Lake Time!

Hello my friends.  Not much to share today but I wanted to drop in and say hello.  I've been at the lake since Friday, except a trip into town for church and a baby shower on Sunday.  I'm going home to do laundry tomorrow but coming back as soon as the last load is dry and staying until sometime next week.  It's our anniversary on Thursday and we're going to a Thai restaurant in Deer Park that we like very much.  Dennis has Friday off and we've handed off our duties at church for Sunday.  We'll go to church here at the lake, down on the bay and then go to a community breakfast in Loon Lake.  It's held annually on Labor Day weekend as a fundraiser for the Fire Department and food bank.  Both worthy causes.  It's supposed to be much cooler and maybe even some rain this weekend and we're looking forward to that.

A bit of knitting has been done.  These were the pieces I had done on Piper's sweater when I left home on Friday.

It's been very, very hot here so I've spent the last two days sitting in the trailer in the A/C.  Not complaining a bit, it's a very nice place to be.  See Chloe happy on her bed?  The other front of Piper's sweater was finished.

And looky here.  It's done!  A bit wrinkly because I have no place to block it here, but it's done except the buttons.  

I like the little lace pattern, don't you?

And here is today.  Same place, same position.  Just Chloe has moved. Oh, and I've changed clothes!  On the needles now is Dennis' Christmas sweater.  Shhhh.  He's doesn't know it's for him!  :-). I made him one with this pattern last winter and he really liked it and said he wouldn't mind having another.  It gets cold in his office.  I love sitting in my trailer.  Today I watched a movie Lori loaned me called "The Book Thief" set in Germany during WWII. I admit I cried as I watched it.  It was very, very good.

And finally, today was Miss Piper's first day of preschool.  Mandy is thinking of getting a part time job to keep her nursing hours current in Washington State.  I got a face-time call right after she got home and she told me all about her day.  I think it was a great success!   Isn't she cute?

And now I'm off to bed.  Not much internet here either so I have to make this short.  Have a lovely holiday weekend to my friends in the U.S.  Enjoy the last gasp of summer.  :-)

"Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:24

Blessings,

Betsy

Smoky Friday

Happy Friday everyone!

Well, here we are.  The fires are still burning, although the firefighters have made much progress this week with the cooler weather we've had.  Strong winds and high temperatures are predicted for tomorrow and so we are under a "fire warning" for the weekend...just like last weekend when the current fires began.  Paul and Lori's house is just fine.  That particular fire is 80% contained.  I stayed at the lake all week until yesterday, to avoid the smoke in town.  It wasn't bad last night, but we woke up about 3:00 am coughing and our throat's were stinging and the house was full of smoke.  The wind must have shifted again.  We're heading back to the lake this afternoon and plan to stay for most of next week.

I do have a baby shower on Sunday after church so Dennis will mow and get things ready at home for us to head back out.  I've made a taco salad and macaroni salad this morning.  I also have strawberries ready for strawberry shortcake for all of us after dinner tonight.  On Wednesday evening, Barry, who does the garden at the lake gave me 3 grocery bags full of green beans, a huge bowl of strawberries, 5 zuchinni's, a spaghetti squash, 6 Walla Walla sweet onions and a bunch of potatoes along with a bouquet of mums.

After I came home yesterday, I spent much of the day blanching and freezing the beans and shredding zuchinni.  It's such a great feeling to put food away for winter isn't it?

Here are a few photos of my week so far.

This was my view as I read my Bible every morning this week.  Can't ask for much more, can I?

I baked a coffee cake on Tuesday and had it for breakfast all week.  I love my little oven in the trailer, it bakes just as well as my big oven at home, just smaller.

Another blanket finished for the Crisis Nursery.

I started a sweater for Miss Piper.  This is the back and the right front.  I have a sleeve begun on the needles you see on the right.  She went "shopping" in my yarn closet via the iPad and chose this yarn.  It's a larger version of one I made her in white a few years ago.  She wore that one all of the time.  We called it the magical sweater because it was supposed to be a 9 months size but she wore it for 2 years!

My bouquet of mums from Barry at the lake garden.  He is almost 85 and works in the garden for hours and hours every single day.  He's the nicest man you could hope to meet.

