"Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either." ~ Elizabeth Zimmerman

6/29/12

Simple Woman's Daybook for June 29, 2012




Outside my window...
there is sunshine and heat. We've gone from being cold and wet to hot and steamed. It was 84 degrees yesterday!

I am thinking...
I need a bit of vacation.

I am thankful...
that we are leaving on one tomorrow.

In the kitchen...
is a pile of dirty dishes. Ruth is the official dish washer in this house. She's slacking on her job.

I am wearing...
black shorts and a multicolored t-shirt.

I am creating...
the Butterfly shawl. Got some more rows done last night. Only 24 rows to go before the edging. I also cast on a pair of fingerless mitts for Knit Wits. I still have leftover yarn from Sarah's February Lady Sweater. Enough to make one more pair I think. This will be a pair for women.

I am going...
on a short vacation. We (being us and BIL and wife) are driving up to Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. This is where we 4 went on our honeymoons-though not at the same time. Dan and Sue went in 1980. We got married in 1982. It will be fun to see it again. This isn't a honeymoon though. We're taking Ruth and Dan and Sue will have their son Nathan with them. We are putting the dogs in a kennel because the condo we're staying in doesn't allow pets. Cable and Tripper will be together at the same kennel. I'm sure they will have a blast.

I am wondering...
if it's changed much. Banff, that is.

I am reading...

John Carter- A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It's a classic sci-fi book that the movie John Carter was based on. I plan to read the whole series. This is the first one. It's been interesting because the English it's written in is old fashioned. Sometimes I have to think a bit to understand it.

I am hoping...
we have good weather and a fantastic time.

I am looking forward to...
relaxing and enjoying the beautiful country. Also, knitting in the car, and hot springs, and eating good food, and spending time with Dan and Sue, and hiking, and shopping, and whiskey filled chocolates (they have that in Canada), and the drive up. I hope to find a bead shop and yarn shop too.

I am learning...
new things about my cell phone. Like how much roaming charges are and 68 cents a minute is outrageous for phone calls and 20 cent text messages is probably the way we'll go while in Canada.

Around the house...
it's a bit of a mess. We'll have to clean that up today. I like to leave my house sparkling clean before a trip.

I am pondering...
no, not really. Nothing is pondering in the grey matter today.

A favorite quote for today...
"Obamacare upheld."

One of my favorite things...
Beads. Especially the itty bitty seed beads. Yesterday I received an order of seed beads from Whimbeads.com. I love them. Such pretty bits of creative possibility.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
getting my arse on the road north and having fun.

Picture thought to share...
Best friends forever!



If you want to join the Simple Woman's Daybook, click here.


Live long and prosper. \\//


6/27/12

WIP Wednesday 6/27/2012



It's WIP Wednesday. Here's some WIPs.

I have 28 rows of butterfly pattern left, then it's edging time!



This is the shrug I'm making for Knit Wits. It's about 1/3rd done.



This is where I am on the bead embroidery picture I'm tentatively calling Fragment of Westport Beach. There is so much work left to do on it. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed and wonder what the heck I was thinking?



This is a little number I started last night. It's going to be a necklace. The stitch is herringbone. 



 I saw a picture of a necklace with this stitch pattern somewhere last week. Unfortunately I have been unable to find where I saw it (I thought maybe the current issue of Bead & Button but it's not in there.) which is frustrating because before starting it I wanted to look at the pic to make sure I was remembering it correctly. I guess it's okay though because I like what I've got. Maybe I could do a tutorial on how to make this baby when it's done? Would anyone be interested in that?

That's it for WIP Wednesday until next time.




If you're interested in participating in WIP Wednesday, please join us.

Stuff is sprouting in my garden. Yes, the garden. I meant to blog about it last week. On the Friday before Fathers Day I hired a fellow to roto-till it for me. We were halfway through June and no sign of Sweet Hubby doing it. I got desperate. So glad I did.

We had to take the gate off to get the tractor inside.

