Oregon Trail...

I am clearly behind the curve on this but I have to share about our trip. Besides having 6 plus hours of drive time to knit, take in gorgeous scenery, and chat with my Honey Bunny...I had these lovely girls to greet me!


Is there anything quite like having beautiful nieces come running out to the end of the driveway, jumping up and down? Budge was literally waiting for us, watching down their long street, just to get that first glimpse of our car turning the corner. Oh, but it sure feeds the ego, I mean the heart!

We went up to celebrate with my brother and his wife. It was their 10th wedding anniversary, and they came up with a plan as unique as they are....Treehouses! We stayed in a Treesort, and had a treemendous time! Hehe...they do that to you there. They put a pun on anything possible and it is contagious.

Here was our original tree house....Serendipitree. We ended up trading with another family member who was solo for the weekend. They told us it would sleep 3, but I don't know how as the bed was a twin! I suppose if you wanted to sleep fetal on the floor, or like an owl on a branch outside...but we actually wanted some sort of bed. Kerri graciously traded us for her house that slept 5 and all was well.


Here is the house we ended up in. It was called Treeloon and is meant to look like a Saloon with the swinging doors. Not only was it bigger but it actually had a sink in it! I did have to make runs to the bathroom in the dark (scary) but I could at least wash my feet before climbing into bed, brush teeth and take out contacts. I'm a simple girl, the sink was perfect!

Here is our view from the deck...


Inside the Treeloon, not where we slept but a bunk that would acomodate 2-3 kids....I was tempted to take a picture of the "special bucket" that was in a cupboard should you not want to walk to the bathroom in the scary night. Since I was mortified even knowing it was there (Honey Bunny told me) it was all I could do to stand its presence. I could not bring myself to even touch the handle of the door. Is this just me who finds this sort of gross? I do have to wonder if anyone uses it, blech!


My sister on the other hand is a bit higher maintenance. So guess what she got? Thank goodness she didn't get the little cupboard with the night time amenity!! Across the wooden bridge from me was a militaryish tent that had a bed in it...Cavaltree. I asked her to model her house and open the flap door. She said a snarky "Model this!" ....then I had to run to the bathroom so I didn't wet my pants. That is how it goes with us.

Above that, on the back of the tree, there were a couple of wooden ladders that lead up to the top tree fort. My daughter and nieces all slept up there and we just hoped no one had to go to the bathroom in the night. The ladder area was dark and sketchy and we didn't need any falls.

The kids loved it. I tell you, if you have little ones this is a place to take them. This is the sort of thing that smaller children would never forget. I know my nephews and nieces will be talking about this for years to come. I would only do it again if it was a family thing like this, or I was taking small children. It is a bit on the pricey side, and I can say that I did it, no need to do it again but I would for an event. It really was a fun novelty adventure.

There was swimming....



Berry picking....



Exploring the 'hood.....



The best part? Family!



Oh, I nearly forgot! While we were there we met a couple from Family Fun Magazine. They were doing a story on the Treesort for an issue next summer. It is in the section called "Worth the Drive". They needed models for the photo portion and our family was who they chose. My brother and his wife were the parents, and while they have two boys only one was cooperative for pictures. So the "family" was my brother, SIL, nephew and niece! How cool is that? So I took pictures of them taking pictures...


My sister looking at the shots the photographer got...


We also got to squeeze in a soccer game during our trip. Is there anything cuter than 5 year old kids trying to make their legs work? I am endlessly amused by this! Poor kids can barely kick the darn thing, and then half way through the game they change the goal sides. Now they have to remember to kick the other direction. The other funny thing is the coaching styles...some coaches really try to instill the rules of the game and others are just about the kids having fun and learning good sportsmanship. I am in the camp of the latter, so I laugh at all the time outs, off sides calls and kicking out of bounds. The kids have no clue, at 5, but the coaches are ready to blow a gasket. So funny! Makes me run for the sani-hut!

Get 'em Bo!

Jimmy Beans Wool Coolness

Jimmy came up with this great idea to do video reviews online. These began with product reviews, honestly done, pointing out things we like (and don't like) about products. Added to them are some cool tutorial videos like a provisional cast on and that sort of thing. I know if anyone has an idea for something they would like to see, just suggest it! They are always open to fresh ideas!!



See the rest of the reviews here: JBW Video Reviews

There are a few more of mine, but I don't recommend them unless you like hearing "ummmm...." and "ahhhh..." way too much. What a dork! Look for Sandy, Jeanne or Laura and you will be much happier...heck any of the girls. They rock!!

From one irish girlie to another Irishgirlie

She taunts us with food plates and dessert pictures all the time. Most recently it was cupcakes that brought to mind "Princess Cake" cravings which then lead me to binge on peanut M&M's because it was the only treat I could find in an emergency, with a belly ache to follow. It's all good.

In an effort to give back (cause I'm a giver!) here is what time on my hands causes me to find. Oh the cleverness of some people!! I really, honestly think someday I might give these a whirl.


It began with a show I caught on television....it may have been a Martha if I recall, but I don't ever watch that show so I can't be sure. Anyway, these just looked yummy! Marzipan cupcakes that would be the hit of any Knit Night!


Then I caught This Post on Good Yarns blog....


Which lead to this...


....and finally these pictures!




You have to love the note at the end here!

Simple Socks...simple fun

I was in a big fat hurry and wanted to knit these up for a friend. She has a mad crush on Johnny Depp and his pirate swagger...which I can totally relate to myself. The color is Black Pearl, like in the movie....so I had to knit them for her. Lorna's Laces worsted and a Knitting Pure and Simple pattern made these babies fly...took a day to knit. Gotta love big needles and big yarn!


