Flying Squirrels

On Monday or Tuesday morning, I was looking out my kitchen window. Now, my kitchen window faces the driveway and the street. Out by our mailbox, under our flowering ornamental cherry tree there are masses of wild strawberries that we purposefully planted there. We enjoy seeing the little white blooms in the spring and then the tiny, red berries. I've tried them, there's not much flavor, and it mushes when you pick it. So, I was looking out there and I saw this little furry tail sticking up in the air. I thought it might be a kitten, it was pretty small. Then I realized it was a squirrel in these strawberry plants. He sat up and was eating the strawberries. Oh he was so cute!! You can just see home sitting up here.










I tried to get closer and he went flying. Too cute!!

Why is it.......

Sometimes when you are discouraged over events that happen in your life, something else happens that lifts you up? I've been discouraged, mainly because I have procrastinated on some knitting projects for CIC that I wanted to do in the name of relatives. I've done three little pairs of these socks, but have said I would do 24 pairs. Well, tonight I happened to turn the TV on and Dateline NBC was on. There was a family that had adopted two twin babies back in 1999, these twins were 7 in 2004 and their family took them back to Russia to meet older siblings, two more sets of twins, they had recently found that these children were in orphanages, when they hadn't been before. To make a long story short, they showed images of these children in the orphanages, and how they did end up adopting these children ages 10 and 12. It was such a sad story, with a happy ending, it has inspired me to keep knitting on these socks and vests so I can say, "I accomplished my goals this year!!"

My Weekend of Fun!!

Friday morning had us on the road by 10:00 AM to Eugene and the Black Sheep Gathering. I did not take any pictures while I was there but took some of the stash once I got home. I did take the camera, but it sat in the van most of the time. DD did get some pictures of her cousin and aunt though. We stayed with our sister-in-law, Na. So, on Friday we did our shopping. DD bought three bunches of roving, and one skein of STR in the colorway Sherbet. She got home today, started up our borrowed spinning wheel and is spinning a Corriedale pencil-roving from these folks at Crown Mountain Farms. The colorway is Watermelon. She's doing a pretty good job of it.




I bought mostly alpaca lace weight for a couple of projects I came up with while I was there. Actually one of them I did have the idea earlier in the week, while I was working with some cotton colors at Blue Moon Fiber Arts. My blog pal, RandomKnits is doing a pair of fair isle gloves, so in working with these solid colors of cotton, I was able to visualize a bit with the colors. When I saw the alpaca from Pacific Meadows Alpaca(no website, but I do have their email address) in Junction City, I knew that would work for these gloves. It is almost sport weight.




Later Friday night I thought about this yarn and realized I could make some nice lace scarves for Christmas presents, so I went back and got these colors. Even later on Saturday night I thought of another project, but I didn't go back for more. I hope they will be at OFFF in September.





From Mckenzie Alpaca Breeders, I also got some other lace weight alpaca. Some for myself and some for a friend. I think a shawl is in order from this blue alpaca.







Let's see, I bought sock yarn, from Blue Moon Fiber Arts, in Star Sapphire, that's the bluish one, it should be more purpley, and Waterlilies.




And from Crown Mountain Farms, this is by Dicentra Designs, in Goldwine.




One of the very first buys of the day, though, were quilting yards. One booth, Bear Dog Yarns(no website)had quilting material as well as roving and yarn. She told me it was a last minute decision to bring it and I was the first one to buy any. I some how ended up with two of the rainbow looking one. Oh well, I am sure I will use it.




I think we were out of there by 2:30 on Friday afternoon. I went back on Saturday to meet up with some other bloggers. You will have to check out their sites for photos of the small group. One woman, Dene, came from near Houston, TX, with her dh for vacation. They were touring all over Oregon and parts of Washington. This was the last day of their vacation and they were headed back home to TX on Sunday. That was pretty cool!! I also met Chrissy, a local knitter, mom, and designer. Nicholette from Vancouver who is blogless, but she teaches classes at Yarn Garden, Jen who is on the Summer of Stash site with me and her cute little boy, who is 9 months old, and then there was Lavender Sheep She was off shopping while we sat and knit for an hour. The time flew so quickly!! After taking one last look through the main building, I drove back to Na's, rested and knit the rest of the afternoon and evening.




