Russell Yarn

I KNIT SOMETHING!!! (Part I)

Brace yourselves folks, there is Actual Knitting Content ahead! 

Finished socks for my mom, which only took me forever and a day, and...

new lace!!!

I have been desperately looking for a sweet little pattern to do justice to the Mama Llama Cashmere I got from Woolgirl.  Melanie over on Ravelry started a KAL for Springtime Bandit within the RoseKnits group, and I fell in love!   The perfect size shawlette for the exact amount of yarn I have...score!!!  I've only completed the first chart, but I'm hoping to knock out some of the body tonight and over my extended weekend. 

That pic is also my nod to Knitterbunny's "So Innocently" blog post, which chronicles the partying (yes, partying) of her Julip Bags...all I can say is the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.  Seriously, go check it out, it's pretty funny (especially if you were at the first Knitterpalooza and are familiar with "Detroit Area Knitters' Homebrew" and what it can do).  What do my own personal Julip Bags drink?  Crystal Light Fruit Punch and vodka...only half the caloric guilt of a regular cocktail, whoo-hoo!!!

Now since it's that time of year, allow me to get my annual Woodward Dream Cruise bitch off my chest: DEAR PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN THEIR LAWN CHAIRS AT 13 MILE AND WOODWARD AT 2PM WEDNESDAY: THE DREAM CRUISE IS NOT UNTIL SATURDAY.  I HOPE YOU HAVE FUN WATCHING PEOPLE COMMUTE IN THEIR NON-CLASSIC CARS.  PLEASE TRY TO WATCH WHERE YOU WALK AS YOU WANDER BLITHELY INTO TRAFFIC CROSS THE STREET THIS YEAR!  THANK YOU. 

After my venting I'll leave you with a more tranquil picture...my roses are going bananas this year, although I'm pretty sure I'll have to replace three next year...oh well!

Yee-haw!

Today is Weigh-In Wednesday, and I'm so excited to report:

3.5 total pounds lost, three since last week!  I know 2-3 pounds/week is considered safe and healthy, so I'm pretty thrilled!  I'm also pretty sure the weight loss is due to all the manual labor I did last weekend...speaking of which, check out the "before" pic in the previous post, and then check these out:


Quite the improvement, eh?  We got all the bricks for free a while back, and had just barely enough to finish the big bed, we'll do the other one after we buy some more bricks.  And lookee, I've got a bird bath now (which was frozen this morning, thanks Michigan!) which our friendly neighbor has christened The Bird Jacuzzi.  As long as I don't find any rats floating in it...

Before I forget again, I've joined the Fitness-a-Long to help keep me on track, head over and check it out if you need motivation!

Labor of Love

First off, accountability (which I neglected to update on Wednesday, my weigh-in day):

Half a pound lost!  Not a lot, but I'll take it...I pinched a nerve in my neck at the beginning of this week and therefore didn't exercise.  Towards the end of the week, though, I went back to the manual labor known as "Fixing Up the House."  I think heavy gardening is better exercise than power-walking any day, especially when it's the spring prep type. 
Observe the front of the house:

Of note here, my two rose beds.  Last night I spent hours raking off the old chips and weeding.  I left the violets/weeds along the border because we're going to dig a trench there anyway and put in a brick border.  Then I'll be able to put down new chips and peat moss on the roses, and although they're already going bananas...

They'll really take off after that!  Also on the front porch, crammed in amongst all the plants that we dragged outside and yet may have to drag back in (39F degrees tonight?  WTF Michigan?!?!) is...

JP's pot garden!  NO, not THAT kind of pot garden...this is basil, rosemary, parsley, scallions, tomatoes, and (not yet potted) mint!

In the backyard is our real back-breaking work in progress:

Imagine if you will, that the 9x9 ' patch of clay is a deck (although note there's no door off the back of the house).  Imagine that this wee little deck had 7 ' walls.  Odd, no?  We figured the old lady who owned the house before us must have had a thing for sunbathing in the nude...a fact the neighbors later confirmed for us.  So we ripped that bad boy apart a few weekends ago, and are now slowly trying to make it into a nice outdoor patio.  Pavers will be purchased when finances are a little more, um, stable. 
But in the meantime back here, we have...

A raspberry bush and...

A blueberry bush!  (Which JP swore was dead, shows how much he knew.)  We'll have fresh berries this summer, yum!  I've just got to make sure and sew up some netting to keep the birds at bay.

Finally, progress on Anice is slow but steady...

And I'll leave you with our happy African violet...we have many, but this is definitely the happiest!