Thursday, July 27, 2017

Dog Days of Summer

Another week has gone by and it's been a hot one!  Actually, it's been pretty hot for weeks now and the forecast is for the 90's for the entire 10 day forecast.  Very unusual for our area.  Usually we have one or two hot weeks and then it's in the 70's and 80's.  I don't like heat.  Not at all.  For some reason the past few years I've felt it more, perhaps all the meds the doctors have me on?  Who knows?  I am ready for some cooler days though.  At least it always cools to the 50's at night at the lake, in town, not so much!

Nita's pretty flowers.  See that big plant in the back?  That's her zucchini that she has planted in a pot!  There are lots of zucchini's in there too with a few almost ready to be harvested.  You can see the faint blur from smoke over the hills in the background.  Lots and lots of fires again this year.
Do you see this little guy on the side of the tree?  He's making a mess of our campsite every. single. night.  How one little squirrel can tear up so much is astounding.  At least it's just pinecones that he's chewing up and throwing around and not our furniture!  I'm not kidding, every morning ours and Paul & Lori's spots are completely covered with pieces of pinecones.
This is Dennis' new baby.  We've been looking for a smaller trailer that was reasonably priced to use to go on trips since our trailer is pretty permanently placed at the lake and I don't want to pull something that big. We stumbled upon this one last Saturday.  It's a 2009 but the stove,oven, refrigerator and microwave were never even used! It seriously looks as though it was only used once or twice.  We will be letting others use it to take trips too.  We feel God has blessed us and we want to share that.
It is smaller than our lake trailer but still has a queen size bed, although curtains separate it, not a true door.  We don't care about that at all.  The table also makes into another bed.
Kitchen area and bathroom door.  It has the same exact appliances as our lake trailer and they have always been reliable.
The bathroom has a tub and shower and more counter space than our lake trailer.  It also has a huge closet to the left of this photo that you can't see here. I honestly think this camper has more storage than our big one.  Maybe we should full-time RV in this one!  :-)
 
We're already going to use it next weekend when Alicia, Jeremy and the boys come to visit.  We've rented the spot across from us at the lake and will take this trailer there for them to use.  When Jamie and the kids come or when Mandy, Brad and Piper visit in the summer, we can take this up to the lake and not have to run back and forth to town every night.  It's like a little guest house. :-) We're hoping it gets lots and lots of use.  A bit of advice for anyone wanting to buy a trailer?  Wait until this time of year or later.  They are trying to get rid of them before winter hits and boy, can you talk them down, down, down in price.  I was really surprised at how cheap we got this.  We've been watching Craigslist for months and not finding anything that wasn't damaged or filthy,  This one is like brand new.  We are really looking forward to sharing this blessing with others. :-)

Dennis and I went shopping last night for all of the hoses, adapters, pillows, kitchen stuff for it.  Goodness!  It was like outfitting a small apartment!

Kim from Napiersknits sent me this book.  Andrea is the daughter of Max Lucado, Dennis' favorite author so I'm really looking forward to reading it.  Thanks Kim!
I finally finished my beaded shawl. It is the Asana Shawl by Helen Stewart.  I really do like this pattern.  Every pattern of hers that I've done has been very well written and easy to understand.  She even provides the number of stitches that you should have at the end of each row so you can check yourself.

My problem was the yarn.  I don't even know what yarn it is since it was given to me years ago from someone's stash.  I blocked this thing like crazy and look at it, still curled up.  I could tell it was going to do this, so I bound off several rows early.  I spent soooooo much time knitting this and I'm so disappointed.  But, it is a beautiful pattern and don't let my yarn issues stop you from knitting it yourself.
Look at that beautiful pattern.  It really is a fun knit, just not worth wasting time with this yarn.
I also knitted four more pair of mittens this week and started a pair of socks.  I'm sure not getting much accomplished this summer.  I think this disappointing shawl makes me want to tackle some smaller projects.  There is a KAL going on for double knitting next month and I've never tried that.  I may just go pattern browsing and try to find something simple to try to learn something new.

I hope you're all enjoying summer and all of it's fresh produce.  I picked 3 gallons of raspberries last week and froze them.  That will be a nice reminder of summer in the snowy days ahead. :-)

Have a lovely week my friends.

"Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24

Blessings,
Betsy












18 comments:

  1. How disappointing that the yarn didn't behave itself, as the shawl is lovely.

    I love the camper and the idea of using it for a guest house. When my brothers died so close together several years ago, friends parked their campers in front of my house for visiting family to use. It was such a blessing to have the use of the campers.

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  2. Sorry the yarn did not behave. I hate when that happens!! Your new camper looks like fun - it should be nice to be able to get out on the road with it. and, having it at the lake will be great too. Enjoy!!

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  3. Very exciting news about the new trailer Betsy. You are so wonderful to share it with those you love. I am sorry about the shawl curling that would make me mad after all the hard work you put in, still I think it is beautiful. Hope you get some cool days soon.

