Fun in the Sun Part 1

Last weekend it was hot hot hot here so we loaded up the mother ship and took the kids to Grandma and Grandpa's house to go swimming. It was so refreshing and of course Mama took lots of pictures. Here are some of the best:

We had several "firsts" like the first time use of water wings.

Even though Kellen had fun learning to use his water wings he still decided that the easiest and most fun way to get around in the pool was riding
S.S. Daddy.

Speaking of boats, here is Lorelai manning her boat with oversized driving goggles.

Ok, so we bought these humongous youth sized water goggles for the kids by accident but they still had fun with them and they looked so funny errr cute in them.

First time jumping off a diving board is Lorelai our incredible fearless diving girl.

Even Madigan came along to hang out by the pool.

See you next time for some more fun in the sun!

Coming up next... pictures from our sorta annual friends beach trip, pictures of my finished knit corset (being blocked right now), and the first series in a new addition to my blog: Adventures with Jack!

Future Knitters!

The Week in Review


First off... knitting! My newest finished object is this pretty drop stitch tank. I like how it came out and it seems to fit nicely. Overall it was a fun knit, but all of those yarn overs did get a little tiring there at the end. Very happy to have it off the needles so that I can wear it and show it off here on the blog.

Pattern: Sleeveless Top from Knit Simple magazine Spring/Summer 2006
Yarn: Incredible (ribbon yarn) from Lion Brand
Color: Blue Shades

Here is a picture of the back:



and the stitches up close (the yarn really sparkles and shines in the sunlight, I love that about it):



Now, that I am finished with my tank top I am eager to cast-on for a new project. I have my sights set on two projects: this knitted corset from the book Naughty Needles by Nikol Lohr (I already ordered the yarn for this in a different colorway than is shown here).



and a nice hat pattern called Sunflower Tam from my newest knitting book Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan (thank you so much EB) :)


I love ebay and I love the yarn deals you can get there! Here is some of the treasure trove I received this week. Lopi love, that there is my first wool all the way from Iceland to me! I haven't decided which color I am going to do my hat in, but the price was so good I had to get both burgandy and charcoal gray along with some other yarn to make something for Lorelai with.



Ok, now onto some non-knitting related stuff:



Last weekend we took the kids to their first ever movie theatre show, a matinee showing of Ratatouille. We were a little worried about how they would do and had a contingency plan in place in case things went south, but I am happy to say that everything went great. There was only one other mom in the theatre with, I believe, a three year old as well. The kids got a little antsy during parts later on, but were mullified with sitting on mama and dada's laps, popcorn, and a few handfuls of nerds candies. All in all a great time was had by all and we loved the movie. I am a food network junkie so an animated movie by Pixar all about cooking... c'est magnifique!



In other cooking/movie news... on Monday we had date night (this is where we usually watch a movie, plan some sort of dinner (often take-out) that ties in to what we will be seeing, and then snuggle up in bed and hope that the mama can stay awake throughout the whole thing). This week we saw The Mistress of Spices a movie from the novel of the same name by one of my favorite authors Chitra Divakaruni and, of course, ordered Indian food from a nearby restaurant. The movie was sweet and romantic and the food was soooo good, but kind of expensive. We did have some left overs that I was able to enjoy for lunch the next day but still eesh. So, the next day I hopped onto Amazon and bought myself a cookbook so I can learn how to cook Indian cuisine; now I have no grand thoughts that it will be anywhere near as good as the food we got, but it should be fun to experiment and at the very least I can blog about my mis-adventures with learning how to do it.


Speaking of food and cooking, Thursday the kids and I made our first ever homemade preserves using the raspberries and blackberries we picked at Riley's Farm. Mmmmm so good on a toasted english muffin. I will definitely experiment with some more jam making in the future.

Finally, I end this epic post with this serene picture of Lorelai and her unicorn.

A Berry Good Time
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
This past weekend we headed to Riley's Farm (one of my very favorite places to take the kids). It was berry picking time and well I LOVE Blackberries; so off we went! Here is a photolog of our day:

The kids had a blast picking and eating and picking and eating and eating.

Berry basket complete with berry stained fingers.

Mama getting in on some berry picking.
Hey, check out that shirt! It's from The Laughing Clam, an excellent pub in Grants Pass, Oregon. If you are in that area you must eat there. The food is excellent and the service is wonderful. : )
Dada berry picking.

After two baskets had been filled to the brim with Blackberries and Raspberries we headed to the general store to stock up on a few fresh vegetables, a little old fashioned candy and soda pop (bottled of course).

Sweet Lorelai paying homage to one of my favorite tv shows while growing up.
Why it's Little House on the Prairie of course!

After we loaded up the car with all our goodies we headed off to see some animals. Lorelai was very much looking forward to seeing her favorite animal (horse). It was pretty much all she could talk about. I got a bit worried when the area where there are usually horses was empty. Lorelai started to get a little upset when she thought she couldn't see any, but then we spotted some movement in the distance across the dirt road. Horses, hurray!

This horse was very interested in saying hi.

Future Horse trainer!

