What's a mother to do

When her 3 year old continually insists that she (the said mother) needs to knit her (the 3 year old) socks and a pair of gloves. That 3 year old also likes to show her mother with her hands exactly how it's supposed to be knit.

I suppose I'm going to put down some projects and knit my baby what she requests.

Sometimes ya gotta get away

Like we haven't been gone enough??? The Mister headed out today for meetings at Shasta Lake and I decided the kids and I needed to get away too. We loaded up and ended found ourselves at the coast. The water was surprisingly warm for the Northwest.
This was Max's first visit to the beach. He's a dogs dog. Loves to go anywhere and everywhere with us...his best friend...not so much.

A 3 year old girl's version of a sand castle.

Monkeying around

I must be the last or one of the very last person(s) in the sock knitting world to knit the Monkey Sock. While the pattern is easy to memorize and the sock is overall pleasing to the eye, I dislike using size 2 knitting needles. Yes, it makes for a quick knit but the fabric tends to be too loose for my liking. I'd much prefer to knit these on a 1. Geegee saw the first finished sock and fell in love with the stitch pattern and the color so these will be added to her drawer.



In other news, the mister and I have 4 weeks to the day before our big hike to the summit of Mt. Saint Helen's. It truly is time to quit monkeying around and get serious. The hike consists of a 4500ft elevation gain over 4.5 miles (3400 of it during the last 2 1/4 miles). We have been diligently Shredding and getting extra cardio in on the treadmill but I know it's not enough. I really must watch what I put in my mouth. I'm feeling horribly munchy lately. It wouldn't be so back if I kept going outside and munching on fresh sugar peas or strawberries but marshmallows will do me nothing more than leave me looking like one.


It's time to hunker down with a movie and the socks I'm working on for The Mister. They were meant to be a surprise for him but I currently have a 3 year old that absolutely can not keep a secret. Every single thing that happens in this house gets recounted to Dad at the end of the day. How long before she grows out of this?

Where oh where have I gone?

Yeah, so I had hoped to be back here Monday with pictures of wonderfulness that had been completed over the weekend. Um...didn't happen. My "take it easy while knitting and sewing" weekend was something I only dreamed about. In actuality I decided that I really needed to work outside (and in). You know what I'm talking about. Over the last week if I haven't been outside or in taking care of chores, having school with the kids, eating or exercising I've been dealing with this mess:

450 yards of knots. I must get a yarn umbrella. You'd think I had one by now. What with spinning and knitting but nope. I don't want to spend the $$. The Mister had a good laugh over this one. He says it's the most expensive yarn I've ever bought and after the HOURS (we are talking days people) spent untangling this mess he is right. Oh well. It's all untangled with not an inch lost. Now it's time to get some sewing and knitting done. We're headed out camping this weekend so sewing won't happen but camping is prime for knitting.

In other news we are expecting a slew of strawberries this year.

What started as 20 plants last year has turned into an amount that I'm not going to count. The bed on the east side of our house is completely packed with them. God truly has blessed us with the multiplication of these plants. We.love.us.some.berries!

With all this being said, I'll be back next week. We're heading for camp tomorrow evening and I have a ton of things to do between now and then. Have a great weekend.

Quiet Weekend

Lovelies from the back yard

I would love to say that the roses are from the garden but alas, I have no garden. The people who lived here before us didn't have much of a green thumb which has left the last year being spent trying to fix up what they had done. They did however plant 2 climbing rose bushes in a forgotten corner of the back yard and today, the little Miss and I are thankful for these rosebushes. They smell heavenly. I don't know why but the smell of fresh roses always reminds me of raspberries. Maybe it's because my Grandmother had her roses planted fairly closely to the raspberry "patch".

The weather has cooled down quite a bit. It has been overcast with heavy rain occasionally. I, for one, welcome the cool weather. This weekend my Mister is attending a funeral which is about 3 hrs from us. This leaves the kids and I home to fend for ourselves. I've attempted (really it has only been an attempt) to entertain ideas of taking the kids hiking or going to the beach or... I can't seem to do it. We've been gone every weekend for several weekends and this weekend I just want to stay home and relax. If you could see my house now you'd know that's about all I've done this week. The house is very tidy but very dusty. I need to give the walls and molding a good wash down. Really it's the deep cleaning that I haven't kept up on. Oh well. I have a lot of knitting to show for it. I plan on spending the weekend continuing in the sewing/knitting groove because next week it must come to an end. I have a little one who asked me yesterday if it was school time. We were doing well at school until a 'J' got sick and then it's been down hill from there. How can I deny a little girls request for school? When I told her we'd start back up next week I was greeted with shouts of joy and a big hug. Note to self: get you're head wrapped around this book.

Have a wonderful weekend. I'll be back Monday and will hopefully have some pictures of FO's to show.

Dear Mister,

I don't know if you are reading this blog (I know, I know) but I do want to say Thanks for all of your encouragement, support (in every way possible...including my many spur of the moment crazy hair brain ideas), your love and your generosity. You sacrifice so much of your desires for those of the kids and mine. I love you with all of my heart and am thankful each and every day that God created a life for you and I together. You (and those goobers of ours) are my world.

Respite

This morning the weather is incredibly pleasant. For quite a while the weather has been in the upper 70's or 80+. More of the latter. Today it is still supposed to reach 80 but for the moment, if only for a moment, the weather is cool and with an occasional sprinkle. It's nice to have the windows open and feel a breeze coming through.

A peaceful place found in the Smokies by the Mister and I during our honeymoon. We've never been able to find it again.

A recently planted hydrangea. My first and am I ever in love.

Life seems to be staying steadily busy around these parts. Here in the northwest, spring/summer has finally seemed to make is appearance. Not a "Hi, you want a tease?" but rather a "My have I missed you sun lovers in WA. I believe it's time I spent some quality time with you." We, needless to say, have been soaking in the warmth.

I thought I'd share some pictures of current works in progress and yummy yarn that I picked up on Friday. First I have a picture of the current quilt I'm working on. This is "Granny's Jam Lap Quilt" from Laps From Fats . It's a simple quilt and so far I'm enjoying piecing it together.

Look at this yarn. It is so yummy. Soft and squishy. I do think the color is wrong though. ;-) While it is called Wild Cherry I believe it should be Sugar Pea. Don't the bonnets (sugar pea flowers) perfectly match the yarn?

This burst of sunshine is new to me yarn. This is Pagewood Farm Yukon and consists of merino, bamboo and nylon. I have never worked with yarn that contains bamboo and honestly it is one of the big attractions for me. Of course the bright yellows lend a hand.
Lastly, I leave you with a picture of a sock waiting on his mate. This is School Sock from Anne Hanson. I heart Anne's socks! I heart Anne. She has so many wonderful designs (not limited to socks) and is wonderful to work with when you have a question. The heel has been turned on the second sock so soon (hopefully) my husband will have a new pair of socks and I can finally begin a pair for myself. I'm still at a loss as to which yarn I'll begin with...yellow, wild cherry, yellow, wild cherry.
Oh yeah, the count down has begun. In August I will be loading the kids up and taking a cross country trip back home. I love driving cross country. Prefer it to flying. My husband on the other hand dislikes the time spent in the car. Too much time wasted...he enjoys the sights but also enjoys the extra time spent somewhere. The kids and I have a week scheduled in a rustic cabin. I do believe there will be evenings spent in the screened porch sipping sweet tea, and watching the lightening bugs (I hope there will still be some around...August is a bit too warm for a good show) while knitting and/or spinning.