Oops, what did I expect?

That quote about insanity, you know the one, doing something again and again the same way and expecting different outcomes? Well I qualify for the label.  This Sheep Mitten pattern is so darn cute, and I so want to do it justice. I already started over right above the cuff one time. I thought my gauge was too tight so I went up one needle size. I also didn't like the light green I had chosen and the black really bothered me, it was too harsh. Those changes were supposed to get me going down the right path. The pattern is clear, written in a way that makes it easy to follow. So where did I go wrong? My gauge was still too tight, but the further I went, it seemed to be getting smaller, in spite of the larger needles. I persevered all the way to the decreases at the top. Still too tight but what else, way long too?. I had even voiced my concerns in the I Make Mitten group, about my difficulties. Then as I was wondering how did these get soooo very long it hit me that I read one short phrase wrong. The double stranding in the top part of the mitten I had begun at the base of the thumb. No wonder working the pattern was difficult, I was alternating two strands of white And working the gray, alternating the white ...... Oh my gosh how could I have done that?

So, frogging is about to happen. I'll go up another needle size and follow the directions! 

Squirrels on the ground and in the air

There are two exciting additions to the back yard. The first, and most interesting, is the new bird feeder we added. We wanted to attract some bigger birds, so decided too add a second feeder with Sunflower Seeds as primary food. This feeder also has cages for suet, which also seem popular. Unlike in Texas, suet doesn't melt here! Of course, not more than 2 hours after the feeder went up we had our first squirrel. You have to understand, this is the first time I have seen a squirrel in our yard! It remains to be seen if he will jump up on the feeder, so far he has chosen to eat from the ground.

Secondly, the workmen finally showed up to remedy the damage from Ernest when the Tree fell on the house. We've been looking at plastic for about three months now. So, two guys with ladders and shingles showed up on Friday and hammered and jabbered away for about two hours. The next day the suppervisor showed up and took a look at their work and vetoed the job. Seems the rows are out of line. Yep, it is always a comedy here when we have workmen!

Guest Closet/Toy Storage

Other storage advancements! This is a collection of before and after shots of the "stuff" that made a home in the guest room closet. This past week Eric made this book case for the grand-childrens puzzles, games and books. It looks so much nicer now, don't you think?

House on Elm Street

Yesterday turned out to be arbor day here in the neighborhood. Street trees, as they are called here in CrossRidge, are part of the landscape designs for each house. However, your tree isn't planted until the majority of the street is ready to be planted. In our case, this was now, a year after we moved into the neighborhood.

The attic room

Promised Pictures

These are Friday pictures of the room upstairs. Eric inspecting the ceiling. We are not 100% satisfied with the way the texture looks on the ceiling. Some of that can be contributed to a lack of communication between us and the guy. Some if sloppiness of the work. No matter who is to blame, it's too late now so we will just have to deal with it. I told him we just needs lots of glow in the dark stars, lots and lots of them. Zack would love it.

Baby Steps

This morning the Eagle warranty yard guys showed up to rework the bed around the Electric board. They did a nice job, not what I ultimately want, but it is a start. Since any improvement is progress, this is good. My neighbor would like some roses in this bed, and says she has some. At the moment all they did was throw mulch over the clay. Obviously we will have to do more work before we can plant something like roses, or any plants for that matter. A garden like Mike's butterfly garden would also be nice here too, though obviously ours would be seasonal.

Seven Months Later

About 3 months ago our neighbor's had to sign a release for a control board for the sprinklers and the street lights to be placed in their back yard. It took Eagle 3 or 4 tries to get their signatures right. When Eric and I came back from Texas, the control board was in our back yard. This was not a surprise to us, as we had been told it was going there. What we couldn't understand was why the neighbors had to sign and not us. Well, about 6 weeks ago, a man came to the door and asked for Mr. Genderson. Eric said, not me, that's next door. The man was incredulous, as if we didn't know our own name. At that moment he realized he had the wrong names on the release form! Oops!! Eric and I then had to make an appointment to sign the release. Several weeks later various utility men came and marked the grass so the men who would dig could avoid the cable, water and power already running though the side yard. Two weeks ago, two men showed up, looked at the multi-colored spaghetti marks, shook their heads and left. Yes, it was a tad confusing. Of course as a result of all this we have not had any sprinklers. But that, as they say, is another story.

So today, we finally had the big "DIG".

First we did the hole!

Then we pull the cable!

Then we cover up the hole!

Then we go home!

Obviously there will be more to this story, as these men can not actually hook up the cable.
Once the cable is hooked up, someone else will come and turn it on ....
and then the sprinkler people can come and hook up their controlers ....
and then someone else will come and finish filling the holes where the connections are made ....
then someone else will come and fix the yard .....
and someone else will come and lay grass ....
and in the meantime, maybe the sprinkers will run.
And if not, Eric will sneak out again and run them himself the old fashion way, with a turn key!

Happy New Year to All

I wish all of you a Happy New Year and hope if you are ever traveling in an area near us you will come and visit us in Glen Allen! We would love to see you!

The last box - for now at least!

Today I worked all day in my sewing room. I don't have before pictures, or during and after pictures either. I know, you are saying, "thank goodness"! But, believe me, the improvement is wonderful! A few weeks ago we added the IKEA bookcase to the room. While Eric's mom was here I unpacked fabric and I placed it on the shelves. Today I sorted. Now I know that doesn't sound like much, but I sorted for 8 hours. I had stacks and bags everywhere. Part of the madness was to empty the last cardboard boxes and the plastic boxes that I had on the boat for thread, scissors, Olfa cutters, etc, etc, etc. I had at least 10 different boxes (to keep things dry). So, I sorted all those things into bags, because I have a chest with 12 drawers coming that will be my mobile sewing/knitting/quilting gadget chest. It's on wheels, and I can wheel it to wherever it's needed (or into the closet). So, my theory is that when the chest comes, all I'll have to do is empty the bags into the appropriate drawer.

