I have a new blog name and a new blog url! Sorry to make this such a pain but would you all please bookmark or change in your favorites to the new address. Purty Pleeeze? Thanks!! I'll set to work fixing things up here soon enough. Bear with me! My Dark Oak Woman blog will remain up but all my new posts will be here. I'll have a permanent link to the old place though.

uneven edges...

My Dark Oak Woman name just wasn't suiting me any longer. I love having an "Indian name" but it didn't describe me completely. I have a history with uneven edges so this new name is more fitting. One of my legs is longer than the other. When I was a kid this didn't bother me but as I get older it causes me pain now and then. So, I'm physically uneven and more aware of it. It would be impossible to find someone who isn't uneven.

Alas, I am also creatively uneven.

When I made my very first pieced quilt I didn't understand the quarter-inch seam concept AT ALL. It was a disaster. But, I managed to get all of it lined up on top. You shoulda seen the bottom. Several years later I made a bowtie quilt and didn't like the size of my blocks so I cut them down. This time I wasn't so lucky with the outcome. It does add to the "charm" of the quilt though, don't you think?



Then there was my first afghan...

I dove right in without understanding how to end a row, make a chain and begin the next row. Luckily I thought of a way to fix it by crocheting an edge around all 4 sides and today my mistakes are hardly visible(this is a "before" picture).



Now, thankfully, I have figured out the quarter-inch seam and how to end/begin a crocheted row.

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to trim your own bangs???....

Simply Sunday...

Jasper enjoyed the view.



Sarah talked on her phone to grandma and friend Callie.



Anyone want to buy a 1991 Suburban?



I love it when the oak tree is this color.



This is one tall tree!



Jasper tried to make friends with Jeff, the red eared slider Sarah caught at the park today.(click to enlarge any of the pictures)

It Isn't White!!!

It seems as though almost every car we've had in the past 20 years has been white, especially the last 3 or 4. Finally, we have branched out and added a nice neutral! Introducing my new ride!!

Ocean Sapphire...

Sarah's friend got a Siamese Fighting Fish(betta) a few weeks ago and she's been bugging us to get one too. I resisted because of the cats, but finally gave in today. He's GORGEOUS!! (click to see larger images)



I wish his irredescence showed up better in the photos. He's a dark blue with slightly lighter fins.


Here he is backlit, showing off his greenishness. You can see a few of my needle-felted balls behind his bowl too, an nice foil for his coloring.


This is the truest picture of his color.


We already had the bowl and red marbles, a perfect habitat for such a beauty. However, we will be looking for a bigger container. They do better in 1-2 gallon tanks, this one is probably a half gallon. Why yes, that is a C3PO standing in the corner!

In other news...

I'm taking time this weekend to go through a newish(acquired last year) old cookbook, Rodale's Naturally Great Foods Cookbook by Nancy Albright(published in 1977). Is it ever full of good stuff! Not just recipes but instructions on everything from making yogurt, sprouting sprouts, and even grinding flour from pumpkins! Wowza!!! There are soooo many recipes in it that I'm dying to try out, like Alfalfa Sprout Gazpacho, Avocado Banana Dressing, Grainburgers, Millet Meatloaf, Broccoli Timbales, Yogurt Cheese, Sourdough Rye Bread, and the list goes on and on and on!!! I'm also reading another goodie called Cooking Vegetables the Italian Way by Judith Barrett. Lotsa good stuff there too.

We are supposed to be taking the last bits of wallpaper down from the dining room tomorrow. The paint we've decided on is called Caramel Cream, a rich, bright orange. All the playing I've done at Valspar's online room painting thingie points to this color. I think it will be perfect.


I'm sure it looks garish on your monitor, kinda looks washed out on mine too. Trust me, its really a rich, goldish orange with depth and a nice warmth. In fact, if you'll scroll back up to the third picture of Ocean(his true color pic) and look directly above his tail you can see a felted ball of red, yellow, and orange. The orange in that picture is very close to the wall color. I can't wait to get it painted!!

Guess that's all the goings on for this weekend. Hopefully I'll be able to blog more next week. Having a working teen who is also very social is demanding more of my time than I ever thought possible!!

New Shoes...

Yesterday was shoe buying day for some of the Soniers. Amy was outgrowing her Converse and wanted Chuck Taylors and Sarah found some brown and white checkerboard Vans that are just adorable! I wanted something with a little more support for my older model feet and tried some Eccos on just to see. Oh my GOOOOSH!! I never even took them back off!! They got their first workout today at the park and my feet feel wonderful!!! No sore spots, no aches at all! I am impressed big time.

HERE are the shoes I got. They aren't quite as bright blue as the picture, more of a greyish blue actually, but still very stylish.

I wanna be a rink rat...

Deliberate spontaneity or spontaneously deliberate....

I've decided I want to be more flexible and regain some of my muscle tone(this would be the deliberate part). I tried skating today for the first time in 9 years, it was NOT pretty(this would be one of the 3 spontaneous parts). Anyway, I've found 5 Element Qi Gong is an easy way to get back into exercising. Several years ago I did yoga all the time and LOVED it but one day it was too cold(I did my routine outside) and it was like hitting a steel wall. I have never done a yoga routine since then. This is fun and doesn't take long to learn or do(spontaneous thing #2). I follow along 3-4 times a day.



I've also started walking at a local park again(spontaneous thing #3). This is Julianna Park for the locals. My plan is to get fit enough to be able to skate. I took 2 semesters of roller skating in college and loved it. Hopefully it won't take too long to get back in the swing of things but I've GOT to have better muscles in my legs!











Along the walking trail is a small neighborhood park(Ward Park). We lived a few blocks from this park before Ryan was born and I'd walk there when I was pregnant. It used to have old, dangerous equipment but yesterday we were pleasently surprised to see this being installed! Now, if they'd only add more tables and a bathroom we'd be set! Luckily its just a 1/4 mile or so to another park(at the upper end of the trail) with facilities. This looks like one to add to our rotation.

The Thinker


You are analytical and logical - and on a quest to learn everything you can.
Smart and complex, you always love a new intellectual challenge.

Your biggest pet peeve is people who slow you down with trivial chit chat.
A quiet maverick, you tend to ignore rules and authority whenever you feel like it.

In love, you are an easy person to fall for. But you're not an easy person to stay in love with. Although you are quite flexible, you often come off as aloof or argumentative.

At work, you are both a logical and creative thinker. You are great at solving problems. You would make an excellent mathematician, programmer, or professor.

How you see yourself: Creative, fair, and tough-minded

When other people don't get you, they see you as: arrogant, cold, and robotic

You Are An INTP

What's Your Personality Type?

In other news...

Sarah and I want to go camping again when we visit my parents this summer. Here's the place.