Andrew and Jack

Andrew and Jack
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

Andrew painted this pumpkin at a birthday party last weekend. He decided that it was the one (of the 4 on the front porch) that he wanted to carve. My boy does NOT like messy jobs like this, but he was a willing sport.

We found a fun website on Better Homes & Garden's site that lets you pick your pumpkin face then print out the template. So this guy is totally designed by Andrew.

After we finished Jack up and put him out on the porch, we toasted pumpkin seeds with olive oil, Worcestershire sauce and garlic salt. Makes me think of my mom. She always looked forward to nibbling on the pumpkin seeds.

Miss you mom.

Cables To Frog

Cables To Frog
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

Well, with good intentions I cast on a sock for hubby, trying cables for the first time. I love the look of this, a simple 8/10 cable repeat 6 times over 72 stitches. BUT... the cables, making it not-so-stretchy, are keeping it from going over his foot. So... back to the drawing board.

He's napping now but I'm going to consult him if he wants the same sock with 2 more cable repeats OR if he likes the look of this Gentlemen's Sock by Designedly,Kristi... we shall see.

The yarn is Trekking, ProNatura in chestnut... trying 2 circs for the first time. So far so good!

Crock Lovin'

Crock Lovin'
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

In a house with small children, you never know what you'll find when you turn the corner.

Now. How these two ended up like this, I have no idea. But when Don walked in on them in the bathroom the other day, you can see that they were just as suprised as he was when he captured them in their moment together.

Really guys? Right there in the middle of the pony-tail holders?

Andrew is 5!!

Veggie Tales Cake
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

Click HERE to see a slideshow of all the birthday pictures.

Happy Birthday to my Andrew, who turned 5 yesterday. Where has the time gone? I just can't believe it.

We celebrated with a back yard full of about 30 friends and a Veggie Tales theme on Saturday. It was beautiful weather for October so we just let the kids play while the adults chatted. I made a pot full of chili, pasta salad, veggies for dipping and some snacks for the kids. We finished off with a Bob and Larry cake, that I made as per Andrew's request.

Andrew got lots of crafty presents, DVDs, playsets, Planet Heros and a new Hot Wheels bike! He was thrilled with each gift he recieved. He said to me yesterday that he wants to have a thankful heart about his birthday presents and not just be happy to get more stuff. Seems that Madame Blueberry Veggie Tales movie is sinking in. Hooray!

Click HERE to see a slideshow of all the birthday pictures.

Papaw and Nayna Visit

Papaw Nayna Abigayle
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

Click HERE to see more!

We've had a great week of family time. Dad and Dana made a trip to see fall foliage and grand babies! They drove the length (south to north) of West Virginia and caught the leaves through the senic passes in peak. They also made a trek up into NY state, to the town of Oxford, to do some poking around and look for some info on dad's ancestors. Then they came down to our house and visited for 3 days. We enjoyed them for dinner on Sunday night, then all day Monday and most of the day Tuesday.

Dana has fallen in LOVE with Roots. They went home with the car packed full of goodies. But not straight home! When I spoke to them on Thursday morning, they had taken the Blue Ridge Parkway for more than 250 miles of sight seeing on Wednesday and were on their way to Gatlinburg, TN... and weren't sure when they might make it back to Alabama, or where they might stop on the way!!

I'm so glad they came. It gave Don and Andrew a chance to meet our new grandmother, as dad remarried this summer. And we are all truly in love with Nayna (Dana). What a wonderful woman. I'm not sure how my dad managed to have someone as wonderful as my mother love him for 42 years and now after her passing, find another woman that is so kind and generous. Most people don't find that even once in a whole lifetime. He's a very blessed, and pretty special, guy.

Whole Haul from Stitches East 2007

Whole Haul from Stitches East 2007
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.
Click the picture to see the details!!

Hooray for a Saturday full of friends, shopping, yarn, knitting and great food!

Yesterday 4 knitting friends and I ventured down to Baltimore for Stitches East 2007. We met at Bob Evans for a delicious breakfast at 7am. We were on the road, headed down to meet a 6th friend, by 8:15am. It was a seamless journey until we hit the the Baltimore Marathon road closures around inner harbor. That was not a surprise though, as we had anticipating it. With a few detours, and some creative driving on my part, we found our favorite parking garage next door to the Baltimore Convention Center by 9:40am. We hurried over and got our tickets and made it to the door to be some of the first shoppers in at 10am. Weee!

My haul as pictured above:
Market Guide
2 Addi Turbos, US#1 in 16" and 20" to try socks on 2 circs
Adorable knitting magnet for the Mama Van from Uncommon Threads
3 hanks of STR (Faulty Dyer, Jonagold & Pink Granite)
1 hank of Cherry Tree Hill (Earth)
Trekking Pro Natura (Brown)
Regia 4 fadig (Blues/Browns)
Regal worsted by Briggs Little and dragon fly button for a Lucy Bag - already started

PLUS yarn for my Secret Spook Exchange with my local SnB

After a fulfilling day of shopping, spending and giggling, we finished our trip with a delcious meal at Carrabas in Hunt Valley, MD on the way home. Ahhh... it was a lovely and FULL day.

