My kids at Beaver Lake with their Beanie babies!

A shot looking out my kitchen...we had about 3 inches of snow last night...early winter this year!

Cara's guinea pig, Cottonball. She is about 5 months old.

Angel, all grown up, enjoying Caitlin's warm blankie. She is just over 2 years old now.

And Betsy, the best guinea pig ever!!! She is 3 years old and is SO very calm and sweet. She likes to snuggle under my chin.

Caitlin and Gracie....being silly.

Coneflowers at my grandparents...with visiting butterflies.

A view of my flowerbed from our second story window. The Cleomes, the pink and purple flowers are between 4 and 5 feet tall. The Cosmos are the pink flowers in the upper left...the tallest one is at least 7 feet now. Can you see Gracie at the birdbath??

These are some happy little girls!! My daughter, Cara(on the right) and her best friend, Danielle went with me a couple evenings to help with the alpacas. This female was loving all the petting...I couldn't remember her name, so they called her Emma!

Alpacas!!

I've been hired to take care of a local alpaca farm for about a week...I'm halfway through and I must say, I love it! I go out around 8:30 in the as well as around 6:00 in the evening to water, feed and clean up the manure. It is a good workout...I'm usually breaking a sweat by the time I'm finished!

The farm is Willow Creek Farm, here in Fulton, NY. They have 19 alpacas...9 females, 5 young males and 5 older males. Most are a bit shy, but there's a couple that love to be pet and will come up to me.

The photo above is a white female...I think it's Kiana, but I'm not sure.

One of the young males.

Two females...wondering what I'm doing.

More females....

Two females loving on each other....

I believe this is Miracle Man, a younger male. He has a really neat fleece. I am working on washing, carding, spinning and dyeing his fleece.

Beau is my favorite. He is so curious and loves to snuggle.

Beau's fleece is just lovely. I was given last year's fleece as a thank you and this year's fleece is being spun for the farm shop.

Another young male.

The friendliest of the females...so pretty!

Another shot of her...she's very photogenic I think!

Can you guess what kind of fiber this is? Looks a little like silk, but is not.

It's.....BAMBOO. 100%...dyed with chocolate, pink and purple. It's called 'Chocolate Cherries' and weighs 4 ounces. I'm not sure what I'm going to make with the finished yarn, but I will be spinning it into a thin single, then plying it with another single that is 100% Jersey Wooly rabbit wool.
I've been saving my 'Sweetheart's' wool for a couple years now and I might have 3-4 ounces now. She is a chocolate-colored rabbit, but the yarn from her wool is a pretty gray with a chocolate cast to it. The yarn from these two fibers will be amazing! I'm really looking forward to knitting whatever it is I decide to make.

Thought you'd like to see a closeup...my eyes...taken with my phone.

The Flowers are Blooming!

I love these flowers...they will be planted every year. They are called 'Cleomes'. The two varieties I bought are purple and pink. I think I saw white as well. Mine have grown to about 4' tall and they are quite wide. More blossoms are forming on the side shoots, so I should have a nice display of color for a while.

One of many Cosmos beginning to bloom.

A beautiful daisy...but I don't know what this variety is called.

Veggies & Flowers

In the back left corner of our property(which is only 33 x 66)...next to the lilac...irises, which have already bloomed, Asiatic Lilies, Sunflowers and some kind of tall, pink perennial my MIL gave me. In front of the string trellis are green beans and peas....and behind the trellis is Sweet Peas, I think.

Sorry about the weird angle of this shot! I had to stand in the little bit of shade there was to get this photo. This is in front of the peas and green beans. There are 9 tomato plants in different varieties, 6 eggplants, 6 yellow bean plants and about 12 Nasturtium plants growing from seed.

Here's the other side of the back bed...you can see all the beans, cucumbers and more sunflowers(behind the trellis on the right. There's also a few Morning Glories and a Mini Pumpkin growing next to the bricks.

Beautiful, cheery Strawflowers. These are fast becoming one of my favorite flowers. I have 6 more in various colors that will be blooming in the next few days!

The very beautiful Gazania...a sun-loving flower that only opens in the bright sunshine.

