Thursday, September 29, 2011

What a Summer

It is hard to believe that summer is over. It has gone by so fast that I'm not sure what happened.

August was a fun filled month which started out with the Little League Softball World Series, here in Portland. I volunteer every year, and each year I seem to do a little more. This year the university the I work for, hosted the girls in the hotel on campus. So myself & my friend Kristine were volunteered to act as activity coordinators. So we hosted fun activities for the girls at the hotel in the evenings - we had a movie night, pizza party, bowling night, ice cream social & swim parties. It was a lot of fun meeting the girls, coaches, & families from all over the world.

Right after I was done with that, I was lucky enough to have some visitors travel to Portland. Meagan's good friends from Scotland visited for a week. I was able to take them to Forest Park - which is the largest urban park in the United States. We spent the afternoon hiking on the hottest day of the year, luckily it wasn't too bad in the park, just a little humid. Meagan & my parents were able to come down one weekend and have brunch with them as well, before Meagan took them traveling up to the Olympia & Seattle area. I was really glad that I had the opportunity to show off Portland and the Pacific Northwest.

My good friend from Japan was also able to visit this year. I love when she visits, because she always teaches me a new Japaneese dish - this year we made gyoza's. We also did several marathon shopping trips, coming from Tokyo everything in America is inexpensive.

It was a wonderful summer, but I am looking forward to a peaceful autumn.

Tiah

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Update

Wow! This summer is flying by. I can't believe its been two months since the last time I blogged. Well, summer has been rather busy. In July, I moved from north Spokane all the way across town to the South Hill. I absolutely love my new neighborhood! I can walk three blocks to the grocery store and I am just about ten blocks from two of the most beautiful parks in spokane, Manito and Cliff.


Also in July I was the maid of honor in one of my best friends weddings. The wedding took place north of Spokane at the Camden Ranch in Elk, WA. We had beautiful weather for the outdoor ceremony, although it was a little hot! It was so much fun getting to be there for Shelyn and Jason's special day!
This summer I have also found myself with a new hobby that I quite enjoy, even if that might just suprise most of you. Fishing! I went back in May with some friends from work and found that I rather enjoy it. I've caught about five fish, worth mentioning. We normally go to a lake just outside of Cheney called Williams lake and rent a boat and head out for the afternoon. Its a lot of fun. We also went on a little camping/fishing trip to No Name Lake just outside of Newport, Wa. We didn't catch any fish but we had a lot of fun.
School starts the week of September 6th for all of the disticts in the Spokane. I haven't been hired on at a specific school, although I have my fingers crossed still, but I am planning on working as a substitute teacher as well as at Costco. I have also been choosen to be the Chapter Advisor for the Alpha Xi Delta Chapter at EWU. I'm really excited to see what new challenges that brings for me!

KelliJean




Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Sock Summit 2011


Sock Summit, the biannual sock knitting convention happened again in Portland this year. It was 5 days filled with 6,000 knitters in the Convention Center, classes, workshops, lectures, demonstrations, shopping, and even a flash mob. You will have to do a YouTube search of Sock Summit Flash Mob, to see a video of people dancing with skeins of yarn, it was supper fun.

One of the most interesting events was a sheep to foot competition. In 6 hours groups of 5 people had to shear a sheep, clean the wool, spin the wool, and knit a pair of socks. It was fascinating to watch.

My favorite time at the convention was being able to attend a lecture by my favorite knitter & author Stephanie Pearl-McPee. And after the lecture I was able to get a picture with her holding the sock I was knitting.
Very Exciting!

Tiah

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Staff Retreat

Our fiscal year activities have finally completed and we are beginning the "slow" period before the students arrive back in September. As a reward for all our hard work during the year, my boss usually takes our accounting office out for a special treat each year. In the past it has always been lunch and a movie. This year he decided to change things up a bit, probably will a little advice from his wife, he decided to take the office out for pedicures. The 5 ladies in my office, myself included, were very surprised and excited for this turn of events. So Friday we had our staff retreat, lunch and then a walk downtown for pedicures. My boss had his first pedicure as well, in which he had American flags painted on his toes. A great start for the new school year.
Tiah

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Commuting


I live in a city where there is absolutely amazing public transportation. It is true, and it has been true for awhile. However, I really like to drive to work, I love my 15 minute commute, I love the fact that at any moment during the day I can hop in my car and go. For years I have ignored all my coworkers telling "think about the money you would save on gas and parking," "think about all the free time you would have to read."

