SKA

Well, its been a full few months.

But work isn't too exciting to write about.

If I look hard enough, there may be a few photos of a few exciting events.

And they may show up eventually.

But here and now...

I must share last weekend with you.

It was beauteous.

It was gorgeous.

It was a little hard on the arms.

 The kayak shop on wheels.

 Paddling to the dam. 

We conquered the portage...thanks to Mex's guide skills.

{10 May 2014}

Giant Mark Twain

Giant Mark got a little addition on Friday.

 

Yes, his neck looked a little cold in that big entryway.

 Putting that scarf up wasn't all that easy...

Giant Mark is aptly named.

 

He needed to be dusted,

fluffed,

and finally dressed.

Even the tallest ladder wasn't quite tall enough.

So, thank goodness for convenient balconies,

good balance,

long broomhandles,

and clothes hooks.

 

The goal was to make the scarf about 12' long.

Even with last minute speed knitting and long fringes,

I think the total length ended up being somewhere around 10'.

It made a good serape, too.

 

{December 2013}



Sleying the Reed

Today, I played with the loom.

Threading these warp threads through the reed

is called sleying.

It slays me.

(Talk about ancient sayings.)

And here she is all ready to go.

Weaving the weft into the warp.

That's the next step.

Its like learning a whole 'nother language.

 

{15 November 2013}

Autumn Paddle

 Saturday was a glorious fall day here.

I played in the yard for a bit,

getting all the ugly brown flowers

and frozen tomato vines out of the gardens

and onto the compost or burn piles.

 

Then I was supposed to go kayaking with a few friends in Iowa City.

Come to find out, lots of rental places put their kayaks away at the end of September.

Who knew?

We did find one that still had rentals available,

but the vehicle situation prevented us from getting enough.

And so, we sadly cancelled.

Meantime, my kayak was already atop my car, ready to be transported.

It looked at me sadly while I did some other necessary things.

Finally, my mom said she wanted to go for a walk.

So...I asked if she wanted to walk in the park. And help me get my kayak in the water.

She agreed.

We went.

It was glorious.

I did not capsize, but there were some good-sized swells,

and quite a bit of wind.

 

I am sad to report, though, that I lost half of my cartop carrier on the way home.

Yes, I had tie-down failure.

So, I need more foam!

Sounds like a good excuse to go to the watersports store to me.

 

{26 October 2013}

Cardmaker

Once in a great while,

a stamp set tickles my fancy.

And a whole set of cards gets made with it.

Very soon now

I will be hoping that inspiration sets in again.

{November 2012}

Artistic raking

One really MUST

have fun while raking leaves, right?

I did feel kind of nerdy

when I took a photo of it, though.

 

{29 October 2012}

Orchid enjoyment

The newest addition to the collection.

And its even orchid-hued.

 

{September 2012}

Yardening

If you look closely,

you'll be able to tell that this photo was taken

awhile ago.

Believe it or not, though,

it was just one month ago...

that the trees were this leafy.

And green.

 

 

The photo was taken to show how much

greenery came off the

flower (my dad called it a bush!) on the left.

It WAS as big as the one on the right.

And FLUFFY!

Check out how full the wheelbarrow is.

Ah well, the outdoors entertains me well.

 

{September 2012}

Yarn chandelier in situ

Yes!

One Pinterest project finished

and installed.

 

{October 2012}

Yarn chandelier...continued

Here's the yarn chandelier...

I added an additional ball of yarn.

Its looking much more pleasant!

 

{17September2012}

New toy? tool? GADGET!

Yep. I got a new gadget.

I had a few points left on my Apple account at the travel agency.

So...I used them.

On something useful.

Will I get to try it out before MN hiking?

 

{September 2012}

Hangout

This here is my Thursday night hangout.

With...some of the Thursday night group.

Thanks, Serendipity Yarn Shoppe!

 

 

{September 2012}

Knit a Long

 

We did a knit-a-long in September.

It was fun stuff!

I think my favorite part was interacting with the

crazy group on Facebook.

Knitters are just a little bit craaazy!

{September 2012}

Bad growing season?

I've been hearing this and that

here and there

off and on

about it being a bad year for gardens

in our area of Muscatine.

Well, the tomatoes must like this guy...

They're taller than him

AND all over the garden.

{September 2012}

Geocaching

Mex, Karmex and I did a little caching on our IL hike.

The first cache was a multi-cache to look at small IL cemeteries.

And figure out hints.

We skipped the rest of the cemeteries, but had an interesting time looking around the first one.

After that, we found some genuine caches.

And saw some interesting scenery along the way.

This one was a little difficult to find.

I almost fell into the mine.

I may have squealed when I DID find it!

Earth cache.

Bushwhacking.

And..someday I need to learn to log these caches right after I find them!

{28 July 2012}

Independence Day

Since I haven't photographed any flags lately..

This is the closest I could come.

Its ALMOST patriotic!

{4July2012}

'Becky' yarn

One thing I love about living in a small town

is getting to meet some of

the most interesting people.

Ever.

This yarn was dyed

and spun

by a lady in a neighboring town.

She brought color samples into

Serendipity Yarn Shoppe

let us pick our colors,

and a couple short weeks later,

this beautiful yarn arrived.

Plus, most of the fiber

(sheep, llama, alpaca)

is locally grown.

We applaud you, Abi!

Check out her website at

http://prairiefiber.homestead.com/

{June 2012}

Oh, deer.

Yes,

The deer had a nice time

using my garden as a salad bar

one night.

I have now learned of the power of

putrescent egg solids

in the form of

Liquid Fence.

{31 May 2012}

Stampin'!

Some of the old-time Stampin' Up buddies.

We missed getting a photo of #5!

{March 2012}

Orchid adoption. Again.

Oncidium. I'm slightly addicted to these.
Maxillaria.
This guy smells of coconuts.
yum.
And...my very first Phalaenopsis orchid.
They're supposed to be the easiest to care for.
I don't know if I agree.
{March 2012}