Blue Ribbon Socks!!

Blue Ribbon Socks!!
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

Inspired by my girlfriend, Alyssa, I entered some knitting in the Manheim Farm Show Fancy Work competition. I was so proud to learn that Don's Lozenge socks won 1st place in the adult sock category and Abi's hoodie won 2nd place in the children's sweater category.

The Show is this week and the kids have really enjoyed spending time over there, just a couple blocks from our house. We've already been twice and have plans to go back today and at least one more time before it concludes on Friday. Tonight is the big Farm Show Parade that we look forward to every year. Its not fall until Farm Show time!

Click here to enjoy all our Farm Show pictures.

Injured Leaf

Injured Leaf
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

Andrew found this turning maple leaf yesteday and brought it in to me. He loved the vibrant yellow but as we inspected it together I noticed that the leaf was damaged and had dried and browned in that area. Around the damage there was a halo of red. I almost couldn't believe my eyes. It looked just like a scab on Andrew's knee. Brown scab, redness surrounding it. Amazing really. He thought that was super cool.

I love that Andrew looks forward to fall. I'm sure it has much to do with an October birthday, but he really loves the change of the season. He loves being able to get back outside after the heat is gone. And I do to. I always hope for a long fall and we are really getting a heaping-helping of great days right now. As we kiss September goodbye today, we are hoping for a mild October full of days like we've had.

The Trike Girl - Riding is SERIOUS

The Trike Girl - Riding is SERIOUS
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

This girl can peddle!! I'm so proud of Abi, she's such a self starter. Peddling came at age 3.5 for Andrew and Mary Grace really never mastered the bike. Abi hopped on this little trike last week and after 3-4 days of pushing it with her feet she decided to try peddling. And it was just that easy.

We've had a long string of beautiful days in the last few weeks and we've been outside for hours and hours on end. I suppose time behind the wheel has everything to do with mastering these kinds of things. She has certainly used her time wisely.

We actually have a small 12" bicycle for her and I think she could probably peddle it. But its on loan to Andrew at the moment... he finally wore his bike out last week. To many skid marks on the sidewalk wore through the rubber... then the threads. Finally he was down to the tube and that was it for the back tire. His birthday is in 4 weeks, so he'll get a new, bigger-boy, bike for his birthday. We'll have to put the training wheels back on Abi's bike and let her take it for a spin.

Why do kids have to grow up SO stinkin' fast? It pains me to see her grow so fast, but I'm super proud of my baby girl.

Monthly Dishcloths

Monthly Dishcloths
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

Its been a few months since I updated on the dishcloth knit-a-long that my local knitting group is doing.

Top Right is the Stepped Ridge pattern in Sugar n Cream Stripes, American Stripes.

Top Left is the Pebble Stitch pattern in Sugar n Cream, Lavendar and White.

Bottom is the Bambo Variation patter in Peaches n Cream, Seaside (I think).

LCMK is 5!!!

Founding Members
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

View the slide show:
LCMK's 5th Anniversary Picnic

Goodness, I can barely believe it. The small group of 12-15 women that started in September of 2002... when I was pregnant with Andrew... has grown to a group of over 40 strong and wonderful women. Plus all of our families. It makes me teary.

We've been through so much in that time. From a meager start of one playgroup per week. To what is now practically a 5 day, 2 night offering of activities per week. Just amazing. I'm so proud of each and every member.

There has been a lot of water under the bridge. Some bright and sparkling, some brown and murky. But most of us have stuck it out, worked through the tough moments and hung in there for the sake of our children. What a blessing for everyone involved.

Pictured above are me, Keir and Heather... all founding members. To see the slide show of the 5th anniversary picnic held today, click here LCMK's 5th Anniversary Picnic. A huge group of us met today for a cookout, playtime, arts and crafts, face painting, bubbles and a pinata party. Woowoo! What a great way to celebrate on a perfect day.

I wish my mom could see these. She met and heard about so many of these fantastic women and children. I hope she was looking down today enjoying it too.

Hooded Sweater Complete

Hooded Sweater Complete
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

Yay! Abi's little top-down hoodie is all done! The yarn was a dream to work with and the pattern works up super fast. I just adore it and so does she!

This picture makes me misty eyed... she looks so much like mom.

Can you guess what this is?

Do you know?
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

Look closely... salivating yet? I am!

Its one of my favorite foods in the whole world. I can barely get my hands on it up here, above the Mason Dixon line. One of my mommy group friends brought it to me yesterday. I could just kiss her!!!

Its okra! I washed it, sliced it and blanched it right away. I have a big old ham steak waiting to go with some fried okra and biscuits.

Its a good day.

Andrew Gets A Duck Call

and a valuable moment with someone going the extra mile.

It is a beautiful day this fine Sunday and we had several options of how to spend it. We finally settled on going to the Middle Creek Wildlife Conservation Area in Kleinfeltersville, PA for a nature art show. We enjoyed a spectacular demonstration of hunting dogs that were retrieving ducks and taking direction from their trainers. These animals are truly amazing. We saw so many beautiful paintings, carvings and decoys and got to talk to people in the waterfowl conservation world.