Oh no, no time to blog ....

Sewing room progress

The sewing room is looking brighter now thanks to the addition of the braided rug I found online at the Home Decorator's Outlet. I was really pleased, as I found this for a mere $15.00, marked down from $129.00. This is the same online store that had the TV table/desk that I bought for the corner. The rug is reversible and the colors are bright and cheerful. Pinks, blues, greens, tan and of course yellow. I had found this rug months ago and never expected to find it on sale. I would have never paid $129.00!

Oh yes, the Christmas Elf was decorating here too!

Patio Door Blinds

Click on the picture to be taken to a large shot - and hover over the areas where you see a square!

The cable was buried today, and then one of the Eagle men came and spliced in pieces of grass in all the areas where the sod had spaces. Things are looking up! Now if the recycle men will just show up tomorrow and pick up the 300 pounds of cardboard we have - we will be happy! Also, more furniture is ready to be scheduled for delivery.

First Grass cutting - about time!

It was like a jungle out there!

from www.safetycenter.navy.mil/.../ Melton2.htm



No, we weren't growing bamboo, but everytime the cat went outside she disappeared in the grass. Now it's regulation height again, because finally we saw this ..... the yard guys! They ride these mowers, and look out - don't get in their way!! They did cut the grass twice, we think because it was so wet, the first cut was sloppy. Yes, it rained last night. Guess rain doesn't stop them! We're looking very manicured now if I do say so myself!

It was a bit long, you think?

Fall comes to Coles Point Way

We're having beautiful weather here, Eric is in his shorts again. You all know how happy that makes him! I put this picture on my knitting blog, it's the view from the sewing room window.

I am still following the doctor's orders to stay off my foot, so Eric has been busy outside, planting the rest of the bulbs, spraying inside and out for "bugs and pests" and putting the garage in order. He's also been cooking and cleaning! I feel bad because he's having to do everything, but then I guess if my foot gets well, all will be worth it. At least I hope he thinks so.

Some of you may remember the big question we had while the house was under construction concerning would the truck fit into the garage? Well I can report we can get it in, either front or back first. The only catch is that is has to be done at an angle into the back right corner, and someone (me) had to stand in the corner and guide the driver (Eric) in the last few inches. However, it's worth knowing it can be done! Since we expect to continue to experience traffic and dirt flying from construction crews it will be nice to keep the truck in the garage.

Not much else is happening. We are expecting our second delivery from FurniturelandSouth this week, so that is exciting! We'll be glad to get the TV in the living room up off the floor and into the entertainment center.

Progress in the sewing room

Here's how the sewing room Tv has looked for the last month. Not very exciting I must say! I've been working on plans for the cabinets for this room, and found several that would work. Last Saturday I got an email from the company who had the items and one of the cabinets I picked was on sale for $89.99. This was down from nearly $300.00. So we placed an order and it arrived today.

While I supervised from the bed, Eric got to work putting the desk/TV cabinet together. You will see that this is actually a desk and eventually I will set my laptop on the keyboard shelf. However I wanted something sturdy for the TV to sit on. Turns out the cabinet was very well made, and solid wood (as advertized in the catalog, but you never know).

Play it again ....

Bed, originally uploaded by Joanna Root.

We're putting together the guest bed today, so all will be ready soon for out-of town guests! Hint to all of you out there! This picture is really from the first bed we put up, but they look the same!

A Fall View

This is just a shot taken across the back yard towards the house that sits to our right. Downhill from us. The leaves are starting to turn and it really looks pretty. One of the new trees they planted in the yard next door has already lost all its leaves, but our maples are just starting to turn red. We are still really pleased with the way out lot sits back from the street and we get such a nice view of the trees.

What a difference!

I'm back again after about three weeks of moving in . . . . and as you can see in this picture taken this morning, we have some nice improvements. Green grass! It looks alot like a hay field waiting to be mowed. We figure they are waiting for it to get rooted well before cutting the first time. Silly thinks she is in the savanah when she goes out back. She actually thinks she is hidden when she crouches down. If you look closely at this picture, she is the black spot at the bottom of the front door. It was pretty cool, so she was sitting in the sun.

Well, tomorrow and in coming days I'll post more about goings on here on Coles Point Way. Until then, keep tuned and I'll be back soon.

Tomorrow is the Day!!

This is the last before picture! When this was taken a day or so ago, no grass! But now all that has changed!



We have grass! We have trees! Can you guess I am excited? We had our final walkthough, and tomorrow we sign the papers.

As we were doing the walkthrough, which took about 45 minutes, the little yard men were busy as beavers putting down the sod. There are three trees in the back yard, two silver maples and what I think may be a flowering pear. There are also beds at the back of the lot with small hedge looking shrubs and some evergreen - cypress like trees. I've noticed the trees don't have tags, so I am going to have to do a little research to see just what we have. I'm just glad it's a mix of evergreens and deciduous. I wasn't expecting the trees inside the yard, and so I'm happy to see them and the big beds around them! I see bulbs in my future, and flowers .... the five annoying cutoff valves in the middle of the back yard for the sprinklers (ours and the neighbors I expect) don't even seem so bad! Oh yes, the big green box in the front yard between us and the neighbors has even been camouflaged! Great progress.

Tomorrow we move in - and if I don't get trapped behind or under a box I'll get tree and yard pictures!