Winter Wonderland

We were sprinkled with our first snow of the year...


And we are supposed to get more later today. The above picture was taken 2 days ago and I meant to take a pic yesterday when it was gorgeously sunny. We are in for another winter storm today and tomorrow so I hope it brings lots of snow...then the roads get plowed and we can go about our day. I love the snow just not the driving in it part.

I have been a little under the weather, no pun intended, and today I am still coughing. With the snow here my classes had been canceled but today I had to cancel them due to the cough. I so hope I get over this soon as we are planning on leaving on our trip right after Christmas.

Time to make tea and then sleep!

We heard from the kid Twice in one day!

He is doing well. He still has a cold but is surviving that. He wants us to bring Kit-Kat and Twix candy bars when we go for Graduation. We were able to get a hotel on base. Most of the time during graduation week will be base liberty so we can spend more time with him that way. :o) We are looking forward to seeing him and having Christmas with him during Graduation Week.

I think he is a little homesick but other than that he sounds great. We sure do miss him. This was the first year without him finding a Christmas tree and decorating for the holidays. Here is our 1st Christmas Tree without the ds's help.


Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. I am hard at trying to get my candies done and get them in the mail. :o)

Merry Christmas!

It's almost Turkey Day!

Yes, it is that time of year where Americans across the country have a feast of Turkey and all the fixings. Depending where you live depends on the details of this wondrous meal.

In our family we stuff the bird with a simple sausage stuffing. It has butter, liquid from cooking the neck and gizzards, onions, mushrooms, celery, bread cubes and 1/2 of the season packet that came with the bread cubes. Then there are the mashed potatoes made with Yukon Golds!, gravy made with Turkey juice, homemade cranberry sauce (the best kind, it is very easy to make also), dinner rolls, green beans (my boys don't like the "greenbean casserole" so just plain-Jane greenbeans in this house), Mom's Good Salad (it is a Pennsylvania Dutch or wilted salad), and last but not least the pies...Wild Oregon Blackberry and Pumpkin. I would post a picture here but for the life of me I could not find a picture of any of our Thanksgiving dinners. Later this week I will make sure I have one to post.


I do like to go to other families homes for Thanksgiving because you always get a little different meal than what you would fix at your own home. Unfortunately, you don't get leftovers. What's better than Thanksgiving Day leftovers? I can't think of anything! (maybe Godiva chocolate?) So, when we do go to another home for dinner on this feasting holiday I make another Turkey dinner sometime during the week so we have leftovers to enjoy. This year I am making dinner at home on Wednesday so I can relax all weekend with shopping and knitting :o)

He is off "Into The Wild Blue Yonder"

It has been along time since I posted here. Not because nothing has been happening it just has been crazy. :o) Since August here are the highlights of what has been going on...
*I was Assistant Superintendent for Open Class Foods at the Fair
*We have been moving things out of the Parents Home.
* The Parents home sold...still hasn't closed...hopefully in two weeks.
*Work has started up again
*I canned Tuna, Peaches, Pears, Salsa, Peach Salsa, Peach BBQ Sauce, Jam, Jelly, Peach Brandy Sauce and Tomatoes.
*Picked Apples...need to dry them.
*Tried to keep the ds focused on packing his room and getting things ready for moving on into adulthood
And now to the heart of this post....


Yes, my baby boy is off into adulthood! He boarded an airplane yesterday but not before I broke down and hugged him as if it were my last time.

I am very proud of him and the choices he has made and I am so excited for him in his adventure. It will be difficult however to NOT see my baby during the holidays, especially during Christmas.

This is a new phase we are in. Throughout Parenthood there have been phases that took adjusting in the head and heart for me. Life does not stay the same. Children are born, they grow, and grow, and grow, they leave home and they grow some more. All the while we love them and grow ourselves. I have been and will continue to be blessed being JT's Mom.

Love you "Sweet Pea"

It's already August 15th!

So far this month...

I made Janet's Wedding Cake...the cake traveled 4 1/2 hours to it's destination. I'm glad I waited to decorate it there. I had put the first layer of frosting on the three tiers before we left. In transport the frosting on the sides slid off! The wedding was wonderful. Here are a couple of pictures of the day... :o)


On the cake you will see gorgeous flowers. The Mother of the Bride, Deanna, grew these in her yard just for the wedding! She is amazing! The cake during daylight hours...



The Bride and Groom with the cake...


The picture above was taken when the sun was almost down so it's a little dark.

We were gone for 4 days...came home and I went to my Sisters. It was good to hang out with her. Love you Sis!

And now I'm in full swing of getting ready for the fair. We take in entries on August 17th. That day will be the busiest and then Monday we will set up. I will do my best to get pictures.

Here is a blanket I crocheted last month in less than a week....


