Finally ... A Finished Project

It's been a fairly long while since I've actually finished a project. I've started many. The deadline was looming on this one, however ... the baby is due January 3rd and the baby shower was Tuesday. The sewing part of this quilt was VERY fun and went very quickly. The hand quilting was, however, tedious and time consuming. I could have knitted a blankie in the time it took me to hand quilt this one. Perhaps it would have been quicker had I actually known what I was doing. Balancing the laptop and watching youtube videos on hand quilting while trying to master the technique was a bit challenging. By the time I finished this quilt, I think I had pretty much mastered the theory of the technique, although I can't say that the stitches are exactly uniform. And uniformity, I believe, is the desired outcome.

Still, this blankie was very fun to make and I find myself contemplating the next quilting project. I plan, however, to check out machine quilting services for the bigger projects and save the hand quilting for table runners and other smallish items.

Catalog Love

The Garnet Hill Christmas Catalog just arrived and is filled with so much happiness I can hardly stand it. This catalog is my all-time favorite ... and I get lots of catalogs. How can you not love this felted wool Christmas tree skirt?

Wouldn't that be a fabulous winter knitting project? It reminds me of all of the felted items I saw at the Münchner-Freitheit Christmas market last year. And as long as we're talking about felted treasures, how cute is this game?


Wouldn't that be fun to make for a special little someone? These elf Advent calendars are also very sweet, with little pockets to hold the day's treasure:

And wouldn't you just love to wake up Christmas morning snuggled under these fluffy sheep?

Love Love Love

A Visit to The Bard and Other Quick Stops

Many miles were driven this week (precisely 614, thank you GoogleMaps) and a few sites were seen. Mike and I set off early Monday morning for Bend, where we presented a NT4CM workshop at OSU Cascades that afternoon. Last year the crowd at Bend Brewing Co. was overwhelming and we ended up at The Pine Tavern for dinner, which is, after all, THE place to eat in Bend. And we watched the snow falling on Mirror Pond. This year, however, Bend Brewing Co. had a place for us, as well as a a pint of Metolius Golden Ale. And, while it was a bit cool, the sun was bright and the moon was full and the sky was clear. Tuesday morning we left early for Ashland and our 1 pm workshop at Southern Oregon University. The weather was completely fabulous and I simply could not resist making a few stops to snap a few pictures and breath in that fresh pine-scented air. The tripod, unfortunately, was accidentally left behind and I was therefore unable to experiment with falling water and slow shutter speeds, something I've been wanting to try with the new camera. Probably a good thing, however, as we arrived at SOU just in time to grab a sandwich and cookie and load up the PowerPoint.

No time to catch a play, only a glimpse of the Elizabethan Stage. And dinner with Rick, who has finally found his way back to Oregon after a very successful, albeit cold, career-defining moment in Alaska. Brew pubs are starting to become a tradition for these trips, I guess, and we ended up at the Standing Stone Brewing Company for dinner and THE BEST Oktoberfest beer I've had in ... well ... a very long time.

I could definitely spend some time in Ashland. But not today. For tomorrow it's back to work (well, Reed-like work) AND Mr. Ben's 16th birthday. Where does the time go?

Sand Between My Toes

Craig and I finally got away to the beach over the weekend. For the first time this summer ... can that be right? We usually head to the beach the day after school's out, but events conspired to keep us away. Summer school schedules, College Board meetings, driving practice (for the 15 year old) ... and all of the sudden you realize it's the end of July and you haven't felt sand between your toes for a very long time. It seems life was less complicated when the boys were small and we headed to the beach nearly every weekend during the summer.

While we have many traditions that can't be skipped when we go to Lincoln City, we haven't developed those traditions in Seaside (other than, of course, setting up camp at Del Rey Beach). But we're working on it. We lunched at Bagels by the Sea (visited for the first time last summer), bought a half dozen bagels to go for afternoon snacks and picked up a chocolate dipped vanilla cone at the Gearhart DQ on the way home. I consider that to be a fine start. Oh, and I should mention, I finished one sleeve on Craig's sweater. Knitting at the beach is one tradition that transcends location.

Backyard Happiness

Bambi's mother wandered through our backyard this morning while I was making Belgian waffles. Sometimes I think I should just leave the tripod set up on the deck to catch these wildlife moments.

German Graffiti

Really? On a college campus? This young graffiti artist needs a spell-checker. Or is this a commentary on the strength of the German department on this particular campus?

Ja, ich spreche Deutsch. Vielleicht ein wenig besser als du. Vielleicht.

Spring in San Francisco

I just returned from Sungard's Summit in San Francisco and, as the saying goes, I don't need to do that again. Attend Summit, that is. I'll go to San Francisco any day. Brian picked me up at the SF airport on Saturday afternoon and we went to dinner that evening at Catch, which was fabulous. When I checked into the St. Francis, I wasn't paying attention and ended up on the fifth floor of the new tower. Sarah, however, lucked out and got a room on the eleventh floor of the original building and graciously invited me over to take a picture of her view.