He has a little tractor with a tiller on the back and it just chopped through all that grass that had taken over and tilled everything beautifully and in a fraction of the time it would have taken Sweet Hubby. Step one of reclaiming the garden was done. I plan to hire him every year from now on.

The next day Ruth and I planted carrots, beats, Acorn squash, Sunflowers, Corn, Bachelor Buttons, and Zinnias. I also planted a whole bunch of Gladiola bulbs, but I think it's probably too late for them. The bulbs felt firm and all, but June is an awful late planting for something that likes to be planted in April. It's the only thing that hasn't sprouted. Everything else has popped it's little heads above the dirt. I had other seeds too but it was just too late for them. There's no way I'd get string beans before frost arrives. Step two of reclaiming the garden is done. Yay!

With any luck, we'll get something tasty out of it. It's been several years since I've had a veggie garden. Just glad it's in.

Another project I did this week, with Ruths help, was I dug up all of the Irises in the front yard (except the Japanese Iris. It's still there-for now. It's scheduled for removal at later date.) None of them bloomed this year. Last year only 2 bloomed. I decided I wanted shrubs in there instead. After digging them all up Ruth and I went around the border of the yard and tossed them in the woods in hopes some might survive and bloom. The reason I did that is because I have 2 Irises that got tossed in the bushes a few years ago and they bloom every year. It would be kind of neat to have some more doing that. If not, well, that's okay.

I replaced the Iris with 3 Weigela shrubs. Each one has different colored leaves. They will have pink trumpet shaped flowers next spring.

lower left-My Monet, center-Weigela Florida, upper right-Wine and Roses,
large rock-took us quite awhile to dig it up and it's very very heavy.

Initially I went to the nursery to get Azaleas, but they were out. I asked for ideas and this was what was suggested. I'd never heard of it before-even though it's probably all over the place in town (I've probably been mistaking it for Azaleas). I think they will do very well in the place I've put them.

Live long and prosper. \\//

6/26/12

The Very Big Tree

A couple summers ago a very big tree in our backyard died. We have significant emotional attachment to it, so it's been waiting for us to 'get over it'. We finally got to the point where we could do something about it. Even though this tree is down at the bottom of the hill, it is tall enough to still hit the house should it fall in a storm. We really needed to do something about it.

A couple weeks ago a neighbor of ours, who has been a logger all his life, asked if he could have it. He would cut it down, haul it away, and leave a nice neat slash pile for us to burn later. No charge. I looked into it. It costs about $2000 to hire someone to do that. We said yes.

This morning Les arrived to cut the tree down. This is the tree (satellite dishes in foreground).


Click to embiggen

 I couldn't fit the whole thing in the camera view, so I took 2 pics and put them together. (For some reason, my camera made the bottom part brighter.) You get a good sense of the size of it.

I videoed Les cutting it down. Before the video starts he cut a wedge out of the side that faces the direction he wanted it to fall. He also put a big cable on it hooked up to a truck that pulled on it a bit. He wanted to make sure the tree did not fall in the wrong direction.



Although you don't hear it in the video, thunder was rolling and the rain was pouring. I took that as mother nature being just as sad as I was.

The below picture gives some perspective on tree size. Les is the one wielding the chain saw. His friend Mike is in the yellow rain jacket. Mike is going to cut up the bigger branches and take them home for firewood.


Click to embiggen

Can you believe the size of those branches? Some of them are bigger than whole trees we've got around here.

Click to embiggen

I counted the rings. This tree was about 112 years old

when it died. I expected it to be much older considering it's size. What I found very interesting, in light of all the rain we've been getting this year, is the first 70 years of this trees life were very very wet years. Some of the rings are half an inch wide. The last 20 years, the years we've been living here, the rings are very thin. So maybe all this rain we're getting is just a return to 'normal'? Who knows?

Les and Mike spent some time afterward cutting some of the branches off. But the rain got to pouring so hard they decided it was time to go home. It will probably take a couple days to get the job finished.