With gas prices on the rise I finally decided to give public transportation a try. Last week, I gave up my parking permit and became a commuter. I have to say, it hasn't been that bad. It does add 30 minutes to my trip to work, but I get a short walk in and because of where I live my whole trip falls in the fare-less zone. So I actually have a free commute now, no paying for the train, no paying for parking, no paying for gas.

What do I do with my 25 minute train ride? I knit!

Tiah

Thursday, June 16, 2011

My New Hobby

S'mores Brownies



Chicken Pot Pie

S'mores Cookies





Shortbread Cookies dipped in Chocolate





Pork Chop Skillet




I picked up a new hobby over the past few months. Baking. It is one of my favorite things to do. I love finding new recipies and trying them. Some turn out amazing and others aren't even good enough to eat.

-KelliJean








Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Las Vegas!



Well, I'm trying to catch up on my blogging (trying being the keyword). May 12 through the 16th Tiah, my roommate Shannon and I traveled to Las Vegas for one of my best friends weddings. It was a nice vacation. We enjoyed the sunshine and warm weather and most of all getting out of Spokane for a five days. This Shannon and my second trip and Tiah's third. We spend our mornings at the pool, days shopping and taking in the sights and enjoyed the nightlife. On Saturday May 14th, Britnee and Chris got married at the Little Chapel of the West. The wedding was beautiful and it was great getting to see them on their special day. All three of us were very sad to make the trip back to Spokane, especially when we found out it would be raining when we arrived. I guess thats the Washington in Spring. I can't speak for Shannon and Tiah but I am ready to go back!





Liberty Lake Hike

One reason that I love the Pacific Northwest is all of the great things to do outdoors. I love to hike, so yesterday a friend and I decided to hike the Liberty Creek loop. Its located just twenty minutes from Spokane. The hike wasn't too challenging but it was so nice to get outside and enjoy the beautiful sunshine and nature that is right in our neck of the woods.
- KelliJean

Thursday, June 2, 2011

April & May

Where has the time gone...April and May just seamed to vanish and not because of any sunny weather. It feels like spring is only begin in Portland. With sunny days being few and far between.

My new garage was finished and it is so nice being able to store stuff without worrying if it will get wet or maybe even have a roof cave in on it.

I did finish my April sock for my sock-of-the-month. Sadly, however the May sock was never started. Instead I knitted 3 baby sweaters, 3 baby hats, an elephant & a puppy dog. I am hoping to catch up and knit 2 socks during the month of June; we'll see how that goes.

I am still trying to keep up with my 52 books in 52 weeks

April:
week 14 - 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
week 15 - Room: a novel by Emma Dohoghue
week 16 - Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck
week 17 - The Diplomat's Wife by Pam Jenoff

May:
week 18 - Come Into the Water: A Survivor's Story by Merlyn Magner
week 19 - Girl with a Peral Earring - Tracy Chevalier
week 20 - Becoming Jane: The Wit & Wisdom of Jane Austen
week 21 - Lady Susan by Jane Austen

All pretty good books I have to say that 84 Charing Cross Road was my favorite. It is a book of letters between the author and a small used bookstore in England written between the late 1940's and early 60's. I love this type of book.

Come into the Water, was a book I received from the early readers group of LibraryThing. So I was able to read & review it before it was made available in stores. It was a heartbreaking story about the 1972 Rapid City, SD flood.

Tiah

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Garage


The small garage project has turned into quite an adventure. Morphing from a fix to a replacement project, from a 1 week to a 4 week project.
We started out with sunny weather but of course mother nature had other plans and decided that it wasn't quite time for Oregon to have spring. So talks with the contractor began to be about pouring cement during a hail storm versus just rain. I learned that it is okay to pour cement in the pouring rain which is what they did.
The project is moving along slowly and hopefully by the time spring/summer does finally arrive I will have a nice new garage to store my gardening tools in.