Pam's and my herb garden. In the fence there are short sunflowers, gladiolas, Morning Glories and a couple tiny Zinnias. The light green plant is Golden Oregano, and behind that are Chives. Keep going down the path and you will find Winter Savory, Rosemary, Basil, Lemon Thyme, Curly & Flat-Leaf Parsley, a couple tomato plants, a couple pepper plants and a mum.

Our roses used to be here, with a wooden fence in between. We really, really wanted a place just for the herbs, so we moved the roses, threw out a couple that just weren't thriving and totally redid this bed. We both love it....and so do the kids, who love picking some of the herbs leaves to munch on!

I bought many flower boxes this year, most of the from Dollar Tree! The bottom box is Nasturtiums(which you can eat....the flower.....just pick, wash and add to salads!) and the top box is mixed lettuce. I like growing lettuce in boxes...I can move them out of the hot sun when need be...since they wilt so quickly!

This bed is finally coming together the way I've wanted it to since we moved here. I started this last summer and this summer I extended it all the way to the sidewalk next to the house(on the left). Sean built the edging for me...it was necessary because our lot has a gradual slope to it.

I will take more photos of the individual plants in this bed and posting them. There are too many for me to list right now...

This is along our house...the plants in the foreground are double orange lilies....I've never seen them in any catalog ever! Right behind the lilies are orange Pansies, orange and yellow marigolds and a white mum which has already flowered. Do you like the little yellow lanterns?? Those were a find at The Christmas Tree Shop last month....for only $1 each!!! They hold a tealight candle.


You can see into our backyard, the clothesline and our back porch, which goes into the kitchen. That porch is lined with flowerboxes...perfect spot for the morning sun!

Caitlin's Pool Adventures!

Caitlin LOVES the water....loves filling the pool with her little creatures and Little People. It's been very hot here lately, so she's been using the pool almost every day.

Oops! She's terribly clumsy some days...but it's so cute!

She also loves the hose...watch out Mommy!

Finally....new photos of my children!

Cara is now 9 1/2...look at those beautiful blue eyes and freckles!!

Brendan is now 7 1/2...he took this photo of himself.

Caitlin playing outside with all the Maple tree helicopters.

Caitlin is now 3 1/2...and VERY independent!! She loves the camera!

Definitely the family clown....such a silly girl!

Another of Cara I love. I think I will have the two photos of her framed.

Women of Faith 2008

This past Friday and Saturday, I took my 5th trip with other ladies from my church to a Women of Faith conference in Rochester, NY. This weekend is usually the only time I can get away for a time of relaxing and encouragement each year. I look forward to it very much and I am NEVER disappointed!! Whether you are a woman who is a believer or not, I highly recommend attending a conference near you. Click here to go to the website that offers information on dates for the remainder of this year's "Infinite Grace" conferences held all over the USA.

This year, the speaker's were Sheila Walsh, Patsy Clairmont, Marilyn Meberg, Luci Swindoll and Steve Arterburn (the founder of WOF). All were excellent and all made you both cry and laugh.

We were blessed to hear three amazing singers this year.....Natalie Grant, Nicole C. Mullen and Sandi Patty! Here's a short video of one of Natalie Grant's songs...sorry I couldn't get it all...I need a memory card with more space!! Enjoy!

Ice, after the storm....

I have sideways icicles on my clothesline!! Not quite sure how this happened, but I wanted to snap a photo before it melts today.

I almost missed this beautiful sight the other night. I happened to look out the window and noticed the tops of the trees were PINK!! Every tree is still covered with ice, so the mornings and sunsets these past couple days have been extra lovely!

I tried to capture the sun shining through the ice on the trees out back this morning.....

Some finished projects....

This lovely little heart is knit from Tibetan Terrier hair yarn. It's measurements are about 6"w x almost 5"h. The yarn was sent to me to be replied...I ended up just plying the yarn back on itself. I couldn't take it apart and redo it...it had started to felt and was thick and thin throughout, making that an impossible task.
This is one of 2 or 3 hearts that I will be making for this customer. They will be very special to her as her beloved Toby passed away this past December. :(

I made this cotton bib for my 8-month old nephew, Rocco. This is actually my own pattern I made up as I knit. I hope to make more for gifts.