Saturday and Sunday

 Friday one of my co-workers gave me four small eggplants.  Well I love eggplant parm, so guess what I made on Saturday....

So yummy!!!

Today Jenny and the grandboys came for a visit.  We had so much fun!  Jenny dressed Jack up like a skeleton and a bumblebee.  He was ok with the skeleton costume, not really loving the bumblebee costume.  Owen was loving showing Papa toys in the toy catalog that came from Target.  He also had fun riding his little car out in our front yard. 

I have been working on a mystery knit along and I am about 75% done.  This is called the Morticia Shawl.  It is from Boo Yarns.  I love the yarn-it is Tussah Silk and hand dyed by Debbie Davis at The Fibre Studio in the South Park section of Charlotte.

The yarn looks more pink but it is a rusty red color.  Just gorgeous.  I have to block this yet so you will be able to see the pattern more clearly after I do that.

Hope everyone had an awesome weekend, I know I did!

Sunday Drive and walk around the house and outside 10/20/13

Today I was feeling much better after not feeling good on Friday.  Feeling better now!  Today John took me on a drive to Lake Norman.  It is about 35 mins. from our house.  The weather is just beautiful in the Charlotte area today!  Lovely Carolina blue skies.  It took 2 pictures of the Lake and then we saw this huge (and I mean huge) house on the Lake.  See below:

 This is one house people!!  We couldn't believe it!!  There is an actual Rapunzel-looking turret along the side on the right in the back, you can just barely make it out in the picture.  Unbelieveable!!!

When we came home I decided to do some Autumn decorating around the house.  Here are some things I did:

Here is the fireplace all decked out in fall attire.

 Closeup of the mantel.

I had to put this little witch, black cat and pumpkins out.  Owen and even little Jack will like them.  I have had these little wooden pieces for about 20 years!

Some more decorations.

I love this pumpkin pie cupboard I've got in the Dining Room.  I decided to put some bittersweet vine (not real) by the swan and I hung a primitive wooden ghost on the latch.

I think this is one of my favorite pictures!  The sunlight on the Dining Room table was just beautiful!!

I headed outside and here are some photos I took:

These are my knock out roses by the steps:

 This one is an antique rose.

My Camelia in the front yard has tons of buds on it!!  I can't wait until later in the Fall when they start blooming!

This was the little violas I planted a few weeks ago, they are doing so well and look so happy!!

The next three photos and the last ones for today are of my lemon tree.  I brought my lemon tree in the house last week and now it is loaded with little white buds!!!  I can't wait until they open because they are so fragrant!  Hopefully it will mean more lemons too!

Here is one of the 2 lemons I have left.  Remember the squirrels took the other 2!  Dirty little animals!  Hopefully those 2 will hang on for the next 7-8 months and they will be ripe enough to pick and use.  I love Meyers Lemons!!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!!

Saturday around the House

I decided to take some photos around the house today.  I planted some pansies and yellow mums last weekend and I finally just had a chance to take some photos of them.  I also took some photos of Teddy tonight in the candlelight on the front porch.   The photos are a little blurred but I still think he looks handsome!  Here are the photos:

One of my neighors "Booed" us.  This is the felt skull you put on your door so everyone knows you have been "booed".  We "booed" another neighbor.  Hope they liked all the goodies we put in the bag!

My garden fairy and bunny are watching over these cute little pansies.  

 My Mom gave me this lovely wire basket.  She bought it in Texas.  I thought it needed these little pansies.  I think it looks perfect!!

Pretty yellow mums in the black urns out front.

 This is the tussah silk yarn I am knitting a mystery knit along shawl.  Debbie Davis, the shop owner at the shop where I go dyed this.  I think it came out beautiful!

 My little angel on the front porch watches over us.  I love lighting the candles in the lanterns on our porch. 

Teddy joined John and I on the porch tonight.  

My little angel and bunny watching over my garden fairy.  I think they are helping her make my little flowers grow!

It was a gorgeous day here in Mint Hill.  I hope everyone had a great day!

The Weekend is Here!!!

I am so happy the weekend is here!!  I will be leaving work soon and heading on home.  John and I are going out for a bite to eat tonight and then the relaxing begins!

Tomorrow a.m. John will be walking in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk with his office.  Then in the afternoon, I'm headed over to the yarn shop to see how much the other ladies got done on the mystery knit along that I am participating in.  It is always fun to see what color yarn everyone is using and what theirs looks like. 

