Engagement Photos

Here are a few of the pictures we took for our engagement photos. These aren't all of them, they aren't even all the ones I like. Just the first 15 I uploaded, not in any particular order.

Toys For Tots 2009

Doug and I did the Toys For Tots ride again this year. Here are some of the pics we got:
The bike getting dressed up for the ride:
Twisting up some garland...
We made Mark decorate his bike too
Application of garland
Yes, Mark is confused. I don't think he has had much experience with garland yet...
All ready to go
Sharka (co-pilot) gets red antlers
A sea of bikes, just like last year
It goes on...
and on...
In every direction
Wearing my antlers when we wait for the bikes to get rolling
Toys tied to the back of the bike
It's just a kid! On a kid sized chopper!
This is the only time of year that it is acceptable for tough biker dudes to have cute stuffed animals attached to their bikes
Or a Santa
Side cars rock.
A friend from Doug's school with her husband
Antlers on helmet, and I'm ready to go
Doug and Mark, looking tough
Bikes as far as you can see ahead
Saw this guy waiting to cross the street - the first time I have ever seen a pizza delivery guy on a skateboard
And bikes as far as you can see behind you
The same model as Doug's bike, only in blue.
We had a fun ride this year. Somehow I managed to forget about sunscreen, but only got a little pink. Maybe I am finally getting used to the Hawaiian sun.

Next picture post: Engagement photos! We went and did them yesterday with Dorothy. I didn't think it would be very fun, but it turned out to be. She said they would be ready in a week, so we should be getting a disc next Monday at knitting group. I'm so excited to see how they turned out.

Where Does the Time Go?

I look at the last time I posted and I wonder where all the time in between went. I'm staying plenty busy, which would seem to give me more to write about. Perhaps I forget my friendly internet soapbox, where I can stand proudly and show off all I have done. Or maybe I am always in such a hurry to get started on a new project that I forget to post pictures of the last project that was finished (and gifted as the last few have been). Silly really, I live 2,500 miles from my nearest relatives, and I bet they think I am horrible about calling. Mostly because I am horrible about calling. I always think I'll do it this weekend when the time difference won't matter, and then I find myself at 7:30 local time Sunday evening without a phone call made.

Even though I've managed to sit in front of the computer long enough to get something written, pictures will have to wait. I'm at school, which means no camera. And it is likely that there aren't photos in it anyway of the projects I have been working on. But I will fill you all in a little bit.

The wedding dress is one step further in production: I finally bought the fabric that it will be made out of. Turns out Doug was HUGE help in the fabric store. I was worried he would be slightly annoyed at spending part of our time on the mainland at JoAnn's, but he didn't seem to mind it all that much. I had inspiration walking past some lace on a bolt while looking for white linen. I imagined building the dress with a lace overlay to give the dress some texture, and also more of a wedding feel for those who have a hard time with the idea of a wedding dress built out of natural fibers. I stayed on my search for the right white fabric, but kept the lace at the back of my mind. After finding the right white (which turned out to be high quality cotton muslin) I went back to the lace isle and showed Doug what I had in mind by laying the lace over the white. He agreed: it did look nice. But he didn't think it looked quite right. Thus began our search through the lace isle, pulling out every white lace to lay over the bolt of white. I wasn't looking all that seriously, thinking I would buy the one I had found first, but Doug kept looking until he found the perfect lace to use as an overlay. And he was right, the one he eventually picked was the best one.

*Side note: Doug doesn't like the way the real story sounds. He thinks it makes him sound like a sissy. So, in his version, he beat up 3 ninjas that were out to get little old ladies shopping for quilt fabric, saved an infant from the back of the store where a 4th ninja had started a fire for distraction, and the right lace appeared when he randomly grabbed a bolt of fabric to tie up the 4 ninjas, thus saving the day. The end*

So now I have the muslin and the lace. Both are in the bag I brought them home in, needing to be washed before I do anything else. We've only been back just over a week though, and I still need to buy thread and a zipper. Then experimentation will begin. So far I have a pattern for the skirt part of the dress, but I am struggling with the bust part. I know what I want, but the patterns I have are for something else. Time to put my skills to the test and make a pattern. All new territory for me. Should be fun.