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  4. So good to see your camping post. I love your beaded shawl! 4 more mitten pairs! Wow.
    We can be glad your camp pest is not a bear right? I love reading all about your camping days!Let me know how English LEssons is. I am loving the year of living Bibically!

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  5. Oh what a funny thought of that squirrel making a big mess with his pinecones..... LOL
    And your new travel trailer is huge, I love the fact you have the one at the lake as your cottage!
    Your shawl is so pretty! It has been a very hot summer here also, but at lease we have gotten much needed rain!
    Sending you a hug! Enjoy your family!
    Love, Roxy

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  6. Lovely shawl pattern! Could you add some heavy beads along the edge to "de-curl"it?

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    1. That is a wonderful idea!!!! I may give that a try. Thank you.
      Blessings,
      Betsy

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  7. Betsy, have you tried using the steam iron to flatten it out? So sorry the yarn was naughty. So much time spent. What a GREAT trailer for what you'll use it for! Awesome! I kind of wish I had one of those teardrop trailers so I could pull it to visit my daughter in Ohio. Enjoy the summer.. it will be over way too soon. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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    1. I hadn't tried a steam iron. Since I don't know what the fiber is in the yarn I was afraid it might melt it if it was acrylic. I may give it a try though. It couldn't hurt.
      Blessings,
      Betsy

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  8. I LOVE your trailer. I've been trying to talk The Mister into one just like that. Thanks for the good advice!
    As for that naughty shawl...what a shame. It must be acrylic, wool would never do that, right?

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  9. That little trailer is perfect! So glad you were able to get a deal. It certainly will come in very handy for guests. The shawl is still lovely, so what if it curls. when you wrap it around yourself, no one will know the difference. Anyone who doesn't knit wouldn't see anything wrong with it anyways. :) Have a wonderful weekend.

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  10. Hi there Betsy,
    Lovely post Nitas flowers and zucchini are amazing, well done on the trailer too, our Lord is very good eh? Praise His name forever, and I'm sure it will be well used, it is amazingly commodious. Beautifully fitted out in indeed.
    Re the shawl. I've a query. I've always found pressing with a steam cloth works on recalcitrant ie naughty wool items. Have you tried pressing it with a damp pressing cloth on wool heat, or lower if you're worried re beads? If not I pray it might be a solution fir you, or someone else has it. I think it would really help. I'm not sure what you mean by blocking, but I wants did it with hand knits by my mum's friend as they needed it badly. It was mum's way of sorting it out learnt it from her. Keep damping the pressing cloth as you iron. That's how they steamed before stea irons but maybe you know that. We didn't have them when I was young here in Oz.
    Must go, night, and God bless,
    Shaz in Oz,x

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  11. Good morning Betsy! What a lovely trailer you found. How long is it? We had a 29 foot fifth wheel that we lived in for three years with one slide out. Nice zucchini plant! I wondered how big across the top was. I have two in pots and wondered how small a pot I could get away with! Beautiful shawl pattern! I wondered if you could sew some beads or something around the bottom to hold it down? We are having lots of humidity this year also. Take care. Nancy

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  12. Wow---what a neat little camper... Sounds like you got a great deal ---and will enjoy it... Hopefully, you can travel more using it. Maybe someday--you can come to TN..... WOW!!!

    Love your shawl... The little beads add so much... It's pretty despite the 'naughty' yarn!!!!!

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  13. Oh, I just LOVE your new camper!!! I declare living in one full time is sounding better to me all the time! LOL! It is so sweet of you and your husband to share your blessings with others. You are such dear people. I love Max LUcado, too. We read his books during our family devotions. We all 3 get so much good from his writing. I hope you are feeling well, sweet friend. God bless you. :)

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  14. What a great camper you got! I would love to have one that is all enclosed so I could take my girls with me where ever I go. Just a small one but it's not a priority right now. So happy for you and how generous you are to share it with others! I have not read Max Lucado but my daughter has and I will put his and his daughter's books on my 'never-ending book list'! LOL! So glad you have the place by the lake in case those fires get closer you can just hop in the lake and also use the water to hose down your camper. I love your shawl despite your misgivings....it is so pretty and you do such beautiful work. I've heard Helen's patterns are very well written and she has great designs. I sure like that one! I'll have to try zucchini in a pot next year. Do deer eat it? I'm having a terrible time with them eating everything in sight!
    I'll trade you my deer for your squirrel! LOL! Take care and yes,,,it is hot all over....I can't wait for Fall (although Winter is the best here). Fall can still be pretty hot and then we have fire danger which I don't like at all!

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  15. Your trailer is really nice!I was looking at your yarn, hoping I could figure out what type it is by looking at the pictures but I could figure it out.
    I'm crocheting a baby hat to match a pair of baby booties I made. Lord willing, I hope to mail them out to a mom who is expecting her first baby, a little boy.

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  16. I LOVE your trailer. I've been trying to talk The Mister into one just like that. Thanks for the good advice!


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