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16 October 2010

Odd bits

I seem to have more energy this week, which is strange.  I'm choosing to attribute it all to Manuka honey.  




These pics are all from the rain/hail storm we had 1 October.  It looked like it had snowed 1/2 an inch, but it melted off quickly.  We've had a small amount of rain in the past couple of days, and more in predicted for So Cal, but i don't know if any will make it up here.  

 

This tree is in the Kmart parking log.  The pic doesn't do it justice.  Beautiful, especially when the sun is shining on it.



On Wednesday i took N's daughter Sierra to the Millcreek Manor Tea House for lunch.  She is eight, but a tiny, petite young lady.  She got all dressed up and her mama put her hair up in a bun.  The ladies at the tea place were quite enchanted with her and her very polite manners.  I think she had a good time.  She loves to pose and didn't balk at all when i wanted to get a pic of her.  

 

It is actually quite a grey day here, so i'm surprised this came out so well.  I've been meaning to take pics of this bush that seems to want to believe it is an oak.  The leaves make it look like an oak, anyway.  It is about the only color in our yard besides yellow.  About a week ago it was still green with a little red at the tips of the leaves.  I meant to take "progression" pics, but didn't get around to it. 

 

This is the maple tree in our yard, with the apple tree on the left (behind the burgundy ornamental plum), starting to turn, too.  The aspen has already lost all of its leaves, but the cottonwood is only beginning to turn.  Last year i took tons of pics of the fall colors, but haven't done much this year. 

 



This is the blanket i've made for my niece Ellen.  I've a basket of things ready to send.  This, the bibs, a couple of outfits (but 6-9 months because they outgrow the small things so quickly, and i'm sure her friends gave her lots of clothes at the baby shower), a stuffed Tigger and a small knitted hat.  The top pic is more accurate for the color.  I changed the pattern so the repeat is every six rows instead of four.  I think i like it better this way.  (The other one, multicolor for someone else, was done the same way.)


She had the baby today.  She is at least 3 weeks early.  I think it is a bit of a cruel twist of fate as today is the 5 year anniversary of our losing our first baby.  Hard to think if we had had them all, we would have 3 little ones between 16 months and 4-1/2 year running around.  Anyway, i soon need to get the package in the mail.


I really am doing much better physically.  I've done quite a lot this week and had the energy to do it.  I took N's youngest, Joshua, to see a movie yesterday PM.  I think he had a good time, too.  He is only 3, but he was very well-behaved, although i couldn't get him to eat his dinner when we stopped.  So i took him home.  He was worn out, but i wasn't really.  Lovely to have the energy for an afternoon and not need to go to bed when i got home.  :)

Duane's off the hill tonight, will get home about 2 AM.  He's mentoring a training exercise down the mountain.  I'm praying they get home safe, but there isn't ice on the road this time of year, so they should be okay.


Hope you're having a great weekend.  Any special plans?  Do you have fall color where you are at?



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12 comments:

betty said...

no fall colors here but we get them in winter I do believe. beautiful tree though! glad you are feeling good with energy to do things; that blanket you made for your niece is gorgeous! I don't know why dates happen like this that something that caused you so much sadness is a day that brought others so much joy. I know there's got to be some type of meaning or something with this, but I just don't know. I remember years ago us getting a letter from our insurance company they would no longer cover infertility treatments, getting the letter on Christmas Eve and then the next morning being at church where there were babies being dedicated. Yet I know God is loving and not cruel and good all the time. But I don't know why these things happen, let I trust.

hope your husband got home safely

betty

Meadowlark said...

Our fall colors are brief, but intense. Since we're primarily surrounded by juniper, pine & fir we don't get much. :(

LOVE the blankie! I'm terrible with patterns but feather & fan maybe? Do tell...

Kathryn said...

Hi Betty -

yes, even tho we're less than 100 miles away, our weather is so very different! You have things growing all year, & our growing season is so short.

Well, right now i'm rather feeling like God is kicking me to change my attitude. I pray & pray to have more love, for i know i'm sadly lacking. But i also know that in a couple of days i'll get used to the whole thing.

