WOW! I actually got a picture of all of us on Christmas Day, Thank you Tracy for your help!

Yes it was a Beautiful day, both weather wise and just because we had a great day together! 

One of my favorite things about living in the South is you can grill out on Christmas day and not have to wear a coat, hat, mittens, scarf... well I think you get the idea! My boys are growing up so fast, and at Christmas, when there are no children around, you really feel it! So Mark bought them each a remote control car! He says, you have to have some kind of toy to play with on Christmas Day! 

We hope y'all had the same wonderful time together that we all did!

and  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Look what we did!

Some friends of ours came over last night and we made a Gingerbread house while Susan & Joanie made a Gingerbread train!

We are going to make this a holiday tradition!

To Busy to Post

   decorating

photographing the moon

indoor gardening

knitting socks for gifts

     knitting more socks for gifts

so many things to do this busy holiday season! Time keeps slipping away, and I am a bit overwhelmed by how much I have left to do

but I had to take a minute to say Merry Christmas to y'all

Enjoy the season, at least for a minute while it sneaks by and we all say, "where did the time go?"

My 3 sons, and Tracy

Here they are! From left to right, Markie, Corey, Adam and Tracy, all fat and happy on Thanksgiving Night! Aren't they all so cute!

Finally Finished take 2

Okay, so I can't navigate anything very well on the computer! I did not mean to publish the pictures of my newest creation without an explanation, but of course I hit the wrong key and presto, my pictures get published without my babble. 

I started this shawl when we went to NY last month. Its really long and I can wrap myself up and be all cozy and warm in it! I used Plymouth BOKU yarn which is a mostly wool with a bit of silk in it and I just love the colors. I have done nothing but sleep, eat, go to work and knit for the past month! Well I did recover from surgery and had a vicious cold but hey, those were just excuses to knit more. I'm finished so now I can catch up on the house which is in total shambles! Clean and shop and prepare for Thanksgiving! Markie is coming home for 5 whole days! I am in my glory! Adam is coming for dinner on Thanksgiving so I will have my three beautiful boys home with me! 

Taryn, however is not coming so I will be alone in the kitchen, but I am NOT complaining!  Most of my babies will be here! and Corey is a GREAT baker! I'm sure he'll bake a few pumpkin pies!

Happy Thanksgiving to Y'all 

Finally Finished!!!!!

surgery = knitting time

I tore my meniscus, how you ask? no telling, the dr says it could be wear and tear, which translates into, "Renee your getting on in age, things start falling apart" 

Those 3 little holes in my leg... they hurt like hell!!!!! The white squares are sending small electrical shocks to my muscles to help heal and help with pain. It's kinda of cool. I like it!

So I am home, alone, with the remote, a good book, and my knitting! I can't clean, or do laundry so there is no guilt involved in sitting on my ass and knitting! 

the problem being that the pain is worse than I anticipated so I am miserable and cranky and not knitting as much as I thought I would! 

Damn, that just is not right!!

Where did October go?

 Flair, one of our cats, wants to check out Corey's pumpkin, or is she more interested in the rat?

Corey, has the best imagination! or maybe this is what he thinks of me asking him to carve a pumpkin at the ripe old age of 15!

        Where did October go? and why is it, the older you get, the faster time flies? I remember as a child, Christmas taking forever to come back from year to year, for summer vacation to start, for my birthday to appear. Now they fly by so fast, I think DAMN! is it time for that again?

The boys are older now and no one will go to the pumpkin farm with me, My daughter Taryn would but she lives about 500 miles away, so popping over for the afternoon of pumpkin fun is not exactly in the cards. I settled for a pumpkin at Walmart, I was shopping for a few things and you know, "if ya can't buy it at Wally world, ya don't need it" so there I was and the little man came over the intercom to let everyone know that all the pumpkins were being marked down to $1.98!!!!!! now that's a bargain! So I bought one and brought it home to my only child left living with us and said, "Corey, I bought you a pumpkin to carve!!!!" He still will bake with me and likes me to decorate the house for Holidays, so he was happy... no willing, to carve the pumpkin! I think stabbing it with large knives was more what interested him that the actual carving, and the fact that I will roast the pumpkin seeds for him. But how did it go from October 1st, to October 31st in a blink of an eye????