The highlight of our day was when we were at the Susquehanna River Waterfowl Association's booth. Andrew and Abi were mesmerized by the duck calling demonstration. With stars in his eyes, Andrew said, "I wish I had one of those!" One of their members jumped right on that opportunity to give him a duck call and teach him how to use it. Andrew was thrilled and was surprisingly good at it! It was a blessing to see his enthusiasm met by this man's desire to teach him.

I'm so glad we decided to go. The weather and family time could not have been more perfect. I wish every day was paced so slowly and filled with together time.

Click HERE to view all of the picture from Middle Creek.

I've been blog linked

What a nice treat... I'm very flattered. Homemadeoriginals, one of my flickr contacts, contacted me about using one of my pumpkin blossom pictures on her blog. She wants to start a Friday Favorites sort of thing and post about her favorite picture from her flickr contacts each week. I had the honor of being the first!!!

You can see her post here: Home Made Originals.

Memories Bowl

Memories Bowl
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

This was a 2006 project... I knitted 3 of these Memories Felted Bowls for Christmas last year. As I walked past mine today, I realized I'd never taken pictures of it because I didn't want to reveal them last year before gift giving time.

It was a fun knit, much like painting or making pottery, as you control the color as you knit down the bowl. Its a sock weight yarn, held doubled as you knit in the round. Super cool. The turn is achieved by knitting one purl bump then beginning the decreases. I stretched it over a round glass water pitche to get the nice clean shape.

The pattern calls for the Knitpicks yarn, Memories, hence the pattern name. But I wasn't too keen on any of the colorways so I searched out another yarn, which was discontinued, but I found it on Ebay. Its called Lanscapes and is a very similiar yarn to Memories... also 100% merino and felts up so nice.

Yarn: Landscapes in Mesa from Knitpicks (discontinued)
Pattern: Memories, felted bowls from Knitpicks

Fairy Pumpkin

Fairy Pumpkin
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

Have I ever mentioned how great my neighbors are??

The pumpkin fairy has been to visit this week. I am not sure which neighbor it is, I have 2 in mind, but one placed a small, beautiful pumpkin underneath our pumpkin vines in the last couple days. We have a monster plant out back but so far its been fruitless. That beautiful blossom and baby pumpkin in my photostream from last week rotted off into the grass. I'm assuming its the wet weather we've had.

I've been worried that Andrew may not get a pumpkin from this summer-long project and was talking to the neighbors about it, on and off as they commented about our monster vines out back. One of them decided to take the matter into their own hands... on my children's behalf. I love that. I love that people do still care these days. And I love my neighbors.

Andrew hasn't seen it yet. Its very hard to wait. (bites nails)

One Monkey Down... some knitting progress

One Monkey Down
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

I've been working a little, all along on 3 separate projects. The Monkey socks in STR Cracked Canyon are halfway done. I've cast on the second sock but its just been sitting since before my trip to Alabama last week (more on that in another post). I'm loving the crazy pooling and electric colors though. I can't wait to get them done for our first fall cool snap that should arrive in just a few weeks.

Also, I have Don's second Lozenge sock on the needles finally, after a break this summer. I put the project aside to work on some summer projects but have it back on the front burner as cool weather approaches. They are in Lornas Laces, Shepard Sport, the colorway is Aslan.



And finally, Abi's hoodie for fall is almost done! One arm to go! I'm hoping to finish this up tonight! Yay! Is such a super fit and the fabric is just to die for. Thanks go out to my good friend, E, for finding this pattern in a LYS. Hooray!

Super Andrew

Super Andrew
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

Here is my little man modeling his Halloween costume a little early. Yes, I said Halloween! For those of you who know us, you know we've not participated in Halloween in the past because of our beliefs and desires to abstain from things we feel are openly evil. But all it took was Andrew, after handing out candy last year, saying, "Daddy, I'd really like to dress up next year and go trick-or-treating."

Daddy is a softy and he can see, now, the fun and childish side of Halloween. We are not of this world, but we do have to live in it, as the Avalon song, In Not Of, says. I must confess, I'm thrilled... THRILLED... that the kids will be dressing up and going out. I have very fond childhood memories of Halloween growing up. My big bubba, Randy, was a holiday decorating extraordinaire. And although we won't be putting any tombstones in our yard or hanging ghosts from trees, we can enjoy the lighter side through our children's eyes.

I'm very happy about it.

Sizing Up The Top Down Hoodie

Sizing Up The Top Down Hoodie
Originally uploaded by wenjomatic.

This morning Abi tried on her Artyarns Little Hooded Top Down Sweater in Supermerio #127 for the first time. It seems like the perfect fit, in size 4, for outerwear this fall. Weee! I'm so happy with it.

I'm working on the trim on the bottom now, splitting off into front and back to make the side vents and garter finishing. Then I'll pick up the sleeves on dpns and knit them down. That should go fairly quickly since they only have about 7 inches left for each. Then its seaming the hood (THAT'S THE ONLY SEAMING... I love this pattern!!!) and weaving in ends.