How'd It Get to Be June?

It's been busy here!  May and early June are always a bit crazy everywhere, I think.  We had a fun visit at the end of the month with one of my sorority sisters and spent a fun day with her in Gig Harbor.

Part of the family got together on Memorial Day for a picnic in our backyard, and while it was a bit chilly, it didn't rain even one drop! They brought this lovely hanging basket which now hangs on the deck off our living room.

Speaking of the backyard, the flowers (and weeds) have been amazing. First the trillium and bleeding heart bloomed.

As you can see on the header, our clematis is having a great year!  The iris are done and so is the golden chain tree, but the poppies are out in abundance.

There are even flowers inside the house with most of the violets blossoming.

But what about the knitting, you say?  A couple pairs of booties have popped off the needles for the a couple choir Grandma's first grandchildren.

That's about it.  Tonight is our last choir rehearsal until late August.  On Sunday we are premiering a beautiful hymn written especially for our choir.  Here's the link in case you care to hear it. (You can tune in at either 9 or 11 AM PST.) Have a great weekend!

Back Home with a Finish!

Finally, we are kind of caught up after being gone to the Midwest for ten days.  Our yard surprised us with lots of crazy flowers (and weeds).  It's amazing what a few warm days can do.

While we were in the Chicago area, we went to lots of swim practices and a couple of meets to watch all three of our grands compete.

Here's the oldest conferring with his coach. (This guy now looks me in the eye!)

 Here's the speedy youngest.

And Missy did well, too.

DD participated also as one of the many timers.  She and I had a delightful lunch in Richmond, IL, with Kathyb.  It's always fun to be with Kathy!  Seeing a fellow blogger in person is the best!

And here it is the long-awaited mystery finish!  I plan to hand it in today to the nurse who requested it.  Can you guess what it is?  No, it's not a water bottle holder.  Here's the link just is case you get a similar request!

 

Have a great week!

Back Home! We aren't MIA.

We are back home from the Midwest and almost back in this time zone. Our ten day trip was great fun: we played with the grandkids, watched our grandson's first swim meet, celebrated our daughter's birthday, spent time with my sister and her husband, and visited friends in Wisconsin, including Kathyb!

David swam in 3 events and placed second in the breast stroke. Not bad for an eleven year old's first meet!

Daniel and Sophia love to swim, too, and had lots of fun with their blow-up Space Shuttle.

He made it!

And all the while, Mama Jill stands guard.

Yes, I finally finished the Sampler Sweater in time for the birthday party, including sewing in a million ends. (And no, I don't have any secret method but wish I did.)

The back is slightly different from the front.  And if you look carefully, you can see how I messed up on the sleeves. (My own design element, right?)

I think she likes it!

Here's a closeup of the Interrupted Cowl I gave Kathy, and I'm wearing the pretty scarf she made for me.  We had a yummy lunch together with Jill and Dick at SIMPLE in Lake Geneva, WI.

As I said earlier, we are back home with lots of nice memories.  And Memories will be another post soon as we also visited the town where I grew up after visiting friends in Neenah. That will be another post.  Till then, have a good Sunday.

The Best Laid Plans~~~

It's been crazier than usual here!  The weather for the past couple of weeks has been wonderful with the yard screaming for attention; we've had company a couple of times, and then just on Sunday our littlest GD broke her collar bone.  So, yesterday we were in Seattle helping out.  And oh yeah, on Sunday we had a big choir concert as the major part of the church service. Whew!

Monday, a week ago, my sorority sister, Connie, visited, and we enjoyed the day together. In the afternoon we went to the Panama Hotel for tea.  If you've read The Hotel on Bitter and Sweet, you'll recognize that name.

Then on Thursday, instead of our normal stuff, we spent the day with our friends from Virginia, who left for Alaska on Sunday. It was another beautiful day, so we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island.  Of course, we stopped at Mora's for ice cream and Churchmouse Yarn and Tea! As we left Seattle behind, we had a great view of the city and the Space Needle.

I was especially excited to see all the Allium in full bloom.

And Mount Rainier was out in all its glory, too.

Meanwhile, back home, our flowers are also putting on a show.  Out front the Rhododendron is blooming and trying to out shine the Mollis azalea.

And in the back the Golden Chain tree is raining petals, and the Korean Dogwood is filled with blooms.  (There's lots of raking in my future, I think!)

Inside, Ginger has claimed the leftovers from the Monster project and was using it as a pillow until Dick took the photo.

That is the strangest yarn; sometimes it looks gray, sometimes green, and in the photo below, blue. It's really blue-grey.

The other project that was finished was fun to do.  It is a kit that includes the cat's body parts which are sewn on at the end. There were other animal choices as well as a cat.  So this is what's been going on here; I still have a sweater to sew together, but that will keep till another day.

And one last picture of Miss Stella wearing her new hat and much happier than she was yesterday. Poor little tyke!

Heal quickly Missy!  And the rest of you have an awesome week.

Fun and Long Weekend!

Hi Everyone!  Hope you had as great holiday weekend as we did. On Friday we drove up to Anacortes to see some longtime friends. After lunch we drove up a scenic road to the Cap Sante Park. By then the rain had stopped, and we had a great view of the city and its port.

Nancy (left) and I taught together years ago and have stayed in touch over the years through thick and thin. Her sister Susan lives on San Juan Island and recently lost her husband to Alzheimer's Disease.

We aso visited Ana-Cross Stitch, a fun needlecraft shop where this guy was sitting outside. (Don't worry, it isn't Dick!)

Of course, I bought some yarn and also finished a project.

Hope to finish this baby hat this week. The yarn is a cotton and wool mix.

The stitch on the cowl is called bamboo stitch. It's easy and looks nice on both sides!

No weekend at home is complete without seeing Max and Stella!  Max and I love to read together.

Miss Stella is quite adept with her feet!  She's nine months old now and will soon be crawling. She's already been into Max's toys, so the next few weeks should be very interesting.

While we were gone to MN, the garden kept growing, only to be outpaced by the weeds.  Even this pretty columbine has gone crazy and is everywhere.  It's not a weed by any means but does need to be reined in a bit.  And then there's the buttercup!  Yikes! It has to be one of the most tenacious weeds ever, that and bindweed.  Yep, the garden is a-calling....loudly these days.  See ya!