Busy Summer

It's been a month since I've written anything here and that's in large part due to this adorable girl.  Alexia was with us from June 26th to July 26th and those days were packed full.  I was at the Deschutes County Fair all day today, demoing spinning with a drop spindle.  I'm tired but we're going to have baby Delaney for the next two days and I can't count on any free time, so this post is me trying to get a little caught up on the last month, while I can still remember it.

One of our favorite things to do together is shop for books.  We've done this since she started reading in second grade.  She had planned on a visit to Dudley's Bookstore and was really disappointed that it no long has a teen section.  We even spent a half hour at the library - no luck.  We ended up at Barnes and Noble where there are plenty of books to chose from.  I hadn't planned on buying any for myself, but then I found a display, Buy Two, Get One Free.  I had read about half of the books on the table and reasoned that surely I could find three books from the remainder.  I did.

She has gotten a little more confident in her knitting and started a shawl from a Ravelry pattern called River Fog.  We were going on another road trip and this would be her trip knitting.

And once again she volunteered with me as a living history interpreter at the High Desert Museum.  I showed her how to crochet and she went to town, making a "washcloth."  An older teenager and experienced crocheter spent some time with her, showing her tips and tricks.  She attracted little girls like a magnet the rest of the day.

Ian, Alexia and I took a hike to Tumalo Falls, a truly magnificent piece of our local back country.  We had planned to go up to Newberry Caldera, the source of much of the old lava flows that dominate our landscape. That hypothetical trip would have included a stop at the obsidian dome along with a visit to the lava-cast forest and lava tubes.  So they're on the list for next year.

I had forgotten how much time a newborn baby takes and Delaney gets all of me on Thursdays and Fridays. I just hope her temperament is like her daddy's and she doesn't run my legs off in the upcoming months.  I'm not complaining.  She already loves to be read to.

The day before we took off on our road trip was the opening of the Tour of Homes.  Delaney's daddy has had his work in the show for many years but this is the first year that he was a project manager on several. This house was his baby from the moment the framing was done.  It was very stressful and he was exhausted by the time of the show.  He'd drop the baby off at 8:00 and there were times that Julia had to pick her up (she works later than Matt), long days for all of us - not complaining :-)

The good news is that this house took the top award in its price range in every category except for landscaping.

The next day we were on the road to Tacoma to our sister-in-law's, but just for one day, and our favorite thing in Tacoma is the Museum of Glass.  We had more time this year and spent a couple of hours watching the glassblowers in the Hot Shop.  Okay, I have to admit that we went into the UW Tacoma bookstore which was right across the street and I bought two more books.

The work of Preston Singletary, a Tlingit native representing their story of Raven was the artist in the main gallery.  Not only had he made all the glass art, he had written original music and choreographed lighting to accompany it.  Breathtaking!

The next day had us back in the car headed to Port Angeles, Washington where we parked our car and took the 1 1/2 hour ferry ride to Victoria, BC.

We said goodbye to American soil as we crossed the straits of Juan de Fuca for Canada.

Changes and Progress

I got a text from Clover that she had left an envelope in our mailbox.  It was ten $20 bills, totally unexpected.  I was just happy to know we weren't going to see the hottub on our power bill anymore.  I took myself directly, do not pass go, to our local nursery and bought five shrubs:  forsythia, two varieties of elderberry, burning bush and a quince with peach colored double-blossomed flowers, plus three daylilies.  A friend gave me clippings from her yard and I plan to get a few more.  There's still a lot to be done but that's all I'm going to do this year. 

The move was Thursday evening and they had the hot-tub heated and running by the weekend.  Clover sent me this photo.  The outcome pleases me no end.

Last Monday Alexia and I were back at the High Desert Museum living history ranch and Izzie once again baked a rhubarb pie from the garden.  The pie plate was missing so she baked it in the muffin tin as tarts.  I have a feeling this was pretty true to authentic baking, figuring it out without a recipe.

Izzie started as a volunteer when she was a high school student Alexia's age and now as a college student is hired as a seasonal worker.  It took two people to get the tarts out of the pan with four forks but they were just as good as the pie she made last week, notwithstanding the improvisation.

Alexia and I drove up to Redmond on Tuesday to take a painting lesson with Erik Holland.  His girlfriend moved here earlier in the year and is a nurse at the hospital, and has also joined my bookclub.  Erik decided not to make the move just yet as he's still teaching high school art.  This is his demonstration piece on two-dimensional art. I haven't had time to finish my piece but plan to before Wednesday because we have a second lesson that evening. 

I snapped this candid shot Wednesday July 4rd.  She and I went to Tuesday Morning at the Outlet Mall for yarn because we've decided she's ready to tackle a real project.  I found a shawl pattern on Ravelry that has basic stitches and is also interesting.  I was trying to figure out what we did that day, we tend to keep ourselves pretty busy, so I asked her.  "We bought yarn and then knitted for like five hours."  Yes we did!  We said on Patio A by the water feature in the tree's shade and knitted until could could knit no more.

We were supposed to go to a neighborhood yard party that afternoon but got carried away and the mac-and-cheese that I had taken from the freezer to bake was still sitting on the counter at 5:00, but the potluck started at 4:00.  We didn't go.  But we did light off legal fireworks that we got at Costco, watched an episode or Outlander, then Lex and I went down the driveway to watch the fireworks shot off at Pilot Butte and Grandpa toddled off to bed, keeping terrified Sammie company.  The same people who had wandered up our street looking for a good vantage point for the official fireworks ended up coming in our driveway and watching with us again.  They had guests from out of state so we all visited and watched.  It was really quite fun.  As they left we all laughed because we've never seen each of in daylight and would never recognize each other if we did. 

This is Alexia's scarf, and she's a little frustrated because there are mistakes that you can see if you look for them.  My grandmother always said, Who's going to notice that on a galloping horse???  Isn't that the truth?!  She has finally forgiven herself and continues to knit, says it's a fun project.  She's doing great for a first project and I'm really proud of her.  BTW, the Ravelry pattern is River Fog.  I've knitted it for a prayer shawl once and am now knitting it again.

This is my weaving project.  I have a long way to go but I can only weave so long as a time.  I am having to rebuild my strength and tolerance.  Sigh.

Meanwhile, I'm getting my things together to go to my last Ambassador shift (the volunteer who keeps the doors open) at the Bend Art Center.  Bankruptcy has eliminated another nonprofit organization.  I'll post more on that next time when I know more.  We're very sad but are looking at this as an opportunity, a Phoenix-rising-from-the-ashes event.