I spent pretty much the whole day outside yesterday!  I was up to all sorts of gardening and planting.  It was a delightful sunny day and just right for the jobs.

Today, I will maybe get outside for a little bit later this morning.  I need to tidy up a bunch in the house first. Then this afternoon (like for the whole afternoon) I am accompanying my parents to a medical appointment.  I had been pondering what I would do all that time I was in the waiting room…and then yesterday morning I had a little comment from a friend wondering if we should get out and work on our Grandmother Flower Garden squares.  It couldn’t have been better timing!

So, I found the squares I had already made…I have two of each of these:

And I cut out the pieces I need to make two more out of green.

That’s all the colors I have right now. I am going to have to go to the quilt shop before I can do anymore squares! But it’s okay for now, as I have to piece some of my squares together to get the templates out of them so that I can make more squares.  I have the white border pieces cut out already.

Then I put all the pieces and all my supplies in this little stacking box I have.

It is a very handy and portable box.  It is truly perfect for organizing and carrying hand-piecing projects.

So, I will pack this and knitting and a book. I also just got both a Knitpicks and a Patternworks catalog in the mail, I set them aside to thumb through while I am waiting as well.  Hopefully it’s enough to fill the 5 or 6 hours that we’ll be a the hospital!

  Oh yes, and it’s my birthday today.

Thank goodness I took a friend with me for my trip to the DMV!  Even though we got there relatively early….The wait went on and on and on.  Seriously, we waited two hours before my lucky number was called.  Evidently, since the law is changing requiring folks to have enhanced drivers’ licenses or passports to cross the border starting June first, everybody wants an enhanced driver’s license!  At least we got there early before the line to check in was going out the door!  So, needless to say, my friend and I got plenty of catching up done!

And the DMV trip ended up consuming the bulk of the day.  We left at 8 and got home at 1.

K…Time to finish up the pictures from Saturday. 

So, after our trip inside the store, we wandered around a bit outside.  There is a very sweet looking old mill there that was used once-upon-a-time for grinding grains and such.

To get there we walked across a covered bridge (which for some reason I didn’t take a picture of!) and I liked this sign posted on the front of the bridge.

And yup, I sure did stop and give my honey a kiss as we walked across the bridge!

And then on the other side of the bridge, Nature Boy saw this big ledge and had to climb on it.

It was just a perfect sunny spring day!

And here’s one last picture from graduation.

They have a tradition that each graduate is handed a rose as they exit the stage after receiving their degree.  The rose is meant to be given to the person (friend, family, faculty, etc) who most supported and helped the graduate make it through school.  I guess you could say it’s a “I couldn’t have done it without you.” rose.

I gave my rose to my dh.  Without his support, I really couldn’t have made it.  He picked up all the loose ends at home, cooked, cleaned, and did most of the parenting.  He gave me a shoulder to cry on and he was also my biggest cheerleader.  His stepping up and taking care of everything meant that I didn’t have to worry, I knew things were okay at home.  Really, I couldn’t have done it without him! 

Hmm…for all he did, maybe I should have given him more roses!!!!

Hopefully, this week I can develop a sort of rhythm to my days and weeks. Today is going to be an “off” day in terms of rhythm as I have to scoot to Montpelier to get my driver’s license.  Funny how these things sneak up on you!  My birthday is Wednesday, so I must renew by then.  Luckily, I have been able to recruit a friend (that I have been wanting to catch up with for a while) to ride down with me.  We’ll have plenty of time to chat in the car and potentially at the DMV if the lines are long. 

As to why I am going to the Montpelier DMV vs. the Town DMV….I am upgrading to the enhanced driver’s license.  It will let me cross at the Canadian border without a passport.  Of course, I have to bring 25 forms of ID and a DNA sample to get the enhanced license…..Just kidding…But I do need proof of US citizenship, proof of state residency, proof of my physical address, my SS card, etc.  So, last evening, I scrounged all the paper work that I need and I will be all set to go.

I got the pictures from Saturday morning posted.  Our hotel was just up one exit from the Vermont Country Store.  The VCS is this quirky, sweet little shop with all sorts of everything!  I mean really, you can get bloomers, old-fashioned toys, fancy soaps, foam hair curlers, Christmas decorations….etc, etc, etc.  I’ve been to the store just a few times and really wanted to go again.  We had a blast!

The picture below is me standing on the stairs that go to the “Yankee Bargains” upstairs.  I am looking out across the main part of the store.  To the right (out of the picture) is more toys, clothing and such.  To the way left in the back (out of the picture) is food items.  Here, Nature Boy is inspecting a thumb piano.

The food section is amazing.  They had weird and strange and tasty edibles of all kinds.  Nature Boy had never seen one of these kinds of giant lollipops.

We all got a bit of candy from the jars to sample.  They had some oldies but goodies! (And no, I did not let NB get the giant lollipop!)

