Necklace for Palapoo

Well, finally I'm posting something worthwhile. Here is the necklace I made for my San Diego pal (best friend from high school...the only friend I've really kept in touch with from that era of my life, although I did go to my 10 year high school reunion last year...yikes!!). The necklace is made with smoky quartz (the square stones) and carnelian. I used sterling silver chain with sterling silver spacer beads, hill tribe silver according to the lady at my local bead store, The Bead Shack. She is so awesome, she goes traveling the world and brings back all kinds of good stuff. The hill tribe people live in northeast Thailand and the surrounding areas. Anyway, I think the necklace turned out nice. I hope Paula likes it!! That and the great purple goddess soap I got at www.scrubyourbutt.com. Check it out, they have the funniest stuff.


As an aside, I have decided to start up a separate, more family appropriate blog at www.pink-houses.blogspot.com. I just felt weird giving out the hobags address to certain family members and friends. So Rhiannon and I can try to reserve this one for our crafty endeavors (you ought to see the bag she made me...it's awesome). Visit me at pink-houses!!! ~Tara

Mother's Day

Well, I had such a great week as it was my birthday on Wednesday, and Mother's Day yesterday. I got lots of good stuff, including a beautiful mother's day ring, a new (well, new for us, but actually used) barbeque, an awesome lounge chair from REI called the lounge lizard, a really cool bag (a hobag original) from Rhiannon, and a cute little hand "painted" heart from my sweet daughter. Here's a picture of her making it at her daycare. I already hung it up in my room, even though she insisted that it should go in her room.


I know I keep promising to post crafty goodness, but I have family up with me right now, and my home computer is in the "spare" bedroom, so it's hard to get on there to post stuff. If it's crafty goodness you want, check out Rhiannon's blog rhiannknits...she's going to town on a gorgeous cable knit sweater. I hope everyone had a good mother's day!! ~Tara

What's up with this blog??

I guess I haven't been the best crafty blogger. All I've posted are pictures of my family. And now I wonder if I shouldn't have a different blog for these pics. I mean, do you really want to show a picture of your little girl on a blog called "HoBags"? I'm pretty new to the blogging scene, so I don't know. I realized too that I haven't posted any pictures of projects, either in progress or completed, so my tea swap pal (from whom I received an email today...yay!!) has no idea what things I like to knit, what yarn I like, etc. How frustrating! Well, I'll try to post some new stuff tonight.


For now, here's a picture of a hat I knit for my friend for Christmas. It's a bit goofy, since I took it myself trying to show the hat. I like moderately chunky yarn because I'm a slow knitter. Anything knit on smaller than size 8 needles seems like too much work. And I like muted colors, natural fibers, soft is good, green is always welcome. I'm not really sure I want to learn to knit socks because I'm afraid I'll knit one and never finish the second. Plus, won't they just get stinky? ;-)
Those are just some answers for my tea swap pal. ~Tara

It was sort of dreary today. I should've been cleaning, but I didn't. Teagan was sweet as usual. Except she won't wear real shoes, only her "princess" shoes. Not seen here because they don't stay on her feet. Also, don't you just love our matching ponchos? We are the stylinest gals this side of the Yukon River! Heh heh heh.

I really want to put a pic up of my most recent project, but must wait until I actually mail it and it's intended owner finally gets it. Mustn't ruin the surprise! ~Tara

Flash Your *Tea* Stash

I'm the first to admit: my stash is sort of pathetic. I have more in the pantry area of my home (i.e., the garage), but pretty much it's plain old green tea and some lipton tea, primarily for iced tea. I like to have herbal tea for in the evening, but I've recently realized that I always buy citrusy herbal tea when what I really want is something that tastes similar to regular (black or green) tea without the caffeine. I'm looking forward to something from my secret tea swap pal.

I do have a lovely little ceramic tea pot from China that I haven't even used yet. My parents brought it back for me.

I will have to give it a whirl, maybe with my new tea!! Good times! ~Tara

Heart Run

I am such a slacker. I look at all these fabulous, regularly updated blogs, and I just can't keep up. Now that our Hobags blog is out there on the knitter's tea swap, I feel like I should make more of an effort to post. As summer comes to Alaska, I feel less and less like crafting. We have to take advantage of every single day of sunshine or moderately warm weather (i.e., 50 degrees in the spring). Summer is SO short here, I feel guilty for each minute I spend inside or not being active.

On that note, instead of crafty things, I am posting pictures from a heart run my family did with some other folks from my office. It was a good time. Teagan rode in a borrowed jogging stroller for about half the run (it's a 5K, and more of a walk than a run since it is the biggest in Anchorage at nearly 7,000 people this year!), then she walked/ran for the rest. So we came in towards the end of the crowd. But what an unbelievable Alaska spring day!! We spent the rest of the day cleaning up our front yard, then going to watch the Alaska Aces game (hockey) on tv at a friends house. By then it was cloudy, so no more guilt for being inside. Teagan and I did go jump on a gigantic trampoline, which she loved. Until I bounced her too hard, causing her to bite her tongue. Ooops.


I forgot, I do have something crafty to post. It's for my good friend in San Diego...next post!!! Signing out! Tara

Tea & Knitting

Well, I copied Rhiannon and did the Knitter's Tea Swap. Seems like a fun idea as long as we don't get paired together. That would be rather anti-climactic. This online blog stuff is madness, really. It seems so easy to get swept up in all of these swaps and alongs and whatnot. As it is, I spend way too much time checking up on blogs while I'm at work. If only I had high speed internet at home.... sigh! Since I hate blog entries with no photos, I'm posting one of Miss T from Easter. All I have to say is thank goodness all that candy is gone! That Easter Bunny has no idea how hard it is to put a kid who is wound up on three-quarters of a solid chocolate easter bunny to bed!!