I finished my CIC socks, they are so cute!! I knit them on one circular US 3's out of LionWool, colorway is FlowerGarden. It looks like stained glass to me.




Left Na's this morning about 10:30, we got home and it was about 100 degrees out. We are in a heat wave right now. Upper 90's for at least the next day or so. Then it's supposed to cool down, but I haven't checked how much. It kind of sounds like not a lot!!

UGH!! Too much time has passed.....

In between posting here. I have good intentions of keeping updated here, but then I sit down and really have forgotten what I want to write about. I do have some awesome photos to share though. I finally got a project done, and another almost done, etc.

First is dd's quilted head scarf that she finished last week. She's been learning the quilting trade from my aunt. The darker side, is material with all kinds of fruit on it. The pink side, obviously is all pinks and greens, dots and stripes, big and little. She has now started on a 16 patch hotpad.









My FO, Jeanie Townsend's Spring Twists in STR Spring Fling colorway. I enjoyed this sock so much that I must have ripped it out at least 3 times. I didn't follow the pattern completely. There are four repeats of four rows for three sections, I didn't do the fourth repeat on each section, so it is shorter. Then I decided to do PGR's short-row heel. (I think that's the name of it). It seems to fit my heel better, though I think on the next sock I need to make the heel a little bit deeper. I did these on Magic Loop, then finally as I got past the heel I put them both onto one needle. It went a bit faster that way. Jeanie has a yahoo knitting group with her great patterns. She is such a great designer and very generous.













And I finally finished spinning up some roving I had gotten from BMFA about 3 years ago or so. I am pretty sure it is merino/tencel, in Black Cherry colorway. I haven't measured it either. No plans currently on the drawing board. This is actually one of the better pictures of it. One of the photos was nasty, it looked orange.







And now blogger had decided it doesn't want to load any more of my photos. I was going to show the CIC socks that I am doing two on one circular needle. Oh well, another time.

I think I am all ready for the weekend. DD and I are heading out for BSG tomorrow morning after setting up for communion at our church. Hope to see some of you there. Oh, I heard tonight the most ridiculous thing about BSG. Some government organization wants them to change their name. Black Sheep Gathering apparently isn't politically correct, so let's change the Black to Rainbow. Have you ever seen a Rainbow sheep? I will check into it and let you know what I find out, if I was hoaxed.....

I've Been Busy Today

It's been a full day!! I finished my Purple Lace Shawl, which you will see in the previous post. And I had my WWKIP Day as well. Last week, dh got an email from one of his coworkers, advertising this. It's only the second annual festival. We thought "hey, why not go and check it out." I thought, "hey, there's my "Knit in Public" venue!!" I had my CIC socks that I knew would be an easy project for this event. One woman came up to me and asked, "Are you purposefully knitting in public? You do know this is Knit in Public Day, don't you?" I told her yes I was and yes I did know!! It was kind of cool. Then later another woman came up to see what I was knitting. She thought it was socks, but it could have been golf club toppers as well. She was one of the security gals there for the day. She thought I was doing a great job!! It's always fun to hear others react to knitting. I had a good time, too much beer though, since I hardly drink anyways. I didn't take my camera to record my KIP, but I did take a picture once I got home. I'll finish up the socks tonight.

The Mess of Unravelling

The Amazing Lace Challenge Part 2

UGH!! I never knew how hard it could be to unravel something knitted, from the beginning. It's not a simple frog, it's under here, over there, hmm, it's through here several times. Not a pretty sight!! (For those who aren't knitters, frogging is ripping out your knitted product, as in ribbit or rippit)






It took me 4 days of off/on working on it to finally get it undone, and BACK ON THE NEEDLES AGAIN!! I came up with this little song to go with it.







(To the tune of Back in the Saddle Again)
I'm back on the needles again
In where a stitch is a friend
Where the playful kittens romp
On the lacy purple pomp
Back on the needles again.

