He Asks and She Says Yes!

 Through a series of circumstances, Bill and I had the privilege of going to the beach today and setting the scene for Caleb's proposal to his girlfriend, Cassandra!  The treasure box in the middle of the heart is engraved with her name, inside is a bottle with a love letter.

 After we set the stage, we had to guard it until they happen to wander by!  Lots of oohs, and ahhs! (and photos)

 I had raced up to the pier to get the photographs without being seen-Bill ran and hid by others on the beach.

 There are no words to express my joy at witnessing this............

 She said yes, by the way!

 They are still smiling and so are we!

Every kiss begins with Kay.............

Happy Thanksgiving!

How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, before the sons of men!  Psalm 31:19

We are spending the day with Matthew and Caleb and Cassandra's family in Live Oak-what a blessing to get to meet her family!  

I am hoping your day is filled with family and giving thanks!

Demolition

 We will be working to renovate the second half of the interior of the original house; hoping to have a big chunk of it done before the Christmas company comes!  Bill works well with a deadline.  First on the list is removing this closet to expand the dining room.

 I began the week removing all the molding around the room-floor and doorways.

 Bill began by peeling back the sheet rock and the door way!

 Each of the blocks have to be knocked out and hauled out.  It is messy and dusty but the only way to accomplish our goal.

 This is the closet that used to house our air condition/heat unit but that was moved last year so the closet was no longer needed.

 As of tonight, most of the wall is gone.........

 and it sure looks better all cleaned up!  The little bit of wall left will be finished tomorrow morning.  What a difference a mere 24 square feet can make to a room!

 See how it opens up the dining room even from the family room view!  So much more light and the traffic flow will be much more navigable!

 In between jobs for me, ie clean-up, I worked on piecing the men's suit samples which has been on the design wall for months!   My queue continues to grow for the quilt frame!

I also couldn't resist carding up a bit of the alpaca and spinning a little-sheer luxury!  I will most likely use a good portion of this yarn in a shawl, or two!

A Wonderful Fiber Day

Today was a perfect day for a fiber festival!  Bill drove me to the festival and then went to some of the seminars after helping me unload all the supplies and displays.

This is a small town event , their third year for this and a nicer group of people you could never meet!  there was a constant flow of people and tons of interests for our learning.  A great family event to mark on your calendar for next year!

Marcia on the left, owner of the Alpaca farm, Breath of Heaven and on the right a new friend who is learning to spin, Dee.  Great day spent sharing spinning and knitting!

These guys were the hit of the booth, and they made the most delightful conversation all day!  I came home with a beautiful fleece from one of their herd mates!  You will be seeing more of that in the near future.

We ended the day with a great meal with a gift certificate meal!  

A New Quilt

 I brought this quilt back from  our NY trip, it is a quilt top Mom made.  I got it ironed and then loaded on the frame so I could hit the quilting trail.

The quiting is dense but dainty-perfect for this quilt and just what it needs to set off the pastel blocks!

I caught this guy, PuffDaddy, this morning-I had put out their food and had not covered the rest of the can yet-------->he didn't want to eat with the others on the floor, I guess he preferred self-serve!

Hobbies

I finished the quilt for my neighbor, so nice to have the machine in top condition again!!!

A lovely panto of paisley.

Finished the pair of mittens and have cast on the ear band to match.

I didn't get greasy once on my day's activities......unlike my spouse-

Bill's latest project-it needs a little work but that kept the price in the manageable rate!

Home Time

 Bill started the day doing a chore for me............my quilting frame had worn in the center of the rails to the point of unusable and I asked him if he could grind it smooth again for me.  After working for a while he had a brilliant idea-to turn the rails (two make up the length of the frame) so the worn spot would be to the ends instead of the center and so we took it apart and switched them , tightened up all the bolts and the frame is better than new!  I was so excited to have it fixed, there are no words!  Needless to say, I spent several hours making up for lost time in the afternoon!  (This is one of Millie's quilts)

I needed some light grey yarn for a new project-so I dyed three skeins of this natural colored wool-and voila, just what I need!  It is good to be able to provide for yourself!  I am my own best customer!

Travel Time

Hard to drive away after such a great visit.......but we loaded up and headed for home this morning.

 A knitter measures miles by how much she is able to knit..............

I got 8 hours of knitting accomplished for the drive home.
 Fell asleep in my chair a little after 8-travel is harder work than watching grandchildren!!!

Making the Day Last

 Monday started with a wonderful visit from two mamas and their offspring in the yard eating acorns.

 Marsel and I spent a good chunk of the day working on a quilt-she was the seamer and I did the pressing!  So nice to spend time with my daughter, too!

Abigail and I worked on a craft; this is a kumihimo braided friendship bracelet kit.  We looked up the directions on YouTube and then set to work.  She had several inches done in no time!

The day closed out with a great meal, story book with the kids and then a game of Wahoo with the guys who conquered the evening 2-1............thank you for the great week!

Filling Every Minute!

Abigail wanted to start out the morning by using her new yarn, knitting and watching a movie, so out with the needles, pop in Sound of Music and knit we did!  She just knuckled down and loved it!  We knit all three hours of the movie! 

Next we went to work to finish our craft project.  Voila!  Two candle holders for the Thanksgiving table.

                                    
 After lunch, we set up our sewing station and Abigail made her doll a skirt;

 David made sleeping bags and pillows for his guys.  I was ready to drop but it was only 2:30!

We knit some more, and played games after supper and baths.......I am sorry to report the guys took the trophy for the Wahoo game tonight!

First Hand Grandparenting

 We started  out the morning with some craft time!  We used the little Sculpey cookie cutters to cut out some fall leaf shapes,

 laid them out on the tray to bake and will continue part two tomorrow.

Bill and David got ready to head out to the golf course while 

 Abigail and I visited our neighborhood Knitting Shop!

 We picked out some yarn and had a wonderful perusal of all things fiber!

 We enjoyed a McDonald's lunch and some play time.

We ended the evening with popcorn and soda and another rousing game of Wahoo and just so I am honest in chronicling the day-the girls are ahead 2-0.........yippee!  (I look tired but it is just my 5th attempt at getting the camera to take a timed shot of us and we weren't getting along!)

Arrived Safe and Sound

 Traffic was light and the colors were beautiful on our trip to Bruce and Marsel's.

 The girls gave us a concert while Bill took a nap and

David and I did puzzles.

And I got a lot more knitting done on the trip without a cat on my lap!