I got home from San Francisco just in time to catch the Canadian redbuds in full bloom. The deck is pink with the waxy blossoms that will soon find their way into the house and grind themselves into the hardwood floors but, at the moment, it's all very lovely.

Summer Shirt I

I presented a workshop at the Student Success and Retention Conference at the airport Sheraton a few weeks back and my reward was a stop at Fabric Depot on the way home. I really do not like speaking in front of crowds, so to counter the stress I treat myself afterward. Usually the treat is a milkshake at Burgerville on the way home from a high school FA night. The thing is, there is a Burgerville across the street from Fabric Depot. Life doesn't get much better than that. I certainly didn't need to add to my fabric stash, but this cotton was 50% off and called to me. A couple of yards was just under $12.00. A few days later, this pattern called to me from the Vogue website. Luckily, patterns that day were on sale for $5.99. It took me a few more days to picture the two together and it turned out to be a good match.

The tucks are a bit tedious, but once they are done the rest of the shirt goes together fast and easy.

San Diego Weekend

I was in San Diego for a College Board Council meeting and the view from my balcony at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines was ... well ... fabulous. I allocated Thursday's travel time to finish up a work project, but once I arrived in La Jolla, the day was just too perfect to sit in front of a computer.

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is just a couple of miles from the hotel and a number of trails lead to the beach. I took the Razor Point Trail, which promised dramatic views of the gorge and picturesque trees. I was not disappointed.


I met Peter Rabbit on the trail and we chatted for a bit. I asked him where he had left his blue jacket this time. He found the question rude and hopped off to find his cousin, Benjamin Bunny.

Being a Northerner, cacti always surprise and fascinate me.


As I walked back to the hotel, the smell of eucalyptus made me stop and linger for a bit. I contemplated how cool it would be to pitch a tent and camp in a grove of eucalyptus trees.


One of my favorite pictures that I often use as wallpaper on my work computer came with my Mac. The picture is of a field of lavender, and when I came across this scene I tried to duplicate that picture. I was not entirely successful. There was a bit of a breeze and the sun was setting so I didn't have much choice with shutter speed and focal length. And I wasn't interested in using a flash. And I didn't have a tripod.


And then I came across these flowers, backlit by the setting sun.

There's no question in my mind why so many people live in San Diego. Nice place.

A Sure Sign of Spring

Daffodils are always a sure sign that spring has arrived. I can't think of many things that are as beautiful as fields of daffodils. Tulips, maybe. Perhaps irises. Perhaps.

But daffodils just happen. Year after year. Carelessly coexisting with blackberry brambles and English ivy.

Spring has arrived in Oregon.

Happy Valentines Day

The day was celebrated with Linzer Cookies, made with the cookie cutter Der Peter bought for me at the München Weihnachtsmarkt.

Birthday Schnecken

Another excellent way to celebrate a birthday--particularly an office birthday--is with Schnecken. German cinnamon rolls. Literally translated: Snails, because of the spiral that is made when the dough is rolled up, then sliced. Celeste's birthday was last week, and our office likes to celebrate birthdays in the morning with still warm bakery goods and hot coffee and a "meeting in progress" sign on the door. These schnecken are filled with pecans and butter and lots of brown sugar. The dough is a simple sweet, soft yeast dough and yes, I admit to using a bread machine when making the dough. And although I'm not a fan of silicon baking pans, I do keep silicon muffin pans specifically for making schnecken. In a regular metal muffin pan, you have to worry about the sugar burning, but not so with the silicon pans. The brown sugar and butter does exactly what it's supposed to do; that is, make a sugary glaze that coats the bun when the pan is turned upside down on a cooling rack and the buns are released.

A Piece of Cake, a Bit of Snow, and a Ball of Yarn

There is no better way to celebrate a birthday than to indulge in a piece of good chocolate cake. With ice cream, of course. For my mother-in-law's birthday, I made this Double Chocolate Praline Fudge Cake. The recipe is in my very favorite cookbook, the Gooseberry Patch Christmas Cookbook. Sure, I also found the recipe online, but there are so many other recipes in this book that are not online. Every recipe I've made from this cookbook has become a family favorite. I had planned to make cinnamon ice cream to serve with the cake, but, lacking energy, I picked up some Häagen Dazs Five Brown Sugar ice cream ... my favorite. Perfect with this cake.

As I returned from the store with the Häagen Dazs, snow began to fall. In earnest. As I watched the snow accumulate on the deck, I started to have doubts about asking the seventyandeightysomething in-laws to venture out on I-5. So the birthday party was delayed and the cake went into the refrigerator, much to Ben's dismay.

With an afternoon now free, I sat down with the yarn I bought in Tübingen and started a scarf. Knitting and falling snow just seem to go together.