New House Pictures

Tomorrow is the big day of our move. We are leaving our beloved duplex in Queen Anne. Don't you wish that all landlords were created equal? But the puppies will have a fenced yard to play and Paul will be much closer to work.

Anyway here are the pictures:

The front of the house. You enter into the living room. Paul and I looking forward to actually using our fireplace for something other than decoration.

I love all the new windows in this and the hardwood floors! Every room has wood flooring except the sunroom, master bedroom and bathroom.


A dining room for our beautiful dinning room set and china hutch (my Christmas Present from Paul)


The french doors in the dining room open onto our backyard deck. Summer BBQ's will be at the Shackelford home.

The kitchen. There is a pass through area from the kitchen to the sunroom. So when you are standing at the kitchen sink you can look out into the back yard.

I've actually cooked with gas heat, so cooking here will be a new experience.

The sunroom aka the puppy room.

The sunroom also have access to our back deck. There is a sliding glass door from the puppy room to the sunroom.

The spare bedroom that Paul and I will share as a sewing room/ office.

The bathroom. Need I say more. Not pictured in your tour is the master bedroom and the laundry room.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Just a friendly reminder that there will be no stitch n bitch meeting tonight. As soon as Paul is done with work we are heading to my parent's house for Christmas.

The next stitch n bitch meeting will be after the new year.

Winter Snow Storm for Queen Anne

With all the snow in Seattle this week it has made getting to and from work very interesting. I think I have walked more of Seattle in the last two days than I normally would in a week. Friday and Saturday night I had to walk up the hill to get home. I'm glad Paul and I had scouted some easy routes up the hill earlier this year so I didn't have to walk straight up Queen Anne Ave North. Saturday morning I walked back down the hill to catch a bus into downtown and then found another bus up to the top of Capitol Hill by Seattle Central Community College. I waited for the third bus that I had planned to take right to hospital. After of 30 minutes of waiting for the hospital escort service or the bus to come and get me I started walking to the hospital for my day on the switch board. Today is my normal day to work but my boss told me to stay home due to the snow and road conditions. She assembled a group of operators who were willing to stay until the snow melted at the hospital or at least until the roads were passable. Saturday afternoon I left the hospital at 4:30 and didn't get home until just before 7pm.

Paul and I get to enjoy an extra day off together. So we lounged around the house this morning and then pulled out the cross country skis to go run to the grocery store so I could gather some backing supplies to make some Christmas goodies.There have been at least 6 inches on snow that has fallen in the last 24 hours.

On the way to the store to get some baking supplies.

The skis are ready to go for the next trip to the store....or maybe a doggy walk. It will be interesting to see if the dogs would be able to steer clear of the my poles or if they would think it was a great time to play.

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Paul and I woke up to at least three inches of snow on the ground this morning in Queen Anne. I'm glad that we won't be moving for at least two more weeks. We signed the lease on our new house in Tukwila yesterday. We took the dogs for a walk this morning in the snow. Jasper and Samantha both love to play in the snow.

Paul dropped me off on top of the hill so I could post all of our Christmas packages and cards to be sent out today. I was very thankful that the Queen Anne Dispatch office was open. The lady at the Top Pot donut shop was so nice to give me a cup tea and a donut for the remainder of my walk home.

Now its time for my weekly house cleaning, cooking and projects before I have to go back to work tomorrow. Thank goodness my Christmas shopping is done.

Last Stitch n Bitch Meeting for the Year!

Tonight Jane, Rachel and I met for our last stitch n bitch meeting this year...It was also our last meeting at Cafe El Diablo since I will be leaving the Queen Anne neighborhood at the end of the year.

Our next meeting will in be in bell town at the Uptown Espresso, on Wednesday, January 7, 2009.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Stitch n Bitch

Next Wednesday's meeting will be in Queen Anne. Hope to see you all there at 7:00pm. Let me know if you need a ride or cannot make the meeting. Our meeting will be at the El Diablo Coffee Shop.

Just FYI we will not be meeting on Christmas Eve. I have to work at the hospital so that one of the other leads can have the night off.

