A New Leaf or branch??

The past couple of days have been filled with thoughts for the outdoors. The whole family is now outfitted with bikes (or the trailer) and we have gone out twice out of three days! My bike has to have some modifications made to be able to pull the Chariot (doh! Would have helped had I checked for the quick release rear tire before buying! John is in the garage installing a new axle on it and it has been cool to how a bike comes apart. Hopefully it will be ready to go for me tomorrow. Today's ride was pretty intense (for me) and there were a lot a rather large hills involved! I made it though and it really gave me the confidence that this is going to work! I have decided that rather than focus on weight, or eating (as in regimented diet and exercise) that I am going to try to really change my lifestyle. I need/have to take better care of myself and I need to have fun doing it. So rain or shine my bike and I will have a daily date!

In other news our backyard is almost completely free of snow and is even getting close to being dry. So Hubby headed out to trim all the trees. One was a real problem as much of it's branches were laying on the house, encouraging moss to grow. So he trimmed that tree way back and then using his chainsaw also took down many of the lower branches on the rest of the trees! It was fun puttering around out there with him and I can't wait for more time out there! It will be our first summer at this house and it's going to be great!

I also discovered some bulbs coming up! There are definitely some tulips as well as these! I am not sure what they are but they totally made my day! I know the pics a little fuzzy, but you get the idea :)

Suprise!

This morning I woke up to an unexpected and not really welcome surprise. If you live in Anchorage, or the surrounding areas you already know what I'm talking about. SNOW. I know, I know, we live in Alaska, isn't that what it does here? Well, it does, and occasionally it dumps like this during spring. But I am soooooo ready for the warmth and lack of bulky clothing. Plus the cheetah 2 chariot we ordered for the boys came in yesterday. We promptly went for a lovely walk. There was still snowy patches, but overall the path was dry. The sun was shining, I had falsely believed we were done.

So last night, due to John working out in the Valley, we stayed at my parents so that we could go pick up a rental car after they were asleep (we only wanted to rent it for one day, he is working the 6am-12am shift). We had walked over with the shiny new chariot thinking it would be great for me to just walk home in the morning. At 1:45am, when we picked up the car the snow had just started, but it was barely sprinkling and really even looked like rain. The roads were still dry and I thought it was just a passing thing. But when we woke up at 7am, there was 5-6inches on the ground! Wet and sloppy, my least favorite snow!

So, out of a weird stroke up luck, I had worn my snow boots last night. So I still had no problem walking home, a little more resistance pushing the chariot, but it did great! The boys were toasty warm inside, which was a good thing since they were just in jammies (though they did have a fleece blanket).

I guess what it really showed me was that I need to not let the weather hold me back! I had already decided this mentally, but today really cemented that even 5" of sloppy nasty snow is no reason to stay inside!

*But I still can't wait for summer!*

Funky Flip Flop Socks

Sooooo as I mentioned in my last post John wanted some socks. Specifically he wanted socks he could wear with his flip flops. He lounges in these flip flops at work between calls (he's an EMT III) and he wears them all winter because he loves them so much and remind him of our WDW vacations (They are mickey mouse croc flip flops ).

Long story short they are finished! I did have to rip out one toe as I made two right socks (doh!).

Skew

Woo! These socks were a FUN and FAST knit! I got the first one done in under 48 hours (not straight knitting time, but I cast on the evening of my birthday and cast off two evenings later). I took a few days off to spin and then picked the second one back up this morning. Seriously satisfying and exciting. The pattern is so unique and the fit is really great, they totally hug my feet and are so comfortable to wear (and they are the same length for some reason the left looks longer above, but it really isn't).

If you can't already tell I am totally in love with these! I used some precious Wollmeise yarn that had been gifted to me and was waiting for the perfect pattern. I think it worked out perfectly! I still have enough yarn left for a pair of ankle socks, so that is pretty exciting too. This was my first time knitting with Wollmeise and I can see why everyone loves it so much. The colors are so saturated and the construction of the yarn seems very durable and I think the socks will hold up very well.

Now I have to cast on the second flip flop sock that I am making for John. I am being a big baby about it, but I really don't feel like knitting it. It's worsted weight and should theoretically take between 4-6 hours, so it shouldn't be a big deal and he really wants them....but I am still not feeling it. I think when we sit down to watch a movie tonight I am just going to do it! Especially since I have some Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece winging it's way to me to become a Que Sera...I know I will want to cast on the second it's in the door and I don't want anything in my way!

That Lazy Kate!

Alright, if you spin, you know what kind of lazy kate I'm talking about! It is a tool used in plying (taking multiple strands of spun fiber and twisting them together for a 2, or 3, or 4 ply yarn) Well mine was an Ashford, meant to be used with Ashford bobbins. Now I have Abigail, my antique spinning wheel, and her bobbins were just too wide for my Ashford lazy kate. So after much begging, my wonderful husband did a little surgery and widened it! So as you can imagine I have done a little spinning this weekend. I just finished my second skein about 20min ago. Neither are washed, but you get the idea :)

The springy greens and purples is a Funky Carolina superwash merino. It came out right at worsted weight and 211 yards. The pinks, peaches, and browns is Romney dyed by me! It is a dk weight yarn coming in right at 200yards. Also in the collage is a lovely coffee mug I received for my birthday from a good friend :)

A Trio

Wahoo! I must say my boys looked pretty handsome on Easter :)

Jared Flood's Alberta vest, one made as directed and two downsized for my little chublets. John had been begging for a set of vests/sweaters so that he could match his boys. I must say I should knit for him more often!! He was full of praise and loved wearing the vest...I see more in his future!

He is Risen!

1 Corinthians 15

The Resurrection of Christ

¹Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. ²By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

³For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance^[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵and that he appeared to Peter,^[b] and then to the Twelve. ⁶After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

⁹For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. ¹¹Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

¹²But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.¹⁵More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ¹⁹If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

²⁰But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. ²²For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. ²³But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. ²⁴Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. ²⁵For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶The last enemy to be destroyed is death. ²⁷For he "has put everything under his feet."^[c] Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. ²⁸When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

²⁹Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? ³⁰And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? ³¹I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. ³²If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
"Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die."^{[d] 33}Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." ³⁴Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body

³⁵But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" ³⁶How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. ³⁷When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. ³⁸But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. ³⁹All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. ⁴⁰There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. ⁴¹The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

⁴²So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; ⁴³it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"^[e]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. ⁴⁷The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. ⁴⁸As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we^[f] bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

⁵⁰I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵²in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."^[g]
55"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"^{[h] 56}The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.