Leaving on a jet plane

I'm off tomorrow morning for a long weekend in Omaha for a knitting retreat. My dear sister and I have not seen each other in WAY too long and so I am so happy to meeting up with her (and Becky, a non-knitter) to do this. I wish it was going to be a longer visit, but we will be together, doing something we both love to do. Knit, and hang out with other knitters!

The setting is going to be lovely. We'll be at the Mahoney State Park in Omaha. The link is to a quick youtube video of the park's features. There is a huge lodge where the retreat will be, but we have a private cabin so we can catch up on our sister time in private when we want to. There is so much to do at this park. I am hoping to convince Mike to make a trip out there next summer to camp, and have Diane and Becky come too!

Coming with me on my long weekend is my new Kindle, which is an early birthday present. I treated myself to a really cute skin (from DecalGirl) and sleeve with some amazon gift certificates I had gotten with bank rewards. I'm looking forward to getting acquainted with it on my flights tomorrow, and then waiting for Diane and Becky to get off work and drive to Omaha to retrieve me from the airport about 3 hours after I arrive. I don't mind the wait though... I'll have my Kindle, my iPod Touch, and my knitting. Isn't she cute?

And speaking of cuteness.... McKenna has gotten her third tooth and started walking in the past few weeks. Oh my goodness, she is really so much fun these days. Learning words, the fun way she plays with her toys. Here is a picture of her and her friend the llama at the petting farm on Sunday.

Where has summer gone?

Wow, summer has really flown by. (Doesn't it always?) So many plans are formed when school lets out, and then the lazy days just flow one into the next and before you know it ... POOF! It's over and school starts again.

We have just returned from a camping trip. It was a week for Mike and Jake, who left last Saturday. I brought Kaitlyn and a friend to the campground on Monday, and came home yesterday. Mike and Jake will return today. During the days when it was just the 2 of them, they did some fishing, golfing, and just hung out together having some "guy time", which I'm sure they both enjoyed a lot!

The 4 of them went to Cedar Point on Tuesday and I had a nice QUIET day by myself at the campground.

While they were gone, I:

~made some progress on my sweater (still a long way to go and time is running out!

~read (Whack a Mole by Chris Grabenstein... I have really enjoyed all 3 books in this series)

~watched Olympics

~basically enjoyed my solitude. 

Wednesday we went into Monroe (hometown of Custer) and went to the historical museum. Very interesting stuff! One of the biggest battles of the War of 1812 was fought in the area. 

We spent Thursday on Put In Bay Island which was a TOTAL blast. Took the ferry over, rented a 6-seater golf cart for the day and just took in the sights, toured the Heineman winery and Crystal Cave (which was the world's largest geode, and you got to be inside of it. SO COOL!) Played 18 holes of mini-golf with a War of 1812 theme. Lots of history on the island. And lots of fun things to do. We had lunch at Mr. Ed's Bar and Grille, which was right across the street from a beautiful park overlooking the marina and lake. We loved buzzing around on the golf cart along with hundreds (thousands?) of other carts. The day was beautiful and we really had a great time. 

Mike has the camera, so I will post photos later on. 

Now it's back to reality. I'll have to catch up on laundry (everything smells like campfire of course) and restock the fridge and pantry. Jake missed his "Dawg Days" this week, which is where the kids go and get their schedules, get their pictures taken, order yearbooks, turn in emergency cards, etc etc. I'll have to take him in before school starts to take care of some of that. I can't believe I no longer have a child in elementary school, after all these years. Jake is off to middle school. And Kaitlyn is a senior. It's a big year in the Bloom house.  We still need to buy school supplies (once again, I urge all teachers...please send a school supply list to your students before school starts, especially if you have items on your list that are out of the norm....did you ever try to buy school supplies after school starts? They've already gone on clearance and there is nothing left). When I worked at Target, every mother of every 6th grader came to Target after school started, looking for a clipboard, and boy were they pissed that we didn't have hundreds of them on the shelves waiting for them.  (Note to self...Jake is a 6th grader...pick up a clipboard....it'll probably be on his list)

We also need to get Kaitlyn's senior pictures taken in the next few weeks. Her photographer will be my good friend Debbie, who is so creative and has a special talent for getting great shots. She did Kim's wedding photos and they are stunning.  Check out her website. Beautiful photography. She is also mentoring Kaitlyn, since my dad's photography genes seem to have been passed down and she wants to also make photography her career. Grampa couldn't be prouder!