Gorgeous.  He knows my favorite color is purple so he tried to find the purplish colored flowers for me.

I just got this picture a couple of minutes ago.  Piper is flying with her Daddy again this morning.  Look at that face.  I think we have a budding pilot on our hands.

So, I did go to the cardiologist last week and was told no, I can't fly yet.  They're going to call me next week and see how this week has been.  I'm monitoring my BP and my heart rate, (tachycardia) is tracked via my Fitbit.  It was really disappointing, but I'm not giving up yet.  I still have a few weeks to change his mind and buy a ticket.

Our anniversary is next Thursday.  38 years!  We're going to cancel Bible study and go out to dinner that night and then head straight out to the lake.  Dennis is taking the next 7 Friday's off to use up his vacation or he loses it.  He can't take more than one day off at a time because he's too busy.  So we're going to have lots of three day weekends at the lake over the next two months!  Fun!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend planned full of fun, end of summer events.  I'll be back soon and I'll try to catch your blogs when I can.

"But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you for the evil one." 2 Thessalonians 3:3

Blessings,

Betsy

A Wonderful Weekend Indeed!

Hello everyone!  We had a wonderful, wonderful weekend at our house and it was because of these two sweeties. This is Kyleigh and Caleb, our two Montana grandkids that came to visit along with their Daddy for the weekend.

Uncle Alex had left some Japanese goodies for them at his last visit.  Here Kyleigh is wearing an authentic hat that is used in the rice paddies in Japan.  Alex wore it when he lived in the north and helped at his friends family farm.  Aren't they they cutest kids?

They love Chloe but wear her out quickly.  She's 10 now and can only go so long before a nap is needed.  The kids have LOTS of pets at home so they're great with her.  Should I give you a list of their pets?  11 chickens, 9 quail, (they hatched the quail from eggs and now they follow the kids around the yard!), 2 Indian runner ducks, (the tall ones that run like a person!), that think Kyleigh is their mom so they follow her everywhere.  Those are the outside animals. Inside are 3 parakeets, 2 cockatiels, 1 frog, 1 beta fish, 1 lizard and 2 dogs, a Labrador and a Visla.   And they live in town not in the country!  It IS Montana you know.  Not unusual at all.

We had a wonderful time at the lake swimming with Grandpa!  Look how crowded the beach is.  It was almost 100F Saturday and Sunday.

There's our son, Jamie with Kyleigh.

After swimming we headed to McKenzie River Pizza Company for dinner.  They have great pizza and have lots of gluten free options.  You might remember that both the kids and their Mom have Celiac's Disease.  I can't believe how much they've grown and how much better they feel since they were officially diagnosed and removed gluten from their diets.

Meanwhile, Brad, Mandy and Piper are in Nebraska visiting all of the relatives there this week.  Our extended family and Brad's family only live 20 miles from each other so they get to see everyone while they're visiting.  Here Piper is playing with her third cousin in Dennis' Mom's back yard on Saturday.  All of the cousins were able to be together with their kids and spouses except our two boys.  We face-timed with them all Saturday night so Jamie got to visit a little too.  Yeah technology!

Piper and Aria had a lot of fun playing even though Aria is a few years younger than Piper.

On the crafting front, I finished three more blankets for the Crisis Nursery with the squares I showed you last week.

Two blue ones...

And one brown.  Nita told me she left another box in our trailer last night with squares for another blanket.

I joined a dishcloth swap and look what I got! In the mail!  Two beautiful dishcloths, a scrubbie, needle gauge and progress keepers.  I love everything and now I don't have to make another scrubbie soon like I thought I would!  Yay!  I've wanted another needle gauge and to try those progress keepers.  It was like my swap partner could read my mind!  The pattern on the dishcloths is one I haven't seen before and I really like it.  Thank you so much Nancy!!!  I will definitely use everything.

Another sweet package arrived last week from Tammy in Kuwait.  She made me this precious doily and sent a bracelet made from Olive Wood from Jerusalem.  I love them both.  How absolutely lovely of you and I thank you so much Tammy.

