Springtime at My House

Everything’s blooming at my house. Achoo! That means I’m sneezing a lot, but some things are worth it. We’ve been in this house 18 years, and we’re not exactly avid gardeners here, but luckily, the previous owners left their mark on us! I just had to snap a few photos today before blooming time is over:

After the blooming season we’ll hack down the pink azaleas so they can re-grow and we can shape them. For now, they just give our home that fabulous, Addams family touch!

For now, I’ll go back to sneezing, and enjoying the beauty… while it lasts.

Huh?

I give you, on this day of sweetness in excess, the ultimate in Easter oxymorons:

Sugar-Free Peeps

Sugar-Free Peeps

Really?

Happy Easter!

I (Still) Do

My ring in the original setting

My ring in the original setting

Nearly 19 years ago, the man I love presented me with this ring, and asked me to marry him. I wish I could give the romantic notion that it was a total surprise, but truth be told, I knew our relationship was headed in that direction, and I started dropping some serious hints about my taste in jewelry in the months prior to that night when he popped the question. I had fallen in love with Princess Diana’s sapphire ring years before, and I always dreamed of having one of my own. I’ve loved and worn it every day since, and had a thin gold wedding band made to rest below it so that it would be the perfect, forever wedding set.

A diamond is forever, right?

Haha, news to me, it appears that this is not true. About two years ago, I lost a diamond out of the ring and had it repaired and the diamond replaced. I continued wearing it until a couple of months ago, when I lost yet another diamond. This time the jeweler advised me to stop wearing the ring every day or have it reset, as the prongs were all wearing out after nearly 20 years of daily wear.

So, I decided to do something different. Instead of a separate wedding band with the ring, I decided to have it reset onto a wider band so I could wear it solo, as my wedding ring. It’s also now white gold instead of yellow (which is stronger), and the setting itself is flush against the band, decreasing the likelihood that I’ll catch it on every sweater sleeve along the way.

The end result? This:

My ring in the new setting

My ring in the new setting

Isn’t it a beauty? I’m loving it.

Not Quite an Ordinary Monday

Today started out as an ordinary, blah Monday. Doctor’s appointments, errands, work… you know. Monday. Wasn’t looking forward to it. But then, after work, we decided to hit the new Red Robin in our neighborhood. There’s something about that place that just drips with happy. So, what follows is my pictorial evidence that Monday doesn’t always have to be drab.

After our amazing, impromptu dinner, we had to make a quick run to the grocery store. When we got there we saw a classic car show in the parking lot across the street. So of course we had to take advantage of what was left of daylight and we walked around a bit. Of course the owners were more than happy to talk about their “babies” and rev the engines a time or two for my DH.

And I’m constantly reminding him why it’s a good thing that I always have my camera.

After all, Mondays like this don’t happen every week.

Here’s hoping you found something good about this Monday, too. If so, drop me a line and tell me about it. Let’s share the Monday joy together.

Monday, Monday

It’s just another Monday at the House of Day. I don’t have anything knitting related to share today; I’m still working on the shawl project, and trust me–it looks exactly the same as it did a few days ago. I spent most of the weekend at home except for a few errands on Saturday, and I have very few stitches to show for my down time. Some weekends are like that, though.

This is testing week at BoyZilla’s school so he doesn’t have a lot of homework. Which, yay! is a break for Mom and Dad! So, how was he spending his time? He asked me if he could play games on my computer after dinner, to which I agreed, for a time limit of 30 minutes. Fifteen minutes later, though, I could hear that he was no longer on the computer. THIS is what he was up to:

My boy, the filmmaker

My boy, the filmmaker

That’s him, trying his hand at stop-motion film. He’s got his Lego characters set up in a scene, and he’s moving them ever so minutely and taking frame by frame photos with my husband’s camera. He’s written a script, too, complete with shot and camera directions. I love it when he decides to express himself in such a productive and creative way. I love watching him learn like this. It makes me wonder, when I watch him write stories, or draw, or now, try his hand at movie making… at 9 years old? What in the world is this kid going to be? I think it’ll be amazing to watch.

It’s been a while since we’ve checked in with Zöe, the cat. She just had her 19th birthday about two weeks ago, and she’s doing amazingly well:

19-year-old kitty

19-year-old kitty

Kitty Glamor Shot

Kitty Glamor Shot

Not bad for 19, eh? She’s doing great. I’m kinda sad to admit that she is much happier being an only cat since our other one passed away six months ago. She eats very well, is still playful, and is way more talkative now that the other, more boisterous kitty isn’t around to overshadow her. I’m sad, knowing in hindsight that the presence of the other cat might have made her unhappy for a full 17 years, but glad that her elder years are so happy.

Like I said, it’s just another Monday. Thank you for indulging me by peering into our little slice of life this evening. I’ll be back on the knitting soon. I promise.