littles & cousins ~addy & iris~

as a child, did you make a clothes line tent?

i did & we practically lived in one during the summer

i remember getting in trouble for taking sheets & blankets

being a kid, i didn't care if i pounded holes into my moms sheets or blankets

we had a house to build & build we did!

we would use the peg type clothes pins for our tent stakes

or we would use bricks or rocks to hold down the sides

we ate & slept in our homemade home

our lunches consisted of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches & potato chips

washed down with gallons of kool-aid

and the sleeping in our homemade home.....well, that probably lasted until it got dark

or until we heard a scary noise

or the ornery boys in the neighborhood snuck up on us

and removed clothespins or bricks, causing our home to collapse

as a kid, i lived for summer

as an adult...i still do!

i made the littles a tent....they took right to it with babies in hand

they are younger than i was but they get the idea

do you have a fond childhood memory?

~*~

a little comes for a visit~

iris is the farthest away of the littles...i miss her

she and her mama came for a visit last week

we had a beautiful sunny day so we decided to do some laundry

she had the job of hanging the napkins

she is paying close attention

i could actually feel my heart swell when i saw this picture!

as one of my friends said..."she's so sweet she makes my teeth hurt"

some of my favorite pictures are of our clothes line

it connects me to my granny & my mom

i hope one day when the little's are older and see a clothes line

they think of their nana & grampie

better yet....i hope they have their own clothes line with a basket that's just the right size for their littles

~*~

a finished project...yea!!!!!

i've been wanting to do a shawl

and

as luck would have it

knit purl hunter was doing a knit a long

i participated in a sock knit a long one other time

but i didn't finish with the group

however

i did finish the socks

crimple sock pattern

i did finish the other sock...just haven't taken a picture~

this project took me out of my comfort zone

i started over time & time again

dental floss became my bestest friend as i ran many,many lifelines

there were several first for me with this project

interlock

a chart that read back & forth

working with three skeins

the ridgely was a challenge for certain

but i stuck with it and finished in time to enter the drawing

 which i did not win...

but

my goal  was not to win a prize

 (although a set of addi clicks would have been nice )

 but to challenge myself & and to add new skills to my knitting repertoire

this project definitely did that for me

the girls in the group were very helpful & supportive

seeing all the wonderful yarn combinations made me want to knit another shawl

if you haven't knit with cobasi, give it a try! 

it's lightweight & stretchy in a combination of  COtton, BAmboo, & SIlk

perfect for summer!

ridgely shawlette 

ravelry group & pictures

~*~

family fun~

shannon and mark hosted a mothers day celebration this year

it was cold & windy day and we loved having the fireplace in the shelter to provide a toasty place

 for everyone to gather round

we 

ate

visited

snacked

huddled around the fire

took lots of pictures

&

snacked a little more

if there is a fire, there will be smores!

jacob

the barkers

gigi, jacob & jade

the barker-deppen family

the helman-barker-lagratta family

me & the hub

little hands, girlie hands, bedazzled hands, aged hands

hands that belong to a

mom

mama

gigi

nana

aunt

niece

cousin

grandma

grandaughter

hands that connect us to each other

~*~

happy mothers day to my mama!

Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.  ~Elizabeth Stone

~happy mothers day~

happy friday~

*lily of the valley*

a new camera~

the hubs gifted me a camera for christmas  

*love him*

i'm a little intimidated

i tend to leave all the dials & settings on auto

it's a little like my smart phone....in that it is smarter than i am

i've been practicing

moving the dial into unknown territory

and clicking away

after all, it's digital which means you can

delete

delete

delete

i like to practice on the littles

but

they are tired of me wanting them to

 pose & smile

 stand here

 sit there

 look at me

look at your mom

hold still

so......

i've been practicing on pretties that will stay in one place

and will not run away from me

~*~

me & g

it's  hard to take a shadow picture with a 2 year old...lol

he's not a fan of having his picture taken

after he sniffed the daffodils

 he picked tulips from my flower bed for his mom

every.....single....tulip

in true toddler style, the stems were about an inch long

lol

we strolled up the road and said hi to the horses

you can't see in the picture, but his chubby little hands were full of dandelions

so sweet that little boy is

~*~

zoo day!

isn't she so very sweet!

her parents invited me to go to the zoo with them

it was a perfectly sunny & warm day

(love the little braids) 

 

columbus zoo has a wonderful polar bear exhibit

and a pouty lipped monkey

we rode the train

attempted to measure her up to the other bears... 

attempted mind you, you have to be pretty fast with the camera...lol

then off to cuzzins for ice cream

and finished off the day with some silly faces

it was a fun day!

what's your favorite exhibit at the zoo?

~*~