First day

Wow, that was a short summer.  This morning I sent all three of them off to school.

Show me what grade you're in.

The fifth grader was too cool to walk to school with her mom.  She went with her friends.  I was slightly disappointed.  Fortunately, her classroom is right next door to Caitlin's, so I was able to see her before she went in.

Gotcha!  I snapped her pic in the hallway.

And this is my first day with all three kids gone for the whole day.  A new stage has begun.

Funny

I mentioned in my last post that the weather has been slightly cooler.  I find myself wondering at how the slightly cooler temperatures and the noticeably shorter days are making me want to turn the page on summer and rush headlong into fall. 

I know there's still a good bit of summer left.  Ironically, the temps are projected to be back in the nineties for the first day of school.  I still hope to get in at least two more sauce-making sessions with my tomatoes.

But I have all these leftover balls of yarn and a crazy hankering to try something new.

What are your plans for late summer/fall?  Are you trying anything new?

I'm back

Not that I've really been anywhere.  Our computer finally gave out last week, and now I'm posting this from our new, so-much-faster computer.  I no longer have to use the basic uploader on flickr, so I'm excited.  I have been up to a few things.

The Grange fair was this past weekend.  I pre-registered a few weeks ago.  I ended up entering in nine different categories (last year I only entered one).

I made this quilt to go in our bedroom.  It didn't win anything.  I had a lot of blank unquilted space that just didn't look right, and they called me on it.  Now I have something to work toward for next year.  Oh, but you should have seen the winners!  They were magnificent!

Participant.  This is totally what I was expecting.

But, hey, look!  Maybe making (and eating) all those chocolate cakes over the last month-and-a-half really paid off!

And wow!  Way to go, February Lady!  (Although Caitlin was disappointed that her birthday sweater didn't win a ribbon.  She also didn't want to part with it for the week.  "What if I need it?" she asked.  In August?  Not likely)

And if you've ever thought about making Leslie's chocolate chip cookies--you know, her version of the Toll House recipe--I can tell you that it is now officially a prize-winning recipe!

So there you have it--your Grange Fair recap.  This week is our last week of summer vacation.  And the weather is slightly cooler this week.  We are going to rest up and get ready for our big day next Monday.

hey there

Last weekend we took a trip up to Williamsport, PA.

Our computer is acting up--throwing around words like "fatal error" when we turn it on.  So my time around here will (sadly) be limited.  On the other hand, it will free up more time for secret birthday knitting projects and for making tomato sauce!

I don't know when or how this computer issue will end...in fantasy land, it would end with a new fancy computer!  But in reality, that wasn't exactly in the budget for this month.

See in a week or so!

This week...

Pleasant surprise: I was able to re-connect with a blog friend.  Not-so-pleasant: I have had my patience tested.  And tested.  I am constantly reminding myself that being the grown-up means acting like the grown-up--not like a bigger kid.

Pleasant: Multiple knitting projects!  Not-so: close deadlines (a.k.a. birthdays)

Pleasant: watching the light dance across the front of the house.  Not so much: discovering some deferred maintenance that needs to be resolved.

Pleasant: knitting sweater fronts at the same time.  Not so much: must pay careful attention; can't travel with this one (but this is what multiple projects are for--one to travel with!)

Pleasant: sunflowers.  It's all good around here.

Pleasant: planting broccoli for fall harvest.  Not so much: watering them daily

Pleasant: surprises on the memory card when uploading pictures!

We're going away for the weekend--a quick, semi-distant trip.  When we get back, it will be August.  And school starts August 30.  Time for this mama to re-boot the summer and stop all the fighting!

Hello, friends

Another week gone by.  Another heat wave on its way.

A big thanks to SouleMama for inspiring this meal (from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food).  Homemade pasta without a pasta maker will wear out a knitter's wrists!

Look what popped up this week!  Time to look up squash recipes.

More sunflowers is always good.

The pole beans are climbing up just about everything.

And the Black-eyed Susans are threatening to take over.

And I'm just so tickled with the zinnias.  I'm so glad I sprinkled these seeds around this spring.

See you next week!

Happy Friday

Friday again?  These lazy days of summer are just blending together, aren't they?

Things are blooming.

Recipes are being tried.  This one was good, but it's not "the one."  Nobody minds much.

And the knitting is slow, but there is knitting nonetheless!