Tiah

Monday, April 18, 2011

Spring in Spokane

I woke up this morning to snow! Its April and we have been having gorgous weather, just not today. There was about 1/4th of an inch of snow for a while but it melted but it is still snowing.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Lemon Bars



We had a sunny day yesterday, which being unexpected was a very nice surprise and called for an impromptu tea party. My roommate Corey made scones and tea while I made lemon bars.

I found this great new recipe that turned out to be sunshine on a plate. It had a coconut shortbread bottom made with: 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, & 1/2 cup coconut. All mixed together and backed at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.

The filling was 1 whole lemon (quartered) put into the food processor with 1 tablespoon flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs & 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt. The filling was then poured over the hot crust & baked for another 20 minutes.

The Greek yogurt really made them creamy.

Tiah

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

March


Wow, the month of March just flew by.

I was able to complete my sock of the month as well as starting a baby sweater for my friend at works new grandson.

I was able to keep up with my book of the week as well for the month.
week 10: Expiration Date by Sherril Jaffe
week 11: Extraordinary, Oridinary People by Condoleezza Rice
week 12: How to be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway
week 13: Mr. Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt

And to add to the month, work began on fixing the falling down garage at my house. As you can see the fixing did not really go so well, so it is in the process of being rebuilt. I am very excited to be able to store my yard equipment with out it getting wet in the never ending Oregon rain.

Tiah

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Why I take my knitting everywhere

I get teased quite a bit, mainly from my sisters, regarding the ever present knitting project in my purse. For the most part I don't leave the house without my knitting, and usually there is room in my purse to stash a small project like a sock or hat. You just never know when your going to be stuck someplace with valuable time to knit. This practice was justified this weekend, coming back from a short trip to visit my parents. Driving down the gorge there was a pretty bad accident which had traffic stopped in both lanes. I was actually stopped for 45 minutes before traffic started inching along. So for 45 minutes, I was not going out of my mind with boredom or falling asleep or thinking about how long it was taking. I was sitting calmly in my car knitting my sock.

Tiah


Monday, March 21, 2011

Saint Patrick's Day


Saint Patrick's Day is always a big event in my house mainly because we love all things Irish. This year we invited a variety of friends over for an Irish themed dinner which included the basics - corned beef, cabbage, & potatoes; as well as a selection of Irish cheeses and Irish soda bread.

We learned that when making Irish soda bread it is very important to cut a cross in it (to let the fairy's out, as the old wives tale goes) otherwise it continues to rise in the oven until it hits the top.

I also invited some friends who were vegetarian & vegan which provided a fun challenge to come up with a tasty Irish meal for them to enjoy as well. I finally decided to make a vegan "Shepperd's Pie" which turned out to be quite good. At our local Fred Meyers I found vegan "meat" made from lentils as well as vegan Worcestershire sauce. I mixed in a variety of veggies - carrots, peas, & corn. Then topped it with a potato & sweet potato mash. A very sucessful endeavor.

Tiah

Thursday, March 10, 2011

February Happenings


Well, February just flew by before I knew it. I was a little late finishing my sock of the month but I did finish it within the first week of March so I am still counting it as keeping my New Years resolution. So now I have one complete pair of sock done toward my goal of 6 pairs for the year. Yay!

I also kept up with my reading keeping on track for my 52 books in 52 weeks.

week 1: New Faces of Small Town America by Edgar Sandoval
week 2: Affairs in Thrush Green by Miss. Read
week 3: The Lost Art of Reading by David Ulin
week 4: Breath of Autumn by Lillian Beckwith

All very good books.

February started with some very nice weather in Portland, which fooled me into thinking that it was spring and that I should do some yard work & plant flower bulbs. And then of course in promptly snowed. This last week the weather has turned warm again so I'm hoping that spring really is on the way and I may start getting my raised vegetable beds ready for planting.