It's done with a Q hook and 4 strands of yarn! I love it. It is so easy and goes soooo fast. A major stash buster! I have some acrylic that I either want to get rid of or use up. Colors that go together I am making this blanket to burn through it quickly. I need to make room for my wool! I have started another blanket but haven't had time to work on it.

Hope you are enjoying your summer!

He's been sworn in!

It has been a busy couple of weeks here. I have been getting ready for the County Fair in August and getting ready for a garage sale that my neighbor and I have been wanting to have forever. I meant to take a picture of our great garage sale but kept forgetting the camera at home across the street. :o) We feel it was a huge success, even though I didn't get rid of everything. Ok, I know I had unrealistic expectations but a girl can dream can't she?

While I was preparing for the garage sale our son was up north taking his ASVAB and getting a physical in preparation for entering the Air Force. My hubby and I took our darling son to the airport Wednesday night for his journey. It was very strange to have him gone out of town for the night. We both looked at each other and the empty nest thing hit us...This is going to be a permanent deal soon! We are very proud of him and we are looking forward to watching him grow up and at the same time we will miss him terribly. As we went to pick him up from the Airport the following day we received a call from the recruiter inviting us to the Swearing in Ceremony of the the local recruits on the following day.

This past weekend we had a couple of Air Force F16's and a P51 in town for a local event and the new recruits were sworn in by the leader of the elite group of F16 Pilots. (I don't know my Air Force lingo yet so forgive me if I didn't correctly describe these brave men and their titles. I will learn in time I am sure.) Here are a few pictures of the event....

The P51...

The F16's...The recruits being lined up...The swearing in...
Proud Parents and the soon to be Air Force Man...

This was a very special deal for these recruits but I am not sure they really got that. They will someday. My hubby and I were so excited for our son not every recruit gets sworn in by an F16. :o)

After the garage sale Saturday, my hubby and I came down with a terrible bug. We thought it was food poisoning but then we heard of others getting it so then we weren't so sure. My hubby was still suffering today so he went into the doc. Sure enough it is a flu thing going around. I really don't wish it upon my worst enemy. I won't go into details trust me you don't want to know. We are still in the recovery stage so not much is getting done. We have a wedding to go to in two weeks so I am gearing up for that as I am doing the cake. Then the Fair is around that corner then the Son will be off to Boot Camp. Lots happening in the next month. I will try and stay up with it all. I do have knitting and crocheting to report but will do that later this week as this post is getting very long.

Until next time...

July so far...

I received some pictures of my niece's baby that was supposed to be a girl but surprised Mommy & Daddy by being a boy. Here he is....


It was my Hubby's birthday and I made him a cake. He loves my cakes. I am not a big cake eater but I do love to make them for occasions. Here is his cake...


Then on the 9th I received a call from my Great-Aunt Di that she was having a Birthday Bash for her Hubby my Great-Uncle H. I was not sure I would be able to make it since it is a 4 hour drive for me. With the gas prices as they are I had to make sure it was in the budget. Lucky we had it so I went and had a great time. It was so good to see him and his kids. I had not seen everyone in several years. Here are a few pictures from the party...


Here is a picture of the birthday boy who has already blown the candles out before we finished singing to him and before anyone could get a picture! Such a stinker!!!


Here my Aunt is reading all the cards and my cousin , who is in the gray shirt, and I are taking pictures of the crowd.


I really wanted to get a picture of ALL the family that was present but this is all that I could get to get in the picture. My Great Aunt M(birthday boy's older sister), the birthday boy my Great Uncle H and Me.


It was lots of fun to see everyone and meet family that I had not met before. If you would please pray for my Uncle. Three days after this birthday bash Uncle H was admitted to the hospital. He is still not doing well and could use your prayers. Thanks so much.

I am now getting ready for a garage sale my neighbor and I are going to have this coming weekend. Today I am going to take my son shopping and out for sushi for his birthday. The big 19 today! I can't believe he is 19 already. Here is a picture of him when he was a wee one...

Happy Birthday Sweet Pea!

Baby Surprise!

Things have finally settled down a bit from the Graduation Celebrations. We have been busy with the yard and garden. I have also been knitting here and there. I started walking in the evenings which is usually my knitting time. My neighbor and I have been walking 2-4 miles every night. It feels good to get the old body moving. :o)

Remember that baby blanket I made for my niece's wee one on the way?


She was told she was having a girl with the ultrasound. The wee one arrived June 26th around 8:30pm and it was a BOY! He was 10lbs, 6oz and was 22" long. Mommy and Daddy did not have a name pick out for a boy so they had to think quickly. They decided on Garret Patrick L. I have not seen any pictures yet but I am sure he is a big boy. Hopefully for Christmas I can get another blanket done for him that are more boy colors. :o)

I have been working on my Clapotis and making headway. I really like the pattern and look foward to being done with it so I can wear it. I have also casted on some socks...no pictures of them yet but hear is the Clapotis...


