Mr. Cutty

Yes, I've had my lawnmower less than 24 hours and he already has a name, introducing Mr. Cutty.

Mr. Cutty successfully attacked the front yard before having his picture taken on the (yet to be cut) back yard.  It is so cool watching the clipped grass fly through those blades of his.  He's a hungry guy and will eat as fast as I can push.  Pushing uphill required some effort, so I think I've found a good replacement for the snow shoveling gym membership.  But I was done with the front yard in less than 1/2 hour and the back didn't take much longer, so I think I'll be happy with this purchase.

For those who have ever wondered what it would be like to use a reel lawnmower here is what I've noticed so far. 

1. They are much quieter than a regular motor powered mower.
2. You can get them with a clipping catcher, which I'm glad I did, considering how long I let the grass get before cutting it this time.
3. 2 sets of wheels are recommended, makes turns so much easier, since you can use the back wheels to move the mower while not turning the cutting blades.

I think this was the right purchase for me, with my small yard.  I'll keep you posted as the summer progresses.

Oh yeah, while outside I noticed that I have a lilac bush in my backyard!  Sadly, the pictures do not do the bush justice. 

I had thought it was a small tree, yes its on the large side.  I was quite thrilled when I recognized the blooms, the backyard is going to smell great!  I also learned that the car eating bush near the driveway is a lilac as well.  I can hardly wait for that one to bloom, so I can let the fragrance into the house.

I was thrilled to see 3 different colors of Tulips in back.  There are a bunch of white ones, a few yellow and one lone fuschia tulip (hard to see in the right side of the picture beyond the bird bath) so far.  Everything is starting to bloom and I'm very excited to see different things popping up each day.  Spring is so cool!

The rain has arrived!

Last Saturday I finished doing all the yard preparation and put down fertilizer.  It was great to spend all that time in the sun and reminded me that despite all the work you have to do when you own your own home, it is well worth it because of all the extra time you spend outside!

Due to the marvels of modern technology and my user error, there are no pictures of the yard after I raked it.

Translation: I got in a hurry to keep the memory card in the camera "clean" and deleted them with out copying them over to the laptop, argh!

But here's a picture, of the front yard, since it rained. You will just have to take my word for it that the spots that are starting to green now, were more yellow a week ago.

I hope the greener circles will blend in soon.  Otherwise I'll be buying seed and trying to even out the front yard.

I predict that a lawn mower will be purchased in the next week or so.  Now that the grass has been fed and watered, it will likely go nuts and I'll start cutting it regularly.  I can already see bumps where different kinds of grass are growing faster than others and know I will NEED to cut it so that the yard has a smoother look soon.

The Dove Chocolate Discoveries gift basket is traveling to MN and has transformed itself into a gift box that leaves the state this afternoon.

I know Mom is going to enjoy trying a whole bunch of new products.  I labeled them with some hints on usage and to ensure she knew what she was trying in some cases.

Yesterday I went on a field trip to Smith's in Oberlin with Michelle and Pam.  Pam got nominated as honorary picture taker, she documented our journey to Oberline, OH well in her blog.

Smith's is a really cool Home Furnishing and Yarn store.  Who would have thought to sell both in one store?  It works really well and I will definitely be going back again.  I splurged and got some Mirasol Lachiwa yarn to knit myself a summer tank top.  Its a great Easter egg periwinkle color!

Thanks to Michelle for the use of her kitchen table photography studio.  Michelle was the sole purchaser at the Bead Store, check out the neatest little kitty beads shown in her blog .  I'm sure they are going to make some delightful stitch markers.

Visiting Smith's and the Bead Shop in Oberlin yesterday really got the creative juices flowing, much credit to the great women I was shopping with.  They helped me get a great yarn for what will be my *FIRST* adult garment, a hand knit tank top and provide continued knitting inspiration!

The juices were flowing so strongly that I was not able to go to bed last night with out finding a pattern and casting on the tank top.  I'm going to make the Broken Rib Tank by Kristen TenDyke.  I'm going knit in the round up to the arm holes, contrary to pattern and tailor the sizing, but other than that, I intend to follow the pattern exactly.  I'm sure I'll be well into the ribbed edging on the bottom (that I'm doing 8 repeats of based on others experience with this pattern) after knitting tonight.

 

A Jacy furball decided she wanted to help take pictures today, here she is in all her kitty glory.  Expertly hiding what I intended to photograph.

I appear to be in the mood to work on lots of things, but finish nothing lately.  I picked back up the Girasole Shawl recently, started a pair of Sinuosity Socks, Lady travels to the seaside shawl and now the Broken Rib tank top.

At least I can say I'm making progress on the socks.  I've started the heel flap on my first sock.  They are coming along quite nicely.

I intend to work on the Girasole again tonight, at least long enough to get a life line put into it. I'd hate to lose my place as I start chart C, which will be beautiful and full of challenge.

Not to mention that I keep intending to start baby knitting for the *4* babies that will be arriving this summer!  I left Philly just in time, there is obviously something in the water there!

Guess I ought to stop typing and start doing.  Have a Sweet Day!

And the winner is...

My Mom.  The odds ran true and the person with the most tickets entered won this contest.  She will receive a $20 gift certificate and a variety of other Dove Chocolate Discoveries products.

Off to assemble the gift basket.  Picture of prize posted soon.

Hmm...I wonder why

...ice from just about every ice maker I've ever encountered always leave funny white stuff floating in the last bit of water in your glass?  Is there really that much particulate in the water?  Or do I really just need to change the filter in my refrigerator?

I've often wondered this, since it is not the first time I've shied away from using the ice maker in a refrigerator  since I find the white stuff disturbing.  But, this isn't exactly going to ruin my day, not using ice that is.  So I've never taken the time to research the cause.  If you have ideas, I'd love to hear them.  Maybe your thoughts will inspire real research into this fairly trivial subject.