Two Hats and a Scarf

Emma's Ravenclaw scarf.


Emma's hat to match her Ravenclaw scarf.





Palindrome Hat
I have been knitting and forgetting to post as I go. I made Emma's scarf using the same pattern as Libbys Gyrffindor scarf that I posted previously. The hat pattern that I used was from a beautiful book I checked out from the library and have since returned, so I do not recall the name. I will have to check it out again and then I will post it. The book has many patterns that I would love to try and knit.

The other hat is the palindrome hat to match the scarf I made a few years ago. It is a hat done in a knit 2, purl 2 pattern with cables. The brim came out shorter than I would of liked. I think I must of measure the length wrong. I still have one more ball of the yarn left, so I might make another. I am currently working on arm warmers for Pat when he is out cycling. It is my first attempt at modifying a pattern. Scary!

Visit with the East Coast Family

Pizza!!!
So Cute!

Bedtime

We really don't see our East Coast Family (Tom, Nicole & Nina) enough. We had sooo much fun and we were very sad they had to leave. Our last night we drank many mojitos. I have to thank Tom for introducing us to such an awesome drink!

My first pair of Socks!

Sock pattern from knitting socks by Ann Budd

I did it! I made my first pair of socks! It was easier than I thought, but it took me awhile because the sock pattern I used was from a library book that I returned after only making one sock. I did finally check the book out from the library again and finish the second sock. Thanks to my friend Catherine, I now own this book and can make many more pairs of socks without having to keep checking the book out from the library. Yeah! Thank you Catherine! Socks are way easier to make than I thought it would be. I think next time I will not use 100% cotton yarn. The socks are comfortable, but could be alot more with softer yarn. They are not as uncomfortable as the sock critic from Old Town Coffee and Chocolates said they would be. Catherine and I knit once a week at a local coffee shop, and when I was making my first sock a customer (a man) walked by and commented on my sock and said "my sock was going to feel like I was walking on sand paper." What the heck did this non-knitter know about knitting socks. Not that I knew tons about knitting socks, but walking on sandpaper...come on! Anyway, I am proud of my first pair of socks and cannot wait to make more!

Crochet! My first hat!

I woke up yesterday morning thinking I needed to learn how to crochet, NOW! I didn't want to wait until I could find someone to teach me, so I found a great video on YouTube "How to Crochet a hat". And I actually did! I knitted a hat for my first crochet project, and did it in one day. Now that is instant gratification. It is not perfect, but I like it anyway!

Two more pictures from Armstrong Woods

Hike at Armstrong Woods

Cole, Emma, Wren and Libby ate their Wheaties for breakfast.



Me & Pat


Cole with his wand (aka. stick)




The hill that would never end!



The kids resting on the hill that would never end


On our last trip down to Santa Rosa to pick up the girls from their vacation with Grammy, we went to Armstrong woods for a hike. Little did we know we would encounter the hill that would never end. The kids did incredibly well and only wined a little bit. It was a great hike, other than going down the other side and encountering plenty of horse poop, and some slippery terrain from the loose dirt. Cole carried a stick that was his wand around, and the kids tested their strength by holding up a tree ( not really).

Camping at Standish Hickey

Emma on her favorite perch at our campsite.


Libby tired after a day at the watering hole.


Libby enjoying a cup of something.


Libby and Brigid

Libby & Emma walking through the river.

Sean and his friend Keaton



Sean & Libby on their boogie boards

We had a fun time camping at Standish Hickey. Pat, me (Beth), Libby, and Emma met our friends Brigid and Sean (and Sean's friend Keaton) at the campsite. The weather was very hot, in the 100's. I enjoyed the warm weather because the foggy Eureka days where getting to me. We went to the watering hole during the day, and came back for campfire dinners and roasted marshmallows at night. Ice cold beer never tasted so good in the hot weather. Our last day camping Emma ending up with her stomach hurting, so we stayed at the campsite playing games and doing puzzles while the others went to the river. I was finally giving Emma her time alone with me that she had been asking for. Brigid had to get back by Monday, but we stayed one more night. Though, I was regretting it at 3 a.m. when our campsite neighbors where still partying. Pat had to finally get up and tell them it was 3 a.m. and to please be quiet. It was our 3rd year meeting Brigid and camping. Kind of a running tradition. We are planning next year maybe meeting at a different campsite.

Fathers Day Hike

Our Fathers day hike in the Headwaters National Park was fun, with minimal winning and complaining, which makes for a good time for everyone. We returned home for a nice family barbecue of turkey/veggie burgers, hot dogs, corn on the cobb and watermelon. What a great day!

Our First Harvest!

The picture does not show how huge these cabbage leave are!



Spinach

Lettuce


Our garden actually produced some lettuce! I always have seemed to kill house plants in the past, so I wasn't sure how a garden was going to work for us. There is a sense of satisfaction in growing and eating your own food. I didn't have to spend $3.00 for our organic lettuce that we ate for two nights. I highly recommend the book All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew if you are considering gardening, especially in raised beds. It's amazing what you can grow in small areas.

Yummy Naan & Chicken Gyros

This was my first attempt at making naan. I wanted to make homemade naan instead of store bought for a recipe I found on epicurious.com for chicken gyros with cucumber salsa and tsatsiki. Both recipes were fantastic. The only thing I would change would be the size of the naan. Since it was my first time making it, I followed the recipe and made golf ball size balls of the naan dough. Next time I will make them larger. It was a little hard to wrap the naan around all the filling. The whole family loved the naan. The recipe made tons, but it did not last long because everyone kept eating it. I have never really had a Chicken Gyro before this, so I cannot compare the recipe to anything else I have eaten. All I can say is it was fantastic. I loved all the flavors. The best part of the recipe was the Cucumber Salsa. The fresh parsley and mint with all the other herbs, and the yogurt sauce were just superb.

"Once Upon A Lily Pad"

Mrs. Buwaldas 1st grade class performing Once Upon A Lily Pad.

This is Emma debut in Once Upon A Lily Pad as Egret #2 & 4 and also Rapper #1. Emma took her parts very seriously and had them memorized very quickly. Check out Kira the alligator in the left had corner. She had us laughing throughout the play because her costume head was tilting to the side. It was hilarious! And yes, I was the mom who helped her put the head on. Libby had the same teacher and did the same play when she was in first grade, so it was neat to see it again.




This is Emma, Elizabeth and Payton as the Egrets. I have to say that Emma was the most talented at standing on one leg. Her foot never touched the ground.




Emma's preforming her rap, followed by fellow rappers Riley(the snake), and Lindsey (the frog).




The final song. What a cute little Egret!

A trisket a trasket... I have a knitting basket.

My friend Catherine motivated me to get something to put my yarn in. Instead of it laying on the couch, or on the floor, it now sits in one of those cute little baskets that I found at a Jo-Ann store.

More Wristwarmers....

I finally knitted myself a pair of wristwarmers! Yay! These where meant to be for Emily, who is 7, but they ended up being too big. I am happy to have my first pair. Meanwhile, I still need to figure out what I am going to knit for Emily. This is the same pattern I used for Emma's from Midnightknitter. I am currently knitting a hat and will post it soon. Happy Knitting!