We're ready!

All of our Christmas shopping is officially done and we are READY to head home for the holidays. Ian has to work this Monday and Tuesday and then we are taking off. We can't wait to see everyone and enjoy a relaxing holiday :)

Can you guess which gift is for you?

Who wants a fluffy duck for Christmas?

I am a beginner at knitting. This is my first non-scarf item. Now I'm a little more confident. The pattern was posted on a knitting-community website called Ravelry, and the pattern is here. http://www.pinktoque.com/craftblog/12/2007/free-pattern-knitted-duck-plush/. I didn't strictly adhere to the pattern, but here is what I got! So what I'm trying to say is, get excited for your hand knitted holiday gifts that you will surely get now! Just kidding, I don't have enough time. But consider yourself warned for next year.

My Fluffy Duck

Bacons for Thanksgiving

Ian and I had the pleasure of hosting Thanksgiving at our apartment this year. You know what they say...

Eat

Drink

And Be Merry.

And that we did.

And as we like to do, we took the guests for a hike. We once again decided that the Cascades is the most rewarding for the effort, so away we went. It was especially interesting this time because the higher the elevation, the more winter like it became. Soon we were slipping all over icy rocks and I was replaying the mental image of me slipping off the trail, down the hill and into the stream. Luckily, this was not a reality for anyone. Once we got the waterfall, I was pleased to see that it was partially frozen.






So after a few days full of food, drinks, games, music, movies and fun, we are really looking forward to Christmas. But until then, love and miss you all!

By popular demand

I was in Chicago last weekend for a Packaging Expo with my food packaging class. We had a good time, it was most of those Hokies first time in Chicago so they were pretty impressed. My camera died as soon as we got there, so I apologize for no Chicago pictures. We went to the aquarium on our half day off from the expo, and I wish my camera would have been working then because I would have got some good ones.

So it has been brought to my attention that this website has been checked by a few admiring fans who were hoping for new pictures, and were disappointed when they saw none. I got my camera working once again, so I thought I'd share some pictures of some of the crafty things I've been doing in my spare time.

Up first...the cross stitch. This is the one I worked on over the summer and finally finished once we moved here. It now serves as artwork so that our walls don't seem so bare.


Next, I sewed together this strange little piece of balcony flair. I just wanted to cheer our empty balcony up with something, and this was easy to do, and kind of unique.


Right now I'm teaching myself how to knit. I offered to make this into a scarf for Ian, but he was a little hesitant. We'll see how it turns out.


And how about some delicious chocolate covered red velvet cake balls. I made these over a week ago and they are so rich we still have a lot left. They are good, you just can't eat too many in at once.


So there you go, some pictures to enjoy. I'll make sure my camera is fully charged so we can take all kinds of pictures over Thanksgiving. But check in before then because who knows what we will decide to do this weekend. Miss you all!

Cows!

Not a very action packed weekend. I worked on take-home exams and Ian put some shelves up at our house, but we did go for a nice long hike along the Huckleberry Trail (connects Blacksburg and Christiansburg) and saw some cows close up. So here we go...pictures of cows.

A lovely railroad track along the trail

The cows loved Neit

In-your-face cow
Talking cow

Mooooooooooo

Visitors weekend!!!

We were happy to extend our cozy apartment to my parents this weekend, as they paid us a visit. Mom and Dad got here on a rainy Friday night. They got a pretty decent tour of downtown Blacksburg and a little of Virginia Tech. We had a good time eating breakfast, watching the Hokies lose their game on TV, and making a temporary movie theater of our apartment. Dad got the opportunity to chase Neit around outside, and we even got some hiking in. Our biggest surprise of the weekend was when Joanne, Eric, Fiona and Garrett stopped by on their way home from Nick and Chris's. We were glad to let them stretch their legs at our place, and we didn't even charge them to use the toilet. Overall we had a wonderful weekend, and feel like we may be able to host even more guests in the near future! So please, get out your scheduling books and pencil in a visit.

And now...the photos from our beautiful fall hike to the Cascades.

Start of the hike

Pretty Fall Stream

The Hiking Crew

Dad and one of many stone steps

Parents on a bridge

Finally, the waterfall

Mom and Dad at the Falls

Bethany's Wedding

Ian and I made it home for the second time for my friend Bethany's wedding a few weeks back. I just now got my hands on some pictures from the wedding, and thought I'd share them with you. Enjoy!

A little pre-wedding drinkypoo

Bridesmaids in waiting

The wedding party

At the reception

Ian's Big Day

Today is Ian's first day at his new job. Be sure to ask him how it's going!

Fall festival time

We went to a fall festival today in Vinton, Va. We saw a doggy fashion/talent show (we did not enter Neit due to his new hair cut). There were also some pretty impressive competitive cloggers. Yes, little girls who clog in competitions. We were amused. And a pretty realistic Barney Fife impersonator. Yes this fall festival had it all. We had nachos and bought a cute little decorative Halloween pumpkin. We were not disappointed with a fall festival. Perhaps we'll go back next year.

Ian having fall festival fun

Me having just as much fall festival fun

Our new decoration

Neit vs. the Burrs

We took Niet for a walk yesterday, and he did a silly thing. He stuck his head into a bush full of burrs. There were so many of them, we had little choice but to cut them out. They were mostly on his face, left ear, chest, and front paws. Here are some before and after shots.

Burrs around the ears

Already starting to mat up

The hair cut

The results

Sad about his new 'do

I had to cut out a lot of fur on his chest and from his legs too. Its hard to get the full scale impact of how silly he looks now, but trust me, its funny. We hope he learned his lesson about burrs: Don't stick your head in them.

Rain out

This weekend we were going to hike Dragon's Tooth, but looks like its a wash out.



Oh well. Maybe next time.

Kalow and Mandi's Wedding

Last weekend we drove home for Kalow and Mandi's wedding. It was a beautiful event, and everything went practically perfect. We didn't get top notch photos, but here are a few of the things we captured.

Kalow and Mandi at rehearsal dinner

The bride and bridesmaids at rehearsal dinner

Brothers at the ceremony

Best Man toast (which was very good)

The Beef vs. Steve dance-off

Me and Dad

Pandapas Pond

The big activity of the weekend was Pandapas Pond, about 3 miles from Blacksburg in Jefferson National Forest. The trail is only about 1 mile and outlines the small pond. It is very pretty. We saw no animals other than a turtle in the pond. The trail is extremely easy, and we walked around it several times to fill our hiking quota.

A Beaver House

Welcome to Pandapas Pond

Ready to Hike

Playing in the Pond

Reflections in the Pond

Birthday

Today is my birthday, so I got to pick the days activities. Rule number 1 : Today I don't have to clean the kitchen. We went to the humane society and played with kitties and puppies. Then we went to the movie (Burn After Reading...classic Coen bros). And of course dinner, at the Rivermill. Very good. Here's some pics of the new dog I'm in love with but can't afford. Maybe one day...