Projects

The socks I'm knitting for my mom for Christmas are coming along.  The first one is done and I'm a good three inches into the second one.  I love knitting in a circle!  As I knit, I marvel that someone first devised knitting, and from there, the intricasies of a knit-in heel totally bowl me over.  Genius minds were at work, for certain!

My next project, when the socks are completed, is something totally different.  The past few years, many quilters have been taken with wool applique.  A few months ago I spotted a cute kit in a quilting catalog and decided I would give it a try.  It's a Christmas project and we all know I'm a pushover for Christmas decorations. The kit came complete with wool and frame, so that helped clinch the deal.

Here's a closeup of the pattern:

I have the perfect spot for this long narrow picture:

See the area above the basket to the left of the front door?  I used to put a small quilt there at Christmas, but when we put the moulding around the windows, the space became too small.  I think this little project will be just perfect there!  All I have to do is get it made. . .

Meanwhile, laundry is churning and a can of Pledge is sitting on the kitchen counter.  Bruder Bear and family will be arriving Friday afternoon for the weekend.  If I don't want them to choke to death on the dust, I'd better get dustcloth in hand.  ♥

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

And if you don't believe the title, check out this picture of our indoor-outdoor thermometer, snapped just a bit ago:

Yes, dear readers, that appears to be the high point for the day because it's already dropped to 10.4 degrees. So thankful for a warm house, warm slippers, and hot coffee!  

I watched the D-man (Daniel) yesterday while Ann and Eric and Keaton were north of here at a Lego Robotics competition.  Eric headed up a team of six 12-year-old boys and they have worked all fall on their robot which had to meet certain criteria in a given scenario. They were rewarded with two first places and qualified for state competition! (Read about the program here.)  A full day, starting at six in the morning, didn't seem like the thing for a little guy, so I was happy to be able to spend the day with him so the others could enjoy the competition. We all had a great day!  And Papa Dan showed up in the afternoon bearing a Cyrus O'Leary sour cream lemon pie, so the three of us enjoyed a little "coffee break" with yummy slices. Daniel loved it!  We shared with the others when they got home.  And where was Cameron you ask? Well, he watched D until I arrived at ten, and then he worked on homework until it was time to be picked up at 12:30 to go play in two basketball games for his school. (He's on the JV team and is also often tapped to play with the varsity.) 

Meanwhile, Christmas is fast approaching and the other day I decided I'd see if I could get another pair of socks knitted for my mom.  I'm over half way done with the first, so I think I'll be able to do it!

If the yarn looks familiar it's because I knit my first pair (since high school that is) out of the same yarn two years ago.  I love how it creates such a unique and almost scandinavian pattern.  I think she'll like them!  

Keep warm!  ♥

Thanksgiving

Yes, I know it was a week ago, but we all know I was busy, so here I am.  We had a wonderful day with Ann and family.  My parents were planning to come, too, but Dad caught a cold so they thought it prudent for him to stay home and get well.  At ninety, he's not as young as he used to be!  The good news is that he's feeling much better.

I took over the de rigueur green bean casserole, but used my home canned green beans, which I think, made it extra delicious.  I also made a sweet potato casserole and took the fixin' for the boys favorite fruit salad (which in actuality is more like a dessert). Keaton put the salad together while Cameron peeled good ol' south Idaho potatoes (thanks, Bruder Bear!).  Good thing Ann's got such a big and well arranged kitchen.

Ann's kitchen has a big eating/family room area adjoining it and while Cameron lit a fire in the fireplace, Eric and Daniel got cozy on the loveseat.  

Once the dinner was about ready, Eric and the boys rearranged the furniture, moving the table in front of the fireplace and moving the loveseat and end table closer to the kitchen.  

The boys were all ready for the food!

And so the rest of us rallied around, too.

Ann has a wonderful set of dishes she calls her "Thanksgiving dishes."  They came to her through Eric's mom and had belonged to her mom.  They have leaves on them in fall colors and, with many unique serving pieces, are just perfect for a big Thanksgiving feast.  

We ate until we could eat no more and then put off the pie until after playing some games and Daniel's bedtime. Then we took our pie downstairs to the TV and proceeded to watch Home Alone 2 and giggle our way through the remainder of the evening.  What a perfect day!

