Pumpkin Sunrise

I am sure everyone knows that the eastern part of the US is having a heatwave.  It is very hot outside, too hot to do much of anything except swim.  I am grateful we have a pool and we have central air conditioning.   So as I experience this heat wave I have a list in my head of what I would like to accomplish before fall arrives.  Here it goes: -Get the Christmas making list started (this is knitting for others) -Crank out one or two more sweaters to wear when the weather is chilly -Clean out the pantry and "stuff"  (my pantry is a catch all of various things!) -Go through all kid's clothes and donate (this requires the kids participation) Do you have anything you want to accomplish before the summer is over?

For the record, my window is not dirty it is the steam from morning fog......at least that is what I believe;)  The buttercup yellow scarf is complete!  I used every single inch of that yarn.  Blocking it was a little wonky I think because it is cotton and just doesn't have the springiness of wool.  I really look forward to cooler temperatures so I can wear it!  I think it will go great with my wardrobe.

Good Morning!  I am so excited that today is yarn along day.  Where else can you get some good knitting ideas and good book ideas?  So this week I am reading Anne of Avonlea. As I stated last week I was probably going to start the next book in the series.  I find Anne of Green Gables addictive.   I did finish Dark Places  and overall it was a really good creepy book with a good story line.  However---it was extremely violent (in gruesome detail) which I am NOT fond of at all and had way too much potty language.  So I have forewarned you all.  If any of you are brave to read it I would love to know what you think of it.  I had to read the book during the day and not at bedtime.   I unfortunately (or fortunately) am functioning at a PG-13 level of entertainment..... I am knitting the whirligig shrug  for a friend who is expecting a baby (of course).  The yarn is Paton's Grace and I had some skeins in my stash.  It is cotton and I just love the sheen of it. Please visit Ginny at

We drove 3 1/2 hours one way to visit my dad to celebrate his 70th birthday party.  And then drove back home the same day.  It was a long ride but luckily my husband did all of the driving.  I know, I am spoiled! It was really hot outside and we sat and talked and then we hit the limit of hotness and moved inside to air conditioning.  I think I read somewhere that it takes two weeks for your body to be used to extreme hot temperatures without air conditioning.  I will blame my cushy life with AC as to why I am intolerant to high heat!! My sister and I thought of how we could make this party a surprise party.  It was hard since we wanted our dad to cook the meat ;)  We brought side dishes and our step mom made the roasted potatoes and the birthday cake. The entertainment was fun and there were a couple of singalongs.  Most of the music is "their" music.....I am proud I knew two of them!!!  (one was by the Decemberists, do not ask which one

I have been seeing at least one of these fawns in the yard the past week or two, always without a camera!  Friday my family was in the pool and they were just at the edge of the property.  How exciting to have the camera on hand!!  I am pretty certain they live in our woods, aren't they beautiful? My weekend was quite busy, at least to me.  On Saturday I finally went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It seems like yesterday the first one was released to the theater and I was taking my second grade boy (now 18!!!) with his friend.  I was surprised that the theater was not filled.  I guess everyone went to the midnight show on Thursday night.  I am usually sleeping then :) So once the movie was over, we had a lovely dinner out while the kids had plans with their friends.  Once home I made a rice salad for Sunday's outing. Sunday we drove to my dad's to celebrate his 70th birthday. We had chicken on the grill, fried fish (can

In four weeks we will be dropping our daughter off for the beginning of law school.  We still have so much to do to prepare for her moving into her apartment.  The lists are starting to be made.  It is such an exciting time but time is flying by for me! (my husband picked this watering can out at the hardware store, isn't it the "cheerful-est" one ever?) In six weeks we will be dropping off our son for his first year of university.  He is planning to study math and possibly adding physics.  Oh and just maybe some computer programming.  His to do lists are so much longer because he needs everything.  But we will have an extra two weeks between the two kids. In six weeks I will be cooking for two people instead of four people.  It seems like yesterday we had little children and the years just spanned ahead endlessly.  My husband and I are looking forward to doing so many things now that the high school schedule is no more.  Picnics planned, hikes at the state parks,

