Small Blessings...

It had been quite a while, but yesterday two knitting friends and myself went on a little field trip. Down south this time towards Enumclaw, which sits just below Mount Rainier. The day, the weather, the company and especially the destination couldn't have been better!

Through Tolt , contacts were made with Brenda (and her husband Jim) at Small Blessings Farm. They run a Blueberry U-pick, a Christmas tree farm, board a few horses and tend to a small flock of sheep.  We were literally welcomed with open arms, a tour was given and a lovely blueberry loaf was eaten. After all this hospitality we treated Brenda to lunch in Enumclaw. What a most fabulous and perfect day!  {smile}

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Sunday Afternoon Beach Time...

View from the deck over Commencement Bay...

Mount Rainier in the distance...

Lighthouse keeper's cottage...

Husband & daughter out fishing, doing what they love best...

Son...

Yesterday, we drove down to Tacoma to visit my lovely mother-in-law. We had lunch there with beautiful views over Commencement Bay and Mount Rainier and then we decided to take her out to the local beach, one of my ultimate favorites! (Browns Point) 

Breathe in, breathe out...

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Father's Day Fishing...

Last Sunday we spent several  hours on Lake Langlois. We  made fancy sandwiches beforehand, brought some drinks and snacks and I brought my knitting.  A Bald Eagle did some fly-by's several times right over our heads! It was lovely and so quiet... 

>click on photos to enlarge

PS. No fish were caught during these languid hours...

Some Sewing...

For years I sewed, and sewed and sewed, until I discovered knitting. Ever since then my sewing has been on the back burner, but recently I felt like  some stitching again. First up a fabulous design by Marcy Tilton. This is V8876, the Ruffled Collar Dress.:

I made it out of a linen that I dyed myself.  I love all the flowing lines, the fun collar to which I still have to add a ribbon, and just the total design. Lots of pattern pieces to cut out and difficult rounded lines to stitch, but it was such fun putting it together...

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Next up is another version of  Tif's Dottie Angel Frock, Simplicity 1080. I think this is my third or maybe even my fourth one! Just love the fit and how you can keep on combining the different parts.  

The pocket fabric had this little saying on the selvedge edge,
I liked it...

The fabrics were designed by Cotton & Steel, a favorite of mine. This version is a bit light in color for my liking, but I think it will be wonderful for the summer months.  I added cap-sleeves and a small split in the front neckline. The rest is the same as the original pattern.

Mmmm, what else shall I sew now?

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Rainy Days...

... don't get me down! (the Carpenters) Yep, still lots of rain here, but much higher temperatures and we've even enjoyed a few days with full-on sunshine! 

I always find it difficult to write again after a longish hiatus. Where to start? Let's just say that life is moving along just fine. 

The husband and I spent a couple of days in and near Port Townsend, WA. The first day we had super blue skies and only sunshine. The next day that was all gone and it became quite blustery, stormy even. Also fun along the coast. It was just really nice to be out and about in different surroundings together. We stayed in the cutest little cottage ever at  Chevy Chase Beach Cabins. Seriously, how cute is this? (see below)

Port Townsend...

We brought our own Italian coffee machine, plus my favorite coffee mug of course...

Spring Break is over again and we are now looking forward to Master C.'s graduation from college in three weeks time.  (Gonzaga) How did that happen so fast??! We are so happy for him, great times!

I'll leave you with some fun pictures of the birds that we are finding in our yard right now. Lots of new faces (migratory birds) and the old well known ones as well. They always make me smile...

Steller Blue Jay...

White-Crowned Sparrow...

Evening Grosbeak...

Robin...

American Goldfinch...

Band Tailed Pigeon...

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Cocooning...

Captured by my daughter, sometime earlier this month...

(Is that a word, cocooning? ) That sort of sums up how I've been feeling the last two months. Living in a cocoon, not feeling like communicating with anyone. Nothing bad, just being quiet. Just me and my knitting... (see my Ravelry  page)

Winter has come and gone, but spring hasn't arrived yet. We are so many weeks behind schedule. Lots of rain, and clouds and only a couple of hours of sun. (and those hours felt soooo good!) 

The kids each came home for a week, but only at the same time for a couple of overlapping days. Nice to have them each for ourselves. The two of us had a great roadtrip to central Oregon in February visiting Mr. G's middle brother and wife. Good times and several beers were had...

Now we're getting closer to our Spring Break. We're thinking of spending a couple of days near or in Port Townsend and maybe a cheeky visit to the Dutch/ British/ Scandinavian grocery store in Poulsbo on the way there. My licorice stock (= drop) is nearing its end...

I've been loving our treadmill purchase. Almost every day you can find me on it and I'm finally starting to see and feel some results! With the awful weather we've had (and still have) it has been an excellent purchase!

Well, that's it for now. I've just started my most ambitious knitting project to date, the Clio sweater. I had a hard time finding the right weight yarn. It called for a light DK, but I'm using a sock weight yarn by Madeline Tosh in the colorway 'Asphalt'. I'm loving all the colorful bits in it. Her's to hoping that my gamble will be paying off...

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