Back Home! We aren't MIA.

We are back home from the Midwest and almost back in this time zone. Our ten day trip was great fun: we played with the grandkids, watched our grandson's first swim meet, celebrated our daughter's birthday, spent time with my sister and her husband, and visited friends in Wisconsin, including Kathyb!

David swam in 3 events and placed second in the breast stroke. Not bad for an eleven year old's first meet!

Daniel and Sophia love to swim, too, and had lots of fun with their blow-up Space Shuttle.

He made it!

And all the while, Mama Jill stands guard.

Yes, I finally finished the Sampler Sweater in time for the birthday party, including sewing in a million ends. (And no, I don't have any secret method but wish I did.)

The back is slightly different from the front.  And if you look carefully, you can see how I messed up on the sleeves. (My own design element, right?)

I think she likes it!

Here's a closeup of the Interrupted Cowl I gave Kathy, and I'm wearing the pretty scarf she made for me.  We had a yummy lunch together with Jill and Dick at SIMPLE in Lake Geneva, WI.

As I said earlier, we are back home with lots of nice memories.  And Memories will be another post soon as we also visited the town where I grew up after visiting friends in Neenah. That will be another post.  Till then, have a good Sunday.

A Fun Weekend!

Last weekend we had a relaxing time in Newport Oregon at Little Creek Cove, a place we discovered several years ago. We arrived there late in the day because we spent the afternoon in Portland visiting our nephew and his family. It was 106 degrees there, and somehow in the heat we failed to take any photos.  When we stepped out of our car at our destination, we were shocked to discover that the temperature on the Coast was only 55, quite a change in a matter of hours!

This area is so different from Cannon Beach, it's hard to believe.  Lots of sand dunes are between the building and the water's edge.  In fact, it takes a bit of work to get to the water! As any where on the ocean shore, the beach varies with the tide.

The next morning it was very foggy and chilly, but we walked a long ways down the beach because it was low tide.  Everywhere there were clumps of kelp that had washed ashore.

We had to watch our step a bit, too, because things like jelly fish also washed up onto the sand.  I wonder if this one survived until the tide came in?

We were entertained for a while by a sandpiper that was catching bugs hidden in the kelp. It was running to and fro so fast that Dick took a movie, hoping to catch it in action.

Just in case the upload didn't work, here's what  it looked like.

By late morning the fog started to lift and that evening we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

It was a fun place to celebrate our anniversary and all too quickly it was time to head back home.  We drove a short ways up the Coast before heading inland and stopped to take one last look at the Pacific at Cape Foulweather which was named by Captain Cook.  He must have been in a bad mood then, for the weather was wonderful, but with all the rocks, it must have been a difficult area to said through. It's supposed to be a good spot to see whales.

The day after we got back home, we had two surprises.  First there was a wonderful package from Katherine, my swap partner in Kathyb's Dishcloth swap. Aren't I lucky?  (Thanks first to Katherine for all the goodies and also to Kathy B for organizing the swap.)

The other surprise was out in our garden where the sundrop (evening primrose) decided to bloom for the second year in a row.  Our neighbor, another Kathy, gave it to us a few years ago, but it never bloomed until last summer, and hurrah, it decided to blossom again this year. 

 Life is good!

Big Time Celebrating!

It's almost 51 years! We celebrated a little early at the Space Needle; it was a gorgeous day, and a good meal with my very bestest friend.

A few days later this little lady turned three.

And then in another few days this young lady turned 9!

(Her nightie fits! Hurrah!)

We and a couple of our neighbors have lived here in Tamara Hills since the seventies. They watched our kids grow up and leave the neighborhood, so we all gathered for a picnic in our backyard the other evening to celebrate Wes and Kathy's August birthdays. Fun times!

And I finished two dishcloths for Kathyb's Dishcloth swap.

It's been busy here!  Hope you all have a great weekend. It's supposed to be hot here.

Our Saturday Adventure and a Birthday Finish!

Last Saturday we and a friend set off (along with lots of other folks!) in very cloudy weather for a hike near Mount Rainier.  Years had passed since we last hiked the Naches Loop Trail, and it's just as pretty as ever. This time the wild flowers were in full bloom which made our effort extra worth while! The clouds disappeared, and the views were terrific.

Fields of lupine were all along the trail.

The uphill trails were fairly gentle.

This lovely view of Mount Rainier appears right after you round the bend, part way through the hike. What a nice reward!

