It's been six months since my last post.  I wish I could say it was because Life was so boring there was nothing to write about but that is not the case.  2016 has been an interesting year.  So, let's explore what's been going on in my neck of the woods.

In January, we attended the memorial for Peter Kevin's sister.  It was lovely, as these things often are.  Her daughter (who looks so much like her mother, it was eerie) gave a wonderful and loving eulogy and the minister kept calling my brother in law Ronald, "Roland".  We thought there was another man involved somewhere.....

In February, I learned to make Danish. These are just out of the oven before they were glazed.  Oh my goodness they are good.  The pastry is buttery and not sweet and the fillings (which came out of a can) were so tasty. Peter Kevin liked them more than the ones we get at the bakery.

In Feb, I was Employee of the Month and Peter Kevin turned 58 (so he can stop calling me the older woman).

I finished the Moria mittens.  They came out just perfect.  I had to alter the pattern a bit since it has a pointy top and Pk doesn't like that.  He likes them and since he lost his gloves somewhere, they came in handy.

In March, I learned to make yogurt and it was good.  Then I caught a noro virus and the last thing I ate before I was sick was yogurt so I am (still) not able to eat it. I also learned to make poviticia.

It's a bread from the Ukraine area of the world.  The filling is chocolate and chopped walnuts.  It was delicious.  And surprisingly fun to make.

And I almost forgot!  We paid off our mortgage in March.  THAT was so very cool.  

Easter came and went and we got snow again on April 9.  Huge flakes fell and covered the new, green growth on the rose bushes

I did a bunch of baby knitting for our anticipated grandchild and then in June, our granddaughter was stillborn (after an uneventful full term pregnancy).  Our entire world collapsed around us and we wandered around like zombies for a long while.  Kate and Patrick are picking up the pieces of their lives are moving forward.  This tiny person left a huge hole in our family.

Pk had a car accident and we had to buy a new car.  So we had 2 months of having a bit of extra money and now we have a car payment.  

I made jam and pickles and as we come to the last part of summer, we were planning to can some tomatos but we have not harvested a single fruit.  The weather has been weird.  Very hot or very rainy.  This week we are having some perfect summer weather-sunny, warm and low humidity.  It's so nice for a change.

Last week we traveled to Indiana to see Pk's brother and his family.  It's been such a long time since we saw them.  He is sick and may not have a lot of time left.  Three of Peter Kevin's sisters came with us and it was a nice reunion for them all.

Our life goes on and we are all well.  Peter Kevin likes his job and is settled there.  I am still in the same job and am content with that.  We are so fortunate in a lot of ways.  Life can be full of awful but it is also full of good and mostly they seem to balance out.  

Tomorrow my "baby" turns 27.  Kathryn Margaret is such a wonderful young woman.  She is hard working and loyal and smart and funny and just a joy to know.  She is endlessly creative and has just opened an Etsy store to sell hand painted nail art.  The young woman who didn't want makeup or nail polish when she was a teenager now has a shelf full of nail colors.  

As for this blog?  I have taken the last 6 months to decide that I do want to keep it going.  I think I missed it.  I want to get back in the habit of taking photos to share (when we were at MDSW, I took 2 pictures all day) and noticing things around me to write about.

So, what have you been up to?