HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Wednesday I helped M make a Halloween costume for her baby's "first" Halloween...


I'm sure the kindergartners loved it!

Have a safe and fun Halloween!

Seasonal Color

Today W and I decided to take a short ride to enjoy the color and get out in the fresh air.


For all the time we've lived here, we have never been to Patapsco Valley State Park so that was our destination. Today was the day for quiet walks, river rapids, awesome colors, to marvel in the wonders of nature and the God who created it.

...the river and its rapids - we hiked down to the rapids...

...awesome color...

How I Spent

Last Weekend...

Looking at this view...
While eating Grotto pizza...
"living" in this lovely hotel...

And sampling wine at this winery...

A quiet weekend in Rehoboth Delaware. Good food. Warm sunny day reading on the beach. Local wine. A good way to spend a couple days together.

Creideamh

Lots has been happening around here which I may or may not blog about at some other time. In the meantime, I am thrilled with the new shawl I just finished. I think it's much better than it looks here. Lovely, soft, drapey, sandy colored yarn - a real pleasure to knit with and to wear. The yarn is from the indie dyer, Miss Babs and the pattern is Creideamh by Renee Leverington. They are from the WoolGirl Embrace the Lace club.

Two Little Girls

There's new fun at my house now! The Princess is here to visit for three weeks. It is wonderful to have her here and especially with the Peanut here too. They have been inseparable.


No matter which one wants to do something, the other one wants to do it too. And they are so cute playing together.

They days are going to fly by, I'm sure!

I'm Baaaack

I have been so negligent with the posting - as you know if you have checked here in the last three months. So much for my resolve to post more frequently in 2009. Life has been hectic here. I think it is knitting that has helped me keep my sanity.

This year I almost didn't sign up for Sock Madness. I didn't think I would have the opportunity to knit in the competition. I did sign up and surprised myself with how well I did. Truth be told, though, I stayed in as long as I did because I was not placed (randomly) in one of the fastest groups. The patterns this year were excellent and a lot of fun to knit. The family kept urging me on, checking on my progress, and cheering me to finish the socks before the round ended. Amazingly, I made it through to the sixth round where I was eliminated only an hour after the first finisher (only one of us could advance in this round). Socks knit in the competition rounds have to be knit to pattern specs. There was something new, different, or unusual for me to learn and do in every round, in addition to knitting quickly enough to advance to the next round.

So here are my first six pairs...

Round 1 (blue) - Tropical Mer-tini
Round 2 (grey & red) - Tokena
Round 3 (small green) - Talia's Wings
Round 4 (black & multi) - Lucky Diamonds
Round 5 (red, white, blue) - Dimpled Diamonds
Round 6 (brown & orange) - Fire on the Mountain

For the seventh and final round, I was out of the competition so I modified the socks to better fit me. I changed the short row heel as written in the pattern to a gusset and flap. This pattern was so fun to knit and the socks are quite different from any other socks I've made to date. I love them!

Knitting Completed

A pair of warm and cozy socks for Wayne. The color gradates from brown to grey.



My lovely Syncopated Lace shawl. The color gradates from orange to pink and purple.

The BEAST

Have you seen this TV show on A&E? It stars Patrick Swayze and airs on Thursdays at 10 PM Eastern Time.

Our godson Ben will appear in the episode on March 5. His acting career is taking off. He's been in several commercials, this TV show, and has filmed a movie with Rob Schneider that is scheduled to be released in the fall.

A few summers ago he and his brother were in a community production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." We were thrilled to be in the audience.

That's Ben on the left.

The View

from my windows this morning...



The biggest snowfall this winter! It's not really that much snow - maybe three or four inches and the roads are much more treacherous than I would have thought with that amount. Schools are canceled. Seems like wet, heavy snow. The wind is supposed to pick up when it quits snowing (it's just about done now) and some blowing and drifting is predicted. We canceled office hours for this morning; don't know about this afternoon yet.

Works in Progress

Today you get to see what's on my needles - and one that's just off my needles and is blocking.

