Ready--steady--GO! Oh dear, it's almost JULY!

16.06.10  For us summer is off and running this week.  Gery was a big hit when Jim took him down to camp.  The first Grey Wolf course is coming up, and then I have to make 90 bean bags for Wood Badge by Thursday.  I have the muslin ready.  Jim picked up pebbles (I say rocks)--much cheaper than beads or pellets.  Beans and such won't work because if/when they get wet they get nasty.  I'll be helping with the Friday feasts for five weeks.  Right now we have temps in the 70s with rain and naturally for the weekend it's supposed to be 85 and sunny.  Sunny is good, 85 not so good!
17.06.10  I had a nice surprise yesterday.  Jim went down to the MIA with me to pick up my painting.  The line was long, but the wait was fairly short.  We didn't have time to visit Hortense (Degas' painting on the third floor).  Jim took me out to lunch at a little Chinese restaurant close to REI in Roseville.  I had an egg roll salad with rice noodles and it was good.
I'm looking outside and it's windy and the sky is a gorgeous blue.  Eevee and I will have to go walkies later.  It looks like a nice day to sit outside and knit--after I clean out the cupboard with all Ben's old school supplies.  When the new countertop is installed, the counter will be cleared off!  That cupboard has a lot of storage room.
21.06.10  I can hear the workers outside today.  Our neighborhood roads are in the process of being repaved.  Messy business.  I'm glad we took walkies this morning.
Good news/bad news...the good news is that I started Wood Badge ticket #3 over the weekend.  It was fun to be at camp for the day and then spend the night.  One of the adult QM staffers roasted a 187-lb pig for the feast.  It was really good, although, I made sure to be at the other end for pulling off the meat.
28.06.10  Happy birthday, Tishie.  I miss you.
This is getting to be a long post.  I can't seem to finish before I go off to the next thing!  Ben surprised me with a visit for a couple of days last week.  I started work on the early Boy Scout shirt.  The pockets are on, next is the collar.  I altered a German jacket pattern and those are the toughest changes I made to the pattern.  Once I get the collar on, the rest should be easy (famous last words).
It was an eventful week good and bad.  The only bad I'll go into is that I'm going to teach my last pick a project class today.  Business has been slow and I will be laid off.  They are hoping business picks up in the fall, but in this economy that may be wishful thinking.  I have a spinning class in July, which I hope will go.  I have much to think about.  Maybe I'll get those last 4 nights of camping in after all to finish  ticket #4!
The rain just came down in buckets for the Friday Feast at camp.  It didn't drown our spirits.  We served the meal under the dining flies and the boys were very appreciative.  Phyllis and I stayed up until 2:30 am finishing dishes and mopping the QM so the guys could have a break in the morning.  Such a nice group of kids and adults.
29.06.10 What a gorgeous summery day!  Mom and I went up to Anoka and enjoyed lunch outside on the patio at Billy's.  We walked around town and then stopped at the Dessert Cafe for a treat.  We split a piece of carrot cake in honor of Tishie's birthday (yesterday).  We miss her so much, but we enjoyed the lovely day she sent us!

30.06.10  Today after an appointment I went to Half Price Books.  It's always fun to look for treasures and today I got lucky.  It's from 1991 and has lovely, classic projects in it.  I really love the British designers.  When I picked up the needles again in 1983, little did I know that we would be going back to Germany.  Many European and American designers were just getting started and the available yarns and patterns were amazing!  I was in the right place at the right time.
Other photos:  pretty flowers (I switch out my paintings with the seasons), my summer cardigan (mindless knitting), a busy little spider (that reminds me--the Tour de Fleece will begin soon!), I'm re-newing and re-using old furniture (this is for Ben's books) with a coat of paint.

...and so summer begins.

It's that time of year.  Ben and Zach headed to camp.  It's been nice to have Ben home for a bit and Zach for a couple of days.  I finished Gery Grey Wolf and he'll be going to camp this weekend.  I do believe Eevee will miss him.  We think his new look is quite handsome.

I finished the Faye Jacket and it just needs a couple of ends woven and blocking.  Why I decided to sew it together before blocking is a puzzlement, but I was NOT going to take it apart!  It's really a nice design.  In hindsight, I could have planned the cable transition for the shoulders a bit better.  The bobbles on the front shoulders are gone.  I secured the stitches above and below on the wrong side, and then clipped the bobble in the middle and undid it--surprising how much yarn those take.  I duplicate stitched to close the holes and it looks good.  Too bad it's not blocked.  This morning is chilly and it would feel cozy.

The other sweater is still partially done.  One sleeve to finish and one to go.  Lace patterns and raglan sleeve shaping = no fun.

10.06.10 

I finished myfaye and found buttons pretty quickly today.  I can put this one away until fall, unless it becomes chilly before then.  Gery is finished and off to camp.  I've been going through stuff lately.  Time to purge.  The kitchen re-do will happen later this summer.  Lots going on!

Yesterday I went through the stash.  I have a nice project stash and spinning stash.  The Tour de Fleece is coming up and the chocolate covered cherries and cormo/silk will be the projects for the event.

Call me Rocky--I'm a flying squirrel!

