Mondays are Full of Promise

I find that very often Mondays set the pace for the whole week. I like to do a run through of cleaning to get it out of the way, bills also go out, and then the unfun things are out of the way for the rest of the week!






















I discovered a mistake in the shawl I'm knitting for Marsel-somehow I had 9 sections (top pic)in my 8 section pattern! I gave myself an appropriate amount of moaning (1 minute) and then ripped it out and began again. I must admit it went faster the second time around! I am now beyond where I was when I ripped out, row 39 of pattern which means 78 rounds of knitting that is right this time (bottom pic)!



I finished weaving the ribbon yarn shawl and am working on the fringe. It is getting exciting to see one end done.
I also had many hours of discussion with the contractor to remedy the arches for the the front porch. He does like to do things the easy way but it just wasn't working out so Bill went to Home Depot for some more supplies to do it better/(right) and we will try again tomorrow. You can see he had the right idea but it didn't cut the mustard......-

Waves and Weaves

My sons and a co-worker came for a day of boating and relaxation. We laughed through Matthew and Caleb's antics while skiing and enjoyed their company as always! When they got too hot they jumped in for a dip to cool off. The water was 88 degrees so it was a pleasure to hit the waves! We went to our usual destination, Corky Bells, for lunch then back to the lake for another bout of skiing. It was a perfect day. (We doused ourselves with sunblock this time and no one looked like a lobster when we were done!)

I did a bit of weaving when they left this evening. The Lion brand ribbon yarn (copper penny dye lot) works up beautifully-it glows with colorful glory! I can't wait to wear this shawl!

For now, the little columns sit here to welcome guests and owners alike!

Layers

The men covered up the styrofoam with cement today.........glad we got a peek of the before preparations because you'd never guess what lies below looking at it now!

We went into the city to run some errands and on the way home Bill stopped at a local junk/thrift store , I sat in the car knitting (my usual mode when he runs into each store) and as I glanced up I saw these. I have wanted a pair for so many years, and now I am the proud owner ! I have to decide what color to paint them as they have a few nicks but no cracks (they are ceramic, 32" tall). I am thinking white........sitting on each side of the front door. We shall see. I put on a new warp (172 threads of 10/2 cotton, black)............almost ready for me to begin weaving tomorrow but I ran out of light when a thunderstorm moved in!

I also started a new knitting project, before I finished the shawl I am working on-which is very unusual for me but this project is calling me and I caved. (This is the lace yarn Marsel bought while we were visiting! ) It is invigorating to live on the edge!

In the Weaving Seat

I finally had time to sit and weave up the last of the warp for plastic bag totes. It was so good to sit after the break while on vacation. But now the loom is empty and needing a new warp and another project-perhaps the ribbon 'yarn' I have.......
Thought you would be interested in the way Bill chose to insulate the original part of the cement block house. The men glued 2" styrofoam onto the blocks. The sanded the whole wall to even out the surface, then they work on the window sills to reinforce it with cement. Today they glue a fiberglass webbing to the whole wall so it will be ready to receive the stucco. Neat idea-it sure makes a difference to the insulating factor of the house which was zilch before we added any! The back of the house faces east and gets the full impact of the sun all morning and the front faces west to get baked all afternoon-now we have the beauty of the sun without the baking affects! Perfect.

Stucco Update

We came home to an exciting sight-the front of the house is all stucco-ed!

Now the arches are not arches and Bill says it is what happens when you allow men to work when you are not there to supervise. The contractor will fill in the angles and make them curves, he apologized for the mix up. They are working on the back of the house today. The end is in sight!!!!

We came home to a wonderful thunderstorm; in fact we got over 4" of rain while we were gone; it is a good thing to love to come home-it helps with the sting of the goodbyes that end a wonderful week.....

Many thanks to the Lord for safe travel-we saw a terrible accident on the way up and was almost involved in one ourselves on the way home. The traffic was mild all the way until we got to our own little city and hit a major jam for over an hour. This was why-a trucker fell asleep at the wheel and drove through the fruit stand! Can you believe no one was injured-not even the driver!