One of dh’s favorite confections (and you can only get them at the Vermont Country Store) is creamed filberts…AKA: Mothballs.

From the catalog:

Cream Filberts—The Crystallized Hazelnuts You Asked for—Are Back!

For years you’ve asked us to reintroduce crystallized cream filberts (also known as “Mothballs” or “Snowballs”) to our Store and we searched until we finally came across a small candy company in upstate New York that was able to make these candies the old-fashioned way just for us. The filberts (hazelnuts) are panned in copper kettles until the whole nut is encased in crystallized sugar, a time-consuming process that takes days, but one we’re sure you’ll find well worth the effort. Whether you prefer to let these sweet treats slowly melt in your mouth until you get to the nut or simply bite right into them, you won’t be able to resist them. 1lb. bag contains approx. 40 candies.

• Patiently panned in copper kettles
• Encased in crystallized sugar

Whether you prefer to let these yummy cream filberts slowly melt in your mouth until you get to the nut or simply bite right into them, you won’t be able to stop once you start.

Yummy! 

I found some decadent rose scented powder.

Nature Boy got a harmonica and a Klutz card trick book.

Dh and I got a few other things too and a few items we set aside for gifts for later.

After spending a long time in the store, we did a bit of exploring outside the store.  I have a few pictures of that too…But I’ll save them for tomorrow!

Well, I am finally officially done school.  Graduation was nice.  I think what I enjoyed most of all was Nature Boy and dh getting to see my get my degree and to celebrate my accomplishment with me.  I felt a bit weird about graduating….Most all of my classmates (and the other graduates) were very, very excited to be graduating. Me? I simple felt an overwhelming sense of relief!  I guess that shows exactly how stressful school has been for me.

Nature Boy was as sweet as could be after graduation.  He kept hugging me.  He told me how proud he was of me.  We stayed the night in a hotel down there and as we left school and drove to the hotel, we talked about education and degrees (what the difference is between my Bachelor’s Degree and the Associate’s Degree that I just got).  It was a very satisfying conversation.  I hope we are instilling the value of education on Nature Boy…..I feel lucky to have been able to show him by example!

Now that I have graduated, I feel like I can get my life back.  I do have that pesky licensing exam to study for…But I can feel myself so much calmer already!

My goal for this week is to putter a bit around the house.  I want to get flowers and plants into the pots on the deck.  I want to get the garden going. I need to clean up my study area and organize my materials so that I can start studying for my exam. 

It is so nice to have the time and energy to do all those things!!!

Tomorrow, I am going to share some pictures with you of a little side-trip we made on the way home from the hotel yesterday.  I haven’t gotten them all edited for posting on xanga yet….So you’ll have to wait in suspense another day!

My class and professors (shy one person who didn’t attend graduation).

The OTAs (my class) and the PTAs (who we had many classes with) and our professors.

My degree. Summa cum laude.

Squee!

Happy graduation to me!

Happy Graduation to me!

Happy Graduation, dear Craftymomma,

Happy Graduation to me!

As of 6:30 or 7:00 this evening (depending on how long the keynote speaker and others talk!) I will be officially graduated!  Super squee!!!! 

It’s been a long, hard road folks….Not something I would do again.  But I made it!

<phew> That down and back trip to New Hampshire is just plain tiring!  I realized though, it was my second to last college commute! 

Convocation was interesting……I packed up my family and we were out of the house by 7 so that we could go down to Convocation.  I invited dh and Nature Boy to come as I was going to receive recognition for an achievement and I wanted them to be there to see it. (Especially Nature Boy who grumbles a lot about his homework! I want him to see there are rewards for good work!) 

I don’t know if you recall, but last spring I got a merit based scholarship.  When I got the scholarship, the program director said that it was something she would like to acknowledge at Convocation.  In the fall, she talked about having a small get-together to recognize my receiving the scholarship, but then when we were trying to hammer out dates, she again stated the whole Convocation thing (and we never had the get-together).  And when I finally received the scholarship check in December….I’m pretty sure she again stated the Convocation thing.

You may wonder why I am beating the whole acknowledgement-at-Convocation point….It’s because she didn’t do it.  I guess she must have forgotten.   It kinda stung a little bit personally and of course the fact that we pulled NB from school and dh skipped work to come see me being recognized for achievement and then it didn’t happen…..

Oh well……There’s not much to do about it now.  It was nice getting to see my friends though and getting a chance to be part of graduation rehearsal….Now I know where to walk.

K…I got pictures off the camera of the book marks I made for my classmates and teachers.  I pulled out all my old scrapbooking supplies and put together basic bookmarks.

I chose one saying to go on them for my classmates.

And one for my professors.

And then I ribboned them up and they were done.

I think they came out pretty nicely!  I also wrote each person a note and then put the bookmarks in the notecards and in their envelopes.

So…Tomorrow is it…The final, official end! I am sooooo relieved to have made it!

