White Christmas

We have snow. Lots of it. (Don't laugh - 20" is a lot for MD!) The dog thinks she's a Husky...




The cat, while first being quite sure he wanted out, is now quite sure he loves indoors....




Icicles galore... (I think that means our insulation hasn't been updated since the 40's...)






I hope yours is a warm, merry Christmas!

Tuck in B&W

Been a bit busy...

No, she's not ours. :( But another foster pup! Isn't she cute?



She loves Ryan!

Racing Stripes

Unfortunately, they don't make her go any faster.




And she still prefers this:

(Kinda) huntin' kitties

The cats, who are strictly indoor cats, think the deck is a Really Great Place.



They stalk. They pounce. They kill. They devour.

Such brave kitties.





Kinda.

Mud ponies!

There's been lots of rain lately. Which means lots of mud. And some very muddy ponies.



Anybody want a pesky Morgan gelding?



He's really quite adorable...



I'm not sure how sad Indy would be to see him go. Indy's a bit of a saint to put up with all the antics next door.



But Prince Charming would certainly love to meet you! :)



And Brecca would love for Ryan to share the peppermints.



(My pony, muddiest of all the mud ponies, has eaten them all, though!)

Fall!

As seems to be usual this year, we've had a lot going on lately. Fall is fully underway.. complete with a visit from Mom, apple picking, sweater knitting, trail rides, yard work (sometimes), fiber festivals, comfort food, and Christmas knitting.



Mom's visit was jam-packed. Saturday we drove to Virginia for the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Fest. There were bunnies, llamas, and alpaca galore, as well as lots of fantastic local fibers. It wasn't nearly as huge and nutty as MD Sheep and Wool. The vendors all had time to talk about their animals, their dyeing, and their spinning. I was a little sad to see that people weren't buying as voraciously as they do at Sheep and Wool, but I hope that sales picked up on (less rainy) Sunday.




I picked up the last/only 2 skeins of rust-colored sport weight 100% Romney wool from Day Spring Farm. I was able to (barely) resist its calls the first 3 times I went by, but only because there wasn't enough for a sweater. I finally decided that I could find *something* to do with it, and happily made it mine. My only other purchase that day was a skein of luminescent silver 80% baby alpaca, 20% bamboo fingering weight from Maple Creek Yarn. Should make a perfect scarf or shawl. Had I had more money on hand, and no Christmas-yarn-buying to do, I would have purchased much, much more. Most of the vendors don't sell (or don't sell much) online, so it was a great opportunity to support small local farms/artists.




After the fiber fest, we stopped at Harper's Ferry. I hadn't known that there was so much there to see. I highly recommend a visit.



Sunday began with the requisite visit with Mom's favorite fuzzy grandkid, Miss Adventure.



From the barn, we went to Larriland Farm for some apple picking. Unfortunately, so did the rest of Howard and the surrounding counties!



Then it was off to Frederick, for some strolling, yummy Italian food, and more yarn. Whew!

**Thanks to Mom for the majority of the photos in the post....

Weekends at the barn

Yesterday started out not-so-good, then turned into a very good day.

Ryan had a colonoscopy, which went well after he finally got checked in. The woman at the front desk was a bit harried, and didn't realize that he'd signed in. So, over an hour after his appointment was due to start, Ryan finally was taken back for the procedure. Thankfully, everything went smoothly, and he was out quickly. He's generally very talkative when coming out of anesthesia, and yesterday was no exception. He was quite amusing. Next time I'll try to catch it on tape.

After scarfing down some lunch, we began our next adventure. A barn friend had asked me to videotape her lesson that afternoon. Nearly two hours of driving later, we pulled up at the gorgeous farm where she boards her horse. We were loudly and enthusiastically greeted first by the resident pair of German Shepherds, and then by the resident pair of Chinese Cresteds. Ryan chose a seat in the gallery, and was immediately joined by Cutie.



Cookie, on the other hand, was not quite so happy to have strangers at the barn.