NY Trip

Mark, Ben, JoAnne, John, and Grammy 
Uncle Mark and Gianni
Grammy's precious friends
John and Mark talking... Politics?

Well, after a week home from NY I am finally feeling myself again. (I think I caught some Yankee yuck up there!) We spent lots of time with family and it was really great to see everyone! I even went to see my cousin Diana who lives on a working farm, Diana gave me some wool right from the sheep! At some point, I would love to have it made into roving so I can spin it (someday)

The weather was really wonderful! yes, I know, I sound surprised, but thats because the weather is never nice up there. Mark brought home an entire U-haul of car parts and JUNK but there was a little space for a few antiques for me to bring home! Including a claw foot tub which we will make into a pond for the garden! then on the way home, we went to IKEA!!!!!!

And last but never least, My Mom and I went to a very cool yarn shop! I wish we had that shop down here!!!!!! Got some yarn to knit sweet Baby Vada some hats and a Namaste knitbag/purse which is really awesome

So all in all, a great trip!

project red scarf

I've been knitting again, (that really isn't news) but this is a neat project. Some sweet person out there in the land of knitting decided to knit red scarves for foster kids that go on to college. Usually foster kids do not have families that send them care packages. Now, all over the country. people are knitting red scarves to donate. This is mine, the ribbing in the middle of the scarf goes behind your neck and it fits just perfectly w/out any bumps or ripples. The scarves are collected and sent to college kids around Valentines day. 

With my very own sweet son off at college missing his Mommy as much as he does (HA) I thought it would be nice to send something to someone else!

Speaking of Markie, he came home this weekend and he was wearing the socks I knit for him! He likes them and one of his house mates, wants me to knit a pair for him! Ahhh a proud moment for me! He even told me what color! So Graham, your on the long list of socks to knit, but you might want to go buy some socks, it might be a while before i get to yours :)

Mark and I are going to NY this week, we leave on Thursday, I of course am not looking forward to flying, but it will be fun to see the fall colors in NY and buy our favorite wine and yes, shop for YARN! We hope to have time to see some friends, and eat our favorite foods. 

The main reason for going is to help Mark clean out his JUNK at his Mom's house.

so off we go

Why are there Squirrels?

Hi there, thanks for the delicious snack
See, I can get to the food no matter what you do!
Watch me jump to that feeder! Are you watching?

Why are there Squirrels? Okay, they are cute, to look at,  but evil is their middle name! They torment my dogs, and my cats, staying just out of their reach and making those noises that remind me of "HA HA you can't get me"  They dig up my flowers, eat the bulbs I plant and get into the Squirrel proof bird feeders! They climb the house, the screens, the railing, anything to get into those feeders! To top it all off, they look at me through the window and laugh at me while eating my most expensive bird seed! I have tried axle grease on the pole that has a feeder on it, thinking they would slide down the pole, NO they climb a tree and jump to the pole right above where the grease ends!!!!! My son Corey says they are geniuses and I cannot out smart them! I read in a gardening magazine that you can put cayenne pepper in your bird seed and they won't eat it, Well not the demonic squirrels that live in our yard, no no no, they eat it anyway! I think they like the spicy flavor! 

So anyone out there that can explain to me WHY there are Squirrels PLEASE explain away!!!!

My other obsession

Lena's Sweater
Vada's Sweater
Another sweater for Vada     
Vada's Pumpkin Hat

Besides my husband, children, and the garden, I have this other obsession. 