I didn’t get pictures from yesterday off the camera, so it will be a text only blog today.

Yesterday I was busy around the house again.  I also had a “sick” kiddo home from school.  It was day two of vague and mysterious symptoms (upset stomach, sore throat, feeling hot but no fever, etc.) Since today is a big day (more in a minute) and I have graduation Friday we decided to keep him home so he could get some R&R and feel better.  Mind you, I am not sure he is really sick….I have wondered if it is more about me being home and him wanting to spend some extra time with me after me being unavailable for so long….Either way, he got to stay home.  I also know things are all disrupted from the “normal” routine and maybe he is adjusting to that too….Really, we have a lot going on around here in terms of me being all-of-a-sudden home.  Not that it’s bad (not at all!) but it’s an adjustment.

Besides keeping track of the kiddo, I mowed some more down in the back where we cut back the sumac.  I also mowed way down where we have our fire pit.  I cleaned up our deck and got the planters all lined up for planting.  I considered running to the local nursery for some flowers, but we are still having frost warnings and while I could plant pansies…..I decided to just wait a couple days and see if the night time temperatures improve some.

What else did I do?  Oh! I did a little crafty project for my classmates…Nothing fancy, just some bookmarks as a token of friendship.  (Now, I really wish I had gotten the pics of the camera!)

So…Today.  Today is Convocation.  We are all heading down for the event.  For some strange reason it is at 9:30 in the morning.  We have Convocation, graduation rehearsal and then a barbecue.  It is supposed to be another sunny and beautiful day, so I am hoping it is a relaxed day of fun.  

Okay, well, there’s still some organization and prep to do for heading to school today and only an hour left in which to do it!  I gotta run!

I was a busy gal yesterday.  I had an appointment at the allergist’s and turned up negative for several allergens.  I can’t much complain about that!

Then I spent lots of time outside.  I hung laundry and I mowed down back.  I like the new mower…Though mowing was hard.  I didn’t mow back there at all last year as our old mower broke.  So the area was dense with old grass knots from last summer. Then it was grown up with this spring’s grass which was overly long….I worked up a good sweat.

There was lots of sumac too.  The sumac spreads like crazy and had even grown up out of my rhubarb!

I mowed around it all deciding to tackle the sumac later.  When Nature Boy came home from school, we went down with a small pruning saw and clippers and cut back the sumac.

Today, I want to mow the spots I didn’t get to yesterday.  I also want to take down the fence around the garden and till in there.  The only problem is that I sprained my hand on Sunday and it was really hurting by the end of yesterday!  I will see how it is doing today.  I can likely mow…But pulling the fence out might be too hard.

It is so nice to have spring! Everything is so green and lush here….It’s wonderful!

Here’s one of my favorite spring flowers.

Yup, I love dandelions!

<contented sigh>

Here I am home.  I don’t have anything related to school happening today. I am sooooooo happy!

My goal for this week is to get my life back on track.  I am ready to jump in pretty much 100% to changing my habits and resurrecting my healthy lifestyle choices.  I bought a new journal over the weekend to record my process and my feelings.  Oh yes, and also my plan.  I am going to write down my goals and my plans for achieving them.  Don’t worry, I’ll post them here too…But some of my inner feelings are more private and I will save those for pen and paper.

My Mother’s Day was nice.  It was quiet and low key…just what I needed.  I got a fantastic gift and I am thrilled.  What did I get?  A new lawn mower!!!! Seriously, I totally wanted one.  For years, I have had hand-me-down lawn mowers that didn’t always work and required much fussing and priming and coaxing to even start.  I finally decided I had had enough.  I love to mow too…So, we went to Sears and got me a nice Craftsman mower.  I think dh thinks it’s nuts that a lawn mower brings me so much pleasure….But I don’t care!  Yesterday, it rained all day so I didn’t get to mow.  Today is supposed to be a nicer day.  I am hoping the grass will be dry enough for me to mow by afternoon.

Nature Boy and I went to visit with my mom while dh went to visit his mom.  I took my mom a beautiful rhododendron.  I got it at Costco and it is huge!

We also got to see my mom’s chicks.  Nature Boy was thrilled and used his special touch with them and was able to catch one and hold it without it even protesting.  Nature Boy has a real knack with animals.  He always has…..It is wonderful to see it in action.

Here are the cute chicks.

Wanna know something?  We are planning on getting chicks too!  We have had chickens before and were really pining to get them again.  We missed the first round of ordering (from which my parents’ got their chicks) but are putting in an order for round two! Ours won’t come ’til the end of June.

My mom pulled out a picture to show us while we were there.  It is of me when I was maybe 4 (?).  I used to have a captain’s bed and after they tucked me in my bed at night, I would crawl out of bed and sleep in the drawer.

I took a pic of the picture with my new camera (soo nice is the new camera!).  Dh likes the picture as evidently, I look pretty much the same as I did then.