We watched a few rides, half-filmed one of them (darn dead batteries!), and thoroughly enjoyed the company. By the time 7 o'clock rolled around, we were once again starving, so made our way through the countryside to Nido Italiano in Frederick. It was our second visit, and we were once again very happily surprised. They serve real garlic bread (spicy garlic! mmm!), homemade sauces, and homemade pastas. YUM.

On the way out of Frederick, we hit some traffic. Turns out the carnival's in town! I very much wanted to stop for photos and funnel cakes, but we still had an hour's drive ahead of us.



All in all, a very good day.

Last weekend, Ryan ventured out to the barn with me on Sunday. Another gorgeous day. I took advantage of having another person around, asking him to hold Addy for me while I snapped some photos.




I got one decent one before Miss Adventure decided that one of us must have treats for her somewhere.

Was it mom?




No. Possibly Dad?



Nope.

Poor Addy.

Here's to many more beautiful fall weekends at the barn!

Knitterly weather, knitterly things

The weather this weekend has been incredible. Crisp, clear.. very fall! Sweater weather! (Almost.)

This is my Tempest cardigan, knit this past spring from 2 skeins of the Woolen Rabbit's Harmony sock yarn. It's not actually complete, since I haven't finished the hems and the button band needs to be re-done. That hasn't kept me from wearing it often!




It knit up quickly and mindlessly - it's a great pattern. I have plans for at least one more, though that one will likely end up a scoop neck pullover instead of a cardigan. Rav link.

Labor Day weekend we had our first hint of fall, and I cast on immediately for the Owls sweater. Mine was knit with Classic Elite's sadly discontinued Skye Tweed, which is a lighter weight yarn than the pattern called for. However, modification was easy, thanks to all the notes on Ravelry.



I completed the sweater in 4 days, and blocked beautifully. Hopefully I'll get some action shots of it soon. The owls are adorable! Rav link.

And of course, with fall, the Christmas knitting season has officially begun. This hat ended up a bit too big for its intended recipient, but that's okay, 'cause it's gorgeous. The photos are dark and the hat unfinished, but trust me.



This is Stephen West's Botanic Hat. Since it's a two-color hat from worsted yarn, it's great for using up those little leftover balls laying around. And if you're a knitter and somehow haven't checked out Stephen's other designs, do! They're fun, innovative, and very wearable.



Botanic (rav link) is reversible. I can't decide which side I like best. This one, my first, is knit with Cascade 220 in light gray and Malabrigo in Stonechat (which Mom purchased for me several years ago in Richmond, and became a very long scarf with just a little leftover...). If I didn't have plans to use all my leftovers for a stripey pullover, I'd have about 6 of these hats already...

There are other Christmas knits as well as baby knits, but I'm feeling a bit too rambly today. So, some other day!

Florida cont'd

While in Florida, I was given several yarny gifts. I requested some washcloths from my mother for Christmas.. well, Christmas came early! She let me pick from a stack of them, and I chose 3. This one is my favorite:



I love the way the colors pooled.

The other 2 are actually for Ryan. A nice guy-friendly blue/green cotton one, and a beautiful linen one. I may just have to use the linen one from time to time...



I love handknit washcloths, but never take the time to make them for myself. So these are a big treat. Thanks again, Mom! :)

My grandmother also had a few surprises for me. The first is an afghan of cream, white, and pea green. It's been in the family for years, but I can't remember ever seeing it before. It's just perfect.




Her other surprise for me was a box of Angora yarn that she purchased in Atlanta over 30 years ago. The yarn is stunningly light and soft. Little bits have been used as accents on special projects throughout the years. I hope to continue that, slowly, with the rest of the box.



In my last post, I mentioned visiting the farm. Our visit happened to coincide with a driving lesson for Dafydd. It's been quite awhile since I last watched this pair drive.. they make such a good team!



It's obvious where Addy gets her temperment, work ethic, and talent!



That's all for now, though I am due for a knit post....