Now my yard smells like fresh pine and I feel much safer.

I've got 2 more trees for Les to cut and haul away. He's happy about that. One of them is the one that got hit by lightening.

Speaking of rain, we've been getting a LOT of it. Way more than normal. One of my tomato plants has drowned to death. The other one is looking sickly. Actually all the domestic plants are looking sickly. My daughter and I planted the garden the day before Fathers Day. I hope the seeds sprout instead of rot.

Live long and prosper. \\//

6/24/12

A Pair of Green Mitts

My goodness but it's been a busy week for me. Must be summer. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed about this blog post because it's been so long since I posted and there's so much I wanted to say. Warning, it's gonna be a long one.

The first thing I want to write about is my finished mitts. It's been awhile since I've finished something. It feels good.


Green Fingerless Mitts for Knit Wits

Pattern: Jeffs Mitts by Lorraine Ehrlinger
Size: Mens large

Yarn: Pacific by Cascade Yarns in Dark Army Green
Content: 60% Acrylic, 40% Superwash Merino, Worsted weight

Needles: Addi Turbo Circular size 5.

Cast on: June 1, 2012
Completed: June 22, 2012

Comments: I've done this pattern a couple times before. It's become my go to pattern for plain mens mitts. Admittedly, I did some pattern adjustments on the thumb gusset, but I'm not going to go into them because I just did personal little anal things. The pattern is fine the way it is.

I used the leftover yarn from daughter's February Lady Sweater. I still have enough yarn left to make another pair of mitts. So I will do that.

~~~~~~~~~~

Fathers Day was a good day. We took the new car and drove the Selkirk Loop which goes over into Washington, up into Canada, east, then back down into Idaho. It was a beautiful drive! I enjoyed it very much. I took a few pics.

This is along the Kootenay Lake facing north. It's a very beautiful lake surrounded by tall mountains.



Kootenay Lake again, facing southwest. There was something about that tree. I needed a pic of it.



Here's one of a green valley on the south end of the lake, near Creston, BC, Canada. This valley was so unbelievably green. Very soothing to the eyes.



On our way home we stopped for dinner at a restaurant in Ponderay, ID called Sweet Lou's. Never been there before. We were hungry as we were passing through town. We chose it because they were advertising a Fathers Day dinner special. I am so glad we did. I had one of the best meals ever. It was SO good. There were two specials. I had the first one which was a tri-tip steak smothered in bourbon barbecue sauce. It was so tender it melted in my mouth and the flavor was heavenly. The steak was accompanied by some fabulous horseradish mashed potatoes and steamed zucchini. My mouth was so happy while eating that meal.

Ruth and Sweet Hubby had the other special, Salmon. They were raving about how good it was too. Sweet Hubby ordered dessert afterward, Huckleberry Cobbler-with 3 spoons. I could only squeeze in 2 bites, but they were wonderful. The service was very good too. I can't wait for an opportunity to go there again.

~~~~~~~~~~

If you are involved with Ravelry, you may have heard the big news about what happened this past week. The United States Olympic Committee sent Casey, the owner, a cease and desist letter over the Ravelympics.

The Ravelympics started in 2008. Participants pick projects to knit/crochet during the Olympic games. Usually something challenging is picked. Then participants work on the project while watching the Olympics on tv. If they accomplish their challenge, Casey gives them a 'medal' which is just an avatar. No one makes any money at this. It's organized by volunteer Ravelry members and it's just a good time and an opportunity to honor our athletes during the games. Kind of like the biggest knitalong in the world (or crochetalong if you will). This year there will be over 7500 participants.

The C&D wouldn't have been that big of a deal except the USOC chose to insult Ravelry's members in the letter.

"We believe using the name “Ravelympics” for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games. In a sense, it is disrespectful to our country’s finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work."

