Shots of Caitlin

She was watching the kids ride bike, enjoying the shade.

Another great Sunday at Sean's parents. We usually go over about 4 PM, enjoy a yummy BBQ, then just hang out and visit. They have a wonderful back yard with a swing set....the kids can just run and run...they always wear themselves out and then sleep very well that night.

Caitlin looking a little worn out!

Cara was playing with Caitlin one day...and filled her hair with many barrettes. It was very cute, but she didn't want to leave them in. This was the face she made while taking them out.

I LOVE this shot. Need I say more?

More zoo fun!

The tiger statue was just too hot to sit on this time, so Brendan posed next to it instead. can you see how red his face is??? It was so hot outside....his head was covered in sweat. We saw all the animals outside first, just in case the rain came.

This Humboldt penguin was just chilling out at the glass....his(or her) beak was tapping the glass and his eyes were almost closed. These penguins are small and live where it's hot...on the coasts of Chili and Peru.

I just had to laugh out loud when I saw the male lion. His mane must be SOOO hot. But he sure looked comfortable!!

One of my favorite water animals are the seahorses. They are so beautiful, but difficult to photograph through the glass. I love how they swim, then quickly attach to a plant.

This tiger was loving his pool!

Elephants need to cool down too....

It's been so hot here in Central NY the past couple weeks....I am so very grateful for air conditioning. But being cooped up inside for days at a time can start to become irritating! So this past Friday, I decided to surprise the kids with a trip to the zoo.....even though it was in the low 90's and it was threatening to storm. I took them to lunch at McDonald's first, then headed to the city for the zoo. Cara finally guessed where we were headed about a mile away when she noticed a sign! They were all very surprised and happy!! We made a stop in the gift shop and I let them each pick out something. Cara chose a stuffed Lemur, Brendan chose 2 small plastic frogs and a pencil and Caitlin chose 2 plastic animals...a badger and a tapir. Such different tastes!

The first creatures we saw were the elephants. I believe this is a mother and her young one. They were enjoying the cool water and each other. Heads were swinging back and forth...so lots of splashing, then the young climbed on mom's back. Priceless. We arrived at just the right time to see this....and I'm so very glad I did not forget my camera! Enjoy!

Shots of me.....

You know, it's really difficult to photograph yourself. I was all dressed up in a pretty orange dress my mom gave to me....and I did my eye makeup to match. I think the orange eyeshadow makes my eyes seem more blue. I'm always the one taking the photos of everyone else, so why not take some of me....and that way my blog visitors will know who I am!

Newest Handspun Yarns

Colonial Superwash wool yarn. I purchased this from seller 'ashabee' on Etsy. I ended up with 376 yards, 4.2 ounces and 17 wpi. I believe this would be enough yarn for a pair of socks?? I don't knit socks, so I'm not positive on that. This yarn is for sale for $30.00
E-mail me if interested.

I custom ordered 8 ounces of Superwash Colonial (Corriedale) wool roving in white, pink, light blue and spring green from 'ashabee' on Etsy a couple months back. I finally got around to spinning half of it up this past week and it sure is lovely. This skein is for sale!!
332 yards / 4.1 ounces / 15 wpi
$28.00

E-mail me if interested.

A gift, a find and a project....

Last Saturday my neighbor, Pam, and I spent late morning and early afternoon just having a fun time together. First we went to the Farmer's Market here in Fulton, and found some wonderful vegetables and homemade pies. I also picked up some homemade peanut butter fudge that was so yummy!

Then we ventured a few miles north on Rt 48 to visit an antiques shop. Pam has been before, but I have not...I tell you, I will be going back! Every room in this house is full of wonderful antiques and collectibles. So many wonderful things I would love to bring home, but always so little money. Oh well...one piece at a time. The vase below was that day's find. It caught my eye instantly...the colors work perfectly with our dining room decor. I think I may be cutting some of my sunflowers to place in it.

There are no markings on the bottom of the vase to tell me where it was made, so if anyone knows anything about it, I would LOVE to know!

I had to place this project on the backburner for a couple days...I was becoming very frustrated with it. I dropped two stitches and was having a tough time reversing back to where I messed up. Maybe tonight I'll pick it back up when the kids are sleeping.

I created the fiber blend and spun the yarn for this scarf. It's about 75% black and gray alpaca and about 25% white Satin Angora. Very soft and it wanted to be spun thin!! ;) I'm using a size 5 bamboo circular needle...I think it's knitting up beautifully!

Closeup of a Zinnia that is almost fully open. The colors darken as the flower opens. The first flower on this plant is a dark red-orange.

A Jade Sunflower....from a Martha Stewart seed packet. These are not as green as I thought, but they're still very, very pretty. I was able to capture this honeybee going about it's business collecting pollen.

More flowers....

An Osteospermum...or African Daisy. This was a gift from my MIL for my new flowerbed. I love the combination of orange and purple...very striking.

Funky Hens & Chicks...the tops of those stalks will have many, many light pink flowers.

Hydrangea

A red Oriental Lily at my MIL's.

A variety of Rudbeckia...Cara picked this out at Lowe's for the new flowerbed.

More flower photos.....

All of these flowers reside at my MIL's home. I took these about a week ago...the rain had just ended and almost all the flowers had raindrops still on them...making them even more beautiful! This is an awesome cactus....all of those light brown spots were bright yellow flowers. They last only a day or two. This cactus loves where it's planted...mind you, were in Central NY too!

A gorgeous hot pink Gerbera daisy.

Cheery lemon daylilies. After the flowers all die, my MIL will be dividing these and the orange lilies below up and passing some on to me!! :)

A very pretty Clematis on the back of their house.

Stunning bright orange Oriental lilies.

A visit to an Alpaca farm.....

Yesterday, the kids and I went to visit friends of ours at Willow Creek Farm, just across the river from us in Fulton, NY. The thunderstorms had just moved past and we only had to deal with a few sprinkles during our visit!
They have a very nice herd of alpacas in a beautiful range of colors. I have been spinning many of those colors for them for the past 2 years or so to resell in their store.

Two of the crias that were playing together...and checking me and the kids out. They're very skittish at this age, so we weren't able to pet them....they need more time being handled by their owners. The dark brown cria is about 5-6 weeks old and the lighter brown cria is maybe 3 weeks?

I think they were watching Caitlin in this photo...hmm...something smaller than them! We've had so many 90 degree days lately that Nancy sheared them...otherwise they would look a bit more fuzzy. Their fleece is so very soft, but very short, maybe an inch...and some had the cutest little waves and curls.

Here's Cubana's cria...I think he/she is only a few weeks old...very tiny and petite! And so full of energy....bouncing all over the place with one of the other crias. Aren't those faces precious??

This is Nairobi....a very sweet 2-year old. She let me pet her and she was gently rubbing her nose on my cheek... What wonderful creatures they are!!

This is Cubana. She's about 10 years old and has a new cria that's only a few weeks old. The brown cria two photos above is hers. Cubana has a beautiful, soft fleece, even for her age. She is actually a black, but she's graying with age. Gray is one of my favorite natural colors to spin.