Well, I won't take up song writing anytime soon, I promise.












And the Final Take on the Purple Shawl:




This was a definite learning experience, I won't take it for granted that even though the ball says it's the same color and dye lot, I will compare them closer. Seriously, though I did learn that I could undo from the wrong end, and start knitting "backwards", and it looks close enough that most people wouldn't know it had been done.

Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful

Amazing Lace Challenge # 2.......... Part 1


I think this shawl has turned out just beautiful. I love the way it washed up, it is nice and soft. And I finished it in record time for Na's birthday next weekend!!












What is this?????? I found this when I was weaving in the ends. The very first ball of yarn must have been a different color of purple. It is very noticeable and I will have to start at the beginning of the shawl to frog it!! It will be shorter than I had intended it to be, but what else can I do? You can kind of see the color change right in the middle of the photo. To be continued.............


Last but not least, I finished this last night. It is cute. Not hard to sew at all, and has some nice pockets inside and out. I have seen some other fabric to make some with horses, some with musical instruments and notes, other girly ones, and some that remind me of Pride and Prejudice. It's dimensions are approximately 12 inches across and 9 inches tall.

Summer of Stash

I did join one more blog group, but the only thing I have to do is not buy any yarn this summer, until Labor Day. I have to go back and read the rules, but I think I can have at least one exception, maybe even two. I can buy books, patterns, and needles or anything else needed to keep knitting, just no yarn. I can do it, I have 2 more shawls to make, yarn for two sweaters, tons of yarn for socks and tanks. My exception will be for Black Sheep coming up in 3 weeks or if I need to get more yarn for Kim's shawl, it will be somewhat different than the rectangular ones I have done so far.

I received "A gathering of lace" in yesterday's mail. I am very happy with it, and will let any of you that are local, borrow it. Amazon was very quick this time. I ordered it the same day I ordered the sock yarn.

I did finish the dark purple feather and fan today. I was weaving in ends when I saw the most dreadful thing I have ever seen!!! The very first skein of yarn is a different purple, lighter and not as pretty. I bought them all at the same time, same dye lot, etc. I am seriously considering buying some dye to fix it. It's LionBrand Microspun, so is acrylic. Will it work? I'll take a picture as soon as I figure out what I am going to do and have blocked it. I am very proud of myself (not to the point of falling though, I hope) that I have completed a gift for someone and it isn't late or after the fact.

Tomorrow I am going on a field trip, by myself no less. I found 3 quilt stores just on my side of town, and I mean MY side of town. I don't have to go through Beaverton at all, in fact, I go the opposite direction, towards Hillsboro. I can't wait to check them out!! I sewed a quilted bag today, well, most of it. I found I didn't have the little magnetic closures it called for, even though it was on my list for the fabric store last week. It's not my fault they didn't have the right size. As soon as it is done, hopefully tomorrow afternoon, I'll post a picture of it as well.

She's Reading, She's Reading, Uh HUH

Ok, you have to be in the right frame of mind to hear the above Title. I am so jazzed right now!! I've got this stupid little tune from Nemo that Dory sings, I don't even know the words to it, but the above title is running through my head with this tune.

So, the conversation at our house this week goes a bit like this:

DD: So, when does the Library Summer Reading Program start?

Me: This week on Thursday, do you want to sign up for it?

DD: What are my reading options?

Me: Well, there's the "Read to Me", or the "I Read it Myself". You can do either one. (Age wise they will only let her do the "I Read it Myself", but why does she need to know that right now.

DD: No, I don't want to sign up, I want to do my own reading program. I want to be reading by the end of the summer.

Me: Ok, I have a good program we could start.

DD: (with a raised voice) NO, I want to do it my way AND WITH DAD!!

Me: Ok, but you have to realize that Dad is tired when he gets home and wants to play on the computer, and you will have to be responsible for pushing him to help you.

DD: Ok.

End of conversation.