Denigrate?? Disrespectful to our athletes? Uhh..wut???? Ravelry has over 2 million members. We did not take this lying down. It wasn't very long and the subject was all over Facebook, trending on Twitter, and news agencies were picking up the story. In the end, the USOC issued an apology for the insult. However, the C&D still stands. What they really want is for the name to be changed. They claim 'Ravelympics violates their trademark. Casey's lawyer is working on it.

If you want to learn more about this, there's a good article about it here: Ravelympics

I'd been thinking about joining this year but hadn't made up my mind quite yet. The actions of the USOC gave me just the push I needed. I'm ornery that way. So I joined a team and I will be participating in this years Ravelympics, or whatever it will be named. I've joined Team Good Without God. I've chosen a project that will be challenging to me and I think represents the spirit of the games.

Remember when I was making Anne Hanson's Honeybee Stole and the tragic ending to it? Well, I have yarn and I am ready to take this project on again. It will be my Ravelympics challenge. This is the yarn I've chosen for it.



It's a big cone of Jaggerspun Superlamb laceweight. It's way prettier in real life than in that pic. It's a light brown heather with gold in it. Very honeyish, in my opinion.

I've been working every day on the Butterfly shawl. I need to get it done before the Olympics start. That gives me until July 26. I hope to have it done long before then! I've also started another Muppet Skin Shawl in greens for kip knitting.

I did a bit of beading last week too. I worked on the bead embroidery picture that I'm making for sis-in-law Elizabeth. Progress is slow. I will get it done eventually.

Last night we found out how Cable would fare with a coyote. She whupped it's arse and there's not a scratch on her. The coyote realized pretty quickly it was in over it's head and took off. Cable chased it a little bit, then came running back, very proud of herself. I would prefer she not get into these kinds of scuffles, but it's nice to know she can hold her own when there is one. Hopefully all the coyotes know to stay away from this house now.

Well, that's it for now. I hope to post more often this week. We'll see what happens.

Live long and prosper. \\//

6/16/12

This Weeks Brainless Knitting

Despite being extremely busy, I am managing to get some knitting accomplished. I have made good progress on the Butterfly shawl. There are times when I feel like it's the black hole of projects, but if I keep plugging away on it, eventually it will be done. It is such, though, that I can not take it with me for public knitting though. Too much concentration is needed. So I have two projects I worked on this week that are brainless knitting.

I had a whole skein of yarn leftover from the February Lady Sweater I made earlier this year, so I decided to use it to make a pair of mens fingerless gloves for Knit Wits. As you can see, I've got one done and I'm well into the thumb gusset of the second mitt.



Knit Wits was given a large donation of fur yarn. I'm developing a pattern for it that I decided to name The Muppet Skin Shrug to use it up. I knit this one this week.



I'm knitting on big needles-size 15- and combining the fur with a smooth yarn (to add body to the fabric). I'm having some difficulty determining how much of the smooth yarn is needed, in yardage, to get the finished length I need of 52 inches. I seem to have not written down that information when I knit the first one. I used two full skeins of worsted weight Caron Wintuk on this one and didn't have quite enough. Three skeins would have been better but there were only two available and I really thought it would be enough. So this shrug is about 4 inches short. However, it is all acrylic and polyester fiber, and I used a garter drop stitch lace pattern, so I think if I just pin it out, stretching a bit to proper size, and gently steam it, that will fix the problem permanently. I decided to knit it flat and seam up the seams instead of doing the sleeves in the round like I did the first one because I wanted more flexibility in the blocking process. 10 inch seams won't take that long to sew.

I did not get any beading done this week. Probably won't this next week either. Got a lot on the plate of life.

Yesterday I had a man come over and roto-till my garden for me for what I think was a very reasonable fee. We had to take the gate of its hinges so he could get his little tractor in. It was an easy thing to do. It just slides off. He spent about an hour and a half working on it.



Sweet Hubby just wasn't going to get it done and summer is upon us. I was getting very frustrated over the whole situation. One of my friends suggested hiring someone to do it for me. What a brilliant idea! It's too late to plant the beans, corn, and sunflowers. But I can still get some beets, carrots, and flowers for sure. I think I may see if the acorn squash will be successful too.

