Pumpkins, Cows & The River...

Yesterday, a big Fall storm came through, today we had the calm after: it was glorious! 

Pumpkin picking was on the agenda and that was done first. At this particular farm (just outside our little village) they usually have one or two baby cows on display and we were not disappointed. They were twins, born on 9/11...

We had a great time observing the herd out in the field as well, what funny noises they make while grazing...

Chinook Bend, where we were last week Sunday as well, was just... around the bend... and we strolled around there for a while as well. Last week the river water was super clear, this week the water level had risen dramatically and everything was churning. There was a lovely breeze and some sunshine, just perfect!

The best part of all was of course... Miss M.!!!  {smile}

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Early Morning Observations...

Just pretty...

Our youngest is on her way home as I write this... Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Knit, Knit, Purl...

Last week I had three (!) projects on my needles, now I am down to one. 

When I just started knitting I just couldn't understand why so many knitters had multiple 'wips' (works in progress) going on, now I get it...  <wink> Sometimes you just need a little break from a project, but you don't want to sit there twiddling your thumbs either.

Last night I finished this Antler Hat for my lovely husband. It fits snug like a beanie and it is sooo soft. We found the wool at the Sheepdog trials on Vashon Island a few weeks ago. It is made by Sarah from Farm Girl Products and consists of 70% Alpaca and 30% Merino. I love that it is a local product from Lake Stevens, not far from here.

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You will remember that I started the Estuary Shawl way back in the beginning of the summer. I'm sad to say I had to admit defeat.  I came to a point that I didn't even want to pick it up anymore and I was only about a quarter of the way through the pattern! 

So I decided to rip it all back (!) and I've started a whole new project: the Dream Stripes Shawl. I only have a little beginning to show you, but at least you'll get the idea of what it will look like. The lace border will be in the blue color way. ('Plunge' in Madeline Tosh Merino Light, the grey is the 'El Greco')

PS: Only three more sleeps before Miss M. returns home!

Chinook Bend...

Snoqualmie River...

The struggle between life and death...

So clear...

Can you spot them? Female and male Silver Salmon...

5pm...

The struggle is real...

At the end of a very pleasant weekend (some shopping, some beer drinking in a local brewery, some gardening, some reading, some listening to our new loudspeakers and some knitting of course), we took our electrical car (Nissan Leaf) and drove over to see what the salmon were up to. It's migrating season. What a beautiful afternoon! Warm with a breeze, smells of late summer and early fall at the same time and even some smells of a Christmas to come when we walked through a patch of pine trees...

I wore my new Lemongrass sweater for a little while Saturday morning, but it truly was too warm... <wink>

Click! to enlarge...

Lemongrass...

Not everybody checks my facebook or instagram pages so here we go: My Lemongrass sweater/ poncho designed by Joji Locatelli is finished! 

I decided to skip on the cable design in the front and added Krebinette's leaf lace panel instead, plus I added one of the faux cables from the front panel to the back panel for more interest. Can I just say that I have been totally in love with this project from beginning to end...  {smile}

The yarn used was the Drops Nepal that was given to me by my mother earlier this summer. It was absolutely wonderful to work with: it has a high 'squishyness' factor! <wink>

Here is the sweater in all its glory.
Not blocked yet mind you, I want to wear it first!

While I was knitting this sweater, I was also working on a hat for Mr. G. and a shawl for myself, but I will show you those projects some another time. First I'm busy doing several happy dances in my new sweater! (hot!!!)

A Little Adventure...

Last Saturday, when the skies were blue and the waters were calm, Mr. G. and I went on a little adventure of sorts. We went to see the 'Vashon Sheepdog Classic, the trials at Misty Isle'.

We left our house at 8am in a thick mist. There were at least two running races going on in our little town and I was happily surprised to see a lot of people around that early in the morning. We parked our vehicle on the street in Fauntleroy (West Seattle) and walked onto the ferry. (a first for both of us) By that time all the mist/ fog had disappeared and it had become a gloriously calm and warm day!

Upon crossing the Sound we took a shuttle to Misty Isle Farms and spent the whole day in the field enjoying the competitions, the dogs and the sheep (one escaped into the audience!) and some lovely food. And yes, I might have bought a lovely skein of wool for the mister...

Here is a little description of the competition:  "During these competitions, the mission of these highly trained dogs is, at the  signal from the handler, to run to the top of the field, gather the sheep  and move them in a quiet workman-like manner through a series of tasks that could be encountered on the farm. The sheep are to be guided with kindness and patience throughout the run. A “grip” or bite is cause for immediate disqualification (unless the dog is defending him-/herself). All along, the handler guides the dog with whistles or voice commands. The entire run must be completed within an allotted number of minutes."