This is Synocapted Lace - a shawl from the Seven Deadly S(p)ins club. The "sin" is Pride and I'm sure I will be proud to wear it. It shades gorgeously from orange/pink to pink/purple. It's pinned out here blocking and in a couple days (maybe) I'll have a photo wearing it.

Next up, from the Ram's Club Sock Club is Goodyear Treads.

These are for Wayne and shade from brown to grey. I have a bit more of the leg, then the cuff ribbing and they will be done. I started them while in Puerto Rico.

Lastly, a bright pair for myself. I'm knitting along with several friends on Ravelry. These are called Firestarters.

Happy Valentine's Day

My sweetie and I are planning a quiet dinner at home tonight. He's cooking salmon on the grill and I'm fixing the rest of the meal. A nice bottle of wine is chilling in the refrigerator. I even made dessert; something I rarely do. Or maybe I should say I tried to make dessert. He loves lemon and wanted to make something other than Lemon Meringue Pie. When I saw a unique recipe for Lemon Cake I hoped he would like it.


I guess when the recipe said to spray the pan with the cooking spray that has flour in it, there was a reason they specified that kind.

The crumbs are delicious!

I hope you are enjoying your Valentine's Day.

Family Time in Uvalde

W & I have returned from visiting S and family. The biggest surprise was how much the Peanut is talking now. Four and five word sentences are not uncommon - when we last saw her three months ago she only said a few words and most were hard for us to understand. Now we can have conversations with her and we loved it. It is fascinating to watch her mind work and hear the words come out.

She was intrigued with Grandpa's beard... (she called him Granpapa a lot)

She helped Uncle C build with Legos (C's favorite toy!)

When she saw me rolling out the noodle dough, she rushed to find her rolling pin in her toy kitchen so she could help...

She thinks she's ready to go to the rodeo after UC found her boots and hat in the closet.

Well, maybe not quite ready. She got in some "rodeo practice" before we left for San Antonio.

She wasn't ready to ride the pony at first, but it didn't take her long to enjoy it once the pony started moving.

We finished up the rodeo day with the best treat ever!

Beaches, Beaches, Beaches

W & I have returned from our yearly winter trip to Puerto Rico. Have no doubt, it was wonderful time.

We spent the first two days in Rincon, on the beach, sunning, reading, and taking it easy.

This lighthouse in Rincon is situated in a very nice waterfront park. We strolled around, took pictures, and read our books. There were less than 5 people in the park while we were there so it felt as if we were in our own back yard - I wish!

The remainder of our time in Puerto Rico was spent with the Princess. She just turned 5 so we celebrated her birthday by taking her shopping for a new outfit and then to see the movie, Hotel for Dogs. She had a great time!

Grandpa most enjoyed the beach time with her - and we spent quite a few hours there as we were staying just steps away from the beach.


We had a couple free hours before we needed to be at the airport so we headed to yet another beach and one of our favorites - the quiet, deserted beach at Pinones where the only sound was the waves.


All too quickly it was time to return home. Our souvenirs are our wonderful memories and the anticipation of time together again.

Inauguration Day

Yesterday was an exciting day for Americans! The election and inauguration of a new president always brings with it hope and promise for the future. This year was no exception. We are looking forward to what lies ahead for our country and its people.

C and M decided that they wanted to go into the city to be part of the inauguration festivities. W took them to the Metro and, after arriving at their Metro destination, walked until they reached a place where they were allowed in to join the crowd. They ended up near the Washington Monument and were able to hear all of the inauguration proceedings even though they weren't able to see a jumbotron or see anything else except the crowd. C took a picture of just part of the crowd - the flags are around the Washington Monument so the capitol is off in the distance to the right more than a mile away.


After the swearing-in ceremony, they walked around the mall and eventually found themselves in the area where the parade participants were lining up and were able to see some of the parade entries.

An interesting day - one that will remain in their memories and will be shared with future generations.

2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May you be happy and prosper.