Busy Week

 Sorry for the week long absence. All is well, we have just been busy, busy, busy..

 I think I mentioned last time that my Dad was coming for a visit. He likes to stop here for a couple of days on his way to and from Tennessee.

 He will be back again at the end of the month on his way to one of my cousins sons weddings.I guess you would call him my Dad's grand nephew.

 He will be here for Halloween. I think he planned it that way so that he wouldn't have to be home to hand out candy. Fall horse racing at Churchill Downs starts on October 28th, so maybe he plans to do a little betting on the ponies too.

 In between his visits this time, Alan and I power washed the deck, fixed a minor plumbing issue that ended up causing an even bigger problem which Alan has now fixed nicely. We also got out ALL of the fall decorations (as you can tell from the pictures. Do you think it's too much?) I made a trip to Costco and did all of the usual cooking and cleaning. See, we have been busy getting stuff done.

Of course I did manage to fit in a little knitting and spinning too.

Tomorrow is October 1st. I'm a bit sad to see September go, but I'm happy that fall is finally in full swing.

Sally

In The Mail

Two boxes full of fiber wonderfulness arrived with the mail yesterday. I understand that some of you may be getting tired of reading about my current yarn addiction.  All I can say is I'm sorry. It is what it is, and not all of it is my fault.

The first package was actually a purchase that Grace made (using my credit card). She heard about a "great deal" on sock yarn and thought it would be an even greater deal if I paid for it and then we split the yarn. She is one smart cookie. She goes to college you know. How to pull the "wool" over your mother's eyes is what they apparently teach her there. ( man, am I funny or what today...)

I'm just kidding. It was a good deal and I'm happy to support her knitting efforts.

The next box came from the Loopy Ewe and I might have gasped in delight when I opened it.It contained  my FREE skein of Dream Smooshy with cashmere that I earned for completing all 3 Summer Camp Loopy projects on time. It is just the softest stuff I've ever felt.

Also in the box was a fiber braid and some more yarn that I was able to get using a $25.00 credit I had.

All in all, a very good mail day for me (and Grace). My Dad is coming to visit for the weekend on his way to Tennessee. I'm hoping that the weather will cooperate, but either way we will be enjoying some fun family time. Hope you have fun weekend plans made. Fall starts tomorrow!

Sally

Sweaters and Socks and Shawls Oh My

I decided to take a picture of all of my summer knitting. I felt like I accomplished quite a bit, but until you see it all piled up in one place it doesn't seem like so much. I have to say that I was pretty pleased with the way that most of the projects turned out. I've taken care of some Christmas gifts which is always a nice bonus and a sweet little baby gift as well. Click on the projects page at the top if you want to see way too many pictures of the baby stuff. I think my overall favorite project this summer was the green striped shawl. I can't wait to wear it. The weather is trying to change. Yesterday it was only 68 degrees. It will probably be back in the 80's by the weekend, but I think I'll be getting some use out of these knitted goods soon.

Sally

Unplanned Holiday

My usual work week goes something like this. Monday ~ 12:00-7:00 Wednesday ~ 12:00- 6:00 and Thursday ~ 12:00-7:00. I'm off on Tuesday and Friday. Of course, I'd rather be off on Monday and Friday, but that's just not the way the schedule worked out. Yesterday, which was Tuesday I got a call that all of my Wednesday clients had cancelled for one reason or another. The company that I work for would rather that I use my vacation time or take an unpaid day off than pay me for not actually providing any service. I understand this totally, but If I'd known in advance that I was not going to have to go to work today, I probably would have planned to spend the day differently. As it was such short notice, I did my best to make the most of it.

One sock done! One to go

  George had an early morning vet appointment. His yucky toe has healed nicely and he was given a clean bill of health. Never mind how much it cost us to get him healthy. He's totally back to normal and one happy go lucky cat.

Simple Skyp Socks knit out of Fortissima Colori Sock Color yarn

 I followed that appointment up with a little pedicure. I had my fingernails done yesterday and I needed to have my toes painted to match. I'm all about coordination.

Moonshine fiber company BFL Hand-dyed Roving in the "Love your Face" colorway

 I made a quick stop at Target to pick up a few things for one of my co-workers birthday tomorrow. I'm in charge of getting the cake and paper products. I couldn't resist the Halloween aisle. Halloween Oreos, M&M's and candy corn found their way into my cart.

I've been home now for a couple of hours doing what I love to do most. Ironing.... Just kidding. I've been spinning and knitting and sipping a new Fall like tea all afternoon. I'm sure Alan will come home and wonder what I've been up to all day. It's amazing how fast an unplanned vacation day goes by.

Samurai Chai Mate & White Ayurvedic Chai from Tevanna. Very spicy!

What would you do with an unexpected day off?
Sally

A Pile Of Pillows

 One of our weekend projects was to recover the pillows that came with Grace's furnished apartment couch. We got a pretty good deal on fabric at Jo Ann's and decided to splurge on some coordinating piping. Grace's apartment is decorated primarily in blue and green, so she was looking to brighten the couch up a bit.

After making the first pillow case and doing all that math figuring, the next three went pretty quickly. I was pleased with how they turned out and so was Grace. I did have to go back to the store because my math skills are not that great. I was a few inches short on piping, but, oh well...

