She's here!

We became the proud grandparents of Piper Alice this morning at 12:52 a.m. She is 7 lbs 3 oz and one of the three most beautiful babies ever. (her two cousins have the other two spots in my heart) I'll post a picture as soon as I can figure it out on my iPad. Mom and baby are doing fine. I've been in Portland since Monday night and Grandpa drove down Friday. He made it in time, with just a few hours to spare. I'll be staying for a few weeks to help out but he will have to go back to work. The labor was very long and I was honored to be there for almost all of it and for Piper's birth. What a precious gift that was, to be with my daughter as she had her own daughter. I just wish I could have taken some of the pain away for her. I'll try to be back soon with a picture. Blessings, Betsy

Still Waiting!

So here it is. Today is the actual due date for our newst grandchild and little Piper is still happily residing inside her Mama. Grandpa and I are on high alert now, just waiting for "the call" and we'll be on our way to Portland. I had planned to stay at the trailer until this morning, but Monday afternoon the mama in me decided I should head home and get my ducks in a row here. I've been cleaning and taking trunkloads of "stuff" to the Goodwill this week. I've also visited a few nursing homes and also just relaxing at home. I blanched and froze the last of the green beans. The garden has been cleaned out and I have the fall decor placed around the house. The temperature is in the 90's here and I have fall decor out. There is just something wrong with that picture. I'm sure the cooler weather will happen sooner than I'm ready for it, and I'm definitely NOT complaining since I detest winter and snow. A few pictures of what I've been up to.

These first three pictures were taken on my moring walk at the trailer. I try to walk the route in the morning and evening and it's almost a mile each time so I get lots more exercise while there than I do at home. Look how clear the water is. In this picture the bottom of the lake is about 5 feet down. The maintenance guys have been making these benches the past few weeks and placed them around the lake and camping areas. They have done a beautiful job. They have also been painting the changing rooms at the beach and some of the cabins. Always something to do there.

Mittens for a shelter in Minnesota. The small ones are for 1-2 year olds and the others are for about 4-6 year olds. Mittens are a great way to use up scraps of yarn, especially when making stripes in them!

Look how clear and smooth the lake is. No wind at all so it is just like a mirrored surface.

And it's hard to post without a picture of my little Chloe girl. She's packed and ready for Portland too! Tonight is Bible study so I need to vacuum and dust. I also have another load of things for the Goodwill and a box of baby things for the Crisis Nursery here in town. Blankets, dresses, etc. that I've found on sale. There is always a need for them. I better get moving and accomplish some of these things today before it gets too late. Have a wonderful week and maybe next time I post I'll have a new granddaughter! Blessings, Betsy

Happy Wednesday!

Good Morning everyone! I'm a day early this week in posting because I came home from the lake late Monday evening. For those of you that don't know, we've had some very nasty fires burning around Washington State for awhile now. Lightening strikes on Saturday night started even more fires, especially around the Grand Coulee Dam area. Sunday and Monday we had winds of over 45 mph. The smoke from the fires made it impossible to breath outside, so after spending all day in the trailer on Monday, Chloe and I headed home to hubby. The winds are calmer now, so we're going back out this morning for the day and will come back home tomorrow for Bible study. We're also still waiting on "the call" from dear daughter that she's in labor! I'm pretty much packed up and ready to go, so as soon as she calls we'll be on our way. I'm just so excited to get my hands on little Piper Alice. I've been praying for her every day since I heard she was on the way and wanting to be able to hug, hold and kiss her makes the wait almost unbearable. Our other grandchildren are well into their school year in Montana. They love their teachers and are having fun with the other kids. For Caleb, who is in kindergarten, the reality of not seeing mom all day has begun to set in but he is doing fine adjusting. I sure wish we lived closer so I could hear all about it every day and go to their school programs, etc. But, life is what it is and I try to be thankful for the blessings I have. A few pictures for you. These were a covey of quail that were about 8 feet outside of our trailer. I took the pictures from inside so as not to scare them away. Look at the one who is a look-out for them. If something started him, he made a noise and they all would fly away. There were nine quail in all and I enjoyed watching them for quite awhile.

These are a bouquet of sunflowers given to me by one of the ladies at the campground. She was going home and they were too beautiful to throw away. Don't they look cheerful?

I've been busy knitting mittens for charity. My camera battery just died so I didn't get any pictures for you. I made three pair yesterday. I love them as they are such a quick knit. The fact they two pair are toddler size helps! :-) Well, I'm off to the lake for the day. I hope you all are having a wonderfully blessed week and are enjoying an indian summer like we are. Blessings, Betsy

Canning Day

Yesterday and today have found me busy in the kitchen. In fact, so busy that now I'm having back spasms and still have to clean up the kitchen! Oh oh! This is what I've been up to:

The two day canning total is 20 qts. tomatoes, 12 qts. chili sauce,26 pints zuchinni relish, 26 bags, frozen zuchinni, 22 bags frozen green beans, 18 bags frozen carrots. I also made refrigerator pickles and a pasta salad. I'm exhausted but content. There is a certain satisfaction in doing things like this for us to enjoy throughout the winter months. Here is a picture of some of the beautiful sunflowers that line the road at our trailer. We've been told to feel free to cut as many as we want so I've enjoying this bouquet all week.

Here's hubby relaxing on Labor Day. No labor was done by either of us except to make meals. :-)

And Chloe relaxed too!

I promised you pictures of the blanket I made for our newest yet-to-be born granddaughter. I didn't want to show it until after the baby shower and then I forgot! Here's the front.

This is the back. I tried to find a way to finish it so all the weaving in wasn't showing and this is what I came up with. Flannel with suns and moons on it. I hemmed it and then crocheted it to the knitted blanket. Then I hand tied it like a quilt. Overall I'm happy with the way it turned out.

I had extra flannet so I made a recieving blanket to match, crocheting around the edges.

Well I'm off to go clean up the kitchen. Anyone have a few minutes and would like to help? Have a wonderful week. Blessings, Betsy