Where Oh Where Is the Summer Going?

Seems just like yesterday was the last day of school. Now it's half way through July! Where has the time gone? It has been such a busy summer that I just haven't had a do nothing day yet. Well...vacation is coming, maybe then.

The end of June was the Manayunk Arts Festival.


Then, Mike and I took a little 5 day road.
We visited Mystick, Connecticut



and saw a Connecticut Defenders game.
I shopped at the mecca of yarn, Webs Yarns in Northampton, Mass.


It was so totally amazing, well worth the trip and I would go again in a heart beat. Plus, Northampton is a really nice place to walk around, tons of interesting shops.

Our next stop was Troy, New York, which is just north of Albany. We saw another minor league baseball game, The Tri-City Valley Cats. A really nice stadium, well organized and good food. While we were in Troy, we visited Albany and took the "Duck" tour.



It was a lot of fun and very interesting. Our tour guide was "Henry Hudson"! He was looking pretty good for over 400 years!
Our last stop on our trek was Cooperstown, New York. We stayed at this very old inn right in Cooperstown.




The town is definitely a lot more than just the Baseball Hall of Fame.




It is the start of the Susquehanna River!




And the homes are just amazing. We really enjoyed the town.
We went to another minor league baseball game in Oneonta, New York, just 20 minutes from Cooperstown. The stadium is very old and they don't serve beer!

Our (Abbie, Jessie, Billy, Katie, Mike and I)next adventure is San Diego. We've rented a house in Pacific Beach and are going to see a Padres game.

Lots of Knitting, Little Blogging

For those of you who actually may still be checking this out....

Since Christmas I have been knitting, knitting, knitting.  After making gifts, I decided I was going to seriously get into my stash.  I had bought several projects at Stitches East and wanted to make a dent.  It was so much fun!  I made Logan, Claire, and Claire's 'soon to be' sister, all sweaters from Baby 'V' by Deb and Lynda Gemmell of Cabin Fever. 

Soooo cute and soooo easy! 

I made Galina Khmeleva's Lily of the Valley shawl out of the 100% cashmere she suggested. 

It's GORGEOUS! 

Finally made the Feather and Fan shawl from A Gathering of Lace.

And I am currently working on Mediterranean Lace Shawl from the same book.  

As for life in general, Rachael is preparing for her oboe recital in April.  Kristie and Taylor are stimulating the economy for our whole family, and Tim and I are spending way too much time at the Blue Dog:-)  And Logan...what can I say about the light of our lives..He loves his NeeNa and Pop Pop.

Tis the Season...to take Family Pictures

It's nice to have everybody home...lots of picture moments!

Our House for the Holidays

A lot of activity for the holidays at our house...
Mike and I are having our 32 wedding anniversary. "Didn't know you guys got married on Thanksgiving?" I will not reveal the speaker(s) of that quote in order to protect the future of the speakers.
We also had one less loved one in attendance.

Abbie decided to stay in Pittsburgh to attend the big game(Pitt won the backyard brawl!) on Friday; we missed her very much. She had turkey at a good friend's house. Thanks Jessie's family.


Katie and Billy are home.


The 99th Diamond Run on Thanksgiving Day.



We saw lots of old friends.



Some of us did a little early celebrating...


Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma's and enjoying the time catching up on family.

Friday - hunting for the 2008 Christmas tree.






It's a "tall and skinny" year! Yes! My year!

University of Pittsburgh Homecoming

We spent last weekend in Pittburgh for homecoming. It was great to see Abbie, she is so happy in Pittsburgh!
We spent all day Friday shopping for things that Abbie needed. It was fun to hear stories about her life at Pittsburgh. We ate at Piamonti's and The Spaghetti Warehouse. Went to the best shoe store in Pittsburgh. If you get the chance, it is worth a visit. It is called Little's Shoes.
Then, Saturday was the game. Everybody was tailgating and psyched for the game. It was a disappointment when they lost.
Mike and I saved the day by eating at Jerome Bettis Grill36. The food was really good, well worth the long wait.

We stayed at the Hilton and the views of the city were amazing. The lights at night were even better.

Mike, Abbie and me before the game. It was very windy and cold.

Abbie and some her friends.

Had to get a picture of the Pitt Panther!

The Ultimate Pittsburgh fan!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Okay, okay!  I know it's been almost 2 months since the last post.  Soooo sorry!  I've been painting, knitting, quilting, falling, applying, teaching, etc.  So much has been going on in the last 2 months, I don't know where to start.  Well... painting. In August,  after 5 months of frustration with our builder, it was finally time for me to paint!  I painted the sun room....  

