Happy Firecracker Day!

July 4th is probably my favorite holiday after Christmas and Thanksgiving. Dick and I have a pretty set pattern for the day. Ventura's Street Fair, where we peruse all the hand-crafted items and sample the food. We met up with Matt and company for a bit, just long enough to watch Naia get her arm painted and for Leia to get her first ride on PopPop's shoulders. Then home to drop off our treasures and get a short nap (hey, we're retired!) before moving over to Matt's house for a bbq and hanging out with the baby grands. Since the city moved its holiday display to Cam High, we don't need to drive anywhere to get our fireworks fix. We just take some chairs across the street where the view's a bit better and wait for the show to begin. I used my new camera to take pictures tonight and I'm not overly happy with the results. Of the 89 shots I took, these are all that are even close to usable. Gotta figure out the different modes before next year's display. Happy Independence Day!

This and That

Randomness to start the holiday weekend:

1) In an attempt - mostly vain - to keep Leia away from the stairs and corralled in one room, Dick erected blockades in doors and hallways. Did they work? Heck, no. Leia made one attempt to climb over, one attempt to go around, and when neither worked she just bulldozed her way through. Dick kept adding more and more stuff, including a couple of spinning wheels. Leia thought it was great fun. 2) AJ says, "is she gone yet?" 3) I started yet another shawl project. Saw this doily picture in a book and thought dang, that would look great as a shawl if I just . . . . a couple of tweeks later, like bigger yarn, bigger hook, and more pineapples down the sides, I've got this - It's stash yarn - Dalegarn's Svale (cotton & silk blend; feels wonderful and makes a great summer wrap) - and so far I'm loving the pattern. This is row 10 of 20, so I think it's going to be plenty big. If not, I'll just adjust the border to get what I want. 'Have hook, will conquer.'

4) A friend's husband recently passed away and the knitting group at my LYS got together to make a comfort blanket for her. I contributed three squares - where the arrows are in the photo - but only took pix of one. It's "On The Road Again" by Jessica Gil but I think of it as a friendship circle. Yarn is Araucania's Nature Wool in orange. Loved the yarn and the pattern.

5) Happy 4th of July to those of us in the 'states' - and happy start of the Tour de France, too! Haven't decided what my Tour project is going to be this year but I'm leaning toward spinning. We'll see . . . the Tour doesn't start until tomorrow morning, so what's the rush. Right?

Leia

The youngest princess came for a visit today while her parents and PopPop went to see Dillinger. At 10 1/2 months, Leia is mobile and quick. Her favorite things at Grandma's house are trying to touch the kitty and climbing the stairs (with adults in hot pursuit.) Put the two together - chasing AJ as the poor cat tries to escape up to Gary's room - and Leia's in baby heaven.

Fascinated by the baby in the dishwasher.

Leia says dada and mama and loves to sing la-la-la with me. She has two cute, very sharp bottom teeth and loves food she can chew on. Pureed baby food? No, thank you. Rice, beans, or bread? She's all over it.

Leia initiates playing peek-a-boo by putting things in front of her face or over her head - Chris has an hilarious video of it on her phone - and belly-laughs when she sees you again. She knows where my studio is and will come find me - from two rooms away - if I disappear for too long. Matt says she knows where her shoulder and tummy are, but he couldn't get her to show us tonight. Maybe she's saving that trick for tomorrow.

Such a joy to have happy, healthy, active babies in the house again.



Leia's fascinated by the bay window - where she's standing at the end of the video - because that's where AJ usually suns herself. Leia figured out that if she pulls the blanket that AJ lays on, AJ comes closer . . . and closer . . . until Leia can almost touch her. Such a clever little cookie.

FO's

I finished a pair of crocheted socks for Rachel - sure hope she likes them. (Details are here.) This is the first pair I've ever made for someone besides myself. It's not that I'm selfish (ok, maybe it is - I really enjoy wearing handmade socks) but they're a lot of work to do for someone you don't love a lot.
I also Navajo-plied the first bobbin of 'Red Sky At Night' from roving I bought several years ago at Spinderellas. A photo that better captures the glitz and sparkle is here. My yarn counter doesn't work for crap, but I think this is about 225 yards of DK-ish yarn. I have another big bobbin ready to ply, plus another 3-4 ounces to spin. I'm hoping to get enough yarn out of this to make a shawl. I **love** the color and the sparkle.

My Really Big Bag

Just added a new free pattern to Ravelry - My Really Big Bag. Crocheted with bulky yarn and a big hook, using only single crochet stitches, this works up fast. Pattern includes instructions for making a swatch, how to felt in a washing machine, and how to do the dreaded maths - figuring your shrinkage so you get the size bag you want. Pattern does not include how to add the cute monkey lining but instructions are available on the Internet.

Breathtaking

Rocky Mountain National Park is always gorgeous but this was something special. We turned a corner one rainy afternoon and found this -

a spectacular double rainbow. (click photos to enlarge)We'd never seen anything like it - and bet we never will again.

Estes Park Cabin

I was in charge of locating our home-away-from-home in Estes Park. It's hard to find a place - and know the quality of what you're getting - when you move away from hotel/motels/B&B's and start looking into cabins and single-family homes. On our last few trips, I've used TripAdvisor for opinions and reviews and have to say I've been very happy with the results.

After a marathon search (6 hours . . . ) and a lot of nail-biting, I finally settled on Solitude Cabins - and it was wonderful. Everything was super clean and well maintained, and the staff was friendly and helpful. The house we ended up with was two storieswith two bedrooms, two full baths, a great view from the upstairs balcony - rustic living room with fireplace, deck with grill and views of the neighborhood and mountains,

Addy was waving to her mom - we sent this photo to Rachel via cellphone

and plenty of room to stretch out in the evenings and just enjoy.

Such a lively bunch

The kitchen even had room enough for a bowling alley, Addy-style. Why waste time rolling the ball when it's so much faster (and more fun) to knock them down, up close and personal. As you can tell, Addy loves bowling.