The Last Finish and Post of 2022!

 Where has this year gone? I can remember when I was young sitting in the classroom watching the clock very slowly move to 3:30 PM when the school day was finally done, and now the days are gone in a blink of the eye. Yesterday I finished the second Minion hat requested by our youngest grandson. (I'm not sure what happened to this one, but I made the second one with different yarn and only 1 eye.)

Number 1

Number 2

Can  you tell I had trouble with the eye this time?  At any rate, it's done now just in time for his twelfth birthday!  (I well remember the scary drive up their hill in the snow to help our daughter when she came home from the hospital with him, and it's seems like yesterday.)  Good news though, there's no more snow and getting to their house will be easy!  I do have to get busy and make the cake I promised to bring because we are celebrating 2 birthdays tomorrow: his and his mom's whose birthday is 3 days after Christmas! (That was an interesting Christmas as I recall. ;>)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Another Hat and an Ice Skating Adventure

Yesterday we had a fun afternoon! We took our 2 local grandkids and their adult cousin ice skating at the holiday ice arena that is available in mid November through December in our Down Town Park. We couldn't have done it without Charlie to help the kids. They were a bit tentative at first, but I think they had a lot of fun. After words he even took them to the park playground before they left for home in Magnolia. While they were doing that, we took a very long walk to where Dick finally found a place to park as all of the parking spots at the park/rink were full. (We have gone there lots of times and have always found a place to park; Charlie was lucky as he was in the right spot at the right time and got a place there.)

I offered this hat that I had just finished to Stella, but she decided it wasn't her style, so I will give it to charity. That yarn is quite fun but is no longer available.  She was wearing some gloves and socks that I made though.😊

Enjoy what's left of the day!

Brrr! Lots of Time for Knitting Here.

Well, we had an interesting week, first snow and then lots of ice! It was so icy here that we couldn't even walk to the mail box at the edge of our driveway, but that didn't matter because we didn't get any mail after Tuesday until Christmas Eve! Our younger granddaughter took a great video of a car slipping and twirling down the hill by their house. The driver jumped out somehow and the car stopped when it hit a car parked on the street.  Her video which I tried to post was even shown on the KOMO news!  Ever since Saturday, it's been raining, so no snow or ice is left now.

These were for Stella. She wanted a pattern from long ago, and I couldn't find it, so I improvised, using the stitch she wanted. I should have made the leg shorter, but she seems to like them.

When I stared this scarf, I failed to realize the yarn colors were like those of several of the local sports teams, so Max seemed quite happy with it.

 My sister requested a red hat, and since I had yarn left I made a pair of mittens.

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That's it for now. Have a good evening!

Two More Finishes!

 Two more hats came off the needles this week, one for an adult and the other for a child.

This pattern specifically called for a yarn that is no longer available, but I did have the 2 skeins of the required.  I think the pattern would work in a different yarn though. Do you?

No babies here to model this hat, but DH figured out a way to photograph it.  It's an interesting pattern and a fun knit. Thanks to the Wandering Cat Studio where I first saw the pattern!

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I have several more finishes to share after Christmas, so stay tuned, and have a wonderful holiday!

A Drawing and a Shawl

Our youngest grandson who's almost 11 is really good at drawing.  Here's his interpretation of the Grinch: (Our oldest grandson is also good at drawing and creating animations.)

                                                   

I, however, am better at knitting than drawing!  Here's my version of the Sharon Air shawl. That pattern was pretty challenging.

Here's another recently finished shawl that was a very relaxing project.

There's another thing to share, but not till after Christmas.  And then there's all the unfinished stuff.................  Have another great day!

P.S. I couldn't resist coloring that drawing! 😉

The Last Roses of Summer and a Last Minute Gift!

We've had quite a bit of snow lately which makes taking walks and getting down our hill rather interesting. However, these two little roses keep trying despite the snow and cold!

If you need a last minute gift or a little stocking stuffer, try this pattern for hair ties. It's easy and also a nice way to use left over yarn. 

Happy December 20th!

Our Big Surprise!

