cast of characters

Lani and Ann are the Weaver sisters!

Lani's household consists of Steve, the long-suffering coding genius and computer security guru; Jim, Lani's tall, red-headed and handsome son, currently finishing his second year of college; Hunter, Jasmine, Himari, Chenault, the miraculous Onyx and the even more miraculous Resk, undisputed feline rulers of the house; and Jesse, the man-hating green-cheeked conure.

Ann's household consists of Don, who is not just a computer genius but a pilot, a builder, and a damn good father; their son Steve, the marathon-running, college-bound, funniest teenager I know; and wonder dog Tater.

Other family members are Laurie, Lani's beautiful daughter who teaches at elementary levels; her handsome son Alex, aka Alexander the Great; Mary and Bo, a/k/a Mom and Dad, and Bud and Ann, Steve's patient and wonderful parents.

what's going on

previous posts

Sister, Sister, Sister!!
10 Random Things, Colorado-Style
10 Random Things
Tornadoes and Kitchen Sinks
Flying in and out
London
Sweets For My Sweet
Knitting - yes, I still do some
The Cake
I'll do anything for cake ....

archives

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Knit and Tonic

Sister, Sister

the life and times of the Weaver sisters

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Denver trip and my garden (posted by Ann)

We do seem to go in cycles, don't we? Sometimes we both post, sometimes just one of us is on a roll. It's been my turn to lay low, and yours to post a lot, but I'm back! I have a lot to catch you up on, so prepare to stay a while.

I'll start with our Denver trip. Wow, was that a lot of snow! I would never have been brave enough to drive up the mountain once the road turned a strip of snow that had a few tire tracks on it, but Don was behind the wheel and he just kept going.


This is the front of Lani and Steve's house, with Don standing by a lump of snow that he thought was a rock and is really a car, and Lani and Steve in the background. He has the car keys out (as though it would be moving anytime soon!)
This is of Tom and Margie's car outside the Wondervue Cafe, which gives you some idea of how much snow had come down that day. The margaritas were wonderful, even without power.


When we got back from Denver, spring had really arrived in Chicago. That means two things for me - sailing and gardening! Yay for both! I love my crabapple trees in the spring, they are just so colorful after a long gray winter.


The iris and my spring blooming clematis are also in bloom, with Pumpkin sitting and watching. That's about all she does these days, she's getting to be a old girl.




I've planted a lot this year, with snap peas and English peas, lettuce, cucumbers, eggplant, and once it got warm enough 7 tomato plants. I'm still looking for two more tomato varieties to get in the ground, and have designs on peppers, yellow squash, and zucchini. That ought to keep me busy!


More later, I have knitting, sailing and more gardening to show - but enough for now, it's a beautiful Sunday morning so I'm going outside!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Catching up (posted by Lani)

Now for a real (and long) catching-you-up-on-my life post, with some knitting thrown in. Yes, I know, I'm on a posting binge! Don't get used to it though, I can't promise it'll continue.

So! What have I been up to. Let's see! First of all, back at the end of April Fabulous Neighbor Margie taught a week-long deep editing immersion seminar at her home. Steve was out of town, so on Sunday night I went over and we spent the evening cooking up a storm in preparation. We stayed up late and talked and giggled and had fun -- like a sleepover, only without the sleep! Later in the week I joined Margie and the fun and fascinating authors taking her course for dinner several nights at various local landmarks, and had an utter blast doing it. What fascinating people, and what fun! I'd drop a name or two here but I'm not sure that'd be considered kosher ... suffice it to say there was one current bestselling author in the group, and some others who I look forward to seeing on that august list in the near future.

Steve came home for a bit in early May, and then back on the road he went. His trip to DC was extended and they put him up in a hotel that was actually in DC. On Embassy Row in DC, to be precise. I was jealous. REALLY jealous. So jealous I couldn't stand it. I grabbed a cheap plane ticket at the last minute on a Friday afternoon, threw some clothes into the nearest suitcase, and on Saturday I was off to visit our nation's capitol. I dragged Steve with me to the Natural History Museum at the Smithsonian; we ate lunch in the National Gallery's Sculpture Garden and then visited the National Gallery itself; and when poor Steve had to go back to work on Monday, I visited the Corcoran. It was a wonderful trip, and I wish some of the pictures that had us actually IN them had turned out decently. We ate at several great places, but I have to say my absolute unqualified favorite was Kramerbooks & Afterwords. We ate good food, we drank good beer, and we bought books. What a winning combination.