That very night, after I have gone to bed, dd and dh proceed to read a chapter in Mr.Putter and Tabby Feed the Fish. Dh tells me about it when he crawls in bed. The very next morning after taking dh to work, I come home to find my girl sitting on the love seat with a blanket over her legs reading the next chapter to herself, but out loud. And she read it again last night to her dad.

AND I CAN'T PRAISE HER OR SHE'LL STOP READING. What's a mom to do??

On to knitting, I am almost done with the purple feather and fan shawl, less than one ball left to knit up.



I received this in the mail today, it took 3 days to get here, I am seriously impressed with their service.



I designed and knit these (from leftovers) last week for an afghan for a local homeschool mom who recently had a heart attack.

Summer Reading Challenge 2006

Summer Reading Challenge 2006 Goals 13 weeks?

One book a week, alternating somewhat evenly between fiction which
I love, and non-fiction which I have a hard time getting into most of the time.

Some of the books that I want to read this summer in no particular order:

Non-Fiction

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser
Eating in the Dark: America's Experiment with Genetically Engineered Food by Kathleen Hart
DONE Unveiling Islam by Ergun Mehmet Caner Library book
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss
The Power of a Positive Mom by Karol Ladd
Raising Strong Daughters by Jeanette Gadeberg
DONE Knitting Rules: The Yarn Harlot Unravels the Mysteries of Swatching, Stashing, Ribbing & Rolling to Free Your Inner Knitter by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee This needs to be done before she comes to Portland this book tour.
Boundaries With Teens: When to Say Yes, How to Say No by Dr. John Townsend
Mayada: Daughter of Iraq One Woman's Survival Under Saddam Hussein by Jean Sasson
The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn by Diane Ravitch
The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands by Dr Laura Schlessinger
DONE Plague: A Story of Science, Rivalry , and the Scourge That Won't Go Away by Edward Marriott
DONE A Heart for Any Fate: Westward to Oregon 1845 by Linda Crew
DONE Ladies Were Not Expected: Abigail Scott Duniway and Women's Rights by Dorothy Nafus Morrison

Fiction
The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway The Finca Vigia Edition
DONE The Rapture by Jerry Jenkins and Tim Lahaye Library Book
The Davinci Code by Dan Brown
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
Divine by Karen Kingsbury
Even Now by Karen Kingsbury
DONE Grace In Thine Eyes by Liz Curtis Higgs Library Book
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

It looks like most of the books on my list are non-fiction. All but five are on my shelves, three are library books, two I have right now, and one that doesn’t come out until June 6, and I know there are already several people in front of me with it on hold, and two added to the list this afternoon are from a friends' library. There's just not enough time to read this summer!!

EDIT: I've also read some other quick reads since starting this:

Self Made Man: One Woman's Journey into Manhood and Back by Norah Vincent

Without A Trace by Colleen Coble

Sharpe's Eagle by Bernard Cornwell Audio
Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cornwell Audio
The Boggart by Susan Cooper Audio
The Boggart and the Monster by Susan Cooper Audio
The Dark is Rising Series of 5 books by Susan Cooper Audio
Wise Child by Monica Furlong
The Copenhagen Connection by Elizabeth Peters Audio
Sofie Metropolis by Tori Carrington Audio
1906 : A Novel by James Dalessandro Audio
SisterChicks in Gondolas by Robin Jones Gunn

The Amazing Lace Challenge #1

I will be doing occasional posts about The Amazing Lace. Here is my intro:



Cue theme to Mission Impossible or your favorite action flick.

If I take this mission, ha, I’ve already taken it, so we'll cut to the chase, here are my team members:



The blue/lavender is for myself, the dark purple is for my sil, whose birthday is the second week of June, so I have a deadline, the ugly lime green (my nemesis) is for dd who is 12 and loves anything of that hideous color, need I say more?


My team notes with writing all over the backside:



The pattern I adapted with the help of a friend from Barbara Walker’s “A Treasury of Knitting Patterns”, and the photo of this kit from Fiber Trends.

I love this pattern, it’s mission is easy to memorize and it is pretty in the end. I chose the Microspun from LionBrand because it is so soft and I just wanted a light wrap for the coolness of Oregon during the summer without spending an arm and a leg.