After a recent snow, when we were finally able to take a walk without slipping, we saw something at a house we'd passed many, many times before without seeing even one!

These were only two of the ones we got to photograph.  Normally, the only animal we see there is "Woofy" (Our name for him) and you guessed it, he barks a lot. Do you suppose all these times he's been trying to tell us about the chickens?

Enjoy your day and stay warm! It's supposed to snow again here soon and then get colder, so we will be back to slippery hills!

Finally done!!!

Our daughter send me 3 little shirts from when each of the now grown  grandkids were in preschool, and I finally figured out what to do with them. I made a pillow! (The oldest grandson is a senior in high school and the other two aren't little anymore either.😏)

It was a bit of a challenge to mail, but it's on its way.  I also have some finished knitting projects but will save them for another post.

Have a great day!

 

We Are Back in Action!

 In case you've wondered where I've been, our computer croaked, and it's been tough getting everything back where it was!  On top of that, we were kind of snowed in for a few days. It's very hilly around here, and when it snows it's hard to get around or even take a walk.

So, I'll be back soon with some of my recent finishes.  Have a great day!

Our Busy Weekend

 We had a very busy weekend, a memorial for a good friend, a soccer game and a birthday celebration!

Lulu wasn't too happy to be at our grandson's soccer game even though the team won!

Dick was very happy that his birthday cake only had two candles! (That cake is our traditional one; it's Coca-Cola cake, a friend's recipe that remains everyone's favorite.)

And I had to water all of our indoor plants including this crazy mixed up Christmas cactus that prefers to celebrate Halloween.  Go figure!?

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Have a great week!

Nice Walks but No Finishes Yet.

 Last night when we took a late walk, it was very dark, but our way was brightened by an almost full moon!  A few days ago, though, our walk up one of our local hills  awarded us with a nice view of Seattle despite the clouds.

As we continued walking, the skies cleared up, and we saw some beautiful fall colors in some sunshine!

I am nearly done with the Miss May shawl with just one more section to finish. Stay tuned. Have a great day. It's pretty chilly and cloudy again here.

Our Trip to Boulder, Colorado

I just now realized that I never posted our photos from our trip to Boulder, CO, to attend the memorial service for our dear friend Nancy. We also explored a bit, did a little hiking on the nearby trails and found the house where Dick stayed when he was a student. It was also fun to walk around the CU campus and have lunch at The Sink! The first photo shows the Flat Irons, in the second one was taken at Boulder Falls. (When Dick and I met, I was teaching in the Denver area and he came with some friends to my roommates' Halloween party, and the rest is

history!)

This is where Dick and his good friend, Art lived in Boulder. The middle photo is a great view of the CU campus, and you can guess where the last photo was taken!

For some reason The photos disappeared from my earlier post, so, here they are again. The computer can do crazy things, right?

Happy November! It's been Some Time Since I Checked In......

 Gosh, I just now realized that I never posted anything in October!  Somehow the days just fly by, and I've been trying to finish a couple of big projects as well as take our daily walks. I did actually finish a tiny project in October for a tiny baby. It's a preemie hat, and believe it or not I still have some of this crazy yarn left.

I hope you can read this sign on our porch!  It seems last night's visitor forgot both her broom and her pet spider!

Oh, and last night for the first time in years, and thanks to our new neighbor's grandchildren, we finally had a couple of cute little trick or treaters, so now I don't have to eat all the leftover candy!  Till next time!  Hope it doesn't take as long as this did!!

P.S. In case you can't read the sign, it says: "Witches Parking Place All Others Get  Toad."

Can you guess what this is?

 Look what we saw on a recent hike
in a forest preserve in Illinois!

And last night here in Bellevue we saw the Space Station go over our house.

Hope you are having a great day!

PS Is anyone besides me having trouble getting posts to publish?

It's Been Busy Here!

 It's taken me a while to have time to post, and I'm sure you probably noticed.  We were gone over Labor Day weekend. We traveled by air for the first time since COVID appeared in 2020 and had a wonderful family gathering in Mundelein, IL. All 12 of us were there, and my sister and her husband also stopped in for a couple of days. We also visited some friends in Wisconsin and walked around where I grew up; that was fun, too.

