easter rock

springtime is here

well, because we spent last weekend celebrating easter we took an unconventional route to it this weekend. we headed north with a truckload of gear for camping and rockclimbing. brett's twin brother flew in for the weekend. we skipped out of work a little early to get on the road and still had to set up camp in the dark friday night. we stopped at a gas station and had some pizza's made for supper. once we got the tents up and the campfire roaring we made some s'mores and went to bed sometime around 11.

half the siblings

saturday morning was chilly but not bad (it helps that i was snug and toasty all night). the other tent was cold all night; i guess that happens when visiting from the south and sharing covers with a dog. for breakfast we cooked hashbrown potatoes and scrambled eggs and sandwiched them in english muffins. it was nice to have something warm in the morning and the wood we saved to make a morning campfire was well worth the shortened fire the night before.

we hiked to our climbing destination and set up anchors for top rope and climbed several times before bart volunteered to run back to the truck to pack a lunch for us. when he got back we enjoyed turkey sandwiches, fruit, chips, and chocolate covered prezels. the shade was starting to creep into our base so we got out the big feather blanket for penny. (she is spoiled, and it's a more enjoyable day with a happy dog.) we got back home about 9pm and all took showers before crashing in the living room for about half hour before we declared it bedtime because we were all falling asleep.

me climbing

spoiled penny

sunday morning we slept in until 9 and i made chocolate chip muffins for breakfast. i started the laundry and brett started cleaning up the camping and climbing gear. we pretty much lazed around the house until lunchtime. we went out to a nice pub that we had never been to before and the food was really good. it was one of few restaurants open on easter sunday. angie took bart to the airport and we went to the grocery store. when we got back brett took a 2hr nap while i watched a movie. all while finishing up the 6 loads of laundry (the last still needing to make it's way into the dryer).

now onto the week and i'm going to bed a little early tonight. oh yeah, my books came in the mail today so i need to send them out tomorrow!

the loft

well, i hung the whimsies in the loft tonight. i think the wall needs something else so i'll keep my eyes open in the near future for the perfect accessory (the clock just looks like it's hanging out by itself). i also spent a few minutes messing around with the camera and some pretty little bird cages on my desk. i can't wait until it stays light out after i get home from work because these pictures are all starting to look a little incandescent-ly lit. i also think that i might make some slip covers for the pillows on the loft couch (not my pillows, not my couch, but it's located in my loft) they are seeming to need to be a little more cheerful and playful with the new wall art above them. i also have a big orange wall in the room that you can't see in this picture. something else to add to the ever-expanding list of projects.

i'm not speaking to penny today she snapped at me yesturday and now she's getting the silent treatment; brett is cooperating well by yelling at her when she comes to bother me.

2008 dahlias

on a positive note, my dahlias should be arriving in the mail shortly (and i'll need to find time to start those). something summery to look forward too. i've also managed to keep the tv (mostly) off since friday night. i'll be tuning in tonight for csi:ny and of course thursday for grey's anatomy. but i'm still trying to get used to the energy shift it takes to not just veg out every night. i'm very exhausted this week.

funny bunnies... late night

well, i have all my photos taken and my books ordered (cost more than i would have hoped). i will be anxiously awaiting them to arrive in the mail. for now here's a little preview. i would have liked to use daylight but i needed to get this done tonight and have too much work to play hookey right now for a craft project.

enjoy... very tired now...

out like a lamb

well, i would hardly say that march went out like a lamb this year. most of this past week has been chilly and rainy. april showers have taken over much of the first 5 days of april this year. we did have a sunny, partly warm day saturday but now there's about an inch of snow on the ground and it is still coming down.

saturday i drove home with penny in tow to go to the local quilt show with my mom. i picked up a few cute fabrics while there. the 2 on the left go together well and the one on the right is for another set of fabrics i already have in the project drawer. it was interesting to see the quilts but my mom and i had the same thoughts "are we really quilters? do our quilts look like that?" (and not in the positive way) although there were a few beautiful, inspirational quilts there, most were just odd as i guess quilts are...

i was away from home so i didn't think i'd get in any sewing or crafting this weekend but was inspired enough at the quilt show (and at the cracker barrel) to go back and raid my mom's scrap bin and find some fabrics to make this perfect little checkers set. it will be wonderful for our backpacking adventures this summer; we will only have to sacrifice a few oz. of food to fit this in our packs.

my crafting time should have been spent working on my hat (only 3.5 weeks left to finish) but it was sitting in my empty house and i was keeping myself busy with the checkers. this week i will have to pack it up temporarily for house guests next weekend. during the week i need to work on finishing up my easter book so i can stick it in the mail in hopes of it arriving to it's recipients soon after easter (i will do another blog on that when it's done). so by the time i get back to my hat there will only be a couple weeks left to finish. i think i've convinced brett to finish the ceiling fix (started in september) in mid-april so i will work on my hat that weekend.

sunday we went to my grandma & grandpa's to have our easter dinner, came home to do grocery shopping, hair cut, and clean up the house....

i'm also trying to find time to learn how to use my camera that i got for christmas and may need to make a "resolution" to spend at least 30 minutes a week reading the camera book. now i'm off to read my library book until bedtime and then it's back to the weekly grid of work, working out and working up the energy to do all the things i want to do.

end of an era

i think i started watching er in about 1996. i remember episodes before that but i didn't watch regularily before i was in high school (past my bedtime). i've been dreading this day since my er addiction began. i remember the good times when abby graduated med school, when neela married michael, when carter was a med student. i remember the bad times when dr. greene died of a brain tumor, when carter got stabbed, and when romano.... well, just romano.

this season has been sad watching everyone say goodbye in their own way. it's been nice to see dr. morris really is a good guy and sam and tony could work things out. but even nicer was the well written episodes. nobody went out with a bang, nothing super dramatic happened to anyone. the end was warm and friendly; like watching friends move along in their lives. the compilation of storylines across 15 years was amazing when carter's kidney transplant came from a donor in seattle who was a patient of dr. ross and nurse hathaway was in charge of transplants, when dr. benton stayed with carter in the nw hospital, when dr. corday interviewed neela for a job, and when neela moved to louisianna to be with ray.

i was fearing a night filled with tears. just thinking back to the last episode with dr. greene made me teary eyed. i remember that episode like it was yesterday when i fact it was 7 years ago. i did not shed any tears tonight. the final episode went out in true er fashion with a guest star, alexis bledel, and a good hearted story about the doctors and nurses of the er.

it is truely the end of an era.....