Day 60 - Wednesday

Daily Tasks
photo - purple:  Forgot my camera today, so took this with my phone.  These are outside the Westin Hotel, on my way to the bus stop.  I love purple, so I love these flowers.

stitching:  19 minutes on HAED's Curl Up with a Good Book.  This was a stitch-a-long from last year -- maybe I can finish it this year?

Yearly Tasks
knitting:  1 project down, 7 to go!  I'm changing my goal from 8 scarves to 8 projects, since husband wants a hat, and I'm making that sweater.  Here's Mom's scarf.

Day 59 - Tuesday

Daily Tasks
photo-  heather:  I noticed today that our heather has started to bloom.  When it's at its peak (notice the proper use of its and it's there) you just see a lovely ball of pale purple.  We have about 10 of these large plants on the back bank and they certainly add the color.

stitching:  1 hour, 4 minutes on Fire and Ice.  That wraps up this rotation (7 hours) for a total of 42 hours on this piece.  In case you can't tell, this is going to be a horse.

Yearly Tasks
knitting:  I put the stitches on holders for the sleeves on the baby sweater.  I think I messed up and put them on the wrong side - hopefully it won't be a problem.  I've done 4 rows on the body.  I think I might be able to finish this by next Monday.

Day 58 - Monday

Daily Tasks
photo: gulls - One thing Seattle has - lots of seagulls.  Caught these two guys sitting on the street lights.  Actually, I think it's a guy and a gull.  Har-har.  (Again, please note the blue skies.  Cold today, but beautiful.)

stitching:  1 hour, 2 minutes on Fire and Ice.  Should finish the 7 hour rotation tomorrow.
de-clutter:  15 minutes on desk top.

Yearly Tasks
knitting:  15 minutes on mom's scarf.

Day 57 - Sunday

Daily Tasks
photo - color:  A lovely array of posies outside Fred Meyer.  Very springlike.

stitching:  46 minutes on Fire and Ice.

Yearly Tasks
knitting:  1 row away from starting the body of the baby sweater.  Also did about 10 rows on the scarf.

Day 56 - Saturday

Daily Tasks
photo: toy - So after about 6 months of our TV slowly going out (for the last 2 weeks the top 1/4 was totally black - you couldn't see anyone's faces) we saved enough to buy a new set.  Sam's Club had this great deal on a 3D bundle which included a wi-fi enabled 42" set, a 3D blu-ray player, 4 non-battery-operated 3D glasses and $20 credit for 3D movies.  Here it is in the back of the car - it's hooked up now and works great!  Since I'm an Amazon Prime member, we can also get free video streaming.

stitching:  28 minutes on Fire and Ice

Yearly Tasks
knitting:  more rows on both the scarf and the sweater.

Day 55 - Friday

Daily Tasks
photo:  jungle:  There is a large area of untamed growth at Merrill Gardens filled with ferns, wild roses, blackberries, evergreens and other trees.  I'll be taking more pictures of this area as the seasons change.

stitching:  1 hour, 1 minute on Fire and Ice.

Yearly Tasks
knitting:  Did rows on both Mom's scarf and the baby sweater.

Day 54 - Thursday

Daily Tasks
photo: odd:  As I walking to the bus this afternoon, I noticed this Honey Bucket.  It's in the middle of the street, both in terms of the block and side to side, so it would be dangerous to try to get to.  It's locked, and on a cart, so clearly not usable.  Odd.

de-clutter:  About 2 hours at work, cleaning up my e-mail.  I have over 10,000 emails in my inbox that I need to either delete or categorize.  We won't discuss how many are in my sent folder.

Yearly Tasks
knitting:  started on the 2nd skein of yarn for Mom's scarf.  I might even finish it this weekend!

Day 53 - Wednesday

Daily Tasks
photo:  dish:  There's a local TV station (KOMO) in this building, and I thought these dishes looked cool.  This is 2 blocks from my office building, right next to ---- you guessed it --- the Space Needle!  And yes, we do have blue skies here in Seattle!

stitching:  A whopping 13 minutes on Fire and Ice.  Just wasn't up to it tonight.

Day 52 - Tuesday

Daily Tasks
photo: spring:  I know it's not really spring yet, but it starts to feel like it when these little daffodills come out.  These are lining the lawn on the side of our office building.

stitching:  1 hour, 2 minutes on Fire and Ice.

Day 51 - Monday

Daily Tasks
photo: bird:  Was in the backyard and saw some small birds on the fence.  Not sure what this one is, but he's a cute little fat guy.

stitching:  1 hour, 27 minutes on Kustom Krafts Fire and Ice. 

Yearly Tasks
knitting:  A few rows on Mom's scarf, and about 10 rows on the sweater.