I finally finished the Miss May shawl, which was a MKAL that I didn't finish on time, but now it's finally done!  It's huge. At them moment I'm also working on another MKAL that I didn't finish as scheduled. I guess I'll never learn, but at least I used yarns from my stash for both of them!

 We recently had a couple of visitors in our back yard and are wondering whether he's related to the big buck that visited us earlier in the month.

My next post will not be for a while because we are about to attend a funeral for a dear friend who passed away in May from Lewi Body dementia, a horrible disease.  Hope all is well with you all!

Summer Flowers

 The lilies are done now, but the black-eyed Susan vine is headed up to our second floor. The red dahlia is full of buds, and the indoor plant that's called Moses in the boat has lots of boats with flowers.  Don't you just love this time of year?😄

Enjoy the last few days of August and have a Happy Labor Day weekend!

 

Sad Goodbye

After 16 years with this sweet kitty, we had to say goodbye to her. She'd had a seizure last Wednesday and another one in the vet's office. Thankfully, she is no longer suffering, but we sure do miss her and always will! 😥

Last Night's Sunset

What a beautiful way to end the day!

 

Fifty-Seven Years!

It's been 57 years since we started our life together along with lots of love and laughter, plus three children and five grandchildren.  We have been truly blessed!

On our honeymoon, we drove to San Diego, CA, in two cars. Dick worked for General Dynamics and I taught school in Poway, CA. Because I had sixth graders who couldn't read, I went back to school and earned my Masters and then worked as a reading teacher under the Miller-Unruh Act. Back then when you became pregnant, you had to quit at 6 months!  (Dick's mom was engaged for 9 years because back then, a teacher could not be married!)  After 12 years in San Diego, we moved to Seattle with our 3 young children and have lived in the same house ever since. Our 3 kids are all grown now and are busy raising our grandkids, all 5 of them. We will soon gather altogether for another family reunion, a tradition we started many years ago. Since this photo three more grandkids have been added. This is a photo of a reunion with my family and my sister's family  in 2012 on the St. Croix River in Minnesota.

And now we are both retired, Dick from Boeing, and me from several different adult literacy programs.  We were privileged to participate in several wonderful tours with our church choir and have enjoyed lots of travel adventures.  Yes, it's been a great 57 years! As I said earlier, we have been truly blessed.

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Two Finishes and Another Surprise!

There are two birthdays very soon in our family, so I made a couple of bracelets.

And then when I looked outside, I saw this critter having a snack in our yard. Luckily, he let Dick take his picture!

This is at least the third time he had visited us recently!

A Reward for Walking!

Yesterday we were surprised by a nice reward on our walk! We got to see the Blue Angels who've been in town all week end for Sea Fair weekend. I had been a while since COVID snce they'd been here also.

I wonder what we'll see on our walk  tonight? 😀

One finish and Several Adventures

 This morning I was sitting at the computer and happened to look out the window and saw a deer stroll by! No photo, though as we were too slow getting outside to the front yard. Its antlers had two prongs! 

I do have a finish to share, however.  It popped off the needles this morning and is a small hat, just the right size for a preemie. I still have some of this yarn left (Hayfield Bouquet) which should be enough for a third one which has already been cast on. I just love this yarn; it's so much fun to see how the "flowers" turn out and where they "land."

We are trying to keep up our walking routine even though it's really been warm here. Weeklong temperatures in the nineties are quite unusual on this side of our state.  To avoid the heat a few days ago, we went to Coulon Beach and walked along the water. We were awarded to see a great shot of Mount Rainier, two turtles sunbathing in the water, and an eagle flying overhead.

We also went to Port Angeles, this time without a snow storm.  We continued our exploration of the Olympic Discovery  Trail and also went to Hurricane Ridge where we hiked on several trails.  We saw lots of deer and some snow.

Look at the heart-shaped snow!

This deer made walking in the snow look easy.

These two deer ran across the road. Luckily they survived the traffic!

Lots of folks hiked up this trail. However, we did not!

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That's about it for our recent adventures. Hope you've all had a great weekend.