A lesser world

without a few folks who've passed this week...


Rest In Peace...

Ed, Farrah & Michael

Dog tired...

Life's been a bit much this week - home, work, kids, dogs - oh, and a husband! Seems like there's not enough time and mental energy to go around...or maybe I just didn't have as much the past week for some reason...what-e-vah!

I got through my stint at Bash yesterday,

went to Jaime's birthday party last night...Happy Birthday! How's your head? hehehe
The Saint celebrated his special day by fixing us breakfast then going to shoot some clay pigeon's with SIL Wes. Then to Audra & Parker's for a yummy Father's Day dinner this afternoon where we laughed our way through Madea Goes to Jail.

Now it's jammie-time! I'm gonna knit a few stitches on these Fascine Braid Socks knit with Rita's beautiful yarn.

- if I can keep my eyes open - and then carry my tired butt to bed. I know tomorrow is gonna be a busy day.

Hope you all had a great weekend too.

For today though, I'd like to say Happy Father's Day to all you fatherly peeps out there.

Good-night...

Blue waffle

I have finally finished the blue waffle stitch socks I started eons ago. Wanna see?

I'll show you in a minute, hehehe.

First I'll show you what I drove 38 miles in 45 minutes to pick up during my lunch break today...

Cosmetically, she's nearly perfect...not a knick or scratch or wear mark anywhere. She is a bit gunky though at her lube points. She's gonna usurp the old White Rotary I was planning on having re-wired. I like her better. I hope the old White won't be too jealous, having to wait a bit longer to be rescued from the basement. I'm thinking I should give this beauty a name...might take some studying.

Ta-Da! Here's the socks...

hope they were worth waiting for. I should go check on Ravelry to see when I started these pesky things.

Hope everybody is doing well out there in the world. I know some folks are struggling and I hope the struggle will end for you soon. In a good way!

I saw another interesting business combo on Saturday. I'll have to be sure to get down there and shoot some pics so you can have a smile too.

In the meantime, I've got a passion for Bashin! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!! I'll be working all day Saturday...I know you all feel sorry for me...

Toodles!

spring beauty

For all of you who've come to visit I have some pretty flowers for you today.

I figure if they make me smile they'll do the same for you.

When pondering the group of friends who've come into my life since I've been posting to this blog it gives me a good feeling, just like these flowers. But I've heard that my friend Grace has been feeling poorly lately. I hope she gets feeling better real soon. And you should see the great things Clarabelle has been knitting. Jessica has been on the look out for Abandoned T-shirts for a photo project she has going...if you see one be sure to snap a pic and tell her about it's situation, I really enjoy reading about them.

I love flowers, they're one of my favorite photo subjects.

Knitting at bottom of post - scroll down if you don't want to see the pretty flowers, LOL

This year it seems they're getting a slow start. The Peonies didn't finally pop open until the middle of this week but they're making up for their late showing!

My roses are peeking out 1 or 2 at a time...

this yellow/pink is my favorite to look at but my favorite to smell is the old fashioned red that's on the north side of the yard.

The fragrance is that of the rose water my Grama always had on the shelf above her kitchen sink. It's raining today so it's wet but still fragrant.

I'm making slow but steady progress on the ZigBagZ.

I'm loving how it's turning out and getting pretty good at the two-handed knitting too! Can't wait to get it done and felted - it'll be the new home for my swift and ball winder. The USPS box is getting a bit worn.

And Boomer actually spent the afternoon not in a crate for the first time since moving in. I held my breath all afternoon worrying he would do something naughty, like, maybe, chew the corner off the leather sofa or something...he was a good boy and was sleeping on the ottoman when The Saint got home from work. Phew!

He's sooooo schweet...

Boomers New Rain Coat

Boomer shows off several angles of his new coat...





He's a great model but I don't think he's all that impressed by his new raincoat,
judging from this big yawn.


Hope you all have a great week!

ETA: View #2...it's reversible for those days when he feels like going plaid (anybody who's seen Spaceballs as many times as I have will get that reference) LOL

A nice boat ride

Thinking back on last Sunday - it was a perfect day!

I do so enjoy looking at the bridges along the Grand River...


The weather was sunny, if a bit chilly, and the river was like glass...

Perfect for the first boat ride of the season with my Honey...

There are so many beautiful things to see along the river. I love Old North Park Bridge in Riverside Park click on pics to enlarge

As we slowly motored away from the launch we left the newest piece of our city's skyline in our wake...
and before long we were passing under the new North Park Bridge. It isn't nearly as romantic as the old iron version. but it does accommodate quite a bit more traffic.

I'm heading over to City Knitting for some dog-free knitting. It's the only way to escape this little beast, LOL He was exhausted after The Saint literally scared the juice out of him this morning. Boomer's recovering and The Saint - being your typical 8 yr old boy in a man's body - is still wiping the tears from his eyes and trying to stop laughing...geez!

Hope you all enjoy the weekend. Thanks so much for stoppin by.

Happy Birthday to Rena yesterday! Hope you enjoy that new Swiffer, ROFL. Love you!

a smile and some sewing

Ever been driving down the street and see something that makes you go huh?...and smile to yourself?

On my trips across town to pick up my grand daughter I pass this business. It always makes me smile. Black Castle/Community Tax Service...

It's not every day you see a business that combines food with tax help. That's certainly an example of diversification. Don't you think?

We're in the midst of a very nice weekend here at Chez B. Yesterday after breakfast with my kids I made a trip to the Farmer's Market for some herb plants. I'll put them in my little garden today. I drove way beyond my usual driving circle to Smith-Owen Sewing Center to check out their big sale...4 fat quarters and a skirt pattern later (for less than $20 bucks!) I was on my way for a visit with some knitting peeps at Biggby Coffee. I got a few rows done on my waffle sock and had some friendly conversation, along with a very tasty beverage.

Later, back at Chez B there was pattern graphing going on. I decided that Boomer needs a raincoat. I found a great pattern on the Handwoven Magazine site. I bet he'll look great in a red vinyl slicker with a plaid lining. I picked up the vinyl for about $5 and had a piece of plaid upholstery fabric in my stash. I have it cut out and pinned together, sewing will commence some time today...

I also picked up these new fangled scissors for super cheap on sale.

Pretty awesome huh?

I've also been cruising eBay again. Looking at sergers and vintage sewing machines. After seeing what they're going for I believe I'll have my White Rotary rewired and see how I like using it before I invest in any more machinery. When cleaned up and re-wired it will look a bit better than it does now.
Isn't she a beauty? And she's in a very nice Martha Washington style cabinet too. I love old machines, have owned many over the years. They are works of art and built to last, for-eh-vah!

Oops, gotta go, The Saint says it's time for the shake-down cruise on the boat. Back soon...