On a serious note, along with the horrendously hot weather we've had for a couple of weeks, we had winds in excess of 35 mph yesterday.  It has sparked wildfires all around us.  While today is much cooler, the fires are still burning.  We can see the one below burning just 3-4 miles to the east of our house and the smoke is billowing as we stand on our deck.  There are also two fires to the west of Spokane burning and one town was entirely evacuated last night. 

 Our house reeks of smoke...but...this picture?  This is Paul and Lori's house, our lake buddies whom we've known for almost 25 years.  Paul was on the roof last night hosing down the roof.  Lori is at the lake because they won't let anyone in to get things from the houses unless they're already there.  That's a water tanker flying overhead, dropping water on the flames. So,  while the smoke is irritating my nose, eyes and throat, I am NOT complaining.  Please say a prayer for all of the people in harms way of these and the fires in California and the flooding in the south.  Mercy.  The world seems to have gone crazy.

On another subject, go to the cardiologist this afternoon for a follow-up visit and I'm going to ask to be taken off the "no fly list!"  Ha!  Seriously, he hasn't wanted me to fly since January when we had to cancel our cruise.  He did let me drive to Portland, OR to see my blogging friends this spring because there were hospitals along the way.

I want to go see Piper for her birthday next month.  This Grandma NEEDS to get her hands on that girl.    I have had an entire week of no dizziness.  SHHHHH!  I did not say that out loud did I?  I don't want to jinx myself!  So, I'm very hopeful the meds are working now and my body has adjusted.  I'm hoping he'll say I can go see my girls.

And now, I've rambled on enough.  I have a few projects going on but I'll tell you about them next time.  I'm making another pair of socks for Alex for Christmas and a sweater for Piper.  I'm hoping you're all having a wonderful week and that your summer is turning out just as you hoped.

I think I've shared this verse before, but thought it appropriate today with the disasters happening so many places right now.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Blessings,

Betsy

Dog Days of Summer

It's a warm day here.  No. It's hot.  For the Pacific Northwest it is very hot.  We've had 5 straight days of over 90 degree temperatures.  The saving grace is we don't have the horrible humidity that a lot of you also have to suffer through.  We are able to open the windows when the sun goes down and the temperature almost always drops into the 50's at night which makes very nice sleeping weather.  I have stayed home from the lake this week though, because it's just too hot for me out there right now. 

So I've been busy knitting.  I apologize for the photo heavy post today, but here goes.

First of all, my Knit Picks order arrived!  Oh. My. Goodness.  I love this yarn.  These six skeins are all the Stroll fingering weight that is wonderful for socks or shawls.  It's a Merino/Nylon blend that can be put right into the washer.  I wish you could all feel it and see the vibrant colors.  I used a bit of the green on the bottom to finish the toes on Miss Pipers socks.

I was actually surprised just how much I like this brown variegated skein.  In this second picture the color is more true.  It's gorgeous.

These are tweed sock yarns that I think will make some great socks for Dennis in grey and brown.  Also, at the bottom is the very colorful self-striping Felici yarn that I've been drooling over on other blogs and podcasts.  Those will most like be for Alex because he loves the bright colors. :-)

Here's my take-along baby blanket that I've been carrying to appointments, etc. for quite awhile.  It takes absolutely no thought as it's made with the Granny's dishcloth pattern.

Yesterday I picked up some netting at Joann's to make a new dish scrubbie.  I thought I had bought enough to make two.  One for home and one for the trailer, but it took the entire yard to make one.  I love the color.

All done.  It is VERY hard on the hands to crochet with the netting though.  My hands still hurt today so I think I'll wait awhile to make another.  These work so well on dishes.  If I have a choice, I'll never use a store bought scrubbie again.

And a baby hat for the hospital.

I also finished both sweater/hat/sock sets for the two baby girls that are expected at church.  I think with the blankets I showed you last week and these sets, I have both gifts finished.

Nita gave me this box of 75 squares this weekend.  So today I'll begin putting three toddler blankets together with them today.  They will be donated to the Crisis Nursery.  She has another set of squares almost done so I better get busy.

Onto the lake pictures.  Here is my sweet Hubby relaxing on Saturday.  He's been working really long hours lately and is exhausted.  Looks pretty comfy huh?

....and here's Larry!  This is what the two guys did all afternoon.  It was too hot to do much else.

