Our trip to New York, Vermont....and Maine.

We have a friend who is getting married this weekend in Maine. First off, we drove from Ohio through Pennsylvania to New York. There, we picked apples, visited my grandparents' grave, watched my cousin row on the Genesee River with 7 other ladies.Edible flowers on that cake!
Currently, we're in Vermont, in a little town called Jamaica, which suffered much damage from Hurricane Irene. It's still lovely, sunny and lots of maple trees...turning different colors, most are still green, some are yellow and reddish and brown.

Yarn along on the feast...

We celebrated the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos (Mary) today. Joachim and Anna were very old (70 and 69 years old, respectively) when their daughter, Mary, was born. She was the one to bear Christ our God. So, this is how we begin the "new" church year...living the life of Christ from before his birth to his Resurrection and then ending it with his mother's Dormition.
I really like how the Noro yarn looks against a solid color...so I made these wrist warmers for Olivia. Very nice for the upcoming fall weather. 2 more days of summer left, though.

One skein project?

I got the Noro yarn from Allison today...it's so pretty! I'm excited to start using it, so I got out my crochet hook and just started a swatch to see what it will look like. Then, I took it out and knit it in stripes with some solid Spud and Chloe yarn, just to see what it would look like. Perhaps I'll make a hat like this: www.heavenlysocksyarns.com/patterns/noro-spiral-one-skein-hat.doc

What do you think I should make with it? Do you have any favorite projects (crochet or knit) you'd like to share?

What I've been reading...

I finished reading Little Bee yesterday. What a sad story. It really breaks my heart what some people go through, even in current times (in Nigeria, as Little Bee fled to England only to be deported), we are so blessed to live in America and have freedoms!

I started reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand last month...I am more than halfway through, but have taken a break. I will resume it soon, however. BUT I have a couple more books I want to quickly read. Notes Left Behind is one about a family who lost their 6 year old daughter to cancer. I just picked it up at the library. I also plan to read:

My friend, Bethany, gave me a batch of Amish friendship bread in August...and it's so good. My only problem is I did not want to use "instant pudding mix" as the recipe calls for so I didn't and I actually used whole wheat flour as well as unbleached white...mmm! I poured the batter into cupcake pans...and when they were done, put some cream cheese frosting to put on top...and yes, I've been sharing them with friends. I gave some to my parents and some to other friends.

What have you been reading lately? Have you had friendship bread? Would you like some? I will be happy to share.

Yarn along...and Little Bee.

Hello everyone! It's Wednesday...follow the "Yarn Along" with Ginny...I've been crocheting with the Cascade 100% wool from Peru. This will be a gift for my nephew Bryce, whose first birthday we'll celebrate Sunday afternoon!I've been reading this book Little Bee by Chris Cleave, that my friend Charlotte gave me. So far I like it...very interesting, the girl who they call Little Bee from Nigeria comes to England.
I was thrilled to find out this morning that I won the blue Noro yarn from Allison! I look forward to using it and promise to share what I make with it here on my blog. You should go read Allison's blog (I love her header with the bicycle) :
I hope you have a great day!

Homeschooling today...

Olivia is almost done with her studies for today and it's 9 in the morning. Of course, the rest of the day, will be filled with learning in a way that only she can determine, discovering something in our backyard, perhaps? I think that unstructured time should be highly valued, as one should spend time doing what they love...Here, Olivia is making an abstract drawing of an animal, her assignment was to find a realistic image in a magazine of an animal and draw it, using shapes to make it abstract. We looked at John James Audubon's realistic animal illustrations vs. Paul Klee's abstract animal drawings (his cat on the cover of this book, above, the Come Look With Me art books are excellent for children, by the way, with questions about the work that get you thinking).Hannah working on her self-portrait that she started last week. See the little square mirror? How many of YOU have done a self-portrait? It is not an easy task.
She has been working on math, also mainly multiplication tables...she still struggles with the 7, 8 and 9...And what do I do? Now that I'm not working at the pre-school, I'm happily doodling and painting...watercolours, animals on bicycles and such (see my etsy site), while Hannah and Olivia complete their school work.

My dad's 61st birthday...

Today is my dad's birthday...we celebrated by going to Graeter's to get some ice cream yesterday. While there, I saw a table with books Notes Left Behind and read of a Cincinnati family who lost their 6 year old to cancer...how devastating...but Graeter's had a scrumptious flavor of ice cream named after her, Elena's blueberry pie!

Hannah and Olivia taking off their ghillies...they resumed Irish dancing classes this week, which I thoroughly enjoy watching. Olivia was reluctant to go back. Hannah was so excited. We forced Olivia to go, because she tends to not try things, but when she does she usually is happy...and after class she said "That was so much fun!" I guess she forgot how much she liked it.

A walk in the drizzle. We hunted for silver maple leaves and sugar maple leaves, found some oak leaves and tried identifying others and got a pretty brown and green acorn. It's been gray practically all week. See the girls with their umbrellas?P.S. On a sad note...our bunny, Snowball died. We buried her in our backyard. I'm so glad we still have one pet, Lusy. I love animals. The heartbreak when you lose anyone you care about is difficult to deal with...

A shutterfly card of the Grand Canyon...

I'm on the shutterfly email list and they always have a sale
on something...I decided to make a card with some photos (on the outside, as you see here, and on the inside):

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.


For sharing what I made on my blog, I'll get a $10 credit on my next purchase of $10 or more. Incentive! Doesn't it make you want to make a card? I love all their designs!!!

We've been eating some of the watermelons in our backyard...this one has yellow flesh. Mmmm.

Real yarn is warm!!!

Allison is having a yarn giveaway! Go check it out...I'd love to have some Noro yarn! It's so beautiful, but a bit expensive, so I have yet to buy any for myself. If you don't knit or crochet, however, you might want to check out Jane's giveaway! You can win one of the pretty bags that she crocheted:
Well, it's been an interesting weekend. Friday and Saturday were really hot and humid here in Cincinnati...about 100'F. So, my husband put the window unit AC back in! Then, Sunday it cooled off and today it's quite cool...I'm wearing a sweater, warm alpaca socks that I knit earlier this year and just had a cup of tea!I only like real yarn...wool (from sheep or alpaca) or cotton, no synthetic things like acrylic. The real stuff is warmest and the way God made it. What was the weather like where you are?