Things I've come to enjoy

1. knitting anywhere- on the bus, in line at the coffee shop, in the car, watching Law & Order
2. Stumptown coffee- you can always count on a good cup of coffee.
3. Taking a break after working hard
4. Candle lit showers
5. morning workouts
6. staying up late
7. Riding the bus- we have a great public transportation system
8. Music and concerts
9. The crisp morning air
10. reading
11. the online dictionary and thesaurus
12. living with house-mates
13. apple juice sweetened cranberries- yum, yum
14. Fall
15. Blueberries and Cream
16. Variety- in my schedule, clothes and food
17. Popcorn with brewers yeast
18. Camping at the beach
19. NPR
20. Jason's sense of humor
21. Saturdays without a TO DO LIST- that means no chores either.
22. blogging
23. mix matched outfits- "variety is the spice of life" so my husband tells me.
24. a man's hand touch in the garden



Jason brought these in from the yard today- they remind me of my mom. When I was a child we typically had a vase, in the center of the kitchen table, filled with colorful roses. My mother tended to the roses back then much like Jason tends to ours now.

25. working in the yard with Jason- it is fun to work on projects together!



Here is our first section of new grass. Looking at our house from the street, this is the far left side of our driveway. Our neighbor re-did his entire lawn with sod over the weekend and upon completion found that he had a few pieces left over, so he offered them to us. Yesterday, we tilled, raked, and leveled the ground in preparation of the sod. We are excited to transform the outside of our home.....

We decided to make the rest of the long strip (it goes all the way back to the end of our property line in the backyard, alongside the garage)part of the vegetable garden. We will get some good top soil and see what we can grow this late in the season.

26. I've also come to enjoy the saying, "SOME is better than none."

unraveled at the seams

Since we bought our tickets to NY in February, I have been planning on making significant progress on Jason's birthday sweater of 2003. Yes, I am aware that it is 2007 and that I have taken the sweater apart more times than I care to admit- so it is a work in progress, just like me. Back to the point- flying and knitting. I had envisioned a peaceful trip with my needles in hand and my yarn taking on an identifiable shape. My naive fantasy involving circular and double pointed needles in mid-air reveals the absence of any flying adventures I've had in the last seven years. Not until today, when a co-worker told me of her disdain for airport procedures, were my dreams of spools of yarn and rounds of needles ruined. I inquired and learned the many "No, No's" of the airfield. It is sad that knitting needles are now considered weapons. Can't blame a girl for having big dreams- the smile on her husband's face when she finally gave him his long awaited birthday gift. I look forward to the day when LOVE not hate and violence prevails- when the lamb will lay down with the lion again.

He said what?

Jason: While I am gone, I need you to clean our bedroom.

As most of you know Jason has spent the last 7 years trying to get me to STOP cleaning. His love of learning was contagious and so instead of cleaning, he talked me into reading. I was excited to join Jason's world and as a result we currently house 5 book shelves worth of books and neither of has completed our final degree..... With each year of education the time allotted for cleaning gets scaled down. With the purchase of our home last year and all of the work that it required, my cleaning time become non-existent. And thus we arrive in the present and find Jason- the man who had almost convinced me that cleaning was an overrated luxury, similar to showers so he tells me, not a necessity- asking me to use my god-given cleaning abilities to rid our bedroom of dirt and dust. It was a request that I fantasized about many a nights over the course of our relationship. I also had an insight about the dynamics of our cyclical cleaning battles, "maybe I haven't exposed Jason to enough dirt?" This thought was succeeded by the following conversation...

Jason: "Kara, what's this pink stuff in the shower?"

Kara: "MOLD!"

Jason: "I've never seen pink mold in our bathroom."

Jason, a few minutes later: "how do you get it off?"

Kara: "clean."

This week Jason changed one of the long standing narratives in our relationship; Kara cleans and Jason doesn't notice. Jason not only noticed and requested the dirt be CLEANED, he also cleaned his first toilet in 7 years and scrubbed his first bathroom floor. When I awoke, my bathroom sparkled- I am convinced that he too possess the cleaning gift he just hasn't had the need or chance to use it yet:)

Surprised

Just the other day I discovered how much I love surprises. I am someone who likes to be in control, so surprises have never been that attractive. However, my house-mate surprised me with a gift and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it. The gift was wonderful but the thought that went into it was the real treat..... Below is a picture of the CD I was pleasantly surprised with.



PS- FEIST will be in Portland on June 25Th at the Crystal Ballroom.

Currently listening to....

yet another great find by my Jason. So some women are greeted with flowers or possibly a freshly cleaned house when they get home, but my husband fills our lives with music.

Our Second Bathroom

This is a view of the laundry area and bathroom coming down the stairs from the kitchen. At this point we had put up the walls to separate the 2 rooms, finished the plumbing, and filled in the big dirt hole with cement. You can see our patch-work behind the laundry sink.

The view from the stairs is much more endearing now.


You are looking at the back wall of our bathroom. The pipes have been inspected and we are ready to finish the framing.









This is the shower stall- we had to frame in the pipes that hung down from the ceiling so my father-in-law made it match the shower floor. What would we have done without Father Art?



With the help of my brother-in-law Joel, we got awesome tile and with the help of my mom we laid the tile in the shower- you never know when a tube of liquid nails will come in handy. I now keep an emergency supply in my furnace room- just in case.


This was a team project: Jason's great idea to use the same tile for the counter top- I love it! Kara and Father Art's team work to get it laid and finally Father and Son grouted and sealed the deal.


Now for the finishing touches- mirror above the sink, drawer knobs, paint the baseboards and the walls that we messed up while tiling and putting in the cabinet and toilet. We are so close to having 2 functional bathrooms- the hard work has been well worth the almost finished product! Jason and I couldn't have done it without the help of our family- thank you for the time, energy, and love that you've poured into our home.

The Robinson Family

that's right- and baby makes three. Paul and Annie- (2 of the most wonderful people I know and if I was a betting women,I'd say 3 because Elias is one of the best combinations around)- welcomed their son into the world on April 14Th. On Saturday, I meet baby Elias and enjoyed the company of my good old neighbors. I recalled the days when J and I could just stroll over and say hi- no plan or gas money needed. Paul and Annie are salt of the earth kind of people. Paul is honest- "Kara, you know you really aren't humble" and Annie, she is sugar and spice and everything nice- except when she is telling J to shut up on the deck of our third story apartment. See why Jason and I like them, they keep us in line for each other......... We are blessed to have friends like Paul and Annie! check out the Robinson's Adventures @ http://parobinson.wordpress.com/