Who knows where this foray into lace knitting will take me, on to new missions of impossibility?

I am a follower

So, not only have I joined The Amazing Lace and need to do the first challenge, a write up about my team, I have joined the Summer Reading Challenge, which I think I mentioned last night, and NOW I've joined a Quilt Block Swap. Dd has been learning to quilt with my aunt. It looks like so much fun. I have bought some quilt books over the years, gone through them, brought back wonderful memories of a quilt my grandmother made for me as a little girl, and thought, hmm, I'd like to make a quilt some day. Well, here's my chance. My theme for this quilt block swap is Sunbonnet Sue. It's the quilt grandma made for me. I feel the need for another one, since I don't know where the one is that grandma made. My mom might have it, but likely it got tossed when it got old and ratty. I'll have to go through my boxes of photo albums to see if I have a picture of my quilt or at least part of it.


Here's what I wanted to leave you with last night. You should be able to click on it to get it a little bit bigger.

Drs., brownies, reading and lace...oh my

I can't believe how much or should I say how little leaves me feeling exhausted. I just marvel at how moms or dads who work outside of the home do it!!

I ran errands this morning so dd could have some alone time at home, came home for a short bit, took both kids to piano lessons, came home, had some lunch, then headed for a check up/physical for dd. She's healthy! Though "we" are concerned more for her reading or lack of. Our pediatrician is a homeschooling mom, though probably more of the school at home kind of homeschooler that pushes her child. So, when she asks about school, Kim tells her we are still struggling with the reading. Well, now we should have a tutor, some one who will work with Kim to get her caught up so we can move on to other studies. URGH!! I've been frustrated with the reading thing before, but have been able to let it go, until now. Because she is a doctor she has a responsibility or obligation to her patient, and what education or not, her patient is getting. I realized that after we left the office and thought, "oh great, here's the one person who could penalize us for homeschooling". Oh, and to top it off dd had to have a shot, Tetanus booster. Not a happy camper, though she doesn't almost pass out like other family members!! So, after the doctor's office, we stopped at the yarn store, she bought yarn to appease the sorrow. And we came home to make brownies. Yum! What a day, and it exhausted me!!

A couple of weeks ago, I joined The Amazing Lace. I figured I'm doing lace with my 3 wraps/shawls I am planning to make this summer (actually already half way on two of them). I need to come up with a great intro to post to my blog. Any suggestions? I've never seen the show they are parodying, "The Great Race", but that's ok, they aren't judging by that. If you are interested, the sign up goes until midnight of May 29.

The second thing I have joined is The Summer Reading Challenge 2006. I would like to expand my mind with what I am reading, so will need to come up with my own challenge there as well. I think I need a thinking cap.

Blogger isn't liking my photos tonight, so I will post some tomorrow.

Great Coast Sites

Thanks to a reader from BC, who wanted to know where to see beautiful coast pictures, here is where we enjoy going on the Oregon Coast.

Warning, many, many website links, all of them are different, so click on all of them. Enjoy!!

