Piper's Socks

One and a half pairs of socks for Piper are done.  As in 3 socks.  I don't knit much, pretty much after she goes to bed or is playing with her other grandma, because it's much more fun to play with her than play with knitting needles!  Here is the first complete pair.  They are so soft, made with Willow Guppie yarn, "Atlantic" color way.  Piper loves them and has been trying them on throughout the knitting process. Each morning she wants to see what progress was made the night before.

A little hand grabbing her socks off of the table.

I tried to get a picture of her modeling the socks. Ha!  Have you ever tried to photograph a constantly moving 2 year old?  So here are the attempts to get a decent picture.

Marching in place on the sofa.

And...she's off.  Sorry I didn't get better pictures, but the socks fit and she likes them.  That's all that matters, right?

She loves her Santa hat and doesn't seem to realize that Christmas is over.  She sings "Silent Night" and "Jingle Bells" all the time.

This is Brad's Mom.  Grandma & Grandpa Krumel left to go back to Nebraska this morning.  It was really hard for them to leave and I think it gets harder each time.  At least it's harder every time for me.  Piper has had all four Grandparents here for a week.  I think she will have serious withdrawals when we all go home.  Dennis goes back to Spokane on Sunday and then it's just me here for another week.  I get her all to myself for seven whole days.  Yay!

Here I was trying to get a picture of all three of us and it didn't turn out too well.  We all get along so well.  We couldn't ask for easier in-laws.

The frozen Potomac  River.  

We did some sightseeing the other day and I'll show you some of those pictures next time.

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." Proverbs 18:10

Blessings,

Betsy

We're Here!

We arrived in Washington DC safely yesterday evening.  It was an interesting day.  Here, I'll take you along with us.   We left home at 3:55 a.m. to drive to the airport. This was our welcome to sunny Portland, OR where we had a 2 hour layover. Mt. Hood in all it's glory from the airplane window.  Gorgeous.

Percy the train was photographed all along the journey and the pictures texted to Piper. Here he is on the famouse PDX airport carpet.  😄

We weren't sure we were even leaving Portland because of the nasty weather in DC.  We actually left 25 minutes early as they were hoping to get there before the storm got too bad.  No such luck.  The last two hours were very turbulent and then we circled the airport for 45 minutes (after a 5 hour flight), while they tried to clear the runway.  Finally the pilot came on and told us that we only had enough fuel after our cross country flight for one landing attempt.  If we didn't make it, we would have to divert to Norfolk, VA.  As we came in to land you could have heard a pin drop inside the plane it was so quiet.  But they did it!  We landed and the entire plane burst into applause.  We were the last big plane to land.  Right after us a Jet Blue plane touched down and literally skidded down the runway. It was a very scary experience.  I have flown a lot and don't remember ever being that scared on a flight before.  You could see the wings covered with ice.

This was the runway with the wing in the foreground.  Can you see the ground is completely covered in snow and freezing rain?  Because by now it had stopped snowing and freezing rain was pelting down.  We waited at this spot for another 40 minutes until they cleared the jetway of snow with tractors and dump trucks.  Finally we were off the plane.  Brad was waiting for us and we began the normally 45 minute drive to their house which took well over 2 hours.  But he's a great driver and we made it!

And today we went here.  Look at that beautiful blue sky.  What a difference a day makes!  The academy is in Annapolis, MD, about 10 minutes from the kids' house.

One of several of the flags on display.

This anchor was huge outside of the chapel.  

Gorgeous stained glass all around.

This is a three dimensional ship that is hanging from the ceiling.  Amazing.

A navy officer in stained glass.

I have many more pictures of this gorgeous chapel but I don't want to bore you. So much history.  I love history and to see in person many of the places I've only read about and studied is so wonderful for me.

The shops and buildings around the academy are over 200 years old.  I admired the architecture....and the name of this shop!  Sorry about the car.  There were cars everywhere and pictures of them were unavoidable.

And here was Polly when we returned home.  Smart dog, staying inside by the fire.

The two grandpa's really enjoy each other's company.

Now, I love my Mandy more than life itself, as I do all of my kids, but this little girl.  Well this little girl holds my heart in her tiny little fist.  She was so happy to see us.  She couldn't even talk.  She just grinned and grinned and squealed and jumped up and down.  I don't think she believed we were anywhere except inside the iPad anymore.

She was so tired here tonight, at the end of a busy day.  And she still loves her Grandma.  I am a happy Grandma.  Excuse me if you don't see or hear from me much for the next few days.  I'll be playing with Miss Piper.

The end.

Blessings,

Betsy

It's Friday!

