Gotta Love Those Grandkids

I was fortunate recently to be able to visit both my grandchildren while Kim held down the fort here in Montana.

First I spent a week with my grandson in Boise.

Pause.

He's soooooo cute.  How many pictures can I post?  Too many.  I will sacrifice and limit myself.

Russell had his first serious encounter with baby food.  He ended up loving it and opening his mouth like a baby robin for each bite.

He is close to crawling and we spent a lot of time on the floor.

There were also some sleepless nights as he was teething and didn't mind letting us all know about it;  all night long.

Of course we had to visit Goldy's while I was there.  And Russell sported the little Wee La Nina vest I had knitted for him.

We spent some time checking out clouds in the sky.

He helped me shop for yarn.

We walked.

And walked some more.

I also strengthened my bond with Freddy. (Very important.)

It was a great visit.

Time to move on to the Seattle area.  Where I got to spend time with this cutie.

Check out that hair!  My grandchildren have "opposite hair".

The following three pictures will give you an idea of playtime with a two year old.

She's a riot!  She kept me very busy playing with her.

And she's very confident.  Gotta love that.

We ate delicious Thai food and Hayden tried a coconut.

She loves her Mama!

I was worried she wouldn't warm up to me as it had been too long since I'd seen her.  It took her about 10 minutes to start directing our playtime.  She knows what she wants.

Also, this next generation.......technology DOES NOT frighten them!  She knows the difference between a photo and a video on a cell phone.  She loves playing games on cell phones.
What leaps will there be in the next 20 years?

My son and I watched a Green Bay game together.  Go Packers!

Hayden christened me "Grammie" while I was there.  Perfect.  Grammie I am.

Great visits with my children, their spouses, and both grandchildren.
And........another grandson on his way next month!  Time to add to the fun!

There are more important things than babies......or maybe not.

I've been taking a "staycation" this week to help my daughter with her new baby.
Such hardship on my part.
Not. At. All.

It's been great.
I would love to, and could, post all kinds of endless baby pictures here but I'll save you from me.

Actually, here's a couple.

I caught a tiny smile today, accidentally.  They're few and fleeting and usually happen while he's sleeping.  So probably not even technically a "smile."  But who cares, right?

And he and his Seattle cousin, Hayden, met briefly for the first time.

There IS other news......believe it or not.  

I finished this sweater for my friend's rescued chihuahua and it fit Nellie pretty well.

Nellie always looks so regal.

And spring is bursting at the seams here in Boise.
Tree in downtown;

And phlox in our front yard;

Another This and That and I'm Famous!

Surprise, surprise, I've been knitting!  (Seems like that's all I want to do lately.)  Lately I love knitting while listening to books on tape.  For a while I was using LibriVox.  Then I figured out how to download audible books from our library onto my iPod and I've been obsessed with that.

Here's a sweater I recently finished.  And guess what?  It fits! I used this pattern from Ravelry.

I also recently finished these gloves.  They were a challenge for me, and I enjoyed them.  (They aren't perfect, I pulled a bit tight on the corners and there's a ridge consequently, but I'll survive.)  Isn't it a gorgeous pattern though?  If you're a knitter, and not on Ravelry, you should be.  Although I recently pinned a bunch of gorgeous patterns from Pinterest.  These gloves are Kihnu Gloves from Nancy Bush.

Guess who thinks I should throw his ball?  Mr. Gimp.  Ridiculous.

His best is getting in and out our back door without assistance.  He needs to give up on chasing balls for quite some time.

Recently I did some work in the garden.  

What does that really mean? "Worked in the garden."

I pulled weeds.

But I did see these pretty tulips blooming.

And these forget me nots, from a garden blogger friend.  Spring really has arrived.

Felix snuggled up while I was knitting.

I got to spend time with my adorable granddaughter.

Kim and I had another great trip to Stargaze yurt.

Sans Scarface this time.  We took Chelsea with us but Scarface had to stay home due to his ACL issues.  Vanessa was unfortunate enough to get to care for him while we were gone.

And my first ever radio interview aired this week.  You can listen in here.

"Monica interviews special guest Victoria Williams and they discuss her blog where she writes about her love of gardening, knitting, cooking, camping, and family.  Victoria talks about when she first met Monica and the powerful experience that she had that night as well as her past adventures and hopeful new ones.  They also talked about life challenges and the challenges of being a parent."

It's Coming

Spring is threatening in our area.  We actually could use more winter, especially more snow pack.

Daffodils are poking up their heads.

Alliums are feeling the warming weather.

Looks as if we'll see at least a few hellebore blossoms.

Snowdrops are blooming in the shade garden.

The longer days have caused our girls to put out more eggs.

Frankie and Chelsea share a warm spot.

I got to spend some time babysitting my granddaughter.

I also knitted a sweater for her. It's the 7 Hour Sweater from Ravelry. I like the pattern quite a bit.

And Scarface has torn his ACL.

Here he is without surgery:



We're debating the wisdom of spending thousands of dollars on him.

Fifth Holiday Post

My family celebrated our "Christmas" together yesterday.  Had lots of fun.
Our granddaughter Hayden was a big attraction.
Here she is modeling the duck hat I knitted.  She's also wearing her Green Bay onesie, because, well, she must.  Her Daddy is a big Green Bay fan.

Here Hayden attempts to eat her aunts hand.

Daddy entertains her for a while.

Grandma and Grandpa get in on some baby loving action.

Everyone enjoyed the hand knit socks I made for them.  And Kim gave his home made beer, which was a big hit of course.

There was football to watch.

And lots to eat.

  I went for appetizers this year instead of a sit down dinner.

Using recipes from Pinterest:

The Schweddy Balls, (yes, remember them from SNL? - Schweddy Balls skit), well, they were a hit. Easy to make, too.





Garlic Herb Roasted Shrimp with Homemade Cocktail Sauce;  also popular, and again, easy to make.

And who doesn't like red pepper jelly with cream cheese?  This time with a cranberry twist for Christmas.  Delicious.

I took a chance and tried this Scarpaccia.  It's all veggie, but also I left off a portion of cheese at the end for those with a dairy intolerance.  Worked well.  Made a lot.

There were also Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Garlic Aioli (delicious), guacamole, hummus, fresh veggies, and, thanks to my daughter, a variety of olives.  My friend Carol brought over pork and seeds.

For dessert, three new recipes.

Lemon Shortbread Truffles were a big disappointment to me.  Maybe I'm just not good at making them.  They never achieved a nice "rolling" consistency.  Then I added too much yellow food coloring and they were orange instead of yellow.  Oh well, win some, lose some.  I made my own shortbread cookies for this recipe and my own lemon curd.  Still have plenty of those leftover so it's not a complete let down.

And some chocolate for dessert is a must.  These brownies really hit the spot.  I think they'll be my go-to brownie recipe from now on.  Supposed to be one of Oprah's favs.  I see why now.

Am I the only person who likes meringues? Well, in my family anyway.  I love that crunchy texture on the outside and the way they melt in your mouth.  I thought these Peppermint Meringues were a nice dairy free dessert option.  And pretty, too.  Also super easy.

Later we played monopoly...

and watched a movie.  Bad Words is good fun.  Rohan Chand is adorable.

To top off the day we even received more snow.

It was a great day.  The one sour part was when Scarface growled at Hayden, so he was banished from the house for a while.  That's part of the reason he's part of our household now, he's a grouchy old turd.