A horse is a horse of course of course!

We did see other animals too... or shall I say they saw us.
Up close and personal, here we are getting checked out by a goat.

Shear me, spin me, knit me... you know you want to. But watch out I have teeth and I know how to use them!

Ok, Kellen and Mr. Goat... 1, 2, 3, say cheese.

Llama Love

After saying goodbye to all the wonderful animals on the farm we headed back home to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Berries, Zucchini's, and Cucumbers oh my!

Let the berry eating commence.

They are berry good indeed.

Ok, officially out of berry puns I will end with a non-berry related finish of my newest knitting project off the needles:

We recently upgraded our cell phones which meant, of course, that it was time to knit a new phone cozy.

I designed this myself with the intention of using it as an opportunity to practice doing cables. A big reason why I wanted to learn to knit was so that I could one day make cabled aran sweaters. Now if I only lived in a climate that was well suited to wearing them; oh well why should that stop me? It will give me an excuse to travel to places cold enough to wear them!

I had a few bumps in the road while making this, mostly just underestimating how wide I needed to make it while taking into account how the cable would act on the finished piece (pulling the fabric in). After finishing it did fit my phone, but felt a bit too snug. So, I got practice in picking up stitches along both sides. I added 4 more rows of garter stitch on each side, which made it roomier for my phone. I added a button that I love (which was waiting for the perfect project) and a crocheted chain button closure.

The cable rib pattern I got from the stitch dictionary section of Cables Untangled. A wonderful gift last Christmas from two patrons of my art... Paul and Carol. Thank you so much guys!

Hot Off The Needles


I have been knitting up a proverbial summer storm so far and here a couple of my completed projects hot off the needles just over the past couple of days.

It's furry, it's bright, it's a little bit gaudy, it's Princess Calypso's Catbed!
Here is the requisite "action shot" of Calypso trying out her new digs.


Sweet Nothings

A lacy little thong.
Sorry, no action shot for this one guys. ; )
This was a little more of a challenge for me and I learned a lot by knitting it. It incorporated both lace knitting and knitting on circular needles (newer techniques for me). I like how it came out in the end. Unfortunately, the picture doesn't really do justice to the edging and center lacework. Photographing knit objects is an art in and of itself I have discovered.
Free pattern can be found on the Interweave Knits website.

Lastly, a couple of non-knitting parting shots of new friends Madigan and Calypso

It's so relaxing just hanging out together!

I am a sucker for cute little dog paws.

Purrfectly Sweet

Happy Fourth of July! shhhh just play along ; )
We had such a nice relaxing holiday; I loved it! The kids played in their Jurassic pool and we had the requisite barbeque and watermelon. The day ended perfectly with the kids and I watching various fireworks displays across the horizon from their bedroom window.

Kellen and Lorelai staying cool in their Dinosaur pool.

After much discussion we decided to acquire a new furry family member. I have not had the best of luck with my kitty familars so far and have been missing the presence of a cat that I can call my very own. We do have two other cats. Apollo who is much happier outside than in (he comes in only at night) and Aphrodite (very very much D's kitty). I love them both, but I admit I am hoping that the new kitty will be biased (at least a little) towards me. I have had a little hole in my heart since the loss of my sweet kitty Ashley in our housefire eight years ago (geez has it really been that long?).

So, this past Tuesday we headed down to the humane society and picked out a precious little kitten and on Saturday we brought her home!

So without further ado I present... Calypso!
Caution: You are entering the tunnel of cat love*

Coming home
Please pardon my tired looking self here, something about three year old twins running me ragged : /

Calypso... isn't she purty?

During the week I worked on the little kitty I was knitting and got it hot off the needles just in time for Calypso's arrival.

Knitty Kitty: pattern can be found here.

The new kitties size each other up.

We have been giving Maddie as well as our other cats lots of reassurances that they are still very much loved. Here is D letting Maddie know that he is still top dog to us.


Ok, that's all for now. Time to go snuggle with my new kitty!

*Phrase borrowed from the wild succulent woman that is Sark

Hey Baby, it's Hot Out Here!

Summer has begun and with it a little work and a little fun.
Here is a sample of what we have done:

Began massive and much needed organization of the garage and various areas of the house. Already a lot of improvement has been made. Life is nicer as a result; organization is good!

Knitting: I almost have a cute drop stitch tank top off the needles, just in time for the heat that is now upon us. I hope to soon post a picture. I also cast on for a sweet little stuffed cat that I am making for Lorelai.

Hanging out in the garden: I absolutely love my little pond. I go out and sit on my patio swing next to it and watch the fish with the kids playing nearby. Sometimes I even get a couple rows of knitting in too. It has become my favorite place to knit and really adds a much needed moment of serenity to my day when I get a chance to do it.


Out enjoying the garden this past Friday with camera at hand I got a few pictures of my favorite subjects:

I love this picture of Kellen!

Lorelai emphatically asked me to take this picture of her friend "Mooska" riding her bike. I, of course, obliged. : )

My favorite rose bush is in bloom and I just had to share a picture.