project life week 23.

...I love this project. and I love it even more when I stay with it. caught up as it were.

here's the in process shot.

it looks calm, doesn't it? and yes, it felt that way, too. not sure if this is a new trend, or just something special for last week, but I'm open to either!

here's the finished spread.

click these photos to see them larger...maybe clearer?

and two of my favorite details.

first up, a screen shot of our new (not-tied-to-our home-phone!!!!) security system monitor...and a bit of journaling about that. yes. we were paying $34 a month for home phone (that no one uses/needs) and $18 a month for security monitoring. now we're paying $34 a month for that wonderful alarm monitoring/application on my phone (!!!) and $25 for ALL the tv channels + 2x faster internet. net net = +$7. even marc is proud of me!  [I probably should've captured more of that story in the journaling, but ... I didn't :-)]

another great story... I finally met marc's golf buddies and their wives for dinner saturday night. and I had a wonderful time. we need "couple friends" and I think this is a great start. the comments from my girlfriends about the whole thing really lifted me up.  I hope he meets them soon!

wordless wednesday.

10 things to do at the beach.

...life interfered with my plans yesterday, so I missed ten on tuesday. this, then, is ten on wednesday morning...and I'm hoping to be back on track with wordless wednesday before today is over. thanks for hanging in there with me!

thanks, carole, for yet another fun topic...and reminding me I must get a beach trip planned for 2013!!

click the photos to see more info in flickr

1. watch the sunrise. early morning is one of my favorite times. combining it with a gorgeous sky, a cup of coffee, my journal (and my camera) gets me in a good place to enjoy the rest of the day.

2. watch the sunset. while the sunrise is most often a solitary thing, sunset is the party to start the evening. best enjoyed with friends (and family!), a carafe of wine, on a blanket just by the water's edge.

3. read. a few of our summer trips coincided with the release of harry potter books. it was great fun to have the freedom to read, and read, and read...and then have others to discuss the story with. my sister and I would judge the success of our vacation by the height of the read pile of books. most years our piles were at least a foot high. of course now with the kindle, that doesn't work the same, does it?

4. walk.

5. ride bikes.

6. play in the waves.

7. knit.

8. watch people.

9. eat.

10. take photos!

click here to join the ten on tuesday fun!

happy birthday.

...to my mother!

august 23, 1964 - that's my grandmother at the end of the table (all absorbed in not looking at the camera), and then my mom, me and my dad

here's to pointy hats and family parties! and birthday girls with big smiles, looking happy and fabulous!

wordless wednesday.

project life weeks 21 and 22.

...yep, this is it - all caught up! week 21 was a big one and that took a little extra time, but thanks to marc having a meeting tonight, I finished it...and week 22 (last week!). I do love the process of this project, but I especially enjoy the moments of being finished. with a project that continues, that finished feeling is always fleeting, so I'm savoring four more days this week before the next "deadline".

I've read about folks who do their pages throughout the week, but so far, that hasn't been me. I collect photos and stuff...and then once the week is done, I comb through it to see what I have, how it works (together), etc and decide how I want to layout the week.

left side + front of 6x6 - week 21

back of 6x6 + right side - week 21

for this week, I had a few large momentos and a lot of smaller ones. that 6x6 divider (page design E) was the perfect solution for the larger elements (I decided last week that I would let the back of it be simple patterned paper...and I still deliberated for a good 20 minutes tonight on which papers would go where!)

here are close-ups of two of those 6x6 windows.

lower left. this is the 2nd package I've received from ravelry and I was determined to put that fabulous graphic into the album!

upper left. cutout of the paper bag from our takeout and photostrip with paislee press' snapshot frames (LOVE these!!)

last week (week 22) was another biggie in terms of LIFE. sara moved out. I cooked.

week 22 full spread

I used two layout A's because they worked...and I definitely used more journaling to tie it together.  one of my goals with this project is to use my own handwriting...those journaling cards help. 

two fun details. first, thursday night at sara's (yes, "at sara's". wow!)

parking is a real bummer...especially when it runs out before we're ready! we ate at sara's coffee table. glass-topped. practical!

and then... the grocery shopping and cooking I did.

kroger receipt documenting "real groceries" alongside a note about what I cooked. maybe someday me cooking won't be so momentous!

project life week 20.

...I'm sure I worried more than anyone else that I just didn't get around to this last week*! I did edit and print - and even pick up! - the photos. but I just didn't have the time to pull it all together. until tonight. marc's away and I planned this evening of #projectlife back on monday. seems like the perfect way to spend an evening alone (of course there's holly, and wine. and popcorn, but still!)

