Busy, Busy, Busy!

Shortly after returning from California my sister and her husband arrived for a week long visit, and we were busy every single day! The first day of their visit, we went to Cannon Beach, one of our favorite spots, and stopped at Astoria en route. (Have you read Astoria by by Peter Stark? It's a great read and has lots of history about the Pacific Northwest.)

While Jane and Ted climbed the 100+ steps to the top of the column, we enjoyed the view and spotted this guy floating toward the Astoria Bridge.

Then we stopped at the beach at Fort Stevens State Park to see the wreck of the Peter Iredale, a ship that ran aground there in 1906. We were lucky to even catch the Ranger's talk!

As you can see, the weather's predictably cool on these beaches.  It was cold and windy at Haystack Rock, too.

Dick even caught a photo of a puffin flying back to its nest on the rock!  Can you see it on the right?

This past Monday we drove up to Mount Baker which is close to the Washington/Canada border.  This time we were able to make it to the end of the road, and it was HOT despite the snow everywhere!

Back home the birds and flowers were very happy in the heat.

With all the car-time, I also managed to finish this project for a certain Little Miss's fifth birthday which is coming right up. Now to think up something else for another August birthday girl......  

Our guests are back home as we head into August.  How did July disappear so quickly?  

PS  On these recent clear nights we've been watching the International Space Station.  You can see the ISS also by entering in your location to find the viewing times where you live!  It's fun, and you don't even need binoculars. (I have a hard time remembering that it's as big as a football field and moving at 18,000 mph!)

Yet Another Pair of Booties

My only recent finish at the moment is yet another pair of booties.  Lots of spring babies, I think. I will deliver these on Thursday at choir to the baby's grandma.

Our son-in-law sent a few more photos from our trip to Breckenridge.  This one was taken after their arrival in Denver after 24 hours on the train from Chicago. The kids survived the rest of the day amazingly well.

These two hadn't seen each other since last July, but they picked up right where they left off!

The intrepid skiers having lunch together on their last day on the slopes.

Spring really is coming to the Pacific Northwest, albeit way too slowly!  This tree was given to us by a friend after the passing of my mother almost 38 years ago.

Have a great week!

Home Again!

We just got back from a fun family gathering in Breckenridge, Colorado. My hats were a hit and came in handy in the cold, crisp air.

The cousins had fun together playing hide and seek, taking skiing lessons, and enjoying each others' company.

Battleship seemed to be the favorite game of the four youngest.

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And I even completed a pair of socks in one of the quieter moments.

Hope everyone had a nice Easter; we were home in time to have dinner out with a good friend.  Driving home, we encountered an April Fool's snow squall.  It was really crazy as we left the sunny Des Moines Marina and drove north into dark clouds, slushy rain, and then a dusting of snow on our hill.  Very strange!

Grand Celebration!

Things are kind of getting back to "normal" here.  We are back in our time zone and feeling relieved after hearing from friends and relatives, who live in Florida and weathered the horrific storm there.  The wildfire smoke has cleared here, but others in our state are still dealing with that. However, along with these scary occurrences, there have been some happy times.  

Last spring we went to a preschool celebration that sent these five off to kindergarten.  And yesterday was the first day for this little guy!  How can he be five already?

At the end of August, we traveled to Minneapolis to surprise my sister on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary.  We enjoyed being with all of our relatives and finally getting acquainted with the youngest family member who's already almost 3. It was a very special five days!

Our grand nieces and grand nephew

and my sister and brother-in-law's family ~

We all enjoyed a wonderful celebration at the Minneapolis Landscape Arboretum.  (If you ever have a chance to see it, go; it'a an amazing place.)  The"kids" had assembled a basket of 50 things that reminded them of their parents. What a special gift!

Along with all of the visiting, we even managed a little exercise! 

No trip is complete without a stop at a yarn shop, right?  And this is an extra special yarn shop as it has been recently opened by our nephew's wife.  Stop in if you are in the area; it's a fun place!

 

This hat is made with a kit from that shop.  It was a fun knit but sure had lots of ends to hide! (There was enough yarn for another hat, but I'm still hiding those ends.....)

I finished two other projects:  socks for our grand son in his requested color and a shawl that I started in the last century and had to restart because I couldn't remember where I was in the pattern sequence.  (That should teach me not to procrastinate, right?)

And last but not least is my cast-on for Dee's fall KAL.  I so appreciate the November deadline!

The pattern is Nutkin and the color is Apricot Pit (?) which was the most fall-ish color in my stash.  That's it for now, but I just want to say that my heart and prayers go out to all the folks impacted by the recent hurricanes as well as the folks struggling with wildfires.  Be safe, too!

Catching Up Once Again......

We just got back last night from five fun-filled days helping my sister and brother-in-law celebrate their 50th anniversary and visiting with family and friends as well.  No pictures though until we figure out how to get them off our phone as DH forgot his "real" camera. We also got to visit our niece's new yarn shop called Harriet and Alice.  That was fun, too, and yes, I gave into temptation.  Meanwhile, here are some photos from our family gathering at Cannon Beach, OR, as promised.

We ate together the first night at Mo's which is a fun place just across from the Tolovana Inn where we all stayed.

The cousins had fun playing together and watching the rabbits that hide on the grounds.

The tide was so low the first day that it was possible to get to the back side of Haystack Rock.

We were very glad to see that starfish have made a recovery from the virus that plagued them for the past several years!

We all had fun strolling the beaches especially since the tide was exceptionally low during our time together.

I even managed a photo of our photographer-in-chief.

All of the kids added to the family reunion tablecloth.  We were sad that our son couldn't make the gathering, but he was immersed in an intensive Chinese class at UW. 

On the last night we watched the grandkids so their parents could enjoy a meal out together.

And I also finished a few projects after we got home.  The socks are two of five "pre-orders" from the grand kids. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Two Totally Different New Finishes and a Rainbow Wearer ~

For quite a long time now my quilt group has made Christmas stockings for the local Ronald McDonald House each year, and I have always participated.  For some reason, I also always procrastinate this project until the very last minute, even though I only make two stockings.  So this past week since the deadline for turning them in was coming up, I did my two and here they are, front and back. (My first grade teacher told Mom that I was a procrastinator, and I guess she was right!) 

Here is something I did finish in a timely fashion.  I showed DD#2 the pattern called Brooklin Vest; she liked it and bought the yarn.  It's finished, she's worn it THREE times and just sent me this photo! (She cut her head off because she said she looked too tired.) The yarn is Berroco Vintage Chunky, so it was a relatively fast project and the first time I ever knit something side to side, which kept it interesting.  And there were NO seams to sew together!

This is what the back looks like.  The color is more true in the above photo, and you can also see that it looks much better on.

Then DD#2 sent this photo yesterday which was taken last month when we were in the Midwest and I delivered the Rainbow Sweater. (DD#1 is in the middle of the back row, and my sister is on her right.)  The sweater is plenty long and should fit GD#1 for a while. I'm sorry you can't see the buttons as they were a real find: golden suns! Just perfect for a rainbow, don't you think?

Have a great week!