Completions

We've reached a few milestones here. First, the interior of the Bellevue house is finally complete. The outside of the house, well, I'll let the following video speak for that. Dennis is really happy with everything he's done on the inside, and excited about the plans for the landscape.

I finally completed Dennis' Machrihanish Fair Isle vest. I'm as equally as pleased with my accomplishment as Dennis is with his. Although mine doesn't hold a candle to his project! But after a year of knitting that thing, and worrying about the size as well as cutting the steeks, I have to say, It looked and fit pretty darn good. Win!

On another crafty note, I've been turning out the needlepoint projects rather quickly. I now have 2 pieces out for finishing (cha-ching!) and several others in the works. I decided to paint a picture of Jack on a canvas, and I must say, it's a pretty good likeness! That will be a lenghty project, but a fun one.

I also cast on the Naima sweater for myself. There's only one way to describe that pattern - shit show. Wow, talk about lost in translation. If English isn't your first language, don't even try to convert a German pattern into English. Although it has been a struggle, it's turning out ok. My count is off a bit, and I have no idea why, but I'm crossing my fingers that I can do some fudging.

Where Do I Begin?

Appropriately, I should begin with happy 2017! Time has flown by this year, as it does every year. My wish for 2017 is for a slow down in time and place - I suppose that's a near impossible tall order. Since my last post in May, I have been balls-out busy with work, and Denny with the house renovations. The house renovation is still progressing with the interior nearing completion. That's still the main story of our lives, with a few new things since my last post in May. Here are the before pictures of the house, you can see the progress! The other big news is the new addition to our family. We have made room in our busy lives for a new dog - Jack. Jack is a constant reminder of what living with a toddler was like. We lovingly refer to him as Jackass, Jack-a-lope, Jackhole, and Impy. He is full of piss and vinegar, but incredibly loving and sweet. Life will never be the same. Jack came to us, believe it or not, via Facebook. I had been following a Jack Russell breeder in Kansas for quite sometime, with a dim thought of buying a JR from her. In September she posted a picture of little Jack on her Facebook page, with the hope of rehoming him through her follwers. Jack had originally been from one of her litters 2 years previous to his return to her. He came back to the breeder because his owner died very suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 54. His owner asked the breeder to take him until she was able to leave the hospital and return home - that never happened. Through many emails back and forth, and other people in the mix to adopt, the breeder said she would like for us to have him. It has been an adventure ever since. We love him, and although his antics can be annoying, we find him to be a constant source of entertainment... My sister, her family, and my mom made a whirlwind stop this summer while trekking across the country to their new home in Utah. That was fun, but too short. Even though they were only here for a little longer than 24 hours, we crammed in some good times. A trip to the Henry Dorley zoo, and my back yard zoo kept everyone very entertained. I didn't make my usual trip to Minnesota this year. Time and money held me back, so here's hoping for more of both this year. *insert laughing here* I will definitely plan something, but not sure what that will be. No getaway this year really made me unbearably grumpy. I tried to capture that last few months in pictures. As you can tell, I've had many projects. I scored a new vintage sewing machine at an auction for $5. Nobody bid on it because it was locked in a wooden beehive case that didn't have a key.I brought it home with only a mild hope for a decent machine. After researching how to open the case, I found a near cherry machine inside. It's a treasure. Also included are pictures I took at a friend's family farm in St. Edward, Nebraska - a very cool place! I could have spent days wandering around taking pictures... The pictures are a mish-mash of the past 6 months. Somewhere in the mix are the traditional pictures that Denny and I take every NYE. Nothing changes, and for that I'm grateful. Here's to more life in 2017! Happy, happy new year!