Time to tackle another load of laundry. More will be coming when my men pull in with the camper shortly. I just got a call that they are on the road.

Life is good

It's 12 minutes past midnight....12 minutes past the 29th anniversary of our wedding. Amazing. So many memories....

Mike and I went out to dinner (Jake came with us because Kaitlyn was at work) and then the 3 of us stopped for ice cream before visiting Mike's brother who is recovering from heart surgery. He's doing very well, thank the heavens above. 

The holiday weekend was so much fun. We gathered with family where we almost always do on the 3 holidays that mark the beginning, middle and end of summer.... on the shore of Lake Huron in Michigan's "thumb". The weather was perfect (save for the first night that was 45 degrees.... Hello? Isn't this JULY?) There was no rain, there were hardly any clouds, the wind was calm (a rarity, believe me) and the temperature couldn't have been more divine. 

Mike was able to enjoy a 3 day weekend (many weekends lately have been non-existent as he has been working every Saturday and a lot of Sundays too). It must've felt so wonderful for him to finally get a chance to relax and enjoy some down time. It sure felt good for me, knowing he could sleep in and just enjoy the days spent with family, having fun . Eat, Drink and Be Merry. There was a lot of that going around, that's for sure.

My SIL turned 50 on Saturday, so the festivities of the weekend were not just for the holiday, but for her birthday too. Her "real" party is on the 19th, but the preview was a lot of fun as well.

Of course today I spent a good amount of time catching up on things around here. MUCH laundry, cleaning out the camper, vacuuming the pool (which somehow became disgusting in our absence) etc. 

I just finished reading Belong To Me, by Marisa de los Santos. I am sad that I am done reading it. After reading Love Walked In by her, and now this one, I am longing for more by this incredibly talented author. I don't have another book to start, so I guess a trip to the library is in order for tomorrow. I have to remind Jake to read more. He's not reading as much this summer as in summers past. I think some reading time together in the new hammock tomorrow sounds good. As long as it's not too unbearably hot out there. Well, we could always cool off in the pool. 

Knitting content: Princess Lace Wrap is off the needles. Photos to follow, after it has been blocked. Back to the sweater I need to finish by October/Rhinebeck!

Busy busy busy!

Wow, I can't believe almost a month has gone by without a post. Where does the time go? Spring is always a busy time of year anyway...this year is no different.

Here are a couple of photos of things I've knit for the shop.



This is a free pattern available here. Knit with Crystal Palace "Trio" ribbon yarn.

This is the Wrap Sweater from Vogue Knitting. I used Tartlette for this one.


I've also gotten myself addicted to the washcloth pattern in the Mason Dixon Knitting book...I can't stop knitting the darned things (or buying cotton in every color of the rainbow...I've got about 10 colors of Butterfly cotton (which makes a smaller, but oh so much softer washcloth) and LOTS of colors of Lion Cotton and Peaches & Cream/Sugar & Cream. I'll be knitting these things for a long time with all the yarn I've accumulated in the past couple weeks.

I've actually started some Christmas gift knitting....so I can't really say what that is, but it's going to be a big project.

On the homefront, we are in the middle of purchasing this trailer, and I can't wait. I hope we have it for Memorial Day weekend, but it's not looking promising, with the obstacles that are standing in our way. Keep your fingers crossed! It's soooo much nicer than the pop-up camper we've had for the past 8 years....Bathroom! Shower! Air Conditioning!!! LOTS of storage! All the conveniences but I won't have to feel like I'm sleeping in a tin box...it still has the feeling of fresh air with the 2 beds on the outside (2 more beds inside too!)