And I'll leave you with one last photo, taken by Daniel with my camera.  

It's of his red heart balloon.  ♥

December!?!

I started November off with such high hopes of blogging more often and even got in three posts by the 7th. And then...  After Kathy emailed me yesterday to see if I was still among the living, I realized I needed to stir myself to action.

I have all kinds of good excuses.  First and foremost is the fact that I've always been a one-track person, or one dimensional, or to use a new computer-age term, linear. All to say, I do one thing at a time.  Everytime I try to multi-task, I muck something up.  And truth be told, I usually don't even think to do more than one thing at a time unless I'm forced by circumstances.  Does that mean I'm boring?  Probably.  But that's the way I was made!

So, the most exciting news is that I started scrapbooking again!  Yes, after about five or six years, I'm back at it. Dan's moving of his office freed up my former space and I finally got in the mood to transfer my things back over and begin.  I've done a year and a half so far!  I'm currently working on Christmas 2001.

I'm blessed to have such a great workspace!

I also worked for some days on a machine embroidery project for a friend who works at a local store.  I never take on outside embroidery/sewing work, but when Cyndie asked, it sounded fun so I said yes.  I worked up a design for them and then stitched it out nine times on aprons.  The problem was, the aprons were made of a heavy coated fabric and that made it very hard to stitch on.  I had to lower my machine speed to 1/4 which made the process looong.  And the fabric also dulled needles at an alarming rate.  But the aprons turned out to be adorable and everyone at the store loved them.  I forgot to take a picture, but a big stuffed teddy bear is wearing one in the store's front window, so I hope to take my camera to town and snap a photo to share soon.

Both these projects have taken my time, one at a time, over the last few weeks, and they're my excuse for being away for so long.  I'll be back soon as I have other things to write about.  ♥

Tires

As my faithful readers are aware, the winter season is bearing down on us and that calls for changing tires on our Tundra and Explorer.  Many years ago (as soon as we could afford it) we elected to have our snow tires mounted on their own rims so that Dan (who worked his way through undergraduate school at a tire shop) could easily change them at home.  Before that, he was able to change out the tires on each vehicle's only rims at the company shop where they had tire equipment for the company trucks.

With the advent of our snow this week, Dan changed out our tires on Monday.  On Tuesday our nephew, JR, stopped by to pick up some things we were storing for him and asked if Dan could help him change his tires. He'd tried for two days to get into our local Les Schwab Tire Center, but no luck.  The line of cars, even at 7:30 in the morning, was in the hundreds.  Dan was happy to be of help and in the process he added to JR's skill set.  Out came the compressor and the air gun, the floor jack, and the snow shovel so they could clear off the new falling snow around each tire.  

They had a good time, and in about forty-five minutes, JR was set to go with snow tires all around.

 Consultation in progress.

Air gun in hand.

Smile for the camera!

Dan now refers to our place as "Les Buck's Tire Shop and Waterbed Emporium, East Moscow Plant."  Too funny!

In Case You Were Wondering...

We woke to snow this morning!  

It was beautiful and we actually still have some of it since the high today was a cool 35 degrees! And we may get more tonight and tomorrow.  It always seemed to me that when I was growing up, the first snow came around November 4th so this seems right on schedule.  Dan is changing out the tires as I type, so we're ready!

In Papa's Workshop

Yesterday was a busy day in Dan's shop!  Cameron had called earlier in the week and wondered if he could come over some time to work on a project for school that would need Papa's tools and help.  Saturday at ten-thirty was the time that worked for Dan.  Dan had a meeting earlier Saturday morning, so when he got home he had not only Cameron, but Keaton as well.  

Down the stairs they all went.  Cameron need to make an ax and a sword (they're studying the middle ages at school), and Keaton had a Boys' Life magazine with a project for a ping pong ball launcher.  

For once, I thought to take pictures!  (I'm so proud of myself!!)

When I opened the door, this is what I saw first.  Keaton is sanding and Cameron is working on the bandsaw.

Hi Keat!

And here's Cameron cutting out his sword:

And here he is with the piece he was cutting:

I didn't get a photo of Cameron's finished works because Ann picked him up so he could race off to a soccer game, but here's Keaton with his completed launcher:

What a fun day we all had!