Adventure!

Went sailing with my husband this morning. It was a glorious day! The fresh air, the sunshine, so invigorating!

Peeking out from under the boom was a lovely view of Mount Hood. You have to look pretty hard to see it in the mist, but it’s there.

My secret farm fetish

I admit to having a weak spot for farm stands when I’m out and about on a country drive. This one happens to be located in Dutch country, where they make amazing homemade sausages and sauerkraut.

They also had some handmade tea towels that were so darling that I couldn’t resist buying one. You know, along with all that sausage, sauerkraut, and honey sticks for the kids of course.

 

This is the tea towel my girls helped me pick out to take home.

Not the same old sweater

This may look like another posting of my son’s sweater, but it’s not. I am, in fact, making a matching one for my brand new daughter-in-law. I discovered that I had enough yarn to make two of them, so I asked her if she would like one to match his. She squealed with delight and gave a resounding yes! This is what I live for. Getting to express love through my handiwork. So glad she’s joining our family.

 

And speaking of handiwork, her dad built this amazing cake stand for their wedding. It matches the gigantic log home that he is building for their family. My son got to get to know their family better through helping to work on the house. I love these traditional, heirloom, love in every stitch/nail kinds of things. They warm my heart!

Roadside blooms

Found these lovelies next to the road, and next to the railroad tracks. A spot of beauty is most needed in places that are typically considered ugly.

Knitting, a meditation

Stitch, stitch, breathe. . . Feel the texture of the yarn. Is it soft? Is it coarse? Is it bulky or fine?

Stitch, stitch, breathe. . . Allow your eyes to drink in the color of the yarn. The softness of the green, the vibrance of the pink. Whatever beautiful colors you chose to create with, breathe them in.

And, of course, the next round of flower deliveries.

Well, I’ll be pickled!

Probiotics make my tummy happy. One of my current healthy eating goals is to eat more pickles. No, not the jar on the shelf variety. Those have no live cultures. I’m talking the good old fashioned lacto-fermented kind. And since I have a hard time finding those in the local grocery store I’ve resorted to making my own from my handy dandy favorite recipe book of all time. This one!

As you can see, I’ve gone for the pickled cucumbers, and the pickled garlic. I am amazed at how mild the garlic is in flavor. They’re both delicious! And I’m reaching my goals. Happy!

 

And sorry about the wonky photo. I tried to get it straightened out, I really did. For some reason the darn stubborn thing won’t turn. I guess you’ll just have to tilt your screen.

A couple of cute crocheted hedgehogs and where to find a free pattern

Here they are, Kiwi and Cookie, a couple of sweet little hedgehogs I crocheted for my daughters out of some hand spun wool my mother made.

They love to be together, whether it’s playing the piano or going for a snuggly carriage ride.

You can find the pattern for these lovelies by clicking here