Doris Mae II

Doris Mae II
Our newest travel bug. Follow her adventures!

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Southwind Treasures

Southwind Treasures
Click the t-shirt to see where Bug & I get our tie-dyed clothes.

Doris Mae

Doris Mae
Click on the photo to follow the travels of our geocaching travel bug, Doris Mae.
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Sunday, December 07, 2014

Update - knitting and Halloween

Since I always post on facebook, this blog tends to get neglected. I'll try to work on that. I've been knitting a lot. Bug is very much into the Legend of Zelda video games these days. She really, REALLY wanted to be the main character, Link, for Halloween. Between youtube, Goodwill and ebay (and some knitting - the gauntlets) we came up with this: 




We're pretty happy with how it turned out.  :)


Here's a side-by-side in case you're not familiar with the game. Bug won TWO costume contests for a total of $150 in gift certificates. That's a LOT of Pokemon cards!


I also knit a baby Link costume for my niece's boy. Super-cute.


With the cold weather approaching, I started knitting mittens. These are 2 layers of wool. It turns out that I need the larger size, so Bug gets both of these.

This fall I asked Bug if she wanted me to knit her a sweater. She did, so we sat down and looked at patterns and she loved this one. It was a lot of work, but very fun to make. I still need to get 2 buttons for the collar. (and better photos)



This hood/cowl was made for a friend, but Bug was willing to pose for a photo. I love this pattern.



Wednesday, October 29, 2014

An old video

Bug's dad transferred some old videos to DVD yesterday. This 15-minute clip from when Bug was about 6 made us smile. She'd been reading a lot of Calvin & Hobbes and we think that that is where the idea came from. I'd been out with my knitting group when she brought the idea up with her dad. He realized that this was worth recording and had just started to do so when I got home. This is what I came home to. Enjoy.


Thursday, June 19, 2014

A most amazing day.


I usually only post about Bug or our adventures with Bug. Today, it's about me. (though Bug has learned an incredible lesson from this)

18 years ago I was working in a video store. It was a weeknight (Tuesday, I think) about a week after Valentine's Day, and about 45 minutes before closing time. I was at the counter reading a book. I looked up and couldn't quite comprehend what I was seeing. It was a guy with a hood  and a big gun telling me to put all the money in a bag NOW. I headed to the cash register and did just that. It's incredibly hard to open a plastic bag under pressure like that. 

Once he had the money, he told me to get down on the floor. In that moment, I recalled writing a list of things that I loved about my boyfriend and putting it in his Valentine's card. (he's now my husband and Bug's dad) My thought was "I'm so glad that he'll have that." I was sure that it was over. Thankfully, I was wrong. After several minutes, I got up and called 911. The police were there very quickly, as the station was only a couple of blocks away. I also called my manager and boyfriend. It was a long night. 
After talking with the police and watching the surveillance video, they came up with 2 names. (life in a small town) The following day, they arrested one of them. He ended up going to prison for about 5 years. 

Recently, I became aware that we had one mutual facebook friend. About 7 weeks ago, I left a comment on a post that she made. I then saw that HE had posted, too. I sent our mutual friend (J) a message, asking her how well she knew him (M). She said that she used to hang out with him but hadn't seen him in years. I told her why I was asking. I then said that if she ended up contacting him that she should let him know that I was open to an apology if he wanted to send me a message through facebook.  She said that she would keep an eye on his page and that if it seemed that he was in a good place, she would contact him. 

J & I chatted for a while, talking about our hometown. Suddenly she said that she had to share something that M had posted. It mentioned doing bad things and now living in a house of love. I told J that it was time! She sent him a message. He said that he couldn't talk because he was on a field trip. An hour or so later, J & M were talking on the phone and J was messaging me through facebook. She told M what was going on. When she mentioned him sending me an apology through facebook, he said that he didn't want to do that. He wanted to meet in person. I was surprised, but excited! I truly had no anger towards him at this point. Just lots of questions. 

We were going to be in my hometown on Father's Day weekend, so we made plans to meet that Saturday. It was a long 6 weeks.....

We had planned to meet at a park so that the kids could run around, but the weather didn't cooperate. I managed to grab a room at a coffee shop so that we'd have some privacy. Bug's dad was sneaky and took these photos. It was such an easy, comfortable conversation. I still can't quite believe it. 

I greeted him with "We meet again." I stood up and as we shook hands he said that he didn't know if it should be a handshake or a hug. I said "Hugs are good." and we had the first of many hugs. 







Yes, we were LAUGHING.   :)


I surprised him a bit when I told him that I had a copy of the surveillance video. I told him that it was his choice as to whether or not he wanted to see it. At first, he said he didn't want to, then decided that maybe it would be a good idea to watch it together. I set it on the end of the table so that we could both see it, but he decided to move over to my side. I can't even find the words to describe this moment.

Taking a selfie to send to J who was "patiently" waiting for news.

Bug and some of M's kids. They were hilarious. They're all holding tiny cats that I knit for them.


Here we are. Surreal. He's now a stay-at-home dad and has adorable, funny kids. :)


Friday, May 16, 2014

Now she is 12!

Bug started the day by opening presents before her dad went to work. 

She seems happy....


YES!!! Scribblenauts Unlimited.

She got a super-cool book about The Legend of Zelda.


I had her put her Link hat on before opening the last gift...

An ocarina just like the on that Link plays!

She also got a songbook so that she can learn to play songs from The Legend of Zelda. She's already learned the Song of Healing.


Later in the day, I had her log on to our Minecraft Pocket Edition server. 4 homeschooling friends (from TX & FL) were waiting for her in a special place that I had set up. This is her face when she first saw it. 

 Here's what she saw.

It had a nice glow at night...

Minecraft cake!




Monday, March 17, 2014

Blacksmithing

Last summer, Bug spent some time at an art festival chatting with a couple of blacksmiths. A couple of weeks ago, out of the blue, she said that she wanted to learn more about it. I went to google and found a blacksmith here in town. I emailed him and he said that we could pay him a visit. Today was the day.







This was added on to the end of a wrench so that he can hold both ends. He used it to twist the metal.


It was HOT!



He used this piece of metal to show us the different techniques that he uses...2 kinds of twists, hammering designs in, pressing designs in...



















He was a pirate for Halloween one year...


The leaf is really cool!


This shows different finishes that he does.


Bug was stunned when he gave her the leaf and the other piece that he'd been working on.