While the guys slept, Nita and I knitted and crocheted in the shade.  Small projects are nice on hot days like this.

On Sunday Larry celebrated his 72 birthday.  All summer he has been saying he wanted to ski one more time on his birthday.  He's been having back issues so he hasn't skied all summer.

I stayed up here and took this picture from our campsite because riding in the boat this summer seems to trigger my tachycardia.  That's Lori & Paul's boat in the picture.  They said they would pull him from this area so I could watch.  The beach was full of people that we know from here at the lake, cheering Larry on.  It was so nice of everyone.  I could hear them all from the campsite.

That's my Hubby helping Larry get the ski's on.  He almost took a tumble into the water a time or two while he was hanging off the back.

Ready...set....

GO!!!!    GO LARRY!!!  Look at that smile!  Who would guess he's 72 today?  Just a big kid at heart.  We were so happy for him that he did this.

And last, but definitely NOT least.  Our two girls.  Piper and Mandy in their aprons fixing dinner the other night.  They sent me this picture because I gave Piper her apron last year.  Aren't they just beautiful girls?  I miss them both SO, SO much.  Piper will be 4 years old next month. Can you believe that?  I sure can't.

I hope you're all having a lovely summer week.  I want to enjoy every moment of it because I know that before we know it snow will be flying.  Ick.  That four letter word.   I've been told by two people this week that the farmers almanac is predicting a severe winter this year for the U.S.  Has anyone else heard that?  So summer can hang around as long as it wants to in my opinion! :-)

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the LORD as a reward. It is the LORD Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24

See you next time my friends!

Blessings,

Betsy

Babies, babies, babies!

Happy Wednesday everyone.  We've had a couple of cool, rainy days so far this week and I love it.  The weekends are usually hot and sunny and that makes the weekend people at the lake happy but I much prefer it to be cooler.  However, I'm home today because we're having a new mattress delivered for our bed tomorrow and I had some things to get done.  I've been busy though.

Sophie came to stay with us from Thursday until Sunday evening.  She loves to sit on my lap.  Here we are at the lake while I knitted on Mandy's socks.

And here are the socks completed.  The "Monkey Sock" pattern.  Free on Ravelry in Knit Picks Stroll, the "Woodland" colorway.  However, "Woodland" has been discontinued which is unfortunate for me as you'll see soon.

A side view.  This is a fun pattern to knit but does take concentration until you learn the repeats.

Miss Piper wanted a pair of socks to match her Mommy's.  Of course I said yes.  I did one of the pattern repeats from the Monkey Socks, but ran out of yarn before they were done.  I only have about 2 inches to go!  Oh No!  Luckily I had thought ahead and made two matching weight balls of yarn before I started so I ran out in the same place on both socks.  I have placed an order with Knit Picks and hope the color I ordered is close enough to finish the toes.

I also started a baby sweater.  We have two new baby girls expected at church in the next couple of months.  I want to make them each a sweater/hat/sock set.

I've already made them each a rainbow blanket.

And a couple of receiving blankets.

I like the size of these blankets and the sweet crocheted edging.

And Miss Piper went to the dentist for the first time yesterday.  She had a wonderful visit.  They were impressed at how well she followed instructions and she had NO cavities.  Twenty perfect little teeth.

I thank you all for your sweet comments on my blog.  I realize that many people have so much worse to deal with that I feel terrible complaining all of the time.  I have had several days of not feeling well this week and I don't know if it's just adjusting to the medications or what it is.  Hopefully soon it will all resolve itself.  But I really want you to know how much I appreciate each and every one of you.

There's not much else new to report here.  My life is not full of adventure or exciting events.  I did go through a closet and fill a box for the Goodwill.  I plan to try to do that a few times a week and get rid of some "junk" around here that someone else may be able to use.  Goodness knows, we have a lot of stuff that is just sitting around.  I've seen online big movements toward simplifying and decluttering and I know there is a lot to be said for that.  I do have difficulty in getting rid of things though because they hold memories for me.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and stay cool.  Only a few more weeks before school begins again here in Spokane and I know all of the children are enjoying every moment of it.

