Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Canoes, Penguins and Giraffes, Oh My

Good Morning to all of you.  I hope you are having a great week.  It's been beautiful, beautiful up here in the Pacific Northwest.  Very few clouds, although the wind has been blowing.
We had an enjoyable weekend at the lake.  It does seem a bit strange not to be decorating gravesites on Memorial Day as we did when we lived in Nebraska.  We don't have any family buried up here.  My sister-in-law and niece are good about visiting all of the family and friends graves back home and putting flowers on them.

I did watch a few ceremonies on television honoring our veterans.  I am so grateful to each and every person who has served or is still serving in the military of the United States of America.  My father, brother, brother-in-law and my wonderful husband Dennis, have all been active duty military.  We have many friends who have sacrificed for each of us, and to them and all veterans I say "Thank You."  I know I'm a day or two late, but I don't think it's ever to late to say thank you.  We should remember them every day.

I have been working on this baby blanket all weekend and it's still not done.  There were lots of visitors and lots of talking and walking at the lake this weekend and not much knitting done.  In fact, yesterday I had almost 16,000 steps on my fitbit!  WOW!  I don't know the last time I walked so much.  I took a walk with Lori before coming home and then it was yard work and cleaning once I got home.  It's nice to see that number going up though.
I trimmed bushes and Dennis mowed last night.  Then I planted some flowers and did some weeding.
 Dennis' shed.  The sign over the door says "Papa's House."  That's what Piper named it while it was being built.
 I picked three grocery bags full of rhubarb yesterday and distributed it to neighbors.  As you can see there is still more.  It's been prolific this year.
 The marigolds are establishing themselves well.  There are even a few "volunteer" plants from last year that have joined in.  I love marigolds.  They will eventually grow big enough to completely fill in the bed and it will be one mass of color.  At least that's what it normally does.
Alex is building a canoe in the back of his office building in Towada.  He sent for the plans and discussed the procedure with his Dad over facetime and has begun building it this week.  It's looking good and I see by the photo he sent that he has found a helper!  Do you think it will be watertight?
Piper went to the zoo again yesterday and got to feed the giraffes...
 ...and pet the penguins!  How fun is that?  The company that her Daddy works for is building some new exhibits and they were able to get special passes to actually get "up close and personal" with some of the animals.
This little girl and her Mommy are coming to see us in June.  Yippee!  They are bringing the cats, Amelia and Franny to live with us.  They are 14 & 16 years old but Piper has developed a severe allergy to cats.  Of course they can't go to a shelter because who would adopt such elderly cats?  They are used to us and to Chloe so the obvious choice is to bring them to us.  They know our house and they know us.  It will all work out well.  We're hoping they will do okay on the flight from Omaha.  They flew from here to Washington, D.C. so that's not new for them either.

I have decided that after I finish the blanket in the above photo, I need to do a mitten marathon for awhile.  Kathyb has me wanting to do a log cabin afghan and I really want to work on my nine-patch knitted squares, but winter will be here and I haven't made very many mittens for the school kids yet.  Shame on me. Of course, there will be socks on the needles too, but the mittens need to be a priority for awhile.  I figure that they are small and therefore easy to work on in the heat of the summer.

What about you?  Are you working on a special project this summer?  I'll be back soon to visit and I'm tryinig to keep up with all of your summer news too.

'Don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
James 1:16-17

"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires." James 1:19-20

Blessings always my friends,
Betsy

19 comments:

  1. Hi, Thanks for telling me about your blog post... I wouldn't have seen it otherwise (until they get that email thing fixed)..... Getting to spend time with my Great Granddaughter over the holiday weekend was SO special. I'm sure you saw my pictures on FB... I'll probably do a blog about it next week. We've had SO much rain here. Company coming tonight --and we couldn't even mow this week before they get here... Oh Well---tis life!!!!

    Nice to hear that Piper and her Mama are coming to visit you all this summer... Sorry about the cats --but I'm sure they'll enjoy their new home with you...

    Have a great week/weekend --and keep on walking. I'm trying to do better --but some days I do good and others not so good... ha

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  2. What sort of yarn do you use for mittens? I have a bunch that I know I'm not going to use. It's mostly DK weight and there's some cotton for dishcloths. I've decided to let knitting go for awhile. I'm not crocheting at the moment. I'm thoroughly and completely stuck into cross stitch at the moment.

    Yay for a visit from Piper and her Mommy.

    Hugs, Sharon

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  3. I am SO glad that you will be able to take the kitties.