Living in Oregon for 17 years now, we have always loved going to the coast. DD has some issues with it now, but if it’s a day trip she’s fine with it. Our favorite spots are many!! We haven’t ventured south too far past Newport, except in passing through, so can’t address too much down there. With that said, I’ll start at the north part of the Oregon Coast and head south. You can reach the north coast from Hwy 30 out of Portland, or from the Washington side, using Hwy 4 and Hwy 101, you’ll have to see a map of Washington to figure that one out. Astoria is the farthest north city on the Oregon Coast, and has many fun activities in the area. Just a listing of them, The Maritime Museum, Fort Stevens State Park with it’s link to the Civil War all the way up to WW II, Fort Clatsop National Memorial, and The Astoria Column. If you want to visit the area, there are many motels to stay in, a really cool bed and breakfast that used to house officers during the time that Fort Stevens was active, and the state park has camping, and yurts. Most of the time for the yurts, you will want to make reservations nine months in advance, especially for the summer months. Traveling further south, you reach Seaside, with its Promenade, and fun downtown tourist shops including the Carousel Mall. There is also a place to rent little boats that you pedal. I think there was an aquarium at one time, but I haven’t seen anything about it lately. Also in Seaside are the Saltworks that Lewis and Clark traveled to from Fort Clatsop. South of Seaside about 10 miles, if that, is Cannon Beach, a very touristy town, and a big, wide beach, with Haystack Rock as its backdrop. South of Cannon Beach, there are a lot of little towns that I really can’t tell you about, we rarely stop at them. On our last drive through, there did look like a couple of little stores that would be fun to stop at if I was with a friend or by myself. Between Cannon Beach and the next town is Oswald West State Park, an interesting camping area. You park at the top of the hwy, put your gear into a wheelbarrow and wheel it down to the campsites. It is a primitive campground, but apparently has some of the best surfing on the Oregon Coast. Next on our stop is Tillamook, with its two cheese factories, the smell of cows, the Tillamook Air Museum, and there is a textile museum that I would really like to get to one of these days, sans family. If you take the Netarts Hwy to the west of Tillamook, and the Bayocean Road, it will take you to Cape Meares State Park. Before you get to Cape Meares though, you will want to take the Bayocean Dike Road. There is a wildlife area now out on the spit, but the story of the area is very fascinating. Bayocean was going to be a resort town for the people of Portland who wanted to get away. Read the story to find out what happened!! There are 3 Capes along this road, Cape Meares has an 1890s lighthouse, nesting common murres, bald eagles and peregrine falcon nests. The next cape is Cape Lookout. At Cape Lookout, there are yurts, but there are also deluxe cabins that have a small mini-kitchen and a bathroom with shower. That way you don’t have to share bathroom privileges with the rest of the campground. It is a nice place to stay, usually quiet because the day use are is closed at dusk, which is where these cabins are. There are only 3 cabins, and they are very, very close to the beach. Last is Cape Kiwanda, (captured from the website) "Cape Kiwanda is part of the Three Capes Scenic Route (along with Cape Meares and Cape Lookout). Kiwanda is the smallest of the three, but it’s one of the best places to experience spectacular wave action. Pacific City is the home of the Pacific Dory Fleet. South of Cape Kiwanda is the dory boat launching area. North of Cape Kiwanda to Tierra Del Mar is a stretch of beach popular with picnickers. Kiwanda provides great hang gliding and kite flying opportunities."

Back to Hwy 101, and further south is Lincoln City. In Lincoln City, there aren’t too many things that we find interesting to do, except visit the Outlet Mall. I happen to enjoy visiting these stores and there’s no sales tax. South of Lincoln City is Depoe Bay, with some tourist shops, Devil’s Punch Bowl State Natural Area, and Beverly Beach State Park, another nice campground with yurts. We have stayed at Beverly Beach many times and like it as a coastal campground. On the north side of Newport is Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area that is worth going into for the lighthouse and the tide pool area that is handicapped access. On the north side of the bay bridge is Yaquina Bay State Recreation Site, part of the state park system. It is worth going into for the light house. There are many lighthouses on the Oregon Coast, some still working, others as museums that can be visited. Even just being able to spot the light houses as you are traveling the coast is fun. In Newport there is the Oregon Coast Aquarium, and Oregon State University’s research facility, the Hatfield Marine Science Center, which is open to the public for a donation. It is a great hands-on experience. If you go to the Aquarium, you have to go the Marine Science Center as well. One of the other favorites in Newport is the Rogue Brewery, and they do tours at 4:00pm every day, I think. It is free and anyone can go on the tour. These are all on the south side of the bay, but back on the north side, there is a waterfront with tourist stores, Aunt Belinda’s Candies, and the Rogue Brewery Pub, which minors can go into the restaurant side. Sometimes there are tours of the docks, and once we had a tuna boat come in with freshly grilled tuna that they shared with us. They had a load of tuna they were selling to anyone who wanted it. It’s not like the canned stuff at all. South of Newport is South Beach and a state park with camping and yurts, another nice campground. I have been further south, but really can’t tell a lot about it. Shore Acres is a nice botanical garden south of Reedsport, and is a state park. A lot of the state parks have a fee which can be found on the website, if you are going to be visiting those with a fee, it is worth it to get a pass and I am sure there are many options for that. The pass will not pay for any camping that you do at the state parks, but if you are camping, your camping tag can get you into the day use fee areas. I with we had more time to explore the coast, and all of Oregon, there are many fascinating places to go in Oregon. I will try to do another post later with some of the places I know we have been further south, or places I would like to visit.

