Finally Some Finishes and More Flowers!

At last I have a couple of finished projects to share: a sun hat for Stella and a cowl.

This pattern appealed to me because it's adjustable. I added the felt flower and a little charm that I found at Rainy Day Knits in Gig Harbor. The yarn is Cascade Sunseeker and has a bit of sparkle that doesn't show up in the photo.

I first saw this cowl pattern on Dee's blog and finally tried it. For some reason I found it a bit challenging but would make it again in a heart beat!

For some reason it looks blue but is really a silvery gray in Knit Pick's Galileo.  I had quite a bit of yarn left, but used more than one skein.

After the gray days of winter, our yard is full of color.  (Notice that the leaves have been raked up!)

Here's a close up of the Mollis azalea.  Unlike the red azalea above, it loses its leaves in the fall.

Out back, the trillium has turned pink and is about done for this spring, but the golden chain tree will soon be in its glory. Stay tuned.

And in our living room, the hibiscus surprised us!  As soon as it's done blossoming, it will be sent outside for its annual summer vacation.  Have a wonderful weekend! Check out Patchwork Times for some more knitting inspiration.

Spring Has Sprung!

You may be wondering where I've been.  Well, the sun has been shining pretty consistently, so we've been outside in the garden, trying to clean up.  I have a number of projects in the works, but they are all going slowly.

This pretty azalea was a Mother's Day gift a few years ago from our son.  Every year since it has outdone itself with blossoms.  What you can't see in this photo is that it's a small tree!  You can, however, see the leaves that are everywhere, waiting to be raked.

Finally our dogwood decided to bloom!  When we brought it home, maybe four or five years ago, it was covered with flowers, and then nothing until last year when it graced us with ONE bloom.  What did we do differently?  Nothing!?  Maybe it took a while to feel at home?

Each year our trillium has a few more blossoms.  I love flowers! Are you surprised?

And here's someone else I love.  Stella's showing off her first haircut and modelling a sweater I made ages ago that finally fits!  Carpe Diem!

Home Again and a New Post, Finally!

The last half of March and the first part of April passed in a blur, first with all the Holy Week/Easter singing and then with a trip to Florida.  That trip was our most unusual yet as we spent a lot of it sleeping of the choir crud that came with us. But we are home again, done with our jury duty and ready to get back to our normal activities. Hurrah!

As you can see from our attire and the blue sky, we were not in Washington.  This was the first day we were back to "normal," and just in time to visit our friends, the Malones.

We shared a fun lunch at Ulele's on the waterfront and then took a boat ride on the Pirate Water Taxi which was lots of  fun. Unfortunately we didn't have our camera with us, so we have no photos of the scenery on the Tampa waterfront.  The next day we visited with Dee and Steve and finally got to meet the famous Giroux.  However, once again we failed in the photography detail.  Our brains weren't functioning yet, I guess.

On Monday we flew home on a late flight so decided to explore the trails at the hotel complex across from where we stayed. We weren't deterred by this sign, but it wasn't kidding. We saw two gators swimming, and I am sure I heard another grunting in the brush.

Despite the sign, we saw other wildlife enjoying the pond.  These turtles at least were out of the water! The one in the front really seems to be enjoying the sunshine.

Dick was the first to spot this pair.  He also caught their serious discussion.  We saw another heron in the tree a few yards from this nest.

Lots of other birds seem to frequent these waters, and it was fun to see them.

Not a bad way to while away some time, eh?  We were glad the last few days of our trip were fun and very sorry not to see my cousins.  Next time, hopefully.