Summer!!!!

Ok, so it's not officially Summer yet, and if you look out my window today, you'll think I'm way off. It is a normal grey and cloudy Winter/Spring day in dear old weird Portland. But all the kids are done with all their school for the year, and it's starting to warm up- now that Rose Festival is over.

Ever notice that? Those of you in Oregon- Portland especially know what I'm talking about. The nice weather holds off being consistent until the Rose Festival is over. I think I remember one year in my 12 years in Portland where the Rose Parade got sun. All the rest of the years, it rained. And rained. And rained. Until the day after. Then the sun appears! That certainly happened this year! And we got 2 days of sun and the clouds came back today. But the forecast looks lovely. I am looking forward to the sun; and taking the kids to the park regularly.

They need to get out. We have a nice backyard, and we enjoy it, but a change of scenery is a good thing every now and then. Especially right now. My kids have had cabin fever for months.  And months. I think I have too....

I have not been knitting very much lately. In fact, in the last 4 weeks, I think I've averaged about 2 rows of knitting maybe every other day. That's not so good. I need to be knitting. In fact, I need to be knitting 2-4 hours per day. I have a lot of knitting to do in the next 6 months (not to mention what has to be done this month alone), and it's not going to do itself- unfortunately.

Normally, I love to knit. I knit every spare minute I get. Not just knitting though, designing. I like to be fully engaged in what I'm doing. I love a challenge. (Yes, I am competitive, why do you ask?) But lately.... the knitting I need to do-designing, I should say-is feeling like too much. Oh, I'm not working on crazy hard patterns (not really, after all, I'm not learning a new technique with these ones), or on itty-bitty needles, even. When I knit, I get to see growth in the pattern, and it's not boring. It's really just the right mix of challenge and boredom to keep me occupied. Normally.

But lately, I have so much on my plate that even boring knitting (as in plain stockinette in the round [yeah, if you're a knitter, you understand!] for 20 inches) sounds like too much to contemplate....

Last Friday, I tore apart our living room and dining room- literally took every thing out of them. And Joel came home after work to do a "screen and coat" on the hardwoods.  Then on Saturday evening, we put the dining room set, one couch, and my chair back. Oh, and my knitting basket, but I didn't actually touch it until today!  Our family room is crammed, and for once I can't park my van in the garage. But I'm not putting it back together any more than that. The bookshelves contents are in boxes, and there they will stay until August.

Today, the kids took down all posters and pictures off their walls and started sorting through their toys and choosing things they don't play with anymore to give away. Tomorrow, I'll sort through the rest of the books and pack up what we don't want to keep to take to Powell's books.

And so on it will go until my house is nothing but boxes. The end of July, we will take those boxes to a new home. And we are so excited!

Joel and I have moved a lot since we got married. This move will be our 12th. In almost 12 years of marriage. In 2012. I am really hoping this is it. I absolutely LOVE the house we are being blessed with. (It has a pantry. A big, beautiful pantry. I've never had a pantry before- and this one, well, this one is fantastic.) Joel calls it The Playground. The kids are going to love it. Not only does it have a large fenced yard (with gardening area) with a big concrete pad to ride their bikes on, it even has a treehouse. With a rope swing. And a garage already set up as a workshop for Joel. Every time I think about it, I almost cry. I can't believe how blessed we are. We have the most amazing God, and the best friends. I am just overwhelmed with how well we are taken care of. We hope to share some of those blessings from this new home.

So yeah, knitting is not in the forefront of my mind right now, I have to admit. And even when I do think about it, it's not usually with any desire to pick up the needles. Sort and pack yarn?? Sure! Design? Maybe in September....

So forgive the occasional blog silence this Summer. It's a very exciting Summer, and I'm a bit occupied at the moment....