Boise 2011

I made my annual trip to Boise the end of March into April. I had enough SW rewards to go for free (except for the tax).  The kids were on spring break so we had fun going to the zoo, going to the movies (Diary of a Wimpy Kid--you have to be a kid to like it), bike rides, and the park.

Since it was my birthday month, I got to make a free pizza for us at Flying Pie.
The kids were back in school the second week I was there. Sebastian had a track meet which was fun the watch.  He is still in elementary school, so it was a lot different than high school meets. He;s there somewhere!

I taught Elise and Sebastian how to crochet while there. I'm sure they need some more help by now, I made the hat Elise is wearing. That is her dog Lou she is holding. He slept with her almost every night I was there--or he slept with me!  Lou was hit by a car in May. He died in Elise's arms on the way to the animal hospital She really misses him. He was a good dog.

Spring Training

Outside of George Steinbrener Park in Tampa. The game was sold out, so we just walked around the outside of the stadium

Lakeland, where the Tigers play.

Great seats!

The Mouse is everywhere!!

We went to Florida in March for Spring Training baseball games. This is so much fun that we are going to do it every year (next year we will go to the west coast/Tampa area).  We stayed in Orlando and used it as our base. We saw the Yankees, Cardinals, Phillies, Mets, Tigers and Nationals play.

We drove to Tampa to see Aunt Jane and Uncle Leo and had lunch with them.  They are great!!

Head warmers

The flower is half the fun

For Haley

for Christina

At the craft show I did in Nov. someone asked if I had headbands/headwarmers for sale. She didn't call them that, but described them.  A week late Christina came home from Chicago to visit her family. She had one she bought and said they were all the rage in Chicago.  I found some free patterns (and even some I bought) and have been making them ever since. I rarely make something for myself, but I made this one for ME!! (and I love it--not as "suffocating" as a hat, but just as warm.

I've made lots more to sell this winter!  I made one for Jenny, but didn't get a picture of it...

Winter

Donation bunny hat

Flower baby hat

Carrying case for my Kindle

The rest of the bunny hat. Donation

Outfit for Emily, Nina's doll. She picked the colors.

Neck warmer for sale.

Winter in Michigan means one thing (really 2):  snow and ice!  We had lots of both this year.I  spent lots of time inside knitting, sewing and crocheting. These are some of the things I made.

Door County

Keith had a business trip to Milwaukee and I went with him. We had a great lunch with the Dohlmanns and did some other visiting, then we went to Door County, WI for 3 days. It is beautiful there. We hiked, biked, shopped and, of course, ate ice cream.

This was the view from our room. It is Green Bay.

We climbed this tower and could see Lake Michigan and Green Bay.

 Great ice cream!!

We drove back through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We have been here 16 years and this was a first for both of us!! It was a lot more enjoyable than going via Chicago and I-94.

Fall

I forgot to mention a short trip I took to Georgia last fall. I went with Chris to see Tappitha and her family. They moved away and we sure do miss them.  We had a fantastic time there. They live in the NE corner of Georgia in the mountains.  We explored lots of waterfalls. We even drove behind one.  It is so beautiful there. We did nots of shopping and eating!!

 Yes, there are goats on the roof!!

 

This was a definite highlight of the trip. Before going to the airport in Atlanta to come home, we went to the famous Varsity Diner to eat.  It was a wonderful, fun experience. Thanks so much Tappitha and Matt!!

Time keeps on keeping on

I have decided to spend most of this evening trying to catch up with my long neglected blog!  All is well here in Clarkston. We have been busy with life, just like most of you.  This will be a brief synopis of what has been happening (as much as my memory will allow...)  My last post was way back in Oct., almost 9 months ago. And no, no baby, but our niece is having her first in January!

I did LOTS of sewing. knitting and crocheting last fall. My Etsy shop did very well and I did ok at a craft show in Nov.  The turn out was very light (Michigan economy is awful), but I did make a decent profit after paying the entry fee. My aprons, neck warmers and hats were popular sellers. I am getting my inventory ready for more shows and a boost in inventory for the Etsy shop. I have some great laminated cotton that I want to use to make art smocks for the back to school crowd.

We went to St. Louis for Christmas. We had a great time with the girls. They came to our motel and went swimming. We had snow and made a snowman in the backyard and went sliding down their hill.

Clark had his tonsils removed on Dec. 30, so I stayed a little longer to help with the girls.  We took the 2 older ones to see "Tangled".  Keith left the next day but I stayed over. Jenny and I took all 3 of the girls to the zoo so Clark could sleep undisturbed. BUT there was a tornado sighting when we got to the zoo, so we had to stay inside for 45 minutes. The tornado touched down very close to the Magic House where we almost went!! The zoo was pretty deserted so we had a great time looking at the animals. What a fun way to end 2010.

Hats

I have been very busy making things for the upcoming craft show on Nov. 13. Then I got an order for a pink hat with a brown flower.  There are many shades of pink, so I made these two hats:
  I let her pick the one she liked the best. She had trouble deciding. We were at church (Wed. night) and so she got the opinion of 2 younger women.  They both picked the second hat, so she bought that one. Now I will put the first one on my Etsy shop.

Bernat Mystery Afghan Crochet-Along

I decided to do this crochet-along since I love the feel of the Bernat Softee Chunky yarn.  So far there have been 4 clues (squares) posted. A new one gets posted every Wed. and we should have all of them by Christmas. Here are my first 3 patterns. I have #4, but no camera right now to take the pictures (DH needed it and he is in Minneapolis until Sat. afternoon). The first square is the Walnut one--2 of that pattern.

The second square (granny square) is the bronze one--2 of that and the third square is the redwood one--8 of that pattern. When I get my camera back I will add a picture of clue #4.  I picked fall colors. I used a J hook for all of the squares--they are 8" square. You can read about the crochet along here

Baby shower gift

I finished up this set for a baby shower I am going to on the 23rd.  It is a cuddle cocoon and hat. I got this pattern on Etsy for the cocoon. The hat is a combination of 2 different patterns. I used a double strand of yarn--one of Bernat's Baby Jacquards and one of Bernat's Baby soft. It was fun to do. She is having a girl (her second girl).  I hope she likes it.