My mad crush is on Viggo Mortensen, and his Lord of the Rings character Aragon. Can't tell you what is is about his grubby, dirty looks but it makes me swoon. His picture hangs in my laundry room above the washing machine. Honey Bunny brings home movies with Viggo in them cause he is really secure like that. That, and he's... well.....hoping?

*Sigh!*

When I was much younger my mom had a best friend named Tawney. They would sit at the table gossiping and drinking Diet Coke from their coffee mugs so we kids wouldn't know they had soda in the house. Selfish, but clever at the same time.

We had all day to amuse ourselves and when I was feeling sort of naughty I would sneak into Tawney's laundry room and close the door. I don't know why I thought it was wrong, but there was something sort of sneaky about it....there on the back of her laundry room door was a life sized poster of Mark Spitz!! Standing there in his patriotic speedo with all of his gold medals fanned out across his chest. I had no idea what the big deal was, but my mom and Tawney would giggle when they looked at it, so I did my best to understand.

For the life of me I can't find the picture now. It was in color and looked like this...



But was full sized like this...


Does anyone else remember this? It can't be just me. I still don't "get it", though I admire his accomplishments. Maybe it is just because clean from the pool is just not my thing, and it's far cry from my grubby Viggo...who knows?

I am rooting for Michael Phelps all the way, OH!, and did anyone see Dara Torres? Dang girl!!

My lap these days! One more reason to sit and knit!

Please ignore the jammies and the cleavage...I share the amazing cuteness on my lap! Though the jammies are cute as well...Target I believe. They are my summer camping jams because they have pink flamingos. Everyone knows that pink flamingos are the the universal sign of "vacation", and camping is the only vacationing we will be doing this summer. (Oy! Gas prices!!) The pajama pants also have a little red fire engine for the mailboxes...go figure! Now you really know why I had to have them!!









Notice her little tongue poking out? When she is in a deep sleep I will hear this tiny suckling noise....she is having nursing dreams I imagine, and it is seriously one of the cutest things ever. I keep hoping to have my camera ready for a quick video, but it hasn't happened yet.

Fine, a bit of knitting it is!!

One of the previously mentioned 20,000 posts I now have time for....


Jimmy Beans Wool has this amazing once a month Limited Edition colorway in conjunction with Lorna's Laces yarn. Each month brings a new treat and it sells out like mad, so you have to move quickly to get yours! For the month of June the color was Blueberry Snowcone. I was able to pick up the last 3 hanks of Lion and Lamb and did the happy dance like you can not believe!!



I LOVE Lion and Lamb and knew immediately what I wanted to do with this yarn once I got it.....Clapotis!!


I have to say that when I first saw this pattern I was not especially "wowed". That came later, with the throngs of people knitting it, loving it, wearing it and then making more than one. What can I say? I am a lemming without hope, so I was dying to follow along and knit my own.


My stroke of originality came when I read enough blogs and enough on Ravelry to know that I did not need 4 hanks. Nothing worse than an entire 30.00ish hank to knit the last 20ish number of rows!! I simply did one less repeat and actually knit it a bit longer and still had some leftover.


In the end, I love it!! Probably the most wearable thing I have knit in ages. My husband commented on it, which he never does and even more....my kids noticed! I seriously love it and I can finally understand why so many people knit another one. Quick, easy and nearly mindless knitting to achieve something I will wear forever....and will have to hide when my sister visits because she will steal it for sure!

Knitting Interruption!

All this talk about trips (and there is more besides Appalachia!) has me wanting to think about knitting. I did knit on the trip actually. You would not know it because I haven't mentioned it, and there are no photos as evidence, but I did knit a no purl Monkey sock on the plane. One and a half socks actually. That is where it stands still, at one and a half. (Am I the only one with an entire album of Disneyland pictures and yet you would never know I was there?)

I will get around to sharing the knitting but since my pile of UFO's has grown ever larger it is actually a bit sad and discouraging it will have to wait a bit. Work up the nerve ya know? I have taken plenty of solace in just reading about how I am not alone. Most of us have a stack of things we start and then set down. There is something about the excitement of a new project, new yarn, new technique, new pattern, new, new, new...it always has me chasing after it. Oh, and it isn't just us knitters I'm finding. Quilters do it too. Crafty and creative people of all sorts seem to have projects that linger. It helps me to know that.

Has anyone seen the new Berroco Seduce? I so badly want to start a project with that!!

In all my reading and random searching of blogs this little gem popped up. I know there are all sorts of journals you can buy, but this puppy is FREE! I don't know how well I will use these pages, but I did download and save a copy for myself just in case. Everything from graph paper to keeping track of works in progress, there is a sheet for everything. Kathryn Ivy's site has this Knitting Journal (Designed by Grace Schnebly) and I think it is just plain cool! Check it out and let me know what you think.... There are a number of do it yourself items on the sidebar as well.

Other than that, my nephew is here. What a sport he is! They live far enough away that he barely knows us, and yet he is here for two weeks. See, we went to Oregon to visit family and on our way out of town we stopped to say goodbye. My sister in law asked if I wanted to take a kid home. Kind of feeling put on the spot I said "yes", and then immediately started thinking if this was a good idea or not. Besides the 7 hour drive we were about to take on, he doesn't really know us! Yet, in about 15 minutes we were on our way home with an additional passenger....for a 2 week stay!


It has been a blast is all I can say. He did great in the car and every time the phone rings he yells "I'm not ready to go home yet!". I like to think that this means he likes us. My brother just thinks we are spoiling him. Who knows? I just know that I am not ready for him to go home yet either.