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.

Camp Barakel

I went on a fall retreat to Camp Barakel, up North, with my friend Jan. It was an absolutely beautiful weekend. The speaker was from Moody Bible College and she was ok. The fellowship was wonderful, the food was good and the activities were terrific.  On Sat. right after breakfast, and before chapel, we did the zip line (twice)!!

We got prepared ......

Made the climb up 51 steps............ 

and off we went (I'm in the red swetshirt). The first time was so much fun, we did it again.

After lunch we went on a 10 mile canoe trip which turned out to be a disaster of sorts.  A mile into the trip down the Asable River we were trying to avoid some rocks and ended up on top of a large one. The river was high and the rocks were covered. Attempting to get free of the rock, we tipped into a VERY cold river!!  We lost one of our life saver cushions and our 2 bottles of water. Plus my camera, cell phone and hearing aids got drenched! It was a challenge getting the water out of the canoe and turning it right side up, but we did conquer it (and I have the bruises to prove it).  Luckily we were not seriously hurt (except for our pride--which was a bit inflated at the beginning, which is probably why we tipped).  The sun was shining and despite the breeze, we paddled the 9 miles to the end.  Our backs got dry, but not our feet or lower legs.  The hot shower sure did feel great.  My hearing aid dried out and was ok. It took 24 hours for the cell phone to dry out and function normally. The camera still is not working, but I did rescue the memory card and the pictures were ok. So on Tues. I bought an inexpensive replacement camera that seems to be fine (the pumpkin photo is from that one).  The rest of the trip was uneventful.... 

Pumpkin Patch Crochet Along

I have had this finished for awhile, but didn't get the picture up. This is my pumpkin and it is now part of my fall decorations. It was fun to do

Fall

Baseball season is about to end. Bright spot:  Phillies are in the playoffs and SHOULD (WILL) make it to the World Series and WIN!! Go Phillies
Dark spot:  The St. Louis Cardinals fizzled at the end and are not in the playoffs.  Can't wait for spring!!
I am going for a short weekend retreat at Camp Barakel up North with my friend Jan.  We have gone before and really enjoyed it.
In a few weeks I will be going to the mountains of Georgia to visit a friend who moved there.  The leaves should be at their peak then!
I am also getting ready for a craft show and loading up my Etsy store(see link at the top of the page) with lots of items. My fingers have been busy knitting, crocheting and sewing!!

Where did the summer go?

This summer sure did fly by. It was VERY hot here in MI.  We used our air conditioner more than any other summer since we moved here in 1995! I took some short trips. I went to Ludington for a few days for some "ladies time" with Jan.  We shopped, ate, walked, sat on the beach and watched some girl flix--great time!!  I also spent a week in PA going to a show (Wizard of Oz) at a local dinner theater. My brother was the Wizard--great show!  Plus, I got to spend the evening with my cousins and their wives. I also spent time with friends from high school, college, the internet and family.  It was a very enjoyable trip --especially the hoagie!!
From my hooks and needles:  Haley went off to college in Aug. (SEMO).  I made her a set of washcloths for each day of the week.  I attempted to add "study" on the band on 6 of them and "party" on the 7th, but I couldn't get the duplicate stitch to look right. So I told her the pink one was for partying and she could only use it one day a week! (yeah--right!!)

I aso made her an afghan for her dorm bed in her school colors, which aslo happen to be her high school colors!

One last "off to college item--a new pillowcase.  The very first pillowcase I made was for Haley many years ago.  Now all the grandkids have several and I am selling them.  I still love making them.  Her room is decorated in her favorite colors--pink and black.  Have fun Haley and don't forget to study!!