Sunday John and I are heading up to Black Mountain.  We are going for the day.  Should be a nice time.  Here is a photo off of google:

(photo via google.com)

I will be stopping and probably shopping at one of my favorite yarn shops-Black Mountain Yarn Shop:

I will probably make another apple crisp or an apple cake.  Teddy at almost the whole apple crisp that I made last weekend.  I was so mad at him!  I will probably read some more in The Cheesemaker's House.  I will knit of course too.  Just have a nice weekend with hubby. 

Everyone have a good one too!

My Daughter, Jenny.

(This is one of my favorite photos of Jenny.  This was on her wedding day in August of 2008).


Last night Jenny, our youngest daughter came over for dinner and we were working on a baby quilt for a friend of ours together.  The grandboys were not with her, they were home with their Dad.  While I was making dinner, we were chatting.  I realized how much I enjoying talking with her.  We were talking about our knitting, the quilt we were going to work on, the grandboys, the breast cancer walk she and John are going to walk on Saturday and just plain life.  I had to laugh to myself, after we were done with dinner Jenny got right up and started clearing the table just like when she was a little girl at home.  Then we headed upstairs and started looking at the fabric she bought and I started marking them with the template I had made and cutting them out.  We should have a really nice crazy quilt when we are done! 

After Jenny left I was thinking about all the things she has done in her life.  She had a rough time when she was 3 yrs. old-she was burned by a hot air vaporizer and spent 9 days in St. Barnabas Burn Unit in Livingston, NJ.  When she was 19 she was hit by a firetruck going 50-60 mph, her car was totaled but she came away with a laceration on her scalp about 1.5 inches long and a bruise on her collar bone from the seat belt.  She does have lingering back ache but who wouldn't being hit with a firetruck!  She was mighty lucky and definitely has a guardian angel protecting her!!!   She had 3 miscarriages before she delivered the 2 wonderful grandboys.  She is an artist, photographer, daughter, Mom, wife and sister.  She has chosen to stay home with the grandboys and waitress at night at Olive Garden so she can be with the boys during the day and raise them instead of someone else bringing them up.   In high school Jenny was a downhill ski racer and shalom skier.  Just thinking of how fast she went makes me cringe still to this day, but she loved it and earned the nickname Bullet from her Dad!!  Jenny and I took a course in Ceramics at Peters Valley one semester.  She took hers for college credits and I took it for fun.  Working on the potter's wheel with her and developing all our projects was a really fun thing for us to do together.  I taught her how to knit and to this day she is still knitting away making all sorts of things. 

I guess what I'm trying to say it was a nice night and it made me think of all the things she has done and accomplished in her life and how much I enjoy visiting with her.  It also made me realize that even though there have been some really unpleasant things in ones life you can either carry on or you can just be miserable.  Jenny has chosen to carry on and I am proud of her for that!  Love you Jen!

This and That and Happy October 1st!!!

(Photo via pinterest.com)


I haven't been posting very regularly on here.  I need to fix that situation!  I have just been so busy and at the end of a day I am pretty tired. 

I have been knitting alot.  I was working on a Mystery Knit Along called Watership Down.  It has been very challenging for me.  I never have read charts, I have never done lace knitting or knitted with lace weight yarn before and I have never knitted with beads.  I think now I have accomplished all of these things, but the project is going to be put aside for a new one that starts today.  It is another Mystery Knit Along called Morticia by Boo Knits.  It is not as long as the first one I was doing, this is 4 weeks long.  Every Tuesday I will be getting a clue and will be knitting this shawl.  This project has 1,000 beads in it!!  It should look really beautiful when I get done!  The shop I go to is owned by Debbie Davis and she dyed the yarn for me.  It is just gorgeous!!  Next time I will post a picture of it.  Debbie is so talented!!  I have also been knitting a baby blanket for a co-worker and his wife.  They are expecting in November.  That is coming along really nicely too!

I have been reading too!  I have gotten more books read this year than I did last year at this time.  I also listen to books on audible.  Right now I am reading The Cheesemaker's House and listening to A Place at the Table.  I really like both books.  I will be looking for a Halloween Mystery type book soon to read too.  Get in the spirit of the holiday so to speak!

I've got all my mums planted in the window boxes on the front porch along with ornamental kale.  They look so pretty!  I also planted 2 big yellow mums in the black urns out front at the bottom of the stairs going to the front porch.  I will take pictures soon of that too!  I need to plant my lettuce in the Winter Garden soon.  It is all ready to go, I just need time to do that.

Sorry no pictures this time, but soon there will be alot of them!  I hope everyone is having a wonderful Fall/Autumn.  I am enjoying the weather immensely and I hope you are too!