Its called ... knitting! I love the feel of the needles (bamboo only) the touch of the yarn, well okay, let me rephrase that, the touch of NATURAL fiber yarn, the repetition of the needles, the feeling of total calmness that surrounds me when I knit, and finally, the finished product! 

I do not go very many places without my knitting, Mark and I went to a few baseball games this summer and yes, my knitting went with me! We went to a soccer game this weekend and yes, my knitting went with me. Our trip to Beaufort, yep there it was right there with me like an old friend. I rarely watch TV without my faithful needles, I sit on the porch and rock and knit! I belong to Ravelry, its an on line knitting group with people from all over the world, so I am always searching for cool patterns and people to chat with. I belong to a knitting group here in Wake Forest, we knit together weekly. So when I say it is an obsession, there is no exaggeration in my words what so ever! A friend of mine was gracious enough to have a baby for me to knit for! Baby things are so fun to knit! So thank you Anna for the gift of Vada! I adore her! 

Today, I am going to check out a new knit store!!!! So its happy shopping for me!

Some of Summers Moments

Summer is slowing down, I even have socks on!!!!!! Looking back on this past few months, so much has happened. The garden seemed to do well, it was the first whole summer in this house and many of the plants are new, or transplanted, I am happy with the results and I am already thinking about next years growing season! Even the wild life has found a home on our little piece of earth. Markie graduated and started a new chapter in his life, I am so proud to be his Mom. Mark, my sweet husband and I have shared some wonderful times this summer, even with the boys growing up and becoming their own person, we still have things in common and there is still that joy of being together!!!!

So off we go to a new season, full of crisp days and warm fires!

A Weekend to Cherish

 THE LANGDON HOUSE BED & BREAKFAST 

We did not see any wild horses, but trust me, they are there!
The Cemetery, really was beautiful
Rich with history, everywhere we went. This is the old jail. 
Lizzet's husband Jim, was an artist, there are tree creatures all around their garden!

20 years of wedded bliss, and the best mini vacation! As I mentioned before, we went to Beaufort NC for a little get away and now I have a new love in my life! Beaufort! I miss this place and cannot wait to return! (who would think that someone my age could look forward to another birthday?) We will go back for my Birthday in April. There's so much to say! we stayed at THE LANGDON HOUSE, the Inn keeper was so gracious and warm, I miss her! We had so much fun talking with Lizzet and the other guest's while we all sat around the dining room table and drank coffee and ate the most delicious breakfast!

Then off to explore! You can walk everywhere, so we did! We visited the Maritime Museum, took a bus tour on an double decker bus, walked through a cemetery with gravestones dating back to the 1700's. So much history! A ferry ride to an Island where the wild horse roam, and lots of sandy beaches to do some shelling, and did I mention shopping? Yeah well we did some of that too! Oh and did we eat! we each gained SEVERAL pounds! It was so wonderful to get away and relax and be with my sweet husband.

20 years and still going strong

My first entry, hopefully I can make this interesting! 

I need a new hobby, with Markie gone off to college, I need to have something to focus on when I get so lonely for him that I could just scream and cry! Its hard to let your children go off and become adults! Even if you know that they are going to be fine, the emptiness of the house, the lack of laundry, and the lack of  food being devoured, just makes a mommy yearn for her young.

So here it goes.... the blog of my daze

Today, Mark and I have been married 20 years! yep thats right, 20 glorious, happy, sad, hard, heart wrenching, beautiful, funny, loving years! We have had our ups and our downs but mostly ups and we are happy. We took the day off from work, something we started doing a few years ago, last year we went to a winery, today, it is cloudy and raining and we have spent the day being lazy. Mark has gotten some work done in the bonus room and I have spent lots of time knitting, but we have not gone out to do anything. 

Friday, we are leaving for the weekend to go to Beaufort NC 

We are staying at the Langdon Inn B & B its an historic home and we are looking forward to our visit to this seaside town!

Hopefully I will have lots of pictures to share when we get back!