*****We Are Moving*****

Paul and I have decided to leave our charmed life in Queen Anne. This morning we toured a house in Tukwila. Its a spanish style bungalow with 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. There is a lot of property surrounding the house and it has a fenced back yard for Samantha and Jasper to play in. More information to follow.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 Stitch n Bitch

Hi Ladies,

Wednesday's meeting will be at the Uptown Espresso at Fourth and Vine st. I am on "standby" for work this week so I won't know until about 1pm on Wednesday if I will be working Wednesday night or coming to stitch n bitch.

Andre and Jane - I'm not sure if I will be able to give you a ride or not. I'll send you both emails as to my work status on Wednesday afternoon.

Thanksgiving

Paul and I had a fun Thanksgiving week. We hosted our annual potluck pre-Thanksgiving Dinner party at our home. This year the day changed from Tuesday to Monday since Paul has Monday's off from work. I cooked turkey, vegan mashed potatoes, pesto rice and vegetarian stuffing. Our friends brought green bean casserole, pumpkin soup, and beets. Paul's friend Justin and my friend brought pumpkin bread pudding with whip cream and Carmel sauce and yummy yam dish with crunchies on top for desert. For the dinner party I debuted my great grandmother's china for the first of many dinner parties to come.

For Thanksgiving Day I joined my grandmother, Uncle Randy and Aunt Judy at my parent's home in North Bend for Thanksgiving Dinner. Samantha and Jasper got to spend the afternoon playing with their Cousin Max in the back yard.

Stitch n Bitch December 3, 2008

New Meeting Time!

7:00pm

Our meeting location will be the El Diablo Coffee shop on top of Queen Anne at 7:00pm. Hope to see you all there. Please post a comment if you can't make the meeting or need a ride.

kj

November 26, 2008 Stitch n Bitch Meeting

Hi Ladies,

Stitch n Bitch will be at the Uptown Espresso this week. Let me know if you need a ride or can't make the meeting.

See you there!

Christmas Knitting Cont.

So the decision about which gloves to knit for Ethan's Christmas present has been decided. Paul wanted me to make the Medallion Mitts from Knitting with Balls. After several attempts at getting the gauge right for my swatch. Three different needle sizes later I decided I was close enough with my size 5 double points and dived into the first glove.

Christmas Knitting Projects

I have completed two of my Christmas knitting projects so far this year. My first deadline is December 7, so that my knitted gifts are ready to take to California when Paul and I visit his sister Sarah and brother-in-law Ethan.

I'm really proud of the scarflet that I knitted for Sarah I got the idea from another from two other patterns. The February Ladies Sweater from raverly and then a free pattern that was posted randomly on line. So her gift is truely an original knit. Once I work out the kinks in the pattern I might post it in my notebook on raverly.

The second completed project was for future sister-in-law Mia. Jaydan's fiance. Also a scarf from

I have not started Ethan's gift yet because I haven't decided on the pattern yet. I'm debating between the Medallion Mitts from 'Knitting with Balls' slightly modified to have half fingers added and 2 x 2 ribbing instead of the cables and Knucks from knitty. The yarn that Paul picked out is lovely: Malabrigo Silky Merino in a wonderful burgundy color #41.

Its break time.

Cold and Flu Season

So last year was the first time since my sophmore year of high school that I had gotten a flu shot. I was starting a new job outside of the airline industry so why not change my habits and get a flu shot, its free since I know work at a hospital....maybe I won't get sick. Well I did sick in March 6 months after I got the flu shot. This year I got my flu shot and got sick within two weeks time. I guess my flu shot wasn't strong enough against Paul's cold that he shared with me. So after being sick for a few days I'm feeling a lot better but still really exhausted.

The pups have been my trusty companions I'm glad that they like to take afternoon naps with me. On to menu planning for the next two weeks. I stocked up on a lot of things from Costco now I just need to put those ingredients into a menu for Paul and I to have dinner and lunch.