Still loving my new car. It is such a pleasure to drive. Tomorrow, for Fathers Day, Sweet Hubby wants to drive the Selkirk Loop. Since we all have passports and Cable is current on her shots, I say "Lets go!" It should be fun. I've been wanting to do that trip for ages. We'll be going into Canada, so that's the need for the passports. I bet this will be Cables first time in Canada. I bet she'll like it.

I've got seeds to plant, so I'm signing off.

Live long and prosper. \\//

6/11/12

What I Did This Weekend

I had a busy, but fun, weekend. On Saturday we attended my niece Kaitlyn's graduation party. She is now a high school graduate. There were a lot of people in attendance, and it was raining hard all day, so we all got to squeeze indoors, but that's okay. I enjoyed it anyway. The food was awesome too. But then, Park get togethers always have awesome food.

After the party we went over to Dan and Sue's for the evening. Every joint in my body was aching-I assume because of the wet, cold, damp weather. I wanted to sit in their hot tub and warm up. Unfortunately, I took a bottle of rum but forgot to take the Mai Tai mix. No dinner (none of us can figure out why we didn't eat anything. Too tired maybe?), so the rum was on an empty stomach. I drank it straight. It tastes so darn good! I got totally drunk. I don't even remember coming home. I do not like getting drunk like that. Well, maybe I will rephrase that. I don't like being drunk. It's embarrassing because I turn into a chatty kathy. So it's rare for me to let myself do something like that. Thank you to my daughter Ruth for getting her parents home safe and sound.

I awoke late Sunday morning feeling surprisingly well. No real hang over. My head felt a little woozy, but after I ate something that feeling went away. So sweet hubby and I headed into Coeur 'd Alene to visit Parker Toyota.

Yup, after 8 years of being the perfect car, we traded in my Prius. This will surprise many who know me because whenever the subject has been brought up I've always responded with "you'll have to pry it out of my cold dead hands." I loved my Prius that much. It's an awesome car.

When we went on our trip driving over to Westport, Sweet Hubby started complaining, as usual, about the lack of leg room. He's 6'4" so even with the seat pushed as far back as it will go his knees hit the dash when he was driving. We've got more road trips planned for this year and there's a bit of money in the savings account. Even though I loved my Prius, I decided I'd had enough complaining.

Last week I looked into the Toyota Hybrid Camry. The 2012 model has some surprising changes that have improved it considerably. So, my new ride.


I am luvin' this car.  Very comfortable to ride in and it has lots of leg room for the hubby. The inside is beautiful. In fact, downright luxurious. The dash is imitation leather and all the gauges and whatnot are so cool! It drives like a dream, rides so smooth, and has lots of power under the accelerator. Most of all, it's a hybrid, so I'm not polluting the air when I drive. Not only that but it's built with a great deal of recycled materials. I think I am going to be very happy with this car. It doesn't get quite as good gas mileage as my Prius did, but that's the trade we make for a car that fits my Sweet Hubby. She's rated for 35 hwy and 43 city. I can live with that.

We've purchased some surface protection for both inside (upholstery) and out (front end paint protection). I will be taking it in to have that installed on Wednesday. We also purchased the extended warranty. Not something we've been known to do, but with all the fancy technology gadgets this thing has (did I mention it has blue tooth, usb port, and ipod port?) I wanted a warranty longer than 3 years. Now it's got 8 years. I expect I'll have this car that long-assuming it performs equally as well as my Prius did.

Today I need to get it registered and get the insurance coverage going. It's a beautiful sunny day. Driving into town will be nice.

Live long and prosper. \\//

6/5/12

Just Some Pics

On Saturday  we went to sis-in-law Elizabeth's house for her party. It started at noon. There were lots of people coming and going throughout the afternoon. Elizabeth has a lot of friends. I enjoyed meeting them. There were some cousins too that I got to meet from father-in-laws side of the family.