So I am sure you remember my post about Frodo's frisbee here .  Well that frisbee was not a dog frisbee, it was a human one and somebody (I won't name names) was eating the plastic.  So the kids and I dropped into Petco to purchase a specially made frisbee for Frodo.... oh I meant specially made for dogs.  I do not know why, but one that floats was very very important feature, I had a premonition. Frodo has a terrible history of dropping tennis balls into the pool on purpose.  So I have banned the tennis balls from the backyard.  I thought I have out smarted him.  Can you guess what he has decided to do?  Yep the little stinker is dropping the frisbee into the pool......then waits.  So now the frisbee has to be in the house if he is out in the back yard by himself.  I just do not want to fish out a frisbee every time I blink and I do not want Mr. Smartypants getting the idea to jump in (I thinks he considers it and would jump IF he would not get wet)! I have to say whe

This week I have been knitting two projects and thinking about a third.  My first project is the buttercup yellow scarf .  I am nearly done with this knit.  I think once it is washed and blocked it is going to look great and that is what motivates me to finish it.  I am also enjoying working with 100% cotton yarn . It has a very nice feel. My second project is this cardigan .  I am following the featherweight cardigan pattern the second time around.  I enjoyed making it before that I knew I would make another sweater!  Here is the ravelry project page .   I finished Anne of Green Gables  and you know I loved it.  It is my third or forth time reading it.  There were so many events that I forgot happened and it was like revisiting a friend I haven't seen in years.  I am a sucker for romance and just love the end when Gilbert and Anne become friends and he won't let go of her hand during a handshake.....~sigh~  How sweet!!   I was only going to read one Anne book but

Quite a while ago I decided to make another featherweight cardigan after making this one  and casted on after we got home from Cape May.  I really liked the blue one I made but......I wanted it to be in a smaller gauge and a smaller size.  I used size five needles and now this one is down to size four needles.  I know, I was crazy to start another cardigan in a smaller gauge but I just love the look and drape of tiny tiny stitch gauges and I never learn my lesson   The yarn is Madelinetosh lace which is perfect for summertime knitting.  It is light weight and can be jammed into a knitting bag or purse.  The color in these photos taken at the crack of dawn (read that as poor lighting) it looks light brown.  Do not let it fool you, in certain lighting it looks greenish brown.  I like it either way because it will match about 90% of my clothing.  What could possibly be better than miles of stockinette stitch and mindless knitting to entertain me while await fall?  I am

Our weekend started off with saving this little frog from the pool, although how much saving he needed is questionable he seemed quite happy to stay in the shallow end and swim around.  My son and I tried to get a photo of him out of the pool in hands but the frog was very camera shy!   Saturday morning I was lucky to sit early in the morning on the patio and knit on my cardigan .  It was breezy and not hot.....yet. My husband and I then took a drive to the shops and I managed to purchase an anniversary present for my in-laws.  We also had a really delicious dinner at home!  Chicken on the grill with gnocchi and basil pesto (I will not go into details of picking basil and 'ahem' pepper leaves, I kinda got carried away out there).....yep, the basil was from the garden-----YUM! Sunday we went to church and later in the afternoon I went to Sit and Knit at a local coffee shop.  We meet two times a month, however summer is hit and miss with everyone's travel schedules. It is

Before I even rave about this pattern  (which is about perfect) I have to say I am so excited about the photos of the hat.  I did them myself......yes you got it right I was the model and the photographer.  I have managed to snap a few photos that show off the reverse stockinette knitting paired with the regular stockinette!  My skills abound!! Okay, back to the hat, my project page is here .  I did update the info on the stash yarn in cotton.  I really do not know if it is sold anymore.  And I cannot remember when I bought it.  That tells you that I bought it more than 7-10 years ago..... The only modifications I made to the hat was to add a picot edging instead of a purl ridge for the head band.  I used size four and five needles and I barely made it with the yarn I had.  (I always get a minor thrill wondering if I have enough yarn....simple pleasure) I hope everyone has a great relaxing weekend!