I managed to almost restrain myself in the Washington yarn shops, although I did buy something called Poems Sock, from Wisdom Yarns. It's a dead ringer for Noro (well, except for the twigs and branches and other assorted veggie matter, and super thick and so-thin-and-overspun-I-want-to-scream sections, I always associate with Noro). I can't wait to actually knit with it and see how I like it; it's a single which worries me a little, but those Noro-esque colors, ahhh. I told myself I deserved this small stash enhancement because lo! I have finished two new pairs of socks: first, the original green pair (Austermann Step yarn) which I thought I'd love but which now make me feel like I need to go buy a camo outfit and go hunting, and also they are fraternal rather than identical twins and I've discovered that I'm just anal enough to really prefer identically striped socks; and second, a very different and yes, identically striped green pair (Red Heart Heart & Sole) that remind me of spring and easter eggs hiding in that bright green fake grass stuff, and make me smile every time I look at them. Both of these yarns have aloe in them, so I'll be looking forward to wearing them and seeing if that really makes any difference in how they feel.

Also in exciting knitting news, I am probably the last sock knitter in America to knit Cookie A.'s Monkeys (I am lazy, so I'm doing the no-purl variation). I'm now on the toe decreases on the first sock, and let me just say I completely understand the popularity of the pattern and I'll be making more. My First Monkeys are from some Lisa Souza sock yarn that I got in a trade, in a completely frilly and girly color called Violet's Pink Ribbon. I'm LOVING this yarn, seriously loving. Can't wait to finish and block and wear them -- I'd give them to the Girl Who Loves Pink, but she's not so much for homemade knitted goods so I can keep these right here with no guilt whatsoever.

This weekend is our neighborhood's annual Memorial Day Woohoo It's Spring and Summer and Don't Turn Around Or It'll Be Fall Again And Then The Snow Comes Back party. Since we're isolated enough that we depend heavily on our neighbors up here, we all really enjoy getting together a couple of times a year just for fun (as opposed to getting together to help each other dig out and cut down fallen trees across our drives and such). I'll take pictures!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Springtime (for real this time) (posted by Lani)

It really is finally spring. FINALLY! The bear is definitely awake, we've seen evidence of him although haven't actually seen him yet. Hummingbirds are arriving, we have more and more each day and I'm sure I'll shortly be inundating you with hummingbird pictures. So far just the broadtails, but other varieties will be here soon as well. Deer are wandering up from the valleys and some were in our back yard this morning. We saw a MOOSE, a real live MOOSE, coming back from Nederland the other night. Moose are, as I'm sure you know but as was brought home to me by the presence of this particular moose taking her own sweet time deciding whether to cross the road or just stare at us, very large and imposing. And fairly funny-looking, not that I would say that to their (very large) faces. All in all I was glad I was in my car when I saw the moose.

And of course, we have our foxes.

Boyfriend had a badly injured leg (we think it may have been broken) and I've been shamelessly feeding him and Baby because there was no way he could hunt and I couldn't bear to just let him die -- especially since he was taking food back to the den for Baby and her kits. As these pictures show, though, he's eating well and looking good, and he's starting to use the leg a little for balance now so I'm hopeful that it's healing.




Baby is around more now than she was; I think her kits are getting older and can be left alone more. I was potting up some hanging baskets on the porch last week and she wandered down the hill and came over to lie down and watch me, obviously curious about what the heck I was doing. She and Boyfriend are both starting to lose their winter coats and look a little ragged, but Baby's truly a beautiful girl. Maybe she'll bring her babies down to visit one day; I live in hope.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

I Heart My Neighbors (posted by Lani)

We went on an impromptu Yay-It's-Finally-Spring hike today, Margie and Tom and their daughter Tiffany, and Steve and Lynnette, and me (my Steve pled exhaustion and stayed home).









We climbed rocks. Ok, Thalia the dachshund had to be passed up from person to person, but she tried valiantly -- and the rest of us climbed enough rocks for her.







We admired the reservoir, and the creek leading into it. We oohed and aahed over gnarled, aged dead trees.


















And we found this. Out in the middle of nowhere, over on the ridge. Beats the heck out of the empty beer bottles and other trash you usually find out in the wilderness, doesn't it?