Lots of News!!!

Where do I start? Well first, our sweet daughter in law (to be) passed her state boards for cosmotology today!! Actually she took the practical test last week and passed with flying colors, then today she took the written. She stopped over here just before and was quite nervous, but we knew she could do it. She's so smart, marrying our son and passing her test!! :)

Secondly, I GOT A JOB!! Well only a part time job, but I haven't worked in a couple years, so this will be a change for me. And the household!! I will be working at our local library, as a library processor. Fancy title for ...I'll put the books away!! There's a little more to it than that, I start next Thursday. I am looking forward to that! I also start my Precept Bible Study on Wednesday. We are studying covenant, so it ought to be a wonderful study. I need to spend this holiday weekend getting everything and everybody organized. Jobs for all!! They're thrilled!! ;)

I can't believe I waited so long to post this, but this is what Angela, my August swap partner sent to me. A great One Skein Book, a beautiful dishcloth, she made it especially to go with my Fiesta dishes, which are lots of different colors. I think I have around 12 - 14 colors. Fun!! She also sent me some tea, and some candies made out in Oregon, where she is from. She also included a beautiful skein of yellow chenille yarn and a pretty yellow felted flower, that I might just have to make a purse to attach to. She sent me a cool vintage pastry cutter, the theme was thrift shop, but I think that might mean different things in different parts of the country. I think of thrift shops as Good Will, etc. But she and I communicated, and as it worked out this month, I got to send to her as well as receive from her, so we both love vintage, and went with that!! Sorry for the long, poorly grammatical sentence :)

I am trying to wrap up several outstanding projects. Mostly dishcloths. So I will post them when they are done. I found a cool new pattern, that I am working on right now, so again, I'll tell you all about it when they are done. That's it for now, thanks again to all of you who stop by a leave such nice comments. And if you just stop by, please leave a comment!! Thanks,

Suzanne

Look What I Did With My Weekend

For years, I have had this vision for our side yard. It is quite large, and boring. There was nothing there. We drive by it all the time, and with our daughter graduating in June and an impending Open House, Now was the time to plant perennials, and get this done. The only thing missing is a rusty gate, (which I have and which DH says will be in by the weekend!!) which will go behind the hydrenega. I will post a picture when that is in!!

My mom and dad came up Friday afternoon, we already had the bricks in place, and a small amount of dirt in the center garden. We put 55 (40lb each) bags of top soil into this garden. Plus 5 (40lb) bags of mushroom compost. Some went into the small side garden, but not many. That's alot of dirt!! My mom is a pro at this flower planting stuff, I should take pictures of her garden, it could go in any garden magazine. She is very good at it, and can work circles around me! Her and I went to the greenhouse on Friday, and bought the perfect amount of stuff. I have a beautiful hydrenga, old fashioned roses, zebra grass, and maiden grass. I also have daisies, and cone flowers. I planted some mums in the front, as the rest of it will be coming to an end soon. The side garden has black-eyed susan's in there too. Then along the house we planted lilies. My husband is gaga over his lilies. They do look nice, and bloom pretty much all summer here in Michigan. We kidded him all weekend about him and his lilies. (I'm surprised he didn't want to name our daughter...Lily :)

I have to laugh at the picture of my dad. I took two, don't know where the other one is, but he really isn't mean, he sort of looks it in the picture, but I just took a bad shot. Love you dad!!! I really couldn't have done this without Mom's help, again, she is amazing. Did you know that plants need a trench around them?? I didn't. I guess it helps to get water directly to the roots, so they take. Guess that's all for now. Yes, I did work on this project, but I decided the pictures of me were sinfully horrible, so I stayed behind the camera. Better for you all!!!! Hope you have a great start to your week, and that you had a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

Suzanne

Some Promised FO's

Okay, a couple of posts ago, I promised some pics of the Bark Sedge Stitch Dishcloth. I won't show the one I did for my swap partner, b/c she won't have gotten the package yet. However, I do have another one to show you. BTW, who names this stuff? What is a Bark Sedge? All I know, is that this crochets up into the nicest, thickest fabric I have seen in a dishcloth. And its pretty too. I also made some baby washcloths, for a friend who is having her baby on Friday. It isn't exactly this stitch, but its very similar, and out of Cottontots yarn it makes a nice yummy and soft baby cloth. I am also doing her a quick couple pairs of booties. Found some really cute crochet ones on Ravelry, so I'll post pics when they are done. (Sorry for the blurry picture). Tonight, my DH and I are working outside on a garden in our side yard. There is nothing out there, and we drive by it constantly, and I am sick of seeing no color. We will be having our daughters open house (from high school) in June, so I need to get everything set and planted (perennials) now. My mom and dad are coming up on Friday and Saturday, to help us do some planting. My mom is bringing us a bunch of her lilies. I promise :) to take pictures and to post them next week. Oh speaking of mom and dad, today is their anniversary!! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM and DAD!!! They are celebrating 48 years!!! WOW! What an example!!!

