Fun day at grandma and grandpas!

Caitlin riding her hot wheels tricycle. She can reach the peddles, but hasn't quite figured out how to actually use them to move. She just uses her feet on the ground to move...which means she catches the backs of her legs a lot!

Brendan wanted a photo with no hands! You almost can't see the training wheels hiding in the shadows...hehe. Silly kid!

These John Deere bikes were a gift to Cara and Brendan from Grandpa. He was trying to build a go-kart from the old lawnmower frame, but it just didn't work out....had to be scrapped. So he found these at the Farm & Country store. They are so cute and very well made! The kids loved them. You can see Cara took advantage of the little holder on the back....perfect place for her little puppy!

Silly grins from Brendan...he loves to pose for the camera!

Sister and brother getting along for 2 minutes! This is a great photo of them...I will cherish this one.

My children....
Cara....8 years old and very flighty and creative like her mommy(gets distracted VERY easily!) ;) She will be very tall and thin like her daddy. Her cheeks are pink from lots of playing outside at Grandma's and Grandpa's house this past Sunday, the 22nd. This past weekend was so beautiful! Unseasonably warm...high 70's - low 80's, but who's complaining!!!??? I did get a lovely sunburn though...crazy...sunburn in central NY in April...hmm. So I'm a little bit sore and I think my shoulders will peel...sigh.

Mr. Brendan....he's quite the little guy. Tons of energy, gets bored easily and is very silly! Brendan is 6 and is almost done with Kindergarten already...hard to believe. He's reading simple books now, since he's learned many basic sight words. He's very proud of himself.

And last, but not least...Caitlin. My little whirlwind! Caitlin is 2 and growing so fast. She's finally putting words together...we're all guilty of talking for her...so she's had no real need to talk! She's very smart though...remembers so many things! This picture was taken when she was sitting in daddy's recliner watching some cartoons. She loves PBS shows like Curious George, Clifford, the end of Sesame Street with Elmo's World and then Caillou after that. That's part of the morning routine. They are not all one after the other, so we do things together, then she watches a show while I work on my spinning or household chores. And sometimes I just sit with her and knit or spin and I ask her questions about what's happening in the show. Lots of mommy and Caty time....I just love it. :)

Around my house....

These are pretty daisy mums from my MIL for Easter. Flowers are amazing....they ALWAYS make me think of God and his creative nature....now that's an imagination.

This is the start of a baby blanket for my sister, Jackie's first baby, due at the end of June. My first pattern was a circular afghan, but I had to tear it out three times...I would never finish it at that rate...it's was making me mad..that's when I knew I needed to quit!!! This one is a simple basketweave pattern in, I think, Bernat baby yarn. This I can do...and it works up rather quickly. I also used a bigger needle...size 9 or 10 1/2. The afghan will be more open...better suited for warmer weather.

Just a neat shot of the table in the corner of my living room. The table was painted by my husband's Aunt Steph, who passed away last year from cancer. She is very much missed and this table will always bring back memories. The little baby in the front photo is my husband's only neice, Myah. She is a little over 4 months old now....and SOOO adorable. The picture on the right is of me and my little brother, Joshua. I think that was taken the year I got pregnant with Brendan...2000. Joshua is 21 years younger than me! The photo in the back is of Caitlin, our youngest...that was taken last fall. The photo on the left, sorry you can't see it that well...is of Caitlin at Grandma and Grandpa's last summer on her Hot Wheels bike! She just loves it...and every time she sees the picture, she wants to ride. :) Hopefully this year she'll be able to almost reach the peddles!

The plants are all from Price Chopper....they were having a great sale...2 for $2.50! My house needs more plants...and that price was too good to pass up. Tomorrow one of my projects is to re-pot them into slightly bigger pots that I found at the $1 store.

Gotta love great deals!

Fiber Fun

This is one of the projects I've been working on this week. The above photo is a nice-sized pile of hand-carded llasa apso dog hair from Debby's dogs. The fiber arrived in the box below....big balls of fiber. Much of this batch can be picked apart and spun, but if I want a more even yarn, I need to go through the whole box, picking out any matts or really rough guard hairs....then handcard with two dog slicker brushes. It takes quite a bit of time, but the finished yarn is so very nice!

This gorgeous pile of fiber to spin is my goal for the next two weeks, maybe three. The orange and pink roving was dyed by Jared, who lives in Kingston, Ontario. His mom and I are friends...we trade fibers....once angoras and my Kiwi wheel came from her. :) The dark brown roving is a CVM x Merino blend from Royal Fibers in California. If I don't sell most of the yarn, I'll be knitting myself a new pair of mittens for next winter!
I think I will be able to spin most during that time....lots of inside time this next week. A lovely late-season Nor'easter is due Monday....blah. And I was so looking forward to getting out a little early and flatten out my big pile of dirt for my back flowerbed. Oh well. The poor plants around here just don't know whether to keep growing or go back to sleep! Today was rainy with a little wet snow and just kinda gloomy...I was very tired today...just wanted to lay down and take a nap. But that just didn't happen with all three kids home on school break this week. Whew...it's been a short but long week...if you catch my drift. ;)

I think this is one of my favorite handspun yarns....it's Superwash Colonial wool I purchased on Etsy.com from seller 'ashabee'. Very good price and the roving spins up SOOOOO quickly! It just flows through my hands. I bought two other rovings from her....the red and pink, and the pink, white and brown braids in the picture above.

Did I ever mention how much I love fiber and spinning???????? I will never tire of the beautiful colorways that people come up with.....and then there's the angora rabbit wool...my most favorite EVER...........nothing can compare in my opinion!!