Happy Birthday Millie

Millie turned one year old this week.

The kids claim she is my favorite because her picture is featured on my phone.

I just want to point out I don't see them greeting me a the door with their tails wagging happy to see me.

Jake is also still trying to figure out how to get rid of her.

Milestones

This weekend my favorite son graduated from high school.

He is headed to the University of Texas in Austin.

Hook em horns.

                                                         

 We are all very proud of Hagen.





Knitting + Napa

This past weekend I spent in Napa at the Blue Oaks Estates Winery for a knitting retreat put on by Suzy of The Knitting Ranch with thirteen other wonderful women from across the country.





One of the many beautiful views on the property.



       Sivia Harding was our instructor and on Friday she introduced her Sister Joan Shawl.

Blocking the start of our shawls



We are using Luxurious from Sincere Sheep which is a fingering weight 50%

superwash merino and 50% silk.

My  "goody bag" was a Tonya in Adelaide by Offhand Designs.  We also had a private trunk show with Larissa, getting a sneak peek at her new bags and fabrics.  How much greater can it get!!

There was lots of wonderful Shibui yarn to buy.

Saturday we visited the St. Helena Olive Oil Company.  I have never been to an olive oil tasting and I learned quite a lot about using olive oil.

Afterward we headed to Rutherford Hill winery for a picnic lunch with a selection of their wine.

This is the view we enjoyed during our picnic lunch.

Sunday we had another lesson from Sivia making a beaded knitted necklace.  The most time consuming part was stringing all the beads.  I see making more of these necklaces in my future.

Unfortunately on Monday we all had to head back to the real world.



Time Changes All

In February we visited Spring Mountain Vineyard for the first time.

This was one of the views.

Today we visited Spring Mountain Vineyard to pick up some wine.  Remember in a previous post I mentioned we needed some more of their sauvignon blanc.

This was the view today.

It's amazing what two months, some sun and a little rain does to the vines.

The flowers were also out in force.

And you noticed that they were purple.  I need to see about planting some of these flowers  in our backyard for next year.

Pay It Forward

According to Wikepedia, Karma is a word meaning the result of a person's actions as well as the actions themselves. It is a term about the cycle of cause and effect. According to the theory of Karma, what happens to a person, happens because they caused it with their actions. It is an important part of many religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism
Karma is about all that a person has done, is doing and will do. Karma is not about punishment or reward. It makes a person responsible for their own life, and how they treat other people.

I am very much a believer in karma and with that in paying it forward.

One of the blogs I enjoy reading, JelliDonut , recently shared a post about paying it forward.  In my world I am always wanting to share and this was just a wonderful idea.  With this in mind I would also like to pay it forward and these are the "rules". And yes I copied and pasted them.


1. I will send a surprise gift to the first three commenter's on this post. The gift will be handmade by me. It will be sent sometime in  the next 365 days. It will be a surprise. We all love getting surprises in the mail, right?

2. To sign up and receive a gift, you must play along, too. Pay it Forward on your blog, by promising to make a surprise for the first three people who comment on the post.

3. You must have a blog (that is updated, as I will blog stalk you to find the right gift for you). (Loren I am channeling you.)

4. After commenting here, you must re post this or something similar to your blog in 48 hours. If not, I will chose the next person who comments.

Sounds like fun? Want to play? If you would like to receive a little handmade gift from me at some point in the next 365 days and agree to take part on your own blog and pay it forward, then leave your details below. If you’re one of the first three respondents, you’re in! If you’re not in the first three, pop over to the blogs of the first three respondents here (remember, there are 48 hours after your comment appearing here for you to post the Pay It Forward on your own blog, otherwise I will move on to the next person). I’m happy to accept respondents worldwide, too. 

Can I say I totally copied and pasted the previous paragraph from pdxknittera.  She said it so well. 

Please join me in paying it forward.  I am a great believer in Karma.

Sunday is for Sauvignon Blanc

Our weather here in the Sacramento area has finally decided to take a turn from the cool and rainy weather to a more sunny profile in the high 60's.    With that I am encouraging a outdoor lifestyle with a glass of sauvignon blanc from Spring Mountain. 

We originally checked out Spring Mountain Vineyard in February and in March I revisited with Kelsey.

                                   Along with their Cabernet, I do enjoy their sauvignon blanc.

So today we are enjoying a 2010 Spring Mountain Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc.

This is bottle 04812 of 12,720. 

I'm thinking we need to get a few more.

Pond vs. Swimming Pool

I've been trying to convince Jim we need to convert the swimming pool into a pond.

The water never gets warm enough for me to want to go swimming and I'm tried of cleaning it.

These guys were enjoying the "pond" this morning and seem to agree with me.

What do you all think?