I wish I could take better pictures! I need to find a class on taking pictures for the web. :o)
I am using Cascade 220 Superwash Paints Colorway 9860 I really like this yarn and colorway.

That's all for now. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!
Until next time. :o)

Congratulations to Our Graduate!

We couldn't be more proud of him. Homeschooling our son for the past 9 years has been challenging and yet rewarding. We are so proud of him even though he thinks he is nothing special, he is special to us.

He not only graduated High School but also is graduating from the Community College. We did not have a Homeschool Graduation Ceremony since he was going to walk in the Community College Ceremony. The music was wonderful. The music for the Instructors was performed by a bagpipe crew. It was so beautiful. I have it on video tape. :o) Here is our son in the procession....

Him in his seat looking at us, we have this on video tape also...


Finally he receives his Diploma. You will notice it is a little blurry, well, that is all we get. My Darling Husband was taking stills I was on video. We DON'T have this on video tape...


The story is...I am not the one to leave in charge of the video camera. At least when it is my kid graduating. I think the strap hit the standby button but I am also willing to admit that maybe in my excitement I accidentally hit the standby button. Or maybe it was because it was Friday the 13th! :o) After he received the diploma cover and was off stage I noticed the standby icon. Bummmmmer! But we did get some great stills. Here are a couple of them.

Proud Grandpa and Graduate!


Proud Parents of a High School Graduate and
a great start to a College Education...


There was a BBQ on Saturday with friends and family. No still shots or video of the BBQ. :o(
We had a great time anyway visiting and eating good food.
Congratulations Son, We Love You!
Mom & Dad

Busy, Busy!

It has been very busy around here. When is Not busy? :o)

I finished up with work until September. It has been an interesting transition from staying at home homeschooling to working. Hopefully next year it will be a little easier.

Josh is graduating this Friday! Here is a picture of him at the Homeschool Semi-Formal as King. All the Seniors get King and Queen status for the night. The guys this year got to wear "Burger King" crowns. Pretty funny!
My baby is all grown up and getting ready to move into adulthood. I am so excited for him but also know I will miss him.

I am a coordinating team member with a local Homeschool Support group and there has been lots going on with that. We are so blessed to live in a country where we can educate our children at home. :o)

Because I was so sick for so long I am still working on getting the house and yard caught up.

To keep from going crazy I have been knitting of course. Here is a baby blanket I made for a niece that is having a baby girl. I decided to put a scalloped crochet edge on it. I really like how it turned out. Although I am not happy with how the pictures turned out. Here it is before the crochet edge ...
Here is a closeup of the crochet edge. I think the edging gives it a finished look.The day I finished the baby blanket I casted on the Clapotis from knitty.com. I am using the Cascade Superwash Paints
I am so happy with this yarn and am enjoying the Clapotis pattern.

After this weekend I hope that things will slow down enough do some canning. I would like to do some jam.

Pictures next week of the Boy graduating!

Have a great week!!

It's been a month!

Well, it has been a month since my last post. Not much has been happening except me being sick again. :o( Just as I was feeling better I got another virus. The doc assures me that I just have bad luck this year. I have never been this sick. Ugh! I have been very frustrated, but do feel the end of this cold is near. I just pray I don't get another ick.

I have not been too ambitious lately having a cold with a cough to boot. A few things I have gotten done are:
1)Found graduation announcements we can customize for our son. He is graduating homeschool high school and graduating with an AA from the local community college in June.

2)Finished coping my Mother-in-Laws travel cookbook that has taken two years to get copied and formatted for printing. Not a difficult project just hard emotionally since her passing in 2004.

Not much to speak of really but it feels good to get those two things done.

One weekend when the grandbaby was visiting I made his hair stick up and took this cute picture.Hopefully I will have knitting news next time. Hope you all have a great day!
Until next time. :o)

More Baby Pictures

Well, it has been a couple of weeks and I am finally feeling better. I have held this wee one a couple more times and have finally been back to work. :o) Here are a few pictures of the cutie...

The blanket he is wrapped in I made for him. :o) I really like how it turned out. I used Patons Decor Sweet Country Verg. and the pattern is Pinwheel Baby Blanket
I have started knitting again and will give knitting and crocheting updates later this week. Have a great rest of the week. :o)

Happy Trails.....

Well, I have been out of town...to watch my girls play in their Special Olympics Basketball Regionals. I then got to visit one my Aunties, a cousin and one of my Great-Aunties. Had a wonderful visit. Here are the girls with their silver medals.Great Job Girls...Good luck at State. Wish I could be there. Love ya!!!