Too tired, but had to show this

I spent the whole day working at BMFA, but I can't tell you what I did, yet. I am exhausted though!! When I got home an Airmail package was on the doorstep. YEAH!! A while back, I saw on another knitter's blog a sweater she was making, (third one over on the top row) so I asked her if she would get the pattern for me and I would repay her. She suggested a swap, so I sent her yarn, cookies, and other trinkets, and she sent me this! An entire book of patterns. She told me the type of yarn, but it's not easy for me to convert what they use into what is available here is the US. So, we arranged another swap. She would get the yarn for me in the color I wanted, and I would order some dance tights for her ballerina dd. I have so many projects right now, but I love this color and just want to start knitting on it now. I have a birthday project due in one month exactly that I have to get done first, then maybe I can start my sweater.


Oh, the color is lavendar, but it looks more blue in the picture.

Blogging

I've been having a nice lazy morning, reading other people's blogs. This one is a new one that I discovered, she is hilarious. From her comment section I went to this one, (it caught my eye, since dh likes to homebrew) and found the "You Know You're From...." I am content to sit and read blogs for a while.

I tried uploading this photo last night, but Blogger didn't like it for some reason. YEAH it did it. My friend Jean helped me figure out the math to make this the width I wanted. Thank you Jean. I am having fun with it, dd wants one, and I want to make one for my sister-in-law's birthday in June.




Everyone seems to think I am doing hard patterns, exotic stuff. What's with that? The everyone is my grandma, who taught me to knit, then she tells my mom, who knits as well. Good grief, it's easier than cooking dinner!!



OK, VERY IMPORTANT!! I got a comment last night about our coast photos. Thank you Corinne. She would like to know where to go on the Oregon Coast with her teenagers. I plan to do a post about that this week sometime, maybe even later today if I get to it. But I want to hear from the rest of you that lurk (you know who you are) where you like to go on the Oregon Coast. You can either email me at the email address in my profile, or post it in the comments. If it's different than what I come up with, I'll add it to the post.

Oh, and Corinne, the suspense is killing me, how did you come across my blog?

Even More FUN!!

You Know You're From Portland, OR When...

Two-thirds of the people you know are from California, yet there is no sun. You can list five reasons why Starbucks is evil. You blame everything that's not right on ex-Californians. You remember the date, severity, time of day, where you were, and how long you were out of power for every winter weather event for the last five years. You know what and when the Columbus Day storm was. Bonus for having been there. You go to a coffee bar and see two guys get into a fight over who makes the best India Pale Ale. You own more than 10 articles of clothing that have microbreweries/brewpubs printed on them. Bonus for embroidered stuff. You can go a whole week without seeing the sun or a person of color.. You have a bookstore, coffee bar, and brewpub all within walking distance of your house. You think downtown is scary 'cause you were panhandled there ... once. When you drive out of town, every other guy in a pickup looks like the governor. When you drive out of town, even the Hondas have gun racks. When the weather gets above 50 degrees you put on your shorts, but you still wear hiking boots and your parka. When the weather gets above 60 you replace your hiking boots with sandals. You think people who use umbrellas are wimps. You can recount more than five anecdotes about why the East Side is a crime-infested jungle ... OR ... You can list more than five reasons why the West Side is a boring, snobby, white-bread suburb. You know what it is in between the East Side and the West Side, and how to pronounce it. You are sitting at a red light surrounded by Subaru Legacy Outbacks. A tree or mudslide has ever damaged your house or car. You live equidistant to a symphony hall, a winery, and a volcano. You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Portland, OR.