Day 50 - Sunday

Daily Tasks
photo: tall:  This is the tall tree outside our kitchen window.  The branch scrapes against the bay window when it's windy, which is extremely annoying.  I don't think they anticipated how much the tree would grow when they planted it so close to the house.

stitching:  finished the 7-hour stint on Blue Moon.  This is 14 hours so far, for a total of 1,383 stitches.  It was slower going this round - LOTS of confetti!  Unfortunately, this picture doesn't show the sparklies in the moon (Kreinik #4 braid in 032).

de-clutter:  15 minutes in master bedroom.

Yearly Tasks
knitting:  More rows on Mom's scarf, plus I started the baby cardi.  I'm having trouble with one of the two stitch increases that are on either side of the stitch markers so I'm changing the method.  So far, it doesn't look too odd.  I think the pink shades will show up on the front of the sweater - at least I hope it does, since this is for a little girl.

Day 49 - Saturday

Daily Tasks
photo - wind:  My poor gazebo.  This photo shows how it collapsed a few weeks ago under the weight of the snow and how the wind today was strong enough to raise up the heavy roof.  Husband thinks he can repair the metal frame - now we just need a new roof (the old one was shredded).

stitching:  1 hour, 7 minutes on Blue Moon.
de-clutter:  total of 15 minutes in a couple of locations

Yearly Tasks
knitting:  a few more rows on Mom's scarf.  Bought the yarn for a baby sweater - not entirely happy with what I got, but it should work OK.

Day 48 - Friday

Daily Tasks
photo - wet:  Rain, rain, rain.  Here's a close-up of the leaves on a bush outside our front door.

stitching:  1 hour, 3 minutes on Blue Moon.

Yearly Tasks
knitting:  So far, I've done 24 inches on Mom's scarf.  Tomorrow I'm going to pick out yarn to make a tiny baby sweater.  The head lady of the dining room at Mom's place has a new granddaughter.  We're generally not allowed to give gifts to employees, but they said something handmade for the baby would be OK.

Day 47 - Thursday

Daily Tasks
photo - entrance:  Nothing much today - just a picture of the entrance to mom's living place.  In other words, my home away from home.

Yearly Tasks
knitting:  About 15 more rows.  It's starting to really look like a scarf.

Day 46 - Wednesday

Quick post tonight - it's late!

Daily Tasks
photo - SMRT:  I just love the look of these little cars.  I'd be nervous to drive one, but I do think they are just cute as bugs.

stitching:  1 hour, 2 minutes on Blue Moon.
de-clutter:  about 30 minutes at work on paper stacks.

Yearly Tasks
knitting:  about 15 minutes on Mom's scarf.

Day 45 - Tuesday

Daily Tasks
photo - hearts:  Happy Valentine's Day!  In honor of the holiday, here are some cupcakes.  Window display at The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company.   Very tasty cupcakes!

stitching:  1 hour, 8 minutes on Blue Moon.

Yearly Tasks
knitting:  time for a picture of the scarf!

Day 44 - Monday

Daily Tasks
photo - icon:  This unusual looking fellow adorns the outside of the Icon Grill.  I used to eat lunch there with my friend Darlene. I would get the Northwest Chopped Salad and she had the butternut squash soup and a burger.  Sadly, she passed away from complications of lung cancer treatment back in May 2009 and I haven't eaten there since.  I miss her.

stitching:  30 minutes on Blue Moon.
de-clutter:  30 minutes on organing my yarn and entering my stash into Ravelry, a great site for knitters (and crocheters).

Yearly Tasks
knitting:  15 minutes on Mom's scarf.  I also picked out the next two patterns I want to try.

Day 43 - Sunday

Daily Tasks
photo - grass:  Ornamental grass at Merrill Gardens.  (At least that's what I call it.)

stitching:  1 hour, 1 minute on Storykeep Blue Moon.

Yearly Tasks
Scrapscription (2 of 18):  Finished 'Travel Adventures' album.  Used Simple Stories Destinations paper and page elements.

knitting:  Did about 10 rows on mom's scarf.  I will take it on the bus with me tomorrow and see how much I can get done.

Day 42 - Saturday

Daily Tasks
photo - lunch:  Took mom out for a drive, went to Jo-Ann Fabrics for some shopping, and then to lunch.  She loves chicken, so we went to a nearby KFC and she had the chicken pot pie.  She ate almost half of it, which is great for her.

stitching:  1 hour, 45 minutes on QS Fantasea, which finishes up the 7 hour rotation.  Here she is after a total of 63 hours (7,500/26,100 stitches).  (Next up will be SK Blue Moon.)

Yearly Tasks
knitting:  picked up some nice bulky yarn at Jo-Ann's today, and started a scarf for mom.  I think it will knit up pretty quickly.

