Hood River and Fish Hatchery

We took last Saturday to make another small getaway. This time we went to Hood River for some fresh picked peaches and to the Bonneville Fish Hatchery (which Sprout calls the fish factory). My mom was in town to join us for the trip. She's going to be snowbirding practically the upcoming entire school year from October through April (insert sad face here) so we don't have very many visits left before she leaves.

The farm in Hood River had a corn maze, which we all enjoyed:

The town is called Hood River because it sits at the feet of Mount Hood:
It was a beautiful valley.

Funny, I didn't get any pictures of the fresh fruit we brought home, but it included peaches, apples, cantaloupe, cherries, orange cherry tomatoes, plums, Walla Walla onions, and jalapeno peppers.

I remember as a child my Grandma Hasel would make a trip to Hood River and come home with boxes upon boxes of peaches for canning. It was a much longer trip for her from the coast. For us it's an hour and twenty minute drive, prime time for catching up on book club reading or knitting. I don't can the peaches, though. My family prefers to eat them fresh and juicy. There's nothing in the world that compares.

Next stop, the Bonneville Fish Hatcherywhere we ate a picnic lunch and nurtured ZimDee's love for fish
Here he is going on (and on...and on...) about the many facts of different fish. I love this guy:You can buy food pellets and feed the Rainbow Trout:
But the funnest part of all is if you can spot Herman the Sturgeon. He put on a great show for my boys:





Herman with some playmates:Watching for Herman from outside:There he is! Can you see him?What a great day.
Next up: Multnomah Falls

Enchanted Forest Sunday

As promised, here are pictures finishing up our little getaway last weekend. We spent Sunday at the Enchanted Forest in Salem, Oregon.I've been visiting the Enchanted Forest since I was a child myself. Back in the day, it was just little buildings and castles with stairs. Over the years they've added some rides, but Disneyland it is not. Still, it's a great place to spark the imaginations of my children.

They even have miniature squirrel cages:
But the best part of all was the log ride. I've been waiting for years for my babies to get big enough to go on the fun rides with me. It was the highlight of the day:





Good times.

Summer Vacation

The Count and I have been talking about how we could really use a vacation. Not even Hawaii or Bali (don't we wish?), but seriously, just a day or two to get out of our routines. Or heck, how about out of the city limits?

We chose the hottest weekend of the year to make our little family getaway. I was looking forward to the heat as my last farewell to summer before accepting that fall was soon to be here. And seriously, for a girl who was born on the cold Oregon coast, you would think that I would be used to the Pacific Northwest's permanent state of spring and fall. But I crave the heat. I seriously do not understand when my friends complain that it's too hot here in Portland. It will be cold soon enough, trust me.

So where did we choose to go to enjoy the heat? Newport, Oregon, which turned out to be the coldest place in the state. It was so foggy that we couldn't even see the ocean. Here are some pictures:
We chose Newport because we have been promising our budding marine biologist, ZimDee, that we would take a trip to the Oregon Coast Aquarium before the summer was over. Yes, he's still as obsessed with fish as ever, and I hope he continues down that path. We also chose Newport because we could get there and back in a day without having to rent a motel room.

Apparently, a lot of other people had the same idea, because the line to the aquarium was longer than I've ever seen it:Which left me time to take some scenery pictures:



And it was all worth the wait.

For the jellyfish:
And the crab:

The tidepools:
The seals:
And the walk-through tunnel:
There was a really cute scene with a puffin splashing Sprout, I think on purpose:


And a very cool creature called a basket star:
But no trip to the aquarium would be complete without being eaten by a shark:

Next stop: The Enchanted Forest in Salem, Oregon.

By Popular Demand...

I was able to get Girlie to take a picture of me wearing my new sweater:Hooray!

My Very First Sweater For Me!

I've knit sweaters before, for pay (not so rewarding), for family members (definitely rewarding), and for my babies (very rewarding). But this is the first sweater that I knit for me. And I love it.

I'll admit it was touch and go there in the middle. After trying it on halfway through without the sleeves I was ready to give this away to someone, anyone who would take it. I am just not a vest person, and that's what it looked like to me. That dress rehearsal night was not a good night. I peeled off the half-finished thing and laid it on my dresser and went to bed. But I didn't go to sleep. I sat there in bed just staring at the disappointment that was to be my introduction to wondrously making my own clothes and made the determination that I could make sweaters for everyone else, but it was just not in the cards for myself. And that was a sad thought indeed for a knitter with a stash that contained yarn to make *just a few* sweaters and patterns and big plans.

Well, if I was going to give it away, I might as well finish it, I thought.

Then a magical thing happened as the sleeves took form and the applied I-cord was, um, applied. The sweater started to look, well, cute. People were noticing what I was knitting and asking me questions about it and getting excited. Knitters and non-knitters alike. And that is quite a range, I've found. Have you ever noticed that the yarn and patterns and stitches that really appeal to knitters hold little interest for non-knitters, and vice versa? If you hit on something that appeals to both, you've struck gold. At least here in my world.

As with a lot of things in my life, I'm so glad I persevered and pressed on just at the moment that I wanted to give up.

So without further ado, here is my sweater, my very first sweater for me:(My apologies for no pictures of me actually modeling the sweater. It's a classic dilemma: the person who knits is usually the best photographer in the house too. My friend Amy was just talking about this.)Pattern: Tulips for Women, size XS

Needles: size 7 for the body and size 5 for the seed stitch border

Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in Petal Shower, Dusky Aurora, Gothic Rose, and 2 very different shades of the same colorway, Cloud Jungle. (I used a half a skein of all the colors except for the Dusky Aurora, which required a full skein to finish the borders).There was no seaming to be done on this sweater, though the trade-off was many, many ends to weave in.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to wear the sweater yet or show it off at my Monday night knitting group or this week's knitting guild meeting, because I'll be dropping it off to be judged at the state fair on Monday morning. The fair doesn't open until the last week in August, but they like to have their submissions early. In fact, the deadline to submit your intention to enter items was August 6th. Luckily, I found that out on August 5th. Whew!

I haven't decided what I'm going to do with the left over half skeins of yarn yet. I could make the child's version of this sweater, or some thick multicolored socks. Right now I'm leaning towards the sweater, but it will have to wait, because I've already moved on to my next project.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder...I Hope

*Puff*

Is this thing on?

It's been so long since I wrote on my blog that I forgot my user name, let alone my password. But inspired by my dear friend Amy's entertaining return to writing on her blog, I thought I'd give it a whirl. HTML? Magic links? Those will have to wait until I relearn this while process again.

So what happened to 2009? And the first half of 2010? Let's just say that we have felt the effects of the economic downturn like everyone else in this country. By the grace of God we have been able to keep our home and business running, and that is saying a lot, and I am thankful.

My babies are not so much babies anymore. Girlie will turn 13 in October. Yes, I will have a teenager living in my house. We've had some sensitive moments already, but she remains a sweet spirit with lots of heart.

ZimDee is now 8 and will be entering 3rd grade. This boy has charm to spare and is a friend to all.

And my littlest one? Sproutie will be starting kindergarten in the fall. All day. Be still my heart.

There has been lots of knitting and laughter amid storms and tears and friends and family. I can't wait to share it all with you again. But for now, it's good to be back. I've missed you.