Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Well, here it is the first day of September, and once again August zipped by very quickly. We were out of town for a couple of days, celebrating our anniversary. This time we went to the North Cascades and spent a couple of days in Winthrop, enjoying its western flavor.  En route we explored a bit near the Gorge Dam.

One morning we did a bit of hiking to Ladder Creek Falls 

When we were exploring the town, we saw this mama  deer and her two yearlings snacking on  the side of one of the roads.

Our most interesting discovery was the museum. Its grounds are open all the time, so even though the building was closed, we learned a lot about the history of Winthrop and the surrounding area.

Time in the car plus the August birthdays of two grand children inspired these two finishes.The youngest grand daughter loves unicorns which resulted in this project.

 This kitty went to our  oldest grand daughter whose family loves cats.  I saw a sample at a yarn shop in Coeur d'Alene and was delighted to find the free pattern on Ravelry. (It's only about 3 " tall.)

I also finished my August Camp Loopy project using one of my "go-to" patterns.  Remind me to never knit with lace yarn again as it took forever.  It looks the same on both sides which is great for scarves.

And best of all two long-time UFOs are now FINISHED. Hurrah! 

This pattern is one of my favorites.

I varied the pattern of the foot for this pair

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So, there you have it, that's what's kept me busy recently.  Hope all of you have a most enjoyable three day week end and a very Happy Labor Day tomorrow!

Friday Felines

What better place to nap than a newly finished shawl?

Catching Up!

Well, the rest of July disappeared in a flash!  We  had a wonderful week-long family gathering in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, and then company from Colorado.  And now it's August. Wow!

Twenty-three of us from my sister's and our families were together and had so much fun playing, talking, and catching up. With the exception of an incredible windstorm, the weather was perfect and everyone enjoyed the sunshine and water activities.

Then at the end of July we had visitors from Colorado. Nancy and I taught together in California many years ago, and our two families have stayed in touch every since then.

With lots of car time, I finished a couple of projects, this shawl and this scarf. The scarf is Valerie Johnson's "Going My Way" pattern. Isn't it pretty?

Before all the end-of-July excitement, I also finished my contribution to our quilt group's Ronald McDonald Christmas stocking project.

Both sides of the same two stockings

And now I'm going to go eat breakfast and then go outside to water the flower pots.  Hopefully I can also get caught up on my blog reading!!  Have a great week.

Rainy July~~~~

So far with the exception of the Fourth, we've had some rainy days, but the plants just love it.

This Rocket Hydrangea was one of two table decorations that have survived in our garden since I retired some time ago. (I think a few others were devoured by local deer.) Anyhow, I look forward to their blooming each year as they bring back fond memories of my years of work in adult literacy.

Have you ever seen a Monkey Tree?  They seem to appear fairly often in landscaping around here, but we had never seen one in bloom before. We spent an afternoon in Gig Harbor, WA, recently and discovered this one after visiting one of my favorite yarn shops, Rainy Day Yarns.

Here are two close-ups of the tree's leaves and blossoms.

Can you guess what this is?

If you guessed baby spiders, you're right!  We found this group of eggs on the window near our front door, not knowing for sure whether or what would hatch.  Well, hatch they did, and while we were gone to Newport, they all took off to do their spiderly business...catching flies and mosquitoes, I hope.

In case you're worried that I've not been knitting, here's proof that my needles and I are still busy.  Actually, I finished this Stella Shawl at the end of June and forgot to include it in my last post. (A couple of other things are on my needles now and will hopefully be done by the end of the month.) Here's the link to the sock pattern that also wasn't in my last post.  That's all for now, have a great week.

Finally a New Post!

June disappeared at warp speed! We were very busy with lots of celebrations.  Early in the month our choir sang for the last time with our much-loved long time director.  We sang a wonderful work by Dan Forrest that features Psalm 100 in seven languages. You can listen here if you wish. 

We also managed a couple quick trips.  We spent a weekend in Whistler, British Columbia, and did lots of walking.

We followed a trail to Lost Lake and discovered that we could have driven there as well. However, we would have missed seeing this interesting cairn as well as lots of beautiful wildflowers.

 A bit later in the month we headed south to Newport, Oregon. The coast is so different there with lots and lots on sand dunes to explore.

Little Creek Cove is one of our favorite spots to stay.

These dogs didn't think twice about crossing this little creek to get to the dunes and ocean.  We, however, drove to Agate Beach and then walked north.

Time in the car makes for lots of knitting and two more Interrupted Cowls.  A shawl 

for Stella also popped off the needles.

This pair of socks was my June Camp Loopy project.

Our daughter hosted a lovely brunch at a very nice restaurant to celebrate my birthday, our son's birthday and Father's Day and then one day at lunch this guy showed up in our backyard.  Apparently he though he'd been summoned to prune the roses?

Hope you're all having a wonderful Fourth of July celebration!

Have a Nice Memorial Day!

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae  (More about the author here.)  Listen to our choir sing "Battle Hymn of the Republic".

Crazy May! It's Almost Memorial Day!

Wow, here it is past mid-May already and my last post was just before Easter week.  As it turned out neither of us did any singing then because we were down with colds for the first time in ages. Since then it's been busy here with lots of gardening when the sun's been shining, and lots of choir rehearsals.  Our church choir director is retiring very soon and so, after last Sunday, we have only two more times to sing under his direction. Last Sunday was a Choir Festival with all of the choirs participating in a wonderful song called "Hope for Resolution."  Have a listen, we were singing in Zulu!  Our last Worship through Music in on June 9th when we will sing "Jubilate Deo" by Dan Forrest and will be streamed live.

I finally finished a quilt!  Our younger daughter had this painting "The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt hanging on her living room wall, so when I saw the reproduction on fabric at Center Diamond Quilt Shop, I knew what I needed to do. (Now if I could just get inspired to put the bindings on the ones that are waiting in line for me to finish them!)

I fell in love with the back fabric, and you can also see polka dot binding.

Just yesterday I finished this pair of socks. It took 3 tries for me to decide they just needed to be plain vanilla ones.

On a non-choir Sunday recently we did manage a get away with our friend Dianne to our favorite spot at Cannon Beach, Oregon.  We walked to Haystack Rock at low tide 

and also saw lots of birds, including this plover.

In between rainy spells we've been working in the yard. This is actually an azalea "tree" that our son gave me several years ago. It does itself proud every spring.

This camellia  has been in our yard for many years, but it wasn't until this spring that a friend pointed out that its petals are offset. Isn't that interesting?

The Bleeding Heart is one of my favorite spring flowers, and this year our little plant has outdone itself.  Now DH tells me it's time to take a walk so I will sign off with a wish for all of you: Have a wonderful Memorial Day!