Day 41 - Friday

Daily Tasks
photo - frame:  It's been a while since I've showcased the dog.  So here he is.  Fred enjoys just sitting in the doorway, gazing out at the backyard.  I don't open the door for him too much in the winter, so today was a bit of a treat. 

stitching:  1 hour, 29 minutes on Fantasea.  I took a vacation day today, so was able to get a little more done.
de-clutter:  15 minutes on kitchen; 15 minutes on scrapbook supplies.

Day 40 - Thursday

Daily Tasks
photo - commute:  Taken from the bus window as we're going into downtown Seattle.  Here's another picture of the Space Needle!

stitching:  1 hour, 3 minutes of QuickStitch Fantasea.

Day 39 - Wednesday

Daily Tasks
photo - faux:  There are going to be quite a few pictures of the Space Needle, since it's so prominent in Seattle and I like the way it looks.  Today, however, it's a faux Needle.  There's a glass blowing studio by my office, and they often have outdoor displays.  I think this version of the Needle is pretty cool.

stitching:  1 hour, 4 minutes on Fantasea.
de-clutter:  15 minutes on scrapbook supplies.

Day 38 - Tuesday

Daily Tasks
photo - bloom:  I noticed one lone bloom on the plants outside the office building today.  The color is very striking.

stitching:  1 hour, 3 minutes on QS Fantasea.  It's coming along nicely.

Yearly Tasks
WIPocalypse (2/12):  Made my 2nd post yesterday.

Bonus post - WIPocalypse check-in #2

Here's what I've worked on since the last check-in (7 hours on each):

Mother's Arms (Mirabilia)

Summerland (Marty Bell - Pegasus Originals)

Storykeep Blue Moon (Linda Ravenscroft - HAED)

Quick Stitch Curl up with a Good Book (Spangler - HAED)

A pretty productive month!

Day 37 - Monday

Daily Tasks
photo: wall - Why yes, it was another beautiful day in Seattle!  Blue skies, temps in the upper 50's.  Heaven!  Met a friend for lunch, and walked past this wall mural on the way.

stitching:  36 minutes on QS Fantasea (HAED design).  Too tired to make the full hour.

Day 36 - Sunday

A fairly productive day today, considering we took Mom grocery shopping and that took about 3 hours total. 
Daily Tasks
photo- orca:  This is the display outside the Tulalip Casino up in Marysville.  Pretty fountains and orca statues. 

stitching:  Finished the 7-hour rotation on Mother's Arms.  1 hour, 38 minutes today for a total of 168 hours of stitching so far.  Here's a picture, plus a close-up picture of some of the beading.  I'm beading as I go - there are so many on this project, I'd hate to have to back and fill them in.

de-clutter:  15 minutes on papers (recycle, file, shred)

Yearly Tasks
card making (2 of 24):  Made a birthday card for my daughter to give to a friend.  Used an idea/sketch from an online class I'm taking through Big Picture Classes (28 cards in 4 weeks taught by Aly Dosdall).

Day 35 - Saturday

Daily Tasks
photo - cascades:  Took Mom for a drive today on her favorite route - down Highway 9 through Snohomish into Lake Stevens.  As you can see, it's a great view of the mountains.  I can't imagine living where I couldn't see beauty like this.  We're supposed to have another lovely day tomorrow.

stitching:  1 hour, 34 minutes on Mother's Arms.  Should finish the rotation on this tomorrow, just in time for the next WIPocalypse post.
de-clutter:  15 minutes in the kitchen.

Day 34 - Friday

Daily Tasks
photo - bluemoon:  I took this at 3:30 this afternoon, as I was walking to the bus.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was the most beautiful blue.  Such a change from just 2 weeks ago when we were in the middle of Snowmageddon 2012.

stitching:  1 hour, 2 minutes on Mother's Arms.

Day 33 - Thursday

Well, this cold is almost over.  That means I can get back to the decluttering tomorrow.  I've put it on hold to avoid breathing in dust and aggravating my cough.

Daily Tasks
photo - creepy:  So I got off the bus this morning, glanced in the window of the beauty school (Gene Juarez training) and saw a box of heads!  Not something you see every day (at least I hope you don't)!  Had to be my picture of the day. 

stitching:  1 hour, 3 minutes on Mother's Arms.

Day 32 - Wednesday

Daily Tasks
photo - acrobat:  I don't know why, but I really liked the way this looked.  All the other bikes are on the ground when locked to the bike rack; this one looks like it was captured mid-jump.  Just struck my fancy.

stitching:  42 minutes on Mother's Arms.  I tried to make it a full hour, but this cold is kicking me - I'm just too tired and fuzzy-headed to concentrate on the pattern.