Finally Enough Time to Post!

It's been really busy here! Earlier we had some sod installed in our backyard which has kept us busy trying to keep the raccoons from rolling it back up! Who knew they could do that and be so persistent?

 We've done some traveling to local spots including Cannon Beach, OR, and Leavenworth, WA.

Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach

Leavenworth, WA, horses

We have also taken David, our 19 year old grandson from the Chicago area, to some of the local sights including the Tacoma Glass Museum and a walk at Coulon Beach that ends up at this rock cairn. (I had forgotten how much teenage boys eat! 😉)

At the Glass museum you can watch people blowing glass and also see projects such as this one by Chihuly. Isn't it a beauty?

Somehow David balanced the rocks on the left; he did the 3 big ones, and I added the little one.  At the moment he's off in the Olympic Mountains hiking with the husband of his mom's friend, so I've had a little time to do some knitting!

This tiny little T-Rex was a bit of a challenge! It's for the son of a choir friend and will come with the book, Danny and the Dinosaur.

The booties are for his sibling-to-be.

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Happy Fourth of July!

A Kitty Dishcloth, a Frequent Visitor, and Two More Summer Flowers

This dishcloth is a fun one to knit!  I used smaller needles than suggested because the cotton yarn was a lot thinner.

 

This little guy visits us several times a day asking for treats.  It's a Towhee. Guess what it loves? Peanuts in the shell! It picks them up and flies into the bushes where I think it keeps them.  We also have Stellar Jays, and they will swallow the peanuts whole, shell and all, so they can pick up two at a time!

Columbines grow really well here and come back every year. This one is in a pot and is a really pretty color, I think.

One of my favorite plants is blooming well now and always reminds me of my grandmother who had them in her yard, too.  It's a Mock Orange and smells so nice!

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That's all for today. Have a great one!

Another Dishcloth and Some Flowers

This is another Rank and File dishcloth. The top picture is the right side and the second one is the back side. I think they are both interesting.

There are two violets blooming inside!

This plant is starting to bloom again. It's called Moses in the Boat.

This is the Crown of Thorns and for the first time it has quite a few blossoms.

And these two are both outside. The poppy is just about finished and the foxglove is just starting.

Hope you've had a nice weekend. We surely did; we celebrated two birthdays and Father's Day last night at a nice restaurant in Seattle.

Finished! Hurrah!

Well, it's finally done! It's the Twelve Birds Shawl and has been one of the most difficult things I've ever done for some reason. I am glad it's finished, and I can get back to some of my other projects.

For some reason this isn't a real sharp photo of these two trees.  The one on the left is a Golden Chain, and the other one is a Korean Dogwood.  And then there's the pine tree that's trying to cover them up! All three of these trees have grown a lot since they were planted a long time ago.

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Happy Wednesday!

 

 

Baby Items Done!

Right now my Twelve Birds Shawl is drying,  and I  just finished stitching the stars on the Sneaker Booties. (Would you believe those stars just arrived today from Spain, thanks to Etsy?) The baby hasn't arrived yet, so the booties have been finished on time.

Here they are with the hat I recently finished. I think they look pretty good together.

This little fellow is supposed to arrive around June 10th, we'll see!  As for the shawl, I am so glad it's finished as it fought me all the way. I don't think I've ever made so many mistakes that had to be corrected ever before!  It made me kind of crazy, and I am glad it's done!  I will post the photo when it gets dry.

                                                                       ~~~

 Have a good week. I will be happy when it's Wednesday because tomorrow I have a dentist appt. and am not looking forward to that! 😒

Knitting and Exploring

It's been a while since I've posted as we've been busy with a lot of home improvement projects, but I did have some time to finish a couple of projects.

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Our son-in-law's niece just graduated from nursing school, so I made her this little doll. It was fun curling her hair. The pattern says to wind the yarn tightly around a pencil and cook in the oven set at 200 degrees for 30 minutes, and it worked!

Here she is without her mask.

I made this little hat for our son's friend who is having her first child in June. Next up are a pair of "sneaker" booties.

 We enjoy exploring places to take walks and recently found two different parks on Lake Washington, and another one with great views of Mount Rainier.

Wouldn't it be fun to live in a house on that point?

 This dog was enjoying the view, too.

This park, also on the lake, had lots of visitors and an amazing dog park.  However, only the dogs were swimming!

This park has great views of Mount Rainier from its parking lot.

Can you guess what this bench is made from?

~Hope you are having a great week!~

Here's What We've Been Up To Lately and Three Finishes!

Two hats from the same yarn, but two different patterns and sizes. It's interesting to see how the stripes are similar but different. The top hat is a child size and the bottom one fits me.

Yet another dishcloth when I realized I didn't follow the pattern correctly.

This critter was lounging in our backyard when we got home from the grocery store recently.

Not too long ago we took a nice walk near Port Angeles. We only did a small part of the trail because it extends from Port Townsend to La Push and covers 130 miles!

The trail was constructed on what was once railroad tracks.

This little plant has an interesting story.  It's called Miner's Lettuce and was eaten by miners to prevent scurvy.

Can you see the surfer? He was fetching his board. You can also see lots of logs washed up on the shores of the ocean in this part of the trail.

Just last Monday we drove to Leavenworth, WA, where we saw two carriages like this carrying tourists. We also walked a bit on a trail to Blackbird Island on the Wenatchee River. 

These trilliums are in our yard and were rescued long ago when the road behind our house was built. That road now is heavily used despite the deer and rabbits.

And here's why you haven't heard from me lately! We have been doing stuff in the house and yard. Now we are watering our new lawn until it gets established. Fortunately we've been helped by frequent rain.

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Hope you've had a very nice April! How can it already be May tomorrow?