Tiah

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Update

My, my, my it has been a looonnng time since I have blogged. Me, being KelliJean. So I guess its time for a quick update. I finished up my undergrad program, YAY!!!! So now I am currently working for Costco, where I got a new position working in clothing. I start that in two weeks and I am very excited for the change even if it is only for a few months. Also I have started working as a substitute teacher in the Spokane area. So far I have worked in the second and fourth grade. It has been a lot of fun, although very challenging. Well thats it for this quick update, I'll try and get back on soon. Bye!

KelliJean

Friday, February 4, 2011

New Years Resolutions

January is the traditional time for New Years resolutions to begin and end. Many of these resolutions at least in my experience are pretty vague like be more organized or eat healthier. Worthy endeavors yes, but not very quantifiable. This year I decided to not fall into the resolution trap but instead decided to seat reasonable and quantifiable goals.

Resolutions #1. 52 books in 52 weeks
Monday - Sunday read one complete book. Somewhat reasonable for a seasoned reader like me. Especially if I can recognize my time constraints and not start Anna Karenina on a Tuesday. I'm feeling pretty confident about this challenge, although I do have to admit the books I selected for January were somewhat thin and easy reading. February I will have to take it up a notch.
The 4 books I read:

News from Thrush Green by Miss Read
Battles in Thrush Green by Miss Read
Return to Thrush Green by Miss Read
Free range Knitter by Stephanie Pearl McPhee

Resolution # 2 Knit 1 sock per month
Most of the yarn stores I visit and a lot of the knitting blogs I read, people are always talking about sock of the month clubs. Usually this entails knitting a pair of socks each month & usually it involves having a yarn store send you a new pattern & yarn each month. I think knitting a pair of socks in 30 days as well as any other knitting I might want to be doing is a little much. So I'm imposing my own sock of the month club, where I just knit one the next month I will knit the mate. By the end of the year I will have six pairs of socks in my drawer which I think is a good start.

Resolution # 3 Charity knitting
I knit a lot, I really do and I usually give away most of what I knit to friends and family members. A friend recently got me to help knitting preemie hats for the VOGUE charity drive, which was very simple and fun. It got me thinking about how these hats were being mailed to New York City but there were probably lots of babies in my local area that needed hats too. After a call to one of the local hospital NICU's, I found out that hardly any hats are ever donated but they would be much appreciated. So starting this week, during our weekly lunch knitting group at work I'm going to be knitting baby hats to send to the local NICU.

Happy New Year!

Tiah

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Minnesota Trip

I have fallen behind with the blogging lately.

My trip to northern Minnesota was a fun but sadly over. The boys and I had a wonderful time trying to fit in all of Duluth's many winter activities.

Pottery Painting:

This was a first for me, but the boys were old veterans at painting pottery. Dalton with his tank and Dayton with his snowman mug. It was a popular place, we ran into some old friends of theirs painting pottery for Christmas gifts. What a wonderful idea. Maybe next year.

Aquarium:

This was a surprise for me. I'm so use to going to aquariums on the coast with all of the ocean wildlife that I was not expecting an aquarium which focused on river & lake wildlife. It was very interesting and focused a large portion on forestry. I did really like the parrot, which I don't think was native to Minnesota but had been donated.

Ice Skating:

We spent a few minutes out ice skating on the pond in our shoes. I had never been ice skating outdoors, when I told the boys this there question was "where else would you skate, ice melts indoors." Next summer when they are visiting I will have to take them to the local mall, where we have an ice skating rink.

Bentleyville:

This is one of the main winter attractions in Duluth. It is a city of lights full of fun activities; Santa, Mrs. Clause, Snowmen, Reindeer. Also, cookies, hot coco, & roasting marshmallows. We had a lot of fun even in the freezing weather. I think the night we went it got down to negative 12 degrees. So cold!

Lake Superior:

I made the boys walk down to the lake with me one day. I really wanted to get pictures of the ice floating in the lake. It was so cold, we almost froze our noses off.

All in all it was a wonderful trip and Priscilla is healing nicely from her surgery. What a Blessing!

Tiah

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