I really am almost done with my Ripple Ribbed socks, but they need to sit until I get these baby items done and a couple of dishrags for some brides' showers that I missed while we were gone. I suppose with all the showers coming up in the next year, I should just constantly have one on the needles! Or hook as I seem to be doing a lot of crochet lately.

Oh yes, another FO is my Quickie Cowl, done with the lucious yarn I won from Peaknits. This Plucky Knitter yarn is just wonderful to work with. Maybe I'll have to order some :) Don't tell DH!!! :)

Guess that's it. Hope your having a great week. Thanks for stopping by!

Suzanne

Home again, Home again...

I'm back......... Wow, how come it seems like you go away on vacation, but you need to come home and "rest up" from it. We had a wonderful time at SIL house in northern Illinois. We had absolutely perfect weather, and everyone had a safe time. With all the tubing, wakeboarding, kneebording, and jet skiing, that is no small thing!! Plus the number of people doing it. We took Anna's family with us for several days. They are amazing friends, even before the engagement, and they are fabulous house guests. We had a ball. Even managed to go out to eat for an "adult" dinner one night, as we celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary. I also talked with a dear childhood friend the other night. We send Christmas cards every year, but its not the same as talking and hearing her voice, of course she sounded like her mom. She was a wonderful friend, and our families did a lot together, so often, she seemed more like a sister (of which I had none, neither did she). I have many fond childhood memories of our times together. One of the most memorable, and there is a picture to prove it, Friend Vicki lost her tooth, I had a loose one, and Vicki's mom LOVED to pull teeth. Need I say more. The picture is of both of us smiling, with big gobbes of cotton stuffed in our teeth. I love you, Maddy!!! :) LOL. If I ever find that picture, it surely will end up here!!
Anyway, nice to catch up with you Vicki!!!
Onto Knitting News. Notice, I have no pictures. Well that is mostly b/c I forgot to take my camera. Argh! I told my family that none of my blogger friends will even believe I really go on vacation, cuz I never post any pics. We really do go :) I did knit, and will take pics soon. I crocheted several little washcloths, for a friend that is having her baby this friday. Reminds, me, that I missed a wedding shower while I was gone, so need to knit up some dishrags for her. Whew. I am almost done with my Pebble Rib socks, I should have pics soon. It really is a great pattern. I will post all the specifics, when I do the pics.
One last thing, thank you so much to my blogger friend over at Sew Take a Hike (see my sidebar). She had a lovely post the other day, and mentioned a few blogs that she had visited, and why she liked them. She listed mine!! I was so excited!! Thanks!! I had to laugh though, she said she found my blog "peaceful". I think that is wonderful, and I am very glad it makes her feel that way, eventhough sometimes, my life feels anything but peaceful, I am glad that she visits and feels that way. I hope your visit was as pleasant! Thanks for stopping by!
Suzanne

Oops, forgot a title!

Hi everyone, sorry I've been gone, but yes wedding planning is already happening around here. I went with Anna and her mom and dad yesterday to pick out the location for the reception!! I think we found a beautiful place. We were very impressed!! I really appreciated them asking me to go, cuz after all, I am only the mother of the groom! However, we are good friends with Anna's folks, so I'm sure they will be gracious and include us a lot! This is sooo fun!!

On the knitting front, this is all I got!! This is my neck cowl with the yarn I won from blogger friend Peaknits. I am a little further than the picture shows, and its almost done. I also am working on a beautiful dish cloth for my August Swap partner, Its crocheted, but I love the stitch. Easy, but a nice thick fabric. It is called the Bark Sedge Stitch. Really weird name, but nice :) I'll show pics after I send it off. Went home for a couple days to see my mom and dad. They don't live far, but my mom has the most beautiful flower gardens, enough to rival any garden magazine, and she just added a big terraced thing in her front yard. My nephew, Lincoln, and his family did most of the work, and I think it really was even Lincoln's brainstorm. He's only 17, but wow, he did a great job. However, do you think I took any pics............sorry ;)

I am leaving Saturday for Chicago with our family and Anna's family for a week of fun and sun, so I probably won't be around for a while, but I promise to have lots of pics to make up for this one. Hope you have a great middle of August............argh school and fall are right around the corner.............weren't we just waiting for summer to get here??????????

Suzanne

They're Engaged!!!!

Look at these two!! Don't they make a beautiful couple? My son proposed to his girlfriend last night, and she said, "Yes!" There was a squeal or two in there as well. Her name is Anna, and we couldn't be happier to be adding her to our family. We already love her and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for their lives together. He took her to Lake Michigan, they had a little picnic, and their mutual friend Hannah had I Love You done in paper bags with candles in them. Then Alex walked her, with her eyes closed to another location over a small hill, turned her around, and was down on one knee, when he told her to open her eyes, then asked her to marry him. Which, was followed by a squealing, "Of course, yes!!" No, we weren't there, but my son has it all on video. Taken by friend, Hannah. It will be fun to start the planning, doesn't seem that long ago, but my husband and I will celebrate 25 yrs next year. Wow. How time flies. They are bouncing around town today, telling everyone, and have made lots of phone calls to out of town relatives. We are all very excited. Congratulations Alex and Anna! We love you both!!