I have mentioned before how much I love Toast.  And this latest catalog was fantastic.  Of course, there were a couple of photos that really caught my eye.
Ahhh...I love this photo.  And what cool knit is she wearing on her arms?
And then there was this photo.  And look at her gloves.  I loved those, too.  But why buy them, when we can all whip them up ourselves?!

Can you feel it? Oh, I can, and I am so happy. Happy to have the crisp air. The extra blankets on beds. The pumpkins at the markets. The treasures from nature.
I found these little gumdrops placed on a table by one of my children.  Definitely not Charlie. Maybe Andrew.  Probably Libby.  Those made me happy too.

Geez. You all are the best. Thank you so much for Charlie's birthday wishes. We appreciate each and every one of them. So much. Thirteen really does seem big. I am still trying to digest the fact that I have a thirteen year old.
I have made some progress on Libby's sweater.  Keep in mind this is being modeled on my adult dress form that oddly enough has the same shoulder width as my ten year old.  I sure hope you all didn't think that I was going to add all of the cables like the mini Boden sweater.  Nope. Way too much thought would have had to go into that.  But I think that I accomplished the swing design that I was going for.  I think.
I have fiddled with the sleeves so much.  Hopefully I am on track now.

Thirteen balloons,
thirteen candles,
with thirteen stripes (completely coincidental),
placed on a chocolate cake,
for a very special boy, who turned 13 yesterday. 

Hi there. I'm back.
                                flowers courtesy of noreen

So yesterday it was all about the linens.  Organizing and folding them.  I was so happy to see a sheet that we don't use.  With a cute top.  Well you know, that sort of put me back on the sidetrack trail. 
Next thing you know, I was gathering the necessary materials to make another pair of lounge pants.   Because everyone needs a new pair for the fall. 

This is my "go to" mitt pattern.  This pattern is totally unisex so feel free to make them for your man and let him know you are going to borrow them!  I have made them for my sisters and made them for friends. I sometimes put a stripe of a contrasting color in the ribbing.  But a super easy pattern that requires little brain power.  I like that.  Sometimes that is exactly the project I need.

I'm having trouble staying focused lately. Maybe it is because I don't have a plan to my day. And my lists are so long I just seem to hop from one thing to another. Like yesterday, for instance. I had a huge list. With a lot of things that needed to be done. So, there I was moving right along. I had a package I needed to mail, but needed the address. So I hopped onto the computer to get it. Next thing I knew, I was reading blogs. Hopped onto Parikha's blog. To wish her a Happy Birthday. (It was Theresa's Birthday, too!) Saw the peanut butter cups she made.
Next thing I knew I was in the kitchen.  Measuring the ingredients.  You know.  Because, making cookies for cookie of the week was on the list, too.  This could be considered a cookie, right?
Then I was getting the twine.  To wrap Libby's for school.  I knew she would like this.  The boys, not so much.  Put theirs in a plastic bag.  
Darn recipe only makes twelve.  Two for each of the children for after school.  One for each of the children to pack in the lunch boxes.  That leaves three.  Um, yeah.  They are delicious.  Note to self......double recipe next time.
Also on the list.  Knit another pair of these gloves.  Writing down exactly what I do as I go along.  And on the list for Monday......post the pattern.

Yep. It is that time of year again. When I start thinking about the sweaters to make for my kids for the Christmas card photo. Last year was perhaps the last year.  My mother gives me that look like....are you sure you want to put Charlie (who is soon to be thirteen....yikes) in a sweater handmade by his mommy...look.  And maybe last year should have been the last year. But I can't seem to let it go. I have been doing it for eleven years....it is just sort of part of us now.  The problem is, patterns for that age group are just so hard to find.   
I found the yarn I want to use.  And it is so lovely!  All tweedy, and cool, yes?  I plan on using the light grey for Andrew.  The charcoal grey for Charlie.  And I am thinking vests.  Tweedy, cool vests.  Yes?
I couldn't find a pattern for Libby either.  So I pulled a couple combinations together.

Emily got me thinking. About granola. And how my granola jar has been empty for far too long.
So this morning I was up early, searching for a new recipe to try.  Don't you hate when you know you saw one you wanted to try but  just can't remember where?  Well, after about an hour I found it.  I made a few modifications to the recipe.  Adding 1 tablespoon of vanilla and substituting dried cranberries for the dried cherries.
We topped yogurt with it and fresh fruit.  And enjoyed one of our last slow summertime saturdays outside.  It was delicious.  As is the granola.  Go make some.  Really, you won't be sorry.

