Summer in the Hills

I'm in the swing of summer now - waking later, taking long walks with my husband, finding strawberries in our weedy patch before the chipmunks snatch them.  It's beautiful here in our little town and I'm so happy to have these quieter days.

Meet our new friends across the street.  I love watching these goats.  Really, they don't do much other than what you see in the picture, but they seem so much more playful than other animals.  When excited, they frolic about haphazardly almost teetering over the rock wall in their enclosure.  I like to do my best goat bleat (is this the sound they make?) whenever I walk by.  Of course, they look at me like I'm an idiot and continue to chew on.

When my boys were younger, we'd take walks over to the farm to see the animals.  I loved these walks - it was a great way to keep the kids busy and get some fresh air.  We'd point to each animal and say the name and make the sound.  Most days we were mooing more than the cows.  Even though my boys are well past their stroller days, we still love to visit.

Bumble Bee Knitting Pattern

Yay .... the Bumble Bee pattern is finally finished.  I'm just so excited.  Pattern writing is always a bit difficult for me.  Well, the writing part isn't difficult - I do that all the time.  I always have a notebook near me white I work and I've learned to make sure to write down EVERY instruction  as I go along.  But creating a pattern that others will use, makes me a bit anxious.  I take a zillion pictures and try to focus on the places in the pattern that may be tricky for others.  I guess this is where I dust off my old teacher skills and put them to use.
  

This pattern is a little different from my other ones; it has the addition of directions and template for wool felt wings.  The wings are not difficult to make, but you need to use size 3 needles, which some people find fiddly.  Actually, the wings are really just a heart shape, slightly altered to work with other overall size of the bee.

I also included pictures (16 total) to guide through all the details of this cute creature.  I hope you all like it and, of course, I'm always happy to any questions.  

Spring Crazy

Spring really makes me crazy.  After waiting and waiting for nice weather, when it finally hits, all I want to do is poke around outside.  When the kids were little, I'd strap them in the stroller and just roll them around so I could just pull a couple of weeds or plant a tomato or two.  Now, I just scoot outside for a "couple of minutes," telling them that dinner will be soon.  They all understand, luckily.

Years ago, when we first bought our house, I excitedly told my father-in-law that I wanted endless amounts of outside work.  Yes, I actually did say this.  He didn't say a thing, but just looked at me.  Well, my wish has come true.  I really do have endless amounts of outside work.  Most days, I like it.

Some veggies on a terraced slope.