a medley and all the Bs and Cs

We have had all the weather this week – cool and dry, hot and muggy, and now cooler and muggy WITH RAIN!!!  Hallelujah!

Sadly our rainiest day was the day my cousin B married his beloved C.  Outdoors. Rain held off for the actual ceremony, and the food was in an open sided barn.  It all went perfectly, of course. A few showers did not deter merrymaking.

Aren’t they cute???

We didn’t stay very long really, a couple of hours following the service maybe.  We drove with Mom and she wanted to get home to let her dog out before it got too late.  We did stop for supper along the way, so that was pleasant. It was really nice to see aunts and cousins and siblings and all the giants of the next generation – all the “kids” are getting so big!

Other than that, it has been a quiet week. I have been knitting away diligently on the four shawls.  My plan for them is to get through the stockinette portion before I start any lace. Which means that some will get put on hold while others catch up.  I think the cloud dweller biophilia will get there first, but it will be a close race with the Oaklet in Tern.  It got lots of love in the car yesterday.

 

You can see I got a few more of my favorite project bags – open canvas totes in the smallest size.  I love these bags.  Not fancy, no pockets, no zips. But durable, sturdy yet soft, they work well for me.

I have been spinning, I finished up the Summer Bouquet yarn, haven’t got finished pictures of it – it is hanging outside drying now.  I had to hold off soaking it because the weather was so damp.  But I could wait no longer, I want to see finished yarn! I’ll be sure to share it with you when it is dry and worthy of photographs.

Once that was finished, I started prepping the next spin – Color Tag, also from Three Waters Farm.  I am going slowly with this one, really working on my drafting, I want to get my thinnest yarn yet with this.

So far, so good.

And on the way to the wedding, I convinced A to stop for 2 minutes so I could pick up this treasure that Deb at Purple fleece was holding for me –

It’s a 4 ounce braid of Falkland, called Life’s a Beach.  Love the colors!

Later this week, nieces B and C-the-younger will be arriving from PA via CT!! They will only be here a couple of days, but I am very excited that this visit is happening. They arrive Thursday evening, and will leave Sunday.  On Saturday, their cousins, my niece C-the-elder and nephew B will come over to play games and visit and hang out for the day. Niece N sadly will be off vacationing in Mexico, but we will manage to have fun without her.  This is fun for me, to have all the B and C nieces and nephew together, it has been a long time since they all came over to just hang out.  Like in probably 6 years – because we live at the end of the trail, so we usually meet somewhere in the middle for family events.   These kids are all roughly the same age – 20-26, and have so much fun when they get together. I am glad that it will be happening here at our house.

And that means that this week we will be cleaning and prepping for visitors.

And of course, spinning, and knitting.  And swimming.  Because there ARE enough hours in a day.

 

 

Sunny day – yahoo!

Tuesday we did spend the afternoon shopping – scored some good deals on binders for the girls for school, at good will. Got C a few things she loved there, but nothing for B. Sigh. I hate that clothes are not made to fit real bodies. Or they are ugly.

Yesterday was spent at Craig Pond – almost no one there, the water was crystal clear. It was one of those gorgeous days with the big puffy clouds that might shower on you, (and they did) with bright sun in between. Both girls spent the afternoon in the pond, catching tad poles, newts and really disgusting creatures I prefer not to think about when swimming. Needless to say, I floated on a raft reading a book, then stayed on dry land reading a book while they wore themselves out.

Today is a BIG BIRTHDAY! We are celebrating it by hanging at home getting things done that need doing, then heading over to their dad’s house tonight for cake and ice cream. Then they will stay there for the weekend, and I will do my normal Friday things.

C and I went for a short bike ride this morning while B hung at home enjoying peaceful time. It was hot, so we didn’t go far. But A and I are planning a longer bike ride on Saturday, maybe with L in the Bangor City Forest.

Meanwhile I found some quiet crafting time to start planning my Christmas cards. I think that I have an idea for one that I can make that will be easy to put together, but that I can use different papers and things for so each one will be unique. but I can’t post a picture of them here, because then you will know what you are getting. I would hate to spoil the surprise! 🙂 Also have done a little knitting – finished the front and back of my St Andrews by the Sea/ Adrienne Vittadini sweater, and am casting on for the sleeves today. I think it is going to be beautiful, I just hope it will fit like I plan.

meanwhile… here are those photos I promised of the bride and groom. I can’t believe I didn’t get a full front shot of the bride… oh well, trust me, her skirt matched her top and fit beautifully!

M and B after the ceremony

B in his new tie... so it's a little short, he's a good sport!

M and B during the ceremony

on vacation for more than TWO weeks!

It’s only been 4 days, but it has been FULL! Drove round trip to CT on Friday to get the girls – it was HOT, and long. Seems like everyone in Massachusetts was on 495. We finally got off and took back roads through NH and got back on the highway in Gray – peaceful sailing after that. But it was 16 hour day for me, in that hideous heat – I was wiped out. Thank Goodness for the AC and GPS!

Needless to say, Saturday we spent chilling, getting settled, swimming in the pool. And I of course was finishing the ties. I didn’t get to the bow tie, but I did finish the regular one and the ascot. B was impressed. 🙂

Sunday was the big wedding, and it was great – the air totally changed, it was much cooler and drier, and just gorgeous. The outfit fit and looked fabulous, and B actually wore a tie from his new selection for part of the ceremony! I’ll get my pictures here later. (yes, I am lazy, the camera is downstairs and I am not.) C and N did a great job with the music, and little E helped everyone – musicians, minister, photographers. She did not sit still for more than a moment. She did hold the bouquet at one point, but didn’t stick around to give it back. Luckily her dad had saved it.

It was great to have most of the family there, and to get to know B’s kids and grandkids a little bit more.

Nieces B and C and I stayed over night, slept in the RV, which was fun, and had breakfast with the bride and groom and my new brother before heading home to spend the afternoon with A.

Today is rainy, so we will have a quiet morning at home, then head to Ellsworth for some school and Grasshopper shopping. The girls always look forward to that!

The grownups are now in negotiations with the teenagers about getting together for a sleep over. the teenagers prefer to do it next week when no parents will be there. The grownups are thinking it would be better done a different way. D is talking to N to see if tomorrow night will work instead of a night next week. I haven’t broken the news to the teens on my end of the phone yet, but I will when they wake up for lunch. 🙂