Peek a Boo

Where have you been - you might have asked yourself.....

I've been everywhere, man - I might have answered.

The house is done - ok those of you who have built or renovated a home are really laughing now! Actually there are already projects to do.....hopefully sometime the craft studio will be finished!

I've been landscaping some - I found a listing for free monkey grass on Craig's List so I went to their yard and helped them excavate it - and then had to plant it on a steep slope at the back of the house for erosion control - that was a lot of fun.....well it looks good now anyway.

I've been traveling - I went to Washington DC with Ashley - aka The Princess. We were really going to Maryland, Baltimore area to the Maryland Wool and Fiber show - it was awesome. I bought some fancy yarns and a few books. The Princess took a lace making lesson - can you believe lace making is so easy to learn an 8 year old could get hooked and sit for an hour doing the antique craft? I am now looking for a lace making guild in my area and going to keep her interested - you don't even have to spend much on the equipment to do lace making - you probably have everything at home in the craft studio - they even showed us how to make our own bobbins which are just as useful as store bought ones!!!!! Amazing. Of course this is one of those talents that can be amazingly challenging the more advanced you become, but you can make really pretty pieces of lace right from the start.

I've been playing with recipes - I'm on a quest to make Chicken Lo Mein like a particular local restaurant makes it - I've had mild success but not perfection. I probably don't have enough preservatives or MSG in it!!!!!

I've been reading a few good books - I read Clive Cusslers The Chase - it was an airport pick and I figured it for a time filler, but it was very entertaining! I loved it and hope his other books are as exciting - I just fell in love with the characters and descriptions! I read Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton about the initial entry of the US Special Forces into Afghanistan in 2001. Even if you don't like factual military books you should read this - it will really open your eyes about the area over there and maybe let you see behind what the media portrays - it is a fast read without much battle gore - also provided insight into how the events came together. I am now reading Water for Elephants - it had me hooked from the first page. It is the recollection of an elderly man - not going gently into old age, who remembers his youth as a veterinarian with the circus.

Other than that - life goes on as usual!

I must also report that the Laurel Bay has been reborn - I mostly killed it when I left it outside over the cold spell we had....how was I to know that we were going to have a below zero day in February????? We don't live in Minnesota ehhh? Remember it is the Year of the Bay according to the Herb Association.