Saturday's Hike

We went to Buford Dam State Park for a family day on Saturday! We brought a picnic lunch and fed the geese-who ,we discovered, are related to their FL counterparts.........seagulls and their ability to rudely scrounge!


This is the outlet side of the dam; where the river continues on its way without a view of the interruption just to the other side of the earthen barrier! We made plans to come here for another family trip with canoes/rafts for a river ride day in the future!







After exploring the river side we drove over to the Lake Lanier side and explored a small portion of this beautiful man made lake; we hiked, saw the mounted police, played on the various playgrounds, admired the water activities and then let the kids cool off in the water before heading to dinner out and home! A perfect day.

(On a side note-David brought home an unwanted gift-poison ivy! We couldn't keep him on the trails 'cuz there were interesting things like sticks (which became bows for imaginary arrows and pinecones which he launched into the water like bombs...!)

Doing Some of This and That

Girl's field trip to a yarn store, to my favorite store......piano lessons, OT appointment for Abigail,

remaking an old wool coat of Marsel's from a swing style full length coat to a jacket;

sewing up some pretty colored bags,

and cutting up some new ones, playing at the pool,
yard work, reading and laughing! Nice week!

A Winner!

Congratulations to CJ & Family for winning the blogiversary 'GiveAWay'!

I will get your pertinent info and send the woven tote in the mail to you today!

Thank you to all of you who left comments;

you are all appreciated.

Blogiversary GIVE-AWAY!

To celebrate my 2 year anniversary for blogging, I am going to give away this plastic bag tote!
Just leave a comment Monday -Thursday and I will randomly draw a name and announce it on Friday!

Stucco Started!

After many false starts..........the stucco finish is going on!

It is just what we hoped it would look like!

Tomorrow, we are heading to Georgia to visit Bruce and Marsel and the grandkids for a week. I will be blogging from there. The guys are going to keep working on the house while we are gone-we will be coming home to a finished exterior on the house; even arches on the front veranda!

( The expectation and excitement of seeing the house will soften the pain of saying goodbyes!)

A Night on the Town

Bill and I went to an evening, outdoor wedding in St Augustine tonight. (I did mention a sunburn in the last post!)

I wove a bag to go with my outfit-I used the pretty greens that I have been given! And I wore the olive green, alpaca Pi shawl.

In fact, I wove quite a few bags ........ to the sewing room tomorrow and give them their shape!

There is a Monday flea market that is opening soon and I am going to look into a booth to sell these..........will keep you posted.

Playing Hookey!

Caleb came for a visit and we decided to try out those garage sale water skis he bought last month! It was a perfect day for being on the water; 95 degrees, little breeze and low humidity.

The clouds rolled by but didn't threaten any storms. (No , the stucco contractor didn't come today either, he , too, decided to play hookey as he has gotten used to not working.......grrrrr!)

Caleb last used water skis when he was at Bible camp 8 yrs ago. I'd say he did really well-up the first time! Now he did quite a few falls , too, but it comes with the territory and I predict many sore muscles when he wakes up tomorrow!

After an hour, he got pretty fancy and took a spectacular fall on the St Johns to prove it!

We docked the boat for lunch at our favorite restaurant, Corky Bells.

The greater Egrets were all along the shorelines, treetops and islands today. So graceful.

The shoreline is so green and all the Cypress trees are leafed out after their bare winter garb. We rested on the ride home down the St Johns and Dunn's Creek and then Caleb skied on Crescent Lake before calling it a day. (We do not entertain the idea of skiing on Dunn's Creek because it is alligator alley! And yes, there are gators in Crescent Lake but they do not swim in the middle during the day....so the locals say!) The new trailer guides Bill bought sure made loading the boat back on the trailer a breeze! (See first photo) Great idea, Bill!

Sun-kissed and fresh-air-tired, we are calling it a good day.

(PS-I got my spinning time in this morning.........and now there are 300 yards of Suffolk yarn; waiting for the dye pot!)