We had a wonderful day and to top it all off, a beautiful view of Mount Rainier on the ferry ride back... (click to enlarge!)

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A few have asked me privately how Miss M. is doing all the way down in L.A.: I won't lie, it was darn hot (several heatwaves came through), but she has managed to get a different room in a dorm with air-conditioning so she is now a very happy camper. Today especially when she received her first test grade back which made her top of the Chemistry class! (sorry, had to brag a little a lot there...) She'll be coming home for four days in October and we can't wait to see her again in person! {smile}

Ramblings...

Wow, we went from tropical Summer to full on Fall overnight! Saturday a rather large storm swept through the area and a ton of rain came down. A lot of wind also (although not in our area) and at one point 450.000 people were without power. But rain: Yay! I think the last time we had a proper amount of rain was last May!

(Click! to enlarge...)

Darker days call for more knitting! I'm still working on the Estuary shawl but the knitting is just plain not enjoyable. So I decided to start a project on the side with yarn that was given to me by my mother earlier this summer. (Drops Nepal, 65% wool & 35% alpaca, aran weight) The color is not quite my favorite (it leans towards oatmeal but with a bit more grey in it), but it is so soft and squishy. I bought the pattern called 'Lemongrass' by Joji Locatelli, but decided to add Krebinette's lace pattern to the front. I also added a vertical cable on the back, just for interest. The tall collar will be added later. Once blocked this pattern will look lovely and the sweater/ poncho will certainly become one of my favorites to wear...

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In other news, Miss M. is starting to settle in L.A., although the heat wave last week didn't help. At one point the temperatures went all the way up to 104 F / 40C! Remember, no a/c in her dorm... We did realize very early on that Thanksgiving is way to far away, so we booked her some tickets for her October break, only 6 more weeks to go before we see each other again! {smile}

Master C. is starting his junior year at Gonzaga today. He moved into his first apartment in the middle of August and seems to be quite happy over there. He is getting cooking lessons from his girlfriend so I think he'll be just fine. Last night we did a family Skype session which was a lot of fun!

Well, that was it for now. Just a short little update!  <wink>

PS: It is so dark outside, I've got my favorite candles on!

Hooray For Hollywood!

Miss M. overlooking her new surroundings from the hills of Occidental College
on our first evening there...

(click! to enlarge all the following photo's)

Well, it has finally happened: we are now officially 'empty-nesters'!

Last week we escorted our youngest to Occidental College in Los Angeles, a 2 hour 15 minute flight from here. For the Europeans among you, that is a distance equivalent from Amsterdam to beyond Madrid! 

We flew in Wednesday evening and made sure to visit campus before the sun set. We had never been there before (I had never been to California period) and this was only Miss M.s second visit. What a fabulous place!

A huge campus with lots of beautiful buildings, wide pathways, gorgeous views and yes, wait for it, palm trees!  <wink>

Moving in day wasn't until Friday, so on Thursday, after a big shopping spree at both Target and Ikea, we drove down to Santa Monica beach to get some of that true California feeling. It was there alright! I loved seeing the 'Baywatch' lifeguard huts lined up along the waterline and of course the palm trees in the back ground. What a glorious place to visit!

"Beverly Hills, that's where I want to be, yeah!"

On the way back we decided to drive back via Beverly Hills and Hollywood. A major mistake because the traffic was just crazy (all traffic in the L.A. area is crazy by the way), but it was fun to have at least have seen the famous sights...

Move in day went very smoothly. Thank goodness it was cloudy that morning, because it is rather hot down there. We found out that Miss M.'s roommate is straight from Beijing, China, so that will be interesting. The room is old but big with plenty of storage space. No a/c I'm afraid, so we made sure we left them with a standing oscillating fan to keep them somewhat cool. That afternoon the Orientation program kicked in so we went off and did our own thing, while Miss M. started making new friends and get to know the campus better. When we met her again shortly before bedtime, she was a changed person already: so Happy with life!  {smile}

Saturday morning we picked her up early from campus and had breakfast at Auntie Em's, just off of campus. We drove up to the Griffith Observatory just in time (major crowds upon leaving). We walked up and when we looked back we saw the Hollywood sign right there! (fun!)  Unfortunately the marine layer that drifts in from the Pacific Ocean was still going strong that morning and so we couldn't see downtown L.A. very well, but it was still a great view from way high.

Squinting, since the sun was just starting to break through...

But then yes, it was time to say our adieu's... We made it short & sweet, no lingering. We ended up meeting each other twice more on campus which was rather funny, but then it was really time to go! We did drive up into the Angeles National Forest for an hour so before our flight left and it was spectacular:

All in all we had a wonderful time together and I can only smile when I look back on it all...

This girl fills my heart!