I've also been going strong on the knitting. Working on hats that I can't go into much detail on yet, a pair of socks that are over half way done, and my favorite project right now is a cabled sweater that I am making with my friend Red's homespun. Hopefully I have enough yarn for that, but just in case I have already been thinking about putting on a collar instead of a hood, and possibly making short sleeves. I'll just have to wait and see how much yarn remains when I finish the body. And in the event that I have leftovers when the pattern is complete: pockets!

Think this will be a good place to stop. Don't want to make the post too long. And I'll have to dig around for the camera so I can put up some new pics.

Works in Progress

I've always known that if I were ever to get married, I would make my own dress. Well, maybe not always. The decision probably came around the time I made my first dress, back in Creative Clothing in high school. Somewhere I still have that dress, and though it fit last time I tried it on, I doubt I would ever wear it again. What looked cool to me at 14 now looks like a print from a picnic table cloth. The dress wore to my Mom's wedding at 16 will likely never be worn again, as I knew much less about fibers at 16. Turns out flannel is better suited to quilts and boxers than summer style dresses. I really liked the print though.

Four weeks ago today Doug proposed, and I said yes, so now I get to make that wedding dress. We both want a beach wedding, so a long dress seems rather silly to me, as I don't need a dress full of sand. The so-called "traditional" dress fabrics are out too: none seem well-suited for saltwater and I can't guarantee I won't get wet in it. I would also like it to be washable, so I can wear it to the mainland receptions we are planning. And it would be nice to wear the dress again in general, though I'll likely dye it another color to do so as white tends to be a poor color choice for me in everyday clothing.

I've started making a dress. Not the dress, but a prototype of what I eventually want to have for the wedding. Good thing too. The patterns I have chosen are resulting in a dress that is far too loose fitting. I say patterns because I was unable to find just one I liked. So I am merging two. We'll see how that goes in the end. Below is a picture of the work in progress:


Also in progress are knitted baby items. Not for me though. One is for a friend who is expecting in October. The other is a sweater for Doug's (and in the next year mine too) niece. All three projects are fun, and all three have been going together easier than I anticipated. But right now I am really excited about getting the pieces of the dress put together, so I have been working on that for the last two days.

Not sure how many more free days I'll have to spend at home working the whole day. It's only the second week of school so there haven't been many calls for subs yet, but with another semester's tuition and the wedding coming up, my bank account is demanding I take every call I get for work. The upside to subbing is that weekends and evenings are still mine, so around homework I should have plenty of time for these and any other projects I decide I must do.

Border to Border Pictures

So... I've been meaning to get to this for a few weeks now, but life just kept getting in the way. First we managed to stay plenty busy while visiting Southern California, and then we've done pretty much the same since we got back to Hawaii since last Tuesday. But more on that later. Here are the pictures from the 12-day motorcycle trip, finally!

I'm sure you've already seen this one, but I find it hilarious, so I'll post again.

Riding through Southern California towards Mexico.


Mark on a slide in Jerome, AZ. Because there is still a kid in all of us.



Bev riding.
Mark riding.
Tim riding.

Entering Zion National Park.
The next few pictures are the natural beauty we saw.








Beware! I have a pirate!




Doug and Mark plan to take over something...

Apparently, this is the reason the window warned users not to open.


Scaring little kids.

What Doug looked like after the longest, coldest morning ride. Nevada might be worse than Utah.

Salmon River, ID.

A tiny deer, escaping the road.


Doug and Mark, taking the exit sign too literally. Silly Canadians, they should place their signs better.

Not sure what they think they will win if they manage to free the giant chopsticks, but they're sure trying hard.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Moose."


"I think the hotel is over there."

Being as touristy as possible in Victoria, BC.

Because they always stand around like this.


Mark is finally taller than Doug.

He broke they trunk key. Good thing there was backup.


The bridge to Astoria, OR.





Becoming artsy while waiting for a tow vehicle.



Bad things start to happen when you have too much time on your hands.

Boo! The downfall of Bev's bike.

And the 6-hour wait in Fred Meyer begins with Doug's neck tattoo.




After 6 hours in the deli seating area, Sudden Onset Slayer Moments are bound to happen.

Ready to go: 3 bikes, 1 U-Haul.

Pretty coast along the way to Ft. Bragg.





Golden Gate Bridge coming up next.

Looks pretty neat in the fog.

Doug and his college buddies Matt and Steve, throwing up their fake fraternity sign. For more information, you'll have to ask him (or one of his friends).

So, those are the best of the pictures. There are tons more of the scenery, but 613 pictures is a lot to look at. And that's only the pictures I took with my camera.