First of all, for anyone that has ever e-mail me about my wooden plates, I apologize for not getting back to you.  The truth of the matter is that my sister has bought us all of ours.
For a few years when my birthday rolled around I would ask her to add to my collection. Pretty sweet sister.
I adore these plates.  And they are used daily.  Mostly the small plates.  For sandwiches.  Or toast.  Or cookies.
But I also use the bigger sizes.  A lot.  For holding the main serving.  Or chips and dip.  Or cheese and crackers.  Or as a tray.
They do need to be hand washed.  And dried.  Which doesn't seem to bother me.
Anyhow. I finally got the information from my sister.

Same sweater.  In purple. Same pattern.  Same yarn.  Same size.  Same buttons.
Same ball of brown yarn, used for both.  Same labels.  Sewn into the side seam.
Same wrapping.  

We returned from our end of the summer vacation on Saturday. To a million and one things to do.  
On top of the list was getting ready for the new school year that started yesterday.  And although I didn't think that I was ready for my children to go back to school, I must admit I was a little giddy when I returned to my empty house.  And I did what I do every year on the first day of school.  I blared music throughout the house and I made brownies. (Usually a box mix, but yesterday I made these.)  It was a very good day.  

This summer vacation will be one that is certainly remembered. And swimming in the rain. That is probably the best part. Did I mention it is still raining in these parts of Florida? Yes. Still raining.
I took a little walk this morning. Over to Grace's blog for her Summer Is series. And told of a few things that summer is to me. Besides my Saturday mornings. And walking barefoot. And now, swimming in the rain.

Huh.  So much for sunny Florida.  This was yesterday, moments before the downpour caused by Tropical Storm Fay started. Heavy winds and rain forecasted for today.  And perhaps for the rest of our trip. So we will spend most of the time inside.  Watching the storm, watching the olympics, watching movies and playing games.

This was probably my kids favorite Saturday morning during the entire summer.  Because they got to eat fruit loops.  Only at grandmas.  Still nice and slow.  With actually nothing planned all day.  Fresh fruit for me. Sweet pineapple, ice cold watermelon and juicy ripe peaches.  Oh!  And coffee. That I drank out of one of my parents souvenir coffee cups.  Australia today.  Does anyone else have parents that collect those souvenir coffee cups from the places they visit?  I wasn't a fan of them for a long time, but now I treasure them.  And the stories that go along with them.  I just might have to purchase a Florida coffee cup.

We are spending our last ten days of summer break in sunny Florida.  We will be riding some waves.  Knitting some rows.  And soaking up every minute. 

It's no secret.  I love to bake.  But when time (that little thing we are all looking for more of) is limited, I just don't get to.  So when I read about these cookies on Scout's blog, I immediately placed an order.  We ordered three different kinds.  The chocolate pinon biscotti, the toffee almond biscotti, and the green chile pecan sandia cookies. My sweet tooth was finally satisfied; they are all delicious.  The perfect little size.  Handmade from someone else's hands and sent right to my doorstep. Gotta love that!

It is a simple A-line baby sweater.  All in stockinette.  On size *8* needles. I am in love.

Good Morning, Saturday.
We have eaten pancakes at least once a week for years.  Seriously.  Using this same recipe.  Not always do we use the Mickey Mouse waffle maker.  A lot of times we use the skillet.  But we always use the same recipe.  It was the recipe that came with the waffle maker.  But we have always called them pancakes.  Over the years, we have added one ingredient.  Vanilla.  My husband claims it was his secret ingredient.  I'll give him the honors for that one.  

Um, yes. Another Saturday. But we camped out last night. At the pool. And there was a lovely breakfast this morning. But I missed my oportunity to photograph it. So instead I will show you some knitting.  
I mentioned of my plans to knit for others the month of July.  After I read about nest on Sarah's blog, and then again on Amanda's, I knew I wanted to participate.  To help others stay warm. So I decided to just try to knit as much as I could, until the end of the month.  And I decided since I have both of these patterns memorized, this would be the easiest thing for me to tote around.  I also owe some people some gifts, so some will go to them.
I searched my stash, and this is what I found.  Lorna's laces, Classic Elite, Renaissance and Cascade 220 superwash.  One skein of the Renaissance made one pair.  One skein of the Cascade made two pairs.  And I only made one pair out of the Lorna's Laces, but I do believe that I have enough to make one more pair.
Almost finished ten.  Almost.  
This pattern is one that is a combination of a couple of different patterns.  So, not my own. Hopefully sometime soon I will be able to combine my thoughts so that you can make a pair if you want.  They are super easy.  And quick. 
And these are the Evangeline.  My all time favorite.  I added one pattern repeat to the instructions for the short pair.