At my Aunties we were loving the Christmas gift she received from a friend. Here it is in its glory...I did get some knitting done during my travels...I finished my last skein of the Patons Decor-Sweet Country Verg for the Pinwheel baby blanket, need to go pick up the final skein. I am making this for our new Grand baby coming in March. Good thing there seems to be no dye lots with this particular yarn. When I finished the skein for the baby blanket I casted on a baby sweater for the wee-one. :o) Here he is...........

I can't wait to give that little guy a big hug and kiss. :o)

Ripple Me Happy!

Have you ever been so joyful for someone else's accomplishments that it inspires you into action? Well, I have. Keri has made the most beautiful ripple blanket that I sooooo want to make one for myself. When the gal of Knitty Gritty Thoughts first posted the lovely snuggly I knew I had to make one. I used to have a blanket with the same pattern. I bought it at a thrift store, it was light blue and white. It was so well loved it is no longer with us. :o(

I love blues and reds so I think I might make mine with red, white(I might use cream instead of stark white) and blue. Very patriotic, that's me also. :o)

Have a Happy Ripple of Day!

Let it Snow!

I love the snow!
It snowed over 10" at our house this Sunday.
This picture was taken yesterday. As you can see our road has not been plowed. Late in the afternoon one of the neighbors and my hubby plowed the road and our driveway. It is so pretty and bright.
Here is the finished Avocado bag before felting.
Yesterday I finished knitting The Bag I was doing in Patons Black and Dark Grey. I felted the Avocado bag yesterday and hope to felt the Black and Dark Grey one today. Pictures of both felted bags later this week.

Solo Week...

It was my first week teaching solo. It was all about "germs" :o) In evaluating my presentations from the week I think I did well. Some of the classes were very talkative and then there was one that it was like pulling teeth to get the kids engaged in conversation. I am hoping it was just a bad day for them. We will see how they are this next week when I introduce the food pyramid. I would love to have been able to post a picture of my very first solo class but not a good idea to even ask. With all the permissions you have to get I didn't bother. They were a great class...Thanks Mrs. Morris' class.

I have finished knitting the Avocado Bag and started a Black/Dark Gray Bag with Trendsetter Joy Pink Zebra. This one is for me. :o) I tried to take pictures today but the light was terrible. Taking pictures in the winter is not easy for me. It's so gray.

I have a ton of "fun fur" type yarn and love making the bags so I am going to shop for wool and make bags until I have no more "fun fur" yarn. Well I might quite sooner than that, I have enough to last me a few years. That's a story for another day. I do want to knit allot of it up though. Does anyone have project ideas for the "fun fur" besides scarves and my simple bag pattern?

Well, I am glad that this past week is under my belt. This coming week is busy with work and getting ready for the baby shower next weekend. We have a new grand baby coming in March sometime. It is the first boy. :o) I can't wait to post pictures of the wee one. I am thinking I might knit him a cute sweater that my dear friend Freddy just finished for a baby in her Church. It is so cute and seems easy. I just haven't decided yet. Any ideas for quick baby projects?

Time to sign off. Until next time :o)

Another Cast On

I cast on another knitting project the other night. The Bag...


It's a felted bag. A bag for knitting projects, sewing projects or books from the library. What ever your vice is. I am making this for someone else but decided that I am going to order some more Knit Picks Avocado to make myself one for the spring. :o) I haven't given up on the Touring Wrap though. I am almost done with "The Bag" and will probably start a new one after that. I have some more wool and lots of fun fur.

That's all for now. Have a great weekend!

It's a Wrap!

Yesterday afternoon I casted on some Fleece Artist Suri Blue I cannot find the color on their website but it is gorgeous! I am knitting the Touring Wrap from the Seattle LYS Tour 2007. The pattern is free and is designed by Ellen Goweya from Village Yarn & Tea Shop in Shoreline, WA. Thank you Ellen! I love the pattern it is so simple yet delicate. The Yarn is wonderful also. :o) Here is a picture of the cake I wound.

Yes, I know I didn't do a very good job winding it. I don't normally wind my yarn I have my LYS do it for me because I don't have a winder or a swift. I was at my LYS Knitty Gritty yesterday and asked if I could use their swift and winder and of course they said yes. Thank you Lin.

Here is a picture of the Eyelet Border...


I will be casting on the wrap tonight.

By the way this beautiful wrap is not for me. :o(

It is for my wonderful sister in law. :o)

We went to the Seattle Mariners "Stitch-n-Pitch" last summer and she bought it for herself there. The local yarn shops had booths you could buy all kinds of fun stuff! Anyway she felt like it was to complicated for her to do. What she doesn't know is that she is knitting a scarf that is a little more complicated than this wrap. I t has beads and all kinds of lace work. Let's not tell her though, ok? She might want the project back to do herself! I LOVE this yarn and LOVE knitting with it and can't give it up.

Ok, I might be a little obsessed.