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