It's Friday!  And you know what that means?  Tomorrow I get to see Miss Piper.  And her Mommy and Daddy of course.  That's assuming our flight will be able to land in DC and they can get to the airport to pick us up.  It sounds like a doozy of a storm will be hitting there tomorrow.  We plan to be on our way to the airport here by 4:00 a.m. for our flight.  We have to leave our car at the off site parking and take a shuttle to the airport itself.  It all takes time.  We're still having gorgeous weather here.  Maybe we should exchange our tickets and have our girls come here instead. :-)  Ellen will be here early tomorrow morning and spend the week with my Chloe.  Oh, how I miss her when I'm gone, but I know that Ellen spoils her even more than I do and watches the house very nicely for us.  She has just moved into an apartment less than a mile from us, so it's very convenient for her.  She really likes to stay here and have laundry facilities and a house for awhile.  Usually, she has a little dinner party here for friends from church while she has more room to entertain.  We don't mind, especially since they're our friends too!  Ellen is an amazing cook and is in the planning stages for our church Easter breakfast which she oversees most years.  Yum!

Look what Mandy sent me yesterday!  This cute little picture of how smart little 2 year old Piper is.  She arranged her doll's shoes right next to Mommy's boots.  So sweet.

I thought I would show you the room where I do most of my knitting and crocheting in the winter.  I don't remember ever sharing it with you before.  Neal built these bookcases for us right after we built the house.  He made all but the center shelves adjustable so we can move them around as needed.  We have LOTS of books.  I made that dove last summer in Portland with Mandy.  She made a bluebird.  It's string wrapped around nails.  I re-read lots of these books over and over.  Some I have had since childhood, although I have been giving most of those to the grandkids.  I also took 7 big boxes of books to the thrift store this winter.  Trying to simplify a bit.

The gas stove that my chair faces.  You can tell how much Chloe loves this spot, the warmest in the house.  The railroad lantern was given to us by our elderly neighbors when we were first married.  They were tossing stuff as they were moving into a retirement home.  I have no idea how old it is.  She also gave me her ironing board which I still have.  So much heavier and better made than the ones you can buy now.  The white bear next to the fireplace is mine from when I was a little girl.  The grandkids love to play with it. She's missing an eye and her fur is threadbare in many places, but she is very well loved.  I remember sleeping with her every single night.  Nothing could scare me when my bear was there.  :-)  On particularly cold days, you find Chloe with her nose right up to the stove, almost touching it.  I love my cozy little room.  I call it the cave, although it has two big windows.  You can barely see one of them on the left in this picture.

This is a book from our "library" that I've been re-reading this week.  I want to be better about intentionally opening our home to others and I'm looking for pointers in this book.  Reading about how we've changed as a culture, especially since the advent of television is very interesting.  

This is the progress on the blankets so far.  I had wanted to have them done before we left tomorrow, but that ain't gonna happen!  I've been crocheting on them several hours a day all week, but I always miscalculate just how much time they take.  Having to rip out 4 rows last night didn't help.  I was busy talking to friends and realized that I had started the color striping in the wrong order.  Ooops.  No one could believe that I just ripped the rows out.  They said no one else would know.  But I would know, so out they came.  I'll just have to finish them when I get home.  This the first time I can remember not having to look at the pattern at all to make the blanket.  I guess after making hundreds of them, it's finally sinking into my brain!  But I'm not lugging these big things on the plane with me!  :-)  I have a half finished pair of socks and some dishcloth yarn that I'm taking along.  Small projects that are easy to carry around.

And finally.  Have you ever looked in your attic?  I heard scuffling on the roof yesterday, actually we've been hearing it for awhile and really hope it's on the outside.  So I got out the ladder and poked my head up through the little hatch in the office ceiling.  This is what I saw.  That circle is the flashlight beam.  And there are piles and piles of a sawdust like material all over the attic floor.  There's another entire house up there!  Anyway, I didn't see any sign of critters which is a good thing, right?

I need to finish the laundry and water my plants.  I hope you are all staying warm and cozy.  I'm planning to spend a lot of time playing with Piper the next few weeks but I will try to check in on your blogs too.

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans." Proverbs 16:3

Blessings,

Betsy

Sunny Monday

Hello and Happy Monday to you all.  I have lots and lots of pictures today.  I hope you don't mind too much.  

The first is my Hubby, Dennis with Nita.  They are by Larry & Nita's new, (to them) trailer.  I should have taken some inside photos for you.  This camper is a 2000 model and looks like new!  They got a great deal on it and the RV place even threw in an electric awning like ours.  Nita is so happy.

Dennis went and towed the trailer from the dealer to their driveway for them on Saturday since they don't have a tow vehicle.  Today I spent several hours carrying things from their motor home to the trailer for Nita since neither she or Larry can lift anything.  In April, Dennis will tow it out to the lake and it will be left there full-time, just like ours.  They'll keep the motor home for family reunions, etc.

A closer picture with Sophie in Nita's lap.

