Our house in Niskayuna

Finally I am getting around to posting pictures of the house. But first: gratuitous nephew pictures.

Kari and I went to a local Japanese place for lunch last week. We had sushi. Alex had miso soup, and tea. Read: messy fun. Alex also enjoyed looking at the big goldfish in the pond. There were so many of them, lazy, hanging around, scratching their bellies on the rocks, never minding the toddler who was pointing and chirping at them.

Now down to business.

Above is our sunroom. Its a lovely space, with radiant heating in the floors (which the animals LOOOVE). Note the mass of white stuff through the windows.

The room is full of matchy-matchy plastic rattan furniture, which came with the house. Yes, it was listed on the brochure for the house as a selling point. At first I couldn't stand it, and I kept threatening to sell it on ebay, but Bill kind of liked it, and I've come around somewhat. Once I put plants all over the room, I started to like it better.

This room has inspired me to start collecting plants. My old friends will know that is quite a change for me. I never used to keep plants. Now I own FOUR potted plants, including that huge one in the corner, which my folks gave me and Bill as a housewarming gift, and I love it. They also gave me a wierd looking stalk plant that I will post a picture of at another time.

Above is our dining room. We just got one of those counter-height square tables, not because they are all the rage but because the square room holds it nicely and we are tall people who appreciate tall chairs. We stole the idea from Kari and Dan, who got one first.


This is our living room. I especially love the red chair on the left, it is very good for knitting in


And this of course is my pride and joy, the kitchen. My friends with sharp eyes will notice something else: I have flowers in vases in many rooms. This is a new thing for me, I was never one for buying flowers as I considered it an extravagence and also silly--why truck flowers up from some faraway place?

But since we moved to Niskayuna I have been buying them, mostly from the local natural foods co-op, because I have been enjoying the experience of lingering with them, as I cut them and arrange them in vases. And I love taking care of them, culling the wilted ones and changing the water, trimming them every once in a while, so they maintain their beauty longer. I suppose I am continuing to change. I am a person who never cared for plants or flowers, and now these days I am caring for both and also considering how and where to plant a garden.

I am still knitting, by the way. Current projects on the needles:

1. Shawl for church ministry (about 10% finished)
2. Toe-up socks (about 45% finished--I actually bound off the first one, loosely as Wendy from WendyKnits recommends in her generic toe-up sock pattern, which is the pattern I am using, but I still didn't like how inflexible the top of the sock was--just not stretchy enough. So I am going to rip out the cast-off and use a picot edge instead)
3. Secret knitting project--90% done--I know, I know, I need to finish it!
4. Yet another secret knitting project--80% finished--what is it about this projects, when I get so far on them, you would think I could just push through and do the last little bits! Ah well. Maybe I ought to set myself some kind of goal, like finishing 3 and 4 before Easter. I think that's doable.

I will try to post some knitting pics in my next post.