"Follow God's example therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 5:1-2

Blessings,

Betsy

Finally Coolness

A bit of cooler weather arrived yesterday and is supposed to stay with us one more day.  Would you believe I even had to throw a blanket over my legs as I knitted this afternoon?

Before I talk knitting though, guess who has come to stay for a few days?  Mattie, Paul and Lori's dog has come to visit Chloe while they camp in their tent trailer at a lake in north Idaho.  They didn't want to have to leave her inside the trailer in the heat we've been having so I happily volunteered to keep her this week.  Here they are exhausted after playing outside.  Isn't this funny?   Two sleepy puppies.

Chloe isn't allowed on the furniture because she sheds so much.  She isn't sure what to make of the fact that Mattie climbs right up on the sofa.  Mattie seems quite at home doesn't she?

Tomorrow morning little Sophie will join the menagerie.  Then we'll have small, medium and large dogs staying here.  Larry and Nita have a family reunion in Portland this weekend and will be at a hotel so we're keeping Sophie until Sunday night.   Oh the fun we'll have.  These three get along very well.

Now onto knitting.  I've made ten dishcloths since we last visited last Thursday.  These five are for a blogging friend who likes the color green.  Do you know who you are?

These five are for Toni, the nurse who did my stress test last week.  About a year ago she bought 10 dishcloths from me.  When I walked in for the test, she did a double take and said she was just telling her husband the week before that she needed to call me to get more.  Apparently she's down to one dishcloth out of the ten because her grown children keep taking them home with them.  I wouldn't let her pay me for them this time because she took such good care of me last week.  I love the variety of colors in her stack of dishcloths.

Mandy loves my Monkey Socks I finished last week and I promised her a pair of her own.  These are her's made with Knit Picks Stroll Hand-Painted Fingering weight in the Woodland color way.  Here is the first sock I started this morning.   I love my yarn bowl that I found at Hobby Lobby.  

I also need to confess that I placed an order today at Knit Picks for sock yarn. I'll have enough for ten more pair of socks!  I must admit that I'm addicted to knitting socks.  Sock yarn is not inexpensive but they feel so much better than the socks you buy in the store and I think everyone should have at least one pair in their lifetime.  I would knit each of you a pair if I could.  As it is, I can barely keep my family's feet covered.  :-)

I've never made two socks at one time before but decided to try it this time. I knit both cuffs, now I'm on the leg of the first sock.  I will then do the other leg, then both heels, both feet and then the toes.  That way they will both be done at one time.  Miss Piper wants a pair to match Mommy's so I'll have to see if I can find a pattern I can adapt to be similar that will fit her.

Speaking of Piper.  Here she is with her Daddy with her own aviator's headset.  Yes, it's FAA approved.  You can tell how happy she is with her own headset.  It has the microphone that she can talk through, just like Daddy's.  She has her hand on it in the photo so you can't see it well.  They are going on vacation to Nebraska to visit family and Daddy plans to take her flying quite a lot.  She loves listening to the control tower and can imitate the "tower speak" very well.  She is a budding pilot for sure.  Her dream is to fly a Cessna, or as she says it "snessna".  :-).  Did I ever tell you all that Brad proposed to Mandy while flying over the Portland area?

She even has her own real pilot's logbook where Daddy will help her keep track of her flying hours.  Yes, it is really an official logbook.  And it's pink!  This little girl has my heart in her little hands.

Thank you all for your sweet thoughts and prayers for me this week.  The nuclear stress test was awful while it was happening but the results turned out very well.  I am considered low risk for blocked arteries at this time, so they really don't know what is causing the chest pain and light-headedness.  I have had a couple of days of not feeling well again yesterday and today but hopefully that will resolve very soon.  It is definitely NOT a fun test to have done and I was miserable, but Toni and the other two ladies that were there administering the drugs and performing the tests were absolutely wonderful.  It also helps that the hospital that I went to is only five minutes from our house, so I didn't have to drive far to get home and collapse afterwards.

I hope you're all having a great week so far and enjoying sunshine wherever you may be.

I'm trying not to have an anxious heart and am asking for God to give me peace as I go through these days that frustrate me because I can't do the things I want to do each day.

"Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts" Psalm 139:23

Blessings,

Betsy