I painted the family room.... 

I fell off the scaffolding....  I kept painting...

They are still not finished with the family room.  SEVEN months later....they are STILL not finished with the family room.  

Do you hear my frustration!?!  

I went to Women of Faith in Philadelphia with my sister Debbie so I could think better thoughts about my contractors.  I'm praying for them AND Tim and I to see this through!

In the meantime...knitting.   I have been knitting lace shawls.  

Can't get enough of lace.  Brenda and I will be at the New Hope Arts festival this weekend where I hope to sell a few of my shawls.  I am so looking forward to spending two days with Brenda.  So much to catch up on.  

Quilting...I started teaching the Village Quilt at Country Quiltworks.  The women are wonderful!  We are having a great time working on this fabulous quilt by Janet Miller.  We have met 2 times and have 4 more classes to finish these works of art.  Everyone is excited to see their finished product and are working diligently to stay on schedule.  Notice how everyone is working so hard....

Applying...next week may end my time off from work.  I interview for subbing and knowing how much subs are needed, I don't doubt that I will be called and called often.  I'm both excited and nervous about going back to the classroom and.. a bit depressed to be loosing my knitting and quilting time.  

Finally, spending time with the best grandson ever!! 

Unfortunately, due to my fall not as much time as I would have liked in the last 2 months.  Tim and I did get a chance last weekend to spend a couple nights with Taylor, Kristie and Logan.  We went to the Bloomsburg Fair and had all our favorite foods.  My dad and sister Laura made a surprise visit on Saturday so we could all go to the Fair together.  It was great fun and Logan was adorable. We left Sunday and went straight to Millersville to hear Rachael play oboe in the honor recital.  She was wonderful and Tim and I were so proud.  

Until next time....

The 'Perfect' Family Vacation

When Tim said 'let's go to the beach for a week with all the kids,' I thought he had lost his mind! However, I must admit it was one of the best vacations we have had in a long time.  Taylor, Kristie and Logan came for the first part of the week and then had to go home to close on their new home.  Logan LOVED the beach and Nana and Pop Pop loved having him there.

Rachael and her boyfriend Eric were there for the whole week and had a great time playing with Logan.  Kristie and Taylor enjoyed some 'alone' time getting a bit of a belated honeymooning in while we watched Logan.  

We ate at all of our favorite restaurants in OC MD.

              

Ate lots and lots of blue crab! (I wish I had moved that blasted paper towel holder!)

 

After Logan, Kristie, and Taylor left, Tim, Rachael and Eric spent a lot of time in the ocean while I sat under my umbrella and knit, and knit, and knit.  I caught up on my ipod listening (Knit Picks with Kelly) and dreamed of new projects to start when I get home.  It was so relaxing!  

On Friday, something strange occured.  There were thousands of grasshoppers in the ocean and on the beach!!  We googled the event and supposedly they blew in from Bermuda (or so they say).  No one had ever heard about that happening before.  We have been going to OC for years and years and never seen anything like it.  Still and all, they didn't prevent us from enjoying our last day on the beach:-)

I can't wait for next summer!!!!!!

1976 - 2008

For the past 31 years, we have been getting together once a year to catch up, eat, and reminisce the "good old days". We all met in our freshman year at Lock Haven State College (that's what it was called in 1972) and have remained very good friends ever snce. Our friendship is a treasure that we cherish. The reunions started out childless, survived pregnancies, endured toddlers and teenagers and now we are childless again. We have come full circle and don't look too bad.(You can judge for yourself) This year we were in the Garden State and our hosts were Kathy and Wayne. They were very calm and collected despite the fact that their oldest child (Matt) is getting married July 26th. (That is 1 week away!) We had a wonderful time and ate lots of good food. The only low point of this year's reunion is that Karla did not make it. She somehow got the days mixed up, so we were not a complete group. She was missed.
Roll the pictures!

The Knot is Tied!

It was a wonderful day for a wedding!  The weather was hot and sunny (but not humid!). 

The flowers were beautiful.

 

The bride and groom, Kristie and Taylor(my son) looked cool, calm, happy, and thankful that the day was finally here.

And Logan was just plain cute!!!

I'm so happy for them.  And me.  I got to see many friends and family that I haven't seen in a while.  Sharing such a grand day with them all, made me sad that I would have to return to Hatfield.  However, in Hatfield I can get back to some serious knitting.

I'm working on the Lilies of the Valley shawl from Lace Style.  

I love it.  It looks very intricate but was so easy to memorize the pattern.  This will definitely be one of my favorite shawls to knit. 

Rachael has already asked for it for Christmas:-)