Felting Good!

I had a new knitting experience. Mom got me some yarn, needles, and a pattern (Thanks, Mom!) and I knitted a purse. Due to some counting problems (I can count. I promise.) the increases did not match up to where the straps ended up. So when I finished knitting this is what I ended up with…

        

The first picture has the bag aligned to the increases (where the bottom of the bag says is front). The second picture lines up the straps and tells the increases to lay off!

Because we don’t have a washing machine, I decided to try felting “by hand.” It took 40 minutes of using the potato masher in hothot water (and the purse smelled like a wet dog) but it turned out very nicely. Once the yarn tightens up, you can push it around and make it do what you want, so the discrepancies that existed in the pre-felted project were not a problem any more.

I’m now in the market for a pretty button or pin to decorate the flap. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

We Are Happy in New Year Part II

On my parents last full day in Washington we made them go to the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge. We hope they’re not sorry.

Before going into the Refuge, we stopped at this very large tree to ogle at it (which is in someone’s front yard in Ridgefield). We think it is a cedar.

In the refuge there were many muskrats, more than we had ever seen on previous trips. By the end of the drive we’d say , “there is another muskrat…” They are pretty cute, though.

This blue heron had no qualms about letting us drive right up next to him and take his picture.

In the winter, trumpeter swans will migrate through the refuge. Here they are standing on part of the frozen wetlands. They had pretty black feet and would bob their heads up and down.

On the path to the duck blind where we learned where the swans were. And Rosanne had fun examining the lichens and mosses.

Dad wanted to know if we’d see any animals on this animal tour.

And here we are back in Vancouver at the riverfront park with the I-5 bridge behind us. Mom and Dad left early the next morning. Thanks for staying with us and helping us have fun times! We love you, family!

We Are Happy in New Year Part I

We started off this year with good-byes. This was kind of sad, but we consoled ourselves knowing that it is just for a while and that we can keep in touch with those we love.

Here we are saying good-bye to Will, Courtney, and Whitney. We were happy to have you stay with us and had good times!

The next morning we said good-bye to Dave and Elina as they left to return to Rexburg for the next semester. We hope your semester is a good one, you guys.  Learn a lot!

Later that day we went to Seattle and ate delicious salmon and had fun perusing the waterfront and Pike’s Place Market.

We went backwards down the Hike to Pike.

This is the view from Queen Anne Hill. A clear day in Seattle in the winter is hard to come by so the hill was busy with many people with fancy cameras. The sunset (which we saw the beginning of) was beautiful.

We also took the time to stop at Larsen’s Bakery, a Danish bakery that sells delicious pastries. It was hard to pick just a few things to take with us (and promptly eat).

We also got to visit my mom’s brother, Uncle Frank, and some of his family. Top row, L-R: Brent, Jonathan, Frank, Lynn, Ruth, Dana. On the couch, L-R: Aunt Janell, Michael, Lisa, cousin Amy, Rosanne, cousin Suzanne. Thanks for the good times, Reeves and Cheliuses!

It was a good trip to Seattle; we were very tired when we got home.

Yet another blog...

Dana and I have decided to start a Picture-a-day blog. You may think to yourself, "don't they already have several blogs that they don't keep up with?" Or "Are they crazy?" The answer to both of these questions is Yes.

But we started one anyway.

So we'll see how we keep up on this. We've already started it. The link is on the left. So go ahead and have fun with that.

Be Happy In New Year: 2011

So, it has been a whirlwind of events for the last two weeks. We now present you with a small summary of many of the things we have been up to.

Starting with Ruth’s 25th Birthday. Happy Birthday, Ruth!

We had a nice opportunity to visit the Festival of Lights at the Grotto, where Dana’s dad had a concert. It was very nice.

On Little Christmas Eve (the 23rd), we took Elina and Else to Zoo Lights.

Christmas Eve at the Jensen’s:

Monday we celebrated Elina’s and Ivan’s Birthdays, since Ruth’s family was coming to town. Happy Birthday, Elina and Dad!

Then “A Very Keeler Christmas” (now including some Jensens and Guptills). We were very happy to see everyone who came.

We spent time at the zoo, OMSI, and Powell’s; plus a delicious dinner at Gustav’s (thanks, Lynn).

I had to add this picture of Anna…it makes me smile:

Finally, we had a New Year’s Eve Bash at Else’s house. There were many people there, but just 6 were able to stay till midnight. This picture is from 11:59 PM. We are happy that Whitney made it through her first New Year’s

So, that was a lot to cover. But, we wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope that 2011 will bring new and exciting things.