Stitch n Bitch Meeting for November 19, 2008

Hi Ladies,

Next week's meeting will be in Madrona at the Madrona Ale House and Eatery.

http://seattle.citysearch.com/profile/10798152/seattle_wa/madrona_eatery_ale_house.html

Unfortunately I won't be joining you for the meeting because Paul and I will be racing back from Portland at the end of his leadership conference.

A week from Monday is my Thanksgiving Dinner Party. I hope to see you all there and don't forget to RSVP to your evite and let everyone know what you are bringing to dinner.

Kathy

Meeting Location Updated!

Hi Ladies,

Our meeting location has changed for tomorrow's (Wednesday's meeting). We will be at the uptown espresso in Bell Town.

Please let me know if you need a ride or can't make the meeting.

Kathy

November 12, 2008 Stitch n Bitch Meeting

Hi Ladies,

This week's meeting will be at the Madrona Alehouse and Eatery. Hope to see you all there. Please let me know if you need a ride or can't make the meeting.

This week has been a busy knitting week. Paul and I have a date to go pick out yarn at little knits on Thursday.

See you at the Madrona Ale House and Eatery on Wednesday.

Kathy

Warning I'm going to vent my frustration!

Most people who me know realize and respect the fact that I don't like talking about politics. In fact I absolutely LOATH election years. All the mud slinging and screeching from people about they are better than the person they are running against.

And there are the people who can't believe that I would have a different opinion about their favorite politician. Once it is discovered that I have different opinion then a lecture ensues about the great and wonderful assets of the favorite politician that I can't stand and have absolutely no respect for what so ever. With the lecture is more mudslinging about how horrible, ignorant and condescending the opponent of the favorite politician.

My political views are my own and deeply personal. I don't lecture anyone about their political views because I respect each person's opinions. It is my personal right as an American to chose who whoever I want to vote for and not be retailated against or yelled at or told I'm wrong.

Thank you I feel much better now.

Stitch n Bitch Location

This week's meeting will be held at the El Diablo Cafe in Queen Anne. Leave me a comment if you need a ride or can't make the meeting.

Stitch n Bitch Update! Location has changed!!!

Hi Ladies,

Rachel just called to say it was her birthday tomorrow and would we consider moving our meeting location for her birthday dinner. So we are having stitch n bitch tomorrow night at the Wasabi Bistro. I'll put a link to their website at the end of this post so you can see where they are located. See you there! Please leave me a comment if you need a ride or can't make the meeting.

http://www.wasabibistro.biz/

Surgery ---

Yesterday was the first of three surgeries for my Dad over the next 6 months or so. Yesterday his Vascular Surgeon cleaned out his Popliteal Artery on his right leg. The surgery took a little longer than expected, but was successful. After the surgery Dr. Pepper (that's really his name) came out and showed us part of the aneurysm that he had repaired in popliteal Artery. Dad's next surgery will be in November right before Thanksgiving to work on the left popliteal Artery. If my dad has his way with scheduling the last surgery will be scheduled after ski season is over.

http://www.tpub.com/content/armymedical/MD0501/MD05010018.htm

Pictures of Jaydan and Mia

My brother Jaydan shared some pictures of his trip to Hawaii with his fiance Mia. This is one of the few photos of him where he looks truely happy.

Stitch n Bitch Update:

Wednesday at our weekly stitch n bitch meeting I was lamenting on the price of yarn at one of the local yarn shops in Seattle. Rachel brought to my attention that there was discount yarn shop located in West Seattle that did mostly online business. So I wanted to share the website. http://www.littleknits.com/. I checked it out a few minutes ago and the prices are unbelievable. I will post an update with the hours that Little Knits is open to the public in Seattle. Once I recieve a reply to my email.

This week's meeting will in be in Queen Anne at the El Diablo Cafe. Hope to see you there:) Leave a comment if you need a ride or can't make the meeting.

Wedding Pictures

My wedding pictures are now available. Check them out at www.shack.smugmug.com

Reminder

Stitch n Bitch meeting is tomorrow night in Belltown at the Uptown Espresso. See you there! Also please let me know if you need a ride:)

Progress!!!!!