28.05.10  One week ago today I was at Scout camp.  We were preparing for Star Camp--a celebration of Scouting's 100th birthday in the US and in Minnesota.  It was quite a weekend and an exciting event.  I heard we had anywhere from 10, 500 to 11,000 participants.  I was one of the volunteer photographers, and had such fun taking photos all weekend.  I met up with old friends and made some new friends.

Now, backing up two weeks...we started out on a bike ride and had gone about 5 miles when I had clip problems (didn't get out in time) and a dizzy spell.  Ugh!  What a hassle!  I banged up my knee and a candy bar helped give me enough energy to bike back to the car.  The next day (Sunday) I was adjusting my shoe while standing and when I sat on the step, I pointed my rear incorrectly and felt and heard something like knuckles cracking.  Well, I was able to forget how much my knee hurt.  This week I had some x-rays and it turns out I have a fractured tailbone.  I can move around just fine.  It hurts when I sit still! How annoying.

03.06.10  The steak fry is coming up  and my second Wood Badge ticket will be finished! I got the cook booklets finished--50 in all.  My last Dutch oven dish (until September) will be River City Ribs (Coca Cola ribs).

Ben and I had a nice day yesterday.  After we went to Kinko's and made all the copies for the booklets (50 copies each of 8 pages back and front), we went out to lunch--California Pizza Kitchen.  I had my favorite pizza Gorgonzola Pear.  We also had a good appetizer--white corn guacamole with chips.  Mmmm...good.  When we got back home we cut pages, organized pages, and then bound the booklets.

I'm making my way through the rest of the Kilimanjaro.  I confess I'll be happy to be done with this sweater.  This one has been a real pain to keep the stitch count correct for increasing and decreasing.  Ugh.  It had better be worth it!  I'm planning my next project and I believe it will be something cabled.  I've had my patterns and books out and have been searching for the perfect project.  There are luscious tweeds and aran yarn in my stash just waiting to be made into something warm and wooly.  Lace is out for now.  As much as I love to knit it, I'm just over it after the Kilimanjaro.  Maybe that's why I can't find that design on Ravelry!

It's good that our temps are in the 70s, because I'm using the heating pad on my backside.  I'm taking Tylenol again to see if that helps.  This is highly annoying and has seriously dented my activity level.  I hiked last weekend with the guys and it was so nice, but I paid for it the next day.  It was worth it, though.  The wildflowers were blooming and it was pleasant in the shade.  Jim, Ben, and Mike had their packs (it was a training hike for them) and I just had my camera.  It was odd not to have a day pack.

05.06.10 I finally got photos off my camera, so I can finish this post!   It's been a busy and tiresome few weeks.  I worked on Wood Badge ticket #2 and as of Thursday, it's finished.  The little booklet turned out great.  I think I'll do this again for next "year" (we start up again in August).  Jim took my ticket and booklets for Phyllis (my patrol guide) and Skye (Grey Wolf director).  I'm still healing my fractured tailbone.  Today I feel pretty good.  It's about time, I haven't had much sound sleep lately.

I've dubbed the current WIP, Kili(aaaahhhh)manjaro.  I WILL finish it.  I have some linen in the wings as well as the Faye Jacket to finish.

Scenes from camp, hiking, and knitting--the statue reminds me of Ben, a camper arriving with all his gear, Rocky the Flying Squirrel, "Lord Baden-Powell" made an appearance, a Scout on the COPE course, time out to roll down the hill, I take a knitting break at the info booth,  huge crowd for the show, fireworks, Eevee is happy Ben's home, Mike and Jim check their direction during our hike, Jim and Ben, and the Faye Jacket.

Taking a walk

We've been pretty lucky the past week because the weather's been very pleasant.  The grass is so green, and the sky is very blue.  I decided to take a walk on the clouds the other day.  When I was a little girl, my sister and I used to walk on the clouds.  I was out on the deck enjoying the nice day.  I spread out a blanket, took my shoes off (so I could feel the softness) and stood on a puffy, white cloud for a few moments (I made my socks on my last trip to Germany--a good way to admire my work).  Ahhh, it was wonderful--so soft and fluffy!  The breeze was light, so the little cloud passed by slowly.  I highly recommend this form of exercise, as it's quite good for lifting one's mood.  I miss my sister very much, and I'm sure she was peeking over a cloud watching me.  She probably wanted to tickle my feet!

Chocolate with zero calories!

Got your attention, didn't it?  Kathy and I went to Shepherd's Harvest Fest on Saturday. It was bad weather, as usual...but I got to wear my cardigan, so it was a good day!  It was crowded (much more so than years past), which is good for the fest.  The four large buildings were open with vendors.  Lots of pretty fiber-y goods to see and purchase.  I found a pattern and a pound and four ounces of chocolate covered cherries to spin.  We visited the sheep in the barn and they never fail to make me smile.

After we got back, I had a bit of down time before heading out to the scout camp for the troop cooking competition.  We had quite a feast.  The boys loved preparing their meals and the adults even participated.  I have a few new recipes to add to my cook booklet for June!

I finally felted the cup cozies.  I hope the cups I used for drying weren't too big.  Must try one tomorrow.  They are in need of some embellishing.