Here's how we're doing...

We've been cleaning the house this weekend in preparation for visitors coming next week for Veronica's graduation!  Yeah!!  It's been a LONG time since any family has been here to visit, so we're super excited that seven members (both sides) will be arriving soon.  I'm surprised I haven't got a phone call about Beryl from anyone, especially Mike's folks who arrive on Tuesday.  You'd think it was a category 5 Hurricane the way the media is going on and on (and on the weather channel).  We've only had a few minutes of hard rain and lots of clouds.  Maybe we'll see some overnight...that's when they're saying the most rain will fall.  We'll see.  I don't have a lot of faith in the weather people around here, can you tell?

We're trying not to stress too much about our pending move.  Got our approval on the rental in Annapolis and will finish all the paperwork next week.  We should be in our new house by July 2nd!  Wow!!  After our visitors leave, we'll really ramp up our preparations for moving.  Not 100% sure how everything is going to work (hence, the stress) but it will. Want to see more of the new house?  How about the kitchen?

Once again, crappy ipod photo.  That's a gas stove!  The counters are black speckled Corian. Good thing we already have bar stools for that counter area, huh?  The pantry has pull out shelving, too.  I'll be able to stand at the sink and look out the slider to the deck and woods outside...it's not a sparkly pool, but it is pretty nice. 

That yellow is the living room.  It's just looks super bright because of the sun coming in that room and the dark contrast of the kitchen (no lights on).  The yellow is bright, just not THAT bright.

Now, back to my knitting. 

Yeah!!

Have a great holiday tomorrow.  Don't forget to remember.

Baah!

The yarn is La Jolla (pictured above just in case you're not fortunate enough to know it first hand).

The yarn company is Baah!

Yum...huh?

Pick some up for yourself...in Jacksonville.  Go figure.

Found a house!!

Here's the house we found in Maryland!  It's in Annapolis...kinda across the Chesapeake River, then across the Magothy River...house is on the Little Magothy River.  Right on the river...you can see it from the back deck.  From the ground floor (lower level, no basement) you can walk out to the small yarn, then onto a path to the river.  Gracie might like that!  She'll love hanging out on the deck and front balconies, too.  Gotta keep watch on the neighborhood for squirrels, right?  The house has 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 2 half baths (that's alot of toilets to clean, I know).  And FOUR FLOORS.  See the stair photo below. It's in a great school district with the High School of choice, in other words, the best band program.  Hey, got to have priorities!

Dizzy yet?  I am.

I also found a great yarn shop called All About Yarn in Columbia. 

I got some Regia!  Haven't found/bought Regia since the early days of knitting when you couldn't get sock yarn except by ordering it through a catalogue on the phone!  (Remember that, mom?)

Also got a skein of Opal's Van Gogh yarn...Sunflowers!

The best news is that they carried Jitterbug!!  I almost got some, but resisted.  I figure I'll have plenty opportunity to get a Jittgerbug fix once I move. 

Anyway, the shop was HUGE, plenty of yarn too (I hate "skimpy" shops with only a ball or two of each color out.).  There was plenty of sock yarn, lace, cotton blends, wools (all weights) and kid/baby yarn.  The shop owner was nice, too.  Always a plus!

The house we found is actually closer to the first shop I found called Yarn Garden, not that I would hesitate to travel to this one!  

Veronica's Prom Pics...

 Veronica and Alan...and the gang!  Pictures were taken at Alan's house.

 All the girls!

 Their home was lovely...even a beautiful staircase, which made for great prom photos!

 This was in our front yard.

There were still a few missing from the group when this was taken.  I think they had about 20 in all.  

Emma for Becky

I finished Becky's shrug for her son's wedding!  Christine was nice enough to model it for me at knitting on Wednesday.  It's Emma and the yarn is an alpaca lace weight yarn, doubled.  Very easy and fun to knit.

It's going to be sent on it's way to San Diego tomorrow!

Happy 20th Anniversary

Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens

 Our day at the Jacksonville Zoo was awesome!  It had rained all morning, so when we got to the zoo at around 1:00 pm, it was damp (not raining) and empty!  This was taken in Butterfly Hollow. 

 You can't tell, but the Trout River is in the background.  Lovely spot.  The jasmine was in full bloom and smelling wonderful!

 Emile and Justine enjoying the Florida section of the zoo.

 The big kids got to play on the elephant statue!

 A little zoo humor...very little.

 In the aviary this bird decided to nest right next to the walkway so cones were put up to keep visitors away.  Can you see her? 

Giraffe viewing/feeding area.  The newest baby giraffe was there...so cute! We didn't feed them...having fed giraffes on the Wild Animal Park's safari ride, it just didn't compare. I guess that park is now called San Diego Zoo's Safari Park.  Oh brother.

In the ape enclosure, all three mothers were laying huddled together in the grass with their babies.  Just hanging out...it was very "human" like.  The only thing missing was Starbucks and sippy cups.

This was my first trip to the zoo and I thought it was very nice.  Small compared to SD, but beautiful, well kept and lots of beautiful plants and animals! I felt somewhat closer to the animals than the SD zoo, too.  Smaller enclosures and all, I guess. 

Mike and I decided we can't wait to visit the National Zoo in Washington DC!