Here is a before picture. See, rather plain and boring.
Here is a picture of the pillows on her couch. She took it with her phone and so it's a little blurry, but you get the idea. Bright and cheery!

Sally

Fresh Fall Flowers

Birthday flowers from Barb and Jorge ~ Thanks guys

 Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Our weekend was lovely. The weather was pretty much perfect and Grace came home for a little visit. We ate Thai food Friday night, worked on some projects and did a little shopping Saturday and then we had tickets to see Wicked Sunday afternoon. The show was fantastic. I think I liked it even better than the first time I saw it. We had great seats which always helps.

 I've added a few new fall planting to the deck and yard. All of my summer flowers were dried up and ugly. The geraniums below however, have been the plants that keep on giving. I bought two of these ginormous pots in the early spring at Costco for only $19.00 each. These guys have continued to bloom all spring, summer and now into the fall. They show no signs of slowing down. What a deal! If I had known I would have bought some for the front porch too.

Today is cloudy and they say it's going to rain. A cold front is approaching and it might be as chilly as 40 degrees Tuesday night. I am not complaining one little bit. Bring on the cooler weather. I'm ready for it.

Sally

Happy Birthday To ME!

Well, it finally happened. I turned 50. I couldn't be happier about it, let me tell you. Life is good! I have my health, a husband that loves me to pieces, my family, lots of friends and a pretty decent job (I'm seriously knocking on wood at the moment). I couldn't ask for much more, but I did.... I know, the shame. Just be grateful for what you have Sally. I am, I really am, but since my darling daughter moved out on her own and took (my) her spinning wheel with her, I've been missing it something awful.

I'd like to introduce you to my brand new Happy Birthday spinning wheel

  He/she doesn't have a name yet. Any suggestions? If it looks a tad familiar, that's because it's exactly like the one that Grace has. It's called an Ashford Traditional Wheel and it comes all the way from New Zealand. They have lots of sheep in New Zealand, so apparently they know how to make wonderful spinning wheels.

I've done a little "practice" spinning. It takes time to build a good relationship with your wheel. I know it might look easy to operate, but take it from me there is a little bit of skill involved.  My skill level is improving daily. Hopefully by my next birthday I will really know what I'm doing...

So now you have seen it from every angle. What do you think? Did I make the right choice? I think so.

I can't wait to get started spinning this new fluff that just arrived in the mail. Another little birthday treat.
Turning 50 is GREAT! Hope you enjoy my birthday as much as I'm going to.
Sally

Shiny And NEW

 Remember about a month or so ago when Grace moved into her very own apartment?

Well, she took a couple of my appliances with her. She decided that she "needed" my blender and my Crock-Pot.

 To be perfectly honest, I didn't really mind. Both of those are almost as old as she is and it gave me a great reason to buy new ones. New is almost always better. I happen to be very happy with my new Crock-Pot.

Because it was very "fall" like over the weekend I tried it out by making a giant pot of chili. The best feature (which my old one didn't have) is how it automatically switches to the "warm" setting after the designated time for cooking is reached. I love that! Now I need to go shopping for a blender. Any suggestions?

Sally

Fall Harvest

I picked the last of the vegetables from my little garden. Over all it was a pretty disappointing garden year for me. I'm not even sure I can blame it all on the weather. I'm having to realize that we just don't get enough sun in our little backyard. I love our giant trees, so I guess I'm going to have to come up with a plan B.

I wonder what my neighbors would think of  tomato plants in the front yard? While my harvest was small, what did grow was very tasty. I used some of these tomatoes to make a baby tomato pie, just for ME!

  Sally

First Fall Weekend

I know that some of you are super excited because not only is "Fall" finally here, so is football. We sure did watch our fair share of football over the weekend. Most of our favorite teams managed to loose. It's still early in the season.... but, a few pulled it out in the end and came up winners. The number one winner of the weekend here in Louisville had to be the weather. It was just about perfect. High temperatures in the low 70's. AC off and windows open. Sleeping with the windows open is so "fall" don't you think? I really love the idea of it, but we happen to live in a pretty noisy part of town and actually getting some sleep with the windows open is a bit of a challenge. I sure do hope that fall has come to your town. It's the best!
Sally

More Proof That Fall Is Here

Does your yard look like this already?

It seems very early to me.

I guess the lack of water and extra hot weather causes leaves to fall off of trees sooner than expected.

I got out the leaf blower yesterday and took care of this situation, for the time being. Thanks to our giant oak tree I'm sure there will be many more to "fall".

I hope you believe me now. Fall is really here.
Sally

Almost Fall

OK, so it's not officially "Fall" yet, but unofficially for me, fall began today! September has always been my favorite month of the year. Maybe it's the birthday thing.... I really think it has more to do with the change of seasons. You would never guess from the very hot and humid weather that we are having today that it is September, but I know that it is fall, because.... I can taste it!!!

That's right folks. Today I was able to order my first Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season.

No matter that I am sweating to death while I drink it. A Pumpkin Spice Latte along with some Triple Ginger Snaps from Trader Joe's just screams FALL. Can you hear it? Can you taste it? I sure do hope so.

Sally