Early Bloom

I was surprised to find out we have one tulip sprouting along our front walkway. I can't wait until they all bloom. It's going to look so pretty!

Back Yard

Yesterday I began meeting with landscapers to design our back yard. At this point I haven't received any price quotes yet but three men have come out for a consultation. I'm expecting estimates from them in the next few days.

Chad and I have a basic design in mind but are looking for someone to help us refine it. The two men yesterday were pretty unimaginative. One told us what he would do (put grass everywhere) and one asked what we wanted and didn't offer any suggestions or recommendations. I liked the second guy but wish he had more input for us because it's hard to tell if our design will look good in real life or not. The man who came out today asked a lot of questions but had plenty of suggestions and ideas too. I liked that and I think together we came up with a good plan. Of course he'll be the most expensive too, right?

I have one additional landscaper coming this afternoon, two on Saturday and four more scheduled for next week. It'll be interesting to see how all the designs and quotes compare.

Fabric

These past few months I've collected small wooden embroidery hoops to use to decorate my wall. This project has been on my mind for the last year or so but I just got around to doing something about it. I recently bought some new fabric from the quilting store near my house. They have a great selection of modern fun fabrics and this afternoon I framed and hung a handful of them in my craft room. I have a few more small hoops in ovals and circles sitting around but need to find the right fabric for them.

Hail

We had a hail storm on Friday. Fortunately it lasted a little over four minutes and I was able to photograph it. It may be hard to tell but the stones were slightly smaller than the size of a pea. Not huge, but big enough to bounce around and stay on our front yard for a little while.

The Bay Area

This weekend Chad and I had a wonderful visit with our friend Russ in the Bay Area. The three of us had a blast toting around San Francisco and San Jose, eating good food and seeing all sorts of fun things. We're already planning our next trip to Russ' house and are really looking forward to it.

This Foot is Made for Walking

This week my parents generously bought me a Bernina walking foot for my sewing machine. I figured out how to assemble the pieces and hook it up to my machine, but really I have no clue how to use it yet. That's what books and classes are for, right? I'm excited to learn how to use it and get some projects finished that I've been working on. Thanks Dad and Mom!

Peanut Feast

The amount of snow at the cabin this weekend was unbelievable. This photo shows the snow level on the back deck--way over our heads! On Sunday my dad fed peanuts to a number of blue jays and a few squirrels in the area. We could tell they were hungry. The birds cracked the nuts on a nearby branch and the squirrels gnawed on the peanuts like a corn cob. It's only February and there's still lots of winter to go. I'm sure the little guys appreciated the mid-winter snack.

Up, Up and Away

Friday morning I heard a strange noise in the backyard. Curious, I decided to head to the back patio to see what it was. I looked all around the fence and didn't see anything until I heard that strange sound again. I looked up in the air and sure enough, there was a hot air balloon over our neighbor's house! What?! I ran inside to get my camera and of course it took me what felt like 15 minutes to find it. This was the closest shot I got but the balloon was no more than 30 feet above the roof when I first saw it.

The balloon landed in an empty field a block from our house. For about 10 minutes I watched the crew stabilize and finally deflate the balloon. It was neat.