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Having Fun!!

You Know You're From Oregon When...

Your children learned to walk in Birkenstocks. You throw an aluminum can in the trash and feel guilty. You complain about Californians as you sell your house to one for twice as much as you originally paid. You only honk your horn if collision is imminent and never for anything else. You consider something a "hill" (not a mountain) if it doesn't have snow on it or has not recently erupted, regardless of its altitude. You consider "etiquette" a foreign word. Most of your friends are from California. You find a wallet with $500 and give it back to the owner. You used to live somewhere else but won't admit it publicly. You've ever ordered a half caff/decaf, nonfat mocha grande with sugar-free cranberry whip (or you know what it is). You know a bride & groom that registered at REI. If someone ran your car off the highway, you might drown. You'd be miffed if the store was out of your favorite brand of water. Every day is casual Friday. Hear the word "ferry" and think of boats and long waits. Know at least eight people who work for Intel or Nike, or used to work for Tektronix. You think skiing always means being covered from head to toe, in snow or water. Know that Boring is a town and not just a state of mind. Have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat. You return from a California vacation depressed because "all the grass was dead." Remember the date, severity, time of day, where you were, and how long you were out of power and phone service for every winter weather event in the last five years. Have ever called your insurance agent to ask if your homeowner?s policy covers falling trees, flooding, or mud slides You never go camping without waterproof matches, ponchos, and mattress pads that double as flotation devices. You believe swimming is not a sport but a survival skill to prevent boating deaths. You own more than 10 articles of clothing that have the names of microbreweries/brewpubs printed on them. You think downtown is "scary" because you were panhandled there, once. You replace your hiking boots with Birkenstock or Teva sandals when the weather gets above 60 degrees. You believe people who use umbrellas are wimps or Californians, or both. You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Oregon.

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A Bit of a Scare, But All's Well in the End

Wednesday I got an email from my pregnant cousin, saying they were scheduled to do a c-section on Friday. The baby looked like his tummy was distended, and he wouldn't be able to be delivered normally. They already knew he had a problem with one of his kidneys. But now it looked like they would need to do some emergency surgery on him, once he was delivered. As soon as they pulled him out, he was fine, and peeing in the delivery room. The problems they thought they had seen on the ultrasound, weren't there. Does God answer prayers or what? He is an almost 8 lb. baby, has his daddy's hair and dark skin tone. Mom and baby are doing well, and may be sent home in a few days. I am so glad they are doing well.


On other notes, this is what I saw today!!






The Oregon Coast was absolutely beautiful today!! It was in the low 60's and a little bit windy, but not bad at all.

We rode the Carousel, and had old-tyme photos taken. That was a lot of fun!! Something we will do again in a few years. I will post some of them later in the week. We also bought dh a hat here, it is in the shape of a beer mug that says, "Got Beer?" He will most likely wear it to the Brewer's Festival in July.



HAVE A HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! I plan to plant some flowers and go to Farmer's Market, to find some more plants.

Monday Meme

One of my blog friends had this on her blog last Monday. I really liked it, so here's my version at the bottom. If you want to do this poem as well, copy and paste the top part into your own blog post. The original is from here. Have fun with it.

I am from _______ (specific ordinary item), from _______ (product name) and _______.

I am from the _______ (home description... adjective, adjective, sensory detail).

I am from the _______ (plant, flower, natural item), the _______ (plant, flower, natural detail).

I am from _______ (family tradition) and _______ (family trait), from _______ (name of family member) and _______ (another family name) and _______ (family name).

I am from the _______ (description of family tendency) and _______ (another one).

From _______ (something you were told as a child) and _______ (another).

I am from (representation of religion, or lack of it). Further description.

I'm from _______ (place of birth and family ancestry), _______ (two food items representing your family).

From the _______ (specific family story about a specific person and detail), the _______ (another detail, and the _______ (another detail about another family member).

I am from _______ (location of family pictures, mementos, archives and several more lines indicating their worth).