August Catch-Up (Part 3)

This should be the end of the "catch up" and I can then move on to the really recent stuff!

Garrick and Wanda

At the beginning of the month, we traveled to the other side of Washington to hang out with some friends for a long weekend.  They had a big BBQ on Saturday that included the yummiest pulled Pork I can imagine ever having!  Even without the sauce, I could have eaten all of it!  It was a potluck and there was a ton of yummy food (I should know, I sampled each and every dish)...we "brought" a watermelon, lol.  While we were visiting, I got to go to an Oyster farm...not something I've ever had the opportunity to do before and pretty interesting for a chicken "farmer" who buys her shells pre-crushed for $0.58 a pound...they had huge piles of shells just lying about!  Of course, I'm sure they probably sell those huge piles to someone who then crushes them and then sells them to people like me, but I digress.

Mike Rowe holding a Geoduck.

I'm told that the oyster farm we went to is owned by the same company as the one that was on Dirty Jobs, when Mike Rowe went Geoduck farming (season 1, episode 28 if you want to go looking it up).  We did not go to the one in the show...but the same guy owns both farms.  Anywho, long story "short", I got to see a real "live" Geoduck (pronounced gooey duck)!  At least, the sign on it said "live", but since it was sitting up on ice, I'm fairly certain that one was no longer among the living...


It was a fun-filled weekend getting to see several friends that live all over the western side of Oregon and Washington (that we almost never get to see)!  It also included a trip to Mallard's ice cream parlor...a local shop that was serving the best Licorice Ice Cream I think I've ever had!  It is certainly a flavor that is very hard to perfect...they did it perfectly!

Michael and I

Did I mention we also met Kevin Smith?  Well, we didn't...that's our friend Michael!  It sorta doesn't show very well in the photos we snapped over breakfast Monday morning before we headed home...but he totally looks like Silent Bob!  You really should see him with a hat on...oddly enough, he has a friend that looks just like "Jay" too...it's kinda freaky.

By the time we got home again, I had a tomato "explosion" going on the plant Garrick bought me (that his co-worker started in her greenhouse..I really need to get one of those built)!  It is still the only plant I've been able to harvest this summer, but my "Red Patio" is currently working on about 6 tomatoes that are getting big(ger), but still very much green.  The ripe tomatoes here are all about half the size of a ping pong ball or smaller, but they taste so good!

Ironing Nursery curtains...

And now, we're back to what I've been up to for the last few weeks...I mentioned in my first "catch up" post that I had made the curtains (and the quilt, my Mom made the crib sheet) for the nursery...here's the proof!  Don't mind the tacky "wife beater" I have on...I was still in my pajamas in this one.  If you look really closely, you can see my slippers too, lol.  I still need to get a pillow case made, but have been busy trying to get baby's room organized and everything put away...so it's still waiting on me to get to sewing!  Maybe tomorrow...

Garrick's pillow case

I also had to pause in the baby sewing to make a little something for Garrick.  He wanted a more "fitted" pillow case for his contoured "neck roll" pillow he picked out when we bought our new bed.  A regular pillow case was just too big for it!  So, I dug through my fabric stash and came up with a chunk of bright green fabric that looked large enough to work and make a simple pillow case out of.  After laying it out over/around the pillow in question, I quickly hemmed the shorter sides of the fabric (in this case, the long direction of the actual pillow).  Then, I laid it back over the pillow and decided a 5-inch over lap of the hemmed ends would make it fit over the pillow easily, yet be tight enough to stay put in use.  I measured both sides and pinned the raw edges, then I quickly stitched both sides closed, making a sham-style pillow opening in the back.  I turned everything right side out and popped the pillow in!  As it turned out, the pillow case was about 5-inches too wide.  That was easily fixed though.  With the pillow case turned right side out, I ironed it and then set the pillow on top is I could get some actual measurements...the tallest part of the side of the pillow is 4-inches, I had 9 inches of fabric "too much" beyond the pillow.  So, I took my 9-inches, subtracted 4 for the sides, and then divided by 2.  I then pinned and sewed a decorative stitch down both sides of the pillow case at roughly 2.5-inches (I think it was more like 2.25-inches).  I think it gives the whole pillow a more "finished" look and it also pulled the pillow case tight enough on the pillow to work perfectly for my picky sleeper!  I also have the same fabric print in red...but he's gonna have to wait a little while for that one to get made.

 This past weekend, nothing got done in the house!  But, we had a very good reason...Garrick's childhood friend got married!  Garrick always looks so good in a tux...this is the third one I've had the pleasure of seeing him in since we've been dating.  Luckily, I paid attention at his last fittings...the groom, Louie, picked up all of the tuxes and then I had to help Garrick get truly "fitted" into this one!  Nothing huge, just adjusting the tie (a clippy thing that holds it around your neck), cinching the back of the vest, doing the zip tie thingies that make the pants fit right, and putting the cuff links on the shirt properly.

I also ended up trying on about 6 dresses before I settled on the long orange-colored one (pictured above) that I got at Fashion Bug several months ago.  I actually bought two dresses specifically for this wedding, but, I got them a month ago and by last weekend, I had so much "belly" that they are now too short!  Even luckier, the shoes that I ran out early Saturday morning to give one of the new dresses a splash of color (they're both black) match the bright colored dress I wore!  They're just a pair of flats with a peep-toe and some matching flowers on the toe.  I even bought a new necklace to help liven up the black...it worked great too!  I also got myself a pair of maternity nylons...what that really translates into is "nylons that will not stay up because the top is so freaking loose".  I put an entire hand through them trying to pull them up in the ladies restroom before the wedding even started...they went in the trash when I got home!  We had a great time though...so glad I got to be a part of it.

Which brings us to "current"!  Phew...I didn't think we'd ever get here, did you?