Elizabeth served home made lasagna, salad, and garlic bread. The lasagna was absolutely fantastic. The best I've ever had! She couldn't share the recipe though. It's a trade secret from a restaurant she used to work at when she lived in Los Angeles years ago. So I guess if I want more we'll have to go visit her for it.

I gave the ruffle scarf to Elizabeth for her empty hook. I think she liked it. She hung it up immediately, laughing as she did it. I don't know if it will ever get worn, but I know it will be looked at a lot.



I want to share some pictures I took while at her house. She has two crocheted items that were made by her grandmother that are just stunningly gorgeous.

First is this lace table cloth.



I actually have the pattern for this cloth in my collection. It's in a book that was written in 1942 and belonged to my great grandmother. Oddly, it's the exact pattern I've always wanted to make, so I was quite shocked to see it on Elizabeth's table. I love the motif pattern. The workmanship is awesome. I've never seen such perfect stitch tension.



The second item is an afghan Elizabeth has on this bed up in the loft.



It's a ripple pattern, but not an easy one. Changing colors as often as this does is a very challenging skill. Not only that, but the entire thing is made with sport weight wool. A work of art if I ever saw one.



I happen to own this pattern too. It's in a very very old afghan pattern pamphlet from the 1940's that I found in a used book store. I have no plans to make it though. And yes, I collect old patterns.

I'm so glad Elizabeth has these. It was a highlight for me to see them. They are wonderful heirlooms.

During the party Cable stayed in the car. Thankfully, it was a cool day. I also left the windows open so she could have fresh air. I took her for walks twice (one on the beach, one in the neighborhood) and she didn't seem to mind being in the car. She slept most of the time-exhausted no doubt from the two big walks she'd had earlier that day. When everyone had gone home, Elizabeth let her come in the house. She was an incredibly good dog that day. I couldn't have been happier with her. So, when we went out to dinner I ordered a huge steak. I cut it in half. I ate one half and give the other to her later that evening along with some garlic mashed potatoes and steamed carrots (yum!). She deserved it.

After the party, Elizabeth took us for a ride in her new car. She has bought a Hybrid 2006 Toyota Highlander. She took us on a little tour of the city of Westport. Near the water there is a place where the townspeople feed the local feral cats. Unfortunately, the local racoons have discovered this free handout. I caught one on camera red pawed, stealing cat food.



That face is so CUTE! Now, step back a bit, and you'll see a stern look of disapproval.



I hope the little bandit left some for Mr. Grumpy when he was done eating.

On the way back to the house we saw this deer.



It's a black tailed doe. There was a young buck with antler nubs nearby under a bush. They were just quietly chewing their cud. There are lots of deer in Elizabeth's neighborhood. Some of them hang around quite close to her house. They are not afraid of humans.

Sunday morning we headed home. Sweet Hubby did not want to drive back the way we came because that would require driving on I-5 between Olympia and the junction to Hwy 18 near Federal Way (my home town!). So he proposed we head a little bit south and take Hwy 12 east over White Pass to Yakima, then go north to Ellensburg and I-90 and on back home. It would add an hour and a half to the drive, but it would be a beautiful one. It had been more than 35 years since I'd been that way, so I was all for it if he was. I am SO glad we did. I'd forgotten.

I'd forgotten how wonderful that route is, and I'd also forgotten how beautiful the wild Pacific Dogwood trees are when they are blooming, and they were blooming! My heart began to sing as soon as I saw the first one. I could't stop smiling as we passed each one until we'd reached an elevation too high for them. I wish I could have stopped to take some pictures, but it wasn't possible. We had to get home. Next year, maybe? Whatever, we're going that way from now on. No more I-5 stress for us.

I wonder if I can get a Pacific Dogwood around here?

We arrived home Sunday night safe and sound. It was a good trip. I'm glad we went.