I can't believe this was just three weeks ago.

left side

right side ( I couldn't get anything remotely ok with a full-page spread and the overhead light. sorry!)

before sara was home...and then gone. olympics was 24/7. nothing cast on and nothing new started. even the weather seems like a dream (I guess that's one of the things I love about this project - it lets me remember all that stuff ). 

and especially the little details. like the opening prayer on sunday. how I folded hundreds of pairs of kids' underwear (because I'm sure I'll want to remember that, right?!) and that lovely silk scarf tied around my oh-wow-is-it-raining-again curly hair...

and staying up way too late (after an early evening latte) to read the last hunger games because I promised sara I would (before she got home from oxford) and the bottle of wine marc bought for saturday night because he'll be playing golf with the winemaker (tom klein - not blurred on purpose) on his next trip to california.

nothing that important in the big scheme...but fun nonetheless to remember about this one week on our lives. 

I do love this project!

*and my grand plan to do week 20 and week 21 tonight fell through this morning when I realized there was no way I could get all of week 21's (last week) photos edited, uploaded and printed before 9am. oh well!

wordless wednesday.

10 favorite childhood tv shows.

...I hate to admit it, but I wasn't very excited about this topic yesterday. but this morning, I started a list, and it got me remembering...fun times as a child*. when we pored over the tv guide (from the newspaper, never the magazine you could buy separately) each week to see what would be on and we knew "friday night is the brady bunch" and (a few years later) "saturday night is love boat and fantasy island". don't get me wrong, I LOVE my dvr and all my cable channels. but tv was so much simpler then, wasn't it?!

Perry Mason - photo credit

1. Perry Mason. it came on at lunchtime during the summers of my early teen years. I'm sure I had a huge crush on raymond burr. and I also remember making egg salad sandwiches (for one!) to eat while I watched.

2. General Hospital. (sorry mother!). the luke and laura story line was hot my last year of high school. fortunately, school got out in time for us to watch it at 3pm. [and since this whole list is a guilty pleasure, I'll even admit that I got hooked again the spring of 1987, when I was home with a newborn...I'd plan our day to be home from one til four so I could watch the whole ABC soap lineup. whew, I'm glad I got that off my chest!]

3. M*A*S*H. this one was a favorite with my whole family. marc and I still like to watch, but katie & sara never really caught on.

4. Love Boat and Fanstasy Island. two shows forever linked in my mind because they were the saturday night lineup when I was in high school. I watched when I baby sat. and we watched if it was friends hanging out.

5. The Brady Bunch. I remember it came on at 7pm on friday night (just before The Partridge Family) and I really wanted to watch the whole hour. But my parents liked Sanford and Son (and another show I can't remember), so I rarely got to see it real-time. I enjoyed the re-runs just as much.

6. It Takes a Thief. (oh my, did this really only air for two and a half seasons??!) I remember this from re-runs. I adored robert wagner (didn't we all?) and I also loved hart to hart (but that started when I was in college!)

...and now we move to the sixties and seventies chick flick sitcoms. I hope these shows made a lot of our lists!

7. That Girl. sadly, as katie can attest, life as a single girl in manhattan really isn't that fun!

8. Bewitched .maybe this explains why I'm completely enamored with the all souls series?

9. The Flying Nun.

10. I Dream of Jeannie.

...funny, as I type this I see that three of those last four are about girls with "super" powers. I haven't seen any episodes of those shows in years. I wonder what I'd think about them - or really, about any on this list! - now.

carole, this was a great topic. thank you!

click here to join the ten on tuesday fun!

*which I'm very loosely interpreting to be through high school. I don't have many memories of tv before the age of 8 or 9, so I figure giving myself an 8 or 9 year window is probably good!

FO friday. for the olympics.

...cue the national anthem and raise those stars and stripes.  my two olympics knitting (aka "ravallenics games") projects are done!

I entered two projects - a work-in-progress to finish.

and a charity hat to start and finish.

yep, both are done. and I officially crossed the ravelry finish lines just a few minutes ago. which means I should have medals to post shortly.

of course I couldn't help but think about what I'm going to knit next now that these projects are done.

first up?

pink. and purple. for my friend martha's new baby girl.

and then measure for measure for the shop KAL that starts next week.

and back to chaleur which was a bit neglected these past few weeks.

(...it never ends... :-)

fifty for 50. the 100 day plan.