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  4. Oh you will be so happy counting down the days to Piper visiting! I love that you are adopting the cats. How wonderful. Fireman and I kayaked today . Between raindrops we got out andstayed dry. I think that canoe will float and be wonderful

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  5. Good to hear that you are feeling well enough to walk. Have the chiropractic treatments helped your back? Enjoy your visit with Piper and her Mom.

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  6. Ah dear precious Betsy, am so thrilled you’re walking so much, all those thousands of steps in a day, your back must be wonderfully improved for you to manage that as well as your daily chores. A double blessing that your granddaughter and her mummy are visiting too.
    God is so gracious. Our winter has begun in earnest here. Cool today indeed, amd tonight..
    I go to see dad tomorrow I haven’t seen him for a week almost. I’m praying we will have ance afternoon together... and maybe God willing share a bit.. we’ll see what God does.
    A very busy few days for five days in row out morning and afternoon a bit too much in my books but not in the Lords. “As thydays so shally thy strength be.”
    Love and prayers,
    Shaz in Oz.x

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  7. That is so sweet of you to take in the kitties!

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  8. So good of you to take in the cats, Betsy. You're a very kind and caring person. I loved hearing about what you've been up to, especially the time at the lake. I really hope to have something like that in my life eventually too, when my kids are grown up. Good job with all the walking! You must be feeling better and better lately. I'm so glad. Take care and have a good weekend!

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  9. I love reading about all that you are doing, and not just knitting. The pictures of Piper are so sweet. I won't bore you with my knitting, since you probably just saw it on the podcast.
    I did have a wonderful day out with 3 old friends and one new one, who also has the name Kim. We had so much fun trying to decide what to name each of us so we didn't answer every time we heard out names.
    I hope you are taking care and enjoying the wonderful weather.
    HUGS

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  10. I'm so happy that your daughter and Piper will be coming to visit.. how long do they get to stay? How nice of you to adopt the kitties and make sure they have a loving home in their senior years. I'm glad you're getting to spend lots of time at the lake, I know how much you love it there. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  11. Oh, so glad you can take the kitties. And yay for a visit from Mandy and Piper - I bet you cannot wait!! Fletch built a wooden guideboat a number of years ago - quite a project. I'll bet Alex's canoe is water-tight. Hope he sends some pictures of it when he launches it!

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  12. Sounds like your weather has been nicer than on this side of the mts. Right now it's cloudy and chilly. So fun that you have a Piper visit coming up along with a couple of "new" kitties. Enjoy your lake time!

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  13. Sounds like you have lots of energy and feeling much better. I bet you can't wait til June for Piper to come! Won't be long. Hopeful the cats will do just fine flying. The blanket looks like you are going corner to corner. Is that the same idea of the dishcloth I use? I did knit one like that awhile ago as I found the pattern using the same idea. Enjoy your trailer! Nancy

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  14. Alex is so clever, I am certain he will make his canoe water tight :-) Your yard is lovely and tidy and inspires me to keep plugging away weeding ours. I am so excited that Piper and her mom [and two dear kitties] will soon be headed your way! Happy stitching! xx

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  15. Hi Betsy!
    How fun to see your blog again! Love the lake posts! Your lake looks so much like ours!
    I can't wait to see your son's boat! And how exciting that Piper is coming!!
    Happy summer Betsy!!
    XO Kris

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  16. WOW!! 16,000 steps!!! You are doing AMAZING, sweet friend! I know it is so wonderful for you to be able to be outdoors at the lake where you so love to be! And, that little Miss Piper is just growing like a weed! SO thankful she will get to come see you soon, and you are adopting the sweet kitties. I hope you enjoy them and they make good playmates for Chloe. So wonderful to visit with you tonight and catch up on your news! Sending much love and many hugs to you!

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  17. I love James 1:19-20 and pray it often. I do not want to be one who speaks without thinking first of how my words could be taken. I also think is it so cute that you put up a sign and named your shed after piper's sweet suggestion, LOL.
    Now a question about FitBit, I ordered one (not FitBit) over amazon and had to send it back. I have a flip phone and I couldn't even get the one I sent for set up without a smartphone. I love the idea of having one and tracking my steps, because I know my personality and that it would help me to get up and move. Do you know if you need a smartphone to operate FitBit? I didn't order FitBit because it was more expensive, but if it works without a smartphone then I might just pour out a little more cash. I also like how it tracks your blood pressure, which might be good at my age. Just asking . . . if you know or have the time to answer, I would appreciate your input.
    Have a sweet weekend.
    Connie :)

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  18. I hope the cats make the trip okay, its a bit scary in the heat of summer. Hooray for a visit from your girls! I am thrilled for you Betsy.

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