Live long and prosper. \\//

6/2/12

It's Nice Here

We made it to Westport, WA all safe and sound yesterday. It was a long drive. 8.5 hours, including a stop for lunch, and a couple potty breaks for Cable. Cable did absolutely fantastic in the car. She was so calm and quiet. She enjoyed the ride when she wasn't asleep.

After arriving, we checked into the condo we've rented for the weekend. It's lovely and the view is fantastic. From the balcony:



The yellow is Scotch Broom. It's blooming all over the place. The Rhododendrons are in bloom too. All sorts of colors, and the bushes are HUGE! Some of them taller than houses. Rhodies won't grow that big in north Idaho. I have one I planted 12 years ago that is not much taller than it was when planted. It just started blooming a couple years ago. I should take some pics of the Rhodies here and show them to mine. Maybe it'll inspire her?

After we got checked in, I took Cable for her very first walk on the beach. We had to walk up a little hill, and then down the other side to the beach. I stopped at the top and said "Cable. This is the ocean. Big water." Oh wow! Does she ever love it! She was practically dancing with joy as she dashed around in circles sniffing everything and running back and forth. She got caught by a wave (surprise!), discovered salt water ain't so tasty (hack! Ick!), and chased birds off the sand. We spent about an hour, just the two of us, exploring. I took this pic of her with the waves behind.

Big happy smile!

It's cloudy, chilly, and damp so there's hardly anyone around. We pretty much had the whole beach to ourselves.

This morning she woke me up at 6:30 to do her business. I reluctantly got dressed, grabbed the leash, and out we went. As soon as that ocean air hit me I woke up and felt so good! Instead of just dragging Cable to the 'dog area' we ended up taking another hour walk on the beach. The tide was out and there was no one else in sight. It was so nice to have it all to ourselves. We played together a bit, and she ran, and explored. This time I found a beautiful orange agate, and 3 small sand dollars to bring home.

As I was walking this morning I thought about our trip here last year. How miserable I felt physically, and how much better I feel now. So glad I had that hysterectomy. I have energy to walk on the beach!

We did drop in last night. Elizabeth's house is really beautiful. Lots of pale greens and blond wood in the decor, which is my favorite. I adore pale green walls. Probably because that's what I grew up with. They are soothing to my soul. We're talking about painting the walls inside our house and that's the color I want. A pale green.

Elizabeth has two little terriers, Pete and Penny. Penny is rather territorial and took an instant dislike to Cable and chased her down the stairs into a corner. Poor Cable. Doug rescued her. I think, in time, they'll make friends because Penny started warming up before we left. But I'm being cautious. Cable could grab her and shake her to death in a heart beat. (I've seen what she can do to her toys and often thought I was glad I am not a rabbit.) Don't want that to happen.

Pete thinks Cable is wonderful. So we're okay there.

I finished the Ruffled Scarf in the car on the way here. Whew, that was an exciting experience. With about 2 yards of yarn left to go, I accidentally dropped all the stitches off the needle. YIKES! I found 7 of them, but couldn't find the 8th. Took awhile. I slowly tinked back one stitch at a time until I found a loose loop hiding. Whew! I was relieved! I did not want to have to frog and start all over!

I will take pics and post them later. I've figured out what I'm going to do with the scarf. I'm going to give to Elizabeth as a gift. I noticed she has quite a few scarves hanging on hooks around the house-as decoration-including one I gave her last year. She has one empty hook hanging in the bathroom among 3 others with scarves on them. It needs a fancy new scarf on it.


This afternoon we'll be at my sister-in-laws new house for a house warming party. Cable will probably have to spend a good deal of the day in the car. , but with all the people coming to the party, she won't be able to be with me in the house and there is no fence around the yard.


Okay Mom, enough with the camera. I wanna pee on that pile of seaweed over there.

I plan to take her for at least 2 walks on the beach while there so she can get some exercise and I'll need the break away from the noise, I'm sure. We'll both have a good day. I will make sure of it.

Live long and prosper. \\//