Dennis' pride and joy.  The trailer was the first "big" thing he's towed.  He's pulled a few friends boats but they were much smaller than the 29 foot trailer.  He was very happy with it's performance and is now ready to hook up our trailer and tow it around the country when he retires.

Mandy and Brad gave me an Amazon gift card for my birthday and this is some of what I bought.  6 of the new lavender color and 6 blue ball jars.  They are so pretty.  I'm going to be using them as drinking glasses both here and at the trailer this summer.

A closer picture.  The colors are beautiful.  Look at the sun shining through them.  I love sunshine!

I also bought a package of floral frogs that fit in canning jars.  I'm taking one to Mandy too.

It's just a little insert but it works well.  Also from Amazon I got some straws and lid/seals to use with canning jars and a travel pillow.  Yay!  This birthday just keeps going on and on.  :-)

  

With the money my mother-in-law sent to me I bought this metal container.....

and this smaller one from Hobby Lobby.  They keep the area around the kitchen sink nice and neat.  I just realized that it looks like we take lots of pills.  Those are all vitamins-one for Dennis and one for me. The jar has Chloe's fish oil pills that I give her twice a day in the winter.  It keeps her coat soft and relieves the winter dryness of her skin.  She used to scratch constantly in the winter and she very rarely scratches anymore.

It is 63 here today!  Unbelievable for February.  Look at the rhubarb!  It is going to be so confused when we get freezing temperatures again.

Mt. Spokane with the snow all melting.  Sorry about the quality.  I took this about a block from home through the car window.  

The tree in our backyard.  Look at that blue, blue sky.  I am so loving this weather.  Mandy says they're in a winter storm warning in Maryland.  I better pack snow boots because she says there is another storm arriving this weekend too.

And finally.  Down came the Valentine decoration this morning and up went St. Patrick's Day.  Since I only have a few weeks to enjoy it because I'll be gone, I decided to decorate early.  I love my little crocheted shamrocks, don't you?

I finished two more baby sweater/hat/sock sets this weekend but they are in the washer.  I also started three more rainbow blankets.  I've just finished the second round of colors.  I'll try to take pictures of everything later in the week for you.

I hope you are all having a wonderful Monday wherever you may be.  I am feeling particularly blessed and happy right now.  The sun shining sure helps doesn't it?  :-)

"I, the Lord, search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve."  Jeremiah 17:10

Blessings always,

Betsy

Boxes and Boxes

Happy Tuesday! 

I have been single handedly supporting the United States Post Office lately.  Or, to be more accurate, Dennis has, since I don't work outside the home and I just enjoy spending the money he makes!  :-)  Today two boxes were mailed out.  The first was sent to Bundles of Love in Minnesota.  It is for low income families for their babies.

These first four blankets were made with squares sent to me by other ladies in an online charity group I'm a part of called AC4C. (All crafts for charity)

Blue.

Patriotic

Multi-colored.

Another Mult-colored.

They are sometimes a bit crooked because the squares are made by different people and don't match up exactly, but they will still keep a baby warm won't they?

The next two were knitted by me.  I also sent 12 baby hats that I forgot to photograph.  Please forgive the shadows and glare on my pictures.  Once again I remind you all that I'm not a photographer but at least you can get an idea of what I want to show you.  :-)

The second box sent out today was to Taci for her project for Brazil.

Eight baby hats...

A lavendar sweater.

A blue and white sweater/hat/sock set.

A little girl set.

Pink blanket.

Blue and green blanket.

Thank you Taci for letting me be a part of helping the babies in Brazil.  Your heart is SO big and I'm proud to have you for a friend. 

Then, yesterday's mail brought this sweet Valentine's card from Teresa.  She designed it herself.  Isn't she talented?  She also made the actual pin that is on the card.

Beautiful handwriting and sentiment.  I'm so glad we're blog friends too Teresa!

This is my handsome hubby putting in new light switches and a timer on our outside lights.  See the heart on the wall? They're hiding everywhere!

Look what I found today?  I know the current fad is to drink from canning jars.  However I've been drinking from them for a long time.  Today I found this neat spout and straw.  I like it and it's easy to clean.  Silly thing to show you but it's the small things in life that make me happy.

I'm into a count-down of days until we see Miss Piper.  11 more days!  When we face-timed this morning, Piper and her Mama were getting ready to go to the airport and pick up her other Grandparents, Dennis & Marilyn.  They get to stay for a whole 3 weeks!  I can't wait to see everyone.  I miss Mandy and Piper something terrible, even though we see each other online at least twice a day.  It's not the same as getting a real hug and I'm so ready for one.

I hope you're all having a great day today.  We have no snow and 53 degrees...I'm a happy girl.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the same comfort we ourselves receive from God."  2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Blessings,

Betsy