...I knew this year was going to fly by, but I was still caught a bit off guard last week when I uploaded daily photo 257...and realized I'd hit 266 yesterday. that's right. just 100 days left in my 50th year. a few years back I had a boss who was big into "100 day plans" and that idea struck a chord to (re-)focus my efforts on the fifty for 50 list.

as I wrote back in march, flexibility and planning are critical. so is being realistic! I went through the list this morning to see exactly where I was and noted a few more "done":

1. ten projects knit from my stash - they were all cowls and hats, but still...
2. poppies needlepoint (it's off with the finisher now).
3. strength training routine/regular walking - a big change for me this summer; I now regularly attend 4-5 pilates, barre and zumba classes each week, together with walking three days and running two. feels like this is truly an all-around fitness program and I'm seeing results and feeling better (and enjoying it!)
4. manicures - I hit a rough patch after non-stop linen/silk knitting in may and june, but it's better now and I am definitely committed to keeping it up.
5. volunteering at a senior center - holly & I are now helping to facilitate a knitting group at the roswell nursing home on thursday afternoons. (how perfect is that!?!)
6. twitter :-)

then I crossed off or gave myself permission to not finish quite a few. things related to cooking (there were four; I finished one with sara's help; started two others; and have made no more progress since may), cleaning out the guestroom and organizing the pre-2003 photos, reading mere christianity, card-making (meh!) and finishing all my knitting WIPs (I made some progress - it's now only seven projects and they all fit in one small basket :-)

...and that leaves me with a manageable number of big things to complete:

• raising $2,500 (we're nearly halfway) for the 2-day walk...and walking 30 miles.
• revitalizing the prayer shawl ministry.
• celebrations for my dad's 75th birthday and sara's 21st.
• a new lace class in october.
• a trip to chattanooga this fall.
• 45 more random acts of kindness.
• four needlepoint projects (and three new stitches).

these next 100 days are going to be busy. and fun.

wordless wednesday.

my 10 favorite ways to eat tomatoes.

...aahhh, another topic inspired by summer garden bounty. I wish I had more. truly, tomatoes are one of may favorite foods and fresh from the garden?! oh my.

not that I needed much, but I did find good inspiration on my flickr page. yeah, 50+ images of tomatoes in the past five years :-)

1, 3, 4, 5

1. caprese salad. that one above is from bryant park grill in nyc and it's my favorite from a restaurant but we make a pretty mean one at home. simply sliced tomatoes, layered with fresh mozzarella, with a pile of fresh greens tossed in the middle (lightly dressed with a champagne vinaigrette). and a few slices of fresh bread to soak up the goodness that ends up on the plate.

2. roasted on a caesar salad. or simply roasted. this is my favorite caesar salad hands down. I make the dressing even if I don't do the rest...and I love those tomatoes on any salad.

3. empty nesting BLT's. the second photo above and honestly, not something I ever thought would be a favorite. but it is. something about friday/saturday night perhaps?

4. in salsa (oh my fresh is fabulous, but I haven't made it in years!!) ... and of course with fresh chips and a margarita.

5. in dressing. I posted about tomato basil vinaigrette last summer. and I'm reminded how much I love it. and need to make it again.

6. thinly sliced. especially on a pizza.

7. sandwiched with swiss cheese. in rye bread. grilled.  (this was my treat of choice when I was pregnant with katie 25+ years ago)

8. thinly sliced. on a bagel spread with whitefish. 

9. mick's tomato soup (a fond memory from 20+ years ago...I googled it to find the recipe...looks genuine. and I hope it is)

10. tomato cobbler. the only dish on this list I haven't made. but I hope to. soon. because blue cheese biscuits are just meant for roasted tomatoes!

...hope to find a few new tomato ideas from y'all...and maybe I've inspired you to try a few new ones!

project life. week 19.

...week 19 ran july 22 through july 28. I finally added a a few strands of yarn to my journal band (yes! I finished projects!), katie & I had a fun dinner out at ecco...and the ravellenic games (aka "knitting along with the olympics") began in high style at the shop. here's the spread.

click the photos to see them larger. that lower right shot is from the shop's flickr page (here) and most of the others are on mine.

and two closeups. first up, completely not olympics related. love the iphone screen shots for capturing memorable words with friends moments :-) and my first real yoga class. funny. I picked my pilates studio because they offered vinyasa flow classes (which is what katie recommended) but it took me nearly two months to take a class. I did enjoy it, but it cuts deep into my saturday morning and I don't think I'll be able to make it a routine.

...and then completely olympics related. the huge celebration at the shop for the start of the ravellenics games. and the very fun tweet conversation with sara...who was in england watching the ceremonies live. (have I mentioned here before? I love twitter!)

yeah, oops, I neglected to screen shot the twitter exchange til early this week - it did happen between 4 and 5 pm last friday!

...and so another week done. (thank you for hanging in with me...seriously, the commitment to post here each week motivates me...and I love that you're following along!)

july. in photos.

...oh my, another month flown by. thank goodness I have the photos to remind me where it went!

you can see all the photos here

a nice mix of outside and in, sunshine and ... not, knitting and other activities, fun times with others and time alone. it was a very good month!

(and thank you to carole for getting me back in the habit of this monthly post. it is a wonderful way to celebrate the daily photo habit!)

wordless wednesday.