The clouds began to move in later in the afternoon, and pretty soon the mountain was barely visible.

We also caught a bit of Mount Adams a little farther down the trail.

So many flowers were in bloom.

And we didn't even have to climb to the top to find a little bit of snow!

Shhhh!  Don't tell Stella that her sweater is finished, just in time, too, as she turns THREE on Saturday. How did that happen so fast?  Check with Judy L. to see what everyone is knitting.

Two Finishes and a Get Away ~

This week has been fairly busy, but I did finish a couple more projects.  A while ago Dee found a great free pattern for some yarn in my stash!  Shocking, eh? The Interrupted Cowl is fun to knit, so fun that I ordered two more skeins of Bamboo Bloom in different colors.

In a recent email, DD#1 mentioned that Sophia would really like a nightgown.  That inspired me to find a quick pattern (Thank you, Center Diamond Fabric Shop in Cannon Beach, OR.) and crank up the sewing machine for the first time in ages.  It took 45 minutes in line locally to get the fabric cut, but the wait was worth it; next time I'll get the fabric with my patterns.

It's way too warm in the Midwest for a long nightgown, and the pattern had a shortie version complete with bloomers. Sewing is so much faster than knitting, at least for me.

Speaking of Cannon Beach, we had a great weekend there a while ago.  Both of us really enjoy walking on the beach, and the tide was especially low when we were there this time.

This was the view of Haystack Rock at high tide from our window. This was a minus tide, and we were able to walk out past the rock which we'd never been able to do before. (And yes, we are wearing jackets at the end of July !)

We saw lots of anemones but only one starfish.  I guess they were particularly hard hit by the starfish wasting disease this year.  This anemone looks hungry.

And these are all closed up because some kids couldn't resist poking at them.

Someone left this sand castle village on the beach for everyone to enjoy.

The bunny population at Tolovana has increased dramatically since we were there last fall. They seem to come out in the afternoon and entertain everyone.  Here's three of the many.

Our time at Cannon Beach flew by all to quickly. I never tire of being at the ocean at any season of the year! ( And when you're reading blogs, check out Judy's to see what's being knitted this week.) 

A Real Finish at Last!

One down, one to go!  Our two grand daughters have birthdays in August, 5 days apart. One gift is done and ready to mail, but I need to fill a request first. (She wants a night gown. Wish me luck!) Here it is, probably too large but that's better than too small, right?  Maybe if you enlarge the photo you will be able to see the buttons, they are suns!  Perfect for a rainbow sweater, don't you think?

I had to add these photos because the colors go so well with the sweater.  Our work in the yard has been rewarding, lots of pretty flowers.

Waiting for this fuchsia to open took a while but sure paid off!

Our newest rose tree outdid itself!  In a few days of warm weather, it looked like this.

Have a great week.  More soon of our weekend in Cannon Beach, OR, but now I have to get back to work.

Catching Up!

By now, you may be wondering what's happened to me! I've NOT been watching television but have been spending lots of time outside in the yard.  We were gone last weekend to the Tri-Cities (Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick for you non-natives) in search of a little warmth.  And we did find some!  We also had fun walking along the Columbia River on the Sacajawea Trail.

Before we left for home, we visited the Sacajawea Museum which was very interesting.  Did you know she was only 17 when she joined the Lewis and Clark expedition? She died of an infection shortly after the birth of her second child, a daughter, at the age of 25.

The museum is located at the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers.  How would you like to try navigating the river in this?

Today we felt rewarded when we saw this Stargazer Lily finally open one of its buds.  And yes, it was finally warmer here!

I've been knitting on some long term projects which I hope will be off the needles soon.  Two August birthdays are spurring me on!  Meanwhile, I've finished another headband.  It's such a fun pattern and doesn't require a whole lot of yarn.

Mocha likes to supervise my knitting. I thinks she's saying, "Can't you knit faster?"

The Chicago family checked in today, too.  They spent a fun day at Six Flags yesterday. They look pretty happy, don't they? (Thanks for the photos, Michael!)

I'd rather try to paddle the dug-out than ride this thing! (Goliath roller coaster)

It's official now.  We are a one car family for the first time in almost 50 years.  Our second Mazda is on its way as a donation to KUOW, the local NPR station.  Our Mazdas served us well, the last two for twenty years each!  One of these days I'll get around to posting the flower pictures.......  Have a great weekend!