Half Way There!

It's been a busy summer already! I finished my 6th pair of socks, so I'm half way to my goal of doing a "year of socks". I call them my "Kittizens Socks" because I used some yarn from Black Cat Fibres in England called "Tabby Cat". Not bad for working on them mostly during my breaks and lunches at work, is it?

Gary has been hard at work on his tractors and farm equipment since returning home from his annual trip to see family in Minnesota. Joanne recently celebrated her 17th birthday with some friends at Franklin Park. I took the boys and her to Leavenworth, where we had a great time, even though the guys were so not into shopping! Last weekend was spent on the west side, where we took a day trip to Seattle and then on Saturday attended the Highland games in Enumclaw. And today, Gary and I take off on a mini-vacation to the FCF Family camp up in the mountains. Fun, fun!

And one more thing, we now have a new member of the family. After losing two of our dear feline friends, we took in a rescue, a beautiful blue point long haired Siamese that we call Smokey Blue.

Another Year, Another Pony Show

Every year I get the call to come to the Welsh Pony Show (lately in Walla Walla, WA) and be in charge of the ribbons and awards. What a fun job! I not only get to to see all the great ponies and cobs, but touch bases with all the people here in the Pacific Northwest that show Welsh. And like every year, I come home, reved up to work with my own pony and next year, hopefully I will be taking him! The picture on the left is of my good friend Liz from Ellensburg and her lovely Section A mare, Puddles. Puddles is the first pony I ever got to drive in a show and she is really, really sweet! She and several others tried to talk me into adding to my herd, but I really do need to sell some of the ones I have before I can do that.

While waiting for the classes to finish, I made good use of my time and worked on my latest pair of socks. I finished my Dragonfly KAL Socks on Sat night, and started a new pair that I'm calling my Pony Show Socks on Sunday (using the Tidal Wave pattern)

A Year of Socks? Maybe..

So far I have finished 2 pairs, and have the 2nd one of pair #3 half done. Not bad for a beginner sock knitter, huh? My sock yarn steadily is growing. Not to mention my stack of sock pattern books.. I've learned quite a bit already, such as..

1. Knit tighter..

2. Kitchener stitch can be a pain, but it's doable

3. Knit tighter! Either that or switch to a smaller needle

4. Lace patterns and cabling are cool. I love them!

5. Did I mention I have to tighten up my knitting?

Pair #1 is made with Comfort DK sport yarn. Soft and slouchy. Need to work tighter!

Pair #2 is made with some Rockin' Sock yarn. Ditto on above remark. Found out that plain socks are a bit boring to make! Don't know if I'll finish this one. Might frog it.

Pair #3 is made with Red Heart Heart and Sole "Toasted Almond" yarn using a "Sweetheart Sock" pattern from a British knitting magazine. Love the colorway! Minor struggle with the lace work, but I figured it out. After finishing the first sock I put it aside to work on a pair for the Spring Swap Sock on a Yahoo groups I belong too. Once those were done, I started on the second one and I'm already half way finished! First sock is a bit big, but I'm consciously tightening up my knitting and the 2nd one is MUCH better!

Pair #4 is made with Deborah Norville Serenity "Thyme" and using the "Dusk Sock" pattern for the Spring Sock Swap. Love the yarn and pattern both! Will have to make this one for myself!

Goodbye Sweet Kitty

It is with much sadness that I write that our beautiful long haired shaded silver senior kittizen has crossed the rainbow bridge and is waiting for us on the other side. She was a part of our lives for almost 15 years. She ruled the roost around her, and even the large dogs gave her a wide berth. She was Joanne's accomplished 4H show cat, and in her last show, was reserve senior cat at the Puyallup State Fair.

Goodbye, sweet Rommelle. We miss you terribly.

Top o' the morning to you!

Things are going to be a bit calmer this week, I believe. Jo's play is over, thank goodness! She and the rest of the cast did really well, but the play itself wasn't exactly to my taste. Her's either for that matter. She told me that she didn't want to try out for another one that contains bad language like this one. Luckily the plays scheduled for next year at the college are more family friendly and will include a musical! For now though, she is concentrating on her finals. After that, she and her brothers will be going to Sakuracon in Seattle. I'll take a picture of her in her cosplay outfit the next time she tries it on.

This morning we took the dogs for a walk again. Robbie tends to get a bit frantic when walking past dogs barking at him, so I tried a new tactic - Treats! I had him sit, focus on me, and then gave him a treat. We repeated the process till we were right in front of the dogs and then walked on past. Success! Shelties do learn very quickly.

Gary is busy getting his tractors running for the spring field work as well as pruning all the fruit trees. We have apricot, cherry, plum, apple, peach and nectarines, as well as some raspberry bushes. When a tree comes ripe, I make what I want of it, usually a pie or a cobbler, and then take the rest to church. The seniors there love having access to fresh fruit that they don't have to pay an arm and a leg for! I would like to plant a veggie garden this year, but it's hard to take care of it working full time as I do.

Almost done with the first sock of the pair I'm working on. This is actual sock yarn this time, done on size 2 double pointed needles. Will share a pic when they are finished. I work on the socks in the morning a lot of times, plus at work during my breaks and lunch.

Have a great day everyone, and Happy St Patrick's Day. We have Irish on both sides of the family after all. My branches include O'Connor, Casey, Gill, Daughtry and McFadden. Gary just confirmed while doing family research that his grandmother, Orpha Verhuel, who was adopted, was the daughter of a Dora McDermott! So our kids are a real mix - German, Norwegian, Irish, Scot, English, Welsh, and French!

Fun Week Here in Yakima

Hello everyone!

I'm going to attempt to do a blog. Don't know how good it will be, but I will try.

The weather here in Yakima is changing as usual. It has gone from raining way too much, to nice and springlike, to windy and very nippy. But at least the robins are here! I have noticed over the years of living here that when they make their appearance, winter is usually over with. At least with the drier weather, the paddocks are drying out and the horses are a lot happier now that they aren't knee deep in muck.

My 16 year old daughter is doing well in her second quarter of Running Start at the college. Her play Top Girls is this week, and finals are next week.

I finished knitting my first pair of socks! Whoot! I'll attach a picture of them.

I'll write more next week when hopefully things are a little less hectic.