It is 3 AM. I've been awake for a couple of hours. Duane still isn't home, but there could be a lot of reasons for that.

Meadowlark, welcome! :) We have a lot of evergreens here, too. Most of the color comes from the trees folks have planted.

Yes! Feather & fan, or at least a variation of it. I like this pattern because it is so simple, but i also really like how it looks, finished. This one i altered a bit, because i wanted the blanket to be a bit narrower than the full pattern would have been. I only had 5 skeins, the yarn was discontinued & i couldn't get more. (If you look closely at the pics, you'll see this actually has 2 different colors of yellow in it, 3 of one color, 2 of the other.)

Because i wanted it just a bit smaller than the pattern, i made it in multiples of 5 instead of 6. That meant every 6th row i had to add a stitch that blended in, but i'm pleased with how it turned out. Thank you.

Kathryn said...

3.44 AM. He's home. :)

lisa said...

Those are some great pictures of the leaves. I love the blanket you did! Very talented! She is a very cute young lady!

Anonymous said...

Kathryn, thanks for posting some beautiful photos! I really enjoyed looking at them.

I hope you get a lot of snow this year. That always seems to help the local Big Bear economy.

~Ron

Kathryn said...

Thanks Lisa. I was pleased with the result of the blanket. S is very cute. I enjoyed our day a lot.

Hi Ron. Glad you liked the pics. I hope for a lot of snow, too, but i'd prefer it a bit more spread out. Last year we had 4 feet dumped on us across 3 days. We dug out, much of it melted, & we had 5 feet dumped in another 3 day period. Shut the mountain down! So, while i'm hoping for snow, i'm hoping we get lots of 2 feet drops rather than two 4 or 5 foot drops!

Anonymous said...

No fall colours here but some trees turn yellow and drop their leaves during the dry season. Glad you had a good honey powered week.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful photos of your pretty Fall colors out west. And I love your gorgeous knit afghan! Such a fabulous gift. That little girl is adorable and girls do tend to like posing for pictures I think! Glad you are feeling better too.

Land of shimp said...

Well, as usual I'm playing catch-up here :-) Kathryn, don't feel stupid for having breathed in a sunflower seed, although I'm so sorry it caused such discomfort! Seriously, Rob does essentially that basically once every two weeks. It's some glitchy thing in his respiratory system/esophagus. We actually joke about it now.

*cough cough*

"What did you try to breathe this time, sweetie?"

"Olive oil and vinegar dressing. Check that off the list, I can't breathe that either."

We just say he's a scientist, conducting experiments on what he can and can't breathe. Sifting the data as he prepares his hypothesis.

I like your blanket! It turned out very well, and I hope the baby is doing well too.

Feel better, I hope your increased energy continues :-)

Amrita said...

Oh my you already had snow. Must be so cold.

Here there was snow fall in Kashmir.

We had a rainstorm 2 nights back, its cooler now.But we need the sun for our garden.

Nina 's daughter is so cute, she 's got style dearie me.
How sweet of you to take her out for a treat.

I love the blanket.

Kathryn said...

Thanks, Mr. Squirrel. I wonder if honey could turn me into the "energizer bunny." Think i'd rather be a squirrel (or cat) if i had the option. :)

Hi, Ms NE. Thank you. I appreciate the compliment, coming from someone who is so accomplished with the camera.

Alane, what you write (whether here or elsewhere) always makes me smile. I'm actually blessing that darn seed as it helped me learn so much more about the power of the Manuka honey. (I knew it was good for a couple of things, but didn't know how very good it is for many more.)

The baby is home & doing well, from all i've heard. She was a bit jaundiced, & i guess the hospital really scared the new mama, but it turns out it was very mild & soon over. I think they are getting settled in. I may never see this baby in person, so it is nice to have FB to hear the news.

It isn't too cold yet, Amrita. Yesterday's high was only 54F, but it still is comfortable in the sun.

I feel i'm the one blessed when i take Nina's kids out. Her daughter is quite a ham.

Thank you. I'm pleased with the results of the blanket. Hope things are getting a bit better where you are at. Stress is, stressful. May God bring you peace.