha Stewart tidy-ness. (sideways glance at the teetering pile of papers that need to be filed) It's spring cleaning time I guess.. get organized, clean off the needles and start fresh! Sounds good to me.

PS. Happy Patriots' Day!

Full Pink Moon

Full Pink Moon - The grass pink or wild ground phlox is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names were the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and -- among coastal tribes -- the Full Fish Moon, when the shad came upstream to spawn. This is also the Paschal Full Moon; the first full Moon of the spring season. The first Sunday following the Paschal Moon is Easter Sunday, which indeed will be observed three days later on Sunday, April 12. - via space.com

This month's full moon photo is taken through the dark woods across the street from my house. I LOVE living in the woods. It's so dark here at night. The stars are incredible!

It was absolutely beautiful outside today. I sat outside for a long time listening to nothing but the whispering pine trees and soaking up the warm sunshine. Ahhh............................

Full Pink Moon

Full Pink Moon - The grass pink or wild ground phlox is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names were the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and -- among coastal tribes -- the Full Fish Moon, when the shad came upstream to spawn. This is also the Paschal Full Moon; the first full Moon of the spring season. The first Sunday following the Paschal Moon is Easter Sunday, which indeed will be observed three days later on Sunday, April 12. - via space.com

This month's full moon photo is taken through the dark woods across the street from my house. I LOVE living in the woods. It's so dark here at night. The stars are incredible!

It was absolutely beautiful outside today. I sat outside for a long time listening to nothing but the whispering pine trees and soaking up the warm sunshine. Ahhh............................

Ten on Tuesday

My top ten least liked foods.

1. Mushrooms
2. Raw Oysters and Clams
3. Liver
4. White Chocolate
5. Pork chops
6. Sausage
7. Fast Food Hamburgers
8. Tuna
9. Lunchmeat
10. Artificial flavors

This one is tough for me... I like most food. As you can see there is a meat theme to my list. Meat is generally what can really turn off my taste buds. ...and White Chocolate. I don't know what it is, but I just can't stand the stuff.

Ten on Tuesday

My top ten least liked foods.

1. Mushrooms
2. Raw Oysters and Clams
3. Liver
4. White Chocolate
5. Pork chops
6. Sausage
7. Fast Food Hamburgers
8. Tuna
9. Lunchmeat
10. Artificial flavors

This one is tough for me... I like most food. As you can see there is a meat theme to my list. Meat is generally what can really turn off my taste buds. ...and White Chocolate. I don't know what it is, but I just can't stand the stuff.

Cookie Sock Love

Yesterday I got Cookie A.'s new book Sock Innovation while I was at Purl Diva. I couldn't wait to get home and flip through the book. When I did, I immediately wanted to knit ALL of the great patterns. I'm so impressed with all of the new ideas and not the 'same-ole' patterns. I'm breaking out of my current projects and casting on for a new pair today... the tough part is deciding which pattern to knit first!

Cookie Sock Love

Yesterday I got Cookie A.'s new book Sock Innovation while I was at Purl Diva. I couldn't wait to get home and flip through the book. When I did, I immediately wanted to knit ALL of the great patterns. I'm so impressed with all of the new ideas and not the 'same-ole' patterns. I'm breaking out of my current projects and casting on for a new pair today... the tough part is deciding which pattern to knit first!

GOOD day!

First of all.... Hooray!

I'm slowly starting to thaw and warm up to the idea of adapting to our new surroundings after some serious remorse last week. I've spent the week exploring our area and have been having a blast. It's the day to day that I struggle with. I tend to save the exploring for the weekends ... I shouldn't do that.

I realized that I can't just expect my old life to just happen... and it's not going to happen without me taking some action anyway. The longer is sit at home and stay in... the more depressed I'm going to get. The keyword for me this week is ADAPT!

Today... an average Friday morning... I went for a walk along a trail that went along the ocean, foghorns, thick fog, rainstorm holding off, lighthouses, my bouncing toddler boy to keep me company... awesome. My 'average' walk is not so average anymore!

Follow it up with sushi, Whole Foods for organic mangoes (they have the best mangoes), apples, and marinated olives. Round out the day with a trip up to my favorite LYS to see Ellen and get the perfect yarn for my next project.

Wander home on back roads through the pouring rain. It's just totally wet out there... melting snow, fog, and rain... pure wet. Despite the grey day, it is a great day, too.