Boo Hoo

After my little self "props" last post I had a crummy climbing night this week. I backed off two climbs and couldn't do the one I really wanted to because we only had one rope. Phooey. :(

Eventually Her Baby Will Earn An Income

Some of y'all might remember my friend Karel. But some of you may not know that she had a baby almost two months ago (because she's a terrible blog updater!) And furthermore, I'm pretty sure y'all didn't know that I got to go up to Reno and hang out with them over the weekend of the 4th. Notice the festive 4th of July outfit on the wee one...


We managed to get Karel a little more caught up on sleep while I was there,


go out to get our hair cut together, (Note the crazy prom hair!)


...and even made it on a short hike!


Thanks lady for sharing you beautiful new babe with me for the holiday!

Something else that is almost two months old is the Women's Thursday Evening Climbing Club that I've been organizing each week after work. Now I'll admit here that attendance hasn't been record breaking, so it has been more like "Come and Go Climbing With Suziehulahoop on Thursdays Club", but I'm not complaining! I've had at least one person show up every time, and that's all you need to tango, or climb! So yay us, we're out there making it happen! Thanks to my regulars, hope to see you all at one time perhaps!

I Feel So Wholesome!

In our weekly veggie box we get some unfamiliar things occasionally (so that's what a rutabaga looks like!) and this week it was "Horticultural Beans." (Catchy name, huh? Can't imagine why that one hasn't caught on...) They were super pretty, creamy white beans with lovely pink speckles...

in coordinating jackets.

Tankboy was a huge help in the shelling process...

Little did we know that the ones we snacked on raw were much more flavorful than the cooked ones. They lost their pretty pink speckles and were just sort of cooked white beans when done, ho hum!

And despite my laundry room floor looking like this at the beginning of the weekend:

...I did get in some climbing, some kayaking, a toddler's casual birthday party (to distracted for pics, sorry!), family time at the river, and a fully cooked Classic American summer meal of fried chicken, corn, and salad! AND the laundry will be totally done by this afternoon!

That's what I call a quality family time!

I Like Brown and Leafy Shapes

For those of you on the absolute edge of your seats about our home remodel (Hi Dad!) here is the equivalent of three thousand words! The fancy schmancy loo...

The mostly complete right half of the kitchen...

And the "one cabinet short" left half...


Actually since we took the pictures we got the cabinet handles on and finished that last left hand cabinet, still need touch up paint and the wood thingies on the sides of the upper cabinets. But amazingly enough we are cooking, cleaning, and eating in our kitchen! Wahoo!

And on a totally unrelated note I got a lovely henna (temporary, Dad) tattoo on my arm at our monthly women's gathering. The artiste did such a lovely job, I thought it should be saved for posterity.


Hope y'all had a lovely Father's day, I need to go scrub the Father's day camping grud off!

The First Annual Gal's Backpacking Trip!

Everyone made it through with flying colors (and one with a slight fever!) Hope your Memorial Day rocked as hard as these here ladies!

These Boots are Made for Stompin'!

I hosted our Women's Group meeting this month (along with all the other craziness going on around here). And, because I'm a geek, we had a guest instructor and commemorative tee shirts. The tee shirt graphic was done by Christopher Baldwin of Little Dee fame. He graciously donated his time and talent to what he deemed a worthy cause. Yay Christopher!

Our guest self defense instructor, Kelly, was awesome, and also donated her time. She even managed to drag a buddy along with her. Thanks Kelly and Michelle y'all rock (and kick, and punch...)!

And aside from that of course we have to give a double yay to my but kickin' women's group! Woot woot!

Just Keep Swimming...

So some of y'all have been kind enough to inquire as to the status of the house remodel. Try to bear in mind that the place will look much better without the thin veneer of power- and hand tools, and also those pesky dangling fixture-less electrical wires. First the heart of the house, the kitchen/dining space, with double doors onto the "courtyard"...
Could be nice soon, huh?

Then the wee guest room that will soon house my favorite sibling and family...
Tiny, but nice!

Then a quick glimpse at the loo...

Supposedly the tile artist will have this whipped into jaw dropping shape in two short weeks! (Watch the knees while on that imaginary potty, the door will definitely clip them if someone comes barging in!

And still in the works (perhaps in time for 90 degree weather?) The Hubsand's wool cabled sweater! Remember when I surveyed y'all as to the fate of this handknit? Well, much like the Million Dollar Man ("We can rebuild him - we have the technology!) it has been restructured for the betterment of mankind. AKA, made bigger and knit in the round (front and back at the same time).


Even Tankster agrees, "It's wool, but it sure isn't itchy!"


Now all we gotta do is keep on keeping on!