Pumpkin Sunrise

Joining Amanda at Soulemama  for This Moment.

Why is it I always want to take a photo when it is early in the morning or late in the afternoon?  Both times are not the greatest times for lighting.  So anyways, this is the scarf I am making for my father in law's birthday.  My in-laws live in Ontario, Canada and we will be visiting them sometime this fall.   They used to visit us every fall but now that they are getting older they have decided the drive is just too long for them.  I agree!  It is a very very long drive for me :)  So when we do make the trip we will be bringing with us their birthday presents, their anniversary gift and of course their Christmas gifts. My plans are to knit this scarf and to make my mother in law a shawl for her birthday.  I believe I have plenty of time which will make the knitting enjoyable.  I really dislike knitting under pressure or a close deadline.  Knitting is relaxing for me and I like to savor the process.  Are you knitting any gifts for anyone lately?

I was hoping to have finished the Anne of Avonlea  book yesterday but it just did not happen.  So today I will finish it and since I am in a Green Gable mood I will be starting Anne of the Island .  I just love how easy it is to pick up and read a chapter and get caught up in the story.  Love it!!  I think I own all of them except the last one. I have to check the bookshelves.  Anyways, I am loving the series and it is perfect summer reading. I am making progress on my wren cardigan .  I am almost to the sleeve division!!  Then it is mindless stockinette knitting.  I also casted on a scarf for my father in law's birthday.  The yarn is some alpaca that I bought at a fiber festival.  This is the sweater I made and I am not quite sure how much yardage I have left over.  So I am just going to knit until the yarn runs out.  I hope I have enough to go around his neck!!  Here is the project page (no current photos.... yet) Please check out Ginny's blog- Small Things

The only thing that would make this shrug better is to have a 6 month old baby to model it!  Seriously, this pattern  was quick and fun to knit.  The pattern's description indicated  that the shrug is difficult for the baby/toddler to take off which to me is an added benefit. I decided to use cotton and overall I am pleased with the results.  I found the yardage in the pattern to be extremely generous and I did not use nearly as much as they indicated. So if you have a baby girl or know of someone who is going to have a baby girl, give this pattern a whirl (pun intended, of course!).

This weekend was so very relaxing.  I am nearly done with shopping for our daughter's apartment and our son's dorm room.  I am glad that I started in June and have done a little bit every time we went out.  I guess I spread out the damages.  Now my guest bedroom looks like a little bomb went off with all the purchases. But come August that should not be a problem. Sunday morning before church our Frodo escaped the compound.  Who would have thought that getting a tiny dog would result in a dog going under the fence????  Every time he escapes (this is the second time) we board up the escape route.  Yesterday's adventure only lasted 5-7 minutes but it felt like an hour.  I am a worrier by nature so I always think the worst.  The good news is he was about 20 yards outside the fence. The other good news is he shows us EXACTLY where the escape route is located.  I am pretty sure he is tracking the wild rabbits that come in and out of the fenced area.  I really don't think

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,