Last week Iwould not have been able to leave the dogs in the kitchen without Jasper crying until my nerves were shredded and I was heaped in guilt for not letting him roam the house. Tonight I got to enjoy watching 20 minutes of TV with Jasper and Samantha in the kitchen since they had just had dinner (I don't want any surprises to found later). I got to watch the last few minutes of TV show before heading outside with them for their nighttime walk. Hurray!

Fall Garden Clean Up

Today being a beautiful fall day I decided when after I got home from dropping Paul off at work that I would take time to clean up what had become of my summer garden. I yanked all the tomato plants out of their containers.

Lesson #1 Tomotaes needs LOTS of direct sunlight in order to grow and ripen into beautiful red globes for eating and canning.

Then I yanked the corn out of its container.

Lesson #2 Its a good idea to plant corn with enough room to grow...Space out the stalks and make sure there is also enough room for the roots.

Next it was time for the carrots. I should baby carrots. They were some what successful. Since there are about 20 primi baby carrots waiting to go into tonights soup and salad.

Lesson #3 Make sure your carrot container has enough root space and don't try to transplant them when thinning out.

After pulling out the tomatoes I found the basil plant that I had proudly made one batch of pesto from this summer. It looked very pitiful..I'm hoping it will make a come back for next summer's bounty.

Lesson #4 Don't hide your basil plant under the huge tomato plant.

Then I looked into my dedicated herb container and looked at 4 foot tall plant that used to be a small stevia start. I clipped about 2 feet off the top and brought the leaves inside to dry so I could sweeten my tea without going to the artiful sweetener. I'll let you how that turns out. I might make some mint stevia tea since I have a great mint plant down in the front yard.

Final Lesson - Keep a gardening journal with the dates that you had planted things so you know when to expect to harvest your crops.

I think I will try to plant some spinach for the winter. I'm open to any suggestions for a winter garden.


Well I have turkey soup to make now. Dinner is calling and the load of laundry that needs washing also....

Stitch n Bitch Wednesday October 21, 2008

This weeks meeting will in Belltown at the Uptown Espresso. See you there.

Kj

Announcements...

My brother Jaydan just announced his engagement to his girlfriend Mia. The two planned to be married in June.

Housekeeping

So I'm trying a new program that is supposed to help me develop good habits that will keep my house clean and clutter free. I'm only on day three but I really like the fact that the program doesn't require me to start with a clean house and recognizes that the house didn't get dirty and cluttered overnight.

Jasper and Samantha has vet appointments this morning. More shots for Samantha and Jasper. Samantha took her shots like a trooper and Jasper cried in protest. We also found out that Jasper still had his dew claws and a small hernia. The vet assured us that the hernia would be taken care of when he gets neutered in December. I'll have to remember to ask about the dew claws on our next visit for more shots in three weeks.

Samantha and Jasper have been adapting to their designated eating times. I almost have them willing to eat simultaneously...hurray and then we will work on eating without Paul or I in the kitchen...I have to remind myself that we are taking babysteps here and Jasper is not a carbon copy of Samantha.

Well its time for switch the laundry and bring up some stuff cooking dinner for next few days. I managed to sort threw all four bags of paperwork/filing that had been hiding under Paul's desk in the office and I am caught up on Thank you notes right now.

Jasper...

On Monday I flew to Boise to pickup Jasper --our new miniature schnauzer. Jasper is a cutie weighing in at 10lbs and he has the cutest little stubby legs and long body.

He and Samantha have been playing nonstop eversince. Samantha constantly has her happy face. Usually this face would only appear when she was playing with her cousin Max (my brothers dog).

Samantha's happy face.

Max's happy face when he got to come to play at our house with Samantha.

I'm excited because Paul and I have to two days off together this week and next week.

It's almost time to go back to work!

Tomorrow is my last day before I have to go back to work. In the last four week's Paul and I have gotten married, went on our honeymoon and adopted a new puppy. Jasper is still settling into our home but he and Samantha seem to be getting along just fine.

You can see our wedding and honeymoon pictures at www.shack.smugmug.com